The guards were going in one by one. From the 10th in line, Abby was now the 1st in line.
"Come on! It is your turn now.", said the guard. Abby was frozen in one place, staring at the detector. The guard kept telling her to pass through. Abby was trying to think of something, a plan, an escape route that might help her survive. But she was standing on the devil's doorstep with nowhere to turn.
"Pass in idiot!", shouted one of the guards standing in line. Abby took a deep breath and gulped. Taking a heavy leap of faith, she stepped in. Her eyes were closed tight, waiting for the scanner to go red and bleep. Her mind was imagining the devastating torture that would happen to her afterward. Her heartbeat increased and she began to sweat. The tension in the air was so strong when all of a sudden, the scanner went green and the lady said,
"Not fairy.".
Abby opened her eyes and looked back. She was left speechless and shocked but not in a good way. Her mind was confused with what happened right now. As glad as she was to pass through, she was starstruck by the scanner going green. Was Abby not a fairy?
This event had caught her totally off guard, she tried to forget about it for a minute and went to the cells. She left this mystery unanswered just like the other mysteries about her. Abby had not been in the base before, it was her first time there. She was not aware of the cameras, the directions, nothing. She was like a baby fish stranded in the middle of the sea, trying to understand what was going on around her. A few guards near her were going to the cells, Abby followed them there. She tried to keep her guard up and her head down as she followed the guards. She succeeded in being unnoticed. Abby made her way through a hallway and then down the stairs to see the entire fairyland trapped inside the cells. Each cell had 5 fairies in them. Abby was trying to walk straight but the weight of the gun was lowering her down. Each guard was given a cell to guard 24/7 so there was no way Abby could just open these cells. She walked till she found the cell in which her parents were captivated.
Abby started staring in each cell trying to find the cell with her parents. In doing so she saw Dory in one of the cells, tied with chains along with Miss Megan. Abby was relieved to see her best friend fine. However not all the fairies were as lucky. The guards were pulling the fairies out one by one and taking them to the chambers next door. The cries and screams of the fairies filled the atmosphere. Abby stood by the chamber door and saw splashes of blood on the walls. Knives, saws, and sharp instruments, covered in blood. The blood and the mess made Abby gag, they made sure that the fairies were being tortured with the highest level of pain. The unbearable sounds coming from the chamber sickened Abby's heart. She tried to concentrate and went on to find her parent's cell. She kept her head straight and rolled her eyes to the side to spot her parents. She wasn't sure if both her parents would be together but by the grace of God, they were locked up in the same cell. The cell they were in was far away from the chamber which meant that they still had time. the unlucky thing was that Miss Swan was locked up with Vivian and Joe.
Abby stopped when she reached the cell. She looked at the guard and said,
"Go take five, I will take up this position now.", said Abby in a manly voice. The guard moved from his place and walked away,
"Thanks, buddy.", said the guard as he tapped her shoulder. Abby stood beside the cell and faced straight. She couldn't talk to her parent because several other guards were standing around.
Vivian, Joe, and Miss swan were tied up in shackles. Miss swan had her head down, while Vivian and Joe were finding the courage to talk to her. Abby stood there silently listening to what they were fighting about.
"Nora?", said Vivian. Miss Swan ignored Viviana and kept her face on the floor.
"Nora?", she said again. Miss Swan replied in frustration, "Don't..... call me that. Nora is dead. You killed her!".
Vivians eyes were full of shame and regret.
"I am not sorry for what I did to you. I did what I had to.", said Vivian.
"What you had to? I was your daughter and no parent does this to their child.... I was only 17.", sobbed Miss Swan. Abby was shocked to hear Miss Swan call Vivian her mother. It took her a little time to figure things out and then she realized that Miss Swan is her sister.
"You used me..... That is what you did. You used me!", fought Miss Swan. Joe tried to talk to her but she would reply with a bomb.
"I did the right thing.", said Vivian.
"Killing your daughter to create a new one is not right. Torturing her is not right! Throwing her in the woods IS NOT RIGHT!", screamed Miss Swan.
"Don't lecture me. I always hated you. Because of you, my daughter died.", cried Joe.
