• T H R E E •

"The chains are broken, but are you truly free?"

・・・

Mr. Harlow announces, "Sit down and quiet down, monkeys!"

As the classroom quiets down and the students looks to him, he begins his lesson.

"How many of you remember why the Polyamorous Act was passed?" Mr. Harlow asks the class.

A boy in the front answers, "Because of the powers, duh."

"Yes! As a recap, when the genetic anomaly of powers came around, females were more susceptible to the anomaly. All females either remained normal, grew powerful—more so than the males typically—or they died. The males either remained normal or gained a power or two. Because of this, the population began to decline dramatically," He lectures. "At first, women were auctioned off, whoever paid the most got to marry. Then the Polyamorous Act was passed allowing people to marry multiple partners. At first, the results were disastrous, but over time, people grew to accept the idea of sharing. Let's take a look at some of the other acts that have been passed recently."

With a sigh, I prop my head up with my hand as I force myself to pay attention to the class as we go over, well, the government. Surely, there is something that I can learn in this class. It may be meaningless knowledge that will probably never help me in life, but I need to pay attention so that I can pass the class. It's not that I don't like to learn; it's just that I already know the information even though I don't need to. However, I am determined to learn something.

And I do learn. I learn the name of the boy I walked into when I was entering the class. Gage Wolfe, a fitting name.

When we are finally released from priso—I mean class, I make a quick visit to my locker to drop off my backpack and hurry to Elemental Testing. The hardest class that I will ever take.

Opening the door to the small room, I see a boy getting kicked out by the teacher.

"William," Ms. Garcia sighs. "Get out. You know that I can't have you in here. Go protest somewhere else."

William replies seriously, "Fine. But this will be brought to justice. The discrimination against those with powers is cruel and ought to be illegal."

Turning around to march out, I am able to fully see William. He is tall with olive skin and light brown hair. He looks at me and I am captivated by his orphic eyes. His eyes are green, the most vivid and striking green that I have ever seen.

Shaking my head slightly to clear my thoughts and do my best to ignore him, I turn away from him and march to the teacher.

"Ms. Garcia?" I ask.

"Rage Falls?" She replies with a small smile that does not quite reach her eyes.

"Yup," I answer. "What are you testing for today?"

"You'll see with the rest of the class," Ms. Garcia informs me. "There are eight other students in this class."

Nodding, I join the others as we wait for the bell to ring and class to officially start. This is no ordinary class, though.

"It seems we are all here. If you will follow me through this door, the testing is set up for ice."

Swearing up a storm in my mind, I follow Ms. Garcia through the door and into a metal room. Ms. Garcia closes the door after us and enters the plexiglass box in the middle of the room where she can safely survey us. She will keep a close eye out for any sign or display of powers and the cameras will ensure that nothing is missed. As the door closes, the matte grey walls immediately turn white and we are blasted by cold air. I don't feel a thing, but I can see the other students begin to shiver and attempt to rub warmth back into their arms. Quickly, I fein cold and do the same. I move around, pretending to try and get my blood flow up. The others are beginning to turn purple. Not wanting to be the last again, I carefully use my shadow powers to make my cheeks a bit darker and curl up into a ball to hide any other evidence. Hopefully, it will work. In my old town, I never had to fake not having powers, despite having elemental testing classes there as well.

Ms. Garcia nods and quickly taps something out on a tablet. Instantly, warmth returns to the room as the walls turn red. Everyone sighs with relief, but it is short lived. The heat becomes unbearable. It is so hot that I can see the heat rising in waves. Since I have fire powers as well, it also doesn't bother me. The point of doing this is that the heat will, in theory, force someone with ice powers to use their powers to lower the temperature. Taking control of the sparse water in the room, I quickly command the water droplets to bead on my forehead, making it look as if I am sweating. I collapse to the ground, spreading out like I cannot even bear my own body heat and pressing my face to the ground as if I am trying to cool myself off against the slightly cooler floor. In reality, I am hiding the fact that I am not bright red like the others.

After what feels like forever, Ms. Garcia finally taps the tablet again and the room returns to normal. Stepping out of the box, she unlocks the door and allows us to leave the still warm room.

"Good job today, class," She calls. "No sign of ice powers among any of you. Tomorrow I will test you again for fauna powers."

Since powers can develop at any time, students must be tested over and over just in case they suddenly develop one. With her final announcement, Ms. Garcia dismisses us. Thankfully, I don't have any more classes today.

I hurry out of class and to my locker. Grabbing my stuff, I run out of the building.

I have places to be.

I stride down the street to my new house. The houses nearby are adorned with broken windows and graffiti. Spray paint covers every house in the block. Trashy music spills out of one of the houses that I pass by. A couple are in a shouting match and the tinkling and crashing of breaking glass is heard. A man is shouting at another, and it is clear that the first man is prominent and strong. The other man cowers and pleads with him.

