I concentrated hard, causing my closed eyes to scrunch together and my nose to wrinkle. I tried desperately to tafuta through the memories, but her mind was clouded and nothing specific arose. I looked further, getting frustrated at the lack of information I was receiving. I knew that the others were watching me eagerly, waiting for me to speak. I couldn’t give up now, we were so close! Under my fingertips, the victim’s heartbeat pulsed weakly under her temples. She laid unconscious, half-dead on the cold floor, unaware of the small group of people – if wewe could call us that – surrounding her. I carried on searching her mind for clues, when suddenly a vivid image flickered into focus. She was running fast, away from something, but I couldn’t work out what. She kept flicking her head around, glancing behind her, but there was nothing there. She kept running and running, until finally she reached a dead end. She stopped, turned and backed against the wall, keeping her eyes on the alley that she had just run down. But still she saw nothing! What was she running from? That was all I needed to know! This had been her last memory before she had been brutally attacked, just like the others. She continued to stare down the dark alley, frightened and alone. She heard a noise, gasped and…..the memory faded. The pulse under her temples beat two zaidi times before it stopped altogether. Her mind went blank.
“NO!” I yelled. I punched the ground beside the body angrily.
“What, Cipher? What happened? What did wewe see?” Delta asked, worry strung in her every word. I opened my eyes and looked at the small girl crouched beside me, her golden eyes wide with anticipation and concern.
“She’s gone. There’s nothing left for me to do. I saw what I’ve seen in every other victims mind. Running away from something which isn’t there. But I did see something that I haven’t seen in any of the others minds. She heard a noise just before the attack and it -”
“What did it sound like?” Link asked, stepping out from the shadows.
“I was about to get to that, if you’d let me finish.” I snapped. He smirked and leaned casually against the wall. I huffed.
“It was a sort of scratching sound, like someone scraping their nails down a blackboard. It hurt her ears when she heard it. It wasn’t a natural sound; it was made kwa something unnatural. But she was the only one in the alley as far as I could see.” I stood up and looked at the pale figure on the ground, her hair matted in blood. She had been so heavily wounded when we found her; we were amazed that she’d survived for as long as she did. Delta’s power wasn’t strong enough to heal her, as she’s only young, but she’d tried her hardest, poor thing. She’s so determined to do what’s right, to help whoever she can. I’m so proud of her. Link hadn’t needed to use his power here; there was no use for it. Usually he uses his mind to songesha the body to a zaidi suitable position for me to read the memories, however this victim had been lying on her back. Flash, the eldest in our group, used his power the entire time we were in the alley. He was keeping his mind open to hear if anyone was approaching. He would read their thoughts, which would determine where they were and which direction they were coming from. I hate it when he uses his power against me, kusoma my thoughts. It’s so annoying! But most of the time we use our powers to save lives. But this time it’s different. This time there is something else out there. It’s smart, skilled and lethal. But we cannot see it. Every time I get close to discovering the identity of this ‘invisible’ killer through the memories of its victims, the memories shut off, au the body dies, like tonight. But we have to keep trying. This is what we are. This is what we do. We’re different from everyone else. We didn’t choose to be different; we were created to be different. And then they Lost us. Their creations turned against them. We turned against them. And now we’re free….. for now.
“NO!” I yelled. I punched the ground beside the body angrily.
“What, Cipher? What happened? What did wewe see?” Delta asked, worry strung in her every word. I opened my eyes and looked at the small girl crouched beside me, her golden eyes wide with anticipation and concern.
“She’s gone. There’s nothing left for me to do. I saw what I’ve seen in every other victims mind. Running away from something which isn’t there. But I did see something that I haven’t seen in any of the others minds. She heard a noise just before the attack and it -”
“What did it sound like?” Link asked, stepping out from the shadows.
“I was about to get to that, if you’d let me finish.” I snapped. He smirked and leaned casually against the wall. I huffed.
“It was a sort of scratching sound, like someone scraping their nails down a blackboard. It hurt her ears when she heard it. It wasn’t a natural sound; it was made kwa something unnatural. But she was the only one in the alley as far as I could see.” I stood up and looked at the pale figure on the ground, her hair matted in blood. She had been so heavily wounded when we found her; we were amazed that she’d survived for as long as she did. Delta’s power wasn’t strong enough to heal her, as she’s only young, but she’d tried her hardest, poor thing. She’s so determined to do what’s right, to help whoever she can. I’m so proud of her. Link hadn’t needed to use his power here; there was no use for it. Usually he uses his mind to songesha the body to a zaidi suitable position for me to read the memories, however this victim had been lying on her back. Flash, the eldest in our group, used his power the entire time we were in the alley. He was keeping his mind open to hear if anyone was approaching. He would read their thoughts, which would determine where they were and which direction they were coming from. I hate it when he uses his power against me, kusoma my thoughts. It’s so annoying! But most of the time we use our powers to save lives. But this time it’s different. This time there is something else out there. It’s smart, skilled and lethal. But we cannot see it. Every time I get close to discovering the identity of this ‘invisible’ killer through the memories of its victims, the memories shut off, au the body dies, like tonight. But we have to keep trying. This is what we are. This is what we do. We’re different from everyone else. We didn’t choose to be different; we were created to be different. And then they Lost us. Their creations turned against them. We turned against them. And now we’re free….. for now.
