The Un-Anchored (WIP)

Siobhan sat on her parents' couch for probably the last time. It was her nineteenth birthday today and they all knew it was most likely going to be her last. She took a deep breath, trying to restore her, usually, unwavering calm. All day she had listened to her peers asking why she wasn't upset or if she even cared or, her personal favorite, what was wrong with her. She had just shrugged as she usually did and gone on her way, knowing they would never understand.

When she was younger, her babysitter turned nineteen while watching her. Her powers surged to full strength at the exact moment she was born on her nineteenth birthday. She hadn't found her Anchor though, and her body couldn't handle her full powers. She screamed and Siobhan immediately called for help. One of her neighbors rushed over and froze at the sight of the nineteen year old writhing on the floor in pain. Medics eventually arrived, but knew there was nothing they could do. Not knowing seven-year-old Siobhan was even there, they turned to the only one they could help, the neighbor in shock. They took her outside, leaving Siobhan and the dying girl alone. Siobhan moved over to the girl and instantly felt the heat radiating off of her. She used her powers to try to cool her body temperature as much as she could, hoping it might save her life. The babysitter's screams lessened slowly until she was sobbing in Siobhan's lap. It took three hours for the girl to die.

When her parents had arrived home, the medics tried to explain their daughter was dead and asked why she hadn't been taken by the Board. Confused, they rushed inside to find Siobhan stroking the recently dead girl's hair. They ran to her and asked what had happened. Siobhan explained. When she saw the tears in her mother's eyes, she added 'It's okay, Mommy. She isn't hurting anymore,' comfortingly. Afraid their little girl was also in shock, they had taken her to a few sessions with a psychiatrist who determined, although sad by her babysitter's death, young Siobhan had just accepted what happened and moved on. They found out later there had been a mistake on the girl's birth certificate, and since her parents had died, there was no one around to correct it.

"Don't worry, Vahn." Her mother's voice pulled her from the memory. "We all know your control is astounding. You are going to be the first person to ever make it through the Trials unscathed." Siobhan knew her mother was trying to be soothing, but there were tears in her eyes. She wasn't sure if her mother even realized it.

"Then they'll make you a trainer like your old man," her father said. He did a better job of hiding his emotions.

They all knew when she said goodbye in a few hours it would be for good. Siobhan had no idea what to expect and although she had excellent control now, when her powers were at full strength she had no idea how she would deal with it. Assuming the Surge didn't burn out her body before she even made it to the Trials of course.

Siobhan looked at the clock on the wall. In fifty two minutes it would be 10:33 PM. The exact minute she was born nineteen years ago. Excitement and fear warred in her. She couldn't wait to be at full power for the first time but she was also terrified her body wouldn't be able to handle the Surge. If it did, she would be forced into the Trials immediately. She didn't know which she feared more.

The sound of ripping fabric pulled her from her thoughts. Siobhan looked down to see her hands pulling at the frayed edges of her shorts. She didn't know how long she had been doing it, but there were strands in her lap and littering the floor in front of her. She had been pulling at the fabric for a while, and the front of her shorts was now significantly shorter than the back. She had never had a nervous habit before and she laughed a little, inwardly. Her peers wouldn't recognize this girl shredding the edges of her shorts in nervous anticipation.

A knock at the door startled them all. They all jumped up, but her mother was the one to go to the door. She opened it to find the Board standing there. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Siobhan Layne?" one of the Board asked. Her father pulled her mother close and hugged her, whispering something in her ear.

"Yes." Her composure had resurfaced. She walked over to stand in front of them. "Are my parents allowed to come with me?" she asked, more for her parents' benefit than her own.

"Only to the Waiting Room. They cannot enter until after you are in the Trials, but if you make it through them, that is where they will be waiting for you." Siobhan heard her mother's sharp intake of breath. Her father hugged her tighter, forever her rock.

"When you make it through, we will be waiting for you," her father corrected, the worry from before almost gone from his voice. He gave her a little smile of encouragement that didn't reach his eyes before grabbing his and her mother's coats. The Board turned to walk out the door and Siobhan followed, her parents coming out the door right on their heels.

