☣TWO☣
HE LOOKS LIKE a normal guy. But from the moment I see him, I know he’s not. He has a look of pure rage-mixed with focus-on his face. He totes a bag full of odds and ends from around the camp. He looks maybe my age, with messy light-brown hair and striking blue eyes, a bit of stubble dotting his chin. I duck behind a few spare dog crates. But he’s already seen me. I quickly grab Gruff-guy’s gun, pull the hammer-thing back, and aim. Another roar hurts my ears, but it doesn’t come from him. Well, it does, but he doesn’t move his mouth. A loud ringing sound fills the air. I press my hands to my ears, but it doesn’t dull the sound in the slightest. I drop the gun and fall to the ground, squirming, crying, as the sound grows louder. And then, for the second time, everything goes black.
I wake to the glow of fluorescent lights. A woollen cover is over my body. Wait-lights!? Electricity!? I sit up, and a small groan escapes my lips. I can still faintly hear the ringing sound, and it’s giving me a headache. My ankle is cold, and I look down to see it wrapped and iced. I’m in a bright white room. Across from me-on a bed-is a door with a window at the top. People-mutants-pass by. I stumble out of the bed and hobble to the door. It’s locked. Panic makes my headache worse, and tears come to my eyes. I wipe them away as soon as they form and take a few deep breaths.
Think, I tell myself. Think, Kara. Think!
I reach up to feel the feathers. There are a bunch now, and I can feel slits cut in my shirt-which I did not have on before-so they can stick out. It is only now that I realize what they are. Wings. They’re maybe two feet long each. I tug on the doorknob and pound on the door. To my surprise, on maybe the fiftieth pound, it opens. A woman, with a hairstyle like a wave, stands in front of me.
“‘Bout time you woke up. Quite the sleeper, aren’t ya?” she teases, with a playful smile on her face. Her skin is dark, her wave-hair in dreads, lipstick-yes, actual lipstick-covers her lips.
“Huh?” I reply. She smiles again, and I notice that her teeth are sharp, her ears have hairs on them. A mutant.
“Welcome to the Mutant camp!” she says cheerfully. A mutant camp? Mom told me that mutants wandered alone, searching for unlucky survivors. Maybe she was wrong.
“Huh?” I repeat.
“I’m Caila. What’s your name?” the girl says.
“K-Kara,” I reply. I blink twice and shake my head. “Where the heck am I and when can I get some food? How did I get here, and how long have I been out?”
“Um, as I said before, you’re in the mutant camp. I’ll show you to the cafeteria soon. Jax brought you here, and maybe a day,” Caila says, trying to answer all of my questions at once.
“Who’s Jax?” I ask, responding with another question.
“You’ll meet him soon. Off to the cafeteria we go!” Caila trots off happily, and I follow. It looks like it’s all underground. Lights hang from the ceiling, Metal bridges cross over a wide chasm, which I believe has been changed into said cafeteria. Caila leads me down a metal staircase, and the sound of quiet chatter fills my ears. And I smell…
“Pizza!” I exclaim, spotting a piece of the cheesy paradise on a mutant’s plate. Caila smiles and nods. I follow her through the lunchline-or whatever meal it is-and get three slices of pizza. I remember one time, Dad took us out to dinner. I ate eight slices of pizza! Well, I threw it up, but whatever. I scarf down the pizza, and drink a pint of water. Yeah, I’m hungry. I have a really fast metabolism. And then, after that, I eat two more pieces of pizza. I’m finally full. Caila watches in amazement.
“How in the heck- I don’t even wanna know,” she says, and rolls her eyes. “So, Kara, other than the baby-wings, do you have any other mutations?”
“No,” I answer. “I didn’t even know about the wings until a few days ago, and that was when it was only one feather.”
“Wow. Your mutations form fast! Mine took a few months!” Caila points to her ears. “I’m sure your-” Suddenly, the room goes silent. I turn in the direction everyone is looking. It’s the guy from before. He’s changed clothes, and his hair is combed. He wears a bandage on his hand. “That’s Jax. He’s second in charge. Everyone kinda looks up to him,” Caila whispers in my ear. Jax comes over and sits across from us.
