Frozen in the distant past memories they haunt me. Darkness, once my escape now holds only broken dreams and nightmares.

The stairs creaked under foot, banister held lightly in hand, the others long fallen into rest.

The kitchen door swung open before me, my nightmare reared its ugly head.

The monster sat in his high backed chair, his hands placed calmly in his lap, "And where have you been?" his voice never rose above a whisper, a hiss drawn out from between his teeth.

"Work-I- I've been working late sir." My head bowed before the man as he rose to his feet.

The slap rang out in the kitchen, shattering the peace that held the orphanage in its grip.

"You've gone to fair now you little pest." Silver flashed in his hand, pain lanced from my stomach, crimson flowed and then sweet release.

'I am free'.

…..

Doors slammed as a pail blonde walked up the creaking old stairs of the orphanage, suit case dragged slowly behind her.

The blue eyed female staggered as the wheel caught and she dragged it from where it had snagged.

The start of an engine was her only warning as her social worker slammed on the gas and sped away, 'not even a good bye'.

Her name was Elise Anna Lennox, her mother and father had passed away fighting in Chicago when the 'aliens' had attacked.

She remembered the slamming of the front door after a sudden phone call had shattered the peace in the house, she wasn't in the room to hear the conversation but whatever was said had sent her parents into a sudden frenzy, dinner left cooking on the stove as they stormed out of the house jumped into a black SUV and disappeared from sight.

She had begun to panic when they had suddenly left without her, the panic grew as days past and she heard neither hide nor tail of them, and then the knocking on the door had broken her from the clutches of a break down.

The man standing just beyond the doorway delivered her breaking blow, shattering to pieces she numbly begun to pack for the orphanage.

It wasn't 3 days later that she was deposited on the door step of some falling down orphanage, a suitcase clutched in numb hands.

The creek of old floor boards, the whistling of wind through rotting timber, the only sounds that echoed out from the orphanage.

Her clenched fist descended down upon the crumbling wooden door.

The orphanage lay on the outskirts of a small desert town. The council seemed to have forgotten about the orphanage with its falling walls and over grown yard.

The door creaked ominously as a pail looking man opened it to the girl.

A warm smile descended upon his lips, "Welcome, you must be Elise, I'm Mr Roberts, come in!"

Elise shuffled past the pail man, his hand brushed down her side as she dragged her suitcase over the threshold.

Jumping away from the happy man, she held back a shudder as a greedy look past over his eye's.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Beckoning to Elise, the man hobbled up creaking stairs. Elise trailed behind slowly, glancing back at the closed door she had the sinking feeling of being in a cage.

Doors past them as the pair walked down a twisting hallway, young eyes peeked out at the pair as the past, a sharp glance from the man had the trailing eyes disappearing from the cracks.

A door creaked as a boy slipped out to stand in the hallway, melting green eyes glanced over the girl before flashing to look blankly at Mr Roberts.

"Back in your room Mark!" the sharp voice echoed down the hallway.

Elise glanced at the once smiling man, his eyes cold and hard glared at the boy as a laugh chocked from between Marks lips.

A crazed smile flittered over pale pink lips before he disappeared back into the darkened room.

"It would be best if you avoided him." An unknown voice shattered the silence that had fallen upon the pair after Mark's departure.

A tall man wearing jeans and an old rock band t-shirt rounded the corner and smiled warmly at Elise.

"I'm Gram, I'm in charge of the orphanage, Mr Roberts, you can go now." Directing a smile at the grumbling man, he retreated into the shadows of the orphanage after one last fleeting glance at the scared teen.

"Don't mind the old cook, he spends too much time on his own." Elise turned to face Gram.

Continuing down the hallway, they came to a stop before a darkened door. "This will be your room, you won't have a room-mate for the time being. So in you go and get some sleep."

Smiling once more at Elise he retreated down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

Elise pushed open the door and stepped into the dusty room.

Cobwebs decorated the corners, dust floating lazily through the air. Holding her breath Elise dropped her suitcase just inside the door and threw open her windows.

Looking up past torn curtains and cracked glass, Elise gazed up at the full moon.

Sitting in the silence of the night, Elise begun to cry.

Silent tears traced paths down her cheeks, she sat upon the window seat and gazed at the darkened landscape.

She once had a family, her mother and father had always longed for a child of their own, someone to love and cherish, that was when Elise was born.

Troubles had come from the birth of Elise, leaving her mother unable to conceive any more children, but they had been happy with what they had received.

Elise had Aunties and Uncles that lived within the state, but they didn't want her was the story she had been told.

Reaching for her neck she grasp a gold necklace and drew it out from where it had fallen beneath her shirt.

Flipping open the clasp on the side, the smiling faces of her parents gazed back at her.

She fell asleep that night leaning against the window as the dulled moonlight shinned upon her sleeping form.

