Young Writers Society

The dog trotted along the path, not thinking of much - this Shaniel could confirm, as its mind she had set aside. Using the art of Seeing, she controlled its body. She was looking for someone who dared to enter the neighborhood. She walked along the gates of the houses, her eyes looking about. The sun was setting, orange ribbons covering the hem of the sky.

Then, she found a group of men walking on the opposite direction. There, Shaniel thought. Through untrained eyes, those men would look like regular people with their simple shirts and trousers, but she knew better. She crossed the road, walking directly in front of them. When both of them passed each other, she could see the tattoo etched on one of the men’s hand. A paired circles cut by a horizontal line. Fuhzers - Cleansers, the dominant race of her country, determined to wipe other minor races, including hers.

One of them, holding a baseball bat, noticed the dog and looked straight at her. She started to run, but the man turned to a blur and approached her. She was pushed away from the dog’s mind, out of its little soul. The last thing she heard was a high-pitched yelp. She blinked and found herself staring at a white ceiling. She looked down, her breathing ragged, and saw Peter, her brother, watching her.

‘They got the dog,’ she said. ‘They’re here.’

‘And they know we’re here too,’ Peter said, shaking his head. ‘But this is good. We truly have to leave this place now.’

Shaniel looked at him. A month ago, she wouldn’t know she had a long-lost brother if only her father didn’t tell her when he was dying. Upon coming to Earth, she thought it would take him a lot of time to absorb the fact that he wasn’t an Earthling - he was from another realm, the Seshier blood running in his veins. Now, he seemed to understand what was going on, and had acted on their problem with surprising efficiency.

I’m tired of doing nothing in the orphanage, he once said to her when she met him. His dark skin, similar to hers, was the first sign that he was indeed a Seshier.

Another figure entered the room. Danny, Peter’s blond friend, rushed toward them and looked at Shaniel. ‘What’s happened? Do you find something?’

Shaniel nodded and told him about the Fuhzers. He scowled. ‘Fudge! We’ve been here for two weeks and they’ve already found us. Which part of the neighborhood were they?’

‘The other side,’ Shaniel said. ‘We’ve enough time to leave.’

Another figure entered, a female. Seereel bowed to Shaniel, her long black hair flowing. ‘Your Ladyship. I have packed everything we need. We can leave now.’

Shaniel rose. As the last female Seshier, she had to make sure the art of Seeing prevail. Peter, as the male member of the family, needed for his ability to protect them. She turned to Danny and Seereel. Despite Peter’s role as their protector, she couldn’t risk his life. At some point, she would need to force Dany and Seereel to protect Peter and her - even if they needed to sacrifice their lives. It was a hard choice, but it wasn’t the first she’d made and definitely not the last.

They left the abandoned house and hopped into a blue car parked in front of the house. Danny drove it, Peter at his side while Shaniel and Seereel sat behind. Shaniel looked at Seereel. The servant was silent, bowing her head as she usually did. Shaniel couldn’t figure out the servant her father had left for her. Their interaction was brief, neither of them able to find a reason to talk to each other. She saw Seereel as a tool. She’d told Peter about this in private. He argued Seereel was just another human like them and they should treat her like an equal, but how? She was a servant.

‘There’s a car following us,’ Danny said, looking at the mirror, as they moved out of the neighborhood into the main road. Trees lined the pavements and the streetlights shone the way. ‘I think it’s them. How can they get to us so fast?’

‘I’m sure they have their methods,’ Shaniel said. ‘They managed to come to Earth even when Seereel and I destroyed the portal we used.’

‘I know Peter can do... things,’ Danny said, glancing at Peter, ‘but is it true he’s not from here too? That he’s - he’s -’

‘He’s from another realm. You have to believe it, Danny. I don’t know how our father managed to put him here, but it’s unmistakable he’s my brother.’ Shaniel looked back and widened her eyes. The black car following them had moved closer and she was under the suspicion the Fuhzers wanted to hit them.

Peter opened the window suddenly and let his head out of it.

‘What are you doing?’ Shaniel yelled.

