My phone alarm woke me up, indicating seven a.m. I managed to fall asleep for about three hours. My heavy body struggled to get up. When he did, I turned off the alarm, got ready for school, left my room, and walked down the hallway toward what I assumed was the kitchen. I froze at the entrance when I saw a man eating cereal.
"Good morning," the man said, noticing my presence.
"Good morning," I tried to imitate his calm tone, but a nervous voice came out of my mouth. It was obvious some of the Union heroes lived here, but... meeting the two most famous heroes in the world in less than 24 hours?! Not to mention living in the Union Tower! Upon reflection, I concluded I was living in a fantasy. "Please don't wake me up!" I thought, but didn't say anything.
Putting the drama and excitement aside, I examined the situation I was in. The man eating breakfast like a normal person was Persa, another founder of the Union. He was incredible. I didn't think it was amazing because I considered myself his fan, or anything like that, but because his power was so incredible. Besides, he'd always been the one in charge of examining those taking the test, so it was best to be on his side.
"Are you the guy Wilson brought?" he asked, without taking his eyes off his breakfast.
"Yes, a pleasure. My name is Michael, but they call me Mikey," I replied politely. Persian's birth name is Marcus Johnson. Yes, he's Kyle Johnson's little brother.
"Nice to meet you," he said. "Marcus," he introduced himself, even though there was no need. I doubted there was a person thousands of miles away who didn't know who he was.
Even though Persa wasn't looking at me, I could see his blue eyes. Those eyes that went perfectly with his blond hair, and compared to Champion's green eyes, they looked much more heavenly. But that heavenly gaze made him look older, which I found funny considering Marcus, the great Persa, was a year or two younger than the strong Champion.
I didn't want to go through the kitchen, but I had to, since only by going through there and the living room would I be able to reach the elevator and, finally, leave the tower.
"Well, I have to go," I said, as I hurried toward the elevator. It was already 7:57; the bus would drop me off if I didn't hurry.
"See you around," I heard Marcus's voice in the distance as I approached the elevator.
The elevator was quite large; it could easily fit 15 people, but at that moment, I was alone in the elevator. I took the liberty of looking around and appreciating that grand solitude. A large mirror was located on the left and right sides of the elevator, in which I could see my reflection. "I really need a haircut," I thought, then sighed, as I looked at my long, unkempt black hair. After looking at my hair, I looked down and admired my yellow eyes. I had inherited them from my grandfather.
When the elevator doors opened, my vision caught a glimpse of a crowd. The first floor was public, and in the mornings, it was always crowded. Tourists and locals who wanted to see the statue of Achilles or enter the trophy area of La Unión bought tickets to receive a guide through the facilities. In the trophy area were villain weapons, which I'd always doubted were real or not, and hero costumes for people to see. I'd consider it a mini-museum, nothing compared to the Achilles Museum.
Moving through the crowd, I managed to reach the gate. After breathing in the fresh air, I checked the time on my phone.
"Damn, I doubt I'll make it on time!" I yelled, noticing the time on my phone read 8:04. The people around me looked at me strangely for my language. "Sorry, sorry," I apologized to the people who stared at me in astonishment. I started running, but after running for five minutes, I remembered I had no idea which bus to take. The area I lived in was very far from my current area, but my school shouldn't be that far away. I began to float. Just like my adrenaline, my body was rising higher and higher. With a loud explosion, I began to fly toward where I thought my high school was.
That feeling was quite addictive; it felt so good: the blue sky and the sun setting behind the clouds, clouds that threatened to soak the earth's surface. Those horrendous clouds were going to force me to say goodbye to that addictive feeling and force me to remember moments filled with disgust. I hated the rain. Ever since I was little, I'd been afraid of thunder. The sound of falling rain unsettled me; I didn't want to relive the past, so I picked up speed. When a large, old building appeared in my view, I lowered my altitude and speed until I landed in front of my school.
The guards checked my backpack and, after verifying that I wasn't carrying anything that could be considered a weapon, they let me through. Ridiculous. I'm not saying that the guards' job is totally useless, just that these days, you don't need a gun or a knife to commit a massacre. The number of times I've heard about a school attack carried out by someone with powers is countless. I haven't heard of a school attack carried out by a human without powers since that time.
Pushing the negative thoughts out of my mind, I headed to my first class and was greeted by my teacher's angry expression upon arrival.
"What's the reason for being late, Mr. Santana?" my teacher, Chrisley Bount, angrily questions.
