Contest: Keeper Exams

Host: THGF1234

Pulling the sweatshirt over my head, I shove through the double doors and step out in the pouring rain. My worn tennis shoes soak through almost instantly and the freezing pelts of water assault my skin unforgivingly. Clenching my jaw, I sprint down the puddle riddled sidewalk to the bus station and dive beneath the empty plastic enclosure. With a sigh, I plop down on the metal bench and drop the drenched sweatshirt carefully by my side. Disdainfully, I reach down and pry the tennis shoes from my feet, turning them upside down and allowing a stream of water to run onto the pavement.

"Damn rain." I mutter beneath my breath, dropping the shoes on the ground. Slumping back against the wall, I watch the rain come down against the empty street with intrigue. Mother nature in all it's glory; so pure and free from emotion. Dark clouds cover any source of sunlight in the evening sky, casting a nightly glow across the wet ground and causing the small shops along the roadside to look so dreary.

A loud beep echoes in the air, quickly drowned out by the clapping of the thunder and the beating of the rain. Picking my sweatshirt and shoes up, I trot out into the rain and stand by the curb, watching as the bus approaches. It shrieks to a halt by the side of the road, kicking up droplets of water with its wheels. I sigh, neglecting to protect myself from the splash as it attacks my shins and feet.

Crossing my arms, I attempt to hold in as much body heat as possible until the bus doors pop open and a middle aged woman with squinty eyes gestures me hastily within the metallic dragon. Sloshing through a deep puddle, I step inside the bus and hand the woman one dollar.

"Don't sit anywhere, you'll ruin my seats. And no dripping!" She barks over another thunderous boom as a brilliant streak of lightning touches the ground ahead of the bus. I jerk my head in a nod, barely acknowledging her for fear of missing a single moment of the raging storm outside.

I head toward the back of the bus, passing a few stragglers whose eyes follow me all the way back. Once there, I lean my shoulder against a cold, foggy window and wrap my hand around a metal bar, watching the world swirl by in a mist of color and water. The bus lugs along, stopping every few minutes to pick up or drop off passengers. Though I pay little attention to those that pass through as hardly any do because of the storm tearing up the sky.

My intrigue only piques when a woman dressed in skin tight black clothing steps onto the bus. A waterfall of black hair cascades down her back in a tightly wound braid, striking blue eyes peak out beneath one black gloved hand placed gently against her forehead. The woman's shoes click along the metal floor as she steps gracefully through the bus and chooses to sit in a spot toward the back, looking at me. Standing up straighter, I tighten my fist around the soaked sweatshirt and quirk one eyebrow up.

A shrill gasp echoes throughout the bus as an elderly woman in the front row bends forward in pain, gingerly lifting her ankle from the floor. A younger girl beside her lets out a surprised yelp and turns to the woman with worry evident on her face. I narrow my eyes at the two and glance back at the woman whose attention is solely on me. She tilts her head slightly to the side and places her hands on her lap calmly, as if she means no harm. But the hair on the neck bristles with distrust and a shiver of alarm travels down my spine.

She was trouble.

And I didn't need trouble.

Thankfully, the bus pulls up to my street and I hurriedly stumble down the three steps to the side door, practically lunging out onto the wet pavement and dashing down the sidewalk. Footsteps echo behind me as the bus engine rumbles, bumbling off down the road again. Carelessly, I abandon the sweatshirt and shoes on the ground, barely stopping to properly discard of the items before dodging around a corner and diving behind a dumpster.

The rain continues to fall, chilling me to the bone as I crouch down beside the green bucket as my heart hammers against my chest. Breathing in the wet, stinky air I rest my head back against the brick wall and wait. A single spotlight glows from an apartment window somewhere above me, illuminating the dark alleyway in an almost nonexistent yellow glow.

Suddenly a dark form fills the light and I hold my breath, hoping the fervent beating of my heart won't give me away. The figure takes several steps toward me and the violent thumping gets faster and faster until it's almost in sync with the rain drops. Thunder rumbles from the sky and a terrifyingly close streak of lightning turns night to day for only a handful of seconds. I press my back into the wall and wedge myself behind the dumpster, scraping my arms along the brick.

