the infiknights

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Hamilton, The Infiknights

The Infiknights

Prelude

I had no idea that in exactly twenty-four hours from now, I’d be on the highway in a

rickety old van, running from men who wanted to kill me. I never would’ve imagined one of my

best friends bleeding to death in the back seat, being operated on by a complete stranger. And if

you would’ve told me that tomorrow I’d have superpowers, I would have laughed. Boisterously.

Of course, what normal person would dream up such an impossible situation at 12:34

p.m.? Nobody would. Instead, I stood adjacent from the soccer goal, mixed in with a bunch of

sweaty, hormone-enraged teenagers, not thinking about anything aside from how much I hated

life right then. I could be spending my summer at the pool or even at the arcade. But some

strange demon, straight from the eighth circle of Hell, decided to possess me and make me

responsible by signing myself up for summer school. Now here I was, enduring another brutal

session of physical education with my favorite drill sergeant, Coach Besch.

“Alright, maggots!” He barked in his southern draw at the unenthused mob in front of

him. He paced back and forth menacingly, eyeing each student carefully.

“Your assignment for today will be an easy one. It is Friday, an’ I am a generous man.

You will divide yourselves into two teams. You will be competin’ against one another. To the

death. That was a joke. The teams will line up on either side of this goal, an’ you will each

dribble this here ball,” he held up a grass-stained soccer ball, “Across the field an’ around the

cones that I have went to the trouble of meticulously placing in strategic locations, so if you

happen to kick the cone an’ not the ball, I will blow my whistle in your faces. First team to get

all their men to the other side wins, and is exempt from the usual hundred pushups at the end of

class. Am I understood?” Coach Besch stopped pacing and observed the glazed-over faces.

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“I said, AM I UNDERSTOOD?!” Two-thirds of the students jumped, and a younger girl

let out a squeal. Either that, or a small dog was stepped on. It sounded the same.

“Yes sir!” The response was unanimous. Besch popped his shiny silver whistle in his

mouth and gave it a puff.

“Good. Now you have twelve seconds to divide yourselves evenly, I repeat, evenly, into

two different teams. Failure to complete this task will result in me placing you in a team that

does not contain your friends. So no lollygagging.” He blew his whistle once more, creating an

earsplitting screech. “I don’t know why I blew that.” He began counting down.

The crowd of students in gym clothes swarmed towards the goal, splitting off into lines

on both sides of the goal. An arm reached out from the herd and tugged on the sleeve of my shirt.

“Come on, Aiden. I don’t want a whistle blown in my face.” My best friend, Demetri

Hill, began towing me towards a line. He was flanked by my other two closest friends, Lili

Montague and Xavier Lancing. Lili flashed me a grin, and Xavier rolled his eyes.

“Help me out here, man,” Demetri teased, still yanking on my arm. “I’d throw you over

my shoulder, but I’d hate to show the world how much of a lightweight you really are.” I shook

him off and threw a punch at him, laughing.

“I’d blow my rape whistle if you did,” I chuckled.

“You know who has rape whistles? Lightweights.”

“Five. Four.” Coach was staring at his wristwatch with a bored expression on his face.

The four of us shared a grin, then I tore off towards the nearest line, my friends right behind me.

We looked at each other and laughed at how out of shape we were; we were panting heavily after

that short run. Truth be told, we could look at each other and laugh at pretty much anything. I’d

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known these guys since pre-school, and ever since, we’d been together through thick and thin. It

was strange though. For a couple of kids who had so much in common, we looked nothing alike.

I had long brown hair, a lanky teenage build, and bright blue eyes. Demetri had short,

messy brown hair, and the body of a Hollister model. He was always good with women, and it

was rare to see him out without a girl attached to his arm. Lili was, quite frankly, drop-dead

gorgeous. It seemed to happen overnight; her round toddler face turned into defined cheekbones

with a hint of make-up, her short stature turned into a tall and picturesque figure, and her smoky

green eyes turned into a seductive gray. And as if to complete the total package, she had long

dark blonde hair that would touch the middle of her back, if she didn’t always wear it up in her

signature ponytail.

Now Xavier was a different story. Up until about the third grade, Xavier had always been

the social outcast; sitting by himself at lunch, reading a book in the corner at recess, and the like.

He had always been teased by kids because of his skin color; Xavier’s father was Caucasian, but

his mother was African-American, which made his skin a light brown shade. One day, though,

our little group saw him getting pushed around by the school bully, an obnoxious kid named

Luca. We walked right up to Luca and beat the snot out of him. I can still remember the look on

his face when Demetri held out his hand to a crying Xavier.

“Hi, I’m Demetri Hill, but you can call me Demi,” he said cheerfully. “These are my

pals, Aiden West and Lili Montague. Why don’t you come play with us this next recess?” All

four of us, Demetri, Lili, myself, and Xavier, found ourselves in the principal’s office shortly

after. And that’s when it became written in stone. Since then, Xavier’s shyness has evolved into

hilarious wit and extreme intelligence, which is no surprise: his father is the head scientist at

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BioGene, a laboratory headquartered right in the center of Springfield, Missouri, that focused on

new and creative uses for genetic research.

The line slowly moved up, as kids tripped and stumbled around the cones, getting

whistles blown in their faces and grass stains on their knees.

“Can you tell who’s winning?” Lili muttered, sizing up the two teams which appeared to

be pretty even for the most part. “I really don’t want to do those pushups. Especially not out

here. It’s like eight million degrees.”

“It looks pretty even to me,” Xavier answered, sizing up the two teams.

“But no worries,” Demetri said. “Once the Furious Four gets up to bat, we’ll pretty much

seal our team’s glorious victory, one that shall go down in history books for ages to come!” We

all laughed at Demi’s proclamation, and the person in front of Demetri took off running with the

ball. Our team was one person in the lead, but the guy that went ahead of Demi fell twice before

he made it to the other side, so it was evened up by the time he got the ball.

Demetri took off like some sort of running animal, like a cheetah, only not as graceful

and not nearly as orange and polka-dotted. His muscles rippled under his shirt as he dominated

the other player, finishing a good five seconds before his opponent. Lili was up next, but she

wasn’t as fast. One of the things that was awesome about Lili was that she wasn’t girly. Well,

she was, but just the perfect amount. She didn’t run like a girl with her hands above her waist

and in fists, she ran like a guy, like normal. She belched in public places and laughed about it,

and she loved AC/DC. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win, and the other girl won the race.

Next was Xavier. Despite his size, he moved pretty fast, and he and the boy he was racing

were neck and neck. They circled around the cones and darted towards the finish. I glanced over

at my opponent, who was jumping around on his side of the goal, punching the air as if

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slaughtering a punching bag that didn’t exist. I looked up at Demetri, whose shoulders were

softly shaking with laughter at the display the boy was putting on, and rolled my eyes. Xavier

and his opponent finished in a tie, and as a show of sportsmanship, Xavier held out his hand to

give the boy a high five, which was returned with half of the peace sign. Now it was my turn. I

swallowed hard. We were the last two racers of the drill, and if I lost, my team would more than

likely slit my throat and hang my head from the flagpole. No pressure. I inhaled deeply and took

off.

The combination of keeping the ball between my feet and under my control was a lot

harder than I thought it would be, and I found that I had a newfound respect for professional

soccer players and a further enlightenment as to why it was the most popular sport in the world.

My opponent was right on my heels, and I could hear the heavy sound of his breathing right in

my ears. We neared the first cone, so I slowed the corner and kept the ball close. Perfectly

executed, if I say so myself. There was one cone left and it seemed miles away, but I kept

pushing on. I was almost to the cone when I felt my right foot get stepped on, and my left foot

get kicked out from under my body. As I struggled to regain my balance, his hand grabbed my

shoulder blade and shoved me to the side. Falling to the ground, I saw him kick my ball way out

of bounds. I looked up at Coach, who was staring open-mouthed at a butterfly that had landed on

his shoulder. The opposing team cheered as the scumbag who fouled me crossed the finish line

and into his screaming teammates.

The sudden outburst snapped Coach Besch back into attention, who looked from me

picking myself off the ground, to my team’s dismayed faces, then to the celebratory winning

team. Using his astounding powers of deductive reasoning, he shouted, “Aiden West’s team

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loses! The winning team, hit the showers, and the losing team gets to stay out here and do

pushups! Whoop whoop!” He blew his whistle. “Man, I love this whistle!”

I walked over to where my friends were standing. Someone walked past me and

purposely hit my shoulder with theirs. Another person murmured, “Thanks a lot, jerk”, as they

passed. Demi playfully punched my shoulder. Not a rough punch, but a ‘don’t worry about it’

punch. Xavier nudged my arm with his elbow and smiled up at me cautiously to see if I was

upset. Lili rubbed my back.

“It’s not your fault,” Lili said quietly. “That idiot fouled you, and Besch is dumb and

wasn’t paying attention. It won’t be bad, kind of like a Band-Aid. We’ll just do it quick and get it

over with.” I scowled.

“That was ridiculous,” I muttered. “There was no reason for him to do that, he was

probably gonna beat me, anyways.”

“Are you kidding me?” Demi fumed. “You were miles ahead of him. You would’ve

beaten him by a long run.”

“Well he was close enough to pull that stunt. Your definition of the word ‘miles’ and my

definition don’t quite match up.” Coach had received a phone call, so everyone was just standing

around waiting. The boy that fouled me walked up to me, with two of his friends on either side

of him, who I recognized as Lili and Xavier’s opponents.

“I gotta hand it to you, Aiden,” He sneered. “You gave me quite the run for my money

there. Not that any of my money would be worth spending on something as worthless as you.”

Demetri lunged at him, and Xavier grabbed his arm to hold him back. His friends howled with

laughter.

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“What do you want, Luca?” I spat. “You’re outnumbered here. Why don’t you go steal

some grandma’s purse, or kick a nun in the shin? You aren’t wanted here.” He feigned shock.

“I must say, it’s cute to see you growing a pair and standing up for yourself,” he

chuckled. “But you’ll never be the man your mother is.”

This time it was my turn to jump on him. I caught him by surprise, and he didn’t have

time to think. I was on top of him, one hand loosely around his throat, the other aimed for a

punch that was going to splatter his brains all over the soccer field. Before I could throw it,

though, Lili grabbed my arm and Xavier pulled me off of him. I was shaking and I couldn’t see

straight, I was so mad. Luca scrambled up off the ground, shaking off his friends’ attempt to

help.

“Come on, Tracy, Micah,” he said, smoothing out his shorts. “These losers aren’t worth

our time.” He pivoted around on his heel and stormed off, his cronies following close behind.

“Wow,” Demetri called after them. “I remember when I was in kindergarten and called

people names.” Luca flipped him off with both hands, not even bothering to turn around.

Lili sighed, and dusted off my back. She had a habit of acting like a mom around us three

boys. “You guys need to get a grip on this whole testosterone-puberty thing,” she said, crossing

her arms and looking at Demi and me. I pointed at Xavier in protest.

“He’s got testosterones too! Yell at him!” I said, winking at Xavier.

“Yeah, but he’s not a little girl about it, he actually has control over his emotions. I swear

you two have synced up on your menstrual cycles,” she retorted. Coach Besch walked up,

folding his flip phone and putting it into his breast pocket.

“Your comb-over looks especially nice today, Coach,” Demetri said with an obnoxious

grin, showing all his teeth. Coach cleared his throat.

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“Alright maggots, one hundred pushups for everyone, and one-fifty for Hill, because I

hate butt-kissers, even though he’s absolutely right. It’s this new hair product I’ve been using.

Keeps the fluff in place all day long,” he boomed, and blew his whistle. “Now all of you get on

the ground and beat your faces!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Accusations

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Demi said, lifting his shirt up and wiping the sweat from his

brow. I shut the door to my gym locker, and collapsed on the bench. Xavier sat down beside me,

his towel from his shower draped over his shoulder.

“Yeah, no, you’re absolutely right. I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer than

to water the entire soccer field with my sweat, which, I might add, was coming out of parts of my

body that have never sweated in my life before today.” I ranted, all the while winding up my

towel in preparation for an extremely painful flip on Demetri’s backside. He laughed and coiled

his up as well, ready to retaliate.

“Why don’t you white boys quit complaining? I’m fat. You know how hard it is for a fat

kid to do a hundred pushups in a hundred degree weather? That’s like a degree for each pushup.

Plus, I’m black, and black retains heat. I don’t stand a chance out there.” Xavier laughed and

winded his towel up, then commenced to flipping me in the thigh. We all roared with laughter,

flipping each other with our damp towels and inflicting massive pain on one another. We did that

for a while, but then Demetri stood up straight, his face instantly going to a poker face that I had

seen many a time, but only when we were about to get in trouble. I turned around, and Coach

Besch was walking towards us with Luca following his heel like a dog.

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“West, Hill, Lancing! My office! Now!” Besch yelled, waving his clipboard wildly. He

was the spitting image of an out of shape, red-faced gym teacher who was waving a clipboard

wildly. Coach turned to Luca, and put his hand on his shoulder gently.

“Now Luca, are you absolutely certain that these are the boys who did this to you?” He

jabbed a thumb in our direction, and Luca nodded. “Alrighty then. I’ll take care of it, and you’ll

go shower, because ya smell like my fat father-in-law after he won the chili dog-eating contest.

Let me tell ya, he did not smell good that day, young man.” Luca grimaced, then wheeled around

towards the showers. He turned back around just long enough to stick his tongue out at us, then

disappeared.

“You boys are in a lot of trouble. Get in my office, an’ don’t make me say it again.” He

took off towards the small room in the corner of the locker room. I actually think it was a room

made for storage, but he called it his office.

“What do you think that little dirtbag said about us?” Demetri asked, rubbing his chin. I

shrugged.

“I dunno,” Xavier murmured, “But we better get in his office before we make this worse

than it already is.” We all three nodded, and jogged over to the office. It was a dimly lit room;

there was one light bulb hanging down from a wire. There was a small desk with a computer on

it, and three bean bag chairs parallel to the desk, each one an ugly shade of blue.

We piled into the room, and I shut the door quietly behind us, just in case there was

yelling. That would be embarrassing.

“Please, gentlemen,” Besch motioned to the bean bag chairs, “Have a seat.” We all took a

bean bag and sunk down deep into their plushy embrace. I was fairly certain that I had hit the

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point of no return as I sank down lower into the chair, and if the need to run arose, I’d be in a lot

of trouble. I was in the middle of the three seats; Demi was on my left, Xavier my right.

“Let’s have us a little chat,” Coach said with a sickeningly sweet smile. “An anonymous

source has told me that you’ve been picking fights an’ gangin’ up on people. Said you took a

student to the ground in an attempt to choke ‘em to death. Is this true?” He rested his elbows on

his desk and folded his hands together. The three of us shared a look.

“Alright, first of all, it’s not an anonymous source, we watched Luca point us out-“

“Don’t you raise your voice at me, young man!” Demetri’s eyebrows shot up. I cleared

my throat.

“I think what Demetri is trying to say here is that Luca had a big part in all of this, and he

isn’t as innocent as you think,” I said, trying to keep my voice soft but steady. Coach leaned back

in his chair.

“I don’t wanna hear excuses,” he barked. “I will not tolerate bullies in my gym.

Detention, all of you. Y’all are dismissed now.” We all jumped up, which was a chore in itself

with those chairs.

“That’s not fair, though! We didn’t do anything!” Xavier protested. Besch stood up.

“That’s another day of detention you just earned. Anyone else have any comments or

concerns? You can be there all year for all I care.” Xavier looked down at his feet, and Demetri

scowled. I shook my head and headed for the door.

“No, Coach. I think that’ll be all. Have a nice day,” I said through clenched teeth. We

filed out the door, and Demetri slammed the door behind him. The bell had already rung, and the

next period had already started. The locker room was empty.

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“Well this sucks,” Xavier frowned. “Why would Luca tell on us? He started the whole

thing when he pushed you, Aiden.” I shrugged, and grabbed my stuff.

“I dunno. It doesn’t matter, though,” I sighed and we headed for the exit. “He only did it

to get a rise out of us, and if we act upset about it, it’ll just give him his sick satisfaction that he’s

looking for. By the way, do either of you have a second period? I don’t, so I’m gonna start

heading towards the arcade.” Xavier shook his head and slung his backpack over his shoulders.

“Nah, I don’t. I’ll walk with you,” he said, rubbing his eyes. Demetri picked up his folder

and started walking backwards, still facing us.

“I’ve got a government class that requires my appearance there. You kids just go on

without me. I’ll sneak out the window and catch up with you later.” He winked at us and turned

around to go to his next class. Xavier and I stepped outside into the bright sunlight. I shielded my

eyes, and he put on a pair of sunglasses.

“You know,” I chuckled, “Something tells me he wasn’t kidding when he said that.”

Xavier laughed and clapped me on the back.

“You know, something was telling me that exact same thing.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ethics

Demetri slid into the classroom with the utmost silence, but it wasn’t enough to evade the

teacher’s notice. He had his back to the class and was writing something on the marker board

when he turned around and said, “Mr. Hill. You’re late, again. This is twice this week. And it’s

Tuesday.” Demetri froze in his path to his seat, and smiled sheepishly at the teacher.

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“I’m sorry, Mr. Cage. I got caught up in a conversation with my delightful PE coach, and

I guess I just lost track of time. Rest assured, it won’t happen again.” Demetri held his breath in

hopes that his teacher would let him go free, and started inching his way towards his desk.

“That’s quite alright, Mr. Hill. You know, you should really talk to the administrators

about installing some kind of notification system that told students when their next class was.

Perhaps a bell? Take your seat, and please try to refrain from disrupting my class again.” Mr.

Cage turned back to the board and continued writing what he had started. He slashed his hand

underneath the word to underline it, then stepped aside to reveal his work. In red expo marker, he

had written the word ‘Ethics’ with his messy scrawl.

Demetri sat down at a table with three other students, one of which was Lili. She raised

an eyebrow at him as he took the seat next to her, winking.

“Now who can tell me what this word that I have written means, and how it comes to

play in our government?” Mr. Cage said, sliding his hands in his khaki pants. The class consisted

of ten or thirteen students, seeing as it was summer school and most kids could find better things

to do with their time. Three students raised their hands, although they were probably the only

three that were paying attention.

“Alexis, what does the word ‘ethics’ mean?” A blonde girl in a red hoodie answered.

“A person’s race and culture?”

“No, that’s ethnics, with an ‘n’. Anyone else? Yes, Billy, why don’t you tell the class

what exactly this whole ‘ethics’ thing is all about.”

A larger boy with long hair who was apparently named Billy lowered his hand back to his

desk. He was sweaty and constantly wiping his brow with his long-sleeved shirt.

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“I wanna say that it’s like, morals and stuff. What people view as right and wrong, right?

Like, it’s most of the time based off of religions, and what their churches think is spiritually

pleasing or displeasing to their gods and stuff. Right?” He looked up hopefully at Mr. Cage and

rubbed his face again. The teacher nodded his approval and turned back to the marker board,

making a bullet underneath his former underlined word, and scribbled the words ‘morals and

values’, then jabbed the board again underneath those words, and wrote down ‘religious beliefs’.

“Well said, Billy. Class, Billy brought up several good points in his explanation. Ethics

are how a person views a certain subject, and are usually a cause for heated arguments. Without

ethics, we would not have a debate program in this school.” He ran a hand through his balding

scalp. Although he was aged, he still looked decent, especially for an old guy. “That’s the

definition of ethics, now who can tell me how it comes into play with politics and government

and the like?” The same three raised their hands again. “Alright, Samuel. Go for it.” Samuel

cleared his throat.

“Well, politicians usually address those issues in their campaign. If their view matches

the view of the audience they’re trying to reach, then it’ll assure them of their votes in an

upcoming election.”

“Very good,” the teacher said, turning to the board once again. “A political leader will

address said issues in a campaign or even a speech in an effort to gain more votes. This, class, is

where we get our political parties. Each party has different ideas about ethics and how to

approach them. Some people vote based off of a politician’s specific views, but some just vote

based on party. Now who can tell me some recent ethical topics that have come up in this

coming election?” He looked around the classroom full of blank faces.

“Gun rights?” A student suggested.

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“Abortion, maybe?”

“Both good answers, and correct, too. But I was talking about a more recent topic that has

come up. Has anyone ever heard of intentional human mutation? The intentional mutating of

human genes to enhance man’s everyday functions.” Demetri and Lili grimaced simultaneously.

Human mutation was the newest focus on Xavier’s father, Dr. Richard Lancing’s work. So far

his experiments had just yielded extra limbs or facial features, none of which were functional,

but even still, the project had stirred up quite a rise with the media. “Is this ethical? Should man

tamper with the natural genetic process? And what if the experiments fail? Is it ethical to test

them on humans? One wrong move could kill people.”

“Well it sounds to me like you’re biased towards this subject, Mr. Cage.” Demetri said,

leaning back in his seat. “Are you legally allowed to express your opinion in a class like this?”

Mr. Cage walked over to his desk, sat down in his swivel chair, and propped his legs up on his

desk. Apparently this was the debate he had been seeking.

“Well, if you must know, Mr. Hill, I do for a fact disagree with the experimental testing

of human genetics. The risks outweigh the rewards, and I’m not too sure the rewards are all that

rewarding in the long run. You seem to be somewhat educated on this subject, I presume. Why

don’t you give us your opinion on the matter?” Demi sat up straight in his chair, and caught

Lili’s gaze, who was giving him a look that told him to watch what he said very carefully.

Unbeknownst to anyone outside of their four-man group, Dr. Lancing had invited Aiden,

Demetri, Lili, and Xavier to his lab that evening. None of them knew what his reason was, but

Xavier had revealed suspicions about some kind of genetic research.

“Actually, I am educated in this subject and have done my research. Human genetic

research could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives, which would greatly outweigh the

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three or four experiments gone wrong. Those experiments, I might add, are highly unlikely.

You’d have to be crazy to not research it. I mean, we’re talking the cure for cancer, here! Cancer,

Alzheimer’s, AIDS, maybe even the human flaw of aging… This is crucial stuff here.” Demetri

crossed his arms, proud of his argument. It almost sounded like he knew what he was talking

about. Mr. Cage stood back up and walked over to Demi and Lili’s table, looking at Demetri

curiously.

“You sure seem to know quite a bit about this topic, Mr. Hill,” Mr. Cage said with a

venomous edge in his voice. “Could this be because you have a close relationship with the head

of this investigation, Dr. Richard Lancing? Could it be that he’s let you, a minor, in on top-secret

breakthroughs in his study, breakthroughs that you might be withholding from myself and the

rest of the class?” Cage’s face was turning red and he was getting angry, which was a side of the

teacher that was rarely seen on school grounds. Demetri opened his mouth to reply, but Lili cut

him off.

“Why don’t you stop drilling him? Even if he did have a connection that you didn’t, it’s

none of your business, and it’s not your place to pry. Didn’t you have a lesson you were

supposed to be teaching?” Lili didn’t break eye contact between the two of them as Mr. Cage

scowled at her.

“Ten years ago, I could’ve had you expelled for speaking to me in such a manner. Today,

they would reprimand me for wasting their time with such a petty cause. No matter. I suppose

we’re done here, before this situation gets worse for the two of you.” He took a step back and

inhaled deeply, his face returning to its normal color. He walked back to his desk and grabbed a

stack of papers. “This is your homework for tonight, class. It’s due at the beginning of class

tomorrow. Ah… Billy, would you mind handing these papers out? I have to make a personal

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call.” His eyes darted to Demetri, then to Lili, then back to the rest of the class. He handed the

papers to Billy, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, then left the room.

“Dang, Demi,” Billy said as he brought them the worksheets. “I thought Cage was gonna

tear your head off and feed it to his pet llama. I’ve never seen him look that mad, ever.” Demi

smiled and wadded up the worksheet, which made its way to the trash bin in the form of a bank

shot.

“Don’t worry about it, bud. He doesn’t scare me. Plus, I got Lil here,” he said, throwing

an arm around her neck. “We’re unstoppable.” Billy grinned and muttered something along the

lines of ‘whatever you say’, and made his way back to his seat.

“You sound a lot more confident than I am about this situation,” Lily said quietly when

Billy was out of earshot. Demetri closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, letting out a sigh.

“I’m worried, Lil. I don’t know what he’s up to, and I’m afraid I may have said too much.

I mean, why’s it such a big deal, anyway? This doesn’t even affect him.”

“I dunno, your guess is as good as mine. I guess when we meet up with Dr. Lancing

tonight, we can fill him in on everything that just went down.”

“If we meet up with him,” Demi corrected. “Lili, if we get involved in this, we could get

in huge trouble. Whatever Dr. Lancing is working on right now, it’s big. And you know he’s

getting desperate if he wants kids to help him.” Lili shook her head.

“We have to at least see what he wants. He can’t make us do anything we don’t wanna

do.” At that moment, the bell rang. Chairs scraped the floor as the class stampeded towards the

door. Lili got up from her chair and neatly tucked away her homework assignment in her folder.

Demetri stood up and stretched out, letting loose a massive yawn.

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“I guess you’re right,” he yawned. “It couldn’t hurt to see what he wants us to do. So

what’s the game plan for now, do you know?” They walked out the door, their shoulders

brushing up against each other as they walked down the school hallway.

“Well, Aiden and Xavier should be at Smoothie Villa and Arcade right now, so I guess

we’ll just head over there. Your fly’s down, by the way.” He quickly adjusted himself. “Then

once we’re with them, we’ll just start walking over to the BioGene lab.” They exited the double

glass doors of the school, and stepped out into the bright sun.

“Your motherly skills amaze me to this day, you know? It’s crazy how you can know

where everyone’s at and what their plans are, all at the same time, and still be able to catch it

when my fly’s down.” Demi laughed, punching Lili in the arm. She slugged him back much

harder, and he rubbed his arm, still laughing.

“I do what I can,” she grinned, and they stepped out onto High Street, as they embarked

on their journey to the smoothie bar.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Experiments

Xavier glanced at his watch again and took a sip from his strawberry-banana smoothie.

“Where do you think they are? We promised Dad we’d be by the lab at five, and it’s four forty-

two. Punctuality is everything to that man.” I shrugged as I slid my straw in and out of the plastic

cup, amusing myself in the squeaky noise it created.

“Patience, grasshopper. Traffic is ridiculous right now,” I replied.

“Ten bucks says they got hit by a car.”

Page | 18


“You’re totally on.” I looked up at the flatscreen television set that was mounted on the

wall in front of me. An anchorwoman was silently bringing today’s news as black and white

subtitles scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Dr. Lancing’s lab flashed on the screen.

“Hey, Xav, look. Your dad’s on TV,” I murmured, nodding my head towards the

television. He whirled around just in time to see his father wave off a pushy news lady and

cameraman. The image then returned to the anchorwoman, although the set was too far away to

read the closed captions on the bottom.

“What do you think that was all about?” I asked him, although I was fairly certain I knew

the answer. He rolled his eyes and turned back around in his seat.

“Three guesses.” I gave him a sympathetic look. It had to be hard being the son of the

man in charge of changing the world. Such status had just as many downsides as it did upsides,

and sometimes they were bitter and unforgiving, as the rest of the world is. Xavier didn’t get

picked on nearly as much as he did before he was with us, but there were still moments every

now and then when he was alone. This new controversy had just given predators a new reason to

prey on him.

The door to the shop swung open, and Lili walked in with a limping Demetri following

closely behind. She grinned at us as she walked over to our booth, which was strategically

chosen for its convenient private location. It was at the corner of the place, where no other booth

was near. Demetri hobbled down and flopped down next to me, looking as if he were one of the

last three hundred Spartans, and had just come back from the battle with the Persians.

“What the heck happened to you?” I exclaimed. “You look like crap!”

Page | 19


“Gee, thanks,” Demi scowled. “I got hit by a freaking moped. The loser wasn’t watching

where he was going and buzzed me down on the sidewalk.” I slid a ten towards Xavier. “I hate

you both,” he added.

“It was hilarious,” Lili laughed. “You guys should’ve seen it; this tough guy actually

cried!” She started laughing again, and her face was getting red from laughing so hard. Every

time she tried to look at Demetri, she started squealing again. Just the sight of her so tickled got

Xavier and me going, and soon all three of us couldn’t stop laughing.

“First of all, I don’t see what’s so funny,” he said crossly, folding his arms against his

chest. “Second, I did not cry, your eyes would water too if an electric scooter ran you over. And

last, don’t we have somewhere to be?” I wiped a tear from my eyes, and the laughter gradually

died down, but we were all still smiling big at each other.

“Demi’s right,” I chuckled. “We’ll be late if we don’t get a move on. We’re already

pushing for time. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” We all shuffled out of the booth and walked

out of the cool smoothie parlor and into the blistering June heat.

The lab was just a short distance away, so it didn’t take long at all to get there. We

walked up the chipped and broken sidewalk and turned into the drive of the laboratory. The sky

was filled with dark clouds, and thunder quietly rumbled off in the distance. The smell of rain

filled the air, and flocks of birds were flying away from the clouds.

“Looks like a storm’s coming,” Demetri murmured, looking at the skies. I nodded in

agreement. The lab was a large white building, with an hourglass-shaped nuclear reactor on

either side of it. The double glass doors swung open as we approached, bringing a cool air-

conditioned breeze with it. We walked into the building, where we were greeted by a lady at the

Page | 20


front desk. The front office was completely white, with no windows at all. It consisted of the

front desk, six chairs, and two doors, each labeled ‘Caution: Nuclear Activity’.

“Hi, Xavier!” The lady chirped. She was wearing a white apron-looking dress, similar to

the attire of a WWII nurse, and she had a headset on. “The last time I saw you, you were still in

diapers! My, how you’ve grown.” Xavier smiled warmly.

“Hey there, Anne. How have you been?” He asked politely, stepping up to the desk. I

looked over at Demetri, who was examining a stain on one of the ceiling tiles.

“That looks like coffee,” he whispered. “How do you reckon it got up there?” Lili

glanced at the stain, then shrugged.

“I’ve been good, dear. Are these your friends? We’ve been expecting you kids, and I

cannot thank you enough for coming here. You guys are crucial to Dr. Lancing’s research.”

Anne smiled at all of us, flashing a pair of extremely white teeth.

“Anything for the dad of our best bud Xavier, here. But before we go in there, what

exactly is he gonna have us do?” Demetri said, stepping up to the desk. The nurse-lady tapped a

button on what appeared to be an antique wall phone. There was a loud beep, then she spoke into

her headset and said, “Dr. Lancing, your guests are here, Dr. Lancing.” She let go of the button,

then looked back at us. “I’ll just have him tell you. He can explain it much better than I ever

could,” she beamed. Xavier gave her his thanks, then took a seat in one of the chairs across the

room. The three of us followed suit.

“That lady gives me the creeps,” I murmured. Demi nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, I’m pretty nervous about this whole thing,” Lili said, her face slightly pale. “I

mean, what if we get an extra limb or something? I don’t wanna have a foot on my face for the

rest of my life.”

Page | 21


The doors to the lab swung open, and a short man in a lab coat walked out, carrying a

clipboard.

“Did someone say something about extra appendages? That’s my specialty!” The man

winked at Lili and chuckled. We stood up and met him halfway across the lobby.

“Dr. Lancing! How are you?” I exclaimed. He shook my hand and brought me in for a

hug. I’ve learned by now that Xavier’s family were all huggers, and you would be scolded if you

got away without one. “It seems like I haven’t seen you in ages!” He laughed again.

“Aiden, my son from another mother! You’re looking good, kid. Have you gotten taller?”

I nodded earnestly, and he grinned at me. “Demetri, Lili, bring it in. You guys know the drill.”

Demi and Lili smiled as they embraced the doctor in a big group hug. To anyone else, this

tradition may have seemed weird or even awkward, but the three of us had been to so many

sleepovers at Xavier’s house that we were accustomed to it. And yes, Lili attended the sleepovers

too. Our parents were all childhood friends, so they trusted each other to keep a watchful and

highly unnecessary eye out on us.

“Hey Dad, where’s my hug?” Xavier said, pretending to be taken aback. Dr. Lancing

scratched his scraggly whiskers.

“Didn’t I just hug you like, yesterday? You kids these days. So needy. Next you’ll be

asking for food and water more than once a week!” We all laughed, and Dr. Lancing pulled his

son in for a giant bear hug. “Now,” he said, one arm still around Xavier. “In all seriousness, I

brought you four here today for a very important reason. I’ve been working on a project, but it

hasn’t been released to the press yet. Walk with me, and I’ll explain more.” He strode out of the

lobby and through the doors leading into the lab. The four of us trailed him close, but his strides

were ridiculously long and fast for a man of five feet and three inches.

Page | 22


“The inside of the lab was massive, with ceilings reaching well over thirty feet high.

Forklifts and utility vehicles were darting all throughout the lab, and men and women in white

lab coats busily walked around. There were machines of all shapes and sizes, and the lab vaguely

reminded me of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, with all the whimsical equipment that I’d

never seen before.

“This project I’ve been working on,” Dr. Lancing’s words cut through my racing

thoughts as I took everything in, and I snapped back into focus. “I’ve finally completed it, and I

have a good feeling it’s one of the best ones yet. I call it the Infinite Clause. Along with the

leading scientists from around the world, right under the media’s nose, I’ve managed to create a

serum that manipulates a human being’s genes. That’s the extent of what the press knows. What

they don’t know is that this serum does not merely change a person’ physical features. It molds

the genes into a form of super adaptation, granting the subject superiority over an average

human. I’m talking about superpowers. It changes the chemical makeup of DNA, and gives you

a superpower based on the structure of your DNA. No two people’s DNA are the same, therefore

the possible outcomes are infinite, which is why I call it the Infinite Clause. Any questions so

far?” He looked around at the four of us. Xavier’s jaw had dropped, Lili’s eyes widened, I’m

certain I had a look of bewilderment on my face, but Demi’s face remained emotionless.

“So you’re telling us that you’ve invented a way to give people superpowers, and you

want to test it out on us?” I stammered. “That’s crazy! It’d be awesome if it were true, but it’s

kind of far-fetched for us to believe you invented something like that.”

“I thought you might say something like that. You’ll just have to trust me that this works.

Once the serum succeeds on you four, I’ll give it a year, and see if anything shady happens with

your bodies. After that, I’ll distribute it to the American military. We will be the greatest country

Page | 23


this planet has ever seen, and every nation will fear us. But I need teenagers for the test. Your

bodies are strong, but they are also young. The younger you start the serum out, the stronger your

powers will get as you age. By the time you reached retirement, you’d be practically a deity!” He

grinned at us and held his hands out, palms up. “What do you guys say?”

“I dunno… I-“

“I’m in. Let’s do it,” Demetri cut in. Xavier, Lili and I looked at him. “What?”

“You could die!” Lili scolded. “What if the serum fails? What if you’re blinded and

deafened for the rest of your life?”

“Now that’s highly unlikely…” Dr. Lancing muttered. Xavier walked over and stood by

Demetri.

“I’m in too. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if my own father trusts the life of

his own son with this serum, then I do too.” I looked over at Lili, who shook her head, a

distressed look on her face.

“Maybe they’re right,” I said quietly. “Lil, you remember when we were little?

Remember how we always said that we’d go on a huge adventure before we grew up? I think this

is it.” Lili was quiet. She looked at me with those brilliant silvery-gray eyes, and I knew she was

in.

“Let’s do it,” I grinned, giving them a thumbs up. Dr. Lancing laughed and began

walking.

“This is excellent news! Right this way, kids!” We followed him into another room, one

that was filled with scientists who were apparently awaiting our arrival. The room began bustling

with quiet voices and whispers as soon as we entered the room. The room was set up like a

college classroom, with hundreds of seats surrounding the center of the room on an incline. At

Page | 24


the center of the room, there was a single, large glass box. The box was big enough to hold at

least ten people, and it had a glass door on the outside of it.

“Follow me, please,” Lancing said as we pushed through the rows of scientists to the

center of the room. “These people are here for the results of the experiments. It’s kind of a

demonstration-type deal.” I looked around at all the faces staring back at me. Man, I hope this

doesn’t kill me, I thought.

“So what exactly is about to go down here?” Demetri inquired. We were in the center of

the room now, and the talking had died down. All eyes were on us, and I heard Xavier gulp

beside me.

“Alright guys,” Dr. Lancing said, talking louder so everyone in the room could hear him

speak. “This giant glass box is actually an elevator. The four of you will ride it into the basement

of the lab. Once you get down there, you’ll find a table with four glass vials. Each of them

contain a liquid sample of the Infinite Clause serum, so you’ll be able to drink them, and it’ll be

as easy as that.” He smiled reassuringly at us.

“Is it going to hurt?” Lili asked timidly.

“Honestly, honey, I haven’t the slightest idea. I hope not.” It was Lili’s turn to gulp. Dr.

Lancing ushered us into the glass box and shut the door behind us. I took one last look at the

hundreds of curious faces peering back and me, and sighed.

“Here we go, guys. This is it.” Demetri laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe we’re

actually about to be superheroes. This is gonna be awesome!”

“I’ll give you all one more chance to back out now,” Dr. Lancing said, the lines on his

forehead growing thicker. “Any takers?”

“Nope.”

Page | 25


“This is our childhood adventure,” Xavier said. “We have to make it worthwhile.

Unforgettable.” I looked at Lili, who was looking back at me. I held my fist out, and she pounded

it, grinning.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Lil. I promise.” The elevator began its descent, and we

began sinking into the ground, the surrounding people and faces getting higher and higher until

they were out of sight, and we were encased in darkness. All was silent except for the whirr of

the elevator motor. The darkness was so intense that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my

face.

“Psst. Hey Aiden.”

“What, Demi?”

“What if I told you I was naked? You would have no idea, because you couldn’t see me.”

“I’d tell you to join the club, because I am too.”

“You guys are idiots.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Changes

The elevator erupted with laughter as light erupted from the bottom of the elevator. We

passed the ceiling of the basement and landed on the hard linoleum floors. The door slid open,

and we shuffled out of the glass cage. The room wasn’t much: a small table was the only

decoration in the room, which was well lit with fluorescent lights. If I had to guess, this room

was built to be a storm shelter, and the table was recently placed here for the purpose of the

experiment. Sure enough, there were four glass vials filled to the brim with a clear liquid.

Page | 26


I walked over to the table, and picked up a vial, holding it up to the light. Bubbles

escaped from the bottom of the liquid to the top, giving it the frighteningly deceitful appearance

of water. To my left, Xavier had grabbed a vial and was sniffing it.

