“So Doctor, how are our patients fairing?”
“Very well sir. Though for some reason the girl, Sara, has started to exercise a lot more frequently. Mostly muscular conditioning it seems. Though the nurses have had reports of seeing a few things that have startled them, such as her balancing on her chair with one hand.”
“Hmmm…very well…keep me posted.”
“Sara where are we going?”
“Shhh….It’s a surprise.” She pushed the door open and pulled her older brother out into the cool night air.
“So why are we on the roof?”
“Cause I wanna show you something.” Her smile was mischievous.
“Really now? What in the world could you have to show me that involved sneaking out into the cold?”
“It is not cold out here you wimp.”
Hector looked at his sister, “That’s because you’ve always been weird about the cold.”
“Despite your wussy-ness, may I explain what I was going to?”
“Shoot.”
Sara inhaled, and bent backwards, then launched herself forwards, pushing off with her legs, her body twisting as it flipped in the air. She landed in a crouch.
Hector let off a low whistle, “When did you learn how to do that?”
“Apparently my new more defined look has given me a more acrobatic body.”
“That explains the nurses talking about you balancing on the backs of chairs.”
Sara grinned sheepishly as she stood up, “Maybe. But it’s fun to be doing something.”
“Well my offer still stands. You could be a superhero. Heck, we could all be superheroes!” Hector grinned like a child with a new comic book.
Sara looked away from him, towards the night sky, “You know how I feel about that idea. My abilities are destructive by nature. Great for July 4th, but not much else. I don’t think I can honestly support the thought of me being a superhero.”
Hector sighed, “I know sis, it just seems so wrong to not do something with our abilities though. We honestly could make the world a better place.”
“Sure, our secret hide-out would be our hospital rooms!”
“Sara-”
“No, seriously Hector, quit trying to drag me along with your dreams. I have my own life to live, not yours.” She stormed off, leaving him on the roof.
“Damn it’s cold out here.”
“Sir, it about the parents…”
“Go on.”
“Their condition is deteriorating. It seems that the very radiation patterns that have given their children their new talents have begun to literally tear apart the parents.”
“Oh my…”
“Sir…current estimates give the parents twelve hours. Maybe even less if the process accelerates.”
“Alright, keep me up to date on any changes.”
“Yes sir.”
Diary,
I feel like an idiot doing this, but I just need someone to talk to. It’s driving me nuts.
I mean I used to talk to Mom when things where bothering me, but they won’t let me see her. In fact nobody has seen Mom or Dad since we got here a week ago.
It scares me. Could something really be wrong and we don’t know about it?
But I’m losing my train of thought again. My problem right now is Hector. He won’t stop harassing me. Sure his ideas where great if I had more ‘people-friendly’ powers, but unless he wants me to char a villain he’s out of luck. Not to mention I don’t know a thing about fighting.
It’s just so frustrating, why can’t he just understand me? Why does he have to try and put himself above me now? We used to be close, almost like twins, but now…where as different as night and day.
“Sara?” Hector tapped on the door, and she stopped writing, putting the diary aside. “I…I…have…bad news.”
She could feel her heart break before he said anything. He dropped to his knees next to her bed, and looked up at her, “Mom…and Dad……they died last night….”
She looked down at him, not knowing what to feel. She didn’t know if she should be angry, or sad, or anything. She just felt like her very soul was gone.
“…They’re gone?”
Hector nodded slowly.
Sara didn’t think about it, she just did it, pushing her brother away and moving towards the door. She kept going out into the hall, slipping away.
“How in the hell is she so damn fast!” Hector was thrown from his grief for a moment into shock.
He found her on the roof. It made sense really that’d she would be there.
“Sara…?”
She ignored him, looking out over the edge of the building. “You know I could throw myself off of here right now?”
“Sara-”
“I could die right now. My life would end with a sickening thump.”
“What the hell are you babbling about?”
Sara sighed and turned to face her brother, “You just don’t get anything do you?”
“I-I don’t understand…”
“Of course you don’t Hector. You never seem to understand anymore.” She leaned back, too far for his comfort. “I don’t know if you ever did.”
