I live in a castle with all of my friends by my side every single day. Sadness doesn't exist and loss something no one knows about. I wish I told the truth when I say this.
My dreams sometimes add to the pain of my life. Sunlight slowly made its way through the holes in the roof from last night's storm. I rubbed my eyes which were wet. I couldn't tell if it was from the rain or my tears. The shack I live in on the outskirts of my town was drenched and my books and clothes were soaked. I sighed and took my clothes outside to hang in a damp tree. It's usually windy after storms. I looked around and it was still dark outside. I could see the scrap wood and lead pipes on the ground. I took a lead pipe and started hitting my clothes so the water would come out faster. The sun started coming out more and it looked about 7:00. I took my long black skirt and long sleeved shirt and put them on. I grabbed my wet books and stuffed them into a bag and ran to my pink and rusty scooter.
I rode through the town and saw my so called neighbors injecting something into their arms and throwing the empty needles on a dartboard. This was a normal occurrence. There was a hand sewn glove on a pole for us to know where the center of the neighborhood was in case we needed a meeting that rarely ever occurs. Young children were playing games when they couldn't afford to go to school. "Hey, did you hear the Panda Hero was in town last night?" one boy said. I stomped my left foot on the ground to stop the scooter to listen. "Yeah, I heard she saved an old woman from falling off a really tall building, but they never found the guy who was about to throw her off," a girl said. I sighed and continued riding to school. "The Panda Hero has gotten quite popular lately. And I thought things were bad here," I said to myself. I continued to ride until I got to a steep hill. I got off and walked up the hill.
Everyone stared at me in my torn and wet clothes. Ignoring the stares got harder every day. I closed my eyes and bumped into something.
"I-I'm sorry!" I said bowing my head. Once I got up, my face turned red when I saw him, Brandon Carson. "Who the hell do you think you are, bumping into him like that?!" a few girls said coming next to him. My red face soon went pale. "U-Um s-sorry," I said quietly. "What was that?!" a girl said coming close to me. I felt my heart beating fast. "G-Get away from me. You'll get hurt if you come any closer," I said. "Yeah, like I'll get hurt," she said laughing with the other girls. She grabbed my hair and pulled me closer. I felt a sudden sharp pain in my hand and I pushed her away into the other girls, knocking all of them done like bowling pins. I looked at my hands and ran away as fast as I could, hiding behind the school.
Tears started coming out of my eyes. "Why does this always happen? Why do I have this power? What's wrong with me?" I said in between sobs. "You okay?" someone says. I turn around and it's Brandon. "Y-Yeah. I'm kind of used to it," I said, rubbing my eyes. "That was one strong hit. That was almost inhuman," Brandon says. "I get that a lot," I said, blushing a little. "You know the Panda Hero has that kind of strength. You wouldn't happen to know who she is, right?" Brandon says. He looked me dead in the eye like he always did.
When we were little, Brandon and I were close. We always played together at the local zoo. He always found me playing with the pandas in their cage. "You sure like those pandas, Penny," he said. "Yeah. They are just too darn cute! I can't help myself from playing with them!" I said hugging the newborn babies. They were always my favorite playmates. Brandon jumped into the cage and bent down next to me. "They like you a lot, too. I wouldn't blame them," he said with a smile he always wore just for me. "Thanks!" I said happy to have a friend. "You know, I bet they call you a Panda Hero," he said jokingly. "Panda Hero? You're so funny, Brandon!" I laughed. Sometimes I wonder how we ended up separating. He is always surrounded by people who love him. He has a family and is great in so many other things than I am. Despite all that's happened to us, I'm glad he's happy.
"W-What about you? In gym, you're very fast like the Black Cat. Do you know who he is?" I asked. He chuckled and held out his hand to me. "Sharp as ever I see. You have to learn how to keep your powers in check, Penny. If this keeps happening, who knows what'll happen," Brandon said. "It's harder than you think. All you have to do is slow down and cut you nails twice a day. I have to keep people away from me," I sighed. Brandon and I are different than most people. We are cursed by these spirits that control us. Brandon's curse is called the Black Cat. He is strong, fast, and quiet, the perfect assassin. My curse is the Panda Hero. She is one of the most dangerous spirits. The Panda Hero has a short temper and if she was a regular human, she would by on Death Row in no time. Because of this, I have a hard time controlling her. Even though she's in my body, she's the one controlling me. Brandon walked in front of me. "Panda Hero, I ask of you please, take better care of yourself," he said. He took a step back and held out a bag of opium. My mind suddenly went blank and I took it. The Panda Hero loves opium. She doesn't take orders from anyone unless you give it to her.
