The Beginning

It's the year 2019, a little girl cowers in the corner, as she watches the fire consume her house. Her coughing was the only thing that can be heard inside. Did her parents forget her? Is anyone coming to save her? Akaisha waited and waited, until her eyes began to droop. She was beginning to lose consciousness. Then the room began to teeter. The floors were becoming weakened by the raging flames. With her last conscious moment, she cried out in a quivering voice. “P-PLEASE SAVE ME!”

Little Akaisha lost her battle with consciousness just as the sound of splitting wood echoed through the room. A person clothed in light, breathable, fire resistant clothing and helmet carrying an ax stepped through the door. They thought they had heard the soft voice of a child. Soon they found her, the little girl curled in the corner clutching on to her stuffed tiger.

Akaisha was taken to a facility to receive life saving treatments. The person continued to visit her even wearing their helmet just in case she caught only a glimpse of them dressed in that fashion. The little girl was unconscious for several days. The doctors were all beginning to think she would never recover. Then one day as if by magic she woke up. Her violet eyes blinked repeatedly to adjust to the blinding light of her room. That day the person in the helmet came in was the day her life changed.

The doctors and nurses all rushed in to check her vitals. Akaisha looked at them frightened by what was going on. She was only a child of seven years old. The only comfort she had with her was the white stripped tiger she was holding on to when she lost consciousness. The lead doctor asked her a series of questions to help aid the officers in the fire that happened at her house. Each question was answered quietly, almost as if she hadn’t spoken at all. She told them her name was Akaisha Morningstar, she was seven years old. Her parents were Galena and Marshall Morningstar. She went on to tell them her address and birthday. The person in the helmet never moved only listened intently to her. Everything they had already learned about her was being confirmed by the little girl. The parents were out of the picture permanently but Akaisha didn’t know that and will never know what they did to save their own skin.

After the hospital staff left it was just the two of them. The person in the helmet walked up to the side of her bed and finally took off the helmet. Underneath was an androgynous person. Their beauty was unmatched by anyone Akaisha had seen. “Who are you?” The person only smiled at her before taking her hand in theirs. They didn’t speak to her at all. They just held her hand for a little while then left. The feel of their gloved hand was almost a comfort to her. Akaisha watched them leave with a confused expression on her tiny face. She seen them talking with her doctors then eventually leaving.

A nurse came in to check on her once more. She was an extremely positive person. “You’re incredibly lucky to be alive. It seemed no one was at home when the fire started.” Those were all the words she spoke before being called out. Akaisha was confused by this. Where were her parents? Why haven’t they come to check on her? How did the fire start? These were all questions that should never have been on the mind of a little girl but yet here they are.

Akaisha stayed in the hospital for a couple of weeks before the person that wore the helmet took them to their home. Their home was a large and cold place. There was no warmth reverberating from the outside or even the inside of the home. It was as if the home never knew the touch of children. Never knew what it was like to be lived in. The person showed Akaisha around the house before leading her down to the basement. There was something down there that only the two of them would ever know about. The person gestured for her to sit on the tiny cot in the corner. The room was taken up by a lab. Machines whirled and hummed all around them. The person picked up a giant needle filled with an orange liquid and walked towards her. She was scared but there was no where for her to go. The person grabbed hold of her arm and shoved the needle inside, injecting the liquid in her. Whatever it was caused Akaisha little body to shake violently. Her eyes closed tight against the rush of hot fluid entering her system. The person finally let her go only to grab a tablet to record her reaction to the serum.