Her Shadows

CHAPTER EIGHT

AMELIA POV

[5 years old]

The lights were so bright I could barely open my eyes. Was I dying? Were these the angels Ms Lennon had talked about? She always said if I misbehaved the angels would take me, but I don't want to go.

Please don't take me.

Eyes adjusting to the light I squint at the crowd, nose scrunching up. There were so many adults in suits and dresses. They didn't look very nice and one of them looked like he was going to eat me.

I just want to go home. Ms Lennon had just bought Lucy, another girl in the foster home, a new barbie doll. Lucy was Ms Lennon's favourite, but Lucy liked me and was going to let me play with it. I was meant to be playing Barbies. Where am I?

I cradle my arms to my chest, lip quivering and shivering from the cold. The mean man backstage had taken all my clothes. He made me put on a green bikini but it's really scratchy and hurts my skin. The undies are too small, and I begged him to not make me wear it but he just shoved me to the ground and put them on.

I don't want to wear them. I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to. I just want to go back to Ms Lennon's house.

The noise suddenly cut-in, as if I had the TV were muted this whole time and only now was the volume turned on.

There's a really tall man next to me and his stomach is pudgier than Mr Lennon's beer belly. The man next to me isn't Mr Lennon though. He's so happy and animated.

His words are so quick I can't catch any of them, everything flying over my hazy head.

The man grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. I tripped over my own feet like a newborn fawn from that animal channel. My toes feel heavy, like big obstacles I keep stumbling over. I try to wiggle them, but I can't feel them anymore.

My head feels fuzzy and everything's so dizzy I can barely manage to stand upright.

My knees keep knocking together violently and they feel like weights trying to pull me to the floor. But the crazy man next to me grips my ars to tight I couldn't sit down if I tried.

He kept talking. Spitting words and going faster with every sentence. The scary men in suits kept raising panels.

Up and down.

Up and down.

Up and down.

They were sneering and laughing, and I was so cold. Ms Lennon's in the crowd and she looks so happy, but I don't know why. She needs to take me home. It's almost dinner time and Lucy's waiting.

But instead she stood there as the man spat numbers, growing higher and higher. Voices got louder. Faster.

Where were my clothes? Why am I here? What is this place and why am I on a stage?

Suddenly an old man with more salt than pepper in his hair and scary grey eyes raises his paddle. I couldn't hear what he said over the clouds in my head, but it must have been huge cause the pudgy man's grip got tighter and voice excited.

The room grew quiet and no more paddles rose.

"Sold to number 58"

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Wow. Poor Amelia has been through a lot. 

What do you guys think of these flashback chapters?