Electricity buzzed through Zack’s smoldering fingers. I gazed enviously at his newfound power. “Can you control the electricity?” He had a goofy smile on his face as he waved his hand in front of him. Blue sparks seemed to follow his fingers. “I’m not controlling it. It’s just following me around.” He looked at me with a sudden pique of interest. “No! Don’t even think about it.” I took a step away from my friend. He wanted to zap me. “Please Jack, just a little touch!” I shook my head in disbelief. “We don’t even know how many volts are running in you.”

“It doesn’t hurt!” I laughed at him, “it doesn’t hurt you! It might kill me for all we know.” He was upset, but I wasn’t going to test my luck. Turning around, he looked around for something to zap. Finally, he seemed to find something as he made a beeline for it. Following him slowly from a distance, I finally saw his unlucky victim. It was a brown cat. After touching the cat, the hair stood on end with smoke coming off of its whiskers. A burned handprint was clearly imprinted on its poor body.

Powers awakened after life-threatening instances. Besides that common pattern, no one understood what determined the power you awakened. Some thought it was related to something primal, which made sense to some. Lifeguards coming back from a tsunami with water-related power and firefighters controlling flames seemed to lend credence to this idea. Many called it a bust as a large influx of people died chasing their own awakening. Zack... shared more in common with the latter.

Testing his luck with an electrical fence seemed like his best idea recently. If I was honest, I thought he was an idiot. By all rights, he should be dead.

“You should give it a try!” I looked at him with a strange glint. For a very brief second, I actually considered his stupid idea. Looking at the very burnt-looking cat was all it took for me to recognize the stupidity. “You almost had me there.”

He laughed, “did you really think about it? C’mon, it’ll only take a second!” The lightning-sparked across his clothes with every large movement. Giving a small light show under the dim light post. “The fact that you succeeded is already pushing the odds.” His brown eyes glowed a very light blue that reflected his newfound power. Another unique aspect that marked the awakened, blue eyes. It was said to only change when they activated their power. Considering some awakened never stopped using their ability, they always had blue eyes.

I looked at the fence with a ton of apprehension. It would be a lie to say I never tried forcing an awakening, but every single instance ended with me waking up in the hospital. Looking at my friend, I allowed myself to feel a little bit of hope. I looked at Zack’s eager face, “this is the last time. If it doesn’t work, you stop calling me out for this.” Zack gave me a thumbs up. My friend is an idiot and I’m an idiot for being his friend. I’m an idiot for listening to him. My negative thoughts ran in circles as I inched my hand towards the fence.

I made contact. The pain came shortly after immobilizing me in place. My head was thrown back as I felt mind-shattering pain. The only coherent thought I managed to form was wishing I didn’t grab this stupid bar. Someone started shouting and it took me a moment to realize it was me. I closed my eyes as I realized I was gonna go into shock. Pun not intended.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I wasn’t at the hospital. I wasn’t dead either. I was fine. My hands were fine, but I did feel phantom pain. Pain that wasn’t there, but somehow left a mark on me. “What?” I looked at the voice in surprise.

“Jack! Your eyes are glowing! How did you awaken before me? When did you do it!” I felt a headache come over me as I suddenly felt weak in my knees. Zack caught me and carefully placed me against a nearby wall. “I didn’t awaken before you? You did it first.” I looked at my best friend feeling incredibly baffled. At my words, Zack gazed at a nearby electric fence in the distance. Something felt misplaced as I followed his gaze. The cat on the side of the road looked completely fine. In perfect health, without a single burn mark from Zack’s beefy hands. Zack didn’t touch the cat? Zack stared at me with obvious concern.

Brushing away his reaching hand, I pulled myself up. “You awakened electricity.” Zack took a moment before smiling. “Can you see the future? Is that your power?” His stupid grin came quickly and I regretted telling him anything. At least, that was my initial feeling before I considered his words. Seeing into the future? It didn’t feel like seeing the future. It felt more like passing out from immense pain. While I was lost to my muses, Zack ran over to the fence. The first time he did it; he took at least three minutes of being his own hype man before moving into action. This time there was absolutely little hesitation as he fully hugged the fence. His body shook violently before he fell down smoking heavily. I was speechless. That looked painful, it was painful! I knew exactly how painful that must have been. While I didn’t hug it like some long-lost friend, I had my hand on it for what felt like an eternity. Rushing over to his side, I called out to him. His mouth foamed and his eyes were rolling back into his head. Shit! I felt horrible and he looked horrible. Fumbling for my phone, I phoned the authorities for a ride to the hospital.

