nonsequitur

The Power

Sorry for disappearing for a while, I've been busy at a new job and it took me longer than usual to think of a suitable post.

The Power

Back in her room, Kelsey grit her teeth. She didn't scowl; she'd trained herself out of that a long time ago. The feeling still had to go somewhere, though, and she felt her scalp crawl unpleasantly. Luckily for her, she'd learned to hide that too. Was her act rusty? She clenched her fists, slightly surprised at how angry this idea made her. It was based on the people she'd despised, but she'd worked on it until no one at her high school could see the difference. She held on to the shadows in her room as she worked on an assignment. She'd been so irritated when she got back that she'd used her power, flinging her bag onto her table and pulling out her chair through the shadows and darkness present. At least she knew the girl had powers based on what she'd said, though Kelsey wasn't sure what they were. As she thought, she idly pulled at some of the shadows, making them solid. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot. It happened. She didn't have to go to work until tomorrow, so for now she'd just finish up this assignment and maybe go practice her powers outdoors afterwards. Ten minutes later, Kelsey stood up, extended her power outwards and headed out her room towards the lift, then remembered it wouldn't be working. *Oh well.* She'd barely taken a few steps in the other direction when a new shadow overlapped her other ones. Kelsey slowed down and extended her power into it like pouring water into a glass, trying to see its shape using the form her power took. A girl, about the same height and build as her. The shadow turned right and disappeared. Into the room of that girl who'd brushed her off. Just out of her range. Kelsey hesitated for a moment longer, then turned around and went back down the hallway. "...Maybe if I try it with opium," that girl was saying. *Seriously?* Kelsey concentrated and the shadows in the room popped into her awareness, growing more numerous as she neared the open doorway and her power expanded into more of the shadows there. "Have you ever tried opium?" She continued. "I was hoping it would relax me enough to expand my... power?" Her voice sounded excitedly deranged now and Kelsey sympathised almost despite herself. "I have a fucking power. Hahaha this is fucking crazy. I want more!" "That makes two of us," Kelsey called as she reached the doorway. At the same time, she pulled all the biggest shadows in the room upwards and parts of them rose from the floor, smoothly blending from 2D shapes into 3D blobs and tendrils. "Mind if I join you guys?"

Momento Mori

The first thing Abigail noticed was that she'd landed on her front. She could taste blood in her mouth and her tongue hurt, though it seemed to be in one piece as far as she could tell. She could feel all her limbs, though she almost wished she didn't; there was a dull throbbing pain throughout her arms and legs and *something* in her back felt broken, though she could move her legs fine. Although they screamed in protest, she managed to sit up and look around. Everyone else was there, but what about Myles and Mimi? Savrina called her name in front of her- did her ears just *move?*. "I'm here Sav," she called as she moved her hands to her head. "What's going on?" Her ears had moved, all right. They had moved to the top of her head. And they felt different too, cone-shaped... *Sav had thrown a Halloween party. They'd shown up in costume.* She looked down at herself. Her hands had been replaced with paws covered in black fur. Claws extended almost as soon as she wondered if she could, and retracted when she willed them to. If she was right about what had happened, she probably had a tail now, likely broken from the fall, but that would be it. The rest of her looked human as far as she could tell, so she wasn't ruling that theory out. "Savrina?" Miriam called. Abigail concentrated and her ears rotated towards the sound. She was somewhere beyond the fog, to Abigail's left. She was coughing a lot, and Abigail frowned. An injury from the fall? She really hoped not. "Over here, Savrina! I need your help, dear! Thank God someone else is awake... Don't freak out, but my leg broke off when I landed, and I don't think I'll be going very far with just the one. Could you, um... Poke around a little? I'm sure it hasn't gotten far. Is anyone else awake?" Abigail stiffened. Miriam had come as a doll, and not one of those soft ones either. "I'm awake!" She yelled in her direction. She almost asked if Miriam was alright but stopped herself. "I'll help look for your leg." She set off in the direction Miriam's voice had come from, hoping to find her leg somewhere nearby.