As promised, they sent me back home. Rather Kai teleported me there, something he apparently could just do. The other boy, Chanming or something like that explained to me that he had the ability to manipulate flames. He kept a secret how he did it though, as did Kai.

Kai said goodbye to me in his mind, something I was getting sick of him doing. I didn’t want that voice of his seeping to the depths of my mind. Soon, I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this. Soon, they would see I’m not this Seeress person they think I am.

I was awakened by the sound of the morning call. I shifted up in my bed and rubbed my tired eyes. The holovision automatically as the morning call began.

Good morning Exo Planet Exotians. The time is currently five o’ clock. Report to your stations and may you be blessed by the Protectors of the Tree of Life.

I had only gotten a few hours of sleep.

Once it ended, the holovision turned off. I swung my feet off of the bed and ruffled my hair out of my face. Today would be another day at the bar since I had no classes today. Luckily that meant I had nothing to do until seven tonight. I stumbled out of bed and out of my bedroom to the kitchen. When I opened the door of the fridge, emptiness greeted me.

“How long has it been?” I asked myself out loud before closing the door promptly and going to get dressed. It seemed as though today I would have to go grocery shopping.

I had no idea what fate had in store for me that day. Nor what two certain Guardians were discussing with each other while I lived out a normal morning.

Chanyeol twirled his fingers, weaving a thin line of flame through his fingers. He played around with the flames, gathering them into one large ball after a while. He was getting bored of simply sitting around, waiting for something to happen.

Soon, the irritating silence of the hall got to him. He squeezed his hand into a fist, dissipating the ball of flame in his palm, “Nothing’s happening.”

Kai, who was leaning on his pillar on the other side of the room, looked over to Chanyeol, “The morning call went out only two hours ago. Of course nothing’s happened yet.”

Chanyeol stood up from his place on the floor, “Still doesn’t mean she can’t call for me right? I’m pretty sure she can if she wants to enough.”

Kai glanced at Chanyeol from his peripheral. Chanyeol was looking intently at his pillar. Chanyeol reached out and touched it, his fingertips gliding over the surface. Dust streaks were created, a sign the pillar had long since been unattended to.

“How did it feel?” Kai suddenly asked. Chanyeol turned around slowly, his fingers sliding off of the pillar as he turned. When Kai saw Chanyeol alert to him, he elaborated, “When she called you using your pillar, how did it feel?”

Chanyeol’s eyes went down to the floor and blinked a few times, remembering the experience, “It was such a rush. My veins felt like they were on fire and the adrenaline rush was amazing. It was as though I could do anything. I thought it was a dream, feeling that way. I had no idea she really called me.”

“Accidently called you.” Kai clarified.

Chanyeol focused on Kai again and gave him a pointed look, “Still called.” Chanyeol thought for a moment, “How did you know she was the Seeress?”

Kai got a sudden smile on his face, “Well she read my mind, pretty good evidence if you ask me.”

Chanyeol wasn’t convinced, “That’s it? Maybe what she was saying was all coincidentally coinciding with your thoughts. There had to be something else that let you know who she was.”

Kai’s smile faded and he looked down at his arms that were crossed against his chest. There was something else but should he tell Chanyeol? It felt as though it was something he couldn’t tell anyone. But why? The Guardians were not to keep secrets. Especially not such a small one as this.

“She touched me.”

Chanyeol rose an eyebrow as if asking “She did what now?”

“Before the train crashed, she grabbed me. She held onto me tightly as soon as the explosion happened. Sure, we both held her hands yesterday, but it was different from that. It felt like I was jolted to life, like freedom. As though I was finally allowed to fly.”

Chanyeol was about to point out Kai couldn’t fly but he stopped him before he could.

“You asked what else let me know she was the Seeress. That’s what told me.”

Chanyeol shrugged, accepting Kai’s answer to his question. Kai dismissed his previous thoughts after feeling relieved telling Chanyeol about the memory.

