Superheroes: reading creative fiction; Escape 4

Escape

1. Catori gritted her teeth and gripped the arms of her chair. Her hair whipped and tangled around her face as Omari ran behind her, pushing her chair down the long, windowless hallway of the rehabilitation center. Fear, shame, and anger wrestled within her as door after door passed by in a blur. Why? Why had she taken the chance? She’d been so sure that flight had been her power, the supernatural ability assigned to her at birth.
2. Stupid! her mind screamed. So stupid to take such a chance—to just jump like that. Now you’ll never have a chance to test out any other superpowers. What if your power was speed? What if it was stealth? You should have waited. You shouldn’t have jumped.

3. Omari had been quick to try and calm her after the accident. He’d been by her side every single day here in the rehab center as she’d struggled to heal after her fall. But it was no use. It had been months now, and she still couldn’t move her legs. She may be immortal, but what good was it anyway? She’d wrecked her body forever.
4. “There are other powers, Catori,” Omari had whispered. “All isn’t lost.”
5. But it was no use. She was nothing more than a hindrance now, slowing Omari down—she would compromise every mission, including this one. She’d been shocked to see Omari standing at her door when the attack began. She wondered why he’d even come for her. What good could she do?
6. A screeching sound from outside snapped Catori’s mind back to the present.
7. “Leave me,” she shouted up at Omari.
8. “I’m not leaving you!”
9. “Leave me!” she repeated. “I’m no help. Leave me here, and save yourself before it’s too late.”
10. “I said no!” shouted Omari, the earth quivering and quaking as the sound waves bounced and rolled. The ground heaved and cracked ahead of them, and Omari skidded the chair to a stop on the shattered tile floor beneath them.
11. “Audible density,” whispered Omari, looking down at Catori. “My power is audible density!” Omari’s voice began to rise in excitement. “Did you see that? The sound waves from my shout actually shattered the ground!”
12. “Well, what do you know,” Catori said with a smirk. “That big mouth is going to be handy after all.”
13. The two laughed for only a moment before a strange expression crossed Omari’s face.
14. “What’s wrong?” Catori asked.
15. “I—I can’t see,” Omari answered, his voice high and frightened. His eyes darted back and forth, as though desperately trying to retrieve the sight he’d had moments before.
16. “What do you mean you can’t see?” Catori asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

17. “The lights—the Gobbles must have gotten to the power source. They’ve cut power to the building.”
18. Catori looked around. Things did look a little different. Not terribly different, just a little fuzzy, maybe a little greener.
19. “I can see,” she said.
20. “How?” Omari asked. “It’s pitch black.”
21. “I don’t know,” Catori said, her eyes darting around the hallway. “But I can see.”
22. Catori’s mind began to race, her eyes blinking, jumping from space to space in the narrow confines of the hallway of the rehab building.
23. “We’ve got to get out of here.” Omari’s urgent, frightened voice jolted throughout her.
24. “Close your eyes,” she called up toward him.
25. “What?” Omari asked.
26. “Just do it!”
27. Catori watched Omari’s face, careful to match the lowering of her lids with his.
28. “Now tell me what you see,” she whispered as she opened her eyes.
29. Omari’s breath caught, his surprise hanging in the air as his eyes darted around the room.
30. “I can see,” he whispered. “Catori, I can see with my eyes closed!”
31. “That’s because I have night vision and telepathy,” said Catori, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. “I can see in the dark, and I can transfer that vision to you through my mind. Looks like you’re finally going to get a chance to see things from my perspective.”
32. “Catori, you’re a genius,” he said, relief flooding his voice.
33. “You can sing my praises later,” Catori said as she shifted her gaze down the long, darkened hallway. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve got a city to save.”

Practice questions

Part A