Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Len, my lovely daughter. Mommy really loves you, honey."

"Alleen, my sweet and cute daughter! Come here, baby, let's go buy your favourite chocolate bread, shall we?"

"Sis, it's okay. Mom, dad and I will always be with you. Anyway, we'll always be together!"

"Len."

"Alleen."

"Sister."

I slowly open my eyes, faint darkness begin to light up my vision. My still blurry vision moves left and right, trying to get used to the blackness that surrounds me.

The room is so cramped, so damp and dirty. The only source of light is from the dim lantern outside the room. The cement floor beneath me is wet, the water seep into my jeans causing uncomfortable and chilling sensation.

In front of me, right behind the iron bars, a half of almost-rotten sandwich is sitting peacefully on its bowl that is lying there on the cold floor.

Seeing that, my stomach grumblers, I just remembered I haven't put anything in since coming to this place. I try to move my legs, trying to grab the bowl, but my legs are too sore and tingling to stand up.

'Ah, it seems that I crouched down for too long that my knees hurt.' I talk to myself as I stretch my legs out on the floor, looking at the bowl.

'Allen....'

The voice come again.

I am so shocked and immediately cover both of my ears.

No. Stop it!

I don't want to hear it anymore.

It is just a nightmare that keep on reminding me of everything that has happened.

'Allen.'

I shake my head and bit my lip hard.

"Do not call me that. You all lied to me. You lied to me!"

Everything they do and tell me is a lie. Just sweet words to throw me to this place.

'Allen.'

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

I bury my head on my knees while concentrating on blocking out those voices from my head.

'Allen.'

"Shut up! I don't want to remember anymore! You are nothing to me. Not my family anymore. So shut the hell up!"

Silence.

The voices disappear like it has never been there in the first place. My head is heavy, and my body is shaking a little. I could feel the beads of sweat trickling down my forehead, and my t-shirt clinging onto my back. My heart can't calm down, and I am almost out of breath.

Haha....

Not enough to just drown me in a sleepless night everyday, these nightmare-like memories appear when I'm awake as well, does God really want to kill me?

Taking a deep breath, I get up towards the sink on the corner of the room to wash my face.

The sink is dirty, there are lots of mud and rust everywhere. The faucet also looks like it is roasted. I do not know how many times I had seen it but I can't help but feel disgusted. With a little bit of reluctance, I press the square screen behind the faucet, setting the water temperature I want, as well as the intensity of the water that will come out, before hitting the 'OK' button.

The water do not flow smoothly and a bit murky too. Unless all the dirt in the water is rinsed out, I will not touch it. It is really gross.

I can only close my mouth tightly and hold my breath so that dirty and smelly water will not get inside my mouth.

Every time I see something like this, my reality now, it feels more like a dream. I'm still not used to do my routine here in this place, no matter how hard I try to accept the reality. In the deepest part of me, I refuse to think of this place as 'home'.

In the past I used to think that this place was never 'home' to me. 'Home' for me was a simple teak wood building on a hill, surrounded by towering and lush pine trees. 'Home' for me was where I often sweep in the yard, where I ran with my pet dog, where I sang to the sound of birds on the terrace, while swinging my legs. 'Home' was when I was with mom, dad, and Zoran.

In the past, when I had just got here and didn't know anything, I keep on missing 'home'. Every day I had to cry and cry until my eyes got hurt. The place had been so foreign to me, and the people were very rude. They had pushed me, told me to eat stale food that even animals would not want to eat. At first I had refused to eat it, but they would continue to give it to me, and the starving me finally relented and swallowed the stale milk with all my guts.

I used to dream that someday my parents would save me from this place, and I would be able to go home and forget all the bad memories here, but no matter how many weeks, how many months, and how many years, they never came.

Of course, at that time I had not lost hope. I had been so sure that it must have taken my parents time to look for me.

But when I learned the truth.

It was so hard for me to accept it.

For me it was too impossible to be true. I was not alone, I had had a family, and my family wanted me.

