Little White Lies

1. Little White Lies Part One

There was something in me fighting to get out. It thrashed about within me and in that moment I *knew* I was going to lose control. The pressure inside was too much for me to contain.

            Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Panicked, I looked all around me for a place that could contain me, but there was nowhere to run. I wouldn’t have made it anyway. The pressure quickly hit my breaking point, and I knew it was going to happen. In the instant I had before I exploded, I managed to get a good look at the only people that really mattered to me: my parents, sister, and best friend. I tried to warn them, tried to tell them to get away, but no sound would pass my lips. I was terrified for them, and horrified by myself.

            The deadly substance had a power that lifted me into the air, as it always did.

            I knew people were looking at me in wonder, though most were still unaware of what exactly was going to happen. But the four people standing in front of me knew exactly what was going to happen, and they looked scared. I had a moment to wonder who was better off. The people who didn’t know…or the ones who did.

            Would you want to know you’re going to die?

            Then green matter poured out of me from every inch of my body. Throughout the whole thing I was painfully aware of it literally burning me from the inside out; I felt every inch of my body burn away repeatedly. I also felt every inch of my body heal itself over and over again until I was, at last, empty.

            Finally, I dropped to the floor. A few minutes passed with me lying there, unable to gather the energy moving required. But I forced myself to sit up and see the damage I’d done. I looked to find that everything had been burned to a pulp. For miles all I could see were charred bodies and piles of ashes where buildings and houses used to be.  And even though I really didn’t want to look, my gaze eventually landed where I knew they would be.

            At the sight of them I fell to the floor in anguish. The danger of my killing everyone I loved had always been there…but I never thought it would actually happen.  

            Then I heard his voice.

            Even though I knew he was dead in front of me, I followed his voice blindly, as I always had. Because I lo-

“Wake up, Zee!  We’re going to be late!”  I heard a deep voice say. It snapped me out of my dream. Then I felt a nudge on my left shoulder.  I groaned and turned my back to the voice.  “Zyda Maria Flare, if you don’t wake up right now I’m going to pour a bucket of cold water on your head.”

            I shot up with the memory of the last time he’d made that threat. 

            “That always works,” Tristan smiled.

             “Tristan, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, since you are my best and only friend in the entire world…but I hate you,” I grumbled.  Though I was grateful he’d woken me up from that terrible dream, I still didn’t quite want to be awake.

             “Thanks for letting me know.”  He was kneeling by the side of my bed and resting his elbows on the bed itself.  I pushed him off balance, waited for him to hit the floor, and got up. 

            “Besides, it only works because you’ve actually thrown water on my head before,” I snapped, as I kicked him lightly on his side.

            He laughed despite my seriousness.  “Well you should be up already.”

            “Well if people were meant to pop out of bed, we would sleep in toasters.”  I turned my back to him and looked at the clock.  Then I nearly had a heart attack.  “It’s only five thirty in the morning!” I yelled.