Category: The Powerless Project

Chapter 6: The life of people in the zone

Whiteman took Adaru back to his apartment. When they got to their floor, they were received by a jubilant Faith who ran to hug Adaru.

“Don’t do that ever again!” she scolded him.

“I’ll try,” Adaru said.

“Do you need me to escort you inside?” Whiteman said.

“No, that’s OK,” Adaru said remembering his mom was still laying drunk in the middle of the room.

Adaru and Faith got inside just when people were getting out of their apartments to see Tico and his men being carried inside a black van.

They were cheering and clapping the arrest. Adaru still resented that minutes before some of them were throwing him to the wolves. 

“They just care about themselves,” he thought to himself.

He went to the bedroom that had no bed and he just fell asleep on the corner.

He woke up being shaken by Faith. She was nervous, and for a moment, Adaru forgot he was in the zone.

“What?” he said.

“The man with the funny hat is here,” she said.

That woke Adaru completely. He rose and got outside the room to see his mom suffering from a hangover, and using the kitchen counter to keep her balanced. Adaru saw Bellingham at the entranced and he remembered he had to go to his audition.

“It seems that you are not ready to go,” Bellingham said.

“I will be in five minutes,” Adaru said.

“It doesn’t matter. We have to go now,” he said, signaling that Faith and her mom were also coming with him. Adaru was too tired to complain.

There were people outside the building. He could hear they were chatting about what happened last night.

 “I heard it was a boy, but a man must have beaten that Tico guy. No way that a kid survived the attack of that monster,” a woman said.

“I heard it was the police that came and saved the day,” someone else said.

 “That’s the kid! He’s the one who fought Tico!” a neighbor said when he saw Adaru and his family getting on the black government car.

The neighborhood got in a frenzy wanting to see Adaru.  Faith and Adaru jumped inside the car and then pulled their clueless mother in.

When Bellingham got in the front seat, he turned toward them. He was having a hard time containing his smile.

“You clearly caused a commotion yesterday, mister Sepien. Your attitude against authority has clearly not changed when you moved to the zone,” he said.

“So what is going to happen?” Adaru asked.

“Normally, we would ask you some questions and do an audition similar to the ones we do on Evolution Day to measure the strength of your ability. However, you are a special case,” Bellingham said.

Faith tugged Adaru’s arm. She pointed again to the crystal building that was getting closer and taller. Adaru hugged Faith as a way to protect her.

Luckily, they were not going to that building, but to the one next to it. It was a smaller, squarer and brown building that had the words “Federal Inner Migration Office” on the front. The limousine got into the parking garage. The family got out and they were escorted to the elevator that took them to the third floor. 

“Your family can remain here until you finished your audition,” Bellingham said pointing to the chairs in the hallway.

Adaru was taken to a white room with a bed in the center. He was told to strip and they gave him a tunic to wear. He had to wait for half an hour for a doctor to analyze him by looking inside his mouth, ears and into his eyes. He was put on the bed and a machine lighted a green beam that covered Adaru’s body, from his forehead to his toes.

The doctor went away and Adaru had to wait like another hour for him to return and then hear he had no toxic substances or radiation emanating from him. He only had some sprains in his legs and arms but Adaru was no threat to other people. The doctor then bandaged his ankles and elbows, and told him to rest. 

He was then escorted to a gray room that had one chair in the middle of the room and three other chairs in front of it. He was told to sit.

Bellingham and other men entered the room, with two of them sitting next to Bellingham and the other four standing behind them. Adaru only recognized the man with a boot-shaped nose standing behind Bellingham.

“So let the record be clear on this Friday Oct. 5 we are present for the audition of Adaru Sepien, fifteen, whose abilities are at this time, believe to be of physical type, but specialty and level are unknowns,” Bellingham said to what Adaru thought it was a microphone.

“Mister Sepien, do you swear to tell the truth knowing that any falsehood would be considered a criminal felony?” Bellingham said.

“I- I do,” Adaru said.

“Then tell us. What is your ability?”

Adaru didn’t know what to answer. The truth is that he had no ability.

“I am more agile than others,” Adaru said. It wasn’t a lie, technically. 

“Yes, you have shown proficiency on past auditions that measured agility but you did not pass the criteria,” Bellingham said. “Have you shown any other abilities not considered normal on a boy like you?”

“Uh, no,” Adaru said and he regretted not lying. They were definitely going to test Faith if Adaru didn’t convince them he had an ability.

“Are you sure?” Bellingham said.

“Well, weird things have happened around me,” he said, again, not technically lying.

“Then, how do you explain this?” Bellingham said when he pushed a button. A panel on a wall moved to show a screen. Then, a video image appeared. Adaru didn’t know what he was seeing until he recognized his apartment building. It was footage of what had happened last night.  It was from a camera that must have been in the building next to his apartment. He could see himself on the left side of the screen, giving his back to the camera. He could also see Tico’s face. Adaru had to see again how Tico created a blast that smashed the car and garbage container that were next to Adaru.

“Could you tell us how you survived that blast?” Bellingham said.

“No I cannot,” Adaru said, more embarrassed than he should have.

The image then changed to another camera. That must have been from Adaru’s building because he was now right of the screen. It was the moment he attacked Tico with a lighter. Bellingham paused when Tico’s shirt caught fire.

“How did you produce that fire?”

“I had spread alcohol to Tico first,” Adaru said. Some of them gave a small laugh.

“Alcohol does not produce a fire of that intensity. It is very unlikely,” Bellingham said. “Remember that you are under oath.”

“I swear, I don’t know how it happened,” Adaru said. He then remembered that Faith was also there, looking at the fight. Did the camera catch her on tape?

Adaru felt his pulse beat faster. The man with the boot-shaped nose got closer to Bellingham and spoke to him softly on his hear.

“Are you nervous?” Bellingham asked Adaru.

“A little.”

“Well, so far we are very little information on you. But we do know is that you have done a service to the government by capturing Tico Szalinski,” Bellingham said.

And with that, he smiled and Adaru was shocked when the rest of the men applauded him.

“We also saw how you escape from the black market,” Bellingham said. The screen changed again and Adaru recognized the warehouse because he saw himself on top of it when it was collapsing. Another video showed the moment Adaru was caught by Tico’s henchman on the street and then how he was punched by the man with the red vest.

“We don’t know what kind of ability you have, but we know you have talent,” Bellingham said. “That’s why I proposed to give you a temporary visa to the zone for one year and classify you as ‘Physical,’” Bellingham said. “Do we have a disagreement?”

Bellingham turned to the two men beside him. They were quiet but both were staring and smiling at Adaru.

“Then, Mr. Sepien, you are now a legal citizen of Alpha Zone One.”

Adaru was surprised that it was that easy.

“This is it?” he said.

“Well, we are also need to mention that by helping on the capture of a criminal living in the zone, you are also receiving a $20,000 reward.”

This was Adaru’s best day ever.

He got out of the room with a big smile. He hugged Faith and he was in so a happy mood that he didn’t care when his mother yelled loudly after hearing the news.

Faith was smiling, but Adaru could tell she was not happy.

The Sepien family was told to go to another office. In here, they had their pictures taken again. A man asked for Adaru to show his right arm. The man put him a red bracelet on his wrist.

“This is your identification bracelet that shows what kind of ability you have and proves that you can live in the zone,” the man said. “It is hygienic and cannot be taken out. If it’s damage for some reason, you must come to this office for replacement.”

Adaru saw his bracelet closer. It had engraved letters on the back that read “Agility.”

“Bracelets are divided in colors to show what ability the user has. Each bracelet has engraved the specialty of the individual,” the man said. “In your case, that is agility.”

“Bracelets also show a roman number from one to five, which described the level of proficiency and strength of that ability with five being the strongest. Your level is unknown,” the man said.

The man then went to his mother and put a black bracelet on her.

“This bracelet is to show that you do not have an ability but you are legally allowed to live in the zone,” the man said. He then did the same thing with Faith.

Adaru then was taken to the second floor which had the zone’s bank. They transferred the little money they had from their account in New Haven. They were also given the reward money, which was the best news Adaru’s mom had heard in a long time. 

There was also an office that was related to the schools in the zone. Adaru was enrolled at the high school and he received a tablet where he would download his electronic books when he enrolled. The question was where to put Faith.

There was one school that catered to students without an ability. The lady at the desk also told them Faith could be home schooled and they could give her a tablet for Faith to do all her course work at home. Adaru told Faith she should pick that. He thought that was the best option for her to remain hidden.

It was a very long day for the family. They used the money they had to buy furniture like the beds and a TV. Everything was shipped to their apartment, which was finally looking like a home, even though it was a very cramped home.

When they turned on the television, Faith complained there were only two channels.

“What are we supposed to watch? There aren’t any cable shows or cartoons,” she said.

She was certainly in a bad mood all day because she didn’t care about what was on television before. Adaru was eager to try to climb the buildings because he had seen that was actually encouraged, so he wanted to leave the apartment as soon as possible.

First, they needed to buy clothes and Faith just got grumpier.  She refused to buy new items. Her mother forced her to buy a couple of new outfits, so she had clothes for a couple of weeks.  They returned to their now home with bags of clothes on both hands.  Then, their mother left to search for some alcohol, which Adaru believed if someone would find it in the zone, it would be her. Now, Adaru decided to talk to Faith.

She was looking at the window. She had a solemn face that made her look older. For some reason, that made Adaru uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“We are still in the zone. I am now enrolled in school and you and mom actually want to live here.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You were happy that you passed your audition.”

“I was happy that I passed and that they would not have to test you,” he said. “I was also happy that we got a lot of money.”

“You almost died yesterday. Are you sure you won’t have to face other people like those guys?”

“They were criminals.”

“What about the boy who started the fire at our old house? He wasn’t a criminal.”

“That was an accident.”

“And we are in a city where every single person can hurt us by accident.”

“You are exaggerating,” Adaru said getting closer. “If you so want us out of here, we will get out.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t think we should get out. I think I am like the boy,” Faith said looking at him. “At least here I can’t hurt normal people.”

“Do you make fire?”

“No. I think I am more dangerous.”

“You are not that dangerous.”

“Yes. I know I made that earthquake happen. I don’t know how, but I am afraid I can do worse.”

“No you cannot,” Adaru said while hugging her. “You are a sweet child who will not do anything to harm anyone else. And I will find a way to get ourselves out.”

