Chapter 1: The Fall
I stared down at the 1,200 foot drop. I could barely see the people running around, calling for taxis, talking on their cell phones. New York fascinates me, but not as much as the view from the Empire State Building does. I started to turn to go back to my family, huddled around a tour guide, when a hand grabbed me. Before I could scream, another hand was forced upon my mouth. I struggled to shout for help, but before I could I was lifted and thrown off the building.
I heard the cries and yells of other people who were watching, horrified, as I plummeted towards the ground. Faces popped over the edge as they stared at me hurtling towards my death. My eyes locked with another woman who was shoving forward to get a better view.
“HAZEL!” my mom screeched.
She desperately tried to reach out and grab me, but I was already tens of feet below her, and falling farther away. I glanced behind me and my stomach lurched. The ground seemed to be coming closer and closer with every second. I was afraid to blink, to miss my last moments of life. The air whipping around me stung my eyes, my face, my body. My heart seemed to be ripping out of my chest with each thundering beat. I couldn't let myself die. I wouldn't. I frantically kicked out, flailed my arms, tried to do anything and everything that would stop my fall. My mind flashed back to my past, trying to remember ever detail of my life before I smashed against the asphalt. My friends smiling and laughing. I would never see them again. Nor would I see my family. I remembered all the times I had with them. All the times when I was little and Mom boasted about my wonderful imagination, of how I claimed I was a princess, of how I had a pet unicorn, of how I could fly...
This last thought jolted through me like an electric shock. A sharp memory flashed before me. A memory which I had carefully tried not to think of, not to remember.
I was young; only 5 or 6. I had broken a plate, and therefore Mom took away my favorite teddy bear. She placed him carefully on top of the highest cabinet, where I would never be able to seize him. I tried and tried to reach with my little hand, but it was too high. So I jumped. Up into the air I went, only a foot, but something amazing had happened. I hadn't come back down. I stayed there, floating in midair, shocked. Then realization pounded through me. I looked up and stared at my teddy, willing myself to go there. No sooner had the words entered my mind, when I shot up, up, up, straight to my stuffed animal. I commanded myself to go to the ground, and I floated softly downwards. I was so ecstatic, I started flying all around the room, zooming up and down, around couches and chairs, under tables. I couldn't wait to show my best friend at school.
The next day, I waited until recess, then I seized Angela's hand and raced behind a tree. “Look what I can do!” I had gleefully exclaimed, and I took off, racing through the air around the tree a few times then gracefully landing back on the soft grass.
Angela, however, didn't react the way I thought she would. Instead of clapping happily, she was backing away, as though I was a monster. I stepped forward.
“Angela?”
She stared at me for a long time. Then finally she raised a shaking finger, pointed it at me, and opened her mouth.
“Freak!” she screeched. “Weirdo! You shouldn't be able to do that! It's not normal! You're a freak!”
And she sprinted back to the playground, away from me.
The rest of the year I ate lunch alone. Angela had been my only friend. She hadn't told anyone of me flying, I could tell, because no one confronted me about it. Unfortunately, she seemed to be spreading awful rumors about me. Whenever there weren't teachers around, I was bombarded with insults.
“Nose picker!”
“Bed wetter!”
“Crybaby!”
I went home every day feeling miserable. I told my mom about it. She asked me how and why the rumors began, so I started my story from the beginning. I was talking about how I was showing Angela I could fly when she interrupted me.
“You flew? Oh, honey I think you just had a dream.”
That shut me up. I had thought that whatever your mom tells you, it must be true. I figured maybe I had fallen asleep, and I decided not to speak of it again.
But now that I was facing death, maybe I really was flying that day. At least, I had to try. I looked back up at the top the Empire State Building, and concentrated. I felt my self slowing down until I came to a complete stop. Then I shot forward. Back, all the way up, to the top, the wind whistling in my ears, the sun beaming down on me, I didn't stop until I had reached my family again. I could see their shocked faces, hear their gasps, and they parted as I flew back over to where they stood, stumbling a little as I landed.
Chapter 2: Kratos
Regaining my balance, I turned around and grinned at my mom. That's when I noticed everyone was gaping at me, their jaws widening so much they seemed to hit the ground. Silence seemed to thickly cover everyone. No one moved. No one made a sound.
My stomach dropped. Was I going to be an outcast once more? I felt blood rushing to my face and I turned to run back to the elevator, away from all these staring faces, when I felt something tugging at my jeans. I looked down and saw a little girl, no more than 6, with hair so blonde it seemed to be white, gazing back at me.
“How did you do that, miss?” she squeaked.
I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. Frowning, I shook my head. How did I fly? How did it all start? Was I hit by a meteor when I was little? Was I bitten by a radioactive spider?
