Chapter 1
Amelia woke up in the dark. Metal creaked and clanked, and she could
tell she was moving upward. An elevator. She began to panic as the
memories drained away from her. She couldn't remember anything specific
that she definitely should have remembered-her mom, her dad, her
brother, her dog. She knew she had them, but she didn't remember a
thing. Except-her name. Amelia. She knew it wasn't her real name, but
she didn't know her real name. Her memories-she tried to grasp at them
as they fell away, tried to hold on to them and pull them back in, but
she failed. She focused on her brother-her older brother, a tall lanky
boy about a year or two older than her, with blonde hair and brown
eyes, and a pale complexion, reading a passage from a book aloud to her
as a black Labrador retriever lay silently next to him, head on his
paws. That last image of her older brother slipped away. Giving up, she
screamed until her throat was raw and banged on the top and sides of the
metal cage. Suddenly, the box screeched to a halt. She stopped her
frenzy and stared apprehensively upwards. The doors flew open and light
momentarily blinded her.