Mutant and Proud - Ch. 1 - Jason and the Souls

   I'm normal I guess. I mean, I'm your average kid. I play video games and listen to music and stuff like that. Let's see... Well, I'm an Aquarius. Um... I don't have any friends, but... I did have a girlfriend for a while. But she dumped me when she found out I was a mutant.
    Oh did I forget to mention that? Yeah, I'm a freak. My name is Adam, but I'm better known as Skybrine. I'm seventeen years old and an outcast. People hate me because I'm a monster. Some people just throw things at me, but most try to kill me.
   So I adapted. The only thing that really sticks out as an inhuman feature are my eyes; they're bright, glowing white. So I got a pair of really dark sunglasses and moved to a different town. You can still see the glow if you turn off the lights though, so I avoid that. My dad was a mutant too. He was killed by the humans years ago, but before he was, he gave me a neat amulet that glows whenever other living mutants are around. It had never glowed after my father's death... Until now.
    I looked around, but I didn't see anyone but myself. I was in the woods at night, looking for a good place to settle down. I'd heard stories from my old village about an old haunted house around here and I wanted to check it out.
   I was walking down an old, untraveled road covered in gravel. Little piles of leaves were everywhere, a few rotting logs lying by the side of the road which I expected to be from a tree branch that fell long ago or something.
    I glanced down at my amulet, which sure enough glowed a soft purple. I didn't get it. Why was it glowing when there wasn't anyone around? "...Hello?" I called out hesitantly. "Anyone there?" I took a few steps forward, looking all around. I made sure to include up as well, knowing a lot of mutants could fly. "I'm not going to hurt y-"
    I was cut off abruptly as I heard a gasp behind me and spun around just in time to see a boy fade into existence, gasping for breath. I took a step back in alarm as he bent over, his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. He glanced up at me, his pure white eyes glowing with fear. "Please don't kill me."
    "I won't..." I shook my head in wonder. "How...?"
    "It's um... It's sort of a power of mine." The boy said. "I can turn invisible if I hold my breath." The boy stared at me curiously. "Why aren't you gonna hurt me? Aren't humans encouraged to kill mutants nowadays?"
    "Well... That's mostly because..." I sighed and pushed my sunglasses up onto my forehead. "I'm not human either."
    The corner of the boy's mouth twitched upwards as he saw my eyes. "Brine." He said incredulously. "Jeez, what are your kind doing out of the winter woods?"
    "I never lived there. My family didn't like the cold." I held out a hand. "Skybrine."
    The boy shook it. "WitherMU." He said. He let go of my hand and crossed his arms. "So what's your not-freak name?" He asked. "Y'know, the one society didn't give you."
    I blinked. "...Adam."
    "Jason." He suddenly spun around, and his Wither-like shape morphed into a human form. He wore mostly black and dark blue, with two orange bats flapping around him. His hair was messy and light brown, and he wasn't all that tall. "I hate being in my Wither form... I only use it for self defense." He said, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. "So what're you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
    "Looking for a place to live." I answered. "I heard rumors about a so- called "haunted house" and thought I might check it out. I heard there was a ghost living there."
    "Oh yeah, that'd be me." Jason gave me a cheesy grin and waved. "Hello!"
    "Wha-? You're a ghost too?"
    Jason giggled mischievously as he reached around to his back pocket, pulling out a box of cigarettes. "Hehehe... No, but I'm glad my rumor's working. Keeps humans away. And if some punk actually decides to show up, I go Wither and turn invisible and appear all over the place. Scares the crap out of 'em every time." He stuck a cigarette between his teeth and held out the box to me. "Want one?"
    "Ah... No thanks." I said. I stared at him for a moment. "Why on earth do you smoke? Life's already dangerous enough for our kind."
    Jason smirked through the little white stick. "It's a metaphor, see." He said. He looked like he was about to go on, but then he snorted and pulled out a lighter. "Nah, I'm kidding. I figured I might be able to die faster or something... I dunno, I just got hooked." He said, shrugging mildly as he lit his cigarette.
     "Tuh." I smiled. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Jason. I'll see you around, I guess." I nodded to him and turned, walking away. Jason watched me go, his arms still crossed. "Ya know... It's pretty lonely at my place." I turned back to look at him. He smirked. "I wouldn't mind having a roommate."
     I blinked in surprise. "Seriously?"
     "Yeah, dude." He smirked. "Hope you like Ben Folds Five, though, cause you'll be hearing a lot of it."
     "You kidding? I love Ben Folds!" I exclaimed.
     Jason grinned. "Awesome. C'mon, I'll show you the place." He gestured for me to follow him as he walked off the path and into the woods. I smiled, biting my lower lip rather excitedly as he led me through the trees. We walked far shorter than I expected; only a minute or two at most. I couldn't see many landmarks due to the dark, which was even darker with my sunglasses tinting everything black. By and by, we eventually made it to the house; which to be honest didn't look all that haunted.
    There were no broken windows or dying vines creeping up the walls or anything like that. The front door seemed rather Halloween-ish, however. It was round at the top and looked to be made of some old wood with lots of cracks in it. Jason lead the way up to it and pushed it open. "I don't keep it locked." He said as he and I walked inside. "If anybody breaks in, I just scare the shit outta them."
    "Has anyone ever actually broken in?" I asked as I looked around the dark room.
    "Oh yeah, tons of times." Jason reached for a lamp and turned it on as he continued. "But once, one of them actually got me before they ran away screaming like a frickin' banshee. I still got a scar on my back from it."
    I looked around as my eyes adjusted to the light. The interior of the house was actually pretty cozy looking. Instead of being lit by creepy lanterns, the place was well lit by wisps of magic drifting around the place.
    "They're souls of the departed." Jason said a bit quieter, reaching out to a blue wisp. "That's my job, you see... Protect the souls of the dead while they repent for their sins and move on to the undying lands. To paradise." Jason looked at me and smiled lightly. "As a result I can see people's souls, even people with bodies. I can see your soul. I know exactly what sort of person you are."
    I shifted uneasily. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked.
    Jason shook his head. "No, you have a good soul. I wouldn't have invited you to live with me if I didn't like you." He turned away. "Anyways, the souls make some pretty neat lighting, so I like them. And they also freak humans out." He shot me and grin and I laughed slightly.
    He took in a breath and put his hands on his hips. "So, this is the living room." He said. There was an old television, and instead of a couch, what looked like at least a half dozen bean bag chairs. There was a radio/DVD player in the corner of the room. To the left of the door, the room opened into the kitchen, which was quite ordinary. There was a bathroom on the first floor, then a stairwell that led up to the second directly across from the door. Upon going up to that floor, Jason showed me three rooms. One was his, two were empty. The last room on that floor was another bathroom, this one with a shower. He gave me one of the spare bedrooms, and I requested that I go to bed now.
    He shrugged mildly and said he was tired as well, so we both hit the sack.
    I was starting to like this guy, to be honest.