Continuing

I suppose that's mean, starting my story midway through, but I had to grab your attention somehow!
My name is Nan, well it's actually Annanya but would you admit to having a name like that if you were me? I'm sixteen and should be in high school going through several crushes a year and pretending to care about schoolwork, and was in fact doing just that up until about 6 months ago.
The day it happened was much like any other day. I got up, ate cereal, went to school, gossiped, went home. Same old drill. Nothing strange happened until I got home. My dad was at work, so I was alone and I guess that's why the suits came for me when they did. They were bold as brass, too. Walked right up to the door and rang the bell. They almost had me, too. I got up to the door and had my hand on the knob when I heard the voices they didn't want me to hear.
"Don't think, she can hear you. Don't think, don't think, don't think," like a mantra being spoken inside their heads. One of them slipped up, though. He was a doubter.
"This is so stupid. I hope this is a quick bag so I can go home on time for once."
Well, that was enough for me. A part of me knew this day would come at some point, so I had an escape plan. Luckily, we lived in a condominium complex (can you image me mowing the lawn? I don't think so). I grabbed my go bag and slipped out the fire escape. Stupid suits didn't even bother to cover the back. I had a prepaid bus ticked that I kept on hand and took off for the bus station.
Looking back the only thing I regret is not leaving a note for my dad. I love my dad and would never want to hurt him, but I couldn't risk the suits finding it and learning anything more about me than was necessary. So they listed me as a runaway when I borded the bus in Jersey and headed West.
I suppose you're wondering why a bunch of losers in suits would be looking for a sixteen year old smart alec from Jersey. Well, if you haven't figured it out, get with the picture. I can read minds.

Creative Outlet

She should have been hideous, this monster in front of me. She stared at me with eyes I had never seen before. They held no color, no iris, only a white milky glaze that seemed either to see my deepest secrets or nothing at all. Her skin, the color of a pale full moon contrasted starkly with the black and gray patchwork dress that clung seductively and alluringly to her slender figure. Her hair, as pale as her skin fell pin straight down to her waist. As she moved closer I noticed spiders scurry closer to her scalp into the protection the silk provided.

As I stared at her, frozen in terror, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of her terrible countenance. She moved with inhuman grace, flowing with her long slender legs and arms. I stood powerless to do anything but wait for my doom.

How ridiculous it seemed to me now that an hour ago my biggest fear had been a bunch of middle aged men and their laboratories. No, my exit from this existence would not be as a lab experiment, but as a snack for this wicked beauty.

Hovering inches from my face she hissed, "Are you the one they call Annanya?"

"I prefer Nan," I corrected automatically, immediately chagrined by my own nerve.

"I've heard of you," she breathed acrid sweetness into my face. I held my breath as subtly as possible. "You are different than the humans - the Sapians." She sniffed the air in the direction of my friends. "So are you friends."

My right eyebrow rose a half an inch higher than my left.

"The smell is different," she answered my unasked question.

For the first time since I'd wandered into the metaphorcal spider's lair I collected my senses enough to reach out to my captor's thoughts.

Curiosity finally got the best of your manners? She thought in an amused tone.

Shock crossed my face, "How did you know?"

It was only a matter of time before you tried. She shrugged. Many know your skill Annanya. Some think to gain amnesty from the agents, your pursuers by turning you in as a trade.

I hissed a breath of anger through my teeth.

Fear not, I am not so foolish. I could never fit in with their vision of a pure universe. I am a threat to their sensitivities, but you - you are a threat to any you perceive as your enemy. Such a skill to see one's thoughts, one's darkest secrets. The ability to find the proverbial black box in every person's brain and expose their true natures. Yes, you are a great enemy to them and their facade. Each day your - coven, I suppose - grows strongers with those who are more than simply HomoSapiens. Each day you grow stronger. I have brought you here to see if you can see inside my head enough to accept me in your coven. In return I offer my protection from those that hunt you.

I searched her mind and found a lifetime of sorrow and betrayal. Horrified, her parents had abandoned her as a child. She learned quickly to avoid Sapiens, as she called them, because they beat her for being a freak. She was battered yet strong. She hated Sapiens, but never searched them out, preferring her solitude and the spiders she befriended. They obeyed her will and with their help she sustained herself for the majority of her childhood. She had no idea how beautiful she was, but she did know how terrifying she was.

"What do I call you?"

"I am the Recluse, the most venomous of spiders, but you my friend, may call me Luce."

And as she smiled I saw what should have sent me running for the hills. Where she should have had eye teeth or incisors, she had two long, narrow, elongated fangs. I was fascinated!