“It’s odorless,” he observed. Lili and Demetri picked up their portions of the liquid

looked at each other nervously. I grinned at them in an effort to lighten the mood, although I was

just as nervous as they were. What if we were about to consume our own death sentence? But it

was too late to go back now. This was our childhood adventure.

“Well,” Xavier said shakily, “Bottoms up.” I took my vial and brought it to my lips, and

everyone did the same. I had thought that since the liquid had no odor, it would have no taste

either. I was wrong.

At first, a minty sensation washed over my taste buds, causing my mouth to tingle, but it was

followed by an aftertaste that resembled mud. I swallowed the concoction down, and it burned

my throat. If I had to imagine what drinking whiskey was like, this would probably be my best

guess. I looked over at my companions and examined their facial expressions. Lili looked as if

she had consumed something sour because her lips were pressed tightly together. Xavier’s face

had turned a sickly shade of green, and he looked like he wasn’t feeling too hot, either. Demetri

remained expressionless.

“That was some nasty crap, right there,” I groaned, wiping my mouth with the back of

my hand. Xavier nodded in agreement.

“I gotta sit down, or I’m gonna be sick.” Xavier slowly sat down and put his head

between his knees.

Page | 27


“Actually,” Lili bemused, “Mine wouldn’t have been half bad if it would’ve had more

sugar. It just tasted like lemonade without the sugar, so it was ridiculously sour.” I looked at her

curiously, then looked at Xavier.

“Wait. Yours tasted like lemons? Mine tasted like mint. And mud. How does that work?”

Xavier looked up.

“Mine tasted like vomit. Like, week old vomit that’s sat out in the sun and fermented.

Then someone took a dump in it. After eating four bowls of chili. It was bad.” Lili and I shared a

grimace of disgust at the vivid image Xavier had placed in our minds, then looked over at

Demetri, who was staring intently at his drained vial. “What did yours taste like, Demi?”

Demetri shook his head. “I’m pretty sure this was just water. It tasted like water, and I

don’t feel any different than bef-“ He collapsed onto the ground, and started shaking violently.

The glass vial in his hand fell and shattered on the hard floor. I began to run over to him, but I

didn’t get very far before my entire body locked up and began seizing. A fire surged through my

entire body, from the tip of the hair on my head, to the ball of my heel. My fingers curled inward,

and my eyes rolled upwards. As soon as it started, though, it was over. The fire subsided, and I

had become painfully aware of how cold the floor had been.

I sat up slowly and observed my surroundings. Lili was sitting up straight, watching

Xavier carefully as his seizure subsided. Demetri was sitting with his legs crossed, staring open-

mouthed at his shirt, which had transformed from a deep maroon to a shade of the whitest white I

had ever seen in my life. Xavier’s body became still, and he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes.

“If my superpower is a white shirt, I’m going to be furious,” Demetri growled. Xavier

rubbed his temples and shook his head.

Page | 28


“Be grateful,” he muttered. “You could be like me, and be gifted with a super headache.”

I looked from Demetri to Xavier, then to Lili. Geez, I thought. This is nothing like I thought it

would be. Everyone’s ‘superpowers’ suck.

“Aiden…” Xavier said cautiously. “Why did I just hear you talk, but your mouth didn’t

move? Did you get some kind of super ventriloquism?” My eyes widened.

“Xav, I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, I didn’t hear anything,” Demi added. “Looks like you can read minds, man.

That’s insane!” Xavier grinned hugely. “Better beware,” he teased. “Or at least keep your

thoughts clean, because I’ll totally know.”

“In that case Xavier,” I said with a serious look on my face, “You should know, I secretly

think you’re cute. It’s good to have that off my chest, rather than you find out the other way.”

Everyone laughed and Xavier swiped at me. It was good to see the intensity of the situation fade.

“Well guys, that’s one down. Three left. What’s it gonna be?” Demetri said towards Lili

and me. I shrugged and looked at Lili.

“Well I don’t feel any different,” Lili said, looking at the palms of her hands. “I-” She

looked away from us and put her hand over her nose. She breathed deeply, then sneezed. The air

in front of her erupted in a massive flame that was headed straight for us. We dove out of the

way of the fire, which dissipated into the air that it came from. She looked at us, then to her

palms again, then muttered something that sounded like “well huh”.

“Super sneezes?” I asked her. “This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” She shook

her head and looked at the ground directly in front of her.

Page | 29


“I don’t think so,” Lili said, her eyes still trained on the ground. She concentrated harder

and harder on that spot, and a small flame came up out of the ground. She stepped on it to put it

out, then looked back at us. “See, I think it’s just a concentration thing. This is surreal…”

“That’s pretty epic,” Demetri said, looking at Lili in admiration. “You could kick some

major bad guy butt with that. It looks like it’s just you and me then, Aiden.” I sighed. What if the

serum didn’t affect us? What if it was just going to end up killing us? Wouldn’t that just suck.

“Wait a minute,” Demi said, cutting through my morbid thoughts. “Lili said something

about concentrating. Maybe that’s what we need to do.” My eyes widened.

“Demetri, I think you might be onto something!” I looked at him intensely and focused.

“Don’t freaking look at me, Aiden. I don’t wanna spontaneously combust.”

“Too late.” I felt a power surge through my body, and leave through my fingertips.

Demetri stared at me. I stared back.

“Um,” Lili said cautiously. “Nothing happened.” She was right. Nothing had happened,

but I know I felt something inside of me. Demi kept staring at me, unblinking.

“Dude, stop staring at me. You’re creeping me out.” He remained frozen.

“Oh my God, I killed Demetri,” I gasped. I looked at Xavier, then Lili, panicking. “What

do I freaking do?!”

“Just relax,” Lili said quietly, but her voice was shaking. “Just concentrate on him again,

and maybe you’ll reverse it or something.” I raised my eyebrows.

“Or something?!”

“Do you have a better idea?!”

“Touché!” I turned back to the still Demetri, who was staring back at me in the same

position that he had been. I focused hard. Silence.

Page | 30


“I’m serious man, quit staring at me,” Demetri finally said, as if nothing had happened.

“That would be a crappy way to end my superhero tale.” He frowned at me, then turned his gaze

to the floor, concentrating. My jaw dropped.

“You have no idea what just happened, do you?” Xavier asked, rubbing his chin. Demi

looked back up from Xavier to me. “See if you can do that again, Aiden.” I gave Xavier a wary

look, then sighed. It would really suck if Demi got stuck like that. I put all my focus back on

Demetri, and sure enough, he froze again. I walked up to him to examine him. I pulled on his

sleeve, and his arm followed my tug, suspended in the air. Grinning at Lili and Xavier, I put his

arm back down.

“I don’t really know how you’d define this superpower, but I could really have a lot of

fun with this.” I yanked his pants down, revealing his red and white polka-dotted boxers, then

walked back to where I was standing. I concentrated again, and Demetri blinked.

“Do what again?” He asked in response to Xavier’s comment to me. He was completely

oblivious to everything that had just taken place.

“Yo Demi, I think your fly’s down,” Lili chuckled. Demetri looked down, his face going

from confusion to horror. He swiftly yanked his pants back up, tightening his belt and scowling

at me.

“Alright, so you gained the ability to remove clothes, Aiden. That’s great. Just fantastic.

I’d like to see you save the world with that,” he growled. The three of us laughed, yet again at

Demetri’s expense. I walked over to him and faced Lili and Xavier.

“Not quite,” I laughed. “Watch.” I looked at Xavier as he rolled his eyes at me, knowing

what was coming. He froze in mid-eye roll. I looked over to see Demetri’s reaction, which was

Page | 31


expressionless at first, but after a couple of seconds with Xavier’s strange expression, Demi

squinted at his face.

“Why isn’t he moving?” He asked, slowly approaching Xavier. “That’s just bizarre.”

“He’s frozen still, and when I bring him back, he’ll have no recollection of anything

that’s going on right now. It’s like no time has passed at all for him.” I answered proudly, pretty

stoked with my newfound ability. Lili walked over to join us as we gazed at Xavier’s suspended

body. A few seconds passed, then one of his fingers twitched. It was my turn to squint at Xavier,

because I wasn’t focusing hard enough for the effect to reverse. Xavier blinked, then looked at

us.

“Whoa,” Xavier stammered, his eyes widening. “Lili, you just moved insanely fast. Like,

all I could see was a blur, then you were across the room with Demi and Aiden. That was crazy.”

Lili and I shared a glance as I scratched my head.

“I guess I can’t hold onto it for very long,” I muttered unhappily. Demetri walked over to

the table where the vials were, and leaned up against it. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

“I don’t understand. I focused and focused, but nothing happened. Do you think it just

didn’t work for me?” He whispered. I could hear the hurt in his voice; he probably wanted this

more than all of the rest of us. Lili, Xavier and I gave him simultaneous looks of sympathy as we

walked over to join him. Xavier put his hand on Demi’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Maybe it’ll just take a while for the effects to kick in. I mean, your body did freak out

like the rest of ours. Something’s going down inside of you,” Lili said, trying to read his

expression. Demetri stood straight up.

“But my serum tasted like water. It had no taste, and the only thing that happened was

this dumb shirt turning white.” He scowled at his shirt, then looked at our concerned faces. “Or

Page | 32


maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s just taking a little while to kick in. Either way, we have a bunch

of people waiting on us upstairs, so we might as well head back up.” His demeanor did a 360. He

grinned at the rest of us and motioned us towards the elevator. I was a little worried, to be honest.

He didn’t usually act this way.

I headed towards the glass box, and the others followed suit. Out of the corner of my eye,

I saw Lili wave her arm in front of her face, a shower of bright flames emitting from the air

trailing it. I pressed the ‘up’ button on the metal panel beside the elevator, and the transparent

doors slid open silently. We filed into the spacious box for a second time, and the doors shut

behind us as the elevator began its path back to civilization.

The darkness enshrouded my vision yet again, a darkness overwhelming enough to take

my breath away. It appeared as if none of us had gained super glow-in-the-dark powers, either.

The elevator hummed loudly, and light eventually broke through the surface of the top of the

glass. We slowly rose to the top, back to the hundred curious faces swimming around all

directions of the elevator. The doors slid open slowly, and we stepped out. It was kind of like

something in a movie, where all was silent, and the heroes stepped out, about to deliver some

important news. Dr. Lancing stepped up cautiously to me.

“Well,” he said impatiently, “What’s the verdict?” All eyes were on the four of us, and I

looked at my friends, as if to decide who would go first. Apparently Xavier got the message, so

he put two fingers up to his temple and looked at his father. I’m telepathic, he thought. I can hear

your thoughts, and if I want, you can hear mine. Richard Lancing’s jaw dropped to the floor,

then his face erupted in the biggest grin I would’ve thought imaginable for such a tiny man.

“It worked!” He exclaimed, literally taking a jump for joy, pumping his fist into the air.

“It actually worked! Erm… Not that I didn’t think it would, of course.” He winked at his son.

Page | 33


Despite his sudden outcry, the rest of the room remained silent. Someone in the back of the room

cleared their throat, rather obnoxiously.

“Nobody but you heard that, I think, Dad,” Xavier said, looking around at the expectant

faces. “They need to see what Lili can do to get them convinced, but for the record, to all those

scientists out there, I’m telepathic. I can hear and deliver thoughts. You’re up Lili.” He glanced

back at Lili, who nodded in return. She held an outstretched hand out, her palm facing the

ceiling. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. There was a loud crack, and a jet of flame

shot from her hand, all the way up to the ceiling panel, leaving a black scorch mark. The fire

fizzled out, and she opened her eyes. The room was silent for a split second, like one would be

after a singer just finished performing something amazing, then applause erupted. It was

thunderous, whooping and hollering, men and women in white lab coats ecstatic with this huge

scientific breakthrough. Xavier frowned at the uproar that he didn’t receive, and Lili nudged him

with her elbow playfully, grinning at him.

I hate you, he grinned at her.

It’s okay, Lili thought back. I know you’re special, even if no one else does. She winked

at him. Dr. Lancing clapped her on the back, smiling hugely.

“Alright, Aiden. The ball’s in your court now,” Lancing beamed. I smiled back, although

there was no way I’d ever be able to match his expression, nor would I be able to follow up Lili’s

act. I intertwined my fingers, then cracked them out in front of me for showmanship, then

pointed at an unsuspecting scientist in the audience, also for showmanship. “Freeze.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fire

Page | 34


The young man remained absolutely still and unblinking. Murmurs rippled throughout

the crowd as everyone’s gaze shifted towards him. The young lady beside him poked him in the

face, leaving an unnatural indention where her finger was.

“I don’t exactly know the science behind it,” I explained, “But I figure that he’s frozen in

time right now. When he goes back to normal, he won’t remember any of this, and it’ll be like no

time passed at all for him. I can only hold onto it for so long, though, before he goes back to

normal.” I focused on his face again, and he blinked. He jumped, as everyone was still staring at

him.

“Why’d you point at me?” He stammered. “Did I miss something?” Chuckles rolled

through the crowd, and the poor soul’s face reddened.

“You could say that,” I laughed. A smaller applause echoed throughout the room, and I

took a bow. Dr. Lancing squeezed my shoulder, then walked over to Demetri, still on Cloud

Nine. Demi looked down as the man approached him.

“What about you, Demi? How did yours turn out?” He asked. Demetri slid his hands in

his pockets and looked up sheepishly at Dr. Lancing.

“Yeah, about that…” He began. “Basically, my t-shirt turned bright white. That’s it.

Aiden, Xavier, and Lili’s serum all had different tastes, but mine just tasted like plain old water. I

think it didn’t work on me, or something.” It was Demetri’s turn to have a red face, and he

looked into the eyes of the doctor, hoping for a solution, a do-over, anything to fix this

predicament.

“Hm. That’s curious… Very curious,” Dr. Lancing muttered, scratching his beard. “The

reason your serums tasted different from one another is because the Infinite Clause is a gene-

based solution. No two abilities are the same, therefore the serum would taste different to those

Page | 35


with differing genes. Although, it’s very strange that yours would be flavorless, like water. And

that it turned your shirt white, that’s strange too. It should just affect your body, not the

accessories worn on your body.” He frowned, and turned back to the crowd. “We’ll just have to

watch it, and see what happens. Other than that, though, I’d say this experiment was a success!”

The crowd erupted in cheers. It was like watching a pep rally, except I was the focus of the rally,

which was a nice change, I had to admit.

“Well,” Dr. Lancing said, once the cheering had died down. “I suppose it’s time for

everyone to celebrate. There’s a party room down in the-“ He was cut short. A deafening

explosion shattered through the air, and everyone was thrown to the floor as the building shook

violently. Smoke poured through a doorway where a door had been blown off its hinges, and the

room was losing visibility fast. People were coughing as they warily began standing up, fearful

of aftershocks.

“Um, Lil, that wasn’t you, was it?” I stammered, looking around at the scene that was

unfolding.

“No way. At least, I don’t think…”

“Everyone remain calm!” Dr. Lancing shouted frantically. “Dr. Cail, where was the

source of that explosion?” He turned to a middle-aged man with graying hair, who whipped out a

tablet from the pocket in his lab coat. He tapped the screen a few times, then addressed Lancing.

“The E-Wing,” he said grimly. “Where all of the Infinite Clause testing was held, and

where every last sample of the serum was located. The security there has been breached.” Chaos

swirled around us, as the two doctors shared an ominous look, and us four newly created super

beings stood by them awkwardly. Men and women alike, with lab coats stained gray from the

Page | 36


smoke and ash, were racing fanatically for the exits, knocking one another out of the way in an

attempt to save one’s self. Dr. Lancing looked down, perplexed.

“Their efforts are futile,” Dr. Cail murmured, staring at his tablet. “All the exits have

been blocked off by rubble, and there’s no way to get around it. And God knows what’s

happening in the E-Wing.”

“I know exactly what is happening in that wing,” Richard Lancing growled. “Somebody

leaked information about my project, and now a different somebody has come to steal it away.”

“But we’re super heroes now, or at least three-fourths of us are,” Demetri offered. “We

can stop these people, and save the serum!” Dr. Lancing gave Demetri an astonished look,

shaking his head.

“You children haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re capable of, nor how to access

what you’re capable of. Right now, we need to evacuate the four of you. You’re the only known

products of my serum, and chances are, whoever broke in wants you just as much as they want

that serum.” I frowned at him, and started walking towards the doorway.

“We might not be able to stop whoever is doing this,” I replied, looking straight ahead,

“But we can at least get these people to safety. Come on guys, follow me. We’ll clear this rubble

somehow or another.” Lancing gave Cail a look, then whispered something in his ear. Dr. Cail

nodded, then started a brisk walk towards the door.

“Very well, then,” he coughed, holding his undershirt against his face and breathing

through it. “If you’re going to do something, best do it quick. We’re losing oxygen. However,

you four will stay with me at all times.” Another explosion shook the building, and debris fell

from the ceiling.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

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Into the Night

*“LET’S MOVE!” Demetri screamed, and the frantic scientists began in our direction,

too oblivious to think for themselves. We jogged after Dr. Cail, who never broke a walk,

although his strides were ridiculous. The building was beginning to come down on us, and there

wasn’t much time left as the smoke began to pour in thicker and thicker. We approached a pile of

rock and debris leaning up against a wall, a flickering red exit sign directly above it. The crowd

stopped in front of it, and panicked murmurs rippled around us.

“Any ideas?” I asked my friends, who returned my question with cautious and wary

stares.

“I can try to burn it,” Lili suggested.

“Nah, that won’t work,” I responded. “We won’t be able to get rid of it, we have to move

it. Xavier, what are the odds that you’d be able to do something about it without touching it,

because that stuff is heating up something fierce? You’re telepathic, so maybe you have

telekinesis abilities as well,” Xavier sized up the pile of burning rubble, then shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot I guess.” He held out an outstretched hand towards the rocks and closed

his eyes. He exhaled deeply, and his hand began trembling. The rocks began trembling as well,

and a low rumble sounded through the room. The pile of rock and debris slowly began rising in

the air, much to everyone’s amazement, and Xavier couldn’t help but smile a bit as he shifted the

rocks out of the way of the door. Light filtered into the room through the cracks in the door, and

everyone piled out.

“Beast,” Lili grinned, pounding Xavier’s knuckles. Outside, it was dark. Storm clouds

had rolled into the evening sky, and thunder boomed, shaking the ground. There was a breeze

and a light sprinkle of rain, making the arid climate feel almost chilly. The four of us and Dr.

Page | 38


Cail walked over to a massive tree, away from the fleeing crowd. I shivered, but not because of

the biting wind and icy drops that seemed to slit my skin after the contrast from smoldering heat

to cool air. The entire left half of the laboratory was immersed in an inferno of orange and

yellow flames, slowly engulfing the rest of the structure. A helicopter was hovering over the

wreckage with a ladder dangling down. Squinting closer, I realized that dozens of men were

climbing up the ladder and back into the helicopter. Whatever they had come for, they got it.

“Hey,” Xavier exclaimed, startling me as I watched the horrifically dazzling scene.

“Where’s Dad at?” Dr. Cail turned away from the heist that was taking place, and gave Xavier a

stern look.

“He stayed behind. He said he was going to try and stop them from stealing the serum,”

he said gravely. My mouth fell open.

“That’s crazy!” Xavier said, horrified. “Those people are getting away right now! What

does he possibly think he could-“ He was cut short by yet another explosion. This time, the

whole building went up in flames. The eruption was deafening, and we were thrown to the

ground. My ears were ringing, and I couldn’t hear anything, but to my left, I saw Xavier

screaming and Cail scrambling to his feet, picking up Demetri and Lili with him. Silent tears

poured down his face as Xavier took off towards the burning lab, but Demetri ran him down and

tackled him. Demetri’s mouth formed the syllables of ‘no’, and he grabbed Xavier’s arm and

began towing him back to us.

Dr. Cail grabbed my arm and began shouting at Lili and I. My hearing was slowly

coming back, and I could now hear the panicked screams of everyone left on the scene, trying to

get to their vehicles.

Page | 39


“We don’t have time! We have to get you kids out of here, now!” Cail shouted, tugging

Lili and I towards a black van bearing the BioNuke logo on its side. Out of my peripherals, I saw

Demetri tirelessly pulling a struggling Xavier to the van. Dr. Cail slid the door open, and Lili

jumped in. The whirr of the helicopter became louder and louder, and I was about to step up into

the van, I looked up in time to see two more choppers speeding in our direction. Each one had a

gunman hanging out the side of it, firing a spray of bullets down on the scientists.

“Everyone get down!” Dr. Cail boomed, diving into the driver’s seat of the van. Bullets

pinged off of the metal surface of the vehicle and repelled back in random, more lethal

directions. I lunged into the vehicle just as a missile whizzed by, exploding on the tree we had

been standing by. I watched in horror as Xavier collapsed, and Demetri threw one of his arms

around his shoulder and carried him to the van. I pulled his unconscious body into the back seat,

and Demetri hopped in after him, slamming the car door behind him.

“What happened?” Lili demanded, searching Xavier’s body for a wound. Demetri shook

his head, still breathing hard.

“He got hit. One of the gunmen hit him.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

To Grandmother’s House We Go

“Where are we going?” I asked in mid-yawn. The lights zoomed past us on the busy

highway; neon fluorescent colors of all kinds were just a blur. The moon was full, and my breath

was fogging up the window, making it translucent.

“I was instructed to bring you four to Xavier’s grandmother’s house in Madison,

Wisconsin. Dr. Lancing has a mobile lab set up in his mother-in-law’s basement, and I’ll be able

to perform thorough tests on all of you so that we may be able to see the extent of what you

Page | 40


children are capable of.” Dr. Cail glanced back quickly to check on Xavier, then returned his

gaze to the watery road. The rain was coming down in sheets now.

Xavier was lying unconscious in the spacious back of the van, which consisted of two

benches on either side, and no seat belts. His head was in Lili’s lap, who was sitting cross-legged

in the middle of the vehicle, and was gently stroking Xavier’s sweating brow. Demetri and I

were sprawled out on either of the benches. Dr. Cail told us that we had a long drive ahead of us,

and that we should try to sleep, but I just couldn’t. Not after the scare with Xavier.

I kept replaying the events in my mind when the gunmen attacked.

I dove into the van when the missile exploded, and turned to see Xavier collapse as he

and Demi ran for cover. Demi carried the unconscious and bleeding Xavier to the van, and I slid

my arms under his armpits and yanked him in as gently and quickly as possible, which was no

easy task because Xavier was by no means light, and we were under heavy gunfire. Cail had put

the vehicle in reverse and was flooring it before Demetri even got the door shut all the way.

Everyone was screaming in the van, yelling at Demetri clues as to what exactly had happened.

He ignored us all and whipped out his pocket knife. Demi yanked off Xavier’s jacket, then cut

open his shirt, exposing a gaping hole directly above his right hip.

“Aiden, take the wheel!” Dr. Cail had shouted, abandoning the driver’s seat and leaving

me to scramble up and grab the wheel before we lost control of the vehicle.

“I dunno where the freak I’m going!” I yelled back towards the doctor, who was

examining Xavier’s wounds. “Just go straight!” He had responded without looking up. So I did.

Out of the rearview mirror, I watched the burning lab get smaller and smaller as it sunk into the

horizon. I looked back to the road, squinting to see where I was going through the rapid

Page | 41


movement of the wiper blades and the pouring rain. A streak of blurry lightning spider-webbed

across the sky, and thunder cracked through the air.

In the back, Cail had gotten out a first-aid kit, and was probing Xavier’s wound with a

metal object in his right hand, and a small flashlight in his left. Demetri grimaced as he watched

the doctor examine the bloody flesh, but Lili refused to watch. She climbed up in the front seat

with me, looking sickly and pale.

“What happened back there?” I asked softly, taking a quick glance to meet her eyes. She

shook her head, then looked out her window absent-mindedly.

“Right before we left,” she began, “That missile that went off right by you and hit the

tree. A piece of shrapnel ricocheted off and hit Xavier in the stomach. The tree slowed it down a

lot, but it’s still in pretty deep. Luckily, it’s all in one piece, so it’ll be easy to get out. Or at least,

that’s what Dr. Cail told me. Gave him some heavy sedation, though. Xavier shouldn’t wake up

for a while, but when he does, he’s gonna hurt something fierce.” Her voice trailed off. A loud

squelching noise came from the back, and I saw out of my mirrors Cail pull up a large metal

object out of Xavier with a pair of small tongs. Demetri dry heaved, and Lili put her hand over

her mouth. I looked away, trying not to wonder too terribly hard what the green substance that

dripped off of it was.

“That should do it,” Dr. Cail muttered. “Miraculously, none of his organs were hit, and he

has no internal bleeding whatsoever. I haven’t the slightest idea of how that happened.” He

sighed, then leaned back against a bench. Wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his

hand, he instructed me to pull off onto the interstate.

“So what now?” Demi asked, holding a blood-stained rag against Xavier’s wound to stop

the bleeding.

Page | 42


“Now,” Cail said, digging in his first-aid kit and pulling out a needle and thread, “I have

to close that wound before he loses too much blood or becomes infected. Normally, a procedure

like this doesn’t go this smoothly, and takes much longer to perform, but I guess this doesn’t

qualify as standard procedure.” A vibration in the armrest of my seat made me jump. I lifted it

up, and pulled out a small phone that was glowing and vibrating ferociously. I flipped it over in

my palm so I could see the screen. In bright black letters, the name RICHARD LANCING glared

at me. My eyes widened, and I looked over at Lili, who shared my expression.

“Answer it, Aiden!”

“Right. That’s what I’m supposed to do with a phone. I forgot.” I pressed the receive

button, then put it on speakerphone.

“Dr. Lancing? Is that you?” I asked cautiously. Demetri had run up to the front seat, and

was in the middle of Lili and I.

“Aiden! My boy!” Dr. Lancing’s voice crackled through the receiver. “You don’t know

how relieved I am to hear your voice! But where’s Dr. Cail?”

“He’s in the back of the van, helping Xavier. Dr. Lancing, your son got hit by a piece of

shrapnel from a missile. He’s going to be okay, but he’ll be out for a while.” The other end was

silent.

“Dr. Lancing, Cail’s taking good care of your boy,” Demetri cut in. “But what happened

back there? One minute we’re getting super powers, and the next we’re on the run from

something that we haven’t the slightest clue of! None of us signed up for this.”

“But we’re here now,” Lili said, giving Demetri a warning look. “What about our

families, Mr. Lancing? What are we supposed to tell them?” There was more static through the

phone.

Page | 43


“About that,” Dr. Lancing finally said, his voice hesitant. “There was a leak. Whoever

broke into my lab knows who you four are. Your houses were all broken into in search of you,

but luckily, I thought ahead of this. All of your families have been evacuated to the military base,

Fort Gallagher, and there were no close calls.” Demetri’s face was livid.

“A leak? We haven’t told a single person about this! Who could possibly have known…”

his voice trailed off as he caught Lili’s gaze.

“One of my sources traced a phone call back to a man by the name of Rodney Cage. I

don’t know how this man knew that the project was any bigger than the extra limbs that we led

the press to believe, but he’s missing now.” His voice crackled and was breaking up.

“Doctor, we’re losing you. Where are you at? What do we tell Xavier? And how long are

we going to have to stay with Xavier’s grandma?” Lili asked frantically.

“In…time…understand…” The phone disconnected. I tried redialing the number, but the

line was dead, not even sending me to voicemail. The van was silent.

“That jerk sold us out. And it’s my fault,” Demetri muttered, pounding his fist on the

back of my seat. I frowned at Lili, giving her a questioning glance.

“Demetri said a bit too much in our government class today when he got into a debate

with the teacher, Mr. Rodney Cage. Cage ended up leaving the class with his phone to his ear. It

doesn’t matter now,” she added. “What happened happened, so we need to play with the hand

we were dealt. We can’t take any of it back, so right now, our main focus is to get to Wisconsin

and get Xavier to help.” A semi-truck flew by us, honking loudly. Demetri sighed behind us and

turned around.

“Aiden, you drive like an old lady,” he said quietly, and walked hunched over to a bench,

collapsing on it. Dr. Cail stood up as far as he could, then took Demi’s spot.

Page | 44


“I’ll take the wheel now, Aiden. You two need to get some sleep. I’ll explain everything

in detail tomorrow morning.” I shuffled over to Lili’s side, and he took my seat. I leaned over to

whisper in Lili’s ear.

“If you want,” I murmured, “you can sleep on the bench back there with Demi. Or I can

grab some blankets and bring them up here for you. It’s your call.” She leaned up to my ear.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll just sleep up here. You can have the bench. Just one blanket

would be fantastic.” I nodded, then retrieved a blanket from under the bench seat and gave it to

her. She smiled at me, and I returned to the back seat, lying down on the bench. And that brings

us to where we started.

I closed my eyes, still unsure if sleep would come, but I knew it would eventually. For

the time being, I had my good health. There was no point in feeling hopeless in a situation like

this. Was this really the adventure that we had been looking for? Not even a day into it, and

Xavier had already been shot. Hopefully this wouldn’t be a foreshadowing of what was to come.

I sighed one last time, then let the sleepy trance embrace me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Enter: Marge

We crossed the Wisconsin border at 7:03 AM, following the dreary flow of traffic off of

the interstate and into the bustling town of Madison. The sky was still gray from the night’s storm,

and a few drops of polluted rain bounced off of the windshield of the van. I laid awake, staring at

the roof. The night had been a long one, and sleep had evaded me. Demetri was seemingly

unaffected, as he let loose a loud snore. I finally sat up, and rubbed my unrested eyes.

Page | 45


“Hey Cail?” I called out quietly. He tilted his head, acknowledging my voice. “Why are

you here? With us, I mean? Why you?” There was silence, and I couldn’t decide whether or not

he was thinking or ignoring me. Finally, he sighed.

“It was one of Dr. Lancing’s final requests. Right when the lab exploded, he told me to

bring you kids to safety. He entrusted me with your lives. Why? I’ll never know. This basement

lab of his has the equipment to analyze the four of you and determine exactly what the extent of

your powers are so it stands to reason that this would be the best possible place to evacuate to.”

Demetri stirred out of the corner of my eye, and I saw him sit up and stretch his arms.

“So once we get to this place, you’re staying with us? You won’t go back home?”

Demetri yawned and laid back down, gazing out the window.

“Do you want me to go back home?”

“No.” There was more silence.

“Then I suppose I’ll stay as long as I’m needed.” I glanced over to Xavier, who was still

out from the heavy medication. His finger twitched once, showing signs that he was still alive.

We turned onto a back road and followed it for a little ways. Small businesses with burnt

out neon signs rolled by, and the air began to smell less like city and more like the country. Dr.

Cail pulled the van onto a dirt road. The scenery changed from dingy buildings and streetlights to

soggy pastures and grazing cattle. Demetri inhaled deeply.

“This reminds me of home,” he said, his pupils darting back and forth as the landscape

flew by.

“Demi, you live in an apartment,” I chuckled.

“Yeah, but I live with a bunch of animals.” I looked at him sideways.

“Don’t you miss your family, though?” He frowned, then looked away.

Page | 46


“Not as much as I should.” We passed a small fruit market, with an elderly gentleman

sitting in a rocking chair, overlooking traffic. Dr. Cail waved, and the gentleman returned his

wave.

“We’re almost there,” Cail said. Lili slowly sat up straight. “Good morning,” he added.

Lili nodded slowly and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands like a small child. She looked

back in the back seat to check on Xavier, and I smiled at her. She returned the smile, and turned

back around. The vehicle turned into a driveway, with trees surrounding the entire drive. The

house wasn’t visible from the road because the forest was so thick. We approached a clearing in

the forest where the drive ended and a large, two-story house sat. The house was brick and had a

chimney that was crumbling at the top. A white picket fence surrounded the house, and

shrubbery had begun to grow over the fence. Birds chased each other around a birdfeeder that

overlooked the drive.

“This is a really pretty place,” Lili said quietly, as she opened the car door. We all filed

out of the van, with no luggage to trouble us.

“What should we do about Xavier?” Demetri asked. “We can’t really just leave him in

there. He’ll burn up.” Cail began walking towards the house.

“We’re going to have an unhappy grandma on our hands anyway, so Demetri, why don’t

you gently carry him to the house.” Cail suggested.

“HAIL YEAH YOU’LL HAVE A UNHAPPY GRAMMA!” The front door to the house

banged open, and a large, black woman stormed out. Her hair was up in curlers, and she had on a

flowery dress. Dr. Cail sighed, and Lili’s mouth dropped. Demetri chuckled beside me.

“You must be Xavier’s grandmother,” Dr. Cail said, offering his hand.

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“Da name’s Marge Dunn, but ya call me Gramma Dunn. Now where’s ma baby?” She

frowned, then waddled over to the van.

“Um, ma’am, you may not want to-“ Cail warned. It was too late. She threw the sliding

door open, then peered inside.

“WHAT DA HAIL DID YOU DONE TO MA BABY?!” She yanked him out and

cradled him in her arms. “Xavier, child, say somethin’ to me!” She slapped him.

“Hey, Gramma Dunn,” Demetri interrupted her hysterics. “He’s alright, he’s just sedated.

He got in a little accident, but Dr. Cail here fixed him up.” She slapped him again. “Seriously,

stop hitting him. You’ll hurt him worse by doing that.” Xavier groaned weakly, and opened his

eyes.

“Gramma?” He muttered. Gramma Dunn laughed hysterically, then pressed him against

her bosoms in a deadly bear hug. Xavier said something, but it was muffled.

“Hang on Gramma Dunn, let up. I think Xavier’s trying to say something,” I said

cautiously. She slackened her grip just a tad bit.

“What’d you say, child?” She asked. His face was green and sickly.

“I said, I think I’m gonna be si-“ He vomited in his grandmother’s chest.

“I knows you didn’t just throw up yo guts on me.” I lost it. Demetri collapsed on the

ground and was clutching his throat because he couldn’t breathe. Lili was doubled over, and

even Dr. Cail was chuckling. Gramma Dunn grimaced at her dress, then wiped off her chest.

“Well, when ya’ll get done laughing, ya might as well come in,” she muttered grumpily.

She hobbled back to her house, where the door was still ajar. Xavier was crumpled up on the

ground, still vomiting.

Page | 48


“I guess it’s safe to say that she knew we were coming,” Demetri said, scooping up

Xavier like he was weightless, carefully adjusting his head so that it was pointed away from his

body.

“Demi, you’re picking him up like he’s nothing. When did you get so strong?” Lili asked,

gazing at Demi’s bulging arms.

“What are you talking about? I’ve always been like this,” he said, heading towards the

house. Lili looked at me, and I shrugged.

“I wish she wouldn’t have woken him up,” Dr. Cail growled. “He’s going to be in so

much more pain now then he would’ve been in if he would’ve rested more.” We all began

walking towards the house as rain began sprinkling down on us. A pair of wind chimes on the

front porch began ringing as the metal rods collided off each other in the wind. Demetri gently

kicked open the picket fence gate and stepped into the yard. We all followed, and as soon as I

crossed the fence line, a cool breeze carried the aroma of roses throughout the yard. On either

side of the sidewalk leading up to the front porch, there were patches of dirt, each with red and

white roses, swaying in the wind.

“This is gorgeous,” Lili whispered. I nodded as Cail slid past us to hold open the screen

door for Demetri. He crab-stepped into the house sideways, and gently set Xavier on a couch.

Lili, Cail and I followed Demetri closely and quietly. The room was quaint, two couches on one

end of the room, and two recliners on the other, all facing a small box television set with an

antenna. There was a plaid rug in the center of the blue carpeted floor, and a ceiling fan was

quietly buzzing in circles. Gramma Dunn entered the room with a metal pail and a large quilt.

She set the pail near Xavier’s face and laid the blanket over his shivering body. Xavier vomited

Page | 49


once more into the pail, then passed out again. Gramma Dunn tisked with her tongue, then took a

seat in one of the recliners, which protested under her weight. She had changed dresses.

“Gots a phone call from ma son-in-law late las’ night. Says ma baby’s comin’, says he’s

bringin’ friends. But he also says ya’ll are different now. Even Xavier. Says you got special

powers, and dat ya’ll need da lab downstairs.” She leaned back in her chair, grabbing a remote

and turning on the muted television, which was playing the 12 o’ clock news.

“I’m terribly sorry that we had to come on such short notice, none of us knew that the lab

catastrophe was going to happen, or that we’d have to evacuate the state. The middle of

Wisconsin is probably the safest place for these kids right now,” Dr. Cail explained. Gramma

Dunn frowned.

“Wait, what lab ‘catastrophe’?” She enunciated the word catastrophe. Dr. Cail looked at

the three of us for help. “Richard didn’t say nothin’ ‘bout no ‘catastrophe’.”

“Well look,” I said, pointing towards the television screen as the burning lab appeared on

screen with the captions “TERRORIST ATTACK?” underneath it. “It looks like they’re talking

about right now, if you want to unmute it.”

“Don’t you tell me what ta do, ya skinny white boy.” She unmuted the television. A

female news reporter was standing in front of the lab.

“This is the scene that is currently underway at BioGene Industries, as investigators try to

determine the source of the explosions that took place late last night. Witnesses report seeing

several military-grade helicopters flying over the lab, with hordes of men climbing up and down

ladders dangling from them. Even more shocking are the events that were occurring shortly

before the attack, as one member of the BioGene team, Anne Elte, tells all.” The camera went to

a small woman, who was still wearing her earpiece. The secretary.

Page | 50


“Anne!” Demetri cried. “She wouldn’t…”

“I managed to sneak into one of the test rooms last night, I mean, all the biggest names in

science were there. I had to see what was going on. I got there, and I was in the back, but I could

still see everything that was happening. Four kids, including Richard Lancing’s son, were sent

down to the basement of the lab to test out this new product of Dr. Lancing’s. When they came

back up, they all had these weird abilities, like one of them, she could make fire, and another

could freeze people up. It was crazy.” The camera went back to the news lady.

“These four children are currently missing and at large. They are wanted for illegal

experimentation, and if seen, they are to be reported and turned in at once. They are a danger to

society and must be brought in for questioning, treatment, and trial. Here is a picture of them.”

The screen changed to a picture of the four of us, arms around each other’s shoulders, grinning

widely at the camera. It was from the summer of last year. The television went black.

