The Unique And Talented

Chapter 6: Late Night Talks

No one could sleep that night. Too much had happened, and there was too much noise outside. Holly felt a bit bad, which, for her, was rare. She didn't like Athena getting so upset, but she also couldn't tell her everything. The only reason Alex had known was because he was there and Holly knew he wouldn't let up. That and the fact that Alex was someone she'd learned to trust and rely on.
Meanwhile, Kara couldn't stop thinking about the fire. How many people were hurt? Who even started it? Would people immediately blame her? She shook her head, trying to calm down, but it was useless. All she could do was wait for the bright rays of the sun and hope for the best.
Alex was still awake too, but for several reasons. Reason one being he didn't know how to sleep with his stupid arm. As a person who usually sleeps on his side and literally can't feel if he's moving his arm wrong, trying to sleep comfortably was a nightmare. He could imagine his sister's exasperated sigh when he somehow messed himself up more. Alex stared up at the ceiling. Athena. She was always the better sibling. Her grades were perfect, she was great at everything she did, and it seemed like she didn't even have to try. Things were different for Alex. People kept telling him to apply himself more, to be more careful, to act like a good person. They wanted him to be his sister, but Alex couldn't do that. Athena was everything he wasn't. She was only two years older than him, but she acted so mature. Alex didn't remember much from his childhood, and Athena didn't talk about it, but even then she was the leader. She was the one who made their escape possible. She was the one to tell him that it was too late to save- no. No no no no. Alex was not dealing with that today. He could almost still smell the sickening stench of the laboratory. He didn't want to, but he did. Alex tried to think of something else, anything really. He knew that Kara was innocent, he trusted her. Besides, Holly said she was with her the whole time. Despite their bickering, Alex would give up every single drop of life in him for the person he considered a little sister. Holly would do the same, Alex knew he could trust her. This whole ordeal just made Alex feel off. Something wasn't right about any of it. Sure, they've had terrorist attacks before, (powerusers aren't exactly the most accepted group), but this seemed different. Alex just couldn't tell what. But if he knew anything about how this place was run, then they might be evacuated. They'd only had to do that once in the five years he Athena and Holly had been here. But they were sent somewhere in New York, surrounded by trained heroes. While they were gone, staff was able to make repairs and eliminate whatever threat at that time. Honestly, it wasn't that bad, for him at least. For Holly it was a different story. Being in a car or some form of moving vehicle just made her panic, like she couldn't escape. Of course, her family didn't have to best luck with cars. Alex had told Kara on her first day that Holly hadn't told them what happened to her aunt and uncle, but that was a lie. Holly had told him, years ago when they had snuck out to look at the stars. Holly had told her story, and Alex had told his. It had been the first and only time he'd ever really talked about it much. He could see how much it hurt Holly to resurface something she tried so hard to control. The truth is that Holly can have emotion, but after everything she's been through, she decided to bury it as much as possible. What Alex said about her parents dying in a car crash was true, it had happened when she was five. Then she went to her aunt and uncle, where she stayed until she was eight. Her aunt and uncle had finally convinced Holly to go on a road trip, they were stopped at a gas station. By this time, Holly's powers were starting to develop, usually just in dreams. She had waited in the car while they went to get food. Then she had a dream, and from her description, it seemed utterly terrifying. There was blood everywhere. On her, on the floor, and on the two dead bodies in front of her. A dark figure loomed over the bodies of her aunt and uncle while it raised its arm. Then there were two gunshots, and Holly woke up. She raced into the gas station, but they were already dead. Their murderer was still there, and they stared at Holly for a minute. They started to raise the gun, but Holly was faster than them. Due to the surprise, Holly was able to disarm them, then she called the cops and fled the scene. She was later picked up by the academy, same day he and Athena were. They took care of each other, especially after... she left. Alex almost rolled over on to his side, but he didn't. Instead he stared up at the ceiling aimlessly.
Athena was still awake too, which for her was honestly surprising. Everything going on reminded her of her early days at the academy. The three of them had been taken care of by someone back then. Sure, she had only been two years older than Athena, but still. She remembered how Hannah visited a lot back then. Back then, Hannah had a hollow look in her eye, like something was missing. Athena didn't blame her after what happened with Cassidy. She always forgot that Hannah had been here longer than her Holly and Alex. It was always weird to think about. Alex doesn't remember much from back then, since his memory isn't the best. Holly, on the other hand, might still remember. Hannah had been there since she was five. Now, ten years later, some of her light seemed to be restored. The way Athena saw it, all of it was because of Penny. After everything that had happened, Penny was the one who was always there for Hannah. She had arrived around... four years ago? It was hard to tell. Penny hadn't exactly been invited. She had found the academy. When one of the patrol teams saw her, they were practically ready to kill her. But Hannah was on that patrol, and she could tell something was off. Penny was like them, she had powers. That's when things changed for Hannah, in a good way. Athena sighed, reminiscing. A lot had happened back then, not all of it good. She stared at her hands almost in disgust. Like she could make her eight year old self aware of what would happen. She hadn't meant to do any of it, yet she did. Her power was too uncontrollable, she knew that. That's why she locked it away in the first place. Things happened that could never be taken back. Athena closed her eyes, hoping sleep would just surround her already.
