"What do you mean my child has the 'X' gene?!"
A Paranoid mother screamed as the father stood nearby, both standing in the doctor's office with the young, black haired child cringing wide- eyed behind the doctor.
"Its been proven in all of the tests, ma'am." The uniformed man flipped through his clipboard, checking off boxes with a felt tipped pen. "And the rules of the hospital are as told: no mutants allowed."
So this was how it was going to be - always shunned for what he was, rather than give him a chance to prove himself. Thomas might have been only seven, but he wasn't stupid. Listening to the quarrel between his parents and the doctor only made him wonder more. His dark ebony hues glared, as he watched the shadows of the adults on the wall.
"So we can't bring him here for simple check-ups anymore? What kind of a hospital are you running here?" The father exclaimed, stepping forward. The doctor sighed.
"According to the rules that were passed when this establishment was built, any doctor may refuse the right to assist those in need, if so wished. Also, you can check with the head of the state. Mutants aren't accepted under any circumstances."
The dark forms of the people shifted on the wall, Tom glaring intently at them. He'd better get used to this word 'mutant'. He balled his hands into fists, the shadows curling up momentarily before resuming to their natural state. Thomas' eyebrows arched.
"Damnit! Well he didn't get the gene from me!" Fingers were pointed across the room as the wife gasped.
"And you think I held the gene? My blood tests are just fine!"
The doctor found it best not to mention the gene was actually held in the male's system most of the time. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to take this quarrel elsewhere. I have other patients that need to be seen."
The two parents just stared at him, before the male grasped at the child's arm tightly, pulling him to his feet. Tom uttered a slight squeak of pain as he was rushed out of the room. The woman followed not soon after, while the doctor shook his head and set up for the next patient.
Once they made their way into the parking lot, the father tossed Thomas in front of him, his rage boiling over. "Now I have to live with having a freak for a son! What the hell's the matter with you, Avi?!" His wife cringed as she hustled the kid into the car. Samuel was always the raging drunk, half the time she didn't know why she ever stayed with him.
"It's not his fault, Sam! You can't-"
"It's your fault, that's what it is! You had this default of a son!"
Even inside the vehicle Tom could hear his parents argue. He lowered his head, watching the back of the drivers seat with little interest. He was used to putting up with his father's abusive ways, but he had a feeling that this was just the beginning of an even worse situation. After ten or so tense minutes of arguing, they stepped into the car. No words were spoken; Tom was too afraid to say a word and obviously the parents refused to speak. With an inquisitive eye, he began to play with shadow puppets on the back of the seats. He was always fond of the darkness, and being able to create creatures with his hands usually kept him sane. Making one dragon eat the rabbit, his hands creating this art before him. The car rolled along in dead silence, save for the thud that occurred when they hit over a bump in the road. When the vehicle neared the house Thomas stopped and buried his hands into his lap, but to his slight amazement the shadow elements did not cease. He smiled slightly as the figures on the back of the chair continued to play just with a mere thought.
"Get in the house, Tom." Avi said, pulling open the door to the car. The child nodded and made his way to the front door, waiting for it to be unlocked. The father stepped up behind him, pulling out his house key and shoving it into the lock. He shot an evil glare to his son, before opening the door. Tom quickly bolted inside.
"How about we go out tonight, Avi. It will get our thoughts off of earlier today."
Avi stared at Sam, her brown eyes fixated on his features. A drink would probably do them some good, and also get them to relax slightly. She nodded.
Thomas peeked around the banister to the stairs. They would probably leave him here. No matter, he had enough junk in his room to play with, and if he turned off the lights he could have an endless amount of fun, or so he thought.
The woman left to get back into the car, the sooner the better. Samuel then turned to grasp the child above the elbow harshly again. "You are going to stay in here." Dragging him off to the back door he tossed him inside the garage, which was mostly used for storage. "That way you don't get into trouble while we're gone." With a laugh he turned away and locked the door behind him.
Thomas stared blankly at the door. This could get to be a cold night, since it was into late Fall after all. He sat himself upon the stone floor, propping his elbows on his knees. Heck, while he was here he could play with those ever intriguing shadows some more. His black eyes shifted to watch the wall, and with a smirk he began to play out the events that happened earlier, the shadows taking the form of his parents and the doctor as he shaped his hands. Except that now it was his story, and they would do what he wanted them to do.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thankfully after she had a few drinks she allowed him to go into his room, but now he had a routine life. He wasn't allowed out of his room except for the evening meal and his chores, and then to attend school. His father had ended up leaving them, neither the mother nor the child had heard from him since that night. His mother had become a heavy drinker and a drug addict after that, blaming everything on Thomas, of course. He was actually very thankful to go to school, he could get away from his home life.
"Good morning, Thomas." His teacher greeted him as he walked into the doors of the classroom. With a mere nod Tom acknowledged her and headed for his table, which he shared with two girls and another guy. He dropped his backpack beside his chair, and then dug through it to find the folder that had the work from the day before. His classmates did the same.
"Make sure your name is on the worksheet, and pass it forward." She moved to collect them all, and then began to write the day's lesson on the board.