I laughed. The abnormality of this situation was unbelievable. I stared at the girl once more, then at my family, then walked swiftly back inside. There I hit the down button on the elevator, and waited. All of a sudden I heard soft, pattering feet behind me, so I glanced over my shoulder. There was the little girl, chasing after me. I kneeled down. She walked right up to me and whispered in my ear.
“Miss,” she breathed, “My brother is special too.”
“Oh really?” I said, amused. “How is he special?”
“He is super fast. Much faster than my daddy's car. He left this year, to go to a special school.”
I considered this for a second. Could there be others with special powers just like me? Or is this kid just making things up?
“This school,” I asked. “What's it called?”
“Kratos School for Superhuman Powers, or KSSP.”
“Huh. Hey, you're not making this up, are you?” I questioned.
“Oh no, ma'am, my daddy says lies only lead to trouble.”
The elevator behind me opened, and I stood up.
“Thanks,” I told her, stepping into the elevator. “Thanks for everything.”
But by this time, my family had made their way over to me, and walked briskly into the elevator. No one else followed, but as the doors slid shut, I saw many faces peering inside curiously. As the elevator jolted down, my mother finally opened her mouth to speak.
“What...how...,” she began, then shook her head, unable to find the right words.
“I don't know how I did it,” I explained, “but I have been able to do it for a while.”
And I launched into the story of when I was little, of how I wanted my teddy bear so badly, and somehow managed to fly up and grab it.
When I finished, she only gazed at me, as if through a haze.
The silence thickened. It was getting uncomfortable, so I announced, “There's a school for people like me. People with powers.”
Mom seemed to have recovered her voice, “Really? There are others? What's this school called?”
“Kratos School for Superhuman Powers, KSSP,” I replied.
The doors slid open, and together my family and I walked back all the way to our car. No one spoke the whole way, but my younger sister kept opening her mouth and then quickly closing it again, as if she wanted to say something but somehow couldn't. When we finally reached the van, clambered in, and pulled out of the parking lot, my dad spoke.
“Do you want to go?” he said, glancing at me.
“Huh?” I replied, completely confused.
“Do you want to go to this school, er...Karton is it?” he asked again.
“Kratos,” I corrected. “And maybe.”
But now that I thought about it, going to a school like that might be fun. I mean, now that my powers were once again discovered, why hold them back?
When we got back to our hotel we were staying at that summer, it was nearly dark. I immediately got ready for sleep, then jumped in bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. No sooner had my head hit the pillow when I fell asleep. That night I had dreams of flying, falling, and memories from when I was young...
When I awoke that morning I got up excited. Today I was going to find out everything I could about Kratos. I walked to the bathroom and stared back at my 15 year old reflection. I had slightly wavy brown hair that went past my shoulders and side bangs that settled just above my right eye and slanted down towards my ear. I also had a hourglass shaped body, a cute button nose, large electric green eyes, and full lips that nicely framed my perfect white teeth. Yep, it seems as though, with my looks, I would be the most popular girl at my school. But everyone seems to avoid me. No, this doesn't have anything to do with those rumors Angela spread; I moved out of that school years ago. People just tend to find me strange.
When I went down for breakfast I found my mom there sipping coffee. When she spied me her face broke into a grin.
“Oh, good, you're awake,” she said. “I did some research about Kratos. It seems like a very nice school. You take a lot of the usual classes; math, english, science, along with some new ones like training, helping, and controlling. Oh, and you will be staying there for the entire year, so if you do decide to go, you need to bring a lot of your items. Here, I printed out a list.”
She handed me a piece of paper with a column of typed words.
“And here's your daily schedule if you do decide to go.”
She handed me another sheet of paper.
“Oh, and of course, a picture of the school.”
The last page she handed me possessed a photo of a large, wide, castle-like building, with tan bricks, many rows of windows, and surrounded by grass. In the front sat a single fountain, made of marble, and in the shape of a plump man. He was about 5 feet 8 inches, with a bushy beard and balding head. His tiny eyes seemed to squint over the spectacles resting on his rather large nose, and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. I hoped he wasn't the principal of the school. I glanced back at my mom. “Yea, I think I'm going to this school. Thanks for your help.”
“Oh, good!” she exclaimed, “I'll call them and tell them to expect a new student in the fall!” She immediately picked up the phone and started dialing. As I ducked out of the room, I heard her saying, “Yes, Hazel would like to join your school. What can she do? I'll tell you what she can do! My little girl can fly!”
The rest of the summer passed pretty quickly. Breaking the news to my friends was hard. They cried and made me promise I would email and call them every day. I spent the last month of summer with them, so I would have tons of memories to remember.
Finally the day came. Grabbing my bulging bags, I hobbled to the car and put them in, then clambered in myself. My sister, Rachel, followed close behind. Mom and Dad stepped in, and together, we all drove to my new school.
