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Science Fiction Mystery Drama

โ€œOkay, just count back down from 20.โ€ the doctors told me. My vision had started to blur. I started counting back, and before I even reached 13, I was out like a light. This was a life or death situation. One wrong move and Iโ€™d be dead. My family waited outside anxiously, trying to see through the tiny glass panel on the door. Youโ€™re probably wondering what happened to me.

Well, a while ago, I got into a major car accident and it messed with my brain. Iโ€™m not sure exactly what happened to me, but it wasnโ€™t good. It was one of those situations where the doctor makes you wait outside while they tell your parents what happened to you even though theyโ€™re going to tell you later anyway. Thatโ€™s when you know itโ€™s serious.

The point is, I had about 2 weeks left to live. There was only one way out of it. Neurologists had created a sort of brain chip that fixed almost any kind of brain damage, including mine. But there was a catch. There always is. The chip had never been tested on anyone, so there was about a 50-50 chance of survival. It also costed a lot of money.ย 

My parents didnโ€™t know what to do. I donโ€™t blame them. Their options were, one: to try to help me spend the rest of my life happily, or two: spend a million dollars on something that might kill me even faster. Eventually, they came to a decision. They decided that the brain chip would give me my best chance. Did I survive? Well, Iโ€™m telling you the story right now, so I did.

But the chip didnโ€™t just cure me. It changed me in a way I would have never expected. Even doctors donโ€™t know what happened. This is my story.

After the surgery, my family tells me I was in bed for 3 days. I donโ€™t remember much from that time. And then one day, I just got up, went downstairs and ate a cinnamon roll. My sister Adrianne was in the kitchen drinking water when she saw me. She was so shocked, she dropped her glass and a shard got stuck in her jaw. She had to get stitches for that. Other than that, my family was delighted to see that I was okay. And thatโ€™s when it all started. I called my best friend almost right after I woke up to tell her the good news.

โ€œIvy! Iโ€™m here! Iโ€™m okay!โ€ I yelled enthusiastically. Before she answered, I heard this strange echo. It was Ivyโ€™s voice but it didnโ€™t sound like her words.ย 

Ugh, I thought I had gotten rid of her with the car crash. I raised my eyebrows.

โ€œOh my god! Elena! Iโ€™m so glad youโ€™re here!โ€ Ivy screamed. This time, there was no echo. What was that? I decided to ignore it, thinking I had probably just imagined it. After talking to Ivy, I decided to go to the mall with my mom and sister.ย 

I tried on a blue dress that I thought looked great, but when I asked my mom for her opinion, it happened again.

Oh, Elena, that looks terrible. Blue is not your color.

โ€œItโ€™s beautiful honey! I love it!โ€ she said. I frowned and shook my head.ย 

โ€œUh, did you say something else?โ€ I asked my mom. She shook her head.

โ€œAre you feeling okay? We can go home if you want.โ€ Mom said. She sounded concerned. I refused, saying I was just a bit dehydrated. The next morning, after this same thing had happened three more times, I realized this wasnโ€™t normal. Of course, I went to Adrianne to talk about this. Apart from Ivy, sheโ€™s my best friend. I tell her everything.ย 

โ€œHey Adrianne, can I talk to you?โ€ I said, sitting down on her bed. She looked up from her phone and faced me.

โ€œI, um Iโ€™ve been having these strange hallucinations. Like, when Iโ€™m talking to someone, right before they say something, I hear this weird echo. Itโ€™s almost like Iโ€™m reading their minds or something. I know, itโ€™s weird.โ€ I mumbled. Adrianne looked at me suspiciously.

Come on! Everyone was all worried about you when you had the surgery! Now you need more attention and you want to be a drama queen?

โ€œOh wow, um...thatโ€™s weird. You should probably get some rest.โ€ Adrianne said with a hint of sarcasm. So I decided to try something.

โ€œWere you saying anything about me being a drama queen or something?โ€ I asked. Adrianne paled.

โ€œHoly- I mean, youโ€™re uh telling the truth? Y-you can hear my thoughts.โ€ Adrianne whispered. She was shocked into silence. So was I. Itโ€™s not every day you discover you can read peopleโ€™s minds. This was crazy. Just imagine what I could do! I set out to Ivyโ€™s house to test my new powers. Her mother opened the door.

Oh, not this one again.ย 

โ€œHello, Elena. Ivyโ€™s not home right now,โ€ she said. Okay, so Ivyโ€™s mother didnโ€™t seem to like me. I told her Iโ€™d come back later and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. All around me I heard echos of โ€œIsnโ€™t that the girl with the brain damage? Stay away from her, there might be something wrong with her.โ€

Hearing these words hurt me. I consider myself to be an easygoing, unaffected person. But somehow, these words felt like a punch to the gut. It almost made me wish I didnโ€™t have this power.ย 

The next day was my first day back at school. There were whispers and nervous glances all around the school. It wasnโ€™t something I needed my powers to see. As I walked down the hallway, I saw Ivy walking with a group of about four girls. Surprised, I decided to go find out who they were. As I got closer, I realized this was the most popular group of girls at school! Ivy would never hang out with them. Sheโ€™d probably say it was too much drama for her. As I got closer, I started to hear their thoughts.

