The Dawn Read online

  The Dawn

  Book One

  AURI BLEST

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  Copyright © 2017 Laurie Best

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Laura Harden

  ISBN:1975604873

  ISBN-13:9781975604875 k12

  Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  DEDICATION

  For my sunshine. Thank you for everything.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  1

  Chapter 2

  5

  Chapter 3

  11

  Chapter 4

  16

  Chapter 5

  21

  Chapter 6

  31

  Chapter 7

  38

  Chapter 8

  48

  Chapter 9

  54

  Chapter 10

  62

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  66

  73

  79

  90

  97

  102

  110

  123

  135

  145

  151

  158

  166

  175

  185

  192

  201

  209

  222

  231

  240

  251

  262

  274

  283

  296

  1

  I was almost seven years old when she found me. That was back when there were still a few children around. It was a fall night. I stood in the middle of the street, paralyzed, looking in the direction of a frightening sound. THEY were coming.

  I wandered through the downtown of a city that had once thrived with endless opportunities. It had been the capital of the world. Now it seemed deserted. Street lights shined bright down each block, but no lights came from the buildings. There was no traffic. There were no signs of life.

  My eyes followed swirling bits of paper that blew through the intersection. I felt I was the only living soul alive except for whatever it was that was headed right for me. I had never noticed the sound of my heart beating in my ears before.

  I shivered with fear as I thought of my mother’s words. She had always told me to run in the opposite direction if we were separated and I heard that sound. Why didn’t I do it? Why couldn’t I move? Tears began to well up in my eyes. I just wanted my mother.

  The shrieking, piercing noise, grew louder, and although I couldn’t see them yet, I knew they were close. Too close. Still, I couldn’t move. My hands were frozen in place holding the hem of my tattered denim jacket. I didn’t turn my head left or right. My eyes were fixed straight ahead.

  Something dropped down behind me as if out of the sky. I heard a thud as it landed. I couldn’t turn to face it. A hand covered my mouth as I was lifted up and spun around into the shadows of a nearby alley. I was held tight against something hard like metal and I could smell the leather of a coat against the stench of the alley.

  Terror stricken and shaking, I heard a gentle whisper, “Peace be still.”

  I didn’t know what that meant at the time; still, I didn’t move and I remained silent, surrendering to the grasp in which I was held. The shrieking sound was almost overpowering now; they were right upon us. Something happened. My eyes widened as the coat wrapped around us like a cocoon and we moved forward into the wall as if we became a part of the brick wall.

  Within seconds they bounded around the corner. I could hear them and feel the heat they emitted. They were searching for something. The wheels of the dumpster across from us squealed as they pushed it, sending it slamming into the opposite wall. It just missed us. They soon descended the street. Eerie screams resonated in the distance as they moved on.

  I was held there until they were gone. Then we moved forward, away from the wall, and the coat returned to its original form.

  I was carefully placed back on the ground and I slowly turned around, afraid of what I might see. I stared in wonderment at the woman that squatted down to my level and looked at me. My red hair was soaked from sweat and tears. She pushed the wet curly mass out of my face. She wasn’t terrified like I had been. There was no fear in her eyes at all.

  “Are you a ninja?” I asked.

  She smiled and asked, “You like ninjas?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve been looking for you. I’ve come to take you to a place where you will be safe. Do you want to come with me?”

  She has been looking for me? How did she know who or where I was? Maybe my mommy sent her, I thought. “Is my mommy there?” I asked.

  “No, I’m sorry.”

  A tear dropped from my eye.

  ”Hey,” she said as she put her hand on my cheek. “I know what it’s like to be afraid, alone and not know where your mom is.” She pointed at her chest. “It happened to me too—a long time ago. Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay. I promise. Your Mommy will be happy that I found you.”

  She held out her hand and looked behind her. Although I couldn’t see or hear them yet, she could. Those things were doubling back.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  2

  She carried me most of the way without making a sound. We walked through alleyways and around several high-rise buildings. I held tight to her as we ventured through what was left of a huge abandoned structure. I remember the letters on it, AMC Lowes.

  A child’s sense of time is different from that of an adult. To me, it seemed as though it had taken hours to arrive at what looked like a condemned, twelve story building. There was a fire escape above but no way to get to it, or so I thought.

  “Hold on tight,” she said.

  I clamped my arms around her and closed my eyes. We shot up and landed on top of the steel grates of the fire escape. How did she do that? I thought.

  We climbed up several floors and entered through a window.

