Chapter 2

Samuael

The next day Cat was still locked in her room at lunchtime. Sam was getting more and more anxious. Their father David was sat in the living room chair, staring into space  something he often did now. David Telenby and Dulcinea Whites had met at the Cambridge University, had become engaged, and had married at the ages of thirty-three and thirty-one. They had lived together ever since. When Sam, then later, Cat, were born the two parents could not have been happier. The two of them loved each other and their children more than everything else in the world. As far as anyone could tell, they were a completely happy, loving, healthy, normal family. Then Dulcinea had died. Her death had all but destroyed David, only the fact that Sam and Cat still lived kept him from being utterly heartbroken. Since her death, their fun loving, easygoing father had become forlorn and subdued in his depression. That had been little over a month ago now. The whole family had changed. Nothing could ever be the same again. Their loving, happy family had been torn apart. Apart from their dad, there was no one else in the family, no-one else to share the grief with. David still did not know about his daughters amazing ability, the one that had been brought on by his wifes death. Sam planned to keep it that way  he didnt know if it would finally push his father over the edge. He decided that it had been wise not to tell him that they had been expelled again. Last time, their father had become extremely distressed and anxious for a while, intensifying his depression. One of the neighbours had kindly recommended a nearby school, and Sam and Cat had been moved there. Sam approached him. Dad, Im worried about Cat.
Dont be. Shell be ok. You should just leave her be. Commented David dully, without turning his head. Sam looked at his father sadly.
Well, Im going to see her  especially after what happened yesterday.
Fine. David relented without discussion. He did not question what had happened the day before. He had not even looked at his son once.

With a final, unhappy look at his dad, Sam headed upstairs up to Cats room. He pressed his ear against the door. Nothing. Cat? he called, are you ok? Its me, Sam. There was no answer. Then the door was slowly unlocked. Cat stood in the doorway, tears streaming down her face. Sam was alarmed. Cat, whats wrong? he asked urgently. Cat sunk to her knees, and Sam held her tight, feeling the sobs convulse through her body. Cat, who  what did this? I need to know. He asked, urgently. Cat looked up at him, her face shining with tears. Her eyes suddenly rolled backwards. She had passed out.

Catheryn

Cats thoughts were swirling around her head like a sandstorm. Everything was muddled. She wondered where Sam was. Sam was her saviour, her tiny raft in this ocean of uncertainty. Sam had stood by her all the way through their mothers death  although she could tell that he was feeling the pain just as much as she. Their mothers death had been a complete shock. The day before her death she had been alive and well, but she had seemed anxious and agitated for a few days. One day, she had simply not woken up from her sleep. Cats father had tried everything to wake her, but even he could not escape the simple fact  her pulse was gone. She was dead. The results from the hospital had proven that there was nothing wrong with the body. In all fact, Dulcinea shouldnt actually be dead. It seemed as though she had simply willed herself to die. But she was dead, and the rest of the family was suffering badly for it. Sometimes Cat hated her mother, for abandoning everyone, for not having the will to live. Most of the time, however, she missed her more than she thought humanly possible. And then there were the powers. They had suddenly appeared, out of nowhere. She had realised the extent of her powers that afternoon  that ability to spare a life, or take a life was the ultimate realisation. She also knew that she could do other things with her power. It was simply a question of when she needed to use them.

*

The thought that she had come so close to killing the boys yesterday had spun round and round in her head, making sleep impossible for hours. She felt utterly mortified at what she had done. Once she did fall asleep in the early hours of the morning it was fitful, filled with nightmares that made her toss and turn in her sheets, sweating and sobbing.

She eventually woke up at five thirty am. Her throat felt like sandpaper, her body was filmed in a layer of sweat. Her covers were wrapped around her like a suffocating cocoon. She struggled out of them and reached with a shaking hand for the glass of water at her bedside table. Her thoughts were churning around her head like the waves in the sea. She had only ever had nightmares like those once before. They had been the night after her mother died. She felt utterly exhausted, but even the thought of sleep was impossible. She sat on her bed, sipping the water. The room not dark, but not yet light. It was in the twilight zone that the morning experiences before bursting into its full golden glory. Suddenly, Cat felt strange. She could not describe how she felt; it was a sort of instinctive wariness, yet there was nothing to be wary of. She shivered  the room had become cold. Suddenly a corner of her room darkened, as though all the light there had been sucked down a plughole. Cat yelped with fear and ran to the corner of her room furthest away from the darkness. As she watched fearfully, a brilliant white dot appeared in the middle of the darkness. It began to grow, as if trying to disperse the darkness. However, the darkness seemed to be fighting back as the shape was losing its brightness as it became larger. Cat, despite her fear, watched the shape curiously. It was nearing the end of its battle, but it was now not that bright, and was beginning to struggle. Cat could now make out a distinct form, and gasped in horror. It was her mother.