The Okayest Writer
16. Sci fi/fantasy genre🖤You call it trauma, I call it ✨character development✨
The Okayest Writer
16. Sci fi/fantasy genre🖤You call it trauma, I call it ✨character development✨
16. Sci fi/fantasy genre🖤You call it trauma, I call it ✨character development✨
16. Sci fi/fantasy genre🖤You call it trauma, I call it ✨character development✨
_NOTE: I changed the prompt from something the character can’t see to something that ONLY the character can see. _
The hairs on the back of my neck spike up, my eyes darting to all the people on the street. _Who’s watching me?_
My hands form fists in my coat pockets, my breaths coming out more frenzied with each step. I had already looked behind me twice, and upon finding nothing but people engulfed in their phones, turned back around.
I was headed back to my apartment, tired of a long day of work taking photos of happy families and couples. _Just a side job_.
The cool air sent shivers along my spine, but I wondered if it was the cool air or the _thing_ I felt watching me. I had felt it as soon as I stepped out of the studio, uneasy and practically racing down the steps.
_I shouldn’t go back home. I don’t know who’s following me_. My mind was torn between it just being paranoia to it being a person. Or a thing. One with bad intentions. I could feel it rattling my bones, twitching my fingers, sinking deep into my lungs.
**_Hello_**.
I whirled around, freezing midstep. One lone figure stood on the sidewalk, headlights and streetlights mangling their shadow.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice carrying above the breeze.
Everyone else had disappeared around me, leaving only the figure and I in a bubble-like trance. I could see people farther away, on the other side of the street or in their cars, but they didn’t react to others’ disappearance.
You’re interesting. You’re not satisfied.
“Isn’t everyone? What do you want? Who are you?” My voice shook, and I took a step back. I could feel tender wisps creeping up my ankles and into my veins, keeping me still.
The figure stayed where it was, only tilting its head in response despite wearing a hood. Covered in black from head to toe, with only a few buttons and a small screen decorating its clothing, the thing moved its hand towards me.
_ I have never witnessed someone in my time here with this spirit-type. Would you mind just giving me your hand? _ “Why?” My breath clouded in front of me, my eyes blurry from trying not to blink. I felt the power of the figure inside me, tugging me closer without moving themselves.
Confusion and fear built up inside me, my hands shaking with adrenaline.
“Wait, wait, wait! What are you _doing_?”
The creature was silent, gently raising its hand and setting mine into theirs. I had no control over my own body anymore, and even my voice was becoming quieter.
The figure used its other hand to trace patterns into my skin, their fingers featherlight. My mind raced with thoughts of another life, another dimension.
**_Thank you for your time. I’m only learning. You will forget all of this come morning.
_** The figure disappeared in the way ashes fall, the way water rushes through a creek. Calm, but almost everywhere all at once.
…
I awoke in my bed, my mind fuzzy. A headache bloomed at the front of my skull, and I winced, pulling the blanket over my head.
I sprang upright when I remembered the events of last night, of the stranger with the gentle touch and immense power.
I looked down at my hand, but there was no evidence of their presence besides the tingling on my knuckles.
My bedroom door was ripped open silently, the light of the window in the hall illuminating the figure standing there. The one from last night.
**_Very interesting, indeed. _**
Maybe it was the lack of the sound of pans banging around downstairs that sent me back to when I was seven. The silence was louder than anything.
The carpeted stairs I used to slide down, wincing at every sound that was made so early in the morning, were gone, replaced with new, wooden ones. The news that once was a low hum on the TV, was silent. The walls were painted an off-white, despite the fact that every room was once painted a different color of the rainbow.
Everything I once recognized was gone, replaced with modern touches in an effort to sell the house more quickly.
My fingertips grazed the doorknob. I was merely a ghost in the present, my thoughts stuck on the past.
This was supposed to be easy. Infiltrate the gala and swap the codes. Don’t pay attention to the spy. The cute and charming one. The one whose eyes draw you in like a bird to the sky and a flame to air.
_What was I thinking?_ I drew my eyes away from his and trudged to the edge of the dance floor. I looked around for an exit and found one almost immediately—the gala was held in the middle of the huge mansion.
Now I just had to quietly slip out and find the owner’s office. Located on the third floor, I’d take the stairs down and then turn left twice. The door should be on the right. I recalled the directions easily, thanking my _almost_ flawless memory.
