Nothing Less Than Human

I walked as slow as I possibly could. No one was looking for me, no one cared for me. What was the point of running if no one was there to chase you? What was the point of staying there was nothing or no one to stay for. It was pointless and only caused endless pain. People would say that I'm a pessimist, but those people don't know me at all. No one did. I was to busy being alone, pushing people away, and hiding my secret from the world.

My secret...I'm a mutant. I can create and manipulate ice. With that comes reflexes, strength, and skin that's colder than usual. Coldness doesn't bother me, but to keep my powers a secret here in snowy Minnesota, I wear a jacket. That's just how my life is: living to please other people.

Or how it was. Now, that's all over. My insane temper got the best of me. The school slut, Courtney Willox, was doing what she did best: talking about everyone. One of those people was me. Courtney and I never got along. She was always stuck up, and those kind of people never ceased to aggravate me. It was like making me hate them was their sole purpose in life. Courtney was whispering and laughing, I asked what about, she gave her typical 'I-think-I'm-cool-and-funny' answer, and something happened. Mind you, this was all outside and it was Mid-December, super snowy. Long story short, everyone saw and started whispering and staring, the principle was called, I was dragged to the principal's office for some reason, and my mother was called. I don't remember the conversation in the room, but I was sent home and expelled. I vividly remember the conversation in the car that lead to current events.

*Flashback*
I was staring out of the window in dead silence. My mother was staring into the black asphalt road ahead. I didn't know what she was thinking, but I could tell that it was really distracting her from the task at hand: driving. She had that blank look on her face. The kind that says 'I'm here, but I'm not really here.' "Mom?" I asked. She didn't reply. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head after a few moments. "I can't believe you." She said.

I was confused. She can't believe me? What did I do? "What? What are you talking about?"

"Burying that girl in the snow."

"I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry, okay?"

"I don't care Kinley! It's embarrassing!"

That cut deep. "What's embarrassing?" I asked, already knowing full well what she was talking about. She was embarrassed that I was a mutant, that I wasn't her kind. No one around here accepted it. Mom never talked about them being a disgrace and a disease like everyone else did, but the way she was acting now, she might have well have.

She looked over at me, maybe hearing my tone of voice. She turned back to the road a sighed. "Not you, your powers."

"That's me, mom."

She was quiet. I scoffed and turned back to look out the window. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.

"Why? So you could hide me from the world and disown me?" I said, not looking her way.

"I never said that."

"Didn't have to. Word of advice, don't say you're embarrassed of someone then deny that you want to hide them from the world."

"I didn't say I was embarrassed of you."

"Didn't we go through this already?" I asked, getting more and more of an attitude.

"What do you want from me?" She asked after a few seconds.

"The truth." I looked over at her and felt the tears forming in my eyes. "Tell me the truth. Don't sugar coat it, don't say something you'll regret later. Tell me the whole truth, exactly how you feel. Don't hold back."

She looked at me and sighed before turning back to the road. Her expression changed from the nice mother who didn't want to hurt you to the mean woman who didn't care for your feelings. It scared me. Who was this woman?

"I hate you. Everything about you. You, your powers, and that fact that you're a filthy mutant disgusts me. You were a mistake. I was a stupid teenager. I never wanted you. You mean nothing to me and you never will. The fact that you're a disgusting disease makes me want to spit in your face and burn you alive." She said, then looked at me. The tears freely fell now. "You wanted the truth." She simply said. If that's how she felt, why didn't she put me up for adoption? And where was she taking me? I realized just then that we passed by the house.

Instead of asking where we were going because I no longer cared and I felt no connection to this woman, I opened the door and jumped out...while the car was moving. I got up just fine and just started running, not caring where was I going.
*End Flashback*

Pretty sad, right? And to think that was my mom. Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And I definitely wasn't dead. At least not yet.

Anyway, I was coming up on St. Paul. I pulled my hood up on my head and looked down, hiding my face. I weaved through the people. I looked at the people talking and laughing. They looked happy; why couldn't that be me?

I felt eyes piercing me in the back. I turned around to see a big guy. He had a beard and was wearing a motorcycle jacket. He was staring me in the face, letting me know that he was coming after me. I turned around and continued walking thinking that there was no way this guy could follow me through all these people.

I was wrong. He was there behind me every step. I could feel him staring at me. Then I had an idea that when I look back at now was highly stupid. My idea: go in an alley, hope he passes by, and climb up one of those fire escapes. It was stupid because I didn't know the guy. What if he was a murderer that my mom hired to take me out? What if he was a rapist that thought I was perfect? What was with my 'worse case scenario' mind? Still, it was a stupid idea.

But guess what, I did it anyway. The next alley I saw, I went into it. Unaware the guy was a mutant like me, I thought he was at least a couple feet behind: enough for me to be gone up the fire escape. But me being oblivious, didn't think of it. Instead, I walked into the alley and took my time going to the end, where the escapes were. But before I could get there, the guy grabbed me and pressed something against my face, a white cloth. Unaware of the substance on it, I tried to scream, and to scream you have to take a deep breath before. My mistake. As soon as I took a breath everything became fuzzy and darkness consumed me.