Not Safe

Chapter 6

The life she had known was gone.

And whatever was existing inside her had only just begun to wake...

Elara lay awake long after everyone else had gone quiet.

The hotel room was dark except for the faint orange glow of the city slipping through the curtains. Somewhere outside, a car passed on the wet road, its tires hissing against the pavement before disappearing into the distance.

She stared at the ceiling.

Sleep refused to come.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same things.

The Hunter.

The silver blade.

Her mother's body falling after the gunshot.

The golden light beneath her own skin.

And that howl.

She swallowed.

She still didn't know what she was.

That thought should have frightened her more than anything else.

Instead, it was the questions that wouldn't leave her alone.

Who am I?

Who are my real parents?

Why was I taken?

What happened to me when I was a baby?

And most importantly

What had her parents been protecting her from all these years?

Elara turned onto her side.

Across the room, her father sat in the chair beside the window.

He hadn't slept either.

His face looked exhausted, the bruising around his cheek darker under the weak light.

Her biological mother was lying on the other side of the bed.

She was awake too.

Elara could tell from the way her breathing changed whenever she thought nobody was watching.

Nobody spoke.

For the first time in eighteen years, Elara was lying in the same room as the woman who had given birth to her.

And somehow, that woman was the person she trusted the least.

Not because she had done anything to Elara.

But because her arrival had destroyed everything Elara thought she understood.

Her home.

Her parents.

Her childhood.

Her entire identity.

Elara closed her eyes again.

She remembered the word that had slipped from her mouth when the Hunter shot the woman.

Mom.

She hadn't planned to say it.

It had simply come out.

Maybe some part of her had recognized the woman before her mind could.

That thought made her chest tighten.

She opened her eyes.

The room remained silent.

Outside, the night continued as if nothing had happened.

As if girls weren't discovering they weren't human.

As if mothers weren't being hunted.

As if Hunters weren't searching the streets.

The world was still turning.

But Elara's world had stopped, and it had happened too quickly.

Morning came, too quickly.

Elara woke to the sound of a zipper closing.

She pushed herself up.

Her mother was already dressed.

Her father stood beside the small table, packing their things into a bag.

"We're leaving," her mother said.

Elara blinked sleepily.

"Leaving where?"

"Somewhere else."

Her father looked up.

"For what?"

His voice carried a tired irritation.

"We can't keep running without a destination."

Her mother turned toward him.

"We don't have the luxury of staying."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know."

"Then where are we going?"

She hesitated.

"Out of town."

Elara swung her feet onto the floor.

"That's it?"

Both adults looked at her.

She stood.

"You keep telling me we're moving, running, hiding, but nobody is actually telling me where we're going."

Her mother looked at her carefully.

"There's a place."

"A place?"

"Somewhere I've kept hidden for years."

Her father frowned.

"You never told me about it."

"I never needed to."

"And now?"

"Now she needs it."

Elara watched them.

Then something else occurred to her.

"My mother."

The room went still.

She looked at her biological mother.

"No."

The word came quietly.

"My other mother."

Her voice cracked slightly.

"The woman who raised me."

Her biological mother lowered her eyes.

Elara felt a knot form in her stomach.

"What happened to her?"

Neither answered immediately.

That silence told her enough.

"What happened?"

Her father looked away.

Her biological mother finally spoke.

"They took her."

Elara's breathing stopped.

"Who?"

"The Hunters."

Elara stared at her.

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"We were trying to get you somewhere safe first."

Elara's hands curled into fists.

"Is she alive?"

Her mother nodded.

"I don't know that."

"Then we have to go back, we have to help her." Elara cried out

"No."

The answer was immediate.

Elara looked at her.

"She's my mother."

"I know."

"Please, you can save her, you have powers I've seen it" Elara pleaded

Her biological mother's expression softened.

"If you go back now, they'll have two things they want."

Elara frowned.

"Two things?"

"Your mother."

She paused.

"And you."

The room seemed to shrink.

Elara looked toward the window.

She imagined the woman who had packed her lunch, helped her with homework, scolded her for coming home late, and sat beside her whenever she was sick.

That woman was somewhere out there.

Captured.

Because of her.

Elara's eyes burned.

"I need to find her."

"You will," her biological mother said quietly.

"When?"

"When it's safe for you."

Elara hissed, frustrated, that phrase again she wasn't safe.

Her mother took a breath.

"I've spent eighteen years trying to get back to you."

Her voice remained calm, but something painful moved behind her eyes.

"I'm not going to lose you again."

Elara looked down, she didn't know if she was being too hard on the woman but she was also hurt by the thought of leaving her adoptive mother behind.

Her biological mother reached for the bag.

"There is somewhere you can stay."

"Where?"

"Far from here.

Her mother hesitated.

"You'll be safe for a while, give us time to learn more about what you are."

Elara gave a humourless laugh.

