From Ashes We Rise (The Darkest Minds)

The Curse

New York. 5 AM Tuesday Morning.

I stuffed my clothes into my backpack. My heart was racing as I heard the screams and explosions. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and whipped around. My little brother was just standing behind me, staring out the window with a horrified look. I grabbed his hand and ran down the stairs. I looked out the window and saw the shadow-like creatures roaming the streets, killing everything they saw. . .everyone they saw. I turned and grabbed Manny's shoulders.
"Look, we have to get out of here!" "What about Mom and---." I shook my head and squeezed his shoulders. "They're gone, Manny! We have to take care of ourselves! Okay? Now let's go!" As soon as I grabbed the doorknob, he pulled me back. I quickly looked at him.
"We're just Greens, sissy! We wont make it past the PSFs!" I shook my head.
"Hey, don't ever doubt yourself! We're smart! We can get out of this!" Tears slowly started to fall down his face. I could see him trembling. I quickly opened the doorknob and bolted out the house. We ran past the
shadow like creatures that were the PSFs. I could hear them shout at our presence. Limbs from trees snaked my face as I ran. All of a sudden, my muscles tensed up and I stopped in my tracks. Manny sped in front of me and then stopped.
"Sissy?!" he yelled. His eyes were huge. I tried to move but I couldn't. Something was holding me back. "Go!" I screamed. "You have to go!"
"No! First mom and dad and now you! I'm not leaving you!" He ran up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I can't leave you!" I shook my head as tears started to gush over my eyelids.
"Please! All curses can be broken, including this one. If you want to get me back, then you have to leave!" He looked up at me with that terrified look in his eyes. "Go!" He sobbed and turned around. I sighed in relief as he ran and disappeared into the woods. My heart started to pound faster as I heard the leaves crunch underneath someone's feet. The PSFs slowly emerged from the woods, surrounding me. A low chuckle came from behind me. My heart sank to my feet. He walked into my view. My breathing became shallow as I stared into his orange eyes. His pale lips spread apart as he smiled. He tilted his head.
"My sweet child," he said, his voice honeyed, strong and smooth, but I just knew that there was something evil and dark about him. He slowly walked closer to me. My heart was banging against my ribcage.
"What color are you, dear?" He raised his pale hand. I could feel the coldness coming off of his palms. He placed his freezing hand on my cheek and I cried out on agony as I felt my spine burn. My muscles clamped together as the cold bit at them. He gasped. "An Orange!" he yelled. He finally pulled his hand away. I gasped as the pain subsided. He smiled again. "I've never had another Orange before."

(Danni's POV)

North Carolina. Thursday night

I looked out at the purple sky. The sun had set a few minutes ago. I breathed in the fresh air and smiled. "Sapphire!" Maddy yelled. I looked over and saw her sitting on the roof of the jeep. I smiled. She calls me Sapphire because to her she sees it spelled as safire. I chuckled. It's adorable. Even though the stone is blue and not red, I just go with it.
"Yes, Maddy?"
"Try it!" I sighed and shook my head. "If I did anything, they'd know that there were kids in this area," I said. "It's okay, Sap. You just gotta dig deep!" She hopped off of the hood and walked up to me. I rolled my eyes. As if she knew how to do this. She's seven and a green She still doesn't fully understand that we're hiding from adults. She walked up to me and grabbed my ankle. She pulled my leg further from my other one. "Widen your stance!" She looked up and pointed to my face. "And breathe!" I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Danni! Maddy! We got adults!" I looked over and saw Meg waving us over in the jeep. I looked over and saw two men stumbling out of a bar about a football field away. Maddy and I quickly got low and crawled over to the Jeep. We both jumped into the back seat and Meg started to drive. Meg was an adult. I think she's thirty or thirty-five. Somewhere around there. She took us in after she found us living in the woods. We've been in hiding for over a year now. I pulled my mask further over my mouth. It's weird. I've had my powers since I was six but I barley know how to control them. Every single time I try, it just destroys everything in it's path. I escaped the camp by burning my way out. We finally made it back to our house. It was in the middle of the woods. It was well hidden too. I hopped out of the jeep and helped Maddy out.
"There should still be some dinner left, if the boys haven't eaten it all." I smiled.
"I'm not that hungry," I mumbled. "Yeah, Sap. I'm just tired. Can you read me a bedtime story?" I looked down at her and nodded. We got inside and I could hear music blasting from the kitchen. I smiled and looked back down at Maddy.
"Go get your PJ's on. I'll be up there in a bit." She nodded and ran up the stairs. I smiled as I walked into the kitchen and saw Logan and Matt literally dancing and making the tupperware float. They were both blues. I laughed. Matt looked at me and smiled.
"What's up, Rose?" he said. I laughed. He calls me rose cause I'm a red. Roses are red.