She opened up the apartment door and slumped in, with me following behind. There was tension between us, which happened every time we left for a checkup on the baby. We can’t exactly go to a professional doctor, though, so my uncle Shane who was a nurse a few decades ago was the next best thing.
“We can’t keep this up any longer. I’m surprised we managed to keep you from the eye of the public for this long. The second people see you with that baby, they’re going to know that you’re carrying an Outlier.”
Rose sat down on the old and broken down couch in the living room, keeping a hand on the top of her protruding stomach. “We’ve gone this long, we can go for a few more weeks. I’m not letting the government tell me whether or not my child’s life is valid.”
“I just want what’s best for you, Rose! Haven’t you been hearing what the doctors have been saying? Pregnancies between people of two different Perceptions have no good outcomes; that child is most likely going to be stillborn, and there’s a chance it’ll take your life with it.”
She sat up from her spot on the couch and started to pace. “Why do you think we’re keeping this a secret? If anything is going to hurt me, it’s going to be law enforcement for me carrying a baby of two Perceptions. Don’t you remember what happened to Holly? Her husband was a Scarlet and she was an Amber, and they tried to have children too! That baby was completely healthy! Do you know what they did to her?”
I shook my head. I knew Margaret was gone, but I didn’t know the circumstances.
“They took her and shot her! Her husband saw it with his own eyes! The only reason the government doesn’t want children between two different Perceptions is that they wouldn’t be able to control the outcome!”
I slammed my open palm down on the coffee table. “I don’t care! You’re a Scarlet and you control fire. I’m an Amber; I control light. The technology that’s been created to genetically encode these abilities are extremely unpredictable. It would-”
“What would it do?! Give me an answer! You haven’t given me any real evidence!”
   I looked up at Rose. My bright red eyes, special only to Scarlets, started to water. “I don’t want to have you taken from me, Rose! Even if the child were to live somehow, it would be devastation! Something beyond our control! Rose, I love you, and I think it would be the safest option to… you know…”
She stepped up to my face, our noses almost touching. “Say it,” she murmured. “Say the words. I dare you.”
I backed away. Somehow, she managed to intimidate me, even though I’m 5 inches taller than her and double her weight. I opened up my mouth as if to say something, but no words came out of my mouth. After staring me down for what seemed like minutes, Rose turned away and headed into the bedroom doorway on the other side of the small cramped apartment.
“I’m going to bed,” she mumbled, closing the door and locking it behind her. It was only 5pm, but I knew that Rose wasn’t coming out of that room until tomorrow. I felt guilty, knowing that this was entirely my fault. I love my child, but I’ll be honest; I love Rose more. I don’t want to lose the one woman who gave me hope in this overbearing and terrifying reality I lived in.
Many years ago, somehow, scientists in Europe perfected DNA technology. They were able to bind human DNA with nature, and something unreal emerged. The Perceptors. People who had complete control over a certain element, who were able to create and manipulate it, and who could pass the abilities onto their children. Years of testing claimed that only 3 Perceptions were viable; Amber, the controlling of light, the Scarlets, those who conquer fire, and the Columbians, the conquering of water. Those same scientists, government officials, also claimed that a pregnancy between 2 different types of Perceptors would kill both the mother and child. For generations, the Perceptions stayed completely seperate, never daring to mix and diverge from government rule.

And then, there was Rose.

I knew from the moment I met her that she was different. She was so anti-authority, willing to go against the grain and forge her own path. Almost 9 months from today, we created what was to be a living, breathing protest, showing the beauty in distinction. She remains strong in the face of pressure, and I’m failing her.
I plopped down on the cheap leather sofa and closed my eyes, starting to lose myself in my thinking. As my consciousness started to fade, I thought that maybe, just for a moment, I could hear Rose’s muffled sobs through the flimsy walls of the apartment.