“So ya’ll are fugitives on the run from da fuzz, and I’m s’pposed ta keep ya’ll hidden? Is

dat whatcha tellin’ me?” Gramma Dunn set the remote down, and began rocking back and forth

in her recliner.

“Unfortunately, that’s what it looks like,” Dr. Cail admitted.

“An’ why should I do dat?” She folded her arms, and looked expectantly at Cail.

“Your son-in-law trusted you with these kids, including his own son. So if he does, then I

do too. They have nowhere else to go. You’re their only hope for survival while they try to figure

out what they are capable of. We’ll lay low here for a little while, then try to blend back in with

society, if all goes well. That is, if you agree to this.” I glanced over at Demetri and Lili, who

were quietly listening to the conversation that was taking place. Gramma Dunn was silent, as she

mulled over her situation.

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“Alright. Fine. Ya’ll will stay here. But ya’ll better be on yo best behaviors. None of dat

magic power stuff in da house, ya take it outside. I gots a guest room, two couches, and two

recliners. Fight amongst yaselves for who gets what.” She stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you, Mrs. Dunn,” Cail called after her. She replied with an “Mmhm.” Demetri,

Lili and I took spots on the couch opposite from Xavier, and Dr. Cail sat down in a recliner.

“Cail, you can have the guest bedroom, and we’ll just pick spots in the living room,”

Demetri said. “Sound alright to everyone?”

“I’m cool with that,” I agreed.

“Sounds good,” Lili nodded.

“Well, that was easy enough,” Cail said. “Now we’ll head downstairs, and start the tests.

Demetri, I wanna start with you first, because the effects on you are the strangest.” Demetri

looked down at his white t-shirt, reaching up to his chest and feeling the outline of his dog tags

he had worn since he was little.

“Alright, good. The anticipation has been killing me.” Demetri stood up, and walked to

the kitchen. I glanced at Lili, who shrugged, and followed Demetri. Cail sighed and stood up.

“So how exactly are you going to be able to tell what our powers are?” I asked, in an

attempt to break the ice between the quiet doctor, whom nobody really knew anything about.

“Well, in theory,” he explained, “There is a machine that I can hook you up to that will

give a DNA reading in real time, so we’ll be able to identify the changes that have taken place in

it. Once we have those readings, we’ll be able to analyze it with the small supercomputer down

there, and it should tell us the modifications that have been made to your genes.” I nodded, still

just as clueless as I was before he explained. “Just go with it. We’ll get it all figured out.” I

chuckled, then followed my friends into the kitchen.

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“Stairs are down der,” Gramma Dunn pointed a wooden spoon towards a doorway at the

back of the kitchen. She turned a knob on the oven clockwise, filled a pot full of water, and set it

on the stove. “Supper’s at seven o’ clock sharp. Don’t ya’ll be late. I is bein’ serious, I like ta eat.

You one minute late, it’ll be gone, an’ I’ll probably eat you next.” I looked at the clock, which

read 5:04. I decided not to be late.

We stepped through a door in the kitchen, and descended down a flight of creaking

wooden stairs. As we got lower, the stench of mothballs became more and more overwhelming.

The bottom of the basement was dark, until Dr. Cail flipped a switch that was out of sight,

revealing a basement full of heavy machinery. He flipped another switch, and the machinery

came to life, with flashing lights and loud humming. There was one corner of the basement with

old pictures and antique memorabilia, but other than that, the room was occupied with

technology.

“Alright, children. My name is Dr. Caleb Cail. I designed every piece of equipment you

see in this room,” he said smiling, as he ran a hand through his graying hair. “All of this was

created in the event that the Infinite serum actually worked, so that we might not be totally in the

dark. Demetri, if you’ll be so kind as to have a seat in that chair over there.” He pointed towards

a black leather chair that was the spitting image of a torture device. It had manacles on the

armrests, and a salon-style helmet to fit over the head. On either side of the chair, there was a

long metal arm with a rather large needle and syringe.

“I’d rather not,” Demetri said weakly, staring in horror at the death trap.

“Oh come on,” Dr. Cail laughed. “It’s not nearly as bad as it looks. Trust me. I’m a

doctor.” Demetri sighed, and reluctantly crawled up into the chair.

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“Yeah, that’s reassuring,” he muttered under his breath. Cail walked up to a computer

monitor adjacent to the chair. He tapped the touch screen a few times, then looked at the petrified

Demetri.

“This may sting a little bit.” Demetri opened his mouth to protest, but Cail tapped the

screen once more, cutting him off. The helmet of the chair went down, and the needle arms

slowly injected themselves into Demetri’s arms, drawing his blood into them. Demetri was

yelling, but it was barely audible over the crackle of electricity. Smoke leaked out of the helmet

as it rose off of his head, and the needles withdrew themselves. Demetri stared wide-eyed and

straight ahead as the manacles unlatched.

Demetri stood up slowly and stepped down, facing the smirking doctor.

“I hate you.”

“Surely it wasn’t that bad?”

“If I had Lili’s powers, I’d burn you.”

“Suck it up.” He turned back to the computer, and Demetri grumpily returned to Lili and

I, who were watching in silent horror. “Now this computer will analyze your blood samples, scan

your DNA, and record your brainwaves. In a few seconds, we should have the verdict as to what

makes you weird.”

“If my brainwaves could scream, they would.” The basement door banged open.

“WHAT DA HAIL IS YA’LL DOIN’ DOWN DARE?! KEEP YA SCREAMIN’

DOWN, IT’S INTERRUPTIN’ THE FOOD MAKIN’ PROCESS!”

“Yes Gramma Dunn!” We all shouted back simultaneously. The computer dinged as the

door slammed.

“It looks like the results are in,” Dr. Cail said, staring intently at the computer screen.

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“Well?” Demetri inquired. “Don’t leave me hanging.” I leaned forward, anxious to hear

what Dr. Cail had to say. Cail looked up from the computer screen, then to Demetri, with a

curious look on his face.

“It looks like,” he began, “We’re going to flight school.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Flight School

The van rattled and rolled up the winding path to Cryo’s Drop, one of the largest cliffs in

Wisconsin. It overlooked a large and sprawling forest, well-known for its population and wide

variety of wildlife. The dirt road up the cliff was bumpy, and also surrounded by trees and

wildlife.

“Man, I hate nature,” Xavier complained, as he pulled at the large white bandage that

wrapped around his entire lower torso. When Demetri, Lili and I were loading up for our road

trip, Xavier had hobbled out the door, with his grandmother screaming and cursing after him. It

took a while, but Cail had managed to pacify her into letting Xavier go, as long as he promised to

be extremely careful and be back by dinner. Dr. Cail had floored it out of there before she had

the opportunity to change her mind. We were fairly certain she had bid us farewell in the form of

some vulgar curse words.

“You know, Xavier,” Demetri had said as we left the driveway. “I really don’t like your

grandma much.” Xavier popped a Tylenol.

“She grows on you after a while. Like a wart. Or syphilis,” he replied.

Xavier had clamored out of the vehicle at the foot of the mountain, muttering something

about having to use the restroom. He insisted that we didn’t wait up, so the four of us trekked up

the mountain without him. Now, the van pulled up to the clearing right before the edge of the

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cliff. There was a picnic table and a small gazebo in the clearing. If I had to guess, this was a site

for weddings and such. I slid the van door back and stepped out, breathing in the cool mountain

air. Demetri followed behind me, looking pale. I couldn’t blame him. Twenty miles off of the

ground would be intimidating to anyone. I guess that meant he had more time to figure out how

to survive before he hit the ground. Lili followed Dr. Cail to the edge of the cliff.

“Don’t sweat it, man,” I assured Demetri, putting my hand on his shoulder and steering

him towards the edge of the cliff. “This is what you were meant for!” He swallowed hard and

nodded. We walked to the edge of the cliff, and Lili met him with a huge grin, but Cail greeted

him with folded arms and an expectant look on his face. He motioned towards the edge of the

cliff.

“After you. And I’d hurry. Gramma Dunn will eat you if you’re late,” Cail said

impatiently. Demetri inched towards the edge, peering over the side. The massive forest canopy

appeared as if each individual tree was a microscopic dot, and the clouds were eye level.

Demetri’s heart began racing, and he placed his hand around the outline of his dog tags, rubbing

them back and forth. His white shirt rippled across his muscular torso in the wind.

“I dunno if I can do this, guys. It’s really, really hi-“ I shoved him hard from behind, and

he tripped over his foot trying to catch himself. His eyes met mine in pure horror as he fell over

the edge of the cliff.

“So what exactly is supposed to happen now?” I asked Dr. Cail, watching Demetri

descend to the bottom.

“You know, I’m actually not all that sure.”

The wind whistled past Demetri as he fell. His mind raced almost as fast as he was

falling. What was he supposed to do? He struggled to keep his eyes open as the wind burned

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through them, making them water. The ground was approaching closer and closer; the trees that

were once microscopic now seemed colossal. His breathing rate increased rapidly, and soon he

was hyperventilating. Demetri tried to steady his fall, but his body was flipping and rolling in the

air much too fast to control. He fell, increasing in speed faster and faster, the canopy drawing

nearer and nearer, until he knew he was past the point of no return. He could see every individual

branch and leaf on the tree he was about to collide with, and finally, he gave up, accepting the

fall.

Demetri slammed hard into a solid surface. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and the

wind had been knocked out of him from the impact of the fall. Cautiously, Demetri opened his

eyes. He was suspended in midair only inches from the tip of the tree. Demetri rolled his eyes in

relief.

“I knew you didn’t have to pee at the rest stop at the bottom of the mountain, Xavier!” He

laughed once his breath returned to him. Xavier moved out from under the tree so that he was

barely visible to Demetri.

“No you didn’t!” He called back. “You thought you were gonna die!” Xavier slowly

guided him through the brush and trees as best he could, and Demetri was on the ground.

“Alright. So I thought I was done for. Lessons learned. Now how am I supposed to get

back up there?” They both looked straight up to the top of the cliff, which was shrouded in a thin

cloud cover.

“Aren’t you supposed to be able to fly or something?” Xavier shielded his eyes from the

sun, and turned to Demetri. “Guess this will be a bumpy ride then.” He held out his hand toward

Demetri, then flicked his wrist, sending Demetri rocketing upwards. “I sure hope he gets it right

this time. It’s almost seven. He’s bound to get eaten,” Xavier muttered to himself.

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Demetri whistled through the air, desperately praying that Xavier still had control of him.

He soared past the edge of the cliff where we were standing, arms and legs flailing wildly. He

came back down and landed hard on his backside, rubbing it as he grumpily stood back up.

“What happened?” Lili asked him, dusting off his back. Demi scowled.

“Well some jerk pushed me off a cliff. I panicked. Xavier saved my skin. And that just

about sums it up,” Demetri growled, striding back towards the edge of the cliff.

“Well,” Dr. Cail said, arching one eyebrow, “Xavier will not be catching you a second

time. This is still a life or death situation. Now are you going to jump, or will you require

Aiden’s encouragement again?” Demetri grimaced, then turned his attention to the sprawling

forest below him. A look of determination that was not previously there had taken residence on

his face. His eyes were focused, his jaw set.

“I think I can handle it this time,” he murmured. He stepped back from the cliff, putting

distance between himself and the edge. Demetri inhaled deeply, then sprinted towards the edge

of Cryo’s Drop, launching himself into the open air. As he fell, he flipped his body, willing it to

go into a diving position. Concentrate, he thought. Think ‘flight’. I’m an eagle. An owl. An

angel… Demetri closed his eyes, taking in the bitingly cold air that whipped his face. As he

focused, a stream of light shot up the middle of his pure white t-shirt. The shirt then split along

the crack, folding out into two pieces of cloth behind him. The cloth began gaining density,

filling out as muscles started forming underneath it. Feathers began sprouting from the torn cloth,

and slowly, the shirt remnants expanded larger and larger until they had become a pair of large,

white wings across his back. His t-shirt had become a pair of feathery wings that spanned at least

fourteen feet across. Demetri opened his eyes in shock. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he

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smirked, as he flapped his wings for the first time. The single flap sent him shooting upwards.

Demetri began shouting from excitement as he scaled higher and higher up the cliff.

He whooped and hollered all the way to the top, doing intricate swirls and maneuvers as

if he’d been flying his whole life. Demi came to a soft landing at the top of the cliff, where he

was greeted by three open mouths.

“Well, what do you guys think? I’m not a dud after all.” He grinned the biggest grin I’d

ever seen on his face.

“Bro, you have angel wings. That is probably the sickest thing I’ve ever seen,” I said,

pounding his outstretched knuckles.

“You’re…ripped,” Lili said softly. Demetri looked down at his exposed torso for the first

time since he ingested the serum. She was right. His dog tags hung tightly over his pectoral

muscles, which had become massive and cut up. His abs, well, he now had eight of them, each

one a smooth and chiseled stone, like a Greek statue. His arms had also become massive, the

thick bands of his triceps wrapping around the bottom of his arms, while his massive biceps

rested tightly on top.

“Alright,” Demetri said in awe. “I didn’t look like this ten minutes ago.”

“If I had to guess,” Dr. Cail cut in, “I’d say your transformation finally triggered the rest

of the change from the serum. All that the results pointed to was that you could fly. I guess this

explains the white shirt now. Your wings disguised themselves as an article of clothing.”

Demetri withdrew his wings, folding them back around his body. The line of light appeared

straight down his chest again, and the feathers shot back in, the muscles faded away. The pair of

wings that were once there had been replaced with an unblemished white hoodie.

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“Huh,” Demetri bemused, stretching his arms out and examining his shirt. “I didn’t think

that would actually work. I guess they can change into whatever shirt I want them to change into.

That’s sweet.” He looked at all of our expectant facial expressions, then began walking back to

the van. “Alrighty then,” he said, “Let’s go. This guy right here is not going to get eaten.” Lili,

Cail and I shared a glance, then Cail shrugged. We joined Demi and begun walking back to the

van.

“Don’t forget to grab Xavier on your way back,” Lili reminded Cail. He nodded, and slid

into the driver’s seat. We piled in after him as he started the car.

“Would that be funny?” Demi asked mischievously. “If we came back and didn’t even

have Xavier? I’d probably giggle.”

“No,” Cail answered sternly. “That would not be funny at all.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Supper, Not Dinner

When we pulled into Gramma Dunn’s driveway, she was waiting for us on the porch,

sitting in a rusted metal porch chair. I stepped out of the van, my friends following close.

“Six fifty-foar,” Gramma yelled as Xavier slammed the van door shut behind him. “Now

ya’ll have six minutes ta be in yo chairs, hands washed and folded, ready ta thank da good Loard

for yo meal.” As that was said, the four of us sprinted towards the house, laughing. Gramma

stood up and held the door for us.

“Did everythin’ go alright?” She asked Cail as he approached, hands in his pockets. “Not

jus’ wit’ Xavier, but wit’ da other boy too?” Cail smiled warmly.

“Everything went perfect. There was no trouble at all.” She over-exaggerated relief,

winking at Dr. Cail.

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“Dat’s good, I was makin’ supper worryin’ ma precious little head off. Ya know Doctor,

you is a mighty handsome gentleman, comin’ from an ol’ goat like maself.” Cail laughed as he

stepped up onto the porch.

“Call me Caleb. Marge, how old do you think I am?” He asked, grinning at her.

“Hm,” she thought, rubbing her chin. “Maybe thirty-eight?” Caleb Cail laughed again,

taking the door from her with an “after you”.

“Close,” he chuckled. “I actually celebrated my fifty-eighth birthday a month ago. But

you sure do know how to make an old man feel good. Is there a Mr. Dunn in the picture, may I

ask?” Gramma Dunn stepped inside, and Cail followed. They walked slowly to the kitchen.

“I’m ‘fraid not,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “Grampa Dunn was killed in ‘Nam, on

da enemy soil. We don’t talk about it much, though. Now go wash yo hands, it’s six fifty-nine.”

Dr. Cail gave her a small smile, then left for the bathroom. “I wouldn’t use dat toilet if I was

you,” she called after him. “Dat sucka’s been used, abused, and dere’s a good possibility you

gonna get radiation poisonin’. It don’t work.” She yanked out one of the wooden chairs that

surrounded the wooden table and joined my friends and I, who were washed up and ready to go.

The room smelled like heaven. The table was ornately decorated with multicolored bowls

filled with steaming hot vegetables. A plate of buttery rolls lay off to the side, and I had already

decided the quickest possible route to grab as many as I could without losing a hand. In the

center of the table, there was a plate of fried chicken, the grease shining off of it in the light of

the overhead ceiling fan. Cail walked in, wiping his hands on his pants, and sat down in the

unoccupied chair next to me. The table was circular, so we were all facing each other.

Demetri reached out for a roll. “Dinner looks great, Gramma Du-“ She smacked his hand

with a wooden spoon.

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“It’s supper, not dinner. Now we gonna give our thanks to da Loard now,” She

announced once Cail had taken his seat and placed his napkin in his lap.

“You know him? Who would have thought?” Demi said grumpily, rubbing his hand. She

leaned across the table.

“I ain’t kiddin’ when I says I is gonna eat you. Don’t you think I won’t.” She bowed her

head, and the rest of us did the same. “Loard, thank you’s fo such blessin’s you’s have bestowed

upon us. Thank you’s fo our good health, and Xavier’s quick recovery. Thank you’s fo dese

guests, and may you watch ova dem, and guide dem in da right direction. Lastly, thank you’s fo

da food, Loard, and may it provide da energy we all need. In Yo name we’s a prayin’, Amen.”

“Amen,” the rest of the table repeated. I filled my plate, reaching across dishes and

hands, and once my plate was full, I put my hands in my lap, waiting for the others to finish.

“Thank you for dinner,” Lili said once she had filled her plate. “Everything looks

amazing.” The table nodded in agreement.

“Gramma’s notorious for being the best cook in all of Wisconsin. She killed that possum

this morning,” Xavier said, cutting up his food. Cail coughed.

“Er, possum?” He said, covering his mouth.

“I, um, I thought this was chicken,” Demetri stammered. Gramma Dunn forked a massive

piece of the mystery meat into her mouth, winking at Xavier.

“Relax, child. I is not about to eat some nasty rodent like an opossum. It’s alligator. Had

it shipped from Louisiana. Gots family down in those parts. Dig in!” She ate another piece. I

prodded the meat with my fork, then shrugged, spearing the meat and sticking it in my mouth. I

chewed slowly.

“It’s not bad,” I admitted, my mouth full of food. “It actually does taste like chicken.

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“Chew wit’ yo dang mouth shut. Ain’t nobody wanna see that nasty funk.” I promptly

shut my mouth then glanced over at Demi, who was watching me intently. I clutched my hand at

my throat.

“Wait a minute,” I gagged. “This food! I’m slowly… losing… consciousness…” Lili and

Xavier laughed, and Demetri threw his wadded up napkin at me, grinning.

“’Scuse me!” Gramma shouted. “If ya’ll are quite finished, we gonna finish this meal

before the dang lizard comes back ta life. Thank you, dat is all.” She took another massive bite of

the alligator. Demetri looked at his plate once more, then to the rest of us who were happily

eating away at our alligator. He shook his head, then took a bite of the meat. Once he decided he

liked it, he dove straight into his meal, not saying another word. The rest of the meal was eaten in

silence. Not an awkward silence, but a silence that came from a heavenly meal that was too good

to be interrupted with words. Or at least that’s how I thought of it.

Once we had finished and the dishes had been done, everyone went off to their separate

corners for the night. Gramma had stayed to watch the nine o’ clock news, which told a

paraphrased story of the noon news, then she went to her room for the evening after wishing us

goodnight. Shortly after, Cail had left for the guest bedroom, but before he left, he informed us

that he would finish the research on the rest of us tomorrow. So that left the four of us.

Xavier sat upright on one of the couches, with Lili at the other end, curled up under a

blanket. He took off his shirt, tossing it on the floor, then gently pulled at his bandages,

unraveling them like a mummy. Once he had taken them off, he revealed the wound to the rest of

us. There was a wide line across his side that was an angry red. It was laced with black thread,

sealed shut tightly from infection. The whole area had risen and swollen, and his skin around it

looked pink and puffy, but other than that, the wound looked good and free of infection.

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“Man,” Xavier murmured, rubbing the scar softly. “This thing hurts like balls, but at least

it’s getting better. I barely even notice it now.”

“Do balls hurt pretty bad?” Lili teased.

“Think of it like this,” I said, leaning back in the recliner, adjusting my quilt. “Each time

a man gets kicked, punched, or suffers some other form of brutal contact to the genital area,

that’s the equivalent to you birthing a thousand children.

“Well that wouldn’t hurt too bad after the hundredth kid or so.”

“At once.”

“Oh. That is totally not true at all.”

“So long story short,” Xavier chuckled, “It still hurts. A lot. But it’s getting better. I’ll be

in tip-top fighting condition in no time.” He stood up and walked to the other couch, carefully

laying down on it. I glanced over at Demetri, who was lying face-down in the outstretched

recliner.

“Hey, Demi,” I whispered. He didn’t answer. Lili and Xavier giggled. “Hey, hey Demi,”

I said a little louder. Still, he didn’t reply.

“Poke him!” Lili mouthed. I shook my head.

“I have a better idea,” I mouthed back, eying his dangling arm. I ran to the kitchen, and

returned with a porcelain bowl filled with warm water. I tiptoed over to Demetri, crouching next

to the armchair. Xavier buried his face in his pillow to keep from laughing, and Lili rolled her

eyes, silently shaking with laughter. I reached out and gently pulled his arm towards the bowl,

sticking his fingers in the warm water. Xavier lost it, and Lili’s face turned red.

“I hate… all of you..” Demetri mumbled through the chair headrest. He flipped his arm

out of the water, spraying me with warm fluid. “I was awake. Stupid.” I laughed, snatching the

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bowl from him and keeping a safe distance, although he never took his face out of the cushion,

and he was still laying facedown.

“On that note,” I laughed, placing the bowl on a coffee table, “We should all probably try

to get some sleep. No telling what tomorrow’s gonna bring.”

“I second that motion,” Lili yawned, stretching out on the couch.

“Every day’s an adventure,” Xavier chuckled, pulling the covers up over him.

“Motion’s carried,” Demetri said through the chair. “Now turn the lights off and shut up.”

I walked over to the lamp that was providing the room’s only light and flipped it off. Walking

back to my chair, I punched Demi in the back, hard. He groaned, but made no attempt to hit me

back. I slid into the chair and flipped the lever, causing the leg rest to pop out and the head rest to

go back. I pulled the elaborately designed quilt over me, closed my eyes, and began to sleep. It

wasn’t as hard as the last night. I was finally coming to peace with the situation. Maybe it

wouldn’t be so bad after all. If only I knew.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Good Day

I was flying. I didn’t understand it, and I knew I had to be dreaming, but I was flying in

the air. All I could see below me was a ground of clouds. The air around me was filled with the

sound of many voices in a hushed murmur, the sound of children laughing, wine glasses

clinking, and a string quartet. I couldn’t locate the source of the noise, but it was surrounding me.

Suddenly, the pale blue sky dissolved around me, transforming into an elegant ballroom, the blue

of the sky melting down the dark red walls of the ballroom.

There were several people, all dressed in expensive clothes, chattering quietly amongst

themselves. I looked down at my attire, which consisted of athletic shorts and a t-shirt, but no

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one seemed to notice me, let alone care. The crowd of people split, the low murmur of the crowd

continuing, but revealing a path to a throne. On the throne, there was seated a man dressed in a

dark tuxedo. I walked up the velvet red carpet that led to the throne, and he stared at me intently

as I approached. In his hand, there was a ruby red apple, the same shade as Snow White’s apple

after it had been dipped in poison.

His eyes were dark. Not dark, like an absence of light, but dark as in menacing. There

were no pupils in the center of his iris, and there was no white. His eyes were spheres of

darkness, with only a speck of light reflecting off of them. He appeared demonic. The demon

man lifted his empty hand and motioned for me to approach. I cautiously walked a few feet

closer to the throne, then stopped.

“Why have you come here?” He said in a low and soothing voice. I swallowed hard. My

heart was racing, and just being in his presence put a fear in me that gripped my soul with an iron

fist.

“I was… actually hoping… you would be able to tell me,” I stammered. “Where am I?”

“You fear me,” he cooed, as the apple in his hand began to levitate in the space just above

his fingertips. “Fear is a sign of weakness, and weakness,” he clenched his outstretched hand into

a fist, and the apple disintegrated, falling away as dust in a breeze that seemed to come from

nowhere, “Will get you killed.” He stood up, towering over me. “We shall meet again, Aiden

West. When we do, be a formidable opponent. I will not fight a fool.” I opened my mouth to

protest, but no words came out. The fear was just too immense. He laughed a menacing laugh

that rang through the ballroom, and I became painfully aware of the silent room as his laughter

echoed. The room was empty, the guests, band, and decorations were gone. It was an empty

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room, aside from myself and this demon man. He looked away for a moment, then looked back

at me.

“There are matters that require my immediate attention,” he said. “Remember what I said,

child.” He disintegrated into another breeze as the apple did, and the walls began blurring again.

The colors shifted back into the blue of the sky, and I was flying again. Or, perhaps, falling. I no

longer felt in control. Helplessness washed over me as I plummeted. A gunshot rippled through

the air. Was someone shooting at me? I looked around for the source, but still yielded no results.

A second gunshot boomed, and a sharp pain split my face.

“Wake up.” Cail slapped the side of my face again. I sat straight upright with a jolt,

smacking my forehead on Dr. Cail’s, who was leaned over me. I laid back down, groaning and

rubbing my forehead. It was still pitch black outside, and through the translucent auburn curtains

I could see the pale full moon. He stood up, scowling and rubbing his own forehead.

“Get up,” he muttered. “We have things to do.” I sat back up, much slower this time.

“What are you talking about,” I groaned, checking my phone for the time. It was four

thirty-seven. “No. Absolutely not. I refuse to do anything that requires any kind of effort at this

ungodly hour. Besides sleep.” Lili padded over to the couch, barefoot, and her toothbrush in her

mouth. The bathroom light shone brightly into the living room, and I had to shield my eyes.

“Come on, Aiden,” she said, foaming at the mouth with toothpaste. “Cail says we have

stuff that we gotta do. Plus, you were moaning in your sleep. So either you were having a really

perverted dream, or a nightmare. My guess is the latter, because the moans were not pleasant. So

I don’t think that sleeping again would be in your best interest.” She walked back to the

bathroom.

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“SHUT DA DANG DOAR!” Gramma Dunn shouted from her room. The bathroom door

slammed shut and it was dark again, aside from the moonlight shining in.

“You all will start your training today,” he said, walking over to the coffee table. He

picked up the bowl of warm water and carried it over to Demetri, who had fallen back asleep on

the recliner.

“Wake up.” Demetri didn’t move. Cail poured the bowl onto Demetri’s head. Demi

jumped upright, smacking his forehead on the porcelain bowl, and laid back down, rubbing his

head.

“Was that absolutely necessary?” He stood up slowly and gently unfolded his wings, still

rubbing his head grumpily, and let them drip onto the carpet.

“Demetri!” I scolded.

“What? It’ll dry.” He folded his wings into a snow white hoodie, and stormed outside.

“Yeah, that was probably overkill,” I laughed as Cail woke Xavier up in a much kinder

fashion. He shrugged.

“Eh. It got the job done. Why don’t you go join him while Lili does her girl stuff and I

rebandage Xavier,” he suggested. I stood up, rubbing my tired eyes. I was exhausted. In a

zombie-like walk, I practically dragged myself out the door, still wearing my white V-neck and

tight fitting jeans which were now looser from wearing them so long.

The air outside was cool; a borderline chilly breeze washed over me, lifting my messy

hair. Demetri was standing in the middle of the yard, his wings outstretched and his chest bare.

He let the wind rustle them, causing the white feathers to ripple.

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“Aren’t you cold?” I asked as I approached. He flapped his wings forward once, causing

a concussion of bitter wind to slam into me, knocking my off my feet. If I wasn’t awake earlier, I

was now.

“Sorry, man,” he apologized, holding out his hand to help me up. “I can’t even feel the

air outside. It doesn’t affect me.” I took his hand and he yanked me onto my feet. I staggered as I

struggled to regain my balance. “What could we possibly need to do at five in the morning?” He

complained. I found my equilibrium, and shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” The screen door opened, and Xavier and Lili walked

out, Cail following closely. Lili shivered and lit a flame in her palm, holding it close to her chest.

The sleeves to her red Hollister jacket were pulled over her hands so that they weren’t visible.

Demetri folded his wings back to his jacket.

“Alright. Load up the van.” Cail was already at the vehicle, turning over the ignition.

“Great,” Demetri muttered. “The last time we took an off-campus field trip, I got pushed

off a cliff. These are just all sorts of fun!” He rolled his eyes and headed for the van.

“Hey, it could be worse,” Xavier said cheerfully. “You could have a bullet hole in your

side.” Xavier took off after him. Lili rolled her eyes.

“Drama queen,” she said, following the boys. I sighed. Today was going to be a good

one. I could feel it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Training Exercise

It wasn’t until we had reached the heart of the forest until I began wondering what lie in

store for us. The trip didn’t get bizarre until Cail asked Demetri and Lili to get out of the car. He

followed them out, spoke to them briefly, then reentered the vehicle, alone. We drove off without

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Demi and Lili, and I looked out the back window of the van, watching them disappear into the

murky forest. I looked at Xavier, who returned my look with a shrug. Dr. Cail cleared his throat.

“Here’s the deal,” he informed us. “It’s five o’ four. You have one hour, one, to find your

companions in this forest. The catch is, when you find them, you are to fight them. Utilize

restraint, and put them in a position of submission, whereas if it were a serious brawl, you would

kill them.”

“Who says ‘brawl’?” I scoffed. “That’s like something my grandma would say.”

“My gramma says ‘scuffle’,” Xavier added. Cail massaged his eyelids with his non-

driving hand.

“You know what? It really doesn’t matter,” he said grumpily. “Are there any questions as

to what’s going down?” There were no questions. “Good. Now get out.” He pulled the vehicle

over to the side of the road. Xavier and I got out of the car without a word. Dr. Cail rolled down

the window.

“You have until six. Find them, and compromise them.” He rolled the window back up,

turned the van around, and headed back in the way he came. I sighed, putting my hands behind

my head and observing my surroundings. On either side of me was heavy vegetation. Other than

that, nothing.

“Well, what now?” Xavier asked, looking around cautiously. I thought about it for a

moment.

“I guess we start heading back through the forest and try to find the others,” I yawned.

“That could take hours though,” he complained. “We’re at least five miles apart. This

forest is huge.” I began walking towards the woods. A small acorn caught my eye amidst the

dew-covered ground. I picked it up, and tossed it to Xavier, who caught it in one hand.

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“What’s this all about?” He inquired, examining the nut.

“Throw it at me. As hard as you can. Just do it.” Xavier looked from the acorn to me,

then shrugged. He hurled the acorn at me as hard as he could. I blinked, and the acorn stopped,

inches from my face. Behind the acorn was a stream of dew that trailed after it, suspended in

midair.

“Don’t you see, Xav?” I laughed. “Time is never an issue, because it’s mine to do with as

I will. I am master over it.” He walked up to the suspended nut and frowned.

“You’re not gonna leave that like that are you?” He asked. It was my turn to frown.

“Never mind,” I muttered. The acorn dropped to the ground, accompanied by the dew

trail. “Let’s just go.” I trekked through the marshy grass and into the brush of the woods, Xavier

following me closely. Birds sang through the treetops, and crickets chirped away happily. The

sun had begun to come up off in the horizon, casting a red glare on the forest floor. All was calm.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just the Two of Us

Two miles away, Demi and Lili had reached a clearing in the woods. After traveling

through the heavy brush that consisted of thorns and wildflowers alike, they had finally stumbled

upon a small opening where the weeds and grass had appeared to be mowed down. A wall of

trees surrounded the opening, and the sun was creeping over the canopy. Demetri padded

through the dewy grass to a small boulder and sat down, patting the vacant opening on the rock

for Lili to join him. She walked over, purposely stepping on pile of leaves on her way over.

“Those two will find us,” Demetri assured as Lili sat down next to him, back to back. She

smoothed out her hoodie, then shoved her hands deep into her pockets.

“What are we doing, Demi?” She asked, not bothering to look at him.

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“We’re waiting for Aiden and Xavier to come so we can kick their butts. Remember?”

He said, uprooting a weed from the ground and absent-mindedly playing with it, twirling it

around his fingers.

“No, I mean, what are we doing?” She repeated, turning herself around so that she was

side to side with Demetri. “Training? For what? The only people that are out to get us is the

government. We aren’t going to fight them.” She laughed. “I just feel ridiculous. Running around

with superpowers like I’m meant for something greater.” Demetri frowned and peered sideways

at her.

“What are you talking about, Lil? You are meant for something greater. And this is it.

You didn’t get these powers by accident. It’s your destiny. I know it sounds lame, especially

coming from me, but still.” His voice trailed off as he looked to the sky, watching a flock of

sparrows swarm above the treetops.

“How can you be so sure?” She asked concernedly, scanning Demetri’s vacant

expression.

“Because I know you. You can’t let things be. The world’s a messed up place, and now

you finally have the means of fixing it. Your heart is just too caring to leave it as it is.” She

blushed. “And you can totally burn stuff. Nobody in their right mind would mess with you. I’ve

been out of my right mind my entire life, and I still know better than to get on your bad side.”

Lili smiled, and Demetri winked at her.

“You’re pretty great yourself, too, you know?” She said. Demi scoffed.

“Hardly. I’m a freaking bird.” He chuckled in spite of his words. She shook her head.

“Nah. I disagree. You’re the strongest guy on the team. I could take you, but you’re still

pretty awesome in my book.” She returned his wink.

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“Yeah?” He laughed. “Whatever.” He stood up and stretched, looking around and

gathering his bearings. “We should probably get going. The sun’s rising and we don’t have much

time left.” Lili stood up as well.

“We’ve known each other our whole lives,” Lili began slowly.

“Yup,” Demetri interrupted, “We have. Let’s roll.” He jogged off towards tree line,

unfolding his wings.

“And you still never cease to amaze me,” She muttered under her breath. She rolled her

eyes and took off after him. His newfound strength made him ridiculously fast and hard to keep

up with.

“You coming?” He called after her.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope. Move it.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Compromised

“But seriously though. It could take forever to find them. We’re gonna have to move

ridiculously fast,” Xavier said worriedly. I picked up a stick and snapped it, tossing it off to the

side.

“We have to account for the fact that they’re gonna use the air with Demi’s wings. All we

need to do is keep going straight. They’ll find us.” Xavier thought about this, then nodded in

agreement.

We walked for quite a while, although when I glanced at my phone, it read that only

thirty minutes had passed. I frowned.

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“Well Xav, I may have been wrong. That’s only happened twice, that I know of.” Xavier

laughed as he pushed aside more brush, following the trail I was making. An owl screeched

overhead.

“Aiden! Did you hear that?” Xavier asked, stopping in his tracks.

“Relax, man. It was just an owl.”

“No! Listen.” I stopped too, and was silent. The crickets were ferociously droning, and

the wind rustled the trees. There was a crackling noise in the brush straight ahead of us, as

something rustled around in it.

“I heard it that time!” I gasped, straining my eyes in the dim light to find the source of the

commotion. I crept towards the brush slowly, my fists raised and ready to stop someone in their

tracks. A breeze drifted through the forest, causing a ripple in the trees above. The brush rustled

again, I froze, preparing for the worst. A startled raccoon darted out of the sticks and bushes and

scurried off. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey thanks for the help,” I said sarcastically. Xavier shrugged.

“You looked like you had it under control.” I rolled my eyes and took a step forward. As

I did, I heard a strange whistling noise. I stopped yet again, and looked around.

“What was that?” I asked Xavier, who was looking around for the source of the sound.

He opened his mouth to speak, but as he did, his eyes grew wide.

“AIDEN, LOOK OUT!” He yelled, diving off to the side. I turned around just in time to

see a massive fireball sailing past trees and sailing straight towards me.

I flung myself onto the forest floor, barely missing it by less than an inch. The heat was

so intense that my face began to sweat, making me feel as if I was melting. The fireball kept

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going and hit a tree, dissipating as soon as it made contact. Xavier scrambled to his feet and

helped me up.

“They found us,” I panted. “The forest is too wet to catch on fire, what with all the rain

that we’ve had. That’s why he wanted us to go so early, so the dew would still be fresh and wet.”

I looked around cautiously. “Get back-to-back with me, that way all of our ground is covered.

They know where we are, so they just need to strike now.” Xavier backed up to me, fists raised.

Another fireball came soaring from the east. Xavier raised his hand towards the fireball and

flicked his wrist, sending it flying back the other way.

“They have to be over there!” Xavier exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the fireball.

“Let’s move!” We took off towards the source of the fire, smashing through the brush and

tripping over roots. The whistling sound rang again. I stopped.

“Wait a minute..” I fell to the ground again, as yet another fireball zoomed past, this time

from behind.

“What the heck?” Xavier hissed, staying crouched down. “That one came from behind

us!” A faint shadow passed over us, and I looked up.

“There!” I whispered, pointing towards the sky. Between a gap in the canopy, I watched

as Demetri glided over the treetops, Lili clinging onto his back, another fireball in her hand and

ready to fire. I glanced back at Xavier.

“When she throws that fireball, catch it with your mind, then throw it back at them. Think

you can do that?” I asked Xavier. He nodded, then concentrated on the flaming orb. She pulled

back her arm and chucked the fire with the finesse of a Major League pitcher. It hurtled down to

us, and Xavier closed his eyes. The orb froze in the air. He flicked his wrist and launched it back.

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Neither of them were paying attention, so when the fiery mass came flying at them, Demetri

panicked and turned sharply. Lili lost her balance and slipped off of his back.

Xavier gasped beside me as I took of sprinting towards her. I focused on her, and she

crashed through the tree limbs slower and slower until she halted to a stop, suspended in midair.

I jumped for distance, smashing into her as I released my hold. We fell into the wet ground,

barely missing a patch of thorns. I had her pinned down by the hands, putting my full weight on

her.

“Consider yourself compromised,” I smirked, and she rolled her eyes. I stood up and

dusted myself off; pieces of sticky wet grass and dead leaves clung to my clothes. Lili pushed

herself off of the ground.