Miss Bount hated me. Not because I was a bad student, which I wasn't, but because a villain became obsessed with her daughter and ended up killing her. Ever since then, my teacher has had a terrible hatred for villains. And well, since I'm the son of villains, I think her hatred extended to me. I don't blame her, and I understand her, since she's acting from her feelings and trauma, but I don't agree with her actions. After all, I'm not to blame for the things my parents did, are doing, or will do.
"I just moved and missed the bus, so I had to rush here," I replied to Miss Bount, as I headed to my chair, ignoring the stares of my classmates.
"Don't let it happen again, Mr. Santana," my teacher scolded. I just nodded as I sat down and adjusted my backpack.
"Hey, how are you?" a familiar voice said. I only had two friends in the whole world: one was a member of The Union and the other was Luna, the girl who had just greeted me. Luna was my childhood friend, I guess that's why she was talking to me. When we were little, my grandfather and her grandmother were very good friends. Because of that, she and I became close, but then her grandmother died and her parents moved. Still, two years ago we ran into each other at school. Thanks to "the threads of fate," as some would say. I really didn't expect to attend the same high school with her.
"Hey, everything's okay. How are you?" I replied, taking out a notebook and pencil.
"Don't lie, my parents told me... Your grandfather died, right?" she said. A look of sadness and understanding appeared on her face. Gossip spreads fast. "I'm sorry," she added.
"You don't have to say you're sorry."
The teacher's voice interrupted us.
"You guys back there, stop talking or I'll give you an F," she shouted, then continued explaining to the class. "So, as I was saying: in 1998, a group of five teenagers found a meteorite in a cave located northwest of Seattle. The contact between these teenagers and the meteorite sparked what is now called The Awakening. Thousands of people around the world acquired powers, and the chaos was noticeable as people in costumes began to appear, but the real change happened two years later. Before we talk about what happened in 2000, I have a question for you. What were the names of the teenagers who found the meteorite? Does anyone know?
She's talking about The Awakening, when a group of basically children found the meteorite called NE-96. It's strange because scientists estimate that meteorite had been there since before the age of the dinosaurs, yet no one had ever come into contact with it until 1998.
Someone raised their hand. I looked at the person raising it and immediately recognized her. Michelle Jones... MJ for friends. Too bad I wasn't her friend. MJ was the younger sister of the superhero Silver, a pillar of The Union. I consider him the fastest living human alive.
"Go ahead, Miss Jones," Miss Bount said, giving Michelle permission to speak.
Michelle stood up and began to name the teenagers.
"Kyle Johnson, Marcus Johnson, Wilson Oliveira, Thomas Santana, and finally, Elizabeth Roccuzo," she replied.
"Do you know their ages when The Awakening happened?" the teacher asked, receiving a no for an answer. "Sit down, I'll explain in more detail now," she ordered. Michelle nodded and sat down. Their names, as Michelle told us, were Wilson and Kyle, the oldest, both only 15 years old. Thomas was next at 14, and finally Marcus and Elizabeth at 13. These five teenagers entered the cave and initiated The Awakening. They were the first people to acquire powers, and I assume you all know them since they are founders of The Union." She took her laptop and placed text on the smart board. "Now, I want you to write this down in your notebooks, and in the meantime, I'll take attendance."
Michelle's gaze suddenly became attentive. From my seat, I could perfectly observe her movements and expressions.
"How can you be in love with a person who doesn't even notice you?" Luna asked, letting out a sigh when she saw me watching Michelle. She was right; how can someone be in love with a person who doesn't even look at them? Well, the heart is quite stupid; it always focuses on those unattainable things. It's like falling in love with a famous actress or singer; knowing they can't be yours is the reason they become your crush. The same goes for the popular ones; you're drawn to them because you know they'll never notice you; after all, you're a nobody. But you don't recognize it; you have false hopes and unrealistic fantasies.
The thunderous screams of students running through the hallways interrupt my train of thought. Immediately afterward, I heard the school alarm.
"Students and teachers, a group of unidentified individuals have broken into the facility. Please report to the gym. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Students and teachers, please report to the gym," the principal's voice announced through the school speakers. All the students began to leave the classroom and run toward the gym.
"Wait! Form organized lines!" Miss Bount shouted, with no student paying attention. Everyone was focused on getting to the gym quickly and being in a safe place.
I got up from my seat and looked at Luna, who had scared eyes and seemed to be in a state of shock. It was probably her first time in a situation like this, although it was normal for things like this to happen in elementary schools, it doesn't mean she'd be mentally prepared for it.
"We have to get out of here and go to the gym, Luna!" I reminded her. Hearing my voice amidst all this hustle and bustle, she seemed to calm down. She looked at me and stood up from her seat. I took her hand and we left the classroom. My classroom is on the top floor and the gym is on the first; there were four floors in total. Luckily, the stairs were close by.
