Storm Heart

Aspen

Current time
Aspen
The darkness was startlingly sudden... as if someone had flipped a switch.
I took a step in Troy's direction only to stop at his sudden gasp.
"What?" I questioned.
"Your... eyes..." His voice was faint and disbelieving. "What about them...?" I asked, hesitantly.
"Their black... no color at all..." He replied. I frowned in his general direction. "They can't be... that doesn't just... happen..." I snapped, trying to hide my unease. I listened to the silence that overcame the two of us, listened to my brother's soft breathing, listened to the normally unnoticed sound of chirping crickets...
I allowed my other senses to come out and play. The fact that my vision was gone made me more aware of how complex my other senses were...
"Aspen...?" Troy's soft murmur broke through my concentration and I jerked my head in the direction of his voice.
"Yes?" I replied.
"What does this mean?" He questioned.
"It means I've lost my damn vision!" I snapped, annoyed by how cryptic he was sounding. I sensed my brother shift from foot to foot in unease.
"Well... aren't you going to question the fact that you just randomly, out of the blue lost your vision... and that your eyes are black...?" He retorted in defense. I scowled and shook my head.
"I'll live..." I muttered to myself.
My brother gaped at me in astonishment, though I was unaware of his actions.
"I take it that your silence means something..." I grunted.
I didn't get a response from him, well, a verbal response- he might have nodded or something like that, though I wouldn't have been aware of it if he had...
I heard him move closer and instinctively edged away from him. For some reason, I was unwilling to let him come near me when I couldn't see...
"Aspen, you know it's me..." Troy murmured in response to my unease. "I know that it's you..." I replied, not wanting to explain myself to him at the moment. Troy's silence spoke volumes and I shifted, uneasily.
I jumped at the light touch to my shoulder. "It's just me, sister..." Troy spoke from my right, starting me yet again- I had thought that he was on my other side...
"You act like this is nothing... but I know that this is bothering you..." Troy's tone caught me off guard- he was scared, an emotion that he rarely allowed to show...
"It's just... school...?" I peeped, anxiety lacing my voice.
Troy groaned in realization.
"Dear God, please pray for my sister and help her to make it out of school alive tomorrow..." He muttered.
I smacked him over the head with an unimpressed growl.
"I'm not completely doomed, you know." I grunted, whacking him in the head again.
"We'll see about that..." He murmured, almost too quietly for me to hear.
Whack!
"Would you STOP that?!" Troy snapped.
I heard the sound of a door creaking open and stiffened slightly. I quickly grabbed Troy's arm and dragged him back in the direction of my room.
I managed to run into a wall and rocketed off it, landing on my rear...
"STRANELYS! GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM!" My Uncle roared, causing the both of us to scramble back to our room.
Once the door was safely shut, I collapsed onto my bed.
"You heard him, didn't you..." Troy stated. I nodded wordlessly. All I knew was that I wouldn't have heard my Uncle before I lost my sight...
Sighing, Troy took a seat on the edge of my bed.
"This is going to take some getting used to..." He muttered to himself.
I heard Troy groan in annoyance, having seen the light peeking through our bedroom curtains...
"Should I turn the alarm off?" I questioned my brother, taking a stab at guessing the reason for his annoyance... Troy glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and groaned.
"You know fully well that I can't see that thing..." I grumbled... "It's 5:29." Troy replied in a clipped tone.
5:29
The alarm went off at 5:40...
"I'm getting some sleep..." I grumbled, flopping onto my stomach with another groan, which was muffled by my pillow.
I heard Troy sigh- and then nothing more...
No screaming...
I finally allowed myself to relax...
________________________________
Twenty- one minutes later
~
I jerked awake to the whining sound of my alarm... startled by the fact that I actually managed to sleep without fear...
I heard a low moan and turned to look at my brother- but found that I could only see darkness... I blinked to make sure that my eyes were most definitely open...
They were...
it was then that I remembered the events of last night. I groaned and sat up carefully.
"Good morning, Asp..." Troy yawned. I nodded in acknowledged and stretched my arms above my head.