He didn’t leave her that evening until they went to bed. The next day, Faith was still nervous about getting out. Adaru told her she could stay while he went for a walk. Their mother had not woken up even though it was almost 10 in the morning.

If they were spending a few days in the zone, Adaru wanted to see the most as he could. And he saw cameras in almost every corner. The only places he didn’t see them where in the corners of the black market, but he could see cables sprouting from walls and lamp posts.

The streets were clean of people that evening, but Adaru could see a lot of burned trees and dented cars. He found a nice alley where he could practice some climbing.  He stretched and did some chin ups. He noticed the ledges were smoother and there were more places where he could hold on to compared to buildings in New Haven. He saw why when he reached the roof. There were many people like him, who were climbing and jumping from roof to roof for fun.

He climbed on walls and then he jumped on roofs of different apartment complexes that were next to one another. He saw more people on higher ceilings and in windows frames looking at the city. They all waved to him like they knew him.  He never waved back.

He didn’t even smile at them.

He had to wait for a crowded roof to get empty before he jumped. He didn’t want to embarrass himself just in case he missed. Even though if he did, he would probably fell to the alley and kill himself.

In some roofs, there were zip-lines that help people go to different parts of the zone. He saw three before he decided to line up to experience one of them.

“Why so many people?” Adaru asked to the young man who was in front of him.

“Because they are fun, faster than a bus and they make us feel like a super hero,” the man said with a grin.

When it was his turn, the young man screamed a big “yahoo” that Adaru could hear until the man disappeared when the zip line made turn, next to a tall building.

With less embarrassment and more curiosity, Adaru put on a harness that was tied to the line. He then grabbed a handle bar and jumped. He felt the wind hitting his face. It was exhilarating seeing the buildings coming closer to him but the line moving just before hitting them.

The ride took several minutes. There were minutes of speed and strain to Adaru’s shoulders and arms.

 He screamed every second and he loved it just the same. He saw the floor getting closer and closer. He landed downtown the zone with a big smile.

It was the commercial area and he hoped to see more people using their abilities, but everyone was acting normal.  There was a big park and businesses that looked like gyms or gave the clients a chance to use their ability. Adaru wanted to get in but he needed to pay a membership. Also, one employee told him they only accepted level 3s and higher and because Adaru’s bracelet didn’t have a level, he couldn’t apply for membership.

Adaru was disappointed to see people use their abilities for menial tasks. In one restaurant, he saw a man looking at his plate. The knife and fork lifted from the table and cut a piece of black steak. The steak then floated until it reached his open mouth.

He entered a library where he got a map of the zone. He found the bridge to New Haven and then got on a bus that took him there in about an hour.   

For the first time, Adaru was on the other side of the bridge. New Haven had smaller buildings, but it still looked beautiful when the last rays of the sun gave it a dark orange glow. Adaru walked by the fence, hoping it led it to the entrance to the bridge. 

When he got there, he saw a military jeep and several soldiers patrolling the area.

“Excuse me sir,” Adaru said to one of the soldiers. “How can someone leave the zone?”

“But why do you want to leave?” he said with a smile.

“I just moved into the zone and I miss my friends,” Adaru said, which was true. He was thinking of Jade and his other friends but getting Faith out was his priority.  “I was wondering what I can do to see them again.”

“I understand what you are going through. That happened to me when I just moved in as well some years ago. Unfortunately, you need to apply for a special visa and we don’t give it to minors like you,” he said.

“How long does it take if my mother applies for one?”

“That depends. At least a couple of months you can get a permit to visit New Haven for a day,” the man said.

Adaru gave thanks to the soldier for his time and turned to start his journey back to the apartment and tell Faith the bad news.

It was at that moment an alarm was set off and officers ran toward the gap dividing the zone and the city.  When a helicopter flew overhead, Adaru’s curiousness got the better of him. He ran up to the nearest building. He found a ledge and he lifted himself up, ignoring the pain that he still had.

There was a big beam of light from the helicopter that helped Adaru see two figures running toward New Haven. He heard gunshots, and one of the figures fell. The other gave up and kneeled with his hands up. The helicopter never left him out of the light.

He was trapped. 

They all were.

Chapter 5: The Unexpected Test

Faith wanted him to reconsider. She didn’t want him to leave that night in a city they didn’t know.

“I will be fine, don’t worry,” Adaru said. “This is to help me for tomorrow.”

He left an hour later, after he made sure his mom was already knocked up by possibly the last bottle she would be able to drink in a while.

He went back to the store and asked how he could reach Smith or Red. The cashier told him to take the bus 27 Blue at the corner. He also warned him that it was dangerous to go there at that time.

It was already getting dark when the bus arrived and Adaru got inside.

“Where to?” the driver said.

“To Red and Smith.”

Adaru sat and he tried to enjoy seeing the zone in the night. The life and joy of the zone were gone and now it was filled with shadows that disappeared on the corners. There were only less than a dozen of people riding the bus, but in a few minutes, Adaru was the only one remaining.

It only took 15 minutes for Adaru to reach Red Street. He felt relieved that it was close to his new apartment.

“Be safe kid,” the driver told him when he got out. 

Adaru walked the street, hoping to find the warehouse. Instead, he heard noises from a hallway. He followed and was surprised to find the famous black market his dad told stories about.

It was on a narrow street between empty buildings. It covered almost two blocks. People were walking on the street instead of the sidewalk because the sidewalks were for the merchandise.

 The merchants were on old rugs and were all smiles trying to show their boxes of illegal products. 

Vendors didn’t scream or attempted to attract customers. They had to be cautious, so they waited for the clients to come to them. The clients perused the merchandise quickly. His father used to say that if people lingered, a sale was about to be made.

The merchandise was equipment, junk food and even bootlegged movies and some magazines. Adaru was looking for something that was given more in secret. And it was also more dangerous.

He didn’t know where to go, so he started asking merchants if he knew where Lizzy was. Some of them told him to get away, others cursed at him. Finally, one pointed toward a young man who was all alone.

The young man was on the middle of the street, looking at all the vendors on the sides.  Adaru saw he was trembling.

Soon, a second man approached him and talked to him.

Adaru saw the man smiled and nodded his head eagerly. The two men started walking into the alley, away from the market.  Adaru walked behind them.

He kept his distance when the pair walked to the back of a green warehouse.  He heard someone knocking some trash cans behind him, so he hurried inside the warehouse. When turning a corner, he was pulled by an arm and pushed to the wall. Adaru only felt the force of the pull. A strong arm lifted him several feet off the ground.

“Who are you? Why are you following us?” a man said.

Adaru saw his captor. He was a dark skinned man with furious eyes.

“I just came for some pills,” Adaru said. “I’m looking for Lizzy.”

“That’s it? Show me your arms!” the man demanded.

Adaru rolled his sleeves and lifted his arms.

The man laughed when he saw no bracelet.

“How the hell did you manage to get all this way?” he said while he put Adaru down. “I’m impressed. You must be really desperate.”

Adaru fell to his knees and coughed. The man patted him on his back, trying to comfort him, but Adaru felt like cinder blocks were hitting him.

“Come, come,” the man said while he lifted him up. “This is where all the good stuff is.”

Adaru could see the pair he was following. The customer seemed more nervous now. The man he had come with smiled and said everything was OK.

The four of them turned into a second alley filled with trash cans. They turned another corner and were behind the warehouse. Adaru felt trapped by the wall right of him. It was shorter than the warehouse, but not by much.  He ought for an exit behind the men, but he only saw a large garbage container near the wall. He couldn’t get back or go forward.

Adaru saw the entrance and there were two men with rifles. He looked around to see people in the ground, some of them were convulsing, and others were unconscious.

“What happened to them?” Adaru asked.

“They just took some of our product,” said the man trying to reassure him. “This is obviously your first time. So don’t worry. This is just temporary.”

Three men were lining up to a man who had a bag. Behind him, there were more men with guns. One by one, they gave him money or other things. The last one gave him his cell phone.

 “Hey Lizzy! We have two more customers!”

The dealer saw Adaru and let his tongue out when Adaru got closer to him. It was a lizard’s tongue that could go to the bottom of his neck.

Adaru couldn’t hide his disgust.

“Never seen one like me, boy?” he said to Adaru while getting closer to him. “Don’t worry, you may get a tongue like mine if you take one of these pills. “

He whipped his tongue to Adaru so fast he only saw it when it hit him on his shoulder.  It didn’t hurt, but Adaru was still suffering from the pain of the pinch earlier, so he fell once again.

The men laughed. The dark-skinned man lifted Adaru from the floor meanwhile the dealer offered him a pill.

“The first pill is on the house. Just ingest it right now,” he said.

Adaru looked at the red and blue pill.

 “What ability am I getting?” Adaru asked to nobody in particular.

“The only thing we can imitate with the pills is an animal-based ability. We can make you as agile as a monkey or as strong as an ox,” the strong man with the intense eyes said behind Adaru.

“How long will it last?” Adaru asked.

“It depends on the person but it will be enough for you to pass any government hearing within the week. It’s better to do it sooner rather than later. Also, our new formula is undetectable.”

Adaru looked to his left and saw a woman laying face up. She was drooling but she didn’t seem to care. She had vacant eyes, and for a moment, Adaru remembered her mother who he was sure was now in a similar position back at the apartment with Faith.

Would he become someone like his mother if he took the pill? Adaru thought.

“No,” Adaru said.

“What did you say boy?” the lizard-tongue man said with surprise.

“I said no, thank you,” Adaru repeated pushing the dealer’s hand away.

The men laughed, but now in a different manner.  Adaru felt he was in danger now.

The dark-skinned man got behind him and grabbed his shirt.

“You’re telling me you came all this way to not take a free pill?” he said. “I’m hurt.”

He tossed Adaru to the wall closest to the alley where they had come from. Adaru raised his head, and for one moment, he thought he heard more people coming into the alley.

“We are not done with you boy,” Lizzy said. He then turned to the nervous customer who came before Adaru.

“Are you a first customer also? Don’t worry. We are only rough to those who disrespect us,” he said while taking out his tongue.

The man smiled, but he kept trembling.

He took a pill and he looked directly to the man.

“I think I will say no as well,” he said.

“It looks like we have a copycat here,” Lizzy said.

“No,” he said. “You have a rival.”

With that, he hit the chin of the lizard man so hard that Adaru could not see where he landed.

“You should have had wings,” the nervous man said laughing.

The dark-skinned man didn’t wait. He hit the man hard. The man flew almost to the other side of the backyard, hitting the large garbage container. The man stood up and was not scared, even though he was being surrounded.

