Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 22 - In Her Image - I

  "By tattoo, dye, silicone, or magic, the outer self is a canvas to be filled by your whims without limit. The inner soul is a demanding demon of desires forever beyond your control. Neither defines you. Your true identity lies somewhere in between."

  ~Cinza, the Rallsburg Diaries

  Wait... Wait... okay, it's clear. Go.

  Go!

  Natalie hesitated, even while she screamed at her legs to move. The sun had already gone down and the city was dark again. Every shadow seemed to leer up at her. Every street was full of monsters waiting to leap out and devour her. Every person was watching her, following her, biding their time until they could steal her away and take her into the black vans where they'd do horrible experiments on her. All because she once read a piece of paper she found in the woods.

  There's no one. The street is totally empty. You have to go. You can't just stay here.

  She saw it in her head, as clear as day. Saw the little girl step out of the shadows and be set upon by faceless golems, or men in black suits, or even just the featureless mass of random people. They surrounded her and fell upon her in a huge mass, and she couldn't fight back. She couldn't escape.

  You're not that little girl anymore.

  Natalie opened her eyes and looked down at her hands, clenched in two tight fists.

  Define who you are.

  She bolted.

  A horn blared the moment her foot hit the pavement. Natalie twisted around in mid-leap, but her momentum was already carrying her into the street. A delivery truck bore down on her, barely visible through the harsh headlights flooding the street.

  She reacted without thinking. A wall of force expanded outward from her outstretched palm. With a sickening crunch of metal, the car slammed into an invisible wall. Natalie kept running while an alarm blared behind her, filling up the street with noise. She twisted around slightly, trying to see if the driver was okay, but she couldn't tell—and she couldn't stop moving.

  Get out of here. Go. Now.

  It didn't matter anymore if she was seen. They would all know who she was in only a few days. Natalie started tapping into the flame of magic flickering inside her chest, so close to her heart. She felt like it was the only thing keeping her warm. Each step became a leap forward as she bounded down the street, practically flying past the few people on the sidewalk. They turned as she leapt past, watching her flick by in a blur of motion, but all they could see was someone in a forest green army jacket, jeans and a thick hood. Nothing identifiable, or so she hoped.

  You have to hide, and you can't do that if anyone follows you there. Remember what Boris taught you.

  Natalie felt like the voice keeping her company and reminding her what to do was someone else entirely. It was so much louder today. Maybe it was Gwen's voice, somehow, projected across the forests and cities to keep her safe. Or maybe it was Rachel, giving her a plan and a mission to follow.

  Or maybe it's her. The huntress. Teaching me.

  Natalie stopped to catch her breath at the corner of the next street, where she could sit beside a short staircase out of sight. That's just silly. She's not real. Elves aren't real either. But... magic is real, and I bet they didn't know that. So maybe she isn't so imaginary after all.