A massive thankyou to everyone who read the first chapter and hopefully liked it enough to come back. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter as its lacking in action, but I wanted to get some bits out there, and I struggled a bit with it. Im really hoping to bring out her personality in the next one! Reviews always welcome:D
The next morning Cody found herself at the airport waiting to board her flight. She wasn't entirely sure how she got there complete with luggage; it seemed her auto pilot was working just fine.
She really didn't want to go to the party but she rarely saw her parents and she didn't want to let them down. Despite everything that happened, they had stood by her, even if she could see that flicker of doubt and possibly fear in their eyes.
"Flight 239 is now ready for boarding at gate 7"
Cody stood slowly, preparing herself for the first challenge of the day. She didn't like flying, there was something about a pressurised container thousands of feet in the air that didn't seem natural and putting a volatile agent on board that container wasn't her idea of fun.
A few deep breaths later and she was herded onto the plane with the other passengers. Grateful for once for her parents need to spend and flaunt their money she found her seat in first class and with the help of vodka managed to spend her time in the air peacefully and without much turbulence to put her on edge. As the plane came into land Cody thought about the real challenge ahead, an evening with her parents. She did not want to lose her temper in front of so many people, not when her track record was looking so good...
It was around her 12th birthday that Cody discovered her "talent". It was a talent for making things happen that she didn't want to. It was a talent that kept people from getting close to her, in every way. It was a talent she despised, a curse, and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.
Staring in the mirror of her hotel room she had to smile at what she saw. Gone were her slouch jeans and sweater and in their place was a satin emerald gown. Floor length and close fitting with wide shoulder straps; it had the perfect plunged back, stopping a safe way above her scars. Even she had to admit it looked good, maybe she could even pass as pretty...maybe.
Her raven hair hung sleekly past her shoulders, though too dark for her pale skin, it complemented the dress perfectly. Her blues eyes narrowed as they fell on the only imperfection, her gloves. The black leather fingerless gloves looked incredibly out of place next to her elegant gown. Set out by her mirror were a pair of black satin elbow length gloves, they would match the dress precisely but she couldn't bring herself to put them on.
Her own gloves had become her kind of security blanket, her protection, not from the world, but for it.
It started off as the odd accident here and there. Small incidents that could usually be explained away, but as time passed the incidents became more frequent, and more dangerous.
Her parents dismissed it as rebellion, destroying things for attention, often coming home to the smell of smoke and fire but never finding or seeing anything. Until Melissa's birthday.
Although she had no memory of that day, Cody knew it was her fault. The power she could emit frightened her constantly. The first time it happened followed an argument with her parents. She had locked herself in her room and was trying desperately not to cry when the water in the glass she was holding began to bubble and steam. Shocked, she quickly put the glass down just as a crack began to form up the side of the glass. Once released from her grip, the water settled. From there, it only got worse.
Once she was released from hospital after the fire she found she couldn't touch an item without it melting. Everyday objects soon became twisted deformed figures. Scared beyond belief, she wouldn't let anyone touch her for fear of what would happen. One day when sat in her garden a butterfly landed on her shoulder, barely a second passed before it fluttered to the ground a wisp of smoke trailing behind. She left home shortly afterwards. Keeping away from people wasn't hard, she was always the awkward shy one, Melissa had been her only real friend.
Through careful experimentation she discovered she could touch objects safely as long as she wore gloves. A simple barrier, but effective.
Life evolved from there, she studied and worked from home, sure, handling insurance claims wasn't her dream big job, but it paid the bills she refused to let her parents pay. And from the comfort of her living room she found a sort of social life, granted, she'd only seen her friends' user names and not their faces, but it worked for her.
Over time she learned to harness her power. She was able to move the power, to focus it into the palms of her hands, even reining it in from her fingertips. Her fingerless gloves provided the control she needed but also gave her a sort of exit route, just in case, for those times she did venture into the world, who needed mace when she had her skin.
Despite all this, at times, if stressed or emotional she would lose control of her power, feeling it flow in waves and pulses, so far her only cure for this was at the bottom of a bottle of wine.
For the most part, she had learned to live with her curse, the loneliness, the frustration, even the constant burning that coursed through her body, never ceasing, only endlessly burning.
"Screw it" She thought, taking off her gloves and slipping on the satin pair, as if she'd her 'mace' tonight.
Stepping into her black heels she took one last satisfied look glance in the mirror before heading for the door, stopping only to grab her leather gloves, stuff them quickly into her clutch and stepped out into the cool Germany evening.
Grr, so close to the good stuff, but I think this stuff had to be out there before hand. I will try my hardest to get the next one up within 24hrs, however, I'm writing as I go, and it tends to be on my lunch break (30mins is just not enough), and I'm seeing The Avengers (AGAIN) in the evening, I'm so excited! But hopefully that will inspire me some more and give me a push.
Amaris xox