"Your daughter died because of you. You were the ones driving, not me. You crashed the car, not me. You guys were too selfish to take the blame on yourself. So, you took it all on me. The guilt of killing your newborn consumed you and you sought asylum by blaming everything on me. Did that give you peace?", argued Miss Swan, "What do you think how Abby will react when she finds out you are not her real parents. How you abducted her and made her your own after your child died.", she continued.
Abby was still on the door, listening to them fight. Abby's eyes flooded with tears when she found out that Vivian and Joe were not her real parents. She was ashamed to know that her parents were nothing but criminals.
"Abby... is... my... daughter. Okay? SHE IS MINE!", said Vivian. Miss Swan chuckled and said, "Keep living a lie Vivian. Deep down, all of us know that this, not the truth. You know it, and yet you continue to disprove it. Shame, pure shame.".
"Who is going to tell her this? You?", chuckled Vivian, "She will never believe you.".
"Oh, I will make her believe me. In the end... truth conquers all.", said Miss Swan.
"I should have buried you when I had the chance to.", said Joe.
"Oh, you should have. But..... you did me the kind favor and burnt me alive so that someone could help and rescue me.", said Miss Swan.
"I am glad you will die here today Nora, once again.", said Vivian.
"Don't be so happy Vivian, you will be next.", replied Miss Swan.
The fight between them was getting intense and the truth was unraveling itself slowly.
"Richard was right calling Abby 'the experiment'.", said Miss Swan, "Richard was never the evil one, the council was. wasn't it?".
There was a moment of dead silence in the cell. Vivian looked at Miss Swan with a pathetic expression on her face. Miss Swan gave her a sweet smile to lit her up inside even more.
"Richard was wrong.", said Joe.
"Richard was not wrong.... You were. He was trying to expose the mess you guys were making. He disapproved of your ways... Your wrong ways. And when he threatened to expose all of you in front of the town, you made him look bad and banished him. You tortured him, destroyed him until he couldn't stand up on his knees. You left him alone in the depths of the forest.... So, the only ones to be blamed for whatever is happening today... is the council. It is on you. The suffering, the bloodshed, the death... all on you.", said Miss Swan, "Yet another daughter dies because of your wrongful actions.",
"Stay AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!", screamed Vivian.
"I would never hurt Abby. I never did. I loved her. I followed her around to make sure she was safe... The hallucinations she thought she was having, was me trying to protect her, warn her..... about you.". continued Miss Swan.
Vivian gazed at her in disgust. Joe tried to keep her quiet and calm.
"You bastard! I will kill you! How dare you set eyes on my daughter.", said Vivian.
"I was also your daughter. I was your real daughter, unlike Abby. Then... my question is.... why did you do that to me? Why did you start hating me so much?", asked Miss Swan weeping.
"We were out there that night..... looking for you. You were not there. I grabbed my baby and drove around to find YOU when our car crashed. I was able to heal your father and me but my baby..... my baby was gone before I could save her. It is because of you. If you didn't go out all alone in the middle of the night, we wouldn't have to come and find you.", sobbed Vivian. Miss Swan stared at her in aversion,
"Do you have any idea how STUPID you sound? Anyone listening will call you an idiot... Your reasons are not reasons, these are just excuses.", said Miss Swan, "Excuses you use to heal yourself.... Face the truth, Vivian, for once... just admit... you were wrong. (she paused) Tell Abby the truth and take her to her real parents before it is too late.". she added.
Abby had figured out the entire truth about herself and at that point she thought, Vivian was right..... She didn't want to know the truth. She won't be able to look at her parents the same way. All these years, her parent, her grandpa, Rob, the council, hid the truth from her, lied to her about her existence. Abby began to think about her real parents, how they might have felt when they found out that her daughter had been taken away from her. Although Abby got all the answers to her what's and how's, she wanted to know all the why's. Why did they do this? What did they get from it? Her mind was exploding with confusion and sorrow.
Abby's helmet hid her entire face and her painful tears. Abby slowly turned around to face her parents. No one noticed her standing there until she sniffed.
They were confused as to why the guard kept staring at them and sniffing. Abby lifted a little portion of her helmet so that they could see who she was.
"Abby?", said Joe. Abby's face was wet with tears. She exhaled out and sobbed, "Why?".
