Realistic or Modern The Future is Uncertain

[Aryna]

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Buzz!


Buzz!


It’s 8AM.


Jen reached over and turned her alarm off. She glanced at the time and stretched her arms before rubbing the gunk from the corner of her eyes. Geez, it’s already 8 in the morning? Another sleepless night for her again. She came home from her bartender job at The Venue, the hottest club in town and jumped right onto her computer. That was at 2AM. It was another night of scouring the encrypted internet for any and all information that she could get on the governmental list monitoring all known Em’s. She wasn’t a hacker by any means and it had taken her a bit of bribing some people to do the dirty work for her. Good thing she was a bartender with access to the best booze. For these few people she covered their expensive tab with her tips. She downloaded the lists on a flash drive and encrypted it. That pretty skill cost her a hundred dollars in her tips, but it was well worth it. Jen didn’t know why she had a need to know who the government had their eyes on, but it felt important and that was all she needed.


As far as she was concerned she hadn’t met anyone else who was an Em, not one like her. Not one like what the old reports talked about. She was supposed to feel this irresistible draw toward another just like her, but that had never happened. Some of the widely available research papers described Em’s as “being physically able to seek each other out,” something about “they need to be with their kind to function correctly, to feel as normal human beings feel when in love, complete.”


The truth was she did feel incomplete. Not the incomplete that so many feel when they are tired of being alone. The kind of incomplete like a part of her was missing, maybe even dead. Some weird emptiness that never left her for one moment. Not even when she was surrounded by a crowd. She wasn’t depressed, no. She preferred to be by herself, to be single. She had enough in her life. She had a nice quaint apartment, a good job that paid well and came with booze. She was a cheerful person, mostly.


She was still incomplete.


And like clockwork, when she focused on her incompleteness her shoulder blade would ache and burn. What a bum shoulder. She couldn’t remember how she gotten the shoulder injury or the scar. It was just there for as long as she could remember.


8:30AM.


Okay, okay. Time for breakfast. She sauntered into her kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets for cereal and a bowl. The first two items were easy enough to find but as soon as she opened the fridge, she had no milk. Sighing deeply, she sauntered back into her room.


Ten minutes later, she was ready to leave her humble inadequately stocked apartment. She wore a white button up boyfriend blouse which hugged her curves slightly, a pair of jeans, a black jacket left unbuttoned in the front and pair of brown Dexter flats, the kind with a bow and a heart charm on it. She groaned as she left her usual corner store empty handed. Of all the days to be out of 2% milk? She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she waited for the crosswalk to show the walking man. The power to manipulate electricity would be awesome she thought, I could be walking right now. As the opportunity arrived she crossed the street and headed down towards the grocery store two blocks out of her normal hood.


About halfway there a couple of boys walk past her. One of them accidentally bumps into her.


“I’m sorry,” she said.


“Uh, no I’m sorry.” He says, “I wasn’t watching where I was walking.”


In her mind she heard him comment, She’s cute but clumsy.


She shook her head and stepped aside continuing on her journey. She could have said something back to him, but it would probably freak him out. She hadn’t meant to hear his inner thoughts. That sort of thing just happens a lot when she touched people. So she had one rule: don’t touch anyone.


She was realizing now how tired she was getting. How many nights had she not sleep? Three now. She was glad the grocery store was not too far off.

 

[MADoranges]

"Late again Markus" i turned around quickly only to be fave to face with my manager. He stood towering over me like a mountain with devilish looking eyes. Then all of a sudden they turned to regretful ones almost on the verge of tears.


"Listen Markus if your late one more time i will have no choice but to fire you" he said turning away from me. "Now get inside there are customers waiting" i stared at his back for a second before quickly walking inside the store and before i knew it i was bagging with my work uniform slightly off center like i just was in a wrestling match. This was hell the only good part was when someone kind enough to tip you for your hard work.


i finished bagging an old lady's bag and she smiked at me but as she walked pasted her husband, i think, was glaring at me like i was a fresh steak and he was a lion. He kept looking at me like he knew me like he wanted something from me. as he left the store i sighed and continued bagging.


"Clean up on isle three" i heard over the intercom. The cashier, an old friend from school, tossed me a mop.


"i hate you" i said before going to clean up puke from a toddler who ate too much. My only question is how did he puke so much.

 

[dendrite blues]

“Uh, no I’m sorry.” Masha says as he collides with a bleary eyed girl, “I wasn’t watching where I was walking.”


The accident knocked his guitar case off his shoulder and blasted his mind with a wave of foreign memories and images. He barely contained the need to cry out at the unexpected contact, clutching his ears and closing his eyes against the chaos of the crowded street. Memories flooded in from the cute but clumsy girl, so fast he couldn't make sense of them. Deep breaths, he knew, deep breaths until the wave passed and he could be himself again. He struggled to keep his powers from following her as she continued on her way, reaching out like hungry fingers toward anyone with the gift. She must be an Em, like him, the urge was so strong. At long last the images settled and he was left cold, breath fogging in the winter morning and a burning pain shooting up and down his shoulder blade.


Adjusting his guitar strap around the pain, he turned around searching, but she was gone. He search through her memories, the ones he could recall, but there was nothing he could use. She'd been thinking about a grocery store, that and how tired she was. One thing was for sure, she was an Em and she was alone. She needed his help.


