Ebony

ch. 01 | beginning

I woke up in the middle of the woods where the sun crept through the openings of the trees. I quickly got up and I pushed myself up as I started frantically looking around. And so, I began running not knowing where I was going, but eventually I ended up bumping into a married couple. I assumed they were about thirty years old or so and they made this shocking reaction. At first I didn't know why until I looked at my hands, my feet and my outfit. I look like a poor, orphan child. I was dirty, my clothes ripped and I wasn't even wearing shoes including my hair being a mess. Rather than choosing to run away they had helped at that moment. The only time I actually felt something, but also the start of a new life. And the beginning to Ebony.

* * *

"Good morning," I said to my parents.

They smiled and responded the same way. I sat on the kitchen island as they placed a plate of pancakes in front of me, handing me a silver fork along with syrup.

My mom sighed, "London, you'll be starting school today, but we won't be able to pick you or drive you so, we decided that you would take the bus."

I nodded as my hands began to burn and the silverware began to melt on my hand in which I quickly hid away into my pocket. It wasn't ideal, but I couldn't let them know and even now I'm still trying to figure it out. Especially finding out about how my whole life whisked by without any knowledge of my past and even when I sleep at night I get these weird, ominous dreams which feel real. But I have to get rid of that because I'm someone else.

"Okay, I'll gather my things and get to the bus stop, but do you have the bus pass?" I asked.

My dad handed me the bus pass as I took it from his hands and placed it in my backpack that was placed beside me. Afterwards I got up and took my backpack as I gave them my goodbyes. Not knowing they would be my last. I finally arrived at the bus stop and after a couple of minutes of waiting, the bus arrived. So, everyone got to school and as I got off and was walking towards the school entrance I looked to my left, as a bus was driving by in slow motion. It was odd to me that it appeared that way and I felt this impulse to extend my hand out and do something. My hand even had the instinct to do it and I did, but I quickly retracted my arm and time seemed to go back. When it did I quickly walked to the nearest restroom and as I thought of washing my face a person appeared out of nowhere. I looked up and they were gone, but looking back at the mirror I saw my right eye glow with an amber filled color. What the eff?!

I mumbled, "What the hell is happening to me?"

A person had appeared from one of the closed stalls and looked at me in confusion as they walked towards the sink to wash their hands to which they stood beside me. I turned away to grab a paper towel to dry my hands and when I was done I threw it away, but when I had turned they were standing in front of me.

"Can you move? Please," she demanded.

I nodded, though just as I was moving past her she mumbled these Latin words and only got one word out of it 'emittan furorem' translating to unleash. Latin was one of the languages I tried to learn, but didn't get far because summer had ended. It was also the summer where I had to adjust to my surroundings. My parents never told me anything about my past because they know as well as I that I couldn't ever remember. Sometimes when I look at them I recall how we met and I always got this feeling of pity that would ooze off of them. Now, when I was at school I headed to my first period which was art. It was my first day and first time doing art, but when the teacher told us to begin our warm up I had the audacity to draw some sort of person who had hell flames surrounding them. That's when I completed the drawing which became Hades, the god of the underworld.

"You know, London, for a person who's taking beginners art you are very skillful," Ms. Meyers, my art teacher, commented.

She was looking over my shoulder and I flipped to another blank page as I smiled looking at her and continued onto the task at hand. Her aura was clear as I saw her walk away, it was the color maroon, a dark tone of red which mostly signified power, war or love. She could be a combination of showing love on the outside and have a war stirring within her though what bothered me the most was how I was able to see her aura and not the others. How come it's her out of all the people at school. Soon time had consume the whole day and just as I had fallen asleep a dream appeared to me. It began with my art teacher teaching me something and my hand welled up in heat as a fire ignited. It was magic that occurred and I highly doubt it could be possible, but these dreams had always felt real. Then, I woke up the next morning with the usual routine and finally arriving to school, a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere. Fog arose making it harder to see and I felt lost. It was a feeling that I couldn't control because I had been consumed by some darkness. I was filled with overwhelming rage. This unbearable control took over me. I tilted my head as I faced to where the bus would be headed and I extended my hand which curled into a fist as my veins glowed into the same amber color as my eyes had. When that happened I let go and fire had shot out from my right hand, but it was stopped by a glowing, blue shield that pushed the person who had held it, back.

A voice spoke out, "Damn it, you're not supposed to use your power publicly."

I was taken aback as I realized what I had done. When I did I collapsed onto the floor and was now on my knees. Oh my, god. At that moment it crossed my mind if anyone had seen because if they had then I would most likely be shunned or thought of as a freak. Luckily, the person who was once a silhouette in the fog appeared to me and crouched down in front of me as his soft spoken words became mesmerizing.

"Why'd you decided to release your powers?" he asked.

My hand stung as I winced in pain and I pulled on the sleeve of my sweater to cover it up also, just to see if it could somehow stop the pain. He took me by surprise as he took my kind of burnt hand and healed it. I quickly pulled back as soon as he was done. This is getting weird. He got up and reached his hand to me as I took it.