August 15, 2004 I dont remember much about the day I was born.

There was a grey sky as my eyes flickered open, stinging from the ash that floated along the breeze. I was standing in the middle of a street that was littered with trash, broken branches, and wailing humans. I dont know how I knew that I was different from them. They didnt seem to notice me standing there, observing. My face was still as I stared around me, baffled as to what I was doing there and what had happened. I was more curious than confused, and I ended up standing there for quite some time. The sky had gone dark and the first few stars began to poke out from behind the clouds before anyone spoke to me. I found another one! The voice that had called out behind me was different from the cries of the humans that still lined the streets. It was darker, but feather-light, like smoke. At the beginning of every word was a pop, like the lingering sound of coals desperate to ignite. It was then that I was compelled to move for the first time, a child taking his first steps into an unknown world. As I turned to face him, he walked toward me with silent footsteps. The dark, wispy hair fluttered in front of a rectangular face with sharp features, all melted into a dusky grey skin that looked as if it would fall apart if you dared touch it. His eyes traveled up and down my body and his eyebrows creased into a look that I couldnt quite discern, though it didnt seem promising. The orange ember of his gaze burned into my own, and his breath was hot as he leaned in close and sighed, Waste of a hurricane if you ask me. Curling his fingers in the direction hed come from, he gave no explanation except a low grunt, This way. I followed him, since there didnt seem to be any other viable option. My own footfalls seemed to be as silent as his had been. For some reason, in the hours that I had been observing the humans, it never occurred to me to observe myself. Curious once more, I carefully picked my way past a sea of shattered glass and held my hands out in front of me. I knew what they were, I knew what to use them for. They were a grey-blue, though looking at some areas I was sure they were lighter. Sometimes when the fading streaks of sunlight hit my skin it was almost as if you could see right through it to the street below. Testing out my fingers, I grasped at my chest, which was covered in a shiny black suit that stuck harshly to my entire body, making my movement much more restricted than the man in front of me. My bare feet tread softly on the pavement, and anything I stepped on passed effortlessly through my foot without pain or discomfort. As the humans picking through the remnants of their homes around me caught my attention once more, I noticed one last thing before the man spoke again. I had no shadow. We converged on a group of beings, more that were obviously like me since they were looking at both me and the man in front of me and looked different from the surrounding humans as well. Shoving through the fray of ten or so more skintight-clad bodies like myself, the man barked out toward the other two that didnt don the suits. Instead they were dressed in long black robes that flowed behind them like water. They even rippled and shone in the fading light, with sleeves that ended in fabric that hung low from their wrists and ended in a sharp taper. They all had similar hair, similar statures, in fact the only thing they didnt share were exact facial features. I looked to my left, spotting another newborn like myself staring at me. Unlike the men in robes, all of the newborns looked much more like myself (from what I could gather). They all had the same grey-blue skin, all semi-transparent, and all staring at each other with clear white eyes. The men in the robes continued to confer in whispers at the center of the group, but I was getting restless. There were questions I wanted answers to, even if these men didnt want to give them to me. In an attempt to get their attention, I cleared my throat and waited a moment for a response. Nothing. Again my stomach compelled me to stay silent, to fall in line, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. Something in my chest fluttered as I took a step forward. Now instead of the men in robes, the gazes of the newborns turned to me. Their empty gaze didnt hold anything more than a basic curiosity,

and none of them moved save their eyes. Turning my attention back to the men in robes, I pushed my way past the inner circle of newborns who almost seemed cemented to their spots. Excuse me. My question thrust past the men, causing their robes to flutter and their hair to sway in front of their eyes. For a moment I was distracted by the sound of my own voice, which seemed to contain subtle hints of certain sounds. The creaking of wood, the flapping of loose cloth, and an underlying rumble that resonated deep in my chest. By the time my mind returned to the scene in front of me the robed men were all staring in my direction, the edges of their lips turned down and their noses almost visibly higher in the air. Annoyed as I was, I knew better than to push my luck, My apologies, I was simply wonderingwhat am I? There was a long silence, and I realized that the sounds around me were gone. There were still humans around us, and they were still trying to pick up the pieces of their ruined lives, but they made no noise. The man who had led me there stared back for a moment, and stated clearly before turning back to the others, You are death.