Soul of the Phoenix

"s**t, they're here. Sakiya, come quick!" Paul, her father, held his arms out for his daughter to run to him, while his wife lay passed out on the makeshift couch they had made from old blankets and planks of wood from the surrounding forest behind them. They knew the police were after them and had tried so hard to conceal their whereabouts, especially since they had to protect their daughter from the people who had caused this . A loud bang sounded from the door, dust kicking up as the armed men busted their front door down. They were all dressed in black swat team outfits, armed and shielded. The place they barged into was a dingy place which they figured would have been better to hide in, as it was abandoned and there were a lot of abandoned buildings in this area of Polaris, which they assumed would be easier to not draw attention to themselves, which apparently wasn't the case anymore. As Paul had Sakiya in his arms, one of the officers dragged her away as she cried, handing her to one of his partners who had come in with him. "Nooo! Please don't take me away from my baby! Pleaaasee!" Paul yelled, trying to grab his daughter back as the police officers proceeded and were determined to keep them separated. "She's only 4 years old! She can't understand what's happening, at least do this to where she can't see her parents being taken away in handcuffs! How heartless can you be?!?" Paul shouted with tears streaming down his face at the officers trying to drag him away from his daughter. His wife was now screaming in anguish, now that she was awakened from her drug-induced slumber. Sakiya was dressed in only underwear and a purple t-shirt, food along the front of her shirt and looked like she hadn't had a bath in a few days. This showed the neglect her parents had done, although they had no choice in their situation. The police decided to call child protective services as they felt she needed better care just by taking one look at her. Sakiya had cried and cried, reaching for her daddy to no avail. None of them would let her near her father. One of the officers placed Paul in handcuffs, while picking up Deborah, her mother, off of the floor to place her in a second set of handcuffs. The gut wrenching scream that came from Sakiya was beyond heart wrenching, the officers tackling her mother to the ground as she tried to fight them off. Sakiya wasn't used to violence, and this was becoming a scary experience for her. "Get the f**k off of me! You imbeciles, you're making a big mistake!!" Deborah yelled at the officers while they had her face against the ground, violently handcuffing her hands behind her back. Her husband, Paul, could hear the cracking of her shoulders as the officers were still on top of her, and made an attempt to get them to stop. "You're hurting her! You incompetent f***s! Let her go!" He shouted as the officers blatantly ignored him, Sakiya still screaming in the background, her fear of the officers showing. Once they had Deborah up on her feet and handcuffed, they told them what was happening. "Mr. and Mrs. Landers, you're under arrest for the murder of King Murphy of Polaris. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. If you don't have an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" Officer Mark questioned, Paul spitting at his feet as he was the officer who was holding Deborah by her arms. "Go to hell." He said in a low voice, Deborah not saying anything at all, still looking out of it. One officer stayed with Sakiya as two of the others escorted the couple out to their government vehicles. Sakiya had calmed down a bit, but still silent tears draped down her face. A tall woman with dark hair and dark eyes walked in, kneeling down in front of her. "Hello, Sakiya. I'm mara. I am a social worker here for Polaris. I'm here to help you. I have a feeling you and I will be seeing each other a lot more from here on out." She gently stated, Sakiya not looking at her face, only at the ground. "I understand that you're upset, however, this was not a good situation for you to have been in the middle of. I know you love your family, and they probably love you as well, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control. None of this has anything to do with you, do you understand?" Mara asked. Sakiya nodded her head, still not looking up. Mara gently grabbed her chin, pulling her face up to look at her. "You'll get through this, okay? I promise." Mara smiled at her, trying to render her on her side with her soft voice. "When will I see them again? I want my mommy and daddy!" Sakiya cried, a little more this time. "I'm not sure little one, but we'll do our best to make sure everything is taken care of." At that moment, Mara's phone rang. She stood up, walking a few feet away from the girl. After she had ended the call, she walked back over to Sakiya and smiled at her while nodding her head. "I have a very nice family who I'd like you to meet. Can you do that for me?" Mara asked her while tilting her head sideways. She shook her head no. "That's okay, I think you'll warm up to them love." She patted her shoulder before walking away and then bringing in two strangers that Sakiya had never seen before. "Sakiya, I'd like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cohen. You're gonna be going with them for awhile until we get the adult stuff figured out." Mara told her, Sakiya looking up at the two people who she would be ultimately leaving with. The strange woman had squatted in front of her. "Hello, darling. My name is Holly and this is David. We would love to welcome you into our home. We have waited for a chance to take care of a little girl, and now you have come along, making our dreams come true. Would you like to go get something to eat, sweetheart?" Holly asked her. "Yes, I'm so hungry." Sakiya noted while rubbing her belly, Holly smiling at her in sadness. She looked at Mara before looking back at Sakiya, taking her into her arms for a hug. "Well, let's go do that, shall we?... But first, I think it would be important to find you something to wear. Do you know where your clothes are?" Holly questioned her. Sakiya shook her head no, but the social worker took it upon herself to search around to find what belongings her parents had for her around the house. When she returned she had a pair of pants that you could tell hadn't been washed, but it was seemingly one of her only options. After Sakiya was dressed in the pants Mara had brought in the room, the foster parents and Mara walked her outside. She was still teary-eyed, but not as hysterical as she had been a little while ago. The foster parents had walked up to a blue SUV, opening the door and preparing the inside for Sakiya to get in. At first Sakiya was hesitant, but with a pat from the worker and a smile from the parents, she hopped in. She was hungry after all. Holly buckled her in and shut the door, turning to Mara to thank her before they joined Sakiya in the car. "What sounds good to you, hunny? Do you know what you want to eat?" David asked Sakiya, but she didn't give them an answer, only looking down at her hands. They decided to take her to a place that had a buffet, that way Sakiya could eat until her heart was content and her belly was full. They arrived at the buffet place named Polar Corral. As they walked in together side by side, there was a host at the entrance to take them to their seating. "Welcome to Polar Corral. My name is Heather and I'll be your server today. 3 at a table? the waitress asked, and Holly nodded her head. "Right this way." The waitress guided them to a table the had cushioned chairs. They all took a seat and the waitress handed them a menu. "Can I get you anything to drink to start with?" She asked the trio. "I'll take a sweet tea. Coke for David and.." Holly started off, before tlooking to Sakiya and asking her what she would like to drink. Sakiya shyly stated she wanted chocolate milk. "..And a chocolate milk for the princess." Holly smiled. "I'll be right back with your drinks, and if you're ready to order just let me know." Heather smiled before attending to her server station to get their drinks. Meanwhile, Holly tried to engage in conversation with Sakiya. "So, You're four years old I hear?" Sakiya nodded at her question. "If you don't mind me asking, love, what is it that you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?" She asked her. It took Sakiya a moment to work up the courage to start talking. "I love to draw. I also love to play hide and seek." She stated, excitement in her tone. "Well, we'll have to do those in our time tog-..." Holly started to say, before a strange and scary looking man that Sakiya didn't know, walked up to their table. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Cohen. Didn't expect to see you here." The man stated, Holly looking down and David staring directly at him. Sakiya could feel the tension suddenly surrounding them on their outing. * I couldn't fit this in the authors note, so figured I would add here. The cover on this book is temporary. I'll be changing it soon.