[Author's Note at the very end of this chapter]

[The author has recommended the readers to listen to "Prey" by the Neighbourhood before proceeding with this chapter]

[Why? Because it's a very good song to listen to.]

Prey in Detroit

The weather in Detroit wasn't that very cheerful in any way. True that it wasn't raining – but it wasn't that sunny either, even though it's already the summers. But even though the condition was rather gloomy, all the kids and preteens from school were still excited when the bell rang. Do you know why? Why, it's the first day of summers, of course! You know what that means?

School is out for the summer!

With sheer excitement the youth displayed, they rushed out of the building and immediately left the school grounds; like ants leaving their colony behind. With every kid bumping into each other like crazy, it would be hard remember any of faces if asked for testimony. Although, there was one particular girl that stood out among the rest who would always catch everyone's attention by just being present in the scene.

Then again, with natural-looking silver hair, flawless white skin and amethyst-colored eyes, how can anyone not notice her at all?

As soon as she walked out of the building, all eyes were laid on her, as if her unique appearance is like a magnet to them. They would always wonder where did she get her genes from, but never bothered to ask her. In fact, nobody bothered to even talk to her. It's due to the fact that she seems… "Socially bizarre" that nobody thinks of her as a "normal human being." With that said, the girl would usually be seen all alone at school, with no one to talk to her.

Even so, she seemed to be alright about it. As long as it's better than to be bullied out of peer-pressure, there's no reason for her to worry about it. After all, she couldn't really blame them for thinking her appearance is odd; she's also strange about it herself. She's not really sure if she was born with it as well.

Before she started to walk home from school, she was actually in the mood of listening to her music. So she took out her phone and picked this particular song in her playlist that she'd listen through her earphone along the way.

The girl walked through a mild-busy street down the road, since her home wasn't really that far. But still, she had to be careful along the way, as there were numerous of reports about weird things happening in that specific street. One might think of listing down all those weird things to clarify what they were. However, in this case, it's not very "child-friendly" to talk about them here.

Minutes went by, and she had already arrived to her destination. It wasn't really much of a luxurious apartment, as the name would say. But as long as there were no rats in the kitchen anymore, it was luxury nonetheless.

She entered the building, used the stairs (because the elevator was down again) and went to the third floor, where her apartment room was: Door 36. With the digit 6 dangled up-side-down. That was her place. We should really fix that, she thought as she remembered those weird they kept receiving at their front door, which was constantly mistaken to be someone else's door.

Again, it's not very "child-friendly" to clarify what they were.

The girl took out a key from her bag-pocket and unlocked the door, letting herself in. As she entered the living room, she was greeted by a woman with her dark, ebony hair tied up while sitting on a couch, reading a chick-lit magazine. "Hey there, Kyla," the woman said, "How was school today?"

"Hey, Nancy," Kyla greeted back as she paused her music and put her earphones away. "School was pretty much the same as always; only when the bell rang, a lot of them ran in Super Sanic mode – which isn't a surprise, since it's the last day of school." She then put down her bag on a sofa.

"And also–" Nancy put her magazine away as well and looked at her with excitement in her eyes, "–your last day of junior high."

Kyla rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing what her guardian meant by that. "Nancy, c'mon. We've talked about this before. I'm just turning fifteen – there's no need to get worked up over it."

Nancy then stood up and gave her a warm hug as well as a soft kiss on her forehead. "I know, baby. But I just can't believe that this little angel that I've been raising has already grown so much. I mean, look at you!" She stared into Kyla's eyes as her hands were on her shoulders. "You've grown into a fine, beautiful woman – and I'm not saying it like a modest-mother would say to their daughter."

"Stop it," Kyla chuckled.

"It's true! Who would've thought that you'd grown up looking like Snow White but with silver hair?"

"Snow White wasn't beautiful. She was just 'the fairest of them all.'"

"Which makes you way more beautiful than her."

Kyla just simply backed away and plummeted on the sofa. "So, what do you have in store for my birthday?" she asked in a subtle way.

"I'd tell you, but it's a surprise."

"You always say that every year."

"Because every year is a surprise, dear. You're the one who keeps asking the question."

