Dark Matter: Chapter One Friday, June 16, 2017

Wind ripped through her white hair with its bitter cold and ruthless bite. Elena Gilbert stood outside in the unpleasant cold as she waited for her brother Jeremy to return from seeing his 'friend'. More like code for business associate, she thought as her fingers twiddled together. And not the good kind. Sharp slice like cuts of wind traveled down her frail back causing her to shake almost violently as she waited. Whoosh, another gust howled by and the wind soared through the buildings with rampant haste. It sounded like a howling animal if she weren't mistaken.

And there you go trying to spook yourself again, she said to herself.

People's voices hummed around her like a blanket of soft sound while the sirens and honks permeated through the streets. It was all background noise to her as her mind kept wandering. Their voices danced with joy, some with irritation, and the occasional passerby would brush past her as if she weren't there. To most that was a bad thing, but for her it was essential. This amusement slowly faded as she grew colder and waited longer. It was not unlike her brother to take a while to do his 'business' which she knew bordered on the illegal side, but this was just not the time for it. The cold had rolled in quicker than most nights.

As she stood there, one of the passersby's bumped into her causing both of them to stumble. "Hey!" She yelled as she grasped for leverage and nearly tripped. The person, probably male, was built like a brick wall. "I'm blind, what's your excuse?"

Damn that hurt, she mumbled to herself. Then she noted something very odd. He hadn't said anything to her yet. Uh oh, she worried. Blood fled her limbs when faced with danger. It was not a good thing to get noticed! Everything felt numb for a second as she waited to know her fate. Would this be the day she was taken, or was it just another idiot who couldn't walk straight without looking down at his phone. These run ins were more common than people realized.

She was met with silence, and it infuriated her even more than the perceived threat of abduction. It left fear on the back burner. I mean who does that? Just bump into you and not even say a word, she thought with bitterness. This person exuded an air of palatable menace, yet that didn't deter her usual temper, and it grated badly on her nerves. She waited for something-anything to be said.

Nope, nadda, she thought indignantly. Arrogant prick.

"At least have the decency to apologize! Good grief, what is it with you people?" She brushed herself off with brisk haste and noted that the person who'd bumped her had stopped and was probably staring at her still. But there was a problem. She couldn't figure out where she was. Sure she could locate the nearest object, but she didn't know the place well enough. "Can't pay attention in the real world," she mumbled to herself.

Gently, she felt an arm touch her elbow and stiffened. The stranger moved her slowly and placed her hands on a pole that was just across from the diner. Oh, she thought surprised. He wore thick gloves, no doubt because it was just that cold out. Calm yourself, she chided.

There was a faint almost whisper she barely heard, "Sorry." Its tone was unique, almost surprised, and filled with a little something else she wasn't used to.

"I didn't hear that, what?"

Why hadn't he moved along yet? Elena figured she'd have been gone if he were going to abduct her. Go on you weirdo, she said inwardly. Being stared at was not an uncommon thing, unfortunately. When you look like I do it wasn't hard for people to stare, she inwardly cowered. Maybe you ought to shut up while you're ahead.

With a harsher tone than before she said, "Move along. It's not nice to stare," and raised her brows and indicated her unease with a slight shake of her head. Typical teenage expressiveness hadn't escaped her. Though she could tell the physical body moved, she still felt eyes on her. It was like that one piece of hair that lay hidden someplace just out of reach on your shirt and irritated you all day.

"Ugh", she moaned. "It's like people never saw an albino in their life. I hate to think what others feel like when they get stared at. Things could be worse."

She snapped her head in the direction that feeling came from with nervousness every few minutes. I am definitely being watched, she thought with surety. Lately, it was as if she had a sixth sense for danger, and that force or whatever she thought it was called, was telling her it was time to go. She knew she couldn't go far for fear of other...things happening.

Yeah, a force of nature or your doom you idiot, she told herself with a wicked laugh on the inside. I don't believe in this stuff, she told herself. Chill out-well I am chilling out.

It was as if something was loitering out there, yet she couldn't place just what it was. That is the nature of darkness, she scolded herself. You scare yourself all on your own, Elena. Then again, her world was always dark now.

