Natural Selection

  I FELT LIKE a prisoner in my own home. If people saw me, it would raise questions we had no logical answers for, so I wasn’t allowed to leave the house. I went through books like crazy, watched all the movies we owned, and paced the house like a caged animal. Often, I found myself pacing from room to room for no reason other than I could. The official story Mom told everybody was I had mono, and couldn’t be around anyone else for fear of spreading it. She started home schooling me so I wouldn’t fall behind, but it did nothing to alleviate my restlessness. After about two weeks, Mom relented and started letting me out for short periods of time at night. Even that came at a price, since I had to bundle up so no one would recognize me. It wasn’t really a problem, as winter was already in full swing despite the fact that the calendar said it was still a month away.

  Thanksgiving came and went. I begged my grandparents to let me come live with them but Mom said no. The chances of running into someone I knew were too high. Grandma just gave me a sad look then looked at my parents helplessly and shrugged.

  I could completely relate with how a prisoner feels, even if my cell was a lot larger and cushier than theirs. In my hour a day I got outside, I would sit in my tree and soak up the life all around me. It surrounded us on a daily basis, and I’d never really understood it. I could feel every plant, every animal, and every sun-baked stone. The earth’s crust shifted so minutely a seismograph probably wouldn’t notice it, but I did. Weather patterns were obvious to me long before they approached, and I became a better predictor than the weatherman. I was seriously considering the idea of becoming a meteorologist if I was ever allowed out of my own damn house.

  I began to grow moody and snappish. Even Xander began to avoid me, which made it worse since his sense of humor helped make my captivity bearable. I lived vicariously through my family’s stories of their days.

  My mom started teaching me about being Gaia, how to use all of my abilities. We didn’t move nearly fast enough for me, and she kept telling me I was trying to run before I could crawl. Already I could make plants dance and give small animals subtle suggestions but couldn’t manage it with anything larger than a cat. My other abilities might as well not exist for all I was able to use them. No matter how hard I tried to knit a slice across Mom’s palm, it just bled as if to taunt me.

  Worse than being captive in my own home, I hated the sense of waiting for disaster. There was another murder, this one in Elkhart. I begged Xander to take me to do some digging, but he said it was too dangerous. The news never really revealed her name and none of us knew what she was. The media was all over it, and I can’t say I blame them. Detective Laurent stopped by, wanting to ask me if I knew the latest victim. Mom told him I was asleep and too sick to talk, but she would ask me and call him back. He didn’t sound satisfied but he had no choice but to accept what she said.

  Christmas came and went. My family was exhibiting a seriously guilty conscience based on my gifts. It was one of the biggest hauls I’d ever gotten, everything from clothes and makeup to a Kindle and a new iPod. I didn’t get anything for anyone since I wasn’t allowed outside my own house. We had our traditional dinner, and I was in a little better spirits. Sariah and Xander announced they decided to join me in my captivity over Christmas break, stating it was only fair. After a day cooped up with them, I practically shoved them out the door the next morning.

  Mom relented, and we made a family trip to Denver so I could ring in the New Year like a normal teenager. I can’t even begin to tell you how good it felt to walk down the street without worrying whether or not I could be recognized. And the power! I couldn’t believe the strength the mountains emanated. We skied and rode horses and took long walks as a family. Sariah made me have a girly spa day with her which was way more fun than I thought it would be. I spent every second I could outdoors, dreading the day our trip would be over. With a heavy heart, I climbed into the car to head home knowing the trip had only made things worse.

  I tried to convince my folks that enough time had passed for me to go back to school, but they wouldn’t hear it. Falling into depression, I barely noticed the passage of time as January flew past. Mom tried to throw a little party when I passed all my finals with flying colors, but I simply pouted through it because I couldn’t even invite a friend over.

  I discovered an ability to manipulate the wind, a talent my mom assured me was rare in female Gaia. Dad worked with me on it and we quickly learned the boundaries. I could only direct the existing wind, not create it. If it was too far away or ran into any kind of wind block, I lost control. And though I couldn’t make the wind stronger or more destructive, I could make it die away. From there we expanded and discovered I could keep rain from falling, but it drained me very quickly. Encouraging rain heavy clouds to let go was much easier, but once it started to rain I had very little control. I was disappointed by what seemed like an awful lot of work for something fairly pointless, but my dad looked so proud I kept my opinion to myself.

  Finally at the tail end of January, my mom allowed me some contact with the outside world and let me call Evelyn. She reminded me I was still “recovering from mono” and stood right next me to make sure I didn’t say anything wrong.