"So, you're probably wondering...," one of the Board started, before pausing when he took in her outfit sans jacket. Jean shorts and a white tank top covered in lace did little to shelter her fair skin from the cold. Although she had grabbed her sandals on the way out, she carried them so she could feel the snow, feather light, beneath her feet. Her long, flame colored hair blazed around her face like a campfire on a cool, breezy beach. The three members of the Board were covered from head to toe, although one only sported a light jacket. She realized why he had stopped.

"I control ice. Cold has no effect on me," she explained in the same tone she had used for nineteen years. She added a small smile and he nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm sure you want to know what is about to happen to you," the lady in the light jacket took over. "First, we are going to take you to the Waiting Room where you will await the exact time you were born. Then the Surge will hit you. It will be like nothing you've ever felt before. It might be painful, but it is different for everyone so there is no way of knowing. If you survive that, which is highly likely, we will take you to the Trials. If you survive those, which is highly unlikely, you will be taken back to the Waiting Room and your parents and then be free to live your life without an Anchor. Don't get me wrong, we are rooting for you, but the truth remains. No one has made it through the Trials. We will go into further detail in the Waiting Room. Any questions?" Siobhan shook her head and they continued in silence.

Suddenly the ground rose up under her slightly. She smiled, knowing her father had been behind it. She froze the ground under his feet and had the satisfaction of seeing his foot slide a little. This was a game they had played when she was younger. Neither wanted to hurt the other of course, but they had enjoyed the challenge of keeping their own balance while trying to throw off the other's. The game continued for a few meters before she heard a loud slap from behind her.

"This is not the time, Caelan," her mother whispered reproachfully.

"Myra, this is the only time," Caelan responded quietly. The ground dipped under her one last time. She tripped a little and heard her father's quiet 'yes!' behind her. She smiled. Her father got the satisfaction of winning and her mother got the peace of knowing the game was over. They walked in silence for a few more minutes before coming to a building Siobhan had never seen before.

"We're here," the lady said. The two men entered the room immediately. "I'll give you a few minutes alone." She followed them inside.

"Siobhan, you know we love you and we believe in you, baby, right?" her mother said, tears streaming down her face.

"Of course I do, Mama," Siobhan reassured, pulling her mother into a deep hug. After a few seconds, Myra held her out at arm's length and looked her in the eyes.

"Then I need you to do me a favor." She looked at her father and realized he had no idea where this was going either.

"Make it through the Trials?" Myra shook her head. "What, then?"

"Run." It was unexpected and it took Siobhan a second to figure out what the word even meant. Her father, on the other hand, had no such dilemma.

"Myra!"

"Start a blizzard. They won't be able to see you. I'll cover the building in water and you can freeze it. Your father will make you a tunnel out of the city." Her voice verged on frantic. If someone had asked Siobhan to bet on which of her parents would try to help her escape, she would have said her father without hesitation.

"Mother, no. I won't run from this. If I run, they will know you helped me and they will strip your powers. I won't be responsible for that."

"You are our daughter. We would gladly give up our powers if it meant you would live," her father said quietly.

