What Is Lost

I don’t belong here; I knew the moment the strange women, the same women who burned down my home, brought me here. “We hunt your kind. Nothing more, nothing less.” She sat there staring at me. She had no remorse for the act she committed, nor did it seem she was ever going to. She kept her emotions in check; she was being careful; there are few who are able to hide their emotions from a Finx, but she kept them well out of my reach. This annoyed me.

“Very well,” I growled. "Then I expect no less if you were to kill me."

Her jade eyes narrowed; she was angry. “I couldn't possibly kill what I could use.” She quickly stood up and left.

"Now what do I do?" I wondered as she left me in the windowless prison alone; it’s concrete walls started to close in around me, as I sat on the small cot in the middle of the room. My blood seemed to boil. The anger I was holding in suddenly rushed out in the form of a scream, which echoed through the room. Everything, everyone I loved was taken from me in a instant by that vile women. Tears escaped my eyes as the scene played again and again in my mind.

“I’m so sorry.”

As the week went by, I refused to leave the cot or eat anything I was given. My eyes must have shown how hungry I was, because the young girl they had bring me my food was poor at hiding her fear. She would be so easy to eat from. The thought was always there as she entered the room with the plate of food, but I refrained. Once she went about the rest of her day devoid of any feelings, it would be like a neon sign pointed right at me. With no guarantee of what they would do to me after, my best option was to just be hungry.

The door opened, and what I assumed to be the girl turned out to be the women I wished to never see again. “Lane Fersby.” She picked up the untouched plate and walked to me. “My name.” She spoke again as she sat the plate in front of me. “Eat.” She sat in the chair next to the bed.

“I refuse.” I turn my eyes from her fixed expression.

“Your eyes give you away. You’re starving.”

I give a malicious grin. "Then bring me the girl; her fear makes my mouth water.”

She slaps me, and I was left miffed. She picked up the sour candy on the plate, wrapper and all, then shoves it in my mouth. It’s clear that she has a strong understanding of our kind. This thought scares me. I quickly spit it out and raise my hand to strike her back. Instead, I found her hand clamped around my wrist, holding it in place before I could make contact with her cheek.

“You will not partake in anyone's emotions while you are here. Is that clear?” Her stern gaze locked on with my cross one.

I pull my hand away from her grip. "If I do?"

She turns to leave the room. "You will wish you were dead.” She shuts the door. Her words linger in the air. I fling the plate at the door.

I already do….

By the end of the third week, my stomach swears I have forgotten how to siphon emotions, and the scent coming from me is that of a rotting corpse. My door opens and I already can already tell it’s her.

“You stink.” She walks over to me, pulling me out of the bed. She drags me down the hallway. “Clothes are on the counter. Towels are hung behind the door.” She closes the metal door leaving me alone. I walk out thirty minutes later; the clothes she gave me swallow me whole.

“Nova Xander.” Her sudden words make me look up at her. “Your name.” She walks off, beckoning me to follow her.

“So, you know my name.” I follow her back down the hall. Back at my room, she tells me to stay put; a few moments later, she returns with a man in chains.

“Normal food won’t be enough for you.” She tosses the man at my feet. His anger and fear pour out from his being.

My mouth waters and my eyes glow a brilliant purple. “Is this a test?”

She stares at me and shakes her head; she turns and leaves the room. The man at my feet stands. He strides forward slowly. Suddenly he lunges at me. I quickly react and toss him to the ground; seizing him by the throat, I hoist him off the floor. I take a deep breath and begin my meal. The man screams as the energy from his emotions oozes from him, surging down my arm and vanquishing my hunger. His eyes fog over and the anger that was once notable fades. I release his neck after taking my fill; his body falls, smacking the, cold, concrete ground. He slowly stands and limps to the door. I make my way back to the cot and lay with my eyes open. I haven’t gotten any sleep in the last two weeks. My dreams are plagued with the awful memory of watching my parents burn. I curse silently, my anger building on itself. Screw her emotions. I want to rip her damn throat out!

The flames engulfed everything. I ran down the hall toward my sister's room; my parents were already there trying to get the door open. “Nova, get over here and help me!” My father rammed the door.