Ugh, we have to avoid her. She keeps following me everywhere. Canโ€™t she take a hint? Ivy thought.ย 

โ€œOh hi, Elena! This is Jenna, Elle, Malia, and Ivanna,โ€ she said cheerfully. I nodded.ย 

โ€œUm, I should probably go. Nice to meet you guys.โ€ I mumbled. Jenna gave me a weird look as I walked away. It turned out my best friend wasnโ€™t my friend at all. All of this was just normal school drama. Things got way worse from there.ย 

That day, when I got home from school, my mother had some pretty weird thoughts.

How do I hide her when Iโ€™m done?

My sister was trying to avoid me. I guess that was because she didnโ€™t want me to read her mind. Apparently, she hadnโ€™t told my mom yet. This allowed me to see who she wanted to hide.ย 

โ€œElena, would you like to go on a walk?โ€ My mother asked. Subconsciously I answered yes. My mother smiled.

โ€œThen letโ€™s get going,โ€ she said. Just then I saw my sister standing behind my mother, signaling for me to say no. Surprised, I turned down her offer and decided not to go on a walk with her. I wanted to ask Adrianne why she did this, but she clearly didnโ€™t want to talk. Instead, I sat in my room, thinking about why could have happened.

That night, as I was falling asleep, I heard a noise from the kitchen. I tiptoed out of my room to see what was going on. My mother dragged a black trash bag across the kitchen.

โ€œMom? What are you doing?โ€ I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. My mom almost jumped.

โ€œWhat, oh this? Iโ€™m just taking out the trash,โ€ she said and told me to go back to bed. I did as I was told, but I wasnโ€™t convinced that my mom was just taking out the trash. So when she had gone back to her room, I snuck out of the house and checked the trash can. What I saw was the most revolting and traumatizing thing you could ever imagine.

My sisterโ€™s blank and pale face stared back up at me. She was dead. It was like someone had driven a knife through my heart. I screamed and ran, far away. I didnโ€™t even know where my legs were taking me. I heard the backyard door open as my mother stepped out to see why I was screaming. I assume she knew. I eventually reached the hospital, and I knew exactly what I wanted.ย 

Some people would call it a suicide, but I say it was just a way to save me. It had been about two weeks since the surgery, Iโ€™d be dead right now anyway. What difference did it make? Iโ€™m not sure how I got the doctors to listen to me. Maybe it was a part of my powers. I wanted that chip out of my head, even if it killed me. So with no emotion, I went to the doctors and I asked them one thing.ย 

โ€œCan you keep a secret?โ€

August 19, 2020 23:47

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18 comments

Authoring Studio
07:50 Aug 21, 2020

Okay, so you are writing a novel. *flexes fingers* I have recently published my first three novels, and all of them have been doing well so far. I am working on the fourth and fifth ones now. Getting your first novel published is a really inexplicable feeling, and I am happy that you will experience it soon. Tip: don't worry about the number of pages it will have (I did that and it got me into trouble). Also, review your book at least twice as a reader- once for grammatical mistakes, and once for quality of the story- before publication. ...

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Wow!!!! Thank you so much! That was really helpful, I will surely keep those things in mind! What genre do you write and what are your books called? I'd love to read them!

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Authoring Studio
00:24 Aug 22, 2020

I usually write fantasy ๐Ÿ˜Š Their names are Half Past Eleven, The Eternal Gems and Souls No More. They are available for publication only in India, so I am still working on international. If possible, can you please look them up in notion press? It's a self-publishing website for authors. You can try it too! It's really fast and easy.

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Thank you! I'll check them out. Are they part of a series, or separate books? If they're part of a series, which one is first?

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Authoring Studio
02:46 Aug 22, 2020

Two of them are in a series... Half Past Eleven comes first, and the Eternal Gems comes next. Souls No More is a stand-alone.

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Okay, I looked them up in notion press. They look great! I'll definitely try to get them

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Cream Art
16:14 Feb 04, 2021

Oh my God, this is yet another piece of amazing writing! Seriously how do you get all of these ideas? Oh yeah, I also have a character who can read minds as well (no I didn't copy you or anything, I actually made my character a long while ago before we even started online school), so they're mindreading buddies LOL.

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Awwww thank youuu! I love sci-fi, so I guess I have a lot of ideas for sci-fi stories. Oooh, cool! Did you post it online somewhere? I'd love to see it if you did!

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Cream Art
20:59 Feb 04, 2021

Oh yes, I posted her on my Reddit so that there. I usually come to your page when I'm looking for a good story to read - and I'm not just saying that. No pressure though, just saying your stories never bore me!

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I will go take a look! I'm so glad to hear that, you just made my day!!! Thank you!

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00:38 Aug 20, 2020

Oh dang this was fantastic. An amazing take on the prompt. Excellent joooob

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Thank you! It's definitely not my best but glad you liked it!

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21:00 Aug 21, 2020

Hi, Suhani! Just dropped by to say that I just posted a new story! If you have time and want to (duh), would you mind checking out โ€˜Day of the Choosingsโ€”Part 1โ€™? Thanks! Bye! ๐Ÿฉ๐Ÿงƒ๐Ÿฉ, Aerin

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Of course! I'll check it out now.

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22:05 Aug 21, 2020

Thanks ;)

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Rambling Beth
20:15 Aug 20, 2020

Nice story! :)

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