Thankfully, we were right next to the hospital. This wasn’t our first stupid attempt and we learned from past blunders. Well, we sort of learned, considering Zack was in a stretcher for what feels like the seventh time. The attendants looked him over without any pity. Although I never said it, everyone knew what we were trying to do. What we did do? What I did do? If I did see into the future or went to the past, or whatever, then Zack probably hasn’t awakened yet. I felt my headache worsen from the confusion. One of the nurses called out to me, but I missed what they said.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Her blond hair was tied revealing several scars across the neck. Bags from exhaustion told of countless hours working around the clock. “I said we are calling your family Jack. The police want to have a discussion with you to write down a statement.” Does she know my name? Ah, she must have seen me before. That’s embarrassing.

“Is Zack going to be okay?” I looked down at his burnt skin. Black crisp crosses layered his face and arms. He was still breathing so I knew it should be fine. “We have a healer available for you, but this better be the last time we see you two. If you come in again, I’m going to file for a monitoring watch.” Grimacing, I reassured her I wouldn’t be coming in for the foreseeable future.

When I got inside the hospital, the police officer was waiting at the front office. “If it isn’t Jack who came back.” He smiled at his own joke. I did not find it very funny as I knew the nature of his visit. He would have been a very likable person if he didn’t only show up when I was in trouble. His suit was always clean and he appeared to take an extra effort to keep his hair combed. “Officer Lorn! What do I owe the pleasure?” He waved some handcuffs jokingly and beckoned me to follow him. With a sigh, I followed him outside to his car. I was very familiar with giving testimonies that accompanied any attempts at awakening. “How many times have we done this Jack? Surely you know you're just causing your family worry.”

I felt a pang of guilt at his tired voice. He wasn’t wrong. Every time we tried, we always took time away from good people. Individuals who would rather be working on more important matters. “This is the last time,” I defended. He gave me a sidelong gaze, “you said that last time Jake.” I thought about telling him about my new power, but I hesitated. People who awaken are taken by force by the government. Most people don’t adjust well by themselves. My power seemed harmless enough, being that I only went back... a few hours? But I knew the argument wouldn’t have held up against them. Time travel was unheard of and I couldn’t imagine them leaving me to roam free. Only those with negligible powers were left alone.

We rode the rest of the ride in silence. Should I rewind time? The idea seemed tempting and I would undoubtedly try it again. I didn’t know if the pain was because of my power or the electricity that burst into me. I never heard of an awakened being wounded by their own power, but I never heard of an awakened unlocking the power to manipulate time. If I rewind time enough, maybe I can stop myself from changing Zack’s awakening. I looked at Officer Lorn in contemplation. I could tell him and then see how things play out. It’s not like Zack can’t zap himself in the future. I smirked thinking about Zack trying to zap himself again. If I didn’t push him to do it, I doubt he would consider a second go.

We arrived at the police station. Lorn held the door for me and motioned for me to walk into an interrogation room. Pulling out a notebook, he read me my basic rights and the grounds for the small investigation. The standard procedure that followed every attempt was basic courtesy on his part. “Okay, Jack have you or any of the parties present activated any power?” He was looking at the notebook with a slightly bored expression on his face. I didn’t respond immediately and this caused Officer Lorn to look up at me. “Jack?” I smiled at his confusion. Dread seemed to wash over him and he pressed something under the table. Within seconds my smile faded as some oppressive force washed over my body. I felt trapped inside my own body and it made me feel claustrophobic. “I guess you guy’s finally succeeded. That’s honestly a shame, I liked you boys.” Panic gripped me as I pushed to stand. It didn’t matter as the weight of my own body made me sink to the floor. Weakness pinned me to the ground. The Officer grabbed my arms and placed purple glowing cuffs on me. “Jack Rode, you are under arrest for an illegal awakening. As a Power Class B offense, you have forfeited your rights to a fair trial.”

I tried to use my power, but nothing happened. My helplessness could have stemmed from having literally zero practice with it, but that hurt my ego to admit. I blamed it on the radiant cuffs around my wrists. I wished I hadn't waited so long to use my power. Unbeknownst to me, my cuffs glowed brighter at my thoughts, prompting Officer Lorn to beat me hard in the shoulder. “Stop trying to resist kid. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

My goodwill towards the officer was quickly fading. He went for a complete turnaround in less than a minute. The door burst open as a much older woman walked in wearing a black loose-fitted suit. “We’ll take him from here. Thank you Officer Lorn.” With a snap of her fingers, my entire world spun and colors faded out and then back into my peripherals. Fighting a wave of nausea, I looked around the new room that surrounded me. It was padded white with a single sink made of plastic. Two small lights hung unceremoniously above the sink. There weren’t any doors in this room and the feeling of being trapped never left me. Without warning my lunch lurched out and I got it all over my shirt.

