A/N: This is the first chapter of the final installment to the Angela Parker series. The title might change, since I haven't finalized it yet, but I wanted to get this out. Very vague and I don't wanna spoil anything so here ya go! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Flashes

A little girl, just turned the age of seven, sat in the corner of a white and grey washed room with her knees to her chest and her bruised arms wrapped around them. There were a few toys like building blocks and coloring books scattered around her in the room. This little girl didn't want to play though; she wanted her mommy to make the ouchies go away. The girl's black hair hung in her face as she rested her head on her knees, watching the door for someone to come in with her lunch. There was no clock in the room, but everyday was nearly the same for her.

The door opened and a woman with shoulder length hair came in. She had on what she usually wore: a grey long sleeved shirt, brown pants, and a pair of large boots. "Sweetie," the woman said in a kind voice, "I'm sorry but you can't have lunch today."

The little girl's head bolted up. "Why not?" Her childish tone sounded engulfed with sadness.

"Well, you to do your special thing again so daddy and the others can see," she told the girl as she squatted down in front of her.

The girl's eyes were sorrowful. "But I already did mommy. Why do I have to keep doing it? Hasn't everybody seen?"

The woman sighed. "Angie… Can you just do it for me, huh? Just this once?"

Angie frowned. She recalled how she always said that. It was never just once. It was always five or six times before she could go back to her room. Reluctantly, she nodded.

The woman ruffled her hair and said, "That's my girl," with a big smile. Angie liked this smile. She smiled back and stood up, following the woman out of the room.

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She stood in the middle of a room, looking up at big glass windows that many people were sitting behind. Her mommy told her they all wanted to see her special thing again. It was the second time today she would be doing it and Angie wasn't happy about it. She frowned as the usual voice over the loud speaker said, "Go on Angie. You can show us now."

Angie searched the faces for her mother's. She caught sight of her and smiled, but there was no smile in return. Angie frowned and dropped her head to look at the white checkered floor and her worn black shoes. For a moment she fidgeted before shutting her eyes and feeling her body move over a few feet. She didn't want to look at her mommy when she wasn't smiling, so she looked for another familiar face in the crowd. When she looked up, everyone behind the glass was talking and buzzing. Angie wondered if it was because of her special thing. Maybe some people haven't seen it. She smiled a little before the door opened and a man with black hair walked in. He had a small goatee growing and dressed just like everyone else. Angie ran over to him and leaped for a hug. "Daddy!" she shouted. The man caught her and said, "I'm gunna take you back to the room, okay?"

Angie nodded. She loved when her daddy came in and sat with her for a few minutes in her room. She would show him all the pretty pictures she colored before he would have to leave. Angie knew the way back to her room from the "watching room," as she called it, and they weren't going the right way. "Daddy I thought we were going to my room…" She clung tight to him and trembled a little.

"We have to stop somewhere first," he told her.

Angie trembled more. He was taking her to the ouchie room, and she knew it. Every time she went into the ouchie room, they gave her a shot or they poked her with a silver stick. Shots hurt, but the silver sticks were worse. They always gave her the shivers and a bad headache.

He walked her into the room, patting her back to calm her. "You haven't been in here in a few days, have you Angie?"

She shook her head as she pressed her lips into a thin line. Angie didn't want to cry. When she cried, the mean man with dark skin and white hair yelled at her. Sometimes, he even poked her with the silver stick. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt her daddy put her on a table just like a doctor's. She knew that because it was always where they put her.

When she opened her eyes, the mean man was talking with her daddy. They both looked over at her and the mean man spoke. "Hi Angie. We're just gunna give you a shot today, okay?"

She swallowed hard and nodded. The mean man picked up a needle and her daddy walked into a connected room. He always did that. Even when mommy brought her and he was already here. It frightened her, as it always did, but she bit her lip. Angie wasn't going to cry this time. She was going to be brave and get the shot from the mean man like a big girl. Maybe mommy and daddy had to get shots like this. She didn't know.

"Okay," the mean man said while looking at the syringe. There was a purple colored thing in it unlike last time. Last time it was a pretty shade of blue. The mean man walked over to her and Angie held out her arm as she shut her eyes. She didn't want to watch. If she did, she knew she would cry. "Three…two," the man said before feeling the pinch of pain on her arm. Her left hand shook at her side with fear and pain. She couldn't hold back anymore. She screamed.