Young Writers Society

“Jesse? JESSE! What the hell are you doing?”

I could hear Rachel screaming from the sidewalk. I could hear the rain pouring down around me, crashing onto the road. The smell of rain was overpowering, flowing around me and surrounding me like a second skin. Adrenaline flowed through my veins. I could feel every muscle in my body tensed, waiting. I felt my fingertips tingle, excited at the downpour. Goosebumps flooded my arms and a shiver ran down my spine, rippling through me.

I knew exactly what I was doing. I was staring up into the pouring rain, listening to the thunder crackle in the distance. I was opening my eyes to the world. I was freeing myself.

I felt alive.

“JESSE! Get out from the middle of the road!”

I spared a glance in Rachel’s direction. She was sopping wet, her auburn hair draped around her shoulders like seaweed. Her eyes were wide, gray like the rest of the world around us. She was insignificant. Unimportant. Compared to what I was feeling, what I was, she was nothing.

I turned back to the sky, a smile alighting on my lips. I felt the rain pour onto my skin, dripping into my eyes and down my neck. A streak of lightning shot through the gray sky, chased by a clap of thunder that rattled my bones. The wind whipped my hair back from my face, a few wet strands clasping onto my face. I laughed and raised my arms to the heavens, welcoming the sky to me.

My fingertips buzzed. I could feel the electricity in the air, the energy. It crackled around me, almost as loudly as the thunder had moments before. I stretched my fingers out to reach it, the sounds of rain drowning out Rachel’s shouts and any other noises around.

I was the storm, and the storm was me. I was the crashing of rain onto pavement, the jagged blasts of lightning, the irresistible roar of thunder. I was the savage wind in the air, the water running down my spine, the looming clouds above. I could feel it all in my bones, in my veins, flowing with my blood in rushing rapids.

This was who I was meant to be. Who I was always meant to be.

I reached up with my hands, and lightning exploded above me.

Curving arcs of electricity erupted from my fingertips, stretching above me in a twisting tornado of light. The gray, churning clouds of the sky were suddenly illuminated, shadows cast in their uneven edges.The lightning swirled and snapped, shooting outwards in a firework of pure energy. An explosion of electricity covered the sky, outshining the streetlights for a few short seconds before fading into darkness. The sudden outburst sent a shockwave through every inch of my body.

Suddenly, the world seemed closer. The rain battered my back, my skull. The rain was muffled, cold against the blustery air. I could hear Rachel clearly now, still screaming my name. My arms were now at my side. When had that happened? I took a step forward and stumbled, nearly falling down. Everything felt disjointed. Everything felt distant, like I was looking at the world through a foggy lens. Rachel’s voice was getting softer, softer. The clouds were fading into a gray haze, blurring with the never-ending sheet of raindrops. I didn’t realize I was on my knees until I felt asphalt digging into my pants.

The edges of my vision started to go dark. My fingertips brushed the road, sparking slightly with energy. I could feel Rachel’s footsteps through the pavement, rushing towards me, her voice getting closer yet somehow farther away, farther, farther….

The world went black.

~~~

And then suddenly I was fluttering my eyes open to artificial light, my head resting on a pillow.

I squinted, spots dancing in my vision. An area behind my left eye throbbed, like someone had hit me with a baseball. My fingertips felt raw, like they had been rubbed sore by rough carpet. I blinked, trying to keep my eyes open. It had been a while since I had felt so… drained.

Slowly, I took in my surroundings. I was in a small bedroom and lying in a twin bed, a white comforter tucked up to my chin. Above me was a ceiling fan, shining a bright white light into my eyes. To the left, there was a bookshelf built into the wall, though only a few books adorned it. There was a nightstand to my left, a wooden one with a lamp on top. Above that, a window. I groaned and lifted myself up to see through. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon, gilding the roofs of the suburban town where I was staying.

Where was I again? I was with my cousin Rachel, that was right. I was staying a few days while my parents were out of town. Yes, that was it. My sleepy brain struggled to think as I settled back down into the bed. Yes, this was my bed. I remembered. I looked at the closet in the right wall. Inside were my belongings, my things.

I yawned, stretching my arms above me through my hair. I paused as my hands felt the edges of my black ringlets. They were just slightly wet, as if someone had dipped them in a tub before I went to sleep. But why?

And then in a flash, the events of the night before came back to me. The storm. The power outage. I went outside. And then… and then…

I slapped my head. Why couldn’t my brain work faster? Sometimes things like this happened, where I would forget things about myself very early in the morning. My brain was never very fast when I first woke up. But I usually remembered things straight away after I got my bearings.

Why couldn’t this morning be normal?

I remembered a flash of lightning. Light covering the sky in an explosion. I was outside without an umbrella. Why, again? I couldn’t recall. Rachel was calling my name…. Pieces of the night before swirled around my head, and my brain couldn’t grasp them fast enough to put them together.

Maybe it had been a dream. Maybe I had just gone to bed after dinner and dreamt of going outside. That was somewhat logical, wasn’t it? People usually didn’t piece together their dreams very well. I knew I couldn’t. Maybe that was it.

Did I really believe that?

No. I didn’t.

I knew I had gone outside. I knew I had stood in the rain while the storm was at full force, smack in the middle of the road. I remembered just staring up at the sky, gray and frightening. I didn’t remember feeling afraid or even on edge, like how I’ve usually felt during thunderstorms.

I could just ask Rachel about it. Yes, that’s what I would do. I yawned once more and hoisted myself out of bed, my hand leaving a sweaty print on the comforter. I was dressed in the same clothes from yesterday, which were also still damp. Another sign I had gone out in the rain. Rachel, though, would know exactly what happened.

I swallowed and grasped the doorknob for the exit, my increasingly sweaty grip making it hard to turn. My heart pounded just a bit harder. Talking to Rachel. Yeah, that always went well.