The little girl was running through the streets, laughing as her steps upset the stillness of the night. An older boy, her brother, chased her, purposely lagging behind her, giving the girl confidence.
Quickly turning, the girl shouted to her brother "surely you can catch me, Kael! I'm not too fast for you am I?".
She turned again and continued running, faster this time. Kael let himself speed up to his usual running pace; they couldn't run forever and their mother would kill him if he kept her out past 10 o'clock. He heard a distant rumble like thunder, yet also a unnatural resonance following closely behind. The girl began to slow, tired but determined to exhaust her brother, despite his athletic nature. The resonating rumble became louder, it was close. The girl reached the highway and then turned back to her brother, but walking backwards away from him.
With a smug smile, she shouted "and here I thought you were good at running".
The rumble was clearer now.
"Maybe I should race you in scho-"
"Kria!"
The speedbike flew down the road, the reverse thrusters suddenly bursting into life yet to no avail. Kria turned, the pale blue headlights illuminating her figure, her face full of terror. She screamed, and a deep blue wave of energy enveloped her body. The bike hit her, the frame crumpling against the immovable object. The rider, a man clad in full Tytherian leather and a helmet similar to those of the UIT soldiers seen at the garrison on the west side of Draen, was flung from his bike into the energy shield, his helmet taking the impact, shattering the protective carapace and the man's neck.
Petrified, Kria stood in the road, staring in dumbfounded horror at what had just happened. She should be dead, but what had saved her?
"Kael," she said, looking down at her violently trembling hands, "what did I just do?"
Kael grabbed his sister in his arms as she cried and clung to him, "I don't know baby girl, I don't know...".
Kria lay in her bed, staring up at her cold dark ceiling. All the houses in Draen were like this; all practicality, no luxury. Steel walls, no paint. As an outer colony, Draen had only existed for the last 30 years and so was far more militaristic in its aesthetics than the core worlds such as Arvernus II and Sonal VI, both of which were immense trade hubs that linked the entire Imperium into a network of supply and demand.
Slowly sitting up and pulling away her covers, Kria's heart bled at the thought of her being alone; first her brother left to join the UIT Marine Corps, and now she had killed her own sister in a freak accident due to her dark secret. Kria felt her body drain as she came to a sudden realisation; it had been eight years since Kria's run in with the speedbike, the first and only major episode she'd had in her life, until now. Ariana never knew the truth about her. She didn't know what was going on...
"Why are your eyes glowing?"
Kria shook her head and held back her tears. Wiping her eyes, she stood up and looked out her bedroom window. Darius had covered the crushed car and cleaned up the back garden. There was a small bundle covered in white cloth next to the back door, with Kria's mother kneeling over it. Kria closed the shutters and turned away. She looked over herself, inspecting for damage of any wasn't a scratch on her, however there was still a tingling through her body, like her veins had been lightly burnt. She opened her wardrobe, which was only half full of clothes, and stood before the mirror that was on the inside of the door for a better look. Kria's bloodshot green eyes met her through her reflection. Her fair skin was paler than usual, almost sickly, but her figure still retained its athletic tone. Stretching her arms and neck, there were several piercing clicks as her bones cracked.
Kria slowly clicked shut her wardrobe and silently strode to the bottom of her bed. Against the wall, was an upright piano, reflective and sleek with its glossy black finish. Kria let out a light cough as she pulled out the black leather stool and pressed her finger against the lid of the piano. With a clear 'beep', the lid unlocked and lifted up slightly. Kria pushed the lid up fully with one hand while she pulled the stool behind her, revealing eighty-eight keys of white and black. Kria sat down and positioned her feet on the pedals, brushing her hair back and straightening her posture. Her thin fingers spread out across the keys like spiders on a web but then halted. With a sigh, the grieving girl played; fingers moving slowly from key to key, eyes closed, head bowed slightly. The tempo was slow, the tune clear and resonant with emotion. The muscles in her forearms flickered as her fingers stretched to achieve the chords. The tune grew quieter, the keys slowly diminishing in sound. Her hands were still, and Kria's quiet sobbing was the only thing to break the silence.