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Scene #109
Time slowed as the glass bottle tumbled to the floor.
Despite the deceptively slow motion, the damn thing shattered into
a hundred pieces before Natalie could rescue it. She watched as
the key to her whole life spread into an ivory puddle on her
bathroom floor. Little shards of glass stuck up like icebergs in
an ivory sea. Natalie's silver eyes frantically
scanned the bathroom counter for something to scoop up the precious
liquid, but there was nothing there except for her hairbrush.
Silently cursing her uncharacteristic cleanliness, she bent down
and carefully dabbed three fingers from each hand into the mess.
Natalie softly rubbed it onto her face, disguising the moonlight
streaks that ran beneath her skin on her left side. Her fingers
knew the routine like a dance they had performed a thousand times.
Nevertheless she double-checked her work in the mirror.
The origin of her luminescent streaks was a mystery. The little
that Natalie knew of the family tree seemed fairly ordinary.
Natalie had spent years quietly searching for information on it.
But with the rampant prejudice against those who were Unnatural,
Natalie couldn't risk anyone discovering that she had something
more than human running under her skin. A couple of decades
ago, when life was still normal, there had been no such thing as an
Unnatural. But then the whole world crumbled. Toppled by an
economic depression the equivalent of a blackhole suddenly sucking
up the world's money. The final blow was that flu - one that no
human immune system had ever encountered. There was no government
strong enough to stop the swirl of destruction from forever
altering life as the world had known it. Natalie knew all the
conspiracy theories. Everyone did. They floated around like an
oral tradition to be handed down to the next generation. Most went
something along the lines of the Unnaturals deliberately
manipulating the economy and creating the virus to take control of
the world. A few theories took the other side, claiming that the
Unnaturals had saved humanity from itself. It all started with
Atlanta. After a few years of the country in near-anarchy from the
devastation of the depression and the loss of over half of the
population, persistent rumors began to slowly circulate . . .
Atlanta has electricity and clean water. There's a market. People
buy things with gold. A hospital has opened back up. Even
Natalie, who was only nine at the time, remembered her parents
whispering and arguing over whether or not to make the journey
themselves. To see if they could find a better life. Something
safer for this strange girl. But then other rumors followed.
The ones who had taken over Atlanta and brought a semblance of a
normal life were something . . . other. They were not human.
Some people thought they were aliens. Others claimed they were
vampires. After all these years, Natalie wasn't sure
which theory she subscribed to, but she knew it wasn't the one
about them being the second coming of Christ. It had been a
popular one especially after the Unnaturals, as they came to be
called, extended The Offer. The Offer to bring back modern life to
other cities across the United States. A few cities accepted.
Most did not. Not everyone in those recivilized cities
appreciated it. People may have enjoyed having electricity,
running water, and police protection, but most didn't trust the
ones in charge. It made many humans suspicious of anyone who might
be different, anyone who might be one of them. Natalie knew that
if she was discovered as Unnatural, she'd be kicked out of her new
town. Or worse if it happened when the guards weren't looking.
She was here alone with no one to defend her. Burton,
Georgia, considered an outlying region of Atlanta, was as full of
small town prejudice as it was of farmers who provided food to the
big city. The good people of Burton would never tolerate an
Unnatural teaching the beloved children of this town. With
her fingers still shaking over the loss of her bottle, Natalie
examined her reflection in the mirror. The stuff was like magic
and perfectly concealed the streaks on the left side of her
forehead, cheek, and hand. Of course, it was magic. Expensive
magic. With her mind circling around and around her
dilemma, she grabbed her bag and headed out to her truck, leaving
the mess on the floor. She'd need a replacement supply
immediately. Which meant dealing with the witch again. Alice was
expensive, not to mention creepy. Natalie had no money
to spare. Alice, however, had offered her another way to pay.
With skin. In particular the skin where the silver streaks ran.
The thought of it made Natalie sick. If the witch wanted her
skin though, then maybe Alice knew where the moonlit streaks came
from. Ever since that last meeting, Natalie wondered if answers
were within her grasp. And if she had the courage to ask that
scary woman. But there had to be another way to pay for a new
bottle of the magic liquid, she thought as she steered the truck
down the bumpy road. Like maybe she would miraculously find a few
gold coins on the way to work today. She nearly slammed on
the brakes. The dream. She'd had it again. No wonder she'd been
so rattled when she woke up this morning. Her mind flashed through
the little bits that she could remember. A man with dark hair.
The gold coins he forced into her hand. His order to run. Silver
arrows streaking after her. She swallowed and sat up
straighter in the rough seat of the truck, trying to shake off the
dream. Natalie forced the accelerator to the floor telling herself
she didn't want to be late. There weren't really arrows chasing
after her.
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