The child's cry echoed across the room. Was it a boy or a girl? Kori didn't know, but from the voice she knew the child is either mad about something or hurt.
The woman's back was turned so she couldn't see her face. Was she the child's mother? Kori couldn't tell, but she was trying to shush the child.
"Come on. Don't cry. It's for your own good. You'll be just fine. Do you want your favourite?"
Kori didn't hear the child talk. The cry only became louder.
They didn't see it coming. Neither Kori nor the woman.
Suddenly the steel cabinet behind her was falling. The woman turned too late to run or move out of the way. Her scream was piercing. Kori saw a man enter the room calling her name.
"Mag? Mag?" Maybe her name was Margaret or Magdalena but that was not the point at the moment.
Kori now saw the woman in a pool of her own blood as she spoke probably her last words to the man.
"Mel trust me, she didn't mean for this to happen."
*. *. *. *.
"Kori wake up! It's time for school." It was her grandmother.
Kori pulled her eyes open and scrunched up her face in pain. She sat up and held her forehead. She could feel it threatening to thump out of her head.
This dream always made her feel sick.
Kori got out of bed and dressed it. Not out of habit but because she needed a distraction.
She fiddled with the thoughts of telling her grandma she was sick just to skip school. She quickly snapped out of it and rushed to the kitchen to do the dishes.
Kori felt the knife slash her thumb and stifled a scream. She held her thumb up watching it heal slowly.
This has always happened since she could remember. She would always pray she was not a werewolf or a vampire.
Her grandma would not say anything about this self-healing power —so-called— no matter how much she poked.
Grandma would either divert the conversation or tell her she'll get to know when she's older.
Kori didn't blame the kids at Central City High for seeing her as weird. Sometimes she did feel weird.
She played 'getting older' a song by Billie Elish as she took her bath. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Curly hair that she spends hours detangling whenever it decides to tangle, dark skin and the eyes. It was always the eyes for Kori. She knew she had beautiful eyes and there was nothing anybody could say to make her disbelieve that.
Living in that part of town in Manhattan with her grandma and no friends could be lonely sometimes.
Kori's Grandma had told Kori that she was brought there by her dad when her mum died in a car accident.
Kori would always wonder as she was doing at the moment why her Dad would abandon her and would not even come for one day to visit.
Something was fishy and she felt strongly that the truth was connected to that dream she keeps having. But until she finds out the truth, she'll keep pretending to believe her grandma . Not that she had any choice. Her grandma could be the most taciturn person in the world when she wanted to be.
Kori sighed and stepped out of the shower.
Her school was not far from home and so with her earpiece plugged in, she walked to school.
The gates of Central City High was full of kids. Some brought to school by their parents and others in their own cars.
Kori walked in to a large hall with students in it.
That was the reception hall. Kori wondered whose idea it was to invent a school. She imagined parents looking for a place to get rid of their children so they could have peace.
Kori smirked. She was so caught up in her head that she didn't see it coming. She felt a shove from behind and almost fell forward on her face. She regained balance and turned.
"You're blind now? Freak!" It was Rafal the school bully. She had unintentionally hit him as she passed.
Oh God not today again! Kori thought. She had decided not to be noticed today but this was it. The universe always presented trouble to her from every corner.
"I'm really sorry Rafal. It was a mistake." Kori quickly blurted out.
"Oh! Is it now?" Rafal mocked moving closer.
Kori stood, transfixed. She didn't know whether to run. For some weird reason, she didn't even think of running.
A little crowd of students were gathering. She was about to be popular again today.
Before she could say jack, she felt Rafal's fist on her cheek. Kori felt pain at first, then she tasted blood. That got her infuriated. The next thing she did shocked even her.
Rafal could not believe it as he felt the spit splash on his cheek somewhere near his eyes. The rage in his eyes was almost devilish.
Rafal was about to give her the beating of her life when the door to the staff conference room opened.
"Rafal! Don't!" It was the principal.
Kori exhaled and opened her eyes. She wasn't dead about to die after all.
"The both of you, in my office. Now!" Principal Tish bellowed.
"And the rest of you, to your classes!" She said as the students dispersed.
Kori looked around. She had been in the principal's office before. For reasons just like this one. So, it was nothing new to her.
The office lacked every touch of officiality. It looked more like her grandmother's palour except for that desk and a seat behind, which principal Tish would hardly sit on except to dole out punishment to offenders.
Presently she sat on it while looking at the two offenders like lab rats ready to be used for experiments.
"What is wrong with you both? You want to get yourselves expelled?" Her voice was high-pitched yet almost a whisper. Principal Tish looked sternly at the two students. If only looks could kill, Kori thought.
"I'm really sorry about what happened ma. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have hit Rafal while I was walking. It was totally unintentional." Kori had this pity look on her face. That should be enough for her grandma not to get any calls from principal Tish.
"That's enough! You both can leave. I'll not be giving any detentions today. I'll certainly speak to your mother Rafal. You should learn to stop fighting over unnecessary things."
Rafal opened his mouth. He was about to plead but no sound came out. Kori almost pitied him.
Maybe one of those kids with mummy issues. She thought.
"I said leave! Or do you want to do detentions?"
The two students scurried out of her office in fear of detention.
As Kori ran for her dear life, she heard Rafal call out, "Loser! I owe you one!"
Kori sat in her favourite seat at the back of the class while she waited for school to be over for the day.
To her, the chemistry teacher was talking gibberish. Whoever invented chemistry just had the intention to suck the fun out of life. She concluded.
Just then, the freedom bell rang. Kori grabbed her backpack and was running home. She didn't want to risk another encounter with Rafal. And she was too tired to stick around doing nothing just because home was a bit boring.
She felt slight pain from the punch on her face. She knew the tear on the corner of her lips would have healed already.