"You could die. I won't let you risk it. I love you." She hugged them both. "But I have to do this." She turned and walked to the door, trying to ignore her mother's sobs coming from behind her. When she reached for the handle, the door opened. She walked in without looking back.

~~~***~~~

"Congratulations. You passed the first Trial," the female Board member praised. Siobhan was about to ask what she meant when it clicked. They had given her the perfect opportunity to escape, although now it was safe to assume they had been watching her. Coming inside was the first Trial.

The three of them were sitting at a long table facing her. The only other thing in the room was a stretcher, which she assumed was for if the Surge didn't end well. One of the males motioned to the chair across from them. She walked over and sat in it.

"Of course, you know what happens if you don't find your Anchor by your nineteenth birthday?"

"I go through the Trials."

"Do you know why?" the second man spoke up. She took them in for the first time. He had ash grey hair that fell over a tanned face and eyes the color of brandy. His teeth, although pearly white, were crooked. He was about the same height as Siobhan but he looked much thinner. The other man was his opposite. He had long, purple hair, flowing over fair skin. He was much younger, taller, and rounder than Crooked Teeth and had big hazel eyes. The woman was shorter than Siobhan but well built. Her eyes were a bright emerald and there was a scar across the left one. Her skin was a dark brown and her short dirty blonde hair was in ringlets that framed her face.

"We can't control our powers without an Anchor." In school, that's all they had been told. The trainers and teachers assumed the kids would find their Anchors and experience the bond for themselves so they didn't go into much more detail.

"An Anchored pair is almost like two halves of a whole. Most of the time they are complete opposites, but sometimes they are just alike. However, they never control the same element. Anchored pairs share a strong connection that allows them to control the other's powers if they get out of hand. Without an Anchor you will have to maintain control all the time. You can't get enraged or anxious or afraid. You can't even get overly stressed out. Any strong emotion could make you lose control of your powers," Crooked Teeth explained.

"That is why the Trials were designed." Purple Hair took over. "The Jury will test you in every way imaginable, both mentally and physically, to see if you can keep a tight leash on your powers. Although no one knows exactly what happens in the Trials, we know the Jury will do everything in their power to make you fail. If you do, for the protection of everyone else, you will be killed immediately. You won't feel a thing, though. If you succeed, you will be free to go."

"Any questions?" the woman asked her for the second time that night. Siobhan once again shook her head. "Then we will need you to fill these out." She pushed a small stack of papers across the table. The words "Last Will and Testament" stared forebodingly back at Siobhan. A pen skipped across the table to her and she grabbed it reflexively, eyes never leaving the page. Five minutes later, she had read through the pages and signed everything away to her parents. That left twenty minutes, give or take a minute, until the Surge.

"Now we wait," Crooked Teeth said quietly. Barely a minute later, Purple Hair reached across the table for the pen. He clicked it immediately. After a few seconds, the woman snatched it from him and returned it to the stack of papers. Siobhan hid a smile, while Crooked Teeth uttered a less quiet 'Ha!'. Purple Hair rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his namesake. Two minutes later, he had deftly tamed the locks into a long braid that fell over his shoulder. He looked at the two Board members next to him, but before he could open his mouth, they both uttered resounding 'no's.

"I don't suppose you would let me step outside and see the snow one last time?" Siobhan interrupted quietly. The Board members looked at each other and back at her.

"This isn't part of some elaborate escape plan?" Crooked Teeth asked her. She shook her head. They looked at each other again and the woman shrugged.

"We can't let you leave, but there are no rules against opening the door. Take it or leave it," the woman said finally.

"I'll take it," Siobhan replied happily.

A slight breeze passed her on its way to the door, which then opened, letting the cool air in. Snowflakes drifted down, floating into the room and melting on the floor. Siobhan stood and took a step toward the door before meeting a wall of air. She stopped and raised her hands until they were level with her navel. The temperature dropped slowly. The snowflakes stuck inside the door and floated closer to her. When she could see her breath, she flicked her fingers. The snow came down harder, flowing quickly through the door to pool at her feet. She breathed in the cool, crisp air and sighed.

