Sam12435
Oso
Potter
Alexander
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Another summer down the drain and another entire school year to go through. Normally, students in junior year had SATs and whatnot to worry over. Well, Fernwood students did have to endure the grueling SATs but it was on top of intense physical training and superpower training. No one exactly called their abilities superpowers since it sounded tacky and unprofessional but that's basically what they were. Alexander was not sure whether to call his ability a blessing or a curse. He could hear anyone's thoughts whenever he wanted to but this also occurred when he did not want to hear them. It was a pain in the ass to get a silent moment in his own head.
It did not even help during tests. Teachers would have someone come in and nullify all powers during tests to keep kids with abilities like his from cheating. Alex supposed that was fair. He knew it'd be a hard year for him. He had stepped it up and took a few AP classes with the advice of his father who also he advised he do sports and clubs at the same time. On top of all that, he had a relationship and a social life to try to maintain. Would he even be in classes with his friends? He wasn't sure Shay, Rose, James or Jason would ever take AP classes. It wasn't that they were not smart enough to but they tended to enjoy the physical classes more over the required classes like history and math. Then again, he was sure everyone did except maybe Alcina.
All these possible problems had been running through Alex's head all morning as he sat in the backseat of his father's Mercedes with his younger sister, tuning out his parents' arguing. His head been turned toward the window, watching the trees rapidly pass the other direction. He had been quiet, immersed in his own thoughts until his mother's voice called out to him, dragging him out of the reverie.
"Alex, make sure Emma doesn't get lost. I'm counting on you to watch her... Dan maybe we should have kept Emma home another year. " His parents had kept Emma at a normal school at home her entire life instead of sending her to Fernwood. They had always thought it would be too much for her. Alex was never sure why they had always been so overprotective with her. Maybe they had hoped she could be a normal kid after going so many years without Alex home until the summer or maybe they really just hadn't thought Emma was ready. They had kept Alex home too until he was 7 afterall. Alexander shook his head at the thought. Emma had been ready long before he probably had been. She was a fantastic telekinetic without ever having been taught and she was way smarter than he had been at her age.
"Mom don't worry. She's going to be fine. She's ready."Alex told her reassuringly. " If she gets homesick I'll bring her home on the weekends." He glanced beside him at Emma and ruffled her hair. She had always looked like a small, porcelain doll version of their mother. She was a tiny little girl with curly blonde hair and innocent blue eyes. She had been quietly kicking her feet back and forth anxiously, her sneakers lighting up with each kick. He had to admit he missed being able to wear light-up sneakers. It didn't feel so long ago that he had been as small as her. He could remember how scary it was to go to a school with people who had crazy abilities and live without his parents for the entire school year.
"I'm ready,"Emma agreed, "I'm just sad because I'm going to miss you two but I'll be with Alex so that's okay."
"Aw my little girl!"Francesca cried, "You come home if you miss us too much!"
"You call us whenever you need to and come home whenever you want. That goes for the both of you." His father, Dan, stated. "Well, anyways, Alex. Are you going to do football again? I loved going to your games last year."
"I might join a week late. I want to see how my schedule is and see if I can balance it." Alex explained. Then suddenly something hit him and he groaned. "Ugh I forgot to sign up for driver's ed."
Francesca glanced over the car seat to stare at him in worry. "Alex, the thought of you driving is going to give me a heart attack! Can't you wait a little longer? Are the other kids taking it? Is Shay driving? Is she going to take it with you? Shay's being nice to you right? She's not getting you into trouble? Are you two having-" Dan clasped a hand over her mouth as they neared the school.
"Jesus Christ, Fran."Dan mumbled.
"I don't know mom. I have to see if I can still sign up."
"If they tell you that you can't I'll make a call for you no problem."Dan told him as they finally pulled up to the school. Alex got out and and helped Emma step out on to the sidewalk beside him as his father got out to get their suitcases from the trunk. He stared up at Fernwood Academy. It was probably one of the biggest schools ever built. There were maybe three schools in all of America for kids with abilities. They weren't well accepted into society and barely anyone but governments officials even knew they existed. Many states did not permit schools for them to be built. Thus, the school had to be big to house lots of people since there weren't many schools. It was 54 stories high and super wide. The front of the school was protected by gigantic gates. On top of the gates began a force field dome that came over the top of the school. It was near-impossible to sneak out the school but people figured it out anyway.