Several agonizing minutes pass in which I feel blood trickling down my arms onto the ground. The water burns each wound as it scuttles over my body. My legs begin to fall asleep from my sitting on them and a sharp pain erupts in my lower back. The tiny light suddenly flips off, plunging me into a miserably pitch black existence. Finally, being able to take it no longer, I dive out from behind the dumpster and lay down on the pavement, closing my eyes against the rain.

Picking myself up off the ground, I limp out into the dark alleyway on half asleep legs and grasp ahold of the metal fire escape, pulling the lowest staircase to the ground. Tiredly, I stumble up the staircase and jump from one platform to another, making my way toward the top floor of the building. Once there, I push the rusted red door open and step into a dry hallway.

Sighing, I slam the door shut and lean my shoulder against it, thumping my forehead along the cold metal. One sad flickering light bulb lights my form as I stand there in my wet clothing and wait for my heart beat to steady. The hall is uncharacteristically silent, save for the continual thunder. I pad down the quiet hallway toward my apartment door, wrinkling my nose at the unappealing stench of burnt popcorn and something unrecognizable.

Stopping before my door and squinting into the flickering light, I jiggle the handle. When it fails to budge I rummage through my pockets for a key only to realize I left it in my sweatshirt pocket. Bitterly, I slump forward and smack my palm against the door miserably.

"I hate life." I mutter to myself as I back away from the door, readying myself to throw the weight of my body against it. Clenching my teeth, I close my eyes and duck my head.

"Everett Reese?" A mysterious voice questions. I lift my head and raise my fists, instinctively sinking down into a fighting stance. Simultaneously, I quirk my head to the left and she lets out a yelp of pain.

"Who are you?" I growl as my eyes fully adjust to the light and I see the figure of a slim girl with silver tipped golden hair and vibrant purple eyes. She sets her jaw and rubs her left wrist, a angry glint lighting up her mystical gaze.

"The girl with your room key, so before you go breaking down doors I think you'll want to listen to me." The girl says, holding up a silver key dangling from an old rope chain. I narrow my eyes, watching her for several moments before straightening up into a stiff position.

"Give me the key." I demand, in no mood to deal with whatever she has to say. The girl drops the chain by her side and stomps her foot, raising one challenging eyebrow.

"Do you remember me?" She counters, padding her foot against the floor rhythmically. I frown and shake my head, drawing my palms over my face tiredly.

"Look, I don't have time to play games. Would you just give me my key?" I say, crossing my arms defiantly over my chest. The girl huffs and rolls her eyes, tossing the key at my feet.

"You are such a jerk. You know that?" She accuses, pointing a finger at me.

"Yeah." I retort cheekily and bend forward to pluck the key from the ground. The girl huffs, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I wish I'd known that before I slept with you." She growls, curling pink lips back from her teeth.

"We slept together?" I question, prompting a devilish glare from the girl as she swipes her tongue over her lips in frustration. A tinge of recognition tingles in the back of my mind and I chuckle, twisting my lips into a confident smirk. A sense of pride comes over me and I push my fingers through my tangled, wet hair.

"Now I remember you. Bliss." I state, gesturing my head toward the apartment door. "You want to come in?" I ask, enjoying the way her face flickers through a rainbow of emotions. Anger to shock then disgust to horror and back to anger then to regret and finally sorrow. A cloud of weariness fills her eyes and she sags forward, covering her face with her hands.

"What am I doing here?" She mumbles, sounding as if she might cry. Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, I unlock the door to my apartment and step into a dark room.

A terrible chill travels down my spine and I freeze in the doorway, my jaw tightening in apprehension. The light flips on and I react on instinct, flipping forward and grasping the handle of a knife lying carelessly on a pile of dirty clothing. A powerful force collides with my stomach and I curl forward, landing in a heap on the ground.

"Everett?" Bliss says, putting herself in the doorway. I lift my head, eyes widening as she becomes locked in a fight with the lady from the bus. The woman slams Bliss in the cheek, knocking her back into the doorframe.

"Bliss!" I shout, picking myself up off the floor and curl my hand into a fist. The woman cries out and stumbles away from Bliss, holding her arms around her ribcage. Bliss swirls around and kicks her foot into the woman's stomach, throwing her back onto the floor.

"Bliss." I mutter, ignoring the woman and stepping carefully toward the blonde haired girl. She glances up at me with a pained expression and half smiles.

