Day 90:
It has been three months since my world forever changed. I decided to go home for a few days and get away from the ever building tension in the warehouse. Doctor Nickels has been working day and night on finding a cure for the screamers. He kept telling us he was getting close but needed more supplies. He wanted us to get him another screamer, a male and he wanted it alive. This proved to be easier than we thought it would be. They waited until a male screamer approached the gate one evening. Sally used her gift of invisibility to sneak up on the screamer. Thankfully it didn’t see her but it sensed her. The screamer jerked in every direction. He could smell her and her scent made him ravenous. Sally injected the screamer with a concoction Dr. Nickels gave her. The screamer fell to the ground and Gabe moved in. He teleported to the fallen screamer and then teleported them into the lab. It was an incredible sight to witness. It all happened quickly, they restrained the screamer and Dr. Nickels started his work on the new arrival.
The tension had risen to new levels at the warehouse. The nongifted had moved to the lower levels of the warehouse. They stated it was due to the screams that filled the night air but I knew they wanted to be away from the gifted. The woman that lost her husband blamed us for not keeping him safe. She was hurt and angry and wanted someone to blame. Her name was Nancy and she did her best to make it known that we were evil and should be kicked out of the warehouse. What she didn’t take into consideration was we were doing our best to keep everyone safe. It didn’t matter though, she made up her mind about us and she wasn’t going to make things easy.
Addy had told everyone how I had stolen her gift. She was still upset with me and made sure everyone knew I was a thief. It was odd that she knew what I had done because Silas and Gabe wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told them. My thievery obviously impacted each gifted differently. Silas and Gabe were the only ones talking to me.
I told Quinn I was leaving for awhile and he attempted to talk me out of it but in the end my mind was already set on leaving. Silas was consumed with supply runs and helping find a cure. He spent all his time with Dr. Nickels and Mabel. When I told him I was going home he merely nodded his head and said ok. I’m not sure what kind of reaction I was expecting but I had hoped he would have wanted to join me. Much to my surprise when Gabe found out I was leaving he asked to join me. No one seemed to care that we were leaving.
We teleported to my house. Gabe was surprisingly halfway decent to be around. He had really opened up and talked openly about his childhood and family. We laughed and I enjoyed his company. Gabe was different than Silas, when he spoke he was serious and passionate all at once. He was straight forward and didn’t sugar coat anything even if, at times it hurt my feelings.
Day 95:
Each morning Gabe and I found ourselves drawn to the field. We would go out for a run after the sun was up and each time we ended up standing in the field.
“Why do you think we keep ending up here?” I asked one morning.
“Because the trail leads to this field,” he said matter of factly with pure sarcasm in his tone. “Why do you overthink everything!” He added.
“I don’t overthink everything,” I spat back.
“Okay.” More sarcasm left his lips.
“I was thinking about checking out the farm down the road,” I said changing the subject.
I explained how the cows had been let out to pasture and how the screamers had eaten them. Someone must have let them out and I wanted to check and see if anyone was there. Gabe could teleport us in and out if things went south. He agreed and the next thing I knew we were standing on the front porch of a big white farmhouse. The front door was wide open and I felt nervous entering. Instead of walking in, I knocked on the open door and called out.
“Hello.”
There was no reply and part of me was relieved but part of me was worried. I wasn’t sure I wanted to find anymore people. Most of the people that were left didn’t like me very much. I waited a beat then stepped into the house. Gabe was by my side when I entered. At least he didn’t look worried. This eased my mind a tad bit. A shuffling sound came from above our heads. We looked up and stared at the tin ceiling. The movements came again. I really hoped it was an animal and not anything else. We found the stairs and made our way up to the second floor landing. The first two bedrooms were clear from unwanted company. The following two rooms were also clear and I found my breathing was settling into a safe pace. We came to the last room at the end of the hallway. I guessed it was a bathroom but the door was closed. Gabe slowly turned the door knob and I held my breath waiting for god only knew what. My imagination ran wild with fear. The door creaked open and my guess was correct. It was a huge bathroom with a clawfoot cast iron tub. The tub took up the majority of the bathroom. What was in the tub left my stomach doing an all too familiar flip I had grown accustomed to.
A girl in a torn white dress with red stripes lay in the tub. My eyes widened at the sight of her. I knew this girl! I knew the long brown curls and even though her eyes were closed, I knew they were brown. I stepped forward and reached out to touch her. She was alive and she was breathing. I gently shook her and tried to wake her but it was useless, she was in a deep sleep, possibly a coma. Her skin was pale but not grey. Thankfully she appeared to still be human. She was an exact replica of the screamer in the warehouse laboratory. They were even wearing the same dress. I didn’t think this was a coincidence.
“She looks like the screamer at the warehouse. She looks like you,” Gabe said.
“I don’t understand what is happening here,” I replied.
“What do you think we should do with her?” Gabe inquired.
He stared at her and looked as though his day had just gone from peaceful to stressful.
“I think you should teleport her to the lab and have Dr. Nickels figure out what to do with her,” I replied.
“You should come too and say hi to all your friends,” he snickered.
“I’m sure they would love to see me. The girl who steals their gifts. I am the ultimate threat to them. I’ll walk home and you can go, thank you very much,” Sarcasm now leaving my lips, “Will you tell Silas I said, hi. Not that he’ll care but I do miss him,” I looked away as I said the last words.
Gabe didn’t reply and I turned to see I was standing alone in the bathroom. I wondered if he had heard my request. I left the farmhouse and walked home. I sat outside for awhile and stared at the spot my mother had stood. I knew I shouldn’t dwell on things I couldn’t change but my mind won the battle in my head and the next thing I knew tears were making their way down my face. I didn’t want to cry and be weak but at that very moment I felt alone. I felt angry and I knew I was different and the world was messed up more than ever. I had to stop but I didn’t want to. I made my way to the exact spot where I shot and ended my mother. I let out the loudest scream I could find inside me. I didn’t know I could scream like that. The scream came from somewhere deep down inside me. First low then it bellowed in my chest, finally making its way up my throat and out of my mouth. I startled myself at first but then let it roar. I screamed and screamed, I cried and howled. I fell to my knees and my body shook. It was rage, hurt, sadness, happiness and every single emotion I had ever known shot through me. I pushed all the emotions out of my arms and held them in my hands. Energy shot out of me. I screamed again and found myself lifting off the ground. A few feet at first, then higher and higher until I was above my house. The emotions and energy pumped through me like a drug. I was moving away from my house. Shit, I was flying in the sky and had I no idea what was happening. I was moving away from my house and soon found I was no longer flying. I was falling and it wasn’t graceful at all. I was dropping like a plane crashing to the ground. I landed with a hard thud on the ground. Unbelievably I was laying in the damn field again. I laid there for a few seconds before I heard voices all around me. I darted upright and much to my surprise saw familiar faces gawking at me unpleasantly. I wiped away any evidence of unwanted lingering tears.