special ones

part 5

Melanie

Where am I? Everything is blurry. I find myself in a house, my small hands resting on a table, a birthday cake between them. "Alright, sweetie, you ready?" a sweet voice asks, drawing my attention to two faceless figures standing in front of me—a man and a woman. The woman is holding what I think is a camera, and the man's arm is wrapped gently around her waist. “Come on, make a wish, love,” the man says. “Oh hush, Et—” the woman starts, but something strange happens. She glitches, her voice cutting off. Fear flickers in her tone.
“Love...her eyes…” she says, her voice trembling. Both of them begin glitching, their forms distorting. The man reaches out, panic in his voice. “No...no…no.” I look down at my hands. They're glitching too. My heart pounds faster. “You’re going to be fine, love. Mommy’s here. Mo—”
Suddenly, I’m jolted awake in the backseat of a car. I groan, putting a hand to my head.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Jasper says, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. I don't respond, closing my eyes, trying to shake off the dream. “Hey, you alright?” Cassie’s voice pulls me back to reality, her concern evident.
I nod hesitantly, turning to look out the window. The world outside is nothing like I imagined—buildings lie in ruins, their skeletal frames stark against a bruised, gray sky. Silence fills the air, broken only by the hum of the car engine and the distant cries of birds. My heart races as I take in the devastation.
I was about to speak when something caught my eye—a message spray-painted on a crumbling wall: Watch out for the Veilshade.
“What happened?” I finally ask, my voice soft.
A moment of silence passes before Jasper speaks up. “Your kind wasn’t the only thing to appear in this world. The virus came first, before people like you. It tore society apart.”
I remain quiet, so he continues. “The virus kills slowly and painfully, which is why they started calling it the ‘Veilshade.’ It hides inside you, showing itself bit by bit until you die.”
I swallow hard. “Does it have symptoms?”
Jasper’s silence makes Cassie step in. “Yes, there are stages. First is a high fever and always feeling cold. Second, there’s fatigue and chest pain. By the last stage, you vomit blood, and black, vine-like marks appear on your neck.”
I feel a chill run down my spine. “It’s an airborne virus,” Cassie continues, “but don’t worry. Your kind is immune to it.”
I blink in surprise. “Immune? How do you know?”
Jasper scoffs, his voice bitter. “That’s the only thing our government ever told us about your kind—that you’re immune.”
“So... my kind is the cure?”
He shakes his head. “We don’t know. Some people think you’re the saviors of the world. Others think you’re just another virus. Either way, both sides want you dead.”
I shudder at the thought. Sacrifice? That's how people see us? Not heroes, but sacrifices.
The car pulls up to an old, overgrown house, and Jasper cuts the engine. “Alright, out,” he says, stepping out of the car. Cassie follows, and I do the same, feeling the crunch of dry grass beneath my feet. The house is covered in vines, and it looks abandoned.
“This your house?” I ask, glancing at Cassie.
“We made it ours,” she explains. “The original owners... well, who knows what happened to them.”
Jasper chuckles darkly. “They probably died.”
Cassie leads the way to the door, knocking in a strange pattern before opening it. As soon as we step inside, a figure rushes out of the shadows. It’s a boy with black, fluffy hair, and before I can react, he grabs Jasper by the shirt and slams him into the wall.
“Where the hell were you?!” the boy snaps, his voice full of anger. “You didn’t answer any of my calls on the stupid walkie-talkie!”
Despite being pinned to the wall, Jasper stays calm. “Guess the service was bad,” he replies sarcastically, which only makes the boy angrier.
“Don’t play games with me,” he growls, his grip tightening.
Cassie steps in. “We ran into some trouble, Zander.”
Zander looks at her, then at me. “And who’s she?”
“She helped us,” Cassie says defensively.
Zander lets go of Jasper and walks over to me, eyeing me up and down. “You don’t look like a kid.”
I give him a sarcastic smile. “I ate my veggies.”
He scoffs. “You were supposed to bring Ami. Who is she?”
“The one who saved our asses,” Jasper says, rubbing his neck.
Zander ignores him, his eyes locked on the tracking device around my neck. “Great, you led them right to us.”
Before he can finish, Jasper punches him square in the face. “We didn’t have time, your majesty. Now stop whining and help us get the damn thing off her.”
Zander wipes the blood from his lip and glares at Jasper. “Did you just punch me?”
“Yeah, it’s the only way to shut you up.”
Before I can stop myself, I chime in. “He’s right. Maybe you should be grateful they made it back alive.”
Zander turns to me, anger flaring in his eyes. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” I reply coldly, standing my ground. “Maybe I should show you what I can do.”
I begin pulling off one of my gloves, ready to prove a point.
Jasper quickly steps between us. “Alright, alright, let’s not go there. Zander’s just worried about us.”
I reluctantly pull my glove back on, raising my hands in surrender. Zander’s about to say something when his eyes fall on my wrist. His expression changes, fear creeping into his face as he stares at my bracelet.
“What...what’s your name?” he asks, his voice shaking.
“What?” I blink, confused.
“WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!” he shouts, his voice desperate.
I flinch at his outburst but steady myself. “Melanie.”
Zander freezes, his face pale as if he’s seen a ghost. “Melanie?” he whispers, his voice barely audible. I nod. “Yeah, you asked for my name.”
He doesn’t say anything, just stares at me, his eyes wide with shock.
“Zander, you okay?” Jasper asks, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Zander snaps out of it. “Y-yeah...just get that thing off her. We need to leave.” He turns to Jasper. “Come with me. We need to get things ready.”
Before walking off, Zander throws one last glance my way, his expression still tense. I watch him leave, confused. Why did he react like that to my name? Why did it scare him so much?
“Don’t worry about Zander,” Cassie says, breaking the silence. “He’s... complicated. But he’s not a bad guy once you get to know him.”
I shake my head, still unsettled. Something about Zander feels familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. Why does my name bother him so much?