A Blight on the Map.

~Aria~

We snuck in through the vents, crawling over their heads without making a sound. It's only the two of us now. I'm alone with someone I can barely trust. Why didn't he just tell me the truth before? Why did he have to lie? I guess I should back up, tell you what's going on and what I'm talking about.

It started on any other Saturday of November in year 3029. I was woken up by the blaring sound of my annoying alarm clock. Reaching out my arm from the bundle of covers I lay buried under, I knocked the device over and heard as it fell to the floor with a thud. Letting out a sigh I uncovered myself and recovered the annoying object from the floor, turning it off and putting it back in its place. I let my bare feet hit the cold wooden floor and quickly tiptoed to my bathroom, and went through my morning routine as silent as I could.

When I exited my room, I picked my second oldest brother up off the floor of the hall and, with difficulty, dragged him into his room and into his bed. Then proceeded to leave aspirin and a glass of water on his bedside table, before exiting the messy room. From the steps, I could see my father passed out drunk on the couch. I watched with my heart in my ears, and my body froze as he started to move. Sitting up his eyes locked on me, and they no longer held love or happiness like they used to before mother died, they only held anger and torment. He got to his feet and went to lunge at me, but something came through the window, a blue like slime that coated father.

I watched as my father screamed in pain and disappeared. The bottle of aspirin fell from my hand, and I hurried up to my brother's room. Neither my father or my brother have been that nice. I received beatings from both when they were drunk and when they aren't, but they are the only family I have left. I originally started out with a happy family, a huge one at that. I had a mother, a father, and six older brothers. My mother died when I was three, so I don't really remember her, My eldest brother died in a crash when I was thirteen, the triplets were put into foster care and taken to Africa when I was twelve. The second eldest never left the house, and my last brother, his name was Alex, he took his own life when I was eleven.

I slammed the door open but the only thing I found was a giant hole in the bed like acid was poured and had seeped through. When I opened my door I instantly threw myself back and onto the wall, watching as the blue goo hit the wall and melted through. I didn't make a sound, not even to breathe. I waited until I heard the whirring noises of their machines leave, before going back to my room, packing and leaving. My neighborhood was abnormally silent, as the machines floated away off in the distance.

It didn't hit me that the world was going to end, the first thing that came to mind was if my best friend, Alexis, was alive. I ran down the road, every turn, and bend my legs traveled on their own. I saw the hole in her door and jumped through, shouting her name left and right, I looked for any sign of life. When I got to her room and saw the hole in her bed, just like Xavier's, I broke. I dropped to my knees, a hand over my mouth, tears seeped out of my eyes. Why? It was the only question that raced through my mind.

I crouched next to the wall for what felt like hours with my face in my knees as I let the tears flow in out as fast as they wanted. When I finally found the strength to make it shakily to my feet I noticed the white bracelet that matched my black one. We were going for a Yin and Yang friendship bracelet theme, a few tears escaped once more as I picked the beaded bracelet up off the floor and slid it onto my wrist.

I wandered out to the streets, the cold air hitting my face and freezing me to the bone. It didn't affect me though, my skin was as cold as ice but all I could do was question as to why I survived, instead of Alexis. Alexis was a witch too, more powerful than I could ever imagine being, she could levitate things and she got her powers on time. I was just a runt, I didn't get my powers when I was fifteen, I didn't even know I had witch blood in me until my sixteenth birthday!

When my powers first came, my father made my brothers take me to the doctor and get checked out. The doctor told me I was a rare type of witch called an empath, which could be responsible for my depression, anxiety, and irritation of physical contact. The physical contact was straight on the bullseye, the depression came from my fucked up family, and the anxiety came from my father and second eldest brother hitting me.

Alexis was so happy to welcome me to what she called "The Sisterhood." It was actually pretty exciting at first until my dad found out. He would yell at me, any time that I ever used my power. What I never understood though was why he always said "Powers" instead of just "Power", did mom have multiple? If so, and I supposedly inherited the magic from her, then why do I only have one? Anytime Xavier wasn't in a foul mood I'd ask him about mom, and what she could do.

He's told me that mother was a very powerful witch, one not to be dealt with. That he and the others used to be pretty scared of her when she was mad at them cause she would sit them in a corner and make it so they weren't able to move.

"Worst torture in the world, staring at nothing but wallpaper, and not being able to move... " He'd recall blankly and shiver just the slightest before smiling and ending our chat before I could ask any more questions. I never really got to ask that many questions since he wasn't in the best of moods very often...

The tears started to come back, and I tried to stay strong and keep them in. I was so distracted by my feelings I didn't even hear anyone approaching.

"Hello?"

I jumped.

A little short I know, but I had to delete detail to make it a short story and then adding the detail back in didn't exactly work so well.