The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Snippets

*

I dazed in and out of consciousness, fearing the moment sleep took over, because I knew I'd be seeing Adam in my nightmares and in my dreams and that I'd also see myself kneeling over an ocean of dead bodies. Repeatedly, endlessly.

*

One morning, Mom visited our house and I walked intothe living room. Whenever I looked at her, I pictured in frightening detail a suited man standing over her, clicking a gun against her temple.

*

Jeremiah shook his head, crestfallen. "I'm afraid not, kid. It's going to blow up in our faces soon and when that happens, we can only try our best to survive."

*

I stared at Miles. "You are unbelievably conceited. You can't possibly justify killing two kids and act like it was a mistake."

*

I looked at the tall, smiling woman behind. She came up to me calmly and pulled out a leather-gloved hand.

"Elena Caldwell," she presented herself. Her brown hair was gathered in a tight, professional bun. "Pleased to meet you."

*

"You are ours, Riley. You have always been."

My phone ticked off, signaling the end of our allotted time and punctuating the second my world stopped turning.

*

I recoiled from the living room. Flashes of the deadly red flare blazing through the night crawled from my memory. The high-pitch noise in my head amplified.

"This," I hissed with hatred and pointed a finger at it, "is the pulse carbine." Understanding washed over me, slowly turning into resentment. "You created that, didn't you?"

*

My reflection jolted, pupils dilated and radiating with light.

A hand covered my mouth. That was me.

Hyperventilating, I collapsed and clutched my chest. A lot of things happened in a succession. The mirrors cracked, the stall doors swung wildly in the void. I hugged my knees in fear, well aware that I was at the mercy of my abilities and that I couldn't do anything to reign them in.

The one person I could count on. The one person I trusted and loved to the point where I could die for had lied to me.

The mirror glass exploded and pointy shards rained down. I buried my head in my arms to protect my face, screaming. The floor tiles crackled and popped out of their cast. A door ripped off its hinges,soaring towards one of the sinks.

*

Mom's eyes squinted in worry. "Riley Jane Addison, what is up with you today? And why are you carrying those huge bags?"

"None of your business."

"None of my business?" she scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. Her rosy cheeks from outside deepened to an angry red. "I am your mother and you'll know that everything you do is my business! You are scaring me!"

Good.

*

"Shut up, just shut up!" he yelled and reared, startling a group of students behind him. "You are not human. I don't know what the hell is going on, but all those horrible things that happened are because of you! You, Riley, and Luc and all of his friends! You planned to take Adam and Ethan down, didn't you? Admit it!"

My eyes widened as a chorus of shock rose among the mass.

*

My world spun afire.

Afire with lava and sweat and unbreathable heat.

I couldn't discern reality from dreams or nightmares. I stirred in my bed restlessly in a daze of pain and discomfort. My slickened hair stuck to my temples, my night shirts were constantly drenched.

*

I rubbed my face down. "Seriously? This is why you're bothering me like this?"

"That, and because I was wondering if you died in your sleep."

*

My elation turned into horror as I approached the steep, rocky waterfall.

Luc tried to grab me, but he swiped at thin air.

"Damn it, no!"

Too late. I floated in the void, flailing, and shrieked upon realizing I was reeling down over a hundred feet of height, my fingers clawing at nothing.

*

Lauren eyed the Jeep, an annoyed crinkle on the side of her nose. Shots pelted at her, but she avoided them and flipped the car upside down in a screech of metal and spinning tires, sending clumps of snow into the air.

*

I imagined a younger version of Lauren sitting on the window ledge, staring dreamily at that same moon. Layers of dust caked that ledge, as well as every other corner of the room.

What was it like to see this place again after so long?

I studied Lauren's reaction with discretion, noting how her chest heaved, then stopped moving altogether.

*

"Luc, this is so not a good idea,"

*

"Rise and shine, asshole!"

*

His drowsy lips quirked up. "You're still wondering what that is?"

How bad could it be? I'd endured many of his stupid mischiefs since then.

"It's worse than this?"

"No... it's better."

I was too caught up trying to guess when he slammed his lips onto mine. His mouth fused with mine, and I tasted the anger and exasperation off his, like he just asked me to shut up in the hottest way ever.

*

"Hit me."

I shook my head. "What?"

Luc smirked. "You heard me. Come at me."

*

"Well, hello there," one girl sang, baring perfect white teeth. "Good thing we decided to watch from afar or else, you would have escaped!"

*

Chuck stared at the other mutant, a boy our age. "Take it out on him all you want. If he fights, I shoot her."

*

Maybe we'll see each other again one day.