Cover Request

Chapter One

His smile fades as the blood leaking from his nose drips down to his lips. A cascading crimson waterfall. He brings his index finger to his face and swipes away the blood. He cackles and flicks the blood to the floor. "Silly girl, you can never win this fight," he barks at me. His words spit down at me like poison. My breathing picks up and I try to slide away on the concrete floor. But he still stands over me. Towering over me with the perfection that is six feet of pure, lean muscle and power. He runs his hand through his short brown hair. "Nobody can escape their own fate. . ." he says, his voice fading away. The dream slips away and I bounce up from my bed. Beads of sweat stream down from my temples. My breathing and heartbeat keep at a racing pace and I pull away my auburn hair from my shoulders. I look around my room. The cold stone that makes up the walls seem more like a cage in the night. But as I run my hand across the rough edges, I feel comforted by this unlikely home. I calm my breathing down and get up from my small cot. My bare feet stick to the marble floor as I make my way over to the window. I drag the dusty white curtain to the side and gaze at the outside. The sky holds dots of pink and orange and I watch the morning sun rise. I sigh at the sight of the land. The Foundation keeps the campuses under check, so we feel more open to staying here. But it is plain to see that we don't have a choice. They say our powers need to be hidden from the public until we are needed in the "normal society". But whatever they say, I still can't help but feeling like a bird trapped in a cage. I have to pull myself away from the window and I tug on my blue pants and white shirt. This is the standard uniform for a girl my age. I have to clip up my hair to hide the sweat soaked strands of auburn. Before I push open the big, metal door, I turn to look at myself in the mirror. I try to hie the obvious terror that I hold in my pale, grey eyes from the dream. I shake it off and turn back to the door. While grasping the door knob, I push it open to the halls that bustle with children and teenagers who are getting ready for the day to come. I look down the hall to my left, searching for my best friend, Jade. I watch her door open and a beautiful girl with curly, blonde hair steps out. She turns to her right and I watch as her hazel eyes light up when our eyes meet through the jumble of bobbing heads. I slam my door shut and walk over to her. Her mouth stretches into a smile when I get to her after pushing through a sea of people. "Iris! It's so good to see you again! I've missed you. You know how the Chief is when it comes to training. It seems like it's been forever since I have seen you last!" Jade exclaims, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Jade was always the happier of the two of us. In actuality it has been only two days since we had seen each other. Her eyes narrow and she stares at me, looking at my hair and peering into the depths of my eyes. "Something happened last night. I know you. I know that you only put your hair up when you sweat and try to hide it. I can see the fear in you eyes," claims Jade. I release a heavy sigh and respond, "It was just a bad dream. Just a bad dream, that was it. I don't think it actually means anything. Just a bad dream." I mutter to myself. "So I was right," she says with a grin. "Come, tell me all about it over breakfast." She places a hand on my shoulder. We make our way down the crowded hallway, to the beckoning double doors of the dining hall. The dining hall was always quiet, as nobody ever came to eat there. It was always bitterly cold and most people don't have the time for breakfast before morning assignments. A small table made up of our close friends sits in the corner. The light straight above the table shines bright, while the surrounding fixtures flicker and are dim. They signal us over and we oblige. At the table sits Jason with his arm around the shoulders of Christine while Matthew and Carly laugh at a vague joke. The large, grey room fills with warmth as Jade and I sit down next to them. "What's up, buttercup," says Jason with a grin. He eyes the lines on my face that shift into a smile from a grim frown. I stare down at the plate of scrambled eggs that Carly slid me seconds before from the other side of the table. "Nothing, it is all fine. Just a bad dream, that's all," I say with a smile, dragging my fork through the eggs and scooping some on. "Oh and what was this bad dream about?" Carly asks, raising her eyebrows. "Another bad prophecy? I hope not!" The slight giggle to her voice makes it sound like she's kidding. But this is nothing to joke about. As I grow older, my visions are becoming more powerful, and with more training sessions me visions have leaked into my dreams. There is no telling which is my imagination or actually happening in the world. But, no, it couldn't be a "prophecy". My powers don't work like that. Hugo, the Chief of the Foundation, says my powers parameters are only the past and present. Right, it was just a dream. "Iris? Are you okay? You have been staring at you fork for the past three minutes!" Carly says worriedly. "Yeah, I am fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night. With the bad dream and all." I say to her. "Okay, if you say so," Carly says back. She turns towards the entire group and says excitedly, "So I was walking past Hugo's office this morning and I heard that someone new is coming to the Foundation! A teenager!" "Wow, really? It has been months since we had a new recruit. I wonder what his power is. When is he coming?" Jason asks intently. "O think he's coming after training time but don't take my word for it," Carly replies. I smile and sigh. We needed some new blood around here