Shook(Hannah Georgopoulos) I live in a world where hate is valued the most. People have run away from this place they stupidly call home. I think I am going to be the next one to do that. I am hated for who I am, chased after for my powers, and also captured for them. I have been trapped in this ugly place people call home for 325 days. I don't know why people like this place, maybe because it has changed them, but my inner beast still remains. My best friend, and roommate, Calista is the star of this old dump. Her parents were gods, literally, so that makes her one too. Ugh, genes. Whenever you walk through this town, you get scolded for who you are, bullied for what makes you, you, and praised when you change yourself. Every single person has changed themselves to fit into society's rules of who you can be. I’m not gonna do that, and I might be the first one not to. So I’m gonna run away, run away until my legs literally snap in half. This place isn’t that ‘trapped’, more like ‘a reserve’. You can walk around ‘freely’ or so some people say, but whenever I walk out in the open people come after me and try to scare me into hiding. I try to avoid it, but it’s becoming more serious. I am planning an escape with Calista. I try to walk to her house without interruptions.
“Ugh, the wicked witch came out of hiding.” Some people from the streets say. Do they really think I’m in hiding, am I really inside that much with the company of my books? I sigh. These people don’t know anything about me, yet, they keep talking.
“What’s her problem?” To be honest, they probably said that because I was looking weird at them. I think they deserved it, for all they have done to me. Those two girls used to be my ‘friends’ when I was free. They were the ones who put me in this place, they told their father of my past and he put me into this recovery center. Surprisingly, they ended up here too.

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My father and mother on a train leading to their death. They didn’t say that to me though, they didn’t want me to worry. I understood why they didn’t tell me that, but then that got me excited for them coming back, and I knew that would not happen. For a second, I got excited about them coming back, but I’m too smart, and realized that when they don’t tell me something, that means it’s happening. On the rusty train, they waved bye to me. The head of the train said they’re not allowed to talk when they’re on it, so they could only wave. Wave their last goodbyes, smile their last happiness away, because they knew what was coming up, and it was no good. They wanted to use every last bit of energy that they had in their bodies and give it all to me, so I could see their last moments of happiness. I understood that, even though I wanted them to tell me what was going to happen, so I could prepare for what to do when they are no longer on Earth. Prepare for what to do when they die.

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I am finished. Currently, I am planning to escape this place with Calista, I am at her house now, and we are stirring up a plan. Well, I’m stirring up a plan. She’s cluelessly asking questions she already knows the answer to.
“So, what’s up?” She says while looking at me with a blueprint of the town. “Are we actually planning to escape this place?” She asks cluelessly. Does she know anything about me? When I set my mind to something, it’s gonna happen.
“Don’t you see what I’m doing here? I'm making a plan and you are just standing there not helping me.” I sigh. I am surprised that she didn’t realize that sooner. “So, when the clock strikes twelve, we are going to wear all black and sneak out of our dorms. That part will be easy because we’re in the same dorm. We then are going to sneak out through the back exit, I’ve heard a rumor that it’s left open at midnight, no alarm will go off if we open the doors at midnight on the dot. Then we will head north into a part of a forest that leads to a desert where people who lived here might have gone when they don’t feel welcomed. We will feel welcomed there! We need to go!” I sigh, that took a lot of breath.
She grunts through her nose. “That’s gonna be hard to do, you know.” She looks down on herself as she tells me this, like it isn’t the right thing to do.
“Yeah, I know, but isn’t it worth it to live in a world where people welcome you!” I think I said that with too much excitement, I don’t think she wants to go.
“People welcome me here! What if they aren't there?” She’s right, maybe we should just stay here, trapped. But I really want to go, and can’t she stay here?
“Can’t you stay here? I know you don’t want to go, but you also want to come with me, and you can’t do both.” I regret saying that, I really want her to come with me, and I really don’t want her to change her mind thanks to me.
“What do you want me to do?” The obvious question, now's the answer, but thinks she’s wrong about her decision. I have to tell her the truth about what I want.
“I want you to come with me, I cannot imagine living the rest of my life without you.” I start tearing up, I don’t like showing emotion. She starts crying too, and the next thing I know, we’re hugging. Her arms wrapped around me, my arms around her shoulders. I feel internally well. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt this way.
“So, tomorrow?” She says. Her mascara is dripping.
“Yeah tomorrow.” I say with a smile on my face.