  “Can you fly?” I asked.

  She smiled. “No.”

  The hallway was dark. As we approached a door on the left, I looked to the right, over the banister. She grabbed me.

  “That’s not safe,” she said.

  I looked down and saw that the stairs leading below were gone. I stepped back toward her. In the darkness, I could just make out a carving above the door post, a half circle with lines around it.

 
She banged on the door. I was unaware of the camera in the far upper corner of the hall that turned in our direction. I stared ahead listening to the grind of metal doors sliding open and then the clang of many locks releasing. The door opened, and armed men stood in front of us. The men, dressed in ordinary clothes, had the build of soldiers. I gasped and hid behind my rescuer.

  “Look what I found,” she announced, guiding me in front of her.

  A woman walked over. Her hair was black except for the silver streak at her left temple. She wore a long grey shirt that came down to her knees and grey matching pants. I remember wanting to touch the beading at the V-neck of her top. It reminded me of pearls.

  “Hello sweetie. My name is Crystal.”

  We walked further into the room where I noticed monitors behind Crystal displaying views of the hallway we had just entered from. The armed men bolted the door behind us and a steel barrier the size of a wall slid forward and covered the entrance. They spread out around the vacant area with their eyes were fixed on me.

  Crystal noticed the look on my face. “Oh, don’t be afraid of those guys. They’re not going to hurt you.”

  Although the men had guarded expressions, Crystal’s sweet, loving smile and tone of voice were so comforting. She held her arms out and I walked forward, welcoming the hug that followed. A cascade of tears began to run down my cheeks.

  “There, there now,” Crystal whispered while rubbing my back. “Poor child. Were you out there all by yourself?” She looked up at Dawn.

  Dawn nodded. “She’s going to need a bath and the special shampoo just to be safe, and get her some soup. I don’t think she’s eaten in some time.”

  At the mention of food, I realized that I was famished.

  “Do you have meat?” I asked between sobs. The prospect of eating seemed to lessen the tears.

  “Meat? Where did you get meat?” Crystal asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t know. We had meat.”

  “What kind of meat did you have?”

  I shrugged again, “My Mommy gave it to me.”

  “No, sorry sweetie. We don’t have meat. We are vegetarians.”

  “What’s a vegegrians?”

  Crystal laughed at my pronunciation.

  “That’s veg-e-tar-ian. Don’t worry, I’m sure we will find something that you will like.”

  Crystal handed me off to another woman, Gina. Yes, that was her name. Her speech was not like any that I had heard before. Later, I asked her, “Why do you talk different?” She said it was because she was from Mexico. In the weeks to come she would share many stories of her homeland and of her journey here.

  “I like your hair,” I told her as I wiped my nose on the back of my hand. Her jet-black ponytail reached down to her hips.

  “Gracias. Come,” she replied as she took my hand.

  “Gina,” Crystal called. Gina turned and looked back at Crystal. “Gentle.”

  ”Sí,” Gina laughed.

  “That woman will scrub you to within an inch of your life,” Crystal stated under her breath.

  I stopped walking and turned back. “Hannah… That’s my name.”

  The woman who had saved me was about to leave the room but turned back and said, “Dawn.”

  My eyes were drawn to the sword on her back. “She’s a ninja,” I told Gina as we walked away. “Like the Ninja Turt— no, better than the Ninja Turtles.”

  Crystal watched Hannah and Gina leave the room. She spun around and began to ask, “Where did-“ She stopped in mid-sentence and looked at Dawn quizzically. Dawn was smiling. She hardly ever smiled.

  “She thinks I’m better than the Ninja Turtles. That’s kind of cool, huh?” asked Dawn.

  “I guess so,” Crystal responded, pausing between each word. Dawn cares what someone thinks? Crystal was amused and a little shocked to have witnessed Dawn showing emotion.

  “I’m sorry, Crystal. What were you saying?”

  “Umm… Oh yes, Where did they get meat?” asked Crystal.

  “They were eating… Are you sure you want to know?”

  There was something in the way Dawn asked that made Crystal realize that whatever she was going to say was going to be gross and would probably turn her stomach. “That’s okay. Don’t tell me. You know what? It’s a miracle the Kurus didn’t find her first.”

  “I think she was being hunted. They got her away from the protection of her mother for that purpose.”

  Crystal grimaced, “The prophecy.”

  “Yes, the prophecy,” said Dawn.

  3

  She always slept so peaceful.

