Contest: Keeper Exams

Host: THGF1234

"You're a stupid girl!" My father screams, tossing a bottle of Gin in my general direction. I clench my jaw and flick my eyes, sending the bottle tumbling uselessly against the wall and shattering. The stench of alcohol overwhelms the room and I wrinkle my nose in distaste.

"Hey! My drink!" He thunders, fumbling around for something else. I sigh and press my back against the wall, tucking my fingers in the pockets of my jacket. My dad's shaking fingers wrap around the handle of the steak knife and he lurches toward me, stabbing the object blindly through the air.

Focusing on the sharp object, I use the stale, smelly air around me to push against the blade and use another gust to pry the handle from his grasp. Yelping, he takes his hand from the knife as it falls against the hardwood, stabbing into the floor.

"I'm leaving Dad and this time I'm not coming back." I snap, crossing my arms over my chest and leveling a glare at the old man. He blinks and attempts to focus swimming eyes on me. But the alcohol in his system prevents him from clearly seeing me.

"What?" He stutters, swaying on his feet. He brushes his tongue over his cracked lips and stumbles a step toward me. A shard of sunlight shines through the closed shades and blinds him, forcing my dad to step out of the way. He whimpers at the touch of sun, pressing his palms to his face.

"I'm leaving." I repeat, pushing away from the wall. My dad looks up, a series of tears running down his cheeks.

"But, I need you." He argues, clenching his fists beneath his chin like a hopeful child. I shake my head and take a step closer to the front door.

"No, you need to get clean. But you don't need me and even if you did, I don't want you." I say, turning my back on him and striding out of the house. The early morning light hits me hard, stinging my eyes after the long night locked in the house with my drunk father and his loud, unrelenting voice.

Jogging through the dewy grass, I hop into the driver's seat of my dad's old car and start up the engine. It croaks out a few times but eventually I get the car to run smoothly and pull out of the drive. My old man manages to stumble out into the daylight just as I start driving down the street. He shouts after me and I press down harder on the gas.

A weight begins to lift off my shoulders and a suffocating tightness releases in my chest. The pressure subsides and a sense of freedom comes over me. Because, for the first time ever, I was free. Free from my dad. From that screwed up existence. Free from all the hell I'd gone through. I didn't have to think about it anymore.

All that mattered now was finding my brother.

Pulling out onto the highway I turn the radio up, ignoring the incessant static in the background. The fresh breeze zips through the car and the impromptu plastic wrap windows fail to hold at the speed I'm going. They tear and dance with the wind, adding to the abundance of noise within the small car. I smile to myself, almost sick with the amount of joy this simple experience gives me.

I had no clue where I was going.

Absolutely no idea.

I was just going.

Somewhere.

I just felt the need, the urge to pick up and leave and never look back. There was a pull I'd kept feeling. though I think it was really just me losing my mind. But I was finally following it and it felt so good.

A heavy weight lands on the top of the car and I shriek. My foot slams down against the brakes and the car spins out of control. I feel my heart beat begin to thump chaotically in my chest as the world spirals around me. A scream lodges in my throat, held back only by the hand that settles down on my wrist. I jerk, my head snapping to the right where a woman with black hair and bright blue eyes sits in the previously empty passenger seat.

"Move." She snaps, shoving my side. I yelp and feel my body begin to shake as I pull my legs against my chest and flip backwards, falling into the car's backseat with a thud. That scream rips free of my throat and tears through my body, igniting a swirl of adrenaline.

It takes me several moments to recognize the fact that I'm safe and the car is driving smoothly again. Fighting off shock I pull myself upright and look at the woman now driving my car through the rearview mirror.

"Who the hell are you?!" I scream, readying myself for anything. The woman glances sharply at me in the rearview mirror and scowls.

"Hush, I'm driving a car. You want to talk, I will talk. But I do not yell." The woman snaps as the wind whips at her hair. Blinking, I open and close my mouth for several moments before pulling it together and climbing cautiously into the front seat.

"Okay, I'll talk." I say, only load enough to be heard over the wind. She nods and turns her head to look at me.

"I'm Zarah Mendez, I hear you're looking for your brother." I startle, clenching my hands around the seat.

"How did you-"

"I'm his mother, well, I'm your mother too. His name is Everett Reese. I can take you to him." She says, cutting me off mid sentence. I stare at the woman, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Are you seriously expecting me to believe you?!" I growl, suddenly very offended by this over confident stranger. The woman smirks and spares me a glance.

"No, not really."

"Well, at least we've got that straightened out!" I retort angrily.

"But I know you're an Elementalist. I know you can control the four elements and you were almost raped as a child. That's how you found out about your Gift. I know you're powerful and you feel a pull to leave your deadbeat father behind in search of your long lost brother. I know that a tiny part of you is desperately hoping I'm for real." I snort, bursting out in laughter at this woman's insanity.

"Yeah, right! Totally!" I gasp out and roll my eyes, the woman shrugs one shoulder and presses down harder on the gas.

"It doesn't really matter! You are coming with me whether you want to or not."

"Like hell I am!" I scream back, the woman clucks her tongue and gestures down to my hands resting in my lap. A pair of silver cuffs are latched tightly around my wrists. I gasp, panic suddenly sparking up in my mind.

"You are!" She retorts and, as my last resort. I lift my hands and grasp ahold of the handle over my head. Readying myself, I slam my skull forward into the one remaining window in this car. The force sends shockwaves through my head and stars burst behind my eyes.

"What are you doing?!" The woman yells, I ignore her and slam my head against the window one more time. Weakness takes hold of me and a sweet darkness encroaches on the edges of my vision. Moaning, I rest against the rest and roll my head to face the woman.

"If you're going to kidnap me, I don't want to be conscious for it." I mutter moments before the world goes black.