Super short chapter. It does mention things like drinking and a bit of self-loathing. Please proceed with caution. Love you. -Rae
Her legs were sore from running.
Exhausted, she crumbled to the ground, desperately gulping down air into her deprived lungs as she glanced at the shadows behind her. Above being afraid, she was hurt and tired. So damn tired and in so much pain.
She ran from it for years it seemed, trying to escape its cold, inevitable grip and ignore its constant, taunting whispering. But it never let up. It always chased her, waiting for her to crumble and waiting for her to stop.
And when it caught up to her, she didn't scream, cry or thrash.
She closed her eyes and finally gave up.
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Her body was hot, even despite the mini burn-out she had earlier. Sore, but hot. She felt the ice in her veins working to cool her down.
Slowly, Daija opened her eyes and sat up from her bed, stripping off the heavy layers she put on earlier. The clock on her nightstand read a little after five o'clock. She was only asleep for a couple of hours. Despite it being cloudy, the evening sky was still visible. The snow was still falling heavily, but the winds have slowed down drastically.
When she was just in a bra and underwear, she sighed as she rested back against her headboard, reaching beside her bed to grab the bottle of wine she left there, only to frown when she saw that it was practically empty.
Whatever. She needed something stronger anyway.
Two extra bonuses of catastrophic powers: You last really long during sex and your tolerance for alcohol is through the roof, she thought as walked to the bathroom.
She swished some mouthwash in her mouth to get rid of the weird taste in her mouth. Still, she felt that pent up energy, even though she had the biggest outburst of her entire life not even a few hours ago. She put her hair into a quick ponytail then went back into her room to put some different clothes on.
After digging through her closet, she found her winter boots that were good for walking in the snow, and a jacket that was best suited for winter. Once she was ready, she stuffed her wallet and keys into her pocket before leaving her apartment. She decided to leave her phone.
-----
She knew that she didn't need the jacket, but walking outside without one would make her look suspicious. As she walked on the sidewalk, she took in the chill on her skin and the thick snowflakes that fell from the sky.
Some of the people of downtown Kunross were out and enjoying their unexpected snow day. In a field, children were running around and laughing as they threw snowballs, some with their parents. She watched as a young boy giggled as he made a snowman with his mom and dad.
As he unfastened his own scarf to put it around the snowman, he struggled because of the height. His dad lifted him up -- and placed a kiss on his cheek while he did -- so he could adjust it better, and his mom laughed as she tenderly brushed the loose snow from his face. Both of them stared at him with so much love in their eyes.
They saw him as their son, their adorable baby boy, and not a project.
The sight of it bruised her more than she thought it would, and she put her hood up as she continued walking, reminding herself that such a thing was never meant for her.
She heard her father's voice in her head, "Project C is a failure and therefore she is fucking useless." then her mothers, "It's always going to be painful for you. I want you to remember this every time you think you deserve anything other than that."
Translation from both: You failed us, and for that, all you deserve is pain. When the thought went through her mind, the bruising only worsened.
She got to the gas station and wiped her boots on the mat to remove any excess snow. Then, she let her hood down and started browsing. She grabbed a bag of chips, then went straight to the back of the store where the liquor was. She couldn't decide between two bottles. One had brown liquid, and the other one had pink.
In the end, she went with pink. She went to the counter to check out, and she placed her stuff there.
"I.D please," the cashier said.
She crafted a quick lie. "I left it at home by accident."
"Look, lady, no I.D, no-"
Daija took out a one hundred dollar bill, held it out for him to see, made a show of folding it in half and then placed it in front of him.
The cashier took it, shoved it into his pocket and scanned her items without another word.
She finished up in the store, then was on her way back to the apartment. She rolled her eyes when she saw the shiny billboards, alight with the heroes' smiling faces and bright suits.
When she got home, she took her boots and jacket off, then sat down in the living room and switched on the tv. She opened the bottle of pretty pink liquid and took a drink. It was sweet at first, but it burned on the way down -- way stronger than the wine she had earlier. She flipped channels until she found the news channel, and then she rested back against the couch as she watched the reporter, who was dressed in winter gear.
