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@Pandapocalypse

Only Ones
Written by: Ashlynn Carbaugh

Prologue
In the beginning of the end, there was everything. We had all we could want, but we wanted more. The more we got, the greedier we became. So many people were in that laboratory on that day everything changed. Children ran and screamed, people were everywhere you saw, running, trying to escape. But what they wanted to get out of was not possible. No matter where in the entire world they went they would still be in this awful, horrible, frightening place.
For many years we lived like this.
Disease taking our youngest away, age taking our parents and grandparents. Who would have thought that a little girl could change the world? She was the one who saved us, the one who brought light back into the world. She would grow old and weak, her children living on do tell the tale and keep that great tragic story going. But then again, history repeats itself. All that was once there is now gone. The world’s land is flat and dry. The little fresh water that is left is running out, our food is almost gone, life as we knew it was horrific again. In that same laboratory soon enough that old experiment had come back.

Years and years of hiding and killing to survive. They were always near, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The Cry
It is right in front of me, I am sitting right behind it. Stalking it is a slow and painful wait to find the perfect time to strike. I pulled the string on my bow back to shoulder. I let go, and the arrow shot through the air like a bullet. My wooden arrow pierced through the skin of the deer and punctured the heart. I walk up to the deer. I see its lifeless eyes stare back at me, and for a moment I wish I had not killed it. Then I snapped out of it. We need food. Who cares about one deer?
When I got back to camp, we were under attack. I ducked for cover under a small bush. Many adults ran past me rushing around and yelling at small children. There were gunshots in the distance and very near. I had forgotten that my deer was lying on the ground out in the open. I had dropped it to take cover, then tried to pull away from under the bush, but my quiver was caught on one of the bush’s twigs. My heart started to rush as I the most horrific being ever. It had white pasty skin and you could see its bones through its transparent skin.
It crouched down and ravished my deer over into a clearing and started to tear through my deer, eating up the meat that had not fallen off when it dragged the deer into the clearing. Blood was dripping from its face. I quickly went back under the bush. It was starting to get dark. The thing was done eating the deer I had killed. It moved on the path further into the camp. I decided to pull my string back one more time today. When I let go of the string, the arrow when hurling through the air. Right before the arrow hit its white skin, it turned around with inhuman speed. It caught my arrow! It turned to look directly at me, then started walking towards me. I tried do get up, but my quiver was still stuck. I unhooked it and sprang up. It walked very slow. It emitted an ear splitting scream that made my eardrums bleed. A second later I heard a muffled gunshot. The thing feel to its knees. A man was standing behind it. It was hard to see who through all the dust. When the dust cleared, I saw that it was a good friend of my family. Liam! My dad’s best friend! He was a nice man who pledged to protect me after the tragic event that took away my mother and father.

“You need to be more careful,” Liam was going on about the danger of those things. I could barely hear him, he sounded like he was talking under water. Without realizing it I fell to the ground. In a few seconds everything when black. It felt like I was falling through a never ending pit. Then, it felt like I hit the ground. My eyes snapped open. I was in an old hospital bed, there was a very bright light. In the distance, I could hear someone calling my name.
“Ellie… Ellie…” The voice wouldn’t go away.

Our city is generally quiet. My mom and dad loved the quiet. “Mira! Come down here and get dinner!” My mom yells for me from downstairs. I am working on a very important project. No one can know what I am doing. I walk down the stairs through the kitchen into the dining room. The fire in the living room was cozy. I sat down in one of the lavish brass chairs. My family was very wealthy, we had everything anyone could ever hope for. We live in the capital city. That is where all the richest and wealthy people live. All the poor slums live in small villages across the state. I had no friends to play with and all I ever did was work on my experiment. It got boring after a while. I was finished eating and my parents were almost done. “ Mom, can I go out tomorrow?”
“Where were you thinking?” replied mom.
“Well, I want to go see the new museum,”
“Which one?”
“The one about how people in the olden days lived.”
“Alright, you can go.” Mom had finally said yes. I didn’t really want to go to the new museum. I wanted to run away, run to a place where the people had average money and weren’t so stuck up all the time.

I was starting to fully awaken, I saw the doctor and Liam standing on both sides of me. “Thank god kid! I thought you flatlined.” I could see Liam’s mouth moving but, I couldn’t hear a thing. I started to scream, but was not able to hear myself. I screamed louder and again heard nothing. I stopped and started crying. Liam came and sat beside me. He didn’t say anything, I think he knew that I wouldn’t be able to hear him. I just layed in that hospital bed and cried myself to sleep that night. The next morning I remembered I couldn’t hear anything so I didn't know how to communicate with other people. I know that back in the old days there was a system for communication without talking. It was something like mose or mouse code, I don’t know. I walked around in my empty home for a few minutes. Than Liam barged in and yelled something. I quickly pointed to my ears and acted offended. He looked at me like he was trying to say sorry without talking. I thought he looked really weird. He started to pull something out of his backpack. I was so curious to see what is was. He pulled out a paper, it had hand motions on it. It was the alphabet. The page had a backside too, it showed hand motions for words. Some words were small and other were large. Was I supposed to learn these motions? How hard will it be?