Suddenly the door closed, and she whirled around to face the Board. Though she hadn't noticed it before, they had removed their coats when they entered the Waiting Room. She had forced the Board back into them with the temperature drop and half a meter of snow she had called from outside. The woman was shivering. Siobhan sat back down, eyes lowered, taking in the snow for what, she hoped, wasn't the last time. She noticed it wasn't as deep and soon realized it was being swept under the door and back outside. She reached down and rescued a handful, rolling it in her hands like one would a stress ball. She kept the area around it cool so it didn't melt, but did nothing else.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"My son will turn nineteen soon. He hasn't found his Anchor either," the woman said in a small voice. "If you make it through, maybe you could return our kindness and help him through this." Siobhan's head shot up at that. Her son controlled fire. He was good at it too. The flames always danced around him at practice, connected to him like another limb. She knew him because he was the only other un-Anchored person at their advanced school. He had come to her once, hoping with all his being they were each others' Anchor. But they had both known, the second their hands touched, it was a lost cause. They were both bound for the Trials.

"I promise, if I make it, I will do everything in my power to see he shares my fate." The mother let out a breath and Siobhan was positive she hadn't realized she was holding it.

The woman nodded at her in thanks, but Siobhan had turned her attention to her hand. The ball of snow was still there but it felt...different. She could feel the storm outside building, but it was almost like the ball in her hand grew with it. As the storm outside reached blizzard level, the ball in her hand became almost too heavy to hold, though it hadn't changed in size. Siobhan could feel the wind whipping the snow into flurries and her hair soon followed suit. Her breath clouded in front of her and she realized the temperature had dropped in the room.

She glanced at the door behind her, but it was still closed. She looked back at the ball in her hand, confused. She wasn't doing this, but she didn't think the Board was either. She looked at them and realized they were frozen in their seats. Not literally, it wasn't cold enough for that, but they hadn't moved since Siobhan had stopped talking. Purple Hair had his hand stretched out, trying to sneak the pen past the others' gazes. The woman had her head at a weird angle, probably mid-nod. Crooked Teeth had his mouth open, as if to say something, but no words left his lips.

Siobhan was drawn from her observation by a thousand needles biting, no, stabbing into her hand. It was a sensation she had never felt before. Her hand was burning. When it got numb, she dropped the snow. It shattered on the ground at her feet, which then froze. The air became frigid, leaving her almost gasping for breath. She shivered and her teeth chattered. She was terrified. Were her powers abandoning her? She sat on the frozen floor, huddling in a ball for warmth. A tear slid down her cheek as her limbs got numb.

Then, everything exploded. Heat flooded her body and snow radiated outward from her to blanket the room. The door burst open, shoved from outside by a huge snow bank. She jumped up. A gust of wind blew even more snow inside and it circled her like leaves in the fall. She watched it spin and realized she could see each individual snowflake. She could feel how they were different from each other.

The spinning snow went faster and faster until it surrounded her in a wall of wintery white. It gradually got closer to her until she could reach out her hands and touch it. The second her fingers brushed against the snow it rushed into her body, becoming part of her. She yanked her hands back in surprise, but the wall of snow closed in until it pressed against her entire form. Within a few seconds, the snow was gone, absorbed through her skin and a part of her. She slumped down into the chair, exhausted. Seconds later her eyes shot open to reveal the Board hovering over her.

"Well, she's alive. Time to get the Jury." Crooked Teeth turned toward the table.

"Give her a minute!" The woman said before turning back to Siobhan. "What happened sweetie?"

"The temperature dropped in the room and I looked up and you were all frozen and then..."

"We weren't frozen. And if anything, it got warmer in here," Purple Hair interrupted. "You finished talking, looked at your hand and passed out. If Caite over here hadn't caught you first, you'd either be soaking wet from the wave I was about to send or you'd have a concussion from the ground rushing up to catch you." He paused. "On second thought, he'd probably just let you fall." He nodded his head in Crooked Teeth's direction.

"Sometimes the Surge presents itself as a dream or hallucination," Caite said calmly, holding out her hand. Siobhan took it and stood, brushing off her clothes. A few snowflakes clung to her shirt. Maybe they were from before the Surge and it really had been in her head. Caite led her behind the table where Crooked Teeth was standing. He pushed on the wall and a panel opened. Siobhan looked at the three Board members now standing behind her. Crooked Teeth looked indifferent but Purple Hair looked like her wanted to hug her and cry. Caite smiled encouragingly but there was sadness in her eyes. Siobhan knew she was hoping Siobhan made it through so there was hope for her own son. She stepped through the opening.