“Jericho!”
I snapped awake instantly. I felt like I hadn’t slept in ages, even though I was at peace moments ago. I looked up at the large grandfather clock by the kitchen, which at this point could be considered antique, and realized it was 2:30 in the morning. I was in a bit of a daze, when I heard the cries again.
“Jericho! Please help me!” Desperation echoed through the dinky little penthouse. It took me a moment to realize that the cries were coming from the bedroom, and that the voice that seemed so in pain was Rose’s. I almost bolted across the room and to the bedroom door, and jiggled the doorknob aggressively. It was supposed to be locked, but the force behind my hand more or less broke the lock and the door slid open.
Rose was gripping the side of the wall near the bed, trying to balance herself. She looked as if in great agony, making a twisted face that almost looked like a mask. She was trying to walk, but her own knees couldn’t carry her.
“Oh my god! Rose, what’s wrong?! What’s going on?!”
She looked up at me, as if she didn’t realize I was there. “Oh- Please, I think-” She lurched over in torture. “-I’m having her!”
I ran to her side to try to help her. “Oh, no! I mean, are you sure?! The due date isn’t for another few weeks!”
She raised her palms in the air with great struggle, and I could see her veins in her arms pop. Flames flickered out of her palms, radiating an unsettling orange glow to the room. I’ve seen her use her Perception every single day of the past 4 years, and she never looked as pained as she did right now. She looked me in the eye, the flames under her face casting dark and ominous shadows on her face.
“That doesn’t matter,” she said through clenched teeth. “We need to go now.”
I wrapped my arm around her and helped her hobble out of the bedroom, out of the apartment, and to the car, the entire
time being accompanied by her grunts and yelps of pain. She
collapsed into the passenger seat, huffing and puffing and trying to keep her composure.
I slipped into the driver’s seat and slid my keys into the slot. As soon as I turned, the sound of the cheap little engine murmured to life, barely staying afloat.
I pulled out of the drab apartment complex and sped down the highway as best as I could, going multiple miles over the speed limit. There was nothing except for us, the road, and the darkness that lay around us. It was a silent, starless night, with the only sounds being the little putter of the engine and Rose’s painful cries. It almost scared me, seeing someone as strong and bullheaded as Rose being brought down to a weeping miserable mess. I was almost flooring it, trying to find the nearest hospital, but I knew it was a stretch. The only hospital within 40 miles was South Constantine, and they’re not known for great reaction times, either. I was devoured in worry and fear and a mix of other emotions I can’t even recognise, when I was suddenly brought back by one thing; the sight of red and blue lights flashing behind us.
Rose looked behind us and immediately got furious. “I don’t have time for this!” she shrieked. I knew how stubborn the police could be, and that they wouldn’t stop until I pulled over. I turned to the side of the road, on the edge of what seemed like a cornfield. Rose looked at me, her eyes wild and bloodshot. “What are you doing?! Keep driving! Now!” I didn’t say a word, trying to not look her in the eye.
  The police vehicle came to a halt right behind us, close enough that I was a bit worried it would hit me. After a few seconds of staying dormant, the officer opened her door and stepped out. She came slowly and intimidatingly, but eventually made it to my window. She knocked on it, instructing me to roll it down.
  “Officer Ashley Hall,” said the officer, looking around the vehicle. “Do you have any idea how fast you were go-”
   Rose struck the glove box hard enough that I was surprised the airbags didn’t pop. “This is lovely and all, but-” She released what seemed to be an involuntary yelp. “-but this baby is coming right now!” The police officer looked up at her, and the facade of brashness and coldness became a look of concern.
   “Oh! I’m, uh- You’re not gonna be able to get to a hospital in time from out here, but, uh, I might be able to help, maybe?”
   “I don’t care, just someone help me!” Rose shouted, her voice cracking. The police officer ran around to her side of the car and opened the door. I opened my door and stepped out, thinking I might be able to help her.
   “Okay, so, uh, how’s this gonna work? Wait…”
   “Hurry up! It’s coming!” Rose squeaked. She started to get out of the car, hanging onto the officer’s shoulder for dear life. She lied down on the hard stone street, trying to get into a proper position.
   “Are you sure you wanna lay there?! Do you want, like, a towel or something!”
   “I don’t care! It doesn’t matter! Just help me!”
   The police officer got down low to the ground, and looked up at me. “Hey, Big Yellow, you mind giving a little bit of help?” I shook my head and lifted a single hand toward Rose. I could feel the pressure in my veins, rising through my body. It’s been awhile since I’ve used my Perception, but there’s always only been one way I can describe it. First, you feel everything, the pain, the pleasure, the discomfort, and then it feels like nothing, as if it were always there. The pressure finally reached my hands, and light poured out of my palms, illuminating the surroundings like a beacon.
   “Perfect,” said the officer. She started to give directions to Rose, but I felt the need to turn away. Rose was having this baby, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to take the torture and agonizing look on her face. Her screams grew louder and louder, until there was silence.
   “Oh,” murmured the officer. “It’s one of them.” I turned around to see the officer holding a small chubby looking baby in her arms, small cries coming from the child. Her eyes were closed, and the officer had a very stern look on her face. Rose reached for the little girl and held her in her arms on the cold rocky ground. The officer stepped away slowly. “You know, I kind of liked you people. You seemed like a wholesome couple with their priorities straight.”
   The officer pulled her glock from her belt inconspicuously, and I wasn’t sure what was happening. “But then… This thing. This… obscenity. It’s disgusting. People like you who make things like this have no place in society.” Before I could really understand what was happening, or what she was talking about, she had her pistol raised, pointed at Rose and the baby. “I don’t want to do this to you, but I don’t have a choice. It’s time to erase this hurricane and the deviant it calls a mother.” Instincts kicked in. I ran in front of the officer with my arms spread wide, trying to protect my wife and child. I expected to die, to feel pain, to hear a blast, but nothing came about. I opened my eyes slowly to see the officer frozen in place, not moving. She was shaking, as if paralyzed and trying to move.
   I backed away and turned around to see Rose cowering in a ball, wrapping herself around the child. The baby held its little chubby hand up towards the officer. I bent down to help them, and as the child lowered her hand, I could hear the officer fall to the ground and the metallic thump of her weapon against the pavement. She seemed unconscious, possibly hurt, but that wasn’t of my concern. I opened up my arms, gesturing for Rose to hand me the baby. I looked down at the small, weak, helpless being in my arms. She opened her eyes, and looking back at me were the most beautiful bright orange eyes that seemed to illuminate when you looked at them. She was beautiful, and when I looked at her, I felt inclined to nurture her, to protect her, and… I wasn’t sure what, but I did realize one thing.
   Everybody has something that makes them think they’re unique. A physical trait, a special quirk. Hundreds of people go around every day with the exact same quirk or trait or whatever small insignificant thing they find, thinking they’re different. This little baby in my arms, however, is truly unique. She’s not like anything this world has ever seen, or will ever see again. Little did I know she would be the start of a rebellion, purging us of our sins of the past.

   Her name is Kana, and Kana controls something entirely new; people.