You know, I've been both of those people. First, I was the scared little girl. I was helpless to the abuse and terrified of them because of it. When my powers came... Shortly after, I became known throughout the town. I was feared by all. No one cared about my age, they kowtowed before me.

• • •

I stumbled down the street, shaken by the encounter. A trio of boys watched at a distance, but my air powers allowed me to clearly hear their words.

"Who is that?" One breathed.

"That's Rage. Stay away from her."

"She's a killer. She'll kill you too," The third warned. "Don't mess with her. Don't cross her. Don't even look at her. You wouldn't want to send her into a fit of rage."

I gritted my teeth as their words sent a wave of memories to attack my mind.

"Don't show your emotions, Rage," His voice whispered. "Unless it is your fury. Then, fill them with fear and cut them down before they even rise."

Instantly, I stiffened up and my face cleared of emotion except the ever present anger that seemed to never leave.

They weren't there anymore, but I still heard them. I loved it and hated it. I loved and hated them. Now, they are gone, for better or for worse.

• • •

"Get in the car!" The officer yelled, shoving me in the back of his police car.

I could have killed him in an instant. I could've gotten free easily. But what would've been the fun in that? My lips curled upward in a vicious and daring smile. I didn't know the man, he was new to town and new to the police force.

The new officer yanked me in and went to book me and stick me in a cell. When the woman at the desk looked up, she spotted me and her blue eyes went wide.

"Wh-What a-ar-r-re y-y-you d-doing-g-g w-with R-R-R-Rag-g-ge?" She stuttered, her face drained of blood. Pure, undiluted fear filled her. The woman trembled as I looked her over with a lazy gaze.

"She was stealing!" The now confused officer exclaimed.

"Wh-Wh-What-t did she steal-l?"

"Money from the bakery," The officer answered with disgust.

"The b-baker-r owed-d her anyway," The woman replied.

It was a lie. The baker didn't owe me anything. They were too afraid of me to do anything, though.

I was the most powerful person in town.

And everyone knew it.

• • •

Those days are gone, though.

Now, I am just another face. Someone who is normal and able to blend into the background. Someone who will not get caught.

Pulling out a key ring, I quickly undo the locks on the front door to my new house.

I enter the building and toss my keys in the counter and look around the place. There is the basics, a small table, a couch, and a bed. The fridge is empty except a couple of bottles of water. I have a few changes of clothes. A punching bag and boxing gloves and hand wraps in the closet. Nothing else. After scanning the place, I grab a bottle of water and decide to train a bit and then head to the store. Stretching, I plan out what I am going to do.

I take off at a jog, heading out of the ghettos and into the forest that seems to surround the city. A few miles into the forest, I Stop in the thick of the forest.

I have eight powers. That's eight powers that battle within me for control. Eight powers that could kill if unleashed. Earth, air, water, fire, ice, flora, fauna, and shadows. All deadly, all incredible, all strong.

Calling the ice, a buzz quickly fills my stomach and a large dome is formed over me. The tall trees move and bend so that they cover the entire dome and shield it from prying eyes. Underneath the dome, I am able to give my powers a bit of freedom.

The first to leap from me is the fire. Fire pours out of me and fills the place, burning everything to ashes. Rising to the challenge, water drips out of my hands until every fire is put out. The ice explodes out of me, instantly freezing everything. The shadows escape in a swirling and beautiful fog that shrouds the entire place in darkness. Rocks and stones everywhere begin to rumble before bursting toward me. The hit me and latch on, creating an armor made of stones and metals that are easy to move around in because of my air powers that threaten to create a tornado. The air holds the rocks up so that they are weightless and floating around me. The fauna has kept the animals away from the dome and safe from my violent powers.

Now, for the hardest part. I dig my feet in the ground and call for my powers to return to me. The rip at me, trying to stay away and stay free. But these are mine. I am in control. Screaming, I throw everything I have into getting them back. All at once, they pour back into me. I close my eyes, feeling while again. The power is a part of me. Without it, I feel empty.

With a snap of my fingers, the dome melts. I call the animals back and use my flora powers to make the plants grow at an astonishing speed. This area of the forest now looks exactly as it did. This isn't the first time I have done something like this, and it won't be the last.

I need to unleash my powers every once in a while. Otherwise, they break free in the worst places possible. When they free themselves, they are stronger and uncontrollable. They will kill any and every thing in their path.

Taking a deep breath, I set off at a jog and head back home where I pull the punching bag out and heave it into its hook in the ceiling. Quickly, I use the long strips of fabric to wrap my hands and slip them into a pair of boxing gloves. I work on several different combinations and punches. After about twenty minutes, I take a drink of water and remove the gloves and hand wraps. I use my bare hands and feet and attack the punching bag, taking out my rage on the thing and improving my skills.

