The Ominous: Some play it safe, heroes don't

In a world where fitting in is everything, Madelyn North discovers she's anything but ordinary. Half-human, half-alien, and telepathic, Maddie's life shatters when her powers emerge, revealing her closest friends and even her mother have been part of a dark secret. Now, thrust into a mysterious academy for hybrids, Maddie must navigate betrayal, master her unpredictable abilities, and confront the truth about her past. Will she embrace her unique destiny, or will the ominous forces at play consume her?

The Ominous: Some play it safe, heroes don't

In a world where fitting in is everything, Madelyn North discovers she's anything but ordinary. Half-human, half-alien, and telepathic, Maddie's life shatters when her powers emerge, revealing her closest friends and even her mother have been part of a dark secret. Now, thrust into a mysterious academy for hybrids, Maddie must navigate betrayal, master her unpredictable abilities, and confront the truth about her past. Will she embrace her unique destiny, or will the ominous forces at play consume her?

The fluorescent lights of the deserted hospital room hummed, casting a sterile glow on the cracked plaster ceiling. My head throbbed with a dull ache, a constant reminder of the six months I'd lost. Outside, the world was moving on, but inside these walls, time had simply ceased to exist for me.

A strange invitation, devoid of a return address, lay on the bedside table, a cryptic promise of answers. My mother and Marcy, my supposed best friend, had treated me like a monster, their faces etched with a fear I couldn't comprehend. There were no doctors, no nurses, just an unsettling silence that screamed of something far more sinister than a typical hospital. I couldn't stay here. I had to escape.