Trigger
My story begins in Sacramento, California, in a small house I shared with my mother, Lillyann. Mom always said I was gonna be a star. She also said I would grow up to be a free spirited and strong woman. If Mom only knew…
One day when I was fifteen, Mom entered me in a talent contest. I was shocked. I had no talent that I knew of, but when I asked her, she bowed dramatically and said, "You will act. I will get your name up in lights one way or another, Aviana Sampson."
The day of the contest rolled by in late August. I remember wearing a black knee-length skirt, and a white blouse that Mom made me wear. It was the most revolting outfit I'd ever seen, and the stiff fabric of the blouse rubbed against my skin, making me itch. I remember stepping up on that brightly lit stage, turning to my audience, and reciting Shakespeare perfectly. They announced my name as the winner. I couldn't believe it. I was even more excited when the judges revealed my prize; a role in a new movie.
Mom decided to move me in with my Aunt Paige, instead of moving up to L.A.. I loved Aunt Paige. She was a bit eccentric, but that's probably why I liked her. She collected former outfits and accessories of celebrities, which she often let me try on and model.
Finally, it was time to make the movie. My part was rather large. I played the younger sister of the lead actress. Everything happened so fast those first two weeks. All I remember during that time was how close I became with the actress. Her name was Drew, and she was very experienced. Her father or grandfather had been an actor as well. I remember her telling me about all the movies she made. They were older, and I don't remember the names exactly. One was about her character going to a school as an undercover reporter, then there was one with her and two other actresses in a remake of a show from the 70's. But her favorite one was based on the story of Cinderella, mostly because she got to kiss a really hot prince.
Then the tragedy struck. It was the third week of filming, and we were using a large platform above the set with lights and a camera on it for aerial shots. It was a scene with Drew and Freddie, the lead actor. I stood to the side, making faces at Drew to see if I could get her to lose her composure. They were about to kiss when a snap was heard above them. I looked up to see the platform falling. I looked back at Freddie and Drew and saw them try to dodge the falling, two-ton platform. Freddie rolled to safety, but Drew, who was wearing an elegant ball gown, stumbled and fell. I screamed her name, but it was to late. The platform crashed down on her and I heard a sickening crack. I looked back to see Drew's leg sticking out from underneath the broken, jagged metal. A small stream of blood crawled out from under it.
"Drew!" I screamed. I ran over to the platform. A stagehand tried to pull me back, but I pushed past him and ran to Drew's side. I squatted down beside her, grabbed the platform, and began to lift. The first pull was useless, but on the second one, something happened. A warm wave moved over my body, like the ultimate adrenaline rush. I lifted again, and the platform moved easily with me. I soon had it lifted over my head with great ease, and threw it to the side. I knelt by my friend. She didn't move. Her neck was twisted strangely. She was dead. I cried so loudly I swear Mom could've heard me.
Despite my heartbreak, many directors called in, wanting to hire me for jobs. I took one, and the director told me it would be a part in an action flick…the main part. I was hoping he'd seen my acting skills, but no…he wanted me because I now had superstrength, and I wouldn't need as many special effects. Some people are so cheap….
After this movie was finished, I got many more calls for action movies, all because of this damned power. They kept it very hush hush in Hollywood. If word got out that I was a mutant, my career would be over.
It all came down on me during the filming of my sixth film, Planet Pioneers. Literally CAME DOWN on me. We were filming a scene in which I ran to my character's love interest's lifeless body after a car fell on him during an alien attack. I almost quit the movie because of this scene. All I could think of was Drew.
The car was lifted by a crane, and that's when I was supposed to run to him. I slid underneath the car, and began my crying scene (Oscar, anyone?). Suddenly, I heard a piece of metal chain break, and I looked up to see the car falling towards me. Drew's last moments flashed through my mind as the car fell on top of me. I felt extreme pain in my right eye, and I passed out.
I awoke on what I thought was the next morning, but soon found out it was actually about a week after the incident. I was shocked to find that my eye didn't hurt…in fact, I couldn't really feel it at all. I then realized I was in a hospital bed. The bedside table had a mirror. My eye's vision was strange…blurry, with a little cross thing in the middle. I picked up the mirror and looked at my face. Everything was fine, except for a scratched bruise on the left side of my forehead. Then I saw my eye.
What used to be a normal blue eye was now completely silver; no whites, no pupils, nothing. The irises were replaced by a small circle with those little crossing lines through it.
"What the…"
"Crosshairs."
I looked up to see a man in his forties with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes in a high-ranking Army uniform.
"Uncle Devin?"
"Hiya, kiddo."
"Uncle Devin," I said slowly. "What have they done to me?"
Uncle Devin sat down on the side of my bed. "It was my idea, Avi," he said. He bowed his head. "It was either half-blindness or a bionic eye. I chose the latter."
"But why is it like this?" I asked, looking in the mirror again. I now noticed how greasy my long blond hair looked from a week without a shower.
"I thought it'd help," he said. He looked at me solemnly. "I'm gonna train you, Avi. Yes, I know about your power. I know you're a mutant. I can help enhance your skill as well as strength. I'm going to teach you how to shoot, and how not to shoot. There won't be a weapon you haven't heard of, Avi. I promise. The pattern on your new eye is part of an advanced targeting system. There's a rare chance you'll miss your victim."
His words gave me chills, but I nodded. Over the next few days I recuperated in the hospital, but then I went home with Uncle Devin. He trained me for over a year. I learned about pistols, rifles, shotguns, uzis, machine guns, and my personal favorite, the Desert Eagle.
Unfortunately, my eye held me back from the public. I hated it. Normal people were so hateful. If something was unnaturally wrong with your eyes, they knew you were a mutant. They'd probably kill me.
My training unwillingly ended one day, when my aging uncle grew sick. I sat by his deathbed on his last day.
"Avi?"
"Yes, Uncle Devin?"
"Do me a favor, kiddo."
"Anything."
He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Save the world."
Those were his last words. Just minutes after he died, I became unbearably lonely in that house, alone with a dead man. I ran to my room and packed some clothes, along with about $40,000 from previous movies, and ran.
I traveled across the country, ending up in New York City. I remember the first time I met Stacy. I was living on the street. Very dangerous when you have about 38,000 bucks on you. I was about to plop down on an old beanbag chair in my alley for a good night's sleep, when a low growl grumble from beside me and I saw two glowing, silver eyes, one reflecting of a streak of red. I jumped off the beanbag, and looked at my…visitor. A girl about my age with tattered clothing and shoulder length brown hair scrambled out from behind the bag. She stood up in a defensive pose, and I saw her face. She was very pretty, and her blue eyes burned. My heart broke as I saw the red, claw-like tattoo over her left eye. She was a mutant.