Warp

Chapter 1

She laughed as she ran. Her honey-colored curls of hair bounced as she dashed after the monarch butterflies. Then the butterflies swirled into a cloud. When they separated, they were just leaves. Her small chubby hands reached out to touch them. The leaves hit the ground and blossomed into daisies and poppies.

If only that little girl knew that what she saw was not real. If only she knew that not too far away, Lena crouched behind a bush, watching her play. The butterflies, leaves and flowers were all just another one of Lena's fancy illusions. As the little girl ran around picking the flowers, Lena looked up at a huge satellite in the sky that orbited the Earth. She could even see it in the day. When she was younger, Lena's mom would tell her stories about how it emitted a chemical called Lynixzia. It was what gave Warpers their abilities. A person could only become a Warper if they were in contact with Lynixzia they were born.

Lena looked back out at the little girl who had a whole bouquet of flowers.

Suddenly, the girl's mother came out of the house with her brown hair pulled back into a perfect ponytail.

"Mama! Look at my flowers. Aren't they so pretty?" The girl giggled.

"Wow! Where did you get those?" The mother smiled. Terrified of being caught, Lena quickly took down the illusion. All the flowers faded away.

"Wait! Where did they go?" the girl plopped down, her curls swished as she looked for where the flowers went. A shadow came over the mother's face, and she pulled out her phone.

Lena froze. There was a bounty on any Warpers because humans believed that they were dangerous. And they truly were. Some Warpers misused their powers and robbed banks, vandalized, and committed crimes.

Quickly, Lena crawled away and sprinted down the street. Her ash-blonde hair waved behind her. After taking a right on Smith Street and a left on Reed Lane, Lena stopped. Stooping over with her hands on her knees, she caught her breath. Her mother always warned her not to get reckless, but it was so easy for her to get carried away. As soon as she was breathing slower, she briskly walked home, hoping that she would not be caught by the police.

Finally, Lena reached a tall navy blue house framed by trees and a perfectly coiffed lawn. Walking up the worn brick path, she relaxed. She had almost been caught, but by the time the police arrived at the woman's house, Lena would be inside her house. Taking a deep relaxing breath, Lena entered her cozy house. Inside, a dining table lay to the right of the door and a living room to the left. Following the scent of frying pork, Lena wandered into the kitchen, where her mother was reading a recipe.

"Hi Honey, what do you think about having stew for dinner?" Lena's mother asked. As she turned, both their deep brown eyes locked.

"Oh, that sounds great! Can we have it with mashed potatoes, please?" Lena asked as she jumped up onto one of their tall chairs that were arranged by the kitchen counter.

"Good idea. I will get some ready. How was school?"

"Fine. Crystal dyed the tips of her hair jet red. It looks really cool! I want to dye my hair red," Lena whined. Her mother placed a bowl of carrots in front of Lena.

"Lena, you have beautiful blonde hair. Besides you have natural red highlights," she said as Lena crunched on a carrot. Lena knew she was pretty. Boys would often try to get her to notice them. Though she hated it, it was just what high school was like in her town.

"Where is Axel?" wondered Lena, noticing that her 13-year-old brother wasn't stationed in his regular homework spot by a huge window that faced the backyard. Before they almost got caught for the second time, he was always running around practicing his sight-warping. Now, since they are hiding, he had to focus on his schoolwork more.