A car horn honked loudly, bring him back to the physical world where he was still standing right in the middle of the crosswalk. Shit, he hadn't spaced out like that since he was a teenager.


Ducking into the next alley, he pulled out his shabby old smart phone and searched for nearby grocery stores. There were only three within walking distance, and only one in the direction she'd been walking. He'd planned on playing a set or two outside the 3rd Street subway station and grabbing whatever fast food his morning tips could buy, but a grocery store on Main might get some decent traffic too. Shrugging his bag so that it settled against his guitar, Masha turned around and started heading that way. If the girl was there, he'd see how he could help her. If not, well he could use a change in his routine.


Phone still in his hand, he called speed dial one and listened to the ringing until it went to voicemail.


"Morning Ari, listen. I'm following an Em downtown. I don't know her, but she's hurt. Want me to pick anything up from Food Bargain while I'm here? Lemme know, bye."


The grocery was up ahead by the time he slipped his phone in his back pocket. He sensed two beings inside the store, but thought better of barging in like a cowboy in a saloon. Maybe when he was a little younger he'd have gone running right in, but today he just tuned up his guitar and set his tip jar on the yellow post beside the sliding automatic doors. If these two were like any of the others, then today was going to be a very eventful day.

 

[Leaf Fi]

A soft moan escaped Aria's mouth as a ray from the sun obnoxiously shone upon her face, ruining her sleep in on her only day off for the week. What time was it, she didn't want to know. All she wanted was the sun to kindly ruin someone else's morning. Turning on her side, hair sprawled all over her pillow, Aria hugged the covers shielding her arms from the freezing air and curled into a ball on her side, squeezing her eyes shut. "No damn sun is gonna ruin my day..." She mumbled under her breath with a yawn.


Ten minutes later, Aria was pacing around her home in a sleepy daze, muttering what seemed to be every curse known to man towards the sun. And no, it wasn't petty, it was the mature thing to do. And Aria was a very mature adult, thank you very much. Anyways, she was annoyed. Running a hand through her hair, she opened her mouth wide as a yawn forced its way out her throat, breaking the silence that fell over the place. The stillness was an obvious sign that her significant other had left already. Her lips tugged downwards in a frown. Looks like she couldn't rub it in that she got to sleep longer than him today.


Slowly, she made her way into the kitchen area and moved towards one of the higher cabinets. She moved onto her tiptoes and opened the door, pulling out a mug before shutting the door closed behind her. She set the mug down momentarily and set off to grab a spoon and a teabag, humming an old tune softly to herself to keep amused and awake. Getting into the chorus with a spoon now in hand, she popped open the top of a petite, white jar and looked inside for a teabag. "... You've got to be kidding me..." She set the jar down, striding over to a cabinet opposite the fridge and pulled it open, eyes skimming the contents for that once packet of teabags. But it seemed life wasn't being particularly kind to her today. "Nooooo..." She groaned and slammed it shut, leaning her back against it. "Why does the world hate meeee..." First the sun, then she couldn't get back to sleep, and now this. Today just wasn't her day, and she hoped it wouldn't get worse.


Sighing, Aria shoved herself away from the door. Perhaps that's why he left so early; to get all the shopping done? She prayed that was the case. She'd give him an hour, and if he didn't come home with bags of groceries in hand, she'd have to force herself to get out of her comfy pajamas- a pair of shorts and a stolen, oversized shirt from a certain someone- and go shopping.

 

[MADoranges]

For some reason i felt loke i was being pulled towards the front of the store as i cleaned up the massve amount of puke. I felt like some kind of end of the rainbow stuff, like there was a pot of gold waiting for me. As i finished moping i couldn't control myself it felt like a tow truck was pulling on my and my powers were going haywire. I almost killed a little kid when the metal bucker i was using suddenly shot away from me. I was lucky enough to catch it but the kid looked terrified with tears in his eyes and ran away.


I sighed when i finished up the mess i went to the bathroom to dump out the stinky fluid/solid material. Like last time i was back to bagging before even realising I dont even remember anything that happened between then and now. this is what i hated it seemed like my memory wants to remember all the cool stuff which is sort of good. But when you lose a whole months woeth of memory because you fell sucks alot. Especially when you have no friends and you actually meet someone thag will talk to you. Then seeing their saddened face when you don't remember them. The feeling of always wondering of you forgot someone important really sucked.


"Mark hey... mark you ok" my coworker asked me. I looked up and realized i had tears in my eyes. I smiled and wiped the tears out of my face.


"Im fine jake... I'll be jist fine" i said not lookong in his eyes. If i did i would see all the times i forgot him in school and he would do stuff to bring ,y memory back, to no avail. He looked at me knowing i was not ok but at the same time seeing my stubbornness that never seems to leave.


"Go take a break i got this" he said getting another coworker to take over my post. I thanked him and grabbed a soda, mountain dew of course, and headed for the door where i could sit in the waiting area. I sat down at a large table all alone enjoying my mountain dew still feeling the pull. I only wish i don't forget this moment.