"Honey, I will explain everything but first, tell me, are you alright?", said Vivian as she got up to walk towards the cell. Abby pulled away from her hand and stood away.
"No... you don't get to do this again, mom. You don't..... Is this what all of you hid from me?", cried Abby, "Who are my real parents' mom and dad? What is my real identity? Am I even a fairy... because.... because I walked through a fairy detector and said I was not..... I guess... You could change my appearance but not my blood.", said Abby.
"Once all of this is over, I will talk to you all myself.", said Abby as she lowered her helmet and walked away. She gave Miss Swan a pleasing look as she proceeded towards Richard.
"Abby, where are you going? Abby don't.", whispered Joe and Vivian.
Abby was least bothered with what they had to say and continued her way out of the cells and into the hallways.
Devastated by the truth about her and her family, Abby approached the next hallway in tears. She went through every hallway, every room, to locate Richard, but was unsuccessful in doing so. There was only one last floor left to check. Abby went upstairs and heard faint footsteps approaching the hallway. She stood up straight and walked like a soldier. She heard a few humans speaking indistinctly. Abby continued on her path and was encountered by Richard and the general,
"I will talk to him again.", said Richard as he walked away in anger with the general beside him.
"What makes you think he will talk?", asked the general.
"O, he will talk, but first let me find her granddaughter Abby.", said Richard. Abby, who just walked right past her, shivered with fear. Chills ran down her body as she heard Richard call out her name. She was only hoping that Richard or the general wouldn't call her now. The general and Richard left the hallway. Abby's sighed in relief and went upstairs to the general's office. The door was already open. Abby snuck inside, making sure nobody saw her. She closed the door behind her and started looking around. It was difficult for her to find the object because, one, she had no clue what she was looking for, two, she wasn't sure if the item was in the general's office and, three, the weight of the uniform and the gun was killing her. She first went through the general's cupboard, hoping she could find a locked box or something. She turned the entire place upside down but failed to locate the item,
"Where are you?', said Abby, "What are you?", she said to herself. She continued her way to the general's desk. She examined the desk and the place but, there was nothing that resembled the keyhole of the key. Abby frowned and kicked the trash can. Just then a guard came up in the office,
"What are you doing in here soldier.", asked the guard. Abby was terrified and didn't have the answer to his question.
"What are you doing here? I am not going to ask you again.", said the guard pointing his gun at Abby.
"I was... I was umm. Looking..... for something. The general asked me to.", answered Abby absolutely terrified by his tone. She was intimidated by his gun. Although she had her own gun, she did not know how to operate one.
"I am not buying this crap.", said the guard, "Turn around and put your hands up, NOW!". Abby was shaking with fear, she placed her gun on the floor and kicked it towards the guard. She put her hands in the air and noticed a bag hanging from his shoulder. Abby suspected something valuable to be in the box. The guard noticed how Abby kept staring at him and the bag. He looked at the bag and said,
"So you were looking for this, huh?". Abby gulped and remained silent. The guard approached her and just as he was about to grab Abby's hand, she flung her leg and hit the guard's face, forcing him on the ground. She took this opportunity and ran towards the bag. The struggling guard on the floor grabbed her leg and caused her to trip on the floor. Abby grunted and kicked the guard in his face.
"You....", screamed the guard as he covered his eyes. She reached out to grab the bag and looked inside to find a box. It looked like any other antique box but what separated it from normal was that it had Martha's signature on top. Abby figured this might be the right box. She flipped it and saw that the key matched the keyhole. The brown rusty box had wigs carved on the top and Martha's signature on the bottom. Abby picked up the box when the guard jumped from behind and tackled her down the ground. An intense fight between the guard and Abby broke out. Abby was no match for the guard's strength. The guard took Abby's helmet off and said,
"You are a fairy?". He grabbed Abby's neck and squeezed it to the best of his ability. Abby was using all of her strength while fighting that monster. She coughed and fought to free herself. Abby was on the verge of choking to death. She couldn't distract or sprinkle fairy dust in his eyes because the guard was wearing a helmet. Abby thought that this was her last moment, memories and saying of her friends and family ran through her mind. She remembered what Miss Ginny taught her class. She said that everyone has powers, you just have to dig a little deep down to find them. Abby began to put this statement into action and tried hard to use her powers to push the guard away. She rested her hand on his chest and focused on her strength, her power, and what she is capable of.
