Chapter 1

"Help!" the scientist in charge of feeding Mira screamed.

Lisa Hall turned and found her daughter had trapped the poor scientist and was sinking her fangs into his skin. She slammed down on the gas button and the room filled with smoke. Mira collapsed to the floor but the scientist was long gone.

"Someone get the body out," Lisa commanded

As the smoke cleared, two scientists entered and dragged their co-worker's body out of the room. Later Mira awoke to find a pig running around her room. She chased after it before biting it. She was pulled out of her daze as she drank its blood. She saw the poor pig on the floor and began to cry. Being only five she was so full of innocence, she didn't understand why the scientists kept her here. In fact, as soon as she was full she forgot that she was the one who had killed the helpless animal. Her poofy rainbow dress exploded around her as she sat down on the floor. She spat in her hands before placing it gently on the animal allowing the pink goo to disintegrate it. She added the leftover spit to her hair that was nearly touching the floor as she sat there crying. She was quite a sight. Her pink hair made completely from her spit dripped but no pieces ever fell off. Her red eyes nearly glowed in the dark room. Her pale skin appeared almost white in the faint light.

"Light's out!" Said Lisa through the intercom.

The lights dimmed as Mira headed to a small pile of blankets in the corner. She hugged her teddy bear tight and closed her eyes as it became pitch black. The night watch came and Lisa went to check on the other children. She walked down the hall checking in each room. All the children's rooms were dark except one.

"Zuri lights out." She spoke through the speaker in that room

"No" Said the girl "I'm reading"

She had started a small fire and was reading a book calmly in the corner

"Who gave her a book?" Lisa asked

"It was her item from home. We couldn't take it away from her" One of the scientists answered "We came to the agreement she could stay up another half hour reading."

"Alright but make her put the fire out it's a safety hazard. You can turn her lights back on for now."

They nodded and relayed the message to Zuri. As the lights turned back on her curly midnight blue hair and dark skin were illuminated. She stomped on the fire trying to put it out but it grew and engulfed her.

"Help!" She screamed

She ran to the far wall but she was caught in the flame.

"Do something!" Lisa yelled

Someone pulled out a fire extinguisher and ran into the room. They put out the fire and grabbed Zuri who had passed out. She had significant burns and was immediately rushed away. She wasn't brought back to her room for days. Lisa worried for her while she watched her own daughter. She noticed Mira seemed lonely and came to a split-second decision. When the girl had been fed she led her out of her room and down the hall. When they approached the small hospital connected to the lab they found Zuri laying on a bed with her skin mostly replaced in many different colors.

"What happened to her?" Mira asked

"She got burned by her own power."

Mira walked forward and before anyone could stop her spat on the girl covering her in goo. Lisa, horrified, pulled her away but was amazed as the goo seeped into Zuri's skin. The burns disappeared and her stitches healed immediately. Zuri's eyes fluttered open and she sat up.

"Where am I?" She asked

Mira ran forward "Hi! I'm Mira! I just saved your life!" she said excitedly

"Hi Mira. I'm Zuri. Do you know where we are?" the older girl asked, glancing down "What happened to me?"

"You burned yourself trying to put out the fire." One of the scientists said entering the room "Most of your skin had to be replaced and you wouldn't have survived if it weren't for this young girl. How'd you do that Mira?"

"I wanted her to get better so I used my power and thought about her being healed and then she was." The girl said matter of factly

"Could you do that for someone else too?"

She shrugged and the scientist led her to a room with an older woman.

"Try healing her."

Mira thought about her being healed and spat on her but instead of healing her it melted her body. The scientist seemed shocked.

"What did you do!?" She yelled

Mira flinched at her tone and started to run

"Oh no you don't" The scientist reached out to grab her

She ended up with a handful of her hair and quickly realized her mistake. It melted through her glove first before spreading all around her body. She quickly was gone as Mira continued to flee. As Mira ran she grabbed Zuri's arm and dragged her away with her. Mira began to cry as she ran but didn't let go of her. She had pulled her out to the emergency exit when Zuri finally reacted.

"Where are we going?" She asked

"Away. They're trying to hurt us." The young girl said

Zuri, being older at eleven, knew this was true and followed Mira out the exit which set off an alarm. As they continued running they came across a small abandoned shed. They entered and found it empty except for a few sleeping bags in the corner. They were exhausted by now having been on the run almost all day so grabbed a few and curled up next to each other.