John, the other boy at Tom's table, moved to whisper to one of the girls. The children were dressed in new jeans and nice t-shirts, flannel jackets draped over their chairs. There hair was cut nicely, brushed in some extravagant style. But Thomas, he was dressed in baggy black jeans, his mom didn't want to keep buying new clothes whenever he grew so she bought big. His t-shirt had a few holes in it here and there, and his black hair was long, past his ears but above the shoulders, and it hung in his eyes. There was a large bruise above his lip, and it had obviously been busted open the night before. He glared, swearing that John was talking about him. Brushing it off, however, he did his work.
It wasn't until lunchtime that chaos erupted, however. As he sat his paper bag on the table, one of the other, older children pushed him into the chair. "Look, it's that freaky kid, Thomas." His friend laughed, as Tom moved to stand. His ebony hues looked the kid down. Thomas wasn't weak; he had learned to stand up for himself when his parents wouldn't. The older child pushed him again. "What'cha gunna do?"
With a small smirk Thomas fumbled behind him, grabbing at the plastic fork on the table.
"People like you shouldn't be allowed to come to a public school." By now a few of the children seated at surrounding tables were watching, itching for a fight. The older child reached out, shoving Thomas backwards again. He tumbled into the table, knocking a tray to the floor. The lunchroom supervisor glanced over.
"Knock it off, children."
"Yeah, Thomas, knock it off." They mocked, as snickers floated through the room. Tom glared. He wasn't much of a big talker. The bully laughed and turned to eat. Talk began to spread the room once more until the older kid fell forward, crashing into the table, causing other kids to jump. He turned quickly only to look into the dark eyes of Thomas. He threw a punch, but Tom countered by bringing the fork up, snapping it in half but it served its purpose. The youngster now had a slight gash across his hand. He screamed and swung again, knocking Tom to the floor. The teacher ran over immediately.
"Stop it, I'm going to call both of your parents." She bent to help Tom to his feet, but he brushed her off and moved quickly to hit the bully again. John, who was watching for a while now, moved quickly to grab Tom around the waist. The older kid recoiled and brought his balled fist to the side of Tom's face, while the teacher moved to pull John off of Tom and another entered the room and made haste towards the fight. Thomas muttered something under his breath before reaching out a hand, and a dark looming shadow crawled from his fingertips, bleeding unto the floor. John gasped and let go, sending him and the teacher to the floor. The bully screamed again as the black abyss spread, creeping its way across the floor and up the walls, soon engulfing the entire lunchroom into blackness.
A Paranoid mother screamed as the father stood nearby, both standing in the doctor's office with the young, black haired child cringing wide- eyed behind the doctor.
"Its been proven in all of the tests, ma'am." The uniformed man flipped through his clipboard, checking off boxes with a felt tipped pen. "And the rules of the hospital are as told: no mutants allowed."
So this was how it was going to be - always shunned for what he was, rather than give him a chance to prove himself. Thomas might have been only seven, but he wasn't stupid. Listening to the quarrel between his parents and the doctor only made him wonder more. His dark ebony hues glared, as he watched the shadows of the adults on the wall.
"So we can't bring him here for simple check-ups anymore? What kind of a hospital are you running here?" The father exclaimed, stepping forward. The doctor sighed.
"According to the rules that were passed when this establishment was built, any doctor may refuse the right to assist those in need, if so wished. Also, you can check with the head of the state. Mutants aren't accepted under any circumstances."
The dark forms of the people shifted on the wall, Tom glaring intently at them. He'd better get used to this word 'mutant'. He balled his hands into fists, the shadows curling up momentarily before resuming to their natural state. Thomas' eyebrows arched.
"Damnit! Well he didn't get the gene from me!" Fingers were pointed across the room as the wife gasped.
"And you think I held the gene? My blood tests are just fine!"
The doctor found it best not to mention the gene was actually held in the male's system most of the time. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to take this quarrel elsewhere. I have other patients that need to be seen."
The two parents just stared at him, before the male grasped at the child's arm tightly, pulling him to his feet. Tom uttered a slight squeak of pain as he was rushed out of the room. The woman followed not soon after, while the doctor shook his head and set up for the next patient.
Once they made their way into the parking lot, the father tossed Thomas in front of him, his rage boiling over. "Now I have to live with having a freak for a son! What the hell's the matter with you, Avi?!" His wife cringed as she hustled the kid into the car. Samuel was always the raging drunk, half the time she didn't know why she ever stayed with him.
"It's not his fault, Sam! You can't-"
"It's your fault, that's what it is! You had this default of a son!"
Even inside the vehicle Tom could hear his parents argue. He lowered his head, watching the back of the drivers seat with little interest. He was used to putting up with his father's abusive ways, but he had a feeling that this was just the beginning of an even worse situation. After ten or so tense minutes of arguing, they stepped into the car. No words were spoken; Tom was too afraid to say a word and obviously the parents refused to speak. With an inquisitive eye, he began to play with shadow puppets on the back of the seats. He was always fond of the darkness, and being able to create creatures with his hands usually kept him sane. Making one dragon eat the rabbit, his hands creating this art before him. The car rolled along in dead silence, save for the thud that occurred when they hit over a bump in the road. When the vehicle neared the house Thomas stopped and buried his hands into his lap, but to his slight amazement the shadow elements did not cease. He smiled slightly as the figures on the back of the chair continued to play just with a mere thought.
