Saraphina

Ch. 5 Adrenaline and a Candlestick

Xander;
I slept until bright light flashed in my eyes. I woke up to see a Shell station. I saw Leam get out of the car. I sat there thinking, trying to remember and process everything that had happened, but I found it difficult.

It was crazy. I hit a girl, a girl! I tried to tell myself that she was trying to kill Leam and I, but it still felt wrong. They were my friends, or so I had thought. Leam had a lot of explaining to do.

A few moments later, he came back with two Cokes, some chips and pretzels, and some kind of chocolate. "Nice to see your up," he said with no emotion. "Yeah," I said hoarsely. My throat was dryer than I had realized. I took one of the Cokes and turned it up.

He started to drive. I belched. "Excuse you," he said annoyed. "You still have to explain," I said even more annoyed. He sighed. "Where should I start?" he asked. "Well, what were they, uhh," I said.

"Draining from me?" he said. "Yeah," I said. "We call it Black," he began. "It's something that can be drained from our DNA. We can't live without it," he said. "Then how are you still alive?" I asked him.

He momentarily looked at me, then swiftly returned them to the road. "I have some special abilities," he said cautiously. "I can make myself heal faster than most things can kill me. I can do the same for other people."

I looked at him like he was crazy. Then I thought about it, this is all crazy! I caught bullets from the air! I smashed a machine that was draining black stuff from my brother. Crazy all of it, but it has to be true. Because if it wasn't true, then I would have to be as crazy as Leam. I didn't want to be crazy.

I nodded. "Does everyone have Black?" I asked. "No, it's something that your parents or there parents have to have in order for you to have it." "Why do we have it? What is it for?" I asked.

He never took his eyes off the road as we drove along. "Remember when I said I could heal people?" Leam asked. "Yeah?" I said questioning almost everything he said. "Well Black is the reason I can do that," he said. "So Black makes us have healing powers?"

"No," he said stopping as we waited for a train to cross the tracks. "You're not a healer," he said. I looked at him. "Huh?" "You don't have my healing powers, or our parents powers. Yours are well, different." I looked at him with blank confusion.

"I suck at explaining this stuff," he said. "You'll understand better when we get home." "I thought you said we're never going home?" I said sitting up, clutching my box with my most treasured items close to my chest.

"That's not home, Xander. We're not safe there," he said, voice like stone. "Then where are we going, and why don't we just call the police?" I asked. "Most police officers are either Hunters, Drainers, or won't believe us." "Then what in Hell are we going to do?" I yelled. "Language!" Leam shouted. "Hell's a place!" I shouted.

"We're going somewhere safer. We won't have to worry about them kidnapping and killing us there," he said. "Then why the fuck did we not go there before?" I asked. "Language," he sighed.

"It's not the life Mom, Dad, or I would've wanted for you. It's alot like a military base, and unless you go on missions or you are permitted to go out, you never go outside. It's really not the kind of life I wanted for you."

I thought about it, then ignoring the "never go outside" part and I said, "What missions?" "To recruit others like us or to save the ones that were captured. It's too dangerous. Especially now that we know that you're not like Mom, Dad, and I, you could be sent on one, and you might never come back."

I didn't like the sound of that. I shut my mouth, thinking about all that's happening. I didn't even get to ask half of the questions I had, but instead, I turned up the radio, leaned seat back, and pretended to fall asleep.