Aaron cupped his hands over his little sister’s mouth to muffle her sobs. He crouched over her protectively in the bushes they were using as cover, listening to see if anyone was nearby. When he was sure they were alone, he leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. He tried to comfort her in a hushed tone. “I’m sorry Olivia. I know it’s scary, but you have to try to be quiet, okay?” She nodded and slowly composed herself. Aaron moved his hands. She was still trembling and her eyes were still brimming with tears, but besides the occasional sniffle, she was completely silent. “Great job Olivia. Stay here, I’ll be back soon.” He turned to leave. Olivia reached out and grabbed the back of his pant leg in her tiny balled up fist, one small squeak of terror leaving her lips before she was able to catch it. “Olivia, they’re still out there. I have to draw them away, and I can’t do that and hide you at the same time. You have to let me go, okay?” She tugged harder and shook her head in frustration. “Olivia. Please. I’ll come back for you, I promise.” Reluctantly, Olivia released her hold on her brother. He disappeared into the tangle of dark branches and leaves. She hugged her knees to her chest and waited.
Olivia shivered. It was dark, and the cold night air was ripping mercilessly through her tattered dress. She heard a shuffling on the other side of the bush. Assuming her big brother had finally come back for her, she leaped out of the bush to greet him. But the person standing in front of her wasn’t her brother.
The woman regarded the small child in front of her in shock. What was a little girl doing in the woods by herself at this time of night? Beatrice had left her small cottage to search the woods for her escaped cat. The damn thing was always managing to sneak away. Usually Beatrice just waited for her to find her own way home, but it was an especially cold night. One look at the shoeless shivering girl in front of her was all Beatrice needed to convince herself she had to do everything in her power to help the little girl. The cat would have to fend for itself tonight after all. Beatrice kneeled down so she was eye level with the girl. “Hello, my name’s Beatrice, what’s yours?” The little girl regarded her suspiciously. Beatrice tried again. “What are you doing out here all by yourself? Aren’t you cold?” The girl nodded slowly. Beatrice took off her heavy coat and handed it to the small child. “Here, you can have this.” The little girl wrapped herself in the coat, it was practically a tent on her. Her small round face peered out of the hole under the hood at Beatrice. Beatrice waited to see if the girl would say anything now that she was a little warmer. When she remained silent Beatrice continued the conversation herself. “My home isn’t far from here. Why don’t you come back there with me? I’m sure one of my kids will have a pair of shoes that fit you. You can warm up there and get some sleep, then in the morning we’ll try to find your parents. Oh, and I bet you’re hungry too right? I can make you something to eat. I made a pie earlier, do you like blackberry?” Beatrice waited, but the girl didn’t show any signs that she intended to speak. “Well then, let’s go get you warmed up, okay?” The girl looked back at her and finally spoke. “No.”
Olivia sat down on the ground to continue waiting for her brother. She appreciated the coat and the woman’s kindness, but her brother promised he’d come back, and this is where he expected her to be.
Beatrice braced herself. It had started snowing and the wind was howling angrily. She didn’t want to scare the girl, but this wasn’t going anywhere quickly, and she had to get her out of the cold. She picked the little girl up in her arms. “I’m sorry but it isn’t safe out here, we have to go back to my house now.”
Olivia screamed in anger at being picked up without permission. She couldn’t leave. She had to wait for her brother. She waved her arms angrily and kicked at the woman. She bit and scratched and pleaded. “Put me down! Please, please, please, you have to put me down!” Olivia was too small to break free, no matter how hard she struggled. She let out one last scream of frustration. A stabbing pain flowed through every inch of her tiny body, propelling a part of her out in every direction. The woman flew back and Olivia fell to the ground. She surveyed the land around her for the woman. She saw her a long ways away, laying in the snow. Olivia approached the woman cautiously. She hadn’t meant to throw her that far. She just wanted her to let go. The woman wasn’t moving. Olivia nudged her softly. “Wake up.” There was no response from the woman. Her head had landed on a rock. Blood was slowly staining the snow around her red. Olivia felt her tears welling up again, but this time her brother wasn’t there to calm her. She sobbed and began to shake the woman. “Please wake up! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay? So please wake up now! wake up! Please! You have to wake up!” Beatrice didn’t respond. Olivia fell back in the snow and drew her knees up to her chest again. She wanted to run away, but she couldn’t. She had to wait here for her brother. She drew into herself as tightly as she could, using the dead woman’s gifted coat to hide in.