He was staring. I felt his eyes boring into the back of my neck. I needed to get him off my ass. I didn’t want complications. If I screwed this up, our entire plan could be screwed up too.
I walked across the dance floor, leaving his field of vision and slipping out one of the doors. I breathed a sigh of relief at the newfound quiet and started walking towards the staircase.
I rushed down, holding the ornate marble railing as I went. The heels weren’t hard to run in, but I didn’t want to risk it when my heart was beating so fast.
I turned the corner, one, twice, until I made it to his office. I didn’t run into anyone on the way, and wasn’t expecting to either. The only guards on duty were either at the gala or at the exits.
I opened the office door, made of a deep wood color, and gazed inside. I stepped closer to his desk, pulling the sheet of paper out of the hidden pocket in my dress in the process.
My dark blue gown and gloves were meant to be somewhat bland, so I didn’t draw attention, but I secretly loved the way they settled on my body. And the fact that I could hold weapons beneath my dress made me giddy.
My hands shook with excitement and nervousness, but I honed in on the desk drawers and shuffled through the various forms until I found the file I needed.
I knew it was going to be unlocked. This was one of the easiest missions of my entire career. The guy was an absolute idiot and didn’t know how important this code was to us. Such a stuck up prick.
I swapped the codes, leaving everything just how it was. I closed the door behind me gently and walked to the staircase again.
Because I already had the code, there was no point going back up and risking being caught. I had a meet-up point with the rest of my team a few blocks away from the gala and that’s where I was headed.
I took the stairs two at a time, still holding onto the railing, and acted as confident as possible as I passed the four guards by the main exit. They nodded their heads and I did the same in return. They saw people entering and exiting all night. They just wanted to make sure no one was stealing anything. Which I _wasn’t_ necessarily. I just did a little trade.
I walked down the winding driveway—no car because I’m not that important in others’ eyes—and smiled at my small victory.
“Not enjoying the party, miss?” A voice rang out behind me, and I knew exactly who it was.
_ That damned spy_. I turned around, facing his dark silhouette, and scowled.
“It wasn’t exactly up to my standards.” I retorted, trying to sound disgusted by the idea of a nobody man trying to talk to me.
The nobody man that was standing a little more than ten feet from me, blade in hand.
“Is that why you took the code to the entrance of Point Whitaker?” His eyes danced with amusement and I smiled.
“What do you mean? Why would I have any use for that?” I was inching towards my own small blades, trying to distract him and gain myself more time. The host of the gala might be a stuck up-prick-idiot, but he had connections. This spy, however, was not up to par with my skills.
There was no point in trying to hide the fact I stole something, but there was no point saying it aloud to him either, just in case there was no brain behind that asshole’s golden smile.
His steps quickened to get closer to me, his sword raising ever so slightly.
“You know what you did.” He was only a few feet from me now, and I realized I wasn’t getting out of the situation without a fight.
In a blink of an eye, I pulled out my dagger and effortlessly sent it straight to his chest. Just because he was charming didn’t mean he was going to fuck up our plans.
My dagger hit its mark and I watched him realize he already lost. He gasped, staggering before regaining his footing.
“If you can get back to the doors, maybe you can get medical help in time. Don’t mention me or the swapped code and maybe I won’t come back and finish the job.” I showed my other dagger, gleaming in the dim light, and twirled it before sheathing it again.
I turned back around and headed for the meet-up point, not glancing back once.
Don’t fall for pretty faces.
The ground shakes, the trees swaying in the breeze. Even with cars racing on the streets, there was an eerie silence. No one was outside.
The air carried the faintest hint of petrichor and humidity. I breathed in deep, closing my eyes. The little wind chimes on the back porch clinked softly together and I smiled.
The birds, who usually chirped day and night, were nowhere to be seen or heard. I valued this quiet, and it somehow felt nostalgic. Everything was basked in faint shadows, and it relaxed me and excited me all the same.
I walked back inside, the back door creaking shut behind me.
“Time for a movie marathon?” I asked Josie, my sister.
“Absolutely.” She went to grabbing blankets while I grabbed some chips and candy from her pantry.
“Perfect timing for the weekend.” I smiled, curling up next to her.
NOTE: Not today’s prompt but one from a while back.
I know I wasn’t supposed to see the unsent text. I know I was only supposed to text her mom for her while she was making dinner. I had accidentally tapped on my contact instead. The text I saw…it shattered my heart.
