Blackout

What exactly is a blackout?

Some people may define a blackout as a sudden failure of electric lights, or even a short loss of consciousness.

But I define it as the thing that killed my parents. Strange right? It may sound that way, but if only you were there 11 years ago...

     "Come on, Zia." my mom said. "Try it again."

I was sitting in the living room with my parents Lucy and Matthew Cage, who were trying to teach me magic.

My mom held my hands and stretched them forward. "Try again, sweetie."

"I can't." I protested.

My dad grunted. "Why couldn't she have just practiced her sword fighting today?"

My mom turned to him. "Matt! Don't say that. She's better at magic than sword fighting. Besides, how do you expect a five-year-old to hold up a sword?"

"It's practice, Lulu. She's better at magic, so she should spend more time learning something else."

My mom rolled her eyes and turned back to me, "You can do this, Zia."

I closed my eyes and extended all my magic willpower to my palms. My mom clapped and squealed excitedly.

I opened my eyes and saw a ball of flame in my left hand and snowflakes in the other.

My mom laughed and hugged my dad. "I told you she'll have both! She's special!"

My dad rolled his eyes. "I need to see her parry. Then I'll be impressed."

"Matt..."

"I'm kidding. I'm proud of you, Zia. Magic is a really good skill and it can be applied in other techniques, even sword fighting. If you can ma-"

Across the street, the lights from a house flickered out. The residents screamed. The same thing happened to the next house.

What is that?" I asked.

"I don't know," my dad said. "But it looks bad. We need to leave."

Just as he said it, a tendril of darkness grabbed my mother by the waist and pulled her into the dark abyss.

"Mom!"

My dad hauled me on his shoulders and ran to the garage. He set me on the ground and opened a chest. He handed his katana to me.

"Look," he said. "I have no idea what that thing is, but I can show you how to defend yourself against it."

"What about mom?"

"She's gone, and I don't have much time left either, so listen carefully."

"But-"

"When the darkness comes for you, point the katana at it and channel that ball of flame that you created before. But no ice, just fire."

"I can't just leave you!"

"You don't have a choice." The lights in the garage turned off. My dad brought out a golden necklace from his pocket. It had a pendant in the shape of the full moon but the crescent was illuminated. He put the necklace around my neck.

"I love you, Zia. Don't ever for-"

I watched in horror as my dad was dragged into the darkness.

I unsheathed the katana and pointed its blade at the darkness. A column of fire pierced through the darkness and it retreated but didn't die. I opened the garage door and ran, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw the darkness right in front of me.

"Zia." It said. "Zia."

"No! Leave me alone!"

"Zia! Wake up, god dammit!"

My eyes flew open.

"Finally!" my best friend, Kris, was standing in front of me dressed in a white turtleneck with jeans and combat boots.

"You're late. Mrs. Mendev sent me to get you. Dress up and go to the hall."

She left the room.

I got out of my bed, showered, and changed into a black long-sleeved v-neck with black jeans and combat boots. I wore my moon necklace and went to the hall, where everyone was seated on the floor.

Mrs. Mendev turned around and glared at me.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Cage."

"The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Mendev."

The students snickered nervously as is sat next to Kris.

"You can't talk to my mom like that."

The twat that had said this was Taylor Mendev, aka my ex-boyfriend. If you don't see why I broke up with him, just keep reading.

"I can talk to her anyhow I want, especially after she almost expelled me just because I broke up with you."

"You can't blame her. I'd do the same thing for my kid."

"Wow. I guess both you and your mom are condescending bitches."

"I'm not a bitch."

"Right, sorry. Your mom's a condescending bitch, you are a condescending bastard."

Taylor scoffed. "You're just jealous that my parents are always going to be richer than your measly parents."

Now, do you see why I broke up with him?

Before I could freeze and then melt his pathetic little nose, Kris quickly spoke up.

"Taylor, you can't say that, your parents wouldn't have this establishment if her parents weren't faithful to them, and instead of rewarding them, your parents kicked them out of the BlankHouse. And your mom didn't expel Zia because she found out that she was the daughter of Lucy and Matthew Cage. Also, you are a condescending bastard."

Mrs. Mendev turned to Kris. "What was that, Kristabel?"

"Nothing at all, Mrs. Mendev. And please call me Kris. Only my grandfather called me Kristabel."

"But he isn't here because Noir-Petit devoured his fragile little soul. So we have to continue the tradition. Don't we, Kristabel?"