“So now I guess I’m gonna supervise,” She said as she pulled a weed out of her hair.

“That was really scary.”

“Nah,” I laughed, punching her in the arm. “I had you the whole time.”

“Whatever.” There was a crash behind us. I whirled around just in time to see Demi dive

through the trees and spiral right into Xavier’s chest. They both went down, but Xavier was too

stunned to react. Demetri grabbed the collar of Xavier’s shirt and held his fist as if he were going

to punch him in the face.

“Compromised.” Xavier grimaced and allowed his body to go limp. Demetri let him up,

and turned his sights towards me. I held out my hand, wiggling my fingers.

“Bring it on, pigeon boy.” Demi lunged at me from a distance of at least twenty feet

away, which was nothing impressive for him because he glided halfway. He barreled into my

chest and slammed my back hard on the ground, creating a small crater. As he raised his fist,

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though, he froze. I wiggled out from underneath him and sat on his tensed shoulders. I released

him and cleared my throat.

“Compromised,” I whispered as I slid my arm around his throat in a chokehold. He

grabbed my shoulders, then flipped me over his head.

“Whatever,” he muttered, standing back up. Lili and Xavier walked over to join us.

“Your power is such a cheat, Aiden,” Xavier laughed, picking up a small stone and

chucking it. “You’re pretty much unstoppable when you freeze people up like that.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say unstoppable. I can only hold it for so long,” I replied, rolling off of

my back and jumping up.

“What do we do now, guys?” Lili asked, looking around the sprawling forest. In all of the

fighting and confusion, I had totally lost my sense of direction and forgot which way we came

from.

“I have no idea,” Demetri scratched his head. “I could try getting an aerial view of the

land, but I didn’t see anything at all when I was up there earlier. Nothing but trees.” At that

moment, a loud horn wailed off in the distance. I glanced at my phone. Six. On the dot.

“That’s Dr. Cail with the van,” I observed. “We can get out of here by following that

noise. It’s a good thing, too. This forest was starting to get stuffy.” Everyone nodded in

agreement, and as the sun rose higher and higher, we traveled towards the source of the noise,

back to the van, our first fight now under our belts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rebellion

The smell of biscuits and gravy wafted through the air as I walked through the screen

door and entered the house. I could hear bacon sizzling and Gramma Dunn humming happily as

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she worked. I walked into the kitchen, followed by my three friends. The kitchen was steamy, a

pot of gravy was cooking on the stovetop, and the table was already set.

“You kids came jus’ in time,” Gramma said, opening the oven and pulling out a pan of

biscuits. “Sit yo butts down. We’s about ta have us some breakfast. Did ya’ll have fun dis

morning?” I pulled out my chair and sat down. Demetri walked ahead of Lili, pulling out her

chair for her and waited for her to sit down before he took his seat next to me. I raised an

eyebrow at him. He shrugged, and started tearing up his napkins into small chunks.

“You could say that,” Xavier answered as he poured some orange juice into his glass. “It

was early. And hot.” He winked at Lili, who chuckled quietly.

“Where’s ol’ Doc Cail?” She asked, finishing up her final dishes and coming to join us at

the table.

“He said he had some errands he had to run, but that he’d be back in about an hour.” She

clicked her tongue, then stood back up and retrieved the bacon, laying it out on the table.

“Shame,” she said. “Well, dig in everybody. Da soup’s on.” And that is exactly what we

did.

Ten minutes later, when every last bit of food had been devoured by four growing

teenagers and an ever-growing grandmother, I leaned back in my chair, feeling absolutely sick

and content. Demetri groaned an appreciative groan, rubbing his belly.

“Will you be my gramma?” He asked her. She laughed.

“I be all ya’lls gramma. Jus’ make sure you visit. An’ bring me da gran’babies when I

wants dem.” She stood up and begin clearing the table. We all got up to help her, removing

condiments and, with the instruction of Xavier and Gramma Dunn, placing them in their

respective places. I heard the front door open and close.

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“I’m back,” Dr. Cail called from the living room.

“That was quick,” Lili pointed out. “I thought you weren’t going to be back for another

hour.” He walked into the kitchen and began helping Gramma with the dishes, but was quickly

shooed off. He took no offense, and took a seat at the table.

“Well, things went rather… quicker than I had anticipated,” he said, choosing his words

carefully. I looked at Demi, who shrugged yet again. “And not to change the subject, but we

need to turn on the news. If what I heard was true, we’re in for some trouble.” Gramma Dunn

dried her hands off on a towel, then walked into the living room.

“Dis better be good!” She yelled. “You is interruptin’ ma dishes time. Dat’s sacred right

dere.” The boxy television set flipped on with the sound of crackling static. I walked into the

room and stood by the couch with my arms folded. Demetri stood next to me, Lili stood by Cail,

and Xavier by his grandmother. The news channel was already on, so when the image sharpened

as the television set warmed up, it showed a large gathering of people yelling and holding up

signs from an helicopter’s view. They were all gathered around a large stage, and on the stage

was a group of men. One single man stood in the middle behind a podium, as if he was giving a

speech. On either side of him were two men in dark black suits. The camera zoomed in on his

face, and my heart stopped. His cold, dark eyes. His sharp facial features. And his neat, black,

tux. It was the man from my dream.

I inhaled sharply. His eyes weren’t without iris and pupil, but other than that, it was the

same exact person.

“This is one of the many speeches that have been given today,” a news reporter who was

on the scene said. “It appears to be some sort of rally, although I have not been allowed any

closer than I am standing right now.” The crowd was rioting just within sight behind her, but

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what was being said at the speech was not audible from the distance. “From the previous

speeches that have been given today, all the same, there is an uprising about Dr. Richard

Lancing’s Infinite Clause serum, as it has been referred to. Apparently, this is the same medical

breakthrough that has given four teens, quote unquote, “superpowers. From the buzz that has

been going around, it appears as if this has been recreated, and whoever is running these rallies

have been distributing it. The purpose of this is unknown, but if these rallies continue, this will

spread through all of America in a matter of days. Authorities have not been able to break

through the strange barriers that have been placed around the rally. Of all the statements that

have been made over social media, though, one word has been used repeatedly. Revolution.

We’ll have more on this story as it develo-“ The television flickered off. Cail set the remote

down, and closed his eyes.

“That didn’t make any sense at all,” I said, breaking the silence. Dr. Cail sighed, then sat

down in the recliner, leaning over so that he could rest his forearms on his knees. He looked up

at me.

“Essentially,” he said,” The same people that destroyed the lab got the serum and have

been mass-producing their own version of it and distributing it. They’re travelling all over

America, gathering some kind of army or something.”

“An army?” Demetri asked. “For what?”

“I don’t know.” Cail shook his head somberly.

“Now hold on one minute,” Gramma said in her mad-black-woman accent. “How did you

knows dat was gonna be on da TV?” Cail looked away, out the opened window.

“I had heard a couple of guys talking about some kind of ‘revolution’. They were talking

about how many people had gotten strange abilities within the past forty-eight hours. I have no

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idea how they were able to distribute it, but they did. It’s spreading all across America, and more

and more people who are unhappy with the government have been plotting some kind of plan to

overthrow the American democracy.” The room was silent. Cail looked around the room at our

expectant faces. “Being the oldest super beings,” he continued hesitantly, “The four of you are

the strongest ones out there. Lili, when you first started, you could barely produce a small flame

at will. Aiden, you couldn’t hold your power for more than a minute. All of you get more

powerful by the day, that’s just how the serum works.” He folded his arms and walked closer to

the four of us. “If we don’t put down this rebellion now,” he said quietly, “The world as we

know it will be destroyed. A mass outbreak of super humans will bring about a new kind of

warfare, one that is more destructive and effective than any we have yet to see.”

“The severity of this situation has gone up from ‘severe’ to ‘so ridiculously severe it isn’t

even funny’.” I listened to him intently, taking in everything that he had just informed us. It

hadn’t slipped my mind about how vague he was on describing his source of intelligence for all

of this news. It seemed a bit strange how he seemed to know so much but the news reporter knew

so little. I decided not to think about it because he was our only source of knowledge on the

outside world, a world that we were now forbidden to enter for fear of our capture.

“This is bad,” Demetri muttered. “I suppose, then, that we don’t have time to waste by

just standing around and talking here.”

“I think he might be right,” Lili agreed. “We should train. Dr. Cail, do you still need to

run those tests on Xavier, Aiden, and I?” Cail nodded.

“That would be fantastic if we could get that out of the way now. It would greatly

increase my understanding of all of you, and help me devise a training program that suits each

one of you individually.” He strode past us and towards the basement door, placing one hand on

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the doorknob then turning his head to us. “Well? We don’t have time to waste. Let’s go.” He

opened the door and went inside, shutting it behind him.

“I don’t know ‘bout ya’ll,” Gramma Dunn said after he had left, “But dat story seemed

fishy to me.” Demetri gazed at her intently, rubbing his chin.

“Well, he hasn’t given us a reason to not trust him,” Lili said. “And he’s done nothing but

make us stronger, so I say we go with it and head downstairs for our diagnosis.” She strode off

after him, and Demetri glanced at me. I shrugged, and followed her down the stairs, Demi and

Xavier closely behind. Gramma shut the door behind us, eliminating all light from the basement.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Afraid of the Dark

“That’s weird,” Xavier murmured. “I wonder why Cail didn’t turn on the basement

light?”

“Dr. Cail?” Lili called out into the darkness as we guided ourselves down with the hand

rail. No response.

“Aiden, do you have your cell phone on you?” Demetri’s voice asked from behind. “We

can use it as a light.” I pulled it out of my pocket and tapped the screen. There was no reaction

from the phone.

“I think it’s dead,” I replied. Actually, I knew it was dead. It hadn’t been charged in two

days. I inched down the stairs, careful as to not run into Lili. I felt the hard, smooth surface of the

foundation underneath my feet and reached out into the darkness, searching for Lili. I found the

sleeve of her shirt, and grabbed it. She gasped.

“Relax, Lil. It’s me,” I said softly. I could hear the breathing of my companions behind

me as they cleared the stairs. I heard something clatter, followed by a groan of pain.

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“Are you guys okay?” Lili whispered.

“We’re fine,” Xavier replied grumpily. “Freaking genius here missed the last step and

plowed into me.”

“It’s dark!” Demi protested. “I can’t see a thing, so you’re lucky that’s all that happened

to you.”

“Quit being a baby.”

“Both of you, shut up and listen,” Lili hissed into the darkness. The room was silent, and

the darkness seemed suffocating. From somewhere in the room farther away, someone cleared

their throat impatiently, but the noise sounded far away.

“Now if you four are quite finished, we will begin your next training exercise,” Cail’s

voice spoke from the opposite side of the room. I looked around into the abyss, straining my ear.

“Cail!” I said, startled. “Where are you? I thought we were going to hook up to that

computer-thing?” There was silence, followed by light footsteps.

“That’s the question, Aiden. Where am I?” The footsteps halted. “That’s for you four to

decide. Your mission: find me. With the lack of a sensory skill.” I squeezed the cuff of Lili’s

sleeve.

“This is no problem at all,” Lili said confidently. There was a spark, and a small flame lit

up in Lili’s outstretched hand, revealing our faces as we huddled together. Lili turned around,

only to find herself face to face with Cail. She jumped, and I gasped. I felt Demetri tense up

beside me.

“No no,” he said with a smirk. “No powers.” He blew out the flame, sending us back into

the dark chasm of the basement. The claustrophobia was back, and the walls felt like they were

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caving in. “You must work together in an undesirable situation to achieve what you want to

achieve.” His voice was all the way on the opposite side of the room again.

“Really?” Demi growled. “Because I want to achieve a nap.”

“That’s fine by me,” the disembodied voice said, now in a different corner. “You do what

you want. I’m not your mother, and I won’t tell you what to do. But when I have to bring back

your lifeless body to your actual mother because you weren’t prepared, know that it’s your own

fault.” Demetri scoffed. “You start now.” The room was silent once more. My hearing was

gradually increasing due to the lack of a sense, and I could now hear the roaring splash of a drop

from a leaky faucet.

“You couldn’t have lit that fire when we were going down the stairs?” Demi grumbled.

Lili shrugged, and the basement became quiet again.

“We need a plan,” Xavier cut through the screaming silence.

“Yeah, way to state the obvious,” Demetri retorted. There was a thud, followed by an

“ow!”.

“Any suggestions?” Lili asked the group. I felt an arm link with mine, and Lili entwined

her arm with my other arm. If I had to guess, we were in a circle, linked together.

“We could do a full room scan like this,” Demi suggested, his voice directly to my right.

So Lili was on my left, and Demetri was on my right, which left Xavier to be across from me.

“Nah, that won’t work,” I said. “He’s moving around too much. If I had to guess, he has

some form of night-vision eyewear on, and he can see our every move. Would that be a correct

assumption, Dr. Cail?” There was a pause.

“Tis true,” he answered. I nodded, although nobody could see it.

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“Alright. So I’m thinking we’re going to have to split up.” I waited, expecting an

immediate rejection of my proposal. There was no protest, so I continued. “We’ll cover all of the

ground faster, and that way he has less places to escape to.” There was more silence as my idea

was being considered. Finally, Lili said, “That seems like our best option. Okay. Xavier, go

south. Demetri, east, Aiden, north, and I’ll go west.”

“Maybe I wanted to go west,” I teased.

“Why did you wanna go west?” Xavier asked.

“Well, I am Aiden West, after all. It would only make sense.” The room was quiet. “No?

North it is, then.” I turned to face north, and began walking slowly, feeling around with my foot

and keeping my arm outstretched. I was sure that I looked like the epitome of ridiculousness, but

I didn’t even care. There was yet another dull thud behind me.

“What was that?” Demetri whispered from across the room. There was a groan.

“Apparently, the stairs are located in the southern vicinity of this basement. I tripped over

the first step and face-planted into the fifth,” Xavier muttered.

“Maybe you should go around them next time,” Lili laughed. I continued walking until I

felt the wall with my outstretched hand. I kept one hand on it to guide me, but it didn’t prevent

me from stumbling over antiques and furniture. I heard more clutter on the opposite sides of the

room, and it appeared as if my companions were sharing in my displeasure. This continued for a

while as I walked the perimeter with my hand pressed flat against the wall, still yielding no

results. I frowned.

“Guys, I think we need to meet up back in the middle again. This isn’t getting us

anywhere.”

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“Agreed,” Demi agreed. I made my way back to the center of the room, colliding with

someone who smelled flowery and fruity.

“Sorry,” Lili apologized, linking arms with me. Something touched my shoulder, then

slid down my arm and linked up with it.

“Alright, is everyone here?” I asked.

“Here.”

“Present.”

“Yup.”

“Good,” I said. “We need a new plan.” The arm to my left broke away from me.

“Yeah,” Demetri said, feeling his way through the darkness and to the stairs. “I really

have no idea, though, what we could- HOLY CRAP.” Lili broke away from me this time.

“What? What’s wrong Demetri?” She demanded, running towards the stairs.

“I found him.” The lights flickered on. On the bottom stair sat Dr. Caleb Cail, with a

rather disgruntled Demetri in his lap. “How long have you been sitting here?” He demanded,

jumping up and backing away from him. Dr. Cail lifted his night vision goggles off of his eyes

and rested them on his forehead. He sat down the remote that apparently controlled the lights,

chuckling.

“I was on the top step right about the time Xavier collided into the stairs, which, I might

add was extremely entertaining.” Xavier looked away, his face reddening. “After that, I decided

that I would remain stationary on the bottom step. That way you would be forced to

communicate when none of you yielded results. I hadn’t accounted for Demetri’s inability to

stand up for a long period of time.” It was Demetri’s turn to avert his gaze.

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“No matter,” he continued. “You successfully completed the task I asked of you, one way

or another. Now it’s time to examine the three of you. Who’s first?” When nobody answered, I

slowly moved my finger to the tip of my nose. Lili noticed, and did the same.

“Ah, the old nose-goes,” Dr. Cail said, walking over to the computer next to the chair-of-

death-and-all-things-undesirable, as Demi had named it. “Well, Xavier, you were the last one to

put your finger on your nose, so I guess you’re up first.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Analysis

“That’s no fair!” Xavier protested. “Can’t we do rock-paper-scissors or something?” Dr.

Cail shook his head and grabbed Xavier’s arm, wheeling him to the chair.

“Hop up,” he said. “It’ll be quick and painless because I already know the genre of your

ability. Did I explain to you how this machine works?”

“No,” Lili replied. “I was actually wondering how a computer could tell you what our

powers are, just like that. If everyone is different and new DNA is created all the time, how

could that possibly account for all of the powers out there?” Xavier slowly climbed up onto the

chair, and Cail strapped him in.

“Excellent question,” Dr. Cail answered. “This machine takes a sample of your blood and

analyzes a single strip of DNA from it. It then places you into a group. A group would be an

extremely vague, broad range of abilities, such as flight, elemental, strength, speed, and so on

and so forth. From there, it categorizes you in smaller subgroups, pinpointing your abilities

within the best of its ability. This is a supercomputer, therefore it is always gathering intelligence

and always getting smarter.”

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“The original intention of this serum was to speed up the human evolution process, so we

had to take into account that over the next twenty years, super humans would reproduce, be it

with human or super human, and we guessed that powers would start to repeat, being passed

down from generation to generation. That’s why we even bothered to create this, because even

though there is an infinite number of genetic combinations, powers are going to repeat, just with

minor changes to them.” Lili nodded in understanding. It had finally clicked for me as well.

“It makes sense now,” Demetri said, taking in what he had just heard.

“Demetri, I didn’t even know where to start with you, which is why I needed more blood

and more time for the computer to process. The rest of you should go fairly quickly and with

little or no pain.” Xavier sighed with relief. He was pale and preparing for the worst as his

shackled hands grasped the arm rests tightly. “Now relax. We’ll start now.” A single, small

needle went into the side of his arm, sliding back out just as soon as it went in. He inhaled

sharply from the sting, but exhaled after the needle had exited his body. Cail turned from Xavier

to the computer, which dinged almost immediately. He examined it carefully, reading off the

report to us.

“Alright, Xavier. You’ve been placed in the psychic group; no surprise there. A subgroup

of mental and kinetic abilities.” Cail released the manacles and Xavier hopped out of the chair. I

had my finger on my nose, ready for the next go around.

“I can dig it.” Xavier asked as he lifted a lamp with his mind, and slowly brought it over

to where he was standing. He froze and began making an awful face, followed be a vicious

sneeze. The lamp fell and shattered on the floor, scattering shards of green porcelain all over

everywhere.

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“WHAT DA HAIL IS YA’LL DOIN’ DOWN DERE?!” Gramma screeched from

upstairs. I ran and grabbed a broom that was resting in a corner, and began sweeping up the

mess.

“Nothing!” Xavier called back. “Just some sciency stuff!”

“WELL YO SCIENCE BETTER BE SHUTTIN’ UP, MA SHOW’S ON!”

“Yes Gramma Dunn! Sorry!” Xavier grabbed a dust pan, and I swept the porcelain into it.

He walked over to a corner and dumped it, burying it under photo albums and quilts. Dr. Cail

cleared his throat.

“Let’s try to be careful with our powers. You still don’t know what you’re capable of.

This Infinite Clause that you’ve been exposed to, it’s going to do magnificent things in your life,

and you have yet to do things that you have never even dreamed of doing. But you will.”

“You mean that I’ll be able to do more than just read minds and move stuff without

touching it?” Xavier asked. “I haven’t been able to do anything else, to my knowledge…”

“That’s because you haven’t fully developed yet. There are much greater things to come

as you age. Incidentally, Xavier, how’s your wound?” Xavier thought for a second, then pulled

up his shirt. He slid down the wrapping that covered it, revealing the wound. All that was left

was a small scar. The rest had sealed up and looked as good as new.

“That’s what I thought. Normally, it would take someone weeks to recover from the hit

you took. It took you two days. I don’t know if this is exclusive to you or a side effect of the

serum, but you can add super healing to the list of things you can do.” He turned towards the

computer and tapped the screen. A different, clean needle went into Lili and pulled back out.

There was a pause, and the computer beeped.

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“Here we go,” Cail announced. “Group: Elemental. Your subgroup consists of fire

manipulation, however in depth that may go. It’s an extremely broad category, so the sky is the

limit for you, Ms. Montague.” Lili swung her legs over the side of the chair and jumped down.

“Wicked,” she said, examining her palms. It was my turn. I stepped up to the chair, my

heart rate beginning to increase. I climbed up the metal footrest and sat in the chair. It was

uncomfortable, with knots jabbing into my spine and back, and it creaked when I put my full

weight down on it. I watched silently as Cail slipped the restraints over my wrists and turned

towards the computer. I eyed the new need that was in place of the last one, trying to decide

where on my arm it would puncture. Dr. Cail tapped the screen, and the needle slid down into

my arm. It stung, but no worse than any other shot I had been given in my life. The needle was

ejected, a sample of my blood now safely in its possession. The room was silent. Seconds passed,

then minutes. After what seemed like an eternity, the computer beeped. I jumped in my seat, but

immediately regretted it as the manacles tugged roughly on my wrists.

“This is interesting,” Dr. Cail squinted at the screen.

“What is it?” I asked nervously as my voice cracked. He stared at the monitor for a few

more seconds, then turned to me.

“Your DNA caused a new group to be added to the system,” he said slowly, eyeing me

up and down. “The group is called ‘Temporal’. Temporal means time. Under the subgroups, it

listed time manipulation, and time travel. From what I’ve seen so far, you can only slow time

down and stop it. Have you ever traveled through it?” I looked at him in awe. I had never even

considered the possibility of time travel until now.

“No,” I answered. “At least, not that I know of.” He frowned as he unhooked me. I

jumped down eagerly, rubbing my back where the chair had stabbed into a pressure point.

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“Let’s see if we can’t fix that. Even at such a young stage in your abilities, you should be

able to travel, if not a few seconds.” Dr. Cail walked towards me. My three friends gathered

around, all watching excitedly. I looked at their expectant faces wondering how I was to go about

performing such a seemingly impossible task.

“Aiden, I want you to focus. Think about the future. Try to make yourself go at least a

couple seconds into it.” I glanced at Cail, who gave me an encouraging smile. I looked back at

my friends who were waiting patiently. How on Earth was I supposed to just do it just like that? I

swallowed hard and focused. I stared intently at the concrete foundation floor, thinking about

seconds, clocks, calendars, anything that had to do with time. I thought about tomorrow, next

week, my future, and my children’s future. Nothing happened.

“Come on, Aiden. You can do it,” Demetri said seriously.

“Try harder, Aiden,” Dr. Cail growled. I was surprised by his tone. It was almost

demanding.

“Aiden, just focus.”

“You got this, man.” I shut my eyes tightly. Everyone was talking at once, throwing

words of encouragement, and Cail was getting more and more irritated. It was too much. I tried

harder and harder to focus, but it was impossible. The relentless talk didn’t cease, and finally, I

snapped.

“EVERYBODY. SHUT. UP!” I screamed. As soon as the words left my mouth, there

was a loud crack. A ball of light lit up in the center of my chest, followed by a glowing neon orb

that surrounded me. The orb grew larger and larger until it had developed my friends and the

entire room. The whole basement was flooded with a blinding white light, and I could feel the

energy draining out of me. I collapsed.

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* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Reverse Deja Vu

As soon as I hit the floor, the light disappeared. Lili was crouched down, and Demi had

thrown himself in front of her, shielding her from potential damage. Xavier and Dr. Cail both

had their eyes covered by their hands.

“What… just happened?” I asked slowly, looking around the room. Nothing had changed

at all: the room looked the exact same way it had before. Dr. Cail raised his arm up to pull his

sleeve down from his wrist, then looked at his watch. He tapped the face, then said, “My watch

stopped.” I frowned. Demetri stood up, taking Lili’s outstretched hand and pulling her up with

him. Dr. Cail walked through our circle that we had subconsciously made and jogged up the

stairs. I followed after him, no words said. At this point, I was really hoping that I hadn’t

screwed up big time. I walked out of the basement and into the living room, where I found

Gramma Dunn knitting what appeared to be a quilt in her recliner, and Cail tearing through the

room in search of the remote.

“Do you have the time?” Demi asked politely as he, Lili and Xavier walked silently into

the room. Gramma reached into her shirt and pulled out a pocket watch, which most likely had

been concealed in her bra.

“Three foaty-nine,” she replied, tucking it back in her shirt. Cail pulled the remote out

from between the couch cushions and aimed it at the television.

“Yeah, that’s what I had too.” The screen crackled into life, as a message box came into

view. “Gathering satellite information. Please be patient,” the box read.

“Dat’s weird,” Gramma said, squinting at the television. “It was workin’ fine two minutes

ago. We ain’t had no storms or power outages or nothin’. I is wonderin’ why it’s actin’ screwy

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all of a sudden.” The status bar in the message slowly filled up, and finally, the screen flipped to

a reality TV show where a man was stumbling around, a bottle of wine in his hand.

“Gramma, what were you watching?” Xavier asked, frowning at the display the man was

putting on.

“Well huh. I coulda sworn dat was Oprah. Guess da satellite must’ve changed da

channel.” She began focusing a bit too intently on her quilt. Cail pressed the information button.

His mouth fell open.

“What?” Lili asked, scanning the information box that was displayed.

“Everyone,” Dr. Cail began slowly. “I want you all to look at the date.” I glanced in the

right-hand corner where the date was and gasped. In small white print against the light blue box,

it read August 26th. Exactly two months from what was supposed to be today.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Time Trap

“Dat can’t be right,” Gramma said as she stood up.

“Marge, do you remember seeing a really bright light?” Dr. Cail asked, not taking his

eyes off of me.

“Well… now dat you mention it, I do. But I jus’ thought I was havin’ one of dem

epimaleptic seizures or somethin’. Dat’s why I done turned da TV off.” I looked around at the

concerned and bewildered expressions in the room. Something was seriously not right. Dr. Cail

pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

“Hello?” He said into the phone. “Information? Yes, would you happen to have the date

and time right now? I just woke up from a coma and I’m a little confused.” There was a pause,

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then he laughed. “Yes, alright, well thank you.” He slid the phone back in his pocket. “It’s three

fifty-one. August 26th.” Gramma Dunn gasped.

“What in da heck is goin’ on?” Gramma Dunn put her hands on her hips, looking at each

one of our faces in a scolding manner. “If dis is a joke, it ain’t funny.”

“No joke,” I said.

“You better hold onto your garters, Gramma, because Aiden just sent us two months into

the future,” Demetri said. The room was silent as the realization of what had happened sunk in.

“Well I knows you is gonna bring me back, ‘cause I ain’t wantin’ to be in no future,”

Gramma threatened.

“I can’t,” I admitted. “I don’t even know how I got us here in the first place.” Gramma

Dunn opened her mouth to protest, but was cut short by a pounding on the door.

“This is the Revolutionary Police, open the door now, or we will force entry!” A voice

shouted from the front porch. Gramma’s eyebrow’s shot up.

“Oh hail to da no. I knows that skinny white boy didn’t jus’ threaten to break in ta my

house,” She said with a look of indignance.

“Did he say revolution?” Cail whispered, speaking quickly and quietly.

“You have until I count down to one! Five!” The voice called again.

“Alright, ya’ll get outta here. Dere’s a passageway in da basement floor, Xavier knows

where it is. Go through dere, it’ll take you right into da heart of da forest. Go north, and run. I’ll

handle dese sorry boys.” Every single one of us hesitated.

“Four!”

“I’m not leaving you here by yourself,” Dr. Cail said defiantly.

“I is not ‘memberin’ givin’ you no choice,” She answered.

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“Three!”

“Kids, go. Marge and I will handle this. Do what she told you, and everything will be

okay. We’ll get in touch when everything settles down, and Xavier, after you go through the

tunnel, collapse the entrance. You won’t be followed,” Cail breathed, pushing us towards the

basement door.

“Two!”

“Gramma, are you sure you’ll be okay?” Xavier glanced back one last time.

“Hush, child. I been through three wars an’ a depression. Ain’t nothin’ gonna slow me

down.”

“One!” We bolted down the steps as quietly as possible, Xavier shutting the door behind

us.

“Shut yo dang mouths. I’m comin’,” Gramma Dunn growled, walking to the front door

and unlocking it. “What da heck do ya’ll want?” She crossed her arms, tapping her foot

impatiently. Four men in black suits with dark shades stood on the porch; the only thing

separating them was the screen door.

“We’re here to investigate the Dunn household,” One of the men said, holding up a

badge.

“Under what grounds?” Dr. Cail argued.

“Harboring fugitive criminals,” a different man answered. Gramma scoffed.

“Well I’ma tell you dat you stupid, an’ I ain’t got nobody here. Good day.” She began to

shut the door, but the first man shoved open the screen door with one hand.

“If you have nothing to hide, then you won’t mind us taking a little look,” he sneered.

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“Dis a free country,” Gramma Dunn said, raising her voice. “I don’t gotta let you do snot

without a warrant.” The second man smiled sickeningly.

“Not anymore it’s not.” A man in the back outstretched his arm and flicked his wrist,

causing a gust of wind to slam the door open hard, knocking Gramma Dunn and Dr. Cail both off

of their feet.

“Alright boys,” the first man said as he casually sauntered into the house. “I want this

whole house searched. Burn it to the ground if you have to, but remember, I want those kids.

Dead or alive.”

My feet pounded against the rocky ground below me as I sprinted as hard as I could. Lili

was leading, her arms completely on fire and providing the only light source in the dark tunnel.

Xavier had destroyed the entrance by creating a massive rockslide, just like he was instructed to.

We had been running for a few minutes and my mind was racing a thousand miles an hour,

which is probably the only thing that kept me from exhaustion.

Had I really sent us two months into the future? Who were those ‘Revolution Police’, as

they called themselves? What would happen to Gramma Dunn and Dr. Cail? My heart sank into

my stomach as I mulled over the possibilities.

“Guys,” Xavier wheezed from behind. “We gotta take a break. This is killing me.”

“We don’t have time!” Demi yelled back. “They could figure it out any minute and come

after us!” Lili slowed down to a walk, forcing the rest of us to do the same.

“Xavier’s right, guys,” she said. “That landslide bought us plenty of time, and we’ve

already covered a lot of ground. There’s no use in wearing ourselves out.” Lili fell back so that

we were walking in a line. The walk was still brisk, but it was enough to slow down Xavier’s

palpitating heart rate.

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“How far do you think this tunnel goes?” I asked. Lili thought for a moment.

“Let’s just see.” She raised a torched arm, then flung a fireball into the darkness. The fire

soared through the musty air, lighting up the moist walls of the tunnel as it zoomed by. It got

smaller and smaller until it hit a wall with a loud thud, then bounced onto the ground, dying out.

“Looks like about half a mile,” Demetri estimated. “Shouldn’t be too much farther, then.”

I nodded and kept walking, picking up the pace slightly.

The rest of the walk was quiet and without conversation. The only noise came from our

breathing, the eerie drip of moisture that fell from the tunnel’s ceiling, and the crackle of the

flames that emanated off of Lili’s arms. Once we had reached the end of the tunnel, we stopped,

looking around for an exit that seemingly wasn’t there. On the wall where the fireball hit, there

was a ladder in the form of old wooden boards that had been nailed to the wall, but at the top,

there was only the roof of the tunnel.

“Don’t tell me this is a dead end,” Xavier groaned, looking up. I looked around,

desperately searching for another exit. It was a well-known fact that I got claustrophobic easily, I

just never expressed it openly as much, now that I was older. It had just been a fact of life that I

had to get used to. Now, though, with the news that we might be trapped, my heart began racing.

It felt as if the walls were closing in on me.

“Guys, we need to get out of here,” I panicked. “Lili, Xavier, can’t you guys just blow the

roof off of this place or something? Directly above us has to be the forest. There’s no doubt.”

They considered this.

“I could try to move the rocks with my mind,” Xavier suggested. “I can’t promise

anything, but I can try.” He stared hard at the ceiling, and we all backed away as rubble began

falling down onto us. Xavier grunted as he tried harder and harder. Finally, a crack appeared

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through the top of the ceiling. Seeing this, Demetri unfolded his wings and shot up, exploding

through the weakened dirt. Light poured down on us as the hole now gaped open.

One by one, we climbed up the rickety wooden ladder and into the bright green daylight.

I shielded my eyes as I rose up out of the ground, allowing them to adjust to the change in light. I

inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh, clean air. It was a nice change from the stale and musty air

that enveloped the tunnel. Although we were down there for less than thirty minutes, it felt like a

lifetime.

Once we were all out of the tunnel, Xavier meticulously filled in the hole with all the dirt

he had removed, so small woodland creatures wouldn’t fall into it, he had said.

“So now what?” Demetri asked, looking around at the never-ending forest that

surrounded him.

“Now we go north,” I answered. I began walking, then stopped. “I have no earthly idea of

where north is.” Xavier waded through brush and traveled to a mossy tree.

“See how this moss grows?” He said, pointing at the green moss that covered a side of

the tree. “It grows in the north, no matter what.” He pointed to the left. “That’s north. We go that

way.”

“Are you sure?” Lili asked, looking through the trees at the brush. “It’ll be a long walk

through the forest if we get lost. And we have no equipment whatsoever. If we get lost, we’re in

trouble.”

“Relax,” he said confidently. “I was a boy scout for five years. Remember?”

“Oh yeah,” I replied. “Didn’t you used to sell those amazing cookies?”

“Do you wanna live or not?”

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“He brings up a valid point, Aiden,” Lili said following Xavier as he began walking in

the direction of the moss. Demetri began walking after them, and I followed Demetri. And so we

walked, following the guidance of a slimy green plant. What could possibly go wrong?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Numb Illusion of a Whisper

I frowned. We had been walking for almost two hours now, and the scenery looked

exactly as it had when we started. Trees, trees, and more trees. Maybe a bush every now and

then. I swiped some thorns out of my way in an effort to dodge their stabbing appendages. Not

that it mattered. My clothes were already tattered and torn, just like Xavier’s and Lili’s.

Demetri’s wing clothes, however, remained perfectly intact, white as ever.

“Guys, I think we’re lost,” I said, breaking the monotony of crunching leaves and the

angry swats of mosquitos.

“Nonsense,” Xavier retorted in a strange British accent. “We’re right on track. Tally ho!”

Demetri glanced back at me. I returned it with a shrug.

“Would it be safe to assume that you, my dear Xavier, are suffering from sleep

exhaustion?” I called up to him. He poked the ground with a walking stick he had picked up

along the way.

“Nonsense again, old chap. I feel better than ever!” We walked a little farther, when Lili

threw her arm out to stop us.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Did you guys hear that?” I listened intently, but heard nothing. A

heavy breeze whipped through the forest, rustling through the trees.

“I don’t hear anyth-“ At that moment, four people dropped down from the treetop above

us, each one landing behind a different person. Faster than I could process, the person behind me

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drew a sword with a loud ‘shink!’ and pressed it hard against my throat. The other three did the

same. I swallowed hard. Lili clenched her fists tightly, a look of defiance across her face. Xavier

was biting his lower lip, and Demetri remained expressionless.

As my mind finally caught up with the situation, I noticed several things. The first was

that all three of the captors that I could see were exactly identical, which lead me to believe that

the one holding the sword against my jugular behind me was identical as well. Two, I was

sweating profusely, and my hands were shaking. And three, the identical enemies who held us

hostage were all extremely, and I mean extremely, beautiful.

She looked to be at least eighteen. Her raven-colored hair was tied back in a ponytail, and

she wore a red bandana on her head. She had on just a black undershirt, which was very form-

fitting and cut off just above her belly button. Her khaki capris were also tighter, but not skin

tight. But this wasn’t what was so striking about her. The pupils of her iris were a bright, almost

fluorescent yellow. They seemed to glow.

“Alright, Aiden, don’t look now, but there’s an insanely hot girl behind you, and she’s

about to kill you,” Demetri said solemnly. That confirmed my quadruplet theory.

“You would do well to shut up.” Her voice was strong and full of confidence, yet at the

same time, it had a soft chime to it, like bells. “Now, why are you here? Who sent you?” There

was silence. “I asked you a question.” It was the girl behind me that was speaking, and she was

speaking to me.

“I thought you said I wasn’t allowed to talk,” I replied, hating myself for my pubescent

cracking voice. The beauty of this girl had totally messed with my mind, and I wasn’t thinking

rationally at all. She pressed the broadside of the blade harder into my neck.

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“I won’t ask you again.” I debated this. Should I keep hammering out the nervous wit,

knowing that I have full control of the situation? All I’d have to do would be to stop time, worm

my way out from her grip, and leave. It would be that easy. I sighed.

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” I explained, looking over the sword. It looked sharp.

“We’re on the run from these people that were calling themselves the “Revolutionary Police”.”

“Do you have any idea who we are?” Demetri asked her with an air of arrogance. “We

are the first superheroes to walk on this planet! Now if I were you, I would think very carefully

about letting us go, before it gets ugly for you.” There was a pause. The girl behind me

snickered, then busted out laughing, still holding the sword to me. The other three remained still

and expressionless.

“Superheroes? Ha! I haven’t heard that one before.” She stopped laughing, and leaned

closer to my ear. There was a spark of electricity, and the sword illuminated, sparks flying off of

it as an electrical current ran through it. “I could kill you right now,” she whispered. “And you’d

let me.” Her breath was warm against my ear, and my mind went blank. I couldn’t even

remember my name. The blade dimmed down, and the electricity stopped running through it.

She removed the sword from my throat and sheathed it in a leather sheath attached to her back. I

noticed that there were two, in an X. The other sword was still resting against her shoulder blade.

“It’s alright, Illusion. They’re like us.” The three girls that were holding my friends

captive shimmered and became transparent, then disappeared. A boy dropped down from the

tree, right next to the girl behind me. I turned around to face them, and my friends stepped up

beside me.

“The name’s Whisper,” she said, not bothering to hold out her hand. She wasn’t even

speaking to the others. Her eyes were locked on mine. “This is Illusion. Aiden, is it? What’s your

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power?” She looked at me, expectantly. I glanced at the pale-faced boy next to her, who was

taller and looked to be about in his late teens.

“I can manipulate and travel through time,” I said, still looking at the tall boy who called

himself Illusion. Whisper’s eyebrows rose.

“That’s quite a talent you have there if it’s true. Mind demonstrating?” I looked back at

my friends. Demi nodded. Whisper folded her arms across her chest.

