Cold Snap (Warriors: S1B3)

Chapter 1

My name is Margaret, and I can't tell you if I'm living a dream or a nightmare.

I think every kid has dreamed about having superpowers of some kind. I know I have. There have been plenty of boring classes where I wished I could push open a window and fly away. When my parents would argue, I wanted to have mind control powers so I could press a finger to my forehead and make them stop arguing. And when my dad finally shoved a pile of papers under my mom's nose and walked out the door, I wished I could stretch my arms out the door, wrap them around him like an anaconda, and yank him back.

I never imagined my wish would come true.

Yet that's what happened when I watched a meteor shower from my bedroom and saw something glowing white fall into my front yard.

I went outside and picked it up, and the next thing I remember was my mother standing over me, screaming. At first I thought she believed I was dead, but then I saw steam rising from her skin. She'd tried to wrap her arms around me and had freezer burns on her arms so severe that steam was rising from the burns.

All of this happened before aliens factored into the equation, mind you. That was when a dream came true started to turn into a nightmare.

Before aliens popped up, I was planning on keeping my powers to myself. Then, the roar of something not from this world turned a school event on its head. And I discovered that I, and humanity, wasn't alone.

I watched a boy my age tackle a creature from outer space three times his size and survive a lightning strike without a scratch on him.

I watched another boy who I can't stand fly in the air and shoot energy beams.

I watched a friend of mine scream so loud that the ground shook and windows shattered.

I watched a boy who scares me run so fast that he seemed to teleport.

I watched someone I'm not sure how I feel about leap thirty feet in the air.

And that was how my life turned on a dime.

Earth date: 10/22/11, 08:30

I didn't want to be pounding the pavement at 8:30 in the morning, yet here I was.

I had come downstairs intending to heat up a few frozen waffles and then maybe ride my bike. That was before I saw the strange man sitting at the table across from my mother. He had his face full of waffles and my mother's eyes on him. From the stairs, I could see the kitchen and dining room, but if the people there weren't paying attention (like they weren't now), they couldn't see me. I decided waffles could wait and instead breezed out the front door, making sure to slam it.

Kristi's house. 

If I knew Kristi, then she wouldn't be out of bed before 11. But sitting in her living room talking with her mom and trying not to get bowled to the ground by Grayson, their Tibetan mastiff, would be better than tiptoeing around Mom and her latest hookup.

Mrs. Blake answered the door when I knocked. "Hi, Margaret!"

"Hi, Mrs. Blake. Is Kristi awake?"

"Oh, yeah. Has been awake since 5 this morning."

"Kristi? Up at 5?"

"Yep. Has to be that awake if she wants to go hunting."

"Oh. So..."

"Up north. She'll be back in time to be in school Monday."

Grayson nudged past Mrs. Blake's leg and sniffed my shoes. "Hi Grayson," I said and scratched behind his ears.

"Are you OK, Margaret?" Mrs. Blake said.

I focused in on massaging Grayson's ears. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I looked up at Mrs. Blake. Her arms were crossed, and her expression screamed that she didn't believe me.

"Alright," she finally said. "Whenever Kristi's home, I'll let her know you stopped by."

"Thank you. Bye, Mrs. Blake." I gave Grayson one last ear scratch. "Bye, Grayson."

I continued down the street. Once I was at the end of the street, I turned and looked back. Empty. No kids outside. Nobody pulling out of their driveways. Nothing.

Nothing except someone playing a guitar.

I followed the sound back up the street. It was coming from the Kyles' backyard. I walked up their driveway and found Jay Kyle sitting on his back porch, playing a guitar. 

My breath became shallow as I watched him play. He had a dreamy look on his face as he played. I watched his fingers run across the guitar. He hit the last note and looked up from his guitar. He did a double take as he saw me.

"Hey, Margaret," he said.

I stepped past the railing and walked up the stairs. "What were you playing?"

He grinned. "Nickelback. Hold on." He picked up his guitar and played a few notes, and I recognized it as the opening to "How You Remind Me." "I know they suck, but they're pretty easy to learn," he said with that cute little grin still on his face.

"It sounded great," I said.

"Why, thank you." He leaned back on the porch swing. "What's up?"

"Hmm?"

"It's Saturday. Why are you up so early?"

"Why are you?"

He nodded at the back door. "Four siblings. Being up this early and out here is the only way I can get some time to myself."

"I wish I had that problem."

"Noooooo you don't!" he said with a wag of his head and a grin on his face.

Above me, I heard the sound of a window sliding open. I looked up and saw Rob and Aimee, Jay's younger brother and sister, grinning down at us. They ran away from the window, but I could hear them chanting, "Jay's got a girlfriend! Jay's got a girlfriend!"

Jay's grin changed into a grimace. "See what you're missing out on?"

I mirrored his grimace. "Yep. See ya later."

I walked back down the street to my house and walked back in the house. Mom and her boy toy looked up as I walked back in, but I walked right past them and into the kitchen. I rummaged through the kitchen drawers until I found the garage key, then turned on my heel and walked out the side door, making sure again to slam the door behind me.

My bike was a pink Huffy. It was way too girly for me, and my dad had talked about buying me spray paint. That was before he left.

I pulled the garage door back down and jumped on. I peddled out the driveway and rode to the end of the block. There was a park a few blocks away. I dismounted and leaned my bike against a tree, then walked onto the playground. I paused as I saw the merry-go-round. There was a hand railing with a noticeable dent in it. There was another that was so crushed it looked like someone had put it in a car crusher. Then I realized the whole thing looked askew and took a step back. One side of the foundation was higher out of the ground than the other, and in the exposed metal was an angry-looking gash.

I blinked and continued on.

I made my way to the tube slide. I climbed over the wall next to it and balanced on the edge. I grabbed the edge of the roof and hoisted myself up. The roof was a steep slope, and I skittered around until I found the sweet spot where I could sit without slipping off. 

And I sat there.

And sat there.

And sat there.