Abby dug deep inside of her to locate her strength. And just as she was about to pass out, a jolt of lightning ran through her body and she felt a new force inside of her.
She pushed the guard off of her and he went flying away to the other corner of the office. The guard hit the back of his nick on the glass table and passed out. At first, Abby laid on the floor, coughing and trying to get up when she saw that the guard had stopped moving. She approached him as loads of blood began to flow out from the back of his neck. Abby was petrified. She knew what she did was in self-defense. She leaned a little closer to the body and checked his heartbeat. It was gone. Abby whimpered away from the dead guard and put on her helmet. It was not her intention to kill the guy, she just wanted to grab the box and leave. But Abby should have been aware by now that the path she was on wasn't going to get any easy. She had to live with the guilt and pressure of multiple deaths to free her world. She quickly opened the box with the key before anyone came in.
"Oh my God.", said Abby. "This.... this is the last of the fairy wands.", she laughed. She stared at the wand in complete amazement. Abby had never seen one because they were destroyed due to misuse. But it looks like this one survived. It couldn't be less than a magical moment, holding the magic wand of the great Martha left Abby shook. She closed the box and placed the key, along with the wand in her pocket. Abby was on the floor when another guard came in. He saw Abby next to a dead body and raised his gun at her.
"Move away now!", said the guard. He barged into the office and ran towards the dead guard.
"What did you do?", screamed the guard.
"I... I..... walked in and he was dead. Someone left the hallway when I came in, I will go and check.", said Abby.
Abby took this opportunity and made a run for it. She didn't care about her surroundings; she ran and ran until she was out of sight. She kept looking back to see if any guards were running behind her. But in focusing on what was behind her, she didn't notice anything in front of her. Abby was running at full speed when she bumped into Richard.
"Watch where you are going fool!", said Richard as he grabbed Abby and swung her across the wall.
'Don't you know how to treat a KING, you rat!", he said. Richard threw Abby across the hall when he noticed a metal object cling to the floor. The wing key fell from her pocket onto the floor. Abby searched the ground and saw the key lying on the floor. At that moment, she knew she had messed up. Abby gulped and looked at Richard with a hunted look on her face.
Richard looked at Abby and then the key. He was left surprised.
"Well, well, well, this might be my lucky day.", said Richard as he flew towards the key. The look on Richard's face was nothing less than a greedy wolf. He looked at the key in amusement, it was as if it was not a key, he was staring at but heaven. His eyes locked at the key as he made his way to grab it. Abby did not attempt to grab the key because she had already opened the box. She let Richard have the key and make a fool out of himself. Richard gave an evil laugh when he grabbed the key in his hand. His eyes began to blink faster than usual and his wings began to flap vigorously. Richard was completely lost in the key, rejoicing his win. Abby tried to get up and walk away when Richard clawed her by his nails and brought her closer to his face,
"Why were you running with my key?", growled Richard. Abby did not try to free herself from Richard because that would have gotten her into more trouble.
"He took Abby's helmet off and scratched her face with his long, nasty nails.
"You? What are you doing here alive?", said Richard. Abby was panting and grunting heavily. She was severely injured. Richard knocked her down and called out the guards to take her to the cells.
"GUARDS! GUARDS! Take this one to the cells and lock her up!", he screamed. The guards grabbed Abby and took her to the cells. They threw her in one of the cells. Apparently, that cell was the one in which Dory and Miss Megan were held captive.
"Abby!", screamed Dory as she rushed to grab her. Dory held her and hugged her tightly,
"Oh my.... oh my, I thought I lost you.", sobbed Dory. Her eyes were all watery and she couldn't be happier to see Abby. Dory had an enthusiastic and affectionate smile on her face. Her bad mood was lit up when she saw Abby. Abby hugged her back,
"I missed you so much.", said Abby in tears. This was not the time to cry out and express their love for each other. It wouldn't be long before Richard figured out that the box was empty.
"We will catch up later but I really need to get out.", said Abby.
Abby looked around and saw her grandfather's crew in the next cell.
