Car horns wailed through New York’s streets as passersby threaded around taxis. Over the city, a thick, yellow haze muted the neon signs. Above it all, one building pierced the grime, its digital display blazing “Ultratech” into the murk—a cold, arrogant beacon.
The CEO surveyed the city lights from her office window. Market shifts occupied her thoughts. Gold and light-gray metals gleamed on her sleek form. Alloy strips cascaded from her head like dreadlocks, lending her an imposing, inhuman grace.
The office was silent. Only the faint hum of virtual projectors broke the stillness. The door hissed open, and a figure of living plasma surged through. Plasma whips coiled and flared, lighting the room like solar eruptions.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to enter, Cinder.” The CEO’s voice crackled, static threading through each syllable.
Cinder’s mask gave nothing away. The slight tilt of his head did. He approached the desk. A puff of smoke escaped with his scoff. “Have you seen the news, ARIA?” His voice rumbled like heated metal grinding against metal.
“Specify.”
“A school massacre hit Chamberlain, Maine.” Cinder projected the report onto the desk. “The report claims a student moved objects with her mind and set fire to the building, killing dozens.”
ARIA’s sensors locked onto the incoming data. “Play footage of this event.”
“Already on it.”
Cinder tapped a command. An enormous display dropped from the ceiling, its surface flickering to life.
A reporter faced the camera, microphone raised, the school’s ruins looming behind him. The skeletal remains towered over detectives picking through the wreckage beyond the yellow tape. The sharp shadows and harsh light told the same story: yesterday.
“I’m reporting live from Thomas Ewen High School in Chamberlain, Maine — ground zero of what media outlets call the ‘Black Prom’ massacre, dated May 25, 2013. Authorities cannot confirm the death toll.”
The reporter shifted, pressing a finger to his earpiece. His gaze froze.
“One moment.”
He straightened.
“Police recovered a camera that captured the massacre. Analysts are reviewing the footage to determine what happened. Authorities have not released the recording to the public. Stay tuned as this story develops. We advise viewer discretion. The footage contains graphic and disturbing content.”
The clip showed a young woman with dark brown hair. Bluish-gray eyes caught the light, unreadable. A soft pink gown fell around her in gentle folds. She carried a bouquet and a crown. Her smile did not reach her eyes.
A blond boy stood beside her. His white tuxedo matched the crisp shirt beneath it. He set the crown on his own head and mirrored her smile.
Onstage, a torrent of blood burst from above, crashing down. It drenched them, staining fabric and skin. The boy caught only the edges of it. His date stood beneath its full weight.
“A student prank escalated into mass horror. Seventeen-year-old Carrie White became the target of a vicious plot.”
Laughter ripped from the speakers. An impact split the air.
YOU ARE READING
Killer Instinct: Carrie Unleashed
Fanfiction"Every soul has a breaking point. Some emerge to become something else. Others become something far worse." The shadow of the Black Prom Massacre still suffocates Chamberlain, Maine. Though the world believes Carrie White perished in the flames, the...