“Alright,” I said. “Illusion, try to hit me.” He thought about it, then reared his arm back to

hit me. He launched the punch, but he began slowing down until he reached a stop, inches from

my face. His face was blank and unblinking. Whisper looked him over, then chuckled softly.

“I suppose you’ve made your point.” I stepped aside and released him, watching him

follow through into nothing. He started to fall, but caught his balance. The illusionist stood up

straight and was silent. “You, girl. What can you do?” Lili held out her hand, and with a spark it

ignited. Whisper turned to Xavier.

I can communicate with you via telepathy, he thought. I can also move things with my

mind. She nodded.

“And least but last, the smart-aleck kid.” Demetri smirked. The beam of light shot up his

chest and his white hoodie ripped apart to the sides, molding into feathered wings of the purest

white, and exposing his bare torso.

“It’s Demetri.” Whisper didn’t even acknowledge him.

“Now I have one question for you,” she said, looking back up into the treetops. “And

your answer will determine whether you stay or go. Revolutionary? Or Oppressionist?” She drew

both of her swords, and Illusion crossed his arms. I frowned and looked back at my friends. They

all shared a blank look of confusion.

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“I don’t think any of us know what you mean,” I said slowly, preparing for a

confrontation.

“What do you mean, “you don’t know”? You’d have to have lived under a rock for the

past two months to not know,” she said in disbelief.

“Something like that,” Demi muttered, folding his wings back to their clothing state.

“Remember when I told you I could time travel? I’ve only done that once. And I don’t

know how I did it. When we woke up this morning, It was June 26th, two days after we got our

powers.” Illusion looked to Whisper with a look of skepticism. Whisper said nothing, but

continued looking up to the treetops.

“What do you think, Numb?” She yelled up into the trees. There was a pause, followed

by a crack of the tree limbs. Another boy flew down from the tree, landing in the middle of the

two groups of people. He landed in a couched position, his back to us. He stood up slowly.

“They’re telling the truth,” he said quietly. Illusion shrugged and turned around. His body

shimmered into the light, becoming transparent like the three girls before. Then he disappeared.

The boy called Numb walked over to Whisper, still facing the opposite direction. He turned

around to face us for the first time. Lili gasped softly, and I felt Demi tense up beside me.

The boy had on a mask that covered his entire face. It had an elaborate black and white

design on it that framed the face. What made the mask peculiar, though, was the fact that it had

no eyeholes, and small grates where the mouth was. Where the eyeholes were supposed to be

were two ovals. On the right side, a pure black oval, and the right side, a pure white oval. The

boy looked no older than fourteen, and his long brown hair was hanging over the forehead of the

mask. Xavier looked from the boy to the treetops.

“How many more people do you have hiding up there?” He asked.

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“An army, if need be,” Whisper replied. “Alright. Numb believes you, so I believe you.

You’ll come back to camp with us, and we’ll fill you in on everything that you’ve missed over

the past two months. Which was a lot.” She turned around and began walking, Numb following

by her side.

“Are we actually gonna go with them?” Demetri asked me under his breath. I looked

from my friends to the people who were about to kill us a mere two minutes ago. I sighed.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jericho

Whisper led us onto a roughed out path that which, if you weren’t looking for it, could be

very easily overlooked. The path was narrow though, so we had to walk single file- Whisper,

then Numb, me, Demetri, Lili, and Xavier in the back.

“You guys really missed a lot,” Whisper called back to us.

“So we’ve heard,” Lili replied shortly. Whisper stepped over a fallen log, motioning for

us to watch out for it.

“First of all, the same serum that was tested out on you four was mass-produced and

distributed all over the country by a group of people calling themselves the Revolutionaries. You

could only receive this serum, however, if you agreed to fight in their army. This army was

supposed to overthrow the government, creating a new and better America, one with superior

military power above all other nations.”

“This serum was supposed to cure any and all ailments, and for the most part, it did.

That’s what made it so appealing to most people. Combine its healing properties with the

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promise of extraordinary powers, and you’d be foolish to decline this offer. These people were

the good guys, or so everyone thought. After a while, though, a select few of us realized how

corrupt this organization actually was.”

“So a group of us got together and escaped. Every now and then, we have a few more

come to our camp out here, but most of the time, it’s just stupid kids who want to start trouble.”

She stopped at a large clearing, and Numb moved to flank her.

“We started a camp out here in the middle of nowhere and called ourselves the

Oppressionists. We collected a small force of Infinites, and made our base here. We call it

Jericho. One day, very, very soon, we will fight the Revolutionary army, and we will win. For

the freedom of America.” Xavier looked at her curiously as we entered the clearing and stopped

alongside Whisper and Numb.

“You collected a small force of Infinites? What does that mean?” He asked her. She gave

him a strange look, which turned to realization.

“Homo infinitus. The next step in human evolution. The name Infinite is a term coined by

the leader of the Revolutionists. It’s us. Anybody who has received the Infinite Clause and has

the abilities that it entitles is called an Infinite,” she explained.

“Next question,” Demetri said, looking around at the open space. “Where exactly is this

Jericho place that you’re talking about?” She grinned wickedly at him.

“It’s right in front of you, actually.” She took a step forward with Numb following suit,

and as soon as they did, they vanished.

“What just happened?” Lili asked, looking around in bewilderment.

“I have absolutely no idea,” I answered. “Should we follow them?”

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“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Demi said, echoing my previous words. The

air was calm here in this clearing. The bright green grass was still, and the forest animals were

silent. It was if time didn’t flow here. The wind wasn’t blowing, and the air was cool. A bizarre

change from the smoldering June heat that was experienced only yesterday. I inhaled deeply,

then took a step forward. Out of my peripherals, I saw my friends do the same.

Everything went dark. The forest around me swirled around me, disappearing. I couldn’t

breathe. Various shades of red, blue, and green flashed all around me in a spinning vortex that

appeared to be sucking the oxygen out of the air. The spinning finally slowed down, and I found

myself being slammed against a hard surface, gasping for air.

I stood up slowly, taking in my new surroundings. We were still in a forest, but the

clearing was massive. Tents were set up all over the camp, and people were walking and talking

everywhere. It was like a small village, and in the center of the clearing, there was a large fire pit

surrounded by logs that were apparently used for sitting. Beside me, my friends were climbing to

their feet, breathing hard. Whisper walked up to me.

“The first time’s always the hardest,” she said without emotion. “This… is Jericho.” She

motioned to the sprawling campsite. All of you, come with me, and I’ll introduce you to the man

in charge of this whole operation.” She was no longer accompanied by the masked boy, and her

demeanor seemed less cold, but there was still an edge to her voice. She looked us over one last

time, then took off towards the largest tent in the clearing.

There was a variety of people at this camp, but each looked no different than the average

person. None of them had strange physical features like Whisper’s eyes. But I suppose, like

Demetri’s wings, those kinds of things had to be uncovered. Curious eyes watched us as we

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followed Whisper to the tent. People slowly began crowding by us, and murmurs rippled through

the crowd.

“Are they…?”

“-saw them on the news!”

“Where have they been?” Whisper pushed through the crowd irritably.

“Beat it, everyone. You all have stuff you need to be doing. There’s nothing to see here,”

She yelled. The crowd dissipated, but the murmurs kept up. We approached the tent, which was

about the size of a small house. It was made up of dark blue canvas, and towered over the rest of

the tents. Whisper pushed aside the folds of the massive door and stepped in. We followed after

her.

Inside of the tent, there were tons of various scientific equipment, all hooked up to a

massive generator. There were a few people in lab coats, but Whisper approached one who had

his back turned to us, hunched over a clipboard.

“Is this the reason you had the three of us patrolling the Wisconsin forests?” She

demanded, pointing at us. The man looked up, then turned around slowly.

“No way…”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Crippled Truth

“Dad?!” Xavier exclaimed, running toward the awe-struck Richard Lancing. He dropped

his clipboard and embraced his son in a massive hug. His face glistened with sweat and tears.

“Wait a minute,” Whisper said, looking from the reunited father and son to the three of

us. “Lancing? This kid is your son? And these are his friends?” Understanding flashed across her

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face. “I’m going to go now.” She turned around and exited the tent, the door flaps flying behind

her.

“What was that all about?” Demi asked, walking up to Dr. Lancing. Lili and I shared a

look, then joined the rest of them.

“That’s just how she is,” Dr. Lancing explained, wiping his eyes. “Guys, come here and

introduce yourselves to the new members, then you’re done for the day.” He motioned over the

three other people in white coats. Two of them looked very similar, and I guessed that they were

related. A boy who looked about my age walked up to me with his hand outstretched,

accompanied by his similar looking friend.

“Hey, I’m Wolf,” he said with a warm smile. I shook his hand. “I can turn into a grey

wolf. Like a werewolf, kinda. Only I’m still me.” He went around and shook everyone’s hand. I

could see the resemblance now, from him to a canine. The edges of his face were sharp and his

cheekbones defined. He had a prominent five o’ clock shadow, and his curly silver hair almost

touched his eyes. The girl that looked like him walked up to me.

“You can call me Lynx. I can shape-shift into a lynx, if you didn’t already put that

together. Wolf and I are twins.” She grinned at me and shook my hand. She too resembled the

animal of which she called herself. Her ears were pointed and her eyes were playful slits. She

was dainty and cute, but her teeth were like razors. The last of the three, a larger man of African

descent with a scar over his right eye, walked up to me and took my outstretched hand with a

crushing grip. I bit my tongue to keep myself from crying out.

“Call me Nomad,” he laughed in a deep, testosterone-filled voice. “I’m the one who set

up the teleportation systems that brought you here. Wormholes just so happen to be my

specialty.” He winked at me.

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“Alright, now that everyone is acquainted, go outside and tell everyone that their day is

over. They’re free to do what they want.”

“Yes sir,” Nomad said, leading the other two out of the tent. Dr. Lancing put an arm

around his son and guided him towards a large conference table in the middle of the tent.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” the short man said as we all took seats at the

rounded table. “First and foremost, where on Earth have you been for the past two months? I

tried getting ahold of you; When I visited Marge’s place, the house was surrounded by this

massive white light, and I couldn’t get anywhere near it.” Dr. Lancing looked from face to face,

his relief quite apparent.

“I can time travel,” I explained for the second time today. “I don’t know how, and it was

an accident, but when we were doing our power diagnosis this morning, it told me I could time

travel. Cail pushed me to my limit, and I kind of cracked. The next thing I know, we’re exactly

two months into the future, with Revolutionary Police banging on our door. We escaped into the

forest, where we were found by Whisper, Numb, and Illusion. Now we’re here.” Dr. Lancing

folded his hands and put them up to his face, assessing the situation.

“What happened to Caleb and Marge?” He asked quietly. I looked away.

“We don’t know.” I was grateful to Lili for answering. “The Revolution people came

looking for us, and Xavier sealed up the escape route so we couldn’t have been followed.” Dr.

Lancing was silent for a moment, exhaling slowly.

“Did you all get diagnosed, then?” He finally said.

“Time manipulation and, apparently travel,” I responded.

“Pyrokinesis.”

“Basically, psychic abilities.”

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“I got wings.” Lancing arched his eyebrows.

“You got wings?” He repeated. Demetri nodded, then stood up. He unfolded his hoodie

into the wings, outstretching them as far as they would go. Dr. Lancing nodded, impressed.

“We have a machine here similar to that particular diagnosis machine, but it isn’t a super

computer and is by no means accurate. It usually only tells us what we already have figured out.”

“What happened back there, Mr. Lancing?” Demetri asked softly, sitting back down.

“You were still in the lab when it blew up, yet here you are. Unscathed.” Lancing frowned in

memory of the event.

“I wasn’t unscathed. My legs were torn apart in that explosion. The doctors told me I’d

never be able to walk again.” I glanced at him sidewise, then to his legs.

“You were just walking perfectly fine a few minutes ago,” I pointed out. He pulled up the

sleeve of his right arm, then put his pointer finger on the center of the table. Slowly, a sheet of

ice began forming on the table where his finger rested, crackling as it froze.

“Oh,” I mumbled, staring at the ring of ice that formed on the polished wooden surface.

“I see.”

“They pulled me out of there just in time,” he continued. “But I refused to be carted off to

an ambulance. In the inside pocket of my lab coat, I had a small sample of the Infinite Clause. I

knew what I had to do. Almost immediately, my legs began repairing themselves; the tissue and

muscles sealed up, the nerves reconnected. But it wasn’t without that… side effect. I had hoped

to stay out of the Infinite realm, and merely fight for the discovery, and then the cure. But so be

it.”

“Unfortunately, that little remaining bit that I used on myself was the last of the original

strain of pure, perfected Infinite Clause. The brutes that broke into the lab and stole from me,

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they merely stole a copy of the formula; a blueprint, so to speak. Luckily, I left out a few key

steps in the recreation process, steps that only I knew, up here.” He pointed to his head. “I’m sure

they had to have tried it a thousand times, with nothing yielding but failure. They must have had

a genius on their side, though, because they recreated it, to an extent. This second strain was

weaker, still with its trademarking healing abilities and genetic mutations, but… It was

essentially a watered-down version of my perfected solution. Still, with the numbers those

people have, and the support they’ve managed to rally for their “Cause”, those Revolutionaries

are enough to completely turn the world upside-down.” Lancing scowled and looked down at his

hands.

“I want you to realize,” he said solemnly, “That we, in this small tent, are the most

powerful Infinites in the nation. The only ones who’ve ingested the first strain.” He seemed to

have drifted off, lost in his own thoughts, but then snapped back to reality. “But enough about

history for the time being.”

“I lay low for a little while. I called you almost immediately after I escaped the

ambulance, still in excruciating pain, but my phone had taken quite a hit from the explosion as

well. I traveled to Wisconsin and took up residence at a friend’s house, that way I could be close

to you four, discreetly. I met up with Caleb one morning, and told him of the events that had

happened so far. This was the day of your disappearance. After that, I managed to run into a few

rogue Revolutionaries, Whisper and Numb, and with their help, I created this haven, Jericho. It’s

protected by Nomad’s wormholes, which resemble the walls of the ancient historical city of

Jericho. Here, we can plot against them without the fear of being discovered by Revolutionary

forces.” So that’s the errand Cail had to run, I realized. I wonder why he didn’t want to tell us

that…

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“So where exactly is here?” Xavier asked his father.

“Jericho is located just past the Canadian border. With Nomad’s teleporting ability, we

can travel great distances, so there’s no need to be so close to danger. If need be, he could

teleport the entire camp to a new location.” Dr. Lancing stood up. “So now you’re filled in.

Everyone’s duties are done for the day, so why don’t the four of you go mingle? Make some

friends. This will be your family for a while, so it’s best to get used to them.” The thought of

Whisper being nothing more than a family member hurt my heart a little. Dr. Lancing strode out

the door, whistling merrily and leaving the four of us still seated at the table to ourselves. I

exhaled, then allowed my head to fall to the table with a ‘thunk’.

“This sucks,” I groaned. Demetri leaned on the back two legs of his chair, and Lili

stretched her arms up in the air. Xavier frowned.

“What do we do now?” He asked, staring at the frozen patch of table. Lili stood up,

hooked her foot under the elevated leg of Demi’s chair, and flipped him onto his back. The room

erupted in laughter. Even Demi laughed.

“I hate you,” he grinned, his eyes squeezed shut.

“Now we go make friends,” Lili said, walking out the door. Xavier and I stood up,

pushed our chairs in, and followed her.

“Are you guys just gonna leave me here?” Demetri called from the floor.

“Yup.”

“Pretty much.”

“I don’t even know why I’m friends with you people.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonfires and New Relations

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The forest air was fresh, smelling of pine and cedar. The sun had begun to descend in the

sky, creating an auburn horizon. A massive bonfire had been started in the fire pit directly at the

center of camp, and people had begun gathering around it, talking, laughing, and paying no

attention to the four new people who were wandering their way. That was good, I had decided.

Best to attract as little attention as possible.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” A voice boomed by the fire. To my dismay, I

saw Nomad smiling and motioning us over to him.

“Everyone, we have four new recruits with us today,” he continued his announcement as

we cautiously walked towards him. “These aren’t just any recruits, though. These are the

Infiknights! The ones you heard about on the news. They have returned!” The crowd of strangers

cheered loudly as we finally reached the campfire. I glanced at Demetri, who shrugged. Nomad

bore a massive grin.

“Now I don’t want everyone bombarding them with questions, but when you get the

opportunity, introduce yourselves. Make them feel welcome.” Nomad turned to me as his

audience lost interest. He smiled, clapping me on the back with large, scarred hands.

“What was that all about?” I asked him. “Why were they cheering? And what’s an

‘Infiknight?’” The fire cast a golden glow against his face, making the shadows dance across his

eyes.

“You guys are famous around these parts.” Nomad walked over to a log-bench and sat

down, motioning for us to join him. “You’re the Infiknights, the original super-powered beings

that are said to be the strongest out there. Every Infinite, good or bad, looked up to you. But then

you disappeared. I dunno,” he rubbed the whiskers on his face. “There for a while we all thought

of you as some kind of gods, frowning upon the conflict, therefore removing yourself from it.

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You’re still kids, but that doesn’t change the fact that the four of you are stronger than anyone

here.” He pulled off a loose piece of bark from the log bench and threw it in the massive bonfire,

causing a small shower of sparks to erupt from the black soot that lined the bottom of the fire.

We sat in silence for a while; Nomad had pulled out a small pocket knife and had begun

whittling on a small limb, leaving the four of us to our thoughts.

Gods? Surely he was exaggerating that statement. I mean, we didn’t even know what we

were doing, let alone be the best at it. I thought back to Dr. Lancing telling us how our powers

would get stronger and stronger as time went on, back in the lab, before we became Infinites. If

only we knew back then what kind of turmoil it would bring. So because we were the oldest, we

were the strongest? Looking around at the wide variety of faces that surrounded the fire, I was

sure that there were several people here that could kill us in a heartbeat.

“Hey, Smith!” Nomad’s rough voice cut through my thoughts as he yelled across the

camp to a young man who had just come out of his tent. He smiled and waved at Nomad as he

slid off the massive backpack that rested on his shoulders, and began making his way to our

group. Nomad turned to Lili.

“Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re the flame girl that Lancing has told me so

much about, right?” Nomad asked. Lili nodded as the young man named Smith made his way

through the crowd and joined us on our log, which was now getting rather crowded. He dusted

off the open patch of bark right next to Nomad and sat down. Looking at him up close, I could

now see his physical features more clearly. He was tall, with a lean muscular build and light

brown hair that covered his forehead so much so that he had to brush out of his eyes. He wore a

tight-fitting red flannel shirt, with pearl snaps running up and down the middle, and the sleeves

were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his tan and defined forearms.

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“Workin’ hard?” Nomad clapped Smith on the back with a massive grin. Smith scratched

the back of his head, laughing. The friendship between these two men was quite apparent.

“Hardly working,” he replied, still smiling. He leaned forward so he could look at us

from around Nomad. “Make some new friends today?”

“Smith, these kids right here are the Infiknights,” Nomad said, winking at me. This was

the third time he had called us that, and I’ll have to admit, it was growing on me. Smith’s eyes

grew wide. He stood back up from his seat and walked over to Demetri, holding out his hand.

“You guys are really the Infiknights?” Demi shook his hand, and Smith moved to Xavier,

shaking his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, it really is. I’ve heard so much about you guys!

Your Infinitism must be progressing ridiculously fast.” He stopped when he reached Lili.

“Ah, you must be the radiant Lili Montague.” He knelt down and took her hand, then

kissed the back of it. “Enchanté,” he purred. She blushed and looked away, trying hard to hide a

grin, but failing. There was a loud crunch to my left, and I glanced over to find Demi staring off

into space. His hand, however, had clenched so tightly into the log that it tore five finger holes in

the wood. I was the only one who seemed to notice. Smith stood back up and returned to his

spot.

“The reason I asked you that earlier, Lili, is because Smith’s power is the ability to draw

metals from the earth and manipulate them. He essentially creates all the weapons and armor out

here,” Nomad explained. “However, his work is missing an extremely vital key, and that’s a

flame of the right temperature. With just the kindling we have here,” he motioned towards the

bonfire, “We would never be able to produce a hot enough fire. But now that you’re here, you

can help him make the perfect weapons and equipment. That is, if you want to.”

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‘“Totally. That sounds like fun.” She didn’t hesitate in answering. Demi’s fingers sunk

deeper into the wood. Nomad beamed at Smith, who very eagerly returned it.

“It’s getting dark, so he can’t exactly show you what your job will be right now, but I

think it would be a good idea for you two to get to know each other,” Nomad murmured,

stripping off a piece of wood from his limb. Smith jumped back up, yet again.

“I’m fine with that. Let’s get to know each other,” Smith winked at Lili. She smiled

warmly and stood up next to him.

“Sounds good to me,” she nodded. Smith led her around the fire and out of sight from our

group. The sun had completely sunk under the horizon now and the only source of light came

from the fire, now burning smaller and dimmer, but still fiercely. The moon was full in the sky,

and from across the fire, I watched Wolf raise his head and howl a low and mournful howl. His

friends around him erupted in laughter, and he grinned as they rough-housed each other.

“This is surreal,” I murmured to myself. Nomad peeked sideways at me, then set his stick

and knife down.

“You get used to it, after a while,” he said, stretching his legs out and yawning. “Before

too long, Doc Lancing will be out here with the daily report.”

“What are we even supposed to do here?” Demetri asked impatiently, his high spirits

seemingly worn off.

“Well,” Nomad answered. “We have a schedule. First, breakfast. then, it’s training time.

You’re split off into a small group with a training instructor, like me. In fact, I’ll probably be

your instructor. During that time, I’ll teach you the basics of how to fight hand-to-hand combat.

After that, lunch. Then, you have specialization techniques, where you go off on your own and

practice your power. Just like anything else in life, practice makes perfect.”

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“Then we have campfire, during which Dr. Lancing comes and gives us a daily status

report.” As he said this, the flap to the giant blue tent opened up and Dr. Lancing came out,

clipboard in hand. “Speak of the devil,” Nomad said, winking. When Dr. Lancing approached,

the quiet rumble of talking died down, and ceased altogether when he raised one hand into the

air.

“First and foremost,” the short man boomed in a surprisingly loud voice, “I’d like to

thank everyone for all their efforts today. Everyone put in a hard and honest day’s work, and I’m

proud of you all. Second, we-“ My attention drifted off as I scanned the crowd for the beautiful

but fiercely intense girl named Whisper. Looking across all the faces was yielding no results, and

my heart sank. Just as I was about to start paying attention, though, my eyes made contact with a

flash of golden yellow.

Was she actually staring at me, first? I would never know, because if she was, she looked

away so quickly that it made me doubt myself. Sure enough, though, there she was, leaning up

against a tall oak tree, arms crossed. Numb was leaning on the same tree right next to her. She

was either listening very intently to what Dr. Lancing was saying, or knew that I was staring

back and didn’t want to acknowledge me. My guess was the latter.

“The Revolutionaries will be having their mass rally in exactly one week!” Lancing said,

interrupting my creepy stalker stares. I snapped back into focus. Revolutionary rally?

“Now,” he continued, “that means we will be sending a few groups of you to this rally.

This won’t be a siege mission, however. Their numbers will supposedly top a thousand. No, this

is merely an intelligence mission, so we’ll be sending small groups in. I’m thinking three groups

of four, but that’s subject to change. I think that should be it.” He nodded curtly, then did an

about-face back to his tent.

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“Oh, and by the way,” he added, turning back around. “Lights out in thirty minutes. I

mean it this time. I don’t want a repeat of last night’s wild party that went on till the sun rose.”

He raised an accusing eyebrow at Wolf, causing his friends to burst out laughing again.

“Whatever, old man,” Wolf grinned sheepishly. “I saw you dancing out there. Don’t act

like you didn’t love every second of it.” This time, the whole camp joined in the laughter. Dr.

Lancing laughed and rolled his eyes, then began heading back towards his tent. Nomad stood up

and stretched, yawning loudly.

“Hey, Nomad,” I said as I stood up to join him. “Where are we gonna sleep tonight?”

Nomad rubbed his stubbly chin, looking up thoughtfully.

“Hm,” he murmured. “Well, this camp is totally segregated, which is stupid if you ask

me, so you won’t be able to bunk with your lady friend, but we’ll get her straightened out. As for

you three guys, I think Numb has a tent to himself right now. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind

sharing.” I shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the same place as the masked boy.

“Is there anywhere else we might be able to stay?” Xavier asked him. Apparently he felt

the same way.

“Well there’s always a comfy tree nearby.” Nomad motioned to the dark forest perimeter

of the camp.

“I think we’ll take our chances with Numb,” Demetri said, digging his fingers out of the

log and pushing himself off of it. Nomad shrugged.

“Suit yourself. Tent’s that way.” He pointed at a dark red tent that almost looked like it

was made from leather. It was large, but not quite as big as Dr. Lancing’s. Nomad and the three

of us said our goodnight’s and parted ways, leaving us to the walk through the dark and grassy

camp towards the tent. I glanced back at the dimming fire; the crowd of unnatural people had

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begun thinning out. Numb was still hunched over, leaning against his tree, but his counterpart

had left him by himself.

I pushed aside the flap to the red tent and stepped inside. It was pitch black inside of the

tent and it smelled like a new car, which was strange.

“Guys, is there a light switch anywhere near you?” Xavier called out into the darkness. I

frowned and shook my head, then realized that nobody could see me in the dark.

“This is a freaking tent,” Demetri grumbled. “Power isn’t running through it, because it’s

canvas. Of course there isn’t a light switch.”

“Jeez. What crawled up your butt and died?” Xavier said under his breath.

“Yeah, man. Don’t get your panties in a twist. We’ll figure something ou-“ As the words

came out of my mouth, something sharp hit my kneecap and I collapsed over it with a clatter.

“Aiden, are you alright?” Xavier’s voice rang through the darkness. I picked myself up

off the ground, feeling around for the cause of my fall.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered. “I just tripped over something that was just lying around.

Man. You’d think the guy would pick his crap up.” My hand slid over a cold, hard object. I felt it

up, feeling the curves and edges that surrounded it. “I think it’s a lantern, actually.” I blindly

flipped the object upright and searched it for the knob that raised the wick. I moved my hand up

the side of it, until I was stopped by a different hand that brushed mine aside. A small flame lit

up in the darkness and lowered itself onto the wick, which caught immediately. The room was

illuminated, revealing the source of the assistance I received.

“What are you doing here?” Numb held the smoking match loosely in his hand, looking

down at myself who was crouched over the lantern. I had to fight the urge to scream like a little

girl. I stood up slowly. His face didn’t leave the direction of the lantern.

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“Nomad told us we’d be bunking with you,” I said shakily. “Um… We met in the forest,

earlier?”

“Of course he did.” He turned around, his long hair shielding me from the creepy eyeless

mask. “Well, you’ll be sleeping on the floor.” For the first time since the lantern had been

ignited, I became aware of my surroundings. Which was nothing. The entire floor, ceiling, and

walls were one complete room of red canvas, with no furniture, blankets, clothes, nothing. The

only thing that occupied the tent was the burning lantern, and us, of course.

“Where do you sleep?” Xavier asked him. Numb ignored him, walking over to the far

wall of the tent and sitting down against it, crossing his legs. I couldn’t tell if he was looking at

us or not, and this was unnerving. The fire flickered calmly in the glass bowl of the lantern,

causing the shadows of the room to frolic and dance about. I glanced back at my companions.

Xavier had taken off his shirt and wadded it up, throwing it on the ground to be used as a pillow.

Demetri unfolded his wings and laid down, nestling inside the massive feathery wingspan. I

sighed.

It’s just temporary, Xavier’s voice cut across my own thoughts. What’s the worst he

could do? Kill us in our sleep? I chuckled softly, finding a soft patch of hard tent floor and

patting it down.

That’s reassuring. I’m faster than you, boy. While he’s eating your face off, I’ll be

running straight for Canada. Xavier snorted and rolled over. I stared up at the red ceiling of the

tent. I was fairly certain that Numb had fallen asleep, although his body was in the exact same

position that it was when he first sat down. His head hadn’t fallen, and his back was still straight

and arched. I could be wrong. But I decided not to think about it. It had been a ridiculously long

day: one that had lasted for two months.

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* * * * * * * * * * * *

Crispy Metal

The explosion was just destructive enough to wake three slumbering teenage boys. The

deafening sound of the explosion brought me out of my state of deep sleep and put me into a

sense of alertness of my surroundings, although my eyes were still closed and I wasn’t fully

awake. It was the smell of the smoke, however, that tore my eyelids open and made me jump up

with a sickening panic in my chest.

The smoke was rolling into the tent from the flap, and almost all of the visibility in the

room was gone. I heard Demetri and Xavier shout, but I couldn’t make out words because the

roar of the smoke had filled my ears.

“Demi, Xavier!” I shouted, collapsing onto the ground and belly-crawling in a small

bubble of oxygen that lay under the smoke.

“We’re okay!” A muffled reply came from behind me. “Just keep heading for the door!” I

wiggled and wormed my way across the canvassed floors until I reach the flap of redemption.

Light was shining through the small crack that parted the flap from the rest of the tent, and I

grabbed at it, trying to pull myself towards it. The smoke had filled my lungs and it was

becoming impossible to breathe. My eyes stung and watered profusely, but I could find no time

to wipe the tears with my singed sleeves.

I grasped the opening and pulled myself out into the fresh air. Or at least I thought it was

fresh. The entire camp was covered in a massive sheet of smoke that was billowing out from the

center of the camp. Behind me, Demetri and Xavier crawled out of the tent, panting and

coughing.

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“What’s going on?” I asked, pulling my shirt up to my face and breathing through it.

“I have no idea,” Xavier coughed. “But if I had to take a shot in the dark, I’d say there’s a

fire somewhere.” Everywhere I looked, I saw nothing but thick, charcoal-colored smoke. Every

breath I took through the disgusting shirt burned in the back of my throat. But then my breath

caught.

“Where’s Numb?” I glanced back at the ominous tent, my heart skipping a beat.

Demetri’s eyes widened.

“I think he’s still in there!” My rational thought process stopped right there. Without

thinking and despite the protests of my companions, I dove back into the tent. The smoldering

heat forced my eyes to squint, leaving barely enough vision to see my hand in front of my face.

“Numb? Numb, if you’re in here, answer me!” Another breath. Another flash of searing

pain down my throat. I was on my stomach again, but my energy was fading fast. The agony was

too much, and I was forced to shut my eyes, causing a surging rip through my iris. The pain was

gone as soon as it came though, and my eyes watered with relief. I was getting light-headed, and

the burning tent was spinning. My arms gave out from underneath me and I was almost about to

give up, but then-

The smoke vanished. All of it instantly disappeared into thin air, revealing an empty tent.

I stood up slowly and inhaled the fresh, cool air. The flap to the tent flew open.

“Did you find him?” Xavier asked, stumbling over Demetri to get back in the tent. My

mouth hung open slightly as I tried to process everything that just went happened.

“No…” I mumbled. “What just happened?” Demi grabbed my arm and ushered me

outside.

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“There was a fire. Long story short,” he said as we exited outside for a second time. The

camp was smoke-free, as if nothing had even happened. Thunder rumbled off into the distance as

storm clouds began gathering in the cool morning sky, and a streak of lightning etched itself into

the corneas of my red and swollen eyes. People all around were sitting outside their tents, some

coughing, some just in silence. In the center of the camp where the bonfire was held, Lili and

Smith were talking to a laughing Richard Lancing. In Smith’s hand, he held a charred, blackened

strip of metal. Despite Lancing’s good humor, both Smith and Lili had somber expressions

across their faces.

“Dad!” Xavier called out as we approached them. Dr. Lancing glanced back at us,

smiling. “Dad, is everything alright?” Dr. Lancing took the burnt piece from Smith and turned it

over in his hands, examining it.

“Everything’s quite alright,” he said cheerfully. “Lili took her first crack at welding and

heat tempering today. It, uh, didn’t quite go as planned, but with a little practice, she’ll be a top

notch welder. Make sure to thank Nomad for his quick thinking in teleporting the smoke away,

quickly and efficiently.” He handed the metal to me. “Now, who’s the lucky soul that gets to

explain to Whisper why she’ll only be using one blade for a while?” I looked down at the

blackened sword in my hand. So this was Whisper’s second blade… I glanced up to find all eyes

on me.

“No.” I shoved the sword back to Dr. Lancing, who raised his hands, palms out. “I’m not

telling her. She already hates me as it is.” I noticed Xavier looking past me, then I felt a presence

behind me. I turned around slowly, hoping it wasn’t Whisper.

“You went back for me.” It was a statement, not a question. Now that I was standing

face-to-face with the masked teen, I realized he was my exact height. The closeness of our

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entities also allowed me to examine the detail of his mask more closely. If it wasn’t so creepy

and eyeless, the solid black and white covering would have been a beautiful piece of art.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” My heart raced around this boy for some reason, but his arrogance

and elusiveness irritated me.

“Why?”

“I guess… I just didn’t want your life on my hands. That’s all.” He laughed dryly under

his breath.

“Hey, Aiden.” I turned to Demi, who was frowning off into the distance. Much to my

dismay, a breathtaking sight of terror was walking my way, a look of fury across her face. She

was looking at me. I glanced back at Numb to ask for his help, but he had vanished.

“What did you do to my blade?” She asked sharply, a touch of venom tainting her voice.

“I don’t-“

“He didn’t do anything, Whisper,” Smith came to my defense. “It was an accident.” She

seized the sword from me and examined it, before tossing it to the ground at my feet. Whisper

gave me the nastiest look I’ve ever seen, then wordlessly stormed off.

“Well that was easy enough,” I mumbled.

“Way to take one for the team,” Xavier patted me on the back as he and the others

walked past me and to the mess hall.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dr. Lancing said. “Eat some breakfast, then focus on training.

Don’t let it distract you.” Lili glanced back at me apologetically. I half-smiled at her to let her

know everything was okay. Picking up the sword, I grimaced. It was still warm from being

heated, and it was distorted beyond reason. I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

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* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Art of Meditating

Nomad was the lunchroom hero, although he had to admit to transporting the smoke to

his ex-girlfriend’s house. That made him an even bigger hero to the guys, but the girls

sympathized with the ex, who was in for a very abrupt wake-up call. “You date her for three

months and not have any desire to smoke her out, and I will personally apologize to that crazy

thing,” Nomad had said to his defense.

I met some more interesting Infinites though, like the lunch lady who could control

vegetation and was making fruit trees grow right inside the tent, or the boy who was

manipulating an army of ants to do his bidding. Which consisted of marching in circles.

After breakfast, Nomad gathered Lili, Demi, Xavier and myself up for our training. He

had us march out into the forest until we reached a small pond. The pond had a waterfall

trickling into it, making the water ripple and flow, preventing it from becoming stagnant. There

were stepping stones that led out into the center of the massive and beautiful body of water, and

there was a massive plateau in the middle. We travelled across the rocks out into the pond, where

I noted how clean and clear the water was. Not only was I enlightened on to how deep the pond

was, but I could also see every minnow and crawdad that scraped the bottom of the water.

Nomad insisted that we sit cross-legged in a circle on the plateau, so of course, we did.

“So when are you going to teach us these awesome combat moves that you were talking

about?” Demi asked eagerly. Nomad laughed, a deep ringing sound that bounced off the

waterfall.

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“Actually, I had something different in mind for you four, today,” he replied. Xavier

shifted in his spot on the damp and massive rock.

“So you’re not going to teach us how to fight?” Xavier inquired. Nomad shook his head

and closed his eyes.

“So,” Lili said with a puzzled look on her face, “If you aren’t teaching us how to fight,

what are we going to do then?”

“We,” Nomad said, breathing in deeply, “Are going to meditate.”

“Are you serious?” I exclaimed. “That’s dumb.”

“Shut up,” he said, inhaling again. “All of you. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing.

Your minds are too cluttered, and a fighter with a cluttered mind is hardly a fighter at all. I

haven’t done this for anyone else in the camp. You’re special. So all of you imagine that you’re

in a pure white room, and don’t let your minds stray, or this will be completely ineffective.

Remember, the goal is to clear your mind.”

I closed my eyes and began breathing deeply. Clear my mind. Images raced through my

head, perhaps even faster than before I had started trying to clear my mind. Whisper. Xavier’s

lifeless body. Gramma Dunn and Cail. Whisper. I exhaled loudly, frustration evident in my

breath.

“Your thoughts will speed up. That means it’s working.” Good. It was working. My mind

wasn’t any clearer, but at least it was working. Fan-freaking-tastic. I felt Demetri fidgeting

beside me. Xavier coughed. So apparently I wasn’t the only one struggling.

It seemed like hours had passed. The only sound came from the trickling of the waterfall

and the boom of the thunder as it rolled in, darkening the skies. A light sprinkle began dripping

on us, making it even harder to focus.

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“So when are we going to go back to camp, and more specifically indoors?” Lili finally

complained. “This sucks. And I have achieved absolutely nothing.” Nomad opened one eye and

glanced at his wristwatch.

“Go in? No, I think not. Now, the four of you will go off on your own and hone your

Infinitism. Except you, Demetri.” Demi opened his eyes and frowned at Nomad. “There’s

someone I want you to meet,” he continued. “I think the two of you will relate well. So Demetri,

you come with me. The rest of you head back to camp.” He stood up and stretched before he

strode off the rocks and onto the stepping stones, Demi practically running to keep up with the

burly man. This left Xavier, Lili and myself sitting on the rock by ourselves.

“It’s actually kinda perfect out here,” Xavier said as a warm breeze drifted through the

rain, which began to turn into a drizzle. Lili wiped the damp lock of hair from her eyes and

laughed, looking up at the sky and blinking furiously.

“You’re crazy.”

“I think we’re all a little crazy,” I added. We sat in the pouring rain quietly for a moment,

simply listening to the rain patter against the water. I slowly made my way to my feet.

“I guess we should probably head back to camp now,” I said. Lili nodded.

“Yup. I guess you’re right.” So we marched back through the forest in the pouring rain

with the cluttered minds that we had started out with. I figured that I’d have to work on that.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Irish Ace

“So who’s this dude you’re having me meet?” Demetri called through the rain as he

followed Nomad’s massive footsteps.