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Today is tomorrow, I feel relaxed, having all of those feelings just flow out of me, it felt nice. I am ready, it’s 11:12 p.m. and Calista and I are jumping around the dorms, ready to go. Twelve is the curfew so that’s when everybody will be in bed, no one will see us. In my personal opinion, it’s a full proof plan. My hands are shiny, like someone just put sparkles on them. I shake them and try to cool them down, also try calming myself down. I don’t think it’s working. 11:32. I’m getting more nervous by the minute, Calista looks that way too. 11:47. We need to go now. Calista and I rush out of the building, faking that we need to use the bathroom, while, really, we’re trying to climb out of the bathroom window. If anyone walks in on us I will either be very embarrassed or laugh out loud. Surprisingly we made it out without getting caught. The back exit light is still on, we can’t exit ‘till it turns off for just a second. I just really hope that this works, I just heard a rumor about it, I didn’t take it to mind until I planned on escaping.
“Let’s head toward the exit.” Calista says. She sounds very confident in this mission, and when she feels confident, so do I. The exit window is covered by bars, like we’re in a cage, they don’t make it seem like it, but people know that we’re trapped. The people that didn’t expect it tried to escape themselves, but they ended up dying. The security cameras are attracted by any movements at night, this is why we need to be stealthy. It’s twelve, the light is off, we make a quick move, and we’re out. I want to yell above the rooftops the news, but we don’t want to get caught.

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We run as fast as we can north until all we see is just plains of land, green plains. We have been running for 4 miles now. At least I accomplished this, I’m gonna run away, run away until my legs literally snap in half. What I’m feeling right now feels pretty close to accomplishing that goal, I’m going to check it off my bucket list. I see a bright light in the distance, I don’t know what it is. Is it a fire? Is it a town? Is it something trying to guide us? God, I really hope it was that last one. I ask Calsita if we should follow it or avoid it, she said whatever I would do. Of course I would follow it, right? I choose to follow it. The big bright light gets closer by the second, I see each bright light is being held by sticks. Torches? I’m not sure, but I really hope that the town we’re looking for is on the other side of that wall of light. I see human figures! Maybe they are people that will help us? Maybe they are here to capture us. I don’t care which one is true, as long as we are far away from that Holding Fortress. Oh my god. I really hope that they’re nice people on the other side of that wall of light. Calista and I look at each other when we hear distant yelling, or is that chanting? As we get closer we see more clearer human figures. They are shouting at us to come towards them. They must be nice people.
“Come here!” They all shout in sync, that must have taken a lot of work. Calista and I look at each other to see if we should listen to the people shouting, she nods, so I nod. Take a chance. We run as hard as we can after that exhausting run. Honestly, I feel my heart beating really fast. Not because I’m tired, well I am, but because of the fact that we are about to have a new home in this place. Most importantly, a place where everybody welcomes us. Somebody approaches us.
“Hello, my name is Nicholas. I am the head of this place, we haven’t come up with a name yet.” He whispers.
“Hi, I’m Astrid, and this is Calista,” I point my finger at her. “We’re from a small town down south that is getting ready for war, we just wanted to escape it.” I lie, right now, it seems like the right thing to do.
“Well, welcome to this place. Are you thinking about going back after the war is over or staying here, we always have room for one more so feel free to make the decision, no pressure.” Yeah, when a person usually says ‘no pressure’ it means pressure, but I wonder if the rules are different here. It would be nice if they were. The rules back at the Holding Fortress. Nicholas welcomes us with open arms.
“Well, you can spend the night and then make the decision if you're going to stay here or not.” Hmm, interesting, a person that welcomes us with open arms when he barely even meets us. I’m keeping my eye on him. He might not seem suspicious to others, but why would he let a bunch of strangers into his village? He should at least get to know us first. He leads us to a place that looks like a cabin. It’s dirty, but can be used without harming anything.
“Here is the cabin that you can use. There are bunk beds in there, so there is enough room for the both of you. Enjoy the night and see you in the morning.” He sighs through his nose.
“Well, he seems nice.” Oh, Calista, Calista.
“Yeah, sure. Don’t you think it’s a little weird that he let us stay here even though he barely knows us?”
“I don’t know, whatever you think.” She sighs and we go to bed.