“I see she’s awake,” he says to Caila, as if I’m not there.
“Yes, I am,” I interrupt. Jax glances at me, the bandage on my arm, and back to my face.
“Yes, you are,” he answers. Then turns back to Caila. What did I do? “Is she fed and bathed?”
“Fed. Bath W.I.P. May be raid ready in a week or two,” Caila says, glancing at me.
“Um… ‘raid ready’?” I say.
“That’s what I was doing when I found you. Honest, I was mad that they would treat a mutant with such disrespect. We raid human camps. The snobs,” Jax growls. He cracks his knuckles. The word human hits me like a bullet. I used to be human. Just a few days ago. It seems like everything has changed since Mom died. A wave of grief washes over me, followed by a flood of memories. I soft gasp escapes my lips, and I hold my head in my hands. Jax and Caila stop talking. I feel their eyes on me.
“Hey, you okay?” Caila whispers to me.
“Y-yeah,” I stutter. “Can I take a bath now?” Caila grabs tear-stained me by the elbow and leads me out of the cafeteria. The water is warm, and the moment I close my eyes, I am pelted with memories. My dad playing chess with me. My brother watching my twin sisters play dolls. My mom cooking. The family together, watching MTV The Challenge. At my dad’s bootleg funeral, in the backyard. Burying my siblings beside him. My mom and I, running away. Next thing I know, I’m wrapped in a robe. Caila is shaking me awake.
“You okay, Kara?” she asks. I blink a few times, and find that my eyelashes are wet. “Thank god! You scared me! You just fell over in the bathtub. I thought you’d drowned!” I wipe water from my face and sit up.
“Sorry. I just… remembered things. It’s hard to explain,” I say. “Can I have clothes?” Caila leaves. I get dressed, and Caila brings me back to my room-the one I woke up in. Now, other than recently (once in the past day), I don’t cry much. But as soon as that door closes, I’m under the covers crying like a baby.
“Mom,” I keep saying. “Mom.”
“This is Caleigh,” Caila says, gesturing to the girl before me. After waking up, I ate breakfast. After breakfast Caila told me she was going to introduce me to a few other mutants. Caleigh is the first one I’ve met. She has two black antennas sticking out of her beautiful brown hair. Her eyelashes are naturally long, her eyes the brightest blue. Perfectly white teeth. Translucent-green bug wings sprout out of her back. Let’s face it: she’s beautiful. And by the way Jax looks at her, holds her hand, I can tell she’s taken. I’m not lesbian (no offense, honest), but for real, she is gorgeous. You don’t get the entirety of her beauty. I cannot stress that point enough. Caleigh smiles her pure-white smile.
“I’m Kara, nice to meet you,” I say in a fake cheery voice, putting on my fakest smile ever. I hate Caleigh already.
“I know,” Caleigh replies, her voice smooth and calming. “You don’t have to fake it. I know what you’re feeling.” Cryptic. I like it.
“Um…” I raise a questioning eyebrow.
“She can read emotions by the waves you give off,” Jax explains. Probably the most he’s ever spoken to me.
“So don’t even try,” she says. The thing that makes it creepy is not the words, but her voice. You’d expect someone that says that would sound like, I dunno, intimidating, I guess. But no, her voice stays the same, floating through the air. I feel it vibrating in my chest. The next mutant I meet is a boy, maybe a foot shorter than me.
“I’m Korey,” he says, before Caila can introduce him. Jax walks off with Caleigh, his arm around her. “My dad was a monkey!” He points to the fur covering his skin.
“I’m Kara. That’s cool. How old are you?” I respond lamely.
“I’m fourteen!” Korey replies energetically. I take a deep breath, smile, and continue making my way through the crowd of passing mutants. I’m exhausted by the end of the day. I met maybe thirty mutants. I sit down on my bed and realize… I take of my shoes and check my ankle. Not even a bruise, no pain. Weird. The cuts on my arms and legs are also gone.
I shake off the oddities as I curl up under my blanket. But, just before I close my eyes, I see a face peering in at me. Kinda looks like a pumpkin. Fat face, jagged teeth, and the creepiest expression ever.
Science Fiction
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