The Abrupt Disappearance of Scout Hark | ss

[Lacey]

{Tried to make it into a real book, it died. Had to make it for Reading also. Not my worst work, but it's one of my older stories.}

Her combat boots squashed the ice and new snow that had lain on the ground that freezing winter night. It was the chilliest night ever to have been recorded in New York City’s history, even more so considering that it was midnight. The worst part of it all? The city felt abandoned. No regular human dared to go out at night, not even those crazy party animals that were up at all hours... But Scout? No, she was not your ordinary girl. She preferred the cover of night rather than being exposed in the daylight.

A small gust of bitter air raged down the alleyway, causing her to yank her leather jacket over her roughly over her small frame. She felt so claustrophobic traveling by the small paths that she normally took. The walls seemed to close in on her, boxing her in her own little zone. She knew she couldn’t stay on the main sidewalks, ones that weren’t as dimly lit as the one she was in now. She had to keep her sanity, be sure that none of her adverse enemies were to confront her. Who knows what they could do to her. Would they constrain her? Would she be experimented on? Would she suffer the same fate as her parents who died in her place? She wouldn’t let that happen to her or anyone else. That was her mission that she had been trying to complete since the bright age of eleven.

Shivers ran through her spine as she felt the temperatures drop even more. Her highly advanced senses could pick up on the slightest change in temperature. She tried to create more heat, but the fire inside of her just wouldn’t work with her. She couldn’t pull it together into one massive lump in her core like she usually could. It frustrated Scout to no end. Sometimes she would be able to generate the flames, other times she would just fizzle out.

Her frustrations turned into anger, that anger built up into rage and so forth. She was mad at herself, mad about how she was living, and just plain angry about the people that put her into this situation. She growled under her breath as she tried to recall why her foes treated her kind like they were animals. They’re reasons were childish and their actions were groundless. She scoffed at this. She was still a human being, just one that was born with a gift.

Her thoughts were averted from that topic when she heard a branch snap sharply under somebody’s foot in the distance. Her eyes widened as she spun around, her fists clenched as she readied herself to fight. She hadn’t been trained to fight that much. She wasn’t the most skilled person in the small world that she had lived in. Scout relied on her speed and her rage, hoping every time that her anger management problems would pay off.

She was frozen with fear, her thoughts cloudy. She couldn’t react fast enough. Her assailants were already closing in from one side of the passage. It was a whole flock of them. Fear began to set in as she started to run the opposite direction. Scout could hear the thug call after her, his words incomprehensible. It seemed as though he was slurring threats, but she couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t focus on that right at the moment. Scout had to focus on getting away.

Scout ran as fast as her small legs could take her. She was so small, barely five feet tall, so she was at a disadvantage. Her strides were small but she tried to run at maximum velocity. She prayed that the stamina she gained from being on the track team would be of use. That was so long ago, however. It was when life was normal.

She was doing pretty well until she made this one fatal move when she made a sharp turn into another alley. She stumbled a little, regaining balance as she tapped the ground lightly before salvaging her stability. She sped forward with too much momentum. Scout’s clumsy side came out, herself falling forward on her knees. She looked up and scrambled at her feet only to see a couple of goons ambled up to her with these evil looks on their faces. She crawled backwards only to be encompassed. She was stuck in a corner, a scared look on her face.

Scout snapped her fingers and clapped her hand against the ground. No spark. Nothing. She felt so helpless, so weak. She tried everything to ignite even the smallest amount of ember. In the end, she came to a conclusion. Maybe it was just her time to go. Maybe it was meant to end this way. Maybe she had fulfilled her purpose in her small life.

“Be still, this will only hurt a little,” The goon said with a toothy grin. Her initial reaction was a wince, but she attempted to mimic confidence. She wanted to seem like she was going to put up a fight, that she was a tough girl who wasn’t going to back down.

She took one deep breath before throwing a punch. Apparently it was weak because the oaf didn’t react with pain, more like amusement. She really should’ve worked out more, lifted some weights or something, but it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. She didn’t stand a chance. She took some more oxygen, only to scream for help one last time before she met her fate. No one answered her cry.

Scout Hark was an activist for people like her. The government and other various groups wanted her kind dead because they saw them as a threat, but she stood up for her cause. She was one of the last known people who were graced with a gift to be alive at that time, the year 3010.