Lightning Rod
LIGHTNING ROD By: Dallas G. Releford Emily walked up the school steps in the pouring rain with lightning flashing all around her. It was late and she was on an urgent mission to retrieve her history book she needed for the exam the next day. She wondered how she could be so stupid and forget something so important. Arbitrarily, she put the thought out of her mind and attributed the mistake to all the distractions she had been having lately. Things would be fine, she thought. She would get the history book from her locker and then go home. Luckily, the front entrance was still open. As she entered the long hallway, she discovered that most of the lights had been turned out. It seemed like a hundred miles down the long, dark corridor to the locker room. She wasn’t afraid, just a little upset with herself because she had done such a stupid thing. She had the daunting impression that someone or something was watching her. Perhaps the janitor or some of the other cleaning people were in the building. Maybe that was the reason she didn’t feel alone. Peering down the long hallway filled with shadows and silence, she didn’t see anyone. Old memories of harassment, hate and intimidation died hard. Those memories kept her nerves on edge most of the time. After all, she wasn’t the most popular girl in school. Emily was just the most hated one. Strong hands grabbed her and pulled her into one of the classrooms. It was empty and dark inside. Managing to turn her head enough to see several girls of her own age standing around pointing their fingers at her, she felt horror swell up inside her and her heart raced, her legs felt weak and she wanted to scream, and couldn’t. Suddenly the fingers became sharp knives and the faces were those of skeletons with darkness where eyes should be. Lightning flashed in through the windows and illuminated the room displaying the knives in the bony hands of the gruesome creatures. They were edging ever closer to her helpless body, ready to purge her of her life and rip it to shreds. She struggled and she screamed to no avail. The advantage was theirs, as it always seemed to be. Evil always had more power than good. Hands held her tight and the skeletons that a few seconds ago had been her classmates just stared at her. A loud clap of thunder made her shudder in terror and she awakened in a cold sweat. She was soaking wet and found herself with one leg out of her bed on the floor. Emily Franklin attempted to put the entire incident out of her mind and go back to sleep. That was difficult because she knew the real nightmare awaited her at school, as it always did. She looked at the old wind-up clock on the nightstand only to see that it was three o’clock in the morning. After what seemed like hours, she finally fell back to sleep only to resume the dream where she had left off. It was like watching a movie, taking a break and recommence watching it later. She was still in the classroom except this time the girls were real, more real than she could imagine. “You’re going to pay for the way you showed us up in class yesterday Little Miss Smarty Pants,” Linda Patterson told her and she wondered what was in store for her next. “You just have to get the best grades and make the rest of us look bad, don’t you?” “I just do my best so I can pass my tests and get a good job,” Emily replied shaking all over. “I can’t help what the rest of you do. Maybe you should spend less time chasing the basketball team and spend more time studying.” That angered Linda and the rest of the girls in the room. “The way we spend our time is our business and just to show our appreciation we have a little gift for you, Emily,” Linda bragged. “Bring it on girls, let’s give this bitch something to think about and maybe her grades won’t improve.” Emily was horrified as they shoved a pan of the biggest squirming, slick, ugly earthworms she had ever seen in front of her face. Her mouth was forced open by cold hands and it was clear to her that they would force her to eat the gross creatures. Before she could get the first one down however, she heard a voice off in the distance calling for her. “Emily. EMILY,” the voice said, “It’s time to get up. Emily what’s wrong with you?” She awakened again to feel different hands, warm hands, shaking her and she awakened just as she spit up the first worm on the pillow. Bright lights flashed in her eyes and she had trouble adjusting to the intense brightness. “Mom,” she replied, “I guess I was having a nightmare.” She glanced at the pillow. Nothing was there except a wet spot where she had slobbered in her sleep. “I’m sorry,” her mother said. “You better get up and get dressed and hurry off to school. The weather is bad outside and it’s getting late. I’ll have to call Dr. Khan Monday and see if I can’t get you something to relax you. You’ve been having too many nightmares lately.” * She pulled the hood of the hated green raincoat over her head and splashed down the sidewalk through the water and rain. After turning right on Claymore, she headed up Smith Street toward the school. There was one ordeal she hated and that was passing the home of the Parkers. Just like clockwork, the big, filthy old Bulldog, the one with the cuts and wounds all over its body, came running down through the yard toward her. It looked like it had been in a war with a tiger or something judging from all the