Chapter 1 The Accident
I wasn't prepared for the day my family died. The authorities most likely called it a car accident, but an accident it was not. It had been planned, a crime purposely committed by an insane lunatic, a man that went by the name of Jorgaf Kilay.
I was only a child when it happened, barely five years old. On that day my family went on a road trip vacation for the summer, abandoning our home in Central City, the unthinkable happened. I lost everything that day and was submerged in a nightmare that would control me for the rest of my childhood.
I was bouncing up and down in my seat, barely able to contain my excitement. "Tell me again mommy, where are we going?"
"Elaine sweetheart I told you a million times, we're going to Silver Dollar City in Branson for vacation. You'll like it there I'm sure, you're older brother Jordan went when he was about your age and he had the time of his life. Why don't you tell her about it Jordan?" my mom asked of my ten year old brother in the seat next to me.
"Oh it's great!" Jordan enthused, "But I bet your too big of a sissy to ride on the big roller coasters like I did. You'll have to stay down below and watch because you'll get too scared."
"Will not!" I shouted angrily at him. Jordan could be so mean sometimes. I wished he didn't have to brag all the time about how he was so much better.
"Will too!" he shot back, sticking his tongue out at me. I smacked his arm enraged.
"Hey, hey!" my dad called, frowning at us through the rearview mirror. "No hitting, and Jordan don't antagonize your sister, we still have a long drive ahead of us, we're only about twenty miles from Keystone City."
"Alright, fine," we both grumbled restlessly. Squirming in my seat I turned to look out my window. There was nothing around us, just open fields for as far as the eye could see. Trees and farms were the only imagery on the hilly grass plain. I squinted at a hill in the distance, there appeared to be a man standing there looking at us but I couldn't be sure.
"Daddy…" I started to say when a loud explosion reached my ears from the front seat.
My mother started to scream my fathers name, "Frank, Frank! Oh god No!" Horrified I turned to look at my fathers charred form as the car swerved and rolled down the embankment without its driver.
My mothers cries were hysterical and my brother's and my screams filled the air. On impact with the ground I saw my brother be thrown from his seat and tossed through the window. My mother served a similar fate. There was broken glass everywhere, my face stung and tears streamed down my cheeks. My body ached with pain and flames started to consume the car.
I struggled with my seat belt as I realized I was the only one left in the vehicle except my dad. Unclasping it I crawled over the debris and twisted metal to his side by the wheel. "Daddy? Daddy?" I was frantic to get him to wake up. I was trapped and he was the only one who could help me. I leaned over to shake his shoulder and realized he was no longer breathing. I felt electric fear rip its way through my heart, and my shriek let loose all the agony I felt at that moment, it was as if my very soul were being cut through with a knife.
"Please, please, please," I sobbed, "please wake up." I'd never felt more afraid in my life. Everything was happening too fast for me to take in.
A metal door was ripped off of its frame and hands reached into the overturned car and pulled me out. "Oh he won't be waking up any time soon my dear, and neither will the rest of your family I'm afraid. A pity, I could have used your brother. Silly children and their notion they don't need to wear seat belts. Ah well, I suppose you'll do well enough to serve my purpose. You look strong enough, after all you did survive the crash. I'll have to patch you up some though before I can start, children always make the best test subjects, it's so much easier to break their will."
The man that had spoken was as ugly as his words. A scar pulled itself along his face from his temple all the way to his jaw, slashing along his eye leaving it inflamed and red. It wasn't his misshapen face that lead me to fear him however but the look in his eyes. His hideousness did nothing to disguise the cruelty in his face. A possessive gleam filled his gaze that sent my stomach churning.
"No!" I gasped trying to get away from him, but his bony hands dug into my arms. The man's black wispy hair, streaked with shocks of white, blew frantically around his face, enforcing his deranged appearance. I craned my neck to see past him, looking for help, when I saw them. My mother and brother lay limply on the ground. Blood soaked their clothes and their bodies were so mangled it was difficult to identify them. I froze as recognition dawned upon me. I was alone, so terribly, terribly alone.
"Ah yes I see you've spotted the bodies. Sad business that, I never do like wasting life so, but it can't be prevented. The parents of the children always have to die, no matter how much I wish I could do some tests on them. The younger the subjects the better I say!" he said in a mock cheerful tone.
"No no no no no no no no," I choked, "This isn't happening, I'll wake up, I'll wake up, I'll wake up," I was chanting to myself now, in shock.
"Oh but it is." the man in front of me grinned madly. "You my dear are now the property of Jorgaf Kilay. What my darling child is your name?" He asked it as though he already knew the answer.
"E-El-Elaine," I managed to sob out. My heart was breaking inside me. "Please, just-just let me go home." A pointless question, there was no home I had to go to now, but anything would be better than staying near this man and my family's lifeless forms.
"Let me think about that. Hmm… No." Jorgaf cackled madly. "Now how about you say we split this scene huh? It's not a good idea to hang around a place where one committed a crime. The bomb I planted underneath the steering wheel of the car did work quite nicely though didn't it? The authorities undoubtedly wont even notice it in the wreckage. Anyway, as I was saying, I think it's time to go. One of the advantages of being from the future and a genius, is that I get to time travel, a useful invention if I do say so myself. Now let's see, Ah! My fortress in the 18th century will do. It's even just outside the future Keystone City and is equipped with everything I'll need for you. No one will ever bother to look for a missing child in the past, I knew there was a reason that I had that built."
With the end of his rant complete I watched shell shocked as he drew a small wrist watch from his pocket and put it on, fiddling with its dials as he did so. With a push of a button a bright light enveloped us and his vice like grip on me increased. The aching in my body soon became painfully aware to me. A gash in my arm had blood trickling down my hand, and at least one of my ribs must be broken. I could no longer stay awake, whatever strange doorway this man pulled us through used the last of my strength. I succumbed to darkness.
