Powerful Turns

1- Taken

Location: Epi Island, the New Hebrides

The waters of the Island were clear, blue as the sky above, and calm. The air was still, filled only with the humming of insects and the lapping of waves on the shore. And it was on that shore that a very annoyed girl of fifteen was yelling at her brother.

'Tepoea! If you don't come out now, I will drag you up myself!' she called, knowing full well her brother could hear her underwater. From the shallows of the king tide, the boy in question smirked and instead pushed his hands forward, sending a strong pulse through the water. Tall waves splashed up over the girl's head and over her clean- now wet work-dress. Her brown eyes turned silver. If Tepoea wouldn't listen to her, she'd retaliate the best way she knew; with her own powers.

'You asked for it.' she muttered. Running into the water, her body suddenly lost its dark complexion and became the exact shade of the crystal blue water, her green cotton dress blending in with her transparent skin. By the time she'd dived under, she was invisible. But Tepoea knew better. He forced waves against her, stronger and rougher than before, laughing in triumph. But then he felt something brush against his leg. Surfacing, he looked under him, and around, but nothing, just water. He felt something move again. He turned again, sinking deeper in the waves. And before he had the chance to take his next breath, something clamped around his body, covering his makeshift gills. With a muffled shout, he struggled as he felt himself moving up with whatever was holding him.

He surfaced, gasping for air, gills disappearing from his neck. The sound of bright laughter diverted his attention as he caught sight of his semi-transparent sister treading water nearby. All Tepoea could do was glare daggers at her.

'Not- funny, T'ali'au!' he shouted at her.

'Serves you right! You're lucky no one saw you mucking around.' she growled firmly. They both knew the dangers of exposing their powers to others; it was not something to show off in public, especially to those outside of their village. Tepoea huffed as T'ali'au's body began to colour again, bringing out their physical similarities more clearly; fuzzy dark hair tipped with honey brown from the sun, skin as dark as the wood of the jungle trees, their faces broad and full of life.

'I was just having fun!' Tepoea retorted. He gestured to the open space around them. 'No one's around anyway, they're all getting ready for the ceremonies.'

'Which we're going to be late for.' T'ali'au informed him, swimming back to the shore with ease. 'Come on, the cousins are looking for you.' she called. Tepoea scowled and grudgingly followed his sister back to the sand. He was greeted with a handful of sand thrown at his bare chest upon arrival. He spun around to see T'ali'au leaning against a tree, smirking like the evil spirits themselves.

'What was that for?' Tepoea growled, picking up his own handful of sand with no hesitation.

'Taking so long.' T'ali'au answered. She ducked behind the tree as Tepoea launched his soft weapon. 'Mama will shriek until dawn if we're not there. Now come on.' she insisted. Grabbing his towel, Tepoea trudged along the sandy path with his sister, aching for just five more minutes to play with his powers. As much as T'ali'au frustrated him, she was the only one of his five siblings who could also do something special, things no one else could do. T'ali'au understood the consequences of being caught displaying their powers more than him; it was frowned upon by the elders, and described as evil magic. All he wanted to do after working on the plantation was get away and use his powers, feel in control for once. Instead, here he was, getting ready for another seasonal festival with the villagers.

.

Watching her brother brooding again, T'ali'au examined her brother, she couldn't read his thoughts, but she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. She only wished he at least tried to join in with the rest of the tribe in cultural practices, instead of disappearing every other second to test his abilities around the island again. At fourteen, he was easily becoming one of the most handsome boys in the village; already many of the girls got giggly around him, but T'ali'au knew that her brother secretly had eyes singled out on someone else. She decided to play the card on him.

'Hey Po, tonight's not going to be so bad. There'll be lots of food, and there's the big-fire at sunset.'

Tepoea grunted in response, and T'ali'au's wicked smile grew. 'And I know Teio's been putting a lot of effort into getting ready for tonight. She's looking quite pretty, I'm sure there'll be a few boys ready to dance with her.'

Tepoea suddenly perked up. 'Who? You mean like Noah? He's a jerk, and Teio doesn't even like him. Maybe I should ask her first.' he muttered, flushing in embarrassment when he noticed the teasing look on his sister's face. 'Shut up.' he mumbled. T'ali'au laughed and gave her brother a playful shove off the path.

'Oh, don't worry you; I'm sure she'll say yes.' T'ali'au reassured. ' You've just got to be good and look right tonight. You never seem to have any difficulty when it comes to war-paint.'

Tepoea rolled his eyes, shoving T'ali'au into a tree, which she quickly morphed through jumping on her brother's back in retaliation, she smirked. 'And I'll not be telling you what she's wearing.' Tepoea groaned.

'Come on… please?'

It was T'ali'au's turn to roll her eyes. 'Just because I see futures, does not mean I tell what I see.' she said, pinching his cheek. Tepoea growled and dropped her from his piggy-back hold, pushing and racing his sister all the way back to the village.

.

