To Save a Town 2

Soroya flew the short distance to the town square where the town's people, old and young, were being loaded into trucks. Those who were old and strong enough to offer resistance had been handcuffed or tied. Many of the children were crying. There as a news crew and its vans interspersed with the military vehicles. They were recording the scene and broadcasting it live. It was how she and her brother had become aware of the situation.

She came to a stop, floating in place just south of the square. Using some of her power, she projected her voice and spoke. "General Thrisen! Let these people go!"

All heads, cameras, and guns turned to face her. A collective gasp went through the crowd as they noticed her, floating above the streets. Very few of her people used their power for flight, it took too much power, and even fewer had used it where it could be seen. None had ever been captured on camera.

A man, tall and muscular, pushed his way through the soldiers and civilians to stand in the center of the square. He had a megaphone in his hand. "Ah, Soroya Kingschild. We meet at last." he spoke into the megaphone. "Where-"

"I'm here to trade myself for the town." She cut him of before he could ask where her brother was. "They've done nothing." As she spoke, she noticed soldiers moving through the news crews, making them lower their cameras and voice recorders.

"They gave shelter to enemies of the United States." was the general's reply.

"They had no idea I was here. I rarely came to town, and when I did, I made sure I could not be recognized. They did not know they were helping me. Let them go and I'll come peacefully."

The general thought about her words for a moment. "You'll come willingly? No fighting or resistance?"

"Yes. Provided you release them now. I won't come down until then." she replied.

The general spoke into his sleeve. "How about this, in addition to you surrendering peacefully, you also prove that there are no others like you among this crowd and I'll let the town go. No charges will be filed, no one arrested. If there are others like you, they will be taken and placed in the nearest camp, instead of being taken as a terrorist. Sound like a deal? As you think on this, you should know that I have men in place to shoot you out of the sky if you refuse this offer. "

She didn't immediately respond. He was asking her to betray her own people. It would have been one thing if no others had been here; but there was one man. He was a few years older than she and Corin, and taller. He stood with defiant posture among other young men who were waiting to be loaded onto a truck. Even from her height, she could see the markings that marked him as one of her people. The markings of her people were only visible on a certain wavelength of light. A wavelength that humans could not see or produce. Not with out help. What would be the most significant about this betrayal, even of one man, was the fact that she was supposed to be a leader of her people, a queen of sorts to her brother's role as a king. Even still, she knew what she was going to do.

"I'm sorry."she mentally said as she sent a telepathic burst of apology and deep regret. While her people could not exchange words telepathically, but they could send "bursts" of emotion with such precision that they might as well have. Her burst was returned with one understanding and acceptance. From the way he expressed it, she got the impression that he had known what she would do even before she had and that he was perfectly okay with it, possibly even proud. "Strange." she thought.

She closed her eyes concentrated. She felt the power flowing through her and molded it to her will. A moment later, she was filled with warmth. She opened her eyes and raised her right hand. A yellowish light emanated from it. She shone it over the crowd. She lit the rest of crowd, moving slowly so that the general and his soldiers could clearly see that there were none of her people among them, before coming to stop on the man she had noticed.

"Bring that man here." the general said through his megaphone. Soldiers moved to obey. They grasped the man by the arms and brought him to stand by the general. Once he was standing beside the general, arms still held by the soldiers, the general addressed her again. "Alright, Ms. Kingschild, it's time for you to hold up your end of the deal."

"What about the townspeople? They are free to go?" she asked.

"Yes. The town is free to go." the general responded. He spoke into his sleeve again and solders began to move through the crowd, releasing those who had been restrained.

She watched for a moment and then slowly began to descend, releasing the power that held her in the air . She did it slowly so that no one would assume she was flying off or attacking.

She had only descended a couple feet when she heard a muffled thwump and whooshing sound behind and above her. She whirled in the direction of the sound. She tried to dodge, but was not fast enough, so a second later, her chest and left arm exploded in pain and she lost all control of her power and descent.

She was vaguely aware that she was headed in the direction of where General Thrisen was standing. She hit the ground with a thud, cracking the asphalt.Her unconscious body rolled a few times and stopped. There was blood coming from a gash on her head and from her nose.

"Restrain her." the general said, and his men obeyed. They roughly rolled her over and cuffed her hands behind her back with cuffs made special for restraining her kind. Two of them lifted her by her arms and dragged her to a truck.

"Lieutenant," he said, addressing a man beside him who saluted, "make sure she stays unconscious until I say so. Also, take that man she identified with you. If he give you any trouble, shoot him." The lieutenant gave him a "yes, sir!" and scurried off to follow his orders. Then, the general turned to address the rest of his men and yelled, "Somebody confiscate those cameras!"

To be Herself

She lay back on the stone railing and closed her eyes. The stone wasn't particularly comfortable, but it was better than being cooped up in the house. She listened to the soft gurgling of the stream that ran underneath the bridge. It was so peaceful here. The stone was cool beneath her skin. She knew she should be inside, learning French or practicing her embroidery; but she was tired of of all. She was tired of all the pressure of being a "lady." She wanted to learn fencing and marksmanship her brothers, not hosting and dancing. She longed to be free to be herself and do the things she liked to do instead of fulfilling what others expected of her.

A New Me

My current one was getting a little too popular. I had just gotten comfortable with it too. Finally, it didn't take people calling my name two or three times because I didn't realize they were talking to me. Luckily, they just thought I was deaf or deep in thought. But now everyone knew my name, and I do mean everyone. That's what happens when your name is broadcasted in the evening news with the tagline "Wanted for Murder. Considered armed and dangerous. If seen, please call your local law enforcement or the FBI hot-line listed below. Do not confront or antagonize." They didn't have a photo yet, but they would soon. The fix for that was easy. A little shave and some dye and I'd be a "new" man. I also kept a stash of colored contacts for times like this. My name however, that would be harder to change. Not just on paper, but in my head. Once again, I would have to train my self to answer to a new name. One of these days, I am going to forget what name I started out with. Further more, the next time a strange body appears in my living room I will get rid of it and disappear immediately. No trying to figure out who it is or why they're dead. Once the body's gone, I'm gone.