"Get in the house, Tom." Avi said, pulling open the door to the car. The child nodded and made his way to the front door, waiting for it to be unlocked. The father stepped up behind him, pulling out his house key and shoving it into the lock. He shot an evil glare to his son, before opening the door. Tom quickly bolted inside.
"How about we go out tonight, Avi. It will get our thoughts off of earlier today."
Avi stared at Sam, her brown eyes fixated on his features. A drink would probably do them some good, and also get them to relax slightly. She nodded.
Thomas peeked around the banister to the stairs. They would probably leave him here. No matter, he had enough junk in his room to play with, and if he turned off the lights he could have an endless amount of fun, or so he thought.
The woman left to get back into the car, the sooner the better. Samuel then turned to grasp the child above the elbow harshly again. "You are going to stay in here." Dragging him off to the back door he tossed him inside the garage, which was mostly used for storage. "That way you don't get into trouble while we're gone." With a laugh he turned away and locked the door behind him.
Thomas stared blankly at the door. This could get to be a cold night, since it was into late Fall after all. He sat himself upon the stone floor, propping his elbows on his knees. Heck, while he was here he could play with those ever intriguing shadows some more. His black eyes shifted to watch the wall, and with a smirk he began to play out the events that happened earlier, the shadows taking the form of his parents and the doctor as he shaped his hands. Except that now it was his story, and they would do what he wanted them to do.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thankfully after she had a few drinks she allowed him to go into his room, but now he had a routine life. He wasn't allowed out of his room except for the evening meal and his chores, and then to attend school. His father had ended up leaving them, neither the mother nor the child had heard from him since that night. His mother had become a heavy drinker and a drug addict after that, blaming everything on Thomas, of course. He was actually very thankful to go to school, he could get away from his home life.
"Good morning, Thomas." His teacher greeted him as he walked into the doors of the classroom. With a mere nod Tom acknowledged her and headed for his table, which he shared with two girls and another guy. He dropped his backpack beside his chair, and then dug through it to find the folder that had the work from the day before. His classmates did the same.
"Make sure your name is on the worksheet, and pass it forward." She moved to collect them all, and then began to write the day's lesson on the board.
John, the other boy at Tom's table, moved to whisper to one of the girls. The children were dressed in new jeans and nice t-shirts, flannel jackets draped over their chairs. There hair was cut nicely, brushed in some extravagant style. But Thomas, he was dressed in baggy black jeans, his mom didn't want to keep buying new clothes whenever he grew so she bought big. His t-shirt had a few holes in it here and there, and his black hair was long, past his ears but above the shoulders, and it hung in his eyes. There was a large bruise above his lip, and it had obviously been busted open the night before. He glared, swearing that John was talking about him. Brushing it off, however, he did his work.
It wasn't until lunchtime that chaos erupted, however. As he sat his paper bag on the table, one of the other, older children pushed him into the chair. "Look, it's that freaky kid, Thomas." His friend laughed, as Tom moved to stand. His ebony hues looked the kid down. Thomas wasn't weak; he had learned to stand up for himself when his parents wouldn't. The older child pushed him again. "What'cha gunna do?"
With a small smirk Thomas fumbled behind him, grabbing at the plastic fork on the table.
"People like you shouldn't be allowed to come to a public school." By now a few of the children seated at surrounding tables were watching, itching for a fight. The older child reached out, shoving Thomas backwards again. He tumbled into the table, knocking a tray to the floor. The lunchroom supervisor glanced over.
"Knock it off, children."
"Yeah, Thomas, knock it off." They mocked, as snickers floated through the room. Tom glared. He wasn't much of a big talker. The bully laughed and turned to eat. Talk began to spread the room once more until the older kid fell forward, crashing into the table, causing other kids to jump. He turned quickly only to look into the dark eyes of Thomas. He threw a punch, but Tom countered by bringing the fork up, snapping it in half but it served its purpose. The youngster now had a slight gash across his hand. He screamed and swung again, knocking Tom to the floor. The teacher ran over immediately.
"Stop it, I'm going to call both of your parents." She bent to help Tom to his feet, but he brushed her off and moved quickly to hit the bully again. John, who was watching for a while now, moved quickly to grab Tom around the waist. The older kid recoiled and brought his balled fist to the side of Tom's face, while the teacher moved to pull John off of Tom and another entered the room and made haste towards the fight. Thomas muttered something under his breath before reaching out a hand, and a dark looming shadow crawled from his fingertips, bleeding unto the floor. John gasped and let go, sending him and the teacher to the floor. The bully screamed again as the black abyss spread, creeping its way across the floor and up the walls, soon engulfing the entire lunchroom into blackness.