I was walking home from school when they came for me. It was a good day; the Friday before Spring Break. I was cheerfully dreaming up things to do with my friends and boyfriend in the days before school returned to ruin our lives. I was swinging my purple tote bag slightly and peeling off my light blue cardigan which was of no use in the seventy-five degree weather. The street I was walking on was silent, save for the rustle of leaves and the squeak of my Converse shoes against asphalt. I looked around, checking to make sure the street was deserted, before stopping and setting down my bag. Walking carefully over to a small patch of dried out grass and weeds, I kneeled down and burrowed my hands into the chalky dirt. Taking a deep breath, I focused my energy on the earth and a pulse began to radiate throughout my body. Tears filled my eyes as I felt the plants' struggle for life, a battle it was losing. It's despair filled me and I had to resist the strong urge to wilt along with it. Instead, I concentrated on the tiny seeds and bulbs I could feel down below, trying to inject them with hope and happiness I conjured into my heart. Thoughts of laughter with friends, romantic evenings with my boyfriend, and warm family gatherings traveled to the plant and I felt it lap up the good thoughts like sunlight.
Slowly but surely, the grass turned green and straightened up. The weeds shriveled up and died, to be blown away by the breeze, and flowers took their place, dotting the ground with splashes of color. Almost immediately, a monarch butterfly flew over and landed delicately on a petal. Exhausted but cheerful at the life I just saved, I rose from my crouch, brushing dirt off my knees. Stretching my arms, I turned around to pick up my bag. Instead I came face to face with a man.
I sucked in my breath. How much had he seen? I glanced quickly to the flowering plot of grass, then back to his curious eyes studying me from behind horn-rimmed glasses. For a moment, I dared to hope that he hadn't seen anything incriminating.
"So that's quite an interesting thing you can do," he said conversationally, gesturing to my garden. I froze, tensing my muscles and frantically searching for a means of escape. The man noticed my darting eyes and he calmly pulled out a black gun, aiming it at my chest. I focused on that, and noticed it was actually a tazer. Not that my fear was lessened; who knew how high that thing was turned up?
"Hmm, I wonder if I actually need to bring you in. Your ability doesn't seem that dangerous. Actually, it seems like it would…Benefit the world." The man seemed to be pondering something as he gazed at my lush arrangement, his finger loosened on the trigger for a second. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to make exceptions though" His index finger tightened and I felt something pierce my neck. A spasm went through my body as I crumpled, twitching slightly and losing control of my bladder. I was grateful for the darkness that crept in at the corners of my vision and I gladly succumbed to it.
When I came to, I wasn't quite sure if I was actually conscious. I could sense my surroundings, the feeling of a crowd around me, but I was completely blind. I was also absorbed in a haze, one that seemed to block off a part of my brain. For my ability? Pointless, seeing as it was useless without some kind of plant. I felt someone jostle me on my side, and I briefly wondered if that meant there were others with powers like me. Maybe the drugs were really meant for them. I could only hope that they would discover a way to set everyone free.
A rough hand grabbed my upper arm and yanked me to a standing position, where I wobbled before finding balance. A pair of cuffs were fastened around my wrists while another was locked around my ankles. A slight tugging from a chain got me shuffling, trying desperately not to trip. I heard a thrumming noise that I vaguely recognized as an airplane engine and a moment later, I was ascending a set of stairs onto a plane.
Once inside, someone seated me on a chair and anchored my wrists to the armrests, not bothering with care or kindness. Wishing I could tend to my bruises forming, I attempted to figure out a way out of this. My brain was heavily clouded though, so I just sat back to wait. About ten minutes into the trip, I began to hear a scuffle going on. The sound of flesh upon flesh combined with grunts prodded me to picture the fight going on, wishing desperately for my blindfold to be gone. I wanted to help, to use the self-defense I was taught in P.E. All I could do was wait for it to be over, and mentally root for the side that would rescue me.
It wasn't long before a new sound shook me out of the lethargy I was slipping into; the sound of breaking metal, like it was rusted or…Frozen. I experienced a fear that could not be matched when I felt a huge gust of wind on me. The man with the glasses was nothing compared to this. Even in my half-delirious state, I could recognize what the sucking meant. I was going to die.
My chair began to detach itself from the ground, now just hanging by a scrap of metal. I was afraid any attempts to struggle for freedom would simply put more strain on the metal. My precautions were useless though, and I was whipped out through the airplane hole.
I wished I could scream as I plummeted. Luckily though, I could feel the combination of terror and drugs sucking my consciousness away, possibly saving me from the pain of death. First though, I let a peace and calmness overtake me. In the serenity of the frigid air I could feel even through my thick jumpsuit, I pictured myself in a room with all those I loved. I knew that wherever they were, sleeping or awake, they were saying silent goodbyes to me for no reason they could comprehend. I let out my last conscious breath and closed my eyes to death.