“Who are you?” the dark-skinned man asked, angry and nervous.

“I work for Tico. You guys are getting into our territory,” the nervous man said. “Bad move.”

“Bad move for you,” the dark-skinned man said. He whistled and the other men started approaching the rival. “You are surrounded.”

“That’s how I like it,” he said.

He grabbed the garbage container with his two arms and hit three men with it. The dark skinned man evaded the hit and ran toward him. They collided and embraced going through the wall, making a big hole. Adaru heard their grunting and fighting on the other side.

Adaru stood up, at the same time men came from all sides of the warehouse shooting and cussing.  He had been forgotten, so without thinking, Adaru hugged the wall and tried making himself smaller.

 He saw two men fall and some of the clients fleeing. Some of them were not lucky and fell victim to the shots.

“Tico is here! Tico is here!” someone yelled scared.

Then, Adaru felt it before he heard it.

A wave pushed Adaru to the wall that was three feet away. He heard a loud explosion after it.

“It’s Tico! Everyone run!” he heard.

Adaru saw men running toward the warehouse to escape, not paying attention to him.

Adaru crawled, trying to recover his energy. He raised his head, just to see a tall man entering the alley. Adaru could see he had blond hair, strong shoulders and he was wearing a vest that showed the muscles on his arms.

He had to be Tico.

Fear made Adaru stand up. He ran to the wall, jumped and bounced from it to grab the edge of the warehouse’s roof. Adaru ignored the pain on his arms and shoulders. He lifted himself up and he rolled to his back. He took some breaths before standing and running again.

He only took some steps when he heard another explosion. He turned just in time to see part of the warehouse collapsing.  Adaru ran until the end of the warehouse to jump, and land on the floor.

Adaru couldn’t stand up; his entire body was claiming rest. The wall surrounding the warehouse had collapsed and there was rubble everywhere. 

“Look for survivors,” he heard.

 Adaru opened his eyes. He managed to see the shapes of Tico’s men looking into the rubble.

“I found someone!”

Adaru wanted his body to jump and run, but it was not listening. He looked around to see where the men were. No one was near him. They were picking up another man several feet away.  When Tico got near him, he grabbed him by his neck.

“Who is your supplier?” he said.

The man choked. Adaru’s sight was improving and he could see Tico clearly grabbing Lizzy by the neck.

“I know you are getting your drugs from outside the zone. You are clever. It’s a different formula, so tell me, who is your supplier?” Tico said again.

Adaru stood up. If he was silent, he could probably get away.

Tonight wasn’t his day because the lizard-tongue man saw him.

“He knows. That boy knows,” he said.

“What boy?”

“The one behind you.”

Tico turned.

“Get him!” he yelled.

Two of his men leaped and in seconds, they got to a pile of rubble near Adaru. They were so close that Adaru could see their smiles. He thought that if they were able to leap that far, then he had no opportunity of escaping.

“Now come with us,” one of the two said.

They walked on top of the rubble, but the rocks moved below their feet.

“Wh-?” the second man said when two men emerged from the pile making them fall, confused.

They were the dark-skinned man and the nervous man who were still throwing punches and wrestling each other.

“Hey, be careful,” said the first man. But it was too late. He had fallen behind one of them. The nervous man stepped back and stepped on the first man’s leg. Adaru heard his bone cracked before he heard the man yelling in pain.

It was that yell that woke Adaru’s body.

 He ran to the street and turned a corner. The streets were getting crowded by people who heard the bangs and were curious to know what had happened. Adaru ran the opposite way when he felt an arm grabbing his shoulder.

He turned to see the second man who could leap very far away grinning at him. They were separated when a big muscled man wearing a red shirt came between them. It was just for a second, but Adaru saw the muscled man’s wallet hanging from his back pocket.

Quickly, he grabbed the wallet and threw it to his pursuer.

“Hey sir! That man is stealing your wallet!” Adaru yelled.

The man turned and put his hand on his back pocket. After not feeling the wallet and seeing the man with a wallet on his hands, he yelled angrily “You thief!”

“No, wa-“the pursuer tried to say but was interrupted with a big smack to his face.

Adaru ran through the street, quickly becoming crowded, hoping to hide. He turned and saw a man on top of the building next to the warehouse pointing at him and yelling.

Adaru ran even though his legs and chest were hurting. Fear made him run. When he fell, the fear made him stand up again and keep on running.

He didn’t stop when he saw the bus. He didn’t stop when he turned the corner and saw the building where his family now called home. He didn’t stop when he got up all the stairs and he reached the door of his new apartment.

He only stopped when Faith opened the door and he collapsed at the entrance.

“What happened?” she asked.

“This town is more dangerous than I thought,” he said, relieved that he got home safely. “I really don’t think we are going to survive here a week.”

“Well, did you get what you were going to get?”

“No, and it is a good thing. We just have to survive tomorrow and say the jump was a big fluke,” Adaru said. “ Don’t do anything that make them pay attention to you.”

“I’ll try,” Faith said while Adaru stood up.

 He decided to calm himself and not scare Faith more than she already was. He ignored the noise of cars passing by the building, but he couldn’t ignore them when they started parking near it.

He could hear murmur from neighbors and then he could hear the voices of the men who were in the parking lot.

The panic came back to him when he heard one voice.

“WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE BOY! WE FOLLOWED YOU FROM THE MARKET!” the voice said.

“IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU MUST COME DOWN NOW!”

Adaru’s eyes got wide. He ducked behind the door, like it was the best place to hide.

“What’s going on Adaru?” Faith asked. “They are not coming for you, right?”

But she only needed to see his face to know that was wishful thinking.

“TO EVERYBODY ELSE, YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE AND YOU WILL NOT CALL THE POLICE OR SAY ANYTHING. WE WILL KNOW IF YOU DO AND WE WILL COME BACK!”  the voice continued. “TICO ONLY WANTS THE BOY WE SAW RUNNING INSIDE THIS BUILDING”

Adaru peeked at the window to see if there were people on the hallways, but they were empty. Everybody must know who Tico was and feared him.

“YOU BETTER COME OUT OR WE WILL GO IN! AND IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT IF ANYONE GETS HURT. YOU DON’T WANT SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT GETTING HURT, DO YOU?”

And then panic, erupted. Neighbors started yelling from their rooms. Adaru couldn’t see them, but he guessed they were also hiding behind their walls.

“Please! Get out! We have two small children here!” someone said.

“Why did you have to make Tico mad?” someone else said. “Get out and be done with it.”

Adaru realized that he was dead. Tico wouldn’t let him live and he didn’t need a lot of effort to do it. He was now scared that Faith could get hurt.

“I have to get down,” he told Faith.

“No,” she said grabbing his arm. “You cannot!”

“They will hurt you if I don’t,” Adaru said.

“I don’t care,” she said.

“I have to,” he said while getting up and opening the door.

“At least, take something that you can use,” she said.

“Like what?”

Faith went to a room on the corner and came back with Adaru’s lunchbox.

“There must be something here we can use,” she said.

There were only papers and money. She emptied the box on the floor and then, they heard a metallic sound.

It was a silver lighter that their dad must have used for smoking.  Adaru grabbed it and he then saw his mother, still laying face down in the middle of the room with the bottle on her hand. He grabbed the bottle.

He only had the bottle and a lighter against someone who made buildings crumble.

“I don’t think I can do anything with this,” he said with desperation.

“GET OUT NOW! WE ARE COMING IN.”

Adaru cursed.

“I have to go,” he said. “If something happens, just lay low so the man with the mustache and hat doesn’t notices you.”

“I don’t want you to go!” Faith said and Adaru could see tears coming out. “I won’t let you get hurt!”

“I’m sorry,” he said while he got out. He couldn’t dare to see her. In his mind, he had failed to protect her.  He got to the corner where he could see three cars with about a dozen of men waiting for him. He could distinguish Tico from that height.

“I am here!” he yelled. “I am coming out!”

He heard them jeering and even some clapping. His plan was to get to the elevator, but a man appeared from the edge.

“We don’t like waiting,” the man said. Adaru could see he was the one who was hit by the strong man with the red jacket. His nose was swollen, and bleeding, and he had a dark eye. His smile was missing all but five teeth.

He grabbed Adaru and they fell to the bottom floor. He let go of Adaru who couldn’t remain standing like him. He hit his shoulder and face because he couldn’t use his hands to protect him from the fall. He had the bottle on his right hand, and the lighter on the left.

“So this is the kid who was causing too much trouble?” he heard.

Adaru stood up to face the strong blond man from the warehouse.

“Still, you got my respect,” he said with a crispy voice. “Like a tiger respects the ant before it steps on it.”

Adaru could see it like it was happening on slow motion. Tico extended his arms so wide Adaru could see his armpits. Tico then clapped.

Adaru heard a loud BOOM and a second later, he was pushed so hard he hit the ground face up several feet away. His head started buzzing and he felt pain on his back and chest.

He stood up.  A car that was next to him had been damaged like it was hit by a trailer. The windows behind him were broken and a trash container had a big dent, like if it was hit by a bull.

But Adaru was standing; something that Tico was not used to seeing.

Even his gang was surprised.

“He is still standing?” someone said. “He must have strength level 3!”

“He wasn’t that strong back on the market. He must be a sensorial.”

“Shut up,” Tico said, annoyed. “I must have missed. Nobody could stand up from my blasts like he did. “

Tico was about to clap again. Without thinking, Adaru threw the bottle at him. The gesture surprised even Tico, who stopped his motion to protect his face from the improvised attack, breaking it with his arms.  Tico cursed when he smelled the alcohol on him. Adaru ran toward him as fast as he could. Tico was clearly angrier now, so he also ran to met Adaru halfway.

Adaru jumped to the garbage container and jumped again to fell on top of Tico, who caught him with his two arms and a big smile on his face.

“Got you,” he said while he raised him higher. He was going to smash Adaru to the pavement. Adaru opened his left hand to turn on the lighter. When he felt he was going down, he let go of it and he could see the flame hitting Tico’s right shoulder.

Tico let him go when his shirt caught fire.

Adaru fell hard on his back again and he rolled to get away from Tico. It was a smart choice because on his panic, Tico tried to put out the flames by hitting his body. When he did, he caused another BOOM.

Adaru had covered his face to protect himself from the blast. When he looked, he saw Tico had fallen to his back.

The flames had gotten bigger, which was something Adaru couldn’t believe it should happen. Tico’s men had rushed to cover him and make the flames disappear.

