Vital - Book 1 (On hold: to be rewritten)

5. Words of a 12 Year Old Mute

It was too loud. All too loud.

Wren could no longer look at anyone without hearing their thoughts. They screamed in her ears, 

You’re a freak.

You’re a Darkling.

You don’t belong.

Their judgmental gazes etched bullet holes in her body. It hadn't helped that she’d hit every target in knife throwing, known the answers to every question in the academic subjects, after which she had challenged the best Heater in the school to top spot. On her first day in Layken, and being a Trianguli. 

 She stared at the floor for the rest of the day.

“Why won’t you look up? You’ve been staring at the floor the entire day.” Hale and Wren were making their way to the front doors after the final period of training. 

“I might enjoy looking at floors,” she mumbled, sticking her hands in her pockets. It was better this way. Less obtrusive. 

“Fine then, don’t tell me what the matter is. Just letting you know that I have a 21 year old Oxygenator willing to do my work for me.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a deserted corridor. 

“Ok, so after that weird ‘Deciding’ thing last night, my…abilities have intensified. Suddenly I can hear everyone’s thoughts just by looking at them. It’s horrible and too loud, and I hate it, but I have no idea how to control it. They hate me already, I don’t want to give them another reason for it.”

“They don’t-” Wren gave him a look. “Ok, maybe they do. I’ll see if Cara had anything to say. Other than that, keep looking at the floor, I guess.”

She sighed and they turned out of the corridor and into the atrium, where the Blackthorn family were waiting. 

“You took your time.” Cara was leaning against the doorframe, looking bored. Hale grabbed her wrist and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened as he spoke. Wren felt sick.

“Oh. But…I don’t understand. I’m four years older than her and yet…” She looked at Wren. Wren looked at the floor before anything bad could be given away. 

“What? What is it?” Leo demanded, elbowing his sister. 

“Wren’s abilities seemed to have multiplied since last night. On the Oxygenator front, anyway. I’ve heard about it happening before. For some, they’re abilities are at their peak after they get Decided, especially those Destined to be Darklings.”

Wren could hear the accusation in her words. 

Those destined to be Darklings.

Alec sucked in a breath. “Shall we go?” Everyone looked at Cara expectantly. She nodded. 

“Yeah,” she said shortly. “Lets go.”

                                               ******

The walk home was almost silent.

So now even the family who took me in hate me, Wren thought. She wondered why they had done so in the first place. Iris was walking along the edge of the canal, throwing stones into the water as she went. From this distance it was alright to watch her. She would need to make eye contact to hear anything.

Cara, Alec and Hale were muttering amongst themselves, impossible for Wren to hear. She guessed it was about her.

Cara raised her voice slightly. “He’ll know what to do! He’s one of the most talented Oxygenator in Layken, how could you not take her there?”