Five Elements, One Psychic

Chapter 1: Spirit

Zeriah:

11 years old-

I was sitting on the grass during lunch break, alone as per usual. I had no friends.

I would overhear the other kids saying that I was "creepy" or "evil" or something along the lines of that.

I didn't blame them.

I used to get picked on a lot when I first transferred to this school when I was 10, mostly because of my odd appearance. I had pure white hair, and my eyes were a bottomless pitch black.

A group of about 6 other kids had surrounded me, jeering at me while slapping, kicking, and throwing punches at my frail ten year old self.

I didn't know what happened but I snapped. I got angry.

I caught the fist of the next punch being thrown at me and I glared menacingly at all six of them, one at a time. As the fist in my hand struggled to be free, I gripped it even tighter and let my eyes stare dead into the boy's terrified ones.

I could feel his life force and energy slipping into my own body. I felt powerful.

And before any of us knew it, he collapsed to the ground as I let go of his fist- dead.

It took about a minute for the shock of the situation to ebb away before the 5 others started screaming for the teachers, saying that I killed Jason. His name was Jason.

I killed Jason.

As the realization hit me back then, I remember going hysterical. I screamed whenever someone touched me, afraid that I would kill them too. I was crying and I felt guilty and horrible.

And if it wasn't enough, I began seeing Jason's spirit following me around.

You killed me. You killed me. You killed me. He would say.

I'll never see my mommy again. My daddy wanted to take us on a holiday next month.

Jason's taunting never stopped.

There wasn't any proof that I killed Jason, according to the authorities. There were only 5 other witnesses and the autopsy revealed that it was a "natural cause" of death. A "heart attack", they said.

It took me a year but now I could finally block seeing or hearing the dead. After Jason, I started seeing more and more of them and they all seemed to want to talk to me and it was overwhelming.

I killed 2 people, temporarily paralysed 7 people, and accidentally brought a few animals back to life within a span of a year. I didn't know how to control it.

I came close to having a friend once, but I destroyed something she held dear. She was lucky I didn't drain her life force away by accident.

Why was I born this way? Why did I possess such cursed abilities?

It wasn't always a curse, though. Sometimes when I find injured animals, I could heal them. Or even bring the dead ones back to life. The bigger animals always drained me out the most, but I always recovered quickly.

But then when I'm furious or depressed, even the grass I walk on die with every step I take.

I didn't know what to think of my abilities.

16 years old-

Over the years, I managed to learn to control my cursed abilities a lot better.

However, that meant that within the span of 6 years I had killed 9 people, mostly by accident. There was never any proof that pointed toward me, though. Those who died have been revealed to have died of "natural causes."

Sometimes I wished that I was arrested for murder- so that I could pay for what I've done.

So in return, I tried to bring back as many people and animals as I could from the brink of death.

I healed those who were caught in serious accidents, I brought recently dead birds and other animals back from the dead, I went to hospitals to heal up some of the patients, but it never felt like enough.

I still had no friends.

I didn't let anyone near me for fear that if they touched me or got too close, I might kill them. Not even my foster parents.

Well not like they cared much about me anyway. They didn't even want to touch me- it was as if they knew of my abilities even though I never told them anything.

All I remembered was being raised by them ever since I was 10, and not once have they showed even an ounce of love or care toward me.

I sighed at all the flashbacks. I didn't feel anything anymore. All the pain and guilt has numbed my heart- freezing it.

"Zeriah! Are you done packing yet?" Sarah, my Foster Mother hollered from the living room.

They were shipping me off to boarding school.

"Almost" I said, just loud enough for her to hear.

I didn't speak much unless I had to.

I threw in whatever else I needed into a duffel bag before throwing it over my shoulders and carrying a box full of my belongings. I didn't really own that much stuff.

I sighed again and looked around my small, bare room.

I hated school, and I hated crowded places. And guess where both of them are at:

That's right- Boarding school.

I had a bad feeling about this.

"Zeriah! Hurry up!" Sarah hollered again, but this time, she barged into my room.

"What's taking you so long?" she snapped.

I remained silent and just stared at her.

She sighed in frustration.

"Hand me the box, I'll put it in the car. Josh is waiting", she said impatiently. Josh was my foster father.

I handed it over to her and I could tell she was being careful not to touch me just as careful as I was trying not to touch her.

I didn't blame her.

As the car drove down the road full of trees and nature, I stared at the pretty plants zipping by.

Things shouldn't be pretty in this world. Death. Death was everywhere. I've given up on trying to be the good guy- I tried, and I get shit for it anyways.

I'll be the bad guy, and I will leave my mark on this measly town.

As the car drove past more trees and plants, the trees dried up, along with the other plants- birds and squirrels fell from thwir trees onto the ground, dead.

I stared straight into the rearview mirror, where I could see Sarah clenching her jaws while glaring at me. Josh's grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point where his knuckles turned white.

Death.

I am death.

I smirked at them.