“Run Adaru!” he heard. He looked up to see Faith looking at him.

“You are not going anywhere,” one of Tico’s men said.

It was then than the street was filled with blue and red lights and the sounds of sirens. The men cursed and they lifted Tico up to escape, but the patrol cars had arrived.

“Zone police!” Adaru heard.

The lights blinded Adaru, but he could see a woman jumping over the cars and faced two men. She kicked one on the groin and she punched the second on the neck. A third tried to hit her but she grabbed his arm and twisted it. Adaru yelled to warn her about two men behind her, but it was not needed. One of the cars belonging to the gang flew towards them and knocked them out. Adaru could see a man grabbing a second car with his hands over his head. He threw it to a small group who appeared were about to attack him and made them scatter. Adaru could now see the man was Custos and the woman was his partner, agent Whiteman.

Tico didn’t have any fire on him anymore. He clapped again, but Whiteman got out of the way. The three men she had subdued flew away by the blast. Custos raised his arms to protect himself but the blast only made him take two steps back. He then ran toward Tico, who was about to clap again, but Custos hit him straight to the chest.

Tico flew back and fell. He didn’t stand up.

 Custos ran to check on Adaru, who was now really happy to see him. Custos asked if he was hurt, but Adaru said he had been worse.

“Do you know what you just did?” Custos said. “You have faced the biggest criminal in the zone and you are still standing!”

“So, what does that mean?” Adaru said.

“It means that I think you are not going to need an audition,” Custos said. “This has earned you a place in the zone!”

Chapter 3: The impossible escape

Because of the Humanists’ protest and their failure at the auditions, Adaru’s mother decided that they were not going to the zone the next day. Adaru was relieved after hearing this.

In the morning, he turned on the television. As he expected, the news were all about the small earthquake.  The reporter on the TV was saying how New Haven was not known for tremors, so this one caught everyone by surprise, especially when the center was far away from any known faults.

He knocked in Faith’s room to know if she was awake. She was and he entered to see her looking outside from her window.

“How did you sleep?” Adaru asked.

“I had a nightmare again,” she said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you this time,” Adaru said.

“I didn’t scream because I am getting used to them. I know screaming won’t help anymore.”

“You know they are only dreams, right?” Adaru said.

“They are not dreams. They feel different. They feel just like the dream I had with the girl who was hit by a car,” Faith said.

“That was a coincidence,” Adaru said, trying to convince her and himself.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but I had a dream with the mustache guy. The man you jumped over at your hearing,” Faith said turning toward him. “I dreamt he came for me.”

“For what?”

“To take me to the zone. He wanted me to live in the zone.”

“That’s a good thing. Mom would be thrilled.”

“But I don’t want to go,” she said, “I’m scared to go.”

“I know what you mean. New city, and all different kind of people,” he said.

“Do you want to live in the zone?” Faith asked.

Adaru was going to say no. He would be uncomfortable with all the freaks. Also, they would still live in constant fear of being found out and that they will be visited by police officers like the ones Adaru met the day before.

“I think it would not be as great as people say it will be,” he said.

 “I don’t want live there, because I was there in my nightmares,” Faith said. “If we go, something bad will happen.”

“What will happen?”

“I don’t know. I dreamt I was in a white room on top of a building that looked like a crystal. I could see outside the building and everything was white but it starts getting dark. There’s darkness everywhere, and I am afraid. Somebody wants to hurt me, and I think there’s a man inside the darkness, but I cannot see him,” Faith said.

“How do you know it will happen if we are in the zone?”

“I was wearing those bracelets people in the zone wear, but it was white” Faith said. “I don’t even know how I became like this!”

Adaru had heard a lot of stories of how people first showed their abilities. One day, they were normal and the other they were destroying their houses when they couldn’t control their strength. There is a story his mom used to tell about a neighbor who could control the water.  Everybody found out he had an ability when, in a sunny day, water started to pour from inside his house. In a very short time, it flooded the entire street, carrying cars and people away. 

Adaru was nervous that his sister was starting to get an ability like that.

He decided to stay inside his home those two days. In part to keep an eye on Faith, but Adaru was also fearful that the police from the zone were looking for them in New Haven.

On Monday, he had no choice but to get out to school.

On recess, he was talking with Joe and Nathan about their experiences in the Zone. Unlike Adaru, they wanted to go back.

Joe was still excited about how he floated for a couple of minutes. Nathan was telling him about a young girl who lifted him, a bench and a horse with her two arms.

Then, Nathan shifted the conversation to talk about Jade.

“Looks like something happen between you two during Evolution Day,” Nathan said.

“We just hanged out together,” Adaru said trying to be cool.

“Well, I guess I have to warn you. I heard Lester has set his eyes on her,” Nathan said seriously.

“He has a girlfriend already,” Adaru said.

“I heard he broke up with her,” Nathan said. “I heard he wants Jade.  He is interested in her because of her hair.”

“Who likes someone because of her hair?” Joe said.

“I guess someone like Lester. Of all the girlfriends I know he has had, none of them had Jade’s hair,” Nathan responded.

Adaru couldn’t blame Lester in liking Jade’s light blonde hair. He was concerned by the news, however. Lester was the class president and the hero of the debate team. Everybody liked him. You could ask any girl and they will tell you, he was the best looking student at the school.

But Adaru knew Jade did not like Lester. She had not told him that exactly, but she wasn’t the kind of girl who goes for appearances, Adaru thought.

 “I also heard Mitch didn’t come to class today,” Nathan said.

“Mitch has skipped classes before, even since elementary school,” Joe said.

“Not this time. I heard he is purchasing M-pills so he can live in the zone,” Nathan said grimly.

“He is purchasing abilities? But that’s dangerous, and strictly illegal,” Joe said nervously.

“Thank you, captain obvious. We all attended the classes given by the police. Still, Mitch always wanted to live there,” Nathan said.

“Almost everyone wants to live there,” Adaru said.

At that time, music started on the school’s speaker system.

“Apparently somebody wants to entertain us with music,” Nathan said.

“Or is just the end of recess,” Adaru said.

When classes ended, he saw Jade at the entrance of the school. Lester was there too. He wanted to talk to her, but he was surrounded by Jade’s friends. Adaru decided to take Jade away from the entrance.

She smiled at him, and he got nervous. If Lester was actually trying to get her, he had to strike first.

“I was wondering if you are doing anything tomorrow?” he asked.

“I have a birthday party tomorrow,” she said.

Adaru felt disappointed, but he couldn’t give up.

“What about the day after that?”

Jade smiled.

“Why do you want to do something? We just went together to Evolution Day.”

“It wasn’t just us. I wanted to take you to the movies. Besides, I need to make up that I left you alone with your parents on the way back,” Adaru said.

“Joe and Nathan were also with me.”

“So sorry about that.”

Jade laughed and for a moment, Adaru thought everything was brighter.

“I am busy all this week. Today, I have basketball practice,” she said. “Do you want to come and eat something afterwards?”

Adaru couldn’t hide his glee.

“Of course. I’ll see you then!”

The smile never left Adaru’s face. He couldn’t hide it from Faith when they met after school, who seemed worried because she had never seen him that happy before. When he told her he had a date with Jade, she raised an eyebrow.

“Does she know it’s a date?” Faith said.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Did you tell her you were going on a date?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then it’s not a date. She is just hanging out with you.”

“Still, it’s time we are spending together,” Adaru said.

“That’s true.”

The siblings walked in silence. When they arrived at their apartment building, they were surprised that there was a large crowd at the entrance. Faith grabbed Adaru’s hand and he thought that she was afraid.

“It’s not the Humanists. They are our neighbors. Let’s see what is going on,” he said, trying to calm her down. 

When they got closer, they could hear the laughter and clapping. There were minor fireworks, but it didn’t sound like fireworks.

“Oh my, how lucky you are! Didn’t you have an audition?” someone said.

“We didn’t know he had an ability until this morning,” a woman said.

Adaru got the front to see a young boy, probably younger than Faith, making smalls balls of fire from his hands. Everyone was mesmerized by the perfect, round and beautiful orange spheres of flames that he was creating. He threw two to the skies and they exploded, forming red fireworks.

Everybody clapped. They were clearly excited even though most of them should have seen a similar spectacle just that weekend.

“So when are you going to live in the zone?” a man said. Adaru could hear the hint of jealousy in his voice.

“I called them this morning. They told me to not take him to school since someone can come today. They didn’t tell me a time,” the mother said.

“Classic government people. They think we have all the time in their world to just wait for them whenever they feel like it,” a man said.

“As long as they pay for our food and rent, I will wait for them all week,” the mother said again and everyone laughed.

Adaru was curious to know what more the boy could do, but he felt Faith pulling him away.

“We need to go now,” she said.

They climbed the stairs and when they were at their floor Adaru asked what was wrong.

“The people of the zone are coming. They are coming for me,” she said.

“No they are not,” Adaru said. “They are only coming to see that boy. Not you.”

“I know I have an ability. I know they will find out,” Faith said, now more in a panic.

“Your dreams are just that, dreams,” Adaru said grabbing her by the shoulders, but he also doubted that. “Just relax.”

Faith hugged Adaru, hiding her face on his chest. Adaru thought she was about to cry.

“You are really that scared to go in the zone?” Adaru asked while combing her hair with his fingers.

“Yes. I think someone wants me there.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. Just a bad man, a man made of darkness,” Faith said.

“There’s no man made of darkness,” Adaru said.

“Like there is no boy who can make fire?” Faith said raising his head so she could see Adaru’s eyes.

“That’s different.”

The rest of the afternoon, the siblings didn’t talk. Their mother arrived some time later and went to her room. Adaru remembered that Jade got out of practice at 5 p.m., just little more than an hour away. It was an eternity.

He walked to the closet of his room. He opened it and picked a shirt that he thought would look nice on him. His eyes lingered on a box at the corner. He grabbed the yellow lunchbox and he opened it to see the folded papers and the crisp one hundred bills.

“What’s that?” Faith said at the entrance. Adaru tried to hide it but it was too late. He better came clean to his sister.

“Things that our father left us,” Adaru said.

“Can I see it?”

“I honestly prefer you didn’t. They are just things you should not know about dad,” Adaru said.

“Just tell me, is that box important for you?”

“Very.”

Adaru heard the door closed. He went to his room and started opening the folded papers. Two were birthday cards from his dad. Another one was a receipt from the very first time he helped his dad at his work. Of course, by doing that, Adaru was breaking many federal laws. But at that time, he was just so happy to be with his dad on an adventure.

