Chapter 1 "Remembering"
The typical clicking of footsteps could be heard all night as they went passed Ad's room and tapped on the ceiling above her. For what seemed like forever she had never been given a good night's sleep. Their inconsideration wouldn't allow it. Ad shivered and pulled her knees up to her chest as she tried to find some comfortable position to lie in. Her eight year old blanket laid in the corner now a pathetic piece of linen that had seen better days. If she had any energy any more she would have at least stumbled over and tried to use it for warmth, but she couldn't. She felt herself becoming more weak than usual. They had stopped giving her dinner and hardly even checked in on her. After all of their experimentation they probably finally realized there was nothing they could do, well nothing more any ways.
Ad's real name was Adlesha. She had been born in a small village in Russia and at first her life was fine and very typical. Her parents didn't have much money but no one did. They had enough to get by and that was all they needed. As a child she had known love and taught to be thankful for all the blessings one can receive, but after she was five years old she realized that she was different. Often times when her emotions were too strong people would become hurt, or on occasion when she wanted people to do things for her they would do so without her asking. They'd be in a trance and do whatever she said or thought. It was then she discovered she could control people with her mind and enter theirs. For years her parents kept her hushed up and begged her not to pursue this abnormality and no matter how hard she tried she would occasionally slip.
When she was twelve Ad's mother sent her to the market to pick up what they would need for dinner that night. She diligently did was she was told and purchased the items her mother requested and left the store. Since it was getting later she decided to take a short cut home and turned down the shorter route. Unfortunately her father had told her countless times that the people weren't all too friendly, some even criminals, but thought her father was just making over dramatic assumptions like many parents do. No one was even on the street so she walked at a slower pace so she wouldn't waste her energy. That was when she saw them. Four men around her father's age were following her closely. Hurriedly she picked up her pace and they followed suit. A thin sheet of sweat covered her forehead as she grew more and more nervous. One called out to her speaking Russian and yet his accent was off, "So you're the freak girl we've been hearing so much about". The others let out slight laughs and grunts in agreement.
"Just leave me alone!" she called back. They merely laughed and her and walked towards her. "Come on," she thought, "You've done this before just make them go away!" But her heart was racing too fast as fear gripped her that she couldn't get her mind to work as she wanted. A large hand came down on her pulled her roughly back. Before she could scream his other hand clamped down on her mouth. They quickly pulled her around the corner into a short alley so they'd be hidden from view. "For a freak, she's a pretty little thing isn't she fellas?" the one holding her said. "Got ourselves a little Russian beauty", one said. She began to squirm violently trying to break free. "A little too high spirited I think", one answered. A hard smack across the face sent her crumbling to the floor. She groaned and rubbed her cheek trying to blink away the spots she was now seeing. "Come ON!" Ad thought trying to urge her mind to do as she wanted.
"Fellas, it was our mission to collect our young friend", the one who had been holding her said. They mumbled in agreement. He held up a finger, "But we never ordered not to enjoy ourselves". They replied with cold laughter and he pulled her back up roughly. "Please! Come on come on!" she kept on thinking. She felt herself getting oddly warm and spastic. He looked into her eyes cruelly and twirled a piece of her brown hair with his finger. "High spirited girls need to be punished from time to time. You know so they can understand their place and obey!" he yelled the last word as he ripped at her hair painfully.
Anger erupted through her as he pushed her against the brick will. "That's IT!" she screamed in her mind. Energy flowed from her and directed its way into their minds. All at once they fell to the ground screaming in agony. She felt her wool coat flap around her as she allowed her power to go free. As they yelled and pleaded she just smiled and let the pain increase. Then she realized. She was killing them. Some had already stopped crying and lay still in the puddles that dotted the alley way. Suddenly she stopped and let out a blood curdling scream as she fell against the wall. Everything was blurred by her tears as she kept on screaming and shaking uncontrollably.
Someone came up to her and spoke. It was a woman's voice. "Adlesha! Get out of here now! Get back to your mother and father's and don't come out you here?! Don't let them find you!" she said pushing Ad away from the now crime scene. Ad ran as fast as her legs could carry her occasionally tripping and having to pick herself back up. She felt like she was going to throw up and had to stop and a nearby trash can to vomit.
She wiped her mouth and continued running to her parents' house. Finally she reached her street and shortly burst through the door of her house. "Momma!", she yelled frantically looking for her, "Poppa!" They ran into the room with wide eyes. "Adlesha what happened? What's going on?!" her father asked taking her face in his hands. She just started sobbing not being able to actually speak full sentences. "What's wrong with her?" her mother asked. "I don't know! Adlesha? Adlesha breathe", her father said trying to calm her. "They're dead! All of them! I didn't mean to do it!" Ad cried. "What? What are you saying? Who's dead?" he asked. "They attacked me Poppa! I couldn't let them and took control and…and", she broke into another sob. Her father's eyes grew angry. "Men tried to attack you?! Who?!" he yelled. "I don't know!" she said through her tears.
"They called me a freak, and they said they had a mission to get me. I don't know who they were! They didn't sound Russian and they tried to grab me and", more sobs took over the rest of her words. "Adlesha start packing and help your mother if you can, we're leaving as soon as possible", he said. Her mother took her hand and led her upstairs to the small second floor. "Get to your room and only pack the things that are necessary Ad," her mother ordered, "We aren't letting anyone get you no matter who they are."
Ad rushed to her room and began throwing whatever she could into her only suitcase. "I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be fine", she kept on telling herself, "Soon we'll be far away from here and it will all be over. Whatever it is, it's not going to happen." She quickly shut her suitcase and pulled on extra clothes and wrapped herself in her coat. She then grabbed her suitcase and headed towards her door. As she laid her hand on the knob she heard the house's front door be thrown open and her mother scream. In the middle of the screaming she heard gunshots cutting off her mother's cry.