A fierce shiver forced its way along her spine a second time and caused her to gripe and buckle, "Grr, it's too cold for this crap! Jeremy!"

Typical of a person of her age, she stomped angrily and rearranged herself so that she was wrapped as tight as could be. I feel like an eggroll, she joked. Leaning against the cold brick or glass was out of the question.

Despite her annoyance, her voice was like a whisper on such busy streets. Fading into nothingness as always, she recited to herself. Oddly, this was the safest time to lurk about; street lights lit up the roads as if it were daytime without the varying mirages that almost blinded people during daytime transit. It was a reminder that the times had changed, and the sun's rays were no longer as enjoyable as they'd once been. Everything was hotter than hades, or colder than ice. Despite the hotter than normal days, the weather cycles had altered what was left of any resemblance of seasons.

June had cold spells, what was once winter had seen scorching hot days, and fall or spring were often absent most years. Elena rubbed her hands together as she tried to keep warm. It was October 30th and people were ready to get their spook on.

With a small smile and an amused thought, I'd love to wear some outrageous costume and just wander the streets on a normal day. There were few things she could call her own in this world, but humor was one. It wasn't easy to connect with others so she found it better to use her sarcastic nature. She couldn't afford to be outside during the sun bright hours for long. Being a partial albino didn't help. It was the very reason she was standing out there in the cold night to begin with. It was the beginning event that set things in her life in motion.

Skin color. Whatever, she mused.

Few people ventured out during the days, yet many started around the twilight hours. She couldn't really do that without a pound of sunscreen. Fifteen pounds, she told herself with an eye roll that followed. It sucked and it made her smell weird.

My world is dark, as it always will be, she thought with some sadness. She hated her outlook, bleak as it was, but there was no life or color in her world. As time passed and she grew older, Elena began to desire more out of life rather than just hiding. The very thing that people loved to look at when she was around, was the very thing that had caused her trouble in some of the more remote places they'd traveled through to get to America.

Albinos are scientific and explainable in the modern world, but to superstitious people, her limbs had 'magical abilities and qualities'. No lie, they'd been chased through countries over it.

They'd been called freaks or devils, and though her brother didn't share her condition because there was no blood relation, he still cared for her. Even after all of this time, Elena wondered why he was so adamant that he stay at her side. He was sharper than most skilled hunters, lethal when it came to her. There'd been many throw downs in her lifetime when it came to him. Maybe he had since there were a few unfortunate times others had not had her luck and escaped torture. Limbs missing or cut off, death, and only God knew what else awaited her. Oh well, she brushed off thoughts of the misinformed, it is what it is.

Focus to see if you hear him coming, she decided. As she listened, voices chattered just out of reach behind the glass of the small diner she was waiting outside of. Her hands were so cold that they literally stung, so she dug them deep into the only sweater she had. She'd waited for Jeremy by the glass windows feeling oddly out of place. Now she stood at a pole to afraid to move. If only we had one of those tiny houses I heard about on TV, she thought dreamily. Hook it up to a car and travel around with the house right there, easy peasy. She turned her head to the side feeling eyes on her back again as she had since the stranger had moved on.

Was he still there?

The wind picked up around her, like the weather was angry.

Since they'd bumped into one another, everything seemed different to her. The noise, the weather, and…something else. Fear maybe? She pondered. Though she listened, there was nothing there to suggest anyone close. Still, the hairs on the back of her neck stood erect, and she was almost sure someone was. Elena sighed, shivered, and burrowed deeper into her sweater. If someone is watching me, I can't outrun them.

This reminded her of the earlier fear she'd experienced and how easily it had gone in the wake of her temper. I'm tired of feeling this way, she thought.

Trafficking was at an all-time high, and a lone girl in front of a window or pole was easy prey. If Jeremy didn't hurry up everything would freeze in place. As it were, she thought tiny icicles were starting to form on her lashes.

Irritated she said, "Hurry up, Jeremy. I'm gonna blend in with the snow here soon. Frickin' snow in October…" A certain cartoon princess came to mind just then. Oh lord, Elena, she said to herself. If you wanted super powers you are severely lacking at the moment.

