All right, 3rd chapter. Let's see how it goes, shall we?

Chapter 2: What Am I?

Song: 'Sympathy' by The Goo Goo Dolls

They say that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. I'm not sure who says that, but they're probably the same people that came up with the 'deer in headlights' situation. Anne racked her brain for memories of her life; she was expecting them to start flashing, yet she couldn't remember anything past being seventeen. Two years? That's all she was good for? That was her life?

A sharp chill ran up her spine as the gun was cocked again for another shot. The gunner had already fired once at her, Anne tried to remember what happened to that bullet… she'd dodged it. How had she dodged it?

The gunshot puffed its way out of the silencer attached to the gun once more. A wide-eyed Anne watched the world turn upside down and her reflexes shot her body into the air, vaulting itself up and over the path of the bullet, and twisted in the air as Anne watched the bullet hit a rock behind her. Landing in a crouch on her feet, she expected herself to be out of breath, but she wasn't. Anne didn't wait around to see if the gunner would fire again. With ease and grace she got to her feet and turned around, running for the convent as fast as her legs would take her, which apparently was really fast. The world was a blur. Anne always knew she could run, just never not that fast! The gunner followed to the gate, but stopped. Anne found herself dodging more bullets as she ran. The wooden doors seemed to fling open to her touch. Swirling around, Anne slammed the doors closed by thrusting her body into them. The bang echoed through the hall, followed by a startled scream from the dining hall. Anne shut her eyes tight; Mother Superior was awake… damn. Anne started running again, this time for her room. Slamming the door behind her, she fell to her knees before her bed and prayed.

Mother Superior was an eighty-seven year old woman who didn't look a day over sixty. She wore a full nun's outfit all the time; her head was always covered. She had these incredibly piercing blue eyes that Anne swore she saw in her dreams. At almost five feet tall, the Mother had a surprising commanding presence, one that captured attention when she entered a room. The woman rarely showed emotion. Her posture was always upright and stiff, as if she'd been that way since she came out of the womb. Anne always had a strong respect of the woman, a fear of her even. However, that night, when the Mother rushed into Anne's room, it was her eyes that held the fear.

"Anne, child what's all the noise about? It sounded like the Lord's chariot was coming through the front door!"

Anne jumped to her feet so suddenly that the Mother had to do a double take.

"There was this man, and then a… a woman! And she shot at me… and I didn't get hit, then I ran!" Her mind was going a mile a minute, and she had started pacing. The Mother, seeming rather calm, sat down on the bed. "What did they look like, child?"

Anne tried to remember, what she saw was just beginning to register.

"The man, he had long dark hair, long like… like down past his jaw. And… brown eyes. He wore all black, nothing but black, and a long jacket. He was really tall… really tall," Anne kept pacing, her hands waving about as she talked. "His voice, was deep… and… sounded like he'd smoked a lot. And he wanted me to come with him… he was it was important. That bad things would happen if I didn't. Oh! And then the shooter! It was… a woman. Wearing all black, she was…under the bridge, so I didn't see her all that well. But she killed him! Just like that! His eyes… and then she turned the gun on me! She just started shooting me! And I dodged every bullet! And I ran so fast! It wasn't natural…" Anne stopped pacing and knelt beside the Mother, who was now looking down, wringing her hands.

"Mother, what am I?"

"I am sorry, my child…"

Stranger than your sympathy

"Sorry for what?"

"I knew this day would come…" The mother shook her head, in… dismay? Was that dismay? The Mother placed her hands on Anne's shoulders and looked into her soft, green eyes with her piercing, blue ones.

"My child, you are not an ordinary girl."

Oh yeah everything's all wrong yeah
Everything's all wrong yeah
Who the hell did I think I was

Anne couldn't believe her ears. She wasn't human, but no one quite knew what she was. The Mother kept saying how sorry she was that she didn't tell her sooner, she said she had her reasons.

"And what reasons are those?" Anne asked, impatiently.

"My dear, you weren't old enough. Not at the time."

"Old enough? How old did I need to be?"

"Old enough to understand… when we realized that something was… unusual… you were still very young."

"How long ago was that?"

The Mother closed her eyes, as if ashamed of what she was about to say.

"Five years ago." Anne's eyes widened.

"Five years ago, I was fourteen… that wasn't old enough?"

"Oh, my dear… if only that was the case… five years ago, you were only a child in elementary school."

Stranger than your sympathy
I take these things so I don't feel
I'm killing myself from the inside out
Now my head's been filled with doubt

Anne barely listened as the Mother explained herself. They had found Anne only ten years ago, outside on the doorstep, just as they always told her. (The mother even used the opportunity to mention how glad they were that the Lord had given her to them a few times.) They had taken care of her, and treated her as their own. They loved her, still do. When she was four they sent her to preschool, then kindergarten when she was five, and then they noticed that her clothes were too small, and she could read at a faster pace then the other children. She read through the Bible in one month. They noticed she looked more like a ten year old. And in a few years, the doctor said she was the same as a preteen. They had raised her from a babe for eight years, and she was already a seventeen year old. They had no idea what was different. (Anne noticed the Mother never mentioned that anything was wrong.) They had the Reverend Father pray over her fervently, they'd even had an exorcism! But nothing changed; so they just went with it. Her growing had slowed down two years ago. The Mother mentioned that. Along with how sorry she was.

Stranger than your sympathy
This is my apology
I'm killing myself from the inside out
And all my fears have pushed you out

I wish for things that I don't need
All I wanted
And what I chase won't set me free
All I wanted
And I get scared but I'm not crawling on my knees

Oh yeah everything's all wrong yeah
Everything's all wrong yeah
Where the hell did I think I was

After the Mother had explained all she could, she kissed Anne's forehead, and left her to deal with the knowledge. Anne just sat there, completely stunned. After a while, she didn't know how long, Anne got up and walked over to her desk on the other side of the room. She stopped halfway, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stood there, looking at her reflection. She looked the same. Her roundish face was still there. Her soft green eyes, and light brown wavy hair were still there, though her hair was kind of messed up. Her medium sized form was the same. Everything was the same as yesterday. Anne stared at herself in the mirror, as if waiting for her body to morph into that of a twenty year old any minute.

And I wasn't all the things
I tried to make believe I was
And I wouldn't be the one to kneel
Before the dreams I wanted
And all the talk and all the lies
Were all the empty things disguised as me
Yeah stranger than your sympathy stranger than your sympathy

Yup. That's it, a smidgeon too confusing, maybe… and sorry. Oh, and I know I have this under "romance" as well as "action/adventure" that will come later. Trust me. Review please!! Every little bit helps!