She was gone. He raced to the side, but she had already managed to reach the ground, twin grooves from her hands digging into the sides of the building to slow her fall.
She was gone before he could stop her. Like smoke in the wind she was there then she wasn’t.
Diary,
I’m glad I hung onto you. Your now officially my only friend.
Turns out Mom and Dad are dead. Don’t know what to think. Hell I don’t even know what pushed me to do it.
I mean what person in their right mind jumps off a building?
Right, well that just proved I must be completely nuts.
Explains why I’m hiding in a cardboard box right now. Correction, a wet cardboard box.
Damn; pen running out of in
Sara sighed. Running away was a stupid thing for her to do. Well at least running away without getting another pen.
Sleep wasn’t an option, so she sighed and shuffled off, bare feet padding across the asphalt.
A figure moved in the darkness, following her. His movement was quick and silent.
Sara didn’t him coming, but she didn’t have to. His reach for her could be felt in the air. Her leg snapped back as she twisted, landing a side kick to his midsection. The figure collapsed with an “oof”.
“My what an impressive hit for such a little girl.”
Sara growled, “Little?” The green light around her hands came into being, the air hissing from the heat, “You want to talk about being little?”
The figure was a thin man, who’s face was wrinkled with age smiled up at her. “I was going to ask if you were lost. After all not many people wander through alley ways in their pajamas.”
The fire around her hands went out, “I’m fine.”
Wandering became common for her. Living off what she could find, or fight for from the other people on the street to live was what she did best. Having a near inhuman physical prowess and fiery plasma that she could summon on command helped.
Jim, as the old man’s name, actually became a friend of sorts to her. He never questioned the green skin, flaming hands, or scary reflexes, and just smiled and occasionally mussed her hair. It felt good to know the elderly man.
Occasionally she’d look for him, sometimes to talk, sometimes to listen, other times to offer him something to eat.
Diary,
Long time coming since I last wrote, almost three months now. Couldn’t be helped, working pens are very hard to find around here.
I’m not going to say life has been…easy, but I do have an easier time protecting myself than most people around here.
Last night a girl was shot. Jill something from what I hear. That’s what it’s like out here, people keep dying.
Violence…like the violence that lets me live is a dangerous thing. It gives life to those who have the ability to use it, but those under it can lose the same thing.
Arg…all this insightful thinking makes my head hurt.
Honestly I wish I could go home sometimes…but I don’t belong there. I’ve seen my brothers around…the famous heroes of ‘Team Go’.
They don’t know where I am though.
I like it better that way. I don’t have to worry about them. Worry about me. Worry about hurting people.
Sara was sleeping in her refrigerator box when it happened.
She wasn’t sure what happened at first.
Then things trickled in as she shuffled over to Jim.
Jim, the one person who might have understood her…dead because of some punk with a gun.
Hector, as Hego preferred when he was working, shuffled to the door at the sound of pounding. No one ever visited the old house. He opened the door and his disgruntled mood changed to shock, “Sara?”
Sara was dressed in clothes she had literally found. A collection made up of a White Zombie t-shirt, parka and jeans. She was still barefoot though.
“You once wanted me to be a hero.”
Hector nodded weakly, relieved to see his sister alive.
“Where do I sign up? And do I get a free shower with the deal?”
He smiled and ushered her into the house, “Sara, you could have asked for a pony and it would have been yours.”
“Can I still ask for a pony?”
“Sorry, too late to do that now.”
“Damn.”
A shower was something that felt simply beautiful. Then again she hadn’t had one in three months, so it wasn’t that surprising that she enjoyed it so much. If she could sing she would have, but she settled for humming random bits of music.
“Sara?”
“What Michael?”
“Stop it please for the love of God stop humming!”
“Would you prefer I worked on my singing?”
“Keep humming! All you want!”
Author’s Notes: Micro-scenes are great, especially when you need to skip over large expanses of time/space and there isn’t a point to do a monologue. Read and review, or don’t.