Chapter One
Boston 1999
It was a cold early morning. The sun hadn't even come up. It was just soft light where everything was gray that meant that morning was still waking up. The air was crisp and the small patches of grass along the hard little road had frost on it. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know how she became barefoot and covered in blood. She didn't know where she was going. She couldn't seem to stop wandering. She vaguely heard someone gasp. Then there was someone in front of her trying to see if she was ok. All she could hear was a garbling. She barely felt the blanket that was wrapped around her. She focused on the frost on the ground. Jack Frost, she thought. Usually, she would call it that with a giggle. But she couldn't seem to smile or giggle. Later she would know that, it was police officers that found her. Later she would know that they brought her in to the police station and gave her hot chocolate. She remembered the police man and his gentle voice and his kind eyes. She couldn't seem to answer any of his questions though. She didn't know her name. She didn't know how old she was. Most importantly she didn't know where all the blood had come from or why it was all over her.
"Sweetie." The police man, whose name was Detective Tanner Smith, said. He was nice. He had kind blue eyes that looked tired and dark brown hair that was disheveled from a long night at work. His face was nice. He had a strong jaw and slashing cheekbones. "We are going to get a doctor to take a look at you. This is my partner, Detective Alice Connelly. She is going to be with you every step of the way while the doctor is taking a look at you. Okay?"
She looked over at the lady detective and nodded. She had kind eyes, too. She took Detective Alice's hand and went with her when she held it out. Alice had short red hair and blue eyes in a petite round face. She reminded her of a pixie. Alice was really nice, but she was trying so hard to remember whatever it was that she had forgotten. When they had gotten to the hospital, there was a pretty lady waiting for them. They said she was a nurse and her name was Anne. The lights in the hospital were bright and it smelled of lemons. Alice and Anne brought her around to a room with a curtain and a bed. They told her to sit down on it, and she did.
"Ok. Sweetheart." Anne said, "I have to look at you to make sure that you aren't hurt. Ok?" Anne waited for her to nod. "If you feel uncomfortable at any time just let me know and we will take a break." She nodded again.
They took pictures of her as they wiped away the blood. They also cleaned her fingernails and brushed dirt out of her hair. They kept all they collected in little bags with a red line across the top. When they had finished that, they told her to lie back and that they had to check her private areas to make sure she wasn't hurt down there either. She did as they said, and jerked a little when Anne examined her. But Alice was right there and held her hand. She decided that she liked Alice. She was pretty and her eyes were kind. She focused on Alice's blue eyes. They were the color of bluebells. Then she heard a buzzing. Bees liked flowers. Flowers meant spring. She liked spring. She closed her eyes and a picture of a field came into her mind. A field of beautiful flowers of every color. And a gigantic tree with a big wide trunk thick with green leaves that grew on branches that went every which way. It was beautiful. The sky was blue. She was lying in the field of flowers making out shapes in the puffiest white clouds. She felt happy and peaceful. As soon as she was restful, a sense of dread came over her. As if there was a pit in her stomach. Then all of a sudden a dark shadow came across the field and everything around her died instantly. There was thunder and lightning coming from the blackest and darkest clouds as something evil in a black cloak started to come towards her. She tried to see its face. But the cloak's hood was up. Then in a blink of an eye it was in front of her with red eyes that seemed to glow and white fangs growling. She jerked awake. "Shh. It's ok. You're ok." Alice was still there holding her hand. Anne was no longer in the room. "You dozed off for a bit. Would you like to get cleaned up? There is a bathroom right over there. And Detective Tanner went to get you some clothes."
She nodded and went to the adjoining bathroom. Alice followed and watched as the girl looked muddled at the bathroom. "Do you know how to use a bathroom?" Alice asked.
She shook her head.
Alice went to the sink, "The left knob gives you hot water, and the right knob gives you cold water. The shower does the same thing." Then she pointed at the toilet, "And that is where you sit down when you have to pee or poop." Then she pushed the toilet handle down and flushed it and smiled at the amazement in the girl's eyes. "Listen, I will be right out here if you need me. Ok?"
She nodded. Alice had to help her a few times when the water was too hot and then again when it was too cold. Then she had to help her again when she got soap in her eyes. After she was dried off, Alice left her to get dressed on her own.
