"This past Friday, November 21, a fire broke out in a home in North Redmond, Washington. The cause of the fire has still not yet been confirmed. However, two body remains were found in the basement. The bodies were confirmed to be the owners of the house, Emma Cox, and her husband Ryan Cox. The cause of death was burning premortem. The couple had no records of having or adopting a child. But we have a witness with us today who is stating otherwise. Mrs. Reynold, thank you for joining us!" The reporter reported.
"Thank you for having me!" Mrs. Reynold politely said.
"So, Mrs. Reynold, what can you tell us about the Cox?"
"Well, I've lived next to the Cox for almost seven years now and have always known them to be such a lovely couple. They are easy to talk to but at times they could also be introverted people. It's none of my business, but the seven years I've lived next door to them, not once did I see them bring people over to their house. I don't recall, not even once, the Cox having a neighbor, friend, or family, over in their home. If I didn't know any better, I would think that they were hiding something in that house of theirs." Mrs. Reynold explained.
"So, the Cox were secretive people. But what did you see on THAT day that proved your suspicions?" The reporter continued to press on.
"My husband and I were still asleep around the time the Cox's home went up in flames. But the sound of ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars woke us up. It was four hours past midnight and we walked outside our house. We saw firefighters storming into the house and a few minutes later came out carrying out a girl with silver hair in rags. I was expecting them to carry out the Cox couple but instead saved a weird-looking girl. I have no idea who that girl was but one thing I know for sure is that Emma and Ryan Cox lived alone."
"Well, there you have it. Who is this girl? Did she have anything to do with the death of the Cox-."
"Hello? Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, the hospital had the T.V on. News about her is blowing up everywhere. Even the hospital's lobby is crawling with reporters. Please tell me you found something on the girl," a man who's in his early forties stood in front of the nursing station was talking on his phone after turning off the television.
"The search is taking longer than I expected. The DNA we extracted from the girl didn't match anyone in any active kidnapping cases or ANY cases. I'm still waiting on the face recognition results. But hey, I'll let you know when I find something on our girl."
"Okay. Hey, I'll call you when I have something on her," he said before ending the call. Standing in front of the nurse's station, he caught sight of a familiar face in a long white lab coat, walking toward him.
"Doctor Wells. How is she doing?" The man asked Dr. Wells, who looked to be in his mid-forties. Dr. Wells greeted him with a youthful, charming smile.
"Since when did you start calling me 'Doctor Wells' James?"
The two have known each other since high school and could be considered brothers. Upon hearing his close friend refer to him as 'Doctor Wells' he found it laughable. James, at first glance, looks like a gangster when he was actually a detective. Detective Cross, James, was well known in his precinct for his high success rate in closing cases.
He stood over 6-feet and 4-inches tall. His obsidian black hair was cut in a buzz cut and his hazel eyes turned into a lighter shade in the light. Being a detective meant that he had to be physically fit, so his figure was both lean and muscular.
"Since I got kicked out of the hospital after beating one of your patients. Now, can we get back to the girl?"
"Sure thing. Our Jane Doe is severely malnourished. No burns or bruising. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except-" Dr. Wells paused.
"What is it?" Detective Cross inquired.
"Walk with me," Dr. Wells said, turning away. Detective Cross quietly followed his lead. Detective Cross knew that there was something wrong.
Dr. Wells guided him to the front of the room where the girl occupied. He watched her through the transparent glass window of the door and Detective Cross followed suit.
"The tests we ran gave us an idea of her age. We believe that she is around the age of nine. Which is beyond belief, considering her physique. But that is not all. Her forearms, back, and abdomen have scars that look to have been inflicted about five years ago, laceration scars. They were clean cuts and from the looks of it, captors' they were all bone-deep. I suspect that she was tortured. Whatever they did to her changed her. Not only physically but mentally too. She never responds when she's asked a question, but she listens very well when we administer her meds or when we get her blood for labs. God knows how long she was tortured for I had various nurses approach her, trying to make her open up. She just sits there and stares at the ceiling or the wall the whole time. But the strangest thing is that she shows no sign of emotional trauma."
Dr. Wells faced Detective Cross and continued with a solemn expression, "When someone at her age goes through what I suspect she went through, they would become anxious, scared. Usually, they don't like being touched and approached by unfamiliar people. But it's not the same in her case. She listens well to our instructions. She doesn't shy away from us touching her. She just doesn't talk."
Dr. Wells could only look at Ares with a look of sympathy.
"You didn't even get her name?" Detective Cross asked with a hopeful look.
"Like I said, she never spoke a word. Not even a peep."
"Is there anything else?"
"No, that's all. She is as healthy as they come. I'm just not sure about her psyche evaluation," Dr. Wells answered honestly.
An indescribable emotion flashed in Detective Cross's eyes and disappeared before Dr. Wells noticed. He glanced at his friend, saying, "Thanks, Ben."
