What They Call Us

Ronan

"I'm the one who kills you first," Kei whispers.

His eyes roll back and he passes out in my arms as I sit there, frozen. Looking at Kei, my feelings toward him change. I drop him accidentely, and stand up shaking. My little brother, the one I always would protect, would kill me. I can't look at him the same. He seemed to smile when he said it.I know it was his powers, the bloodlust inside him. Those visions probably are starting to change him.

Then I remember him being with Sooth, how that's changed him. I shiver and pick him up, still lost in thought. I walk over to Gemini and can't bring myself to tell her, though she's dealing with her own issues. The guy... Kris, I think is his name, is tied up in vines, quickly beginning to escape him, while Gemini interrogates him. I tell her to stop, to just keep an eye on him, and hope she listens. Lacie and Atarin head towards the wheat field as a scream pierces the air.

My head feels like it's splitting in every direction, the world around me moving faster than I would have liked. Images pass before my eyes and I set Kei down at my feet, running a hand through my hair.

"Everyone stop!" I shout, closing my eyes as my head pounds, "Just stop..."

I hesitate before pointing ahead, showing the rest of them the stumbling image of familiarity. I hope it's not just me seeing it... The others turn to the figure, which makes out to be that of a kid our age.

"Is that... Arah?" someone whispers.

I drop to the ground and take Kei back in my arms, letting everyone else tend to things. His words flood back in my mind, and I can't help but think they're true.

Arah 

I wake up slowly, the burnt remains of the camp lay around me. I can see one of Sooth's agents leave the room, 
"No mutants, just bodies." he says, Sooth nods.
I have to get out of here
I figure the other's have left, so I slip away out of the camp. Itps hard to discern which direction they went, but eventually I figure a direction and follow it. 
The trek was long and horrible, soon I see  signs of there passing.  
I try to find water wherever I stop, but food is scarce. I resort to floating above the ground with my telekinesis.
Finally after weeks if not months of tracking, I come up on a farm house. A bunch of kids rush to see me as I stagger into view, 
"Is that... Arah?" I hear someone say, 
I fall and everything fades to black. 

Atarin

I clicked the lighter, not allowing the appearance of the new girl distract me as I drew oxygen and hydrogen from the atmosphere, and a wide circle of wheat burst into flame. Thick black smoke filled the air. I heard another scream from inside the contracting band of fire.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Lacie looked very pale.
"I'm fine," she swallowed.
"Is it the burning plants?"
She nodded.
"It'll be over soon."

As we approached, I allowed a gap to form in the ring, and shifting my lighter to a steadier grip, led the way into the interior. I cleared the smoke from the air. A small girl was curled up between the stalks of wheat, shaking. I grabbed her arm roughly and snuffed out the last of the flames. Matted brown hair covered her back. Using the lighter, I lifted her chin. After a little resistance, she showed her face. It was dirty, tear-streaked and freckled, with pair of pure blue eyes. All this wasted energy for a little girl. I pulled her to her feet and took in the small frame, torn clothes and forlorn look. A suspicion formed inside me.
"She's a mutant, isn't she?" said Lacie, struck with the same idea.
"What's your freak?" Lizzy asked, poking her with her knife.
"Don't play with that," I muttered. "It's not a toy."
The girl was silent.
"Well?" I snapped.

Hope

~ "Onee-chaaan?" Hope said nervously, as the people who had seen her get closer.

"It's ok Hope, just wait. If they attack you fly, ok? Just stay cal-"

The wheat went up in flames in a circle. It immediately got closer and as it did Hope screamed and screamed.

"Hope! Hope, calm down! Fly, ok? just try!"

Hope was too far gone, to scared to do much of anything but scream.

"Ok, ok hand over control, ok Hope? I'll get us out of this."

Hope nodded. A shudder ran through her body, and despite the approaching heat she shivered. She opened her eyes to gray. Breathing hard she spread out her wings, but she was too exhausted from the change to fly.

"Onee-chan!" Hope screamed "The Bad-One!"

Elizabeth shuddered. Oh no, she thought, Not now! She can't come out now!

Before the people broke into the clearing, the last shudder went through her.

One of the strangers grabbed her roughly my the arm and lifted up her head to make her show her face. She opened her blue eyes.