Once I am too exhausted to continue, I stretch and open the fridge. Remembering it is empty, I slam it shut. Quickly, I shower and change to go to the store.

Grabbing my keys, I walk out of the house, close the door, and lock the locks. I can defend myself easily, but that doesn't mean people won't break into my home when I am gone.

Where I used to live, there was little crime because it was such a small town. Everyone knew just about everyone. My family was one of the most cut off family because we lived on the outskirts of the tiny town. Our property was huge with miles and miles of private lands. We had animals and plants that kept us fed. We would only head into town for school and supplies.

Shaking my head, I do my best to bury my memories. I don't like to remember my life from before. It wasn't happy. Sure, there were happy moments, but the bad moments are more vivid and memorable. After all, the bad memories leave scars. Scars are permanent reminders of the bad moments. I try to remember the good moments, sometimes, but even those memories are painful.

I jog down the streets to a store that I had passed by when I took the bus into the city. The store is not too busy, thankfully. I enter through the automatic doors and head over to the grocery area and grab some basic food items. I grab food that I need, not the food that I want. Next, I grab the supplies that I know I will need, cleaning, school, and hygiene supplies. Then, I head to the clothing side and pick out a couple outfits from the clearance rack. I don't have money to spend on unnecessary items. I spent the majority of my money on the house. Thankfully, it is tiny and in a crap part of town which made it pretty cheap to get.

As I am leaving the clearance section, I spot it. The perfect shirt. It is a black t-shirt with a swarm of yellow butterflies on it. I love yellow, and I love butterflies. Simply put, butterflies mean a lot to me. Absently, I place hand to my heart where my silver butterfly pendant lies under my shirt. I snatch the shirt off the rack and add it to the shopping cart.

Done, I wheel the cart to the front where a cash register is boredly waiting.

I dump everything on the counter for them to ring up.

"Your total is $92.36," He tells me in a monotonous voice.

Pulling out my backpack, I fish through it for the wadded up bills. Setting them down, I wait as the man slowly counts and recounts the money.

"You're still short seven dollars and thirty-six cents," He informs me, his dull brown eyes looking over at the stuff I am trying to get.

I reach in and try to find more money when a voice behind me rumbles, "Here, I have some money you can use."

I stiffen up and whirl around, angry that someone thinks I need their help.

It is the boy from earlier, the one from my elemental history class. His black eyes don't show pity, thankfully. His actions still anger me, though. I don't need help. I've never needed help. I've never gotten help. I don't ever want help.

"Who do you think you are?" I hiss.

He smirks and replies, "Well, I am pretty confident that I am Darkon Meyers."

I growl, "I don't need your help. Leave me the hell alone so I can get home."

Turning back, I pull out the last bill in my backpack, a crumpled five dollar bill that has a small year in the corner.

"You still need two dollars and thirty-six cents, or you need to put something back," The man says, amusement glinting in his eyes.

Darkon tries to slide some money over.

Something in me snaps.

•

I drive my elbow into his gut and stomp on his foot, feeling the small bones in his foot snap. I snap my head back, crushing his nose. Ignoring the cash register who is calling security, I whirl around and throw punch after punch at Darkon.

"I don't need your help!" I shout, hitting him again.

My fist pummels into his ribcage. My fists may be small, but they are fast and pack a punch, similar to a bullet.

Deep down, I know that I don't truly want to hurt him. Which is probably why I am able to restrain myself so much.

Strong arms slide around my waist and I am lifted off of him. Broken, I don't even resist.

•

The security officer drags me out of the store and dumps me on the side of the road. Thankfully, he is kind enough to go back and grab my bags.

I know I overreacted. I know he was just trying to be nice.

No one has ever been that kind to me, though.

I guess I just didn't know how to react.

As annoyed with the security as I am, I am also glad that he pulled me off of him. Rage is a short-lived fury. My rage is now gone, replaced with guilt and emptiness. I told myself that I would never lose control again. I haven't been here a full day and I have already lost control twice. Slumping, I take my bags from the security officer, not even wanting to know how they were paid for.

"Kid, I don't know what the situation was, but this is your warning. Don't cause a fight in this store again," The guard warns seriously.

Nodding, I begin to trudge home, completely drained by the encounter between me and Darkon. Control is the single most important thing in my life. And I am losing it more and more each day. I want to cry, but I can't even summon up the energy. As much as I want to fall apart, I can't even do that.

I just fill empty.

I can't even find my rage.

・・・

YES, Rage DID overreact like crazy, BUT this is all explained later, don't worry!

・・・

Q: What is your favorite animal?

A: I don't have an absolute one, but I love felines.