The Walk
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, then twisted it into a bun. I kissed my mother and father goodbye. What they didn't know is that this goodbye was forever. I looked at the door for several minutes and wondered, “Am I really going to do this?” I wanted to stay, but I didn't want to stay. I couldn’t believe that I was really going to do this. To to this I would need to steal lots of money from my parents. Their credit card! I stole it. I knew the pin because I watched them use it many times.
I walked out the door and saw a raven. Ravens were very common in the city. But this particular one always followed me around, and when I was not going anywhere it would just wait for me at the door. I walked down the stone steps and slipped on something. I fell right on the marble steps. I got up and looked at the stairs, there was nothing on there do slip on. Maybe I’m just really clumsy. I started walking onwards out if the city, in the distance I heard a loud BANG! I ran as fast as I could over to the noise. It was a demon. Its transparent skin showed its bones as it moved around to look at me. It started to walk slowly over to me. I grabbed the nearest thing I could find. It was a plastic fork. Really?! I am in a time of crisis and all the universe can give me is a plastic fork?!
The demon was about to hit me when I ducked and dived and grabbed a vase and threw it at the demon. It hit him right in the head, he was knocked out cold. I ran around the building and saw hundreds of other demons out murdering people, destroying houses, and causing mayhem. I ran outside the city gates while the guards were busy fighting off demons. I walked into the deep woods as the sun set. It was getting very dark, and I had been walking for hours. As I was about to give up and pass out on the road, I spotted some street lights, and began to run toward them. Soon, I saw houses. I got so overjoyed that I forgot how exhausted I was. I jumped over some small shrubs into what looked like a dirt road. As soon as I landed, I fall to my knees, and immediately fell asleep.

Soon, I woke up on the lumpy couch of a small home. I saw a man in the kitchen making what smells like bacon and eggs. I walked over to him.
“Hello.”
“Well hi there!” The man turned to face me with a bright smile. “I thought you would sleep forever!”
“My name is Mira, what is yours?” My mother always told me to have manners and be polite.
“I’m Liam,” Liam seemed nice. After all, he did save me from the demon the previous night.
“Do you live alone?” I asked him, trying not to sound too nosy.
I thought he might be offended by my question, since it was really personal. However, I found that I was wrong when he told me he lived with his best friend’s daughter, whose parents had died a long time ago. I felt bad for the girl.
I wonder how old she is? Maybe she is my age and we can be friends! It would be pretty nice to have a friend in the city.
“Her name is Ellie,” Liam informed me, seeing the curious, excited expression on my face, “but she recently lost her hearing, so be you’ll have to use sign language around her. She should have a sheet of paper for you.”
“Well, thanks!” I said, walking toward an old tattered staircase.
On the second floor, there were only two rooms, one of which had a bright pink door with very ugly florals. I thought that might be her room, since it looked pink and girly like a small child’s room. I opened the door to see a teen about my age.
Ellie turned around to look at me. I awkwardly waved at her, and she gave me a weird look. As I walked in, she motioned for me to stop. I stopped right in my tracks, confused. She stood up and handed me a laminated piece of paper.
I took the paper from her and examined it. The title read, “Sign Language Guide for Beginners.” It was covered with different hand symbols, which each had a word under it.
Hello, I attempted to sign, I am… M-I… R-A.
Hello, she responded. I let out a sigh of relief. Her sign language wasn’t much better than mine. I looked at the sheet again. I wanted to say “how are you,” but the how seemed pretty difficult. I had to try it a couple times before getting it right.
How are you? Ellie pulled out another sheet to figure out what I said. After doing this, she responded with a single word.
Good.

Liam was out getting groceries. He had promised to take good care of me while I was recovering. I was in my room studying the paper of hand motions, and, to be honest, I had gotten somewhat good at it. I looked around my little room, which was decorated in bright pink and had purple flowers. This was Liam’s daughters room. He wouldn’t talk about her much, but I had squeezed a few details out of him.
Her name was Athena, and she was about nine. I remember seeing brief glimpses of her when she was four, but hadn’t seen her since. I had asked Liam multiple times where she was, but he always changed the subject.
I felt the vibrations of Liam rushing through the door, and I quickly ran downstairs to greet him. I was shocked when I saw that he was carrying a girl about my age.
He looked at me. “Go grab some water. Quick!”
The girl looked very dehydrated and was covered in blood and scratches. She kept mumbling about something, but I couldn’t tell what. After all, I was deaf.
Liam laid the girl on the couch and poured water on her worst scratches. I decided it would be best for me to head upstairs.
I walked up into my room and read for a couple minutes. However, what had felt like a couple minutes was actually nine hours. Liam eventually came to my room, surprised to find me awake.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s 8:30! Have you been up all night?”
I put down my book and rubbed my eyes. I suddenly realized how tired I was. “Maybe…”
Liam shook his head. “Not going to ask how you managed that. Anyway, I’ll be downstairs making breakfast, and I’ll call you down when it’s ready.”
After he left, I was tempted to pick my book back up, but I knew I had to study my sign language. People always said that I learned things fast, and sign language was no exception. I had memorised a lot of words, such as drink, love, friends, and father.
I had barely just picked up before the girl from the previous night entered my room. I stopped her with my hand and held up the sign language paper.
She looked at the paper than took it. She just stood there for a little, then began to move her hands.
Hello, she started, I am M-I-R-A.

