Chapter Seven

The empty room felt massive, like I was a tiny spec of sand in the middle of a vast beach.

My gaze flew to the right and then the left as I tried to get my bearings. There was no doubt someone was watching me. I could feel eyes following my every move. They were close. Someone wanted to see how I would react. I stood stoically in the middle of the room, refusing to give in and let them see any sign of weakness. My eyes snapped shut as I tried to collect my thoughts and calm my beating heart. I reached toward my medallion. I could jump out of this place, but that wouldn't provide me with the answers I needed. Instead, I had to assess the situation so I could figure out my next move.

An eerie quiet surrounded me. Despite my efforts to calm myself down, the opposite happened. My breathing quickened as I thought about what had happened to me and the rest of the team. Everyone was gone. Had they always been a figment of my imagination?

As a second deep breath escaped my lips, I heard an odd commotion coming from somewhere to my right. It sounded as if something was coming towards me at a rapid pace.

My gaze snapped open to see a large, white tiger. Every muscle in its body contracted with each move forward that it made. It slowed its pace when it came within feet of my body.

Its light blue eyes looked deeply into mine as it continued its slow and methodical advance. One step after the other. My feet felt as if they had been glued to the floor. I couldn't move. I wasn't sure if it was the sheer terror I was currently feeling or that my body had lost its ability to ambulate. I was stuck.

I frantically looked around the room, trying to figure out some sort of escape. My fingers again tightened around my medallion. I needed to get out of here. If I didn't, this tiger would have me for dinner. I knew its large teeth were capable of ripping through my soft flesh.

Down near my right leg, I saw the gleam of metal, and I tried to focus in that direction. There was definitely something over there, under the chair. It looked like a large knife.

From somewhere, I heard a deep, smooth voice challenge me. "What do you see?"

I swallowed as I looked back at the tiger.

The voice returned. "Be calm. I don't mean you any harm."

"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want?"

"It's time for you to learn the truth," the deep voice said again. I could feel the tiger's warm breath on my neck.

"The truth?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips in an attempt to stop them from shaking and give me the appearance of confidence. "Yes, please tell me the truth. It's the one thing I've wanted for a while now."

"I will tell you, but first you need to tell me one thing."

"What?" I asked. I was trying to stay calm, but it was getting increasingly harder.

"You need to tell me your name," the voice said.

"What does that mean?" I responded, annoyed that my name was once again being brought into a conversation, and even more perturbed that I was talking to a tiger whose mouth wasn't moving when it spoke. Was I going crazy? Finally, I managed to utter, "My name is Esa James."

"Wrong!" the voice shot back. "You are wrong. Very, very, very wrong. I thought I had trained you better!"

"No, that's right," I said defiantly. "My name is Esa James."

"No. As I just said, you are wrong. That is not your full name."

"Then why don't you tell me? What is my name?" I asked, scanning the upper portions of the room, wondering where the owner of the voice was sitting, watching me.

"Your name is Captain Esa James. It's the 'captain' part you keep forgetting. It's the 'captain' part that is the reason you disappeared for three years."

I shook from the different emotions I was feeling: hatred, fear, confusion, and irritation. How did this voice know anything about me?

"I haven't forgotten my name." I threw up my fist. The move didn't cause the white beast to flinch. It stood still in front of me, daring me with its eyes to make another move as it gave a low growl.

"Then why didn't you tell me you were one of the captains of the team?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"It's always relevant." I could hear the sneer in its tone. You were created to be strong and lead an elite team of soldiers, but you have failed."

I stared into the tiger's eyes, trying to decide how I should respond. Its eyes were now like a black abyss—inviting, yet hard to look away. It took everything in me to tear my gaze from the darkness.

"I know." I hung my head. I didn't want to hear any more. I was tired of being reminded about why and how I was created. Things had changed since then. "Please stop."

The tiger let out a loud growl that echoed around the room. It was the reaction I was hoping for. In a flash, I saw the gleam of metal under the chair. I threw out my hand to grab ahold of whatever it was, and as I grasped the cool object, a bolt of energy released from my hand.

I threw the electrified object toward the white cat. It didn't move. The metal passed through the beast, causing the tiger's perfect exterior to break into millions of tiny speckles of glitter that slowly fluttered to the ground.

It was gone. I was once again alone.