He could see through the bars of the gate that there was a huge crowd gathered around the fountain inside, waiting to be permitted into the school. The school itself had a old-school castle vibe going on for it that reminded him of Hogwarts at times. It looked as if it was built of stone but he knew it had to be something way stronger. There were many windows in the front for each dorm and on the sides of the school there were dozens and dozens of balconies. There was a pool area outback with water slides, sports fields, and lots and lots of land to train on. The surrounding area, including the area behind the road in front of the gates, was all woodland.
Alex watched as employees came out to take his and Emma's luggage for them. They wheeled it inside through a special, hand-print access door in the gate.
Francesca suddenly hugged Alex so tight he couldn't breathe. "My little boy!! Have fun okay!? Keep little Emmy safe and make sure she doesn't cross any roads alone. Hell don't even take her outside the school without our permission."
"Thanks mom. I will. Love you." He hugged her back and watched her hug Emma just as tightly.
"My little baby's growing up!"She swung her around, practically crying.
He glanced at the gate, knowing having his mom make this scene was going to draw attention. Jason Salvatore was already at the gate, mockingly smirking at him through the bars. He sighed. He smiled at him and waved. Alex thought maybe Jason would wait for him to come in since they had been good friends but he disappeared into the crowd, distracted by something.
"Fran you're embarrassing them just let them go to school."Dan sighed, "Love you guys. Take care."
Not too long after that, Alex found himself watching his parents drive away. Alex took Emma's hand and led her toward the school, "You excited?"He asked her.
"Yeah!"Emma exclaimed with a smile, "I can't wait! You'll show me everything right!? Can I meet all your friends!?"
"Sure thing."Alex replied as the gates opened. He was already starting to stress out and the year hadn't started yet. How was he going to balance everything? Maybe Alcina would be able to help. She was all over the place when it came to school yet she didn't seem to be losing her hair yet. His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Shay could be here. He gazed around, pulling Emma with him as he weaved through the crowd. He had hung out with a little bit in the summer but it had not been enough. He missed her so much. She was his everything. He knew he was young to value someone that much but from the moment he had met her he had been in love with her. She was his other half. He had to find her now that she had crossed his mind. He could hear Emma giggling behind him as he dragged her through the crowd, looking frantically for her. He wanted to see her smile at the sight of him and hear her beautiful voice. He wanted to ask her to help him show Emma around and tell her about how he was taking AP classes and all the fun stuff he had done that summer. Maybe she'd help him calm down a little. She was good at that.
With time, Alex would know he was right to stress over this year. However, it had been for the wrong reasons.
Jessamine
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You're so beautiful.
I've never seen anyone as perfect as you.
How does someone look like you?
Do boys chase after you everywhere you go?
Your life must be perfect.
You belong with me.
I love you.
A Goddess.
You are perfect.
Everyone loves you.
You're so useless.
I've never seen anyone as weak as you.
How does someone end up as stupid as you?
Did your family really hate you so much they sent you here hoping you'd die?
Your life will be over soon.
You don't belong here.
You don't belong anywhere.
A walking corpse.
You're already dead.
It's too fucking exhausting loving you.
I've never seen anyone as weak as you.
How does someone end up as stupid as you?
Did your family really hate you so much they sent you here hoping you'd die?
Your life will be over soon.
You don't belong here.
You don't belong anywhere.
A walking corpse.
You're already dead.
It's too fucking exhausting loving you.
The ticking of the clock was the only friend that greeted the curly-haired blonde to a new day each morning. She'd open her hazel eyes to the dim bed room, slightly lit by the christmas lights that hung along perimeter of the room. She stared up at the ceiling as sadness crashed through her body in waves. This was happening way too often now. This was the second time this month.
Her hair was neatly laid out over the pillow like thin locks of gold. From a bird's eye view, she truly looked like a beautiful, perfect doll laid in a dollhouse bed. She could be mistaken for sleeping beauty herself, awaiting her prince's kiss in a radiant castle tower. However this princess wasn't in a pretty little dollhouse or a big castle. One could say she was laying in her grave.
Why have you come here?
I'm here to die.
Her name was Jessamine and she had been genetically enhanced by her father before birth to be the perfect child. The mother was unfortunately sick and fated to die thanks to an unknown stranger whose identity remained a mystery until this day. She was to be beautiful, to be smart and to be strong. When she was born, her father was so sure that he had done it. He had never seen a child so perfect in appearance. She looked just like her mother. He knew without a doubt that without the genetic modifications she would have turned out this way regardless. However, her appearance wasn't the important factor. He was looking for strength and intelligence like no other. He grew close to the child as she grew older and the child grew close to him. When Jessamine turned eight years old, he knew something had not gone according to plan. It was clear he forgot a few characteristics in the process of making her into his ideal child. She had become passionate about useless hobbies like dancing and fashion. She would speak nonstop about becoming a ballerina and ask for nail polish and for a bunny rabbit. Jessamine had little interest in practicing her powers or in martial arts.
