Sparrow

chapter one

The cold air bit my toes as I shivered in the cold. My thin, white gown barely added any warmth. As soon as the lights in the house turned off, I made my way down to the pool and dipped my toes in the warm water, letting the blueness surround my foot like a blanket.

Everyone was gone, including the girl who had disappeared. It wasn't safe for anyone in this small town. From what I had observed, it was too small for something like this.

The boy was gone; I wasn't strong enough to find him after he disappeared. Eleven was hiding somewhere, unless she was caught by Papa.

My forearms tingled with something that wasn't just cold.

It was here. Parting my lips slightly, a small, white cloud forming next to my mouth, I held out my arm. Warm blood dripped from my nose as the nearest trash can lid flew to my hand.

The monster stumbled forward, the flaps of its face folded inward. It could still see me, a rippling growl erupting from its throat. The silvery skin on its back reflected the moon light as it made its way towards me.

I pulled the monster towards me without touching it, something I had been able to do all my life. Eleven could do it too, that's why she was put in isolation.

Papa took an interest in her ability to locate things without knowing where they were. I wasn't used as much because I was "a liability". Ever since I was born, I had the power to connect to another mind or consciousness to understand and hear it; almost like reading the intelligence like a book and communicating with it.

That was something the monster knew because he had headed for me first. Eleven was still in the salt bath and I was in my room, drawing another picture for my wall. I had to kill the first one. I'm not sure how I did it. Papa called it an abomination and now, looking at it, that was what I decided to call it.

Abomination reared back as I grabbed it midair and sent it flying into a tree. He squealed in pain but stood up again like an angry bull. I forgot all about being cold. Abomination charged again and I forced him backwards, all the way into the woods where I couldn't see him anymore.

My legs were shaking and I dropped the trash can lid with a clatter as I collapsed on the pavement. The frigid air was overwhelming and I gave in to the urge to sleep.

Curling up in the empty trash bin, I shivered myself to sleep, just as the sky started to lighten. My eyelids fluttered closed, that feeling of being hot and cold at the same time filling me up.

Tomorrow I would find Eleven. I was just beginning to realize what Papa meant when he told my doctor that community means a lot to "them". The "them", of course, was me and Eleven. There had been others but I don't know what happened to them. In my mind, they all died gruesome deaths, like the ones I read about in the books Papa let me read. Every single book was about the future and he told me that if I didn't show him what I could do, the world would end up like that.

Now, I wasn't so sure.

Maybe if-

"Hey!"

I jumped; my heart leapt into my throat.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?"

I cowered deeper into the trash can when I saw the pair of white shoes that the voice belonged to. My eyes made their way up the person's body.

White shoes. Blue jeans. Striped collared shirt. Blue jacket. Brown hair.

And he was crouching down. "I said, who are you."

I opened my mouth to speak but the dryness in my throat stuck to my tongue. Instead, I coughed. "Six," I whispered.

"What?" The boy leaned in closer. He was tall with a face I was sure looked gentle when he wasn't looking at girls hiding in their trash cans.