Freaks of Nature

An Unexpected Introduction

[ This chapter is still being worked on and edited. Some parts may change. ]

Harper ignored the people who groaned as she stopped abruptly to scan the tunnel in both directions. They hadn't left a single trace- even the cup had vanished from where it was moments before.

She glanced at the flower once more, almost as a way to reassure herself their encounter was real and she wasn't going mad. It had been a full minute before she decided to carry on, despite the fact she couldn't spot anyone who looked remotely like either of the pair.

Throughout the rest of her journey through the subway, she couldn't silence her lingering thoughts.

"What happened to them?"
"Am I the only one who can see them?"
"Will the same thing happen to me?"
"Am I going... crazy?"

Soon she found herself sat on the worn seat of the train, leaning forwards with her elbows on her knees, and her palms to her cheeks. She couldn't help but overhear the chatter of adults and children around her- one particular conversation caught her attention though; It was about her.

"Three of them... authorities should do something... they're unpredictable and violent... don't want my children near them..."

Harper slowly pulled the hood of her jacket over her face, and her eyes drifted to the floor, she was surprised the woman hadn't noticed she was there. Harper was unaware she wasn't the only one knowingly being talked about.

A pair of worn combat boots tapped on the edge of a seat, directly in her line of sight. Harper knew people had got off at the last stop and two others had taken their place, but she was paying little attention to them at the time.

Harper looked up hesitantly and couldn't help but shrink back into her seat when she realised that it was the two strangers from before- except, not exactly.

She had only recognised them by the way they looked at her, almost expectantly. Most of their clothing was completely different than before- but where or how they'd managed to get changed baffled Harper- as did their sudden appearance.

Without his cap, Harper could see the boy's face more clearly- he was quite handsome with messy hair that surprisingly suited his strong features and piercing grey eyes.

The girl's hair- which was now as beautiful as Harper imagined it could be, was pulled into a ponytail, with a few shorter wisps of hair hanging freely at her hairline- her eyes, however, were slightly more blue, and far less striking.

"Surely it's not that surprising, is it? After all... you know what we are," the boy chuckled as he leant forward, raising an eyebrow- taking note of the startled looked on Harper's face.

Despite the fact his voice was little over a whisper, he was hardly making an effort to keep their conversation private- which would've been hard anyway. The two women who were talking about them earlier had just slipped away at the last stop the train made- which was likely not where they intended to get off.

"You let them see us?" the girl hissed, observing the women leave, then turning sharply to look at the vacant seat next to Harper.

A calm, monotone voice responded, only inches away from Harper's ear, making her body go stiff and her eyes widen in shock.
"I couldn't stand listening to them prattle on."

"You still don't trust me, do you?" she sighed, her eyes flickering from Harper to the space next to her, "I'm telling you- she's safe."

"You said that last time," the voice groaned.

Harper stared at the seat next to her, and out of nowhere, a figure appeared instantly, causing Harper to flinch- an older boy, with his feet on the edge of the seat and his arms wrapped around his knees. He had very short hair, which had been dyed a vibrant blue, as well as thick black eyebrows. His ears were so heavily pierced, there was more metal visible on his them than skin. He glared at Harper in a suspicious and intimidating way, furrowing his brows.

"Last time... I wasn't-" the girl stuttered, putting the palms of her hands to her forehead, and shaking it side to side, as though it would clear her memory.

"Skylar, it's okay. We've been over this already..." the boy besides her whispered, attempting to wrap his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. Skylar pushed him away with her elbow gently; hesitating slightly before doing so.

"Julius," the boy started, his voice now containing a noticeable edge, "that wasn't necessary." Julius huffed in response, and moved a hand to fiddle with one of the many metal rings in his ear.

There was a long moment of silence before Skylar cleared her throat, "I'm assuming you have a lot of questions, it appears you don't often mingle with your kind."

"I'm not like you!" Harper insisted, spitting the words out like they were a sour taste in her mouth. She couldn't admit to being like them, especially with other people around, it would be far too dangerous.

Julius chuckled a little, "Maybe you were correct Sky- or this is just a tactic we've never seen before."

Harper tilted her head in confusion, for a while now she had been almost convinced this was some strange dream- but everything felt far too real.

"What?" Julius grumbled, "Do we really have to explain all of this to you?"

"Perhaps here isn't the best place," Skylar reasoned.