The Young and Gifted

10. aladdin

Kaura lay in bed, the plate of the sandwich empty save for a couple of crumbs. She glad that the Genie vanished in smoke. She had used her last wish to get rid of the magical being and burden Hope with it. She assumed that it was some sort of magic sorceress that Caroline had hired for Halloween for the twins or her. But as she listened to the melody of music, a deep dreading settled within her stomach.

What if it was an actual Genie? Of course not, those things don't exist. But what if it does and it is actually killing Hope right now? So? You hate her. Not that much, I don't actually want to kill her. I don't want to kill anybody. We do what we do to keep the real demons away.

The distinct sound of glass shattering shook her from her thoughts and Kaura pulled her earplugs from her ears and propped herself on her elbows. The skeptical feeling grew and she threw her music player somewhere in the room and ran out the door.

She knew the pathway to Hope's room and when she burst in, her eyes nearly bulged out her head at the scene. It was disorganized, wood splintered and pieces of furniture fractured. "Shit." Kaura spotted a blade and grabbed it before sprinting down the halls to the office. She barged into Ric's room, panting.

He glanced up from his sheets of paper and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Hope's in danger."

*

The Genie recovered quickly from the fall as Hope slid down the wall and landed with a grunt.

It conjured up a ball of light, preparing to aim at Hope. Hope braced herself, her wrists forming X for her hands. "Obstructionum," she said and the light magically bounced away, blasting towards the Genie herself.

Hope grabbed one of the rocks along the sidewalk and hurled it at her with all her might. The creature wavered and turned invisible, making the rock go through thin air. It reappeared, looking angrier than ever. "The time for games has ended." She took the pins out of her hair, the locks flowing down her shoulders like an ink river. She threw them at Hope and the pins caught on her clothes, pinning her to the maroon-bricked wall.

Hope struggled to break free but they seemed to be immobile. The Genie was upon her in seconds, gripping her neck. Hope gasped, eyes wide as the creature squeezed hard.

"Stop," Kaura yelled thunderously from across the yard. "I wish for you to stop."

The gene did not stop. "Your wishes have all been spent."

Hope's face blistered red and she began to choke. Seconds upon execution, the Genie's body jolted, her grip loosening. Ric had shot an arrow through her back with a crossbow. The Genie turned around with a growl and snapped her fingers. Ric went to sleep.

"Ric—" Kaura screamed.

"Ad conflandum magicae auferetur," Hope said through her gritted teeth and the pins melted in gold, letting go of the vice hold.

As she broke free, a large wood staff was thrown her way and Hope didn't hesitate to take it and spring into action. She slammed the shaft against the Genie's back and it crouched on its knees in pain. She kicked it hard, hearing the sickening scream of agony.

And then it somehow recovered rapidly, snapping its fingers and disappeared. But when Hope turned around, it wasn't behind her. Instead, it appeared on her left side and she didn't see it since she turned to the back on her right. The Genie shoved Hope to the ground harshly and she went down with an umpth.

Kaura surfaced alongside Hope and muttered, "Tradite apud dolor." The Genie dropped to its knees, eyes wide in pain. She tossed the knife to Hope and they worked in sync when she plunged the weapon into the Genie's heart.

It perished with a painful shriek and disappeared with blue smoke. Hope panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. "What the hell was that?" Kaura didn't respond, her eyes glued to the short dagger on the ground. Hope ignored her and ran to Ric, checking for his pulse. "He's alive but he is out cold," she stated, hoisting his unconscious unto her shoulder. "We need to call someone. Maybe Dorian or Caroline—"

Kaura left. She didn't glance Hope's way or Ric's way because she was too busy drowning in guilt to care about the world outside. 

*

By the time the day had fallen and the fractured orb of the moon had risen, Hope had already called Dorian to state the emergency that happened at the school. Ric was in the infirmary recovering and when the bus pulled back on campus, he was conscious.

Kaura seemed to lock herself in her room and Hope wondered if she should go check up on her. Because despite their differences, it was always worth it to check up on someone, even if you know they'll push you away for it. Hope paced in the library, too lost in thought, thinking about the witch as Ric grunted in the seat, clutching his arm. It was all bandaged up and he looked exhausted, despite the fact that he was unconscious for a long time.

The doors to the library opened and the twins, Dorian, Mason, Landon, Raf, MG and Kaleb burst through. Lizzie and Josie seemed to be the ones most concerned as they knelt in front of their father, demanding if he was alright. Ric silenced their worries and swore that he was fine.

"What happened?" Dorian questioned as he took in the casualties. Even Hope didn't appear so good. She looked shaken up and pale and she continued to pace around the room. "Should I call Emma and Caroline?"

Ric adjusted himself in his seat, grunting in slight pain at the movement. The girls gave him an eye, which he ignored. "No, no. Emma is taking the day off, remember? Let's not interrupt it, she'll be coming back tomorrow. As for Caroline, she's busy."

"But what happened?" Raf insisted. He sat in one of the library chairs, elbows on his knees. MG and Kaleb did the same, still clueless. Mason leaned against a shelf and Landon remained on his feet, eyes occasionally wondering to Hope.

"Some lady came and attacked Hope," Ric stated and the room fell into a heavy confusion.

Hope clears her throat, swallowing deeply before saying, "I-I don't think that was just a lady. She said something to me."

"What did she say?" Ric leaned in slightly to catch her words, ignoring the protest of his wounds.

"She said that she wasn't meant to kill me but she didn't have a choice."

"What sort of person doesn't have control over their actions—" MG mentioned.

"You're not listening to what I am saying," Hope crossed her arms, rubbing her sides. "I don't think that was a person. She had magic. But she wasn't a witch."

"So what the hell do you think she was?" Raf sputtered, holding his arm out in frustration. The mood in the room only soured further.

"A monster." The answer stunned them all, especially since it came from Kaura. She was standing in the open doorway and she didn't look good either. In fact, she looked worse than Hope. Mason pushed off the bookshelf and noted how uneasy she seemed. Kaura trudged in, Penelope following from behind her. Josie ducked her head low.

"A what?" Kaleb snorted with amusement. "Man, please. If I wanted to get into all the bullshit about superheroes and saviours, I'd ask MG. Monsters don't exist."

"She said that her name was Genie," Kaura elaborated.

"The Genie is a mythical monster," Dorian informed conveniently. "It dates back to the Arabic roots. Known for having the ability to control a fraction of fate itself. Some even say they know the art of manipulation."

"That would explain it then. Genies are supposed to grant wishes, right? And Hope said it didn't have a choice but to attack her so maybe somebody wished it," Landon concluded proudly. Raf grinned and they clapped hands.

"Hold on, I wasn't aware that we were shooting Aladdin, I would have—" Kaleb was saying. Dorian had broken off from the group a bit, disappearing down the bookshelf aisles

"I wished the Genie to kill Hope," Kaura admitted tightly. 

~

"I'm trying to rise above it so let me freaking rise."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)