telltale wounds it had suffered. It never actually attacked her. No, it stopped a little short of that. However, it always stood on the bank near the sidewalk and growled at her showing its long, sharp teeth especially the two long ones she swore always had blood on them. No matter how hard she tried to tell herself otherwise, the easier it was to convince her troubled mind that the animal was possessed by some evil demon. Her response to his growling was to ignore him as she always did and hurry on toward the school that was only a couple of blocks away. There were several teenage girls standing at the top of the steps under the glass and steel awning to keep from getting wet. She could feel their stares and heard some of their conversation as she hurried by them. Emily had grown used to their insults and smart remarks by that time in her life. No matter how hard she tried to put it out of her mind, the pain and humiliation still didn’t go away as each day passed. It was the same vicious ordeal each morning, going past those snickering girls standing at the top of the steps as if she were some chicken trying to get by the fox. She walked quickly down the hallway to the lockers hoping that just one of the many people she met would smile and say hello, but it never happened. She knew deep down inside of her that it never would happen. They all chose to pick out the smallest little thing she said, the type of clothes she wore or even the way she walked to complain and talk about. She was the bad girl of the entire school even though she never bothered or talked about anyone, ever. “Well, if it isn’t Little Miss Gruesome,” Linda Patterson, the school beauty queen and winner of all the hearts of every boy in school, said. “How are you today Miss Gruesome?” She stood by the lockers blocking access to the one locker that belonged to Emily. Others stood around watching to see what would happen. They reminded Emily of a bunch of buzzards waiting for their meal to die. Emily didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to get into a fight and get kicked out of school as she surely would. It was clear to her that she had never learned how to defend herself. Most of the girls in school understood that and took advantage of it, every chance they got. “Please let me get to my locker,” Emily pleaded. Nobody moved. Most of them just snickered or laughed at her. She attempted to walk between Linda Patterson and the locker. Several girls stepped in front of her blocking her from reaching her locker. Linda grabbed her by her arm and slung her to the floor. The books she had held in her trembling arms flew in every direction. Linda kicked Emily in her hip as all the other girls gathered around to see the action. That action was short-lived as Mr. Payton, the gym teacher arrived. “What’s going on here?” Are you at it again, Emily? Can’t you stay out of trouble for five minutes?” He stood over her with both hands resting on his hips as she looked up at him from the floor with tears in her eyes. She knew it was better not to make excuses. Emily had learned that it was useless to try to defend herself because everyone, even the teachers just ignored her. “I just wanted to get to my locker,” she insisted. Mr. Payton ignored her as she had guessed he would. “Come on and get up from there. Is that any way for a young lady to act? You better get your act together or you’re going to get into big trouble one day. Now, all the rest of you girls get to your classes and I don’t want to hear any sass from any of you. Do you hear?” The ladies knew not to argue with him or they would not only be in trouble with their teachers, they’d be in big trouble when they went to gym class. Mr. Payton had a way of getting his revenge with unruly students. A few extra laps around the gym would soften them up every time. Emily got up from the floor and brushed off her clothes as best as she could. She watched as the other girls wandered away and then put her lunch in the locker and locked it. She knew better than to leave her food out where they could get it. She didn’t know what she would end up having for lunch. The first two hours in History class went uneventfully with her sitting in the back of the class and participating very little as she normally did. She didn’t want to offend anyone by appearing intelligent. Her mind wandered occasionally back to things that had happened to her in the past. Things like having glue put in her seat, finding a rat in her desk and one time, she had left her locker unlocked and found roaches in her sandwich. Gym class went as it normally did and when it was over, she was tempted to skip taking a shower and just go somewhere and rest for the duration of the noon-hour. She often spent her lunch-hour in the attic reading where nobody would be able to bother her. Her body had become so wet from the perspiration caused by the intensive exercise that she decided that she would take a shower anyway. There were only two other girls in the locker room where the showers were located. She figured most of the other girls had skipped the showers to go and watch the boys play basketball. Of course, they would spend most of their time trying to distract the boys but at least they were out of her hair for a little while and that thought made her jubilant. She put her books on the bench in front of the gray, steel lockers and removed