Rain, Rain, come my way, wash these bloody tears away...

So this is how it ends...

“So this is how it ends….” Kadri thought as she slipped for the thousandth time on wet snow. She had been running through the cold and lifeless forest in the country that was once her home, Estonia, for what seemed like days. Her blue-streaked black hair was almost frozen solid, and the once-thick eyelashes around her bottle-green eyes were reduced to brittle little lines, with only about four remaining.
She tried to get up, but he metal heels on her knee-high lace-up boots cracked and shattered. She fell on her face into a pile of cold wetness. If only her powers were of heat and not of ice, she could save herself. “If only Akina was here….” Her friend had fiery powers and could have saved her. She could feel the cold snow seep through her faux-fur skirt and cape, her arm-length gloves and broken boots. Her blood was cooling, congealing, freezing. Her lungs had stopped functioning properly hours ago, and she wheezed and sputtered with every half-breath. “I’m going to die here…” She couldn’t even remember how she had gotten here in the first place….
Suddenly Akina appeared in a burst of red flames.
“TRIBAL DANCE POWERS!!” She yelled, and zebra-printed flames shot from her heels and upraised hands, melting every drop of snow and thawing Kadri.
“Akina…you-you saved…my life!” Kadri sputtered. Her lungs had started to operate properly again, and she could feel herself warming up.
“Duh. What else are friends for?” Akina smiled, her brown-black hair shining in the light from her powers. “Now c’mon, Kadri. We’re goin’ home.”

Starling's skip day

“STARLING!!!! YOU’LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!” Robin, my mom, yelled at me this morning.
“I know, mom! I’m out the door already.”
“Oh, no you’re not. Take your sister to the bus stop!”
I groaned. “But mom, she’s fourteen, she can walk herself. Kestrel’s a big girl now.”
“Yeah mom! I can walk myself. I don’t need the freaky Goth girl to muck up my reputation anymore.” Kestrel was the blond, perfect little prep my mother adored. I hated her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, my little Kessie! I had no idea she was hurting your perfect little crystal image, sweetie. Fine, Starling. Looks like you don’t have to walk her after all. Now go.”
See how quickly my mom changes personas? “I love you too, mom.”
I got the heck out of there, into my spray-paint black Accord, and on the highway in about 30 seconds.
I took the long way so I could pick up my friend, Snow, at her house. In case you can’t guess, we’re not going to school.
“Finally! Where you been, Star? I been wait’n for like, 20 mins, man.” Snow was, well…snow-colored. She had white-blond hair, icy eyes, and was really pale. Me? Well, I’m…pale, like her, but I don’t resemble my namesake. I’m more raven-colored than starling-colored.
“Mother.” I needed no other explanation. Snow knew my bird-obsessed mother hated me. I was an ‘accident’, by the way. Speaking of accidents…!
“AAAHHHHHH!!!!”
“OHMYEFFINGGOD!!!!!!!!!!” We were on a collision course for a huge semi tractor-trailer!
CrUncH. Was that the car or me?
It was the car. We were practically swimming in what was either a lot of blood, or a lot of ketchup. Hopefully it was the latter.
About an hour later, we were pulled out of our ketchup-filled car (we had hit a ketchup truck) and swore to never ditch again.