Bernard walked towards the sound of the scream he had heard. He walked until he came across a woman lying dead in the snow. By her side was a coat that appeared to be crying. He bent down and unzipped the large coat. Huddled inside of it was a small child. He had finally found her, she looked just like her mother. When she saw him she cried even louder. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt her, I promise!” He shushed her patiently.
“Of course you didn’t. This isn’t your fault.” She wiped tears and snot off of her face with the back of her hand.
“I-it isn’t?” She asked him.
“Of course not. You’re parents never should have hidden you and your brother from us. It was extremely irresponsible. This woman died because of them.” He reached down and placed his hand on her head comfortingly. At first she flinched at the contact, but her brother often comforted her in the same way, so she found herself leaning into his hand. Bernard continued to let his aura ebb into the little girl. With it he was able to calm her, warm her up, and gently force her to sleep. He wasn’t sure how strong she really was, but he didn’t want to risk sharing the fate of the woman in the snow. Once she was asleep, he picked her up and began the long walk back to his vessel.
He strapped her into the passenger seat. Even asleep, she was still crying. He felt sorry for her. She had lost more tonight than she even knew. Elaine and Jeremy had been his closest friends, but he sincerely hoped they burned in hell for everything they put their children through.
Aaron woke up in a small white room. His memories of the night before flooded back to him. Where had they taken him after they knocked him out? He had to find Olivia. He’d left her all alone in the woods.
Bernard woke the sleeping girl slowly. She blinked awake and sat up in the large bed in confusion. “Where am I? Where’s my brother?” Bernard put his hand on her shoulder and used his aura to keep her calm.
“Aaron is here. He’s still asleep. I found both of you and brought you back here where you would be safe.” She nodded slowly. Seemingly satisfied by the knowledge that her brother was nearby.
“Where are my parents?” Bernard considered lying to her, but she’d find out eventually anyways and he needed to gain her trust.
“They’re gone Olivia.” He hoped her young mind would know what he meant by “gone.” He felt her aura spin wildly around her, heavy with grief. She understood. He pressed more firmly with his aura. If he couldn’t prove to the council that he could keep her in check, they would have her killed. Luckily he was able to suppress her aura with his own.
“The bad people that were chasing us last night, what happened to them?” She asked.
“They weren’t bad people Olivia. They were trying to rescue you.” He could feel her hesitation and disbelief in her aura. He would have to tell her more to convince her. “Olivia, before last night, had you ever met anyone besides your parents and brother?” Olivia shook her head. “Do you know why that is?” Olivia shook her head again, slower this time. “Some people, people like you, me, your parents and brother, we’re special. A long time ago, people like us saved the world. That’s why we were made, we’re meant to help people. But if we aren’t trained, if we don’t know how to control our gift, we can be dangerous to normal people.” He saw the guilt run across her face and knew she was remembering the woman in the woods. “That’s why we’re all brought here when we’re born to be trained. But no one knew you were born, your parents hid you and your brother. Those people came to find you so that they could bring you here and teach you to control your gift.” Bernard could feel her confusion. He decided that was enough for now. He’d let her process what he’d told her thus far in a dream. He used his aura to put her back to sleep. He tucked the covers in around her. That had gone about as well as could be expected. He supposed he should try to talk to Aaron now. He feared that wouldn’t go nearly as smoothly.
Aaron got to his feet. One of the white walls disappeared to reveal a man. Aaron reached out with his aura. The wall was still there, he could feel it. He was just being allowed to see through it.
Bernard studied the young man on the other side of the wall. He’d have to tread carefully. A little girl was one thing, but rehabilitating a confused teenager could prove challenging. He had to figure out what, if anything, the boy’s parents had told him. “Hello Aaron. My name is Bernard. It’s nice to meet you.” Bernard felt the boys aura push at the walls around him violently. “I’m sorry, but that won’t work. This room was specifically designed to withstand aura based attacks. I apologize for locking you in there, but I needed to be sure you couldn’t hurt anyone before we have the chance to speak.”
“I have nothing to say to you!” Aaron spat the words at him with as much venom as his young voice could manage.