"The city of Kunross was rocked by a massive earthquake earlier this afternoon, and it was followed up with a blizzard. As you can see, it's still snowing, and it doesn't even look like it's June! While some of the public is happy about this sudden snow day, most are severely concerned because they are certain that it is the work of Frost."
For fuck's sake, that name was terrible. Even worse than Simon's name. She shook her head as she took another drink.
"I'm extremely lucky to say that I'm here in front of the Mayor's office, speaking with the stars of the city about the situation." The camera panned, and there were the damn heroes. They looked exhausted, and a little cold in their suits.
"Do you think this blizzard is some form of callout?" The reporter asked.
"Um," Fiona started, and she took a quick breath to steady her voice. "We're unsure, but this is powerful. To be able to cause such an earthquake and change the entire season with a single burst is unreal."
"After this storm, it is clear we need to quadruple efforts to find Frost, especially if they have proven..." Justin trailed off and rubbed his temples, stressed, worn out, completely tired. "Especially if they have proven to be even stronger than the Firebringer."
"Right, and as the leader, what do you think?" the reporter held the mic in front of Aniya, who seemed a little spaced out. She looked paler than usual, and Daija noticed all the other nervous ticks. The small bobbing movement of her throat, the flexing of her fingers and the worried glint in her eyes.
Aw, are you scared? she thought as a small smirk crept on her face.
"Like he said, we need to quadruple our efforts. The blizzard is a shock, and we're still trying to determine if Frost is a vigilante or villain. We're going to ask the public to keep a very close eye out and not hesitate to contact authorities to report something unusual. We as a city will get through this."
Daija shut the tv off and took another drink -- longer this time. Only when she felt that buzz again from earlier did she start to slow down. She stood up and walked back to her bedroom, wanting nothing more than to lay down and sleep.
When she plopped back down in her bed, she reached for her phone and unlocked it. Over fifteen missed calls, too many new messages and even a few voicemails. She opened the message app and did her best to read the words slowly.
Adrienne: Holy shit, girl, are you okay? Why aren't you picking up? Please tell me that you were just training and you got carried away by accident.
Violet: Hey, I'll be on my way back when the storm slows down! Can you imagine that there'd be snow right in the middle of summer? Could this world get any crazier?
Even though her vision was clouding around the edges, she responded to her.
Me: It's insane. Please drive safely.
Once she sent the message, she kept scrolling through the new messages.
Austin: Newbie, you bringing a snowstorm then deciding to not answer your phone will only end up with us coming directly to you. We're all worried about you.
Sierra: Daija, what's wrong?! I'm really scared for you. Answer your damn phone!
Aunt Celia: Hey, sweetheart. I'm pretty sure you've seen the snowstorm. Ivan and I are making hot chocolate if you and your boyfriend are interested. Be careful. Love you!
Wylan: Is everything alright? That earthquake was huge! We're all worried about you. Riley misses you, by the way.
Jamie: What the fuck happened?! Where are you?? Aniya and the others practically pisssed themselves when the shaking stopped and they looked outside. Please pick up your phone. We need to talk anyway.
Tony: You're not answering, and it's scaring me. Wherever you are, I really hope you're safe.
Luca: You're finally shedding, aren't you? Answer the phone, darling. That looked pretty serious, and you not picking up isn't making anything better.
Simon: Daija, what's going on? I've never seen anything like that before. Power outage at base and everyone was freaking out. I'm worried sick. Please answer. Tell me where you are, or give me something. Anything. Whatever's happening, we can face it together.
She scrolled further, and her heart dropped while reading the last message.
Baby, I love you. You mean everything to me.
Trying her best, she responded to everyone. To her aunt, she said that she was at home and was going to remain there for the night. To everyone else, her response was almost the same each time.
Me: I'm sorry for worrying you. It was an accident and won't happen again. I'm okay, I promise.
Right when she finished responding to everyone, her phone buzzed again, just as rapidly as before. The buzzing from her phone and the buzzing in her head from drinking wasn't doing her any good. With a small, tired groan, she rested against her pillows and pulled the blanket over her head.
She just wanted to sleep for days.