I ran over to help, “On three. One. Two. THREE!” My father and I run full speed at the door. It didn’t budge. I look out the hall window, I can see my sister's balcony. “Dad, tell Anni to take cover. I will jump over and open the door from the inside.” My father nodded as I used one of mom’s statues to break the window. I carefully climb over the broken glass and jumped to the balcony. “Anni, stay there.” I pointed the the corner where she was sitting. I ran inside and rammed open the door from the inside. Mom ran passed and gathered Anni in her arms.

“Let’s go!” Dad hurried us to get down the stairs. “We have to get to the escape tunnel, hurry!” We round the corner of the hallway just in time to watch the stairs collapse. I watched as my father jumps swiftly down to the lower floor. “Nova, jump!” Without a second thought, I leapt from the second floor and landed right beside him. “Toss me, Anni.” My mother kissed my sister before throwing her into dad’s arms. As my mother went to jump, the floor suddenly collapsed underneath her.

“MOM!”

My dad stopped me. “Take your sister and get to the tunnels.” He passed Anni to me. I turned and ran to the back yard.

I dropped my sister inside the tunnel. “Anni, stay here and be very quiet, okay?” She grabbed my sleeve. I pat her head and put my finger to my lips to reminder her to stay quiet, then I close the door and run back to the house; I didn’t make it halfway back when the house gave. “NO!”

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the back of my head and the world went black.

I woke up covered in sweat; I ran my fingers through my white hair, which my face now matched. I look at the darkness that surrounded me, “I have to get out.”

Morning came around. I rub my eyes when the smell of coffee mixed with fear hit my nose. I look up to see the little girl standing in the doorway holding a tray of food. She doesn't move. She is no older than Anni.

I beckon her over with a wave. “The coffee, please.” I sit up in the bed as she makes her way over. Carefully she lifts the tray, placing it on the edge of the bed, the mug of coffee sitting neatly next to some toast and a piece of sour candy. Picking up the mug, she holds it out to me. “Your fear is alluring.” My sudden words make her jump, making her let go of the mug. I quickly catch it from the air before it spilled all over the blankets. “Am I that scary?” The little girl just stared.

The door opens once again and Lane strides in. “Thank you, Zara. You can leave.”

The little girl looks at me one last time before running out. “She seems to have gotten used to you.” Lane sits herself in the chair at the cot. I open my mouth to speak only to be cut off with a raise of her hand. She folds her hands in her lap before speaking. “I have placed you in the prisons underneath the school. As I’m sure you can guess, the school is where human teens come to learn about Finx. Here, they are taught what Finx are and how to kill them.” I sit there in silence as a chill ran down my spine.

“I understand you may find it disgusting. To tell you the truth, I don’t care.” She gave me a stern glare. “I told you the first day, I will not kill what I can use. On your sixteenth birthday, you will be enrolled in the school as a student.”

My eyes turned a deep purple. "YOU’RE KIDDING!”

She didn’t say a word, and I felt the urge to kill her come quick. Lane rose from the chair and went to leave the room. Stopping at the door she turned to me and in a low voice said, "You may not like the idea, but you’ve no other choice. You’ve got no other place to go.”

I waited silently for my brother's return; the world outside seemed to go quiet after a while. Curious, I lifted my head to look out. What I found was not my brother, nor my parents. Laid before my eyes was the ashes of the home I grew up in. I slowly closed the hatch and made my way down the tunnel, just like daddy taught me. I walked in silence; I did everything in silence. I enjoyed the quiet. To me, it’s calming. To me, words mean nothing.

I finally came to the wood door at the end; I knocked twice, just as daddy taught me. The door opened and I was greeted by Uncle Neil. “Anni?” I could practically taste the surprise coming from him. “Where is Nova? Your parents?”

I just stood there.

“Anni, where is Nova?”

I shrugged. I didn’t have an answer. He just never came back. Uncle’s brow creased and the concern was potent. I noticed his emotions shift to fear.

“And your parents?”

I shook my head. Nova’s scream played in my mind once more. Uncle's face fell.

“Anni, if I show you some pictures, do you think you could point to the person responsible for all this?”

I nodded. I flipped through the pages until I came across her face. She had been lurking around the house all morning. Looking up at Uncle, I pointed.

“Lane Fersby. That’s trouble.”