her clothes. As she did so, she could hear the other two girls whispering but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She knew Lynn Barber and knew her as a troublemaker but she didn’t recognize the other one. Emily forgot all about them and when she was completely undressed, she stepped into the shower and turned the water on almost expecting it to be blood. But it wasn’t and as the warm liquid surrounded her young body, she relaxed a little when she saw that it was only water. Maybe she was being too paranoid? Maybe if she tried a different approach with the other girls in the school, maybe they would change? She thought a lot about it as she turned her body in different directions and enjoyed the warm shower. When she felt clean again, her hand reached out for the towel on the shower curtain rod but it wasn’t there. Turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, she attempted to find something to dry herself with but all her efforts were in vain. With the water in her eyes and her hair “dripping wet”, she could barely see anything. She almost stumbled over the bench and decided to use her blouse to wipe her eyes so she could see but when she felt along the top of the bench nothing was there either. Emily tried desperately to open her eyes but each time she did, the water stung them and she had to close them again. She was on the verge of screaming for help when she felt strong hands grab her by each of her arms. “Well look who it is,” the first voice said but Emily didn’t recognize the owner right away. “Why, it’s Miss Sunshine and she’s soaking wet. Guess what girls, Miss Sunshine doesn’t have any clothes on and she’s all wet. Now, I ask you, have you ever seen a body like this in your entire life? I bet she would pay a lot to have a towel and her clothes back.” “Leave me alone,” Emily shouted. “Give me my clothes and just leave me alone.” “No girl,” the same voice said again and she was aware that she was standing in front of her while two other people held her. She could also hear other girls giggling around her. She thought there must be at least six people in the locker room with her but she couldn’t be sure because she still wasn’t able to see them or anything else for that matter. “We’re going to give you something but it isn’t your clothes or your towel. This had better be the last time that you get us into trouble. Just because you wanted to get into your stupid locker Mr. Payton decided that we all should receive two days detention. And, guess what Miss Sunshine, we have to sit in on the very same day that the boys are playing the seasons first basketball game. Oh, you are going to pay Miss Sunshine --- are you ever going to pay.” Emily felt a fist hit her in the stomach and she almost vomited but she merely buckled over and slowly sunk to the floor. She felt the same strong arms pull her back up again only to be hit in the stomach again. She felt several fists hit her in the mouth and others hit her on her back and she was on the floor again. She attempted to get away as several feet repetitively kicked her until she was yelling and screaming at the top of her voice. Before she could get relief from passing out they pulled her back up again. Just to add to her torment, Linda Patterson took the towel and wiped the blood, tears and water from her face and eyes. She could see the bitch standing in front of her but was powerless to do anything about what had happened to her. Wasn’t that the way of all brutes? Wasn’t that the way of all bullies, no matter who they were? They all had to have their cronies and onlookers around them or they didn’t have any power. If she could figure out some way of getting rid of Linda Patterson then the rest would just fade away into the woodwork. But how to do that puzzled her. “Well ladies,” Linda Patterson said looking around the room at the other girls who had accompanied her there, “what shall we do with her now? Has she paid the price yet or does she deserve more? I say we put her outside in the rain so the world can see what she really looks like. What do you say?” “Yes,” Jeanie Myers agreed, “let’s do that and maybe that will teach her a lesson.” Before Emily could even protest she had been shoved, pushed and pulled to the rear emergency exit door and kicked out into the cold rain without even a towel to cover her nude, trembling body. She stood there for a few minutes shivering and wondering what to do next. She was angry and vowed that no matter what it cost her that she would get even with those girls before her life was over. She looked around feeling like a trapped animal looking for a way out of a cage. Every avenue of escape was one that she didn’t particularly want to pursue. To her right and in front of her was an eight-foot high chain link fence with only one exit and that was by the front of the school. She could only escape to two places, to the street in front of the school or up the steps to the school itself. Neither of these possibilities seemed plausible at the moment since she was completely nude but there was no other way out. Before she could move or take any action, the wind picked up and the rain was blown into her with an intensity that seemed brutal by itself without the lightning that was occurring every few moments. With each flash of the lightning, she shuddered relentlessly. Suddenly a bolt struck a tree not more