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“She’s an old friend of mine. Got herself in the same boat that you’re in. Speaking of

boats, we may need one before too long.” He glanced up nervously at the sky, shielding his eyes

with his hand. “What was I saying? Oh yes, the only difference is, she knows what she’s doing,

and you don’t. You’ll really benefit a lot from talking with her.” They stepped out into the

clearing and waded through the soggy camp.

“There she is.” He pointed at a figure that was too hard to make out from the short

distance they were at, but the rain drastically reduced the visibility in the air.

“I don’t see anyone.”

“She’s coming this way. Let’s go.” Nomad grabbed Demetri by the shirt and towed him

towards the figure.

“Hey, easy man. You’re yanking a part of my body, remember.” The figure came into

view as we approached her. Her brown hair that was tied back in a bun was dripping from the

torrent. She had a lean build, and was a few inches shorter than Demi. The girl who appeared to

be a few years older than us looked from Nomad to Demetri, then back to Nomad.

“Is this the lad you were tellin’ me of?” Her Irish accent was tainted with American

influences, leading Demi to believe that she was a natural born Irish, but had lived in America

for a long time.

“It is for a fact,” Nomad answered with a wet grin. “Demetri, meet Wren. Wren,

Demetri.” Demi held out his hand, looking the girl over carefully. Alright, he thought. This girl is

smoking hot, and she has an accent. This might be just what I need to help me forget about…

“Wren here’s a flier, just like you, kid.” Nomad’s words cut through Demi’s thoughts.

“She has quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to the skies; you could really learn a lot from

her.” She took his hand and shook it firmly, smiling at him.

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“Aye. Both of the parents were well-trained pilots. Been flyin’ since age seven. I know

the ways of the sky like a roadmap tattooed on the back of my hand. You know, in some ways,

we’re the a lot alike.” She wiped the rain off of her face with her sleeve. “See?” She took off her

oversized sweater, revealing a dark red, lacy tank-top. She smiled daringly at Demi. As she did,

two large, diamond-shaped wings rose out from her back, and two smaller ones unfolded

underneath those, hanging down. They were brightly colored with shades of neon blues, greens

and reds, and resembled massive butterfly wings.

“That’s awesome,” Demetri admired. The combination of the beautiful wings and the

equally beautiful girl that bore them made his heart race. “Those are very impressive,” he

continued, his words shaky. The rain disguised it well, though. Demetri gave a grin of his own

and unfolded his own wings, exposing his muscular torso. His wings were heavier, though, he

noted. They must be soaking up all of this rain. That’s why she wasn’t sure if we’d be able to fly

in the rain. She’s smart… Or maybe that was supposed to be common sense. Crap. She was

smiling at him and blushing. Demetri folded his wings back into the thick hoodie that they were

initially in.

“I have questions for ya, lad,” she said, “And I’m sure you have questions for me too.

Would you like to go to the mess hall and talk?”

“That would be fantastic.”

“Aye, fantastic.” Nomad nudged Demi’s arm gently, then walked off, beaming. Over in

the distance, Demetri saw Xavier walk out of the forest path and into the camp, smirking at him,

even through the rain. He rolled his eyes.

How much of that did you eavesdrop on? Demetri thought, raising an eyebrow at Xavier

as he and Wren headed towards the tent.

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Eavesdrop is a harsh word. I prefer the term selective hearing.

Don’t you have something better to read then my mind? Like a book?

Nah, there aren’t any books that could entertain me the way you can. She’s cute. Xavier

glanced at Wren, then back to Demi.

I know! Isn’t it awesome? I’m walking her to our private lessons right now.

Well, if the whole private lessons thing doesn’t work out, make sure you refer a friend.

I’ll be sure to do that. Demetri watched Xavier walk off chuckling, and he laughed out

loud.

“What’s so funny?” Wren asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just a friend being dumb.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Tactical Approach

I sat on a rock. I know it sounds lame, but I didn’t know what else to do. I barely even

noticed the rain beating down on me, although it hurt a little when the rain gods decided to turn

up the water pressure and turn down the water temperature. Oh well. I guess my skin will grow

back, despite being torn off by the intensity of the water.

After wandering around the camp aimlessly for twenty minutes and watching other

people practice their powers, I finally decided to just go off alone. I had been tossing a small

pebble up in the air and stopping the small bubble of time around it so that it remained suspended

in the air, although I didn’t see how this was bettering myself any. It was peaceful though, and

once you got past the monsoon, it was rather relaxing. I folded my dangling legs on the rock and

closed my eyes. No better time to practice that meditation crap then right now, I guessed. I

breathed deeply, counting the number of inhales and exhales. It was easier to concentrate, or not

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to concentrate, in a sense. There were no distractions, no fidgeting friends, no angry sword-

wielding electrical females. Just me.

Soon, the world around me disappeared. I was alone, in a completely white room. The

rain was gone, and it was completely quiet. A black dot appeared on the wall opposite from me.

Something in my mind told me that this was it, the concentration and mind-clearing that I

needed. I took a step towards it. Then another. Then seven, eight, nine, and finally, I was one

step away from the black dot. I reached out slowly and touched it, peeling it off the wall. I knew

that what I held in my hand was the inner peace that I needed. I shoved in my pocket. Now how

to get out of this strange fictional creation of my mind…

“Hey, Aiden. We’ve been looking all over for you. It’s dinner time.” I opened my eyes to

see a frantic Xavier standing in front of me, panting. To my surprise, the sun had set.

“Have you been running?” I asked him, hopping off of the rock.

“Yeah! I told you, me, Lili, and Demetri have been looking for you. We couldn’t find

you, and started to panic.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s seven. AKA dinner time! Let’s go!” So we took off towards the mess hall. I couldn’t

help but feel a sense of happiness, of inspiration. It was like something inside me had been

unlocked, but I was still extremely surprised that over four hours had passed. Surely I hadn’t

meditated that long…

When we arrived at the massive tent, everyone else was already inside. The line was

small, so we didn’t have to wait for our food. Demetri and Lili were already inside waiting on us.

“Where were you?” Lili asked worriedly. I took the tray of food from the smiling Infinite

woman who was growing the food and thanked her.

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“I was meditating.” Demetri snorted.

“Right. You were meditating. I’m sure that was what went down. No, what actually

happened, is that you were making out with that electric chick. That’s what happened.”

“Shut up, Demetri,” I defended. “There’s nothing going on between me and Whisper.”

“You’re full of crap,” Xavier chimed. “I’ve read your mind. Pervert.” My friends laughed

at me while I blushed. Luckily, I was saved by Nomad, who was motioning for us to go sit with

him. We walked over to his table and filled the four remaining vacant spots, which I hoped

didn’t belong to anyone else.

The table consisted of Nomad, Wolf, Lynx, Wren, and Illusion, all familiar faces, except

Illusion. The silent, pale-faced boy was almost as withdrawn as Numb.

“Hey guys!” Wolf greeted us cheerfully. “So, as I was saying, once the rally is over, I’m

gonna sneak backstage, find Cadence, and then bite his face off, along with the rest of those

Revolutionary losers.”

“Although I’m all for the violent approach,” Nomad said, his mouth full of food, “We’re

gonna have to be somewhat tactical about this approach.”

“Nomad’s right,” Lynx agreed. “And not just because I think you’re stupid and dumb to

begin with. Which I do. But think about it. There’s going to be a thousand of them, and twelve of

us. We wouldn’t stand a chance.” Wolf frowned and bit a chunk out of his apple.

“What do you think, Illusion?” He asked, nudging Illusion. The pale-faced boy scowled

at Wolf.

“I don’t see how my opinion matters. It’s not like I’m actually going to attend this rally.”

The silence that followed was filled with the crunching of food as people chewed awkwardly.

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“So…” Demetri offered, “What makes these Revolutionaries so bad, anyways? I mean,

not that I support them or anything, but our economy does suck. Maybe they might be on to

something. And wasn’t it Thomas Jefferson who said that America would need a revolution

every hundred years or so?”

“Nah, that’s just what they want ya to think,” Wren replied, her Irish dialect shining

through. “Those of us that actually worked under his command know the truth: the reason why

we abandoned him.” She took a swig from her water bottle. “Once Cadence has America, he’s

not gonna stop there. He plans on going around the world and conquering the other nations.

World domination, if you will.”

“The only man ever to get remotely close to world domination was Alexander the Great.

He was successful because of his brilliant amount of intelligence and massive army. Well,

Cadence has the intelligence, and now he has the army. So that’s where the Oppressionists come

in. It’s our job to prevent that from happening.”

“How can you expect this camp of about a hundred Infinites to defeat their army,

though?” I asked. “That doesn’t seem very likely to me.” Illusion stood up, threw away his paper

tray, then strode outside. Lynx rolled her eyes.

“We have some secret weapons now,” Nomad answered. “You four, the Infiknights. The

strongest Infinites out there.” I glanced down at my practically untouched tray. I suddenly wasn’t

hungry anymore. That was a lot of pressure to put on four kids.

“You need to eat,” Xavier murmured to me, reading my mind. “You need all the strength

you can get.” I nodded and shoved a grape in my mouth.

“Excuse me! May I have everyone’s attention, please?” Dr. Lancing’s voice boomed

through the huge tent. I searched the room for him, and finally found him standing on one of the

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folding tables. All eyes were on him. “Excellent!” He said happily. “Now, as most of you

probably know, water and fire don’t mix well, so we’ll have the ‘bonfire’,” he made air quotes

with his fingers, “In here. Not really, though. Just the meeting.”

“Today was a slow news day; not much happened. However, I’m very glad to see

everyone training, even though conditions are… less than desirable.” Out of the corner of my

eye, I saw a person get up and leave. A spark trailed behind her as she silently escaped the flaps

of the tent. Whisper. I glanced back at my friends, none of which seemed to notice.

“Therefore,” Lancing continued his speech. I must have missed part of it. “We only have

six days. I want everyone to be ready for any kind of event that may occur. And now, the

moment that many of you have been waiting for. As you know, only a small number of people

can be sent to this rally, that way we can stay under the radar as much as possible. I have here the

names of those twelve people.” He pulled out a folded up piece of paper from the front pocket of

his lab coat.

“Remember, this is nothing personal. These are just the people that I think would best be

able to handle this situation. I have no doubt in my mind that all of you could, though.” He

cleared his throat and unfolded the paper. “The first group of four will consist of: Nomad, Wren,

Wolf, and Lynx.” My table erupted in cheers from everyone. I beamed as they hugged each

other. Apparently this event was much bigger than I thought it was. Once the cheering had died

down, Dr. Lancing read the next names.

“Group two. Whisper, Numb, Illusion, and Smith.” The room was silent until Smith

jumped up and cheered by himself. The room shook with laughter and began cheering. I saw

Smith wink at Lili, and she blushed. Demetri exhaled deeply through his nose beside me.

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“I love the enthusiasm,” Dr. Lancing continued. “And last, but definitely not least, the

last group is… Aiden, Demetri, Lili, and Xavier.” Again, my table jumped up and cheered.

“Alright, everyone. That’s it from me. You all can celebrate for a little while longer, but then I

want you all to get some sleep. Another day of training tomorrow!” He stepped down from the

table, and walked briskly out of the tent, utilizing his famous Richard Lancing strides. I had to

admit, I was extremely excited that I was chosen to go on the mission. It felt like some sort of

honor. Along with the honor of being an Infiknight.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Kisses in the Rain

Our table stayed the longest out of everyone. We talked and laughed for a few more

hours before everyone began getting tired. Nomad announced he was going to bed, and several

others followed him.

“Actually,” I said to Demi and Xavier, “I think I’m going to hang out a bit longer. Don’t

wait up on me, I’ll probably be awhile.

Xavier shrugged. “Whatever you say, man.”

Once they had left the tent and I was sure that they were long gone, I sprinted out of the

tent and took off towards the forest. The rain was still coming down hard as ever, and combined

with the dark, it was almost impossible to see where I was going. My only source of light was

the massive lightning storm that seemed to be centered right in the heart of the forest. If my

hunch was correct, that was where Whisper had went. Of course, I could just be running into a

lightning storm like an idiot for nothing.

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I tripped over branches and logs as I stumbled blindly through the forest. I felt as if I was

about to smash into a tree at any moment, and at the speed I was traveling, that would hurt a lot.

As I stomped through the deep puddles and wiped the dirty rain off of my face and out of my

eyes, I became aware of just how much it had been raining.

I slowed to a walk as I reached a clearing in the forest. Sure enough, Whisper was

standing in the center of the clearing with her back to me. Lightning was striking the ground all

around her, and occasionally, the wicked bolts of electricity would hit her. She didn’t so much as

flinch.

Now I don’t know what compelled me to do this, but I began walking out into the open,

approaching Whisper. Lightning crashed within feet of me, and if it weren’t for the deafening

thunder, she for sure would’ve heard my heart pounding in my chest.

“Beautiful day for a stroll in the forest, isn’t it?” She whirled around. I had obviously

scared her, because she was breathing hard.

“You idiot,” she yelled through the rain. “You shouldn’t be here right now. You’re going

to get electrocuted.”

“So be it, then.” I strode forward, my fears dissipating in those magnificent yellow eyes

of hers. “I wanted to talk to you.” We were silent, and the only noise came from the pattering

drone of the rain. Lightning flowed all around us, but it wasn’t hitting Whisper anymore. Or me,

thank God.

“I wanted to apologize for your-“

“Look, I’m sorry I snapped at-“

We spoke at the same time. I felt my face turning red in the dark. Whenever the lightning

fell, our faces were illuminated for mere seconds.

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“You go,” I offered.

“No, you”

“Alright, I’ll go.” I inhaled deeply, then exhaled through my nose. I was still having a

hard time getting over how gorgeous she looked with her soaking wet hair that was sticking to

her forehead. “I’m sorry about your sword. I didn’t burn it, I was just told to bear the bad news to

you. I felt really bad about it, and I don’t want you to hate me.” Her eyes widened in

understanding.

“Oh,” she said. “Well, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you earlier. Clearly, I was

wrong.”

I gave her a half-smile. “I probably would’ve done the same thing if I were you. That

sword probably means a lot to you.”

“Eh. It’s just a piece of metal.” The silence came back. I was staring into her eyes, and

she was staring back. It seemed like we were drifting closer, but I could’ve been imagining

things. What if I was imagining this whole thing? What if I was still back on that rock,

meditating? Ah well. Better enjoy it while it lasts.

A bolt of lightning raced down beside us, sending a chill up my spine. Whisper leaned

forward, then hesitated, searching my face. In her moment of hesitation, I gently placed my hand

under her chin and tilted her head up.

“If you don’t want me to… Feel free to stop me…,” I whispered. She opened her mouth

slightly, but no words came out. Then I kissed her.

As soon as my lips met hers, the lightning intensified. It was coming down faster, harder,

and closer, but I didn’t care. I inhaled the smell of vanilla that radiated off of her hair, despite

being so wet. The blood boiled in my lips, and I closed my eyes, wishing that the world wasn’t in

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the midst of chaos, that they didn’t need us, and that we could stay here forever. I pulled her

closer, and she wrapped her arms around me, accepting the kiss.

My heart stopped. I could feel the surge of power coming through me, and I knew there

was nothing I could do to prevent it. I didn’t know what would happen, I just knew that I

couldn’t afford to time travel again. Suddenly, everything went bright. All was silent. I opened

my eyes, and Whisper did the same.

“What happened?” She asked softly, not daring to look away.

“I have no idea.” Whisper suddenly looked up. Just inches above our heads, four massive

bolts of electricity from various directions were suspended in midair, located in the perfect

position to strike us. I looked around, my breathing getting heavier. The rain was also frozen; it

just dangled in the air, the lightning reflecting off of it, making it look like a display of

shimmering diamonds surrounding us. Whisper ran her fingers through the droplets, causing

them to flow through her fingers and float around.

“Are you doing this?” She smiled as she made shapes with the rain.

“I think so,” I answered, looking at the beautiful spectacle that surrounded us. “I have no

idea how long I can hold this, though, so if you value my life, you’ll move with me away from

the scary lightning.” Whisper laughed and took my hands, leading me to the side of the

electricity.

“It appears as if we have a bit more time to talk now,” she said, gazing around in awe. I

grinned.

“We have all the time in the world.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A Numbing Revelation

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“So why are you out here?” I swiped my hand over the wet grass, causing the water drops

to float off into space and create a dry patch in the grass. I sat down and patted the ground beside

me, and she sat next to me. Our arms were close enough to touch.

“It’s a lightning storm. Lightning and any other forms of electricity have just been drawn

to me ever since I got my powers. Whenever a different electric current touches me, I get so

much energy from it. It feels good. It’s kinda hard to explain. Why are you out here?” I thought

carefully about my answer. The honest answer is usually the best way to go, I decided.

“I was just taking a stroll through the rain. I happened to run into you, though, so that was

really lucky.” However, I had not mastered the whole ‘honesty’ thing.

Whisper smiled. “I’m sure. It’s really a fantastic evening for a walk.”

“I would’ve brought an umbrella if I was thinking about it.” Whisper cocked her head

and looked off into the distance thoughtfully.

“Umbrellas are funny things, you know?” She said quietly.

“No,” I answered. “I don’t know. But please, feel free to enlighten me.” She looked

straight at me and laughed.

“I like to picture rain as life, metaphorically speaking. How can you live life to the fullest

if you hide from one of its simplest beauties, rain? I pity those that shield themselves from the

few joys of life.”

“That was deep.” She grinned, displaying her white teeth, then we both busted up

laughing.

“And that is why I don’t use an umbrella.” We were silent, just gazing into each other’s

eyes. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. The enchanting scenery around us seemingly faded

away, and all that mattered was her and I.

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“So,” I said, breaking the silence. “What’s the deal with Numb? Is something wrong with

him?” She looked away, and was quiet. Her face appeared conflicted, as if deciding whether or

not she trusted me with such information as that. She sighed.

“The truth is, Numb has been ‘Infinite’ longer than any of us. Even you four, the

Infiknights. Numb was born with a sort of sixth sense, being able to ‘feel’ the world around him.

It was that very reason that made him an outcast, even from his parents. Especially from his

parents. They beat him, Aiden. So much so that he lost all of his sight, hearing, and his sense of

knowing. He’s lived in a world of total darkness for as long as he can remember.” My mouth fell

open at this. Thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to wrap my mind around what she had

just told me.

“Wait,” I mumbled, still confused. “If he’s completely oblivious to the world around him,

how is he so… able? He can walk and talk, just like anyone else. I don’t even think Helen Keller

could do that.”

“You know how the Infinite Clause heals people? Like Dr. Lancing’s legs?” She

explained. “Well, that’s why we went to Cadence. That’s why almost everyone went to Cadence.

For medical help. I met Numb when he was twelve. It was shocking to see a kid lose hearing

from all the smashes to the ears, and lose sight to the endless hours in the dark. Infection had set

in, but in spite of all that, I didn’t see him as different. He was a brother to me.”

“His parents didn’t want him anymore, so he was dumped on the streets. Before he left,

though, his biological sister, the only other person in the world he had ever trusted, gave him that

mask. It was some sort of family heirloom, and extremely valuable. His sister gave him the

mask, then entrusted him to me. I think perhaps he thought I was she. But can you blame him?

The world was out to get him. I empathized with Numb. After my older brother died when I was

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five, I was left alone to fend for myself, so I already knew the ropes. I took care of him.” She

glanced around at the shimmering drops, still floating elegantly, still reflecting the lightning’s

rays.

“Years passed, and one day, a well-dressed man in a suit came up to the two of us. He

offered us a chance at a second life; an opportunity to be healed of any sickness that we had. We

took it without so much as a second’s hesitation to think about it. I was astounded with what

happened next. It was surreal. I mean, I could shoot lightning from my fingertips!” She giggled,

reminiscing on her first experiences as an Infinite. “Numb finally saw the world for the first time

in what seemed like ages. He was a little surprised when he found out it was me, and not his

sister that had been taking care of him, but he put it past him.”

“I hate to admit it, but Numb and I were one of the first Revolutionary soldiers. We soon

found out how corrupt Cadence truly was, though. When we tried to warn the other soldiers, we

were threatened with our lives. Luckily, the two of managed to escape before anything happened.

Then we found Lancing. He gave us a place to stay, and promised to stop Cadence at any and all

costs. What other choice did we have? We had to go with him.” She looked down at the dry

grass amongst the wet, ashamed.

“Wow.” I was at a loss for words. She nodded slowly as I pulled together my thoughts,

just enough to develop rational sentences. “No person should ever have to go through what you

two have been through.”

She smiled weakly. “That’s just how life goes.”

“So he wears the mask to hide his face… because of the infection? Then if he can see

now, why doesn’t it have eyeholes?”

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“I never said he could see,” she answered, picking up a stone and chucking it, watching

as it slowly halted to a stop in midair. “When Numb drank the serum, his physical eyes weren’t

reopened. His inner eye was. That sixth sense that I was talking about. That eye wasn’t like

before, though. Although the Infinite Clause didn’t heal his sight, or his hearing, it enhanced his

sensing ability to unthinkable heights. He can ‘see’ the aura of everything, living or nonliving,

within a five mile radius, and that radius gets bigger every day. It’s ridiculous, the things he sees.

If he looked, he could see you and I perfectly, just based off of our auras. It’s complicated, but

his senses are even more heightened. He still can’t hear, but he can sense the movement of lips,

even when he isn’t facing you.”

“Have you ever seen what’s under the mask?” There was hesitation before her answer

that followed.

“No.” I looked up at the glistening sky, just thinking. If this was true, this boy called

Numb was one insanely strong kid.

The drops of water slowly began moving again, and at snail’s pace, the lightning reached

out and kissed the ground, darting back up as soon as it came. Gradually, the rain came down

faster and harder until it was at the rate it was at initially. I wiped my eyes.

“Are you sure about the whole anti-umbrella thing?” I asked her, grinning. She laughed

and nodded.

“Positive.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Girl Troubles and Secret Missions

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The rest of the week dragged on slowly, falling into a steady routine of training. I found

myself back on that same rock trying to recreate the events that had happened on that eventful

night with Whisper, but I never could do it. It frustrated me to know that I had the capability of

such a massive power, but could only tap into a small portion of it.

Demi was often missing, but my guess was that he had been hanging out with the ex-

pilot, Wren, in order to get back at Lili for spending so much time with Smith. Poor Xavier could

only admire Wren from afar, because every time he vied for her attention, she completely blew

him off. I felt bad for him, because he was trying hard. All of the drama that had been taking

place in Jericho alone was hard to follow, let alone the ever-present Revolutionaries, looming

and plotting in the distance.

The day before the rally slowly crept up on us, and finally, it arrived. I stepped out of the

tent and into the fresh morning air, breathing in the crisp scent of the trees that bore the first

signs of autumn. Luckily, there had been no accidental fires since the last time, so that was a

plus.

“Hey, Aiden,” Xavier crawled out of the tent behind me and stood beside me. It was still

early, and we were the first ones outside. The sun had begun peeking over the horizon, casting a

golden glow over Jericho.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“No, you didn’t. I just… I wanted to get your opinion on something.”

I began walking slowly to the fire pit, where last night’s embers still shined faintly.

Xavier followed me closely.

“Oh,” I replied, sitting down on the log bench. “That’s cool. What’s on your mind?”

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“Well you see…” He began slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I’m having girl

troubles.” I looked at him, not bothering to hide my surprise.

“You realize that it’s me you’re talking to, right? Not Demetri, who would be the expert

on the matter.”

“Well that’s the problem,” Xavier explained. “I think I like Wren. Like, a lot.”

“Oh. That is a problem.”

“What do I do?” I thought this over. There was really no way I could win this without

taking choosing sides between my two best friends.

“Well… I guess… I don’t really know. I mean, Wren’s just Demetri’s rebound. He’s

jealous because she’s been spending so much time with that metal Infinite. There’s really no

feelings on his part, so I think if you just stay persistent and don’t give up, you’re golden.” He

sighed, then looked me straight in the eye.

“Do you really think so?” He asked me.

“I know so. You’re a great guy, and any girl would be lucky to have you.” Xavier gave

me a toothy grin then stretched his arms.

“You’re a great friend, you know that? Thank you. I needed to hear that.” I smiled and

nodded. I genuinely hoped that things worked out between him and Wren, because he deserved a

girl like her.

People had begun coming out of their tents and were making their way to the fire pit for

the early morning meeting that Dr. Lancing had called the night before. Apparently, the final

preparations were being made for the mission tomorrow, and the plans were going to be

revealed.

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Shortly after everyone had arrived at the place of meeting, Dr. Lancing strode out of his

tent and into the center of the group of dysfunctional Oppressionist soldiers. He cleared his

throat, and all eyes were on him.

“Alright, now that I have everyone’s attention, good morning!” The crowd roared back

their wishes for a good morning, perhaps over-enthusiastically. Everyone was anxious to see

how the infiltration was theoretically going to play out. “You all have worked extremely hard

this past week. At this rate, our army will be able to take out any army, Infinite or non-Infinite,

just like that, with ease.” The crowd shouted yet again, cries of enthusiasm.

“I’m sure you all have been wondering how tomorrow is going to play out, so I’m happy

to inform you that I have those plans right here.” He tapped his temple with his pointer finger.

“So. Here’s what’s up: The rally starts tomorrow at 9 a.m. This means that we’ll have plenty of

time to prepare and travel, which is what we want. I don’t want to be rushed. The rally is going

to be held approximately one hundred and fifty miles away from this exact point in Jericho, in

the Grande Expo Center. Lots of travel time, so make sure everyone brings plenty of bottles to

urinate in.”

Demetri leaned into me, making his and Lili’s presence beside me known to me for the

first time. “He’s not being serious, is he?” He whispered. I shrugged.

“Probably.”

“Once we arrive, we’ll be sending in the three groups in twenty minute intervals, to avoid

suspicion,” Dr. Lancing continued. “Nomad’s group will go in first, Whisper’s next, then

Aiden’s. Once inside the auditorium, you all need to spread out. This room will be massive, so

fan out as much as possible, but stay fairly close to your own individual groups.”

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“Pay close attention to what is said, and avoid conversing with Revolutionary Infinites at

all costs. Remember, this is an intelligence mission, not a siege attack.” He glanced at his watch.

“That should just about cover it on my part. I’d like to see all the members of the mission in my

tent, if you don’t mind. Everyone else is dismissed.” He left for his tent, followed by Nomad,

Wolf, and Lynx.

“What do you think he wants to talk to us about?” Lili asked as we headed towards the

massive blue canvassed house.

“If I had to guess,” I muttered, “He’s probably going to go more into detail about the

mission with us.”

“I think he may be right,” Xavier agreed. We entered the tent and joined the other eight

Infinites, who were chattering and laughing loudly. All except Whisper, Numb, and Illusion, who

were silent, simply watching everyone else enjoy themselves. I flashed Whisper a smile as I

walked in. She glanced at me and looked away again, expressionless. Well, at least she

acknowledged my presence. She probably just didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of her

friends.

“I chose you all,” Lancing said over the quiet roar, “Because you’re special.” The talking

died down, and Dr. Lancing lowered his voice with the volume of the crowd. “All of you possess

the qualities of a good leader. I believe you have the potential to survive and thrive in any kind of

situation, just by adapting. These attributes are hard to come by in times like these, but I feel like

I can trust you twelve.”

“Now when you get in the auditorium, it’s imperative that you stay calm. Keep your cool,

and act like you’re one of them. We don’t know what their powers could hold. After all, the

possibilities are infinite. I should know. Unfortunately, I won’t be going with you tomorrow. I

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have to take care of things here, and my face is too widely recognized, what with being

publicized all the time. Nomad, since you’re the oldest and most experienced, you’ll be driving,

and essentially leading this mission.”

Nomad suddenly stood upright. “Yes, sir.”

“If everything goes as planned, you’ll be in and out, with no trouble whatsoever. I’ll be

honest, I’m not counting on this, but I’m hoping for it. I have a feeling there will be a few minor

hiccups here and there, but nothing you can’t handle. Are there any questions?” He looked

around the room, but it remained silent as the eyes of the twelve chosen Infinites watched him

intently.

“Good. I’m going to give you today off. You need to rest before tomorrow. All of you are

dismissed… except for Aiden, Lili, Demetri, and Xavier. I’d like to see you four before you go.”

I glanced back at my friends, who shared in my confusion. People couldn’t get out of that tent

fast enough, because most of them were planning for their day off. After the weeks’ worth of

work alone, I honestly couldn’t blame them.

“You four,” Dr. Lancing said as the room final emptied. “I want you to be extremely

careful tomorrow.”

“Why?” Demetri asked.

“Because your names were even more publicized than mine. You were made out to be

celebrities, and I doubt there’s a single Infinite out there that doesn’t know your name. For a

while, I debated on whether or not I was even going to let you go, due to the dangers of this

mission. I decided that the other eight needed you, though. In the event that something bad

happened, your advanced strength and powers would be a necessity.”

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“How are we supposed to stay hidden, then?” Lili shoved her hands in the pockets of her

baggy gray sweatpants and leaned up against a lab table. “It seems like the odds of us being

discovered are pretty darn high, if what you say is true.”

“The only thing I can tell you is to keep your heads down. You can do it.” Demetri and I

shared a look. He felt just as uncomfortable about this situation as I did.

“Plus, this event will be extremely enlightening. You’ll be able to finally understand why

everything is happening.”

“That seems fair enough,” I offered. “We can do it.” Dr. Lancing nodded.

“You’re free to go, then. Remember, Infiknights. There are none as powerful as you. The

only disadvantage is your numbers. But go in good faith, because the entire Jericho staff is

behind you one hundred percent. If need be, Nomad can create a wormhole, and we’ll be there in

an instant.”

I frowned. “If he can make wormholes, why aren’t we just traveling like that? I’d much

prefer that over a three-hour drive.”

“We can’t run the risk of an Infinite who can detect it and trace it. Wormholes have to be

a last resort,” he explained. Well. That was a good enough answer.

We finished up in the lab with Dr. Lancing and exited quickly like the people before us,

anxious to start our do-nothing day. When we exited the tent, however, we were met by Nomad,

Wren, and the twins.

“Hey, we’re going down to the lake if you guys wanna come with,” Lynx offered with a

smile. Her nose was covered in sunscreen, and I noticed that Wolf’s was as well. His was

beginning to come off, so I had decided that the sunscreen was probably against his will.

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“I have an extra swimsuit in my tent,” Wren said quickly, observing Lili’s look of

concern.

“Yeah,” Nomad said in his deep voice. “You guys can just swim in your shorts. Like real

men.” He laughed, and the rest of us smiled at his amusement in his own words.

“That actually sounds like a lot of fun,” I nodded.

“I totally second that motion,” Demi agreed.

“Looks like it’s settled, then,” Xavier said. “We’re going swimming.”

I had a feeling today was going to be a fantastic day.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Beach Party

And fantastic day it was. As soon as Lili came back with Wren in their bathing suits, both

Demi and Xavier’s mouths practically dropped to the ground. I could almost see the drool

forming out of the corners of their mouths. Since Smith wasn’t in the picture, Demetri used today

as an opportunity to get close to Lili, whom he spent the entire day talking with. They waded in

the shallow banks of sand and laughed until the sun set.

Xavier did the same with Wren. This was the first time I’d ever seen her even

acknowledge his presence, and it seemed as if they were really clicking. Since the girl of my

dreams was off somewhere brooding and cutting things with her single sword, I hung out with

Nomad, Wolf, and Lynx. Wolf had turned into his wolf state and was jumping into the water,

yelping. His change was almost instantaneous, but the end result was shocking. He had turned

into a silver wolf that was larger than the average wolf. I could probably ride him if he would’ve

held still for more than half a second, but the way the kid acted, you could’ve sworn he had

ADHD.

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Lynx wasn’t into the whole water scene, being a cat and all. She simply laid on the rocky

beach, reading a magazine for teenage girls. Every now and then, Wolf would run up to her and

shake his fur, spraying water all over her. She would roll her eyes and complain, but in the end,

she was smiling.

There was a large and perilous cliff that overlooked the small cove of the massive lake

that we were soliciting in. In fact, the whole cove was surrounded in cliff, creating an enclosed

pool to have to ourselves, with only a narrow canal leading into the rest of the lake. Those that

were brave enough, (Nomad, Demetri, and Wolf), would take turns jumping off of the forty foot

clearing on the cliff.

They prided themselves in their fancy dives, although no one but Demi dared go higher

than forty feet up in the air. With his wings, he was used to the height, and wasn’t afraid to barrel

into the water at hundreds of feet in the air.

We spent the entire rest of the day on that beach; Lili lit a fire when it got dark. Nomad

even teleported to a Canadian supermarket and stole some hot dogs to roast. “Borrow, and not

return,” he corrected when we accused him. We stayed late, but eventually, we had to return to

our tents when it got late. After all, the whole point of a day off was to get rest.

Numb wasn’t in the tent when we got there, which was strange, since it was well past

curfew. After the fire incident, though, I wasn’t worried. Apparently, the boy could take care of

himself. It still surprised me to look at him and think of him as being blind and deaf. He just

seemed so independent and capable of doing whatever he wanted.

I lay awake after everyone had already gone to sleep. Thoughts raced through my head,

and I was hurting from my lack of meditation today. I hadn’t realized how, in such a short time,

dependent I had become on my daily meditation schedules. It was true that I had been calmer and

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happier, maybe even less stressed. Not meditating today made me insecure and worry about

impossible things that would probably never happen.

What if we made it to the meeting, but it was an “everyone dress like Dracula” event?

What if I forgot my pants and accidentally showed up in my underwear? Whisper could never

love a guy that forgot pants, and especially not a guy who wore boxers displaying eight different

types of birds. I didn’t buy that pair of underwear, by the way. It was my mother’s idea, bless

her. I missed her something fierce.

I rolled over on to my side. This was ridiculous. I needed sleep in the worst way, but it

seemed like everything around me was closing in on me, with the very atmosphere itself

crushing me with its iron grip of darkness. What if we got caught? What if tomorrow… was the

day I died…?

I hadn’t thought about this possibility until just then. The fear of death had finally

touched me, sending a crippling shiver down my spine that was so intense that it almost

paralyzed me. Was I ready to die? Would I be willing to lay down my life for any reason? I knew

without a doubt that if it were Lili or Demi or Xavier that I would die in an instant for them. But

could I do the same for Numb, or even Illusion? I turned this possibility over in my mind for a

long time, but never could come up with a direct answer.

Eventually, sleep hit me across the back with a folding chair. I went out hard. I was

thankful for this in many ways. My wandering mind needed a break from all of the stresses that

it had put itself through. I decided that night that I would never not meditate ever again. I’d have

to thank Nomad for that one if we both survived tomorrow.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

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Plans

We loaded up Dr. Lancing’s own BioGene van the next day early, as the sun began to

rise. What had once seemed like a spacious and roomy interior was now cramped and crowded.

Ever possible seat was filled with the twelve members of the mission. The entire camp had

gotten up with us to wish us good luck before we rolled onto the road and headed to the rally.

The ride up was loud and full of laughter. Nomad was driving, so he blared the radio on a

heavy metal station and was jamming out with Wolf, who also sat up front. In the back, Demetri

was telling stories and jokes to Wren, but the whole backseat was listening and laughing with

him. Numb, Whisper, and Illusion kept to themselves in the very back of the van, staring

aimlessly and quietly out the side windows. I don’t think Numb was really looking though, as

much as he was just sitting in that position.

Soon, the van slowly passed the large expo center. There were vehicles all around the

large, glass building, even ones that were parked illegally. From the looks of it, people were

almost desperate to attend this rally.

“Where are we going to park?” Lili asked, looking nervously at the lack of spaces. “This

place is packed.” Nomad looked around cautiously at the bumper-to-bumper traffic and the

pedestrians that were just strolling along, taking their time.

“We’ll park a few blocks away, that way we don’t run the risk of being seen. But since

we’re parking so far away, I guess we won’t have to go in twenty minute intervals.” He looked at

the clock on the dashboard. “Besides, it’s already eight thirty-seven. We’ll be late if we do that,

anyways.”

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We pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned convenience store and parked there.

Nomad pulled a steering wheel jack from under his seat and attached it to the steering wheel. I

didn’t blame him: this part of town was extremely sketchy-looking. The walls were covered in

graffiti, and I noticed a strange symbol that induced an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It was an

infinity symbol with extended lines protruding out the sides of it and spiraling around the wall.

“Hey, Nomad, what does that mean?” I asked him, pointing at the sign. He looked at the

sign, then back to me with a curious expression on his face.

“That would be an infinix. The unofficial official sign of the Infiknights. I told you, you

kids were revered. People started drawing those signs all over when you disappeared, in hopes

that you’d come back and make things right again.”

“Oh.”

We trooped over to the rally point, stopping once it came into view.

Nomad turned to us. “From this point on, we’ll be splitting into our groups. Lancing

showed me the blueprints to this place, so I have a plan for how we’ll approach this. Basically,

there are four entrances: a front door, two side doors, and a helicopter landing pad on the top of

the building. Now I don’t think we’ll have any need for the roof entrance, so unless someone just

wants to scale the fifty foot building, I recommend the ground-level entrances.”

“My team will go through the front door. There are two Revolutionary policemen

standing guard. They’ll only let you in with a password, and luckily, we have two ex-

Revolutionaries on our side.” He looked at Numb and Whisper expectantly.

“I don’t know if this is the same one,” Whisper said slowly, disliking the attention

Nomad had put on her, “But when we were in the army, it was ‘the Infinite Cadence’.”

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“There you have it,” Nomad nodded. “So when we approach these guards, you are to say

those words to them, and that will grant you entrance. Aiden’s team, your entry will be a bit

more difficult.” He pointed to the side of the building, where there was a small door, and a man

standing in front of it with his arms crossed. “You four are going to have to take that guard out.

Approach that however you deem necessary. The door is unlocked, so once you eliminate the

guard, follow that hallway straight into the auditorium.”

“Whisper, your team will- wait a minute. Where’s Illusion?” Everyone turned around to

face the team in the back, and sure enough, Illusion was gone.

“He was here a second ago,” Whisper murmured, looking around in disbelief. “I have no

earthly idea of where he went. He was here literally less than thirty seconds ago.” Nomad sighed

and shook his head.

“We have to go on. If he doesn’t show up by the end of the rally, then we’ll worry. Now,

Whisper. On your side of the building, there is a pair of doors on the ground. Yes, you heard me

right, they are actually on the ground. These doors are locked with a regular clip-on lock, so

Smith, you need to create a key. Will you be able to do that in that short of time?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem at all,” he replied.