He looked at her and smiled. ‘You said I’m a Seshier, born to protect the family. I’m just doing my job.’ He jumped out of the window and in midair, turned into an eagle. It flew to the car behind and when it was on the car’s roof, it turned into a lion, holding to the metal surface with its claws dug into it.

Shaniel looked back, sweating. The male Seshier protects the female. Those were Father’s words right before he died at the hand of the Fuhzers, giving room for Shaniel and Seereel to escape. Peter - he was doing the same thing. No, Shaniel thought. I will not be left alone.

She turned to the driver’s seat. ‘Danny, are we getting closer?’ She didn’t dare to look behind - there was nothing she could do for Peter. They had to get to the place faster if she wanted to help him.

Danny nodded.

Shaniel leaned back, closing her eyes. She could sense the animal souls, vibrating against hers. It would be a matter of time before she could gain control of the animals. The Fuhzers would be no match for them. Peter just had to bear with -

A sharp pain cut into her thigh and she screamed. Eyes opened, she could see Seereel’s hand holding a dagger that was pierced into Shaniel’s shoulder.

‘Fuhzers promise me protection and wealth,’ Seereel said, smiling with her eyes wide, ‘something that even your father cannot give!’

Blood boiling, Shaniel grabbed Seereel’s hand, the one that held the dagger. She didn’t bother to pull the it out but instead kicked the door behind Seereel with her other uninjured foot. The force broke the door’s attachment, throwing it to the road. ‘I’m a Seshier, you traitor,’ Shaniel hissed. ‘You don’t betray a Seshier!’ With that, she pushed Seereel out of the car, enough to hear the woman screamed before she was out of Shaniel’s view.

‘That biatch,’ Danny said, venom in his voice. ‘I knew she was suspicious - she was too quiet. Anyway, we’re here!’ He stopped the car.

Shaniel looked at the car’s screen and smiled. They were in front of the zoo’s gate. She looked behind her and as the black car moved toward them, it swerved, crashing to the gate. ‘Don’t get near the Fuhzers, Danny,’ she warned.

She quickly closed her eyes, searching for the animal’s souls. In her mind, the background was pitch black except for the few spherical lights nearby, various in size. She quickly reached them, breaking her own bright soul into fragments, willing them to touch the spherical lights. Then, she saw. Through the animals’ eyes, she could see many places. It was as if she was looking at several screens connected through the cameras, an Earthling technology.

She - in the form of the animals - moved to her human self after using the last bit of her power to unlock the cages. She saw Peter turning into a gorilla, attacking the men who had come out of the car. The men defended themselves with bare hands - she was glad they didn’t get their hands on Earthling’s lethal weapon, gun, because if they had, Peter wouldn’t stand a chance. He still doesn’t have a chance to win, she thought. But at least he can keep them at bay before the animals arrive.

One of the men managed to land a kick on Peter’s stomach, sending him a few meters away from them. Shaniel gritted her teeth. Fuhzers had remarkable strength. They were also enhanced in speed and endurance. It was the reason why they became the dominant race in Edrin, reducing Seshiers like Shaniel into minority. They wouldn’t take long to adjust with Peter’s fighting style, even when a gorilla was a foreign animal to them.

She finally arrived at them. She was flying, possessing the minds of birds - they came to Peter the fastest because of their flight. While she knew the birds couldn’t beat the Fuhzers, she commanded them to attack the men at the spots they could reach. At least she could assist Peter in fighting them. Some of her pecked at the men’s faces and neck, while the others tried to make Fuhzers focus on them.

The rest of the animals arrived - lions, tigers, bears - and attacked the men. Peter, having punched and kicked here and there, retreated and let the predators took care of them. Despite of the Fuhzers’ superior stats, the animals outnumbered them, wounding them with their claws and fangs. Slowly, one by one started to fall. Shaniel retreated from the animals’ souls one at a time, putting a reminder to them not to attack Danny, Peter, and her when they regained their consciousness.