I concentrated hard, causing my closed eyes to scrunch together and my nose to wrinkle. I tried desperately to tafuta through the memories, but her mind was clouded and nothing specific arose. I looked further, getting frustrated at the lack of information I was receiving. I knew that the others were watching me eagerly, waiting for me to speak. I couldn’t give up now, we were so close! Under my fingertips, the victim’s heartbeat pulsed weakly under her temples. She laid unconscious, half-dead on the cold floor, unaware of the small group of people – if wewe could call us that – surrounding her. I carried on searching her mind for clues, when suddenly a vivid image flickered into focus. She was running fast, away from something, but I couldn’t work out what. She kept flicking her head around, glancing behind her, but there was nothing there. She kept running and running, until finally she reached a dead end. She stopped, turned and backed against the wall, keeping her eyes on the alley that she had just run down. But still she saw nothing! What was she running from? That was all I needed to know! This had been her last memory before she had been brutally attacked, just like the others. She continued to stare down the dark alley, frightened and alone. She heard a noise, gasped and…..the memory faded. The pulse under her temples beat two zaidi times before it stopped altogether. Her mind went blank.
“NO!” I yelled. I punched the ground beside the body angrily.
“What, Cipher? What happened? What did wewe see?” Delta asked, worry strung in her every word. I opened my eyes and looked at the small girl crouched beside me, her golden eyes wide with anticipation and concern.
“She’s gone. There’s nothing left for me to do. I saw what I’ve seen in every other victims mind. Running away from something which isn’t there. But I did see something that I haven’t seen in any of the others minds. She heard a noise just before the attack and it -”
“What did it sound like?” Link asked, stepping out from the shadows.
“I was about to get to that, if you’d let me finish.” I snapped. He smirked and leaned casually against the wall. I huffed.
“It was a sort of scratching sound, like someone scraping their nails down a blackboard. It hurt her ears when she heard it. It wasn’t a natural sound; it was made kwa something unnatural. But she was the only one in the alley as far as I could see.” I stood up and looked at the pale figure on the ground, her hair matted in blood. She had been so heavily wounded when we found her; we were amazed that she’d survived for as long as she did. Delta’s power wasn’t strong enough to heal her, as she’s only young, but she’d tried her hardest, poor thing. She’s so determined to do what’s right, to help whoever she can. I’m so proud of her. Link hadn’t needed to use his power here; there was no use for it. Usually he uses his mind to songesha the body to a zaidi suitable position for me to read the memories, however this victim had been lying on her back. Flash, the eldest in our group, used his power the entire time we were in the alley. He was keeping his mind open to hear if anyone was approaching. He would read their thoughts, which would determine where they were and which direction they were coming from. I hate it when he uses his power against me, kusoma my thoughts. It’s so annoying! But most of the time we use our powers to save lives. But this time it’s different. This time there is something else out there. It’s smart, skilled and lethal. But we cannot see it. Every time I get close to discovering the identity of this ‘invisible’ killer through the memories of its victims, the memories shut off, au the body dies, like tonight. But we have to keep trying. This is what we are. This is what we do. We’re different from everyone else. We didn’t choose to be different; we were created to be different. And then they Lost us. Their creations turned against them. We turned against them. And now we’re free….. for now.
“NO!” I yelled. I punched the ground beside the body angrily.
“What, Cipher? What happened? What did wewe see?” Delta asked, worry strung in her every word. I opened my eyes and looked at the small girl crouched beside me, her golden eyes wide with anticipation and concern.
“She’s gone. There’s nothing left for me to do. I saw what I’ve seen in every other victims mind. Running away from something which isn’t there. But I did see something that I haven’t seen in any of the others minds. She heard a noise just before the attack and it -”
“What did it sound like?” Link asked, stepping out from the shadows.
“I was about to get to that, if you’d let me finish.” I snapped. He smirked and leaned casually against the wall. I huffed.
“It was a sort of scratching sound, like someone scraping their nails down a blackboard. It hurt her ears when she heard it. It wasn’t a natural sound; it was made kwa something unnatural. But she was the only one in the alley as far as I could see.” I stood up and looked at the pale figure on the ground, her hair matted in blood. She had been so heavily wounded when we found her; we were amazed that she’d survived for as long as she did. Delta’s power wasn’t strong enough to heal her, as she’s only young, but she’d tried her hardest, poor thing. She’s so determined to do what’s right, to help whoever she can. I’m so proud of her. Link hadn’t needed to use his power here; there was no use for it. Usually he uses his mind to songesha the body to a zaidi suitable position for me to read the memories, however this victim had been lying on her back. Flash, the eldest in our group, used his power the entire time we were in the alley. He was keeping his mind open to hear if anyone was approaching. He would read their thoughts, which would determine where they were and which direction they were coming from. I hate it when he uses his power against me, kusoma my thoughts. It’s so annoying! But most of the time we use our powers to save lives. But this time it’s different. This time there is something else out there. It’s smart, skilled and lethal. But we cannot see it. Every time I get close to discovering the identity of this ‘invisible’ killer through the memories of its victims, the memories shut off, au the body dies, like tonight. But we have to keep trying. This is what we are. This is what we do. We’re different from everyone else. We didn’t choose to be different; we were created to be different. And then they Lost us. Their creations turned against them. We turned against them. And now we’re free….. for now.
