Labelled by Blood

      Labels. I hated them. People always labeled each other to try and capture a person's "essence."       Nerds. Jocks. Boys. Girls. Funny. Weirdo.       Loser.       I rejected them all. They didn't mean anything. I was Alex. That's all that mattered to me. Well, that and Jesse. Jesse Hayes. He meant the world to me. And I meant the world to him. At least I was pretty sure. He was the only one who "got" me. Didn't care if I "broke the mold" or whatever. And I was headed to him right now.       The hallways of the school were flooded with kids. They talked about the soccer game coming up, whatever tests they passed or failed, and just plans for the weekend. The overwhelming smells of cologne, lip gloss, and musty paper filled the air and I almost gagged. I turned a corner and spotted the door. A smile broke across my face and heart thumped. Jesse would be out there with his football friends. I'd meet him down the block, like always, and we'd walk home.       As I dodged swinging lockers, lost freshmen, and the occasional teacher with a life, I stumbled. I fell to my knees and I heard something clank against the polished tiles. My stapler. That damned sky blue stapler. See, I got that thing back in middle school. My parents gave it to me and taught me how to use it. Because it wasn't some normal stapler, shockingly. It was a "vestige." That meant it could transform into a weapon. And this stupid thing could transform into a sniper rifle. Yep. One that fired pressurized water that could drill through, almost, anything.       I scrambled to grab it, but someone beat me to it. I froze and my eyes darted up. A girl smiled at me and handed it back. Her bangs swooped across her face and were pinned up to keep from falling. Kind of like mine. Her brother was right next to her and reached out a hand. His hair was a bit shorter than hers, but their resemblance was unmistakable. I took my stapler and took their hands in mine. They hoisted me up with the kind of care you'd give a glass decorative angel.       The twins. Ava and Evan Adams. I'd seen them around school. Everyone knew who they were, even if they tried to keep to themselves. They didn't know me. That was fine. I preferred being invisible.       "Thanks," I muttered, not wanting to make a big scene of all this.       "Anytime," Ava said, flashing a sweet toothy smile.       "I have to go," I said, stepping around them. "Thanks, again."       I trudged on, my hands were clammy. Why did I feel like I was asked to give a speech? I just said three things. And they were the sweetest people.       I heard Evan mutter something about a project. Looks like I was just another face to them. That's fine. I made it to the doors and pushed against the submissive bars. The doors swung open to a bright sun and chilly wind. I was mixed about the fall, and it was here. I wrapped my cardigan tighter around myself and kept going. Kids out here did usual teen things: played football, gossiped, or deserted school the moment they stepped outside. I was the latter.       I hopped down the small stone staircase, my shoe scraping the ground as I effortlessly kept my stride. I spotted Jesse with his football friends and he gave me a subtle nod. I smiled and waved. He smiled back and his friends all turned to see who he was looking at. I averted my gaze and walked on. I heard them ribbing him about "some girl."       The sidewalk was craggy but walkable. Duscadon, my new hometown, cared more for STEM than keeping a pristine look. I didn't really mind it, but it irked me a little when some of the sidewalks clearly needed love and care. But because of all that STEM focus, they had a lovely library that answered any and all questions I ever had. Especially about vestiges.       I stopped at the bus stop corner and waited. Jesse would be here soon, and I needed him. To vent. And because I wanted to shoot stuff today, and he wanted to practice his own vestige stuff. We'd have to go out the city limits and into the woods outside of town. I always had a six pack of soda with me for these moments, though. Clay pigeons would've been easier, but they were expensive.       Parker, another friend, couldn't join us today. He was visiting family in another town for the weekend, and couldn't get out of it. I really didn't know how to feel about Parker because he was kind of random. One day he walked up to us and just asserted himself into our dynamic. I was jealous of how confident he was and how he literally made friends out of thin air. He used to hang out with some edgy kids and I guess he had a falling out with them. He's mentioned some people named Sophia and Lucas and said they just turned out to be huge jerks. That's all I had on Parker.       My internal rambling was broken by a hushed, but still booming, voice. "Alex, what's up?"       I hid my face and smiled. My heart skipped a beat and I answered. "Wanna go out today? I need to see cans explode. I'm loaded up and we can load you up if you need it."       Jesse laughed, slapping a hand against my back and shaking his head. "Sure. But I can't stick around all day. So, no ice cream. And my strim's all charged up."       My mood deflated, but I only nodded. "Right. Parents and all that." At least we didn't have to stop by my parents. Strim is what we called our vestiges' fuel. Mine had charges, his was like a car's gas tank.       A small silence formed.       I bit my lip and then asked a question that's been eating away at me for a while, now. "When are you going to tell them?"       Jesse walked ahead of me. Our usual route. I followed. Right. He wasn't going to answer this. His parents hated the idea of him dating. They also hated the idea of me. The first time I met them, they outright asked me if I "was a boy or a girl?" I told them I didn't care what they called me, but they didn't like that answer.       But Jesse and I started dating anyways. Parker knew; he was the only one. Jesse didn't want anyone else knowing because it could "hurt how the school supports the football team."       I didn't let it bother me. Why should a label be what made me, me? Why did it matter? It didn't. Jesse sped up. I did, too. I had to start an awkward running-thing to keep up with him.       Cars blared their horns and the sun was already trying to set early. The chilly winds didn't help, but running did. We made it to the edge of town and Jesse paused, looking out into the world ahead. I took in a deep breath. The air was always cleaner, here. And the forest was just down the dirt road. I felt myself getting too excited. For whatever reason, Duscadon had a wall around the perimeter; it always made it feel like everything outside was dangerous or forbidden. I always felt right at home outside the walls.       Jesse pushed off the stone road leading from the city and we headed down. We reached a bridge that crossed a river. The water rushed with a gentle easiness and the sound was divine. The trees rustled and leaves were torn off their homes with a natural cadence. Our footsteps turned hollow as we moved over the bridge and regrounded ourselves. We were officially on dirt road, now, but it was so compacted that it didn't make much of a difference.       We followed the road down a ways before diving headlong into the forest itself. The trees towered over us and we needed to find our clearing. That wasn't hard. The trees around us blurred as autopilot took over until I walked into Jesse's firm arm. I snapped out of my thoughts.       Jesse shushed me. "Wait. Someone's over there." I gave him a dumbfounded look. He didn't look at me. "Scope it out."       I sighed, grabbing my stapler from my belt loop and tossed it up. With a beautiful and radiant shimmer, it came back down as my rifle. I beamed, but that was short-lived.       "Alex. Scope it out. Now." Jesse's words made my heart twist. Why did he sound so damn tense?       I nodded and held the scope up to my eye. I scoured our spot. A river that ran through the forest was in the distance and I spotted something. A tall, pale figure stood peering into the river. What was that thing? It didn't look human. Just humanoid. Jesse's vestige was activated. The sound that usually made me feel relaxed now made me jump and I jerked my head up to him. He still held his arm out in front of me, but now he waited for me to lock eyes with him.       "What do you see?" He asked.       I took a breath in and tried to think. How do I describe this thing? I raised my scope back up and the figure was gone. I pulled away from my scope and looked all around us. Jesse noticed and did the same. But it was just. Gone.       And we were left with the soft swishing of the trees and gentle whistling winds.