When she was alone in the bathroom trying to get dressed, she overheard Alice and Tanner talking. "She's never seen a bathroom before, Tan."
"Well, you saw the clothes she was in. It's like she's from medieval times."
"She looks like she was in a battle. She had chainmail under her clothes. And it looks authentic. She has scratches and bruises all over her body. Her lip is busted, and she has a bruise on the left side of her face and around her neck. Whatever she has been through, it's been rough. And she can't be more than ten years old."
Tanner paced as they spoke some more. The little girl looked at herself in the mirror as she dressed herself. Her face did have a bruise along her tiny jaw that ran into her mouth where the busted lip resided. She saw the bruising around her neck. It looked like a hand print. Her hair was blonde and curled down to her waist. It was pretty. She was skinny. She lifted the shirt she had on and saw the bruises that Alice had been talking about. She looked at her face again a little closer. Her lips were full despite the busted lip and her eyes were a bright blue. Those were pretty too. They were almost the same color as Alice's and Detective Tanner's, but where Alice's were a little purple and Tanner's were like calm lake water, hers were like bright sapphires. She liked the color of them. She struggled into the pants and noticed a mark on her ankle. It was in the shape of a star. She puzzled over it a bit. Then there was this high pitch noise that caused her head to hurt. She fell to the floor with her hands on either side of her head and let out a painful scream. She heard running feet and then the bathroom door opened. Detective Tanner picked her up and laid her on the hospital bed as Alice tried to give her a cup of water. "Danyka." She whispered. Her voice almost sounded like it belonged to someone else, since she had not spoken since she arrived. She realized her throat was sore.
"What? Sweetie, are you ok?" Alice asked with concern.
"My name." She said looking at the detectives with bright blue eyes that still burned with pain. "My name is Danyka. Danyka Lodbrock. And I am ten years old."
Chapter Two
For the next couple of days, Danyka was monitored by doctors to make sure that she did not have any kind of concussion. Danyka still had not remembered anything other than her name and her age. She was Danyka Lodbrock and she was ten years old. And other than the nightmares that she could not explain. She could not remember anything else.
They spoke of putting her in a place called foster care. There was a nice woman named Karen that came in and spoke to her. She said she was from child services. She was rounder than Detective Alice and her skin was darker. She had short hair that she kept in a bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were dark in color but kind. Someone brought her some food. They called it McDonald's. The food was called a cheeseburger and fries with a soda. They told her that Ms. Karen was supposed to be back later today to take her to a place with foster parents, where they would care for her.
Detectives Alice and Tanner stopped by a few times to check on her. They were nice. She liked them. Tanner had given her a toy called a Gameboy. It came with little games like Tetris and Mario. Alice brought more clothes and books. She enjoyed the Tetris game and the books. There was a book on Boston. Alice told her that that was the city she was in. They told her that she would be going to a nice new house with a woman and a man that had three other children. And that she would be starting school. Until they could figure out where she came from and where her parents were. Danyka was a little anxious. What was school? She did not know anyone or where she was from. Although she tried, her memories were still very blurry. They told her that she has amnesia. The amnesia is keeping her from remembering anything. They told her that her brain was most likely blocking it out because she had a traumatic experience. It was frustrating not knowing and being in a strange place.
When it was time to leave the hospital, she was fascinated by the elevator. She wanted to go again, but Ms. Karen said they were on a schedule. The detectives were on the sidewalk; one of the books that Alice gave her informed her that the small hard roads were called sidewalks, in front of the hospital. She smiled at them. Alice gave her a card with hers and Tanner's numbers on it in case she needed anything. "Oh, Danyka. Here." Alice handed her a necklace with a star and a blue crystal in the middle of it. "This is yours. We found it in the pocket of your clothes. It looks special. Make sure you hold on to it." Danyka puzzled over the familiar jewelry. She nodded and gave a slight smile. She had not spoken since the first night in the hospital when she told the detectives her name.
Danyka slid into the carriage that required no horse to pull with Ms. Karen and they went to foster care. She looked out the window the whole way to the foster care. Ms. Karen was telling her about the family that she would be living with. She tried to pay attention, but she had never seen buildings as big as the ones that she was seeing now.
