There are few people who have seen a marked one and even fewer who are gifted. The marked ones were genetically engineered from war times they were made to defeat the creatures of dark but they rebelled they joined the dark ones and killed thousands. Safe inside of Valencia the remainder of the human race exists barely clinging to life after defeating the marked ones. There was a catch, a deadly catch which they forgot to include before barricading the city. The marked ones had bred with the towns people and so their genes, while rare, are still out there and every few years someone is born with a mark in the city. Typically it is the people from the outskirts who have the marked ones, the marked ones and their families are viewed as disgusting and a taint on the face of humanity. Those found with a mark are taken to a single level stone building on the outside of town which had some running water and we were delivered rations once a week but they were never enough, often we died.
The stone walls were cold on my back as i sat against the wall Con lay in my arms and I held him to me protectively.
Con couldn't have been more then ten when he was taken he had Snow White hair that flopped lazily over his forehead just missing his deep blue eyes. It has been three years and Con and I have grown closer by the minute to me he was a little brother and I swore to protect him for the rest of my life after I had heard his mother screaming for him before the Guardian killed her for resisting. Con saw her murder and he never forgot it.
There are about twelve of us in our small stone house Con is the youngest with a silver mark on his bicep he was born with the ability to control and conjure water and for that he was imprisoned.
I stared at the mark glistening on my left collar bone and sighed thinking of the disgust my mother must have been in when she first saw me. She sold me to the Guardian after seeing my mark and for whatever reason they kept me alive and stuffed me in their storage unit that I was told to call home.
I had the ability to heal both myself and others or to cast a protective shield but the affects were too draining I had tried to heal some of the sick but I would pass out and nearly kill myself each time, eventually Alana refused to let me use my gift.
She was a fire wielder with dark black hair pale skin and dark brown eyes that always seemed to be glaring at you. She was tall, very tall, and menacing at that.
The door shook with a loud knock before three Guardian's emerged in the doorway their gun lights point in the dark searching for us.
"Grab them." The one voice commanded before a dozen or so made their way into our home and snatched Con from my lap I could hear him screaming as they put a collar around my neck made of thick heavy metal and bound my hands together.
I was yanked to my feet by a man dressed in all black with leather cloaking his face from site, Con was on the ground with three men dressed in black trying to secure him as he squirmed.
"Con don't fight them!" I yell and feel a great force elbow me in the jaw sending my to the ground before roughly being yanked up again.
By now I could smell the flames and I knew the others were fighting against them as we were dragged out of the smoke filled house and shoved into the back of a wooden cart being pulled by two black clad horses giant in muscle and height.
The shallow roof of the wooden cart slammed roughly against my forehead knocking me backwards out of the cart causing the Guardian who was leading me to yank at my neck the metal digging into my skin.
"Scarlett!" I hear Con scream followed by a loud smack as he was silenced by the Guardian leading him.
"Lay off him!" A boy named Thomas yells at the Guardian a glare in his eye. The Guardian beside him raises their hand to hit him into silence but it was then that Thomas snapped the chains which held his hands ripping his metal collar off with impossible strength dodging out of the Guardians way before grabbing their extended arm and yanking them to the ground roughly the snap of their arm popping out of their socket was as loud as the scream that the Guardian let out as his arm was ripped from his body and thrown to the ground.
The Guardian who was holding my chains dropped them in shock as Thomas lunged at his friends bullets flying off of him his gift of strength winning over their weapons.
I took my chance and ran to the Guardian who lay on the ground his blood pooling from his wound and soaking the green grass, Con was by my side in seconds taking off the Guardians helmet and conjuring water to clean the wound on his arm.
Coon struggled to focus as I hovered my hands over the boys wound watching as it began to seal itself and the energy draining from my body.
Con placed his hand on my shoulder giving me his energy but it was to late, I collapsed into Con's frail body black dots dancing in my vision.
"What is she doing?!" A panicked voice demands and I see Con shake his head as he is yanked backwards and my head falls into a leather cladded hand and I feel another arm link under my knees as I'm lifted and I feel long strides carry me smoothly as I drift into the darkness.
