The Unique One

Some call my gift special. I consider it a burden. But let’s begin properly.
When I was a month old, my mother left me on the doorstep of a children’s home in Manchester. Why abandon me? Perhaps she sensed this strange gift within herself and feared awakening it in me. I grew up parentless. One caregiver, Margaret Barnes, first noticed my oddity. She described finding me playing. A boy snatched my toy. “I swear,” she recounted, “I saw Artie flung across the room onto the carpet.” Margaret understood. She protected me. “They’d experiment on you,” she warned quietly. She trained me to master the energy simmering within. Fury let me move objects, people. I felt the energy fields around everyone instantly, sensing good or ill intent without a word. Others sensed my difference too, recoiling. No family ever chose me. I craved that love, that word: Mum.
Only one friend filled the void: Raina. Short for Lorraine, but she preferred Raina. My family. She guarded my secret fiercely, never demanding I use it. Few adopt teenagers. Raina despaired. Then, one afternoon, she burst into our room, eyes blazing, her frantic energy radiating like heat. “Ellie!” she gasped. “Can you believe it? They picked me! I get a family!” She spun me wildly. “So lucky!” Her smile faded. “Don’t fret! I’ll visit. When you get adopted, our families will be friends! Come! Meet them!” She dragged me downstairs. We halted as the Head’s office door opened. A couple emerged. The man, Robert Clarke, was large-shouldered, sharp-chinned. I *felt* them both. Danger radiated from him: coiled violence, malice. The woman, Helena Clarke, was fragile, exhausted. Hollow fear.
“Oh, Raina!” Robert’s smile was oil slick. I shuddered.
“Nearly sorted,” he boomed. “Tomorrow, home!”
Raina embraced him. His energy flared—not fatherly love. Something predatory. Jealousy? We returned to our room. Raina bounced. I sat numb, the malignant echo clinging. Could I be wrong?
“Cheer up!” Raina pleaded. “We’ll meet! Promise!”
“Rai, that man… Robert. He feels… wrong.”
Raina scowled. “Stop it! Are you jealous? Finally, a family! He’s lovely—promised me my own huge room! And Helena, his wife? She’ll be home, like a mum! They’ve passed all the background checks!”
“But Rai, I *feel* it!”
“Enough!” Raina snapped, turning away. “I thought you’d be happy. My friend.” Her voice cracked. Shame washed over me. I hugged her.
“Sorry, Rai. Just… terrified to lose you.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re only seven; you’ll get chosen too. I must pack.” Sleep brought nightmares: Robert transformed, fanged saliva dripping, eyes glowing with fury. Raina woke me, dressed and ready. My embrace on the porch clung fiercely, as if it could shield her. As the car drove off, I clearly saw Helena, Robert’s wife, exhale relief. Robert smirked, one cruel corner of his mouth lifting.
Margaret noticed my distress on the playground. She drew me aside. “Ellie? Missing Raina?”
“Margaret. You trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Bad people took her. Especially Robert. Evil.” Margaret frowned. “Terrible if true. But their file—impeccable. Financially secure. Helena stays home. Ideal carers.”
“Why Rai? Why an older girl? Why not a younger one?”
“What are you implying?”
“I don’t know! Need to think!” I fled. My head throbbed; my gut screamed action. As dusk fell, my heart hammered wildly. Eyes shut, I heard Raina’s distant scream. I couldn’t stay. I ran to Margaret.
“Please! We *must* help! Something awful! Their address? Please! Just check. If it’s safe, I’ll stop!” Sobbing, I tugged her sleeve like a child.
Margaret pursed her lips. “Okay,” she whispered. “My hatchet job if found out. To the car—through the back garden. I’ll fetch the address.” Relief flooded me. Margaret drove; I twisted the bead bracelet Rai made me. We reached a forbidding, isolated house in Surrey. Pitch dark.
“God, Ellie,” Margaret breathed, “No powers needed. This place whispers menace.” I felt it deeply.
“What now?”
“Stay. I’m small—squeeze under the fence. Peek through windows. If trouble, I warn you.”
“Too risky!”
“They won’t spot me!” I vanished, wriggling under rusting iron, staining my dress green. A lit window revealed Helena, smoking, gulping wine. Robert entered the kitchen silently. I ducked. The window was slightly open.
“Our deal stands?” Helena’s voice trembled.
“Oh yes,” Robert purred. “Never thought we’d land one. Played the radiant couple beautifully.”
“You *swore*, Robert. Take the girl for… your diversions. And never touch me again.”
I peeked.
“Quit trembling,” Robert sneered, gripping her chin. “You’re too old, too stale now. But heed! Don’t help the brat.”
“Couldn’t care less what you do there,” Helena gulped more wine. “Just leave me alone.” She stalked out as loud music erupted. I was right. Margaret couldn’t help. Only me. At the house’s rear, a door yielded silently. I crept through stale corridors, found stairs, ascended. A stifled sob led me. Inside a dim room, Raina lay handcuffed to a vast bed, gagged, tears streaking her face. A pink negligee barely covered her. Searing tools lay scattered nearby, deliberately ignored. I tore the gag off.
“Ellie! Forgive me! Help!”
“Keys?”
“Don’t know…”
“Seeking these, girls?”
Robert filled the doorway, clad in black leather, eyes hungry. “Remarkable! One girl delivered, another found.” His tongue flicked over lip. “Fresh. My favourite.”
I faced him, inhaling deeply. “Chose wrong, filth.” Margaret’s training surged. Consciously, I tore the key from his grasp, snatching it mid-air. He snarled.
“How? Witch!” He lunged. A wave of thought slammed a heavy chest into his path. He crashed hard. Raina was free by my side. He rose, face contorted.
“What *are* you?”
No hesitation. I ripped a gilt mirror from the wall, shattering it onto his skull. He dropped.
“Go!” I urged Raina.
With deafening music masking our steps, we slipped downstairs, out the door. Halfway to the fence, Robert staggered out, head bloodied, glass glittering.
“Rai! Over the fence! Margaret’s car!”
“And you?”
“Soon!” Raina scrambled over. I turned towards Robert.
He lurched forward, breathing ragged, eyes infernos, blood and spit mixing on his stained shirt. I focused. Every ounce. Levitating him demanded impossible force—hefting his massive frame off the ground—then flinging him bodily into an ancient oak. I crumpled to the damp lawn, utterly spent. Robert groaned, pushing himself up painfully. I couldn’t lift him again. Desperately, my gaze swept the shadows. Rusted garden shears. A final push. Summoning every spark, I hurled them telekinetically. They found their mark, pinning his forearm to a low branch, biting deep into bark. He roared. Weakly, I stumbled towards the fence, crawling under. Margaret waited, engine running. I tumbled inside. Darkness took me.
I awoke later. We’d escaped. Margaret had called the London police, spinning a tale about a forgotten bracelet needing delivery. Robert’
Our new London flat felt oddly like a greenhouse where Poppy’s laughter sprouted fresh leaves, my own peculiar energies humming contentedly beneath Mum’s gentle sunshine gaze like dormant seeds finally warmed. Her love watered what once felt like weeds until they blossomed, petals unfurling like palms catching light.

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The Unique One