They passed many buildings and drove down many roads. The roads were wide and hard. She wondered where all the dirt roads were. They drove for what seemed a long time, until they came to a quiet neighborhood. All the houses were huge. Smaller than a castle but much bigger than any hut that she had ever seen.
The Andersons. They were James and Mary Anderson. They had three children two boys and a girl. Thomas, Michael, and Emily. They were all older than her. Fifteen, thirteen and eleven. She would be arriving before the children arrived home from school. From what Ms. Karen said they were an upper middle-class family, whatever that means. The father works at a law firm and the mother is an advisor. She gives advice to people with questions in the local newspaper.
As they walked up the steps to the grand house, the red door swung open. And a couple stood there with smiles as they watched Danyka come up the stairs. The woman was beautiful and petite. She had light brown hair that brushed her shoulders and green eyes. Her smile was big and bright. She wore a sweater and slacks with white shoes. And the man that stood beside her was a little taller than her but not nearly as tall as Detective Tanner. He had blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He also wore a sweater and slacks but black shoes. His smile was big and bright as well. Looking at him, made Danyka's tummy hurt, but she put the feeling aside and decided she must be hungry.
Later that evening, Danyka ate with the family. While the food was delicious, Danyka was not sure how to act when she met the rest of the family. The children were nice enough, especially Emily. She has always wanted a sister. So, she talked excitedly through dinner. The fact that Danyka did not talk back did not seem to bother her. Michael was quiet. He did not seem to care one way or the other about Danyka's presence. Thomas was quiet but would try to engage in conversation with his father. It made Danyka uncomfortable. James would speak every so often to ask the kids about school or make a comment about work. Mary would smile and nod with an approving comment. Danyka could not explain why but she felt like everyone was strained. Like they were waiting for something to happen, which made her even more anxious.
After the meal, Mary guided Danyka to a room. Danyka looked around the beautiful room. It had a big bed with a white comforter and flowered pillows. The walls were a pale lavender color with artwork on the walls. There was one painting of a field with wildflowers. The memory of the big tree in the field flashed through Danyka's memory again with a voice in the back of her memory calling her name. Danyka doubled over in pain with her head in her hands. Mary was at her side instantly helping her to the bed. "Danyka! Are you ok?"
After a few deep breaths, the headache subsided to a dull throb. Danyka nodded. She did not know why she could not seem to speak. But she just could not seem to bring the words to flow from her mouth. She dressed for bed in the adjoining bathroom that was provided to her. Mary tucked her in and sang her to sleep. The song was foreign to her, but Mary's voice was soothing and before Danyka knew she drifted off to sleep.
"Danyka. You are the chosen one. We will call on you when you reach your fourth year of adulthood."
Danyka was in the burnt field. The large tree had no leaves on it. She turned, trying to search the source of the voice. It seemed familiar.
"You are strong. You are powerful and you are our only hope. Take care, Danyka. Be safe."
Danyka turned and ran trying to find the person talking to her. She came to the tree and placed her hand upon it. There was heat coming from it. It throbbed with power, she realized. She heard a twig snap from behind her and she spun around. There was a large wolf with red eyes. He looked feral and was growling at her. She heard a clanking sound. The wolf had chains on him. As the wolf started to approach her, she stood her ground and reached over to her side. There was nothing there. What was she reaching for? The wolf lunged.
Danyka shot up in bed and searched the room that she was in. She ran across the room and turned the light on. She slowly scanned the room. She was alone. Danyka kept her back to the wall until she found a corner of the room. She slid down the wall and stayed there until morning.
Chapter Three
Weeks passed. Danyka went to school. She discovered she was good at school. She did not remember going to school before, but the teachers said that she was exceptionally good at her work in every subject. She paid attention in class. And although she still had not spoken to anyone yet, she excelled at reading by the tests that she took. She sat with Emily at lunch. She rode the bus home with all three of the Anderson children, ate dinner with the Anderson family, woke up and did the same thing again the next day. At night, she had recurring nightmares. The voice no longer spoke to her, but the wolf was there, or the dark figure in the cloak with red eyes and sharp white teeth. She once woke up screaming and Mary took care of her, but James was aggravated by the interruption in sleep. So, now she made sure that she kept her door closed so no one could hear her.