The man's idea of a perfect child had not been a sweet little girl with aspirations. It had been a loyal soldier. A weapon.
He wanted to make use of her appearance to manipulate others. He wanted to use her intelligence to further do so and to uncover the deepest secrets and her strength to destroy enemies. He had not loved this child. He had loved the idea of what child was supposed to be. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to wring her neck. He absolutely hated her. She was a failed experiment that made him a joke amongst everyone he talked to. His reputation meant everything as a superior.
"Wow what a soldier!" They'd laugh mockingly as they watched her sit by the fireplace, playing merrily with some dolls. "Definitely a killer more merciless than the devil himself!"
She was going to ruin him.
Her striking resemblance to her mother stopped him from straight out ridding her from the world. Instead, he sat the nine year old girl down to play a "game" and tried to use equipment to mind control her and use her body as a puppet. However, he had been his own worst enemy in this situation. She had been given immunity to mind-tampering powers. It did not work. His only option was to break her down into nothing and build her up from scratch. He started playing with her emotions. He'd tell her how much he loved her and buy her whatever she wanted on some days. Then on others, he'd murder her childhood best friend in front of her and force her to kill wild animals even though she'd cry and beg not to. He even hit her sometimes. He had to make her stop smiling all the time and giggling like an idiot. He'd make her run back and forth until she passed out sometimes too. The abuse got worse the older she became.
Jessamine was obviously traumatized from these acts of cruelty. She was confused, sad and scared. However, she would not break. He had created her to be strong and strong she was. She'd find reasons to smile and even continue to dance around when her father wasn't around. When each birthday came around and he didn't race in to tell her happy birthday and give her cake, she knew for sure now that something was wrong but she was too afraid to ask. Finally when she was round thirteen years old, she mustered up the courage, tired of the abuse and confused to why her loving father would only turn up randomly for a few days and turn into a demon the next.
She walked into her father's bedroom to find him sitting on his bed, holding a picture of a blonde woman. He was staring at the picture so intently he hadn't heard her walk in.
"Daddy?"
She had whispered ever so softly in the eerie silence. Her heart was beating so fast against her little ribcage that she was afraid it might burst out of her chest at any moment. Jessamine was so afraid to finally ask why her daddy had all of a sudden changed. He looked up with a face she didn't recognize. His brows were furrowed more than they'd had ever been. Pure hatred danced in his eyes as they locked on the little girl standing in front of him, trembling in fear. She had never seen such malice and fury. He crushed the picture in his fist, physically trembling due to the anger swelling inside him.
"You turned daddy into a joke. "He finally managed to say calmly. "No one is ever going to take daddy seriously ever again. Your mommy died so you could be alive and all you've ever done is bring misery to me... God Jessamine you're so useless. "His voice choked up, tears swelling in his eyes. "I've never seen anyone as weak as you, Jessamine. The only thing you were supposed to be was strong and you couldn't even be that."
Jessamine shifted her feet, lowering her eyes to the floor. She had never meant to disappoint him. Was this why he was so mean to her?
She had stopped talking to him for months after he had killed her friend and made her kill squirrels and birds but the cruelty had begun before she had ignored him. What did he mean? "Daddy do you love me?"She finally asked quietly.
"You know Jessamine... I've tried. "He began lowly, "I've tried as hard as someone can try to love another person to love you but I just can't. It's so fucking exhausting loving you." She felt her heart drop into her stomach and she stared at the floor with wide eyes." It takes every cell in my body to try to do it and I can't do it anymore.. I just can't!" His voice rose to a shout and he punched over his night table. It fell to the floor along with the table lamp, the bulb shattering against the wooden floor loudly.
The room was dark now. It was moments later he felt a big, rough hand around her throat and breathing had become impossible. Gasping for air and kicking blindly, she thrashed as hard as she could, fighting to live. She wasn't sure why she had wanted to live so badly. Clearly, she was just a waste of space. Maybe it had been because a small part of her thought this was a horrible, long nightmare. Or maybe she still had hopes her dreams were alive. She tried screaming. She tried begging. None of it worked. Her lungs had burned so bad she thought they were on fire. Unfortunately, she was well out of strength. Jessamine shut her eyes, accepting death as it opened its gates for her.
