Thunder clapped all around my family and I as they stared, wondering what on earth could be wrong with me. My hands remained glued to my face in a desperate attempt to cover the glow in my eyes.

“Mavis!” From the tiniest hole in my hand, I noticed Mason, Donny, and Angelo rushing my way.

“No! Stop!” Tears welled up in my eyes. What if they thought I was a monster? That I wasn’t normal.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Aunt Cecile tried approaching me but my mother stopped her. “Camila.” My aunty gave my mum a pleading look.

“Mavis there’s nothing else to do. We have to let them know.” My brother reasoned with me whilst trying to approach me again.

“No! Mason stop!” I shivered at the thought of what it could mean for me.

“It literally cannot go on like this, little sister. The cat’s out of the bag. Let’s just get this over with, please.”

My lips quivered, hands unclenching because I knew. I knew he was right. “But..”

My brother took this opportunity to get to my side. He placed both hands on my shoulders. “If the whole world turns against you, Mavis,” He gently pulled my hands away from my face, revealing the unearthly glow. “I won’t.” He stepped aside, exposing me to everyone.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for whatever was to come.

“Woahhhh..” Angelo stared at me, as if not being able to take his eyes off.

“Mavis.” My mother rushed to me, taking me into her arms, holding me tight. “Mavis, my child.” I felt her warm tears against my shoulder.

“Mother?” I pulled away to look at her.

“Mavis, forgive me.” My dad appeared behind her, laying a calming hand on her shoulder and the other, caressing my cheek. “This is all my fault.”

Confusion settles in the back of my head. “What are you saying, mum?”

“Mavis firstly, we want you to know that you’re normal and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.” My dad spoke affirmatively. “The rest can’t just be paraded for all of the estates to hear.” He eyed the surroundings suspiciously before turning back to us. “Let’s get inside first okay?”

My head spun. Did they know? “….okay Dad.” Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I was acutely aware of a very visible lightning bolt coming down from the pitch-black clouds. A lightning bolt bigger than I’d ever seen.

With a thunderous crack, it landed on the tarred roads, shattering them to pieces and leaving a smoking hole in its wake. The ground rumbled and shook, throwing us off balance. An identical bolt of thunder came down, this time, crashing into a building. The building began to collapse, sending its ruble flying in all directions. Another and another and another. One after the other, bolts came down on houses all around us, causing chaos.

People rushed out of their homes in panic, screaming and running in all directions. Some houses caught fire, their inhabitants running out with their clothes and bodies alight with scalding flames, whilst the continuous rumbling in the dark clouds above not having any mercy whatsoever.

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The pain in my head intensified and I wobbled on my feet causing Angelo to rush to my side, laying a hand on my lower back to steady me. Houses crumbled all around us and I couldn’t help but wonder why ours remained untouched.

“Mavis! Angelo! Come on!” My father yelled at us, his voice barely reaching us above all the chaos, gesturing for us to follow the rest inside. Uncle Bray and Aunty Cecile followed my mum in while my dad held the door open for Mason whilst hollering at us.

Angelo and I started towards our house, but not before an earth-shattering bolt struck the spot directly in front of us, throwing us across the street like rag dolls.

My vision blurred and my ears rang from the proximity of the impact, as I scampered to my feet, surveying the skies. What the hell?

“Mavis! Run!” My head snapped the moment I heard my father’s voice. He picked up an unconscious-looking Angelo from the floor. Oh no.

The pain in my head disappeared instantly, my senses sharpened like never before. I felt the glow in my eyes intensify and a warm sensation filled my chest.

“That’s it. Let it out. Let it all out.”

Suddenly I was aware of where the next bolt was headed, for Angelo and my dad. My body moved instantly, dodging the chunks of debris as well as screaming people, and finally skidded to a stop in front of my dad who supported an unconscious Angelo.

The bolt began its descent and the all too familiar golden specs surrounded my body. With no idea what could happen, I acted with my gut, raising both hands in an attempt to stop the bolt.

With an unfathomable force, the bolt slammed into me. “Aaarghhhh!” I cried out in pain, my non-existent muscles recoiled, my body felt as if on fire, and I skidded back from the unwavering impact. Unlike the other bolts that struck and returned, this one bore down on me and I couldn’t imagine why. The force of the bolt intensified, pushing me further down. My body trembled, unable to hold on anymore.

“FOOLISH CHILD!” A condescending voice rang from beyond the dark clouds, sending a shiver down my weak spine.

I began to lose consciousness, my head practically drowned in pain.

“Enough, Hex!” My mother appeared beside me, eyes glowing a fierce amber. What? “Leave the human realm this instant!” The bolt suddenly retracted, leaving me to collapse on the shattered grounds whilst the clouds rumbled in defiance of my mother’s words. “I will not repeat myself Hex!” With one last rumble, the clouds disappeared, all signs of thunder gone into the night. The chaos caused however remained.

Suddenly there was a ringing in my head and I found it hard to breathe, my mother’s face came into view, the glow in her eyes full of reassurance. I closed my eyes, letting myself go.

~~~

“Mavis! You’re okay!” Before I could adjust to whatever situation I’d woken up to, I’m barreled back into my bed by a bone-crushing hug. “Mavis is awake guys!”

“Uh, Angelo I can’t breathe.” He quickly retracted, giving me a guilty and bashful smile. My brother and best friend burst into my room, tumbling over each other.

“Get off me, you dimwit!” Mason shoved Donny off him roughly, rushing to the other side of my bed. “Come here, little sister.” My brother left his arms open, and I scooted over a few inches into them. “I was so worried. What the hell were you thinking for heaven’s sake?”

“….that I needed to save Dad and Angelo?” I gave him an incredulous look as I pull away.

“By killing yourself?”

“Can we please address the elephant in the room?” Donny sat at the foot of my bed, his eyebrows raised in anticipation, waiting for us to catch on.

“Ugh shut up, Donny.” My brother waved a dismissive hand.

Ignoring him, Donny stared at me and it all clicked. “I held back a lightning bolt,” I whispered in disbelief. What in the world?

“Mavis?” My mum peeked through the half-open door, smiling sadly at me. I moved to the edge of the bed, sitting upright, my dad entering a few seconds after. “Can we have the room, please?” My mother moved to my side while giving the rest short glances as they left the room. Mason stayed put. Mother sighed. “You too, Mason.”

With a huff, he left.

I sat silently waiting for whatever out-of-this-world revelations they were going to reveal.

“I understand you’re confused Mavis,” My mother looked at my dad and he gave her a reassuring nod. “And we’re….I’m sorry for keeping the truth from you. It wasn’t in my control. If you’d known any sooner, we wouldn’t be here.”

She took in a shaky breath, steadying herself. “We are not pure humans.”

Yeah, no shit.