The knock on the door felt like a whisper compared to the noise outside. All four teens shot up, not even surprised that the others hadn't gone to sleep either. Athena had already started towards the door, hand gripping one of Holly's knives protectively. She opened the door a crack, ready to strike. But as soon as she did, her shoulders relaxed. The others had gotten out of bed, Alex was currently stretching while Kara stared at the door with shielded curiosity. Holly just sat on the edge of her bed, not seeming too concerned with what was happening. Void was in her arms, swatting at the short brown locks of Holly's hair.
"Hey, uh, can I ask a favor?" Hannah stood on the other side of the door, holding several items in her hands, not to mention the guitar strapped to her back. "When everything happened, I went to check it out real quick. The fire was spreading fast, so I went to grab a few things from me and Penny's dorm. I can't really keep them in the infirmary, so can I keep them here for a bit?"
Athena was silent for a minute as if processing what Hannah was saying. Kara and Alex stood close behind while Holly still sat on the edge of her bed.
"Oh, yeah, of course." Athena smiled with more energy than she felt. Alex wanted her to be friendly? Fine. "You and Penny can stay here if you need to after we're out of lockdown. Your dorm might not be doing too good right now."
Hannah looked about ready to slam her head into the wall. "Damn, I forgot about the lockdown, I'm not going to be able to get back into the infirmary with Penny until that's over.
"If it's ok with everyone, I'm sure we can make room here until you can get back to Penny. You shouldn't be stuck out there. It's not exactly safe." Kara piped up, wondering if that was the right thing to say. From the nods given to her by Athena and Alex, she deducted it was. Finally, all eyes turned to Holly, who still hadn't moved from her spot.
Holly shrugged, eyes still on the cat in her arms. "Can't get much worse, just don't start acting like Athena. One strict guardian figure is enough."
"You don't have to worry about that, promise." Hannah said with a small laugh, taking in the glare from Athena with a smile.
"So what now? Do we just stay here until we run out of food and starve or something?" Alex seemed a bit too excited when he said that.
"No, we stay here until we're allowed out, which shouldn't take long. They usually handle things like this quickly, you know that." Athena rolled her eyes. She'd probably pinch her brother's arm if he could feel it.
"What happens after that, though? It doesn't seem very safe to keep a whole school up and running if we're being targeted." Kara looked around nervously, as if she expected the walls to eat her alive.
"Well, things like this happen sometimes. If it gets too bad, they move us into one of the big cities until it's under control. We wouldn't really do much schooling, more like hands-on work I guess. The cities are filled with heroes, so in their eyes, it's the safest option." Hannah explained as she set down her stuff, carefully laying her guitar next to her. She seemed so... calm. It was almost unnerving. In a way, it reminded Kara of how Holly acted about most things.
Athena, on the other hand, wasn't fooled. "What about you? Do you think it's the safest option?" It almost seemed like a test as the others watched the showdown between Athena and Hannah.
"Well, not that it matters, but being a hero is just a title given by the government. Those beings we idolize so much are no more than dressed up soldiers who will follow every order they're given." Hannah didn't stutter. She leveled the older girl's gaze, not concerned in the least. Athena knew her views, they'd both learned how cruel authority could be.
Athena nodded before walking towards the small kitchen. "When's the last time you ate?"
"Before the match, didn't want to leave Penny. I hope she's okay, she really doesn't need to be stressing over where I am." Hannah sat on the couch while Alex joined Holly on her bed, met with a indignant meow from a black fur ball. Kara sat next to Hannah, not sure what to say.
"So... telekinesis huh?"
Hannah studied the other girl for a minute, gaze cutting deep. "Yeah."
Kara scrambled for something to say, effectively unnerved by the stare. "That must be cool," she tried a smile, not making direct eye contact. "Seems like you could do a lot with it."
Hannah shrugged, "Guess so. What about you, though, fire powers, right?"
"Yeah, nothing too special about it, though."
Hannah exhaled slowly. "You know people are going to blame you for this, right?"
For a moment, all was silent, the noise from the kitchen had paused, even Alex had stopped his constant chirping.
"I mean, sure, there's other pyro-central powers out there, but think about it. Only a little bit after a new kid with fire powers shows up, and like half the school is in flames." Hannah stated ever so bluntly.
Kara knew she was right, but how to phrase it? Behind her, Holly whispered something to Alex, nudging his side.
