Chapter One: Seconds To React
"Ms. Marbrooks, please!"
A student begged as leaves, cold heavy rain, hail, and whatever else the wind could pick up slammed violently against the classroom windows.
The windows were three stories high seeing as to how we were on the fourth floor on the west wing of the building overlooking the park full of ancient pines next to it.
Ms. Marbrooks' glare grew even colder than ice, giving that girl a look that could freeze even the dimmest depths of hell twice over.
Ms. Marbrooks(evilly): No! We will continue with the lesson! Now please! Remain quiet until you are called upon. There will be no more crying from any of you!
The girl fought back tears as she bit her bottom lip.
The weather forewarn system sirens were blaring from outside indicating to everyone who's ears were in reach there a major weather storm headed towards our quaint little town of Madison County, threatening tornadoes. According to the news, the worst storm to hit us to date.
The sky was so dark, it was unreal.
The rest of the classrooms in the school had evacuated to safety, but Ms. Marbrooks being the old, spiteful, villainously wicked creature she was, she saw no threat in what the weather was doing and kept all of her students here hostage. Even though it was worsening before our very eyes.
The rest of the class was entirely horrified, fearing that something bad was about to happen. Something tremendously terrible was approaching.
As for me, I felt the same thing. I sat in the farthest desk in the back of the classroom by the windows in the farthest corner from the door and her desk, a result of Ms. Marbrooks' putrid and undying hatred for me for.
But today, today felt different. I had been seventeen years old for three days now, and feeling ill since the second I had became it. It felt as if something inside of me was painfully and slowly tearing my insides apart, the pain sometimes searing and excruciating. But now, as the weather turned entirely for the worse, the pain was unbearable.
It was now reaching its highest level of torture for me, I was almost to tears. I wasn't even paying attention to this lunatic attempting to teach a class in a weather storm that could be considered a transparent indication that the end of days was near for all of us.
"Ms. Swann? MS. SWANN! Are you even listening to me?" Ms. Marbrooks' annoying voice screeched.
Before I could answer, the lights in the entire school went out causing all the students to scream out in fear while she tried to regain order.
I was completely hunched over in my desk now, holding my sides as the pain overtook me.
Then I heard it.
Through all the screams and cries for help out of fear.
Through all of my murderous pain.
Through the inexplicably loud heartbeats dancing on my ear drum.
Something was coming.
It was far, but it was coming fast.
Something big.
Everyone needed to run.
Could no one else hear it?
Was I the only one?
Why were people still here?
It was coming towards the wind right next to mine.
Seconds away.
It wasn't enough time to warn them now.
Only seconds to react.
3...
I felt the pain turn into a complete burning, spreading like an infestation throughout my entire being scolding all of my insides and muscles. I cried out, almost roaring like some animal or beast, at this awesome sensation.
2...
All along something inside of me had been growing fiercely, and now it was finally surfacing taking over my every muscle.
1...
I swiftly jumped to my feet turning to my side, unaware of what exactly I was doing, catching what came flying through the wall at over 100 miles an hour between an hour between my arms and in my chest, sending my feet back only a few inches but not trembling my balance.
Through the screams, all the broken shattered glass flying around, the desks flying and the cold pouring rain and hail, I had caught this big tree mid-flight. That came crashing into our school building, crashing into our classroom, reaching only centimeters away from Ms. Marbrooks' face.
I looked at it in my arms, this large ancient tree that was over 6 times my height and weight in amazement.
I pushed it back out of the now enormous hole in the side of the building, feeling every muscle in my body rippling. I felt something pulsing over me, something that scared me I felt the urge to do lot of strange things I would never imagine myself doing, and I could not stop. I couldn't control it.
I slowly turned back around to face my timid classmates cowering in the corner from me. As if they were scared. As if I were something to be afraid of.
"Why are her eyes red?"
"How did she do that?"
"FREAK!"
I closed my eyes and slowly turned back around facing the rain now pouring into the classroom.
What was wrong with me?
What had I become?
What had I done?