Stories

Deterioration

I placed my hand on the woman's face and watched as she crumbled away in my fingers. I laughed maniacally. Everyone knows...karma is a bitch.

***

I couldn't take this pain anymore. This betrayal, it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. He turned me into this, and now he and everyone he loved was going to pay.

He planned to kill me. All along, it was a trick. He never loved me, it was just a lie to get close to me, to find the perfect time to strike. Well now his plan was being smashed right back into his face. I could only assume he was going to try to burn me alive using his superhuman ability. We all have them. There are so many different kinds of abilities in this city. It was normal for us. But, everyone had a heroic ability. They all were praised for how powerful they were. Including him. His name is Dryx. And I thought he was the one for me. But really he wanted me killed. My ability was too "dangerous" as he always said. My ability is called Deterioration. Anything I touch crumbles away and decays. I've accidentally killed a few people. I guess that's what got Dryx and the Superhuman Protectors to notice me. They formed a plan and wanted him to get me to fall in love with him, then he would kill me, but before he could let out his flames, I had already figured out the plan. Dryx had run before I could do anything, but he left his family. Alone and defenseless. I gave myself a sinister grin and headed for his family's house.

Turns out, Dryx had a wife and kids! And his wife, Iris, knew about the plan to kill me, so she was okay with her husband making a 19 year old girl fall in love with him and eventually letting that love turn into her death. Dryx wasn't much older than me in age. Only about two years.

I traced my gloved fingers over the guns and knives that were carefully laid on a table. Muffled pleas and cries were the only sounds in the penthouse, besides the tapping of my boots on the floor. I picked up a knife and looked at my eyes in the steel. In the background, I saw three girls sitting on the floor and gagging with dish towels in their mouths. I grinned and turned around to face them, "Having fun?" All I got in response was muffled noises coming from Iris. I rolled my eyes and ripped the towel out of her mouth, "Talk!"

        Iris glared at me, "Don't hurt my daughters or I'll make your life hell!"

        I chuckled, "My life already is hell, so good luck with that." I flipped the knife with my fingers. "Your husband needs to pay for what he's done to me."

        "We didn't have anything to do with that!" Iris shouted. There was desperation in her gaze. I looked at her twin daughters, both about ten years old.

        "Maybe not physically, no. But you did know about it." I traced the sharp end of the knife along one of the twins' necks. I assumed this one is Vitti. And the one beside her is Vayne. Vitti has a dust ability. Using her hands, she can create dust clouds to disguise herself and others are her. Vayne has a water ability. She can create little water droplets in her hand. She hasn't had enough training so that's all she can do currently. Iris has a vine ability. She can create vines using her hands and use them for weapons or protection.

        "Leave her alone!" Iris screamed as she struggled against the rope tied around her hands.

I giggled and looked her directly in the eyes, "How should she die? Should she be decapitated or deteriorated, hmm?" Iris just shook her head, her eyes wild with panic. "Fine, my pick then," I removed my glove with my teeth and touched Vitti's forehead with my index finger. In an instant, Vitti had decayed into nothing. I turned to Vayne who was struggling to crawl away. I placed all my fingers on her neck. Her neck deteriorated first before the rest of her body followed suit. I pulled my glove back on and looked at Iris. She was sobbing over the loss of her daughters. I rolled my eyes, pathetic. I directed the blade of the knife toward Iris, "What will it be? Deterioration or decapitation?"