"The fucking bitch." Kris muttered.

"Anyways," Mrs. Mendev continued, "We have a new member. Everyone, please welcome Alan Kirsh Decker."

The hall doors opened and a boy with curly black hair and dark blue eyes stepped inside. He was about 5,10" and had a nice build. He wore a grey hoodie with matching grey sweatpants and white sneakers. He seemed okay to everyone else, but he had the smirk of a player, and I could just imagine him breaking all the girls' hearts in just two weeks. I hated him instantly.

"Hello everyone, I am Alan Decker. Kirsh Decker is my father." He glared at Mrs. Mendev. "I hope we can all be friends." Not all of you, though he mouthed, still glaring at Mrs. Mendev.

Mrs. Mendev forced a smile. "We hope so as well, Alan. Kris and Zia, you two and my son Taylor will take Alan to the library and tell him everything about this prestigious academy!"

Kris coughed into her fist. "Prestigious my ***."

I clamped my hands over my mouth, trying to control my mirth. The new boy Alan must have heard her as well because the edge of his mouth was twitching like crazy.

Mrs. Mendev glared at Kris "What was that, Kristabel?"

"Nothing at all, Mrs. Mendev."

Alan chuckled silently and Taylor glared at Kris.

"Anyways," Mrs. Mendev said. "Hop to it."

The three of us stood up and led Alan to the library.

///////////////////////////////IN THE LIBRARY///////////////////////////////////

After telling Alan everything about our 'prestigious' academy, Kris rushed to a shelf, brought out a rune, and tapped her head. Her shoulder-length hair grew all the way to her waist. She hastily tied it into a ponytail.

Alan turned to me. "How did she do that?"

"It's a growth rune," I said.

"A rune. Is it like a Norse rune?"

"Yeah, no. I hate to break it to you, but this isn't Valhalla."

He frowned in mock confusion. "Huh. And to think I mistook you for a Draugr." (A Draugr is a Norse zombie.)

I clenched my fists. "Why you little meinfretr-"

Taylor suddenly pushed me away from Alan.

"Pay no mind to that Venus flytrap. She enjoys being bitchy, especially towards men, but once you put her in her place, she'll learn to keep her mouth shut."

"Just what do you think you're-"

"Shush. When elite high-class men like me are speaking, little girls like you stay quiet."

"Shut up," Alan said.

Taylor turned to him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me the first time, shut up. Your parents obviously didn't teach you chivalry because that is no way to talk to a woman."

"How dare you-"

"I wasn't finished. Second of all, your mom owning an academy doesn't mean shit. It also doesn't give you the right to be such a condescending bastard."

He stood up and left. Kris whistled. "Damn, bro was tough. And savage. Definitely savage. And he used your line!"

Taylor wheeled on me. "You! This is all your fault!"

"But I didn't act out in front of the new kid, you did." I flashed him a fake smile.

"AAAAARRGGHH! I HATE YOU! I HATE THAT DUMBASS NEW KID! I HATE EVERYONE IN THIS SCHOOL!"

He stormed off.

"Jeez," Kris said. "That guy needs some serious therapy."

"Don't let Mrs. Mendev hear that."

"Not like I care. Wait. Where's Alan?"

"He left...shit! I have to find him! He might be lost!"

Alan wasn't lost.

I found him in the gym, beating the shit out of a punching bag. He had taken off his hoodie and he was drenched in sweat. He turned to me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"Do you need anything?"

"No...yes, actually. I wanted to thank you for what you did back there."

Alan grunted. "It's not a big deal. I don't like people who are full of themselves."

"Well, I actually hated you at first."

"Me? Why?"

"You called me a Draugr. And you look like a player."

"I was joking. And I'm not a player, even though I may look like one. I will never break a girl's heart."

"Good to know."

He kicked the punching bag and his foot pierced through the bag and got stuck. He yelped loudly.

I laughed. "What the heck?"

He pulled out his foot. "I have no idea how that happened. Will I get in trouble for this?"

"Hardly. Things get destroyed here all the time. I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned around to leave when Alan grabbed my arm.

"Uh, Zia?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we friends? I'm just asking out of curiosity, you don't have to be."

"Of course we are. And you'll need to meet Mrs. Mendev to let you train with the bots instead."

I left the gym and headed to my room.

A/N: Hey guys! This is the first official chapter of Blackout! If you enjoyed it, please consider following me for more.

P.S: I upload every Saturday. (No exact time.)

BYE 4 NOW!

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