Souls of the Fallen

Abuse of Power

It was my baby's senior year of school and things seemed to be falling apart because her friend couldn't calm her urges. Shina struggled to sleep that night. She had to consider her options for the next day. Go to school and feign ignorance to Christian's injury or miss the day which is not normal for her. She's not a star student in all aspects but she makes sure she's always in attendance.

You see... My people are naturally disciplined. It's like it's in our blood. We have a good grasp on what's right and we stick to that. Once one of our falls astray, problems explode because of our diligence. If we want something done, it will get done or we'll die trying to see it through. Shina follows that same rule... for the most part. Our last couple of generations have tapped into their psyche in ways that their elders chose not to. Perhaps they saw our issues and figured it starts from within. The Magi have locked themselves in a magical dome to protect themselves...

I wish I could see my people but they are working on themselves as if they were a caterpillar in its cocoon. They'll introduce themselves back into the world when they feel it is necessary. Shina's current situation is a good example of why they tend to stay apart from the world's issues. Let's get back into the story... It gets fairly interesting.

The girls get back home that night and Shina lectures Naru for getting them in such a filthy situation. "This could destroy everything, Naru..." Shina complains calmly.

"I get it, Shina!" her friend yells. "I fucked up!" Naru is flailing her arms around in aggravation about the topic.

"Instead of throwing a fit, can you think of a solution with me?" Shina responds still trying to keep her cool. Naru shakes her orange head and walks off to her room without a word. "Seriously? You're acting like this is my fault!" Naru slams her door closed. That breaks Shina's composure. She storms up to her friend's door. Remember those markings I mentioned our race has on their bodies? Well, Shina has a few on her arm that empowers her physical capabilities, and the glyphs that make her punches hurt a lot illuminate with a lot of energy. She pulls her arm back and grits her teeth... but she lets it go. "I don't have time for this..." she grunts.

She climbs the stairs and goes into the kitchen. There, she finds a note from Teru:

Hey Sis,

I got hungry and couldn't
wait for you guys to return.
I made a few sandwiches for us. 

Enjoy,
Teru <3

This note is exactly what she needed to bring her back down from her heightened level of anger. She moves the note aside and sits at the island where the sandwiches lay. The stool squeaks as she pulls it up and she spends the next few hours contemplating the best way to regain control of this situation. Eventually, her long day catches up to her and she passes out in the kitchen.

Sunlight penetrates the kitchen windows and warms her face. Her eyes open slowly as she wakes. She lifts her head and wipes face in an attempt to gain some energy. Her eyes gloss across a clock in the corner of the room, then spring wide open. "I'm late!" She fumbles off of the stool and leaps the railing at the end of the kitchen. She bounces off the sofa and runs the and Teru's room. He sleeps in on school days since he can't go anyway. Today though he wakes up due to his sister's rush and lack of consideration.

"You late again, Shina?" he asks while sitting up and wiping his eyes.

"Yeah... Go back to sleep," she mumbles while looking for a clean outfit. She throws off her dirty gear from the shop and runs into their bathroom with a black tank top, khaki joggers with two black stripes down the sides, and her undies. We're not looking into that bathroom so do get excited, kid. This is my baby girl we're talking about here... She bolts out after slipping into some black boots. "Make sure Naru feeds you!" she screams as she leaves the room. It takes her only a few minutes to get from the house to school when she's in a rush. I'm not saying she's following all the rules of the road but she gets there without issue. She finds a parking spot, darts onto campus, and enters her class.

"Ms. Reyes? You're late..." the male teacher says.

"No shit..." Shina mumbles.

"What was that?" the teacher asks, suspecting her of being flip.

"I said, what did I miss?" she lies.

The teacher buys it but tells her something she doesn't want to hear. "You missed a call from the principal's office." Her head rolls back in disgust. She knows what the visit will be about. It's now up to her to put the right things in order. Her classmates giggle and laugh at her discomfort. She shakes her head and starts walking out of the classroom. "Reyes!" the teacher calls out. Shina stops and turns to him and awaits his comment or question. "There are cops on campus... don't do anything stupid," he warns.

She nods and closes the door. Shina throws a small tantrum in the hall and one student returning to class walks by looking at her like she's a mental case. "What?" Shina asks. No response but the student stops staring. After a long sigh, she walks towards the principal's office. Once she reaches the hall to the office, the police presence that the teacher warned her about becomes apparent. She passes three men in uniform waiting outside the office. They stare her down but she doesn't show any fear or act suspiciously.