It wasn't actually a surprise to Kyla, per se. She knew that Nancy would make her a cake, give her a birthday present, and then tells her about a story about when she was about her age, just like every year. But for this year, she wanted to ask for something different from Nancy.

Nancy then looked at her watch to see what time it was. "Whoops, looks like your ca– I mean, your surprise is ready. Why don't you go and put your bag in your room first while I set things up in the kitchen? I'll call you when everything's done."

"Sure, no prob." Kyla grabbed her bag and went into her room, leaving Nancy to do her "magic" in the kitchen.

Inside her room had a bunch of stuff that you'd normally see inside every teen-aged hipster's room: band posters hanging on the wall; a few stuffed animals on the bed; lighting decorations tangled around her bedpost; you name it. But only, it was waypurple than it should've been. She calls it her Purple Hipsterland, "a place where every shade of purple exist." Even though she wouldn't call herself as a hipster, she really likes hipster-stuff – and purple.

After she put down her bag at the end of her bed, she then sat down at her desk and checked her phone out to see if there were any news reports about a certain topic that she'd been following up for a few months now. Sadly, there wasn't anything that interested her. For ten years, you would've thought they'd finally show up by now, she thought rather sourly as she practically threw her phone at her desk.

As she leaned back on her chair, she stared at a wall full of colorful notes and printed-out papers that she had done over the months. Where are you? How come you're not looking for me?

"Kyla!" Nancy loud voice was heard through the walls. "Everything's set! You can come to the kitchen now!"

"Coming!" Kyla replied. As she stood up, she wished herself luck, left the room and entered the kitchen – just to find Nancy holding a freshly-baked purple cake in front of her.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed. "It's vanilla! Your favorite flavor."

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" she lied, trying to not her guardian's feelings.

"Well, it is your birthday – and since it's your fifteenth one, I thought I'd make it special; no more yam-flavored cake this time!" Nancy then placed the cake on a table to put some candles on it.

While she was doing so, Kyla began to speak, "So, um… Nancy."

"Hm?" Nancy's eyes were still fixated on the candles.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time, and I know that it might break your hea–"

"Could you pass the candle, sweetie?"

Kyla picked up the lighter near her and gave it to her. "Well, I've been doing some research about a certain topic, but still couldn't find answers. So after this is over, I was wondering if we could go to the ho–"

"There we go!" Nancy had finished lighting up the candles. "Come on, Kyla. Make a wish!"

Despite that she was trying to finish her sentence, she sat down on her seat and began blowing out all the candles – with Nancy taking a picture of it, like most people would these days. Of course, she did made a wish out of it; she wished that she would finally finish her sentence soon enough. "Like I was saying: I was hoping that you and I could… you know? Go to the–"

"Hold that thought, Kyla. I'll be right back!" she said before leaving the kitchen all of a sudden.

As Kyla waited, she gazed at the frosted cake, amazed by how well-made it was. She had to admit, it was one good-looking cake – and it was vanilla! She figured that it must have cost Nancy quite a lot to buy the ingredients. She then wondered why vanilla is so expensive in Detroit. Probably because it was the only pure thing left in the dark city they had to live in.

Her train of thoughts soon ended when Nancy came back with a purple-colored-wrapped box with a white ribbon tied around it in her hand. "Alright, Kyla. Are you ready to open your present?" She then handed the box to her.

"Don't you think I'm too old for stuffed animals? I mean, I have enough in my room and–"

"This time is different," she insisted. "Go on and open the box!"

Without any more questions, Kyla began unwrapping the box. She had initially thought that if it wasn't another stuffed animal, it might be something similar to a stuffed animal.

Instead, when she opened it, she was surprise to see a sweater inside. But it wasn't just any sweater – it was a purple sweater with white shoulders on it. She found it very odd as she seemed to have seen it somewhere before, but couldn't figure out exactly where. As she inspected the sweater in detail, she realized that it had the letter 'R' written on the left side. She then figured out where she last seen it before.

"This… this is the one that was displayed at that clothing department the other day." Kyla then turned her attention to Nancy who was smiling. "How did you know I actually wanted this?"