I just looked at Ellie, and she stared back. I wondered what she was thinking about. I looked for the words I wanted, but not all of them were there, so they had to be spelled out.
Why are you D-E-A-F?
She looked at me in confusion, then got out a piece of paper and signed, Repeat.
I repeated the phrase slower, and she wrote down the individually signed letters on the paper.
It does not M-A-T-T-E-R, she signed back.
I copied her and wrote down the letters on a paper.
Why not?
It does not.
I decided that I would just ask Liam later.
What are you R-E-A-D-I-N-G? I asked, looking at the book on her bed.
She seemed annoyed and signed, Nothing right now. However, I will be able to enjoy the book in peace if you leave.
I walked back down stairs to talk to Liam. Maybe he’d be able to tell me why Ellie was deaf.
“I know this might be personal but, what happened to Ellie do make her deaf?” I asked, approaching him.
“Well, why don’t you ask her?”
“Well…”
He laughed. “Shy, are we?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Well, it’s a long story, but basically a demon yelled at her and her ears burst.
“Wow, that must have been terrible!” I was shocked. Demon screams were very dangerous.
“It was. I was lucky to be covering my ears at the just right time. Anyway, you’d better go back upstairs. In the closet, there’s a sleeping bag. You can sleep on the floor until we find better arrangements.”

After that, me and Ellie got along pretty well. We found that we had very much in common, and I was really enjoying my new home. In just a few short months, she had become the best friend that I had ever had.
One day, we decided to explore the town. Ellie led the way, and I followed.
Soon, Ellie stopped and pointed to a mark on my arm, as if to ask what it was.
Birthmark.
It didn't really look like a birthmark, so I could see why she was asking. It was a completely black design of swirls and weird shapes. As I looked at it, I realized that I had seen it in my journal. It was probably just some kind of genetic tribe marking or something.

One day, when me and Mira were walking through town, I noticed a strange mark on her arm and pointed to it. She said it is a birthmark, but I knew it was not. I had a similar mark, but mine was three bubbles. I knew it wasn’t a birthmark, since it was so perfect, but I couldn’t tell what it really was. I supposed that it was just the marking of a clan that my parents used to be in or something.
As we walked, I began to feel uneasy. I motioned for Mira to stop. She gave me a confused look, but stopped anyway. I looked around the street and realized that I had never been in this part of town before. I looked at Mira and she stared back. She knew we were lost. I started to motion something then….all of a sudden…

I woke up in a very brightly lit room. I could see the outlines of men looking at me and another person tied up. After blinking a bit, I started to see clearly and I realized that the other person was Mira, and I could see the men talking. They were crowded around Mira, and I can see that they were questioning her.

As we were walking, Ellie began to look very uneasy, she motioned for me to stop. I looked around and realized that we were lost. A second later, Ellie was knocked out with a large fist. I looked at the man who knocked her out. He was wearing a black mask.
Before I had time to react, another man came up behind me and put a hand over my mouth and wrapped his other arm around me. All of a sudden, all I could see was darkness.

