Intertwined Outlanders (first draft - v.1.0)

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Layla's only wish was to be able to freely make relationships with others, without the wrath of her twisted ability.

She experienced the worst life as a teen; locked away at home and disconnected from the rest of the world. She wanted to go out and meet people, but how could she do that without being hunted down by the Order of the Abundant Restoration (OAR), which set an expensive bounty on Layla's head? Her past, where her father tried to s̶͓͔̿͐e̶͙͂l̴̨̤̒l̶͉̍̂ ̸̻̺̅h̴͎̊è̵̖͝r̵̮̥͒ ̴͇̎a̵͇̋͝s̶̨̩̐̍ ̵͓̰͐̀ḁ̷̯̂͆ ̵̤͈̆t̸̳̓́ẽ̴̛̦s̵̲̒t̷͍̯̋̔ ̵̪̓͊s̵̱̝̆̚ư̸̻͂b̶̯̬̓j̶̣͆ẽ̸̤̰č̵̺̝ț̶̞̅̒, was repeating itself.

On a wet and plaintive thunderstorm day in Austera City, Layla rummaged through her belongings and hastily packed them into suitcases. She had to escape to the secret world of Maple City, where humans with Phenomena welcomed c̶u̶r̶s̶e̶d̶ gifted people like her, as soon as possible. She could not endure the misery of eternally hide from the dictators of the humans' domain, the OAR. This escape was happening today, unbeknownst to her adopted parents who never permitted her to interact with the outdoors. As she zipped up the final suitcase, an ear-splitting crack of thunderstorm boomed outside, rain poured, and the power went out. The lounge room's gloominess looked very liminal and sent chills down Layla's spine.

She gulped nervously while dragging a suitcase behind her and hastily headed outside to where her adopted parents' miniscule two-seater car awaited her.

Layla drove slowly through her suburb, until her attention averted to the car's side mirror and gasped in trepidation as she watched a middle-aged woman's body disintegrate near a tree. 

The woman's body melted horrifyingly, and her body was replaced by an alien shadowy figure, as dark as the night, with menacing facial features. It stretched forward and plunged itself towards the car. 

Layla's heartbeat accelerated as a faint vision of the chaos that would happen next, materialised in her head. Afterwards, she made a sharp turn towards the busier highway with the vision's help and hoped that this monstrosity lost track of her.

But it didn't; the prompt turn fueled that figure to rapidly surpass the car. Layla stamped her foot on the pedal and sped past other cars which aroused the ear-splitting noise of brakes and car horns. 

Although the visions of what would happen five seconds later, kept appearing in her head, she couldn't evade the shadowy figure that effortlessly leaped from the top of the cars and imminently crashed onto the car. It crawled onto the front windscreen and Layla shrieked in terror. As she activated the wipers in an attempt to scratch the figure off, Layla saw that it persistently lingered on the window and she could see its eyes so much clearly that it seemed to be glaring. Layla's indignant gaze loosened because she struggled to steer the car with the figure scratching relentlessly at the glass that would break at any moment. The car collided with a traffic light post, the door flung open. 

She saw this upcoming outcome, but had no power to stop it.

Layla's seatbelt ripped from the impact, and she was thrown onto the edge of the street pavement.

As Layla quickly got up, thunder deafened everyone and it strived to make the place more hostile. She barely had any external injuries since she had fallen on grass, but she felt an excruciating crunch that came from inside of her. A flowing tap of tears erupted from her eyes when Layla saw the figure approaching her. As an ordinary lady who had low expectations of her life, this was overwhelming.

"Leave me alone, you monster!" Layla screamed at the figure, "what the hell do you want?!!"

"Just come with me and you won't need to move to another city - another world where you'll probably suffer much more. " It compromised slyly.

How could they? How did they know what I was doing?!... Layla's infuriated thoughts came as she batted her fear aside. This was way too overwhelming for a twenty year old, who incessantly received visions of a possible solution, but none would work.

"No."

Without any warning, the figure charged at her with lightning-fast fighting techniques and Layla tried to block its attacks with a branch that she quickly picked up from the side. But each second the figure struck, Layla was pushed backwards further and further. Alas, the figure's most vigorous blow knocked her into a tree trunk. The figure taunted her by grabbing her by the collar of Layla's hot pink raincoat. Blood trickled down her mouth and the shadowy figure prepared its ending blow. Layla squeezed her eyes closed helplessly and waited for her death.

Three.

Two.

One.

Layla felt no pain, so she opened her eyes to see what even was going on.
Electric energy surrounded her body. As the rain dropped harder like bullets, a current of electric-blue plasma lightning bolts rapidly reached the figure's hand and she felt her collar being yanked hard before the figure let go of it. Layla's new wounds began to close up by a violet-coloured energy, and she slowly found her footing and wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. Intensely panicked thoughts raced through her mind as the electric bolts zapped around her hands until the figure got back up.

"You fool. You really think this ridiculous trick up your sleeve will work?" It taunted and charged up to her again, but Layla was less afraid of it now, as another person abruptly jumped in front of Layla with messy wet lavender hair flowing behind them.

She was a tall and slim lady with glowing lavender hair who didn't seem to belong in the human domain, the place Layla knew so well. This lady possessed electric bolts too, akin to Layla's, but a neon turquoise instead of electric blue. After brief but sharp seconds of clashing between the lady and the figure, the figure was knocked into the sky and was nowhere to be seen.

Layla's electric bolts dissipated and she stared at the lady in astonishment.

"What...are you?" Layla gasped.

"Your car won't work anymore." The lady answered with her back still facing Layla and the wind played with the long side of her hair, making it flow all over the place.

"No!" Layla shouted to herself in realisation. She frantically rushed to the trunk of the car and quickly fetched her suitcase, which somehow remained in a good condition with minimal dents. But the car had been badly crushed by the force and was demolished at the front.

"Why did you help me..?" Layla stuttered and avoided eye contact.

"Your power is unique and has potential; you might belong in the Anomaly Case Investigation Centre rather than the human domain." She turned towards Layla and explained in a soothing but monotone voice as her turquoise eyes pierced into Layla's soul.

Layla considered explaining to the lady about what she was doing, but she was afraid that it would end up being extremely awkward because she frequently stuttered while speaking.
But she forced herself to blurt: "I-I was trying to get into Maple City - but...that figure stopped me."
The lady maintained a chill and emotionless expression, "I get it."
"Do you live there?" Layla fidgeted with the handle of her suitcase anxiously.
"I guess so. Now hurry up and follow me."
"Oh. Well since...I'm going there to rent a building...can you get me there?"
"I will do that once you collect yourself and come with me." 

Layla's eyes lit up as she thought about the Case Investigation Centre.
Case Investigation Centre? Layla, you're blessed! It's not even the first day and you're getting a job offer!  She thought.
"Thank you...Oh...um, what's your name?"

She turned around to look at Layla, and her long, dark coat that draped beside her clothes flowed in the thunderstorm wind. "My name? Willow Starchasm." and after she looked in Layla's eyes for a split second, Willow started walking hastily without further warning, which signalled Layla to follow before Willow left her behind.

Although she felt slightly safer behind Willow, Layla still felt like she was being watched.