 

[Aryna]

Note to self get some sleep! Her mind was yelling at her unhappy that it was clocking in overtime for the bizillonth time. She really ought to get some sort of rest. Normally, Jen enjoyed these kinds of brisk walks out in the open air. It was as if some part of her was inclined to be outside in wide spaces, wide busy spaces. She couldn't put a finger on it and it nagged her. Somewhere inside herself it felt like she'd been locked away her whole entire life shuffled from place to place. This was a place that she often dreamt of. There were no windows to the outside world except for a walled off garden with an artifical sky complete with an artificial sun. It was always sunny in that garden. It never rained. This place was in her dreams and she hoped to keep it there. It was probably just a side effect of no sleep and Resident Evil. The scene where they show an artificial window creeped her out.


If she was more alert she would have seen him coming before their collision. As it was, it was too late. Suddenly she felt a pull in the pit of her stomach. Visions of a eleven year boy flooded her mind. He had a book in his hand. Some faceless adult was insisting that he read, but he didn't want to. He there the book aside and reached for the plastic red guitar. What was going on? Why was she seeing his memory, but was it his memory? No, she was seeing her own. Looking through his own. Air whooshed and then she saw herself through his own eyes: a small young clumsy girl. She looked at him quickly and then pulled away. What the hell was going on? Her bummed shoulder warmed up uncontrollably. She could feel her power drawing itself towards this tall lanky stranger with a guitar. She had to get away from him fast.


She panic and ran as fast as she could towards the most crowded part of a crowd fully intending on getting lost. She should have known that she met another Em, just like her but her skeptical paranoia lead her towards a much a darker conclusion. She'd been found out. She knew she shouldn't have trusted no good low life extortionist hackers! God she was so stupid! Rule number two was: never trust everyone, no matter what! She glanced over her shoulder fearfully, trying to she if she was being followed. After several minutes and several turns and zigzags she calmed down a tad.


Get your milk and go home.


She doubled back through a back alley adjacent to the grocery store and darted inside of it. She made her way through the produced section on edge. She pulled her black jacket wrapping in around her like a blanket, a failsafe. Her eyes darted left and right. To anyone who might be watching she looked like a young kid getting ready to steal something.


She successfully made her way towards her goal. She nearly jerked the carton out as she grabbed the 2% milk and ran towards the nearest check out. She chew her bottom lip nervously barely able to stand still. Why was the line so long? She peeked out at the front of the line, three people, a whole lot of food. She glance behind herself once again. maybe she was just being irritable but she felt like she was being watched and not by the security cameras.


"Go take a break I got this," someone said.


"Thanks man," another said.


That voice, why was it familiar to her? She felt the overwhelming need to see the owner of the voice when suddenly and violently her body doubled over, her shoulder burned, the pain searing into her skin. It was like a live current flowed through her. Her fingers squished the milk carton so hard it burst with a loud pop. She heard herself scream out in pain, but in actuality the pain was so unbearable she was making no sound except and airy gasp. the room spun round and round faster. her vision blurred. She stumbled trying to stand again.


The gnawing incompleteness of her soul suddenly dissipated, she felt strangely...whole.


Everything went black.

 

[MADoranges]

I was just starting my soda when i felt the pull again but much stronger now. i looked around and saw a girl looking around trying to find something, me. Somehow i knew she was looking for me, but why, was my question. I looked over as i heard the familiar sound of the manager's shoes walking towards me. I panick amd look back at the girl to find her on the ground. Suddenly i feel pain, but it wasn't in any specific place just pain everywhere.


i stand up and start to walk towards the girl, but i looked back and saw my manager glaring at me.


"Markus get back to work I'll handle this" he said standing next to me. I just ignore him and kneel next to her and pick her up.


"I got this boss" i said walking her to the infirmary in the back of the store. I set her down then go to look for the nurse Before realizing, she was the nurse, the nurse in the store is the meaning ugliest person i had ever seen. I think i can do better than her. I check for a pulse on her neck and feel a very soft pulse. I started panicking again i have absolutely no medical experience, wait a minute, i thought. I rub my hands together and i can feel my hands jolt with a little electricity.


"Clear" i said pretending my hands are defibrillators and giving her a small shock. "C'mon wake up"

 

[dendrite blues]

By the end of his third song, Masha was getting nervous. What must he look like, a twenty-something punk following a pretty high school girl across town? Wrong, that's what. He must look like a goddamn creeper. Stashing his meager tips and his instrument, he was just about to try calling Aria again when, out of nowhere, the Ems in the store let out great booming wave of resonant energy. It came at him so strong, he had to lean against the wall to keep his balance as it passed over and through him.


Normally, his sixth sense had a pulsing quality that could lead him to the source, the way skin knows the distance to a fire or the direction of the sun; but this was completely different. Rather than coming from a person or a place, it seems to swell up from the ground in a massive cloud, engulfing him in a soupy haze. He had seen it happen only once before, on a day he would never forget... the day he'd met Aria.


Shocked, he dashed inside the market and through the narrow isles. It was difficult to sense through the fog, and the sudden loss made him feel like he was running in the dark. The usual stream of random information and telepathic impressions had become as essential to him as sight or sound, and without it he could only run headlong toward a weakly beating pulse somewhere in the back of the store. He must look like a maniac, sprinting around with half his apartment on his back, but the loss of the other beacon pushed any normal concerns aside. Bonding could be the most incredible experience in an Em's life, but it could also be overwhelming and frightening. Try as he might, he couldn't help recalling how tired and hurt the girl's mind had felt. This could just be a massive coincidence, but something about the energy felt uncomfortably familiar, and so he followed his weakened sense to the swinging black doors at the back.


