The Amazon

I was shaking when I woke up. I was lying on a soft mattress in a dark room. I drew the thin blanket closely around me. I was freezing, but I was also scared.

I remembered our car crashing. Tumbling, flying. Then I was stuck, I couldn't move. I couldn't even see my parents in the front seat, but from the state of the car, there was no way they'd survived. Still, I screamed after them.

I screamed and screamed until I was pulled out of the car by a fire fighter. I fought him off as soon as he had gotten me out, wanting to see my parents.

They were completely crushed in the front seat, a sight too terrible for a twelve year old to witness, but no firefighter or even police could pull me from the scene. I was too strong. Unnaturally strong.

That's when they realised I wasn't human. And when I didn't let a medic, have a look at me. They called for the umbra to deal with the supernatural child.

I didn't remember much of how I was removed from the scene. I remembered there was a warm hand on my shoulder, and then the next thing I knew, I woke up here. In this strange place, that was cold and dark, but at least the bed was soft.

Regaining my consciousness, I started to sob again, hugging my knees to my chest.

There suddenly was light in the room and a door opened. "You're awake, good!" a middle-aged woman said. In the dim light, I could see the bars, I was in a cell inside a bigger room.

My next response was to fly at the bars, "Let me out!" I screamed, trying to shake them. Usually, I could bend metal with ease, but these bars wouldn't budge.

"I'm sorry for this treatment after what you've just been through, but we have absolutely no idea what you are or if you're dangerous to society," the woman said. She was carrying a thicker blanket and a change of clothes.

I was still shaking. The woman stuffed the blanket through the bars as well as the clothes.

"This cell wasn't really meant to hold children, but I did find you a thicker blanket. I know it gets cold down here," she said.

"Why am I locked up?" I asked with a broken voice.

"Because we don't know what you are," she repeated. She was telling the truth. I always knew when someone was lying.

"Are my parents alright, I was only dreaming, right?" I asked, clinging to the bars.

"I don't know," the woman said.

"Liar!" I shouted at her, she was lying, I knew, I could tell. It was a kind of superpower I had.

"I heard you saw with your own eyes?" She said, looking unmoved by my outburst.

"How long will you keep me here?" I asked. I wanted out, I wanted home.

"I have no idea, but I'd say at the very least, a few days," she replied.  "I'm Amber, by the way," she added while I was silenced by shock.

I started to cry again and ran back to the bed, hiding under the covers to get privacy.

"I'll leave you to grieve. You'll be questioned tomorrow," she said and left me.

I didn't know for how long I'd cried when I heard the door to the room open.

"I heard my father talk about your accident. I'm really sorry this happened to you," a young male voice said.

I didn't answer, I stayed under my blanket.

"I thought you might go mad being trapped with nothing to do. I brought you a couple of comics. I'll just leave them here," the boy said. Shortly after, I heard the door close.

I stayed still a couple of minutes before I went to the bars and picked the comics up with trembling fingers.

I finally took a proper look around, mostly because I really needed to use the bathroom.

I got relieved to find a toilet and a sink behind a partition.

I'd preferred a bathroom, but I was in grave enough need that I couldn't afford to be picky.

My breath got caught in my throat when I washed my hands in the sink. They were so dirty. I'm still carrying all the dust from the car accident.

When I looked at my clothes  I understood why that woman, Amber, had brought me a change of clothes. It was probably a good thing there wasn't a mirror in here.

My trembling got worse while I scrubbed my hands clean. My head was pounding while my tears streamed down my cheeks in silence.

It's not like I didn't know this day was coming, a day that I'd get caught by the umbra. I wasn't like people, and I wasn't like any known supernatural either.

It made absolutely no sense that I was more than human when both my parents were completely normal.

I never imagined I'd get found like this at the expense of their lives.

I went to find the change of clothes and took mine off to put them on. It was just a pair of underwear, a black t-shirt and black sweatpants. No socks.

I left my feet bare when I snuggled back into bed. I put the comics on my nightstand. I felt numb and was in no mood to read them. Not for the moment, at least.

I curled up under the blanket and hugged my knees against me. I had no idea how much time that passed or how long I grieved before I fell asleep.

"Good morning, Louisa!" Amber said, turning all the lights on in the room, waking me up.

"How do you know my name?" I mumbled sleepily. I was still exhausted. I didn't want to leave the warm comfort of the bed.

"From your parents' identities, of course," she sighed. "Anyways, I brought you breakfast. If you behave while getting questioned, I'll let you take a shower afterwards," she said.

