One of All

I looked around my apartment. It was a mess. I knew that I was never really the cleanest, but I should at least try. My oldest and best friend Adrian was coming over, and while I knew he didn’t really care what it looked like in my apartment, I sometimes got embarrassed. It wasn’t anything special, we were just going to hang out, maybe play some video games or something. I took another look around my living room and decided not to touch anything. It really wasn’t that bad. "Quinn, are you here?” I heard Adrian call from the door. “I’m in the living room,” I said loud enough for him to hear. He rounded the corner, looking good as always. His brown hair, his green eyes, tall, strong stature. Everything about him was a girl’s dream. I always wondered how he got those good looks. He didn’t even try. Although, I couldn’t say much to that myself. I was pretty. Auburn hair, chopped pretty short, nice bright blue eyes. I was tall for a girl and lean, but Adrian was still taller than me. I had my fair share of men staring at me. They never really got too close though. I did have a close call once. I was sixteen. I had gotten off a bus to go home and I felt someone stalking me. I told Adrian about it and he had looked so angry. Since then, he always accompanied me pretty much everywhere I went. “You okay? You’re staring into that wall pretty hard.” Adrian tapped my shoulder. I jolted but then was fine. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired is all. Couldn’t fall asleep last night.” I said shifting my gaze to the floor. It wasn’t a lie. I’d had nightmares and they’ve been happening since I was little. Not every night, but enough to be concerning. I looked up at Adrian. “Why don’t we go outside? Maybe some air will do me good.” I said, making my way to the door. “You probably don’t want to do that, it’s raining pretty hard. Was it the nightmares again? Which one was it this time?” He took my shoulder guiding me away from the balcony door, which showed how dark it really was. The pressure of his hand on my shoulder was comforting. I had told him about all my nightmares. He was the only one who I could tell. I tried to tell my parents a couple of times, but that didn’t really work well. They had given me a stern look and told me to never speak of it again. My parents weren’t all bad, but they were strict. Extremely strict. I was surprised they even let me befriend Adrian at all. They wouldn’t let me out of the house some days. Not even for school. “Quinn? Seriously, which one was it?” Adrian asked. He looked very concerned. He always took stuff like this seriously. “Well...” I started. He looked at me expectantly. “It’s hard to explain. It was a feeling really. I was in a really dark place and I could hear two men talking. For some reason, they scared me. They wanted to hurt me. Not kill me, or at least not yet. They were talking about how to extract something from me and that it would be difficult, especially with ‘that stupid i***t’ protecting me. I didn’t know who they were talking about, but it felt like it was you. You weren’t there though.” I said, not looking at Adrian. I knew how crazy I sounded. “So, this one was a bit different.” He mused, looking off into the distance. His look soured for a second, like he was thinking of something that displeased him. I caught the look, but he got up before I could say anything. “Hey, I need to tell you something. I need you to keep an open mind. Do you remember anything before your mom and dad?” He said, not turning around to face me. I thought for a minute, trying to keep an open mind, but it just sounded crazy to me. “I mean, a little bit. Why?” I wasn’t sure what he wanted. I knew I was adopted but didn’t really know a whole lot about it before I lived with them. “What do you remember? Anything?” Adrian turned to look at me, I was trying to mask my confusion, but it wasn’t working. I could feel the frown forming on my forehead. “You didn’t answer my question, why?” I pressed, looking into Adrian’s eyes. I felt a little flip in my stomach. I’ve always liked him, I wasn’t sure he liked me back. Even when we were kids, I’ve liked him. “Just tell me what you remember.” He raised his voice. I flinched. I’d never heard him like that before. “I’m sorry Quinn. I don’t mean to scare you, but it’s important. Try to remember.” He almost whispered, taking the three steps back to where I sat on the couch. I scrunched my nose a bit, trying to remember anything. I’d been adopted when she was 5. After 20 years with my adoptive parents, there wasn’t really much I remembered. “Well, I remember being hurried away. I remember screaming for my parents. I remember seeing a lot of blood around. I think I remember there being a boy with me...” I paused, realization hitting my face. I looked at him, my eyes wide. “It was you. You were with me.” I whispered. He nodded slowly at me. “I know it will be a shock, but yes I was with you and I can explain everything.” He said, sitting next to me. I was nervous and confused. “Quinn, you have a very rare gift among our people.” Adrian started. “Our people?” I questioned. “Yeah, we’re not exactly human. All of