Then he saw what he was afraid of remembering. Adaru saw the blue pin with an H engraved at the bottom of the box. He looked at it with shame. Before, it was just a pin that made Adaru curious to know more about his father’s past. Now, it was shameful because of what happened to Faith and him on that Evolution Day.

The pin was proof that his father once belonged to The Humanists. His father was always telling them about all the work they were doing to save the world from freaks and also how he fooled them every single day he got into the zone with contraband and then came back with money and equipment to sell in New Haven’s black market.

Adaru was proud of his father, and he agreed with some of his beliefs. He also knew he loved Faith, and he could not deny she was one of the freaks.

The people who threw tomatoes and eggs to him and Faith seemed normal, so it was possible that Adaru’s father could had been in that crowd. He could have been in that crowd.

 He always remained behind when the family went to the Alpha Zone on past Evolution Days. He said he didn’t want to meet a disgruntled customer.  When they came back, he was never at home. Sometimes, he never returned until days or weeks later.

Adaru thought it was like eight months ago that he said he needed to do something for a friend. He never came back. His mom answered a phone call that made her say obscenities. She had already finished six beers and it was only early afternoon.

She said that their father was not coming back for a long time.

“The stupid allowed himself to be caught,” she said.

She didn’t say what he did. Faith only knew her father was in prison. Now, Adaru didn’t want her to know he used to belong to the same group that threw her a tomato. A group that would hate Faith if they knew she had an ability.

“Dad, would you hate Faith too?” Adaru thought.  “Do I have to hate her too?”

 Adaru remembered a day he had came back with dirty clothes, scratches and blood coming out from his nose and mouth. He had gotten in a fight with someone over his poor clothes. His father gave him a light tap on his head with his knuckles.

“Stupid boy, what matters is what is inside your head, not your clothes” he said to him.

Adaru grabbed two bills of ten and put everything back in the lunch box and then back into the closet. He got out for his appointment with Jade at the school. He was nervous, so he did some flips on the streets and jumped on top of walls as a way to vent his nervousness.

When he got to the school, there was still music blasting from the speakers. Jade was waiting for him outside.

“Am I late?” Adaru asked nervously.

“No. Practice ended early,” she said not looking at him. She looked like she had something on her mind.

“”So do you want to eat something?” Adaru asked.

“Huh?” Jade said, looking at him. “Oh, yeah. “

He tried starting a conversation with Jade, but she was distracted. He asked what she was thinking.

“Nothing,” she said. 

They went to a food stand and ordered two hamburgers. Adaru asked for one with double cheese.

“I really love cheese,” he said to Jade while paying for the meal and trying to make conversation.

It was then than a fire truck zoomed past them, and then an ambulance and two police cars.

“What’s going on?” Jade asked.

“It appears there is a fire nearby,” another customer said.

Adaru looked to the corner when the patrols turned. He then looked at the sky and saw smoke engulfing several buildings. The smoke came from the block where he lived.

He then became very afraid. He needed to go back. He looked at Jade’s eyes. She knew what he was thinking.

“Go,” she said.

Adaru ran and didn’t stop until he reached his home street. He turned a corner to see his apartment complex on fire. Neighbors were outside, some screaming and others crying.

“What happened?” he asked.

“We don’t know. Suddenly all of the first and second floors got engulfed in flames. We had to get to the other side of the building to escape,” a man said.

“Have you seen my sister or my mother?” he asked. The man said no.

Adaru ran to the front of the building. He could only see the last floor and the firemen were scrambling to get their hoses working. Adaru could only see one big stream of water disappearing in the smoke.

He screamed for Faith, hoping that she could hear him and yell back.  He saw neighbors but nobody could tell him if Faith had made it outside.

“I saw your mom leave before the fire started,” a woman said. “Maybe she went with her?”

Adaru’s wanted to believe that, but he knew she was at a bar getting drunk.

That meant that Faith was still inside.

“Someone bring the ladder! There are people trapped in the upper floors!” a fireman shouted.

Adaru ran to the fire truck that had a big steel ladder. He was stopped by a bulky fireman who was already sweating.

“My sister is trapped in the third floor! Please save her!” he screamed.

“We can’t go to the third floor right now,” the fireman said. “Are you sure she is there?”

“I left her there,” Adaru said.

“But are you sure? We can’t get in the second floor or third.”

Panic filled Adaru. He knew Faith was there but he realized that the firemen would not go searching for her. He saw that the truck started to move the metallic ladder.

“Go back!” the fireman said. Adaru nodded and he turned. He looked back to make sure the fireman had returned to fight the fire. When he had gone away, Adaru ran to get up the ladder truck.

“Hey! Stop!” he heard.

He climbed up the truck and then the ladder as fast as he could. When he got to the top, it was a couple of feet away from the fourth floor railing. He jumped and reached it. He pulled himself to the other side and came face to face with a neighbor.

“Are you here to save me?” he asked.

“No, but if you wait they can take you down,” Adaru said.

Adaru stood up and ran to the stairs to get down. The smoke was thick and he started coughing when he got to his floor. He counted the doors until he reach the fourth and opened it to get inside his apartment.

He felt the heat from the flames downstairs. He didn’t have enough time.

“Faith!” he yelled.

Silence.

“Faith!” he yelled again.

And silence responded again. She may had left or escaped already.

Or she may be unconscious somewhere inside.

He started going to her room. He yelled for her name a third time.

“Here!” he heard from his own room.

He turned and walked to his room. He yelled for her and found Faith at the side of the bed. She was holding his lunch box.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I was going out when the fire started but I remember you had left your special box. I tried to save it but the smoke got too thick,” she said.

“Stupid. It wasn’t that important,” Adaru said. “Now, come on. We have to get out.”

He grabbed her hand and led her outside. They both coughed when they arrived at the hallway. He could see the flames coming from the floor below. He grabbed Faith and ran to the stairs. They climbed to the upper floor to get to the ladder, but they couldn’t find it or the man who was there.

“Help!” Adaru yelled, but the smoke didn’t let him see to the street.

He had never let go of Faith’s hand. He quickly pulled her near him to go the fifth and last floor. At the edge, he could see the ladder that was getting away from the building, carrying two people on it.

“Wait!” he yelled. They saw him but the truck had already started to get away from them.

Adaru held Faith tightly but then the floor shook. Adaru stepped back before part of the floor collapsed. The smoke was now covering the entire building.

“We can’t get near the building! Need to find other way!” a fireman shouted.

Adaru and Faith got to the roof after climbing the remaining of the stairs. The two of them were on an island of smoke and fire with nowhere else to go.

Adaru tried to sign the firemen that they were up in the roof, but he wasn’t sure if they could see him. He thought he could jump to another building, but the closest one was seven feet away.

He saw the building and it was lower than his complex by two levels. He measured the distance and he felt he could reach the building, but only by himself. He doubted he had the strength to jump that distance with Faith on his back.

“What can we do?” she said.

“How far can you jump?” Adaru said.

“Not very far,” she said. “I’m scared.”

“Me too but I have an idea,” Adaru said. “Get on my back.”

Faith gave the lunchbox to Adaru. She got behind Adaru and put her arms around his neck.

“Hold on tight. I am going to jump to get to the other building,” Adaru said.

“Can you make it?” Faith said nervously.

“It is a long shot,” he said.

“You will make it,” Faith said, still afraid.

Adaru ran as fast as he could. Faith’s body was slowing him down, and his legs had become heavy. Still, he ran. When he got the edge, he jumped. He felt the air hitting his face when he started falling. He saw the roof of the other building getting away from his reach.

He wasn’t going to make it.

“Reach it!” Faith yelled.

Adaru felt a strong gust hitting his back. He felt it was pushing him and lifted him enough to land on the roof. Upon landing, Adaru’s ankles twisted. Faith and he rolled. Faith got up but Adaru was in so much pain he couldn’t stand up.

But he smiled when he saw Faith looking down on him with those bright eyes and a big smile.

Chapter 2: Evolution Day

Adaru was hoping Faith was in a better mood the next day, but she was still mad at him when they were eating breakfast.

And their mother didn’t make things any better.

“I want you to do your best this time Adaru. I know you are going to show them what a great gymnast you are,” she said. “Don’t waste all the money we spent on your classes!”

It was the same speech she had given him for the last three years. It didn’t matter that Adaru had stopped going to those classes more than a year ago because there was no more money.

“And you, my dear, I want you to be as lovely as you are. Tell, has anything odd happened to you? Please tell me you can move things with your mind,” she said to Faith while she was combing her hair.

Adaru didn’t know if he should tell mom about Faith’s dreams.  It would be great news for her mother. Faith could be their ticket to Alpha Zone One and to a better life if they could prove her dreams were coming true. But it could also have been a coincidence, he thought. It had to be.

“She cannot be one of them,” he thought. “ Dad would be disappointed.”

It did not count much because he didn’t know if their father was ever coming back. 

 Her mother always wanted to live in the zone. She had heard stories about how life in the zone was better.

“No need to worry about food or money. They give it to you! You just live leisurely with a margarita in one hand” she told them constantly.

Adaru only needed to look around their apartment to realize that anything could be an improvement. The walls needed a repainting. The broken windows had not been repaired and he swore the cobweb at the corner of the ceiling was getting bigger.

“I know you will get us inside the zone. Our lives are going to be better!” she said to Adaru. “This will be the last Evolution Day we will spend outside the superhero city!”

“And be inside the cages like monkey or any other beast,” Adaru thought.

Adaru hated Evolution Day because it was the day society celebrated those who have by rubbing it to those who have not, he thought. He also hated living in New Haven because it was just next to one of the four alpha zones in the North America Republic. Adaru would have given everything to live thousands of miles away.

Alpha zones were only permitted for people with an ability lived. Nobody could enter the zone any other day, but on Evolution Day, people from New Haven, and sometimes from states as far as Canada flocked to the zone to get a glimpse of the people living within the gray walls.

Faith was grumpy. She didn’t talk at all during breakfast. Their mom continued talking about how great it would be to live in the zone, but Adaru knew he had no chance to pass the auditions.

He was supposed to be picked up by Jade in 15 minutes. He said he was going to wait for her at the corner to save Jade the climbing of three floors. In reality, he wanted to stop hearing his mother’s dreams that will never come true.

“Just be sure to not miss your audition,” she said. “It is scheduled to be at two.”

“I won’t,” he said while he hugged Faith. “See you there.”