I woke up in a very brightly lit room. A man - no, a boy, who looked to be about my age, was in my face. I gave in a rude glare and he stepped back a bit.
“Nice to see you’re up!” he said with a nasty grin on his face.
“What do you want with us, pig?”
“Well, if you look at your right arm and you will understand.” He frowned this time and pointed at it.
I didn’t have to look to see what he was talking about.
“I don’t see what’s so special about these marks!” I wiggled around a bit, trying to get free. “What do they even mean?”
“Really, it is very simple.” He smiled matter-of-factly. “Those marks are your ‘power,’ so to speak.”
“What do you mean “power”?”
“It means you can make things happen.” He looked at me like I was an idiot. “Your power is wind. If you look at the mark the right way then you can see that it resembles wind. However, you obviously haven’t learned to use them, and that’s why I’m here. I was originally supposed to just make you stronger, but I guess I’ll have to teach you, too!”
“Okay, okay calm down. If I have to learn how to use these ‘powers’ than I will. But you’re going to have a bit of trouble with Ellie.” I thought it would be better if he just figured it out on his own.
“Why?!”
I sighed. “Just wait you’ll see.”
“Fine! Don’t tell me! I didn't want to know anyway!”
Ellie looked over at me. I just stared back. I couldn’t motion to her what was happening because my hands were tied behind my back. I knew she wanted me to tell her what was going on but I couldn’t.
“Well, because we are going to be spending a lot of time together, I might as well tell you my name.” The boy paused for a few seconds and I just stared.
“Alright, what is your name?” I knew he just wanted someone to pay attention to him so I got it over with.
“My name is Reuben.”
“Well my name is Mira, and she is Ellie,” I nodded over to Ellie. I looked to the left and saw a huge owl in a cage. I felt so bad for the big guy, he was so fluffy and looked so kind.
“Why is that owl there?!” I didn't mean to sound angry, but I was, and it just came out.
“That is my pet owl, and his name is Alwin,” Reuben sounded very offended.
“Why do you have a pet owl anyway?” I was being very rude to Reuben, but I thought that bird needed some justice.
“Well, Alwin goes with my ‘power’. Wisdom.” He stood tall, as if he was better than me.
“Every person with a ‘power’ has a special pet, and you’ll meet yours after you have mastered your ‘power’.”
“So, are you gonna teach us or just stand there and watch me be uncomfortable in this chair?” I was getting a bit agitated.
“Oh, right! Forgot!”
Yeah, right. You “forgot!”
Reuben untied me and Ellie, and I wondered how Ellie was holding up not know what we were talking about. All of a sudden, right after Reuben untied her she drop kicked Reuben and got up. She smashed Reuben’s face into the ground and stared at me. I gave her a glare that said NOO. She took her foot off Reuben, who was unconscious.
I motioned to her, This boy’s name is Reuben. He is going to train us. That mark on your arm is the mark of a power.
Ellie just looked at me with a blank stare. Then, she looked at Reuben and gave him a sorry face. He woke up and glared at her.
“I hope you know that Ellie is deaf. She couldn’t hear the conversation we just had.” I looked at Reuben and smiled.
“So, y-you… mean to… tell me… that she… is deaf?!” Reuben was gasping for what seemed to be life itself. I guess Ellie had some strength to her.
“Yup.”
“Oh great! Now I have to read another book and learn another thing!” He stood up and crossed his arms.
“It might take more than a book to learn sign language.”
“This is my power. I can read any book and instantly know what is in the book or how to do something the book taught.”
Wow, Reuben’s power was cool. At first I thought that the power of wisdom was lame. But now it sounds amazing.
“I have a paper of basic sign language. Would that help?”
“Yes, where is it?”
“It is at Ellie’s house.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“I don’t how to get back to Ellie’s house.” How could he expect me to know how to get there if I didn’t know where we were? “Where are we, anyway?”
“We are about… well, about fifty miles away from the nearest town.”
“What!” I punched Reuben in the arm as hard as I could.
“OWW! THAT HURT!” he screamed in my face.
What a crybaby.
“Well, you deserved it.” I looked at Ellie. She was probably just reading our lips. “Why would you bring us fifty miles away from any town?!”
“Well this might scare you and your friend but, there are people who want to hurt you and me. They are like some kind of mob or gang. They somehow communicate with the demons and work with them. They know we are the only ones who can stop them so they want us all dead.”
“But why don’t the demons just come after us?”
“Well, you see, if there is a demon within eye view, everyone would know, but these people look just like everyone else,”
“For all I know you could be a member pretending to have powers and trying to capture me.”
“If I was, why would you still be alive?”
He had a good point. “Anyway, where did your friend go?” There was so far no sign of the person that had been with Reuben when we were captured.
“Whatever do you mean?” I could tell that Reuben was just acting dumb.
“Come on! Just tell me where your partner is!” I think I got a little bit intense, but oh well.
“Fine!” Reuben was cherry red in the face. I wondered why he was so tense about his friend.
“Okay, he was my brother. He has powers too. His power is swiftness. He is super fast. So, actually he knocked both of you out, and I saved you!” I wondered if Reuben was trying to be cool or just stupid.
“Well why was your brother trying to kidnap us?”
“He works with the demons.” Reuben was trying to act cool, but I could tell how sad he was.
“Well, sorry `bout your loss,” I said with a blank stare.
I couldn’t believe that Reuben actually saved us. He seemed like so much of a wimp. His only power was wise.
“Well, what is done is done and there is nothing I can do about it,” Reuben said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

The Power
It was a few months later. Reuben now knew sign language and was not all that bad for just beginning. Ellie missed her home and wished she could see Liam. He was like a father to her, and, like any daughter, she wanted to see her father. I was beginning to feel the way of my powers, and now I could make winds so powerful they can knock you of your feet. Ellie was not having any trouble at all making a water spout so large and violent that if I stood in it I would be ripped to shreds. I would eventually be able to make winds as strong as her water, but for now, I was content with knocking Reuben off his feet and laughing at his “clumsiness.”
During dinner one night, Reuben was looking a little weary. He was constantly looking around and flinching at the slightest movement.
“What’s up, Reuben?”
Reuben hesitated for a moment. “Well, I might as well tell you. Because your powers are so close to being mastered, we are on the brink of war.”
I was astonished. We have never had a war. Of course the people of the good days did, but our age never had anything like war.
“With who? The demons!?” I exclaimed
“Yes, who else?!” He sighed and shook his head. “Anyway, you guys are almost done with your training. Soon, your animals will come to you.” Reuben sounded kind of sad when he said we would soon get our pets. I didn't really understand it but I guess he was happy to teach us.