As the sun sank into the west, the Island lit up in celebration. T'ali'au had spent the afternoon with the women of her family; dressed in traditional white sari's, hair braided back and adorned with tropical flowers. Tepoea and the young men had been less careful with their routine, messing up each other's tribal paint with much noise and mess. As the sky grew darker, the festivities started. Everybody danced around the giant fire in the village clearing; T'ali'au noticed with great satisfaction Tepoea's eyes never left a particular girl with long black hair and deep blue eyes, who in turn smiled back at him constantly. She knew that Tepoea and Teio were meant to be, and was gloriously happy for their blooming romance. Though, when it came to her own future, she was less certain. Even with her psychic advantage, T'ali'au had no idea who she would marry, or if she'd marry at all. At fifteen, she was now the perfect age for marriage to one of the village boys. Not that she counted herself as an exotic beauty, in fact she reckoned herself quite plain next to her two older sisters. Her skin was smooth and unscathed, her hair unruly and wild, and her eyes shiny and dark (when they hadn't turned silver from a premonition). She was not wonderfully tall, but had a slim, strong figure, which some of the village boys obviously wanted a bit more of as they danced with her.

She ate and laughed alongside her large family, she listened in wonder around the massive fire, where Elder Talanoa had the children gathered around her feet, telling them stories of the ancient spirits. The setting sun did not bring down the people's spirits as the tiny community continued to celebrate. But as the sun grew close to disappearing over the horizon, a strange noise filled the air. At first, it could not be heard over the music and dancing and talk, but it soon got louder, louder, louder still. Everyone stopped. T'ali'au froze; she was getting a very bad feeling from it, her head was pounding. Tepoea was the first and only one to notice the effect it had on her.

He took her hand in concern. 'What is it? What's wrong?' he whispered.

T'ali'au closed her eyes. 'Something's coming.' she murmured. When she opened her eyes again, they were clouded with the silver mist of a vision. 'Danger.' Snapping out of her distant gaze, she looked to her brother fearfully. 'We must hide.' she whispered, leading him away from the crowd and into a nearby hut. The noise from above continued; it was like a powerful multitude of insects buzzing furiously together.

'Planes?' one man suggested.

'It's the government again.' another answered menacingly. There was disgruntled murmuring among the people. The new democracy in their country was still a dangerous idea, given their current system.

'No, you hear that?' T'ali'au's father called, hushing the crowd. 'They are not planes… it is those... helicopter machines.' he said. The villagers looked up to the dark sky. The sounds of the aircrafts were almost forgotten when they saw bright lights, and heard footsteps approaching. Everyone huddled closer together. After minutes of tense waiting, the footsteps became more distinct, more... abundant.

'There! In the trees, look!'

.

The small village all moved in towards each other, watching the trees around them, and before long, they saw a number of dark figures appear from the shadows of the surrounding jungle. The men immediately drew themselves around the women and children when they saw the men were armed soldiers. Leading them was a middle-aged white man dressed in a military-like uniform, but well-groomed. His stony-set face was intimidating in the half-light. The village Elders stepped out to meet him.

'Who are you?' one of the tribesmen demanded of the soldiers. The well-groomed man before them spoke calmly.

'I am Major William Stryker, and these- are my men.' he replied evenly, motioning to them.

'What is your business here? You are interrupting a cultural celebration!' a second Elder informed him, the hostility and uncertainty all too clear in his voice. The man named Stryker nodded.

'Yes, and I apologise, but you see, I come on a rather urgent matter.' he nodded to his soldiers, who moved together in a formation, surrounding the people. Many cowered back at the sight of their weapons. The Elders looked back at the Major, their fury evident.

'Who sent you here, government rebels? Conspirators? We have no involvement with them!' the first Elder growled.

But Stryker impassively shook his head. 'No, we are separate from your government. We are here because we believe you are hiding something from us.' Stryker replied. This took everyone by surprise.

'Hiding? We are not hiding anything!' the second Elder insisted. 'What do you want of us?' Stryker took off his gloves and walked forward.

'We believe, that you have among you two young people who are not…shall we say, not quite normal.' he announced.

'What are you talking about?' the first Elder demanded.

'I mean sir, is that your village harbours two children who possess unnatural abilities others would not have; they are known commonly as mutants. We are required to find these people and see to them, for their safety and for yours. I would like you to show me who they are.' Stryker explained. The villagers were silent, but there was a quiet shuffling as a few people moved closer together.

'We have no such people. I'm sorry we do not have what you are looking for.' the first Elder replied calmly. Stryker gave a twisted smile.

'Ah, of course you say that, you're trying to protect them.' he said. Giving his soldiers a nod, there was a collective click as they prepared and loaded their guns. A few women gasped and screamed, some children began to cry.

The Elders were furious. 'How dare you threaten us like this? We have no such people here I tell you! No one!'

But Stryker was not convinced. 'Find them!' he ordered, and the soldiers started filtering through the people, looking for any signs of abnormality. Then, they started going through the huts. After a few minutes, Stryker seemed to be getting impatient.