"She's a mutant, isn't she?" a second said

"What's your freak?" the third poked her with her knife.

"Don't play with that," the first muttered. "It's not a toy."

Claudia barely heard the first. For a moment her face distorted beyond human definition with rage, but it went as quickly as it went. I can either act totally defenseless or I can be tough, she thought. She looked over the guy's shoulder at the struggle with the man who was apparently a stranger. He acted tough and now look at him. These kids were obviously freaks like her, she had to be careful. She looked down at her battered figure and torn gown. She could go for defenseless, but. . .

She looked into the boy's eyes. He seemed like one of those people that would protect. One of those losers that sacrifice themselves for the good of others. She almost laughed. Perfect sucker. As long as I don't attack, I should be fine with him.

She looked at number two. She seemed like another sucker, one of those bleeding hearts. Easy.

I'll give them something to sympathize with, she thought, something to protect. Within seconds she had it figures out.

The third, the one with the blasted knife. She seemed tough enough, around my age. She and the boy had the air of siblings around them. For minute, she felt a pang where her heart is.

"Well?" the boy snapped

She used the face she made with the pang to look scared and fightened "Are you with them?" She struggled a little, enough to shake her but not enough to get away. It wasn't hard to fain exaughtion "I won't go back! I won't!!"

"Hey, calm down" the boy said "We won't hurt you. Just tell us who you are."

"I won't go back! I don't want to hurt anymore!" Claudia near screamed, a gut-wrenching, tear-jerking cry of desperation and exhaustion. She released her wings a bit, to make and angelic affect. Fake tears streamed down her face. It was a look of someone who wanted relief.

She could hear the surprised gasps as her wings unfolded a bit, slight whispers between the older two while the younger just looked shocked.

"Don't cry." said the older girl, looked as pained as Claudia acted "We aren't with them, we escaped too. We're just like you."

"You. . .you aren't?" She sniffed "There are others?" She broke free of the boy and ran to the older girl, wrapping herself around her waist "Help me stay away from them! I don't want to go back! Please! They'll hurt me again! I don't want to hurt."

She could feel Elizabeths disaproval.

"Screw you" Claudia thought to her, shaking her head smiling "You would have gotton us killed"

They looked like they totally bought it. The older girl was almost crying with her, the boy looked like he wanted to destroy the people from the people who did this to me, the girl my age. . .she didn't look as trusting but she'll turn in time. As long as she keeps that damn knife away from me I won't hurt her. Can't do anything like that now. I had totally won them over.

Suckers. ~

Lacie

The girl runs to me, practically squeezing me while wrapping her arms around my waist, and I swallow, almost crying with her, "D-Don't cry," I whisper, glancing around. I pay her back in sympathy and nature tells me not to trust her.

She's helpless.

Vines curling around my ankles in safety. Lizzy glances up at me and I flash a weak smile, sighing. Atarin just stares at me, longingly almost, and I swallow again before forcing the girl off me.

"C'mon," I say, wiping the rims of my eyes, "Let's go find the others, alright?"

Arah ~

When I wake up, I'm laying on a hay bail surrounded my a few mutants. Ronan is one of them.

"Arah?" he asks.

"Y-y-yeah, it's me." I say, my voice hoarse from misuse.

"We all thought you were dead." he said absently.

"You mean everyone who knew I existed were perturbed when I didn't show up for roll call?" I say without thinking. He only nods.

"I'm sorry, I'm just tired." I say.

"Did you follow us all the way from the camp after it burnt down?" I nod. Another few mutants walk in, look and leave, I hear mumbles of a new mutant who showed up right after I did.

Roe

I moved away from the fight with Kris. Too many emotions were coming at me, I couldn't ahndle it. Then again, I don't like fights anyway.

The other mutants were clustered in two groups, one around Arah (I thanked God that he was alive) and the other around a small girl with little white wings sticking out of her back. I moved over to the new girl. Something was off about her emotions. Most people had a mix of emotions, sure, but there were THREE distinct mixes coming from this kid. She and the other mutants with her turned and headed back towards the farmhouse.

"Hey," I said, crouching down by the child when they were near. "What's your name?"

"Claudia," said the girl, who was maybe a little younger than Ingrid.

