Dormant

I crouched on the floor and waited in the dark, ears pricked for any sound of movement. I could hear everything going on in the next room over; my best friend, Lena, was getting ready for bed. She brushed her teeth and put on her pajamas. She settled into bed, and after a few minutes, her breathing slowed. She was asleep.

 

I waited a couple minutes to be sure, counting in my head. I reached one hundred twenty, and I began to move. I grabbed my Hawk and strapped it on, the wings closed, and walked over to the window. I reached toward the pane and was about to open it when, suddenly, I detected movement in the other room. Lena had coughed, and now she was waking up. I froze.

 

"Ember?" Lena called. She knows I'm going again! I thought desperately. "Ember . . . the wolf caused global warming. . . ."

 

I let out a sigh of relief. She was just having nightmares again about global warming coming back. I felt the need to comfort her, to go and whisper in her ear that the polar bears were safe so she would sleep peacefully. But I was already late as it was. I thrust open the window pane and leaped out into the night.

 

I pulled the cord on my Hawk and the wings slid out smoothly. The engine started, and I was sure it must be very quiet, because even I could barely hear it. I was free to fly alone in the night. I'm not sure why I kept doing this, but something about it had compelled me ever since the change. Of course, I wasn't even sure what the change was. It wasn't happening to anyone I knew. What I did know was that I had gotten very, very strong over the past few weeks. My hearing and eyesight had become exceedingly acute, and my reflexes had gotten twice as fast. I felt invincible, and I was loving it.

 

I asked myself several times about the cause of the change, but I never really knew. I didn't even know where I was going tonight, just that I was going and Lena shouldn't know about it. My new instincts told me so, and I trusted them. The change was my friend. But I wondered again why it had picked me. Just me, an ordinary girl. I touched down in the forest near the pool of water that had become my spot and took off my Hawk. I compacted it and sat down to think.

 

And that's when I saw him, sitting right across the pool from me. I could tell he hadn't seen me yet, so I thought of how to approach him. I wasn't embarrassed that we'd picked the same place to be. No, I was annoyed. Scaring him off with a show of strength would be too easy. He was just looking into the water, turned slightly away from me. I crept slowly into the trees and around the perimeter, always careful to keep to the shadows. When I was right behind him, I pounced.

 

I would've landed right on his back if he hadn't moved out of the way at the last second. Instead, I landed in a crouch. Now I was angry. I lunged again, preparing to kick his legs out from under him but struck nothing. How was he doing that? I thought frantically. My fighting skills had peaked during the past few weeks, and I could move faster than any normal human. I glared at him, locking my target, and then began to circle. I darted forward and knocked him to the ground, rolling him onto his stomach and pulling both his arms behind his back.

 

"Why are you here?" I demanded, furious that it had taken me this long to render him immobile.

 

"Let me go and I'll tell you," he responded, smirking.

 

"How do I know you won't jump me as soon as I let you go?"

 

"Well, you've pretty much proved you can defend yourself. Even if I did go easy on you." I let him go, still glaring, and dusted myself off. "What?" he asked when he noticed. There was something about him I just didn't like. I had the insane impulse to bear my teeth at him, but I resisted. Attacking him was bad enough.

 

"Why are you here?" I asked again.

 

"I don't know exactly. I just felt like coming tonight. Never been here before."

 

"Really? You're a very good fighter. Where did you learn?"

 

"I could ask you the same thing."

 

"But I asked you first, and I'm obviously better than you are. I could have you dead in two minutes if I wanted to. Don't make me want to."

 

"Alright, alright. Yesterday I just started feeling weird. Stronger. And tonight I just felt like I had to be here right now. I felt like if I didn't get here in time, I'd be late. But seeing as there's nothing here except you, I guess I was wrong. Now, where did you learn?"

 

"A few weeks ago I began feeling the same way. Changing. I suppose I beat you because I'm farther along than you are."

 

"I guess. Wait, do you know what we're changing into? I mean, besides super-human freaks. . . ."

 

"No, I don't. I was hoping to find someone else like me, but you've been of no help. And this pool is where I come to think. Would you mind leaving?"

 

"Yes, I would mind. I'm staying. And if you kill me . . . someone will eventually find out."

 

"No they won't. I'll bury you on the bank here, so I always know where you are."

 

"Can I please stay? I'll be really quiet, I promise."

 

"Have you forgotten that I have extremely sensitive hearing? I can hear your heart beat, even from across the pool. Leave. Now."

 

He sighed. "Okay. I guess if you really want me to go I will. Hey, what's your name? Mine's Daewon."

 

"Ember," I said. Daewon took off on his Hawk. I sat down to think, but couldn't. Daewon had messed up this place for me. I flew home and climbed back in the window. Lena was still asleep, mumbling about crashing her brand-new Hawk into a tree. I curled up in bed and closed my eyes, expecting sleep to come instantly as it always did. But I lied there, awake, for about an hour before opening my eyes again. I couldn't sleep, and I wasn't tired. I sat up and tried to think of what to do. Finally, I found a book and read until the morning dawned, gray and foggy.

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

I was nearly finished with the book when Lena skipped in, cheerful as ever. She was fully dressed in bright orange jeans and a white shirt with orange polka-dots.

 

"Come on, you're not ready yet!" she said, bouncing up and down.

 

"For what? I'm almost finished with my book."

 

"Remember? We're going to Hyperflies with Mandy and Shelly to ride that new rollercoaster that just opened! And there's a waterpark. You know you want to check out all those hot guys in swimsuits!"

 

I suppose she did have a good point. I dressed quickly, putting my clothes over my bathing suit and packing a beach bag of snacks and towels. I threw some instant headache relievers in too; I was sure I would need them before the day was up. I strapped on my Hawk.

 

"Lena, I'm ready!" I called. She bounced into my room and looked at me like I was insane. "What's the matter?" I asked tentatively. Lena had no clue what had been happening to me, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

 

"You have your Hawk strapped on! You know I can't fly at all; we're taking the hover-bus." I breathed an internal sigh of relief.

 

"Alright then," I said. I hung my Hawk back up on its hook, and we left for the park. When we got there, I instantly saw the gigantic hyper-coaster that had been on the list of hot topics for weeks. It had just opened a couple days ago, and it truly did look like it defied all gravity, just like the advertisements claimed.

 

"Let's go!" Lena chirped. "Mandy and Shelly are waiting for us at the entrance." I followed her through the crowded amusement park and to the line at the entrance to the coaster.

 

"Hey!" Mandy called. "Over here!"

 

"I see you!" Lena called back, and we hurried over.

 

Mandy started chirping, "Are you ready for this? I can't believe we're actually going to ride it! Did you hear that it breaks the laws of physics? Oh no, it'll probably mess up my hair! Do you think-"

 

"SHUT UP!" Shelly growled. "Must you always talk in that overly high-pitched voice? You might as well drag your nails on a chalkboard!"

 

Mandy threw her a kicked puppy look and went over to stand beside Lena. I looked at them for a moment, and went over to Shelly. Out of the three, she was the least likely to give me permanent ear damage.

Author's Note

Well, what do you think?

Reviews

[Forist.johnston]

It had an interesting beginning, it's relieving to read a futuristic piece that isn't overly 'Scifi'ish.