"Authorized Personnel Only" they read, on black acrylic plaques.


"Authorized, my ass." he whispered to himself, nudging one of the doors open just wide enough to slip through. If someone gave him shit he'd pretend he was looking for the bathroom. Sure, maybe he was acting like a creep, but with an army of hunters looking for them and the government pretending they didn't exist, Ems had to look out for each other.


The room was cramped, full of shipping containers and milk crates with a concrete floor and government posters on every wall. To the left he heard a commotion coming from a narrow hallway. Carefully angling his head around the corner, he saw that the hallway lead to the back end of the store's pharmacy, where two figures crouched on the floor together. One, the girl from earlier, lay unconscious on the ground while the other, a young man about her age, hovered over her. Masha stood there, unsure what to do, as the man placed his hands on her chest and uttered a something under his breath. Arcs of electricity shot into her, coursing through her limbs as they twitched and shook. After a horrifying moment, she collapsed back onto the tile floor, the electricity travelling into the ground.


Their spirits had been perfectly ordinary a few minutes ago, and now she looked like she needed a hospital. Good god, was he trying to kill his own bondmate?


"Get your hands off her!" he shouted, rushing to get to her before this psycho decided to finish the job. Fighting his own kind never sat well with him, but he'd done it before and he would do it again.


Remembering the promise he made after his last job went south, Masha took this last moment to send a telepathic message to his partner. He didn't want her worrying, and if something happened he'd need someone to keep the staff from sending him to the hospital, where the hunters would surely be notified. Straining to reach all the way back to the apartment, he only had time for three short words.


=Help. Grocery. Main.=

 

[MADoranges]

"Get your hands off of her!" I turned around to see some weird guy wearing all black. He just stood their for a second and before i gave him a chance i threw a punch at him. Blocked. I stood up and did a spinning kick. Blocked. What was this guy, i thought standong my ground.


"Make me I'm trying to save her" i said charging at gim again And getting the same results. Punch blocked. Kick blocked. I then full on charged him and tackled him befkre he threw me off him. now this was bad he was in Between me and the girl.


i stood there panting i wasted alot of energy of trying to take this guys down quickly.


"What are you man you...y-you're l-like me a-aren't you" i said realizeing he couldn't have known we were back here. The store was pretty empty when we left and i didnt see anyone on the way. Now i only had one move that could work on him hopefully. i started concentrating on mmay makeshift magnetic field And started to lift a hammer that was behind him. I shot the hammer towards him expecting it to be over but to my shock theenguy stood there holding the hammer like it was nothing. "Who the heck are you"

 

[Leaf Fi]

With radio on full blast, she was now dancing her way through the apartment, head moving in time with the beat. The power of music really was strange; it could change emotions within seconds depending on the beat and tempo. A cheerful person could listen to the slow, solumn pace of a song and immediately lose themselves into the sound. For the rest of the song they'd feel the pain and sorrow of the artist, be able to empathise and cry for them, almost as if it was them that was hurt. But as soon as the music would fade, they would carry on their on merry way for the rest of the day. It really was strange. Perhaps that was why Aria loved it so much, and she assumed the same would be said for her partner.


The song carried Aria back into the bedroom, and she twirled around once before pausing at a small nightstand beside the bed. A small, purple Blackberry laid upon the surface, the old phone looking rather lonely. She picked it up with a gentle hum, turning it on. It buzzed once in her hand as it awakened, proudly shining the logo of the company before the screen faded to black once more. Then a picture of Masha and Aria loaded; both of them were grinning up from the screen, her arms wrapped around his middle as he took the picture. It was a year or so old, but just looking at it made her smile and feel warm inside. She couldn't imagine her life without her bondmate.


From within the kitchen, the song had now ended, and the presenter spoke a few words before an advertisement began to play. Aria's bare feet slapped on the ground as she paced over to a wardrobe across the room, looking at the contents within. There wasn't much clothes to choose from, but she wasn't too fussed with keeping up with the new trends anyways. Instintively, she pulled out a pair of skinny jeans, a checkered shirt and a tank top to wear beneath it. Nothing too fancy, but it was comfortable, and that was what counted. As she changed, she checked her phone for any new messages and found a voice mail from Masha. Her head tilted to the side in curiousity, and she clicked on it, letting her phone go through to the voice mail services as she pulled her tank top over her head. But before the message could even play, her head began to ache and everything around her turned silent.


'Help. Grocery. Main.'


The message was almost inaudible, but there was no way she couldn't hear it. The strain in his voice, obviously from the distance between the pair, and worry was apparent. She could feel every emotion he did; the panic, the shock, the bewilderment. But she had no idea what he saw. There was a thud from her phone as it fell onto the wooden floor beneath her. Visions of past events of finding him hurt, near death at times, came flooding into her mind, and she could barely breathe. She snatched a pair of trainers and shoved them on before grabbing the keys to the apartment. She ran out the door, slamming it behind her, and tried to lock it as fast as she could. It wasn't co-operating with her, and she hissed in anger, kicking the door, before trying again.


Click.


Well, that seemed to work. She shoved the key in her pocket, forcing her legs to run as fast as they could towards the main grocery shop. Aria was terrified. Anything could have happened to him, and the lack of a message as to what was happening only heightened her terror. She shoved her way pass anyone standing by, knowing she probably looked like a mad woman, but she didn't care. Masha was her main priority.