"Well, Claudia, you know you're different than most people, right? I mean, besides the wings of course. Do you know anything else that's ... differetn about you?" She shook her head. "Ok," I said, standing up.

I put a hand on Atarin's shoulder, to slow him down as the others moved on. "She's not one person," I said in a hushed voice. "She's got three conciousnesses inside of her."

Atarin stopped and looked full in my eyes. "What?"

Spoiler

I didn't know if Claudia was going to say her name was Hope or Claudia... so I picked one. I think it'd be interesting when one of the other two come out again and her name is Hope, and all the older mutants get confused. If I messed up, just let me know.

Kei in Dream

I can't breathe. I can't move. I can't see. I can't smell. I can't hear. I can't taste. I can't do anything. I floated in pure darkness. Wait...What's that. I see a bright light and float myself into it. I enter the light.

Screaming is the first thing I hear. I smell blood, and it starts to awaken my bloodlust. I taste blood, and it tastes good. I feel a weapon in my warm hands and I look down to see my bloody weapon. At my feet is Ronan, Gemini, Lacie, Roe, Arah, Atarin, and the others. I step back and back into Sooth.

"Good job Kei, you are the perfect weapon. They never expected it to be you," he said. I turn myself around and stare at him. He looked stronger and more...familiar than before.

"I...I...I did this?" I stutter afraid. Why would I do this? I would never hurt them, especially Ronan. Ronan, the one who always protected me. I drop my katana and it clatters to the ground.

"Why of course you did," Sooth said. I stare at him not believing it, when my vision went black. I had an out of body experience and watching myself bow towards him.

Kei's Physical Body

My body shook, twisted, punched, kicked, and moved all on it's own as I struggled through my dream.

"Kei! Wake up Kei!" Ronan said, freaking out. All I could do was watch my body go with Sooth, and I screamed. My screamed ripped through the dream and into reality, without me waking up.

Spoiler

Come on guys, we need to bring this back

Ronan

Kei breaks out into convulsions, throwing his arms and legs all around him. He kicks and punches at the air, barely missing me. I move away at first, thinking it might only last for a second, but then realized something was wrong.

He's struggling. It's another vision.

I carefully scoot closer and try to pin him down and keep him still.

"Kei! Wake up, Kei!" I order, not able to hide the fact I was flipping out over this.

He screams, piercing the air and shattering my heart. Why the hell did this have to happen to him? My baby brother...

"Kei, wake up, please," I say, calming down, "It's okay. Just wake up. You're scaring everyone. You're scaring me."

Arah

I sleep for a while, I don't dream at all while I do. I haven't dreamed in a very long time, I wake to the screaming of young Kei.

I rush off the ground where I had been laying and through the throng of mutants to where he lay thrashing. 

"Kei you need to wake up! You need to wake up! Wake up!" Ronan jostled him in his bed, he still thrashes and kicks and rips at the air. Ronan tries desperately to calm him and pin him to the bed. I move next to him, thinking quickly I stand back and use my telekinesis to pin his limbs to the bed. 

"I'll be able to hold him for a while, but I'm to tired to keep it up for more than a few minutes."  his body is convulsing for almost half an hour more  but eventually he calms. 

I collapse

Kris

Kei has a panic attack in his dream and I smile. His powers were starting to change, ever since Sooth's heart affected him. Chuckling without a sound, I slowly slit my finger with my thumbnail, and sent a message by bird to Sooth.

Kei

I wake up in a bed, with Ronan asleep beside me. On the floor collapsed is Arah, and I remember passing out. I scream as the dream hits me full force, and I throw up blood, it landing on Ronan and waking him up.

Why was I throwing up blood? I cried silently, and fell on my back. Pain, headache, and boiling-blood rumbled throughout my body. I let out a sob, and coughed up more blood.

Spoiler

That's just a lovely picture, Arah...

And I know, Vamp. Sorry. But at least you're in it now. Just make it count. *shrugs* If people don't notice, their loss.

Ronan

I wake up to sobbing and screaming, something warm and sickly smelling covering my shoulder. Disgusted and half-ready to throw up, I find Kei freaking out and crying as he coughs. Blood comes up instead of bile and I lose all sense of feeling for myself. Taking him into my arms, I glance around and find Arah lying on the floor.

"Wake up," I gently shake him, "Help me, please."