"Grandpa!", said Abby, "Oh thank God you are all okay.". She was over the moon to see grandpa and the crew alive and well. Nothing satisfied her more than the well fair of her loved ones. Abby quickly crawled over to the next cell and told grandpa about the wand she had found.
"How did you find that?", asked Grandpa.
"I will explain everything later, now is not the time. Just tell me how to use it.", said Abby in a rush. Grandpa told Abby how to operate the wand and use it. But he warned her that the wand contains uncomprehensive power and it could easily be misused.
"Be careful Abby.", said grandpa.
Dory approached Abby and said, "So what is the plan?".
Abby asked the fairies in the cells to jump out and attack once the cells were unlocked. Dory whispered this to the cells beside her and they spread the message. When all the fairies inside the cell were aware of what they were supposed to do, Abby continued to do her job. She took a deep breath and looked at grandpa,
"I believe in you, kiddo. We all do. You can do this.", said grandpa.
Abby shook her hand and waved the wand in her hand to disable the weapons. The cell room seemed normal at first, but when the bullets from the guard's gun began to pour down on the floor like hail, confusion arose.
Abby then unlocked the entire cell with the wave of her wand and opened the doors. She broke all the shackles and said,
"CHARGE!". The fairies pushed the door open and jumped out on the guards. They attacked them, hit them with whatever object they found in their hands. The entire scene felt as if an ocean had flooded into the cell room, taking their life. The fairies were successful in breaking out of the cells. They walked around to find and reunite with their families. Cheerful laughs and smiles went around the room. Abby walked on a higher platform and said,
"You guys did an amazing job! But we still have to get out of the base. Listen to me! Stay together and barge, just keep pushing and pushing through, don't stop! Use those powers embedded deep inside of you and show those nasty humans what a strong species we are!". Abby's speech hyped the fairies. It restored their faith, strength, and hope to fight for their freedom. Vivian and Joe flew out of their cage and ran out to find Abby. They saw her on top of the box with the wand, persuading the fairies to fight. Their hearts were filled with proudness at that moment. The way she led the fairies, the way she brought back their fallen ambition. They were extremely pleased to see their daughter lead this way. Vivian ran towards Abby as she got down from the boxes,
"Abby!", she said.
"Not right now, mom.", said Abby. Vivian grabbed her hand and took Abby in her arms.
"I am sorry.", she sobbed, "please forgive me.", she said.
Abby gave a comforting look to her mom and said,
"Nothing can comprehend how angry I am with you. But I guess. I could put it aside for now and fight like a team.", said Abby, "But we are not over this. I will talk to you about this.", she continued.
The fairies stood strong with each other. Abby, Vivian, Joe, Dory, Grandpa, and his crew were leading the fairies.
Richard was in the office opening the box with the key.
"I got it, I finally got it.", he laughed. "The moment has come.".
Richard's hopes were tremendously high. He thought he had found what he has been looking for, for years.
He inserted the key into the keyhole and twisted it,
"At last, the wand is mine!", screamed Richard in happiness. He opened the box to see nothing but dust.
His hopeful smile turned into a nightmare,
"WHAT! WHERE IS MY WAND!", he screeched. Richard growled in anger and trashed everything around him in frustration.
"Get the girl AND BRING ME BACK MY WAND!", said Richard. The guards stormed the hallways and made their way to the cells, unaware of the trouble they were going to be facing. the fairies were all geared up and ready to fight. They were ready to tear apart these walls brick by brick and avenge the blood of the lost fairies.
The thumping of the footsteps got intense with time. The fairies were prepared to face these monsters one last time. Nothing could explain the suspense and the pressure that spiraled in the atmosphere. With courage and bravery came fear and intimidation. They were fighting on a path with no return. Were the fairies going to be killed under the developed armory of the humans, or will they fight to see another day?
The guards were getting closer and closer to the cell chambers. They were behind the cell doors, signaling each other to open fire at the fairies. The guards nodded and took their positions.
Two guards were standing at the door, while the rest of the unit was waiting behind them. Any minute now the soldiers were going to attack and get open fire at the fairies.
"1, 2, 3, go!", whispered one of the guards at the door. On his mark, the group of guards charged in the cells with their guns locked and loaded,
"HANDS UP IN THE AIR!", shouted the leading guard.