  I wake up in her arms, touch her cheek and trace her nose and eyebrows with my finger. She’s so beautiful. While gazing up at her, her eyes open and fall on me. While full of love, I always thought that her eyes carried a hint of fear and worry.

  “I love you, Ladybug,” she says to me.

  “I love you too, Mom—”

  Suddenly I am running in the dark. I’m running through a tunnel toward a light. I can hear Them coming up behind me, gaining on me. At the center of the light the outline of a figure forms. I keep running toward it. They are reaching for me.

  “She’s chosen!” one of them screeches.

  I screamed, opened my eyes and sat up in bed. I could still feel the heat on my arm from where it touched me as if it wasn’t just a dream. Dawn had been sitting across the room in a chair. She was still fully clothed, ready for anything. She walked over to me and placed her hand on my head.

  “Peace be still, little one.”

  I continued looking at my arm. It took a minute to realize where I was. I was relieved that she was there. She laid me back down.

  “It’s okay Hannah. You’re safe. Lay down in peace and sleep.”

  “I want my mommy,” I whimpered.

  “I know.”

  She reached into her pocket. “Here, let me show you something.” She put her earbuds in my ears. There was soft music playing; she called it flutes, with birds chirping. I liked it.

  I began to calm down and laid back holding her hand to my chest. She made me feel safe. It wasn’t long before I drifted back to sleep.

  Dawn didn’t leave the room. She sat back down in the chair across from Hannah’s bed and opened her journal. It wasn’t a physical journal. Journaling in her mind helped her deal with everything that was going on inside of her and not have to worry it falling into the wrong hands. She probably had hundreds of journals stored in her metal database. Bishop taught her to do this. He was her father figure, confidante, and mentor.

  Journaling had helped Dawn get through the toughest times after her transformation when no one understood who she was or why she was so different. It was a time when she was feared rather than embraced.

  She closed her eyes, pictured a fountain pen in her hand, and began to write:

  Simone has been taken, and I don’t know where to search for her. Something is blocking her from my vision.

  The chosen one is safe. I heard her cry out for help without her having to vocalize it. That’s how I knew she was in danger. We seem to be connected. Could that link possibly work in reverse? Would she know if I were in danger?

  I can only pray that she has an easy adjustment to our way of living. I don’t want her to feel alone or like she is any different than anyone else, so her true identity must remain a secret. Being different can be a burden. I’ve learned to deal with it. I don’t want that for her.

  Everyone falls silent when I walk into a room. At lunch today, I sat alone at my table. I haven’t given anyone a reason to feel that they cannot approach me, but that is how they act. Sometimes, it’s as if they think I’m some kind of deity.

  Seth watches me. He always watches me. He thinks I don’t notice. He turns away when I look in his direction. I wonder if he’s just curious or afraid of me like some of the others. I can hear their thoughts sometimes.

  Dawn opened her eyes. Hannah had begun to stir. She kicked her blanket off of h
er, turned onto her side, and drifted into a deeper sleep. Dawn closed her eyes again and continued her journal entry:

  I am not allowed to talk about me. That is what heaven has instructed. So, I write what I cannot say. No one knows what it’s like to feel electricity flowing through your veins at all times. They sleep. I don’t. It takes very little food to nourish me. I don’t socialize. I exist for a different purpose.

  I remember having all types of feelings before the transformation, not so much now. It’s like they are locked away in a vault. They are there; I just can’t get to them. There are those rare times when an emotion may escape but they are few and far between.

  I do, however, feel compassion at all times. Maybe, that’s all that is required in order for me to carry out my assignment. I don’t know. I’m the first of my kind. There is no superhuman manual for me to follow. There is only the prophecy, our legacy, which is now hidden due to what it foretells. Soon-

  A sound broke her concentration. Dawn’s eyes flashed open, fully alert. Someone was screaming out in agony.

  4

  Dawn walked out of Hannah’s room and stood in the hallway listening. When she focused, she could hear things that were happening from a great distance away.

  The night shift security team were the only people still wandering around at that time of night. They’re called Stabilizers. Stabilizers are the protectors of the faction and consisted of the guards, soldiers and tech whizzes.

  The Stabilizers nodded as Dawn passed.

  Seth was on duty. She knew that he was watching her without even turning around to see it. She just couldn’t figure out why.

  As she neared the front door, she heard the voice cry out again. Upon seeing her approaching two of the Stabilizer guards opened the steel doors and then sealed the entrance behind her. In the hallway, she peered down over the banister.