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Chapter 2: Ororo


Ororo tossed and turned in her bed, experiencing a dream unlike any she had had before. It was almost as if her life was flashing before her eyes, replaying many of the major events in her short time on earth, beginning with the night her parents died when a plane crashed into their apartment building in New York.

Five year old Ororo smiled at her mother as she watched her cooking dinner at the stove. She knew her Daddy was in his room, getting cleaned up for dinner. Suddenly a large explosion sounded and Ororo saw the stricken look on her mother’s face before the lights went out. She felt someone grab her. She heard her mother’s voice, telling her that everything would be okay, just stay calm. After a while, she fell asleep, cradled in her mother’s arms and was awoken by a loud sound. She called out to her mother but no response. Afraid now, Ororo tried to do like her mother said, to stay calm. Ororo, huddled under the dead body of her mother, was discovered by rescuers several hours later.

She spent five days in the hospital after her rescue. The mental and emotional anguish proved greater than her physical injuries, leaving her with among other things, an acute fear of being in enclosed spaces.

The dreamscape changed, becoming the cemetery where she saw herself watching as her parents’ bodies were lowered into the ground. She felt the phantom comforting hands of the Denvers as they took her in their arms and took her away to live with them. Flashes of her life with them during happy times appeared, ending with the final one where she stood next to Samantha, the Denvers’ daughter as she watched their coffins being lowered into the ground. They were killed in a car accident while she was at school three years after they took her in.

The scene changed, showing Samantha laid out on the couch of her parents’ home while 8 year old Ororo tried to keep the house clean as Mrs. Denver had. Samantha’s only concern was using the money from her parent’s insurance policies to get high and party, not caring for some kid.

Ororo did what she could to take care of herself but her teachers at school noticed the child’s tattered clothes, the lack of a coat on cold days and her drastic weight loss. The day that her life took a turn from bad to worse was when Samantha knelt before her, holding her shoulder while explaining why she couldn’t care for her and that those nice people would take her someplace safe.

Now, she felt the hand of Samantha on her leg.

Her leg? No, that can’t be right, she thought, fighting to get out of the dream.

The dreamscape changed again and found herself asleep in bed at her first foster home. Awake now, she looked up in horror at her foster father leaning over her, rubbing her thigh.

“SSshhh. As long as you don’t scream, you won’t get hurt,” her foster father whispered in her ear, “Damn you smell good.”

Ororo screamed and he covered her face with his hand, muffling her. She struggled against him, tears flowing freely. She fought him, flailing her arms and legs. She lifted her knee hard as he straddled her, hitting him in the groin area. He yelled out in pain, falling away, his hand dropping from her mouth. She screamed again, bringing her foster mother to her room.

She got up and ran to the woman, holding her tight around her waist, still sobbing.

“What’s going on heah?” she asked, looking from Ororo to her husband struggling to get to his feet.

“The little bitch kneed me in the nuts,” he replied, sitting heavily on the bed.

“That’s true, Roro?”

“He was trying to touch my privates,” Ororo replied, looking up her foster mother.

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“So how ya know he was trying to touch ya there?”

Ororo looked up at her foster mother, not understanding why she was questioning her and not her husband. Glancing back over her shoulder, Ororo saw the smirk on the husband’s face. She knew then that her foster mother wouldn’t believe anything she said, leaving her at the mercy of her husband.

“Did ya hear what I said?” she asked, taking hold of Ororo’s upper arms and shaking her slightly.

“Yes,” came her tearful reply.

“And?”

“I don’t know. I just thought,” she started but was pushed away.

“That’s ya first problem, ya thinking. Dumb little bitch like ya don’t know what the hell ya talking about,” her foster mother spat at her, “Come on, baby. Let’s get back in bed.”

“Yeah in a sec babe,” he replied slowly getting to his feet and standing behind Ororo.

“Ya got me this time, but ya won’t be so lucky next time,” he whispered hotly in her ear before grabbing her butt before leaving the room.


“Ro, wake up,” a voice called out to her.

“Huh,” she replied, her voice husky with sleep.

“You okay? You were fighting in your sleep again,” Anna whispered, her knees pulled under her chin, “Another nightmare?”

“Yeah,” Ororo replied, sitting up and stretching, trying to clear her mind of the terrible images, “Did I wake you?”

“No, the thunder did,” Anna replied.

“Sorry about that,” Ororo replied, glancing up through the film covered window, seeing the telltale sign of rain.

“It’s okay,” she said, stretching her legs in front of her, relieved that her “sister” was okay, “I’m hungry. We got anything to eat?”

“No. You ate the last of the chicken we got from the deli last night,” Ororo told her, getting up off the makeshift pallet and heading over to their “bathroom” to take a quick wash up and to brush her teeth, “Hopefully we can get some money tonight so we can get something. Can you hold out for another few hours?”

“Yeah,” Anna replied, getting to her feet and folding their pallet.