than fifty yards on the other side of the chain-link fence and blue flame and yellowish red blazes engulfed her entire body. The thought occurred to her that the metal fence had probably saved her life but she also realized that she was still in big trouble. Her entire body seemed to be tingling all over and every joint of her skeleton hurt. She felt light-headed and she thought that she was going to faint but she didn’t, at least not yet. Her aching head kept her conscious for several more moments but she finally blacked out and fell to the hard, wet pavement splashing water in every direction as she did so. “How are you?” The voice that asked the question seemed distant and far away but as she opened her eyes, she could see a figure in green scrub clothes standing over her. “You had quite an incident back there but you seem to be fine,” he assured her. “Can you speak? Do you feel anything in your toes?” Yes, she thought, she could feel his hand rubbing her feet and her toes but her tongue was the one part of her that wouldn’t move. Her eyes surveyed the room grateful that she could at least move her head. She blinked her eyes and slowly moved her head up and down to indicate that she understood and that she could feel his hands. After a few moments, she could speak again but her tongue felt like it was several inches thick and was just too big for her mouth to hold. “Where am I? What happened?” She asked slowly and painfully. “You were too close to a lightning strike Miss Franklin,” he replied, “but we believe that you are okay. We’ll keep you here a couple of hours for observation and then you’ll be allowed to go home. You’ll probably require bed rest for a few days but you’re going to be fine. How does that sound to you?” “It sounds great to me but does my mother know?” “Yes, the school called her and she should be here shortly. Don’t worry, we’re going to take care of you and you’ll be up and around in no time at all.” After the way things had been going for her, she would surely hold him to that promise. The next few days involved staying in bed and taking lots of pills but it was the best of times for Emily since she didn’t have to go back to that terrible school that she hated so much. The only effect she could feel as a result of the incident was the constant headaches and the feeling that she was much stronger than she used to be. She attributed the extra energy to more rest than she had gotten in her entire life. Within a week, Emily found herself back into the same old routine again. It had been almost two weeks since she had had the incident. Her perception of the entire episode was that she had been almost murdered. After all, what else could you call it when you were viciously pushed out into a severe storm without any clothes on? Worst of all, a lightning bolt had struck her and almost fried her like a pork chop. Monday came very quickly for her and she was determined to get back to school even though her mother had suggested that they move to some other town where she could attend school without harassment. Emily wouldn’t hear of that because she had become obsessed with the idea that she was going to get even with her classmates, one way or the other. The method just hadn’t been figured out yet. REVENGE BELONGS TO THE LORD. Her mother had told her that on several occasions but she thought the Lord was moving way too slow. She wanted her revenge now and not twenty years later. She had already devised a dozen or so schemes about how she was going to get even by the time she had eaten breakfast and headed down the sidewalk toward school. Each girl’s image was burned into her mind reminding her of a computer program burned into a computer chip. She completely forgot about the dog at the Parkers house but it still remembered her and hadn’t forgotten its routine. The disgusting animals barking suddenly interrupted her plans, dreams and aspirations as she became aware that it was still there. She walked up the sidewalk at a steady determined pace making sure that her body language would hopefully tell the animal that she wasn’t afraid anymore. No sir, she had faced the ferocity of nature (lightning bolts and all) and she wasn’t afraid of anything anymore, especially some disgusting piece of animal meat that was about ready to fall apart. Normally Old Nasty (as she liked to call him because he reminded her of Mr. Payton the Gym teacher) would make it to the end of the Parkers yard and stop but this morning she didn’t think he was going to stop and she was right. He only hesitated for a split second as if to throw her off guard and then he came down the embankment after her barking all the way and showing his long, sharp teeth. She looked back at him. He was still covered with mud and his body still looked like it had been through a meat shredder. She stood her ground as the animal came within five feet and stopped looking up at her with those dark, devilish eyes. She thought she could see red fire in his eyes but then after some consideration, decided that it must be her imagination. Anger swelled up inside her because it irritated her to know that some lowly animal would attack and harass her just because she happened to pass the house where it lived every day. It was the same as it was with her classmates. She was harassed just because she was there and that wasn’t fair. As the animal growled and moved