~~~***~~~

"Welcome, my dear, to the Trials," a voice said as the panel closed. She couldn't tell if it was male or female or guess the age of its owner. Come to think of it, she couldn't even tell if it was one voice or multiple voices and, though she heard it like it was right next to her, she couldn't pinpoint where it had come from.

Siobhan looked around the room to try to shake the weird feeling the voice gave her. The walls were metal and formed a dome above and around her. The panels making up the wall, however, weren't rounded but flat, giving the room a multifaceted look. Maybe the voice bouncing off of those walls gave it that eerie feel. She looked around but saw nothing else in the room. She couldn't even be sure she could find the panel leading to the Waiting Room again. When she turned back around, three people were standing a few meters from her. She jumped.

"I assume you were instructed on how this works?" They wore hoods so she couldn't tell if they were males or females. The voice sounded the same and she couldn't be sure which of them spoke. She nodded.

"Good. There is one rule. Don't use your powers. No matter what."

"Ok-" she barely got the 'cuh' out before a wall of earth barreled toward her. She rolled to the left, but the wall followed her. She leapt up and ran, before realizing there was another wall coming straight toward her. She skidded to a halt and looked to her right, finding another wall closing in on her. There was only one other thing she could do. She waited, letting the walls get closer.

When two were close enough to touch, she jumped; pushing off of each wall quickly, she barely let her foot touch one before jumping to the other. Although they were still moving, she reached the top and realized there was no other side to jump to. They were filling the dome. The walls met and then the ground rose. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she went to the middle of the room and sat. She rose until her head touched the ceiling and then a little higher, causing her to slump over uncomfortably. The earth moved in until it was touching her on all sides. She wasn't claustrophobic, but she was incredibly uncomfortable. She couldn't move, her muscles got sore, and the air got thin.

Siobhan awoke to water filling her lungs. She jumped up, coughing. The floor had lowered to its original level but was now filling with water. First claustrophobia, then drowning. This was going to be a long night. The water got deep quickly and she tread it. Her mother controlled water so swimming had been a must growing up. But, she couldn't tread water forever. She wondered how long she could hold out before exhaustion took over. Or would they just continue to fill the room like they had done with the earth? She got her answer when a few minutes later the water stopped rising. It was easily six meters deep and she wasn't even halfway to the ceiling. When she finally got tired, she moved to float on her back. The water rose again, and she realized they would force her under one way or the other. She let her legs drop back into the water and tread, albeit slower now. After a few minutes, she sank slowly until her mouth was no longer above the water.

She didn't know how long it took for her head to drift below the water, but, by then, she was exhausted and didn't even try to hold her breath. She assumed they wouldn't kill her, but were only trying to scare her into using her powers. Her eyes drifted closed as her body forced her to breathe. She didn't feel the water entering her stomach and then eventually her lungs or her body hitting the ground as the room rapidly drained. The Jury gave her a few minutes of unconsciousness before the next Trial began.

This time, Siobhan awoke to a stifling heat. She sat up and realized she was in a ring of fire. It didn't move closer, but the room got hotter and filled with smoke. Her eyes burned and as she breathed in the smoke, her throat and lungs burned as well. Her powers pushed against her mind, urging her to use them. She reached for them, planning to put the fires out and bask in the cold, but remembered at the last second she couldn't use her powers or she'd die. Ahead of her, Siobhan thought she saw a shape making its way toward her through the fire. Was it the Jury coming to kill her for almost using her powers? But she'd stopped herself!

The flames parted and a woman walked through. She had long brunette hair, so long, in fact, she held it, a meter from the ends, at shoulder length and the rest still dangled to her knees. It was held out of her face by a white strip of fabric tied in a knot above her left eye. She wore a black top that just barely covered her breasts with white straps that fell from her shoulders. Her skirt was red fabric, tied at her right hip, which showed all of her right leg, but hung past her left knee. A smaller piece of black fabric, also tied on the right, overlapped the red. Although not singed, the clothes hung in tatters on her slender form. She had a pretty face and was smiling, but something was off about it. Her eyes, too, gave Siobhan pause, although she didn't know why. A crow rested on her left shoulder and it screeched at her.

The woman sashayed over to Siobhan and reached out her hand. Maybe the fire wasn't part of the Trials and this woman was here to rescue her. Siobhan stood, shakily, and stumbled over to the woman. Her head hurt and walking made her dizzy and nauseous. She was also tired, but wasn't sure if that was from the earlier Trials or from lack of oxygen. When she finally reached the woman, she collapsed at her feet. The heat from the room had steadily grown, until Siobhan could barely breathe through the burn in her throat and lungs. The woman reached down to help Siobhan up, or so she thought. When Siobhan was standing, albeit wobbly, the woman turned and threw her into the flames. The last thing Siobhan saw before being engulfed was the woman laughing menacingly at her.