Her mother continued undeterred by her sarcasm,"it's someone I trust."

Her father studied her face.

"And they know about Elara?"

"They know enough."

Elara folded her arms.

"Enough for what?"

"To watch you."

Elara's expression changed.

"Watch me?"

"Monitor what happens as your abilities develop."

The words made her uncomfortable.

"You've only just awakened. Whatever is happening inside you will become clearer with time."

"We need to learn more and we can't have these hunters interruping that."

Her mother stepped closer.

"That's what the place is for."

Elara didn't answer.

A strange feeling settled over her.

She had spent eighteen years living an ordinary life.

Now, apparently, she was being taken somewhere hidden so people could watch her become something she didn't understand.

A new life.

One she had never asked for.

One she couldn't escape.

They left the hotel shortly after sunrise.

The town looked completely different in the morning.

People hurried along sidewalks.

Cars filled the roads.

Children in uniforms waited at bus stops.

Shops opened.

A woman laughed while talking on her phone.

Everything looked so normal.

Elara almost wished it didn't.

They stopped at a small roadside café before leaving the surrounding.

Her father went inside to get food while her mother stayed with Elara near the car.

Elara was staring across the street when she heard a familiar voice.

"Elara?"

She froze, then turned quickly, shed forgotten about her normal life already.

Nia stood several metres away, her schoolbag hanging from one shoulder.

"Nia?"

Her friend hurried toward her.

"I've been trying to reach you."

Elara's stomach dropped.

"You're skipping school?"

"It's complicated..." Elara muttered but wasn't sure anyone heard.

Nia stopped when she reached them.

Then she noticed Elara's parents.

Her eyes moved from Elara to the older woman beside her.

Something strange flickered across her face.

It disappeared almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" Nia asked.

"I'm fine."

Nia didn't look convinced.

"Was it because of that strange man?"

Elara's heart skipped.

Her father stepped out of the café at that exact moment.

"What strange man?"

Nia looked at him.

"The man who was following us."

Elara stared at her, she didn't want Nia to be involved, she wanted her to be safe for goodness sake.

"Following you girls?"

Nia nodded.

"After school."

Her father placed the food on the car roof.

"When?"

"Yesterday."

Elara felt cold.

Nia continued.

"I saw him near the gate too in the morning. He was watching you."

Elara remembered the black car.

The man in the dark jacket.

"You saw him too?"

"Yes."

Nia lowered her voice.

"You didn't tell your parents?"

Elara shook her head.

"I didn't know what to think."

Nia glanced around.

"I tried to lose him."

"You what?" Elara was honestly confused.

"He followed me after you left."

Elara stared at her friend, worried, she didn't want Nia to be in any form of danger. She was her only friend.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elara was anxious.

"I thought you knew."

Nia's eyes moved toward Elara's biological mother.

For one strange second, her expression became unreadable.

Then she smiled faintly.

"I guess I was wrong."

Elara's father stepped closer, he seemed skeptical but Elara knew he was worried, everyone had been on edge since the attack.

"Did the man say anything to you?"

Nia shook her head.

"No."

"Did he touch you?"

"No."

"Then how do you know he was following you?"

Nia hesitated.

"I just knew."

Her father exchanged a look with Elara's biological mother.

Nia noticed.

"So... what's going on?"

Elara opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

How could she explain?

My biological mother suddenly appeared.

Hunters attacked our house.

My other mother has been taken.

I might not be human.

It sounded insane even inside her own head.

"I'm leaving town," Elara finally said.

Nia's face fell.

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

"Where will you go"

"I don't know."

Nia looked at her for a long moment.

Then she hugged her.

Elara froze.

She hadn't realized how badly she needed something familiar until Nia's arms were around her.

"Be careful," Nia whispered.

Elara closed her eyes.

"I will."

When they pulled apart, Nia smiled.

But there was something unusual in her eyes.

Something Elara couldn't place. She assumed Nia was trying to be brave.

"See you soon," Nia said.

Elara nodded, she though Nia was being delusional, "see you soon;" as if.

They didn't even know if they'll ever meet again

"Yeah." She replied and blinked several times in an attempt to stop the tears from dropping down her eyes.

It's like she was officially saying goodbye to her normal life.

She watched Nia walk away.

Then Nia turned the corner and disappeared.

Elara's biological mother was staring after her.

"What?" Elara asked.

Her mother didn't answer immediately.

"Nothing."

But she didn't sound convinced.

Elara frowned.

"Tell me"

Her mother looked at her.

"Your friend."

"What about her?"

"Nothing."

Again, that hesitation.

Elara looked back toward the corner where Nia had disappeared.

For some reason, she suddenly felt cold.

She didn't know why.

She didn't know that Nia had been watching her for longer than Elara realized.

And she certainly didn't know that the strange man at school had not been the only person paying attention to her.

Some secrets were still following her.

Some were closer than she thought.