Innocent Words

Gasping for breath, I jolted awake to sirens wailing loudly in the distance. The noise grew nearer as it pierced the night air with a sickening roar. I quickly wiped the moist beads of sweat from my face and scanned the dark room. Nothing but a chilling breeze escaped through the cracked window. All of the sudden a burning sensation shot through my shoulder. I let out a sharp hiss and rolled onto my side, doing little to ease the pain. It only grew stronger, as if it were competing against the shriek of the sirens. I pushed my back against the wall, training my eyes on the door. I could feel something on the other side. There was a brief moment of silence before the door slammed open, rattling on its hinges. Several dark figures stood before me, with nothing but yellow piercing eyes gleaming at me in the dark. Before I could move there was a tight grip of my arm that dragged me from the bed. "You did this!", a crazed looking man spat in my face, his golden eyes filled with rage. I thrashed in his grip, unable to speak because of the searing pain rippling through my arm. "Let her go", a deep voice bellowed. The hand immediately dropped me and I toppled to the ground. "Get up child", a man ordered, emerging from the darkness. I shakily pulled myself up, my legs grew heavy and weighted. My whole body felt like it was going to collapse. I was able to get a glimpse of the man who spoke. He was handsome and seemed older, his eyes were more golden than the rest. He studied me for a moment before speaking. "Your parents are dead, your brother gone, and you're the only one left...what do you have to say for yourself", he asked in a calm voice. My throat burned, finding little energy to make noise. "I didn't do it", I whispered. ---Margret hyland gets accused of murdering her parents and is sent to live with her rogue grandparents. If falsely being accused of murder isn't enough, she faces a cruel and unforgiving road ahead of her, as she struggles to prove her innocence.