The Girl With the Lightning Touch

Chapter 2

Lost in thought my head wanders to the sky. Staring at the sun rising after a couple minutes which feels like ages, I finally decide to go inside.
"You should rest you have had a long week." my mom calls at me as I walk in. She was right. I have had a job interview, and three dogs to walk. I had to walk dogs to make money but I was confident that I got the job. I grab a blanket from the closet, the tv remote, and snuggle up on the couch. Seeing that there was nothing on I settle with the news. I slowly fall asleep as the show progresses and finally I doze off;

Im pressed up against the tree. I can practically feel the dogs drool spraying on my face, but suddenly I get an idea. A moment when they look away I throw a rock as hard and as silently as I can. Making just enough noise to throw them off. The dogs start barking and they all start running the other way. When they get far enough I take off running as fast as I can, and I don't look back. I don't stop running until my lungs feel like there about to shrivel up. In my chest. Soon I slow to a walk, but i'm still on alert. When the adrenaline leaves my body so does the heat. Finally I sit down to rest. I am still catching my breath. I get up and walk some more finding a small river. It is large across and goes along a long way. I don't know how deep it is in the middle.

Looking into it I see my reflection lighted by the moonlight. My face is covered in mud and my shirt is torn. I reach down and scoop up a hand full of water and splash it on my face. It is cold but it feels good. I have to make a fire or I will freeze. I go around collecting little twigs and big sticks. When I think I have enough I lay them down in a pile. I try to use what got me into this mess to help me now; I had been with my friends and showing them that I could create electricity with my hands. I was demonstrating and one got hurt; Sitting on my knees at the base of the wood I snap my fingers rub my hands together and do everything i can think of but I only see a couple of sparks.

"Come on what did I do last time?" I think to myself.
"Really you can get me in trouble but you can't help me now!?" I whisper yell at my hands. Trying one more time electricity comes out striking the wood. It lights on fire at the contact. But it is a little too much and I strike myself to. Before I can scream from the pain I wake up.

...

When I wake all I feel is pain. It clouds my head and scatters my thoughts so much it's hard to find where it's coming from. But then I see it on my calf is a reddish, whitish open meat about as big as a hockey puck. "Hi your up?" my mom asks smiling, but her smile disappears when sees the wound. "What the hell happened?!" she yells. Instead of coming straight to me she runs and wets a rag, gets an ice pack and then comes to me. "How did this happen?!" she yells. I really had no idea, but I had to make something up. "I probably rolled over and my leg touched the radiator" I whisper so silent I only think I can hear it. She looks at me like i'm crazy but shakes her head and continues to treat my wound. "We have to get you to a hospital." my mom says calmer than I thought she would. "It's not that bad." I say unsure of my own words. "Yes it is." she says not looking at my face.

She helps me up and we walk to the car. The car ride is silent nothing but a couple of glances in the mirror. When we get there I limp into the building and head for a chair. My mom helps me sit down and then goes to the desk.
"Um... excuse me my daughter has a really bad burn on her leg may I get some help?" she says quietly to the nurse at the desk.
"Ok do you regularly come to this hospital?" the nurse says as she gets out a gesturing to her computer. I can hear her long fake nails clicking on the keys from where I'm sitting.
"Yes." my mom says annoyed.
"Alright can I have your name and your daughters name please?" the nurse says sweetly. For a second my mom looks like she is going to jump over the desk and strangle her, but she does what the nurse says.
"Diane Johnson and Amelia Johnson" my mom says with irritation in her voice.
"Oh here you are just fill these out and someone will be out with you shortly." She says handing her a clip board with papers attached. My mom flashes a fake smile and walks back over to me.

"So how did this happen again?" she asks while filling out the papers. It takes me a second to process her words but I finally snap back to life. "Uh... I think rolled over on the heater." I say dazed
"You think!?" she whisper shouts.
"I don't know." I say defensively.
"Ugh ok we just need to get this checked out" she says sighing. We wait for a while my moms brow furrowing deep in thought. "Mia?" a nurse says. She is holding a door open and scanning the room for someone to stand up. I rise and my mom helps me limp over to the door. She directs us to a room with an inclined bed, a chair in the corner and a desk. The doctor is sitting in a rolly chair and his head is down reading paperwork. I sit on the bed and my mom takes the chair. As we sit down he looks up. "Hello what are we looking at today?" He says looking at me. I stick out my leg so the burn shows.

"Oh how did this happen?" he says. "Well I wa..." I start to say but my mom cuts me off. "Her leg got caught on the radiator for a moment and it must have been hot." she says lying through her teeth. He writes something down on a paper. "Ok I can give you some cream to help it heal and some prescribe something to ease the pain." he says while inspecting my wound.
"It doesn't look infected but I will have to take a tissue sample to make sure. He goes to his desk drawer and pulls out a tweezer.
"You might feel a little bit of pain" he says calmly so I don't freak out. Bending onto one knee he looks at my wound. "Stay still" he mumbles under his breath. The doctor moves swiftly so it goes faster. He grabs a piece of the raw burned flesh and yanks it out. I yelp from the pain and for a moment behind my closed eyelids I'm at the river cradling my injured leg, but then I snap back to life and i'm sitting on the table bed.
"Are you okay?" my mom asks squeezing my good leg. "Yes." I say quietly.

There is blood coming out of the open space inking the open pink flesh. "Okay we are pretty much done I have to take this and make sure its not infected and Nurse Michaels here is going to clean and wrap up your wound." he says while dropping it in a little jar about the size of my thumb.