Being poor had its downfalls, this being one of them. No amount of clothes would replace real heat or a coat. The endless waiting, the walking, the never knowing if they'd be alright or make it to next week barred down on her like an invisible weight. Worry was a constant in her and Jeremy's life. Both had been living off the meager handouts of strangers since arriving in the states. If it weren't for the bond between them, she figured they'd be long parted.

With so many things stacked against them, she truly wondered if this was the right place for them to go. He's gonna want to put you in a place, she thought to herself. You are young enough to stay in foster care and get citizenship. Her shoulders shrugged & brushed this off. He was all she had family wise.

They'd made due though and cutting corners. They lived off Goodwill clothes, and she was not in the least ashamed of that. Lemons-it was what we always got from life so I deal with it. Besides, she assumed as she sighed, I had no real use for fashion. There was a unique flare for life when a person surpassed the odds and lived on the edge like they did. Keep telling yourself that, snowflake. You'd love a stable place and a warm place to lay your head.

I'd been dealt one of the worse hands life could offer when I was no more than a day old. I can handle the cold, so stop trying to complain, she told herself. She'd been left to die after her mother birthed her. People saw events just like it on TV most days, and she was no different than those kids. Left to the trash when there were churches and outreaches that took them no questions asked. Thousands wished for children as theirs died. So many kids and people were dying annually that global capacity was on the decline.

Elena felt the wave of darkness as it rose over the places they'd been the last five years. Subtle at first, the energy of each place seemed to slowly change for the worse. That was typical these days when more people were poor than rich. If she reached her hand out, it was like there was actual weight there. It was a palatable sensation, and one that didn't offer any remorse. Rough to the edges, soft like silk, there were many faces of immorality.

Perhaps I am just sensing what others see, she contemplated carefully. Like most things that dwelled in darkness, it drew a person in with seduction & spit them out when it was finished. There wasn't a damned innocent soul anymore.

"This must be the teenage crisis I've heard about," she lamented. "Aaaand I'm talking to myself. C'mon! Not now!"

A small child cried out for its mother and jarred Elena out of her growing anger. A horn blared loudly and faded with the car as it drove away. The spook caused her adrenaline to surge; that cold sensation that started in her stomach began to spread through her limbs. It actually warmed her a degree. A helicopter flew over her head rustling her already crazy bed head. In that moment terror consumed her and she didn't understand why.

Buried memories, she considered. She nearly decided to leave.

Each muscle constricted in an invisible pain, but was the true reflection of an emotional one. A tightness coiled inside, her lungs so tight she could barely breathe, and tears threatened to fill her eyes. Just like always, she murmured to herself. One, two, three…this was the way out for her. She counted until the pain eased. When everything inside her finally settled, Elena sagged against the pole and pushed the beads of sweat from her forehead. Every time a child cried out like that, her response was the same. Better to bury the reasons, she thought inwardly.

It had to be fate that brought her and Jeremy to a common local church out reach. She thought, why her? Why did I live? Numerous times, Elena wondered what stars had crossed that night to keep her alive. There was no memory of when she'd met him, so she'd always assumed they'd always been together. It was clear they were not related. Since then, especially on the subject of mothers, she'd remained reserved and kept her emotions cold. Though she appeared emotionless or collected on the subject, it was a terrible sour spot in her life. It wasn't that uncommon to find kids motherless. Most people saw this age as the 'end of days', so it was pretty well known that all religions laid claim to 'The End' and made last ditch efforts to save the unsavable.

Jeremy couldn't remember his past either. It was weird to both of them, but what could they do? In a series of strange events and odd connections, they both refused to face the fact that something very strange had happened to them.

With an edge of bitterness she thought, People need to save themselves.

Ana was a nun from that Baptist church outreach took pity on them. Jeremy and she had nowhere else to go when he arrived with her. The woman had taught them how to survive. Apparently, Jeremy never shed light on it to his sister, but they'd been cared for previously by vicious people. He had been found covered in blood, and the little girl with him had been blinded & barley alive. It was obvious to Ana that they were not related, but they would not be parted. Jeremy screamed bloody murder, and the small child with him fared unwell when they were parted. She became ill.