Suddenly, I came back. "I'm guessing she's going to protect you more," Brandon chuckled. "If you keep giving this to me, I might die younger than I'm supposed to," I said. "No you won't. The Panda Hero's taking it, not Penny Hiroson," he said. "She's using my body. If I die, she might possess someone else," I said. "Not true. The spirits use people who they know are strong enough to have them. You're probably the strongest out of all the cursed people since the Panda Hero gets out of hand quite frequently," he said. My mind went blank again and a deep voice came out of my mouth. "You want to start something, Cat?" the voice said. It was the Panda Hero. She never backs down from a fight. "Easy, Panda. This is exactly what I mean. Control her, Penny," Brandon said. I came back and my face was red from embarrassment. I never liked it when Brandon had to lecture me about the Panda Hero. The Black Cat is calm, but is ready to attack an enemy at the right moment. He has it easy, I don't.
The school day ended quickly and I say goodbye to Brandon. It was sunset by the time I was back at the shack. I took off my skirt and shirt and laid down on the ground in my underclothes. I released all tension in my body and closed my eyes. My heartbeat sped up and I felt blood pumping through my veins. My eyes quickly opened, but I wasn't the one to open them. It was the Panda Hero. She stood up and put on a yellow short sleeved shirt and dark blue shorts. She ran her fingers through my long brown hair that reached the bottom of my calves. She put on a panda hat that was nearby on the floor and wrapped a sky blue scarf around my neck. I made those for her when she first appeared so the people who knew about the curse would know who is using my body at the moment. The Panda Hero zipped up my ankle high boots and walked out of the shack. She found my scooter against a tree rode it through the neighborhood to a field circled by power lines. She gently put her foot done and placed the scooter on the ground.
I heard static and white noise from radios that never played and women in bunny girl outfits who were prostitutes walking down the street looking for their next customers. She waited in the center of the field, waiting for her opponent. We recently got a letter saying to come here to fight a team of baseball players who were supposedly the strongest people in the city. City folk are strange and try to be the best at everything. After a long wait, there was a smoky haze in the air. The Panda Hero moved the scarf around her nose to prevent herself from inhaling the smoke. They were here. The Panda Hero picked up the scooter and it turned into a metal bat. All cursed people have a special ability. The Panda Hero's is turning something into anything else.
She is held the bat in her left hand as the team slowly emerged from the smoke. There were five boys who looked like they were in middle school. The Panda Hero chuckled at her opponent. "You send me a letter to fight and I get some weaklings? This shouldn't take long," she taunted. One of the boys hid behind another. "It's really her, the Panda Hero," he whispered. A boy chuckled and stood in front of them. "I'm your main opponent, the pinch hitter of the team. We will remain the strongest in the town," he said. "Whatever," the Panda Hero said as she covered her mouth, yawning. The boy ran towards her and she swung her bat, hitting him underneath the jaw. He fell on his back unconscious. Another boy looked angry as he ran towards her. She jabbed the bat into his stomach, knocking him on his back. "So long to our killer liner. This won't end well. We should go," the shy boy said. The third boy ignored him and grabbed a stick. He ran towards her and the Panda Hero swung the bat towards his hands. He released the stick and fell to his knees, clutching his wrists from the pain. The fourth boy pulled a slingshot from his pocket and grabbed a rock on the ground. He aimed towards the Panda Hero and released the rock. She caught the rock and flicked it back at him, hitting him in the eye. He fell and the last boy was shaking. He looked at the other boys on the ground and ran off. "I'm guessing he was the pinch runner," she said. She used her incredible speed to get behind the boy and chopped his neck. The boy passed out and laid almost lifeless on the ground. The Panda Hero examined the boys and saw the boy with the slingshot was dead. She turned her bat into a cart with a wagon attached and put him in the wagon to carry back to the shack. Not only was the Panda Hero a drug addict, she was also a cannibal. I never told Brandon because that would mean I am a cannibal, too.
She rode to the shack and my "neighbors" stared at her and the dead body. "The cannibal brought back dinner," one man said. I'm glad they don't know the Panda Hero is me. Not a lot of people like the Panda Hero, but they still go to her for help. They say the Panda Hero is just a tramp who loves drugs and people. She arrived at the shack and started a fire to cook the fresh meat. The Panda Hero picked up the boy and dropped him next to the fire. She put her left hand on the cart and turned it into a knife to cut the boy up.
Soon, a car rolled up near the shack and she hid behind the tree where I hung up my wet clothes earlier that morning, still holding the knife. A man in a suit walked over towards the fire and she put the knife near his neck. "I'm guessing you're the Panda Hero?" he said. "What if I am?" she said. "I was sent her to get you for someone important. Please come with me," he said. Two men came from behind and dragged her to the car. She tried to get away, but the men were too strong for her. I was scared for her since she's not afraid of anything. What is going to happen to us?