"Kyla," Nancy chuckled. "Even though I never knew that you didn't like yam-flavored cakes all this while, that doesn't mean I don't know you that well. Beside, you'd always stare at that sweater every time we pass by the shop. You'd think I'd never notice that?"

"Gee, thanks for buying this for me – but isn't it expensive, though?" Kyla remembered glancing at the price tag for the sweater, which was ridiculously high than she expected it to be.

"Well, it might be expensive for you – but I still got enough money left to feed us both."

"You really out-did-it yourself this year, Nancy."

"Like I said before, it's your fifteenth birthday! It has to be special in any way – now go put it on! I wanna see how well you'd look in it."

With that said, Kyla stood up and wore the sweater. The sweater felt very comfortable than what she had expected to it. No wonder it was expensive.

"Look at you, looking like a star!" Nancy complimented.

"Really? With a white t-shirt underneath and faded grey jeans, I actually look like a ball of gas?" Sure, she looked quite alright in it. But she knew that she looked nothing like a star.

"Ha ha, very funny," Nancy then took out a knife as she wanted to cut the cake for Kyla. "So, Kyla, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Finally. "Right! What I wanted to tell you is that… well… um, it's something." For some reason, Kyla suddenly lost the confidence of asking something from Nancy.

"You said something about doing some research?" she cut out a slice of cake and put it in a plate before she handed it to Kyla.

"Uh… yeah, I did." Knowing how Nancy doesn't like her to stand while eating, she took a seat at the table. "And I still couldn't find the answers I was looking for, so…"

"Is it a project that you're working on?" Nancy also sat down as she continued on the conversation.

"…Something like that."

"That's really interesting. What's the topic about?"

For a moment, Kyla was silent, knowing how this certain topic might upset her guardian. However, she managed to continue subtly as she asked, "Nancy, is it a bother if I ask you something?"

Nancy gave a warm smile to her as she said, "Anything for my little angel."

With that said, Kyla took a deep breath, and let out the words she had been meaning to say, "Can we go to the hospital after this?"

Nancy then stared at her for a moment, trying to process what did she said earlier. "What? Why? Are you sick?"

As she was about to reach her forehead to check her temperature, Kyla nudged her hand aside and explained, "I'm fine. It's just that… it's already been ten years since I've been here and… well, it's not like I enjoy your company. In fact, it would be ungrateful for me to not appreciate all of the things you've done for me over the years. I really appreciate you. It's just that…"

"You want to take another blood sample again?"

Kyla looked back at her guardian, only to find that she wasn't smiling anymore. Despite the guilt inside her, she continued on, "Again, I'm not saying I don't enjoy being here. But for ten years, I've just… been wondering where are they now."

"Kyla, as much as I wanna help you find your family, there's really no point of going to the hospital again. You know that the results keep showing–"

"'No Results Found', yes I know. But who knows? Maybe there's a DNA match this time?"

"If there was a DNA match, the hospital would've told me by now."

"Maybe they need a new sample to continue with their search?"

"Kyla–"

"I mean, DNA samples expire sometimes, right? They probably need me to make a new sample again or something."

"Kyla–"

"Or maybe, they've kinda lost our contacts? I think it's best if we go back to the hospital and give them new ones, right?"

"Kyla–"

"Yeah, we should definitely go check up on them to see what's up, how's that sounds–"

"Kyla!" Nancy snapped, which brought Kyla into silence. "We're trying to celebrate your birthday here – and all of a sudden, you want to have your blood to be sample for the fifth time?"

"Well, first of all: This isn't my birthday, as I don't know when I was born – it's the day when I was found. Second of all: It's been ten years, Nancy. Don't you think that I wouldn't be sad about my family not attending to my 'fifteenth birthday'?"

"I am your family, Kyla."

"I meant my biological family, Nancy."

"Biological doesn't mean family."

"Well, being found doesn't mean being born."

"Where is this coming from, exactly? You have never, ever brought up this topic before since the day you've arrived here. Is it because of peer-pressure? Is someone bullying you at school–"

"I'm just tired feeling like prey, alright!" Kyla slammed the table with frustration as she immediately stood up from her seat, avoiding eye-contact with Nancy.

