The Unique And Talented

Chapter 2: Arrival of fire

When Holly woke up, she was in her bed with Alex sitting next to her, fidgeting with his hands.
"It happened again, didn't it." Alex sighed as he kept his head low.
Holly sat up, hit by a wave of nausea. "It always happens eventually. It doesn't just go away."
"I know that, but you could get seriously hurt." Alex looked up, he seemed exhausted.
Holly shrugged, not too concerned with her life.
"What was it even about this time?" Alex questioned.
"The academy was in flames, there was so much screaming... I think I saw two figures in the middle of the fire, but it was too hard to tell. That's all it gave me." Holly shook her head, looking away. She knew exactly who one of the figures was, but Alex didn't need to know that.
"So what now, do we tell Athena?" Alex looked nervous, and Holly didn't blame him.
"No, she can't do anything to stop it anyway. It's best not to stress her out any more than she already is." Holly exhaled as she stood up, closing her eyes for a few seconds to keep the room from spinning.
"How are you so calm about this?" Alex stood up with her, still fidgeting.
"I've been through it before. Nothing can stop it from happening," Holly paused as she slipped a hoodie over her dark blue shirt. "Fate isn't something you can just meddle with. It can't be changed."
"How do we know it can't be changed if you haven't even tried?" Alex's voice escalated.
Holly turned to face him sharply, short brown hair whipping around with her. "I know because I have tried Alex! I tried for years. But it never works, no matter how hard I try." Holly snapped, struggling to keep her anger in check.
"Maybe that's because you always isolate yourself! You never let anyone help you. You've lived here for five years and you seem like you barely trust us!" Alex exclaimed, nearly yelling.
There was a flash of emotion in Holly's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. "You want to know why that is? Whenever I get too close with someone, they end up dead. It's better to have no emotion at all than to keep getting hurt over and over again."
Alex seemed speechless, like he was trying to choose his words carefully for once. "I'm sor-"
"Leave it," Holly cut him off as she slung her bag over her shoulder and opened the door. "I'll probably be back in a few hours. Don't tell Athena, got it?"
Alex hesitated, but the look in Holly's eyes made him nod. The door banged as Holly slammed it behind her.
Just like that, she was gone. Alex sighed, already feeling guilt wash over him. He glanced at his bed, where his backpack lay forgotten with what felt to him like a mountain of homework. "Yeah, I'm not doing that." Alex grumbled as he opened the kitchen cupboard, pulling out box mac-n-cheese.

As soon as the door closed, Holly regretted what she said. Alex was just trying to help, he didn't realize how this works. Holly shivered as she walked across campus, out of the shiny gates that protected the academy. She walked towards the woods, dark and looming in the afternoon light. Secrets whispered through the branches, Holly closed her eyes and listened. Peace at last.

Kara felt like she was drowning in the crowd. She wasn't used to this many people, or any for that matter. If she got too nervous, she could set this whole place aflame. All she could do was follow the group and grab her worn duffle bag.
"Kara! Over here!" A girl waved from about 20 meters away. She must've recognized Kara from her picture and description. The girl had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, with jeans and a camouflage jacket. At least a few years older than Kara, she seemed confident and self-assured.
"Hey, um," Kara glanced down at the paper in her hand. "Athena, right?"
Athena nodded, at least a few inches taller than Kara now that they were walking side by side. "Yep, I'm one of the people you're going to be living with for at least a year or two." She said it seriously, but the words themselves seemed humorous.
Wait, there's more than one person? Kara froze in her tracks, a few feet from the automatic doors.
"Is there something wrong?" Athena had noticed her hesitancy.
Kara started moving again, "No, of course not. I'm just not very keen on... people, if that makes sense."
Athena thought for a moment before responding, "Most of us aren't. Regular human interaction never seems to go right with freaks like us, huh?" She said it low enough that no one else could hear, but she still received weird looks from passbyers. Finally, Athena stopped in front of a sleek black car, the driver was already waiting with the heat on to battle the chilling air. "Here we are."
"Is all of this really necessary?" Kara stared in wonder, the interior of the car looked even better than the outside.
"Of course, the academy only invests in the best." Athena smiled, but it wavered for a second, like she didn't quite believe what she was saying.
"This is amazing," Kara marveled as she looked out the window.
"Just wait until we get to the academy." Athena laughed at the overjoyed girl. It had been a while since she'd seen such pure happiness.
A few hours later
Holly was the first to see the car winding its way through the woods that surrounded the academy. Sighing, she jumped down from her perch in the branches of a tree. This ought to be fun. But she didn't start back towards the academy, instead walking farther into the woods.
Kara had to admit, the academy was a work of architectural genius. The place looked like it had several floors, and the whole building curved into a circle. A huge uncovered common area resided in the middle, bustling with students despite classes already being over. A fountain stood proudly in the space, a couple of kids leaning against it as they talked with their friends.
"Amazing, right?" Athena smiled, her hands on her hips.
Kara could only nod in response as she took in the masterpiece of a campus. Athena had mentioned on the ride here that the whole place had an enchantment on it that made it invisible to regular humans. She barely registered when a boy walked up to them. He seemed decently tall, an inch shorter than Athena. He wore a plain black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. His hair was the same color as Athena's, but his stopped at the base of his neck.
"You're an hour late." He flicked Athena on the forehead.
"Traffic," Athena responded, waving his hand away. She then turned to Kara, "Unfortunately, this is my brother, Alex."
Alex glared a second at his sister before smiling. "Kara, right?"
"Yep, that's me." Kara gave a small smile. She still didn't feel too sure about this.
Alex nodded, but it looked like he was staring into Kara's soul. "What's your power?"
"Oh, um, fire." She seemed a bit
surprised at Alex's straightforward attitude.
"Cool! I don't think anyone else has that power here. Mine is that I can't feel pain."
"Don't crowd her too much, you buffoon." Athena chided, her arms crossed.
Alex rolled his eyes and quickly changed the subject. "Have you seen Holly?"
"No, why?" Athena questioned, an edge of alarm in her voice.
"We had a... bit of a fight while you were gone. She said she would be back in a few hours." Alex shrugged. "I'm sure she's fine, though. Holly's the most independent thirteen year old I've ever seen."
Kara just looked between the two siblings, a mask of confusion over her face.
"Holly is independent, but she's also a depressed teenager with a lot of trauma." Athena sighed, she was starting to get worried.
"Who's Holly?" Kara finally questioned, and Athena turned to her as if she had just remembered she was there.
"Holly's the final member of our team, she arrived here about five years ago. That kid has seen some messed up stuff." Athena answered, but she seemed distracted. "We have to find her."

Kara is that one introvert friend who was just newly adopted into the group. Holly, on the other hand, is a veteran, as she was adopted years ago. Also, Alex has adhd, that homework is never getting done.