Flash Fiction Friday: Danger
Prompt: You are a teen with the ability to measure how dangerous people are in a scale of 1-10 just by looking at them.
A normal child would be a 1 while a trained man with an assault rifle would be a 7.
Today you noticed an unassuming new kid at school measuring at a 10.
I knew that I shouldn’t be staring, but it was difficult. For as long as I could remember I had never seen anyone more dangerous than a five. Even that had only been once when a new report had been covering a school shooting. It had been a teen with a automatic weapon.
All that was before today. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the glittering ten that floated above the new kids head.
He didn’t look like much. He was an average high school student with chin length blond hair and bright blue eyes like clear water. There was a laid back feel to him, but that didn’t stop my stomach from clenching. It felt like ants crawling underneath my skin.
The feeling turned into relief when the bell rang. I jumped up from my seat and raced to the door. I ignored the other students as I made my way through the halls. My only focus was to get as far away from the new kid as possible.
“Hey wait up!” I froze, a shiver running up my spine. I turned around and immediately my gaze went to the glittering number ten. I only looked away once the boy was in front of me.
“Sorry, I noticed you staring and thought I’d introduce myself.” He held out a hand. “The name’s Daniel.” I didn’t move to take his hand, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He let it drop, an easy smile on his face.
“I’m Carissa,” I muttered, hoping to end the conversation. I shifted to the side, glancing around at the emptying hallway. I was looking for a way to escape, when I noticed something odd further down the hall. It was a guy I recognized from my gym class; Kevin I thought for a moment. He was standing there, staring at Daniel and I, his dark eyes narrowed. I gaze went to the glittering number above his head, and I felt the blood drain from my face.
Without thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed Daniel’s hand and began dragging him down the hall. I ignored his cries of protest, trying to find someplace more crowded as my mind raced.
“Hold on a minute!” Daniel ripped his wrist out of my hold with enough forced that I stumbled into his chest. I pushed myself away, and looked over his shoulder. Kevin was following us, he pace even and unrushed. I watched as the number above his head shimmered for a momen, before it changed again.
It was now sitting at a seven, and it was rising again.
Daniel seem to notice that I wasn’t paying attention to him. He turned, following my gaze when his face hardened. He muttered a curse under his breath, before grabbing my wrist dragging me along this time. I blinked a few times, staring at the back of his head.
“Can you see them too?” I wasn’t sure what made me ask, but it seemed pretty obvious that something was going on. Daniel only turned his head enough to look at me, before nodding his head. My heart rate speed up a little. I didn’t have time to think about it anymore as the exit for the school appeared before us.
Well, so much for staying under the radar.