_Hey. I know what you are. You don’t have to hide from me anymore. I…don’t know how to say this, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable dating a . The power of immense pain at one touch? That’s a lot for me to shoulder too. I’m sorry. I don’t want to break up but I don’t want to fear you either._
My hands shook. _She knew_. How could she know? I looked up at her, her body angled away from mine. Maybe that’s why she had been flinching at every move I made to touch her.
“A what?” I mumbled, noticing the unfinished sentence.
She turned, and I showed the text to her. She dropped the spoon she was holding and took a step back. Her face was pure white.
“I—I had thought I deleted that! It—“
“A what, Amara?” My voice raised.
Her eyes widened as she noticed I was walking towards her. She grabbed a leftover paper and held it in front of her.
“Please d-don’t come closer! I’m not going to hurt you. It wasn’t…wasn’t the word you are thinking. I didn’t want to insult you by saying the wrong one!”
I paused in front of her.
“You didn’t research anything. You do realize,” I grabbed her arm, continuing, “I can’t hurt someone I don’t hate.”
Her brown eyes were staring at my hand on her wrist, her entire body stone.
“But what if one day you do?” Her voice was quiet, so quiet I could barely hear.
“I would never,” I pulled her into a hug, my heart still racing. “Thank you for at least telling me your fears in a healthy manner, rather than just leaving.”
I felt her nod, and I kissed the top of her head.
“Let’s continue the pasta, okay?” She asked, breaking out of my embrace but still standing very, very near.
I smiled, and went back over to the stove.
_Ever since that day, she would always make sure that she was within arms reach whenever we had arguments. She wanted to make it known that she wasn’t scared, and I made sure to make it clear I wasn’t going to hurt her. _ __ Healthy relationships can even be made from a person who has the power to kill at one tiny touch. How come even some regular people can’t seem to grasp the lack of toxicity?
“So, who’s going to die today?”
I clenched my jaw, my eyes narrowing at the sight unfolding before me. I hadn’t known they were going to invade. I hadn’t been prepared for the bloodshed that now left more than half our people dead. Distant screams could still be heard even when I tried to shut them out.
“How about you, little one?” His voice rang clear among the remaining survivors. We kneeled before him, and I pulled my eyes to the small boy he was talking to.
I heard a few gasps, but none stood to challenge the terrifying man. I stared at the young boy, no older than ten, and watched him sob. He gasped for breath, his head bowed in a silent plea.
The man, who I assumed was the general, leaned down closer.
“Do you want to die?” He asked, grinning.
The boy shook his head so violently, I worried his head would pop off. His timid voice carried over to me, and I struggled not to shed a tear:
“Please…please spare me. I beg you. I’ll give you anything.”
“And what do you have to offer?”
Silence followed.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I filled with rage. They weren’t going to break every single person. They weren’t going to kill them and break their spirits. I was their guardian, after all. These invaders should fear me.
I was weak, but still stronger than any mortal. As the general raised his sword, repeating the question, I stood.
His head cocked towards me, eyeing me up and down.
“I’ll be the payment.” My voice was powerful, carrying throughout the battlefield. I had given them a chance to retreat, long ago, and they decided not to take it. This time, I would not hold back.
The general sighed, walking towards me.
“You have nothing to offer.”
“I offer you a painless death. If you decide not to do that, I have an amazing selection of other possible deaths. Your choice.”
He laughed, his voice husky and annoyingly loud. I rolled my eyes.
“You have a sharp tongue, yet you have nothing to back those words.” He was within arms reach of me now.
I smiled coldly. He had no idea what was in store for him.
Before he could blink, I had grabbed his neck. I saw his blink of surprise before he brought the sword down. I caught it in my other, blood seeping out of my hand. The cut was all superficial anyway. Nothing to worry about.
When he noticed, he gasped.
“Monster,” he whispered.
I laughed.
“You wish.”
“We’re in this together, but I’m not sure I can trust you,” he confessed under his breath.
I inhaled sharply, stopping to turn and look at him.
“You don’t need to trust me in order to get your brother. I’m here to right my wrong. You just happen to be involved.”
He stared, silent.
I sighed and continued, “Look. I’m going to get you inside the compound. I’m even going to lead you where they’re keeping Liam. I’m helping you. I have no interest in getting you captured. Your brother is also our guide. He is the top priority.”
He nodded, and I started walking again. My smile grew with every step I took.
__ __ _Liam wasn’t the guide. __The guide was Liam’s older brother, the very person that walked behind her. _A trap was waiting for him as soon as they stepped into the compound.