Faith grabbed his arm when he was pulling away. When he turned, he faced her green eyes that were looking at him intensively.

“Promise you will come back with us,” Faith  said. “Promise.”

“I will come with you,” he said.

He was surprised that he had some fear in his voice.

He got out and waited at the corner for Jade to pick him up. He smiled when her family’s van turned the corner. He stopped doing it when he saw Joe and Nathan were on the back. The car parked near him and Jade got out.  Even though Adaru felt his face turning red, he could feel some disappointment he was not going alone with her.

Adaru said hi to Jade’s parents and climbed on the back seat. He was crammed in space with Joe next to him. Jade sat at the other side of Joe. Nathan had moved to the third row of the car, were the trunk should had been.

“So is everybody ready to go to the super hero city?” Jade’s dad asked.

“Yeah,” Nathan, Joe and Jade said. Adaru only smiled.

“Do you think we will see people flying?” Joe asked Adaru when they got on the highway.

“You should have asked how he was and also about his family,” Nathan said.

“Sorry,” Joe said sheepishly, looking down.  He got silent for ten seconds. He then stared at Adaru again. “So how’s your family?”

“Good,” Adaru said. “I will see them at the zone before my audition.”

“Good,” Joe said and Adaru knew he didn’t pay attention to his answer.

“So you think we will see people flying?” Joe asked again.

Adaru smiled. Joe was fourteen, but he acted like if he was seven.

“They are not many flyers, but there are a lot of psychics,” said Jade’s father. “Alpha Zone One has the biggest population of psychics in the entire republic, even though they are rare.”

“That’s not true,” Jade said. “And the correct term is Sensorial. They are not so rare. Only Physicals are less rare than them.”

“How do you know so much?” her father asked with a smile looking through the mirror.

“I just find them fascinating. The Zone One has the biggest population compared to the other zones in the republic, but the Genetics are less common,” Jade said proudly.

“I just wish I was one of them. I could use my mind to make myself float!” Joe said excitedly.

Adaru looked through the window. It was a cloudy day but there were patches he could see the sky. They went through the city until they arrived downtown and to the entrance of the gate. New Haven and Alpha Zone were divided by a bridge over a 3-mile wide canal that was mostly pavement. At the beginning of the gate the traffic stopped.  It was going to be a long commute because every car was inspected by the authorities.

Adaru could see a lot of people walking, which was unusual since the celebrations were not near the bridge they were crossing. When the car was getting closer to the entry gate, Adaru could hear voices that sounded angry.

Then he saw more people on the sides of the streets and he realized there was a protest happening around him.

“What is going on daddy?” Jade asked nervously.

“Everything is going to be fine,” he said. “They are just the remaining of the people who don’t like the world is changing.”

Adaru could see dozens of men and women shouting. Some even had signs that say “when did being a freak became better than normal?” He also saw another sign that read “God will punish those who adore false idols.”

“Who are they?” Joe asked. Adaru was ashamed to know the answer to that.

“They are called The Humanists,” Jade’s father said. “They are the only remnants of the hate groups back when people were afraid of anyone who had an ability.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Not like they were more than 20 years ago. They mostly do these kinds of protests. They can only face us, the poor people who have no ability.”

“They are so many of them,” Jade said. 

“Believe it or not, this is an improvement over what people faced some time ago. That was really scary,” Jade’s mom said with a sad voice.

After an hour of cars slowly moving inches over the grey bridge, they finally crossed it to get to the zone.

It took about half an hour to get to the park and another twenty minutes to find a parking space. When they got to the park, the festivities already had started. The trees were decorated with balloons of different colors. People were eating and others were running between booths just to see someone use their ability.

 Joe and Nathan were amazed by a man and a woman who appeared to create fireworks out of their hands. A man next to them was juggling eight objects of different sizes, but without touching them. The objects floated in a circle above his head. The man smiled and put his arms behind his back while people laughed and clapped.

“Do you think he could fly?” Joe asked after being amazed for some minutes.

“He must have a blue ID bracelet,” Jade said behind him.

“What?” Joe said.

“You see the bracelets some people are wearing?” Jade said pointing to people who were entertaining crowds. “Those are ID bracelets and mean they live in the zone and describe what they are. If it’s red, they are Physical. If the bracelets are blue, then they are Sensorial, which some of them can make things fly with their mind.”

Joe’s eyes got big with amazement. He ran to get near the man juggling stuff to see what kind of bracelet he was wearing.

“It’s blue!” he said with glee.

Adaru walked away from them to get deeper inside the park. He was trying to be alone to hide he was not comfortable being in the zone, but Jade didn’t know that.

“Come with me! I want to see something a cousin recommended me,” she said.

She took them to a booth where a girl younger than Faith made them sit on a bench. She then lifted the bench with them on it. When she putted them down, Jade asked where she got her shirt. Adaru looked away not wanting to hear their conversation.

After, they went to see a thin man in a clown make-up and multicolor-suit making animals in the air with water from a nearby fountain.

 “Come on,” she said smiling and grabbing him by the arm. “The show is about to start.”

She led him to the plaza. It had a stage and people surrounding it.  A plump woman was about to speak. There was no microphone, but when she spoke, everyone was taken by surprise by how powerful her voice was.

“TODAY WE ALL COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE EVOLUTION DAY!” she said and people clapped. “IT’S THE DAY WE RECOGNIZE THE NEXT CHAPTER IN HUMAN EVOLUTION. TODAY, TWO DECADES AGO, THE FOUR ALPHA ZONES WERE CREATED SO PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL ABILITIES COULD COME TOGETHER, AND UNITE TO MAKE A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL THE CITIZENS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN REPUBLIC.

“IT HAS BEEN TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS AND AMAZING NEW CHANGES. WHY, IT WAS ONLY THIRTY YEARS AGO THAT THE FIRST PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL ABILITIES BECAME KNOWN.

“THEY WERE CALLED SUPER HEROES BY SOME. BUT THEY WERE ALSO CALLED MONSTERS, ABOMINATIONS AND FREAKS BY OTHERS.”

The people who were shouting were now quiet. The accusation did not go over their heads. They knew she was talking about the Hunt that ended with hundreds of people dead.  Adaru thought about the Humanists and he wondered how many of the attendants used to think like them.

“FEARING THEM WAS UNDERSTANDABLE.  HUMANITY WAS GOING THROUGH A CHANGE. A CHANGE WE HAVE NOT FULLY COMPREHENDED EVEN TODAY.  OF COURSE, IT WAS BIZARRE SEEING A KID WITH THE STRENGHT OF TEN MEN. IT WAS BIZARRE HAVING PEOPLE MOVING THINGS WITH THEIR MINDS.

“BUT WITH FEAR CAME WONDER AND CURIOSITY. WE WERE AMAZED THAT THINGS WE ONLY HAD SEEN IN COMICS, CARTOONS OR IN THE MOVIES HAD BECOME REAL. AND WITH THAT WE KNEW PEOPLE WITH ABILITIES WERE NOT A CURSE, BUT A BLESSING.

“OF COURSE THERE ARE DANGERS. THAT’S WHY THESE ZONES WERE CREATED, SO PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL ABILITIES CAN TRAIN IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AND CITIZENS CAN BE SAFE.

“BUT TODAY WE ARE REMINDED THAT WE ARE ALL CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC, AND THAT WE ALL ARE GOING TOGETHER TOWARDS A NEW STAGE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION!”

With that, the crowd cheered again.

 Adaru had to look at his phone. It was almost one. He had to start moving to the hall room for his audition.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Jade.

“Audition? Go break a leg and impress them!” she said with a big smile.

The hall was a brown building at the north-side of the park, which had become the most crowded area. He saw small children weeping with their parents. There were obviously nervous for their first audition.

Auditions were the time people could show off if they had an ability and be given visa to live in the zone. It was a three-day event where out of thousands of people dreaming of a better life, only dozens would see it coming true.

Adaru was happy that he would be one of the thousands going back to New Haven at the end of the day. It felt he had less pressure. He knew he wasn’t special and he was fine with it. Still, he wanted to show them what he could do. It was a matter of pride for him.

Inside there was an indoor stadium with bleachers surrounding it so everybody could see the auditions. People were already waiting nervously for them to start. When he found his mother and Jade, he cringed when he saw all the makeup Faith was wearing. Her cheeks were white and her eyelids – and almost everything around her eyes – were black. Their mother really wanted people to notice her eyes. 

Those eyes, however, showed anger.

“There you are Adaru!” his mother said. “Here are your clothes. Dress up and go show them why we deserve to live in the zone!”

Adaru looked at Faith who mouthed “help me.”

He walked to the changing rooms. He saw a man yelling at his son that he must pass the audition, ignoring his tears. He saw a family of four in knees praying.

If you had to pray, then that meant you knew you didn’t have what was needed to pass the audition, Adaru thought.

He changed to a white shirt and tight trousers and waited patiently for his time. The arena was divided in four stations, each one doing a different audition. Adaru had signed up for a Physical, meaning he had to show he had more strength, speed or agility than others.

When the auditions started, the noise became deafening with parents encouraging their children and protesting when the judges failed them. Adaru decided to wait at the dressing rooms for his name to be called. In past years, he had realized that looking at other people’s auditions only made him more nervous.

Finally, his name was called.

While walking, Adaru couldn’t prevent himself from looking at the other auditions happening at that time. In one corner, a boy was trying to read someone’s mind. By the look of the man sitting in front of him with his arms crossed, he was failing. In the opposite side, a man with a blue suit was making things disappear with the sleigh of his hand. A man with a Sikh turban laughed. He came near him and made a dove appear from his left ear. The people laughed, except the man with the suit.

Adaru was surprised to see a young girl playing a violin. It was pretty music and he saw the judges smiling, but they didn’t look like they were impressed.

The Physicals auditions were being held at the southeast corner. Adaru saw there were the uneven bars, a balance beam and enough space for him to do cartwheels. On the side, four men were sitting next to each other.

Adaru had to face these four judges who would decide his fate. He knew already the main judge because it was the same man every year.

He also never changed his outfit. Adaru always saw him with a navy-colored suit, a bowler hat, white gloves and his thick trimmed mustache. He was short and a little overweight. Adaru even remembered his name.

He was Horatio Bellingham and he was going to tell him he was not good enough to be in the zone.

Again.

“Mr. Sepien, you have a minute to show us why you should be accepted into the zone. This is your fourth test, therefore, it will be your last opportunity. Do you understand?”  Bellingham said with his deep voice.

