The Unique And Talented

Chapter 3: Remembrance

Holly knew that she should go back, that Athena was probably growing worried. But her mind was restless, and with a power like hers, that meant danger. Holly's power was usually random, or it could be triggered in moments of distress. Unlike others, she couldn't just call on her power to work. It did what it wanted.
Now, her mind was torn between the two realms, future and present. Getting mad at Alex had triggered it, and even though it was a bit delayed, the urge to slip into her subconscious was strong. Green flashes glitched in her vision as her eyes flickered between regular and glowing. She stumbled further into the forest, finally making it to the small clearing. This was a safe place, a familiar place. Holly let herself fall to the ground as her conscious slipped away.

"Holly!" Alex yelled from the outskirts of the trees. He shrugged when the girls walked up to him. "No luck. This is her favorite place to get away." He gestured towards the woods.
"Should we go in?" Kara questioned as she stared up at the dense, dark canopy of branches towering above her.
"We have to. If Holly's hurt, we must reach her as fast as possible." Athena took a step forward, branches creaking upon her intrusion.
"I don't get how this place is calming to her." Alex shivered as he and Kara followed his sister.
Kara nodded her agreement as she tried to avoid the trees as much as possible. One wrong move and boom, it's over.
The branches seemed to talk to each other, rustling and creaking in the wind. Every snap of a twig could be heard, like the animals had learned long ago that it was best to stay silent.
"Do you know where she would go in here?" Kara asked, cautious with her words.
Alex and Athena shared a glance, "We might know where she is."
As they traveled in further, the sky grew darker, as if the trio was unwelcome in this sacred refuge of the forgotten. Slowly, the trees thinned out into a small clearing. Three headstones stood in the middle, less than ten years old. Beside them lay Holly.
"Holly!" Alex yelled as he ran towards her. At this point, he didn't care if the trees were mad at him. He just needed to know his friend was ok.
The girls were more attentive to their surroundings, but Athena was almost as eager as her brother.
"Is she conscious?" Athena kneeled down next to Holly, checking her pulse.
"She's alive, I think she just passed out." Alex heaved a sigh of relief.
"She must've had a vision, that's the only reason I can think of." Athena looked concerned.
Kara was just confused as she stared at the small girl with short dark brown hair, asleep on the ground. "Vision?"
"Oh, right. Holly's power is that she can see the future. It's pretty random, but it can happen when she's... distressed." Athena glanced at Alex. She wasn't about to admit this was his fault, but it was hard not to.
If Alex had noticed, he ignored it, focused on trying to wake his friend. "It's no use, when she's in a trance like this, all we can do is wait." He sighed.
Athena nodded, taking a moment to look at her surroundings. Her eyes settled on the headstones, she moved closer to them.
"Whose are those?" Kara whispered, a bit scared to know the answer.
Athena didn't say anything, just shook her head sadly.
Kara inched closer to read the names. The first one said 'Vera Andrews, 19xx-20xx.' The the next was almost identical, but the name was 'Cole Andrews.' Finally, she looked at the last one, which looked completely different. 'Cassidy Holls, missing but never forgotten, 20xx-20xx.' At the foot of the stone stood a picture frame. Three girls smiled up at them, one with short black hair, one with her dark brown hair in a ponytail, and one that had light brown shoulder-length hair with hints of blonde. The ponytail girl had a pair of round glasses, all three wore dark blue shirts.
"Who are they?" Kara questioned, this time turning to Alex.
Alex stood up and walked closer to the others. "Isabella Frey, Cassidy Holls, and Drew Calla. They used to go to school here." Alex looked down at the picture like he was rewatching the memory play out, even though he had never seen it.
"What- what happened to them?" Kara's voice shook slightly.
"Cassidy went missing when they were thirteen, this is a memorial for her. Drew moved on and became a famous hero, and Isabella... she stayed. Took some kids in when they needed it, and endured what she had to after Cassidy. Once the kids were old enough, she left." Alex clenched his fist, it technically wasn't a complete lie.
Athena bowed her head, like this really meant something to her. But Cassidy went missing before she had even arrived at the academy, so why should it? Kara was pondering it when she thought of the other headstones. "And those?"
Alex glanced back at Holly, who was still unconscious. "When Holly first arrived, she was eight. Her parents died in a car crash three years earlier. Something happened to her aunt and uncle too, but she never told us. Someone helped her make these, it gave her something to focus on."
Kara nodded in understanding, losing a family member was tough,let alone four.
Suddenly Athena stood up, her face a serious mask. "It's getting late, we need to start heading back." She picked up the still unconscious Holly like she weighed close to nothing.
Alex stood up too, Kara following close behind as they were swallowed once again by the trees.
Once they got Holly in her bed, Alex gave Kara a tour of the small dorm. There was a main area with four bunkbeds, a small couch, and a TV. There was also a small kitchen and a bathroom in their own respective rooms. Alex pointed at the top of one of the bunks, "That's your spot."
"Thanks," Kara murmured, her head feeling like it was speeding down the highway.
"Classes start up again tomorrow, 10 am sharp." Athena called behind her as she went to the kitchen. A few moments later her annoyed voice rang through the air. "Seriously Alex, box mac-n-cheese?"
"What did you expect me to do?" Alex exclaimed, sitting on the edge of Holly's bed.
Athena just complained under her breath while Kara stared at Holly. "Is she going to be ok?"
Alex looked up, "Yeah, she's fine. Things like this happen sometimes, she can't control it. I just hope she can handle what's going on in her mind."

From the second she closed her eyes, Holly knew what was happening. She heard the laughing of a small voice, and her eyes snapped open, staring at a young girl. Holly sighed, so she wasn't in a vision after all. Instead, she had been sucked into a memory. She watched as the little girl ran around the yard, chasing after a dog and giggling.
"Holly! Hurry up, we need to go." A young woman in her twenties smiled at her daughter.
"Coming Mama!" The young girl sang as she ran, her long brown hair flowing behind her.
Her father was already in the car, humming to a song on the radio. The car was packed for their annual camping trip.
As the young Holly got in her father pecked her mother on the cheek. "We all set?"
"Yes!" The 5-year-old laughed from the backseat. The older Holly sat beside her, trying to enjoy this while she could. She knew what was going to happen, and it wasn't pretty.
Everything was fine for the first thirty minutes, the trio singing songs and laughing. Holly almost imagined that this was the wrong memory, that everything would be ok, but she knew better than that.
The old jeep made it off the country roads and into the city streets, looking so out of place amongst the fancy newer cars. That's when it happened. They were stopped at a red light when the car appeared from the driver's side. It was going fast, past the speed limit, chased by a cop car. Sirens blared, a few people honked and screamed. Then the car swerved. Directly into the driver's side of the jeep. The car flipped at least once from the impact, the young girl was screaming. Holly watched all of this play out, because she had been through it before, there was nothing to be done. In a few seconds it was over, several hours later the little girl woke up with a sore leg and a broken arm, just to be told she was now an orphan. Her father had died from the impact, her mother from blood loss. The paramedics said it was a miracle she was even alive, but to the girl it was a curse. Ripped from her family before she even knew what death was. In a few seconds her whole reason for living simply vanished. They won't be the last to be stripped away from her, but they were the first.
That, beloved reader, is why Holly Andrews gave up on being happy for once in her life.