Six shadows, One light
The fluorescent lights of the police station hummed, casting a stark, unfeeling glow on the scuffed linoleum floor. I sat, handcuffed, the cold metal biting into my wrists, listening to the monotonous drone of Officer Marek Frostborn’s voice.
"I will ask you one last time, miss, where is your family?"
His tone was laced with a frustration that mirrored my own. I'd been repeating the same answer for an hour, but it seemed to bounce off his thick skull like a rubber ball.
"And for the last time," I replied, my voice flat, "I have no family."
If I weren't cuffed, I’d have been out of here ages ago. This whole charade was pathetic. Officer Grimstone, Frostborn's partner, leaned against the wall, clearly bored. After years of practice, I'd become an expert at reading body language; it was a necessary skill for survival.
I knew the drill. They'd take my DNA, find some distant relative, and then ship me off to an orphanage. My 'dad' would then miraculously appear, scold me, and life would go on. But tonight, something felt different. A twist was coming, one that would irrevocably alter my carefully constructed life.
