Arcadia Zero

Chapter One: Elfen Song

Arcadia Zero

By Alexandria Francetic

Chapter One: Elfen Song

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the species that is the most adaptable to change."

-Charles Darwin

Today began just like any other. I woke up late, jumped into my uniform, shoved a piece of toast into my mouth, then went running off to check in at the Harris County Police Department, so I could begin my patrol shift for the day. Well, before I get into all that, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Chizuru Mashiro, I'm 21 years old, and I'm a rookie policewoman in the city of Houston.

I graduated from the Police Academy about a year ago, and since then, my job mainly consisted of writing parking tickets, giving directions, helping old ladies cross the street, and all the other boring, menial tasks of the community that the rest of the force considered themselves too important to handle. So they saddled me with it all. But in the end, I'm just your normal, average, everyday girl.

Or, at least I like to think that. The truth is, I'm a member of a newly divergent evolutionary offshoot of human beings, called Espers. Espers are humans born with supernatural, inhuman powers and the ability to use magic. Decades ago, no one ever heard of Espers, until around the 1980's, when there was a sudden, rapid rise of children being born possessing supernatural abilities. As the Esper population grew, society had to adapt and accomodate individuals such as myself, but that doesn't mean everyone was nice about it. In fact, more often than not, members of my kind are deemed as mutants and monsters, suffering massive discrimination and prejudice. Many Espers are killed at birth, because they fear us. People believe we Espers will one day outnumber or exterminate humans, and eventually come to take over as Earth's dominant sentient species.

But that's just not true, at least for most of us. We don't want to hurt anyone. We just want to live like normal people. However, there are many times where our abilities do come in handy. That's why I became a police officer, to help people, protect the peace, and bring criminals to justice. So far, though, the only criminals I've been bringing to justice are drunk drivers and jaywalkers. And what would my ability be, you ask? Well, I possess the power of telekinesis, which means I have the power to control and manipulate objects with my mind. I can even shatter glass and cut people with thought alone. That may sound scary, but it's actually pretty helpful.

Anyway, I patrolled the lower areas of Downtown Houston, within a mile's proximity of the George R. Brown Convention Center. It was hobo territory, and the occasional hangout spot of crackheads and drug addicts. Not exactly the kind of place you want to be walking in alone at night. I passed through the tent cities, carefully eyeing the homeless population. At the sight of me, they shrunk back and shivered. Some of them even ran and hid. I sighed. Even the most sleazy and unsavory of residents knew not to mess with me, not when I could snap their necks with a single thought. Not that I had ever done that to anyone, but still. When was the mayor supposed to be getting rid of these people? It's 2017, I thought our society had come much further than this.

After that, I crossed over into the more metropolitan area of Downtown, near the convention center. Nothing seemed too out of order. That is, until I heard a piercing scream. I whipped my head back, my long, wavy brown hair fluttering behind me. On the other side of the street, a woman had been knocked down, and some dirtbag was making off with her purse. God, I couldn't stand purse snatchers. I mean, are you really that desperate that you'd steal from an unsuspecting lady? It aggravated me to no end.

Swiftly, I went to work. I locked my gaze on the escaping criminal. A sharp, stabbing pain erupted in my head, and my green eyes began to glow a hot, fiery red. The thief was lifted up into the air by an unseen force. He thrashed around, kicking out at thin air to no avail. With a jolt of my fist, the purse was ripped from his hands. To finish him off, I flung my arms, sending him flying into a lightpole.