Elena. Her name sounded almost pretty now, but the history of it still bothered her. Sad wasn't it, she thought. He had built in GPS when it came to finding her, a thing they joked about often. Within a few hours, she'd be well again. That bond perplexed them and they had never found a way around it.

Despite that, the outreach still tried to keep them apart. Ana was the only one who seemed to understand that they were connected. Jeremy really loved Ana like a mother. Authorities couldn't find anyone to claim either one.

In that bitter dump of a place, she'd spread her music creating a sort of light for the common folk. It suited her well. When Ana was moved back to the states and unable to adopt them, Jeremy decided to run with the little girl. He named her Elena rather than awaiting the day he was finally separated from her. He promised to himself he'd care for her all the days of his life, and had continued to do so. Her memories faded, and with them, her smile. He was slowly changing, and by the looks of it, she was going to pay the price for it.

She thought, who leaves someone they truly care outside in this weather?

It was times like this Elena wondered what the purpose of life was when all people did was die a little each day on the inside. Living was hard, and nothing easy unless you were among the elite. Not all areas of the states were the same, however. She supposed she didn't miss much-since she never got to really experience it. But that constant yearning to know always surfaced no matter how she tried to tame her heart down. Man always wants to know, but he so easily forgot his past and his history.

Many nights Elena remained awake wondering what the grass looked like, the sun, or even the moon. What was love…outside of her and Jeremy's bond? Why would a mother abandon their young when it was one of the strongest driving forces out there? At least most days she was glad to be alive, but that was all she was anymore. There were no stars to wish on, no school with plenty of friends, not even her skin offered her sanctuary. And now he'd moved to a more criminal lifestyle she wanted no part in. Loose ends were killed.

A newly formed void had opened at some point in her life and she didn't know when it started. With emptiness always held at bay, she wondered how long she could outlast it. It's not like Jeremy would have responsibility to her after she was eighteen, nor was it fair to hold him back because she was ill or blind. Half the time people complained about their existences…sometimes she wish she had theirs. He just didn't see it for what it was.

But, I am alive, she tried to be thankful for that. Inside she felt like screaming, and then guilty for being so selfish about it.

One of the first things life taught her was that people were cruel. "Eh," she told herself. "Stop whining. Grass wasn't green anywhere anymore let alone on the other side." Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. It is hard to maintain a sense of gratefulness when things feel too stacked against me and Jeremy, she thought. This too shall pass. Goodness, what is he up to? She relented, but her hands felt prickly. They downright felt blue.

Snow. Oddities like this had been starting all year and seemed like an unending tide of unluckiness for the crops and people around here. She made what was her imitation of the Elvis lip 'of disdain', and contemplated a fake beating for her brother in cartoon fashion in her head. A good ol' cartoon smack down always seemed to relieve her stress. Ok here's more snow, call me an ice princess, she thought. Wait, they had one of those didn't they or is your mind going in circles? Yes, it is going in circles.

A new record was being set daily temperature wise or even in strange weather phenomena. One happened almost two decades ago, out of the blue, and it just perpetuated that cycle until it was normal to be abnormal. Many had lost their mind in the heat, or their lives in the cold. Every single possible scenario was being played up from polar vortexes to ice age. If there was a doomsayer with a sign…well that would make everything complete.

There may be one out here you just can't see them, she reminded herself. "Ok, this isn't normal even for me. It has to be the cold weather affecting my sanity. Good God," she remarked and tilted her head skyward. There was a strange invisible groaning sound that danced across the sky.

"That isn't good," she remarked hearing similar sentiments around her.

It reminded Elena of those odd sounds coming from the skies even across the news castings during baseball games. Horrible earthquakes usually occurred afterwards. Many blamed the recent earthquakes for the sounds, or some really weird ionization in the upper layers of the atmosphere, but that was actually backward. Several harmonic symbols had started to rise in corn fields also spurring on the old alien stories. She silently deliberated if they could be connected. There was also a strange moaning that came from the ocean depths.

Florida didn't really have earthquakes, but it did have floods. Regardless, it was like something was on the wind, eerie and unnatural. People had to be ready at any moment now. When she shivered again, it was not from the cold.

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