I awoke in a large field. Dead, overgrown grass stretching as far as the eye could see. "What is this place?" I pulled myself to my feet. The sky was gray, the occasional bolt of lightning striking through it.
I began walking through the field, slowly, hesitantly. Was this the world beyond the gate? Was this what Miss Gooding had claimed so dangerous?
I looked up, at the white bolts of lightning striking through the ashen sky.
A breeze blew through, tousling wisps of hair into my face. I brushed the hair aside, glancing around the field surrounding me. Where were the others? Miss Gooding had mentioned that everyone's experience through the gate was different. Did that mean I was on my own from there on out?
But wait... that sound... so gloriously bittersweet. Sad yet happy all at once. Full of emotion and heart. A violin. It had to be Malorie's playing.
I turned in every direction, but there was no one in sight. Yet off in the distance was that bittersweet music... where did it come from?
A loud whirring sound drew my attention back toward the sky, where a stream of blackened smoke swirled from a spiralling jet, headed nose first for the ground. "No..." In an instant the jet began to slow, then it stopped altogether. I extended my hands toward it, my eyes falling shut. Concentrate, Jenny.
After a few moments I reopened my eyes, noticing that not only the jet, but rocks and sticks from the ground now hovered in the air. A crack of thunder rumbled through the sky, followed by another bolt of lightning. Then the clouds opened up and it started to rain. I pressed my eyes shut again, biting my lower lip. Concentrate.
In another moment there was silence. Had the rain already stopped? My eyes slid open and I released a startled gasp. Painted across the blackened sky was a bright lightning bolt, frozen in time, and all around me were thousands of drops of water, all ceased in their descent. My eyes widened. I had never been able to use my gift to this extent. It was like time itself was at a standstill. I looked around, realizing that even the tall grasses were slanted over, frozen in the midst of a breeze that now stood still.
And then in the stillness the violin music resumed, even while everything else remained motionless. It was a slow, mournful song, and I wondered why Malorie would choose such a piece. But where was it she played from? Why could I hear her, but not see her in this wide open field? I listened more carefully, hoping to pinpoint the direction the sound was coming from, but it was as if the music came from everywhere. And then it turned from that soft, mournful piece to a low, slithery whisper. The gifted will fall...
My eyes widened. The gifted will fall... the gifted will fall... the gifted will fall...
More and more whispers joined the first until it began to grow deafening. "N---no!" I pressed my hands to my ears as a scream spilled from my lips, and all at once everything resumed it's motion. The jet continued its spiral, and the earth trembled as it crashed into it.
YOU ARE READING
Fearless
Science FictionSome children are born with supernatural gifts. These children are referred to as "The Gifted." This strange and bizarre birth defect is extremely rare and completely random. No one knows the cause of why some children are born this way, and there a...