“Yes,” Adaru replied. He neglected to say “thank God.”

“Then, show us what you can do,” he said.

He took a breath and afterward, he ran.  After some distance, he jumped and did three cartwheels in a row. He made a jump, twisted his body and did two spins in the air before he landed.

“Wow, I didn’t know I could do that,” Adaru thought.

The crowd was impressed and they let him know with their screams.  Adaru did another cartwheel and he got in the balance beam. He made three flips without losing his footing. He then did a back flip to land on the mat.  People were cheering.

He ran to the uneven bars. He grabbed the lower one. He spun two times and he swung to the second one.

 He saw the room spinning and he smiled. He jumped and twisted his body. He believed he had rolled four times in the air and his body had done a 720-degree turn. He landed on his feet and stared defiantly to his judges.

This was Adaru’s best performance.  Three judges stood up, and clapped. Bellingham was not one of them.

“It was impressive,” Bellingham said. “But I have seen better.”

That comment stung Adaru. He felt insulted.

Before he could think twice, he started running toward the men. They thought he was still showing off, but they got nervous when he didn’t stop.

He did two cartwheels, but he was too close to them. All of them with the exception of Bellingham moved to the side.  Adaru jumped over Bellingham and did a flip with his legs extended. He looked up just in time to see Bellingham’s surprised eyes before he landed.

 And the crowd erupted. Adaru had not felt that adrenalin rush before. He knew he didn’t pass the test, but he was happy with his performance. He saw that Bellingham was clearly mad at him. Adaru was lucky his ability was not to kill anyone with his eyes. 

“Impressive, Mr. Sepien,” he said, already recovering from the fright. “But not good enough for the zone.”

People started booing the decision, which was a small victory for Adaru. He made a reverence and he went back to the dressing room. The clapping continued until he was deep inside the hallways toward the dressing room.

“That was quite a performance,” he heard behind him.

He turned to see a Hispanic man smiling at him. He had a round face but he was tall. He was slim and Adaru could see his badge on his brown shirt and a red bracelet on his right wrist.

He was a resident of the zone and worse still, he was a cop.

The man wanted to shake his hand but Adaru pulled away. The teachings of his father had not been forgotten. He went inside the dressing room and the man followed.

“Shy huh?” the man said. “I sure hope you are not anti-ability. That would be a shame.”

“I am more against shaking hands with someone I don’t know. Especially if it could be dangerous for me,” Adaru said.

He also thought “freak”.

“That’s pretty wise,” the man said smiling. He pulled up his left sleeve so Adaru could see his hand was severely burned.

“I’m strong but I will not tear down your arm,” he said. “My name is Nate Custos.”

“Nice to meet you sir,” Adaru said while shaking his hand, but still not returning his smile.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Custos said. “Was your last name Sepien?”

“Yeah.”

“Any relationship with Joseph Sepien?”

Adaru froze in terror after hearing his father’s name.

“No sir. I have not heard that name before,” he lied.

“Oh, well. It just that it sounded like an odd last name,” Custos said smiling. “You did a pretty bold thing out there.”

“Well, it wasn’t enough to get me into the zone,” Adaru said nervously while he changed as quickly as he could.  When he did, he whispered an “excuse me” and walked past the man who was still staring at him.

When he got out, he faced an attractive woman with brown hair tied on a pony tail. She was putting a sort of headphones on her head. She smiled when she saw Adaru.

“It’s not nice to lie,” she said.

That made Adaru more nervous. For some reason, he thought the woman had noticed it as well.

He hurried up to the stands to find his family. They had moved to another area of the stadium. He ran to find them in another room deeper into the hall. Adaru was thinking that if they knew who his father was, they all could get arrested. Adaru was nervous because of his father “other activities,” that paid for the apartment and he knew his mother used part of it to pay her drinking habit, could be the reason they wanted to talk to him.

Or did they know about Faith?

His paranoia kicked in. He felt his chest getting heavy and when someone touched his shoulder, he thought it was the police officer again, going to arrest him.

It was Jade.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said with a voice that clearly showed his nervousness. “I am just looking for my sister.”

“I saw them in line for the Genetic audition. It was a short line compared to the others,” she said pointing to a spot with a crowd.

“Thanks,” he said. “I need to leave with them. Thank you for the ride. I’ll see you.”

He didn’t want to leave her. Especially in that abrupt way, but he needed to get away. He needed to get his family out from the zone.

He ran and pushed people to get in front of the line. His body got heavier when he saw that Faith was sitting in the middle of the room.

The woman had a clipboard and was looking at her sister. She touched her red hair and looked at her neck. She then grabbed her chin and made her look up. The woman stared at Faith’s green eyes. Faith’s eyes always brought wonder and praise from people, but the woman was just cold, like she was studying a relic or a common object thrown to the street.

Adaru’s mother was behind the woman. She was apprehensive, but she was talking like if she was selling merchandise.

“See those beautiful eyes? No one of our family has those eyes. Neither that hair!” she said. “My daughter is very unique. I bet you don’t have anyone like that in the zone.”

“Who is the father?”

“I don’t know,” mom lied.

“Then we don’t know how unique she is, do we?”

“Her father did not have that hair or those eyes.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know who the father was?”

There we some laughter from the people seeing the audience. Adaru’s mom was being humiliated and he had no way to save her. 

His mom started moving her lips but she got quiet. She looked down, defeated. The woman told Faith she could get up. She didn’t pass the test for being a Genetic, an audition only the most desperate people apply for.

He was hoping their mom had finally given up. They were never going to live in the zone, to Adaru’s relief.

When she, Faith and Adaru got out of the hall, he told them they had to leave. Mom was clearly very embarrassed from what had just happened so she didn’t say anything. Faith only gave him a smile. She was ready to get home.

First, they had to get a shuttle bus that carried them to the entrance of the zone. From there, a rail car would get them to New Haven, back to their normal, ordinary and sad life.

Faith never spoke on the bus or the train. She didn’t ask why Adaru wanted to leave Jade. In a way, Adaru thought she was happy he was with her.

He hoped she wasn’t mad at him anymore. Their mother was clearly in a bad mood though. She started complaining about the judges when the train had left the zone.

“Those judges don’t know anything! Who gives them the authority to embarrass me like that!” she said.

Adaru decided to ignore her. She always complained about the auditions when they came back from the zone.

At least, this was the last time. 

When the train stopped, Adaru stood up and asked Faith to give him her hand. They were among the first to leave. That’s why nobody warned them that a group of Humanists were waiting for them.

“Freak lovers!” someone screamed.

“You should be ashamed!” somebody else said.

There were about thirty people, but they didn’t have signs. They had rotten vegetables and eggs instead. They started throwing them to the people who were getting out from the train.

Adaru’s face was hit with yolk when an egg broke near his head.  He grabbed Faith’s hand harder. He tried to get inside the train, but people wanting to get out didn’t let them.  He didn’t know where his mother was.

“Let’s go,” Adaru said to Faith.

Both of them got out down some stairs, but they were now in the middle of the crowd. Adaru tried to protect Faith, but his body was not big enough to cover her from the eggs and lettuce heads that were hitting them.

“Make them stop!” Faith pleaded.

“Run. They will leave us alone if we get out of here,” Adaru said.

“I want them to leave us alone now!” Faith said raising her head to face the group of Humanists.

Instead, a tomato hit her.

Her scream was filled with anger and pain. She looked down and screamed more. Adaru tried to comfort her when she got quiet. Then she stood up.

“Stop it!” she screamed.

At that time, Adaru felt the floor was moving. It was slow at first, but it was enough to make people stop. Then, everything started to shake harder.

People fell. Car alarms went off and panic erupted. The Humanists who could still stand, decided to stop their protest and flee. The earthquake lasted two minutes. After those two minutes, everybody was on the floor. Only Faith remained standing with her face covered with the red juices of the tomato and her green eyes that were lit with cold anger.

Adaru saw those eyes, and felt terror inside him.

Chapter 1: The Nightmares

She felt the fear crept into her again. She knew she was dreaming. She knew it wasn’t real, but she was still afraid.

 The dream started differently than other nights. She saw a girl with a blue backpack lying face-down on the bloody street. Then, she saw his brother talking with Jade. He was nervous and she was smiling with a pony tail. She was asking him to go together to Alpha Zone One on Evolution Day. He coyly said yes.

That was when the dream changed, like somebody changed a channel.

She saw herself inside the highest floor of a building. The building had to be made of material similar to crystal, because she could see outside. The sun was slowly getting down the horizon. She could still see the city, but she didn’t recognize where she was. She tried to move, but something was detaining her. She looked down and saw a white chain holding her from the left wrist to the floor. It was heavy and she couldn’t move. She screamed but nobody was there. She knew what it was coming, and true enough, darkness emerged from the horizon.

It was different almost every night. In some nights, there were explosions destroying the city. In others, she saw people disappear into nothingness, but the darkness was the most common version of her nightmare. A dark blanket emerged and covered all the buildings. It grew and grew so tall that it reached the tower she was in. It transformed into a wall, covering the windows so she couldn’t see anything anymore. Then, it broke the glass, but instead of swallowing her like it did the city, it surrounded her like if it was making the room smaller.

Her breathing was hard. Then, she heard it again.

 The laughter.

 It was a cruel laughter. She focused in one point of the darkness and then she saw them again. She saw the eyes with a different color, one hazelnut and the other brown. She also saw the broad but uneven smile. The darkness was looking and smiling at her.

Suddenly, shadows emerged. They formed arms. They were dark arms, and they were coming at her.

That’s when she screamed.

Adaru heard the screams from his sister’s room. He stood up groggily. He almost fell when he tripped on his tennis shoes.

The screams were getting louder. Adaru got angrier at his mom. She was either too drunk to hear or she didn’t care.

Or she might even not be at home, spending the night somewhere Adaru didn’t want to think about.

He entered Faith’s room and saw her moving in her sleep from one side of the bed to the other. He held her by the shoulders and told her to wake up.

“Faith, it’s a dream. It’s only a dream,” Adaru told her softly. She got calmer and hugged Adaru when she woke up. Adaru touched her long red hair, passing his fingers through it. He was trying to get her back to sleep, but instead, she opened her eyes.

Adaru could see her green eyes, those beautiful green eyes that only she had in the family. Adaru remembered she used to have the same brown eyes and dark hair like him when she was a baby.