We moved through the sea of students. I could see some students pushing each other due to the limited space in the hallways. One student slipped right on the stairs; everyone was stepping over him, and I could tell no one was interested in stopping to help him.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, approaching the boy. Meanwhile, the students were pushing me, and their shouts were quite annoying.
"I-I'm fine. But my ankle hurts," the boy said. He was covered in wounds and his ankle looked broken, so I let go of Luna's hand and carried the boy on my back.
"Hold on to me and don't let go for anything," I said to Luna. She nodded and grabbed the bottom of my coat.
We started down the stairs, merging into the living ocean of students. It was quite uncomfortable going down the stairs with so many people pushing while you were carrying someone injured and someone was grabbing your coat. If I wanted to win against someone, I would challenge them to do it without falling. But anyway, we reached the first floor, and I headed to the right to go to the gym. However, I noticed the students had stopped; something was happening up ahead. Suddenly, all the students started backing away; the sounds of gunshots and screams of agony reached my ears. Luna had frozen again, and the boy on top of me couldn't stop shaking.
"We're going to d-die," the boy said. I clenched my hands and slapped Luna.
"Snap out of it!" I exclaimed. Her eyes returned to normal, and she seemed angry about the blow. "We have to go up and turn around," I added. I climbed the stairs to the second floor. There were far fewer students; most were on the first floor fleeing from those crazy people, and those who weren't were in the gym. "We'll go to the chemistry room and go down the stairs next to the room. That way, we'll enter the infirmary, and through the infirmary, we'll go to the gym," I explained as I ran toward the chemistry room. I didn't see any traces of blood, so I assumed they hadn't made it this far yet.
When I reached the room, I could see the stairs to the right. We went down the stairs to the first floor, and right in front of us was the infirmary. I opened the infirmary door, but just then, I heard the reloading of a shotgun.
"Stop right there!" I heard a voice from down the hall. I turned around and saw a masked man with a shotgun pointed at us. "Shit! We're so close!" I complained in my mind. There was so little time left until we were safe.
"I think I can have a good time," the creep said. His gaze radiated lust as he scanned Luna's body. I swore I could even hear him licking his lips. Luna began to tremble, and her grip loosened. Her hands went to her chest, covering that area. She must have felt naked from the look that pervert was giving her. A feeling of disgust washed over her; I could see it on her face.
"Get in here quickly!" I yelled to Luna. We entered the infirmary. I heard a shotgun blast, but Luna had already entered. I quickly closed the door and locked it. Scanning my surroundings, I located the door that led to the gym.
"The door will hold a bit, let's go into the gym," I said. Luna's face was pale; she probably thought she'd get hurt. To be honest, I thought we weren't going to be able to get in, but the guy got distracted, staring at Luna's body. It only took a second for the shot to miss; maybe he thought we wouldn't do something so risky.
I could hear people talking behind the gym door; that sound of gunfire must have alerted them.
I opened the door and saw the students in a corner of the gym, positioned farther from the two main doors. The principal and vice-principal were at the right door with two other teachers, and about five more teachers were at the left door. Three teachers and Ms. Bount were organizing the students. How did they get here so fast? I sighed. I could also spot my classmates and Michelle.
"Come on, leave the boy with me. I'll take care of him." "You guys go where the other students are," said a teacher who was with Miss Bount, and he took the boy from behind me. I watched as he took the boy to where the nurse was.
I walked with Luna to where the other students were. The principal closed the infirmary door. We were lucky they hadn't locked it from the inside.
"I saw the terrorists have someone with powers. Have you called the Union already?" I heard a teacher ask. His voice sounded calm, but his hands kept shaking.
"The principal already called the Union, but we'll have to wait. I heard the Union was in New York fighting a giant gorilla," the other teacher there replied.
"The important thing is that they're going to come. I know they'll come," Miss Bount said. The teacher had a rosary and was praying. She seemed to have said that more to herself than to the other teachers.
"Right, the Union would never abandon us! I trust them," a student exclaimed.
"Okay, kids. We'll be safe for now. They won't…" Miss Bount spoke, but was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.
The left door of the gymnasium was blown a few feet away. The teachers standing there were buried between the metal and the wood. A horrible silence filled the room; everyone was in shock. I could see a man at the newly broken door.
"Hello!" the guy shouted. This guy wasn't wearing a mask, and that in itself was a bad sign. He had red hair with blue eyes, his gaze blank and dead, and his clothes were covered in blood. That guy was scary; his mere presence screamed -Danger!-
"Want to play a game?" he asked, a grim smile appearing on his face.