Peace of Mind [open]

She dreamed an old dream, a dream of black blood and a headless body, of a ghost-pale shadow with eyes as bright and red as rubies. Kayla had woken up in a cold sweat with the taste of blood at the back of her throat. Her blankets and pillows had been strewn all over the room, and when she turned her head, her alarm had flashed 3:03 AM.

There wasn't any point in trying to get back to sleep, so she'd thrown on her clothes, laced up her old worn sneakers, and snuck out into the campus. It was a new moon, so she could only move by starlight through the unlit pathways and halls. Beata had an eerie stillness to it past curfew. Every creak and footstep sounded like a thunderclap, and when you were sneaking around in the dark, you couldn't help but think about those old urban legends about what the school used to be. It was a cold breath on the back of her neck, on the back of everyone's necks.

Those were just stupid rumors though. There wasn't some evil lab under the school, there weren't monsters, and there wasn't anybody in black suits out to kill them.

"You don't need to know the all the details quite yet."

She grinned. Yeah right.

The rooftop was an old comfort to her, especially late at night, where the air was cool and crisp and fresh. It helped clear your head. A blue ripple of electricity ran down her arm, illuminating her face as she went out to lean against the railing.

I can't keep doing this.

The boy heard someone talk. Just one though. As if to their selves. He then walked over and started seeing the only way he knew how. By pushing some sand along the ground until it hit a figure. A girl He thought. What is she doing up here at this hour? He then slowly made his way over to about 10 yards away and said "Excuse me miss. Are you okay? Are you lost?" He knew he had disturbed her the instant he talked. He was hoping he wouldnt regret it.

She turned her head at the voice, a few stray sparks crackling over her head. A frown deepened across her face. Who was this guy? And why was he talking to her like she was stupid? Was she 'lost'... That was a question you asked a little kid wandering around by themselves. Did she really look that helpless? Kayla glanced down at the ground, at the trail of sand that had nudged up against her ankles. What the hell was up with that? "Do I look like I'm lost?" she asked flatly. It wasn't often people came up to talk to her these days. Not unless they were forced. "What do you want?"

He took a step back. "Well miss. I can't look. Im blind. That is also the reason for the sand at your toes. Thats how I can s-.... Um. I guess it would be feel. Like an ant has antena, I have sand. Well. I am sand." The boy then stuck his hand out in her direction. He was hoping this encounter wouldnt end as badly as some of them. "My name is Sandosius Alvero. Nice to meet you miss."

"Oh," she muttered, glancing back over the railing again. "I see."

It took a couple seconds, but once she realized the blunder, Kayla winced at her own faux pas. Fuck... Tact had never been her strong suit, but when talking to a blind kid, even she had to relent some times. "Sorry." A curt apology. Kayla put a hand on the back of her neck and turned around to face him. He didn't have a cane. Was sand really that good of a replacement?

She normally would've ignored the extended hand, but after her slip-up, it would've been even worse if she did that now. Kayla wasn't the kind of person to kick cripples. She grabbed his hand in a loose, sloppy handshake. "Kayla Croft," she greeted.

"No need to say sorry ma'am. Now. May I ask why you are up here alone so late?" The boy could feel her guilt mixed with pity. It no longer botherd him what people thought. "I hope you are in trouble. Are you?" He then took his hand back, and sent some micro sand particals in the air to see her face while she spoke. She was cute. Not "Hot". But cute. In a little girl sort of way.

"Trouble?" she repeated, turning back to the railing. What was he so concerned about? "I'm out here because I want to be out here," Kayla answered. That was most of the truth, at least. "And what about you? Are you lost?"

"Not in the least ma'am. I come out here because its quiet. Im blind not deaf. And all those voices and sounds mess with my sense of direction. I come up here to feel normal for once. Like I'm not blind. Like I wasnt born a freak. Like I mean something!" The boy broke into tears. All his life his family had called him a freak and worthless. With out meaning to, his hands were now encased in tightly compacted sand. Almost like a sandstone slab on the end of his hand. He smacked the railing and it bent. He sunk to the ground sobbing. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this miss." He meant it. He hated the fact that he was even alive. But he knew there was something out there fr him. He came to Beata to hone and take control of his powers. "Am..... Am I a freak?...."

It all started out normal enough, but there was a growing intensity in his voice as he continued to speak, and before Kayla could say anything, he was breaking down into tears. Sand formed around his hand, rock-tight, and smashed into the railing. The metal bent under his fist. Kayla stepped away from him as he fell to the ground, an unreadable expression flickering across her face. She was silent for a couple moments before speaking.

