I’d like to think of myself as a strong, independent, woman.
I didn’t grow up having the best childhood. My father was absent, always off at work or the closest bar. My mother was left to take care of us kids, but it got too much and she shrugged off her responsibilities and turned to drugs instead. I was pretty much all alone growing up.
Then I met him. Danny and I got together when I was eighteen. He saw me, understood me. We were two peas in a pod, him and I. Everyone thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together. We even got married. After I turned twenty-one and found out I was pregnant, instead of being overjoyed and ready to start a family with me, Danny did a legger. Got scared of the commitment and ran away. The coward sent me divorce papers right after I found out I was having twins and dipped. It’s okay. I didn’t need him. We didn’t need him.
In the end, we turned out mostly alright. Hell, If I could parent two kids by myself, keep the lights on, and not go crazy then I thought I could handle anything that was thrown my way. Superpowers though? I don’t think you can find any instructions about how to handle those in any parenting guidebook. No guidebook could’ve prepared me for kids with superhuman abilities- especially when such abilities cause these children to go on murderous rampages.
How the fuck am I supposed to do this?
“H-how are you feeling, Jaime?” I asked the blood covered eight year old who just made a firework out of another little girl. “Get everything out of your system?”
Jaime skipped along the sidewalk in her ruined Glinda the Good Witch Halloween costume, swinging her fake wand around merrily. “Yes, Mrs. Jennings! I feel a lot better,” she replied with a giggle.
My gut bubbled with disgust. Jaime just used her mind to implode another kid and was over here laughing about it.
I grabbed a hold of Ben’s hand and pushed him to my side where I held him tight. He squeezed himself into me for comfort. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to my boy. Not my girl either.
I gave him the water bottle I’d brought along to wash leftover bits of Natalie off his wizard costume.
Ben looked up at me with the same wary expression that showed on my face after he was done cleaning blood and guts off himself. I rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. Jaime liked us and we liked Jaime, as long as we didn’t do anything to upset her we’d make it out of this alive… probably.
A sudden, devilish, smirk appeared on Jaime’s face. Before I knew it, she took off heading North, away from Ben and I.
I let go of my son’s hand to chase after her. I didn’t want to think of what might happen to her if she went off all by herself in this chaos, or what she might do to someone else for that matter. “Jaime, sweetie, wait! Where are you going?”
A similar light bulb went off over Ben’s head, “Mom, I think I know where Rosie is! Follow me!”
My son took off running past me, faster than I’d ever seen him run before. Between Rosie and Ben, she was always the more athletic twin. Now that I mention it, he also looked stronger and more energetic than normal. I remembered him pouring most of the water bottle on himself and his ability to control water. Maybe with this new power of his, water made him faster, stronger, better.
I ran after the two super children, not wanting to leave them unsupervised for long. Thankfully, there were still Rosie’s burnt footprints in the concrete to follow if I got left behind.
As I followed Ben I recognized where we were heading. Jaime and Ben led me through the entrance of a local park on the edge of town. On the left side of the park sat a man-made lake about a mile wide and two miles long with a beach full of large stones and boulders instead of sand. In the middle was a large patch of land that had a picnic area, grass to run around in, and a full sized playground with a play set, swings, slides, merry-go-round, and even a seesaw. To the left was a small patch of woods that branched out into a few hiking trails of varying levels of difficulty.
I eyed the dried out autumn trees suspiciously. If Rosemary had gone and hid in the forest, there’s no doubt she’d be able to cause a fire big enough to engulf the entire town. At the very least, Ben was there now and could probably use the lake water to put the fire out.
It’s funny, I used to hate my kids playing over here in fear they might drown in the water, hurt themselves on the playground, or get lost in the woods. Now I’m looking at the environment in ways they can use their newfound powers to create apocalyptic scenarios and even stop them.
Ben kept straight ahead and ran ahead of Jaime over to a large oak tree on the edge of the playground. In its lower branches sat a small treehouse. It looked decrepit and like it would collapse off the tree’s branches any minute. I noticed a small glowing light coming from within. Rosemary must be in there. Ben started climbing up the steps that had been nailed into the trunk of the tree.