On weekends, she went outside in the backyard with a book and would stay there for hours. Emily would sometimes join her but would eventually get bored with her and go play something else.
Although the Andersons were friendly people and gave her space, Danyka could not help but feel this restlessness inside of her. As if she was waiting for something to happen. She would sometimes stare at herself in the mirror trying to think where she came from. The people here were so different. They spoke differently, their clothes were different. She could not remember much, but the subtle flashes that she would get showed a life that seemed older than this one. She looked at herself in the mirror once again.
Who do I look like? My mother? My father? Why am I smart and still know nothing of this world? Where did I come from? Who am I? Why am I here? These questions pestered her a lot lately. She saw by watching the Anderson family that they were a nice family, but the children and wife were distant from the husband. One night, Mr. James had a late meeting. When it was only the mother and the children home there were more jokes and laughter than there was when Mr. James was home. She also noticed that Thomas looked exactly like his father. Emily looked exactly like her mother. Michael on the other hand looked like his father but had his mother's coloring with light brown hair and green eyes. It was interesting, which led Danyka to wonder if she looked like her mother or her father. The only thing she had from her previous life was the necklace that Detective Alice had found, the star with the blue crystal in the middle. She had a small flash back once where she saw someone giving it to her but when she tried to look a little further all she heard were garbled voices and blurriness. Then her head would pound for hours afterward.
There was a knock on the bathroom door, "Danyka? Is everything alright?"
It was Mary. Danyka opened the bathroom door and nodded.
"Breakfast is ready."
Danyka nodded again. She grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs.
She went through the normal daily routine. Breakfast, classes, lunch, more classes. On the bus ride home, Danyka had an anxious feeling. She looked around to see if something were about to happen, but everyone was normally rowdy on the bus ride home. She continued to look out the window until she got to her stop. She gathered her things and stepped off the bus with Thomas, Michael, and Emily. The anxious feeling had not subsided. If anything, it had gotten worse as they approached the house. That is when she heard it. Glass breaking and the yelling. She looked at the other children and realized they heard it too. A sadness and disappointment and most of all fear came into their eyes. They looked over to her. Thomas took her and Emily by the shoulders and tried to guide them to the side of the house towards the backyard. Then there was a scream from the house. Mary was screaming. Danyka did not know what happened. She briefly remembered Thomas and Michael trying to hold her back, but she kept running towards the front door. She did not remember opening the door or yelling. She did not remember hollering for Mr. James to stop. She did not remember the stunned look in both their eyes when she yelled. All she remembered was what she saw when she opened the door. Mr. James was standing over Ms. Mary. He was about to hit her. Again. She was already on the floor and bleeding from the side of her head. She had a busted lip and swelling on her left eye. Blood, tears and sweat covered her face and down her shirt. Her hair was messed up where his hand was fisted in it. When Danyka yelled, he stopped mid-swing, he looked over at her in disbelief.
"Now, you've decided to talk, huh?" He threw Ms. Mary down and walked towards Danyka. He had a crazed look in his eyes. Something that Danyka had sensed from the first day she arrived. "This isn't the time to start talking. I'm having a conversation with my wife. I'm teaching her a lesson. You need to run along with the other children. This is not your place." He shoved Danyka to the side, but she stayed standing. Her bright blue eyes burning into his pale ones. "No," she said. She placed her hands on her hips and waited.
"No? Who are you to tell me no? You're some little brat off the streets. You are lucky to be living here." He yelled. "Your parents are probably dead! You need to learn your place." He slapped Danyka across the face and she fell to the floor. Mary screamed at him as she ran at him and hitting him trying to keep him from hurting Danyka again. James yelled at her and hit her a few more times before he was thrown back off her. He was flat on his back looking up at Danyka. She was surrounded in this white light and her hair was flying everywhere as she hovered above him off the floor. But what terrified him most were her eyes, where they used to be blue, now they were completely white. She picked him up by his collar and lifted him up off his feet so that they were both hovering off the ground. "It is time for you to leave this place, James Anderson." She said in a different voice that seemed distant and echoed. "You have disgraced this family. And you do not deserve them." She threw him out of the house where he rolled and tumbled before he stopped. When he gained his feet, he ran. He did not look back. Danyka gently landed on her feet, looked around at the children that had come to their mother's aide and at all their gaping faces. Her eyes turned back to her bright blue ones and she fainted where she stood.