She screamed, though her throat was already raw and she could barely pull air into her lungs. She could smell the sickening scent of her skin and hair burning. She felt the heat all around her. Then she heard screams that were not her own. She looked to where she had just been and saw the woman standing over her parents. Her father leaned over to shield her mother. They both had their hands raised, ready to call their powers. She raised her own. If she was going to die anyway, at least she could help them in her last moments. A blast of water hit the woman. Siobhan gasped. It had not come from her mother, but her father. She watched closely, ignoring everything else. But the smoke and oxygen deprivation hadn't been playing tricks on her. The water was indeed coming from her father.

She realized none of this was real. In that moment of fierce concentration, she couldn't feel the burning, couldn't smell the burning flesh, and she could breathe normally. She looked at her arms and realized, though she could see the flames dancing on her skin, there were no burn marks anywhere on her. She also realized if the Jury knew she wasn't scared, it would be a lost cause. She pretended to faint.

~~~***~~~

When the Participant fainted for the third time, one of the Jurors let the flames die down. A black robe glanced at the other two Jurors and shared their look of disappointment. She had been close to losing it twice now. Once when the oxygen loss disoriented her and impaired her judgment, and once when she saw her parents at the hands of the gorgeous she-devil. Most of the un-Anchored lost it when the she-devil used their opposing power against them. People had at least an aversion to their opposing power unless they Anchored with their opposite. This one, however, was proving to be quite resilient. She had calmly let the earth surround and suffocate her and the water pull her to its depths and drown her. She hadn't feared the fire, at least not as much as they'd hoped.

They still had a few tricks up their sleeves, however. And if those didn't work, there was always the final trick. It worked every time and they hoped she made it long enough to see it. They always loved watching the Participants drive themselves insane.

~~~***~~~

Siobhan woke gasping for breath. She sat up abruptly, scanning her surroundings for whatever the next Trial held. They had tortured her in every way she could imagine and then some. She quickly realized she was back in her bedroom. The blues and purples comforted her, and she wondered if it had all been a dream. She got out of bed, changed, and brushed her teeth and hair, before going to the kitchen to find her parents. They were sitting at the table talking, but they got quiet when she walked in.

"How did you sleep, honey?" her father asked.

"I had a horrible dream," she answered, joining them at the table.

"Oh? Do you want to talk about it?" her mother asked.

"Well, the beginning wasn't so bad. The Board came for me and brought us to a Waiting Room. You tried to get me to run." She turned to her mother, who laughed with a weird look on her face. Siobhan paused, trying to figure out what that meant, but quickly continued. "I went inside and the Board explained everything and gave me a Will to sign. Then the Surge came. It didn't really hurt or anything. It was more like a hallucination I guess. Then the Trials started and they were awful. They buried me alive until I suffocated and drowned me and then came the fire. This devil woman was there and she was terrifying. You were both there and she tortured you while I burned alive. And that was just the beginning. It kept going for what seemed like days. Then I woke up in my room." Her parents were silent for a few seconds.

"It is probably just your subconscious' way of showing your worry over the Trials," her father finally said.

"Although, if you had tried harder to find your Anchor, you wouldn't have to worry," her mother said coldly.

"Well at least she is worried. I was starting to think she didn't care at all, what with that everlasting fade of calm she always displays."

"One would think she would be a little bit more concerned about the fact that she is the first in either of our very long bloodlines to not find her Anchor," her mother agreed.

"One would. Of course it just had to be our daughter. It couldn't have been your crazy cousin Cherilyn's son," her father said sarcastically.

"Or that weird Great Uncle...," she paused, trying to remember what he had changed his name to. "Lacy! on your side. Doesn't he have a few kids?"