She was barely twelve, only three years younger than him but she always seemed fragile and she was not getting enough sleep. Neither was he. This was the fourth time in a week that Adaru came to her bed to comfort her from the nightmares.

“Hi tomato head,” Adaru said. “Same dream?”

“Yes,” she said. “I was in a middle of a city and then everything got dark. Then, someone was inside the darkness. He was laughing and trying to get me.”

“Hush. It was only a dream,” Adaru said.

“It was very real,” she said.

“No, it wasn’t. Could you feel like someone was grabbing you as I am doing right now?” Adaru said while hugging her tightly.

“No,” she said.

“This is real. Dreams are like what happens in the movies.”

“I know that!’ she said.

“Good. Get angrier instead of being afraid,” Adaru thought.

“Will you always be here to wake me from these dreams?” Faith said.

“I will never leave you,” Adaru said.

They both fell asleep.

The bed was too small for Adaru. In a couple of hours, he awoke with tightness on his back and shoulders. Faith had turned away from him and was deeply asleep. The faint light at the window told Adaru that dawn was approaching. Adaru decided to rise and get ready for school.

He went to the kitchen where dirty dishes from last week still filled the sink. Adaru killed two flies with an old comic book he grabbed from the floor. He opened the fridge to get the milk.

There was none.

He took his mother’s purse but couldn’t find any money or food stamps.

He grabbed some slices of bread and put a slice bologna on top of each one, placed them inside a plastic seal and grabbed two cans of juice.

He picked up a heap of dirty clothes from his room and chose the shirt that smelled the least. After taking a shower and getting dressed, he took out the trash and came back to the apartment, to carefully wake Faith.

“It’s time to go to school,” he told her.

“Five more minutes.”

“No. Get up now,” he ordered.

When she was bathing, Adaru knocked on the door of his mother’s room. She didn’t answer, but Adaru could hear her snoring.

“Well, at least she’s alive,” Adaru thought bitterly.

He grabbed Faith’s uniform from the dryer. He was ironing the blouse when Faith got out of the bathroom covered by a towel.

“Is there something to eat?”

“No, but I will give you money to buy some cereal at the school,” Adaru said. “Go watch some TV while I finish.”

Adaru could hear the TV from the next room. The anchors were talking about the preparations for Evolution Day. Adaru hated that day. It was just a reminder that he had been left behind by just being a normal fifteen-year-old boy and instead, weirdness and abominations were praised.  He went to the room and gave her the uniform.

“Are we going to Alpha Zone One tomorrow?” Faith asked.

“Yes, we are. Mom has not given up,” he said without disguising his disgust.

“You can still make it. You are very agile. You were the best at your gym class,” she said after he left the room to let her change.

“Yeah, but I am not as good as the people who live in the zone. I saw an 80-year-old man doing more flips than I was able to do.”

“Mom says life would be better if we had an ability,” Faith said. Adaru heard the zipper of her jumper being pulled. “Is that true?”

“No. Just remember what dad used to say,” Adaru said. She got out of her room with her backpack on her shoulder.

“What matters the most is what is inside your head,” Faith said with a smile.

“Exactly.”

The siblings got out from their apartment. It was a very windy day. They lived at the third level of a 5-floor apartment complex in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the city. They had to get down stairs and small hallways to get out on the streets.  Adaru looked down at her sister. He smiled and she returned it with her own. People say they had the same smile. It was the smile that proved they were related.

 “I had more dreams last night,” she said.

“More nightmares?”

“No, I dreamed that Jade asked you out.”

Adaru felt his face turned red. Jade had been their friend for years but he had been attracted to her for some months now.

“You are joking,” he said nervously.

“Nope. She was in the hallway of the school. She was wearing a ponytail and was asking you if you wanted to go to Alpha Zone One for Evolution Day with her,” Faith said.

“Cut it out.”

“She did. But it may not come true since I told you, right?” Faith said. “Mommy said that if you told your dreams, they won’t come true.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

“Because I also dreamed that a girl with a blue backpack got hit by a car,” Faith said timidly.

 “Did you know the girl?”

“No.”

The siblings crossed the streets that were filled with cars and vendors. They were just two of hundreds of students on that Thursday morning. The neighborhood was congested at this time because there were one high school and two middle schools on a three-block radius. It was not odd to hear insults from parents that were late and the multiple crashes caused by drivers who had not enough coffee to be fully awake.

Adaru dropped Jade near her middle school. He gave her some food coupons that he had hidden from her mother so she could buy breakfast. She also gave her one of the sandwiches and a juice can.

“See you later,” he told her.

“Could you do me a favor?” she asked timidly.

“Anything.”

“When Jade asks you out, please say no,” she said looking down. “I don’t want to be in the Zone without you.”

Adaru smiled. Since he knew it was impossible that Jade was going to ask him out, he said he would do that.

When Adaru got to his school at the other side of the block, he said hello to his friends, Joe and Nathan. They were excitedly talking how they were going to visit the Alpha Zone, which was a tradition for all people living in New Haven.

“I so want to see people flying. They say the sky is filled with people who can fly!” Joe said.

“I can finally enjoy the day since my parents have given up on me showing an ability,” Nathan said. “They have finally agreed that I was a normal boy. I think they are disappointed.”

He and Joe laughed at the joke. But Adaru knew they were also disappointed, because everyone wants to have an ability. Sometimes he felt he was the only one who wanted to be stay normal.

“So are you going to be part of the auditions?” Nathan asked Adaru.

“Yes, my mom enrolled me at the agility test. She has not given up yet,” Adaru said.

“Well, you are a good gymnast. Are you still practicing?”

Adaru didn’t respond. He got away from them and he then started doing some cartwheels.  When he finished, they were clapping.

“Showing off to us, who are just mere mortals?” a female voice said.

Adaru turned to see Jade smiling at him. Her smile always made him nervous. She had her long blonde hair loose so Faith’s dream was wrong.

Adaru didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed.

“So this means you have an audition tomorrow?” she asked Adaru.

“Yes. Mom is not giving up on living in the zone,” he said again.

“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about tomorrow,” Jade said. Adaru started to get nervous.

Then, the wind started to pick up. It was too strong that Jade’s hair was blocking her face. That’s when the bell for first period rang.

“Oh, I’ll tell you later,” Jade said.

Adaru’s first class was History. It was his favorite subject and that day, the teacher was focusing on the Second Mexican American War that happened a year before the North American Republic was created.

“When people started waking up with the ability to heat things without fire, it didn’t matter how technological advanced your country was,” the teacher said. “You could have one regiment’s worth of firepower in one person. Not only that, there were people in Mexico that could grow fields of crops in one week, so it didn’t matter if you had the best agricultural practices as well.

“What mattered at that time was having the biggest population of people with abilities that you could have. That’s why countries started making treaties with its neighbors to increase population in one big swoop. Asia had the greatest advantage with India and China quickly forming with other countries. That’s why the Asia Empire is the strongest block in the world.”

 The teacher signaled a global map in front of class with all the countries.  He pushed a keyboard on his computer and the countries changed colors representing the five blocks the world was divided.

“Some annexations were peaceful because they were made through decades of interdependence, migration and treaties. Of course, there were ideological wars because not all the people wanted to shed its national identity. Mexico was one of those countries that at the time, it didn’t know what block it should join. It had two options: the republic or the South American Confederation.”

Adaru was looking at his electronic book. There was a picture of the Battle of El Paso that showed a street filled with rubble. Adaru read it was one of the most devastating battles in the war on United States territory with deaths reaching in the thousands.

Adaru looked at another page and saw a photograph of the Mexican President shaking hands with the American President. The Canadian Prime Minister was smiling behind them.

“So this conflict was one of the biggest wars at the time, but when it was over, the North American Republic was created with the three countries in a fragile alliance,” the teacher said.

“So for homework, I want you to read the next chapter. Next time we will discuss the how and why Europe decided to isolate itself from the rest of the world,” the teacher said just when the bell rang.

Adaru’s next two classes were boring. He didn’t pay attention to them. He was mostly concerned what Jade was about to tell him.

At lunch time, Adaru was surprised to see Jade at the bottom of the stairs.

Her hair was now in a pony tail.

“Hi Adaru. I don’t have much time,” she said smiling. “I just wanted to know, are you going to have some time to spend on the zone tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am,” he said nervously.

“Great! Do you want to come with me before your audition?” she asked.

“The two of us?” Adaru said now more nervous.

“Yes and with my parents. I have also invited Joe, Nathan and some of my friends,” she said.

 Adaru didn’t know what to say except a low “yes.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at 10. See you later,” she said smiling.

Adaru almost jumped when someone patted his back.

It was Lester, the class president.

“It looks like someone has a date tomorrow,” he said.

“No, we are going as a group,” he said while getting away. For some reason, he disliked Lester even though he was the most popular kid of the freshman class.

“Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you,” he said with a grin. “But I don’t think you guys are a couple yet, are you?”

That made Adaru blush.

“We are just friends,” he said and Lester smiled.

“Well, see you then.”

When he saw his back, he remembered the promise he had made to his sister. He tried telling Jade he couldn’t go, but he couldn’t find her for the rest of the lunch hour.

In reality, Adaru wanted to go with Jade. He hoped Faith would understand.

The teachers were leaving extra homework since they were going to have a Holiday the next day. All the students complained since they claimed Evolution Day was a three-day affair. They will not have time to do their homework, they said.

At the end of the day, he walked to the school to pick up Faith, but the human and car traffic delayed him. It was worst than other days at that time of the day.

The day became grimly with gray clouds and constant winds. Faith was already waiting for him at the entrance. She was quiet.

“Are you OK?” Adaru asked.

“You said yes, didn’t you?”

“How do you know?” Adaru asked incredulously.

“Whatever,” she said and started walking away. She stopped and it was at that time an ambulance was heard from the other side of the school. People were walking toward a spot where cars had stopped moving.

“What happened?” a woman said to a couple who was walking from that spot.

“A girl was hit by a car. It was very serious,” the man said.

“Oh my god. Is she badly hurt?” the first woman asked again.

“I don’t know. I only saw her backpack on the street,” said the man.

Adaru then remembered the other part of Faith’s dream.

“Excuse me,” he said to the man. “Do you know what color was it?”

“Well, that’s not important, but I think it was blue,” the man said somewhat annoyed.

Adaru turned to talk to Faith, but she had not stopped and was very far from him. He ran to catch up to her, but she didn’t want to talk.

He thought she was really mad at him, but in reality, she was only thinking of her dream, the uneven smile and the eyes of different colors.