It didn't take long for her to reach the Food Bargain, and without even stepping inside the building she was hit by an overwhelming force, making her stumble backwards. Her breath came in pants as she gulped down air, feeling light headed. She could feel Masha in the store, the familiar presence almost soothing. But she couldn't relax now. She could feel something else... But it couldn't be... Shaking her head furiously, once again, she set off in a sprint, heading to the back of the store and burst through the door. It was extremely narrow here, only highlighted with the three people there. A girl was on the ground, and a boy was holding a hammer, eyes blazing in anger. Then there was Masha, and although his back was to her, she couldn't sense any injuries from him. "What the hell is going on here?!" Her eyes studied the two strangers, especially the boy with the hammer. Did he hurt her?

 

[Aryna]

The alarm system went off with a loud beep, beep bbbbeeeeeppp! The officer who sat closest to the alarm reached over and flipped the switch. Immediately she returned to her station and commence to shift through the influx of data that flowed in. There was a reason she had been offered the job ahead of many of her higher ranking comrades. Within seconds, she located the appropriate data file and tagged it. Another Em spotted and recorded.


----------------------------------------


There are no windows to the outside world here. There is no outside world here, only here in an endless maze of doors and rooms. The hallways are long and scantly lighted. The metal doors are always closed. Inside a room it’s either blaring bright or pitch dark. She’s strapped to a cold metal operating table. The lights blinding her. She struggles against the straps but it is useless. She knows she’s not alone because she can hear the voices chattering away around her behind the lights. She tries but cannot understand what they are saying. She is scared now not knowing what is happening.


“I want to go home now,” she pleads to the faceless men and women.


They don’t acknowledge her but that’s not what sends her into a frenzy of a panic. She clearly spoke but it wasn’t her voice as it should have been. She asked to go home in her five year old voice. Something cold and wet touches the inside of her arm at her elbow. It makes a line down her little arm.


“This won’t hurt at all, “a male voice says with insincerity, “only a little sting.” It was a lie. Whatever the bad man did hurts a lot.


“I want my mommy,” she sobs as her five year old self.


“Don’t cry,” the unseen woman tells her.


“I want my mommy.” Her tears sting her eyes. Her arms burns. “I want to go home.” She sobs uncontrollably causing her little body to jiggle.


“Don’t cry.” another man orders her.


This only makes her cry harder. These people were bad. They scared her. She wanted her mommy.


“I said don’t cry!” he cover her lips not caring that she is just a five year old.


She bites his hand hard and wails out. She can hear his grunt as he mumbles something along the lines of and ungrateful mutt, but she has no idea what that means.


“This one’s not like the rest.” It’s the voice of an older woman, maybe in her early thirties but she’s not sure how she knows that either. “She is to remain unharmed, is that clear?”


The others in the room murmur, “Yes, ma’am.”

 

[dendrite blues]

Masha did he best to conceal his heavy breathing as he continued to dodge the swinging hammer. Blocking attacks with air alone was exhausting, and he'd have to find a better way of defending himself if this fight went on much longer. After several long minutes of brawling, the guy readied a dangerous overhead strike. Hammer heavy in his hand, the boy struggled to raise it, and Masha took the opportunity to dump his heavy load and prepare a counter strike. Lowering his stance, he grabbed the lapels of his leather coat and spun, gathering air into the space beneath his arms and pushing it out with all his might. The swell of compacted air shot out, colliding with the man with such force that he slid back several feet.


Hoping he'd bought some time, Masha lunged for his satchel and began digging frantically for his fans. Rookie mistake, jumping right into a fight without his weapons. Without some way of directing the air, he might as well be blowing raspberries at this kid. He knew how Aria felt about his recklessness, and sincerely hoped that she wouldn't find out about this. Unfortunately he'd taken his biggest travel bag today, and so he had to dig through a mountain of bagged lunches, tissues, and audio cables before he finally, finally saw the familiar gleam of one folding fan's steel frame. He tried to pull it out, but it was tangled in the cables and refused to budge no matter how hard he pulled.


"Shit!" he cursed under his breath, struggling to loosen the vice grip of the cables, when he felt the unmistakable warmth of Aria's aura enter the room. It washed upon him like warm water, soothing him as only she could, and he turned his head in her direction without a second thought. A pang of guilt hit him low in the gut at the sight of her, hastily dressed and gasping for breath as waves of worry ripped out of her psychic core. Belatedly, he focused a reassuring glance her way, but failed to meet her eyes as she stared right past him.


Following her gaze, he looked over his shoulder, where he saw the guy standing right behind him, hammer poised to strike. Oh shit.

 

[MADoranges]

I was screwed i couldn't fight one let alone two at the same time. Guessing that she was like him makes it even worse with the hammer in my hand i put up a defense infront of the girl laying motionless behind me. I could hear her breathing softly somehow it soothed me. But i had bigger problems to deal with.


"i dont know who you are but you will not get past me" i said pushing electricity into the hammer. The hammer started to flatten out until it was completely flat in a Circle. Even though it wasn't strong it would work.


"Why" the girl said. "Why do you protect her" i stopped in my tracks about to attack again. I didn't have and answer to the question i just had to. It was on instinct as soon as i saw her i felt she needed to be saved and i was her superhero. Then when this guy came in it came back on instinct her life was more important than mine.