"Excuse me," she mumbles as she tries to pass one that's slightly blocking the doorway. He looks back at her and scoots out of her way just enough for her to pass. She opens the door and walks in. Behind the desk is Mr. Tinsley, the principal and in the seats before him, sits Christian and his mother. There are no more chairs so she approaches slowly. "Mr. Bach said you called for me."

Tinsley answers, " Indeed, I did and I'm glad you came so quickly after getting to campus late." She nods and her eyes drift to the people in the room. "Usually, schools don't deal with altercations after hours but I've been informed of a special situation."

"Is it about this loser trying to sexually harass my friend last night?" Shina asks.

The mother's eyes flare open. "You little tramp! How dare you accuse my child of such a thing?" she yells.

Shina frowns, "I'll own up to breaking his pathetic arm but it was to protect my friend! If you think your child is above the law -"

"Shut your mouth, girl, before I slam it shut myself," she threatens. Mr. Tinsley tries to settle the situation but the angry parent continues. "I'll add to the scars on your face! Don't test me. He may not hit girls but I'm not scared to mess you up!"

"Mr. Tinsley, I feel threatened by this parent," Shina says to get the upper hand of the current argument. She backs away from the woman. "Can you please have her dismissed. This can't be safe or legal."

"I'm going to ask that you settle down, Ms. Lowry!" The principal says to try to regain control of the situation. "Showing your anger towards a child in this manner is means to have you kicked off of our campus."

"Her rage is a mirror to how her son acts..." Shina purposely eggs the parent on. "Both of them are out of control." She puts her back to the door. The mother rises from her seat and approaches Shina angrily.

"Ms. Lowry! Step away from her!" the principal screams.

"Mom! Don't!" Christian turns in his seat with a cast on his arm.

"Your son is a predator... deal with it..." Shina mumbles as the parent gets in her face. A swift slap is exactly what Shina was hoping for. She winches from the hit and holds her face. "You assaulting me doesn't help him any! Get away from me! Help!" She gets an unexpected punch to her gut followed by her head slammed into the door. The shock to the dome dazes the student.

The principal nearly tackles the rabid parent. "Security!" he screams. The officers on the other side of the door rush in and hit Shina with the door, knocking her over and into the center of the room. They attempt to assess the situation based on the information they've been told beforehand. Two of the three officers pin Shina. Pulling her arm into an armlock and slamming her head to the wood floor, only making her dizzied state worse. Once they've established dominance, one presses a knee into her back and the other lies across her neck.

"Get - OFF!" Shina yells between gasps. "I can't BREATHE!" she starts to squirm from her panic.

"Stop resisting!" one officer commands while putting more weight on her neck. She weakly screams out and tries to free herself. "Stop RESISTING!" The force from both officers intensifies even more.

The third officer notices Tinsley struggling with the angry mother and assists him. "Get off of the girl! She's not the issue!" the principal shouts to the other officers. They slowly release Shina and deal with the principal's wrestling match. Shina lies limp on the floor. Tinsley shoves Ms. Lowry away and runs to Shina's side. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asks. After she doesn't answer, he notices her crying. "Take that woman out of here! Christian be useful and get your mom in order!" He points the other student out of his office.

Christian leaves Tinsley alone with Shina. The concerned principal reaches for his phone "Debbie! Get the nurse in here ASAP!" he says to his secretary. After returning to Shina, he asks, "Are you still having issues breathing, Shina?" She still doesn't respond to him. Too busy sobbing from her near death experience. He tries to place a hand on the red part of her neck and she flinches. He retracts his hand quickly and grabs a few papers from a nearby shelf. As he retrieves them, the nurse arrives.

"Why is this child on the floor?" she yells immediately. Shina hasn't budged from the position the officers left her in. The nurse lowers herself to Shina's side and tries to figure out what's ailing her. "Shina? It's Mrs. Joyce... I'm going to sit you up, ok love?" The injured student doesn't resist her careful touch. Joyce is able to prop her up and rest Shina in her lap.

"I'm leaving her with you while I get these idiot police officers off of my campus..." Tinsley says as he walks out. "I'm so sorry, Shina." The door closes.

Joyce starts caressing the weak student's cheeks to wipe them off. She notices the brush burn on her neck and knots on her head. "You have a case on your hands, sweetie."

"I won't win, and you know it..." Shina sniffles as she mumbles. "The police system is too corrupt in this city. I just want to go home..."