"He does. And he adopted one. That would have been perfect. Then we wouldn't have some spoiled brat tarnishing our bloodlines. I guess we'll have to have another child. Where does she think she's going?" he asked as Siobhan ran from the table in tears. She had spent most of her life listening to people mocking and shunning her. But her own parents? They had never even hinted at this coldness toward her before. She heard her parents following her to her room. She slammed the door and collapsed on her bed.

A few minutes later, the door flew open followed closely by a crashing wave. It hung, broken, from its hinges, soaked by the water her mother had thrown at it. Siobhan looked up, tears still falling down her face, and screamed. Her mother stood in the doorway, body and clothes spattered in blood. Her long blue dress, the one she liked to wear when she wanted to look nice but didn't really have an occasion for it, was ripped in several places and one of the straps hung loosely in front of her.

Her father was nowhere in sight and one look at her mother's eyes confirmed Siobhan's suspicions. Blood trickled from her eyes and marred her delicate skin. Her Anchor and husband was gone and her power was slowly and probably painfully killing her. Once Anchored, being without that Anchor was a death sentence. It was like experiencing the Surge once again, but even more powerful. Some died instantly, but others had a few minutes, maybe even hours, of agony before they bled out through their eyes, ears, and whatever else.

"I'm sorry to say I had to kill your father, dear. He wanted to give you some time alone and I just couldn't allow that. I mean, how could he expect me to give leniency to the little bitch that was going to ruin our lives?" She paused and cocked her head at her daughter. Siobhan wondered if she expected an answer, but she soon took her daughters silence as agreement and continued, "So now I guess I'll have to kill you too. The town will understand. I have to do what is right for the family, dear. And we can't have you ruining the bloodline for us now can we? Even if you were to survive the Trials, it just wouldn't be right. It's unnatural. Just know I love you, as I did your father, and that I'm doing this for you."

The water, still dripping off the ruined door, trickled to the floor and moved toward her bed. Siobhan's hands rose, preparing to defend herself. But this was her mother. She couldn't bring herself to hurt her own mother, even if it meant she would die. Maybe it would be better this way. She probably wouldn't survive the Trials anyway. Despite her mother's current state, she hoped she meant what she said about love and made it painless. The water climbed her sheets. Siobhan felt it slide along her body until it reached her mouth and nose. Tears slid down her face and joined the water. It quickly found its way to her lungs. The last thing she saw was her mother's smiling face as she killed her only daughter.

~~~***~~~

Siobhan sat up, stretching. That was probably the best sleep she ever had. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was, but all she could see was blackness. Even at night, her room had a little light. She waved a hand in front of her face, but still saw nothing. She realized she couldn't hear anything either. That was very strange. She could feel the floor under her, but, when she tried to touch it with her hands to figure out what it was, no substance came to mind. It was like she could feel the pressure of the floor pushing against her but nothing else. She couldn't feel her clothing either, although she assumed she still wore it as she hadn't taken it off. She didn't feel her hair tickling the back of her neck, and she ran her hands over her head to see if it was pulled up. Nothing.

'Hello?' Siobhan had spoken out loud, but no sound came out. It was like she was surrounded by pure nothingness. She shivered, although it wasn't cold, or hot for that matter. She stood and started walking. Eventually she had to find something, right?

After hours of walking in the same direction, although she couldn't see anything so she could've been walking in circles, Siobhan still hadn't found anything. It was like she was trapped in a void. She reached for her powers, just to see if she could feel them. She could! The second she reached for them, they grew. It was almost as if they were calling to her, begging her to use them. She almost obliged. Then it hit her. Her mother had never tried to kill her. She wouldn't. She was one of the gentlest people Siobhan knew. She definitely wouldn't kill her Anchor and soul mate. Siobhan realized she was still in the Trials. She had never left. This must be the Jury's last ditch effort to make her fail. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. She dropped to the floor, sometimes sitting, sometimes laying. Not once did she go for her powers again. She was determined to survive.

~~~***~~~

"What is she doing?" A black robed figure turned toward the others. "Is she singing?"