Then i fell to my knees dropping my self made sheild. I couldn't fight anymore all my energy left over was used to make the sheild. Not even feeling like getting up a sat on the ground on my knees infront of two people who could be my end.


"B-before you kill me p-please tell me... w-what are we"

 

[Aryna]

She had no idea where she was as Emma found herself standing in front of a metal door with a gold plate that read : GARDEN. Garden? What a strange label to have on a door. There were only empty halls leading into darkness on her left and on her right. She'd been here before. This was a familiar place, but she doesn't ever remember ever actually being in a place like this. What was going on? Was she in some sort of dream? Some other part of the nightmares that continued to plagued her sleeping hours? Why was she asleep. if she was asleep. She had half the mind to run the way she'd come but by some unknown compulsion she reached over and pushed the metal door aside. Surprisingly, it opened with ease.


She didn't remember stepping into the huge room beyond the door only that she was now in a garden with real green grass, flower's of many kind in abundance, a stone three tiered foundation brimming over with soft gurgling water. The door, presumably still behind her, faded into the surrounding. If one was to look in the direction of the door from the inside there would be no visible trace. She approached the fountain awed by it's flawless beauty. The rays of the sun danced on the water's surface like diamonds. The hypnotizing magic dissolved the moment Emma looked up into the sky.


There was no sky, only bright lights.


The terrifying thought crept back into her mind. THERE ARE NO WINDOWS HERE. She turned around looking in every which way. All she saw was a vast garden surrounding her. It looked like she was outside. It felt like she was outside, but the truth was sh was boxed in a simulated enclosure. She would have stood there descending into a panic had it not been for the sound of kids laughing and playing.


Emma followed the noises without realizing she was drifting in the air like an unseen apparition.


A boy and a girl sat in a sandbox building sandcastles. The girl shoveled sand into a blue pail packing it down. Her playmate, sat crossed legged, carving into the sand mound. Off the left of the sandbox, another pair of children, a boy and a girl, took turns sliding down a slide. The boy ran off as he reached the bottom to pluck a daisy for his playmate. The little girl thanked him in the sweetest voice she ever heard. She planted a shy kiss on his cheek and he blushed. The little boy covered in sand pointed hi finger at the blushing boy and laughed at him. This made the boy's playmate angry at the mean boy who played in the sand. She stormed over, grabbed the girl's packed sand pail and dumped it all over the mean boy. She ran away from him before he could grab her and stuck her tongue out at him making raspberries. Emma laughed. Those kids were adorable!


Then out of nowhere a faceless adult appears and grabs the little sand girls arm yanking her to her feet. Emma felt yanked herself even though she was watching from a safe distance. The poor girl cried out reaching for her playmate who had forgotten about chasing the other girl. Instead he grabbed the adults hand and bit down hard. he was just a little boy, no match for a fully grown adult who flung him away easily like swatting fruit flies. The little girl screamed and cried she struggled again the adult. Another adult came over and dragged the crying girl towards the now reopened door into the dark hallway. The little boy stood, wiped the sand from his face and charged at the remaining adult. The lights flickered as the room begin to surge with electrical currents.


Emma felt her strength drained out of her body as she suddenly feel to her knees on the grass hard. So tired....


"B-before you kill me p-please tell me... w-what are we?"


His strained voice was what had brought her back. She groan reaching up to massage the bump in the back of her head. Where the hell was she? She tried to sit up but it was too much to fast so she resolved to lay back down and roll to her side. There were three people there with her. Two of them she didn't recognize, except the other female bore a striking resemblance to that girl she dreamed about the one with the blushing boy. The other guy she recognized right away. it was the guy who she had bumped into. The guy she was running away from.


"Hey, get away from him weirdo!"

 

[Leaf Fi]

This boy wasn't going to give up, was he? The cackle of electricity rang through the air as the hammer flattened down into a round, circular disc. Aria's eyes went wide, not in awe of his power, but the fact he was an Em. There was no mistaking it. She didn't have to add two and two to guess who the girl was behind him: it was plain to see. Obviously, he wasn't going to back down now, and she could feel from Masha's aura he was exhausted, so now it was her turn. She walked in front of her bondmate, facial expression icy calm as she steadied her breathing. A hand rested behind her back, her fingertips raising up the slightest touch. She could feel a puddle not too far away, so if he attacked, she could defend herself.


"Why? Why do you protect her?" She questioned, voice as cool as the air her partner could wield. On the inside though, her heart was beating like a drum. Thankfully, she wasn't as panicked now that Masha was okay, but her attention was now drawn to the girl and her situation. She knew why he was protecting her, but she prayed that he hadn't a clue.


He didn't. He fell to his knees in front of her, dropping his makeshift shield beside him. It was quite a pathetic sight, she had to admit, but she wasn't going to take advantage of him. She ignored the question asked by the other for a moment, instead looking over her shoulder at Masha. = You've got a lot of explaining to do when we get home. = She said simply with a shake of her head.


Her mouth opened to speak, but she was caught off guard by a yell beyond the guy in front of her. Confused, she stared at the girl who had now moved onto her side, watching them. 'Hey, get away from him weirdo!' Hold on... Was she referring to Aria? As a weirdo? That didn't sit well with her, not at all... She balled up her fists, scoffing. "Excuse me?" One of her brows raised; half in disbelief, the other half in anger. Sure, the girl had only awakened, but did she really have the nerve to throw insults like that?