  Evelyn answered her phone after the second ring. “Oh my God, Amelia, are you ok? Your mom says it was touch and go. I thought we might lose you!”

  I hate that expression. You don’t “lose” someone, you know exactly where they are. They’re just no longer animated. And Evelyn knew it. I wondered if she was testing me or trying to convince someone on her end. “It’s been pretty rough, but I’m really feeling better. I just get too tired to do much of anything.” I hated lying to her, but I knew it was important to keep my family safe. Besides, she still hadn’t shared her secret either.

  “Can I come see you?”

  I shot my mom a hopeful look, but she just shook her head. I sighed. “I’d love to see you Evey, but I really don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t want you to get sick too. We can talk over the phone and maybe instant message and stuff.” Evelyn agreed and made all the right noises, but something didn’t seem quite right about it. I knew I had to go see her and figure it out myself.

  That night, for the first time in my life, I snuck out of the house. I told my family I was going to bed. Turning my music on really loud, which wasn’t unusual these days, I pretended to read my latest title, The Sight. I could kind of relate to the way Ella felt. Once I was certain the coast was clear, I crawled out my window to “Send the Pain Below” by Chevelle. How appropriate. I lowered myself down off the roof and dropped gracelessly onto my behind. Picking myself up, I dusted off before running around the backside of the house.

  Evelyn lived about two blocks away, and I ran the whole way there. The light in her bedroom was on and I thanked all that was holy her room was on the first floor. I peered in the window and saw her sitting at her desk alone, the only light in the room coming from a candle burning to either side of her. She raised a large knife—or maybe it was a dagger, I don’t really know the difference—and used it to cut open her palm, dripping the blood onto something in front of her. I leaned forward, trying to see what it was and thunked my head against the window pane. Ducking back as she spun around, I pressed myself against the side of the house before creeping away. As my feet hit the sidewalk I started to run, but her voice stopped me.

  “Amelia, wait.” I was terrified by the tone of her voice. She sounded tired and sad, and I wondered what my friend was hiding. What I saw could only be some sort of witchcraft ritual, and I wished harder than I had ever wished for anything that she had nothing to do with the murders. I felt a little afraid of her and that made me very sad. She jogged toward me, and I noticed she’d come out her window, wearing nothing but a yellow sweater against the elements. “I can explain. I know it looks bad, but I promise it’s not.”

  “Is this what you’ve been hiding, Evey? Are you a witch?”

  She nodded, looking more dejected than I’d ever se
en in my life. “It goes way back on my dad’s side,” she mumbled, not meeting my eyes. I didn’t understand why she was ashamed. How many times had we sat around saying how cool it would be to have magical powers? Now here we stood, and we both kind of did. It was anything but cool. Was she ashamed that she had these abilities? Or that she had hidden them from me? Or did she regret what she had done with them?

  “What do you know about me?” I asked, afraid of what she would answer.

  “My mom says you aren’t human and that makes you dangerous, but I don’t believe it. Honestly, Lia, you’re still my best friend. You have to believe me!” She finally met my eyes and even in the dim light I could see the truth shining behind her tears.

  I nodded as I stepped forward and hugged her. She clung to me like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. “I’m a gaia, an earth spirit,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m harmless unless you happen to be a plant. And you're still my best friend, too.”

  She stepped back and looked me up and down, noticing the changes in me. “I saw it at the mall but I can’t believe the difference!” she gasped. She started to push back my hood but I stopped her, glancing around anxiously. Her mouth twisted a little, a look I recognized when she was admonishing herself, and she stepped back.

  “Come over tomorrow. My parents won’t be home, and I’ll make Xander and Sariah agree. Please, Evey?” She looked secretively at her house, then nodded slowly and I smiled. “Now get back inside. It’s freezing out here!”

  I watched her climb back in her window before I turned away. I was almost home before I realized I hadn’t asked her about the ritual she’d been performing. I’d just add it to the list of things to talk about tomorrow.

  I realized a flaw in my plan as soon as I got back to the house. I’d never been what you’d call graceful and gaining nearly a foot of height did nothing to help my dilemma. My mouth twisted as I stared at the house for a long moment trying to figure out how to get back in when the back door opened. Diving into the bushes sounded like a really good idea, but it was too late. I sighed in relief when I heard my brother ask, “Well, you coming in or you want to wait until Mom and Dad discover you slipped out?”

  Have I mentioned my brother is awesome?