I open my eyes and am aware of a sharp pain in my side. I don't know where I am, or how I got here. I don't know the date or the time or even the year. The worst part of all is that I don't even know my own name. I try to look to the side, but I am strapped down by thick belts around my forehead, neck, wrists, waist, knees, and ankles. I look at the ceiling and see a bright florescent light and a plain white ceiling. I am completely alone.
I hear some footsteps and I close my eyes. If I was sleeping before, they wouldn't want me to be awake now. They speak and one voice sounds familiar. It is the voice of a young man. He sounds about 19. The other is rough and cold. As they speak, I try to remember something, anything, about my life. I can't.
"Is she any better?" the boy asks. I think he is talking about me.
"Her vital signs are stable, but she hasn't spoken or even moved since…" the gruff voice trails off, and I groan in my head. I need to know what happened to me, and who I even am.
"Tell me right away when she wakes up. I miss her. She's all I have left. I lost everything during the… you know…" the boy says. Wow, I think, I meant everything to him? Who is he? Who am I? The sooner I find out, the better. I am snapped out of my thoughts as the gruff voice speaks once again.
"I can't help but think that it's my fault. If I had been there, Victor never would have pushed her that hard. I'm so sorry." the man sobs. "And Angie, she was so young-" his voice breaks off. Who is Angie? The name is familiar, but I can't place it… Oh no. Angie. I think hard and finally remember something. I open my eyes.
"Where's Angie?" I ask, an edge of urgency in my voice.
"Oh my god, you're awake," the boy says in disbelief. "Are you alright, Otsana? We've been so worried-"
"I asked you a question," I say coldly, interrupting him. "Where is Angie?"
I already know the answer, but I ask anyway.
"You don't remember?" he asks. "Victor killed her. He pushed her too hard."
Huge, choking sobs escape from my throat. I know that Angie was a perfect example of an angel. I guess that's where she got her name from. She was so perfect, so talented… But what was her talent? I can't remember. Hopefully I will soon.
CHAPTER 1
Two years earlier
I look around and see my family sitting around on the floor. They are stretching out and exercising. Angie, the youngest, is doing the splits and touching her nose to the floor in front of her. Aiden, the second youngest, is doing push ups. Aaron is lifting weights in the corner of the spacious training room. His dark hair flops in his eyes. He looks at me and smiles and I melt inside. I look back at five year old Angie, who has move positions and is now doing a handstand. I walk over. She sees me and flips over to a standing position.
"Hi, Osa!" she calls as I walk.
"Hi, Angie. How's training been so far?" I ask. We train every day, and our trainer, Victor, is always tough on us. I understand why, being the oldest and all. Well, the almost-oldest. Aaron is five months older, but we're both currently seventeen.
"I worked hard, but he only gave me two breaks." She says. She usually gets at least four, especially for her age. I'll have to talk to Victor, I tell myself. "Otherwise, it was good! I'm working on gymnastics for my free hour." she says cheerfully.
"That's great, Angie. It's my time for training, so I guess I'll see you tonight!" I say as I walk away. I go into the training room and see Victor standing with a clipboard and pen. He is checking off equipment for my training session. "Hey! I'm here!" I call out from across the room. He looks up at me.
"Oh. Otsana, you're late. Again." he says, frowning.
"Sorry," I say. "I was just talking to Angie. Apparently, she only got two breaks today. I wonder how that happened." His face turns beet-red from either embarrassment or rage, I can't tell.
"Well," he says, "we can't have that now, can we?" I shake my head no. Rage, I decide. It was rage on his face. That means that I'll be training extra hard.
"No, we can't," I say indignantly. He smiles evilly.
"Whatever," I say and I walk over to the elliptical for warm-ups. It's my least favorite thing in the gym, so I figure I'll be on it for the entire session.
"Not so fast, Otsana. We're doing the Course." He says, smiling. I groan. I hate the Course more than the elliptical. It's the hardest thing in the gym. I've only ever done it once, and I almost broke both of my legs! I walk over to the entrance. "Oh, and no powers," he adds in a sing-song voice. I sigh and go into a running stance. The bell goes off.
I guess you want to hear about the power thing, right? Well, everyone in my family has what you might call magical powers. We prefer to call them abilities. Angie's ability is arguably the cutest one in the group. She can grow angel wings! With her blonde curls and bright blue eyes, she looks like a real angel. Eight year old Aiden can control fire. It's really cool, because he always sets his hair on fire when he gets mad. He has red hair, and it's so bright that it looks like it's on fire all of the time. Aaron has super strength, and he can lift 2,000 pounds at a time. And me, I'm a shape shifter. Trust me, it sounds a lot cooler than it really is.
The bell is still ringing and I haven't moved. The gate to the Course opens and I just stand at the entrance. I really don't want to go in, but I eventually walk forward into the Course.
I look around at the maze before me. "Left or right?" I ask myself. I know that either way I turn will lead to a killer obstacle, so I decide to go right. Big mistake. In front of me is a huge pit full of spikes. I try to turn around, but all I see is a wall. Victor must have closed the entrance. The wall slowly slides toward me and pushes me to the pit. I slide back as far as I can, then run forward to the edge of the pit and leap over it. Being the highly trained super-human that I am, the 10 foot span of the pit is nothing. I run away from the pit, finally feeling the rush of adrenaline I need.
I spring to the next turn and move left. The next obstacle I encounter is a pool of black water that looks like something to swim laps in. It's too far for me to jump over, even with a running start. I take off the hoodie I have been wearing, and throw it into the water. It sits on the top, and slowly sinks in, as if it is being eaten. I step on, and my foot sinks in quickly from my weight. I decide to run over the substance to the end of the pool.
My feet sink more with every step. By the time I reach the end, I have black goop covering my legs, from my feet to my knees. I look down and see smoke coming from my pants. My shoes have melted to the ground. I slip off my shoes and socks and carefully rip the bottoms of my pants off. I throw the fabric onto the shoes and watch them dissolve. "Acid? Really Victor? Acid?" I shout. I figure he's observing me, so he can hear what I say, and I am right. His voice comes on over the loudspeaker.
"Yes Otsana. Now hurry up. These scores will go directly into your files." he says. I sigh and turn the corner. I see the exit a long way down, but the final obstacle is an industrial lubricant spread on the floor. The best thing about the Course is always the final obstacle. Well really, it's the only good thing about the Course. The first time I did the Course, the final obstacle was a wall made of ice cream. Then again, I had to complete four obstacles that time, which were all planned by Victor. Doctor Richard always designs the final obstacle.
He's the one who created our home, who created us. He is the only adult I've ever really trusted. I've known Victor for just as long, but I still don't trust him. Doctor Richard is a scientist and the only father I've ever had. He raised me since I was a baby. When I turned 13, he asked me if he could use my body for his experiments. He always gave me a choice and told me the consequences of both options. When I agreed, he tried to talk me out of it. He did that for everyone in my family, even Angie. She was three, but she has always been advanced. Back then she had the mindset of a ten-year-old.
We all agreed to his terms and his rules. We all participate in his tests. We all act like a family, and even though we're not related at all, we are. We are our own version of a normal family. We get up in the morning and train, which is a lot better than school, then come back and play poker, which is a lot better than homework. Strangely, Angie always wins. Her brain is much more advanced, while her physical attributes are lacking. Hopefully, that will improve as she grows up, I think.