us are blessed with gifts. But yours is extremely rare. Quinn, you can both kill and heal with a touch. You can also read minds.” Adrian put a hand on my arm. “Read minds? What do you mean? Like Dr. Xavier in the X-Men?” I asked him, stifling a laugh. “It’s not funny Quinn. And it’s not like that. It’s more like… Reading emotions. With being able to kill and heal, you need to know the feelings and intentions of those around you.” He said, giving me a stern look. “How do you know all of this anyway?” I asked. I sort of believed him. “I remember everything that happened to you. I know that sounds weird, but we’re bonded together, Quinn.” Adrian said quietly, putting his hand on my knee. I didn’t push it away. I could feel the bond. Wasn’t sure what it meant, but felt as though I’d never leave him. I was thoughtful for a moment. “With my gift, is that why whenever you got hurt and I’d touch you, it would heal?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He nodded at me. “A part of that has to do with the bond as well.” He said. “What does the bond mean?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer. “It’s hard to explain. The only people who are bonded in our society are higher-ups. They don’t treat it like a kingdom, but it is basically royalty. The person who was in charge, the Director, was your father. So, being as it is, you needed protection. Instead of making an armed guard follow you everywhere, they pick several people of the opposite s*x to see who you will bond with. They are always within a year of age of you. “For you, they picked about four. Since day one, you always picked me. After a month of you picking me over and over, they dismissed the others. The bond was already there, but they strengthened it once for us. There were other milestones where we were supposed to strengthen our bond, but they didn’t happen. We were sent away when your parents were killed.” He said, getting quiet. I didn’t understand. Did they die? That would explain the blood I’d see in my dreams sometimes. “Did they send you with me because we’re bonded?” I asked, looking into his green eyes. He looked sad at having to tell me these things. “Yes. They knew I’d protect you. Because even only being six when I was sent with you, they knew I’d do anything to keep you safe.” He said, continuing to look in my eyes. “Why did they kill my parents?” I regretted the question as soon as it came out of my mouth. “They wanted you. They knew what your gifts were and they wanted them for themselves.” Adrian said, worry crossed over his face. “I’ve kept an open mind Adrian, but how do I know this is real? Not some sort of sick joke? You know that I have always wondered what happened to my birth parents.” I growled, getting angry. I got up to walk away, anywhere but here. I could not be the reason they were dead. I was not some sort of mystical healer and death bringer. I was just Quinn. I reached the door and went to grab the handle to leave, just needing to get out of the apartment. Instead of a door handle, I just reached air, seeing a hand wrapped around my wrist, Adrian now standing directly in front of me. He wasn’t there three seconds ago. I looked up at him. “And that’s my gift, being able to move exceptionally fast. I can materialize anywhere within a manner of nanoseconds.” He said softly, looking past me. He was really close. I could feel the warmth from his chest on my neck. I pulled away and looked away. This was all new and confusing. I didn’t know what to do with this strange information. I could feel he was worried about me. Wait, feel? It wasn’t just a normal inkling one might get when walking into a room. It was like feeling his feeling. Feeling the knot that was in his stomach. “Adrian, what’s happening? I can feel your worry.” I panic. It was a new sensation. He starts to smile. “It’s fully awakening now that you know about your past. You’ll start to feel really weird tomorrow.” He said. I was still confused. I felt a pain in my hands. I looked at them, the veins that were normally blue were black, almost as if bruised. I cried out in pain. “What’s happening?” I cried. This was the worst feeling I’ve ever had. “Your poison. It changes based on your intention. It doesn’t work unless you really, and I mean really want it too.” I looked up at him as he said it. “It’s going to spread through your entire body. I’ve read it hurts like hell.” He frowns. I feel the pain start to move up my arms, at a reluctant speed. I try to hold in my cries of pain, not wanting him to hear my distress. I fall to my knees, the pain getting worse the more it infects my body. I feel Adrian put his hand on my back. “It’ll be okay.” He murmurs rubbing my back. I hear something in the hallway. Those sounds don’t normally worry me, but for some reason, this one terrified me. He seems to have heard it too. He picks me up and suddenly we’re in my bedroom. He puts me on the bed and runs to shut off all the lights and lock the door. “I’m so sorry Quinn, but you are going to have to be extremely quiet. They’re looking for you. They have been since we were kids. They’re close. They know you’ve awakened.” He said into my ear.