They couldn't have dumped me here. They couldn't have brought me here in such a hurry while covering my eyes with a piece of silk. They couldn't have exchanged me for a handful of gold coins, could they?

Father's voice would definitely never tell me that I was a monster. Mother's voice couldn't possibly said that I was not born from her womb that I was unwanted, and Zoran. His face was always warm when he looked at me, there was no way he could express a deep fear at me, right?

Luckily, I was able to swallow the reality, all whole. I swallowed the bitter truth, that in this world, sadly, there was no such thing as a 'home' for me.

Not that dirty place, not that house that was always warm in winter.

I was alone in this world, from the start. The warmth, the happiness, the sweetness of mother's candied fruit, were all fake.

Though, I'm even more grateful. At least I know that the world I live in is not as beautiful as the fairy tale world I used to hear.

No one is more sincere to me than myself.

The one who can help me, the one who can't possibly betray me is myself.

If I want to be free from this filthy place, then I have to do it with my own power, because there won't be any superheroes to help me.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Where is she?"

A man's voice suddenly emerges from the outside. His voice echoes lightly and sounds a bit closer to where I am.

I, who have just finished washing my face, is silent for a moment to sharpen my hearing.

'Who is that? Could it be Kun or Wei? But today shouldn't be my cleaning schedule. Then what are they here for?'

'If not them? Who is it, then?'

This place is rarely visited by guests. As long as I live here, all the guests who came can be counted on the fingers, and although those who came are always different people, their purpose is the same.

They come to buy.

But Kun always says that many of them don't have enough money, and sometimes changes their mind, so no one ever really take me away.

It makes me wonder now, whether or not the person who is going to visit me this time can finally set me free from this place. I hope so.

"Are you sure the cell is over here? You're not lying?"

The unfamiliar voice sounds even closer this time, followed by a few quick, smooth footsteps.

"Y-yes sir, this is really the right way. It's a bit dirty, but it is really here. I-I can't possibly lie to you sir...!"

That voice is Wei's, so he is here too? But...why does he sounds like that?

He has never spoken like that to other guests, yet why now? Who is that person?

"Then hurry up."

"A-alright sir. T-this way."

I walk silently, peeking behind the iron bars as I see two silhouette of a person, the short one is definitely Wei's, and the tall one must be that man's. Was he a person of such high status that even Wei could be so obedient to him?

The sound of their footsteps are just a few steps away from me now. I quickly jump back and lean my back on a wall when I hear the sound of the iron door that leads to the main hallway has been opened.

My gaze remains straight, waiting for each footsteps to finally show two people standing in front of my room.

There I see that man behind Wei.

The white robe he wears is a stark contrast to the wet and muddy floor around him. His blonde bangs under his white hood, falls neatly over his topaz-colored eyes. His towering stature makes me feel small.

Over all the guests I have seen, he is the one who is the strangest, and I wonder why such a dignified looking man like him, dares to enter this place?

Hurriedly, Wei opened the iron door before me.

Rattle. Rattle. Clang.

"There she is, sir. I swear that we didn't do anything bad beside just keeping her here."

Wei enters first, and then the man. They step in and look at me like I am some kind of an animal.

The man looks cynically at Wei for a moment, while Wei can only look down, squeezing his knuckles.

Then the amber eyes turn at me. I automatically pull my legs closer towards me while still trying hard to maintain eye contact with him. There is something about the look in his eyes that makes me feel low, and scared at the same time

This person is definitely not an ordinary person.

Without taking his eyes off me, the man takes something out of his pocket. A small black chip around the size of a shirt button.

The man pressed the button creating a small 'beep' sound, and suddenly a holographic screen is floating above the chip. Shining colorful lights illuminate the entire room, making my eyes sting. I immediately block my view while a face of a man is starting to show up on the screen.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

"Okay how is it, Taka? Have you found her?"

A voice suddenly echoed, startled me. The voice coming from the hologram was so real, like someone else is speaking directly in front of me. What a really weird device.