A week later, there was scratching at the door to the warehouse. Reuben got up and pulled out a big katana. He open the door and looked around. There was nothing in sight. He looked down and saw a little salamander staring up at him. It scurried into the warehouse and came up to Ellie. Ellie looked at it and motioned hello. It just tilted its head. Ellie put down her hand down so it was touching the ground. The salamander climbed on her hand and on to her shoulder. She asked it if it was a boy or girl. It jumped off her shoulder and walked over to a transgender poster and climbed up to girl. Ellie decided she would name the salamander Nusa.
Reuben said Nusa would be good for getting information and spying on enemies. I wondered if I would ever get my animal. One month after we got Nusa, there was more scratching at the door. It was the middle of the night, and Reuben heard the sound and immediately woke everyone up and took out his katana.
It sounded like knocking more than scratching. Reuben open the door and a large fruit bat came flying through the door. It came up to me and stopped. It stared at me like I was some kind of freak. I knew it was only a bat so what could it do.
“Wow, your one big bat!” I was really excited.
“What are you, a boy or girl?”
The bat swung around the room and pirched itself onto Reuben. Reuben freaked out and started running around screaming. The bat lifted off him and Reuben stopped. I laughed at him and Nusa, Ellie and the bat seemed to chime in.
“I guess you're a boy huh?”
The bat nodded.
“I think your name can be Nebula.” I think the bat liked the name, because he jumped up and did a backflip in mid-air.
“Nebula will be good for helping us spot enemies and seeing in the dark. Soon, you and your animal’s brain wavelengths will be in sync and you guys will be able to talk to your animal telepathically.”
“Thats cool!”
“How do we talk to them until then?” I ask .
“You kids will figure out a way,” Then Reuben walked off and started preparing dinner in the kitchen. I sometimes wonder about how my parents are feeling or how Liam is holding up. I haven’t been giving it much thought until now.

In the capitol city, two people are still there. The city was ransacked by the demons and their army. These two people are Kiara and Samuel. They have recently lost their daughter. She was been gone for about three months. Kiara was making dinner when they found out about the attack on the city. People screamed and ran far, far away from this city. Samuel was the stronger of the two and he fought off demons while Kiara tried to figure out where their daughter had gone.
Now Kiara and Samuel are traveling into small villages asking if they had seen a tall girl. Ther daughter is sixteen. Her birthday is today. She was long black hair and bright green eyes. They find a village who know of a girl with that description. But, she went missing from that town about two months ago.

Today is my birthday, so I told Reuben. He asked me how old I am now.
“Well, if you really must know, I am seventeen now,”
“You’re younger than I thought! You know I’m seventeen. And I’ll be turning eighteen next month.”
“Cool,” I kind of just brushed off Reuben’s weird statement. It was different for him to just give out random personal information like that. A few hours later Reuben came into my room with a yellow birthday cake.
“You didn't have too,” I said in that dumb way you do when someone surprises you.
“No! I just wanted you to feel more….at home here!”
Ellie walked in with a lighter and some candles.
Then she motioned Happy Birthday. She smiled a lot so I knew she meant it. Ellie lit the candles and she and Reuben sang me happy birthday. I blew out the candles and wished very hard.
“What did you wish for?” Reuben asked intruding before I even open my eyes.
“You’re not supposed to know! Its bad luck!” I felt as if we were a family as we joked about a stupid superstition.

Samuel and Kiara have been asking around a small village that says they have seen their daughter. Soon, they stumble upon Liam. Liam says he housed their daughter for a little while. About a week, than his friends daughter and her disappeared.
“Where do you think they would go?” Samuel asked in desperation for his daughter.
“Well, it is hard to say.” Liam replied.
“They could be anywhere. With us on the brink of war, they could have been captured.” Liam thought it might be better to think that it was not the girl’s faults. I mean, how could they hide for three months?

