Juniper's eyes snapped open, her body jolting as she gasped for breath, panic rushing into her lungs like icy waters. She briskly placed her hands on her chest, fingers trembling as they pressed over the spot where she remembered the bullet tearing into her. But there was nothing there—no hole, no pain, no blood. Just smooth skin beneath the soft fabric of a new shirt.
Her breathing slowed only slightly, confusion clouding her gaze as she scanned the familiar ceiling above her.
"Juniper," a warm voice echoed from her right side.
She turned her head sharply, and saw Mrs McClain sitting on a cushioned chair beside her, dressed in a pair of black shorts and a grey T-shirt that seemed like she stole it from her nonexistent boyfriend.
Juniper's eyes widened, her throat caught between a sob and a scream. "Mom!" She cried, leaping off the bed.
Mrs McClain stood up instantly and caught her in a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around the girl like she was never going to let go again.
"You're alright," she whispered, burying her face into Juniper's hair. "You're alright. Everything is alright now."
Juniper clung to her desperately. But then her breath hitched.
"How did I get here?" She murmured, pulling back to look at her mom's face. "The last thing I remember was…the school…the shooting. I tried to save Jeremy and we—we—" her eyes widened, dread slipping back into her facial expressions. "Where's Jeremy?"
Mrs McClain didn't answer at first. She simply looked at Juniper with her eyes filled with a deep, quiet sadness. Immediately, Juniper gasped, her heart skipping a sharp beat.
"No," she whispered. Her knees going weak. "No, no, no…"
She pulled away from Mrs McClain's arms, her hands trembling, her feet stepping back as if the space between them might change the truth. But the sorrow in her mom's face didn't shift.
"Oh honey," she said softly, "there was nothing else you could do—"
"No!" Juniper interrupted, the tears that were swelling in her eyes now falling freely. "Don't say that mom! Don't you dare say that!"
Mrs McClain's shoulder sagged. Her voice cracked slightly as she tried to remain steady. "I know you have a lot of questions…and there's so much I need to explain. But for now, you need to—"
But Juniper didn't wait to hear the rest. She dashed out of the room in the blink of an eye. Wind scattered loose paper across the room in her wake as she sped out of the house like a lightning flash.
Dashing past the neighborhood, beyond the Henderson street and past the church, she arrived at the graveyard, and briskly searched every headstone one by one, until she found what she was looking for. The graveyard was quiet, cold and grey.
Juniper stood before the fresh headstone, her hair tangled in the wind, and her hands clenched at the sides as she stared at the headstone before her. The writing on it was simple. Jeremy Ericson. 2028 - 2046. A brave and kind soul. Lost too soon.
She stared, not blinking at all. The name on the marble blurred through her tears, a feeling of something hooked in her throat hung for a while, then she finally gave in. A scream tore from her chest as she fell to her knees, wailing raggedly. Her hand clutched at the grass as though she wanted to dig him out of the earth, take it all back, change the ending. But the grave didn't respond.
Her tears didn't bother to stop. She stayed there for hours, her shoulders shaking, and her nose tied from all the sobbing she was doing. The wind blew her hair and clothes softly as she stared at the headstone.
Suddenly, behind her, a soft crackle of energy broke the silence. Mrs McClain appeared out of thin air, her eyes glowing faintly, as she stood a few feet behind Juniper.
Juniper didn't bother to look at her. She stayed crouched, still staring at the headstone.
"It was all because of me," she finally said in a low tone, but loud enough for Mrs McClain to hear. "All these people…they died because of me. I was the one they were looking for. Why, mom?" She turned to look at Mrs McClain, her eyes still covered with tears. "Why me? Who were those people? Why were they after me? Because of my powers? I didn't even ask for these powers!"
Mrs McClain's face softened as she took a slow step forward. With a gentle but firm voice, she spoke.
"It's time you knew the truth, Juniper…the truth about who you really are."
Before Juniper could respond, the air before her twisted with vertical ripples of black mist. The mist spiraled like swirling air…portals, forming one after another with a soft boom. And one by one, figures emerged through the dark portals—
First came Rafa, dusting the grey trench coat he was wearing. Juniper's eyes widened as they fell on him. She slowly stood up as she watched the other figure step out of each of their portals.
Amron stepped through next. A smirk on his face as his hands rested in the pockets of his grey baggy trousers, and his black long sleeve shirt gripping his body like a bodysuit.
Sabrina followed. She was in a pink crop top and black baggy jeans. Her eyes scanned the graveyard with a frown as though she was expecting danger.
Then came Esmeralda and her sister Sarafina, both in tight shorts and baggy sweatshirts, each matching the colour of their eyes.
Juniper stared at them in complete awe, the realisation of them having powers trying to make its mark on her brain. But it was too much just to accept! She turned to her mom, eyes wide as the tears suddenly dried up.
"What the fuck is going on, mom?!"
Meanwhile, back at the bus stop, Reggie and Lisa had finally come to the realisation that Juniper was not coming.
"We've been here for hours Lisa," Reggie cried. "There's been no bus, and no Juniper…I don't think she's coming!"
Lisa was busy pacing to and fro before the bench. Then she turned to Reggie and raised a brow.
"Don't you think it's weird?" She asked. "Three months, not as much as a text from Juniper! It's like she, she disappeared from the face of the earth!"
"Or she's an alien," Reggie nodded with a smirk.
"Ugh!" Lisa groaned. Then she stopped pacing and grabbed Reggie's shirt, pulling him up.
"Uh, what are you doing?" He asked, raising his hands up.
"We need answers Reggie," she replied, pulling him along. "Something's wrong with Juniper, and whether she likes it or not, Mrs McClain is going to tell us where Juniper is today! Or I'm gonna do something I'll regret!"
"What's that?" Reggie asked, taking her hand off his shirt and trailing along.
"Call social services!" She screamed in reply. Then suddenly, at that moment, her phone in her pocket announced. 'Calling social services!'
"No, no, no!" She screamed immediately, pulling out her phone and ending the call.
Reggie exhaled. "Sheesh, all this drama isn't necessary Lisa," he said. "School starts on Monday. Today's Friday…sooner or later, we're going to see Juniper and she'll explain everything to us."
"Sooner or later, huh?" She asked, entering the passenger's seat of Reggie's truck and watching him pull out his keys and enter the driver's seat. "Well I choose sooner. We're going to the McClains now!"
"Alright, alright. Sheesh," Reggie replied, starting up the car.