Syndicate Origins: Persona [NaNoWriMo2014, 2015]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE REVEAL

It had taken me half an hour to drag Kyle back to our house. I had made sure to take backways and dark streets to our house so that no one questioned why a teenaged girl was practically carrying a teenaged boy. I was sure that would raise red flags for anyone I could have come across so I made sure to avoid any and all people. It hadn't been easy either. Though Kyle's subconscious seemed to know that I needed him to walk, his upper body hadn't gotten the memo that it needed to stay upright. Therefore, I was constantly adjusting him and trying to keep him leaning against my shoulder and head. I didn't need him hitting his head again.

We reached our driveway, the relief hit my muscles with a sweeping numbness and I felt a weight roll down my back. I could have fallen to my knees right then and there and drifted off to sleep. Of course, I couldn't and instead patted Kyle's back, silently telling him that we had made it home. My arms ached from keeping him upright, but I didn't succumb to the pain. I focused on getting Kyle getting up the stairs which had been no small task, but I was able to do it. When we reached his bed, I gently settled him and pulled his bloody costume off so he could sleep in peace. After that, I got a wet rag and wiped the blood off his face.

My hands shook as I touched the blood, knowing that it was Kyle's. He was unconscious, but I checked his head and didn't see a wound. The blood had come from the rocks that had cut into his arms. When I did whatever I did, Kyle had ended up faced down with his bloody arms under his face. That was why I thought he had hit his head or worse. Thank goodness he hadn't been injured beyond the deep cuts on his arms. I would have never forgiven myself if I had killed Kyle.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I remembered that I had killed someone. I had actually ended another person's life and I hadn't even used a weapon! I hadn't stabbed, shot, or drowned him. No, I had done it with . . . How exactly had I done it?

I swallowed as I remembered the conversation that I had had with Yin just hours previous. She had already confirmed that I was different, that I had some kind of ability. I had just wanted her to wrong and to prove that I wasn't a freak of nature. Why did she have to be right? Why was this happening to me? I wanted to stop this from happening again. I didn't want this power, not if I couldn't control it and would only be able to hurt people. I want to be me again.

I stared at my hands, wondering with a shiver of fear what I was capable of. I had murdered someone and that hadn't been intention. What would I be able to do if I had gained more focus and discipline? My mind ran with fantasies of sending all the Jennifer wannabees at our school down a couple of flights of stairs and having all the Anthony's football buddies drown—What was I thinking?! I found myself wrapping my arms around me once again, trying to pull myself together. I couldn't and wouldn't go down that path. I couldn't even imagine it. I wouldn't become such a dark person. I didn't want to be a killer.

I just wanted to be me, the girl that didn't hurt her brother and lived a somewhat peaceful life. I wanted that desperately.

Then you shouldn't have killed Anthony, huh?

I whimpered at that thought. It had been an accident. I hadn't meant to kill him. I had meant only to see if I could hurt someone, not actually inflict pain! It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. Right? I wasn't sure anymore. My first instinct had been to kill Anthony, not to harm or distract him so that I could escape. Why had that been my gut reaction? Had I always been this way? I could have had this killer instinct deep inside of me, waiting for the right moment to surface. I could have been waiting, aching, for this to happen. Hadn't it been my idea to test someone I hated to see if I had an ability?

Suddenly, my skin felt stretched and my face felt like it wasn't truly mine. I could sense something crawling beneath my skin, smirking at me. I didn't know how I knew, but I had a feeling that something was going to happen. I just didn't know when or what. How could I stop whatever it was from happening if I didn't know anything?