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It’s the middle of the night and I feel like sneaking around. I need to know what's up with this place. I’m not sure what to do. I see Calista, just sleeping there peacefully. I’ll stay here and check in the morning. Calista rustles in bed when I’m trying to fall asleep. Okay, I need to get out of here. I walk out the floorboards and door creak as I exit. It’s pitch black outside, only the star guiding my view. Are those stars? I hear a buzzing noise near. I look up and squint my eyes, hard. I see things flickering, everywhere. On the ground, up in the air, from side to side. My hands are sparking, what is happening!? I try rubbing my hands together to make them go away, it’s not working. I try squishing my hands into fists, it’s still not working. I try to shake the sparks off as if you have water on your hands and you’re trying to dry them. I try punching the air for no reason and beams of lightning come out of them. They destroy an old cabin that no one is sleeping in, thank goodness no one got hurt. What is happening to me? I walk back and decide to not tell Calista about what happened. I decide not to tell anybody about what happened. I think my brain is going to explode.

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It's morning now and we’re having dry oatmeal. It does not taste good. I play around with it and make a bomb. I have violent thoughts racing through my head. I need to make it stop. What happened last night, I’m clueless. I need to go out again tonight and see if the same thing happens. I need a break from the crowded table so I take a walk outside.
I knew I heard buzzing last night, but this just confirms it. “Hey, what’s happening!?” I yell. People race out of the lunchroom, including Nicholas and Calsita.
Nicholas comes outside, panting. “What’s happening!?” I point upwards, too speechless to say anything. Thoughts are racing through my head. What’s happening? Why are there drones above this place? I think I’m going to have a panic attack thinking about the reasons to explain what is happening right now. Why are there drones above us?
“Hey, do you have any idea why there are drones above us?” He takes my thoughts away. If that’s a good thing? I’m not sure.
“No, I don’t know why. Why do you think I said, ‘Hey, what’s happening?” I can’t help myself from stating the obvious. It’s just a natural instinct for me now. “Calista, did you mark yourself absent for the rest of the year?” I sigh, hands clenched together.
“What does that mean?” Exactly what I was thinking.
“Did you mark yourself absent?” Hands still clenched in frustration.
“No, sorry. In my defence, you didn’t tell me we were supposed to do that.” She sighs. I’ll just shoot them down. I grab the closest rifle in my reach. Load it. Aim it. Fire it.
“Stop!” Plan failed. Another one to the drawing board.
“What are you doing?” Nicholas says obviously looking frustrated at me. Ugh, go with your gut, they say.
“Shooting the drones down. I think that was pretty obvious.” I say, lowering the rifle. Why do people always have to ruin my plans? Are people going to come after us? I’m scared. That never happens. Calsita steps up to talk to me.
“What were you thinking?” She says with her eyes staring at me like my mother.

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My mother. On the train. Leaving. Waving goodbye. Her sending me messages in the mail of their very last day.

Hi sweets, I hope you are doing well. You father and I just got certificates to work in a store as cashiers! Isn’t that exciting? We might be back a little later than expected because we have to save up enough money for a plane ride back home. Your father’s diabetes is acting up. The food that they serve here isn’t that nutritious. They are also keeping his meds from him because he is only prescribed to take it at certain times. Your father and I both love you Astrid. Bye, love you, always and forever. -Mum
The people took them away because they are gods too. The people that took them away thought that their powers are valuable and can use them to solve world issues. My dad doesn’t have diabetes, I think that they are using his electricity powers to decrease the amount of fossil fuels that we use. My mum wrote that because each and every message that that cooperation sends has to go through security, and the rules are that you can’t leak information from there out to society. My mum had to code word it. She taught me what everything meant, I still have the sheet of paper that she wrote everything down on. I knew about certain things, like their powers being taken away. I never knew that this trip would lead them to their death, that thought never came to mind.