 

[Aryna]

Emma shook her head slowly left to right. She took a deep breath to help calm her down. You freaking need to sleep, eeessshh. She was used to long periods f sleep deprivation, but this time she was losing her mind. It had never been like this before. Her vision was still fuzzy as the environment faded in and out. in the age of beyond 4k television she was definitely a black at white dialed TV set. She pushed herself up off her side but only managed to sit up. Okay, I'll take it she told herself. Ugh, moment by moment the details filed in one at a time. She somehow triggered her heat exhaustion, no the scar on her shoulder had triggered her heat exhaustion. Her lips were parched and she was mad thirsty. Today was NOT a good day.


"Not you," she said tiredly with one eye opened, "him." she lifted her heavy arm and slowly but surely pointed at the tall lanky man. "He's following me for some reason." She groaned and buried her head in her hands. she held one finger up to signaled the other female, who sounded pissed, to give her a moment. It took Emma a minute and a half to raise her head up and face the other female.


"Look, I'm a bartender at The Venue. I don't know why you're boy friend is following me. I'm sorry if I flirted with him in passing, okay. I really don't know who he is...ugh.." she rubbed her shoulder, "I just came in here for milk."

 

[MADoranges]

I listened to the girls weak voice and i felt guilty again. I felt like somehow it was my fault, but it wasn't my fault at all. I looked up quickly as i heard the steady clicking of the manager's shoes. Summoning as much strength as i could and went to the door. Before i opened the door i turned around and looked at the group of random people.


"Stay here" i whispered before opening the door and leaving the room. I closed the door behind me when i turned around for the second time today i was face to face with my manager.


"How is she" he said plainly staring with annoyed eyes a scrunched nose and a scowl on his face. He always hated me even though he felt bad for me he always thought i was a troublemaker. He would put on a smile when there were people around but all alone he was the devil.


"Before you answer that i dont care i think i should pay her a visit though" he said with a low voice. I


I instinctly growled at him making him back up a little. He now had a little fear in his eyes as he stared at me.


"Don't touch her you perv" i said growling at the same time. I was unconsciously letting sparks fly off my body. Good thing he didn't notice. He walked back up to me confidence soaking him like he was in the rain.


"How about this you let me passed or you will 'fail' a drug test snd most likely lose your job. How would your parents react knowing their little boy is a druggy. Their little hearts almost bursting from the trust they put in you just to be let down" He pushed me out the way slightly and went to walk passed me. He was stopped as i let all the built up electricity go in my body out. He was paralyzed for a second before he stumbled towards the wall for support.


"WHAT WAS THAT" he yelled his legs failing him making him have to hang no to the wall for dear life. It was a pretty funny sight but now was not the time to laugh. "YOUR FIRED IM CALLING THE POLICE" he yelled stumbling to the front of the store.

 

[dendrite blues]

=You've got a lot of explaining to do when we get home.=


"Woah, woah, I did not flirt, and she is not a weirdo." Masha said, making sure to meet Aria's eyes as he said it before redirecting to the girl on the floor.


"You're an Em and I was worried abut you, there something wrong with that?"


Giving up on the fan, now that the fighting had stopped, he got up and stood behind his partner.


"Actually, don't answer that, sorry, that's ah... rhetorical. What I mean is... are you okay?"

 

[Aryna]

The mark on her shoulder sizzled which made it uncomfortable but bearable. Her attention was divide between what she was being told and what was going on behind yet another damn closed door. Seriously, she was getting annoyed with the doors. She could tell there was something else going on outside the door, heading towards a bad place rather quickly but she couldn't ignore what she just hear the stranger tell her.


"Did you just say you know i'm and Em?" Christ! he did, didn't he?


She had gathered enough strength to stand up clumsily. All her life she had been searching for people just like her and now she was looking at another one, possibly two other ones. There were so many questions that flooded into her mind. She would have launched a game of one hundred question if she hadn't felt the sparks threaten to shoot out of her fingers. And then there was the voice heard around the world.


"Look, sorry about calling you a weirdo. You're not. I'm just confused but um we need to get the hell away from here before the police come." She shook her bum shoulder loose. "I'm sure you already know but if you are really an Em, you do not want the damn po-po booking us. Trust me."

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Ashley stood in-front of a female officer, said officer belonging to the US Department of Defense. She had recently been contracted by the government for monitoring and even eliminating any Em's that came to their attention, sometimes resorting to locating them if none popped up. Ashley had a very good track record when it came to finding people, even better when it came to monitoring and eliminating. She casually held her assault rifle in one hand as the officer quickly went over what the file had already told her about the recently spotted Em activity in a populated area. She nodded blankly at whatever the officer either asked or told her, not really paying attention. Not like she needed to anyway.


It was a few hours later, around 8:40 something AM, she was driving her large black SUV into the town via one of it's largest bridges, it was a very nice, warm and pleasant day. The sun gracing the town with it's presence, it's lovely rays shining down onto the still sleeping inhabitants of the town. It was still quite early, just after the early hour workers had left for work and the night shift ones had gotten back, so there wasn't too much traffic. She held the steering wheel with one hand, her gear laying in the backseats. Until a heart stopping shiver went straight down her spine, causing her to shake with disbelief. She knew what that meant perfectly.