….

Major Lennox sighed as the coffin was lowered beneath the earth. This war had robbed them all as he glanced at all the family members that surrounded the graves of Lillian Marie Lennox and Dave Michael Lennox, his younger brother.

His wife, Sarah, stood beside him, his little girl slept leaning against her mother's shoulder, a small fist lying against her mother's beating heart.

Whipping his head around to look at the graves of his brother and his brother's wife he took out his phone and walked away from the funeral.

Flipping open the black phone he dialled a number before placing the ringing phone to his ear.

"Yo Epps here."

"Hey Epps, it's Lennox, I need a favour?"

"Sure, bro, what can the Epps man do for ya?"

"I need you to find out what happened to Lillian's and Dave's daughter, Elise."

"Wait, five seconds….. She's been put into the foster system bro, say's here she was shipped out of state to some little old town in the middle of nowhere. The foster carer on site had requested that she be put in his care, didn't say why."

"Thanks Epps, I owe you."

Hanging up Lennox turned to find his wife standing behind him.

"We can't abandon her." Sarah stood gazing at her husband before she nodded and turned to head for Ironhide.

"Well come on then, the sooner we find her the better!" Lennox smiled slightly and raced after his wife.

Climbing into Ironhide, Lennox reached out and grasp Sarah's hand, "Thank you."

Sarah smiled at her husband and squeezed his hand, "She's your niece, and we can't just stick her in the system and be ok with that."

Ironhide sat silently listening to his charges talk. The curiosity grew too much for him so he spoke out softly, as to not wake up the sleeping sparkling.

"What are you planning?" Lennox glanced at the dash as he put his seat belt on.

"We are going to adopt my niece." Ironhide gunned to life as he researched the meaning on the World Wide Web.

"Why would you wish to adopt the youngling?" The question rolled out of the speakers as they road down the winding high way.

"She is family, you never leave family behind."

…..

The morning light filtered through the cracked glass as Elise stirred awake from the clutches of sleep.

Her blue eyes glanced out the window to the dew covered lawn.

'It wasn't a dream.' Her thoughts turned sour as the words flittered threw her brain.

Rising, she stretched out her stiff muscles and wandered towards her suitcase.

Dust swirled up around her as she walked across the creaking boards.

The zipper gave way before her as she pulled random clothes from the bags confines.

Dressed for the world she opened the door and slipped out silently into the hallway.

A loud slap rang out in the hallway as a child collapsed across the floor at the end of the long hall.

"Pathetic little, BRAT, I told you to move!" the voice of an angered man rang out around the corner as the child whimpered and dove for cover in the corner.

Elise raced forward as loud footsteps could be heard disappearing down the opposite hall.

Coming up to the child, Elise bent down and wrapped her arms around the little boy, picking him up and glancing down the hall.

Children crept out from the shadows and stood before the older girl.

Elise gasp as she stared down at the little kids that seemed to cower before her.

Some sporting black eyes and bleeding lips, others wrapped their hands around forming bruises, tears staining their pail cheeks.

Elise's eye's filled with tears as she beckoned the children to follow her.

Slipping into her room, the shuddering boy still held lightly in her hands, Elise watched as children ranging from 4 to 10 years old filed into her small room.

Laying the boy upon her bed, she flipped open her suitcase and drew out her mother's beloved first aid kit.

Flipping open the catches, Elise had a brief flash back to when her mother had placed her on the kitchen bench and begun to explain each of the items held in the box and what they all did.

Smiling fondly at the memory, Elise turned to the boy laid out on her bed and begun to clean up his split lip.

The day wore on as Elise mended all the children's wounds and offered warm smiles to the crying children.

Later, when Elise lay down upon her bed, everything all cleaned up, a soft knock sounded on the door.

Turning her head she watched as a little girl slipped in and shut the door behind her.

Slowly walking forward the girl slipped in beside Elise and hugged her arm.

"I'm scared." The girl, barley 4 years old gazed up at Elise with her crystal green eyes.

"It's alright, I'll protect you." Elise hugged the girl to her and glanced up as her door opened yet again.

Little boys and girls, walked in to the room carrying blankets and pillows.

Some came to rest beside Elise, while the older ones found spots on the floor and fell into sleep.

Elise watched as all the little kids fell asleep around her.

Laying back she glanced at her door as it once again opened.

Mark stood just beyond the threshold of the room, tears fell down his face as he wandered into the darkened room.

Laying down Mark looked up at Elise and mouthed silently to her 'this is his fault, he lies.'

Elise rose up on her elbows and mouthed back 'who?'

Mark shuddered and pulled the blanket over his head.

Elise sighed and lay back against her pillow, looking up at the ceiling she fell into a dreamless sleep as the soft breathes of children echoed out around her.

R&R thank you for reading