Suddenly, Chanyeol’s facial features became serious. He looked back at Kai with worried eyes, “Wait, we sent her home, right? The Council knew she would be on the train yesterday. If she’s walking around like nothing happened, won’t they try something? Won’t they ask questions about why she survived?”

Kai looked back at him, his expression not changing, “Information has a way of being altered.”

Chanyeol didn’t understand at first but then he let the words sink in. He soon saw the meaning behind Kai’s words, “You got Luhan to do it? You told him?”

“Was I not supposed to?”

Chanyeol shook his head, he wasn’t saying that, “No, it’s fine. It’s just, don’t you think he’s probably watching her right now?”

Kai got a smile on his face, amused at Chanyeol’s obvious questions, “Wouldn’t you?”

I sighed as I gathered the paper bag given to me at the grocery store. When I say shopping for groceries, it is more of a “I hope this time I actually get something good.” As usual, there were no beef products rationed to me. A few pieces of chicken to last me two weeks along with a multitude of vegetables and carbohydrates were given to me.

This is how living as an Exotian was. Each household, based on working and familial status, was given a list of items they could pick up at the grocery store every two weeks. Most families would get turkey along with chicken, while the single folks like me usually only received the scraps of chicken left over. The rich and well employed would get pork, beef, bread, vegetables, desserts, and fruits such as bananas and grapes not given to someone like me. There existed no unemployed person in Exo. Everyone had a job of some kind, deemed fit to them by the higher powers in Exo. Mine just happened to be waitress, which was appropriate considering my educational background.

In a way, there was only three types of classes in Exo. Mine was the bottom, the single worker with no family or rank 3. The next up, rank 2, were workers with families. Rank 1 were government officials or those who owned businesses. The sad thing is, I only had the ability to move from rank 3 to rank 2 and that is only if I found someone to marry me. The only way to get to rank 1 is to be born into it or to have connections to someone in rank 1, a connection which rarely happened. Ranking determined our importance to society in Exo.

Since I was born, the world had always been like this. I don’t see anything particularly wrong with it either. Everyone is working, everyone is eating, everyone should be happy right? As I contemplated my thoughts, I absentmindedly tried to slip my wallet back into my purse at my side as I waited for the crosswalk sign to light up with a walking blue man.

My wallet was out since I had left the grocery store so that I could show them my identification and receive my food. I was having a difficult time due to the brown paper bag in my arms getting in the way. The crosswalk changed from stop to go and I looked up before trying one last shove of my wallet into my purse and took a step forward.

I heard something hit the ground and turned back. My wallet had fallen down, just my luck. I walked back, avoiding the crowd as I weaved back to get it. I adjusted the paper bag at my hip and leaned over to get it when someone picked it up for me.

I stood up straight to see the good Samaritan who picked it up only to come face to face with a man in a cloak. My first instincts made me call out to them without thinking first, “Kai?”

The cloaked figure flinched, his posture straightening immediately. I focused harder, finding that this was not Kai at all. I could only see the man’s nose and lips but they looked different from Kai’s, they had more of a curve to them and the jaw structure was different as well.

I’m not Kai.

“Oh I’m sorry, my mistake. I thought you were someone else.” I apologized after reading his thoughts, or more like they flowed into me because my guard was down. I said my words in a way to make sure he didn't find out what I could do.

How does she know Kai?

I heard him ask himself. I didn’t answer and instead took my wallet which he held out to me. “Thank you.” I gave an appreciative smile before turning back around to the crosswalk. I quickly ran to catch up to the people who were all standing with me before. I didn’t want to be stuck waiting again.

Thankfully, I made it to the other side before the sign changed. Unfortunately, I bumped into someone who stopped walking suddenly. A part of me was annoyed but another part of me knew it was partly my fault. I waited for them to turn but all I got was a still and unmoving back.

I wonder if maybe I just somehow offended them, maybe turned their bad day into an even worse one by stumbling into them. As I started to open my mouth to speak, I froze.

