Streak: The Origins [Completed]

Lightning.

6 YEARS LATER.
Kaewa woke up with a start and looked around. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was just a dream and that she was in her room in Knightly Manor. She picked up her phone from the side table. ‘3:00 a.m. 16th July 2012.’ The screen blared. She placed her hand over her heart and felt it ramming against her chest so fast that she thought it would explode. She shoved the sheets off of her and tossed her phone into the bed covers after attaching the charging cord. ‘I need to slow my heart beat before I keel over.’ She decided walking into the shower and turned on the red tap. She sat under the shower head, hugging her knees, letting the warm water flow over her, calming her the way it always did. She felt the water slow down her pounding heart. She tried to rid herself of the recurring nightmare. This was one day she couldn’t afford to mess up. Today was the day she would finally…after six years, after the horrible death of her parents go back to school. She stayed in the shower head for about half an hour, letting the warm waters soothe her. Leaving the washroom after wrapping a towel around her and brushing her teeth she opened her wardrobe and the door to her walk-in closet. She stared at the collection of shoes completely ignoring the mountain of heels that had been forced onto her. She overlooked the endless array of dresses and skirts and clothes that defined a girl as she changed into a neon green Adidas sports tee and pair of black Adidas running shorts that matched her neon green and black Adidas football shoes. She unplugged her phone from the charger and plugged it into her black beats headphones before pocketing it. She tied her thick black hair that fell up to her waist, in a loose Dutch braid pony tail with a neon green rubber band. She opened the door and turned to look at the mess she had made in her room with her unmade bed, her night clothes laying on the floor at the foot of her bed, and the heap of heels that had spilled out of her walk-in closet. ‘Later.’ She promised herself as she closed the door behind her. She quietly made her way down the polished steps of the wide spiral mahogany stairs hoping that she wouldn’t wake Albert, her butler since time unknown and her unofficial guardian since six years ago. She reached the bottom of the stairs and tip-toed her way towards the door. ‘Almost there.’ She thought to herself as she grasped for the handle on the main door. “Out for a walk, Miss Knightly?” a familiar voice sounded behind her. She rolled her eyes.  Whom was she kidding? Albert would be up even before her, even if she woke up at 2 AM. She sighed and turned towards him. “Morning Albert and I have told you not to call me that.” She said putting her headphones around her neck like it was a stethoscope.  She looked at Albert; he was dressed in his usual sharp black suit. She had never seen him in any other clothes. There never was a uniform to be adhered to in the Knightly Manor, something she remembered her father telling Albert on countless occasions but Albert wouldn’t be caught dead in anything else. He worshiped his formal attire like it was given to him by God himself. “Morning Kaewa. Out for a walk?” he repeated. Albert had been like a second parent to her always looking out for her even before her parents had… “Well?” he asked breaking into Kaewa’s thoughts. “I thought I’d just go for a run.” She replied knowing fully well what came next. “Not without breakfast, you aren’t.” he decreed and turned around walking towards the dining room. On entering dining hall she found the dining table had already been set with a breakfast that even Gordon Ramsay would have approved of. “What are we having today?” he asked. Kaewa felt her stomach; she wasn’t hungry enough for the big breakfast Albert had prepared. Then again, she never really was. “Cereal.” She decided. Not too light not too heavy either. “And?” Albert asked expectantly. “A piece of steak and that amazing orange juice you make, when I get back?” she asked more than said. He pulled out the chair at the head of the dining table hoping like he did every day that she would sit at the table. She smiled sadly at the chair and his gesture. “Not today.” She said, just like she did every day. Ever since her parents, Kaewa avoided certain things that she used to do before or rooms she used to go to before. Albert nodded understanding and followed her with a tray as she sat on the couch in the living room. He set the tray down on the coffee table in front of her. She picked up the white bowl filled with cold milk, coco puffs, tiny cubes of brownies and small broken pieces of cookies. Kaewa couldn’t help but smile. It was just the way her mother used to make it. Albert had something along the lines of tough love, tough but fair. He loved Kaewa as if she was his own child. She finished her cereal quickly enough and looked at Albert for his approval. He sighed and nodded. “Gotta go.” She grinned and ran out the front.
She walked towards the gate that stood about a kilometre from house. The gate was closed and she smiled softly when she noticed Henry, the security guard was sound asleep. She quietly climbed over the twelve foot high gate and dropped to the ground as quiet and steady as a cat. She glanced back to the house once before she placed her headphones over her ears and tapped on the playlist titled ‘KK’ and the song Locked away – Adam Levine started to play as she began to jog. There weren’t much people out on the road at this hour and jogging through the woods beside the city was very peaceful. She smiled breathing in the fresh clean cold air as she walked between the trees. She walked right to the centre of the woods and stood on the boulder that overlooked a tiny yet picturesque stream. She jumped over the stream and continued running. She reached the other side of the woods after an hour and a half of jogging, leaving her breathless and panting in front of the old barn. She bent over the hand pump right in the middle of the field surrounding the barn and pushed the lever. She cupped her hands and began drinking the cool ground water. She bent lower and let the water seep in through the braids of her hair. She removed her shoes and socks. She reached out to press down the lever of the hand pump to wash her feet. The minute her fingers touched the hand pump she felt electricity surge through her and withdrew her hand quickly. Her breathing hitched. She shook it off and pressed down the lever and washed her feet. She checked her phone ‘6:00 a.m.’ the screen read. She sat on the grass and put on her shoes. She rose up to leave ready to go back to Knightly Manor. What she did not notice was the spark of purple lightning that danced at the bottom of her feet as she ran.