It was about the exact same time that it started to snow, genuine snow, it was a calm, soft flurry, very peaceful in nature. Although the temperture was far too hot for it to be snowing, and it was still sunny, sun and snow at the same time, Ashley sighed, rubbing her head as a headache began to form. She still couldn't perfectly keep control of her influence over the weather, but she was trying. Although, she decided that she liked the view, the gentle and docile snow gently falling down onto the town as the sun shone beautiful rays onto it also.


It was nice, but she still had a job to do.

 

[Leaf Fi]

"Yes, you're an Em. I assume you knew as much anyways..." The words were a lot more bitter than she had intended, but Aria wasn't too fussed on it as her nerves were escalating, evident in her eyes. They also had bigger problems to focus on, just like the other female had pointed out.


Normally, if this was any other person, Aria would leave them be to their own devices, not wanting to get in trouble or associate with the stranger. But these two were Ems, just like Masha and herself. For ages, she thought the pair of them were the last remaining on the Earth, when the whole time there was actually more like her... Did that mean there was more Ems out there? She didn't know anymore... And as amazing it was to find more of her kind, they were still strangers. People who had their own pasts and troubles. Who knew what they have gotten themselves into, heck, they could be murderers for all she knew! The thought made her uneasy.


She gulped, indecisive and confused as to what to do, and took a small step backwards. Her shoulder blades and back pressed against his chest, the contact immediately soothing her. Like the current in a small stream, calmness washed over her entire being and she shut her eyes momentarily, sucking in a long breath of air before releasing it.


She had to do this, as much as she hated the idea. = We have to take them to the apartment, don't we...? = She sighed to Masha, head lowered slightly.


This really, really wasn't her day...

 

[MADoranges]

I ran into the room closing the door behind.


"Umm guys we should get out of here' i said. As i looked at the group it looked like they were already about to leave. They must have heard the yelling i looked towards the girl on the bed and walked towards her. I kneeled down noticing how weak she looked it made me feel bad just looking at her.


"Do you need some help up"

 

[Aryna]

This was the first time she laid eyes on him but instantly she felt like she'd known him her entire life. It was cliché, but it was one hundred percent truth. She felt like the dense fog that surrounded her for as long as she could remember was now clearing, like that scary artificial sky in the artificial garden room, the one that haunted her dreams, was finally ripped off and the true, bright sun rays showered down on her. Even the air smelled cleaner, more mesmerizing than the day after the first spring showers. She took in a deep breath exhaling like a bloom daisy. His eyes were a deep rich brown, like pools of hot cocoa on a cold winter's day. She had an overwhelming urge to reach out and touched her fingers to his as if he were the sun and she was a sunflower. She wasn't attracted to him, but at the same time irresistibly attracted to him. They were a positive and a negative coming together. The burning warmth in her bummed shoulder eased for the first time in her life. She blushed without meaning to when he talked to her like a high school girl coming face to face with her child hood crush for the first time. she had to be brave and not collapse all over again. She was not a damsel in distress despite what she had displayed earlier.


"I think I'm going to be okay." She stumbled through her words. She had to look away from him. "Where to?" This question she directed to the other two in the room.

 

[dendrite blues]

Masha looked between them, trying to marshal his thoughts into something approaching a plan. He placed his hands on Aria's shoulders to hide how they shook with adrenaline, and rode out the cloud of panic that rose when the human electrode came crashing back in the room. Fragmented thoughts buzzed back and forth, none of them staying long enough to grow into a real idea. The apartment was he and Aria's refuge, the only place they felt safe. Taking these strangers into it felt like texting in church. But she was right, they needed a safe place to talk, and the back of a grocery in the busiest part of town was not going to cut it.


= I already regret this. =


"Follow me," he said.


After retrieving his things from the floor he returned to his partner's side and took her hand. Together, they made their way through the back end and out onto the floor of the market. The stifling aura had diffused, and his senses felt almost normal now. Reaching out to get his bearings, he sensed a lot of energy up by the registers. It pulsed like an Em, but felt different, as though obscured by an opaque cloud of energy. He was just about to ask Aria about it when they passed a wall of refrigerators filled with milk and yogurt.


"Hey, wait a minute. That girl... she wanted milk right? Yeah, milk, she just said that she did. Actually, don't we need groceries?" he asked, looking to his partner.


Aria has just opened her mouth to respond when a great noise erupted from the front, followed by the sound of shoppers screaming and running. Pouring his attention toward the noise, Masha felt rather than saw as the strange energy drew closer and closer and the once peaceful room fell into chaos.

 

[MADoranges]

As we were leaving i felt a something bad coming. I don't know how but it seemed like there was trouble coming soon. I got closer the girl knowing it would make me feel better and safer. As the feeling grew closer i grabbed her hand noticing how soft it was. I looked over to the other two to see them stop as they felt it coming closer to.


Before i could throw out a question the wall next to me exploded out at me. I pushed the girl out of the way and took the full force of the rubble hitting me. I looked up and saw a figure standing in the hole in the wall. He stepped closee until he was on top oof a piece of rock on my leg. He stomped down gaining a groan of pain from me.


"To easy" the figure said before a couple of swat men came through the hole. I tried to attack him but he just pushed down on the rock snapping more bones in the process. "you shouldn't even have tried"