closer toward her, the anger turned to rage and she began shouting at the creature. It inched closer to her despite the fact that she was kicking at it desperately trying to scare it away but it didn’t seem to scare easily. Her head began to hurt and her body felt like it did when the lightning had struck her. She felt like she was being charged up like a battery plugged into a battery charger. All of a sudden, her body was surrounded by a strange green glow that became more intense with each second that her anger and frustration grew. She didn’t know what was happening to her but it seemed like she wasn’t the one in control right at the moment. She had felt that way since she had the accident with the lightning but it had never been this intense before. She felt as if something or someone that knew exactly what she should do was guiding her every thought and her every move. By instinct, she pointed her finger at the animal and yelled for it to go away. Deep in her mind, she really wanted the animal to just disappear and get out of her life forever. You can do anything that you want to do Emily because you have the power but you must learn to use it. The voice seemed to come from deep within her mind but she attributed it to her lack of sleep. Or, maybe she was just suffering from some kind of depression? As she watched, the green glow that enclosed her and that was now part of her, shot down the length of her arm and out her extended finger just like a bullet bursting from the barrel of a gun. The animal lit up like a Fourth of July Sparkler and then vanished. Emily stood there for several minutes trying to figure out what had happened because it had all happened so suddenly that she hadn’t had time to even think about it. Where was the dog and what had caused it to disappear? It had to have something to do with the strange light that had surrounded her so that meant that she had caused it to happen in some way. Had she become a giant capacitor or maybe a human battery that had stored the electricity from the lightning? Perhaps the extra charge that had been instilled in her by the lightning had increased the power to her brain and caused things to happen that normally wouldn’t happen? She looked around her but didn’t see anyone looking at her. In fact, the only people around were in the few vehicles that drove by and as usual, nobody paid any attention to her. That was good, she thought, especially since nobody had seen the dog disappear. Emily had arrived early at the school and the only students she saw on the steps were a boy and a girl making out. They pretended not to see her as she slowly and deliberately ascended the steps. She walked down the long dark hallway to the girl’s locker room. There weren’t too many lights turned on in the school as the janitor hadn’t arrived yet but there was enough light so she could see where she was going. She opened the door to the locker room that seemed to be deserted and flicked on the wall switch. Light flooded the room but she had to wait a second for her eyes to adjust. The thoughts and memories about that day that she had been so mercilessly beaten flooded her mind. The day they had taken her from the shower and maliciously pushed her out the back door into the storm. She could see it all too clearly and had to think about something else because the memories were much too painful. She would never shower there again, no matter how bad she needed it, she decided. She placed her books on the small table in the center of the room and sat down on the bench for a few moments, just thinking. Too many things had happened to her in her life and she was sure it wasn’t over yet. Taking her keys from her purse, she slowly struggled up and walked over to her locker. She was still sore from the brutal beating they had given her. This was the locker where she generally kept her personal things but she used the locker in the hallway to store her books. Her mind was occupied with looking through her meager possessions for her comb and mirror and didn’t hear the footsteps behind her. A hand touched her shoulder. “You’re early today young lady,” the voice said and she turned around to see Mrs. Fletcher, the housekeeper. She was an elderly lady and was just about the only person that had shown her any kindness in the entire school. “Just a little I guess,” she answered. “I just wanted to do a little studying before class. I haven’t been here for two weeks so I have a lot of catching up to do you know.” Mrs. Fletcher agreed and after picking up some clothes and paper from the floor, told her to have a good day and left. Emily returned to the locker wondering what had happened to her comb and mirror. “Well look who’s here bright and early,” the young voice said. “Well if it isn’t Miss Lightning Bolt herself. Now what do you suppose Miss LB is doing here so early in the morning? It couldn’t be that she’s planning on setting a trap for us or something now would it. What are you going to do? Maybe trap us with a mouse trap, DEAR?” Emily was angry before she even turned around. Slurs and names were one thing but to flout what they had done and actually brag about it was another. As she turned around to fully face the demons that had caused her so much pain and grief she saw the fist coming at her but her mind reacted quickly. She saw the folded fist smash into her face but it passed right through