Chapter 1

There I laid, broken, sobbing, and empty. I felt split in half, the freezing, numb sensation crawling through my skin that made contact with the cold concrete. My long hair was sprawled out, the bloody curls pasted down flat. I could feel the warmth spread over my forehead. I was able to turn my head, meeting his horrible grinning face. Tears built up, and my mouth opened. So many times I tried to scream, but nothing except a small whimper came out.

He ran his finger around my face, and said something. But all I could hear was the ringing. Then he turned around holding up his hand, letting it glow. He was a mutant, a monster, and he… he…

…made me scream.

Six Hours Earlier

"Come on! They are going to be here any minute! Are you going to get out of the bathroom, Celeste?" my mom yelled at me.

"I'll be out in a minute," I told her, as I finished curling my last lock of my long dark brown hair. I flipped my hair back and ran my fingers through it, giving it body. I adjusted my blue tunic shirt and my black knee length skirt, finally grabbing my silver gladiator sandals, I flew out of the bathroom, meeting my mother. "See, out in a minute."

"It doesn't count if you had been saying that for an hour," She responded, flicking a piece of air over my shoulder. "You look nice."

"Well, it is Allie's last night here, we want to have a good night," I explained. She smiled.

"Okay, as a mother I have to asked. Where?" She started her interrogation.

"The club, and don't worry, it is minors night," I answered.

"Who is going to be there? Will parents be involved?"

"Allie, Claire, Dawson, Hanna, Mike, Lucy, Fran and Kyle. But Dawson's father is a bartender there, so he will be supervising."

"What time are you coming home?"

"No later than two."

Mom thought for a moment. "Make it one and we have a deal," She bartered.

"Fine one o'clock it is," I smiled. Dad raised his glass in agreement, but didn't say anything. he was too involved in the news that was on.

"Just be careful honey," my dad interjected. "There is a mutant prowler of the loose."

It was true, the news was all over it. The rather large city in which we lived in, Boston, was usually quiet, no mutant activity, ever. But now, this prowler had made the headlines. After a group mutant attacked one of the homes here in out neighbor hood this past winter, there had been more worry about it. My parents, being active Mutant Haters, were interested in this.

"Are you sure you will be warm enough?" Mom asked, looking at my skirt and sandals. "it is still only March."

"I got a jacket and we will be spending most of the night inside," I told her, "Oh, what time is it?" I asked her. She glanced at her watch.

"Just turning eight o'clock." She informed me. Just then, I heard a honk outside. I burst out, grabbing my jacket and my purse before I got outside. "Give Allie our goodbyes!" She yelled at me. Dad raised his glass in agreement. I smiled, and ran outside, skipping and jumping over the still slushy walkway and into Hanna's dark red car. Allie sat in the front seat, and Claire and Lucy were in the back.

"Hey Cel," Lucy smiled, pulling the string to my tunic shirt. "Love the top."

"Thanks, Lucy but tonight isn't about me," I told her. Allie twirled her blonde head around.

"That's right girly, tonight is about me!" She smiled. "Let's get going."

...

The Club was live and full, I could feel the bass all the way out in the parking lot. It was loud, you couldn't hear yourself think. There were a lot of people there, all of them part of the underage group that were able to gather here every Friday night. The entire building was an old gym, converted into an awesome club, the main room was where everything happened, but if you wanted, you could reserve a semi-private room so you could get a little bit of peace.

The room was right off the main hall, so you could faintly still hear the thumping of the beat. Everyone sat around the table, we just talked, about our past, what would happen in the future. Eventually, we all ended up on the dance floor.

The beat was fast, making all of the girls and boys dance wildly. I turned, danced with the beat, my feet ached, but adrenaline pumped through my veins. Allie dance next to me, and we laughed at each others inability to dance. She twirled, but she was about as graceful as a monkey.

"Hey, I am going to get something to drink, I'll be back," Allie yelled over the music, then disappeared in the crowd. Then I found myself alone, even in the midst of the large, dancing crowd. Pushing my fear down, I just continued dancing. No one mind if I started just dancing with them, and their group, they just wanted to dance.

The lights blotted out the real world, and I felt fantastic.

"You dance pretty well," A voice whispered in my ear. I stopped dancing, and game face to face with a gorgeous boy, his blue eyes gazing into my gray ones, his blond hair settled slightly on the side. Several things went through my head, thousands rushing through at once, but I quickly recovered, and went into flirt mode.

"You look pretty well, too," I smiled brightly, fluttering my lashes. He smiled and laughed. His teeth were very white. I felt giddy.

"My names Kevin," he introduced.