I stood up from my bed and carefully thought through the layout of my room before making my way across it, lightly brushing my fingertips against any surface to identify them.
I could tell that Troy was still in the room, watching my progress. "I know you're there." I growled lightly. The sound of light footsteps announced Troy's departure.
It took me a surprisingly short amount of time to get from my room to the bathroom.
I was stumped for a few minutes by my inability to find my toothbrush but I managed it and soon found myself sitting at the breakfast table. My Uncle and Cousin deliberately ignored my brother and I.
I returned the favor, choosing to eat in silence and pick at my food.
Managing a fork was hard but doable, nevertheless I took longer to eat than normal...
Which didn't go unnoticed by my cousin...
"What's wrong with you?" He sneered, swiping my fork and throwing it across the room. I heard the fork clatter as it hit the tiled floor.
I turned my stony gaze to him and he leapt back with a shriek...
"Your eyes!" He yelped and I heard his swift retreat.
My uncle glanced up at my face, a feat which I was unaware of...
"He's right..." Doris murmured. I shifted uneasily and carefully picked my way across the room, hoping that my Uncle wouldn't notice my carefulness...
"Your blind..." Doris growled. I nodded and made my escape.
________________________________
Twenty minutes later
~
I stood outside with Troy while we waited for the bus.
I heard the rumble of the vehicle long before Troy saw it round the corner.
"Let me help you..." Troy murmured in my ear. I shook my head in disagreement as the bus came to a standstill. I pushed past my brother and lightly touched the railing to orient myself.
I walked up the steps and sat down in the first seat I came to- not realizing my mistake until too late.
"Normally people ask before they sit down... but I don't mind..." The stranger murmured softly in my ear.
I shuddered, recognizing the voice of the person who I had mistakenly sat next to.
Maximus...
"Whatever... just keep to your side of the seat..." I growled as my escape plan drove away with the bus...
"You were the one who sat here..." Max replied with a shrug.
I knew that he shrugged because I was so close to him that I literally felt his shoulder move against my own. I bit back an angry retort, seeing as there was really no point, considering that my actions were against me.
I grumbled in annoyance,  staring into space before I instinctively glanced at the window and at the scenery that I couldn't see...
"Enjoy the view?" Max questioned. I could practically see the smirk on his face.
I jerked my head around to stare at the seat in front of me, even though I couldn't see it...
I got no response from the boy except for a light chuckle, which only annoyed me further.
Ignoring him, I reached out to lightly touch the leathery seat fabric and gently ran my fingers over it, memorizing the pattern.
"What cha doing?" The boy next to me startled me by quickly touching my hand before drawing it back to his side. I jerked my head around to glare at him in disbelief and anger.
Had he just taken advantage of my blindness?!
"Just wondering why you're so interested in the seat fabric..." He continued uncertainty.
"Because I may never see it again." I ground out, biting my tongue on the other words that I wanted to say. "What are you talking about?" Maximus scoffed "You could see the last time we talked."
I shook my head and continued to stare into the nothingness that had taken the place of my vision...
"The fact that you didn't react as quickly to me touching you as you normally would have does suggest that your sight's a bit off..." Max muttered to himself.
"Ahh, you've learned to add two and two." I replied sarcastically.
"The fact that you can't see doesn't seem to have changed your attitude towards me any..." The boy grunted, unimpressed.
I smirked at him, relishing the sound of his annoyed huff.
I feel the bus as it starts to come to a slow, jerky stop and quietly stand.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Maximus questioned, smirk practically tangible.
"Away from you." I replied, grabbing my bag and starting to walk away...
Only to hear the sound of my bag ripping and the thunking of my books hitting the floor.
"MAXIMUS!" My brother's voice was beyond furious. I whipped around with a hiss of anger, turning my blazing eyes on Max, hearing him scramble away from my bag...
My brother arrived and promptly helped me pick up my books. "Thanks." I said curtly before taking my stuff away from him and walking down the bus steps and into the school.
It was then, as I was carrying my books and broken bag that I realized how long today was going to feel...