she's a threat
The cap came off and let her long wavy hair slide. The girl raised her face and looked around bewildered. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She felt extremely uncomfortable, stared at by all those glances. They were all intimidated by her presence and kept their distance, while she was still lying on the cold floor, of what appeared to be a square. She had no idea how she even got there. She was so confused and dazed. She struggled to her feet, and the people flinched. White locks were hidden in her brown hair. Those were precisely the reason why people stayed as far away from her as possible. In a few moments, behind her, she found two individuals. They had red hair, like the shades of their clothes, which almost looked like a uniform. They grabbed her arms forcefully. The young woman tried to ask what their intentions were, but those two dragged her away from there by force. The people cleared the way before she got too close. They wore clothes of only three shades of color. Some were dressed in grey, others in yellow and others in red too, just like the two who were forcing her to advance towards an imposing building, which stood out among the many anonymous houses in that place. It was a tall skyscraper, completely made of glass that curved and narrowed at the top. There were numerous bridges connecting it to other small buildings suspended in the air.
While they took her there, she tried to free herself but they were just useless attempts, those two were stronger than her and forced her to cross the entrance. They pulled her to continue at all costs.
«I didn’t do anything wrong.» the girl insisted, trying to free herself. «Where are you taking me?»
«Stop resisting.» one of the two ordered her. «People like you can’t stay here.»
«You are a danger to all of us.» affirmed the other and gave her a push to make her go forward.
They dragged her corridor after corridor. None of the passers-by bothered to help her, despite the young girl’s lost eyes begging them to help her. This, however, didn’t discourage her, she kept resisting, and doing everything in her power to plant her feet on the ground and prevent them from pulling her away. She screamed for them to let go and squirmed in the hope that those two’s grip on her would loosen, allowing her to escape. She pulled her arm so hard that when she managed to free it, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. She couldn’t get away, the one, still holding her tightly by her arm, used his free hand to grab her hair. «Be sure to stay calm, dirty Heb.» he told her.
«What are you doing?! Let her go immediately!», someone finally intervened on her behalf. The two who were holding her prisoner suddenly let her go and even took a step back.
That voice seemed vaguely familiar to her. And, when the girl looked ahead, down the hall, she saw him running towards her. She remembered that face very well, she could never forget it, even if everyone told her that it would be like that. The closer he got, the more the lights on the ceiling of the corridor flashed, some even exploded due to the excessive energy she was releasing. «Nathan... » she whispered.
He quickened his pace so he could catch up to her, completely ignoring the malfunction of the lights. He didn’t care about anything but her. Without hesitating for a second, as soon as he was in front of her, he knelt on the floor and hugged her. He squeezed her as tight as he could and confirmed it was real. He pulled her away just so he could look at her face. «Dawn, how did you do it? How did you get here?» he asked her.
She shook her head. «I have no idea.» she replied still confused. She looked into his eyes and forgot the horrible moments that had preceded their meeting. He was really there, in front of her. His hair was no longer dark, it was auburn blonde again. She reached out to Nathan’s face. But, before her fingers could touch him, down the hall, behind him, she noticed a girl staring in their direction. Judging by her light red hair, she must have been a Tywod too.
«What are you doing Nathan?», she advanced towards them. «Let those Trydans go, before my brother sees you.»
Nathan helped Dawn to her feet. White strands appeared in her hair. They were still brown but, on the lower part, at the nape of the neck, they were completely white, up to the roots. The newcomer grabbed Nathan’s arm to pull him away from her. «She is a Heb, stay away.» she said.
Nathan gently released himself from her grasp and reassured her. «She’s not dangerous, don’t worry Ninah.»
The Tywod girl eyed Dawn, with loathing and contempt. «You can’t know that.», she wrapped her arms around his again. «Let the Trydans deal with her. They need to take her to the Elders.»
Dawn wasn’t listening, her eyes were fixed on her hands, clinging to Nathan. The floor began to shake slightly under their feet. Ninah held onto Nathan even tighter so as not to fall. He instinctively looked at Dawn and noticed where her eyes were pointing. There was no way she still had her powers, and yet she was there and the ground was shaking. He had ignored the lights earlier, but without a doubt it must have been her. He entered her mind without making the slightest effort. He showed her the days at the Nemlyth, with him and everyone else until she finally relaxed and the floor became stable again. Before releasing Dawn from his control, he gently removed Ninah’s hands from his arm again.
Dawn blinked several times. She looked around in confusion. «What did I do?»
Nathan, still in disbelief, hesitated to answer her and Ninah in the end beat him to it. «How can you still have your powers? You’re clearly a Heb.»
«What was that?», another man with yellowish clothes, and the same appearance as the two Tywods, came into the corridor.
Nathan immediately released the two Trydans, who he had been so good at keeping under control, even while taking care of Dawn. He turned to the man who was advancing, and bowed. Ninah did the same.
The man passed past the two of his kind to better examine the girl with white hair. He looked at the young girl’s eyes and noticed how her left eye looked more brown than green. He gave the two Trydans the order to capture her and they, a little disconcerted, approached her and grabbed her again.
Nathan immediately came to her defense. «Please Duke, she is not a threat. I can vouch for her.» he said, visibly agitated. «Don’t let the Elders take her.»
«Nathan, you know Hebs are dangerous.» the man retorted, without taking his eyes off Dawn. «She will be executed just like the others. We can’t let them go wild again.»
Dawn’s eyes widened and thunder could be heard in the distance.
«She ain’t no Heb, brother.» Ninah said. «She was the one who triggered that earthquake.»
The Tywod moved even closer to Dawn. He eyed her quizzically and reached out to cup her face. She tried to break free but he tightened his grip on her and forced her to look straight into his eyes. «I thought the Glawogs were extinct by now.» he said then, with his free hand, also lifted her hair. There was no doubt they were those of a Heb.
More thunder was heard and the lights began exploding on the ceiling again. Dawn couldn’t control herself, no matter how hard she tried. Nathan looked at her in the Duke’s clutches. He was torn, he really wanted to intervene but, if he had done so, he would have made things worse for both of them. Dawn’s eyes suddenly went blank. The thunder stopped and the lights stopped exploding. One of the Trydans grabbed the cuffs on his waist and placed them on Dawn’s wrists. Only then did she come to her senses.
«This is confirmation she’s a threat, Joseph.» Ninah said. «Her powers are as dangerous as those of the Lun.»
The Duke shook his head. «No. She is special.» he said, finally letting go of her face. «The Elders will decide.»