"What happened to Dr. Wells?" He joked but looked at Detective Cross meaningfully.
If there was one thing he knows from being his friend for almost 10 years, it was that he has a short temper when it comes to cases involving child abuse or endangerment.
The last time he was on a family and sexual violence case he was suspended for a month without pay because he attacked the perp who was reported for domestic and child abuse. Right now, he was just too calm for comfort. It's a good thing the two prime suspects are already dead. Because if they weren't, then may God have mercy on their souls.
"Hey! Let me know when you need anything. Anything, James," Dr. Wells said with a worried look before leaving.
Turning his back to Detective Cross, Dr. Wells didn't catch a glimpse of Detective Cross's tightly clenched fists on either side. His expression was stoic, but his eyes had a murderous glint in them. If he could, he would revive the couple and kill them all over again. Instead, he hid his thoughts well before entering the room.
Sunlight shined through the windows, lighting the room up with natural light. On the bed, the girl was sitting up and staring at the wall instead of the ceiling.
The sun reflected on her silver hair and pale skin. In his eyes, she looked like a fragile porcelain doll that might break with a single touch. But if only he knew just how strong she was.
"Hi, sweetie!" He said, slowly approaching her. Ares didn't move an inch when she felt his presence standing at her bedside. She didn't react and just meaninglessly stared at the empty air. Although her line of sight seemed aimless, her thoughts were filled with questions.
That night when everything went up in flames, it proved that the premonition she had was real. She can heal fast, has monstrous strength, enhanced senses, and another ability she never had the chance to use. All of these abilities she gained through experiments, through torture. Yet, what she did that day was something entirely different.
What she could only describe as an illusion came to life. Despite having witnessed it beforehand, being surrounded by flames, she never made a move to save herself. The fire might have not been able to take her life but that wasn't the reason she didn't try to at least save herself.
After being locked up for as long as she could remember, she didn't know what to do. Her mind was only filled with thoughts about the death of the only people she ever came into contact with. She never would have imagined that someone would come to save her.
Because of her captors sudden demise, she was finally able to see the open sky for the first time in her life. She watched the scene of countless people, flocking around the burning house and the view of vehicles that she has only seen in Reyna and Andrew Shaw's [life]. People stared at her, gossiping but the only thing she cared about was that she was FREE. Free from that place. Yet somehow, she feels empty.
Now that she's free, she doesn't know what to do next. The world that she saw through Reyna's and Andrews's [life] was a nightmare. But now that she's experiencing it firsthand, the world feels new and exciting.
Every time she closed her eyes, she could see everything, feel and hear everything from inside of her hospital room. She can hear the sound of people laughing, talking, yelling, and crying. Birds chirping and the sound of their wings flapping. The vibrations of their movements, their presence. She can also feel the warmth of the sun lingering on her skin. It was a new kind of feeling.
Now sitting on a bed, her thoughts stopped on the person standing beside her. Different people came and went. Each time, they attempted to make her talk, but she didn't. She didn't want to. Even police officers came to question her, but she kept quiet the whole time.
She knew that they can't hurt her, but it doesn't mean that they won't. The only thing she knew was that nobody should ever find out about her abilities.
If someone finds out what she can do, her life will go back to when those two people were still alive. Through the nurses and doctors who hoped she would open up to them, she saw what life was like in the 21st century- how the life she never got to experience was like and the knowledge of life she gained through the insight she saw of their lives.
Through Reyna and Andrew Shaw's [life], all she saw and felt was deep hatred and arrogance. It was dark but it didn't mean anything to her. But in other's [life], the world was an adventure and sometimes a struggle. She thought more about the [life] she's seen so far until the man beside her spoke up.
"I'm Detective Cross. Can you tell me your name?" Detective Cross softly asked her.
Although her line of sight wasn't on him, she was listening to everything he was saying.
"You're safe here. You can talk to me." He wanted to make her feel safe and sat down on a chair at her bedside. Ares listened to his every attempt to get her to talk but she didn't budge. An hour passed and Detective Cross was still making small talks by himself. He talked about random things in his life. Ares, who patiently listened to his every word, learned more about him just by listening.
A week passed and Detective Cross still failed to get anything out of the girl. Not even a single word or a sound. His partner, Liam, also hit a dead-end in searching her up in the system with only her blood and face as leads. Again, he came to visit her in the hospital, hoping that she would open up to him this time.
Within the past week, Ares had time to gather her thoughts and in the process detoxed her body of the drugs Reyna and Andrew Shaw injected into her to weaken her strength ability. Now with the drug out of her system, she was bursting with power that it was frightening. When she was alone, she studied and trained herself to use her powers, learn how to reel them back, control them, and appear normal.
So far, that last part isn't working, considering her appearance. She was supposedly nine years old and from what she learned so far nine-year-old children don't look like her.