Kori got into the house and made for her room.
Obviously, her grandma was not around. There was a plate of noodles on the dining table. Kori could still see the steam rising from it. That means, it has not been long since her grandma left.
She went in to undress and came back to the dining room to eat. As she ate, Kori had this feeling of being watched but she couldn't place it. Anyways the doors were locked and there was nothing to be scared of or so she thought.
After eating Kori went back to the room to read a storybook she stole from her grandma's bookshelf.
It was about a girl with superhuman abilities who defeated evil in the world. Kori liked to think of herself as that girl but then she'll remember that she isn't that bold.
Kori was getting absorbed into the book when she remembered she had to weave her hair so it doesn't get tangled by the next day.
When she was finished, she looked in the mirror only to see a pair of red eyes looking back at her.
At first she thought it was her imagination and them she screamed so loud.
The eyes disappeared but so did Kori. She ran outside and decided to wait there till her grandma comes back.
If anything happens outside she could scream and the neighbors would hear and come to her aid. Not like she knew any of them.
It was dusk already. Where in God's name was her grandma?
Kori walked up and down the street in front of her house. She heard footsteps approaching and stopped.
Kori listened and kept on pacing. Then she saw them coming towards her. Rafal and his gang. They had sticks in their hand.
Kori couldn't risk going back into that house with those evil eyes there. As they came closer, Kori taught about how long it would take to heal from the injuries she would get from this beating.
Rafal had this evil grin on his face. Finally he was few inches away from her.
"I came to give you what I owe you, witch!" He said.
He raised up his stick. Kori didn't know what to do. Where would she even run to? The guys had surrounded her now.
She closed her eyes waiting for the first blow to land and then it happened so fast.
Kori felt a pair of hands grab her and next thing she was behind her house. Kori was almost petrified. What just happened? Did I just disappear? Am I really a witch?
These questions paced Kori's mind as she stood there and then all of a sudden, he saw a boy before her.
He was about Kori's age, ginger-haired and good-looking.
"Hi. I'm Balin." He said with a smirk.
"Did you just appear here?" Kori asked bewildered.
"No and yes. First, what's your name? And can we go back to the front of the house?"
Kori was almost back to normal state.
"I am Kori. I don't want to go back there. Those boys..."
"They've been taken care of. Trust me." Balin took her hand. Kori felt the wind blow through her hair and in seconds, they were in front of her house."
"Who did you say you are again?" Kori asked.
"I'm Balin and I'll explain in a second. Just sit with me."
They sat on the step in front of Kori's house.
"Have you ever heard of supernaturals before?" Balin asked and Kori shook her head.
"Alright, supernaturals are humans with super abilities. They can do things normal humans can't do. They have powers that normal humans don't."
Kori was trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The fact that she hadn't noticed that boy on the neighborhood before was weird.
And then it stuck her. He could be a vampire and drink her blood.
"So, you're a supernatural. Are you like a vampire or a werewolf?" Kori asked trying not to look as scared as she was.
For some reason, that question got Balin laughing hard.
"No Kori. I'm not. There may be supernaturals like that but I've never heard of them. I'm a superspeed."
"Wow! Let me guess. You can go anywhere super fast. That was how you saved me."
Balin smiled.
"Yeah. I can phase too but I'm not in control of that one yet. He said.
"Phasing? What's that?"
"It's like an advanced part of superspeeding where you get to pass through obstacles or objects, like walls, cupboards, doors, basically anything."
Kori was almost crazy. She blinked several times.
"We have this school..."
"Wait. Does it mean I'm a supernatural too? I could heal from injuries since when I was little."
"Wow, Self-healing? That's beautiful. It's been a while since we saw someone with this power."
"Who's the 'we'? You we're saying something about a school."
"Yeah..."
Balin was about to explain when they heard her voice.
"Kori! Where are you?" It was Kori's grandma. She must have got in through the back door.
"I gotta go. Thank you for saving me, Balin." Kori said and without waiting for a response, she ran inside.
Kori was quiet throughout that night. She was going over everything Balin told her.
She knew better than to tell her grandma anything. It's either she wouldn't believe or go over at Balin's to talk to his parents. A talk Kori knew would not end well, so she kept everything to herself.
The feeling of having super powers, made Kori feel she was not useless after all.
She thought about any other powers she may have apart from self-healing.
And then she remembered, the day before in school before she came home. She had been very tired after that encounter with Rafal and principal Tish.
When she was about to leave, her bag was some inches away from her and she just sat for some time wishing it would just come over to her seat.
For a split second, Kori thought she saw that bag move few inches forward. She had shaken her head and waved it off as a product of traumatic stress.
But now as Kori thought about it, it looked more real.
She stood up and walked to the table where she kept her toothbrush. Kori decided to try things out. She looked at the brush, willing it to come to her.
Kori let out a scream muffled by her palms because the brush flew straight off the table to the ground.
Kori was shivering. She was a supernatural. She didn't know what this power was called, but she knew she had no control over it yet.
Kori didn't know how or when she slept but as usual, she had the dream only it was more vivid this time. She wondered if it had anything to do with her powers.
That morning she got up feeling more confident and strong for reasons she couldn't quite place.
When she got to Central City High that morning, it looked deserted. Except for parents who brought their kids to school and they were outside the gate.
Kori walked into the reception hall and it was empty. Okay, where was everyone? She wondered.
Was it too early? Kori looked at her wrist watch and though it was early, it wasn't too early. At least, few kids should be at the reception hall by that time. Something was off.
Kori thought about turning back to stay outside for some time but on a second thought she moved forward.
She was already midway through the hall when it occurred to her, this could be a trap —Rafal still trying to get back at her.
And then he came out of where he was hiding with a smirk.
"Oh no! Not again, Rafal." Kori said, exhausted.