Chapter Four
When Danyka awoke, she was in the hospital. Ms. Mary was sitting beside the bed. There were silent tears running down her face that she quickly wiped away when she saw Danyka awake. "There you are. How are you feeling?"
"Ok." Danyka was a little surprised to hear her own voice that it took her a moment before she spoke again. "Are you ok?"
"I am now. I have a few bumps and bruises. But thanks to you it's not as bad as it could have been. This was the angriest I had ever seen him." She gave a trembling sigh. "I had been fooling myself for years, Danyka. I thought it would get better. That he would stop eventually. But it always got worse than the time before. I'm so..." Mary's lips trembled. "I'm so sorry that he hit you." A tear escaped her eye that was nearly swollen shut and she quickly wiped it away. "He had never hit the other children. But when he hit you..." She stopped to compose herself. "Anyway, I have something to tell you. I am taking the children and myself to a battered women's center. It's a place where we can start over. Where I can get some help. And I'm going to press charges on James and then divorce him. Because you were right Danyka, he has disgraced this family and he doesn't deserve us." Another tear escaped down her bruised face as she took Danyka's hand in hers. "Danyka," Her voice broke again. She cleared her throat. "You can't come with us. The children's services won't allow it. I'm so sorry. I want you to come. I'm..."
Danyka put her hand on the side of Mary's face that wasn't bruised and said, "It's okay, Ms. Mary. I understand."
Mary gave a sigh of relief and nodded as another wave of tears streamed down her face. "Danyka..." She steadied her breathing and continued. "I want you to know that the children and I... Your secret is safe with us."
Danyka looked at her confused.
"Do you not remember?" Ms. Mary asked. "You kind of gravitated above James. And your eyes changed to white. And you became extremely strong. Right after he hit you."
Danyka nodded and shrugged. "Yes. I remember. Is that not normal here?"
Mary chuckled. "No, sweetie. It's not normal. So, unless it's completely impossible not to do it, I wouldn't do it too much. I just wanted you to know that the kids and I won't tell anyone. They surprised me actually." She smiled a little. "They told the police that all of you stood up to their father and made him runaway. Which was more believable than what actually happened." She sighed. "What are you?"
Danyka's brow furrowed as she tried to remember who she was. But her head wouldn't let her remember yet and she began to get a headache. She shook her head.
Mary nodded. "It's ok. But whatever you are, Danyka, you saved our lives. Because of you, my children and I get a second chance at life. We will always be grateful for you."
The nurse knocked on the door. Mary nodded at the nurse as she rose then looked back at Danyka. She leaned over, kissed Danyka on the forehead, "Thank you, Danyka. I hope to see you again."
Danyka watched her go to her children who were waiting in the hall. Mary looked back one last time before leading her children away. Danyka felt a sadness fall over her as she watched them walk away. And once again she was alone, she thought.
Then as soon as that thought came so did Detective Tanner. He knocked on the door as he walked in. His dark brown hair was disheveled from a long day's work, his clothes were rumpled, and he had some hair shadowing his face, and although his eyes were tired, they were smiling. "Hey there, Dany!"
Dany? Danyka puzzled over the nickname, but decided she liked it. No one had ever called her Dany before. Did they? She smiled a little at him. "Hello, Detective Tanner. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I heard about what happened. So, I came to see how you were doing." He occupied the same chair that Mary had just vacated. He looked her over. There was slight bruising on the side of her face where the Anderson's reported that James Anderson had struck her. He did not let the violence show in his demeanor. There was a special place in hell for men that beat on women and children. "How have you been? Besides what happened this evening."
Danyka could not help but smile. "Good. I like school. I haven't made any friends yet, though."
"Oh, I don't know about that. The family that just left seems to have liked you quite a bit. And Detective Alice and I like you. We're your friends."
