2010

Falling.

It was a feeling that almost everyone knew. Some were scared of it, others found it thrilling. Some even found it calming. Then there was always that mixture of those feelings, and you never knew which one overpowered which. Maybe if you were cliff diving, and at first, you were scared to do it in the likeliness it could kill you, but when you jumped, you were no longer afraid, and you felt the thrill and the excitement and the calmness when you touched the water, knowing you were safe.

Maybe that's what Samara was feeling now, as she stared down at the pool below her, everyone who was so drunk they couldn't see straight cheering for her to jump.

It's not like she didn't want to do it. She wasn't afraid of the action. She was just afraid of the reaction. Mainly from her peers. She knew once she landed that and everyone cheered, then they would want to do it.

And what if someone wasn't careful? She wouldn't want that on her conscious. She'd basically be the reason someone fell and snapped their neck. How would she be able to live with that?

Her hands shook with a crazy, over drunk adrenaline as she hurled herself forward, her stomach and heart throwing themselves to her throat as she brought her legs to her chest, sucking in such a deep breath that it almost made her choke.

Her eyes squeezed shut as her ass hit the water, and everything fell silent as the water hit her ears.

She stayed under for a moment. Maybe scaring people into thinking she fucking died, and it would end the party there, no more lives would be lost.

But her head bobbed up and she flung her hair out of her face, screaming so loud with a giant grin that everyone, in turn, yelled their cheers.

Her boyfriend wrapped an arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek in a drunken manner, smiling at her with such love that it could have made anyone melt. She jumped out of the way as a boy her age jumped from the roof, popping up and cheering.

More people followed, which then slowed down as people started to crowd the pool, either naked from being so drunk, or fully clothed and not in their swim suits.

Samara was one of the fully clothed people, her shorts no doubt being ruined by the chlorine along with her Beatles shirt.

She could finally call herself a college graduate. Even at the age of 25, she was glad to be out of school. Now she could finally be a lawyer, and move back to Hell's Kitchen.

"You have that look on your face." Her boyfriend yelled over the music as Sam looked up at him.

"What face?" She asked before frowning, realizing that the question made no sense. "What look?" She corrected as her boyfriend frowned.

"That look you always have when you're thinking about the future. More-so when you're thinking about moving back."

"Do we have to have this conversation... now?" She slurred out, swimming towards the edge of the pool, rubbing her shoulder in pain. Maybe she didn't land in her ass?

"Yes, now. Because I want to spend my life with you here in Queens! Where it's somewhat safer and not a shit hole like Hell's Kitchen." He followed Sam out of the pool, watching as she snagged someone else's clothes.

"We've been dating for two months, Ben. I'm probably not going to be with you very long." She admitted as she stripped down to her underwear in front of everyone, putting on the dry clothes.

"Come on, Sammy. You know you don't mean that." He frowned as she squinted, nodding her head from side to side.

"Buuut I kinda do. I don't exactly do commitment. Unless you're secretly an Avenger, or you're just a superhero or vigilante in general. Plus, after this, I plan on growing a law firm in Hell's Kitchen and making big money, so I won't be doing much of the dating thing until I'm old and retired." She grabbed her jacket as Ben scoffed at her.

"Seriously? So what, you want to break up now, or the day you decide to move back to Hell?" He crossed his arms as he watched her leave the house, walking down the stairs with her.

Sam turned to him, a soft, genuine smile on her face. "Really sorry, Ben. Truly, I am. Our time together was great. Not to mention all that sex, too, but really, it just won't work out. I mean, you want to stay here in Queens, or move to Florida, and I'm more into all of the four seasons." She patted Ben's shoulder as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're fucking kidding, right?"

Sam only shook her head as she waved for a taxi. "Maybe we can be a friends with benefits thing. That sex was really good. See you around." She slapped his face gentle and got into the taxi, leaving Ben behind.

Sam sighed. "Thank god. Been wanting to dump him since we first slept together. God awful sex." She told the female taxi driver, who looked at her through the mirror.

"Where ya heading?" She asked in a dead tone, and Sam groaned again, rubbing her shoulder since she couldn't reach her back.

"Golden Hotel." She answered through gritted teeth.

"You alright?" The driver asked as Sam only groaned again.

"Fine. My back is killing me."

"Was it the bad sex?" She joked with a sly grin as Sam chuckled, shaking her head.

At some point, Sam wished it was the bad sex. But this back pain was excruciating. It felt like something was burning inside of her, and trying to cut its way out of her.

Sam had practically leaped out of the taxi, throwing a couple 20s at her before running to her hotel room in pain, sobbing as she fell to the ground in her bathroom.

"Shit..." she groaned, coughing in pain as she pulled herself up to face the counter. "What the hell...?" She wiped her face, a moan of pain escaping her again as she slowly took off her shirt, turning to face the wall then look at her back.

A scream left Sam as her hand reached for her back, eyes widened in horror as she stared down at the two long lumps wiggling around on her back.

"What the fuck?! God I must be really drunk.." she prayed, questioning what on earth was on her back. And how something like that was even possible.

She had heard of mutants before, but they hadn't been around in decades. Not since the extinction of them.

Sam covered her mouth as she forced down the puke that wanted to leave her stomach, shaking her head as she searched for anything that could slice skin.

"Razor blade? Who the fuck just leaves razor blades in the bathroom that aren't even connected to an actual fucking razor?!" Sam shook her head as her back faced the mirror again and she paused as the razor blades corner touched her skin.

"Okay... okay... god dammit." She cried out before taking in a sharp breath. "123–" Sam let out a loud groan as she sliced into her skin, blood trickling down her fingers and back as she shoved a clean towel into her mouth, stifling her screams.

She was really blaming every God to exist at that point.

Sam opened her eyes slowly, another muffled scream as she saw something bloody and white trying to escape out of the small incision in her skin. She dropped the towel from her mouth.

"Holy SHIT." She yelled, shutting her eyes tightly as she felt the wing start to pry itself out of the hole, and Sam whimpered in pain, dropping the razor as she felt the other wing do the same, yet it sliced itself out.

Sam crumpled to the ground as the wings shot out, covering her mouth and getting blood all over her face as she sobbed, now regretting everything that had led her to this point.

But if she had changed anything, would this still have happened?

She felt like she had been laying there for hours, turning her head to see the wings flapping around and getting blood all over the walls. "Shit..." she groaned, crawling to the bathtub.

Sam slithered her way into the tub and turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up before turning the shower on, letting the water trickle down her and this new pair of wings.

"How am I going to live like this..." she asked herself, praying that the wings would just disappear back inside of her.

They twitched for a moment, and a strange feeling, a bad feeling snuck it's way inside of Sam. And when she turned her head to look at her back, she watched the last feathers of her wings get sucked back inside of her, and her wounds healed up like scars, or zippers.

Sam's eyes widened in astonishment, along with fear.

Had she been the last mutant alive? Possible, but their powers showed up at puberty. Late bloomer? It was a possibility.

But if she wasn't a mutant... than what the hell was she?