Stormy Skies (On Hold)

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Wednesday, July 1st

Sophie

            “Happy birthday, darling! I can’t believe you’re sixteen!” My mother exclaims when I come into view of the alley. I stop in surprise. I see my grandmother, and another woman who must be Adrianna’s mother. I totally forgot that it’s my birthday today.

            “I- thank you,” I stutter.

            “Hello, you must be Sophie,” the other woman says. “I’m Adrianna’s mother, Alina.” I nod my head, acknowledging her. Adrianna doesn’t look anything like her. She must get her looks from her dad.

            “We thought it’d be nice to give you a special lesson today, on your birthday,” Grandmother says, with a sly grin on her face.

            “I’m still not too sure about this, Mom,” my mom says.

            “It can’t hurt her, Jen. Our powers have almost zero effect on living beings,” Alina says.

            “Wait, what? It might hurt?” I say fearfully. I glance over to my mother. She shrugs.

            “Ready?” Grandmother asks. She then disappears into the air. “Go!” Alina and my mother’s mirages disappear also.

            “Wait! Where’d you go?” I call out to the air.

            “You must learn how to use your power in combat,” Alina’s voice echoes in my mind. I turn around, thinking I’d find her.

            “Your enemies won’t be merciful, so you must be on guard at all times,” Grandmother’s voice says. I try to pinpoint the source again, but can’t.

            “What do you mean, my enemies?”

            There’s a long, uneasy silence. As the minutes pass, I begin to get more and more anxious.

            “Hello?” I call out after a while. All of a sudden the trash bin on my left starts moving towards me. Reflexively, I jump out of the way. But the bin is too big and it knocks me down.

            “Mom?” I shriek, scrambling to my feet. I spin in circles, trying to detect the next attack.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I hear my mother’s voice.

            “You’re going to have to fight back Sophie, or you won’t last one battle,” Grandmother says. A sudden whirlwind of dust and pebbles starts a couple yards away from me. This time, I react by pulling the trash bin that my mother threw at me in front of my body. The rocks crash against the bin, but do me no harm.

            “That’s more like it!” Grandmother’s voice booms.

            “Better stay away from metal in a lightning storm, dear,” I hear Adrianna’s mother say. I hear a clash of thunder, and look up to find a small cloud forming near my head. It flies over, and a sudden flash of lightning sends me to the ground.

            “Are you trying to kill me?!”

            “Of course not! We can’t lose our little rocker, now can we?” Grandmother’s voice says.

            “We’re merely trying to teach you a lesson,” Alina says. My mother’s form appears several feet to my left. Worry creases her brow.