"Get over yourself," she muttered, electricity crackling down her arm. "If you weren't a freak, then you wouldn't be here. That's why all of us are here. Why do you think this place was built?"

He wouldn't be able to see it, but she snapped her fingers, and blue sparks sputtered into the air. Kayla turned back to the railing and stared out over the school. "Crying about it is just pathetic. It doesn't matter if you're a freak. You are what you are and you can't change that." It wasn't meant to be comforting. This was a school for rejects, for misfits, and every single one of them had their own damage, their own baggage, their own secrets. People were like that, freaks or not. It didn't make you special. "If you hate what you are that much, then crawl over the railing and jump off. Or you can deal with it like everyone else and keep your chin up. Just stop whining. It's disgusting."

"Okay" And in a matter of seconds, he jumped off the railing. Just like she said. He thought it would be over then. He would finally be normal. But no... It never happens like that. the second he smacked the ground his entire body turned into sand. And a pile was left in his wake. It was much to dark down there. He was sure she thought he was dead. He didnt care. He was just going to sit there. Lain on the ground in a pile of sand. Hopefully morning came soon.

Whatever she'd meant, whatever she'd said, she'd never expected him to take her words to heart. Her eyes widened as he vaulted over the railing. Kayla lunged forward after him, but of course, she couldn't reach him in time, and her fingers just brushed the hem of his shirt as he went toppling to the ground and burst into sand.

An icy chill ran over her body. Her hand was still outstretched as she stared out over where he'd fallen. No... no, no, no, no, no, no... This wasn't the first time she'd seen somebody die, but even without a corpse, Kayla felt her dinner rising to the back of her throat. She let her hand fall limply to her side and staggered away from the rails. You fucking idiot...

She didn't know what made her do it, but she turned and ran down the stairs, through the building, and burst through the doors to get to where he'd fallen. He was dead. He was beyond dead. There wasn't even a body left. But that was the only way she could cope. Someone had just killed themselves right in front of her and she was probably responsible.

Kayla slowed to a stop as she approached the heap of sand. She tore off her hat and threw it to the ground, turning around and grabbing her head with her hands. "You fucking idiot!" she screamed, kicking a wall. That was all she could do.

God damn it.

The brunette curled her hands into fists and leaned her head against the wall, gritting her teeth. How was she supposed to deal with something like that? A stranger, a complete fucking stranger, and he'd broken down and thrown himself off a roof in the middle of a conversation.

This place really was fucked up.

The boy heard her.p He then materialized. "I'm sorry I scared you. Freaks scare people. Thus I am a freak. I can not die from falling. It just hurts. I cant cut my wrists. As my blood is sand. Ive been alive longer than most have because I can't bleed. This is my power. I see it as a curse." The boy had attemted suicide many times. They all failed. He turned his hand into a sand blade and slit his throat infront of Kayla. As sand just poured out of his open wound he said. "See?"

Just when she thought everything was over for him, he formed himself back together.

Kayla stared at him with wide, uncomprehending eyes, not quite registering everything that had just happened in front of her. Even after all this time, Beata Academy was full of surprises. The sand blade might as well have been a toy. When he slashed it across his own neck, only sand poured out. Electricity flared down her arms, and her eyes narrowed. "Why do you feel so sorry for yourself?" she spat after a few moments of silence, disgust laced with every word. After the scare he gave her, he better shut up and listen properly this time. "How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? You're blind, but you're healthy, aren't you? You can walk around and live your life, and even if somebody slit your throat, then you'd shake it off."

Her fingers curled into a fist. Sparks flickered down her knuckles. Right now, she couldn't help but think of Lain in a hospital full of dying children. "Do you know how many people would kill for a chance to live like you, you piece of shit?"

He was just a monster, a monster like the rest of them. His life might not have been happy, but it was a life.

If there was anybody she hated, it was ungrateful idiots like that.

"You think I'm healthy. Well being able to counter cuts comes at a price. I cant breathe. I never have been able to. I cant see. I can feel only a little. With no blood in my veins Im subject to whatever the weather is. If its freezing Im freezing. If its hot Im hot. You think people want this? You think people want to live like me? And no. Im not sixteen or seventeen. Im at least two-hundred and sixty four years old. My growth was stunted at this state because of my race. We live for a long time but we dont age much. How do you think it is know every person you love, like friends, lovers, and teachers, die. And you live on. I was supposed to get married!" He was yelling at this point. Not carring who heard. "Do you really think people want this curse!" He became what he called. The Giant. It was a golem like shell he wore around him. Sand bits orbited the mass. "This IS a curse."