“Excellent. Open the door, then go down the flight of stairs, where there will be another

locked door. This door is locked with an electric lock, so Whisper, you’ll need to short it out.

Just a teeny bit will do. Does everyone understand their roles?” There was nodding throughout

the small group. “Fantastic. We’ll meet back here at this spot when the rally is over. Remember

it by a landmark…” He glanced around for any possible landmark. “Yo, Smith, could I get

something sharp?” Smith nodded and put his hand on the grassy patch of ground that we were

standing on. I had never seen Smith use his power before until now.

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A slender blade of metal slid up out of the ground beside him. It was about six inches and

was pointed on the end. Smith grabbed it and yanked it out of the ground, brushing the dirt off of

it.

“Will this work?” He asked, handing over the small object to Nomad.

“This is perfect.” Nomad walked over to a nearby elm tree and jabbed the metal into the

trunk. “Look for this. Alright, everybody,” he looked at us with a serious face, “Don’t die today.

We got a war to win.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Betrayal

The boy walked through the large black door labeled ‘Backstage’ and past the

scrutinizing glares of the policemen.

“My lord,” he said, dropping to one knee. The man to whom he was speaking to turned

around to face him. He was tall, muscular, and his face was like ice. His long hair was pushed

back out of his face, revealing his cold and unforgiving eyes.

“Ah, it’s you.” Cadence’s voice purred through the room, silencing the talk of anyone

else in there. “I assume, since you’re here, that everything is going as planned?”

“Yes, my lord,” he answered, steadily looking down. “A party of twelve was sent, but the

Infiknights are here as well. Including the boy of interest that you wished to see.”

“Excellent.” Cadence held out his hand. Slowly, a cloud of dust began gathering in his

hand, appearing from nowhere. The dust collected together, transforming into a ruby-red apple.

“From dust he came,” he bit the apple causing juice to spray out of it, showing its reality,

then he closed his fingers tightly around the rest of it, “And from dust I will return him.” The

apple disintegrated in his hand, the slipping through his fingers as dust once more.

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“You have done well, my child. You shall be rewarded.” The pale-faced boy looked up to

face Cadence.

“Thank you, my lord,” Illusion whispered. “I’m undeserving of your benevolence.”

“I trust you will keep watch on them while they are here, and further help me in the very

near future? I have some announcements to make to them, and it’s very crucial that they hear

every last one of them.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Excellent…”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Scary Suits on Scary People

“We are not going to kill him,” I argued as I ran with my best friends to the street across

from our door. We slowed to a walk and crouched behind a rusted el Camino. All of us were

panting, but Xavier was a little bit more out of breath than the rest of us, as he leaned up against

the frame of the vehicle.

“All I’m saying is that he would kill us if he got the chance, so we should return the

favor.” Demetri ran his hand coolly through his hair.

“We’re the good guys, remember,” Lili said quietly as she peered through the window of

the car to see the guard. “It doesn’t matter what they would do to us. We have to be the bigger

people.” Demi frowned.

“So what’s the plan?” Xavier asked, his breath returning to normal.

“Um…” I honestly couldn’t think of anything. I had preached on non-violence, but I

really didn’t have any other idea around it.

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“I say,” Demi stood up and unfolded his wings, accidentally smacking the car with one of

them and setting off the car alarm. “We wing it. See what I did there?” He didn’t wait for us to

respond to his bad joke. The guard was staring at us and now his whole body was facing in our

direction. Demetri flew up and landed over the car, then began running towards the guard.

“I guess we’re winging it,” I growled as I stood up and took off after Demi. Lili and

Xavier followed closely, and my back grew hot as I felt Lili ignite her arms.

The guard growled an inhuman growl, then dropped to his hands and feet in a bear crawl

fashion. A tail shot out from under his shirt, extending from the end of his backbone all the way

to his feet. The end of the tail was covered in glossy black spikes, with red tips on the end of

each and every spike. The guard growled again as his tail began swaying back and forth.

“State your business,” he said in a low voice. “If you have none, I suggest you leave

before I inflict serious harm against all of you.”

“We don’t wish to hurt you,” Lili said strongly. “If possible, we wish to enter through

this door without a fight.”

He snarled, smashing the ground with his tail and leaving a crater in the concrete where it

had hit. “All Infinites are to go through the front door.” Lili shook her head.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way, then.” As soon as she said it, the guard lunged at her

throat. She raised her arm to punch a fiery hole through his face, but I stopped him in midair

before he could get close. The Revolutionary policeman was suspended, with his look of rage

painted onto his face.

“Something isn’t right with that guy,” Demi muttered.

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“I can’t hold him like this forever,” I said, examining the spikes on his tail. “We need to

do something with him.” We looked around our surroundings for any possible form of help. The

sirens from the el Camino were deafening, making it hard to think. Xavier snapped his fingers.

“I have an idea.” He pointed to a stop sign that was adjacent to the street. Xavier placed a

hand on his temple, and the red octagon fell off of the pole. The metal stake was uprooted from

the ground by an invisible force, and floated all the way to where the guard lay in midair. Xavier

clenched his outstretched hand into a fist, and the pole wrapped itself around the guard.

“That should hold him.” Xavier dusted his hands off. Demetri clapped him on the back,

and Lili pounded his fist.

“Good thinking,” I said, impressed. I released my hold on him, and he fell to the earth

with a ‘thud.’ The guard wouldn’t stop screaming bloody murder, so Demetri walked up to him

and punched him in the face, putting the guard to sleep. He then threw him over his shoulder,

busted out the window of the already alarmed el Camino, and unlocked the door, shoving him

inside.

“That way, if he starts screaming again,” Demi explained as he walked back to the

building, “Nobody will hear him.” I was really beginning to appreciate the evil geniusness of my

friends.

Sure enough, the door was unlocked. We slid into the building swiftly and silently,

single-file. We were greeted by the low roar of the crowd as the auditorium on the other side of

the hallway began filling up. Right in front of us was a door labeled ‘Backstage’, and I was

tempted to go in there and teach Cadence what for, just as Wolf had planned. I knew, though,

that Cadence was probably stronger than I could ever imagine, which was why he was the leader

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of the Revolution. I resisted the urge and led my friends down the dimly-lit hallway to the door

labeled ‘Auditorium’.

The floor of the hallway was tiled with linoleum and reminded me of the school

hallways. A pang of nostalgia swept over me as I remembered my days as a normal high school

student. I wondered if Coach Besch remembered the detention he had given Demi, Xavier, and I.

We’d have to serve that sentence after we saved the world, I guessed.

I slowly opened the auditorium door and stepped inside, while my friends followed

closely behind me. The room was huge. Thousands of seats were stacked on an incline,

surrounding a stage with a single podium. It looked like a major league baseball stadium, but

with a stage instead of a field. The walls were white-washed, but the only light came from the

completely glass sky-lit ceilings. A series of spotlights hung down from the glass, aimed at the

empty stage.

I spotted Whisper, Numb, and Smith taking their seats on the opposite side of the room.

This was good. At least they had made it in without a hassle. I scanned the room for any sign of

Nomad, Wolf, Lynx, or Wren, but among the thousands of faces, I didn’t see them. It blew my

mind to think that every single person seated in this giant room was a super-powered being.

I led my friends to a row of four empty seats. Since I was the first to slide into the row, I

was the one who had to sit next to a rather large old man with a long white beard. His beard was

braided and well-kept, but the rest of him looked like it hadn’t seen soap in years. I shuddered as

I focused on keeping my eyes straight ahead and looking like I belonged there.

“Are you here for the rally?” He said, leaning over to me. A foul stench rolled through

my nose as he spoke, and I had to resist the urge to gag.

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“No,” Demetri snapped from beside me. “We came to do our taxes.” I had to suppress a

snicker as the man grumpily folded his arms and sat back in his chair. Lili pinched Demi, and he

jumped.

“What was that for?” He hissed.

“For being stupid! Now shut up, it’s starting.” She was right. Four men in the black and

white Revolutionary police uniforms walked onto the stage, two on either side of the mahogany

podium in the center. The whole room erupted in a deafening applause as the man from my

dream stepped out onto the stage and approached the podium. So this is Cadence. The

mastermind.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Inspiring the Evil

He was in a black suit, with a white button-up shirt underneath the jacket, and the golden

chain of a pocket watch hanging out of his slacks. He adjusted the knot of his blood-red tie as he

approached the podium. Cadence allowed the audience to cheer for a few more moments, then

raised his hand to silence them. His face was expressionless.

“I’d like to thank you all for being here today,” he said, his voice enhanced by the small

microphone attached to the collar of his jacket. “I know that many of you have traveled great

distances, and your faith and dedication in the Cause is touching.” I caught Lili’s eye and saw the

edge in her expression. Seeing her nervous brought butterflies into my own stomach.

“As most of you already know,” he continued, “The Infinites of America, all of us, will

be engaging the government in a civil war that we will most undoubtedly win. I have already

notified the highest of authorities, although they have neglected to respond. Maybe they’re

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scared. Or maybe, just maybe, they think we’re bluffing.” The room exploded in shouts of

protest and threats. His voice was like silk, and this was exactly the reaction he had been hoping

for. Cadence raised his hand once more.

“Well I’m here to tell you, good Infinites, that they are wrong.” The venom was so

prominent in his voice that no one dared speak. “A world without strife. A world where

everything is peaceful, and there is no fighting amongst brother and sister. That’s the world that I

imagine. However, in order to achieve a world with no wars, we must have wars. I dislike it

strongly, but in a mere few months, we will begin the war to end all wars. Once people begin to

realize our purpose, what we are actually fighting for, they will join us.”

“He’s good,” Xavier whispered. Lili nodded.

“It is my dream to have a one-world government. A one-world currency. A one-world

sense of unity. There are those who oppose that, though. Those who have abused the power that I

have blessed them with. Those that call themselves… Oppressionists.” I waited for the crowd’s

protests, but it never came.

“They wish to oppress us and prevent the dreams we share from coming true. They are

blinded by their twisted sense of ‘justice’. I pity these people. I find these crimes of opposition…

unforgivable. These ‘Oppressionists’ must be eliminated. Stomped into the ground. At this stage

in my plan, they are the only kink, the only thing that could possibly derail the train of

liberation.” Demetri smacked his forehead.

“’Train of liberation’? This is ridiculous,” he murmured.

“But, on to a more pleasing topic. All this talk of rebellion is really destroying the mood

here. In two days, I will be hosting the first annual Infinite Ball at the Marquette Ballroom in

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Madison, Wisconsin.” I snapped into attention. Demetri nudged my shoulder and shot me a

glance of worry. What on Earth made him decide to pick Gramma Dunn’s hometown?

“All are welcome, and tickets will be available for purchase after the meeting adjourns.”

Cadence adjusted the microphone, glancing around the room as if he were looking for

something. “I highly encourage all of you to attend this for two reasons. The first and foremost

being that it will be a very enjoyable evening in general. There will be music, dancing, and

refreshments.”

“The second reason is that… my greatest plans will be revealed. None of you will be left

in the dark any longer.” A sickening smile crept onto his face. “I can’t stress enough how much I

would enjoy seeing everyone who is in this auditorium at the ball.” A shiver ran up my spine. I

felt like he was speaking directly to me, as if he knew that I was there. As if he knew that I

existed at all.

“Remember, we are all brothers and sisters for the Cause. Our unity will triumph over

anyone who dares oppose us. And I say with good faith when I tell you… The Revolution has

begun.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Reunion

I kept my head down, not daring to look at the flood of faces as I swiftly exited the

building with my friends. The speech had ended almost fifteen minutes ago, but the exits were so

tightly packed with people that it made it almost impossible to get out. I stayed pressed against

Lili, who was holding onto the tail of Demi and Xavier’s shirts nonchalantly.

Finally, we made it to the front doors and practically ran outside, nudging and bumping

several disgruntled Infinites along the way. I flew down the concrete steps that led up to the expo

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center and briskly began my walk to the meeting spot. Hopefully, Nomad and the others were

already there and nothing had gone wrong. So far, so good.

“Well, well, well.” The familiar voice stopped me in my tracks. I knew who it was before

I turned around; that old familiar sneer, the whiny voice, and the greasy blonde hair that framed

his face in curls.

“I never thought I’d see you at a place like this, Luca,” I said irritably, glancing quickly

across the street for any sign of my allies. Luca slowly made his way down the old and

weathered steps, not taking his eyes off of the four of us.

“I guess I should probably thank you,” he smirked. “It’s because of you four that I am the

way that I am today.” I glanced at Demetri, who rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“Look, we have places to be,” Demi interrupted. “We don’t have time to mess with you

right now, so can we do this another time?”

Luca smiled eerily. Something was off about this boy. Not just his physical features,

which had not only matured, but had aged a considerable amount, so much to the point where he

looked exhausted. It was his tone. His demeanor. This wasn’t the same seventeen-year-old that

had snitched on us for fighting. This was a new Luca, one that had the mindset of something

inhuman.

“You four… the ‘Infiknights’…” he began, ignoring Demi. “I wanted to be like you. The

old Luca would’ve choked on his own tongue before he said that, but he’s not here anymore. I

wanted the power that you had. Inevitably, it found me. That serum changed me.” He stopped on

the bottom step, and two more old faces who I recognized to be his friends, Tracy and Micah,

joined his side. “It changed all of us.”

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“Now, I’m stronger than you’ll ever be.” He was looking straight at me. “I don’t care

what they say. And now, I’m going to make all of you pay for all those times growing up, where

I was completely overlooked because of you four!”

“So the truth comes out,” Xavier muttered under his breath.

“Dude, just let it go,” Demetri said, exasperated. “That was when we were kids, and we

aren’t kids anymore. Things have changed now.” As if by some unspoken cue, Tracy and Micah

broke away from Luca, each going to an opposite corner and creating a triangle around the four

of us. A few Infinites began gathering around the triangle, sensing the tension in the air.

“You’re right. Things have changed.” He clenched his fist, and the sound of electricity

crackled through the air. I looked back at my friends, whose expressions shifted from

exasperation to concern. “Now I can do something about it. Now my life, my achievements, and

my goals will no longer be overlooked by you four. Do you have any idea of the hatred that I

have developed for you? It’s unfathomable. Sure, it started out small and petty. But it grew. Now

here I am. And here you are.” Luca clenched his fists tighter, this time sending a spark of

electricity up his arm. This wasn’t normal electricity, though. This electricity was jet black.

Xavier took a step towards the Luca. “Look, I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. None of us ever

meant to hurt you or one-up you. Can’t we talk about this like normal, rational people?”

“Normal people don’t shoot lightning from their bare hands!” As soon as he screamed the

words, his arm flashed with brilliant black lightning that traveled down to his hands and erupted

from his fingertips. A bolt of shining dark electricity was launched at us. I froze the lightning

bolt in midair, and in the moment of hesitation that followed, Lili lunged, her arms aflame. She

launched balls of fire at him, which he deftly sidestepped. Xavier started to run towards him, but

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Luca hurled his strange lightning at him, hitting him square in the chest. Xavier fell back,

stunned.

“Are you alright, man?” I asked as I helped him up.

“Yeah,” he answered, dusting himself off. “Just scared me a little.” I turned back to Luca,

who was still fighting off Lili’s fiery punches. Demi yelled something inaudible to Xavier and I,

but Lili must have heard it, as she dove to the ground just in time for Demetri to send a

concussion of air with his wings at Luca, knocking him off of his feet. Luca rolled to dodge a fire

ball then stood up, the electricity crackling off of him. He raised his hand to send another bolt of

lightning at Lili, but was stopped by a black blur that zoomed towards him and grabbed his

outstretched wrist. As the blur came to a stop, it clarified into a human shape.

“My Lord,” Luca whispered. Cadence turned his head slowly so that he was looking at

me with his peripherals. I had to stop time, I had to get the four of us out of there before things

turned bad. But I couldn’t. There was no surge of energy coming through my body, and no

change in time. It was as if an off switch had been flipped, and I was powerless. A crippling fear

tore through my chest.

“Is there a problem here?” Cadence’s voice sliced through the dead silence like butter,

and his eyes were trained on mine, almost like he was analyzing my very soul. I shook my head

slowly, unable to think clearly. “Excellent. Remember, we are all brothers and sisters in the

Cause.” He turned to face the crowd that had gathered.

“My power is not that which lies in enhanced speed or even reflexes.” Cadence’s eyes

crept back to my face. “My power is one that is much more to be feared. Do not tempt fate or

myself. We are one in the same.” He turned his gaze to Luca, who gulped. The man stood up

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straight and brushed away a stray lock of hair that had fallen in his eyes. “Good day to all of you,

and I will see you at the ball.” He smiled and strode back up the steps and out of sight.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Bearing of Bad News

“What happened?” Lynx’s panicked voice was the first to be heard as we approached the

tree with the dagger in it. I took a moment to collect myself. “We were waiting on you all to

come back and all of a sudden this massive lightning bolt shot into the air. We thought it was

Whisper at first, but it was black. I’ve never seen Whisper shoot off black lightning.”

“We met an old childhood friend,” Lili answered bitterly. “We almost got into a fight, but

Cadence broke it up.”

“Cadence actually saw you?” Wren gasped. “Lasses and laddies, do you know how lucky

you are to have not been figured out?”

“That’s in the past,” I said. “Where did you guys go? I didn’t see you anywhere during

the speech.” Nomad shook his head grimly.

“Whisper’s password wasn’t the right one. They must have changed it. We would’ve

come through yours or Whisper’s entrances, but they had guards standing by as soon as you were

in. They know something’s up, and we would probably be very smart people to get out of here

while we can.” At that moment, Whisper, Numb, and Smith came sprinting into view. They

made their way over to us, all panting and huffing. Smith rested his hands on his knees, hunched

over.

“Illusion…” he breathed. “Illusion… he…”

“Spit it out, kid,” Nomad snapped.

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“Illusion betrayed us.” Numb’s words were calm and collected, so apparently he wasn’t

out of breath from the jog over here. “We saw him bowing and scraping to Cadence. We

would’ve done something, but there were too many of them. He’s one of them, and he always

has been.” The eleven Oppressionists stood in silence.

“That’s a problem,” Wolf finally said. The wind whipped through the tree, causing the

decaying leaves to rustle and fall.

“Come on,” Nomad said solemnly. “We need to go home and report to Dr. Lancing.”

The ride home was quiet; a complete three-sixty from the trip up. No one said anything

about what had happened, let alone address the traitorous actions of Illusion. It felt as if a heavy

blow had been dealt, and that the Oppressionists had already begun losing the war. What could

he have told Cadence? Had he been spying, letting the enemy know our every move before we

make it? Why would he do this? There were so many questions left unanswered.

When we pulled into Jericho, it was late afternoon. The sun was high in the sky, and a

large mass of people had gathered around the fire pit, eagerly awaiting our return. Dr. Lancing

had greeted us with a grin and pulled us into the area where the fire is usually at.

“Normally, I would allow you some time to rest and settle in before I pull you in for a

mission summary, but these results are too important to be left unsaid for any amount of time.

Nomad, status report.” Nomad stepped up to the expectant crowd, but not before glancing at

Whisper with a conflicted look across his face. She shook her head once, then looked straight

ahead.

Nomad cleared his throat. “The Revolution has begun. In a matter of months, Cadence

will wage war among the American government.” There were a few gasps among the audience.

“So it’s going to happen sooner than we expected…” Dr. Lancing frowned.

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“Yes. We don’t have much time,” Nomad’s dark hazel skin glistened with sweat.

“Cadence will be hosting the first annual Infinite Ball in two days. This information usually

wouldn’t affect us any, because we’d be unwanted guests at such an event. However, this may be

of interest to you, doctor.”

“How’s that?”

“The ball is going to be held in Madison, Wisconsin. The hometown of your mother-in-

law and Xavier’s grandmother.” Lancing’s frown deepened, and the lines on his forehead

broadened.

“Now what on Earth would make him pick that place? That exposition was in

Washington. I don’t understand the purpose of having the ball over half the country’s distance

away.” Nomad looked at him apologetically.

“This may be hard to hear, but… we had a traitor amongst us.” The camp was silent. Not

even the birds sang, and the crickets had hushed their mournful chirping. Dr. Lancing gazed over

the returning members of the mission before a look of understanding crossed his face.

“Ah. Illusion.” Nomad nodded, then looked away.

“I had my suspicions about that child. He was always so withdrawn, like his mind was

always somewhere else. I should have seen this coming.” Demetri shifted beside me. The eleven

members of the mission were all huddled in the center of the fire pit, and it was beginning to get

uncomfortable. Broken and charred sticks jabbed into my feet, and ash lifted off of the ground

any time someone moved, making it difficult to breathe.

“No matter. We will keep moving forward. Did you learn anything else?” I stepped

forward as Nomad shook his head in response to the question.

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“The four of us had a confrontation with Cadence. I don’t think he recognized any of us,

but he’s fast. Like, insanely fast. And my powers stopped working, although that could’ve been a

freak incident. But he said that wasn’t his power. I don’t think anyone really knows what his

power is.”

“Your powers stopped working?” Lancing asked worriedly. “That’s troublesome.”

“I’ve heard rumors,” Smith piped up. “Supposedly, he can create things. He can create

whatever he imagines, even life, out of nothing.”

“That’s not possible,” Dr. Lancing murmured, pushing his glasses up his nose. “There is

a well-known law of physics… perhaps you all are aware of it? Or perhaps not, judging by the

looks of some of you.” A few people chuckled. “Yes, it states that matter can neither be created

nor destroyed. If this is true about Cadence, then he is truly a force to be feared.”

“That’s what he said,” Xavier said quietly. “A force to be feared.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A Dash of Sorrow and a Pinch of Hatred

Everything fell back into its normal routine, and soon the evening rolled around. Our

training session with Nomad had consisted of more meditation. I was beginning to wonder

whether or not we would actually be learning any hand-to-hand combat techniques, or if we

would just meditate under waterfalls for the rest of our time here. I was okay with it, to say the

least. I was pretty sure it was growing on Lili and Xavier, but Demi still loathed it with a passion.

The weather was pleasant as the sun began to sink into the horizon. I found myself often

forgetting that the days were growing shorter, but the early nightfall was a consistent reminder of

this. Despite the rapid loss of light, however, training continued as normal. I found myself back

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on that same rock, placing myself in that mysterious white room and pocketing that mysterious

black dot. Surely it had some sort of metaphorical value; I just hadn’t figured it out yet.

Demetri sat alone on a log adjacent to the dying embers of the fire pit. His mind had been

racing in spite of the meditation. His worries, however, weren’t on the ongoing events that

troubled the rest of the camp. His mind was filled with thoughts of Lili and Wren. Did he really

care about Wren the way he cared about Lili? Of course not, he told himself. There’s no way she

could replace in a matter of days what Lili has built up over several years. He stood up. He

couldn’t just sit around anymore. If Nomad wanted them to find inner peace, then he would do it

his own way.

The crisp air bit the back of Demi’s throat as he sprinted over to Dr. Lancing’s tent. He

threw aside the flap and stumbled into the tent, startling Lancing, Wolf, and Lynx, who were

sitting at a table talking quietly amongst each other.

“Dr. Lancing,” Demi panted. He held up a finger while he caught his breath.

“Demetri, are you okay?” Dr. Lancing asked worriedly, standing up.

“I’m fine. Have you seen Lili?” He asked. Lynx nodded.

“I think she said something about going to the lake,” she answered. “Why?”

“You’re the best, Lynx. Thanks!” And Demetri was gone.

Demetri flew through the roughed out trail of the border forests near Jericho. He had to

resolve this; he had to tell her how he really felt. Demi felt as if he would explode if he held it in

one more minute. He grinned stupidly as he jumped a fallen log. Imagining her reaction when he

told Lili of his feelings for her had been a long-standing daydream, and now was his chance to

act it out.

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He slowed down once he had reached the edge of the forest. A small fire had been lit by

the lakeside, so combined with the pale light of the moon, he could faintly see Lili through the

dusk. He could also see that she wasn’t alone. Demetri dropped to a crouch and edged his way

closer through the brush so he could see more clearly. He could hear an audible noise and knew

that they were talking, he just couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Through a gap in a pile of brush, he could clearly see her and her companion. They were

sitting close to each other. Way too close. Smith was sitting next to her on a small log pulled up

to the fire. Lili was looking down steadily, so her facial expressions were unreadable. Demi held

his breath tightly, not even daring to blink.

Smith said something that caused Lili to avert her gaze from the ground and meet his

eyes. Demetri shook his head silently, a sense of dread washing over him. He knew he should’ve

looked away. He watched in silent horror as Smith leaned in closer. Lili remained motionless,

allowing him to progress. The world seemed to have slowed down, and perhaps it even stopped

spinning as his lips met hers.

Demetri tore out of the brush and back through the forest. A single tear glistened in the

moonlight as his emotions raged, switching from hurt to frustration, from frustration to anger,

and anger to rage. He slowed his sprint down and came to a halt in the middle of the forest.

Above him, the forest canopy parted, allowing the cloudy moon to shine through in a spotlight

surrounding him.

He wiped the damp and salty substance off of his face, resenting its very presence against

his hot cheeks. A flock of sparrows scattered as Demetri’s wings snapped out, crashing into a

nearby tree. His hand went to his neck, trembling. As he ran his fingers along the curve of the

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dog tags, his anger peaked. Demi closed his fist around the ball bearings of the necklace and tore

it off, tossing it to the ground.

The earth shook as he bolted into the air, scaling over fifty feet with a single flap of his

massive wings. He knew what he had to do. There was only one thing he could do, the way he

saw it. So without looking back, Demetri flew. He flew fast and hard, with only one thing on his

mind. Vengeance. Revenge for destroying his life. Revenge for destroying the lives of those he

loved. He sought it and he would get it, Demi vowed silently. Or he would die trying.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Confrontation

“I must admit, your presence here is just as amusing as it is surprising,” Cadence’s voice

was harsh, not like it was during the speech. Demetri stood at the end of the auditorium, poised

and ready. Cadence loosened his tie and placed it on the podium from the opposite end of the

room. “Judging by the look on your face,” he said as he unbuttoned his suit jacket, “You’ve

come to right a wrong. Would this be correct, Mr. Hill?”

Demetri’s breath caught in his throat as he clenched his fists tighter, stunned at Cadence’s

knowledge of him.

“How do you know who I am?” Demi demanded. His wings were outstretched and

occasionally he would flex them in an attempt to demonstrate his power. Cadence stared at

Demetri, emotionless and nonchalant.

“I know all about you and your friends, my good man. I know that the four of you were

here earlier today. In fact, I know the exact locations of each and every one of you at this very

second. You see, I’m omnipotent. A real god, unlike the likes of which you and your friends

posed as. I know everything.” Demetri began walking towards Cadence, his knees shaking.

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“You aren’t a god,” he spat. “You’re a coward. A coward who needs an army to do the

things that you could never do alone.” The corners of Cadence’s mouth twitched.

“Well, as I’m sure you would agree, talk is cheap. You are nothing but a delinquent child

with a tendency to act compulsively. I will give you one opportunity to leave. Perhaps you will

go back and tell your rebellious friends of the mercy that is the Infinite Cadence.”

“On everything that I am, and all that I ever was, I swear that I will kill you. You will die

by my hand.”

“So be it.” Cadence unbuttoned the top button of his pale dress shirt and closed his eyes.

“If this is the way you want it, then I will grant it. What a shame. You could have been a

Revolutionary general with your talent.” Slowly, he opened his eyes. They had become pure

black, with only the spotlight glistening off of their moist surface. Demetri’s heart sank as he

realized that the man in front of him wasn’t as kind and strong as he was made out to be in the

speech. This man was far beyond terrifying. He was a demon.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Dog Tags

“Hey, has anyone seen Demi?” I asked, my mouth full of food. Lynx looked at me in

disgust, then nodded slowly.

“He ran by the lab earlier,” she answered. “That’s gross, by the way.” I opened my mouth

wider and displayed its contents to her. “He was looking- would you stop that?- for Lili.”

“That’s weird,” Lili said thoughtfully as she bit into her apple. “He hasn’t missed a meal

before. Surely he’s not still training?” The mess hall was bustling with the excitement of today’s

news. Illusion’s betrayal had given people a subject to gossip about, although Whisper and

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Numb had yet to acknowledge it. Word of the oncoming war with the Revolutionaries sparked

excitement among the brave, and fear in the shy.

“I’m a bit worried, to tell the truth,” Wren said. “I’ve spent the past week with him, but

I’ve yet to see the child once this evening.” I’m pretty sure I was the only one to catch Lili’s

grimace.

Nomad grunted beside me. “There’s Lancing. I’ll go ask him about it.” Without another

word, Nomad strode off towards Dr. Lancing, who had just entered the room with his clipboard

in hand. My table watched in silence as he said something inaudibly to Dr. Lancing, and Dr.

Lancing returned it with a shake of his head.

“Um. That’s not good at all,” Xavier said, scratching his head. Nomad slid back into his

seat and began peeling his banana.

“It’s a no-go,” he answered the unspoken question. “He said he’d put it in the bulletin,

though.” At that moment, the short doctor stood up on a vacant table and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, por favor! And excuse my French!” Once he had everyone’s attention, he

continued. “Before I begin, has anyone seen Demetri Hill? Anyone?” People began looking

around and whispering amongst themselves, but nobody had seen Demi. “Very well. Then it

appears we have a soldier MIA. Since no one knows the location of this camp, I doubt anything

bad has happened. I’m sure he left of his own will, so we’ll just have to patiently await his

return.” I leaned over to Lili and noticed that she shared the same concerned look that was

undoubtedly painted across my own face.

“Why on Earth would he want to leave?” I whispered to my friends as Dr. Lancing

continued with his report.

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“I have no idea,” Lili answered. “But I’m worried about him. He usually goes off alone

when he’s mad about something. I don’t want him to do something stupid for a stupid reason.”

“Guys, relax. This is Demi we’re talking about.” Xavier scratched the back of his head.

“He can handle himself, so there’s no need to worry. Like Dad said, he’ll come back when he’s

ready.”

“You’re just glad he’s gone so you can have all of Wren’s attention,” Wolf teased

quietly. Xavier turned red, and Wren, who was sitting across the table, pretended not to hear.

“Stop eavesdropping,” Xavier hissed. “And no I’m not.”

“Whatever you say, man.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone enter the tent. It

was Numb, holding onto something silver. He walked up to our table silently and placed the

object in front of Lili.

“I believe this belongs to you.” Lili picked up Demetri’s dog tags and pressed them in her

hand. It bore Demi’s full name and address on the tarnished stainless steel surface.

“Actually, this is Demi’s. Where did you find this?” Numb turned to leave.

“I found it in the forest,” he said without looking back. “If it isn’t yours, why does it have

your initials on the back of it?” Lili froze. She turned over the metal plate in her hand, and sure

enough, L.M. had been carved into the back of it. Encircling the initials was a scratched-out

heart. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. Numb nodded curtly and continued to leave. The table

was silent as everyone watched Lili stare at Demetri’s dog tags.

“I have to go.” Wren and Lynx stood up to accompany her back to the tent, but she

waved them off. “I’d rather be alone right now,” she muttered as she briskly exited the tent.

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“Well,” Nomad broke the awkward silence that ensued. “Who would’ve thought it? Little

bird-boy had a crush on little fire-girl.” I glanced at Wren, who was struggling to fight back tears

as she kept her head down, and sighed. So much pain. When did this war of the superpowers

become an inner conflict of love? I would much rather have violence and killing then stress and

emotional trauma.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Proposals

It was the day of the ball, and Demetri had yet to return to Jericho. The entire camp had

been on edge with the revelation of Illusion’s betrayal, the mystery behind the Infinite ball, and

the suspense of Demi’s vanishing act. It seemed as if every conversation that took place around

camp was a hushed gossip or a rushed whisper. Although, speaking of Whisper, her and Numb

had had nothing to do with the situation. They merely kept to themselves, but no doubt were

hurting from the unexpected loss of a friend.

Earlier that morning, Dr. Lancing had called the ten remaining members of the spy

mission into his laboratory tent for a meeting about the ball. He had informed us that we would

be attending this event, but only the ten of us, which meant that if we wanted to bring dates, it

would have to be amongst ourselves. Lancing repeated himself at least four times that the

purpose of the mission was not solely to enjoy ourselves, but if there was as many people

attending as he suspected, then we could afford a little time to ourselves.

The purpose of the mission, in fact, was much more difficult than the last one. It was to

pinpoint Cadence’s location and terminate him, as Dr. Lancing had said. More than likely,

Cadence would be in a back room or somewhere secluded and private so that he could act out

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whatever plan he had been planning. This was all on pure speculation, Lancing reminded us, but

there was a ninety-five percent chance that the speculation was accurate.

“So… Lili,” Smith had said shyly after the meeting was over, as he approached the three

of us. “I was just wondering… if maybe… you’d want to go to the ball with me?” Lili opened

her mouth to say something, then glanced back with an exasperated look that only Xavier and I

caught. Taking the hint, I tugged on Xavier’s sleeve and led him away from the awkward teen

moment that was occurring. Luckily, I happened to spot another potentially awkward teen

moment as Wren walked by.

“Hey, Wren!” I called out, causing Xavier to instantly blush as soon as her head turned

our direction. She walked over to us as she pulled up the collar of her fleece jacket to protect her

from the chilly autumn wind.

“Hey guys,” she waved as her enchanting Irish accent rolled off her tongue. Beside me,

Xavier shuddered, and I had my suspicions that it wasn’t because of the wind.

“I think Xavier had something he wanted to ask you,” I said with a smile. I turned around

and briskly walked away without giving Xavier the chance to protest. Behind me, I heard him

say something that sounded like a stutter, but it was followed by laughter from Wren. The laugh

wasn’t spiteful, so I silently cheered for Xavier in the back of my mind. I knew the telepath could

hear it, so that was all that mattered.

“Hey.” I whirled around, startled by the sudden noise behind me. To my surprise,

Whisper was standing behind me, her hands shoved deep in the pockets of her own jacket. She

tucked a loose lock of hair out of her golden-tinted eyes and into her bandana, which was a

Whisper trademark.

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“Whisper!” I placed a hand over my heart and laughed. “You scared the crap out of me.”

She half-smiled at me.

“Yeah, well. We can’t all be beautiful like you.” We laughed together this time, and it

was nice. Now I remembered the Whisper from the forest, the one who bore her heart and soul to

me, the one who kissed me so passionately in the frozen rain. Not the cold, dark Whisper who

kept to herself, who everyone feared.

“Anyways,” she continued, “Do you wanna be my date for the ball?” I was shocked by

her abruptness. She definitely wasn’t beating around the bush.

“What about Numb? I wasn’t going to ask you because I thought that maybe you and him

were going together.”

“I could go with him, if you wanted me to…”

“No, no, no, that’s a terrible idea. It would be my honor to go to the ball with you.” She

smiled again warmly. “So, I’ll pick you up at eight?” This was a joke, because we were all taking

the Jericho limo, (AKA the BioGene van), to the ball.

“Sounds good. I guess I’ll see you then.” She walked right up next to me and swiftly

brought her lips to mine. A spark shocked my mouth as we connected, and I jumped. “Sorry,”

she said quickly, but from the smile across her face, I didn’t think she was sorry at all.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Prom

“Woohoo! Party!”

“Wolf, shut up.”

The van rolled down the interstate at ninety-two miles an hour with Nomad at the wheel.

Four hundred miles ago, the nine other helpless ball-goers were screaming for their lives, but as

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we gained more ground, we realized that Nomad had a certain way about driving that made him

avoid collisions and being spotted by highway patrolmen, although there had been several close

encounters.

That afternoon, Dr. Lancing had sent us out to a fancy dress store to buy our clothes for

tonight. The goal was to blend in, he had said while handing Nomad his credit card. If we wanted

to do that, we had to look like the other Infinites. He told us that he trusted us and our sense of

fashion, but by the crazed looks of hunger that had grown on the girls’ faces, I had to warn him

that it was a bad idea. Nevertheless, he still had us go and get our formal attire.

After what seemed like hours on end, everyone came to a final decision on what they

would be wearing at the ball. Under the wisdom and guidance of fashion guru Lynx and her

assistants, Lili and Wren, I had decided on a jet black tuxedo, a white vest for underneath, and a

silver tie to compliment the piece. I had picked it out myself, so I was rather proud when it

received approval.

Now we were headed for Wisconsin in our new suits and dresses; the guys in the front,

laughing and joking as usual, and the girls in the back, doing each other’s hair and

complimenting one another. It was almost funny how low maintenance men were, yet women

were the complete opposite. The van smelled of burnt hair and perfume as the straighteners

sizzled and the curlers curled. I crawled back into the backseat.

“So Lil,” I said quietly, “What ended up going down between you and Smith this

morning? I never got the chance to hear.” Lili rolled her eyes and held the mascara brush in her

hand near thigh.

“Oh yes, do tell, lass. I’ve been dying to find out about this.” Wren winked at Lili.

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“Basically, he asked me out, and I said no. He tried to kiss me the other day, and that was

just too much. Smith’s a cool guy, but I really don’t think of him like that.”

“Oh girl,” Lynx said, dabbing away at her eyelids. “The kid tried to make a move on

you? I would’ve gone all panther on him and ripped his throat out.”

“No, unfortunately, the thought didn’t really cross my mind. I’m just gonna fly solo on

this one.” I gave her a look of shared sympathy. She missed Demi just as much as I did, if not

more.

Even though the outside world was beginning to darken, I could still see the ‘Now

entering Wisconsin’ sign as we flew past it. I was thankful for this because the seven hour drive

had taken a toll on my butt. I couldn’t feel the left cheek. I knew it was still there, I just couldn’t

feel it. I sat back in my seat, wishing that Demetri was there and not off somewhere unknown. I

wished that he was laughing at Wolf’s jokes and Nomad’s sarcastic comments. I wished he was

making fun of Smith to himself, cracking up and leaving Smith to wonder what was so funny.

But he wasn’t. Demetri was gone.

It wasn’t too long after that before we passed the Madison city limits, and then the

Marquette ballroom. The building was a massive white dome with large marble steps leading up

to it, very similar to the expo center. Down the center of the steps laid an extremely long red

carpet, which was being walked all over by the masses of well-dressed Infinites entering the

ballroom. On either side of the carpet were elegant fountains, with underwater lights flashing in

pastel shades of red, blue, and yellow.