Now I know why they never told me about it. There’s no way I’d let them play in that thing. It probably wasn’t up to code and tetanus was bound to be festering in the structure. It was too late to chastise them about it now. I was just relieved to have found Rosie.
I slowed my pace down after Ben had made it to the tree. A sudden bout of nausea caused me to stop and lean my body against a nearby bench.
“Rosemary,” he shouted for his sister, “there you are! We looked all over town for you!”
“Ben, what are you doing here?” Rosie asked, peeking her head out of the tree house’s window.
“We came for you!” I shouted, trying not to puke. I think all the adrenaline from previous events that happened in the night was leaving my system. My energy was drained, a slight headache was forming, and I’d broken out in a cold sweat. “Mommy… Mommy’s going to sit down for a little bit. She’s not feeling too well.”
The kids didn’t seem to hear me, too invested in their own little super-powered kid drama.
Ben made it halfway up the tree steps before he said, “C’mon Rosie, let’s go home! Mom says it isn’t safe out here.”
“Yeah, Rosie, come down and plaaaaay!” Jaime giggled sadistically as she skipped around the bottom of the tree house.
I didn’t like the tone that little girl used with my daughter. Sensing danger, I tried to pick myself up off the park bench to run interference. Something was off with my body, though. I didn’t have enough strength in me to carry my weight, so I ended up sinking back down into the bench. All I could pathetically yell out was, “Rosie? Ben?”
Rosie sniffled. “G-go away, Jaime! This is our safe house!”
“Jaime? What are you doing?” Ben asked in a concerned tone.
I looked to see that same deadly stare in Jaime’s eyes from before. “I won’t let you bully me anymore, Rosie!”
My heart sank to my stomach. My Rosie, a bully? I mean, I knew she could be pretty forward at times, but bully another child? Surely I’d taught her better than that? Wait- it all makes sense! It explains why she acted the way she did earlier in the night, why she was so quiet and timid. She didn’t want to reveal to me how she’d really been treating Jaime. Ooh that little girl is so getting a stern talking to later. That is if she doesn’t burn me like she does her marshmallows first.
“I want to be included too! I want to play in the tree house!” Jaime laughed. “I hate bullies, and you wanna know what I do to bullies, Rosie?” She yelled out, on the verge of throwing a tantrum of epic proportions.
A sudden creaking and groaning sound came from the foundation of the tree house. Dirt and dust started falling to the ground as the tree shook intensely.
“Ahhhh!” Rosie screamed from inside. I heard things shuffling and falling around. My adrenaline kicked in once more as I thought about something heavy falling on Rosie, or her falling out of the tree house entirely.
I managed to throw myself off the park bench. I landed on the ground on my hands and knees. An intense pressure was welling up within my gut. “Rosie!” I cried out, beginning to crawl.
From deep within the recesses of the tree house, a small fireball emerged and landed about a yard away from Jaime. “Take that you witch!”
Jaime snuffed the fire out with her shoe and picked up a nearby rock and chucked it into the doorway of the tree house.
Ben jumped down from the tree and took a step towards Jaime. “Stay away from my sister!”
“Make me,” Jaime challenged menacingly. She began that stare again.
A pained grunt escaped me as I pushed myself closer to the battlefield. The pressure in both my gut and head crescendoed. I lost my balance and collapsed into a ball.
Ben took notice and ran to me, changing his priorities. “M-mom? Are you okay?” He asked, rubbing my shoulders trying to comfort me.
With what little strength I had left, I pushed him as far away from me as possible. “G-get away from mommy,” I said breathlessly. “I-I feel like I’m going to explo-“
A sudden and intense blast of energy released from inside me. I instantly felt relieved but drained at the same time. Looking up, I found multiple cracks in the ground in both the pavement and grass that were at least a foot wide, all stemming away from me. I noticed both Jaime and Ben were now several feet away from me, having been thrown a couple of feet in the blast. Rosie was holding onto the treehouse for dear life.
Ben stirred after a minute, groaning slightly.
D-did I do all that?
Oh my god. I ate a lollipop…
There’s no way! I have superpowers?!
