Happy Saturday, y’all! As promised, here is the first Inktober snippet of the month! I am hoping to start doing Instagram posts throughout the week next week, so keep your eyes peeled.

Today’s prompt word is Pressure. For today’s snippet I decided to do a continuation of the snippet I posted a few weeks ago called Thunderstorm. Hope you enjoy!

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The pressure in my head eased a little as I slowly sat up. I was still in the woods, but the scene had changed a little. The world around me was charred. The trees were smoking and most of them had fallen onto the ground. The ground was black and smoldering. The only part that was not covered in ash was where I was laying.

I looked around. I stayed still, listening for any sign of those who were following me. The shouts were gone. Slowly, I stood. At first my legs were a little shaky, but other than that I was unscathed. But that wasn’t really a surprise. Lightning doesn’t hurt me. Never has and never will.

That was kind of how I discovered my magic. When I was ten, I got struck by lightning. By the time my parents rushed over to help me, I was already up and playing again. Not a scratch on me. That’s when my parents told me about my magic and how it must be kept hidden. They took me out of school, moved me away from my friends. I was raised to disappear into a crowd. To be invisible. And now, everyone knows about me. They don’t even have to know what I look like. They just know that I am something to be afraid of.

I started walking deeper into the woods, making my way once again towards another one of my hiding places. This one they will never be able to find. Hopefully.

As I walked, I heard someone screaming in the distance. My first instinct was to run. But something about the panic in the scream made me pause.

There it was again! This time louder.

My body moved on its own, following the sound of the shouts. When I neared, I slowed, keeping myself hidden among the trees. I discovered a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a man lay on the ground. There was a large bear walking towards him. The man was screaming, trying to get the bear to run away.

Why wasn’t he running? He must be injured. Maybe from my blast.

My instinct kicked in again and suddenly, I was running into the field, calling to the magic that was within me. A blast of lightning flew from my fingers, barely missing the bear’s side. Roaring, the bear turned and ran in fear.

I came to a stop beside the man, watching as the bear ran off into the trees.

“You… you’re a…”

I turned to the man who lay on the ground and studied him. I took a step back. He wore the uniform from the special military unit created to hunt down magic wielders. My people. I wanted to run but then I noticed the large burn on his leg. A lightning burn. That was my doing.

I knelt beside him, studying the wound closer.

“You just saved me.”

My eyes met his. The man’s face was covered in dirt and ash, but his eyes, bright blue orbs that looked like lightning itself, were wide with amazement. I studied him, searching for any sign of fear. I found none.

We stared at each other for a moment before I turned back to his wound. It wasn’t bad, but he would need a doctor sooner than later.

“Why would you save me? I am your enemy.”

I looked back at the man. “My people are not the monsters you think we are.” I stood and started walking out of the field, my bare feet quiet against the grass.

As I reached the edge of the trees, the man’s voice made me pause.

“Thank you.”

I stood still for a second, letting those words sink in. I looked over my shoulder at the man, who had somehow made it to his feet. He stood and stared at me, his face covered in pain. I kept walking, disappearing into the trees.

Maybe these people weren’t the monsters my people thought they were either.