There is loud pounding on the door. Reuben takes his katana out and approaches the door as if it is another life form. He opens it to a crack and looks out.
“Hello, I am Samuel, and this is my wife Kiara.” The man nods is head to the left.
“We are looking for our lost daughter. Her name is Mira. Have you seen her?” The man’s face was hard. Reuben knew he wanted answers. Reuben stepped back and closed the door. He told my father to wait just one minute.
“Reuben, those people are my parents!” I exclaimed
“Yes, I have figured that out,” He was acting all smart.
“Well, are you going to let them see me?”
“Yes, as long as they never tell one person where you were, or what you can do.”
“Alright then.”
I open the door and walked out to see my parent’s smiling faces.
“Oh, Mira we were so worried about you!” My mother was the good cop.
“Why are you here? What have you been doing? Why haven’t you called?” My dad was the bad cop.
“Dad! I was captured. But, before you freak out, our kind is on the brink of war. My kind has to unite and I have learned to use my powers.” I start swirling the wind around and start a dirt devil.
“Wow!” My mother was amazed.
“You can do that just with your power?” My dad didn't often get surprised but, this one did a number on him. I stop the wind and look back at my parents.
“Yes, and I have to use this power to help in the resistance against the demons.” I had it right in my mind. There was nothing my parents could do to make me stop fighting for the demons gone.
“Don’t you think this is just a little bit much?” Of course my dad was going to be the one to try and stop me.
“No, dad I have a chance to fight for my people and protect them.”
“But, sweetie, I don’t want you to die just because you can.” My mom is still the good cop.
“Mom, I am the only person who was this power. I have to use it to help the human kind!” My parents were not going to stop me.
“Fine. If you want to do this than we are not going to stop you.” I couldn’t believe that my dad was actually okay with this. My mom was standing beside him nodding her head in agreement. I walk back inside the warehouse. Ellie starts motioning to me.
How was it? I knew she was trying to be nice but I didn't want to talk.
It went fine. They are okay with me fighting. I walked over into my room. A few seconds later there was a terrible ringing in my ear.
“Reuben!” I scream as loud as I can to try and hear myself talk be I can’t.
I saw Reuben’s mouth moving but I couldn’t hear him. The ringing suddenly stopped. I touched my ear and looked at my finger. There was blood.
“What was that all about?” I was very mad at Reuben for whatever he did.
“I was calling all the people with powers to us.” I now was less angry at him.
“Well, you could have warned me before you blasted coordinates into my ears!” Wait, now I know the exact coordinates of this warehouse.
“Yes, and now all the people with powers know that we are in a crisis and need their help.” Reuben sounded like a leader ready for war.
In the past five weeks me and Ellie have seen people with amazing powers walk through the warehouse door. One girl named Geniva, she could make objects move with her mind. Another boy(his name is Mayson)can shapeshift into anything–animals, inanimate objects, people, nature, a storm, anything!
Other the next few days everyone was training in the training facility. I had made good friends with Mayson and a girl named Felicity. She can control electricity. Felicity can make lightning bolts, take electricity, and she can even channel power from a storm to make herself stronger.
Ellie made friends with the other deaf people in the facility. Geneva was one of them. Ellie and her friends all sat in a corner talking to each other or training with each other. Reuben was mostly in the kitchen preparing meals for everyone. He never did it by himself. There was always someone in there helping him. Usually, it was Geneva or another kid. All the people in the warehouse were older than ten. The youngest was twelve. Her name was Piper. Piper is a red headed, feisty, little devil. I can see why her parents named her Piper. She was the power to control fire. Her name ironically goes with her power. She is so bossy and thinks she can tell everyone what to do. Reuben sucks up to her and beacons to her every need. I know I’m supposed to be saving the world, and noble, and wise, and not into childish things. But, you have to remember I am only seventeen. I had to grow up really fast, and I was homeschooled. All the people in the training facility have their pets, even Piper. Piper’s pet is a chow chow. He is a big , fluffy dog, and his name was Rocky. Mayson’s pet is a chameleon. The chameleon’s name is Gidget.
“How are you dealing with feeding all these people?” I just had to ask Reuben.
“Well, it is not ideal, but it is what we have to do.” Reuben seemed sure of himself.
“Well, if you ever need some extra hands, I’ll be in the common room.” I left the kitchen thinking I was a good person for offering help anytime. But, I knew if he came to me that I would most likely refuse the offer.
“Are you alright? You’ve been staring at the ceiling for hours,” Mayson was worried, and I couldn’t see why. I was perfectly fine, I am just spaced out.
“I’m fine. Just….thinking,” I saw that as a pretty good reply.
“Yeah, right.”

