Fate

Mother

When I woke up, Dr. Kooz was at my bedside with a glass of fresh water, some medicine, and an apple. I smiled at him sleepily and took the water. I popped the pills in my mouth, and took a couple swallows. The water felt amazing on my parched tongue. He handed me the apple and I took a hude bit and swallowed without chewing. It hurt my throat, but quieted to roars coming from my stomach.

When I finished eating, Dr. Kooz lead me outside to a court yard. There was a start line which doubled as a finish line, as well as chalkboard with the words: First, Second, and Third Lap. I got the feeling I was supposed to run around the yard. I wasn't  sure why, but I did it anyway.

I took my place at the start line and waited for the signal. I glanced at Dr. Kooz, who was now holding a stopwatch. He counted the three with his figures, then nodded his head. With that, I took off running. I managed to sprint the whole first lap, gaining me a time of 3:45. I decided on an easy jog for the second lap which earned me a 6:24. The last lap I sped walked. My legs hurt and my lungs were aching. My time was 10:59.

Dr. Kooz handed me a water bottle and another apple. I had disposed of both in less than five minutes. I knew this because he accidentally left the stopwatch. That was when I realized something; I had heard this man talk once.

"How come you talk much?" I asked. I know it is a little rude, but I had to know. If he was a Fate Tempter as well I wanted to have some idea of what they were doing to us. Speaking of us, I haven't seen any other Tempters here. I wonder if they keep us separate for some reason.

Dr. Kooz put a hand on his throat. When I showed signs of confusing, he rolled his eyes and went over to the chalkboard and wrote: "It hurts. They poisoned me so I couldn't give the Tempter's info." He gave me five seconds to read it, then erased it faster than humanly possible.

"Why haven't I seen any other Tempter's here?"

He made two people out of his hands. He showed them walking close to each other, then made an explosion. That I understood. It gave me a feeling that they were going to use us as a weapon.

I heard footsteps behind me, so I whirled around, expecting to see Brice. Instead I found a scared girl, roughly my age. I backed away slowly, assuming she was like me. Her eyes widened with realization and she ran back inside and waited until I left the courtyard. I gave her a sad smile as we passed by her window.

In another life we could've been friends, but all this messed up crap has screwed up everyone's life and made it a living hell. I was going to promise myself one thing: I was not going to let them win. If I die trying, so be it. But they need us for something. If I can delay that, then they have to work harder to get their twisted plan to work.

I was in serious thinking mode, and while walking I almost ran into Brice. He gave me a smug smile. That was the breaking point for me.

I was so mad at him. My face turned red and fire literally danced in my eyes. I felt my hands getting hotter and hotter, until I saw little sparks flying off them. A burnt smell hit my nostrils, thanks to the heat roasting my hair.

I thought of all the good time we had. I thought of how well he treated me. I thought about the lies he told. I thought about what he revealed to me yesterday. It angered me more, and my hands burst into flames.

Fear crept into Brice's eyes. He screamed for help and about ten men came in and tried to hold me down.  I struggled against them, beating them with my flaming fists. They howled in pain as I made contact with their bare skin. I left most of them with third degree burns and bruises. I thought I had won, until someone broke a bottle over my head.

I felt all the fire drain from my body as I slipped from consciousness. The world turned blue as if I had just been thrown underwater. The last thing I saw before totally losing it was the face of a scared women. My mother.

***

I was suspended in midair over a ring of fire. That ring was surrounded by a ring of water. Then there was a ring made out of stones, and one made out of air. It picked up dust as it swirled around, giving it a brownish color. This was defiantly a dream.

I was lowered onto a bed inside the fire ring. I could feel the heat, but for some reason it didn't bother me at all. I heard a soft voice, female, but I couldn't tell anything else about it. It gradually grew louder and louder until it was practically screaming at me. I think I'm going insane.

"YOU USED THE FIRE ELEMENT WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING. THIS IS AGAINST THE LAWS OF A FATE TEMPTER," the voice boomed. I wasn't sure what she meant by this. There was no way I could get training, and anyways, this was just a dream.

"Yeah, well in my defense, I don't even know what a Fate Tempter is, so you can just shut your invisible face. Okay? Yeah, thanks," subconscious me snapped.

The voice laughed. I was seriously getting pissed of at this figment of my imagination. "Can I go back to consciousness now? I don't want to be the weirdo that has invisible enemies that they talk to in their sleep."

It laughed again, but this time it was a sweet laugh. One that sounded like my mothers. Subconscious me didn't feel any sadness, which was strange. "Sure, sweetie. You can go back now."

Everything spun. The element rings disappeared and I was dumped on my back in the real world.

***

I woke up with a pounding headache and horrible stomach pains. I peeled the covers off me and walked to the bathroom. I clutched the side of the sink and stared at my reflection. The bloodshot eyes that looked back at me did not seem like my own. They looked older, wiser, and more scared. My face and hands were scarred and my disheveled my hair was stuck to my face. I guess I had been having night sweats. Gross.

I thought back to last nights events. I couldn't remember much, but I do remember almost burning Brice. I don't know what the hell happened, but I did know that the thought of that traitor made me want to hurl.

I splashed cold water in my face and tied my hair up with a ribbon I found on the counter before heading back to the bedroom. On a chair by the bed was a fresh set of clothes. I glanced down at what I was wearing. This defiantly wasn't what I was wearing last night. 

I pushed that thought away and redressed. Someone actually had the decency to pick out something that didn't make me look homeless. (external link). 

Once I was dressed, I flopped on my bed and stared at the ceiling. There wasn't much else for me to do considering I was practically in prison. The night before was a blur.

All I remember clearly is my mothers face right before I went under. I didn't know if it was actually her I saw. I mean, I was on my way to being unconscious. You can see some really weird things while going down. For all I know it could've been some old sweaty guy who I just wanted to think was my mother. It was kind of gross to think about. I don't want some old sweaty guy has my mother. I had a gut feeling that the women I saw was my mother. It didn't make me feel better though.

If she was here, my dad thought I was still at college, and my friends didn't have any idea what was going on, there was no way I was getting rescued. Why did my life have to be so messed up? No, why did Brice have to be so messed up?

I thought I had finally found someone nice. Every guy I've every gone on a date with, they ended up being a jerk wad. That is, until I found Brice. He was nice, he saved my life countless times, and fed me cute little lines. He stuck with me even when I couldn't remember him. He made me remember him.

I guess I just wasn't meant to find love. I think the only guy I could trust in my life was my father, but he was far away, probably looking for a daughter he'll never find. I felt tears roll down my cheeks as i realized that all was lost.