“Good. What time is it?” Ororo asked, noticing the darkness outside of the window as she got to her feet and helped her sister fold their pallet.

“6pm.”

“Okay,” Ororo said, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned big. Time to do it all over again, she thought. “Let’s hurry up and get ready so we can make it to the club.”


“Be still, girl,” Ororo admonished Anna, standing in front of her putting on her makeup.

“How much longer will we have to do this, Ro? I’m tired of living like this,” Anna whined, sounding much like the 15 year old girl she was.

They had met two years ago when Ororo arrived at the foster home where Anna lived, her fourth in six months’ time and her twelfth since becoming a ward of the state. The foster homes called her a troubled teen but Ororo knew the truth. She refused to allow the man or son in the house to take advantage of her and acted out. Tired of being bounced around and mistreated, she at 15, decided that if things didn’t work out in this foster home, she would strike out on her own.

When Ororo arrived at the house, she learned that it catered to mostly teenage girls. The family, a mother, father, and young adult boy, welcomed her with open arms that first week. But as soon as the scrutiny of the state lessened, their true sides were revealed. Ororo, leery of strangers, was shocked when she and one of the other girls, Anna clicked and became fast friends, finding that they shared a love of music and dancing.

Happy to finally have a friend, Anna, who had arrived to the house three weeks before Ororo, shared with her friend the things she had witnessed. Many of the girls had been assaulted both physically and sexually by members of the family. Not surprised, Ororo started making preparations for her departure, knowing that it was only a matter of time before one of the members of the family would turn their attention to her.

Though only 15, Ororo’s body looked more like a woman than a child. She stood a few inches shy of 5’7 inches and had long, naturally wavy white hair and blue eyes. Coupled with her mahogany skin, she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, drawing the attention of many males and even females. Determined to keep her virginity intact, she fought fiercely and unapologetically.

It was during one of those fights, at the tender age of ten, that she learned she was a mutant. As she fought off her attacker, she felt a tingling sensation in her hands and was shocked to see them glowing in the dark. She heard the boom of thunder without a cloud in the sky and felt a burst of the wind that helped to rid her of the weight of her attacker, lifting him up and throwing him into the wall.

Her attacker, not wanting his wife to know what was going on, blamed the noise that brought her running on a strong wind, slamming the closet door. The next day, Ororo was packed up and returned to the State at the behest of the husband who claimed that she gave them too much trouble.

Now, having a friend for the first time in her life, she made plans for the two of them and advised Anna to put away food items and other things they would need when they left. The day came one week later when Ororo was awaken out of her sleep by the son in the family, squeezing her breasts and rubbing her legs. He quickly covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming and threatened to kill her if she made a sound.

Unafraid, she bit down hard on his hand, causing him to shriek in pain, pulling his hand from her face. She called out the code word, “Bandit”, which alerted Anna that it was time for them to go. Having picked up a few fighting skills along the way, Ororo kicked the boy out of the bed and got up, grabbing her bag from under the bed. Knowing she only had a few minutes before his parents’ showed up, Ororo leaned over and punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose.

“That’s for all of the girls whose life you ruined, you nasty bastard,” she spat at him, “And this is for putting your filthy hands on my body.” She kicked him hard in the groin before Anna pulled her away.

They headed out the bedroom window, scaling down the tree that stood there and took off into the night. Within a week of their leaving, the police arrived at the house and arrested the family, after receiving an anonymous tip reporting the physical and sexual abuse of the children.

Now, two years later, Ororo had done all she could to keep them safe and fed, picking up a few “skills” like pick pocketing and light shoplifting to keep them going.

Sighing, truth be told, she was tired too. She wanted nothing more than to lead a life like a “normal” teenager but that life wasn’t in the cards they were dealt. Soon after leaving the hell on earth as they called it, they learned that like Ororo, Anna was also a mutant.

Anna cried mightily that day, knowing how bad mutants were treated. Ororo, comforted her as much as she could but she knew that things just got a bit harder. She tried to keep the lessons she learned from the Denvers about God and the Bible close to her heart. But on days like that one where it seemed that life was just too hard, it felt like it would be better to give up.

When Anna calmed down and fell off to sleep, Ororo stayed awake, tears pouring from her eyes, feeling hopeless. Feeling a warm sensation on her shoulder, she looked up into the smiling face of Mrs. Denver. “Don’t fret child. He hasn’t left you. Just keep the faith.” A feeling of complete peace came over her and she drifted off to sleep. When she awoke the next day, she found that someone had left them some food and clothing outside the door. With tears in her eyes, she lifted her head and said a prayer of thanks.

After that day, though things were still hard on them, she felt optimistic that things were going to turn around soon. Now, several months later, things were looking bleak once again. Though she was still hopeful, the question was how much longer could they survive as they lived? She knew something had to change and soon.

“I’m tired too, Anna, but we have to keep on keeping on until something good happens,” she replied, touching her head lightly, letting her know she was done.

“Yeah but how much longer?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. I really don’t know.”





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