One Little Change

Part 1

For over a hundred years the orions have existed. No one knows their origin or where they came from. Many believed that they were gifts sent from the heavens or the evolution of the human species. Others believed that whoever possessed the gift of the orions posed a danger to society and killed them on sight. Many governments accepted that view and eradicated anyone who seemed to possess that gift. Anyone with the gift was forced into hiding in order to survive. But some rebelled and fought for freedom and equality, which only scared the people even further.

 I’m going to tell you a story about one of those rebels. Her name was Luisa Kagawa. She was was normal, like you and me for a very long time. She thought that the orions weren’t evil, but she kept that opinion to herself for if anyone found out, she would be sent to an educational facility. Anyone who went there was never heard from again. One day she was walking home from school. Just like any day, except that she chose to take the woods shortcut. She could hear the birds chirping and wind howling. It was the perfect autumn day, until the whimpering started. At first she could barely hear it, but the more she walked, the louder it got. Behind a tree she found a man sitting, with blood all over his clothes and hand over his chest. I should report this, I need to report this, Luisa thought. But her compassion overthrew her rationality. She went towards the man, kneeled down and tried to help. But there was too much blood loss. There was nothing she could do. She reached for her phone but the man just shook his head.

 She asked him, “Tell me what I can do to help.” The man only looked at her and reached up to a pendant hanging around his neck. “Et nunc absolvo vos ex vestri obligatio,” he looked up, took the pendant of his neck and placed on her hand. “Accipite hoc donum,” he spoke. He closed his eyes. Luisa looked at him with such confusion, until she noticed the tattoo of a compass on his left wrist. The symbol of the orions. A cold shiver coursed her body. She wanted to run, but she couldn’t leave that man to die alone. He opened his eyes and spoke one last time, “May the heavens have mercy on you.” As he said that, the pendant levitated and went around her neck. She tried to get it off, but it would not budge. The man did not wake up again, and she ran home. The crunching leaves under her feet, the wind through her hair, and the fatigue she felt did not stop her from running faster than she had ever gone before. Just as she got near her house she tucked the pendant in her shirt and breathed. She went straight to her bedroom and examined the pendant with the compass engraved to it. She used scissors and even a knife to try and get it off. It didn’t come off. 

She gave up trying and and went to bed. All the night she tossed and turned. She stenched of worry. Luisa thought about the man she had found. What did those words meant? Will the government find out she had tried to aid him? What will become of her? These thought plagued her mind all night long. Before she knew it dawn had come, and it was time for school.
During the day she tried to act normal, but she felt as though everyone was looking at her pendant. Even as it was tucked away in her blouse. School ended, and she was walking home. She wanted to go the long way, but she needed to find out if the man’s body was still there. The moment she walked into the woods, she could feel that something was wrong. She continued on her path until she arrived at the tree. He wasn’t there. Behind her a twig snapped. She saw a young man, about her age approaching her. Adrenaline spiked in her and she ran. But he was faster. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm. Panic flowed through her body, and she felt a surge of power depart her body. She felt time stop as the boy, leaves, and twigs flew away from her. The boy landed almost 10 feet away from her. He looked at her with confusion until he saw the pendant hanging around her neck. Luisa looked at her hands and wondered what had she done? What had she just done?