Luminescence

Thirteen.

"Your sword will forever be part of you. Summoning it is just one of the first challenges out of many you'll face with it."

Priscilla was now training me with my sword in the restricted hallway. I guessed that whatever this training involved, she didn't want Wes or any other security members to see.

I held the sword out defensively, as some kind of training robot hovered in the air, circling my position. Apparently swords could also be used to deflect bullets, rather than just sword fights between two people. The hovering robot fired bullets that were practically harmless to a mutant. It couldn't pierce your skin, but it could cause a major sting on your body as a punishment for missing the block.

As a mutant, our abilities allowed us to sense things in a quicker manner and our reflexes were fast beyond belief.

Priscilla watched me closely as I reflected one, now two bullets at a time. I was really good at this.

"Very good, my dear. Now onto the challenging part," her eyes glimmer with excitement. "You have to learn how to put the sword away, and summon it once more for future battles."

"Let me guess, I twirl it again then it goes away?" I say spinning the heavy sword between my fingers once more. And sure enough, the sword mechanically collapses back into its original pencil form. Now that is pretty cool.

Priscilla claps. "Just like a magic trick. That sword was crafted many years ago by a mutant with a knack for crafting swords. Sounds like a ridiculous power to have, right?" She chuckles momentarily. "The pencil will reappear if you say or think the simple word, write. You try now. Throw the pencil across the room and summon it."

I threw the pencil so that it landed in the far corner of the room, then thought the word write in my head. Suddenly the pencil disappears with a click. I feel around my body for it anywhere, and moving my fingers around a bit I realized it was wedged between my thumb and pointer finger once more.

"Holy moly, this is absolutely incredible," I say breathlessly. Maybe being a mutant really wasn't so bad after all. And I thought mutants were just a bunch of wanted criminals before this. They are so much more than that.

And with these new powers I was discovering, I was becoming more confident with myself. And that confidence, was just one of the many things I feared.

______________

As I sat in my bed criss-cross applesauce, I shivered. The heat systems were strangely down tonight, and my roommate Elaine was on duty since she was a technician for the Rebels. That left me alone.

Priscilla had urged to bring in somebody else to come watch over me, but I reassured her that I would be fine. I was beat from today, and if I slid into bed I would fall asleep immediately. Those were the exact words I told her. But secretly, I wanted Hudson to appear.

Yes—after weeks of despising him, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I felt guilty. Whatever reform he went through must've beat him up good, because he hadn't appeared for a while—all because of me.

The only ideal solution would be for him to leave the Capitol. That was the only way that the Plague would stop abusing him simply for his powers. But of course Hudson, being the blind man he was, he couldn't see the fact that the Plague was using him.

I was waiting for him on my bed, as I cuddled in with a thick blanket Priscilla had given me for the night. It would be now or never, I thought to myself, and released a shaky breath.