The Hidden Ones

Bright lights flashed as eyes slowly blinked open, revealing a white, sleek-walled room. The metallic smell was strong enough to taste. Footsteps sounded from somewhere. Behind? Next to? Above? Who knows. The shuffle of feet and hushed voices indicated those footsteps belonged to someone of higher rank.

“Ah, you are awake.” The voice belonged to a man. It was coated with a purr, but underneath, a vile creature lurked. “Get her up.”

The straps on her wrists, neck, and legs were undone, allowing the cold air to cover her raw skin. Two hands slipped beneath her head, gently heaving her up. The room was crowded with people dressed in blue uniforms. The material looked rough and uncomfortable. They wore white masks, which covered most of their faces, along with clear glasses. And in the centre–stood a short dark-skinned man. His hair, badly cut, turned grey at the roots. His beard, neatly trimmed, framed his thick full lips which were in the form of a hungry grin. She shivered. She didn’t know who this man was, but she felt a deep yearning to strangle him with her bare hands, leaving red-purple bruise marks, as his face would slowly turn pale.

He walked closer, his hideous gold-studded shoes producing the only sound in the room. His cold wrinkly fingers curled around her chin as he lifted her face to meet his eyes. She could see him clearly now. His eyes were dark, not brown, but dark. Wrinkles surrounded his eyes and mouth. His ears were studded with two shimmering diamonds, one in each. The worst thing of all; was his scent. She would never forget that scent. It was so hideously sweet her nose convulsed.

“You are going to give me great power.” His words rolled slowly over his tongue.

He had two gold teeth near the front of his mouth. He licked his lips as his eyes moved over her body, from head to toe, but then lingered on her chest. He grinned. She wanted to knock those two golden teeth so far back down his throat that he’d stop breathing.

His hand slithered away from her face. He turned and left the room. Those remaining in the room blindly turned to follow him, closing the heavy metal door behind them, leaving her alone in the cold white room. She looked down. She was dressed in a plain white, almost see-through shirt, with long white pants. Her feet were bare. As for her face, she had no idea what she looked like. And even though she was covered, she has never felt more naked. Not just her body, but her mind. These people could read her. They knew her. Who was she? She had no thoughts. She knew what things were but not people.

Moments passed before the metal door silently swung open. A man, tall this time, walked in. He was dressed in white also. His face was uncovered and on his nose balanced glasses that seemed to enlarge his blue eyes. In his hands, was a clipboard with papers. He smiled. This smile was different. It was sincere.

“How are you feeling?” Compared to that appalling man from before, his voice was calm with no hint of evil.

She swallowed. She forgot she had a voice. “I don’t know how I’m feeling.” Her eyes widened at the sound coming from her mouth. She had a feminine voice, higher-pitched than the two men, but soft and strong nonetheless.

The man nodded. He stood beside her cot.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, all right?” He looked at her as if waiting for permission. She didn’t realise she had the power to give permission. She nodded.

“We’ll start simple. Are you currently feeling any pain anywhere?” His eyes lifted from his clipboard to meet hers.

She looked down at her body as she wiggled her toes and moved her legs slightly.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Good good. Next question; do you remember anything?” This time his eyes didn’t meet hers.

She thought about it. Remember what? It’s not like she ever had a before. This room and that disgusting man were all she knew.

“No?” It wasn’t as much of an answer as it was a question.

The man bit his lip, flipping through the pages in front of him. “Do you know who you are?”

“No.” That answer she was sure of.

He offered her a smile; one that didn’t stretch very far. “Would you like to know?”

She frowned. She was someone. Who, she didn’t know. It was that mystery that made her nod.

Your name is Vannah Ambers. You are seventeen years old. And before today, you had a whole different life.”

The breath escaped her lungs. She had a name. She was Vannah Ambers. Vannah.

“Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Well, my dear, that is part of the reason you are here.” He paused. “Let me start from the beginning. When you were born, your mother and father signed you up for this program. When you turned seventeen a few days ago, they brought you here. Part of being involved in this program required your memories to be wiped, which is why you do not remember anything.”

His words floated in her mind. She used to have parents; parents whom she does not know anymore. She used to have a life. Seventeen years of it, before it was all erased like pencil from paper. It’s not like she missed it. How can you miss something you don’t even know, right?

“What is this program?”

He smiled. “Straight to the big questions with you, isn’t it? Most who come through here ask about their past lives.”

Vannah shrugged, waiting for his reply to her question.

He cleared his throat. “Right well, this program is called the ID-Project. Essentially, when your parents brought you in, we had a genetic code implanted within you. This code was designed to give you very special abilities. Don’t worry, it is safe. We’ve done this countless times before.”

Vannah wondered how many of those times passed before it was considered safe.

“Your purpose will be to harness those abilities and learn to use them in order to better this company as a whole. That man you saw earlier, his name is Azvameth. He runs this company along with the program. Don’t expect to see him much.”

To that, Vannah wanted to sing. She would honestly rather die than be anywhere near that man.

“What are my abilities?”

The man grinned. His eyes glistened. “You, my dear, were given the magnificent gift of Dimension Jumping. You are a Dimensio.” The word rolled off his tongue with an accent. Spanish? No. French. He continued, “Along with other useful skills, such as general knowledge, being able to speak different languages, abnormal strength, and a few others.”

No wonder she could place his accent.

“So, now what?” Vannah looked around the room. Surely she wasn’t expected to stay in here for the rest of the day? She was tired. And her stomach growled.

The man nodded, offering her a smile. She did not return it. “I will take you to your quarters where you will get changed and have dinner. Further instructions will be made known to you when the time comes” He placed the clipboard underneath his arm as he turned towards the door. “Follow me, please.”

Vannah took a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much oxygen as she could manage. Slowly, she swung her legs to the side of the cot before placing them on the icy floor. Her body trembled as she pressed herself up. Her legs were surprisingly sturdy. One step after another, she made her way to the large metal door where the man was waiting for her.

“By the way, Miss Ambers, call me Gabriel.” He moved his glasses up with his index finger before opening the door for her.