Chapter 1: It begins
Washington, D.C
2013
My name is Kathy; I live in a rundown orphanage. I am fifteen and I will be turning sixteen on Halloween. My life is all ways the same pattern but today my life would change for the better and I would try to run away from it.
I never knew my mother as she died when she gave birth to me, and my father was nowhere to be found. So where did I go? The place that I am forced to call home but is so worn at any moment it could collapse. But it is the only place that I can live that is legal.
I could run away and become a person who never was part of the system and vanish, I know how but I just don't want to. I had three years left before freedom and I was out of the hell-hole I called home so what was the point in running away?
Today I had to do something that I did want to do in the first place. I had to go a friend's funeral with her to help support her. Her mom had been murdered a little over a year ago and she was just now getting a service. I got up and brushed my long black hair out of my eyes.
My pale skin and blue eyes and dark black hair were not uncommon for this day and age. But my eyes seemed to start out with a deep blue color and fade down to a sliver. But at the same time they had small flexes of a molten gold color that seemed to try to take over my light eyes.
My hair fell down just past my shoulders in a gentle wave, but was so black that when the sun hit the onyx strands it would turn them to a shade of blue that was close to my eyes.
My skin was just as pale and creamy as milk and seemed to be always cold. My hands were always ice cubes it seemed and it never seemed to stop or get any warmer. I had tried hand warmers and gloves but nothing seemed to work.
The dress I was wearing was very plan and old fashioned. The dress had a high neck that was cut so you could see were my collar bones were and had short sleeves that hit right about where a tee-shirt sleeve would hit. The thin belt hit just where my waist was and the skirt went down and stopped right above my knee.
I put on the small black heels that would look nice with the dress but not make it so I was six times my normal height and I straightened my hair so it now fell just below the middle of my back.
I was soon at the Catholic Church and I met my friend Jenna by the double doors that were arched in a way that came to a point. Carvings danced on the oak doors, the stained glass windows leaking colored light through glass casting a glow if multi colors.
Jenna was wearing a dress that was very childish and had black mesh over the skirt and she was wearing flats with her red hair up in a ponytail. Her she was my age and half as tall as I am and I'm only 5'6".
Jenna's eyes were red and slightly swollen from crying and she still had tears running down her cheeks. When Jenna saw me she waved and I was pulled into a tight hug. I got a look of sympathy from a man that looked a bit like me but with deep brown eyes that looked like a pool of chocolate that was melted and would never end. He seemed to look familiar as well, like I had seen him a long time ago.
"Kathy thank you so much for coming you have no idea how much this means to me" She mumbles as she is pressed up to my stomach and was not moving as far as I could tell.
"It's fine now we should go and sit down before the service starts" I told her, the four years we had known each other I had always been the calm and quiet one while she was the ball of energy. Her mother was the same way.
When the program was over Jenna was crying and I had a small kid in my lap. In less than a minute Jenna's father Carlos picked her up and sent me a sad smile and left with the small girl to take her home.
I had gotten up and started to walk out of the building when a voice spoke.
"Miss hold on a second" I turned around and my hair was now on my right shoulder. My birth mark was now visible. The small mark was a dark brown and in the shape of a jackal. I moved my hair so it was covering the birth mark and I turned around. "That was a very kind thing that you did for your friend, I just wanted to say that if you ever need anything just call me"
I was handed a slip of paper with some digits on it, I went to thank the man but he was gone. I started to make my way back to the orphanage to change, when it started to rain. I ran the five minute walk to the place I was forced to call home.
It didn't just try to give a few droplets; no it had to start to pour. I was soaked in less than five minutes, and I was only wearing the dress. I was soaked to the bone in minutes and I had my hair plastered to my head and I had to keep pushing my hair back so I could see where I was going.
The cold air and wind didn't help at all, so I got to the place I would be staying for the next few years and the door was locked.
My luck was just so wonderful and I had forgotten to grab my keys. Fan-Flipping-Tastic! I knew the key was just behind the planter in the back, but I would have to jump the gate to get the key and the gate was soaking wet, as it was made of wood and about six-feet tall.
I would have to climb that and I was in a dress, and there were all kinds of kids around and I was the oldest. So wonderful; I just had the best luck!
I was just about to get ready to scale the wall when the owner of the building opened the door and I slipped in unseen, or so I hoped.
"Where have you been?! I looked for you all over! You know you have to tell me when you're going out before by at least four days!" The care taker/ owner yelled at me, we did get along very well and he was such a arse-hole that I didn't even want to think about it!
"I told you I had to go to a funeral with a friend for days, if you forgot then I am sorry but I had to go and do this" My voice was very cold, I had no care towards this guy and if I was a bit rude. I was cold, and was soaked to the bone and I couldn't see. I need to take a shower before I got sick.
He sighed and nodded his head, "I remember now go take a shower before you get a cold" I gave a quick nod of my head before I left to go hop in the lukewarm water, that was as hot as it would go due to the smaller kids and they would play with the water.
I came out and I got dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a blood red shirt, a black leather jacket and my pair of combat boots. So how I always dressed.
I was walking back to my room to straighten my hair for the second time that day. When I looked down the floor board that was up as always had a glint of gold. I bent down and I saw an amulet of some kind that was onyx and had a bit of gold on it. When I pulled it out I saw that the amulet was in the shape of a jackal and it looked a lot like my birth mark.
