1 A New World

She had always felt like an outsider, the type of person that no matter how hard they were to try, they would always be just a little bit too different. The stares had always existed, the casual whispers and glances that they believed she didn't notice. Overtime she just became immune to everything, a body lacking a soul, a husk lacking emotions, so when the darkness threatened to consume her once and for all, she laughed. Maybe this was her chance to become someone or something that actually mattered.

Distracted by her own joy at being able to finally end the life that she had considered as an eternal prison she didn't notice the tiny silver specks of light floating through the darkness towards her.

They seemed to hold an other-worldly radiance and glowed like fireflies at midnight, dispelling what had seemed like an infinite, all-encompassing darkness. The lights flew through the rough skin of her palms and were absorbed by her body, dispersing through her bloodstream and becoming undetectable.

Her laugh was silenced by the unyielding strength of the oblivion which she still found herself in, she looked towards what she thought was up and smiled.

Blinking for the final time in this life her blue eyes faintly flickered silver as if the previous lights were performing a mysterious dance in her mind, fixing what she believed to be broken. Then she finally gave in and the darkness swallowed her whole.

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The light filtering through the metallic blinds awoke Kayla from her slumber, she blinked fiercely trying to adjust to the strange colour of the light filling the room. She lay still not daring to move, from what she could sense this was definitely not her old world, the air had a different feel to it, as if it was a heavy weight constantly pressing down on her bones, forcing them to become stronger.

The blanket covering her weak body was a thin material which seemed to be made of beast hide and it barely stopped the bitter chill, she could feel coming from the window, from encircling her body. The bed was lumpy and hard beneath her and she had already begun to feel uncomfortable.

She shifted slightly, looking away from the window with the intention to observe the rest of the room, when she found herself only inches away from a man's face. He was breathing deeply and his eyelids fluttered slightly each time he moved, his auburn hair that was littered with grey was very long and pulled back in a ponytail behind his head. Who was this person? And why was he watching over her?

Suddenly he shifted and his eyes flickered open to reveal a pair of blue eyes that resembled the ocean from her previous life. He seemed to carry a great deal of worries, his shoulders were slumped and there were many creases in the lines of his face, however when he saw her looking at him his face lit up and he reached towards her, enveloping her in a hug.

"Kayla, my girl, my sweet, you're safe now. Father is here, don't worry."

Useless when it came to showing her emotions Kayla just sat there with a slightly wistful expression on her face. So this is what it feels like to matter to someone she thought, her family before had never really cared for her and had left her to her own devices. Glad that she wasn't beginning her new life all alone in a mysterious world she reached up her arms to embrace this man she presumed was her Father.

Her arms felt extremely heavy like someone had tied rocks to her skin, surely her body couldn't be so weak that it couldn't lift it's own limbs. But still she persevered, this was her new chance at life, she wouldn't waste it away all alone like before. She would be different, she would be strong, she would become someone this man could be proud of. An unstoppable force that was known throughout the world, these people didn't know who or what they were messing with!

However when she glimpsed her arms out of the corner of her eye she almost screamed from the shock, instead of being covered in flawless, smooth skin, her arms were made from metal. A strange blue-grey metal that emitted a faint silver glow whenever she tried to move.

She continued to stare at the metal that had replaced the flesh and blood which she had always known, and let out a tiny gasp. The man withdrew from the hug and looked at her frightened expression in a puzzled way.

"Sweetie the operation was a success, don't you remember all the promises I made to you. I fulfilled them see, you can finally be whole again."

Kayla didn't feel whole, she felt as if she would never be whole again. With arms made of metal that she couldn't even lift how was she supposed to become strong, how was she supposed to become the kind of person she idolised in her previous life. She felt completely and utterly betrayed by whatever mysterious power had sent her here, what was the point of starting anew if she was unable to become someone who mattered, let alone having her own pair of working arms.

She felt defeated and sensed that tears were welling up in her eyes, obscuring her vision and making her feel even more at loss. Not even bothering to conceal her feelings in front of this man that she didn't even know, she let the tears slide down her cheeks, painting a pathway of sorrow on her white porcelain-like skin.

The demons of her previous life scraped at the edges of her mind, threatening to devour her. Their dark, shadowy fingers clawed at her very soul, eating away at what little happiness she believed she could have found here.

With a tear-streaked face she turned to the man and asked in a voice filled with grief:

"Who am I?"