“That’s gross.” Her voice was high-pitched and decidedly bothersome. Turning towards the lady dressed in black, I tried to tackle her. While it wasn’t the best move, I was angry. Could anyone blame a disoriented young adult for being upset with kidnappers? Surely not. It didn’t matter as I stumbled over my feet. “You’re getting it all over the floor. Don’t you have any shame?”

Okay, I decided I want to punch this old lady. Equal rights equal fights as they say. She must not have liked the look on my face, because in the next few seconds I felt something strike me against the face. “I’ll talk to you when you’ve calmed down.” With that statement, she disappeared. There wasn’t a sound or light that indicated that she left. She just vanished into thin air. “Come back here!” I was understandably losing my mind, so to speak. With time, a very long time passing I might add, I decided to sleep away the pain and confusion, maybe I’ll feel.... think better after some sleep. But I’ll still be upset.

And I was upset. I was upset for maybe two days in a row. After a while, I was less angry and just worried. This room resembled one of those rooms that kept the insane. It was so unfathomably boring that my favorite activity was watching the water drain. They might have locked me in here, but it didn't mean holding me would be cheap. Ha! Wait till they see their water bill... I didn't know exactly what their angle was, but it would take more than locking me away to get it. At least that was my hope.

While inside the room, I did a lot of thinking. In retrospect, that was the most extreme reaction I’ve seen from Officer Lorn. In fact, there was no buildup or hint of his utter horror towards the awakened. They immediately treated me like a criminal. It contrasted with how television portrays humans with superpowers as blessed. My worldview seemed to shatter while I stayed inside the white padded room. Does the government fear the awakened this much? Is this really warranted?

Every time I slept, I found new clothes and food left in the corner of the room. At least I was a pampered prisoner. I groaned at the thought of developing Stockholm syndrome. On what felt like the seventh day, the lady showed herself once again.

I decided with great restraint not to tackle her. She smiled as I stayed still. Throwing a syringe at my feet, “if you want to leave. You have to inject it.” I did nothing. She sighed and left without a word. Teleportation... before I was too emotional to realize the implication of her existence. She could leave and come at a moment's notice. She could bring someone with her when she teleported. Something that should have been obvious only now clicked. She teleported inside this prison. How can she use her power when I couldn’t? I had a suspicion, but I would have to test it later.

Grabbing the syringe, I dropped some of the substance onto the pads. Sadly, it wasn’t acidic enough to do anything. Days earlier I tried to rip the fabric apart with my hands, but it didn’t give. Maybe I could make use of the syringe? I poked and prodded at the seams. If they can see me, then they would have come inside to stop me. Right? If she does show up, I’ll wait for her to come close and then grab her pockets. Hopefully, I'll find something that might aid an escape. Ideas raced in my mind as I prodded the room. Flicking the lights close to my sink. Anything that would budge with effort. I’m leaving this room one way or another.

After a few days, I gave up being careful. I could tell both of our patience was wearing thin. There’s no telling what they’ll do to someone being fiercely uncompromisingly. Bracing myself, I smashed the syringe into the lights. Glass flew onto the ground. Quickly reaching for a shard, I ripped the pads and scooped the padding inside. At the very end of the pad was a miniature glowing purple rock. Seizing it with my hand, a sharp pain spiked along my arm. This was it! This rock... it's how they were stopping my ability. I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. “What are you doing!” I heard her voice behind me. This is perfect.

I tackled her and this time I managed to pinch her to the ground. I shoved the purple rock into her face as I gave a solid punch. She screamed for backup, but I searched her pockets and pulled a green rock from her left pocket. Where the purple drained me, the green invigorated me. “HAHAHA!” I could feel the adrenaline rushing. Dropping the purple rock, I activated my power.

“Whoa! Jake, your eyes are glowing! How’d you get your powers before me?” I threw up again and this time I knew it was from my own power. Looking around disoriented, I realized Zack and I were at our old high school. That was five years ago? My hand opened to reveal a very dull-looking rock. I gaped stupidly at the school and then at my smaller hands.