her head. She didn’t feel a thing except the shock and the uncertainty of not knowing what was happening. It was just like a knife cutting through butter but it was only her knees that felt like the butter. She managed to stand erect and not fall to the floor this time. Linda Patterson slowly withdrew her arm and hand looking at them in disbelief as if she expected to see it covered with brains, gook and blood but there was nothing of the sort on her arm or the hand. She flicked her fingers folding them back and forth to make sure her hand still functioned. A green glow suddenly engulfed the young woman and she disappeared quickly just like the dog had disappeared there on the sidewalk. Emily was suddenly aware of the others in the room; all six of them and some of them had knives. Their intentions were quite clear to her. They meant to cut her up and bury her in the new school construction site out back. They would bury her there in the newly dug basement, the one where they hadn’t even poured the concrete yet, never to be found again once the basement to the new school had been finished. The fact that she could read their minds through telepathy or by some other means didn’t even astound her because she knew it was all part of her new powers. She didn’t question it in the least because she had already learned to accept the new gift without question. As anger filled her mind, her body and her very being, she lighted up even more. The green glow became as brilliant as the light of the midday sun and the other students began screaming. Their frustration, anger and built up hate overcame them and they ran from the room. Emily hastily followed after them as they ran down the hallway toward the rear entrance. Her mind sealed the door welding it shut before they even reached it. They desperately attempted to force the push-bar down but it didn’t work. Angie Fry looked at the door leading down the stairs into the basement of the school. She grabbed one of the other girls and pulled her by the arm toward the only escape route available to them. The door opened and they were heading down the stairs before Emily could reach them or take any action. The rest of the girls discovered where they were going and also followed. The door automatically closed behind them but Emily found herself walking right through it as if it didn’t even exist. It was dark for a split-second as she passed through the steel door but then the illumination from the fluorescent tubes hanging from the ceiling in the basement showed her the way. She didn’t see the girls anywhere but she knew they were there because she could smell their fear and sense their presence. “You may as well come out and pay your dues,” she shouted. “It’s time for you to find out what it’s like to be hit by a bolt of lightning.” Nobody answered. All Emily could hear was the humming of the huge transformers that supplied the power to the school and the Masterson Technical College building next door. They were encased in the huge machine gray protective cabinets near the far walls of the room. The basement was huge and there were many places where the girls could hide. Emily could sense them but she didn’t know exactly where they were. There was something interfering with her sense of direction and was also messing up her telepathic powers. “Take this bitch,” the voice said and she turned around quickly to see Vicki Martin throw a bucket of bleach at her. She knew what it was because the smell was so strong that she nearly choked on the fumes. Another liquid was thrown on her from behind and she knew that it was ammonia because she had smelled it many times in the hallways and had once asked Mrs. Fletcher what it was that smelled so terrible. She turned around in the other direction just in time to see the girl slam the empty bucket in her face. Her breathing became shallow and her heart beat fast but she still remained on her feet and conscious. Her knees eventually buckled under her. She fell to the floor and she thought she was done for, that it was all over but her determination and the light was still with her. The first thing she noticed was that the light was getting weaker and the other girls had seen this too. They stood around her, looking down on her like some victim not to be pitied in the least. They chanted all together in one ominous, terrifying voice but the voices seemed so far away. DIE! DIE! BEAST OF THE LIGHT. WE CREATED YOU AND WE WILL DESTROY YOU. Was it true? Was she dying and would she never get revenge on the horrible people who had molested her? No --- no, it wasn’t going to happen she promised herself. She took a deep breath and tried to think herself out of the situation. She reasoned that the power she had was weak because her breathing was too slow and so she attempted to assume a normal breathing rate. The odor in the room had slowly begun to dissipate a little but she had so much of it on her clothes that it was still strong around her. In her mind, she told herself that the air was clear and that she could breathe normally again. The light began to brighten and get stronger as her ruse worked. Emily realized that she had powers that allowed her to change the very structure and function of her very own body and to destroy the bodies of others. The girls became alarmed at the sight of the green light and the chanting suddenly turned to frantic