Screams. Sharp needle-like pain spreading through her body. She was on fire, her bones protesting in agony. Something was changing—her lungs gasping for air they couldn’t breathe. It would never end. This was it…

Alicia gasped awake, cold sweat coating her body. Her heart was pounding a million miles per hour, her body so sore she couldn’t even lift herself up. Her right hand felt like a sword had just been stabbed through it. Where was she? What happened?

She groaned, telling herself over and over again, she could do it. Slowly, she propped herself up into a sitting position, leaning against the warm wall for strength.

Wait a second…that wasn’t a wall.

Her eyes surveyed the room, which was so bright she had to squint to see anything. It was large, maybe fifteen cells inside. Though, they weren’t your regular prison cells with metal bars. Instead, they were surrounded in something that looked like a force field. Bright orange light emitted from them, and they flickered in and out.

Looking out, Alicia noticed that two of the cells were occupied by children. They were unconscious on the floor, looking so pale she almost thought they were dead aside from the flinching and mumbling.

“Alicia,” a voice suddenly whispered. Alicia shuddered with surprise, her whole body tensing with fear.

“Who—” Alicia cleared her dry, scratchy throat and tried again, “Who’s there?”

There was a pause. She heard footsteps and looked across the room. A girl around her age stood one cell over, just as pale as everybody else. Her dark green eyes looked empty and hollow, hair black as the midnight sky.

“I’m…Skyler,” she looked out at nothing for almost a minute, then suddenly blinked and looked back at Alicia. “Oh. Sorry, Alicia.”

“How’d you know my name?” She demanded, trying to sound a lot tougher than she felt. She shakily stood up, and her heart shrank back a bit as she realized she was at least three inches shorter than Skyler.

“I heard them say it,” Skyler said in her small voice, “When they brought you back.”

“Heard who say it?”

Skyler looked around nervously before whispering, “The Dullborns.” She shuddered like she was afraid of it. “They take us. Mostly children, but a few adults too.”

Alicia's heart pounded as she asked, “Why?”

Skyler shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is that they give everyone these…injections. I’d been here a full week before they gave me mine. Yours was just a couple of hours ago. I don’t know what it was, but it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

“I don’t remember,” Alicia blinked a few times, trying to clear her head. Nothing.

“Maybe it’s best,” Skyler looked away, “I was here for a full week before they gave my shot to me. Kids I used to know got these blank eyes, and soon after the Dullborns came and took them away.”

Alicia let that soak in for a second. Something was definitely not right here. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it just as fast. Her arm was burning like nothing she could ever describe. It was like every inch, every tiny cell, was lit on fire.

“Uh…” She mumbled, falling to her knees. Quicker than she could even register, her vision started to blur. All her thoughts emptied out of her brain, leaving a kind of quiet ringing she would never forget.

“What’s wrong?” Skyler asked immediately, putting her hands on the barrier like she wanted to reach in and help her. “Alicia!”

She barely heard. The pressure kept creeping up until it took hold of her whole body, shadows flooding through her mind. The room went dim until the only thing to be heard or seen was the words slithering through her very being.

“Control,” they whispered.“This is better. This is how it needs to be.”

“No!” Alicia desperately screamed back, using every bit of strength she had to push the fog away. “I can’t! My family…No!”

“This. Is. How!” They urged, filling her with the words. They echoed for eternity, gaining momentum and strength.

A part of her reasoned that this was better, that she should just let go. Maybe then she’d be happy. Maybe then she’d forget.

“I can't,” Alicia shook her head, fighting with herself, “Can’t… No!”

The words started to shake and swirl the more she fought. With one last powerful energy surge, she broke free and collapsed on the cold ground, shivering. The bright white lights of the room were a harsh awakening.

Skyler’s face was streaked with tears. “No!” she cried, “Please don’t be dead. Not again.”

“Mmm,” Alicia mumbled out some words, head spinning.“Not…dead.”

“Alicia—” she didn’t hear the rest. The room went black, and everything was still once again.

 

***

 

“She’s not waking up,” a male voice sighed, “Are you sure—”

“Shut up, Samuel,” another voice piped in, unmistakably female. “Good for nothing boys.”

“What do you mean—” He was interrupted again.

“I mean what I say.”

Blinking her eyes open, Alicia ignored her ringing ears as she pushed herself into a sitting position. The room spun and she swayed, but she managed to keep her eyes open.

Three unison gasps.

A boy, she assumed it was Samuel, was staring at her from a cell directly across from her. He had curly sandy brown hair, light blue eyes, and a shocked expression on his face. Across from him in yet another cell was a tiny girl, no older than five or six, crossing her arms smugly.

“You’re okay!” Skyler cried, her voice crackling. “I thought…”

The little girl interrupted yet again. Alicia had a feeling she would be a very annoying person to live with. “HAH, I was right! She is alive.”

Samuel just smiled. “Hi,”

Looking down at her hand, it had a bluish purple tingle. A large star-shaped scar was on her palm, from what she assumed was her injection site. Still, it was weird. It made her feel stronger, in a way, but yet weaker than she ever felt before.

“I’m Paige,” the little girl piped up. She gave Alicia a toothy grin, and she noticed Paige was missing a couple of her baby teeth. Her eyes were a mysterious dark purple colour, and her honey blond hair tumbled messily around her tiny shoulders.

Everyone was wearing the same clothes. For the girls, it was a dark grey long sleeved shirt with a light grey floor-length skirt underneath. Samuel, on the other hand, had on a dark grey T-shirt and light grey pair of jeans. Printed on the middle were the initials: T. S.O.

What did that stand for?

“I’m sorry,” Alicia mumbled, her voice soft. “I don’t know what happened.”

“I feel weird too,” Paige offered unhelpfully.

Skyler sighed, muttering to herself, “What was in that injection?” Noticing that Alicia was looking at her, however, Skyler flashed her best smile, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Alicia nodded solemnly, closing her eyes as her headache surged. “For now. How long is that going to last? How long until we’re one of those blank-eyed freaks?”

“Maybe we won’t,” Samuel said shyly from the back. Still, Alicia could hear the doubt in his voice.

Paige sat down, leaning against the barrier. She yawned, closing her eyes in exhaustion. In only a few seconds, Alicia could hear her soft snores. Samuel looked at her sadly.

A moment of silence before Skyler mumbled, “We should all get some sleep. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

“Okay,” Alicia agreed hesitantly. She soon put her head on the stone floor, resting her arms on her stomach and stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t like she was going to be able to sleep, anyway. She felt homesick, and it dawned on her she might never see her family again.

Alicia thought of her mother. The sweet sound of her voice, the light in her eyes. And her father. The way he could always comfort her, or understand her like nobody else could.

Some of the lyrics to her mom’s favourite poem came to mind, and she mumbled them under her breath as they came to her, hoping beyond hope that everything would be alright.

 

“...Even though the night is nearing

And the light fades away

No one is afraid of the sounds

Because they lean on their loves

And even though it all went wrong

And the predators are out stalking their prey

They know they’ll be alright

Because nothing can hurt them

Together, they are always homeward bound.”