Hollow

Chapter 42

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I stared down at my hands, secured in front of me by a pair of handcuffs. The chain rattled against the table top every time I moved. I didn't even know how long I'd been locked in this room. No one would tell me anything. They'd taken me, forced me into a car, driven me here against my will and shoved me into this room with my hands restrained. All I could think about was when and if I would be let go. Suddenly, I was six years old again and the world I'd come to know was being ripped away from me. Somehow it seemed even more painful now.

Would I see my family again? Or Sebastian?

I felt my growing emotions begin to overwhelm me when the tick of a door opening made me freeze. I watched in anticipation as the door on the wall in front of me slid open and a guard walked in.

The click of heels followed him and I gasped when Vanessa came into view. Her eyes landed on me and a deep frown marred her face.

"What is going on in here?" She glared at the guard. "Why is she in handcuffs?"

"Director Friedman ordered her safe extraction." The guard answered. "He warned that she may be dangerous."

"She's not a threat, Williams, let her go." She said sternly. Vanessa Salazar seemed to have more power than I had initially thought.

The guard quickly did as he was told and freed my hands from their restraints. He stepped back, watching me carefully, but I didn't care about him. I kept my eyes on Agent Salazar and waited for her to explain.

"Bella, I'm so sorry that everything happened this way." She said immediately, sitting across from me. "They weren't supposed to treat you like that."

"What's going on?" I asked her.

Surprise filled her eyes as she looked up at me. "Your voice."

I looked at her in confusion. "My voice?"

"Sorry," She blinked and shook her head. "Sorry, it's just, I almost can't hear your accent anymore."

"Oh," I found myself saying. I had never even realized I had a different accent. Others had said they heard it, but I never did.

"That's not important right now though." She got back on topic. I nodded, feeling immensely better now that Vanessa was here.

"As you know, most of you- the children from the Agency- were placed back with your families. For the majority, it worked out extremely well and you've adjusted to the changes." She shifted, focusing on me. "But for others, it wasn't so simple. We were met with resistance."

"What does that mean?" I leaned forward.

"Unfortunately, the conditioning you all went through worked a little too well on some of the kids who were taken. A select few refused to believe the truth about the Agency and pledged their loyalty. One girl your age, Cecelia Roberts, ran away from her family a few weeks ago."

Vanessa paused and I had to resist urging her to continue. I needed to know why I had been brought here.

"She was completely off the grid for a while, but about a week ago we've gotten reported sightings. We haven't been able to catch her, but we've been tracking her approximate location."

"Why am I here, Vanessa?" I asked her finally. I was growing more and more impatient by the second. I knew that there was something that she wasn't telling me.

"Bella, we think she's been following you." She said softly. "What we're noticing is that she's getting careless and sloppy. She was completely untraceable for more than four weeks and now we're getting reported sightings from our agents. She's getting unpredictable. And now that we've uncovered that her sightings are getting closer and closer to you..."