To Free a Soul

Chapter One

I stood on the street, a meer ghost just watching the happenings of my past. I was standing a good few meters away still too scared even now to get too close. I watched as I cried out, sobbing as I was torn away from my mother, reaching out for her as she just watched with cold and unblinking eyes. I had something she never could, and the dull throb of the strange man digging his fingers into the bruise that laid on my wrist was proof of that.

"Mummy! Don't let them take me! Mummy please!"

I crawled in behind my child self and the people who took me, sitting on the last available seat that I remember being. Many other dark marks in a smattering of blue, purple, yellow, green, and black marred my tiny body, along with the small scars that already littered my frame. I watched as young me scratched at one on my knee as I sat in the back of the dark van, two strange men and a woman accompanied me. I never learned their names. Child me was still sobbing, my hair falling in my eyes. The woman placed ducktape over my mouth, and reflexively I rubbed at my lips, feeling the memory of the many times that sticky substance came into contact with my skin. At least I wasn't crying anymore.

*bzzt bzzt*
*bzzt bzzt*
*bzzt bzzt*

My phone vibrating on my wooden bedside table jolted me from my dream, and I was relatively glad to no longer be a silent observer to my own suffering. I sat up, running my fingers through my hair and then absent-mindedly rubbing at my left wrist as pictures of my bruised and bloodied body danced across my sight. When my phone began to buzz again I grumbled at it but picked it up to turn off the alarm.

This was it, my 18th birthday. From here on out they couldn't control me anymore. No longer would I be their sniffer dog or their damage control. This was everything I'd ever waited for. Finally I would be free, without any government or gang or secret organisation to try to control me or change me.

I had handed in my resignation letter two weeks ago and did my last rounds on base yesterday. After that I'd booked it out of there without even a wave to my superiors. They didn't even deserve that, the bastards.

I'd woken up in an unfamiliar room and was disoriented as I tried to make my way to a bathroom, but as soon as my feet hit plush carpet I remembered, I was in a hotel. I took a big deep breath before throwing open the curtains and just staring out at the view, all thoughts if the bathroom gone. This was my chance for a new start, and I was almost giddy at the thought. It was... weird... to have been left alone for over 24 hours, with no one asking me questions or trying to make small talk, no one to go over plans with or report to. It was an amazing feeling that I don't think I could ever get sick of.

After checking my bank to make sure all the money I was owed had gone through and they hadn't stinged me like they had for the last 16 odd years, I took a long, slow shower, enjoying the warmth. I had all the time in the world, the only deadline being my flight at 20:00, and so a long hot shower (now that that was possible) was at the top of my list.

That and shopping.

I had never actually been shopping so I didn't know what I liked. Until now my civilian clothes had consisted of a ratty old pair of dark wash bootleg jeans and an oversized hoodie with my branch's logo on it. The hoodie I was planning on keeping, not for anything other then it was suuuuuper soft and comfy, but the jeans HAD to go. I was over it.

After spending almost an hour under the hot jets of water, just sitting on the tiled floor of the shower, I finally stood up and got dried and dressed, putting those God awful clothes back on my body. I still had 7 hours till my flight, or 6 1/2 really because I had to be there a half hour early to make sure I had time to go through security and found my gate and such.