Felicity

I walked into the control room while sipping my coffee and tasting how cold it had become. "How are the spectrometer readings, Gaits?" I said to the dark-haired young man in his mid-twenties seated in front of the large monitors.

"Everything looks good, Ms. Lancaster." He quickly spun his chair around, face white as a sheet. "I'm so sorry. I mean Chief."

I’m not sure I would’ve even noticed if he hadn’t said anything. My attention was focused on the readings coming from the screen. "Don't worry about it, kid. Take a break and get us some fresh coffee, would ya?"

Gaits jumped out of his seat, too rattled to make eye contact. "Right away, ma'am."

Damn, I thought I had few good years left before “ma’am” status. As Gaits scurried off, I took a seat and pulled my long blonde hair back into a bun. These nights just keep getting longer and longer. All three massive screens in front of me each told the same story. “There's not a damn thing going on. Not even a blip.”

I had just propped my feet up on the counter to lounge back when Gaits made his way back into the Observation Room. "Um, Chief, I didn't know how you liked your-."

"Black and hot as hell."

Gaits took a minute to look at the two coffees in his hands. After feeling out the temperatures, he handed over the one he thought to be the hottest.

I took it without hesitation, trying not to laugh at how nervous Gaits always seemed to be. "Much appreciated."

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Turning my head to face where he stood, I leveled my eyes into his. "Let's just stick with “Chief” for now." I stood up, hiding a smile from his view when a feeling of dizziness hit me like a MAC truck. "Whoa." The coffee fell from my hands as Gaits rushed to my side, catching me as I lost my balance.

Gaits took the majority of my weight onto his shoulders. "Ms. Lancaster--I mean ma'am--I mean Chief. So sorry. Are you okay?"

“I'm fine, I just need some wat-" The alarms abruptly went off, startling the two of us. Gaits and I turned towards the screens with horrified looks. "Holy." Gaits started.

"Shit." I finished.

***

Lexi

Sitting on the edge of the rooftop of my high-rise apartment building, I looked down at the city lights. From my favorite spot, I waited as the second’s counted down to midnight, marking my sixteenth birthday. "Just two more years, Lexi. Just two more to 18 and freedom." Staring at my watch, I counted down the last few seconds before midnight. "Three…two." When the second’s hand reached midnight, the watch stopped. “Well, that’s just anticlimactic. Moving to stand up, I nearly fell over at the sound of bells filling the air. Catching my breath, I laughed at the unnecessary shock before shaking it off. As I headed towards the rooftop door, I took a hop for every toll the bell made, stopping on the twelfth and final in front of the door. My hands had just gripped the doorknob when a thirteenth toll rang through the air much deeper and longer than the previous twelve. Paused by the odd notion that someone would set the bell to ring thirteen times, I didn't notice the door rattling.

A force like a wrecking ball blasted through the door, pushing me full force over the edge of the sixty-story building. I forgot to breathe as gravity threw me down to the city streets below. It wasn’t like it is in the movies. Time doesn't slow down. There was no brief moment where my life flashed before my eyes. Just the scariest moment of my life. Knowing I had less than a few seconds left, I closed my eyes and held my breath.

I shot forward in bed, wide-eyed and grabbing at my chest, as hard and fast breaths came in and out. After wiping the tears and strands of long brown hair from my face, my eyes focused in on the familiar dresser, nightstand, and vanity table in my bedroom. I felt myself calming down as I looked out of the floor-length windows to the cityscape. High above the skyline, the moon shone from the glass to my bed, illuminating the watch on my wrist. 12:01. The second’s hand was ticking like normal. Okay, not a big deal. Just another traumatic night terror.

I lied down on my side, allowing my gaze to rest on the dresser. Drifting into the drowsiness, my vision eased down the length of the dresser. Just as my eyelids were about to shut for sleep, they locked onto a pair of pale-yellow eyes glowing underneath the dresser. As soon as it processed through my mind, my eyes shot open and panic rushed through my body. I went rigid from terror, and slowly pulled the covers up to my mouth. I made sure to give my eyes plenty of room to stare directly at the face in the darkness. Its eyes grew large and menacing as it moved from under the dresser. I didn't even realize I was holding my breath, until I involuntarily gasped for air. At that moment, it leaped out of the darkness from under the dresser towards me. It pushed me from my bed and onto the floor.

Breathing hard and grabbing at anything within reach, I tried to pull myself back up. That’s when I felt it. It wasn't a hand exactly, as coldness crept up my leg. My gaze slowly moved in the direction of my lower body before I came face to face with it. The yellow eyes were now mere inches away from my own. A scream built inside of me, but my petrified state wouldn't allow me to even whisper. As if what was before me couldn’t become any more frightening, a sinister smile spread across its face. Even right in front of me, the darkness still somehow hid its face in shadow, only revealing its pale-yellow eyes and gleaming white teeth.

My breathing became heavy and the blood in my body rushed from my head. I stared in utter shock as adrenaline pumped through my body and the yellow eyes came closer to my own. Someone, help m-. My body began to tremble uncontrollably, shaking from my feet to my head, before suddenly locking into place. A force of purple light shot from my torso and pierced through the approaching nightmare. The strength of the light pushed my body back, causing me to slam into the nightstand. Hyperventilating, I looked from left to right as I tried to focus my vision. Sweat poured out of me while I fervently scanned my room for the shadowy intruder. The more I looked around the room, the more I saw there was nothing there. "Wha-what the hell?" I drew my legs in and pulled my knees up to my chin while heaving and clutching at my chest. After one more look around the room, I pulled myself back up into my bed.