The Preparation

Everyone was being pushed to their limit. Reuben had us training like astronauts. Every day, we will do our daily routine. Most of the time we only eat a healthy breakfast. All we ever did was train, eat, and sleep. And there was only potty breaks every five hours. Reuben kept going on and on about how if we are in the middle of a battle we won’t be able to use the bathroom.
A few week later I was finally fed-up with all the dumb training.
“Why are we training? There has been no sign that there is going to be a war, so what's the big deal?” I let out all of my anger in that little moment.
“If you really must know, there is a sign that war is going on! Alwin has spotted the demons plotting a big attack on the humans!” Reuben is screaming at the top of his lungs. He does not realize this, when he looks around everyone is poking their heads out of the training room.
“Well, there you all have it. So get back to training!” Reuben yelled that so loud, the kids outside training can hear him.
“Fine. At least it's one thing you’re good at.” I mumbled under my breath.
“What was that, Mira?”
“The only thing you’re good at is screaming orders at the top of your lungs!” I yelled back at him, and walked off into the training room.
“We’ll see when I’m saving your life in the battlefield!” I tune Reuben out of my mind. Everyone stared at me when I walked in.
“You really are stupid. I think your the dumbest one here!” Piper snarled at me and walked away. I just shook her off and started training again.
For the next few hours no one talked to me about the training.
“You know you don’t have to blow up on him.” Mayson was just trying to cheer me up.
“Why? It's not like he was going to tell us anything if I hadn’t said something,”I was not in the mood to talk to my secret crush.
“Well, you didn't have to freak out and go on a whole rampage.” I couldn’t deal with his complaining right now.
“You should just walk away right now before I get off this bed and kill you.”
“You won’t do that.” He was trying to make me happy, even though I was really mad.
“Yeah? Try me.”
“Okay, hit me with your best shot!”
Was he kidding? I was totally going to obliterate him.
“Maybe we should go outside,” I think this is going to get very serious.
“Alright then, if you think you’re going to have that much of a chance!” We walked through the back door and some people followed.
“You ready for a world of pain?” I yelled, knowing he would get sucked away by my tornadoes.
“Are you sure?”
“Totally!” I conjured two F3 Tornadoes and everyone who was watching steeped away back. Mayson is trapped, but he makes a quick move to turn into a mole and dug into the ground right before the tornadoes hit him. I stopped the tornadoes and Mayson came back up.
“Ha! You thought it would be that easy?”
“Of course not! I was just getting warmed up!” Now I was excited for some more action. I willed him up into the air, he somehow instantly knew what to do. He became a huge chunk of iron and slammed the ground, creating a huge crater about three feet wide. Mayson turned back into his human form and I just stood there waiting for him to say something.
“I thought this would be hard!” Mayson is trying to taunt me. But today, that would not work, and I was going to hurt him. It was too late he was already in my head. Maybe I couldn’t do it. What if I’m not strong enough to beat Mayson up?
“Hey!” I looked up and realized that I had zoned out for a few minutes.
“What?”
“We aren't done!” I didn't know why he was yelling but, hey.
Mason turned into a small ant. I knew why he had done this. He wanted to become hard to hit. By becoming smaller, he became a harder target, and now his bite will be really painful. He decided to turn into a bullet ant. I created a draft that pulled him up into the air. Some of the other kids started duelling in other places. Piper was fighting with Zac (a thirteen year old that had the power to control ice). That was definitely ironic.
“Hey!”
“Keep your eyes on me,” That sounded a little bit weird.
“Whatever!” I couldn’t really understand how he could talk like a human and still be an ant. Mayson was about to be right on my foot when I created a draft of wind that lifted me up into the air and Mayson back against the maggot infested bed. Everyone turned their attention to the door when it cracked open and a figure walked out. It was Reuben.
“What is everyone doing?” He shouted this so loud that the demons could probably near him. Everyone(except me)turned and pointed their nasty fingers at me. Reuben turned his head and gave me that stare.
“What?” I knew there would be hell to pay for what I have done. We walked back inside to the building. He forced me to sit down on the old raggedy couch.
“What were you thinking?” I could tell that this was a mad talk, not a “I think you are not okay” talk.
“Piper got frozen in a block of ice!” I started to giggle.
“That's not funny, and now we don’t know how to get her out, and she may just die from frostbite!”
“Well, I’m sorry that Mayson wanted to go,”
“This is not about just you and Mayson. Speaking of Mayson, he has a hairline fracture in his lower leg!” I never wanted to hurt him like that.
“Now, Mayson can’t help us in the war!”
“Is that all you care about? I mean that's all you talk about, war this and war that!” The anger boiling inside me was so high that I might as well had steam coming out of my ears.
“Well, the only reason why I have all the pet peeves is because the war is coming up soon and we could be attacked at any moment.”
“Look, I’m just trying to make color in a sky of gray!”
“I know that this is boring but, you have to understand! We have to train as much as possible so that we are fully prepared for what is about to happen.”
“You know what? Fine! I do not care. Just don’t come crying to me when your plan doesn't work!”
I walk away into the sleeping chambers, flopped onto the bed and tried to sleep. I tossed and turned all night long, falling asleep for only an hour or two at a time. Every time I dozed off I would dream about the war. And everytime I was about to die I would jolt up out of bed. Every time a woke up less and less people were awake to look over at me. For a second I thought about the project I left behind when the attack happened. I then realized, that what I was working on could help humanity and the war against the demons. But, it was the middle of the night and I can barely remember what the project was even about. I put the thought out of my mind and fall back asleep. I don’t wake up until what feels like noon, I wonder why no one was woken me up. I walk out of the sleeping chamber and notice that no one is in the training facility or the kitchen or the recreation area. Suddenly I feel a pull from what feels like the air. I faintly near my name being called by a familiar voice. The last jurk pulls me upward and I get startled out of bed.
“What the hell?” I mumble.
“Wakey, Wakey little Miry!” Mayson was such an idiot at times. I slowly rose up and my blanket crumpled up near my waist.
“How is your lower leg?” I wanted to try and act like nothing ever happened.
“It's fine,” That sounded like a lie.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I knew that he was really mad at me and I was determined to get him to hash it out.
“Yeah,” He was lying to me. I knew it.
“You’re mad at me, and I know it! Now, you will tell me that you are mad at me, or I’m not going to be your friend!”
“Fine!” He yelled back at me. Well, that was unexpected.
“YOUR LOSS, WEIRDO!” He screamed back at me and hobbled away on his crutches.
“You sure look nice on those CRUTCHES!” I don't even think he could near me at this point. Great! Just lost my best friend! Isn’t that just wonderful?
I lifted up the covers to see a big black and purple bruise on my calf. Wonder how that got there. I walk into the dinning hall and realize that it is already lunch. I slide down at one of the long tables and sit with no one. I quietly eat lunch and a girl whom I have never seen before walks right up to me and sits down.
“Hi! My name is Olivia!” This girl had a sweet and bubbly attitude.
“My name is Mira,” I said in my usual depressing tone.
“I know you can be more enthusiastic than that!” She said it with no respect for who I am. She has never even met me. I don't know why she thinks she can just walk up to me and tell me what I can and can’t be.
“So, what is your power?” I said in a fake happy voice.
“Oh, I am a shapeshifter!” I wonder how she could be so excited about being able to change into random things. Oh wait…..now that I think about it, it sounds pretty cool.
“So, what do you want with me?” I returned to my sad lonely tone.
“Well, I was thinking we could be friends,”
“You keep thinking that,” I replied. I knew it was rude but hey, I was in a bad mood.
“Okay,” she said in her sad little five year old voice.
“Ugh, okay, because I don’t like it when people are sad. You can be my friend,”
“So, what is your pet, huh?” I wonder why she asks so many questions. Like she needs to know!
Well, my pet is a bat. Her name is Nusa.”
“My pet is a moth. His name is Tarnung. It’s German for camouflage,” After a while, we went into the training area, and realized that Mayson was not in there. That was unusual, because I’m pretty sure that when Mayson was mad, he always was training. No, I know that when there is something on Mayson’s mind, he tries to shrug it off with training.
“So, what do you want to get started on?” I asked….wait, what’s her name? I forgot.
“Oh, well, I was thinking we could just lift some weights and do some cardio.” For some reason that sounded like a good plan. While we worked out we talked, and talked, and talked. I finally learned her name. Her name is Olivia, and her pet Tarnung is a great hide-and-seek player. When it was time for bed, I sent Nusa to go check on Mayson. When Nusa got to Mayson’s room, he was already sleeping. That was the second weird thing about Mayson that I noticed. Usually he would write in his diary r read a book right before falling asleep. I had to keep saying to myself that everything was fine and Mayson was still the same person. You! Mira! You know that everything is fine. People don't just change and are still there. I hope that you are not stupid enough to believe that some is not who they are.
***

