Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate

Ten year old, Rhea Anderson stood in the middle of her driveway with tears falling down her face. Looking back at her house, where the flames seemed to be reaching for her through now broken windows and doors. She could hear the sirens screaming in the distance and someone really far away was yelling her name. When she turned to see Mrs.Tripple from next door standing beside her, Rhea melted into the kind, elderly lady's arms.

"Rhea, are you alright?"

"I thought bad things only happened at night, Mrs. Tripple. It's too pretty out here for this to be real."

Her little eyes rolled back into her head and she crumpled to the ground.

When Rhea next woke, she was in a hospital room with her Aunt Diana sitting in a chair beside her.

"Welcome back sweetie. You had us all scared there for awhile."

"Why are you here, Aunt Diana? Where is Mama and Daddy?" Diana gently took Rhea's hand and kissed her knuckles through the bandages on her hands.

"Sweetheart...I'm so sorry. They didn't make it. You are the only survivor, honey."

"That's not true! The men...they told Mama that she could leave with Andreah and I saw Mama run out the back door carrying the baby. I was hiding just like Daddy told me to and Daddy said everything was going to be alright. Then there was fire everywhere and I had to leave my hiding spot. Did I do right when I left? Daddy told me to hide."

"What men? Who did this Rhea?"

"I don't know who they are, Aunt Diana. They kept yelling the same thing over and over at Daddy. They kept telling him that they wanted the antidote made and daddy told them that he couldn't do it."

"Antidote for what? Why would they think your dad could make something like that? Your dad is a high school history teacher for goodness sake."

"I don't know. I don't understand any of this. I want my Mama, Aunt Diana. I just want my Mama."

The nurse came in then and put something in her IV and once again Rhea was floating in darkness.

When she woke again, Diana was talking to a police officer in frantic whispers that Rhea couldn't understand.

"Oh, Rhea you are awake. My name is Detective Jack Williams and I am with a special division of the police force. How are you feeling?"

Rhea looked over at her aunt and when Diana nodded that it was okay to talk to the detective, Rhea turned back to the officer.

Shrugging her shoulders she said, "I'm alright, I guess."

"That's good to hear, Rhea. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"I guess that will be alright."

"Great. First, have you ever heard of The DoSM?"

"Yes. Daddy said that he and mama sometimes helps that department in the police and that they help to solve puzzles."

"Well, sort of. The DoSM stands for, The Department of Supernatural Mysteries. We do solve puzzles in a way. Your parents were both advisors to the department."

"Okay." Once again she shrugs her shoulders not knowing what any of this had to do with her or what happened to her family.

"I know this is all very confusing to you right now, but someday it will all make sense to you. Right now though, you are going to be sent to a special hospital and when you are well again, you will be sent to a special school with people that are just like you. Does that sound alright to you?"

"I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore."

"Well, I think that will change over time. Right now you are confused and hurt. You will heal, Rhea. I promise you won't always feel like this."

"Aunt Diana?"

"I'm here, sweetie. You can live with me or you can go to the special school. It is up to you."

"I don't want to live here anymore. Is the school far far away?"

"Yes it is very far away. Farther than you would ever imagine."

"Then I want to go there. I don't want to be here anymore."

It didn't take long to get her wish. Before she knew it she was on a funny looking plane with no windows that she could see, of course she was in a hospital bed that was bolted to the floor somehow. The nurse that was with her just smiled at her and patted her hand.

"How long will it take to get to the hospital?"

The nurse walked over to her, picked up what looked like a big glue stick and stuck it to the side of Rhea's neck. It didn't hurt, but it felt like ice cold water when through her neck and into her head.

"Hey! What did you do that for?"

"I meant to do that while you were asleep but I realized you probably will have some questions. What I just did was implant a communication device into your brain that will dissolve and just be a permanent part of you from now on. So, now you can understand my language and any language that has ever been, on any planet."

"Any planet? What? Lady, are you insane?"

The nurse just laughed.

"I actually get that a lot from the newcomers. No, I am not insane. My name is Zanna and the ship you are on will be taking you to your new home planet, called ZX7. Welcome to the beginning of the rest of your life."

"Rhea! What are you doing, just sitting there staring off into space?"

Rhea jumped to her feet and spun around to see her friend, Kharhrie. With a laugh she shrugged.

"I was just remembering the day that I was on a ship from Earth to ZX7. Seems so long ago sometimes."

"Well, considering that you were what? Ten, when you first came here and you are now 25, yeah that was a long time ago."

"Yeah and now I am going back to Earth again."

"On a mission, Rhea. An assigned mission. You are not to stray from the mission to go hunt down the people that killed your family. Remember what Commander Leaxion said?"

"Yes, I remember very well thank you. He said that I was to stay on task and not to deviate from the plan. I will do as I was told. Besides, I wouldn't even know where to start looking for those men anyway. They could be long dead for all I know. I won't be going for revenge. Yet."

"It's that 'yet' that I worry about. You aren't really the ask questions kind of person. You are the beat the life out of them and if they are still breathing, you might ask them some questions before you rip their heads from their shoulders, kind of girl."

"That only happened once and it was an accident. Besides, he had it coming."

"Yep, this is going to be one unforgettable mission. I just hope I live to tell about it when it is over, Rhea."

"No worries, we will make it back alive, I promise."

"Uh, huh."

A voice came over the intercom that seemed way too perky and excited, considering how long this trip has been.

"We will be landing in about two minutes, buckle up bitches!"