No longer did I hear the mumbles of people talking as they passed, the sound of car engines driving past, in fact, I didn’t hear anything. I turned away from the person I had bumped into and looked around.

What I saw surprised me to the point that I thought I would pass out. Everything and everyone, they were all still. Not one thing was moving, it was as if time was paused. No, time is paused.

Among the silence, one clear voice drifted into my head.

Is she one of the Council? No, that doesn’t seem right, she wouldn’t be out here if she were. Who is she?

I turned towards where the voice was coming from and sure enough there was that cloaked figure from before. He reached into the fold of his cloak and whipped it back, pulling from his side a long sword.

Perhaps someone from the Council sent to eliminate us? It wouldn’t be the first time they tried something like this.

Was my luck so bad that every single cloaked man I met was a complete and utter psycho?

“Let’s not be too rash now.” I said with a pathetic smile as I backed away from the man. He stepped towards me, brandishing his sword as though he were some kind of warrior from olden times. He definitely knew how to use the sword he was holding, from his stance I could tell that for certain.

Anyone who threatens us must be disposed of.

“Hey wait, what are you doing?” I backed away farther, my eyes drifting around for a way of escape though for some reason I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to.

He launched himself towards me, his sword pointed directly towards the paper bag I still held to my chest. There was no doubt in my mind that sword would pierce both the bag and my body.

Council or not, she is a threat.

My eyebrow arched in annoyance and I yelled at him at the top of my lungs. No matter how badly I wanted to keep my secret, I wanted to live even more. “I’m not a damn threat, you blade wielding psycho!”

He froze, merely less than an inch before the sword penetrated my grocery bag. I took his moment of hesitation as a way to move to the side, away from the pointed edge of his sword.

“I’m not a part of the Council nor do I want to 'eliminate' you or whatever you just thought!”

His blade lowered and his stance went slack.

Did she just read my thoughts?

“Yes, yes I did. Now put the sword away, all right? And release everything from whatever thing you did to them.”

He didn’t do as I said and instead stood there unmoving. He reached up and I flinched, prepared to throw my grocery bag at him if he tried anything. He was reaching for his hood, and he pulled it down, revealing his face.

“You know Kai?” His voice was airy sounding, much more than I thought it would be.

I frowned. I did say Kai’s name earlier. There was no getting away from that by lying, “Yes.” I responded to him, lowering my grocery bag down after seeing he put his sword away.

“And you read my mind.”

“I did.” I rose my nose up at him in confidence, edging him on.

“Then you’re the Seeress of Exo?”

I laughed, “That’s what they’ve been calling me lately.” I was about to wave off the information and tell him to turn everything back to normal again when all of a sudden he bent down on one knee, the same way Kai and his friend, Chan something or other, did the night before.

“I apologize for threatening your life, your highness. My Seeress, I am Tao, a Guardian of the Tree of Life. I am pleased to be at your service. Use me as you please.” He lowered his head and a rush of sounds once more invaded my eardrums. Cars hummed to life and people continued walking as though nothing had happened. This man, Tao, must have had the ability to stop time, just as Kai had the ability to transport and his friend had the ability to control flames. Things were starting to get a little too weird around me, seriously.

People started eyeing him curiously as they passed. I focused back on him and found him still kneeling on the ground. “Hey, get up.” I whispered to him. He didn't respond and instead kept his head down low. “Get up, Tao!” I reached over and grabbed onto his shoulder, forcing him to stand.

He quickly took my hand from his shoulder as he stood and held it tight in between his own. He stared at me, not saying anything. I wasn’t sure why but he refused to let go of me. Now, people were staring at the two of us and laughing, thinking the two of us were a couple.

I yanked my hand from his grasp and pointed at him sternly as I narrowed my eyes, “I’m not your Seeress.” I my heel and started to walk away, only to feel a presence following behind me. When I turned, Tao was there, both of his hands in front of him as he obediently followed me as though he were a puppy. “Stop following me.” I told him with a glare.