There was a bright light in the room and a huge square table. A variety of people were sitting at this table. At the right end there was one demon. He had a huge dark purple cape, a silver jumpsuit that was tight too his body, and a hat that looked somewhat like a turban but taller. The turdan thing was the same color as the cape with a huge jewel in the front the color of charcoal. All the other people in the side chairs where a mixture of humans and demons. It looked as though they were discussing strategy or something important. All of a sudden the talking stopped and the Demon at the right end smiled a sickening grin. He left the room, and after that there was a trickle of beings left the room slowly.

I woke up the nest morning to find out that Nusa was lying on the floor. Her limp lifeless body made me twitch. Without knowing I broke down in tears, all I could think was who would do such a thing to a poor, innocent, little bat?. Everyone in the training facility came around and we had a big funeral for Nusa. Everyone helped out with the grave and decorating her makeshift tombstone.
“So, what happens when your pet dies?” I Rueben hoping there is good news.
“Well, it may take a while but eventually you will get a new pet. No one knows what animal it will be so, don't get your hopes up.”
“Oh wow, that's comforting,” My sarcastic attitude was no help to my sadness. The rest of that day I spent all my time looking over the weird memories that me and Nuas had. Like the time when I was spying on Mayson and found out that Mayson’s mother had died from sickness. And like the time when there was a wolf in the woods and Nusa told me. She saved my life that day. I could have been eaten. Now looking back on all of the times Nusa had saved me from danger I knew I had to hold on to the only person who really understood me now. I jumped off the bed and sprinted into the part of the sleeping quarters where Mayson was and peek through the boys quarters door. Mayson is the only person in the room. I watch as he opens his diary and sits on his bed. What feels like forever, is two minutes. He gets up and I see him transform into Olivia. He starts to walk towards the door. Spin around pivoting on my foot twisting it. I feel a sharp pain and hear a loud cracking noise. The pain in my ankle gets more and more intense. I can see the skin around my ankle swell up and begin to turn a mixture of purple, blue, and black. Mayson(looking like Mayson) comes out the door and sees me on the floor. He looks down at me and picks me up.
“What are you doing?” I ask thinking I don't like this.
“I’m taking you to the facility doctor. You obviously have a broken ankle, you do know you can’t walk on a broken ankle?” He replies to me with an odd grin.
“I thank you for helping me but, if you just let me use your shoulder I can hobble my away there.” I say this trying to be defiant.
“To late, we are already here,” I look around and see the door labeled “Doctor’s Office”. Mayson pushes the door open and the doctor looks up. He sees my ankle and tells Mayson to lie me on the paper wrapped chair.
“Now, what can I do for you young lady?” The doctor asked me that as if he didn't know that I had a broken ankle.
“Well, I fell over near the boys’ sleeping quarters and I landed sideways on my foot. I heard a crack,” He looked at me a though I was a crazy person in a mental hospital.
“I can take a look and do some x-rays. That should clear up what happened,” A few thirty minutes after having the x-rays taken, the doctor came in and showed me my x-ray. There was a clean break, right were the joints lined up. I looked at him and almost cried.
“Now, once I wrap you up you will need to wear this cast for at least two weeks, I want you to walk on crutches and no training.”
“Okay,” I said this in a sad tone. I hate crutches, they were horrible in first grade when I broke my toe. I could not really remember a lot, but I knew it sucked. The doctor had to adjust the crutches because the last person who used them was a little short. I walked out of the doctor’s office an hour after I had broken my ankle. All I could think about was how Mayson was just pretending to be Olivia. I knew that she was a shapeshifter but, he doesn’t even look like she! Olivia was a great friend. No wonder she was Mayson. You should confront him! That is a totally breach of privacy and it needs to be justified!
The voices in my head rolled and second guessed themselves.
No, we should let this go on and see his he/she breaks.
This was my decision and I decided on the mean one. The next day I walked right into Mayson’s room and he saw me see him transform into Olivia.
“Well, I guess this is what I get for not being your friend, huh?”
“You don't understand….” I cut him off right there.
“I understand enough! You tried to be my friend again just because you have no other friends!”
“No, it's just that you are the best friend that I have ever had and I just couldn’t bare to see us not together,” I was so upheld by is romantically adorable response to my anger.
“If you don't;t want us to be