It's Not Magic

One

I ran down the gravel road, my feet making thunderous noises against the gravel. My breathing was heavy, and I felt my lungs begging for a break. The muscles in my legs felt like they were tearing, and I knew I'd been running for forever, but I couldn't stop. They'd catch me.

I could hear their running steps behind me, ever so slowly catching up to me. You could almost hear the guns thumping against their backs as they ran, begging to be used.

In the darkness of the night, I couldn't see where I was running, but that also meant they couldn't see me. That was, if their lights didn't find me.

They had helicopters, everyone knew that, and that was only confirmed with the distant roar of the engine that was above me, the lights searching the ground for a running teen.

I knew they'd find me soon enough, but I could prevent that. If I had more control over what I could do. But then again, I'd never really had a chance to master my powers, since the government banned any use of magic.

It wasn't really magic, it was more like an ability that was a part of me. Like moving your ears, or being double-jointed. Not magic, but unique, special, and different. Pretty much what describes me.

Okay, maybe I could summon different things, like an invisible shield, and make myself invisible, and something else I hadn't done in years, but that was about it. And maybe that involved a few choice words here and there, but it technically wasn't magic. And it required work, and time, both of which I didn't have. I wasn't quite that skilled yet.

"Stop magician!" I heard a man yell behind me.

As much as I want to, I'm not, I thought. Stopping would mean capture. Capture would mean death. I'd survived nineteen years avoiding death, and I was hoping to keep it that way.

But tonight was not my night. It had started off wrong, and it just kept getting worse. Before I could even think, can this day get any worse, lights shone down on me, revealing my location. I stole a quick glance upward, and saw one of the helicopters directly above me. And it got worse.

The men running behind me seemed to pick up speed, now that they knew where I was. Their footsteps brought back haunting memories, almost paralyzing me as they crept up on me. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself onward, despite my screaming body. I needed to rest, but I wasn't going to let them catch me in order to get it.

"I repeat, stop magician!" The same voice yelled, this time, a lot closer than I was comfortable with. They were catching up.

I sighed, racking my brain for something to call upon. Something that was easy enough for me to do without passing out. Without using too much energy.

The invisible wall, I remembered. I could call upon it with little energy, and as long as I let it go before I got too far away, I should be safe.

I closed my eyes, not caring if I ran into a tree, and thought about the invisible wall, calling it forward, feeling the energy flow through my already-tired body. For a brief moment, I felt energized, and my pace picked up a little bit. It almost felt as if I'd just taken a shot of adrenaline. But as quickly as the feeling came, it quickly went away, leaving me almost twice as tired as I was before.

"Agh! Magic!" I heard a couple people yell as they ran into the wall.

As much as I hated them calling it magic, I smiled, and veered off the dirt path, not caring about the light. They saw me, and that didn't matter, as long as they didn't get a picture. If they got a picture, it was going to reveal my secret, and that couldn't happen. All I had to do was lose the light.

With the cover of the trees, and the darkness of the night, I saw the light around me lessen, growing darker. So I was losing them. The trees have more cover than I'd originally thought.