"How bad?" She mumbles, I observe the split lip and the gash along her forehead, suppressing the urge to grimace. Blood rolls down the side of her face and drips down her face, matting in her long curls and dotting her cheeks and eyelashes.

"You'll need stitches." I tell her, gently pressing my fingers against the wound on her forehead. She flinches and meets my gaze with deep purple eyes. Something passes between us before Bliss clears her throat and looks away.

"Dually noted." She whispers as I allow my hand to fall from her face. An obnoxious groan comes from behind us and anger overcomes my senses once more.

"What the hell do you want?" I growl, stomping toward the woman with one hand clenched and the knife gripped in the other. Bliss positions herself to my left, hands up as if to fight to woman.

"Why did you follow me here?" She interjects and I swivel my head toward her, a frown on my face.

"She was following me." I state, Bliss moves her purple eyes to my face and scowls.

"What? No, she's been after me for a week or so now." Bliss reasons, narrowing her eyes at me.

"I've been following both of you." The woman says, pulling herself off the ground. Bliss and I both turn to her, ready to fight if need be.

"Why?" I ask and the woman sighs.

"My name is Zarah Mendez, I am the Scout for the Hybrid Keeper and the magick of the Keeper has drawn me here. The Keeper is dying and we must find a new one before the magick overwhelms him. You both hold the potential to win, I am here to take you to participate in the Keeper Exams." She explains. I raise both eyebrows, staring at the woman with a newfound sense of pity.

"She's insane." I state, glancing at Bliss's unsure expression. She waves me off and steps closer to the woman.

"Hybrid Keeper, so like, not human? Do you have... weird powers?" I frown at the question, stiffening slightly at the thought of my own strange ability. Zarah nods, straightening up and dropping her hands to her sides.

"Yes, we call them Gifts. You both possess one of the fifteen. Everett Reese and Bliss Medici, you are both Hybrids." I shake my head, holding my hand toward her as if to block out her words.

"No, stop. You're insane, this is insane. Get the heck out of my apartment." I snap, pointing toward the door. But Bliss places her palm on my bicep and glances up at me with her enchanting gaze.

"Hold on, please." She says gently, facing the woman again. "What's a Hybrid and why do you keep calling us that?" Bliss demands, losing a bit of the gentleness previously in her voice.

"Hybrids are humans with enhanced DNA that gives them the ability to do things humans can't. Like breaking bones with finger movements," Zarah glances pointedly at me, "or predicting a person's actions before they happen." She says, looking at Bliss.

"Why us?" I ask.

"Because you are considered one of the best of your Gift." Zarah cracks her knuckles and sighs. "I promise everything will be made clear once we've reached the Hybrid compound."

"The what?" Bliss snaps, taking two steps back.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." I tell her, holding the knife up. Zarah smiles bitterly and shrugs one shoulder.

"I'm afraid neither one of you have a choice." Zarah says, twirling her hand through the air. I attempt to lunge at her but the knife suddenly disappears from my grasp. I grunt and fist my hand, trying to harm Zarah again but nothing happens. Suddenly, a brilliant streak of electricity travels throughout my entire body, sending my nerves into a frenzy of agony and causing my body to collapse in pain.

"Everett! Stop!" Bliss snaps, grasping my arm with her hands. The feel of her touch sends a jolt through my body and I instantly relax, no longer attempting to hurt anyone. She looks down on me with worry clouding her face and half smiles.

"What the-" I mutter, lifting my hands to find a metal band biting into my wrists.

"They prohibit the use of your Gift." Zarah informs us as Bliss helps me stumble to my feet, allowing me to use her for support.

"Why'd they hurt him?" Bliss snaps, her voice hard. Zarah glances sharply at me and then lowers her eyes to Bliss.

"The bracelets shock the wearer if they try to use their Gift. He tried to cause me pain and the bracelets punished him for it. The moment he stopped, so did they." Zarah says, turning her back and walking through the door. Bliss sighs, turning to me and pulling her lower lip between her teeth.

"Well, I guess now we're stuck together." She mutters, shrugging one shoulder helplessly as some invisible magnetic force abruptly forces both her and I forward, following after Zarah.

"It looks that way." I grumble, shocked at the violent turn of events this day has taken.