The Spell in the Storm

2

Two men in black suits wait outside the office. The taller one motions for me to follow, so I do. The other hangs back and follows me.

The hair on my neck stands on end.

This isn't good.

The voice in my head growls, and I feel energy rippling across my fingertips. It's not the calm rush from the bathroom. No, this is angry, lightning, energy meant to protect. I feel it rush across my skin, pricking the hairs along my arms.

The men take me to an empty classroom. Desks are aligned in neat rows, the teacher's desk sitting in a corner. The whiteboard is clean. Markers are scattered across the metal in front of it.

Click goes the door as it shuts behind the shorter man. Clack goes the lock. Crack goes the taller man's knees as he sits on the teacher's desk and lifts a leg to rest beside him. Creak goes a desk as the shorter man sits in it.

"Do you know why we're here?" the taller man asks, staring into my eyes. I stare back, trying to be unafraid. But I can feel the energy coursing across my skin. Lightning wanting to be unleashed. I feel like a caged animal. I want out.

I shake my head. The man's dark eyebrows draw together, and a frown creases his plain face. "I'm pretty sure you do, Jasira," he said. I flinched, because the way he said my name sounded like when my dad was disappointed in me.

"Then what about your friend? Do they know?" the man asked, looking at my forehead. My fists clenched by my sides. He knows, I think. He knows that I have an alien inside my head, a voice that knows my thoughts and memories.

But they do not know our power, the voice says. I blink, and the tall man smiles.

"Can you talk to it? The alien in your head? Jasira, we are not here to hurt you. We just want to know what you know," he says.

I shake my head and back up a step. Protectiveness rises up in my chest. I may not know exactly why the alien chose me, or why the bitch that hurt me put him in me, or why I had these powers. But I would protect it. He lost his family, just like me.

We are the same.

"I'm getting bored, Reynolds," the shorter man says. The taller one doesn't look away from me, but I see his jaw clench. He's annoyed, I think to myself. The other wants to hurt us, the voice whispers.

My body tenses up as soon as the taller man's does. Without knowing what I'm doing, I jump to the side, spin, and crouch. A knife appears in my hand out of nowhere; my stomach jolts at the sight.

The shorter man lands where I just was, a glowing thing in his hand. He turns towards me, the thing elongating into a leash of some sort. He whips it towards me, and I jump out of the way. It hits the wall with a smack, then recoils into the man's hand.

"Stay still," he growls, whipping the leash again. I duck this time, and it sails over my head. But I rise too quickly, and the recoil makes it smash into the back of my skull.

As soon as the glowing material hits me, I feel my body spasm. The energy around me flickers, falters, but only for a second. The shorter man sees it, though, and pounces. He tackles me to the ground, and I yell as my back hits the floor.

"Michaels!" Reynolds shouts, angry. Without thinking, I stab my knife. Michaels grunts and curses, and I feel warm blood on my hand. I pull out the knife, and stab again. Energy surrounds me, crackling with lightning and ferocity.

"That's enough! Please! Stop!" Reynolds shouts. I try to pull away from Micheals, but the man grabs my wrists and pulls them above my head. I lose my grip on the knife, and it flies across the room.