For the longest moment, the kitchen felt like it was getting smaller for Kyla, as tension between them started to build up the longer they remained silent.

"What do you mean by 'prey'?" Nancy finally spoke, which made Kyla slightly relieved about it.

"I'm just… just…" she struggled to find the words, still avoiding looking at her guardian in the eyes as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I've… always feel like 'prey' ever since I got here… not because of how I never blend in, or how people see me differently… but because… because…"

"Because…?"

"…I feel like I don't belong here."

"Sweetie, don't be nonsense. Even though you look different doesn't mean that–"

"That's not what I meant."

Nancy suddenly fell silent again.

"I mean; I don't know why, but I have the strangest feeling that I'm supposed to be someplace else. I don't exactly know where that place is, but I feel that it's not here – which bothers me a lot. Because knowing that you're not supposed to be here, it feels like… you're in someone else's territory for no reason; you have no permission to stay here; you can pretend that you belong here. But really, you just… you just don't. You can't pretend your feelings – and even if you can, those feelings that you've kept inside will soon make you feel like… like… like–"

"Feel like prey?" Nancy helped her finished her sentence.

"Exactly," Kyla said. "The reason why I feel like prey is because… someday, someone will find out that you're not okay being here, and they'll ask you a lot of questions. Once they ask the questions… you just feel numb and don't know what to say or do. It's like they're the predators and you're…" Realizing of what she just said, she finally looked back at Nancy, who showed a concerning look in her eyes all this time. "…I'm prey."

Kyla knew she shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Because at that moment, somebody had found out about her dilemma: Nancy.

"…I know that it sounds complicated, and I don't expect you to understand every word I just said – forget about the hospital thing. I've changed my mind about it," Kyla tried to laugh it off; even though she knew that it wouldn't work. "I'm not really in the mood of eating cake – I'll put it away in the fridge."

As she was about her slice, Nancy suddenly said, "I'll clean it up after this. You should get some rest, dear. It's been a day."

Despite that she didn't want to burden her guardian with the chores, Kyla followed her order and went straight into her room. She then plummeted onto her bed, with her face staring at the ceiling. She actually wanted to cry, but for some reason they wouldn't come out of the dark. So instead, she covered her eyes with her arm, trying to numb the pain within the darkness she saw.

But it didn't work. Because at that moment, somebody knew that she was prey.

As she wallowed away in her sadness, she didn't know that at one of her bedroom windows, an odd bird covered in black and red feathers had intently watched her hidden within the shadows. If only she knew that she really was prey, because someone with dark intentions had been spying on her for so long until that very day.

A/N: Well, that was a bit emotional for a character introduction, don't you think?

Anyway, greetings - and thank you for reading this chapter! (You did read the whole thing, right?) The reason why I posted this chapter a bit early than expected is because this will be my last update for this year, as I'll be going on a vacation with my relatives in a few days to celebrate New Years Eve. And knowing that I easily get lazy after going on a holiday and I don't want to post-pone this update for who knows how long, I've decided to force myself into finishing this before midnight. (It's currently almost 11 PM as I write this.)

So yeah, happy holidays to everyone who celebrates their custom holiday this, and I also want to wish everyone to have a happy new year! I'm pretty sure everyone agrees that 2016 has been really... hectic. Heck, it has been really hectic for me as well, since this is my last year as a high schooler (I still can't believe I'm an adult now) and I had to struggle a lot for this year. I'm just surprised that I actually survived through all the "obstacles" I had to face.

Now that I don't have to worry about school anymore, I want to focus on finishing this story before September 2017, since that's when I'll be busy with my university/pre-university/college life. I've already planned out about 49 chapters for Book One, and I've already finished 4 chapters so far... so 45 more chapters to go! (OH BOY) Will I ever finish this story on time? Let nature takes its course, my young grasshopper.

That's awfully long for an Author's Note. I'll stop here now.

So...

Carry on now.

P/S: What do you think about the new cover I've made? You can check out my DA account to see the full image. (Which is linked in my bio, in case that you're wondering.)