X-Marks: Stealing Shadows

Transfer

"Get up!" my mother said and sprinted from her chair towards me.

The bones of her fingers locked into my arms as she shook me in my chair and forced me to my feet but instead I fell hard to the floor.

"You deal with her!" my mother shouted to my father and ran to the knock at the door.

Raw with pain, I stayed on the floor.

"Come on, now," my father said and walked towards the foyer, "We have visitors."

I picked myself up and rubbed my sore shoulder.

In the light of the foyer, I could see my mother and father in the center of a circle of strangers at the door. These guests were unlike anyone I had ever seen.

A stout man and a young woman both dressed in white stood next to my parents. The stout man had his arms crossed against his pressed jacket. His skin and eyes were a deep brown. The young woman's pale eyes looked down at the crisp pleats of her dress.

Behind the people in white, two figures like sturdy columns blocked the door. Their black uniforms were padded with pockets and straps, mirrored glasses shielded their eyes, and black masks covered their mouths. If they had faces, I could not be sure. In each of their gloved hands, they held guns wider than their massive arms.

I watched them all from a dim corner when the man in white began to speak.

"Thank both of you for your cooperation this afternoon. Your sacrifice is a great honor to your nation. On behalf of Our Noble Leader, I would like to recognize the difficult decision you have made."

"I can assure you," my mother said and stretched a thin grin towards the man in white, "making sacrifices for our nation has never been a difficult decision, never."

She forced an even sweeter smile, "With that in mind, would it be possible to move our relocation sooner?"

"I'm sure -," the man said and read from his glass board, "Mrs. Harris, the integration officers will proceed accordingly."

My mother's eyes narrowed at the man in white. I had only ever seen her look at me this way.

"Now if you would, we need you to sign your names before we can continue," the man said and handed my mother a pen and a stack of papers, "Take your time reading the agreement. The last page will need to be presented to an integration officer when they arrive as proof of transfer."

My mother took no time to read the papers and scribbled on the last page. She handed the pen to my father who wrote just as fast.

The man in white handed my father a bright yellow piece of paper.

"This paper is proof of transfer. Please keep it until officers arrive. Without this, your relocation may be completely void."

I fixed my stare behind the man in white to the stranger's guns.

"Huh?" I said.

My whisper caught their attention.

"This is her right here," my mother said and waved her hand towards the strangers, "Come here so we can see you."

Her warmth left me cold.

I stepped into the crowded room and place my hand on a nearby table.

"It says here she just turned four years old," the man in white said and looked up from his glass board, "Does she have a name?"

"Of course not," my mother spat, "I followed the rules."

"And we thank you again for your compliance," the man said without a glance and turned to the woman in white, "Nurse Sarah, could you please start the examination?"

Nurse Sarah walked towards me, a glass board wrapped tight in her arms. She lifted my arms and dress. I did not dare say no to her prodding. She pressed first into my legs, then my back and last my shoulders.

"I see a large area of redness on her arm," Nurse Sarah said.

"Oh that," my mother interrupted, "She just had a little slip from her bed.

Nurse Sarah looked back at the man in white.

"Do you see anything else?" the man in white asked.

"She is rather small for her age," Sarah said to the man.

My mother paced in circles around my father as she listened to the strangers.

"They're all that size when they arrive," the man in white said, "She'll catch up eventually."

The man in white looked down at his wrist.

"If that is all," he said "We better leave before we're off schedule. Remember what I said about the proof of -"

"I get it, okay," my mother snapped, "Thank you for your needless concern."

Without another glance, the man in white snatched the remaining papers from my father's hands.

"Come on now. It's time to go," the man in white said and reached his hand out to mine.

I reached for his hand, though I did not know where we were going.

I looked back at my parents. My mother's arms were tucked against her flat chest and shapeless gray dress. Her face was still. Only the edges of her mouth were turned. It made my skin lose feeling to meet her cold stare. My father looked at his feet. The soles of his shoes split as he swayed from side to side.

The man in white still held my hand and dragged me towards the front door. Each step took longer than the one before. I looked back again. I could not look forward. Not until my parents moved with me.

The man's strong hand gripped my hand tighter as we walked closer to the door. I tried to shake my hands from his uncomfortable grip as my mother watched from behind. Her still smile moved up her face.

I watched her feet swivel against the floor. I watched her dress sway. I watched the back of her heels fade into the dark corners of the house.

It was then that I knew.

They were getting rid of me.