"Well that's what it looks like." The Participant couldn't hear anything outside her own head, but they could. She was a little off key at times, but she was definitely singing. She continued this for a while before she started talking to herself. After a few minutes, they realized she was telling herself bedtime stories they had all heard as children. When she finished that, she started doing math problems in her head. They kept getting more and more complicated until she finally quit. She moved on to recite her history lessons, grammar, and pretty much anything else they had ever taught her in school. She made up a language next, and then repeated the lessons in her new language. When she completed that, she went back to singing.

"We are never going to break her are we?"

"It seems not." A black robe growled back.

~~~***~~~

Siobhan laid back and began singing again. She had already sung every song she could think of. Maybe she could make up a new song. Or sing them in her new made-up language. She actually had made a language, but more a code. She had just switched all the letters around. She wasn't sure if she could code and decode quickly enough to sing songs though. Repeating her lessons had been easy, because she could go slowly and think about each word.

A bright light interrupted her thoughts. Siobhan shielded her eyes. Suddenly she could hear and feel. She assumed when her eyes adjusted to light again, she would be able to see as well. She waited a few minutes before hesitantly opening her eyes once more. The light was blinding after spending so long in utter darkness. She blinked a few times, but could only crack her eyes open. After a few more minutes, she could see. The three hooded figures were standing in front of her again.

"Congratulations. You passed the Trials."

"I'm the first person to pass the Trials?" Siobhan asked, a little breathless. She could see why she was the first. It hadn't been easy.

"Oh. No, dear. Definitely not the first. Although there isn't a definitive record, I'd say you are number five."

"Wait. What? I've never heard of anyone else surviving the Trials."

"Oh, you wouldn't have. See, those who fail the Trials don't have enough control to be let go. Those who pass, however, are too powerful. We can't have you running around causing trouble. Who would keep you under control?" The voice was patronizing, mocking her.

"So you just kill everyone anyway? Why have the Trials then?" Siobhan started gathering her power, though she made no outward indication. The Jury stepped closer to her.

"Hope is a powerful thing. If we just killed you outright, we'd have a riot on our hands. A full scale revolt. If, however, we let everyone think the kids have a chance, when they die their friends and family will assume they couldn't handle their powers. It works better that way."

With no further hesitation, a wall of flames rushed toward her. She couldn't freeze it, but she could throw up a wall of snow so when the fire hit it, it would melt the snow and be harmless to her. She tried this, but a blast of air collided with her wall, shoving it to her left. The fire rushed past. She rolled, seeking cover behind the wall, but it moved before she did. The flames circled, coming back toward her. She tried surrounding herself with snow, but the wind wouldn't allow it. They were staying one step ahead of her somehow. She thought back to the Trials, trying to remember anything that might help her. She realized there was no way for the three of them to control all of the elements they had used on her.

She ran. She didn't think of where she was running to, she just ran, changing paths without thought. Sure enough they were having trouble following her. Maybe the old stories about people who could control thoughts were true. She threw her power out around her in a blast that encompassed her body. The fire hit her seconds later, but turned to steam almost immediately. She was getting close to the wall now and she began looking for a way out. A crack in the wall, a hole in the ground, anything she could exploit to save herself.

She risked a glance backward and realized the Jury was chasing her. She considered throwing a blast of ice at them and almost immediately, one black robe threw itself down, taking the others with it. She smiled and froze the ground without thinking. They slid around for a few precious seconds before one melted the ice and the pursuit continued. Those seconds had gained her a few meters though. Siobhan realized she wasn't going to find a weakness in her cage and soon the one who was in her head would give up with just reading her thoughts and would take a more offensive stance in the game.

Almost immediately, the room went dark. She ran toward the direction she had last seen the wall. She knew they wouldn't let her feel it, so she hoped she had judged the distance correctly. She threw her power at the ground like a knife, using the ice to create a fissure in the soil. When she felt the crack was big enough to reach under the wall and to the other side, she pulled the ice back and dove in. She could see the first glimpses of sunlight and knew she was free.

As she pulled herself from the hole on the safe side of the wall, something grabbed her foot and yanked hard. She fell to the ground. She concentrated and sent her power to her foot. She felt a slight numbness, as if her foot was now frozen. A shriek came from the hole and her attacker lost his or her grip. She pulled herself from the crevice once more and ran.

~~~***~~~