Have you ever wondered what it would be like to know how you are going to die? The exact details. The color of your shirt, the smells of the slight breeze coming from the southwest, the pale sky blue eyes of the little girl with red ringlets staring at you from across the street, the sound of the ambulance that will arrive too late, the full body pain pulsing through your body with each of your dwindling heartbeat. You know everything- everything except for when. Would you live in fear? Avoid wearing the shirt, lock yourself up in your apartment, avoid that exact spot. Fear. My name is Darian and I know how I’m going to die.
My first echo occurred when I was 10 years old. I was sitting on swing at a park near my house watching my mom change my little brother’s diaper on a plaid blanket under a tall oak tree on the edge of the park. The brat! At age three months he had already stolen my thunder- my crowd of adoring adults. I had enjoyed 10 years of being the center of attention; but not anymore, little Baxter had taken it all away from me. As I sat watching in envy, my head began to spin slightly. I grasped the chains of the swing so hard my knuckles turned white instantly. When I was able to focus, I could still see my mom and Baxter still but it was as if all color and reality had drained from them. That’s when I saw her: a girl a few years older than me walking straight towards me. Her hair was dark brown- just a few shades darker than my own- pulled back into a long straight ponytail that fell down her back. Her eyes were puffy from crying. When she sat down on the swing next to me, a sudden realization hit her face and she turned and looked straight at me. Then the next thing I knew my head was spinning and I was falling backwards off the swing. When I sat up, the world was back to normal. She was gone.
Three years later. A man, who had been a victim of medical negligence that caused him to lose a leg and his will to live, went into the offices of Stevenson’s Law Firm carrying a 9 mm. His case had been lost, a case that was a supposed to be an easy win. He demanded to see his lawyers. His lawyers were found, they took him took him to a conference room and tried to calm him down. That’s when he pulled out his gun and shot both lawyers in the head. When three other people came to see what had happen he shot both of them too along with everyone else in the office before ending his own life. In the end four people were severely injured, three died on the way to the hospital, and six people died in the office. Among the dead was my father. He was the first to die. He had been the lawyer who allowed this man’s case to be lost. It was his fault.
At the time I was an eighth grader at Juniper Middle School. That day at school I had an English test first period followed by Math, Band, and French. When lunch came around I sat with my usual group of friends at or usual table. I have cheese pizza with a side of ranch and apple juice. Right after the bell rang for us to go to class, my name was announced over the PA system; I needed to report immediately to the school counselor. Greif was all I saw in Miss Abigail Reese’s face when I step into the office. She barely got out the sentence “Your Dad is dead” before I sprinted out of the door, tears flowing from my eyes. I ran to the one place I knew I could be alone, the park. It wasn’t until I sat down on the swing that I realized. My hair was slightly darker, pulled in a long pony tail. When I turned to the swing next to me, I saw myself, ten years old, pale and really frightened. This is when I realized, this wasn’t just normal déjà vu.
Five years later. The national government started a secret group called the Search, a group selected exclusively for the finding of those who are “gifted.” They believe that if they were able to study the DNA of the people they took in, they would be able to make their own Specials. A super soldier, always one step ahead of his enemy. Unmatchable strength, perfect hearing and sight, superior intelligence, and the ability to see the future – unstoppable.
Luckily, the few like me have been able to see the Search coming. We were able to outsmart them. Until now. The game has changes. They have something we could’ve never expected. They have their own echoes, only they’re from a machine.
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