“Wow,” Xavier murmured as we pulled into one of the few vacant parking spots. “This

place is ridiculous.”

“No joke,” Nomad nodded, adjusting his red bow-tie. “This guy wasn’t messing around.”

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The group walked over to the entrance of the ballroom in an unorganized huddle, the

couples were joining together and talking quietly amongst themselves, and the singles, (mainly

Wolf, Nomad, and Smith), were laughing loudly as they walked. I noticed Nomad put a single

hand in his pocket, and when he did this, Wolf followed his lead, while Xavier slipped his own

hand in Wren’s vacant hand. Numb followed closely behind, keeping his masked face hidden in

the shadows.

“You, my dear, are looking extremely beautiful tonight,” I whispered to Whisper,

fighting back my nerves and deciding to not hold back this evening. My heart fluttered in my

chest as she blushed, visible by only the moonlight and the lights from the fountain. It was true,

though, about her looks. Her hair was back in a coif, with locks dangling down the sides of her

head, framing her face. She wore a black dress that flowed out just past her knees, and a white

sash wrapped around her waist to complete the outfit. I could see the outline of her twin blades

under her dress and along her back; Smith had made her a new one, apparently.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, sir,” Alright. I’ll take that.

There were two men in suits standing at the glass entrance at the end of the red carpet,

admitting people and rejecting people. I came to the conclusion that these were the official

superbouncers. Once it was our turn to be admitted, the bouncers eyed us carefully. I held my

breath as they looked us over wordlessly. One of them pointed to Nomad.

“You’re good,” he said in a gravelly voice. One by one, the Oppressionists were admitted

until it came down to Lili, Xavier, and me.

“Hm. Alright, the girl’s good. And the black kid. You’re good, too. Enjoy yourselves.” I

gulped as my friends left me by myself to be scrutinized by the bouncers. Whisper and Lili

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waited on the other side, staring cautiously at the two men. Looking back at the men, I could’ve

sworn I saw one smirk at me.

“Okay, kid. Sure. Go for it.” The smirk was gone as soon as it had appeared. I sighed

with relief as I entered the massive ballroom and took the arm of the most beautiful girl in the

building.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Dance

It was exactly as I had dreamed it. The ceiling was extremely high, with a giant crystal

chandelier hanging from the center of the dome. Marble pillars lined the walls, holding up a set

of stairs on either side of the room. The floor was shiny and slick, with a coat of fresh wax

glistening off of its surface. In one corner there was a string quartet, sitting in their seats and

playing a quiet but melodious tune, while in the other corner a DJ was waiting patiently,

scrolling through playlists. I guessed that they were taking turns, the quartet playing for slow

dances, and the DJ playing for fast-paced dances. The only thing that differed from my dream

was the red carpet down the center of the room that lead to Cadence, sitting smugly at his throne.

He was here, though. Raw power rippled through the air, and the pressure was almost palpable.

Of course, it could have been due to the hundreds of Infinites gathered in such a small area.

The ten Oppressionist spies split up into their pairs, dates going off with dates, and

singles mingling with other singles. I led Whisper out onto the dance floor and placed my hands

on her hips. The soft strings climaxed; the bows of the violins were beating out a steady tempo,

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making it easy for us to sway to the beat. I stared intently into her honey-colored eyes, praying

that I wasn’t coming on too strong.

“I love this song,” I said with a smile. Beside us, couples spun and twirled in long

flowing dresses and dark suits. We fell in line perfectly next to them.

“Yeah? I bet you can’t even name it,” Whisper teased.

“Einaudi. Nuvole Bianche. Original composed for a solo piano, but they’ve made a string

arrangement out of it. I dig it.” She looked at me blankly for a scary second, then laughed.

“Alright, Mozart. Didn’t know you were such a musical prodigy.”

“Prodigy? Nah. Maybe connoisseur, but definitely not prodigy.”

“You’re full of crap, that’s what you are,” she returned my smile as Nomad waltzed up to

us with a rather attractive young woman attached to him. I grinned at him. I guess the man really

did have game.

“Alright, you two lovebirds. Hand check,” he called out to us. I feigned guilt and held up

my palms, and Whisper rolled her eyes. Nomad winked at me. “Good man.” And then he and his

partner disappeared into the crowd of unfamiliar faces once more.

“What are we gonna do with that guy?” I asked, still grinning.

“He’s a kid in a man’s body, honestly.” The music died down, and almost as soon as it

had ended the DJ started up a loud hip-hop song, the bass blaring loudly, shaking the chandelier.

Instantly, the crowd began pulsating with the music, jumping up and down, laughing and

enjoying themselves. Whisper didn’t relax her arms though, which were draped across my neck.

Instead, we continued slow dancing to the loud music, not even to the beat, although it didn’t

really matter. All that mattered was her and I. And Cadence.

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Crap. Cadence. My focus flickered between her eyes, glancing back and forth at both of

them. I knew I had to look for him, but the very thought of leaving her by herself while we were

having a moment as heartfelt as this one made me slightly sick. Truth be told, ever since we were

informed of this mission, I had wanted to take out Cadence alone. I was okay with injuring

myself, it was just my closest friends and newly acquired Jericho family members that I feared

for. It would be nearly impossible for me to live with myself if they got hurt and I could have

prevented it.

“Whisper,” I said, glancing at the staircase. A Revolutionary policeman in a black suit

scaled the stairs and slipped through a door at the back of the ballroom. “You’ll have to excuse

me for a moment.” A look of confusion crossed her face as she turned around to follow my gaze.

The man had already shut the door behind him, so she witnessed the empty stairway.

“What’s wrong?” I had to think quickly.

“I have to pee.” Oh, that was smooth. I mentally slapped myself yet again.

“Oh. Alright.” I smiled weakly at her, then dove into the wave of strangers. Nice going,

Aiden, I thought angrily. Way to just leave her. No, focus. I need to find Cadence. But I need him

to be alone…

Whisper stood alone amidst the dancing ballroom. She looked around cautiously,

observing all of the different varieties of dancing, ranging from lame to raunchy. It was strange.

She had been alone almost her entire life. So why did she long for his company so much now?

What had changed?

“Excuse me, ma’am. May I have this dance?” Whisper turned around to face the person

who had spoken, although she had already known who it was from the first breath he had taken

to speak the sentence. She wasn’t prepared for what came next, however.

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Standing in front of her now stood Numb. She gasped softly as he half-smiled at her. She

didn’t gasp because Numb wanted to dance, although that was surprising in itself. She gasped at

the half-smile. The half-smile that was visible. In his left hand, his mask dangled by the ribbon

that had formerly kept it tight against his face. Whisper nodded wordlessly, so Numb slid his

mask in the inside pocket of his vest and held out his hand for her to take. The music still blasted,

but it was barely heard over the emotion in both dancers’ eyes.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Infiltration

Both of the staircases were blocked by policemen, so I opted for the shady-looking side-

door. The surrounding area was full of people, so it would be easy to get lost in the crowd and

slip through the door unnoticed. I glanced around the room quickly one last time to make sure

that no one was watching, then I slid through the door noiselessly; the guests didn’t so much as

look up as I went.

The thundering bass of the music was barely heard over the throb of my own racing

heartbeat. I was now in a dark hallway, with old velvet floors and dim lights that buzzed

monotonously. This hall made the rest of the building seem like a work of art, due to the

complete neglect that it had obviously been through. My breathing increased as I made my way

down the hall, and I couldn’t help but notice the strange black stains that were splattered across

the carpet. I was praying that it was grape jelly, but my instincts told me different.

I passed a series of yellowed doors on either side of the hallway, door after door, until I

finally reached the end of the hall. At the end, there was a set of stairs that led up to the top floor

of the ballroom. I’d like to say that I came to that conclusion using my astounding powers of

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deductive reasoning, but it was actually due to the sign nailed onto the wall next to the staircase

that read, ‘To the Top Floor’.

As terrifying as the stairs looked, they weren’t that bad. It was times like these, though,

that I wished I had Demi’s gift of flight. Climbing stairs was just too much work. Once I had

reached the top, I found myself at the edge of yet another hall. This one was a complete opposite

to the previous, however. It was white, with marble pillars lining the sides of the walls. At the

end of the long corridor was a single door with a white arch over the top of it.

I slowly came to the door and placed my hand on the glass doorknob. A split second

before I was about to turn it, I heard voices carrying from the next room. I froze. My palms

sweated on the latch of the door as I pressed my ear up against it, struggling to hear what they

were saying.

“They’re all accounted for except one, my lord,” a deep male voice said.

“It’s fine. I’m fully aware of where the winged child is. He won’t be a threat, I assure

you.” My breath caught in my throat. He knew where Demetri was.

“What do you want us to do about the other ten?” asked the lower of the two. I could

almost feel Cadence smirk.

“Just keep an eye on them for now. As long as they stay within sight, they shouldn’t be a

problem. Of course, if they start lighting torches and raising pitchforks, then I give you my

blessing to open fire. Honestly, I couldn’t care less if you killed the seven. And it wouldn’t

bother me too awfully bad if you killed the fire Infinite and the psychic Infinite. But leave the

boy, Aiden. I want to be the one to kill him.” This time, I stopped breathing altogether.

“Sir,” a new voice said. It had sounded like this one had just entered the room. “We’ve

lost our visual on one of the targets.”

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“Which one?” Cadence responded calmly.

“Kind of shaggy brown hair, black tux, gray tie, about yay-tall.” I heard a chair scrape

across the hard floor, perhaps being pushed out from under a table.

“That’s a problem, then. Fix it. You too. Go with him.”

“Yes sir.” There were footsteps, and I prayed that they weren’t headed for the door that I

was pressed up against. The footsteps got louder and louder, as did my heartbeat, which pounded

in my head. I heard a door slam, and sighed with relief. The room was silent once more.

I was debating on whether or not to open the door and perhaps have a slight chance of

landing a successful sneak attack. The last time I had been near Cadence, though, my body

locked up, and I couldn’t use my powers. Surely that was a freak accident or a coincidence,

right? All I had to do was open the door, stop time, and slit his throat. It’d be that easy. I almost

laughed, in spite of myself. There was no way I’d be able to just ‘slit his throat’.

Cadence cleared his throat on the other side of the door.

“You may as well come in, Mr. West. There’s no use in prolonging the inevitable.” I

shuddered. How on Earth had he known that I was listening in? I swallowed hard and put on my

best brave face before turning the glass handle of the door and entering the room.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In the Eye of the Storm

A gust of cool air swept over me as the door opened and I stepped into the room. It

appeared as if the room was some kind of study, with bookshelves lining the walls and a

fireplace burning brightly in the back corner. In the center of the study was a small couch, with a

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glass coffee table placed in front of it. Cadence was seated on the couch with his legs crossed. He

leaned back into the cushions, smirking at me.

“Tell me, Aiden. What did you hope to accomplish by coming up here today?” His voice

was like ice. It was sarcastic, with an almost mocking tone. I clenched my fists tightly at my

sides. I’d humor him. Maybe talk a little, maybe get a little information from him before I freeze

time and figure out the easiest way to kill him.

“I’m going to kill you and end this war.” I was brutally honest. There was no point in

lying, I was sure he already suspected it anyway.

“You know, that’s the second time I’ve heard that in the past couple of days. Everyone

wants to kill me. I’m still unsure of my offense. What could I have possibly done that would

make you all hate me so much?”

I ignored the question. “Where’s Demetri?” He laughed humorlessly.

“You mean that winged fool that just barged into my territory? I hate to tell you, but your

angel… has fallen.” I growled and took a step towards him.

“You’re lying,” I accused. Cadence relaxed even more and loosened the tie that he was

wearing. Simply his demeanor was making me furious. “Tell me where he is, now.” Cadence

grimaced, then frowned at me.

“You are in no position to make demands. You should be on your knees right now,

begging me not to kill you. I know you heard every word that was said in here. I said it just so

you would hear it. I am going to kill you.” That was the breaking point. I closed my eyes and

concentrated, willing time to come to a halt.

“Oh, come now. Don’t cry. It will be quick, like a Band-Aid. A Band-Aid of excruciating

pain and agony, but a Band-Aid, nonetheless.” My heart sank as the realization of my power

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failure sank in. That same annoying smirk returned on Cadence’s face as he held out his hand,

palm up. “Just don’t fight it. It’ll be easier for everyone that way. This should be enough to get

the message across to that buffoon of a doctor. The Oppressionist organization will be

slaughtered without hesitation.” He flexed the muscles in his outstretched hand, then frowned.

He glanced at his hand, then flexed it again. Nothing changed.

“That’s strange. I wonder why my powers are failing me...” So Cadence’s powers didn’t

work either. He looked from his hand back to me. “You. This is your doing. How are you doing

this? No matter. I’ll just kill you, and not worry about this problem anymore.” Faster than I could

blink, Cadence had moved from his seat in a blur, and slammed his shoulder into my gut,

smashing me into the wall. He took a metal lamp post that had been placed for decoration and

ripped the bulb off with brute strength. Then, Cadence proceeded to bending the metal around

my body and digging the ends into the wall, restraining me against the broken wall, preventing

me from making any movements at all. I was completely helpless.

“I don’t understand how you’re able to take away my powers when I’m near you, but it

would appear as if you can’t use yours either. Otherwise you would have demonstrated them

already.” He glowered into my eyes and raised his hand up to my neck, loosely placing his

fingers around my throat. “This is nothing personal. Trust m-“ He was cut off by an explosion

that came from the ballroom, followed by screaming. Smoke rolled under the crack of the closed

door, and I smiled at Cadence.

“It would appear as if you have bigger problems than a powerless teenage boy. Maybe

you should worry about the entire Oppressionist army in your dance hall.” His fingers tightened

slowly. “You can kill me,” I continued. “But know that good will always prevail. Even if I’m not

the one to kill you, I’ll be succeeded by one who will get the job done.” Cadence snarled.

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“Brave words, in the face of death. That’s admirable. But it angers me.” The door flew

open, and the two bouncers came running in, breathing through their shirts. These must’ve been

the other voices I had heard earlier.

“My lord, there’s a problem,” one of them coughed. “The nine rebels are here, and

they’re destroying everything.” Cadence sighed and took a step back, releasing his hand from my

windpipe.

“Very well. I’ll return to finish what I started. After I kill your loved ones.” Cadence

turned and walked briskly out the door, leaving it wide open for the smoke to pour in. Great. If it

wasn’t Cadence that was about to kill me, it was a fire. Why couldn’t the good guys just win

already? Oh yeah. Because this was the real world, not a fairy tale. The hero may actually die in

this story.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A Love and a Loss

Well, this was just great. My friends were downstairs taking on four times their numbers,

and I was stuck here, jammed against a wall with a lamppost. I coughed as the smoke poured into

the room, getting thicker and thicker. Of course, Cadence hadn’t been courteous enough to shut

the door behind him, so I was probably going to die of smoke poisoning or something lame like

that. I could’ve taken a bullet for a friend. I could’ve even died standing up for a righteous cause.

But no. It’s the smoke that would do me in. I stood there helplessly, wallowing in self-pity, when

the crackling of electricity snapped me out of my thoughts.

I stared at the open door, bracing myself for a new threat. I hoped that it would be

Whisper coming to my rescue, but more than likely, it was Luca coming up the stairs wanting to

finish me off himself. I wiggled my fingers to see if I could control time again now that Cadence

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had left. Sure enough, the billowing smoke began slowing down. I allowed it to speed back up as

the electricity got more intense. There was always that slim chance that Whisper was on her way.

The sound of a grown man screaming filled the air, and there was a surge of electricity.

The man flew past the open door, allowing me to see him for just a split second as he sailed

down the hallway and smashed into the wall. Seconds later, Whisper ran into the room, still

sparking.

“That guy was mouthy. All we did was light the ballroom on fire. And I’m pretty sure

Nomad teleported a grizzly bear into the room. But that’s no excuse for profound name-calling,”

she muttered as she ran up to me, drawing one of her swords.

“Remind me to never make you mad.” She wedged the sword between the bent lamppost

and the wall and pried it off, sending it clattering to the floor. Our eyes met for a split second,

then we kissed. Whisper dropped her sword to the ground and wrapped her arms around me,

knotting her fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, but mainly because the smoke was really

starting to burn them.

She broke away and placed her forehead on mine.

“There’s something I’ve needed to tell you,” she whispered.

“What is it?”

“Aiden, I think I might be in lov-“ She gasped softly. I opened my eyes slowly as her

arms went limp and dropped from their position on my body. My heart sank as I saw his

malicious sneer glaring down on me, while something hot and sticky dripped onto my arm.

Shaking, I moved my gaze back to Whisper. The end of her own blade was protruding from her

stomach, and crimson blood began oozing out of her wound. Whisper’s face was still contorted

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with pain, although it still maintained its eloquent beauty that had made her so perfect. Cadence

pulled the sword out of her body and flung it to the ground. Whisper collapsed.

“This is what happens when children go out of their way to disobey me. Someone has to

pay.” Cadence shook his head sadly at her limp body. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she

gasped and wheezed for air. Her eyes were half open, and her expression was lethargic.

“Such a pity to lose an Infinite like this. She could have gone so far.” He prodded her side

with his foot, then stepped on her, resting his foot on her bloody stomach. My insides seethed

with rage. I clenched my fists, willing with all that I had for my powers to work, but nothing

happened. A sickening smile grew upon Cadence’s face, but it quickly went away when Whisper

growled underneath him.

There was a spark, then another. And then, in a display of more power than I had ever

witnessed in my life, Whisper exploded.

The room was illuminated with showers of sparks and flares of electricity as Whisper put

every last bit of her power into Cadence. The light fixtures popped, causing glass to shower

down on everyone in the room. I shielded my eyes and protected my face, hoping that a stray

bolt of this indoor lightning wouldn’t stray from its path and strike me. Finally, the reports died

down. Cadence toppled over to the ground, his body seizing violently. Whisper sighed deeply,

then closed her eyes.

I ran over to Whisper’s still body as tears began to stream down my face. Her breathing

was slow but shallow, and her pulse was weak. I tore my suit jacket off and pressed it against her

wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it just resulted in the jacket becoming saturated

with the substance.

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“Don’t do this to me, Whisper,” I whimpered through gritted teeth. “Whisper, come on!

Stay with me!” Numb sprinted through the door, his mask tightly on his face and smudged with

soot. He was accompanied with a large gray wolf and a brown wildcat with frayed ears. Numb

looked from Cadence’s lifeless body to Whisper’s lifeless body, then from Whisper to me.

“You… What did you do?!” For the first time ever, Numb’s voice wasn’t calm and

collected. It was frantic and scared, and sounded like a little boy who couldn’t find his mother.

Numb ran over to Whisper and shoved me off her, sending me flat on my butt. He hovered over

her, his body shaking with sobs.

“Whisper? Whisper, you’re going to be okay, just keep looking at me.” He looked up at

me suddenly. “You can go back in time. You can save her. You can fix this, and fix her!” I shook

my head silently as another tear rolled down my cheek.

“I don’t know how,” I said, my voice breaking. “I can’t do it. I can’t…” Numb lunged at

me and grabbed the collar of my dress shirt under my vest.

“It’s not that you can’t! It’s that you won’t!” He accused frantically. “You don’t want to

save her!”

“Numb, that’s enough.” Nomad’s deep voice silenced the room. “Either compose

yourself, or leave. We have a mission to fulfill.” I couldn’t see Numb’s eyes past his mask, but I

could tell that he was looking at me with pure hatred and resentment. I looked to the ground in

shame and didn’t resist his grip on my shirt. I should’ve been able to help Whisper. He raised his

hand as if to punch me, but Wolf tackled him before he got the chance. With Lynx’s help, they

managed to pry Numb off of me. Numb sobbed once out loud, then went back to Whisper and

began caressing her forehead.

“What happened?” Nomad crouched down and asked me softly. I shook my head.

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“Cadence… he got Whisper… but she got him back. Now they’re both…” I shook my

head again. Beside me, Cadence let out a weak laugh. Nomad leaped up and placed a hand

around Cadence’s charred throat.

“You may have killed me, but Cadence lives on. The real Cadence. He will finish what

I’ve started. Soon, all of the world will bow at his feet. All of the world…” Cadence’s voice

trailed off. He closed his eyes, and his skin began cracking. It cracked all over, just like the apple

from my dream. Soon it had become so cracked that he was split into a billion tiny pieces, and

his body began blowing away into dust, leaving nothing but his clothes remaining.

“The Revolution has only just begun.” His voice echoed through the room. Then,

Cadence was gone.

The room was silent. Nomad stood back up and looked at me.

“I know where Demetri is. I can take you to him,” he said suddenly.

“How? Where- Wait, what? Where is he?” I stammered.

“He’s in a prison that was created by Cadence,” Nomad explained. “Here’s the catch,

though. This prison is in his mind, in a dimension that he created by bending the laws of physics.

I can teleport you there, but you’ll have to hurry. With Cadence gone, it’s collapsing fast.”

“What about Lili and Xavier?”

“We don’t have time to go get them. You have to go now.”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Alright.” Nomad reached out a hand and helped me up, but he didn’t let go of it, even

after I was up. His grip was firm against my clammy, shaking hands. “I want you to know that

this is a figment of Cadence’s imagination, but everything you’re about to witness is real, and it

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can kill you. You’ll only be alone until you find Demi, then, once you do find him, I want you to

shoot this.” He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small handgun, then handed it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, turning over the gun in my hand.

“That’s a flare gun. You shoot it, and I’ll know to bring you back. But you only have one

shot, so be sure you’re ready when you shoot this. Also, make sure you’re standing near the spot

that I teleport you in, or I won’t be able to find you.”

“Alright, let’s do it.” Nomad nodded once, then cracked his knuckles. With a pop, he

teleported me out of the reality and into Cadence’s collapsing realm of nightmares.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Nightmare

The same sensation that I had experienced when teleporting to Jericho for the first time

washed over me. The colors swirled all around me, but instead of the bright shades of red,

yellow, and blue, these colors were dark and ugly, consisting of black, gray, and brown. Nausea

and dizziness hit me hard as I flew across the dimensions, until I finally hit a hard surface. I

don’t remember it hurting as much last time.

I pushed myself off of the solid paved ground that I had landed on and stood up straight,

taking in my surroundings. I had landed in the middle of a large highway. There were no cars,

yet the yellow lines that dashed the center of the road looked almost brand new. The sky was

turbulent and dark; the sun was nowhere to be found, but it was bright as day, despite the stormy

ceiling.

On both sides of the highway, there were large abandoned buildings lined side-by-side.

The only thing that separated them were small alleyways in between. The buildings were gray

and faded, with windows that were busted out and walls that had been vandalized with graffiti. I

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felt completely alone, but at the same time, I felt as if I was being watched intently by some

omnipresent being.

In front of me, the highway ended at the foot of a massive building. The building had no

windows, just a door at the front, and a porch with a rocking chair that was swaying back and

forth slowly. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was an older man in the chair, just

sitting and staring. I was too far away to observe details, but I decided that he was probably my

best source of information in this deserted reality. Something was also pulling at my gut, telling

me that this building that lay directly ahead of me was where Demetri was being held captive.

I walked in the middle of the road as thunder rolled overhead. As I approached the

building, the slow squeaking of the rocker became audible. My heart began racing. I didn’t know

why, but fear began creeping up my spine in a dreadful way. I reached the foot of the cemented

steps that led up to the porch where the elderly man rested. He didn’t turn his head to

acknowledge me, so I took a step up. The second my foot hit the steps, the ground began

shaking. I dropped to my knees as dust began to rise. All around me, buildings were beginning to

crumble. As soon as the tremor had started, though, it was over. I stood up cautiously and took

another step. I had to keep moving. For Demi.

“Hey,” I called out to the man once I had reached the top of the steps. “I’m looking for

my friend. I’m new around these parts. Maybe you could help?” The man said nothing. The

rocking never ceased, but I noticed that it his pale blue eyes were glazed over, and a white

translucent film separated the irises from his unblinking lids. A putrid stench washed over me as

I neared the man. I put a hand up to my mouth and gagged. I could feel the vomit rising in my

throat, so I quickly ran to the door of the building, silently begging it to be unlocked. It was, and

I entered the room, falling to my knees.

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My breath came out quickly and panicked. I had no idea what it was that I just witnessed,

but I knew that I didn’t want to know, either. Once I had collected myself as much as possible,

(which wasn’t much under these conditions), I stood up and looked around. The floors were

wooden and dusty, and there was no furniture. The only light came from a single hanging bulb.

Across the room, there was an old yellowed door that was missing a doorknob. It sounded as if

there was music being played, but it was muffled, like it was coming from another room. The

sound was out of tune and high pitched, as if an old music box was being played and needed to

be rewound, but it never stopped playing.

I approached the old door slowly and hooked my fingers through the hole where the

doorknob used to be. I pulled the door open and peered inside. A set of stairs led to the top floor,

but it was pitch black. The only light came from the top, where it appeared as if the door to the

top floor had been left ajar. I walked in and stepped on the first wooden step, which creaked

under the weight of my foot. I took another step, then another, feeling my way up the dark stairs.

Once I was about halfway up, I heard a noise coming from downstairs. It sounded as if

the door from which I had entered the building was creaking open, and something thudded

inside. It began taking uneven steps, thumping against the ground with one foot, then scraping

the next across the dirty floors. I held my breath and sprinted up the rest of the steps, tripping

over my own feet in the darkness and not caring about the racket that I was making. It felt as if

the darkness was crushing my heart.

I reached the top step and flew through the door, slamming it behind me. I looked around,

frantically searching for something to barricade the unlockable door with. I was in a hallway.

This room was also lit with a single bulb, swinging from a cord on the ceiling. The carpet was

red velvet and it was stained with a substance that appeared black against the carpet, just like the

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one in the ballroom. Against the wall, there was a small cabinet with a phonograph resting on it.

The phonograph was old and dusty, just like everything else in this building, and a black warped

disk was rotating against the needle, causing out of tune 40’s swing music to blare through the

speakers of the phonograph. I ran over to the cabinet and set the phonograph down, then pushed

the wooden box to the door, slipping it under the doorknob. Hopefully that would buy me a little

time.

I sprinted down the end of the hallway, all the way to the door that led into the next room.

I came to a halt and placed my hand on the doorknob. As soon as I did, there was a banging

noise that came from the other side of the barricaded door. I froze as something sharp rapped the

top of the barricaded door and slid down the side of it slowly, imitating the noise of nails on a

chalkboard. I turned the doorknob and slammed my body against the door to the next room,

exploding inside and slamming the door behind me.

As soon as the door was shut, I turned around to face the next room, only to get smashed

across the face by a heavy fist. I fell to the ground, my eyes watering and my whole head in

agonizing pain.

“Aiden! Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I thought you were…” I looked up through the tears

and saw Demetri’s concerned face looking down on me. Relief flooded me as I stood up, wiping

the blood and tears off of my face.

“Demi! I can’t believe I found you. You thought I was what?” I took his outstretched

hand and grasped it hard, bringing him into a bro-hug. Demi smelled awful, like he hadn’t

showered in weeks. His hair was greasy and overgrown, falling into his eyes. It appeared as if he

had been in this prison for several months, not just the two days that he had been missing. The

only thing that still remained clean and intact were his outstretched wings, still as white as ever.

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“It doesn’t matter. Do you have a way out of here?”

“Yeah, once we get out of this building, I’ll signal for Nomad to teleport us out. But we

don’t have much time, this whole place is collap-“ As if on cue, the building shook, sending

rubble from the ceiling on top of our heads. As soon as the tremors died down, there was a

banging on the door. Demi brushed past me and slid a deadbolt into place, locking the door.

“Why didn’t you have that locked when I came in?” I asked, my hand going up to my

still sore nose.

“We were tired of that thing terrorizing us, so I figured I’d put an end to it, or die trying.”

“What the heck is that thing? Wait, ‘we’?” I glanced past Demetri, and saw the outline of

a man sitting in the corner, hidden by shadows. Demetri stepped in front of me.

“Look, before you react, you need to know something…” I ignored the rest of his words.

The man had stood up and stepped into the light, revealing his appearance. His face was down,

but as he slowly looked up, my body seized up and my head throbbed. In this room, this dirty

cell, Cadence stood, looking just as worn and disgusting as Demetri. His hair was also

overgrown, and his eyes were sunk in. His clothes weren’t the elegant dress clothes that he

usually wears, but were tattered jeans and a ripped and dirty white shirt.

“Hey Aiden,” he said, looking me straight in the eye. “You probably don’t remember me,

but… I’m your brother.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Redemption

“You… what?! Shut up! I don’t believe you!” I lunged at him, but Demetri caught me in

midair and slammed me on my butt, hard. The thing outside the door began scratching, creating

the same awful noise, but I couldn’t hear it over the intensified pounding in my head.

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“Hear him out! He’s telling the truth.” I glowered at the man whom I had just seen maim

the girl of my dreams, and crossed my arms.

“I’ll hear him, but that doesn’t mean I’ll listen.” Cadence, my alleged brother nodded and

sat down in front of me, but was careful to keep a good amount of distance between the two of

us.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I know this is hard for you to hear, but… well, I’ll start

from the beginning.” He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

“My name is Logan West. I left when you were little. Mom, Dad and I had gotten in a

fight. It seems so stupid now. If I could go back and change it, I would. If I could leave this

prison, if only to tell them that I was sorry, if only to tell them I love them, one last time, I

would. I hated leaving you, Aiden. I really did. But I left because of that fight. I was angry, and I

wasn’t thinking rationally. This man came up to me and told me about a plan that he had. A plan

to take over the world. I thought he was crazy at first, but once he explained himself, I began to

imagine the possibilities in my head.”

“He told me about Dr. Lancing, how he had been working on a project to make genetic

powers appear in humans. He told me that we would wait for him to perfect it, however long it

would take, but then he would need my body. You see, this man, the real Cadence, he already

had powers. I don’t know how it’s possible, but he did. He could control people by taking over

their bodies. That’s what made me follow him, was the amount of power that he possessed. He

made me believe that world domination was possible.”

“Anyways, when the time came for Dr. Lancing to perfect his solution, his Infinite

Clause, Cadence took over my body. I gave it to him, willingly. I didn’t know that he’d be

sticking me in this hell for the time being, though. He used my body, making me act as Cadence

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so he could stay hidden. He spoke for me from afar, manipulating my words and actions, and

gathering his army. His plan worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, he forgot to take into account one

thing. You, Aiden. Because I sacrificed myself, your closest blood relative, his powers won’t

work around you, and yours won’t work around him. I don’t know why that is, but you may be

the only one who can stop this tyrant.” I took all of this in, staring at my newfound brother

intensely. Was it true? Was this man really my brother and not Cadence?

“I know it’s a lot. But we don’t have time for you to decide whether or not you believe

me.” The scratching on the door turned to an angry beating. Whatever was on the other side of

that door wanted in. Now.

“I… I believe you,” I said quietly.

“That’s great,” Demetri said exasperatedly. “Now how do you propose we get out of this

building?”

“Um… We could…” I was interrupted by another earthquake. This one was much more

intense than the last.

“The ceiling!” I shouted over the chaos. “You could break through the roof and fly us

out!” Demetri glanced at the collapsing roof for a brief second, then grabbed mine and Logan’s

arms. He took one breath, then shot up through the ceiling. We broke through the top with ease

and landed on the roof. The ground was still shaking and the buildings that had begun collapsing,

falling in on themselves, causing massive dust clouds to rise up.

“Now what?” Demetri yelled at me. “Where do we go from here?”

“We need to be there!” I pointed at the middle of the road where Nomad had teleported

me in. Demetri nodded and leapt off the building. I clutched him tightly as he glided down the

side of the building, landing on the bottom step of the porch. Over the earthquake, I could still

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hear the creak of the rocking chair. I glanced behind me quickly, but to my surprise, the chair

was empty, rocking steadily on its own.

“We need to go now!” Logan shouted. We took off sprinting down the road, dodging the

debris that was flying our direction from the collapsing buildings. The dust had kept to the side

of the road, so the only thing visible was the empty stretch of highway. We had almost made it to

the spot of departure when something limped from the debris of a building and planted itself in

the middle of the highway, right where we needed to be.

The creature stood up, and I could see more clearly now that it was the old man who was

rocking in the chair on the porch. He was hunched over; his milky eyes were still unblinking.

The man cocked his head to the side and slowly raised a bony hand up to his face. His long

fingers pulled at the corner of his mouth, and the rotting flesh that was his skin began sliding off.

His face was now covered in little patches of skin, but the rest was rotted muscle and black

blood. The yellowed bones of his face protruded through, and pus oozed out of his eyes. The

man groaned and took a step towards the three of us.

“Hey, Demetri?” I said quietly.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Is that what you were hiding from?”

“Yeah. Yeah it is.”

“What do we do now?”

“I don’t really know.” The creature growled as it took another step. I looked from Demi

to Logan, whose eyes were trained on the nasty beast that was approaching. Logan’s expression

changed from fear to determination.

“You guys go on ahead,” Logan said solemnly. “I’ll take care of this guy.”

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“Logan, that thing will kill you! You can’t!” I pleaded, grabbing his arm. He placed a

hand on mine and gently removed my grip.

“I left you when you were little. I never should have done that. Because of my mistakes,

you were thrown in the middle of a war. This is me trying to make it up to you, although I know

I never could.”

“If it wasn’t you, Cadence would’ve found someone else! Please don’t do this…”

Demetri put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed as the rotting man took another step closer.

“Let him do it,” Demetri whispered to me. Logan nodded.

“I’m dead already. I don’t have a physical body. If I don’t do this right here, right now,

I’ll be trapped in this prison forever. There’s no hope for me to go back.” I could feel the tears

welling up in my eyes. I had just met my own brother, and now I had to lose him? Logan turned

to me and wrapped his muscular arms around me.

“When you go back, I want you to tell Mom and Dad… I’m sorry. I love both of them. I

should have never hurt them like I did. And Aiden,” he let go of me and turned his gaze towards

the monster, “I love you, too. I know you can end this war. You’re a West. Greatness is in your

blood.” He winked at me, then took off towards the creature, growling. He tackled it and began

smashing his fist into it.

“Don’t watch.” Demetri took my arm and dragged me around my brother. I watched in

horror as the creature bit into Logan’s shoulder and caused his face to contort in pain. I closed

my eyes, but not before I saw the monsters razor-sharp bony fingers stab through Logan’s chest

and come out his back. This time, I couldn’t hold back the vomit.

“Aiden, call Nomad.” With shaking hands, I wiped the vomit off of my mouth and

reached into the inside pocket of my vest. I pulled out flare gun with a shaky hand, and shot it

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into the air. Almost instantly, the scenery began spinning, the colors raced, and we were flying.

My eyes were pressed shut as a hot tear slid down my face. But I had done it. Now, I was going

home.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Finale

All was quiet, aside from the soft patter of rain against the hospital window and the

steady beeping of the heart monitor. I was the only one in the room with Whisper at the time,

although people had been coming in and out all day. Mostly people from Jericho. They were the

only ones who knew about her injuries.

The doctors were surprised to see her wound heal up overnight; they’d heard about an

Infinite’s amazing healing ability, but never believed such a thing until now. They were still

confused as to why she was still in her coma, though. All of her vitals were fine, her blood was

flowing normally, and there was no sign of anything wrong with her at all. She had just never

woken up.

It had been almost a week since I saw Cadence stab her, and watched my brother fall to

save mine and Demetri’s lives. It seemed like it all happened yesterday, but moreover, it seemed

like a dream. All of this was overwhelmingly surreal. Superpowers? Alternate dimensions? A

brother I never even knew existed? Could all of that even be possible?

There was a knock on the door, causing me to jump. I looked up to see Richard Lancing

smiling warmly at me.

“Mind if we come in for a while?” He asked, standing in the doorway.

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“Not at all,” I replied. “Go for it.” He walked in the room followed by Lili, Demetri,

Xavier, and Caleb Cail. My friends and Dr. Cail took seats around the room, and Dr. Lancing sat

on the edge of Whisper’s bed. Everyone in the room was aware of the events that took place at

the ballroom, but we were the only ones. Nobody else knew about Logan. Dr. Lancing wanted

them to believe that Cadence was dead until the real Cadence acted again. He guessed that it

would be a while before that happened, though. This way, the members of Jericho could go be

with their families until Lancing called upon them for assistance again.

“Aiden, you’ve been here for five days straight,” Dr. Lancing said, his expression turning

to concern. “Would you like us to take over for a little bit? You can’t keep living off of hospital

food.” I shook my head, vacantly staring out the window.

“Nah,” I answered. “I’m still alive, aren’t I? It’s really not bad, once you get past the lack

of salt and pepper and ketchup and everything else that makes food good.” My friends chuckled

softly.

“We’re all worried about you,” Xavier said. “You should at least go out for some air.”

“How’s Gramma Dunn doing?” I asked Cail, ignoring Xavier’s suggestion.

“She’s good. It didn’t take long to repair the damages from the Revolutionary policemen.

I visit her every so often to see how she’s doing.”

“He’s full of crap,” Demi said loudly. “They have Friday night date nights every week.”

Cail blushed and looked away. The room erupted in quiet laughter, breaking the gloomy mood.

“Aiden.” Lili walked over to the oversized chair that I was sitting in and squeezed in next

to me. She looked at me straight in the eyes. “Why don’t you come outside with us and get some

fresh air? You don’t have to leave. We can just go hang out for thirty minutes, maybe an hour,

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just like old times. Dr. Lancing and Dr. Cail will watch Whisper.” I looked from Lili to Dr.

Lancing.

“If anything happens with her, if she wakes up, if she moves, anything, you’ll be the first

to know. I promise.” I swallowed hard and nodded.

“Alright. A walk in the rain sounds really good right about now.” I stood up and allowed

Demi, Xavier, and Lili to leave the room before me. I began to walk out of the hospital room

when Dr. Lancing caught my arm.

“Don’t you want an umbrella? I have one if you want to use it.” I smiled at him.

“Umbrellas are funny things, you know? A really good friend of mine once compared

rain to life. How can you live life to the fullest if you hide from one of its simplest beauties,

rain?”

“Suit yourself, then,” Dr. Lancing said, shrugging. Now I may have imagined it, but

before I turned around to leave the room, I could have sworn I saw the corners of Whisper’s

mouth turn up into a smile.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

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