Prologue

Sara gazed into the steam rising from her cup of coffee. It had been diminishing over the past hour as she sat behind her desk in just the same way she always had. She twirled a pen around in her free hand, a habit she had developed to try and pass the time. Why was I elected to work night shifts? She thought. She stirred her coffee with the end of her pen, contemplating her next move. If she took a sip now, she'd be one step closer to an empty cup and thus one step closer to refiling it. If she waited she would be able to postpone the inevitable refill but would risk falling asleep on her shift.

She sipped her coffee. She couldn't resist. She let out a sigh at the end of her slow gulp. Damn I make a good cup of coffee. Her eyes wandered around the lobby.

She was in an orphanage called Skyridge Home. On the farthest wall from Sara, the entrance was closed, although it was ominous than normal in the dark light of the night. Her desk was situated off to one corner. On the desk sat an old late 90's early 2000's computer. On the opposite side of her desk, away from the entrance laid a staircase. It was ridged, yet somehow also windy and it led to the upper floors. Next to the entrance, a coffee machine hummed. Its green light beckoning her to fill another cup of coffee.

Lighting struck outside. Sara counted under her breath waiting for the thunder. She got to 3 Mississippi before the thunder shook the orphanage. She prayed none of the children woke.

That was the only reason she was there. The orphanage always needed someone awake or on call in case of emergencies. Mainly for children waking up in cold sweats, screaming about god knows what.

She checked the time. 2:26. Dammit. She'd only been working for a few hours yet it had seemed like decades. She took another sip of coffee only to find it empty. Dammit dammit dammit.

God, she hated moving this late at night. She should be in bed sleeping or watching some awful reruns on Netflix. Why she was awake at this hour she still didn't know. It was the only question she'd think of when working these shifts. Like a plague it was always there, only getting stronger as the night went on.

She set her pen down, stood up and walked over to the coffee machine. Placing her cup under its nozzle, she pressed the coffee button. The machine whirred but nothing came out. She pressed the button a second time. Once again, nothing. She smacked the side of the machine and forced the button down one last time. Coffee began pouring from the nozzle. She smiled, satisfied with her handiwork. As she waited for her cup to fill, her gaze meandered out the window that set next to the door. The stained glass accented the front door, giving the orphanage an almost Gothic feel.

Just past the window a figure stirred. Sara tilted her head, shifting her attention away from the coffee and now onto the figure. She blinked, eyes transfixed on the blurry figure through the window. It was small, either the shape of a tiny person or a child, and it was trembling in place. Well that's unsettling. As unsettling as it was, she didn't have the heart to leave the lone figure, possibly a child out in the pouring rain. She took her cup out of the machine, walked over to the door and opened it.

A small girl, must've been only 6 or 7 years old stood in front of the door. Rain smeared her platinum blonde hair across her face. She wore plain clothes. A pair of jeans perhaps and a plain black t shirt, it was hard to make out in the faint light outside. On her back, an empty backpack.
"Oh dearie, come in, come in." Sara said, beckoning the little girl inside. The girl rushed inside the door as Sara closed is behind her with a soft click. Now that the girl was in the light she could see her more clearly.

She wasn't wearing jeans at all. In fact, she might've not even been wearing pants. Instead she wore a black hospital gown with strings that trailed behind her as she walked. She had been right about the hair though, it was hard to miss. A blonde that was so silver it almost looked white. She looked down at the ground, masking the rest of her face. Her whole body was shuddering.

"What were you doing out there in weather like this?" The girl said nothing instead her bottom lip jutted out, pouting. A few tears escaped from her eyes or perhaps they were raindrops, Sara couldn't tell.

"Oh, come now. Everything will be okay. I'll get you a blanket darling." Sara began walking to the next room but stopped near her desk. The little girl stood in place like a statue.
"It's okay dear. I don't bite." Sara offered a smile. Then the girl mumbled something inaudible.
"I'm sorry what was that honey?"

"I'm not scared of you." The little girl said in a faint whisper.
"Well, you must be pretty brave then. I'm a scary looking old lady." Sara said, chuckling.
"No. I'm not scared of you, but I don't want to… I'm scared that I'll hurt you." Sara gulped. This was getting creepier by the second.
"Oh, don't worry sweetie, you can't hurt me." The little girl looked up at her with eyes like she had never seen. They were a piercing light blue, like ice or twin diamonds. They bore into her with an unsettling fierceness she couldn't shake.
"Yes. I can." A moment passed.

"What's your name dear?" The girl took off her backpack and unzipped it. She fumbled around inside until she found what she was looking for. She pulled her hand out revealing a small business card. The little girl played with it tentatively before and handing it over to Sara.

The card was all black except for the silver lettering of the lone word that sat centered in the card.
Elsa

Sara turned the card over in her hand. The other side was blank. No last name, no other identifying symbols or numbers. Just the one word.
"Elsa" She said aloud. The little girl smiled at the sound of her name. "I think it suits you perfectly. Now let's get something to warm you up." And she placed her hand on the Elsa's shoulder to lead her into the other room.

Without warning Elsa erupted into a fury of motion. Everything happened so fast, Sara had no time to process it. Elsa seized the pen from the desk table and stabbed Sara in the arm that had been gripping Elsa. From there the little girl continued stabbing the older woman up the arm. She flipped around it, used her momentum to vault up onto Sara's shoulders before jabbing the pen into her neck and riding her as she fell to the floor.

After the commotion stopped the little girl just stood over the body. Her rapid breath now calming. She dropped the pen and it clattered on the floor.
"Hello?" She managed to squeak. What did I do? Elsa thought. She nudge the woman with her foot. No response. Tear began to prick in her eyes. "Hello" she almost started sobbing "please?" At this point tears began to stream down the little girls face and all she could say was "I'm sorry." Repeatedly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She took the card back from the woman, crying the whole time and ran out the door.