He didn't falter in the least. When I turned to walk away, he merely started following again. Great, now I had some sword-wielding guy thinking I was his Seeress. Where the qualifications so easy to fill? All I had to do was read their minds and they knew?

He continued to follow me for several more minutes all the way back to my apartment. I turned to him and sighed. His eyes twinkled at me expectantly. I held my hand out to him and waved him to get closer. He gladly did and stood next to me now, “Hold this?” I asked him and not a second later he was taking my grocery bag from my hands. I opened the front door using my key and held the door open as I stepped inside, “Come in.” I told him. He stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the door with a frown on his face. “Come in.” I told him again, not sure if he heard me.

He didn’t budge an inch and instead looked down, “I cannot enter your room, your highness. I am unworthy.”

I raised my eyebrow at him, “What? Seriously, I’m not your highness, okay? You know what, just give me the bag, okay? Then, you should go home, alright?” I felt it necessary to ask him questions to make sure he was listening and not letting this Seeress thing get to his head.

He hung his head low and I started to feel bad for my words, I was basically telling him to go away after all. I breathed out and took the bag from his hands, slipping it inside before closing the door. He stared at me, wondering what I would say next.

“What can I do to make you believe I’m not your Seeress? What can I do to prove it?”

He shook his head, “There’s nothing you can do. You are our Seeress.”

“There must be something. Maybe you overlooked some people. Maybe there’s another girl out there waiting for you all.”

“There’s only you,” his eyes shone up at me with adoration reflecting in them.

I started to get aggravated, despite the puppy dog eyes he was giving me, “How can you be so sure, huh?”

He looked down, his expression solemn, “I can’t. But a Seeress hasn’t appeared for fifty years. Our generation of Guardians was supposed to have a Seeress, we were told she was born and for years now we have waited for her to come to us. The Guardians and the Seeress are connected, we are supposed to be with each other. Instead, our Seeress never came. The Council told us they couldn't waste time looking for a Seeress who didn’t come forward with her ability by herself. I may be wrong about you, but right now,” he reached out and took my hand into his, “I don’t want to be.”

I couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. They were filled with such longing I almost fell into them. He wanted to believe so badly I was his highness, the Seeress of Exo. This was most likely what Kai and Chan something felt. Still, I wasn’t this person. If I was, like Tao said, I would have came looking for them. Yet I didn’t. I had a normal childhood, despite the mind-reading of course. Sure, my parents died when I was young but Exo provided me with what I needed to sustain myself on my own with the help of my Aunt. Now that she was gone, passed away two years ago, I was on my own. Just a regular girl living her life, not some magical Seeress.

I tugged my hand away from him slowly, “I’m sorry. I can’t be what you want me to be.”

His eyes fell down to the ground and he clenched his hands together. He said nothing as he lifted his hood onto his head again. He looked up though I couldn't see the look in his eyes now.

I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you.

“You won’t be losing anything because you haven’t found anyone.”

His lips formed a thin line and he turned. He slowly walked down the porch steps of my apartment. I sighed at his slowly receding back. I felt bad but lying to them about who I was wouldn’t be fair to them.

I watched his back as he left, my eyes slowly becoming hazy. My mind got fuzzy and everything started to blur out of view. All I saw was that cloak, that cloak slowly walking away from me.

I felt my voice cracking out unconsciously, “No.” I murmured as I took a step down the porch, my outstretched fingers reaching for the cloaked back.

Everything else blurred out to white and the sounds around me went quiet. An odd pain surged it’s way into me, a familiar pain.

“No.” I said again as the back continued to disappear into the white light. My legs began to fail on me and I stumbled forward, onto the ground. White became black until soon, my teary eyes closed.

A/N: Hello everyone! Just dropping by to tell you all thank you for reading, subscribing, and commenting. We will be meeting the EXO members one by one in the chapters that follow! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.