Danyka shrugged. "I guess so."
Detective Tanner chuckled. "Well, what I came to ask you when you're feeling better, we can get you discharged, and you can stay with me and my family for a little while if you'd like. It will only be for the weekend. I have two kids that always like to meet new people. And my wife would really like to meet you."
"Me? Why?"
"I told her all about you. She's curious. Plus, she loves kids. She always wished we could have more, but after our second child there were some complications. She was told that it would be dangerous for her to have anymore."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, we were blessed with two healthy and beautiful children. So, we can't complain."
There was a moment of silence. "Are you alright, Dany?" Detective Tanner asked.
"Yes. What will happen to me after your house?"
Detective Tanner took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not sure. But I promise you that I will make sure that you end up with someone that will take good care of you."
Danyka nodded. That was a good answer, one that she believed.
"So, what do you say, Dany?" Detective Tanner leaned in, "Would you like to come to my house for the weekend? Because if you are, Detective Alice is getting your discharge papers as we speak."
Danyka smiled and nodded. "Yes, please."
Chapter Five
Detective Tanner's house was not as big as the Anderson's house, but it was still nice. It was a one-story house with a cute little porch on the front. There were flower beds in the front and aligning the walkway. The minute they stepped out of the car; two kids ran out of the house. A woman with blond hair and a bright smile stepped out onto the porch. The two kids, a boy and a girl, ran up to Detective Tanner and jumped at him. He caught them both in a hug. His smile was big and beautiful and full of love and laughter. The kids were talking a mile a minute, asking questions and explaining how their days went. Then the little girl looked over at Danyka and said, "Who's that?"
All eyes turned towards her. Detective Tanner smiled and said, "This is Danyka. She is going to be staying with us for a couple of days." He stood up held a hand out to Danyka so that she stood next to him. "Danyka, this is my son, Liam and my daughter, Cora."
Danyka smiled at them both. "Hello." She said shyly. She looked at the boy who had brown curly hair like his father and grey eyes. His eyes were like clouds before a storm and they watched her with curiosity and interest. He looked a little older than Danyka. His gaze made Danyka feel tingly that made her face redden a little.
Cora a little girl of eight with blonde hair and blue eyes like her father's, stepped up to Danyka and said, "Hi. What happened to your face?"
Before Detective Tanner could say something Danyka answered, "The man at foster care hit me."
Silence. Danyka looked at the concerned faces.
Then Detective Tanner put a smile on his face and said, "So, Danyka is going to stay with us for a couple of days."
Cora shrugged, smiled and took Danyka by the hand, "Yay! Come on. I will show you my room before we eat dinner."
Danyka followed her not knowing what else to do. She met Detective Tanner's wife, Abigail, on the way in. She had a beautiful smile and was friendly. Her eyes were grey, which explained who Liam got his eye color from.
Dinner was good. The company was better. This family was quite different from the Anderson's. There was laughter and jokes and stories. Someone spilled something and no one got angry. One time Michael had spilled some milk, and James Anderson had yelled at him for a long time. Liam made Hulk noises and Detective Tanner joined in. Ms. Abigail and Cora laughed at them. And Danyka could not help but laugh also. Then there was a point while cleaning up after dinner, Danyka witnessed Detective Tanner taking Ms. Abigail into his arms in the kitchen and holding her and swaying with her to the music that was playing low on the radio. Danyka's heart swelled and she smiled. She thought to herself. This. This is what is right and beautiful. She gathered her plate and looked over to see Liam staring at her. Danyka's face reddened and he smiled.
That night Danyka shared a room with Cora. She was funny and bright. She spoke of all the things that they could do tomorrow. Danyka was so excited that she could hardly wait for morning.
The next day. They played outside. All day. They rode bikes. They went to the park and swung on the swings. They went inside briefly for lunch but then went right back outside to run around again. Dinner was the same as the night before until Detective Tanner got a call. Everyone quieted down. When he grimaced and told the caller that he was on his way, he squeezed his wife's hand and stood. He kissed them all goodbye, telling them that he would see them all soon. He ruffled Danyka's hair and gave her a smile. Danyka watched Detective Tanner glance back at his family one more time before leaving. She turned back to Abigail and the children. They all had gloomy faces, until Liam smiled and made a silly joke. Danyka watched as he made silly faces and then realized he was cheering his mother and sister up. Then Ms. Abigail put on some music while they cleaned up the dinner mess and then they all started dancing. Ms. Abigail smiled over at Danyka who was standing at the sink and said, "Come on, Dany! Dance with us."