Jaime quickly recovered and started dragging Ben back to the tree house. Ben started kicking and screaming in terror. He outstretched his hand and started to command the lake water.
Jaime shot her hand out, and like putting up an invisible wall, Ben’s water attack was thwarted by the invisible mass. The water splashed back and fell to the ground, creating a giant mud puddle.
I caught a glimpse of Jaime’s face as she continued to drag my son. She was going to kill my kids.
After whatever energy blast I’d released, I was still pretty weak. Weak, but enlightened. I knew what my power was and how to use it.
I could feel the buzzing energy of the earth flowing beneath my feet. My ears were filled with the sound of worms digging their way through the dirt, water permeating between rocks underground, coal being pressured into diamonds.
Straining my fragile frame, I stood up to face the deadly eight year old. Closing my eyes, I envisioned the Earth around me bending to my will. A vision of the larger boulders and rocks from the beach filled my head. A sudden pressure tugged in my tummy as I pulled the energy coming from them towards Jaime. “Get the hell away from my kids, you little shit!”
I opened my eyes to a barrage of rocks floating over from the beach, quickly encasing the girl in a small, rocky, prison.
“Get in the tree house!” I yelped. With how powerful Jaime was, I doubted that cage would last very long.
Ben ran towards me and helped me over to the tree. I slowly but surely made my way up the steps. Since I had a good two feet on my children, it wasn’t that big of a climb to begin with.
“Mommy!” Rosie yelled as she stuck her hand out for me to grab. I grabbed it for whatever support she could offer. She leapt into my arms as soon as I collapsed into the tree house. “You saved me!”
I snuggled her into a quick hug. “Of course I’m going to save you, Rosie. You’re my daughter.”
Ben entered the safety of the tree house a minute after I did. The sound of rocks crumbling and falling against each other rang through the air as a sudden rumble shook the tree.
Jaime had freed herself.
“Ben, what are you doing? Get away from the entrance!” I yelled. Half of his body was hanging out of the tree house so he could see Jaime.
I scooted over to the window slowly, my frame barely able to fit inside the tree house. Jaime was at the bottom of the tree, about to climb up here.
Ben moved the mud water from his previous attack and used it to slow Jaime down. He whipped the water across her cheek so fast and hard it cut her. She flinched back, wiped the blood flowing down her cheek, and continued climbing.
Ben maneuvered his body so that his legs stuck out instead of his head. He waited until just the right spot and started kicking at Jaime, trying to prevent her from climbing up any further.
I had no energy left within me to attack her again. Ben would have to win this battle on his own.
Annoyed, Jaime swatted her hands, trying to deter Ben from kicking her hands. “Stop that! Let me up there!” She managed to get a grip on his ankle and dragged him forward a bit. One more pull and he’d fall.
This move, however, helped Ben get a good kick in. “Leave us alone!”
He managed to kick Jaime in the forehead hard enough for her to loosen her grip and fall back to the ground. She landed on her back with a sickening crunch!
Part of me was worried for Jaime. That fall was not a good one and she could be seriously injured. The other part of me felt relieved. I wanted her to be dead. Lord knows the little bitch deserved it.
Rosemary crawled towards the entrance, getting a good look at Jaime’s limp body lying there. She covered her mouth in shock. Ben started to climb out of the treehouse. “I’m going to check on her! She could be seriously hurt!”
I reached out for Ben’s shoulder, trying to stop him, but he was too fast. If anyone should’ve gone down to check on her it should’ve been me, but he took the advantage of already being in the doorway to get ahead of me.
Before I knew it, he was on the ground hovering over Jaime’s, hopefully, corpse. Rosie and I watched from above eagerly.
“Die!” Jaime screamed, suddenly opening her eyes and grabbing Ben by his throat. He grabbed her wrists, trying to wriggle himself free of her grasp. It looked like he was losing. I think I saw blood starting to drip down from his ear.
“Ben! No!” I screamed, lurching my body out of the tree house trying to grab him.
Thunk!
Suddenly a dart was shot into Jaime’s neck and she fell limp again. Taking the opportunity, Ben got up and pressed himself up against the trunk of the tree.
