Chapter 1

That morning started like any other; calm and peaceful. Then the light came and everything started to change. No one knew it yet but they would have to adapt to the new species that had just emerged. The event that took place on the morning of April 10th, 2028 was referred to as the Radiance, and it forever changed the earth. People all over the world started to develop abnormal abilities, and thus they were called the Abnormals.

Tom rose with the sun, or at least what he thought was the sun. The light was so bright he thought he slept in. In reality, it was only 3:24 am. Tom was confused by this at first but shrugged it off. He had never been one to read into situations. Since he was awake already he decided to stay up, even though he had school today.

Tom had rolled out of bed and started to get dressed when he heard a commotion outside his door. He hurriedly put on the closest pair of rigged, torn blue jeans that looked semi-decent and threw open the door. Standing before him was his father dressed in his work suit. Tom’s dad worked for the FBI and was only ever called out to work for serious matters. Tom spoke first, “Mornin’ dad. What's going on?” Tom’s dad threw him the nastiest glance he had seen in a long time. As a matter of fact, the last time he saw that stare was when he and his best friend Quinton crashed the little MiniCoop his dad bought him for his 17th birthday.

“There has been a situation at HQ. The bright light that just happened is believed to be some sort of terrorist weapon.” Tom’s dad spoke quickly, not worrying if Tom understood. ‘He's just upset that he had to wake up’, Tom thought. His dad had never been the type to open up and put his emotions on display, but Tom could tell that this was worrying him a great deal. He wished his father good luck and jumped down the stairs to the kitchen to make some Sloppy Toast.

Sloppy Toast was the name of a food tom and his only two friends dreamt up. It entailed making french toast, frying up two sausage patties and bacon, making a sandwich out of the three components. As Tom sat at his overcrowded dining room table, he downed his food and reminisced about the time he had spent with Quinton and Katherine.

Quinton and Katherine were his only genuine friends. He was the type of guy that got along with anyone, but he’d known Quinton and Katherine the longest and they stuck by him. Sure they had some petty fights but they always made up quickly. His mother always joked that they were the Three Musketeers, so much that they went as them for Halloween their 6th-grade year. He met Quinton when he first moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Quinton came over to see the new family move in, and he and Tom instantly became friends. Later that year Katherine moved in right next door to Tom and all three of them started to hang out.

Tom was a very average looking guy. He was 5’9 with unkempt, shaggy brown hair. His piercing sky blue eyes were the dominating feature on his face, and on the bridge of his nose sat large thick rectangular glasses. He had slightly toned muscles from running track and conditioning, and his skin had turned a nice tan with all the sun he got. Compared to Quinton he looked like a stick. Quinton had always been larger than most kids their age. He stood at an astounding 6’3, cropped dark hair, and had muscles so large that his bicep might have been bigger than Tom’s head. Quinton was always involved in sports of some kind, whether it was football, basketball, or soccer he excelled in any physical activity. Katherine stopped growing in 7th-grade, she was a petite girl who stood at 5’2 and was very sarcastic. She was the smartest out of the three and made sure they knew it. She had hair as black as midnight that settled right at her shoulders and porcelain skin that made her look like a doll.

After Tom finished his early breakfast, he decided to go back to sleep. His eyelids started to droop and he fell right back to sleep. When he woke up in a cold sweat, from a nightmare he had deep in his sleep, it was around 6:30 in the morning. The sun shining through his window blinded him. Strangely this morning felt different. Tom had never woken up in cold sweats before. Outside, everything seemed normal; but Tom had an eerie feeling. Like there was something wrong but he couldn't explain it. The birds were chirping happily and there were even people running, like usual. Tom couldn't shake it so he brushed it off as nothing. He pulled on his uniform from Four Winds academy, a white button-up with gray slacks, a black tie, and a red blazer. A pair of crossed swords over a cloud stood out on the right breast pocket.

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Since he had already eaten there was no reason for him to eat again. He pulled on the black dress shoes, kissed his mother on the cheek, and walked over to Katherine’s house. As he stepped out his front door, Katherine and Quinton called out to him in tandem, “Good morning Tom!”. As Quinton and Tom hugged, Katherine pouted as she felt left out and nagged.

“You two are unnaturally close for guys.” She let out a puff of a sigh and punched Tom on the arm. “So how did ya sleep, loser?” she asked with an overwhelmingly bright smile. Tom looked at her and gave her a slightly unnatural look for his usual calm persona.

“Well after waking up to that bright ass light and going back to sleep, I had a terrifying dream,” Tom said shakily. His friends had a worrisome look in their eyes but gave him a nod that signified for him to continue. “I was in a really bright room and suddenly all of the blood in my body spilled out everywhere.” They looked at him with abject horror in their eyes.

“That's strange. I had a dream like that, except I was petrified and turned into stone. I couldn't move man!” Quinton said. Tom and Katherine gave him a look as if to say they shared his fear. Katherine was the only one not saying anything. The boys turned to face her and she finally gave up trying to stay quiet.

“I was in the same room, but with lots of other people and I couldn’t tell who I was anymore.” a ghostly pallor came across her face as she recounted the event of her dream. They all stood as they contemplated in fear. “It was the most intense nightmare I have ever had,” she explained. As they stood there Tom’s mom came out and nagged them to get going.

They walked in silent fear as they realized they somehow had similar dreams. Katherine was the first to speak. “Do you think it has something to do with that light this morning?” She asked with a subtle tone of knowing. They walked in silence for the rest of the way.

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The day passed slowly, as Tom sat in class thinking over what his friends had shared with him. He believed that they were just nightmares, but he thought there was more to it than that. When he finished with class he headed to HEMA club. When he got there he spotted Samantha Pierce, The captain of their HEMA team. Sam had a rapier in hand and was working through some forms as Tom walked in.

“Tom! Grab a sword and get over here.” Sam yelled as she swung the sword in lazy figure eights. Tom moved to put on the protective gear and grabbed a wooden broadsword. He made his way over to the matted floor and stood across from Sam.

Tom hefted his sword up and settled into his stance. As he stared down Sam, she motioned him forward. Tom rushed forward and swung his sword in a wide arc, Sam deftly dodged the sword. This exchange went on for nearly 4 minutes, it looked as if Sam was dancing around him as he swung with a fierce determination. Finally, Sam struck back as she ripped through his defense and struck at his chest where his heart would be. Surprised by the blow, Tom fell as she struck, and landed hard on the ground.

“You’re dead,” Sam stated coldly. “You weren’t focused, and that’s why you got killed.” her expression softened, “What’s up with you today?”. Tom thought back to the dream this morning.

“Hey Sam, did you have a weird dream this morning?”.

“H-how did you know that?”. Samantha’s hands started to tremble as she took a step back. The room started to imperceptibly heat up, and Sam started to sway and stumble.

“Are you feeling okay?” Tom stood up and moved to steady her, but as he reached out she jerked away.

“I’m fine.” her hand tightened around the handle of the wooden rapier. As she went to put the sword back, she stumbled and fell on the floor. The room started to cool back down.