"I don't know how."
Ms. Abigail chuckled. "That's okay. Neither do we."
Danyka smiled and after a moment joined in. They cheered and laughed. Then it turned into chasing each other around the house and then a tickle war. They played a game called Chutes and Ladders. Danyka thought it was silly, but she enjoyed it.
Danyka had had so much fun that day that she fell sound asleep with a smile on her face.
She was running through a field. It was dead with the smell of death all around her. She had on the clothes that she was wearing when she was found by the police. There was blood all over her and there was a sword in her hand. She did not know how the sword got there but its weight and feel were familiar. When she looked around, she saw the tree. The tree from her previous nightmares and dreams. She was standing in the middle of the field. Instead of it being a field of flowers it was just burnt and dead, the flowers were trampled and stained with blood and dead bodies. The smell of the death and the blood nearly choked her senses. She felt like she had seen this before. Suddenly, there was a growling and a creepy voice whispering her name. She ran towards the tree. She looked behind her to see the dark figure in a dark cloak. She tried to run faster but she tripped over a body. She looked over and saw that it was a man with the same eyes as hers, but his eyes did not have any life in them. "Fadir?" Tears tried to come, but the growling was getting closer. She rushed to her feet and continued running. She made it to the tree as the figure in the hood came closer. She got into her fighting stance. She slashed out at it. It roared in pain when she cut its side. It moved so fast she hardly saw it move at all. Then all she saw was red glowing eyes and bright white teeth in a shadowed face. It hit her across the face, and everything was blurry. It held her up against the tree and she was sure she was dead. She tried to plunge her sword into it, but it caught her sword hand and wrenched her sword away. Then as it came in to bite her or rip out her throat, she was not sure which. She was screaming fiercely and trying to punch him away.
Danyka shot up in bed fast. So fast, she almost butted heads with Detective Tanner. He had been shaking her, trying to get her to wake up out of the nightmare. He had just come back from a horrible homicide involving a child, so he was checking on Cora and saw Danyka having a nightmare. She was screaming. Good thing Cora slept hard. "Dany, are you ok?"
"I was running. There was a battle. So many dead. My father..." She said and tears started to stream down her face.
"Do you remember who you are, Dany?"
She shook her head. "I... No. He's dead. I saw him. He was dead."
"Who?"
"My father. He's dead. I saw him. There was so much blood. And I had to leave. There was a monster. I didn't know what else to do. The monster would have got me. I left him." Danyka started crying uncontrollably. Detective Tanner picked her up and put her in his lap and just held her as she cried.
His heart broke for her. There had yet to be a missing person's report filed on her. And with this information he was certain she was an orphan. He sighed as he rocked her and just let her cry. He looked over at the open doorway where his wife and son stood. His wife had tears in her eyes and his son looked sad for her. He nodded at them and they stayed that way for a long time. Tanner held Danyka until she cried herself asleep. He put her back into the bed with Cora and tucked her in. He walked down the hall more exhausted with each step.
"Dad?"
Tanner turned towards his son's room. "Hey, buddy. You should be sleeping." He went in and sat on the side of his son's bed.
"Did Dany's dad really die in battle?"
Tanner sighed and nodded. "I guess so, buddy."
"What about her mom?"
"I don't know. She probably doesn't have one."
"So. She's all alone."
Tanner did not know what to say. He just nodded. No child should be alone.
"She should stay here with us then."
Tanner didn't think he could, but he chuckled. "Really? Why?"
"Because she has nowhere else to go." He looked down. He was getting a little embarrassed. He did not want to mention the tingling feeling that he gets whenever he saw Danyka. And tonight, when he heard her scream like there was something hurting her, he had got out of bed fast to go check. He did not know why. But he felt like she was supposed to stay with them. "It's the right thing to do, Dad."
Tanner brought his son in for a hug and just held on to him.