“Be that as it may, I have much that I need to say to you. Still, it would be easier if I knew how much your parents have already told you.”
“Everything.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It is. So you can save your stupid speech about how you saved humanity with your war, and how the descendants of those soldiers keep the peace now. My parents hated what you made them do.”
“No one here likes violence Aaron. We aren’t monsters. But I won’t pretend we haven’t done things we wish we didn’t have to do in order to uphold the peace.”
“Things like killing my parents?” Aaron accused. Bernard tensed.
“You killed people last night too Aaron, five people in fact. Five people that were just trying to do their jobs. Olivia even killed someone. Not because she meant to, but because she couldn’t control her anger and fear. If it weren’t for your parents denying you the proper training, neither of you would have had to go through that.” Aaron’s aura raged around him thrashing at the walls desperately.
“How can you actually delude yourself into thinking you’re helping us? We’d never hurt anyone before you attacked us!”
“I am not just helping you Aaron, I’m saving you. You may not see it yet, but it’s true. Your sister will adjust to life here in time, and I believe you can too. My insistence on the fact is the only reason the council has allowed you to live. So do both of us a favor, and keep your aura in check.” Bernard turned and left the observation room. Aaron needed time to cool off, and truth be told, so did Bernard.
Bernard sat and waited for hours, but Aaron’s aura never calmed. Bernard clenched his fists in frustration. He’d promised Jeremy and Elaine before he killed them that he’d save their children. Even if he had to keep Aaron locked in there for years, he would keep his promise.
Aaron beat relentlessly against the walls of his small prison. He had to sustain his anger and grief. He needed them to break out of here and find Olivia. He ran through every memory he could conjure up of his parents.
When Aaron was younger, he had walked in on his father kneeling by the bed in prayer. He was reciting names. Aaron waited patiently for his father to finish, but he just kept going and going. It seemed like the names would never end. When his father finally fell silent, Aaron tapped him on the shoulder. He asked his father what the names meant. His father told him they were all names of people he had killed for the council. He recited them every night and asked their spirits for forgiveness. Aaron asked his father if he thought that the spirits would forgive him. His father said that he didn’t think they ever would. Aaron saw his father cry for the first time that night. Aaron decided he would memorize the names too. That way, he could recite them every night as well. He thought that maybe if the spirits wouldn’t listen to his father’s apology, they would listen to his son apologizing on his behalf. Aaron held on to the memory. He couldn’t allow these people to use him and Olivia the same way they had used their parents.
He recited the names again there in the small white room. But this time, he did not ask for their forgiveness. Each name fed his anger and grief. Each name fueled his aura. Each name helped him chip away at his prison more and more until finally, it crumbled.
Bernard listened to Aaron recite the names and choked back tears. He knew those names. He had listened to Jeremy recite them countless times. The longer the list grew, the more Jeremy’s resolve crumbled. One day, when Jeremy and Bernard were out on a mission together, Jeremy was unable to finish the job. He just collapsed and recited those damn names over and over. If it had been anyone else, the council would have had them executed. But Jeremy was one of the Empire’s most prominent figures. Admitting his betrayal would have been perceived as a weakness. So instead, Jeremy and his wife Elaine were simply asked to retire. When Bernard heard Aaron reciting that same list, he realized it was already too late, he couldn’t save him. He had failed his last promise to his friend. When Aaron finally managed to free himself from his prison with a large blast of aura, Bernard didn’t conjure a shield.
Aaron walked into the room that he felt Olivia's aura emanating from. She was fast asleep in a large bed. He scooped her up in his arms. She partially woke up and threw her arms around his neck, burrowing her face into his shoulder. “You came back for me.” She said tiredly.
“Of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?”
“Can we go home now?” she begged softly. He hugged her tighter.
“We’re going to go find a new home, okay? Just you and me.” He kissed her on the forehead.
“I’d like that,” she yawned.
“Good. But you have to do me a favor okay? Until I tell you it’s safe, I need you to keep your eyes closed. Can you do that?” She nodded and clenched her eyes shut tight. Aaron walked them out of the military base they were being held in. He didn’t want her to see the blood and destruction he had caused to find her. It was his burden, not hers. He looked around at all of the lifeless bodies and realized that except for Bernard, he didn’t know any of their names. But that was all right. He had no intention of asking for their forgiveness.
This is my entry for a contest that can be found here:
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