.

'I'll make this easier for you.' he said, striding forward and grabbing a frail old man from the crowd. 'You tell me where the mutants are,' he pulled a pistol from his jacket. 'Or this man dies.'

A few more villagers gasped and cried out. 'You have until I count to three.' Stryker called, cocking his pistol towards the old man. 'One…' Nothing.
'Two…' There were the faintest whispers from the back of the crowd. And then a shout. Stryker looked around. Four soldiers brought forward two young teenagers from the other side of the clearing. One woman, their mother, cried out with a loud wail and reached for her children, but was quieted by a gun aimed her way. Stryker walked through the parted crowd like he was Moses, and they were a fearful Israel. He clucked his tongue as the children kept their hands joined and looked down at the ground. Stryker took a moment to examine the pair; the girl and boy looked very similar; dark, no distinguishing features, tall posture, nothing out of the ordinary for islander children, but suspicious enough from the people who were clearly protective of them.

'What are your names?' he barked. They remained silent. 'Your names?' he tried again slowly. The teenagers look over at some people standing nearby, who shook their heads hurriedly. 'To remain silent would be unwise.' Stryker advised, as the four soldiers stood by their sides, their guns at the ready. The boy spoke first, holding his sister close.

'Tepoea.'.

'T'ali'au.'

'What are your Christian names?' he asked.

'Percy.'

'Elanora.' They answered in English. A look of thoughtfulness crossed the Major's devilish face.

'Good. Do you know what a mutant is?'

The teenagers looked confused, unaware of the English term for their 'condition'. But they had a sneaking suspicion of the answer.

'We don't understand.' T'ali'au answered, shaking her head. Her brother copied the action.

'I want you to tell me children- do you possess special... unnatural abilities? Anything anyone here cannot do normally?' the teenagers stared at him blankly. 'Don't be shy; we're not going to hurt you.' Stryker told them.

A few more relatives tried to reason with the teenagers in their native tongue, but were cut short by the clicking of rifles. T'ali'au tensed as another vision suddenly overtook her, closing her eyes so the Major wouldn't see the silver glow. Leaning into her brother's side, she knew immediately this would not end well.

'Po.' she breathed in his ear.

'What?' he whispered; still looking straight ahead.

'Hold my back. Don't let go.'

'Why?'

'Just do it.' she hissed.

'I'm waiting.' Stryker drawled expectantly. T'ali'au glared at Stryker threateningly as her brother tightened his grip on her.

She spat on the ground, to horrified gasps. 'You will never take us.' she hissed. And in an instant, she and her brother melted into the earth and disappeared.

Stryker bellowed in rage, 'Find them now! Alive!' The soldiers scrambled, weapons aimed and set to fire. The Major turned to the first tribal Elder.

'You lied to us.' he growled dangerously.

'No! No, I swear! I never kn…'

'You've kept government property from us.' he continued menacingly, stepping towards him. He turned to one of the soldiers flanking him. 'Kill him.'

There was a bang, the thump of a body, and all hell broke loose. The villagers ran screaming and crying, as more gunshots were heard. 'Destroy this place!' Stryker yelled among the chaos. Huts started to burn, men and women fell one by one as they all fought to protect the two of their home. Meanwhile, deeper in the jungle, T'ali'au hauled her brother out of the earthy floor and quietly made their escape.

'Where are they?' Tepoea asked worriedly.

'I don't know. Run!' T'ali'au whispered. And run they did.

'We need to go to the shore! Find another island' Tepoea called.

But T'ali'au shook her head as she cleared a fallen branch. 'They'll see us too easily!'

Even through the dense jungle, they heard others shouting, screaming. The smell of smoke and burning straw, burning flesh was sickening. T'ali'au hardly had time to comprehend her next vision when they attacked. Without warning, several black figures appeared out of nowhere, attacking with the most unnatural abilities. They held down the brother and sister roughly and were carried back to the clearing, now a scene of devastation. Stryker turned and smiled triumphantly.

'Excellent! Men, abandon posts! Back to the planes!' he ordered.

T'ali'au screamed as she glimpsed family members and friends lying on the ground, stil and bloodied. Her brother gave a strangled cry as he saw his loved ones sprawled lifeless before him. His eyes lingered on Teio for a moment- sprawled limp next to her sister, before he too was torn away, howling in mourning. The teenagers were bound and gagged, and hauled up by the huge soldiers, and the next thing they knew, they were inside a gigantic copter with more soldiers guarding other children; all bound and unconscious. Huddling together as a man in black approached them, they both felt a sharp pain at the back of their heads, and fell into darkness.

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A/N: So far, thank you to Zuhara-33 for the reviews and pointing out my mistakes and such: much appreciated. And Sarah for her eternal support.

And in case you can't find the New Hebrides on a map, it's because it's now called Vanuatu.

Keep a'readin!

G.