“P-please!” He pleaded, beginning to tremble,” Don’t hurt me!”
I moved my gaze to the direction he was looking in. At the entrance of the park was a camouflaged Hummer H 1. Guys wearing military special ops gear had flooded the park in lines, using night vision goggles to scope out their targets.
Ben’s pleas went unanswered as another Thunk! sounded through the air. They shot another one of those dart thingies into his shoulder. He was out in an instant. A military guy grabbed both Jaime and Ben, slinging them each over a shoulder and carried them away to the Hummer.
“Ben!” Rosie screamed.
Before she could throw another fireball, I quickly grabbed Rosie and scrambled to the furthest corner in the tree house. I covered her nose and mouth with my hand to stifle any noise she’d make. I covered my own mouth to stifle my whimpers.
I knew they heard her scream. They knew we were up here. It wouldn’t be long until they came for the two of us.
“Shh, sweetie. Everything’s going to be alright, okay?” I whispered to Rosie as I began to stroke her hair slowly. Tears started welling in my eyes. There was no way I’d be able to take on all those soldiers by myself. Not in my condition and to mention the only Earth at my disposal right about now would be the tree and tree house.
I clutched my daughter closer to me, burying her face in my chest. The creaking sound of someone climbing up the tree trunk alerted me to the encroaching presence.
I wished we could be invisible in that moment. That whatever military operative was about to climb into the tree house would find nothing in here. Just rotted rickety old wood and toys. Not me and my daughter. I wished we just blended in, like a chameleon. Another tugging sensation came from my gut.
I shut my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable.
The sudden flash of light from a flashlight shown in my eyes caused my eyelids to flicker open. I locked eyes with the man whose upper half was propped inside the treehouse. He was in full tactical gear and everything. Attached to his flashlight was a scary looking rifle. A second later, after it felt like he was done staring into my soul, he did another sweep of the small play fixture with his flashlight before shouting down to the rest of his team, “All clear! Whoever we heard up here must’ve escaped somehow.”
I blinked back my shock. He hadn’t seen us? Really? I looked down at my hands. I couldn’t see anything, just the floor of the tree house. My skin had turned translucent. I looked at Rosie, whose skin was invisible just like mine. My body collapsed with relief and I let go of my daughter. Her skin turned back to normal after mine stopped touching hers. A second later my skin also returned to normal.
I felt Rosie start to shudder and sob. I rubbed her shoulder and pressed her tighter into me so the military guys outside wouldn’t hear her. I didn’t fully relax until I heard the engine of the Hummer kick to life and the vehicle drove away.
“Mom!” Rosemary gasped, looking at me in awe, ”You were invisible!”
“I-“ a sigh escaped my lips, “I know sweetie.”
I didn’t know how or why, but somehow I had manifested two powers instead of one.
Rosie started to cry again. “It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!”
I wiped the tears off of her cheeks that were still smudged with ash. “No it isn’t, Rosie. None of this is even remotely your fault.”
She pushed herself away from me and huddled herself into the corner. “It is! It’s my fault Ben is gone. These stupid powers make me destroy everything I touch. If I hadn’t listened to stupid Natalie and bullied Jaime just to fit in, she wouldn’t have attacked us. You should’ve let me be. Let Jaime kill me, even. This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t follow me!”
“We’ll get him back, Rosemary,” I rubbed her shoulder gently, trying not to cry after registering her words. These were things no seven year old should ever be saying. “I promise you! Hey, I- I’ll even teach you how to control your powers, okay?”
“Really?” She asked, turning out of the corner to face me. She had a hopeful expression on her face, and for a second, I knew everything was going to be okay.
I gave her a reassuring smile. “Really.The bad men are going to pay for taking your brother away from us.”
She crawled back into my arms where we hugged.
I looked out the window of the tree house. The kiss of dawn was upon us. The dark night sky was becoming lighter in the horizon as the sun started to rise for the day.
I brought Rosie to my chest again as I began to hum a soft lullaby to soothe her. We’d both had a very rough night. We both needed a little rest.
As my mind finally had the opportunity to process the nights events, I couldn’t help but saying, “Oh my god, my life is turning into fucking Firestarter.”