"Hi, Kiddo! I'm back! Guess what I brought you this time?" Detective Cross came rushing through the door, holding a box in his hands.
"Very persistent," Ares thought.
Every time he visits her, he would bring food with him, trying to bribe her into saying something but it never works out. Since the day they found her inside the burning basement, she never ate. They gave her a whole variety of food, but she never once touched it. In the eight years she was in that basement, the nutrients she needed to survive were usually given to her through an IV, and sometimes they would forget and starve her. So she never tasted real food and didn't feel the need to eat.
The doctors and nurses didn't know about it and were still determined to have her eat. But nothing worked. So, instead, they gave her an IV drip as a substitute which Ares didn't mind at all.
With Detective Cross' failing to find out her identity, his boss started pressuring him to hand her case over to the social worker and child protective services, but he didn't want to. There was something about her that hit his sore spot and after knowing everything that she went through, how can he give up on her?
He didn't want to.
He won't.
"This time I brought you something sweet," he said, bringing the box of brownies in front of him. Despite him loudly announcing his arrival, Ares didn't pay him any attention and listlessly stared outside the window.
"And I brought someone special that wants to meet you," Detective Cross added.
At that moment, Ares's ears perked up at the sound of heels clicking. A woman in a simple knee-length navy blue shirt dress sauntered through the door with a clear plastic bag in her hand. Still, Ares consistently didn't pay them any mind.
Even when she's acting like that Detective Cross didn't feel dispirited. Instead, it made him want to try even harder. Today he wanted to try something different and brought the most important woman in his life. Well, second to his mother. He brought his wife. With her help, maybe they might have a chance of making the girl open up.
"Go ahead," Detective Cross encouraged her.
"Hi, sweetie!" Detective Cross's wife said, approaching the girl sitting on the bed and sat on the chair beside it, "My name is Maya. What's yours?"
As usual, Ares didn't answer.
"Okay. You don't have to say anything. Just listen. I work with kids who are like you. They were taken by people, people who were sick and did bad things to them. Like you, those kids get locked up in dark places and get hurt every day. It's not because they did something wrong. But because the people who put them in there are bad. So just like how it's not their fault, it's not yours. What you went through was tragic and you're safe now," Maya explained with a sad look in her eyes. She slowly reached out, taking the girl's hand in hers.
But Ares flinched at her touch and swiftly removed her hand away from hers. She was surprised at the sudden skinship. But her actions caused Maya's heart to ache. Ares's actions made her think that she was just like the kids she worked with, who feared being touched.
Just how long did those monsters abuse her? Just how long did she have to wait for someone to save her?
As a mother, Maya couldn't imagine just how much pain she went through.
What she didn't know was that Ares was just not used to the feeling of another person's touch. Another reason was that she wasn't confident about her control over her strength. Even after weeks of practice, she still doesn't trust in her ability to control her strength. She was able to control her abilities on inanimate objects, but it isn't the same with humans.
Seeing her reaction, Maya wasn't the least bit discouraged. She tried to reach out to take her hand again. Except, this time she used both hands. Slowly, yet carefully, the tips of her fingers touched the girl's skin and she securely grabbed hold of her hand in both of hers.
This time, Ares didn't once flinch at the feel of Maya's hand. Her gaze fixated outside the window where a clear view of a family of three can be seen chatting with smiles on their faces.
Maya followed the direction of her gaze and when she saw that scene, she lightly squeezed the girl's hand. She's seen many kids in the same situation as her. The look they make when watching families laughing and happy. It was a look of yearning.
If she only knew just how wrong she is. Ares's situation was not like the children she helped and the look on her face wasn't yearning but curiosity. She was curious about everything she saw for the first time.
Ares felt Maya's grip tightened. This time she turned to look down at her hands being held in Maya's. The warmth she felt from her was indescribable. She experienced this same feeling of warmth in the visions of the people's [life] she came into contact with. The love they received from a parent, sibling, family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, or children. Even when she technically lived their lives through a phantasm, she only understood the warmth and never actually felt it first-hand until now. She slowly raised her head and locked eyes with Maya.
Maya felt a chill travel down her spine the moment Ares looked straight at her. She stared into her eyes, dumbfounded. The stark contrast of her silver hair and electric blue eyes took her breath away.
This child in front of her was beautiful.
The contours of her face were delicate yet masculine. But the most intricate feature of her beauty was undoubtedly her eyes. Those strikingly voltaic blue eyes drew in the very essence of her soul, making her feel so exposed. Like she can see through her.
Detective Cross, who was quietly standing at the side, witnessed everything. He was astounded by Ares's sudden change of behavior. She never faced anyone of her own volition since she was rescued, and it made him feel accomplished.
With their gaze locked, Ares saw Maya's [life]. Like other people, she saw the beginning and the end of their life. Only Maya's end was 20 minutes away.