"I would love to release you," Joyce admits, "but I need to hold you at least until these knots go down." Shina starts to stand up. "Slow it down!" she warns.

"Let's go..." Shina says. "I'll just sleep in your office until dismissal." Joyce agrees and they make their way to the infirmary. The nurse allows Shina to climb into a med bed without a question. She places an ice pack on Shina's head and gives her a soft, loving pat on the back of her neck.

Moments pass and the bell rings. Shina wakes up well rested. Being able to sleep at school set her back on a proper sleep schedule. She rolls out of the bed and starts packing up to leave. "One second, little lady!" Joyce jogs up to her. "I need to check something before you leave. "Follow this light, okay?" Shina nods and Joyce raises a pen with a LED light at the tip. She knew what she was supposed to see but instead, the LED causes Shina's normally black irises to shine like the mists here in the flow. It's another trait of our people. Joyce gets mesmerized by the spectrum of color that is displayed before her.

"You done?" Shina asks the nurse with a grin.

Joyce snaps out of the daze and lowers the light. "Yep! You're free to go! Drive safely, Shina."

Shina sighs and smiles. "Thanks for caring for me," she says while hugging the nurse. "I'll check in with you tomorrow morning." Joyce smiles and waves her away. Shina makes it to her bike without any issue. The altercation must not have hit the school's gossip levels yet. She uses a rag that she keeps in her bag to dry it off. It apparently rained while she was asleep. She pops her helmet on and a denim jacket she keeps handy as well. Once she's prepped for travel, she makes her way home. Her nurse told her to drive safely but the ride home is a time for Shina to enjoy her speed cravings. The streets aren't too busy so she's able to enjoy the roads at their best. The puddles make a mess on the bike but it's not a problem she doesn't mind handling.

Unfortunately, she enjoys flying through puddles a little too much and splatters a pedestrian. The poor victim luckily was a few feet ahead of his party. The other two fellows didn't get the brown shower. "Damn!" Shina complains under her helmet. She swings a corner and loops back to the groups of day walkers. When she makes it back to them, the dirty one is getting clowned by his friends.

"Shut up!" he laughs. "First city we travel to and I'm already trashed..."

The friend with glasses points in Shina's direction and says, "At least he came back. Maybe they'll throw you a towel or something."

"Or maybe he's just here to laugh at you too," the other pale skinned pedestrian says. Shina parks at the curb and approaches the three strangers. The one covered in mud is busy trying to flick the dirt off of him but looks up just as Shina reaches him.

"I'm so sorry!" she says, her voice muffled from under the helmet. "I didn't see the puddle until too late..."

The dirty fellow shrugs it off, "It's nothing... I'll find a fountain or something to clean up in."

"No..." Shina says while removing her helmet. "I can let you clean up at my place. It's the least I could do."

"Holy shit! It's a girl, Reno," the pale one whispers to his friend. What? That name is familiar? Oh, yeah! You know these clowns, don't you! Well, yeah... they made their way here and met my baby.

"I see that, Lucas..." Reno mumbles to his friend. Meanwhile, Riku is frozen while Shina checks his clothes. "I think she broke Riku."

"Where's her hair?" Reno slaps Lucas on the back of his head.

"Is that okay with you?" Shina asks Riku. He stares at her with his mouth slightly open. "Hello?"

Reno steps up to his brother's aid. "I'm sorry. He tends to get like this when he sees a pretty woman." Shina raises an eyebrow at Riku. She smirks and repeats her offer to Reno.

"Well, I offered him a better option to clean himself up," she says. "He said he was gonna jump in a fountain... Are you guys not from here or something?"

"I wubba habunna..." Riku mumbles. The others look at him confused. Reno pats him on the shoulder. Mud splats on his palm, he flicks it off, and shushes his brother.

Lucas slides up behind Shina and asks, "Might you have food where you live?" He rubs his belly while asking.

"Not much but I can put something together for you guys," she answers. "It's not far from here. Just hit this corner and keep straight for two blocks. I'll be outside."

"Yo..." Riku says suddenly. He catches everyone's attention with his sudden outburst. "I can feel my heart beating... I can hear it too!" He looks away from Shina for the first time and focuses on the ground. His gaze then snaps to Reno. "Can you hear it?"

"Is he... okay?" Shina asks.

"We'll meet you at your place once we get him back in order," Reno tells her. "Please ignore this first impression."

"Surrreee..." she giggles while putting her helmet back on. "See you there!" She mounts her bike and rides off with a smile.