Adrian stood still, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. His laughter long petered out. His relief from his recovery from his ailment, to the bombshell of a news of his having powers put him on an emotional back foot. It was too much too fast for a boy who's biggest days was having his father bring back books he could loose himself in.

His father spotting the problem, hustled his son into the cool interior of their home. Poured his shaking son a glass of water and left him alone to sort out his thoughts.

Left alone, Adrian chased his thoughts around and let his mind wander. Staying firmly away from the ‘new’ part of his mind. Having a moment helped to center him and Adrian felt his mind fall into order and his thoughts calm.

Now that he thought of it, Adrian wondered how he hadn't noticed the change in himself in the first place. It was subtle, but his body which had just been normal before felt somehow more, somehow better. It wasn't as readily evident as it was in his fathers muscular frame but Adrian felt it none the less.

With that realization came the excitement that was missing upon his discovery. He couldn't wait to find out what he could do. With renewed vigour, Adrian dashed out of the house in search of his father.

Adrian found him behind their house raking the soil and expanding their vegetable garden. He was about to ask him why when the answer dawned on him. He would be eating almost as much as his father now. Wordlessly he grabbed a trowel and went to work beside his old man.

Hours passed when Adrian knew his stamina would bottom out and he'd tap out or complain about the midday sun which now felt cool on his skin. He really was changing. After adding ten more rows to their garden and promoting it to a small farm Adrian's father called it a day.

Inside they had their midday meal and buzzing with barely controlled excitement Adrian rapid fired questions at his father who simply smiled and held up a hand, “Hold your horses there son, and no you cannot jump into the clouds. The landing would be brutal.” Seeing more questions coming he quickly spoke over his son.

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“Simplest way to describe what you and I are is we do everything better. Anybody out there with some training can hit hard, run fast, jump higher and do so for a while. An apex or a strongman as your books would call us. We hit harder, run faster, jump higher and do so for much longer. And the most important thing, we can take hits.”

Questions crowded Adrian's mind each demanding an answer. He opened his mouth to ask them all and only one came out;

“Apex?”

Adrian knew the meaning of the word but had never heard it used to reference a superhuman before. His books were admittedly old and outdated, printed at a time when the great wars were still on going and humanity was scrambling to preserve any knowledge it could. The troubled look that came over his fathers face as if he was debating something made Adrian apprehensive.

He seemed to come to a decision and rose from the table, motioning for his son to follow. Confused, Adrian followed him outside.

“You asked about Apex and why you haven't seen it used in your books. It's a relatively new term. And it perfectly encapsulates what we are. Calling us strong men is accurate yes but we are so much more. Brace yourself Adrian and I'm sorry for this. The sooner we do this the better.”

Beyond confused and a little scared at what his father meant, Adrian watched his father walk a ways from him and turn to look him in the eye. Adrian opened his mouth to ask what was going on and froze. His father was gone. Something else stood before him.

It started as a chill up his spin and the ramping up of his heartbeat. Invisible waves of something battered away at Adrian's mind and what was once had been his father seemed to transform. The arms he'd once took solace in seemed to swell and threaten to crush him in their embrace. The shoulders he used to ride grew to block out the sun chilling him to the core. The hands that gently guided him grew long and put pressure around his neck. And those eyes those warm green that mirrored his own, eyes that crinkled when his father laughed peered into his soul and told him to run or he'd die. The mouth that was always smiling alternated between appearing as a bloody maw and a razor filled abyss that savaged his throat.

Every fiber of Adrian's being told him to run, to hide, to find a hole and never crawl out. Sweat broke out on his back when he thought of turning his back to the beast before him. Death had come for him. The small primal part of Adrian's being supplied the word for what was before him.

He was before an Apex predator and it was death.

Adrian was about to die.