Thunder and Storm

The Secret

SALLY




I pushed the restroom door open and ran to the sink. I couldn’t see myself in the mirror. It was like I wasn't there.
"What's happening to me!"
I tried to touch the sink but my hand went through it instead. I withdrew my hand in shock.
"What is this?"
My vision was tinged black. Like an X-ray, I could see the pipes under the sink with the water flowing in them. My hand shook as I reached out to touch the tap, I trembled, tears ran down my face. I grabbed the faucet tightly, clinging to it like a lifeline in a storm and my hand didn't faze through it. I turned it on and water gushed out into the sink. I scooped it up and splashed it on my face trying to calm down my racing heart.

"Calm down, Sally, you're just seeing things. This isn't real," I told myself.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, letting it out slowly. I didn’t know how long I did that for but my heart rate slowed down and I opened my eyes. I was no longer that thing anymore, I was myself. I touched my face feeling the flesh under my fingertips. I could see my reflection in the mirror once again. Everything didn't look so weird anymore.

I needed to get home, I couldn't stay here. Everyone saw me doing that weird thing in class. I ran out of the restroom and into the hall. School wasn't over yet and I was about to skip school. I glanced behind me to check if anyone could see me leaving. Skipping classes was frowned upon by Principal Cullen. I wouldn't want that to affect my grades. I was doing a lot of things I've never done today. I stopped and chewed my lip in contemplation. Do I really want to skip class? I didn’t but I couldn’t go back in there after what just happened. I continued walking.

I turned the corner and collided headfirst into someone. I tripped and fell. Cameron grabbed me before I could hit the floor and my breath caught, my skin prickled with a weird sensation. I was strong. Empowered.

Cameron looked like he was in pain. He let go of my hand and I fell flat on my butt. He looked down at me in confusion. Suddenly his eyes flashed, his blue eyes turning white. He looked infuriated.

"What did you do to me?" His voice boomed, sending a frisson of fear running through me.

"I'm so sorry," I rushed out.

What was I sorry for exactly?

I didn't wait to find out. I scrambled off the floor and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I ran down the hall, never once looking back. I made it out of school and ran all the way to the bus station.

Luckily for me, there was a bus available with a bunch of people getting into it. I got on, paid the driver and moved to the back, taking a seat in the last aisle. I closed my eyes trying not to think of what happened in class.

"Is she the one?"

"She looks like her."

They murmured and I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me. They were all looking at me strangely, their expressions varying from confusion, surprise, fear. Their fear amplified mine.

Then it happened again, I started to see things. The bus screeched to a halt stopping in the middle of the road. I shot up and they reared back in fear. A woman seated close to me pulled her son closer to her. I looked down at the little boy who was no older than eight, he was staring at me like I was some kind of apparition. I ran out of the bus and into the street. The wind picked up as I ran, rustling the leaves. Lightning crackled in the sky. I was almost out of breath but I couldn't stop running.

I was panting by the time I made it to my house. My hair had fallen from the updo I had packed it in, the braid dangling behind me. My neighborhood was quiet, there was no one out. I pushed open the little white gate in front of my house and closed it behind me. My dad's car was still parked in the garage meaning he either didn't go to work today or he came home early.

I opened the door and dropped my backpack on the floor. I just stayed by the doorway not sure if I wanted to call my dad's attention to my presence in the house. What would I tell him was my reason for skipping classes and coming home early? That I was a freak who could see people's anatomy? Somehow I didn't think he would believe it. He would either look at me like I was crazy and laugh or get mad that I ran away from school.

Or worse he would believe me and look at me the same way those people in the bus stared at me today, with fear. My heart clenched and I closed my eyes.

A crashing sound came from my parent's room and before I could fully register what I was doing, my feet were carrying me towards the room. The door was ajar and I pushed it open. My mom was in the room shoving some clothes into a duffel bag. A picture frame was shattered on the floor beside the bed. It was always on the bed shelf. I remembered when we'd gone on vacation to Palm beach in the summer, we'd taken the picture there.

It had been memorable. Mom had gotten a bug there and couldn't stop throwing up for days. I thought she had been pregnant and had been anticipating a little brother but it was just a bug. That memory seemed like years ago when it was just a few months ago.

My mom looked up from what she was doing and saw me standing by the door. Her eyes welled up with tears and she raised her hands to her face, rubbing it.

"Sally,” she breathed out.

"Mom.” I swallowed.

Seeing her look at me like that with such relief made everything rush back and I couldn't hold the tears in. I ran to her, ramming into her. She stumbled a bit from the force but steadied herself and wrapped her arms around me.

"I don't understand what's going on, mom. Something is wrong with me," I cried.

"It's okay baby, you'll be fine." She rubbed my back, consoling me.

Her words made me freeze, the tears stopped and I let go of her. I sniffled. She said you'll be fine not what happened. She knew. Oh my God, she knew.

"Y-You know?" She nodded and I gasped. How did she know about it?

"I saw it on the news, Sally. You're all over the internet. A video of you disappearing is trending on Twitter."

I took a shaky step back and grabbed the bedpost to keep from falling. If the video was on Twitter that means everyone knew too.

"They called you the first Enhanced." She wiped her face and closed the duffel bag. That was when I noticed the state the room was in, everything was scattered. Shelves were pulled out of the cabinet, clothes were strewn on the floor, old boxes were placed on the bed with some of their contents scattered on it. It looked like a tornado went through the room. My mom looked haggard, her hair was all over the place and the wrinkles on her face were more prominent. She looked like she just aged five years in the last few hours.

She sniffed, wiped her face, and slung the bag over her shoulder. "Your dad is upstairs packing your stuff."

"P-Packing? Packing where mom? What's going on?"

"We have to leave, Sally. They could get here any moment from now."

"Who's going to be here, mom? What are you talking about?"

"I'm so sorry, baby,” her face crumbled.

She wasn't making any sense. None of this was making sense. I looked around the room again, trying to understand what was going on. My gaze caught a picture in one of the boxes placed on the bed. It was a picture of my mom and a dark-skinned girl who looked no older than five. My eyes widened as I concentrated on the image and I stared at my mom questioningly. She looked at the picture and closed her eyes in defeat. She looked guilty.

"What is this, mom?" I trembled. The picture was taken in a garden I didn't recognize, the little girl in it had curly brown hair and brown eyes. I was the little girl, there was no other explanation.

"I'm so sorry, Sally.” She reached out and tried to move close to me and I stepped back.

"What did you do to me?" I screamed.