𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎, the gifted [1]

prologue

The jolting of her body awakened Winona Martin from her slumber. She groggily opened her tired eyes to see the whizzing of trees as the car drove by them. "... always sleeping. It's ridiculous. Lazy bum." Elaine Martin sat in the driver's seat beside Winona. The radio was playing lowly and Elaine tapped her fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat of the song.

She glanced over at Winona, who was slowly sitting up, and smirked. "Good, you're finally awake," she commented. "How long have I been asleep?" Winona questioned. "I don't know. A while," Elaine answered. Winona rolled her eyes and sat up completely.

"You know, if you're gonna talk shit, you should make sure I'm actually asleep," Winona said. Elaine gave her a quick glance before looking back at the road in front of her. "I wasn't talking shit," she said. Winona scoffed in disbelief, "No need to lie El, I heard you."

"But--" Elaine is cut off by Winona turning up the music. "I love this song!" The younger girl said. Winona began singing along to the song and Elaine turned it down. "Hey! Don't kill my vibe!" Winona complained. "It's too loud," Elaine defended.

Winona looked out of the window at her side. "Where are we going anyway?" She asked. "Right now? To a grocery store to stock up on some food. Then we're meeting up with someone who can help us get across the border," Elaine answered. Winona sighed, "So we're finally gonna get out of this stupid country?" Elaine smiled and nodded.

Winona turned her attention back to the window, watching the objects whiz by. When they got to the grocery store, Elaine parked the car in an empty spot before turning to Winona. "Okay, we're gonna keep a low profile. Try not to attract attention to us," the girl said.

Winona scoffed, "Me? What about you?" The Asian girl rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and do as I say," she retorted. "You know, just because you're older than me, does not mean you can tell me what to do," Winona said as Elaine turned off the car's ignition.

"That's exactly what it means," Elaine responded before opening the driver's side door and stepping out of the car. Winona glowered at the girl as she too stepped out of the vehicle. Elaine locked the car and began walking into the Wal-Mart, Winona trudging behind her.

"Grab a kart and go get whatever you want, I'll do the same," Elaine said. "Whatever," Winona mumbled. She grabbed a shopping kart and began walking to the chip aisle. "Don't get too much junk food!" Elaine called after her sister. Winona ignored her and continued her journey to the aisle.

Once she reached it, she grabbed multiple bags of Lays and Doritos. She then made her way to the soda aisle. She grabbed two twelve packs of Sprite and two packs of Coca Cola for Elaine. "Her shoes are so cute." Winona turned around and looked for the source of the loud voice. She scrunched up her face in confusion and turned back around.

After getting more things, some healthy, she found herself in an aisle full of wine. She made her way through the aisle as she tried to reach another. "They have alcohol in Mexico," she muttered as she looked at one of the bottles. Winona's eyes began to burn and she blinked profusely. "Looking a little young to be looking at wine." Winona turned around and saw a woman looking at her. The woman turned away when she met Winona's gaze.

"Excuse me?" The girl questioned. The woman turned to her with a smile, one that Winona wasn't sure was real. "What did you say?" Winona asked. "I didn't say anything," the woman denied. "You sure? Because I could've sworn that I heard you say that I looked a little young to be looking at wine," Winona said.

The woman's mouth fell agape as she looked at the girl in mild horror. "What the hell? I didn't say that out loud." Winona's face contorted into one of confusion as she heard the woman's voice again. And that was because she didn't see the woman's mouth move as she spoke. The two stepped away from each other. The woman scurried out of the aisle and Winona began to make her way out of it as well.