What They Call Us

Kei

"But we need to get away from this camp, the further, the better." Gemini said.

"Ronan, Sooth's coming, I can feel his presence," I cry nuzzling against Ronan, trying to get away from the evil presence.

Ronan

Gemini suggests leaving and Kei nuzzles deeper into me, telling me of Sooth's soon arrival. I tighten my grip on him comfortingly.

"Let's go," I voice, looking at the others, "Quickly. Before he shows."

Gemini Lazarus

"Right, I do believe if Sooth get's here were not gone, were dead. Ross going to need you to hold on to that guy for a while if you can." I said.

He nodded and we got moving heading as far and as fast away from the camp as possible. Smoke rises from the camp as it continues to burn, I sling my sword over my shoulder's only imagining Sooth's reaction as he finds out were still alive. We soon come to a lake that's pretty far away since the smoke from the camp has disappeared in the sky, as day turns to evening and a bright orange sky. We all settle down at the lake wanting some time to recover after such a long run or walk or whatever.

Kei

We came to a lake and I looked at Ronan. "I wanna go swimming!" I shout smiling wide. Ronan looked at me, a little confused.

"Kei..." he started to say.

"Stop trying to always protect me! I want to play to!" I say a little harsher than I should've. Ronan looked shock and I apologized. "I just want to go swimming," I say, this time softer. He nodded and I placed my bunny gently down, and ran diving into the water.

Atarin

The strong guy put me down on the shore of a lake and I groaned, analyzing the damage to my tissues. Fortunately there was an exit wound, so I wouldn't have to go digging. Lacie knelt over me. "Help me," I rasped. "Find my notebook and turn to page fifty-two. And bring Gemini."

"I need you to help me cauterize the wound. Sear it closed with lightening."
"I've never done that before," she replied. "I might burn your whole body."
"I can control the reaction," I whispered. "Lacie, read it to me. Reaction hundred and thirty-four."

I grit my teeth as Gemini's powers crackled into life on my shoulder. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air as I moved through multiple layers of muscle and membrane. My concentration nearly slipped several times. When it was done, Lacie grew a flower which released a small bead od nectar onto the wound and the sting immediately lessened.
"Thank you," I murmured, then sat up slowly, rolling my shoulder. It was stiff, but functioned.

Solstice

I finally woke up, shielding my eyes against the sunlight. The headache had finally receded, but my eyes were still blurry. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, taking in the scene. We were close to a lake, and noticing this, I quickly splashed water in my eyes.

Once I was done, I looked up, finally being able to see. Kei and Ronan were playing in the water, and Ross had managed to find us. He sat at the edge, relaxing. Gemini and Lacie stood next to Atarin, probably helping him with the wound I'd seen earlier, while Ingrid and Roe and Ingrid sat close together by the water's edge, letting it run over their feet.

Behind us, a haze of smoke rose innthe distance, signalling the ruined remains of our campsite. Here, everything was peaceful, but I knew that inside, we were all mourning the loss of the rest of our friends, the mutants who'd died or hadn't had enough time to escape the guards.

I sighed softly, tucking my legs underneath me. I still felt tired. Gemini and Lacie came and sat next to me, Gemini sitting between me and Lacie.
"How's Atarin?" I asked.
"It'll take a while for him to heal. But he should be better now. We helped him seal his wound." said Lacie.
I nodded and looked at Gemini. "Where're we going from here, Gem? Mutants are still outlaws."

Lacie

I flash a wide smile at Atarin. "Are you sure your okay? You didn't need to save me..." I told him. I looked around and saw that everything was destroyed. Almost all the trees by the lake. Something inside me broke.

"Oh, my, god." I said, my voice wavering.

Gemini Lazarus

I got up off my feet and foled my arms while looking at the ground, thinking of what to do. It would be hard but sure enough Sooth had to be dealt with sooner or later, how we would get to him was beyond me. I take a deep breath as I see Ronan and Kei having fun in the water, Roe and Ingrid rest there feet in the water from the long run, I was tired myself but my lightning had kept me awake surprisingly. I turn back to Sol passing her by without second thought.

Lacie was finally awake and talking to the guy I had found her with, altho she looked pretty dang tired still. I had an idea but it take everyone here to agree with me on it, to take on Sooth would to take on an army and possibly get killed in the end of it all.

""Where're we going from here, Gem?" Sol asks again.

"I got an idea, but none of you may like it. I propose that we form a group to take on Sooth and his crumy goon's and whoever else he has at his side." I said.

The idea seemed to scare Sol to no end, a look of fright crossed her face, I had suggested some pretty wild thing's in the past. But this was by far the wildest one yet. I take a deep breath to regain some confidence and looked at her as I walk over to her and sat next to her.

"So what do you think?" I asked.

Atarin

"Lacie, don't cry," I said. But she fell forward into my arms and I ended up patting her back awkwardly while she sobbed into my blood-stained shirt. When I looked up, I noticed that all the trees around us were dying. Grass wilted around my legs.

