The Gifted Chronicles: Power

Chapter 3: Smokey

Smokey runs down an alleyway with a loaf of bread and hides behind a dumpster, Screw the store clerk. This girl is small and slender, blue eyes and white blonde hair in a short ponytail; while Wearing her favorite blue t-shirt with a black vest, and a pair of worn blue jeans and short boots to go along with her blending in to the environment. A thick Italian accented man angrily spats; "if I find that little shit sneaking my hot babies out of my store one more time..." the last part is muffled as he said it walking around the corner back to his store. Smokey sighs and looks at the top of the abandoned four-story building and proceeds to walk up the wall using her gift. Smokey opens the door on the top of the building, "I'm back." Smokey sets her bread down on the counter of the old apartment, which is deemed, abandoned but the sneaky girl found the place during a rainstorm and decided to use it as her home. She looks at her two dogs and two cats, "hey I brought y'all some food," She pulls off her navy Jan-sport backpack pulling out a ten-pound bag of dog food and two cans of tuna fish. She opens the can using the tab to give her hungry kitties their food. She rips the dog food bag opening it with her teeth. She pours the dog food in a glass bowl. Smokey then goes to the fridge. I have always wondered why the electricity to this place was never shut off. Smokey dismisses the thought and goes back to her own food. She grabs a wrapped cheese single; cuts open her bread, and pops it in the microwave on a paper plate. Smokey sits at the old table that was left behind; She lays her head on the table to watch at her animals eating ravenously at their food she sighs thinking of the last time she ate a real decent meal.

"Mom! She locked me out of her room!" She slides down the stairs to the couch where her mom rested. "Honey, just leave her alone and watch T.V. with me." Smokey crosses her arms, "yeah sure." She goes into the kitchen and rummages around for a screwdriver. She runs upstairs to the door and begins taking it off its hinges. "I am going to get in your room!" Smokey looks at her unscrewing remembering what she saw on one of those home improvement shows. The door falls flat in the hallway, "haha! I got in sis!" Her sister "You are one hell of a pain in the butt!" Her sister throws a shoe at her and chases her down the hallway and stairs, "mom! She unhinged my door!" Smokey crosses her arms, "you should have let me in!" their mom looks at them, "Snow let your sister hang out with you, Smokey, put the door back! Dinner will be ready in a few." Smokey's mom walks to the kitchen to make food. Smokey puts Snow's door back on its hinges. Later that night her mom calls them to the dinner table to eat spaghetti, meatballs and corn on the cob. Smokey finishes her dinner and cleans up the table. Smokey stays up until 10 to watch a movie then heads to bed following the nightly routine. The power shuts off in the house."Ahhh!" Snow screams. Smokey dives into her closet and closes the shutter door. Smokey hears two gunshots and several heavy footsteps from more than one person followed by a muffled feminine voice. Smokey's breathing becomes shallow and ragged realizing what is happening. A flashlight shines through the closet door. Smokey closes her eyes feeling a tingling feeling on her body like she is being soaked in cold water. A tall man opens the door, and shines a flashlight right on her; he searches the closet looking for Smokey. Then he presses something on his ear, "All clear ma'am." He leaves the room. Why didn't he see me? I was right in front of him. Smokey quietly gets out of the closet to look in the mirror to see nothing. "I'm invisible." She barely whispers.

The microwave dings, indicating her food is ready; she pulls her food out and marks off the date on the calendar. It has been two months since my family, taken from the people.

Smokey quietly eats her food then gives the scraps to her companions then lays down for bed and drifts off into a deep sleep. The reoccurring dream that haunts her constantly comes back each scene and step playing out the same. Smokey waits for the two gunshots, BOOM, BOOM! Then she listens again but hears it a second time BOOM! BOOM!

Smokey sits up realizing that should not have happened. She sees four soldiers come in with some kind of goggles on, Smokey reacts and climbs up onto the ceiling and disappears realizing that these are the same soldiers that raided her family's house two months ago. Two of them enter her small room the look around for a moment the n spot her, "She's on the ceiling!" Smokey looks at her hands, Oh crap! They have FLIER thermal imaging goggles on! One of the soldiers aims their rifle at Smokey. She jumps down onto her bed, as the soldier shoots, "What do you want with me?" she spits at them, the other soldier shoots at her with some type of taser bullet round piercing her hand. Smokey feels a jolt of electricity surge through her rendering her body useless. Smokey tries to speak but fails; movement of her limbs is useless. All she could do is shift her eyes to look around. A soldier reaches up to his ear to activate an earpiece and says in a mechanical voice caused by the full-face helmet, "Madam, we have the quarry." The soldier that shot her picks her up and hoists Smokey over his shoulder. Put Me Down NOW! She wanted to scream so desperately.

Just as they get her out of the door of her apartment, two people clad in black armored outfits ambush the people that are trying to take her. The soldier sets Smokey down to lean against the wall. Watching the fight scene before her noticing that her rescuers are using gifts, like teleportation and electricity. One of her kidnapper's shots miss the rescuer and hit Smokey once more. Smokey receives another strong jolt of electricity; rendered useless of movement, the pain was more unbearable than the first. Smokey takes a deep breath in relief as it finishes its torture, the electricity feeling lingers in her body. She strains to keep awake and watch her rescuers but fatigue hits her in the face, Smokey looks at the one closer to her as it knocks out the last kidnapper, the rescuer reaches up to his ear talking inaudibly. The other crouches in front of Smokey showing no signs of danger and hoists her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Captured, captured again. Her consciences pulls her to sleep, she fights once, more but gives out to her struggle.

Everyone is in a uniform with pocketed cargo pants each in the color of their power with a grey t-shirt on, standing in a line beside their barracks.

Ash walks over to them quickly announcing. "You will be living here for a while, everyone that knew you will get a letter saying that you left to go on an overseas foreign exchange student trip, some of our smartest techies technicians are working on it at this very moment."

Sparks calls out "But what about school? I was the cheer captain on the high school team!"

Then Pyrah speaks out too. "Yeah I was the lead role in the play at my school."

"Yes, yes I know. You will be able to go back to your normal lives after this mess is over, but you may not return all of your lives and all of the people's lives you see around you here are in danger." Ash explains apologetically. "Well, let's get you all in training-" Ash starts to talk.

Smokey awakens noticing that she being dragged in the hands of the two guards that rescued, her she tries to struggle out of their iron grip.

One of the defenders answered, "She won't tell us her name."

Ash touches Smokey's shoulder gently, smiles then takes her hand off it. She is a silent one that's why." Ash turns around then waves her hand over her shoulder gesturing to her group. "She can be in my group."

Go stand over by that girl named Sparks on the right; I will show you around here in a minute.

She nods her head then squeaks four words "my name is Smokey."

Ash yells "Alright well now all of you except Smokey head back to the barracks then get to your stations."

"Alright." Ash says while flinging her hand. "Smokey come with me. Let me show you around."

Ash then guides her to the nearest station. Smokey did not like the idea of living with people she did not know.