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“Um, I wanted to stop the drones by shooting them down. Then I realized that would just attract attention to the people with the drones.” I sigh, fooling my own plan. What has Calista turned me into? A goody to shoes that's what.
“Yeah that’s right.” Nicholas chimes in. I see he has a bit of an attitude himself too. Surprising, yet not. “They are coming for us and we need to stop them. Okay? Do you understand what I’m saying? Do we know how to stop attacks?” He says loudly.
“Yes.” Everybody chimes in. In sync.
“So we fight back all of the people that come after us!” Nicholas seems really indulged in this speech. I was thinking, did the Holding Fortress know about the powers I am developing? Is that why they’re coming after me? To use me like mum and dad? I need to tell everyone. Now.
I raise my hand for no reason. “I know why they’re coming after us!” I yell. “They want to use me for my powers, they want me to give my powers to them so they can solve their problems.” People whisper all around me. What are they talking about? Me? Why?
Nicholas steps up. “What are your powers and how can people use them to solve world issues?” He yells. I guess that’s a thing around here. I want to fit in so I yell too.
“They want my electricity powers to reduce the use of fossil fuels.” I say. Then I roll my hand into fists and punch the air. It may look kind of stupid, but it’s working. Bolts of lightning spring out of my hand. The grass is on fire now. People rush to pour water on it. I turn over to Nicholas, his jaw dropped.
“Wow. I-I’m speechless.” He manages to lift his chin up by himself.
“So, what I’m saying is that when we fight back, we need no hesitation in ourselves. Understood?” Everyone nods. In sync. I need to catch up with how they do this ‘in sync stuff’.
“Understood, Miss Astrid.” They all say, in sync. Oh, my god.
“Okay, just one question. How do y’all do the ‘in sync’ stuff so, in sync?” I ask, I want to get in on the secret.
“It just happens when you are a part of this place.” They say. IN SYNC.
“Let’s prepare for the battle. Usually the Holding Fortress sends threatening messages the day before they are going to battle. I am sure because I was in the group that prepared the attacks. So let’s start.”
“Okay, sounds good.” They say, in sync. Then they all part off in different directions. Huh, I guess they have done this before. “Do they know what to do?” I ask Nicholas.
“Yes, they know what their jobs are based on what their parents passed down to them.” He says confidently.
“Okay, what do I do?” I turn and look around.
“You are one of the fiercest battlers here, so you will be doing that. I hope that’s not a problem.”
“No, of course it’s not.” I sigh. He suggests that I go to bed because tomorrow will be a long day.

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It’s the morning now and I still hear rustling outside. I walk out to find thousands of rifles for every single one of us, lying in a row. Slingshots for the little kids and adults not as skilled at shooting things. I’m surprised, they did all of this overnight.
“So everything ready?” I ask Nicholas. Is Calsita still in bed? “Where’s Calsita?” I wonder. At that moment, Calsita comes out with her powers. Telekinesis. That’s her power? She never told me before.I step up and rub my hand together to create a wave of electricity.
“Yes, Astrid, yes.” I chuckle.
“They’re coming soon.” Nicholas chimes in. We both nod. In sync. We can’t help ourselves from laughing. I can’t keep it in.
“Okay, sounds good.” We both say at the same time. Everybody is in their positions. Four straight lines, facing north, east, south, west. They are very prepared. We hear ruckus from the north. I think they are coming. Every single person hears them fire their guns. Some people flinch, others are used to it. Everybody raises their rifles. More gunshots.
“Astrid Alvarez, surrender yourself.” The Holding Fortress guards shout. People here trigger their guns as soon as they hear someone say that. Calista and I Run up toward the line and use our powers. Calsita lifts a huge boulder with her mind and drops it. It crushes at least ten people. We hear their bones crack and kids look away and say ‘ew’. I laugh in my head. People from the Holding Fortress yell and shout and shoot their rifles. Some people cover their ears. They’re going to need to cover their ears for this. I rub my hand together and push the air forward. Thunder booms and hundreds of people cry out and fall to the ground. People recklessly shoot their guns. I scoff.
“Astrid Alvarez, we’re out to get you!” They all aim their guns at me and all of them shoot directly at me. None of the bullets hit me. I think Calista is guiding them away. A few soldiers aim their guns at Calista and shoot her in the leg. She cries out in pain.
“NO!” I run to her and crouch down, I stick out one arm and shoot multiple bolts of lightning at them. One hundred more people out of this battle. I stand up and shoot bolts of lightning at them some more. They now know that Calista’s down so they take more shots at me. This feels like playing a big, but more dangerous game of dodgeball. I chuckle at my joke. They take more shots at me, and I start to get tired from running. One of them takes a lucky shot and shoots me in the shoulder. I fall to the ground. Hurting like a bolt of lightning just hit me.

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