"Lacie," I said. "Lacie! You're doing this, aren't you? Everything's dying." She nodded, then her face screwed up and more tears flowed down her cheeks. I wiped one off with a finger, watching it refract the sunlight into a thousand little beams.
"Let's go down to the lake. I'm sorry about your friends who died. Really."
She nodded and sniffled, and I pulled her to her feet. She leaned on me as we drifted down to the shore. The little boy was playing in the water and laughing.
"He could have been one of them," she whispered. "He might have died so easily."
I gave her a direct look and my eyes hardened. "This will not happen again. Sooth will not kill one of us again. If he does, I will destroy him. Him and his father."

Lacie

My sadness came to me and I leaned against Atarin as he wiped my tears. The grass wilted around me. Tree's branches fell and I sighed, "Look what he did." I whimpered, looking at all the burned trees. "He...He destroyed them." I sobbed. Vines curled up around my ankles and took away my stress. Everything was burned. I sat on the edge of the lake, my knees brought up to my face. "I couldn't protect them." I whispered, tracing my finger along the edge of the water.

Why couldn't I have saved them?

Solstice

"I got an idea, but none of you may like it. I propose that we form a group to take on Sooth and his crummy goons and whoever else he has at his side." Gem said.

For a second I felt terrified, remembering Sooth's father. How would we manage him? None of us could hurt him in any way. We'd tried one by one, and all of us had fallen.
Gem sat back next to me,"So, what do you think?"
I looked at her, and then looked around. My face hardened looking at the plants dying because of Lacie's sadness, and at the relaxed look on Kei and Ronan's faces. I could see the calm surrounding Roe and Ingrid as well.

I looked back at her and said,"Let's do it. But lets let the others have a single night of peace at least. Laic, Ingrid and Kei, not the least. They've just been through a rollercoaster of emotions. And you too. You look exhausted, Gem."
She laughed and looked at me. "So do you, Sol. So do you."

Kei

Ronan played with me in the water. We were having so much fun when Gem called him over to her. I watched him leave, and continued to swim. This was the most fun I'd had since we left out home.

Roe Pendragon

I sat on the ground by the lake while Kei and Ronan splashed in the water. It had gone from snow last night to fifteen degrees Celsius today, if I had to guess. I wondered if it had been caused by another mutant somewhere. Oh well. As long as it was sunny and we had a moment's peace, I felt that I should enjoy it as best I could.

I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my socks, and rolled up my pants to my knees. I leaned back on my hands, closing my eyes and soaking in the sunlight. I let myself rest, but I kept a watchful ear on the situation, and paid attention to the emotions of my comrades. Luckily for me, everyone but Lacie was feeling peaceful, and even she seemed to be healing.

Sol and Gem discussed plans, and I heard them say we should stay the night. I smiled, and settled more comfortably into my position as Ingrid dangled her feet in the water. This was the only halfway-good time I'd had in a while, and I was going to take full advantage of it.

Atarin

"I know you feel powerless sometimes," I murmured, "but we cannot despair. Not us, Lacie. It is up to us mutants to prove to the world that we don't deserve to be persecuted like this."

"Atarin!"
The voice came from the tree line. My head snapped up.
"Atarin! Over here!"
Lacie looked up too. And the small body appeared from between the trunks, with the familiar shy smile on her small, dirt-smeared face. I half stood up, not believing my eyes. Then the explosive gait gave it away. Lizzy hurled herself into my arms, knocking me backwards.
"That must have been a hundred metres in under thirteen seconds," I whispered into her hair. "You broke the record."
I felt how thin and small she was and tears coursed down my own cheeks.
"Mom and Dad—" she choked from somewhere around my navel, "they're dead, brother. I saw them kill them."

My senses dulled. I felt like I was under water. Everything happened slowly.
"I'm so glad I found you," she whispered.
I just kept hugging her, ignoring the growing pain from my shoulder. She shouldn't have come. This was no place for defenceless children. Dead. It was no less than what I should have expected, I told myself.

I took a deep breath and released her.
"Lacie, this is my little sister, Lizzy. She's eleven," I said calmly. "Lizzy, this is Lacie. Lacie is a mutant like me."
"Ooh," Lizzy cried, enraptured. "What's your power?"
Lacie gave a surprised laugh. "I control nature. Look." She showed Lizzy her wrist. A snake slithered off her and into Lizzy's hand. Lizzy giggled, stroking the snake with a finger. I gave a weak smile as they continued to chatter happily. Lizzy gasped as Lacie grew vines and flowers to surround us.

Lacie

When I saw Lizzy I couldn't help but smile. I grew flowers around us as I took Ivy back and she wrapped around my upper arm. I sat back down against a tree and started playing with the grass, dipping my toes into the water. Atarin and Lizzy sat next to me and I flashed a smile, growing a flower in my palm. Gem and Sol were talking behind us and I swallowed, taking my mind off the thought. Me and Atarin's hands brushed for a split second and I went pale, looking away.