She blinked her eyes, taking deep breaths. She felt numb - using the animals to See took so much of her energy. After a few minutes, she went out of the car, holding the dagger in her hand. The animals had scattered, running away from them. She could see Fuhzers laying near their car, with Peter standing over them, back in human form again, breathing heavily. Danny moved near to Peter too, his eyes widened seeing the men’s corpses. He covered his nose and looked away, focusing on Peter instead.

‘Thank the Wild God you’re safe,’ Shaniel said, relieved at seeing Peter’s smile. It’s over, she thought. It’s actually over.

Before she could put a reassuring hand on Peter’s shoulder, she felt hands grasping her, and realized someone was trying to latch onto her soul. Before she could warn them, her mind was put aside, and while she could see what she was doing, she couldn’t control her movement. With great difficulty, she looked at the edge of her eyes and saw a Fuhzer with his eyes open - white eyes. He took control of me! she thought with horror. I should’ve checked they were dead for sure - they Take humans, after all.

She raised her dagger. Peter frowned, and with a scream, she pushed the weapon to his chest. A blurry figure moved in front of Peter, and the dagger pierced someone else - Danny. Blood poured out of Danny’s chest and mouth. He smiled at her, then fell. She felt the intruder retreating from her mind and quickly dropped the dagger. With her in charge of herself, the Fuhziers was truly dead. She looked at Danny and felt warm tears in her eyes.

Now that she saw the man dead, she knew she never wanted him to die. She might think she had to and would be able to, but Danny had left an impact on her. His steady demeanor was missed, even when he was an Earthling and didn’t need to help Peter and her.

Peter stared at Danny, stunned. His mouth opened slightly. ‘No,’ he whispered. ‘No. Nononono. No.’ He fell on his knees and pulled Danny by the collar. ‘You can’t die. Goddammit, don’t you die, Daniel!’ He started to sob before he released Danny, his body shaking.

Shaniel stooped behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder. Inside, she was trembling. She could feel Peter’s pain. ‘We have to go, Peter,’ Shaniel whispered, her voice cracking. ‘We can’t stay here - we’d be blamed for what’s happened. Your peacekeepers - the police - will find us.’

‘Danny...’ Peter cried harder. ‘He’s dead. He’s the only person who’s been with me in the orphanage, and now he’s dead. And it’s all my fault. He once said he’d risk his life if it meant I’d be saved - I should’ve taken his words seriously.’

Just like Mother, Shaniel thought. Just like Father. Both of them died for me. She held up his face. ‘Look at me. Danny’s dead for protecting you. He wants you alive. And he certainly doesn’t want to see you broken like this - you have to stay strong.’ She pulled him into an embrace. ‘I saw the Fuhzers killed our parents - slit Mother’s and Father’s throats. I swore they wouldn’t die for nothing. You have to do the same.’

Peter was silent. Shaniel pitied him - he must’ve not expecting all the loses. ‘Danny won’t die for nothing. But how? How can I make his sacrifice worth something?’ Peter asked quietly.

‘You and I are the only Seshiers left. We have to continue our family’s legacy. If it means living on Earth, so be it.’

Peter shook his head. ‘No. It’s enough. We have to avenge Danny’s death. Mother. Father. We have to avenge them,’ Peter growled. ‘It might take decades to prepare, but we will go back to Edrin. You told me before. It’s not just the Seshier’s the Fuhzers’ hunt down. Other minorities - Defs, Taurs - are their target. They seek for genocide. Even if it takes decades, we will kill them.’

Shaniel was silent. How could Peter, who knew about his origin for a short time could say that, when she herself didn’t think to go that far? She, who had been in Edrin for twenty years, being oppressed by the Fuhzers, only thought about survival instead of settling the score. They’ve beaten me too long, she thought. Enough to squeeze out all the hopes and determination I had. Peter reminded her of her younger self - confident, protective. Where did her past self go?

Finally, she made the decision. ‘We will kill them.’ Her past self was buried deep in the grave; it was time to resurrect her.

A/N: I’m looking forward to read feedback about the flow, characters, and setting. I also want to find out if the plot can be sustained through a short story, and if not, what changes should I make to fit the medium which is short story?