Urban Fallout (hold)

(3.3): Meeting Place

(3.3): Meeting Place

Kael woke in panic, heart beating fast in her chest. She was pumped full of adrenaline before her feet were on the floor, the possibilities of tonight looming over her. What the hell was she doing? Jacket on, sweater on, she sat back on the bed before heading out the door. In her hand she held the pill bottle; just looking. That was all. It was good to remind herself it was there.

In this moment of peace all of the things she'd fought to keep from her mind rushed back. It had been a long time coming, she realized now, looking back. This had been the inevitable consequence of her existence. As much as she'd fought to avoid it, she'd always been meant to end up alone. If she'd believed in gods she would have cursed them for bestowing this curse upon her, but there was nothing to blame but chance for the twisted DNA which had made her the way she was, that was destroying the lives of so many like her.

It had been within her lifetime that people became fully aware of the mutations—although she had been too young to remember. It had started out good, or so she'd heard. There had been a few glorious years were people could write their skills on their resumes. Then, of course, people wanted to understand why it was happening, and how. It had only been natural for some to volunteer to be studied, to understand themselves. Then one or two highly publicized murder, maybe a gang of teenaged mutants doing what teenagers do, and the government was imposing regulations. Suddenly people weren't putting their powers on their resumes anymore, mothers were avoiding taking their special children to the doctors.

If you knew how to listen, there were all kinds of theories. People like Elris would swear up and down that it was the corporations, that they were afraid of the repercussions such extreme change could have, that they were the ones convincing the government to take those like her into custody. Elris also said, with absolute certainty, that in a few years they wouldn't have to come up with an excuse anymore, some perceived crime. He said that those born with some sort of abnormality would be taken in automatically, by virtue of being who they were. Kael did not deny it. She could see it moving in that direction. It just wasn't her problem. Why think about the future when she had enough of her own in the present moment?

She'd dropped the penny about what she could do a year ago, when she'd stood up for a boy at her school whom the agents had come for. She'd gotten involved, and since then she'd been in the spotlight. No matter how good she was at threatening legal repercussions, they'd been watching her. And others with mutations were talking about her. It had been quite early on, that Kael had decided not to make herself a part of the world of which the cafe was a part.

She'd worked hard at staying under the radar, at living a normal life, downplaying her powers. But one little slip up and that had shattered, like the agent's head against the ground. So they had more than a manufactured reason to pursue her. In most cases, when they claimed the mutants were dangerous, it was bullshit, but Kael found herself in the uncomfortable position of proving them right. She'd gotten drunk. They'd gotten busted, and she'd tried to help, drawing more attention then they ever would have gotten otherwise. She'd slipped up. And just like that her life was over.

When Kael finally descended the ladder, the cafe was more alive than it had been that morning. It was a bit after two, judging by the digital clock mounted on the wall. She'd slept longer than she'd intended.

A couple of people were manning the counter, a few more in the kitchen, but Kael went to the man she knew from before.

“Oh hey,” he beamed. “Sleep well?”

She nodded. “Thank you. Is Elris around?”

It had taken all of her willpower to stay friendly, but this man had done nothing deserving of her wrath.