"She's right ya know, people get really on edge about this stuff. Wouldn't be surprised if you got jumped by some of the kids." Alex didn't seem overly concerned, Kara didn't know if that was a good thing.
Before she could say anything, Athena called from the kitchen. "Leftover soup for whoever wants it. I'm not making anything this late, and we're starting to run low on supplies anyway. Probably didn't help that we were unknowingly feeding another mouth." Void felt very targeted as she flicked her ears, enjoying the pets she finally allowed Alex to give her. Holly didn't say a word.
Hannah got up with one last glance at Kara. "I'll help dish up the soup, I'm the guest here after all." She smiled, but Kara wasn't sure if it quite reached her eyes.
"Hannah you lived here before we did, it's kinda your place too." Alex called after her.
Holly nodded, like she knew something Kara didn't. To be fair, she probably did.
"Hannah used to live in this dorm? I thought it was the one you guys always had."
"Oh, it was, I already lived here for about five years before them, though. Then they moved in, and we shared the place for a few years." The words floated from the kitchen as several levitating bowls of soup flew into the main area, each placing itself in front one of the kids. Kara looked up to see Hannah smiling from the kitchen.
She soon walked out, followed by Athena.
"You should really eat something, Hannah, especially after everything that just happened." Athena berated the younger girl, but there was still a softness to her voice that seemed almost transparent.
"I'm fine, promise. I'll get something later, I'm not really hungry." It was mostly a lie, but she probably would eat something later. She had to at some point.
Athena knew it was a lie. She'd known Hannah long enough to know why she wasn't eating. She'd seen how Penny would pester her about taking just one more bite. Or how she'd sometimes coax Hannah to enjoy a desert. She wouldn't say anything, but Athena knew. She always did.
Hannah didn't say anything else either, because she knew it too. Things would be easier if Penny was here, but she wasn't. So Hannah was left to her own thoughts, and that was never good.
Athena exhaled slowly, cautious as Kara and Alex ate their soup. Holly hadn't really touched hers either, but she had at least eaten earlier. She just wasn't hungry right now. "Okay, so we need a game plan. They're probably going to evacuate us in the next week or so, which means we need to figure some things out."
Alex groaned, falling back onto Holly's bed. His empty bowl lay on the floor.
"Alex, you're fine. Holly, what are you going to do for the ride?"
"Try to sleep or something. It's better than being awake." Holly didn't seem to like that idea, but it was the only one she had.
"Ok... not ideal, but probably your best option. Kara, any problems for you?"
"Not really, I should be fine." Kara didn't sound so sure, but she tried. "Alex, as long as you don't pick a fight with anyone, you should be good, right?" Athena's stare bore into Alex's eyes in the way only a sister's could.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Alex was currently still on his back, looking up at the underside of his bed.
"I'm serious! This could go really badly, and we need to make sure we prepare!" Athena raised her voice slightly, the only indication that she wasn't fine.
"It's not my place to say, but with Alex's arm still in the cast, he definitely can't fight as well. I think he'll be able to stay out of it, at least until he heals." Hannah piped up with a shrug.
"You overestimate his self-control and preservation." Athena sighed, settling next to Hannah on the couch. "What are you going to do?"
Hannah looked right back at her, "I'll figure it out. Probably just stay close to Penn and hope for the best. Can't promise anything if someone decides to be an asshole to her, though."
"Right, just don't kill anyone. Or dislocate someone's arm."
"Okay, that was once, and I already apologized." Hannah exasperated, sinking further into the couch cushion.
"Hannah, it just happened a few hours ago." Athena groaned, mentally exhausted.
"I say we forget about the arm thingy, I mean, I'm still fine." Alex attempted to wave his right hand, seemingly surprised when it didn't move much.
"Sure, fine, let's just go to sleep. I'm too tired to deal with this. They should give us more information in the morning." She sprang from the couch, immediately feeling the nausea of standing up too quickly. She stood still for a second before shaking her head.
"Sounds good to me. As soon as we're allowed to, I'm going back to check on Penny." Hannah stretched out, her tall frame colliding with the side of the couch. This should be fun. Totally not uncomfortable at all.
"Holly, Alex, try to actually go to sleep for once." Athena grumbled as she climbed into her bed, right above Kara's.
"You got it, boss!" Alex climbed into his own bed and slammed his face into his pillow.
Kara climbed into her bunk, but she didn't try to sleep. It wouldn't help her much.
Holly didn't say anything, but Athena could hear the telltale creak of her bed as she laid down. It was all going to be okay. Athena reassured herself, but she knew it was a lie. Maybe lying to yourself over and over again would magically fix everything. It was a comforting thought, but not a true one. Athena kept telling herself this anyway because if she believed that her lies were true, then perhaps they would be.

No, I didn't disappear for months on end. You're hallucinating. You should really get that checked out ya know. Anyways, I really hope to update this book more frequently, and to the small group reading it, thank you so much :D