The door to my room opened with a bang as my mom came rushing in. "Lexi, sweetheart, what's going on?" She was frantic as she moved to my bedside and sat down.

I breathed out a sigh and shook my head. "I'm fine mom."

She looked around the room anyway, searching for any issue of worry. "Was it another night terror?" She was still looking around. I took a moment before meeting her worried eyes and slowly nodded. "Oh, honey." She reached out to pull me towards her, hugging me tightly. "I'm so sorry. I should've known the move would be just as stressful on you." I breathed in my mom's familiar scent of lavender and honey, her choice of tea when she had more on her mind than she cared to share. "I'm so sorry honey. I'll call a doctor in the morning and take care of this."

I gave my mom a small push as I sat back up. "No, mom, I'm fine. I'm just anxious about school tomorrow." I put on my best poker face. "New school and all. Not to mention the semester started over a month ago. I’m bound to be a little nutty." I finished by giving her my patented “I'm just a little crazy look.”

***

As the morning light poured into my room from the large bedroom windows, I yanked the comforter over my head. "Go away.” I tried my best to block out the sun. "I'm not awake, so you shouldn't be either." It was perfect timing as the alarm from my phone went off. "Ugh, fine." I slammed my hand down on my phone, but also caught the edge of my nightstand. "Ow, ow, ow. Son of a!" I jumped out of bed, holding my hand close to my chest. "Fantastic start. Superb." I sneered at the sharp edges of my nightstand and turned away. Plopping down at my vanity table, I let out a heavy sigh at my puffy eyes. Before making myself feel worse, I grabbed my hairbrush and went to town with the untangling. I pulled and tugged the soft bristles through my hair, before bending my head forward to brush underneath. That's when I saw it. The immense amount of sunlight pouring in caught every strand scattered throughout my head. I immediately stood up and grabbed a fistful of my hair, examining it as if with a microscope. "What the hell?" Inside of my thick brown hair were errant strands of gold. I rolled and tugged at a strand to feel it securely rooted in my head.

It feels like normal hair. It brushes like normal hair. But I’m pretty sure hair doesn't grow this bright and shiny, at least not my hair. I moved to my floor-length mirror to get a good look at my whole head and saw that my hair was still mostly brown. However, scattered throughout were golden threads that caught every bit of light. From the mirror, I saw the clock above my bed and whipped my head around to look directly at it. Crap. I need to get moving if I want to be early. I ran to my closet and pulled out the school uniform, still wrapped in the plastic it came in from the school. Blue and black pleated skirt, white cotton blouse, and an unflattering blue cardigan with Lux Academy scrawled above the left breast. Below the school name was two doves facing opposite directions with their wings spread for takeoff. One with a laurel in its mouth, and the other with an olive branch.

I must have done something bad in a past life. After scowling at my reflection, I put on my favorite pair of converse and birthstone ring, taking note of the amethyst stone. Remembering how windy it could get, I quickly tied my hair up before heading downstairs. As soon I entered the dining room, I felt both a pang in my heart and an overwhelming need to reconsider my mom’s offer to stay home today.

Mom stood behind the dining room table with a huge smile spread across her olive-toned face. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” In the center was, without a doubt, the most delicious-looking strawberry and white chocolate cake I had ever seen.

I felt my eyes well up as my dad stood up from his chair, and moved towards me. “Happy birthday, Lexi.” He kissed me on my forehead before whispering in my ear, “It took me an hour to convince your mom not to call the school and tell them you were too sick to come in today.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I whispered to my dad, using him to block mom from seeing. Moving closer towards the cake, my mouth salivated over the sugary goodness mere inches away from my grasp. I felt a sting as mom gave my hands a quick smack with the cake cutter. “Sheesh woman.” I tried to rub the pain away. “Remember whose birthday it is.”

Mom pointed the tip of the cake cutter at me before responding. “You’ll understand when it takes you three cakes and ten hours to get one of these diabetic comas right. I may be emotional, but I’ll be damned if anybody is going to touch this thing before we sing ‘Happy Birthday.”

Even trying my hardest to hide the laughter inside, my face still couldn't keep from smiling. Mom winked at me before reaching for the lighter and candles. My eyes welled up some more as dad dimmed the lights and joined mom on the other side of the table. As the eponymous “Happy birthday to you” started, one drop and then another slid down my cheeks and over my smile. I bent over to blow out the candles as the song reached the end, and made the same wish I did every year. To always be as happy as I was at that moment. I stood back up in the darkened room but froze as I looked towards her parents. A third and darker silhouette stood behind them. My breath caught as the shadowy figure slowly moved closer towards me from behind my parents. Neither my mother nor my father moved as the stranger passed through them.

My lungs felt ragged in my chest as it smiled, showing the same gleaming white grin from last night. Oxygen made its way into me as I found the clarity to do something. Refusing to let whatever it was hurt my family; I used a chair to hoist myself onto the table, grabbed the cake cutter, and prepared to leap at the intruder. Its elongated arms reached up towards me as its insidious smile grew larger. The lights in the room flashed on just before I could launch myself off of the table. Staring up at me in complete shock, my mother’s face was sad as she looked up at me. Still holding the cake cutter above my head, I realized I was mere seconds away from fatally hurting my mother. Sickened by the thought of what I was about to do as well as the look of concern on both of my parent’s faces, the cutter dropped from my hands. I jumped down from the table and grabbed my messenger bag before running full speed out of the door.