That's when someone flicked the light switch and she felt the hand around her neck disappear. She hit the floor rapidly and slumped there, disoriented. She wheezed loudly, trying to collect enough air to sustain her small body. Though her vision was blurry and she could barely pick up her head, she managed to catch sight of another little girl with long black hair and olive skin standing in the doorway. She watched her father's feet move toward the girl. His big hand gently patted her on the head and he kissed her forehead.
"Not now darling, daddy's busy." He ushered her out and his black shoes turned to point back toward Jessamine's vision.
"Daddy has a new daughter now Jessamine. " With that, he left the room and left her to cry herself to sleep in the dark. That was the last time she ever saw her father. She found herself at a later point with a small pink suitcase inside a strange building, dressed in her pink footie pajamas. She couldn't quite remember how she had gotten there or how. Whatever happened in between crying alone in her father's room and ending up here was unknown to her. These details always escaped her mind upon revisiting these memories. A man in armor and a strange helmet was standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder.
"General Gale, this girl was offered as a recruit by Garrett Calloway as a peace offering. He said she's been genetically modified to be able to withstand mental manipulation and harsh conditions. She is supposed to be the perfect soldier."
"Garrett Calloway huh?" The tall man with the red hair at the desk in front of them asked. The inside of this building reminded Jessamine of an alien spaceship. There was high-tech equipment everywhere and everyone wore the strangest outfits. He stood up and eyed her up and down. "He's not really the type for peace offerings. My first gut thought was that he had sent a spy but now looking at her this is for sure his daughter."
"I don't know sir. She was brought to the door by some of his men and they swore she was ours to keep. Garrett never wants to see her again."
The man sighed, not happy with this answer. He came around the desk and stood in front of Jessamine. He bent down to her height. "She can't be more than fourteen. She's young to be a soldier here but I'm sure we could start her with some training."
"Sir with all due respect-"
"We're so low on recruits. We're going to have to take what we can get."The red-haired man interrupted the helmet-guy. He looked Jessamine in the eye, "Why have you come here?"
Jessamine felt the answer come out her mouth before she could process. She knew why she was here. It was crystal clear. "I'm here to die."
Four years later and Jessamine was one of the strongest soldiers the superior hunters ever had. She knew she was there to die but she had decided secretly that if she was going to die, she wasn't going to be the weak, useless person her father told her she was. She was going to die strong and being of use to people. She had got off to a horrible start in her first year but that's a whole other story to venture into. Having to enter an army with the knowledge that this is how she was going to die was tough to deal with. Jessamine had to watch her dreams die as she finally accepted she was never going to be anything else other than a girl with an expiration date. She wasn't trained as well as the other soldiers were. She wasn't handpicked from a selection of guardians to be here. There had been no harsh testing for her to get into the superior hunters like others had to endure. She was just here and she was the weakest and youngest out of everyone. Jessamine Calloway was a mistake.
General Gale couldn't work with such a traumatized, saddened child even after pairing her with some of his strongest soldiers for training. He made the decision to put her on special pills that made her forget every horrible memory she ever had and change her feelings of misery and confusion to happiness and hope. However, it would only last for a month. She would have to take another pill at that point. The more pills she took with each month, the smaller the gap between taking another pill would take. People started to respect Jessamine more as she started to train hard. She seemed to truly have motivation and even a great personality. She cheered others on and helped people. She acted like the person she had been before her father turned on her. Jessamine became known as a goddess to many of the superior hunters because she was so kind, warm and encouraging.
Jessamine knew the person everyone thought she was didn't exist as she laid there that morning. She had never felt so alone. Most people in the superior hunters didn't have a family but at least they had each other. She had many friends of course. Her best friends were Scarlett, Toby and Xavier. However, the last one wasn't a superior hunter. He was the prince of the superior and she just happened to be dating him. The few who knew this was happening liked to call her and Xavier Romeo and Juliet.
None of them knew the sad, lonely girl that lived inside her mind. As she sat up and took a glass of water and a small pink pill out of an orange bottle from her side table, she made a promise to herself that she would never let them know such a useless person.
She shut her eyes as she placed the pill on her tongue. She then gulped down the glass of water. Within moments, happiness swept over her and she forgot what she had been last thinking about. Her recent online purchase from Macy's came to mind and she excitedly jumped out of bed, curls bouncing behind her and ran out of her room toward Scarlett's to wake her up and tell her that her package was coming today.
