The below is a section of the novel that I wrote for National Novel Writing Month. It isn't a stand-alone story, and it's probably not worth your time to read. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month so wordcount is valued above quality. This is a good thing, as it encourages people to actually finish a project. Nobody expects that the result will be ready for public consumption without heavy editing. If you want to read it for some reason you can view the whole thing in one place HERE although that's still totally unedited and terrible. You have been warned.
Cynthia,
My favorite sister in law! I am so sorry that I have not written before now, I promise that I have been keeping your brother safe. I may not always be the best wife, but I am great security. I know on the news they make Los Angeles look like a war zone, but understand that it looked like that also the last time we lost the NBA playoffs. That poor Lieutenant General Herman must be ready to commit suicide, they keep playing the quote of him saying the freaks would be cleaned out in a week over top of images of the riots. A week! Two months now and there are five times as many of us.
That is not a result of my bad English. There really are more of us each day. Across the country they are getting more and more strict and searching harder for freaks, and now that news has leaked that the scanners work worse the closer they are to Disneyland we have Freaks coming from all the way in northern California and in Arizona and Nevada. There is safety in numbers because the scanners now go off so many times a day that there are not enough people to bring us in. My dear friend Tamara and a man named Charlie rush down the streets setting them all off at once, and others search for the scanners and break them.
The rioting comes and goes, but we are not part of it. Well, that is maybe a lie. I know that Eddie has a large television now that he did not have before. Still, most of the riots are just people being greedy, or scared, or angry that the government keeps taking away rights. Some remember back when all phone calls were not monitored, when the internet was not so filtered, when cameras were not everywhere. They miss those times, and when they see armed soldiers on the street corners they get upset. The military has made the news say that the riots are all our fault, but the people who live here know better. And then they see how many of us there are now and they think there were always that many, and then they think we must have been living peacefully before the military arrived.
That is true, some, but not as much as they think. The news will not correct them though because the military does not want people to know that they have made things worse. This is fine by me. There have not been any other large attacks, just self defense against the army. I know you have seen the footage of the old man that was shot, I do not mind telling you that right after they turned off the camera I petrified the soldier who killed him. I am thankful that that footage was live so that they could not edit it in time, it is sad that the old man died but he has been a martyr, causing others to come to our side.
I see the signs more every day, people thinking we could help the world if we were allowed to. A United Methodist church even spoke out for us! I am used to religious people calling me a witch and saying I am damned to hell. People are still scared, but as they see us more and more using our powers in public they are not sure if they are more scared of us or the soldiers. Some have left the city but really it seems like very few. Life is going on as normal here on the good days. On the bad days, when the riots start up, the soldiers are so busy stopping looting that we can go out on the streets in a different art of town and march, demand protection under the law. This will never happen, but it feels good just to march with others and yell.
The other thing I have been doing is going fishing. Your brother hates when I do this, but it is fun and for a good cause. My friend Michael cannot be hurt, bullets bounce off of him and even gas does not knock him out. He swallows a tracking device and he walks over to a checkpoint where the soldiers see he is a freak and tell him to get down on the ground. He does everything they ask, and they take him to the command area while we follow along behind. Once we see where the command area is we take the whole place apart, smashing all of their equipment. Michael is never hurt and thinks it is a wonderful game, so then the next week we do it again. I know after the second time they could tell it was a trap but they still had no choice other than to take Michael away.
Yesterday was the fourth time, and they locked him in a van and drove it off the pier into the ocean so that we had to go fishing for real. They watched the van as it filled with water, and they never saw Rodriguez and Tamara go in from underneath and pull Michael out. They waited a long time, watching that empty van. Tamara and Michael are both really glad it happened - Michael learned he can hold his breath for as long as he wants, and Tamara learned she can fly underwater which she says is incredible. I have a fantastic plan for next time we go fishing, I will tell you all about it if it works.
Sooner or later if catching us gets hard enough maybe they will just stop. One of these days Michael will walk up to them and they will wave him away, tell him to go home.
I should go now, they want me to go on the march with them in case any soldiers start shooting. When Eddie throws them or Vance shoots fire at them they just use more bullets, but if I turn a few into statues it seems to scare them silly and they lose their nerves. I take that as a compliment. Of course your brother is always nervous because he knows I need to almost touch them to use my ability, but I am an excellent dancer and have protection around me always. Oh! I nearly forgot, I spray painted one of the soldiers silver and put a hat in front of him so he looked like a street performer. He made ten dollars yesterday! I am so proud of my little sculpture.
Your brother is talkative as ever - he says "hi". I know your mother is not talking to either of us but please let her know he is safe if you can. I can understand her fear. She would feel better if he did not marry a freak, and I would feel better if he had a power of his own to protect himself. Still, not to embarrass you with thoughts of your brother but in the bedroom I think maybe he has powers after all.
Love,
Jezebel
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