screams. Emily raised her hand and pointed it at Angie Fry. “It’s your time to die, Angie Fry,” she said as the girl and two of the others behind her began to glow and then disappeared. The other two girls ran back toward the transformer cases. Emily slowly arose from the cold, damp concrete floor and managed to stand up. Her anger had swelled up so much now that she could hardly think. There was something interfering with her thought processes and she reckoned that it was the mixture of the chemicals taking her on a chemical binge. Maybe it was like getting drunk by smelling the liquid rather than drinking it, she thought? It was then that she observed one of the girls run behind the transformer cases as if they would protect her. Emily laughed out loud at the thought that anything could save the remaining two girls now. How could they be so sure of themselves? Maybe they hoped for a miracle or maybe they expected mercy from her but she knew they would receive neither, especially the mercy. If she could get the last two of them then it would all be over. She recognized Linda Preston as one of the girls who had pushed her out into the rain that day. The rain that had turned her into some kind of monster with it’s deadly lightning bolts. Revenge may have been the Lords but the Lord sometimes worked in mysterious ways, she thought as she realized that Linda Preston had backed up against the transformer case. Her body was shaking and vibrating from the steady hum of the transformers but she didn’t seem to even notice. Emily surmised that she was also shaking on her own accord from sheer terror but that didn’t matter because she would soon end her fear. Emily remembered the beating that she had been given by the girls and thought that the light was too lean a punishment for Linda. “It’s time for you to get some of the same medicine you gave to me Linda,” she boasted and rushed for her. Her mind flashed backward as she rushed forward and all she could see was the girls beating and kicking her body. She wanted to inflict the same punishment on this one to make her suffer as she had. As she neared the frozen body of the young helpless woman, she jumped at her like a cat pouncing on its prey. Her body contacted the body of Linda Preston but she didn’t feel anything solid. The next thing that she knew was that she was on fire. It wasn’t a hot fire, just a feeling that she was glowing like the sun. In fact, it was a cold fire and she couldn’t see anything. She didn’t hear anything. She didn’t feel anything. She didn’t even know if she existed anymore. She couldn’t see Linda Preston or anything else, there was only darkness and then she knew. Emily realized what it was that was disturbing her thought processes, interrupting her mental telepathy, causing her powers to dwindle and causing her to breathe abnormally. It wasn’t entirely the fault of the chemicals at all. Sure, they had helped to impede her breathing but it was the powerful magnetic waves of the transformers that were trying to draw her to them. She was after all, a child of lightning and she would remain a part of the core of the magnetic stuff that made up the electric fields of the transformers until someone turned them off or there was a massive power failure. She would have plenty of time to think. She would think about the fact that she had her revenge on most of the people that had harmed her. Who knows, she thought? Maybe some day she would be able to figure a way to get out of the transformers fields and return to seek revenge on those who had escaped her wrath? One thing was certain and that was that she was a child of the light and she had been forced from being a human being to something that was part of the electrical grid. She knew that electrical grid went a long way. It went all around the world and if she could figure out everything correctly, she would be able to travel where she wanted and there wouldn’t be anyone to stop her. She felt much more intelligent now and the voices were telling her things constantly, continually feeding her information that she found helpful. She reasoned that the lightning bolt had turned her into an electrical being that had been induced into the powerful magnetic fields of the transformers. Emily could feel her mind throbbing as the knowledge that flowed into it increased by the second. There were possibilities. Even if she didn’t have a real body anymore that people could treat as they wanted, she could still survive there in the electrical world that nature had created for her. Yep, there were possibilities, she reasoned. Traveling the electrical grid, she would have access to all kinds of things like computers, television sets, telephone systems, satellite systems and many more things. She would even be able to see some of the world through the cameras of television stations, cameras in all kinds of places and even have access to the stock markets. She would be able to do a lot of things too and control a lot of things. Emily would be the gremlin in the power grid system. She felt the presence of many others in her world. As she would soon find out, the lightning had caused a massive restructuring of her brain and allowed her to communicate with those from other worlds. At last she had friends, millions of them that could communicate with her on her own level. Nope, it wasn’t a bad thing at all, she thought. The End