"Celeste," I returned. "Now, stop talking, and dance with me." On cue, the music slowed down, but the beat remained strong. Kevin wrapped his hands softly around my waist, and I touched his neck, everything felt right. We rotated and I caught a glimpse of Claire and Allie, who were smiling at me, pointing and jumping.

…

I felt bad, because I spent most of my time dancing with Kevin, although Allie and Claire, even Lucy, who had a steady boyfriend, found dance partners. The boys, Dawson, Mike and Kyle, sat at the bar, probably jealous of our ability to find perfect dancers.

There was no clock around, but I could tell it was getting to the time that my mother wanted me home. I broke my embrace with Kevin, who looked at me strangely, even with a bit of anger.

"I need to go, this was fun," I confessed. His eyes shot through me, but softened. I turned, but he caught my wrist.

"Wait," He started, pulling me to him again. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked, something inside went up, a warning flag.

"Outside, away from noise," He pleaded. I looked over at my friends, who were laughing. I guess they could go a few minutes without me. Kevin led me through the crowd and we exited through one of the back doors. The night air was chilly, colder than usual. Kevin brought me behind the building, and I felt something odd.

"Kevin, we shouldn't be here, I mean I think that-" I got cut off, Kevin grabbed my head, and kissed me, hard, his tongue everywhere.

"STOP!" I pushed him away. "What the-" I got cut off again.

Truthfully, I couldn't even remember what happened next. My vision went dark, but I felt pain, everywhere. At first it was just his hands everywhere, digging into my skin. I could no longer feel the fabric of my tunic shirt, or my skirt. I tried to scream, hut his hand forced my jaw closed and covered my mouth, muffling any cry I could muster. Then, I felt like I was being split in two, pain shot through my body like needles coming in from every angle. I felt my throat fall, I couldn't even scream, not until I felt like I was split apart.

He was done, and I was on the ground. It was a while, but he just stood next to me, like a predator guarding his fallen prey. I could tell, but it was defiantly past the time I was supposed to be home, but I wondered if anyone was trying to find me.

He just smiled, and took something out of his pocket, a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, with his finger, holding a blue flame. My eyes went wide, and stung with tears. I tried to scream, but me voice was lost, I couldn't do anything, except shiver and cry

"What," He laughed. "Surprised? Yeah, I am the mutant, so what," He smiled at me. My arms ached, everything hurt, but I wrapped my tattered tunic shirt around me tightly, hoping to get warmer. He just smoked, and then when he was done, stepped on the lit bud. He turned to me, bent down and smiled. "This was fun; we'll have to do it again sometime."

Then, he just walked away. I writhed, I felt like I couldn't breath.

"No…" I barely spoke, it was more like a exhale that a word. "…no."

Unable to move, time was irrelevant. Nothing I did worked. I couldn't feel anything, I was void.

Suddenly, I could hear sirens, and Kevin, if that was even his real name, jumped in his place, and took off running.

"That's him," Some one shouted frantically. For a moment I thought I recognized the voice, but wasn't sure. The ringing in my ears sharpened, so it was barely heard. I saw a few men, probably police men, saw him, and ran after him, tackling him down and cuffing him.

"Celeste!" I heard shouts from around me. In the stream of light from their flashlights, I saw Allie, Dawson, and Lucy. Even from the distance, I could hear the panic in Allie's voice; I could imagine Lucy's bright blue eyes stained with tears. I was hidden, not sure if they could find me, and I panicked. What if they could find me, behind some garbage Kevin had dragged me behind? Although it hurt to move, I opened my jaw, tasting blood in my mouth.

"Allie," I whispered, "Allie!" I tried to scream, but it came out wrong. I had to do something, their calls became distant.

"ALLIE!" I finally let out, feeling the searing pain in my chest and throat. Their chatter stopped and I writhed over, throwing my hand out, hoping they would see it.

"Lucy, Allie! Over here," Dawson yelled, tumbling and throwing the trash out of the way so they could see me. "Oh my god, Cel!" He let out.

I wasn't sure if it was real, but I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I could see Dawson hovering over me, not sure what to do. I watched as Allie and Lucy ran to me, scared and bawling. I noticed the police men and the ambulance guy come over to me and examine me, his face full of worry. Then, they carefully loaded my body onto the gurney and to the ambulance.

"Cel, hang on okay, we are going to the hospital," Allie said through her tears. Dawson sat at my side, holding on to my hand, his head hanging down. Lucy was on her phone, talking to my parents.

I wasn't sure if it was the pain or the exhaustion, but I blacked out, and thankful for the temporary moment of peace.

Authors note: I wanted to start something a little different, and I think it will be. Thanks for reading, and please review.