When she said breakfast, she really just meant a sandwich and a glass of water. I was used to eating a lot. It didn’t matter. However, I didn't have much appetite and only drank the water.

"Don't starve yourself, please. It wouldn't make your parents happy," she said when I didn't touch my sandwich.

"You don't know shit about what would make my parents happy or not," I spat.

"You want that shower?" Amber asked, raising her eyebrows at me. I just glared back at her.

"I'll be back in another hour to collect you," she said when I didn't answer before she left me again.

Alone in this big, colorless, cold room. I should have asked for a sweater.

The door suddenly opened, and a boy came in. He smiled widely at me when he saw me seated close to the bars.

I couldn't help but blush. He was cute. He had well kept blond wavy hair and deep blue eyes. And his smile... it was the kind of smile I would have found very contagious under better circumstances.

I looked away quickly, not wanting him to catch me staring.

"Good morning!" He called out to me while he approached. Judging by the voice, it was the same boy that had left the comics.

"So that's what you look like. Your hair looks like fire he said," squatting on the floor to level with me.

His comment made me blush deeper, and I pulled my knees up against my chest.

"I'm sorry about how they are treating you. You shouldn't be locked up. But try and keep in mind that the adults here are used to demons portraying as innocent children," the boy said, making me glance at him again.

"I'm Victor," he said, reaching his hand out through the bars, bold.

I could easily break that hand, but I didn't. "Louisa," I almost whispered and took his hand. He had a very firm grasp.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, although not the circumstances, of course," he chuckled. Almost making me smile. He wasn't lying.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like you've walked through Hell," he whistled.

I looked away, frowning. "Why are you here?" I asked with a broken voice. Husky from all my screaming and crying.

"I am curious, and to be fully honest, I pity you a little. I don't want you to be alone," he said.

I giggled, giving him a look of confusion.

"No, it's just. You really are being honest," I said looking away.

"I guess most wouldn't admit that," he agreed, looking amused. "How old are you?" He asked.

"I'm twelve," I admitted.

"You're younger than me then. It's hard to tell sometimes with girls," he chuckled. "I'm fourteen," he said.

"Are you allowed to be here and keep me company?" I asked.

"I didn't ask, but I suspect not," he confessed. "When did you last eat?" He asked, looking at my sandwich.

My tummy rumbled before I got to answer. I had planned on saying that I wasn't hungry, but that just sounded stupid now.

"I don't want to eat it," I said instead.

"Starving yourself isn't going to do you any good," he said, just like Amber had.

"Fine, I'll eat it," I hissed and picked the sandwich up. Victor smiled at me while I took a bite. It felt like eating sandpaper.

My cheeks suddenly got wet. After almost having finished the sandwich, I was crying again.

"I'm sorry," I said, burying my face in my arms.

"Don't be, you've lost your parents, and you're being held in a cell. Of course you're sad, you just didn't have the strength to cry," he said. Giving me a strange sympathetic smile when I looked up at him.

He suddenly reached his hand through the bars and placed his hand on my cheek, drying a tear with his thumb.

The door suddenly opened again. Amber entered with two other adults. I quickly hid my face again.

"Victor, you're not permitted to be here. We don't know what she is. She could be possessing your mind or killing you for all we know," Amber said sternly to Victor.

He sighed and got to his feet. "I'm sorry I'm not a coldhearted jerk. Louisa is not dangerous. We should take care of her not lock her up," Victor defended me.

"We have no idea what she's capable off Victor. Of course, we won't keep her in there if she proves to be just an unusual child," Amber said.

"Now, if you'll come with me without a fuss, you can take a shower after you've answered our questions," she said to me, unlocking the door to my cell.

"Don't try to fight them," Victor urged with a sigh.

I didn't see the point, even if I got out, I didn't know where I'd go, so I followed Amber out. Outside of the room I had been held was a corridor with marble flooring.

Our footsteps echoed while we walked down it. I got blinded by the light when we entered a room at the very end. There were big windows in the room that let in a lot of sunlight.

When my eyes adjusted, I saw a man sitting behind a desk. It looked like we were in an office.

"Louisa Rigas, right?" He asked. He had light brown hair and the same deep blue eyes as Victor. They were alike. I suspected this was his father.

"I'm Henry. I'm a squad leader here. My squad specializes in super naturals," he said when I didn't answer and made a gesture for me to take a seat on the chair across from him.

"The rest of you can wait outside," he said to my escort while I took a seat.