Seeing me jump backwards until my back hit the wall, the man in white across me looks a little surprised. He slowly approaches me, whereas I can only straighten my back while staring at him and that holographic screen warily.

"Hello Taka? Can you hear me?"

The screen flashed once again.

The white hooded man who was called Taka responds, eyes still fixes on me, and occasionally eyeing Wei behind.

"Yeah, I've found the target. I've taken care of everything here, no need to send any more members."

Bzzt.

"Okay, the reinforcement is cancelled, then. Now, can you show me the target?"

"Yeah, I'm trying, but it looks like we are not welcomed here."

He keep on getting closer, step by step until he was a few steps away from me.

"See it for yourself."

The holographic screen flickers once before reappearing, but this time the screen is right in front of my face. I can see the face of the man who has been talking, plaster there clearly.

"Let me see. Hm...okay I understand."

The holographic man is looking at me from head to toe.

"Hello little girl. Can you tell me your name?"

I look at the screen strangely. A screen suddenly talk to me like a real person, I don't know how to answer it.

I glance at the man in white in confusion, but all I receive is a light nod.

I move back to the screen. Courageously, I replied, "Why do you want to know that? Who are you?"

The holographic face look surprised, then he replies with a gentle smile.

"Haha, that's true. We haven't introduced ourselves right? Sorry, we must have scared you. Hello miss, my name is Ryota, and the man in white here is Taka. We're both from the group called 'The Academy'. We come to get you out of here, so you don't have to be afraid. We're not bad people."

Mostly all bad people will say something similar.

How they find out about me being here, and their reason to set me free, it's all unclear. Plus, their clothes and things they use are really weird, these guys are too suspicious.

"What is 'The Academy'?"

"'The Academy' is a group tasked with helping children like you, miss. We rescue children from this dark place, and protect them from bad guys."

The man answers briefly.

I study the expression of those two men, but their gazes

didn't show the slightest hesitation. Whether they are lying to me or not, I can't say for sure.

"It's okay, miss. I understand that you're suspicious of us, but don't worry, we promise that we won't harm you. You can trust us."

Now that I think about it, this is my chance to escape from this place. After being confined here for so long, I've had enough of it, but I can't get out, not now while my strength is not enough to fight Wei and Kun. Now, these people said that they are getting me out of here, as much as I don't want to admit it, I really need their power.

Why don't I take this opportunity? The important thing is that I can get out first, if later they turn out to have bad intentions, I can always find a way to escape later. Yeah, I hope the lady luck could lend me her power.

"Uhm, I'm Allen."

I answer quietly, and the hologram man nods, while the white robed man, I could hear him sighing briefly.

"Okay, Alleen. Thank you for trusting us. We've finished confirming your identity, now Taka will take you out from there. Don't worry, Alleen, Taka will protect you, so you don't need to be afraid."

After that, the holographic screen flashes once more then vanish into thin air.

This is it.

By the time the conversation ends, everything that has been my life up until now, starting to shift.

Never would I ever imagine that there will be a day like this, that I finally able to leave this place. After two years of living like a garbage.

No matter how I look at this, it is just like a dream.

Now that I am free, what will happen to me later, I can not guess.

Looking at these two people, it seems like 'The Academy' they talk about it is some kind of a big organisation. Will they bring me to their place? Will I be save?

I can't help but feel a chill run down my spine. I should think of a plan to make an emergency escape if something did happen.

Then if I ended up on the street, maybe I would take a shelter somewhere. Haa...I still can not decide what I will do from now on.

Taka put the chip back into his pocket before glancing at me. His expressionless amber eyes looking straight at me without speaking a word.

'What is he going to do to me?'

I thought to myself as I lower my head.

He stepped closer to me before crouching down, stretching out both hands to pick me up.

"Waa...! What are you doing?"

I replies.

The man replied in an even tone, "It's quicker this way. Just hold on tight, okay?"

I don't understand this man, but whatever,

for now, let's just escape.