“You must save me! You must let me out! I need to eat!”

“Is it true that you consume dreams?”

“I consume brains.”

“But you could feed off of dreams. It’s how you’ve stayed hidden.”

“That is true, but it is starvation.”

“Alright then. I guess I can’t free you then.” I triggered the self-destruct switch in the room and left, watching as the room and all of that research were destroyed. The creature died, but its remaining energy flowed through my head. I was feeling as though four drills had entered my head. Various new pathways for energy were carved, and I felt as though I was losing something important.

Looking down at my hands, I noticed that they seemed thinner than before, as though I hadn’t eaten in months. Feeling about my body made me uncomfortable; I felt anorexic; not an ounce of muscle or fat remained. A strange black ichor had pulled under my feet, and my body felt connected to my mind. The slight dissonance I had felt before was gone.

I pushed my hand forward and watched as the power from that motion tore a palm-shaped hole through the wall. My powers had grown again, but not in any way I understood.

Making my way out of the area where I had been standing, I encountered a man who had just woken up. He looked at me and scowled.

“What happened to you? You look starved.”

“I did something stupid but necessary.” I needed to build my body back up sooner rather than later. However, I felt quite a bit stronger.

“I see, are you our leader?”

“‘For now, is everyone out?”

“We got as many as we could. Some seem to have died in their sleep.”

“I see. A shame. But we must get the rest of you off this island. Follow me and I’ll lead you to safety.”

“Right.”

I led a group of a hundred boys into the forest of mines. Having remotely turned them off, we went through the inert minefield toward a ship. The walk was long and arduous for many who hadn’t been conditioned enough to move fast for long periods. The sun was rising by the time we arrived at the ship.

At the helm was a black-haired man with strong features. He wore black fatigues and looked down at us with what seemed to be pity. As we approached, he watched us with a careful gaze. The girls’ side was slightly ahead of our group.

We eventually all managed to board the ship; however, most kids, especially those who had gained power, were starving.

I, however, stayed behind to talk with the leader.

“Did you know what he was doing in that place?”

“I was told that he was preparing a unit of Esper’s to take on the threats to our world. I wasn’t told that he’d be using children. Nor was I made aware that said children would be whisked away from a hospital where they thought they were receiving life saving treatment for illnesses they didn’t have. Most of this was made known to us very recently.”

“But you don’t regret that it was done.”

“If it was successful then it was worth it.”

“Lots of children died. Not in the experiments, but in the testing. One of the other boys began killing the others for power and I had to put them down in the end. The others were killed by the deadly traps and monsters in that cursed maze. The entity they gained power from also killed quite a few people in their sleep for sustenance.”

“They died in combat and field testing, despite not experiencing the training program?”

“Do you know how the one who turned killed so many?”

“He had a gun, and most of us didn’t know how to use our powers before the maze. I’m sure I’m only alive because I went in before him. He shot my friend right after we completed said deadly maze.

“What of the chief scientist?”

“Dead.”

The man clicked his tongue. “That means responsibility falls to me.”

“Has everyone received their powers?”

“No, only a few. Why does that matter?”

“Those without powers are civilians and will be dropped off at an airport. However you and those who survived will have a week to rest before basic monster combat training begins. I’m afraid to say this but your capabilities will be needed before judgment day. A triangle tier Esprs along with four lines. While the methods were questionable you all are quite powerful in your own rights.”

“One of the girls has an entirely non combat ability, can I ask that she be counted as a civilian?”

“The water boiler? If you manage to test into the square tier or higher by the time that the week is up.”

“If that’s what it takes. I’ll do it, although, i’d also like to make a few trades. I want alot of high calorie food and all the coffee I can make. In return I’ll give you a few important things.”

“How important?”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Research notes and various stimulants that can make us stronger. I could easily hit that square thing with these but that would be dangerous without knowing the limits of my power.”

“How are you a triangle without knowing how your powers work?”

“Because my power is strange. It doesn’t seem like I’m controlling time. Nor that I’m moving really fast. It’s as though everyone else is moving slowly.”

“Sounds like a version of enhanced perception. Which isn’t a power, but the symptoms of an advanced ability, another that may require a chemical trigger. I’ll be blunt no matter what was said, the Esper creation process had been refined in a safer way than what you’ve gone through. Most Esper’s know how their powers work before even attempting combat. Hell most are voluntary trained soldiers who know how to take on monsters head on. What’s your name kid.”

“My designation was Zero.”

“No your name.”

“Oh it’s Jac.”

“Jack?”

No, Jac, the C is soft. Full name is Jac Ol’atte.”

“Kid…Whose you father?”

“Vaneal Ol’atte.”

“Six shots of espresso with Vaneal?”

“How do you know that?”

“Did the scientist also know that?”

“He said it. Even threatened me before I dealt with him.”

“Lord have mercy… So not only did he send children to die, he put Six Shot’s Son in a situation where he could have died, with no formal training and experimented on him.”

“Why are you so frustrated about it?”

“How old are you now?”

“Sixteen.”

“So you haven’t been informed yet… You know what? I’ll let your dad explain it. Come along.” The captain walked away, and I followed.

“My dad died of a coffee induced heart attack. Legends say he attempted nine shots of espresso and reached Nirvana.” I was now suspicious up until I was below deck and looking at a hologram of a man with blond hair and familiar strong features. His eyes were almost as black as night, however. He didn’t seem to be moving.

“I mean it was a pretty bad caffeine high but no, he was to be deployed on a secret mission for an undisclosed amount of time.” The captain pressed the button.

“What do you mean you burned down an orphanage?! That isn’t something you do by accident.”

“Someone was selling illegal fireworks in a booth near where the creature moved in between them as I fired.”

“Did you Speak to your handler? Something important has come up. Captain, it seems like you have some explaining to do.” The man’s stern face stared daggers at the older captain.

“That Neuroscientist we recruited. The one that was specialized in the development of Esper abilities past the base tiers.”

“Yes the crackpot. What did he do this time.”

“I believe he got quite a few children killed in his experiments, unnecessarily.”

“Has he been arrested?”

“No he’s dead.”

“Great, was it another scientist?”

“No. It was your son.”

“Why would my son?”

“He kidnaped Jac Ol’atte, from a hospital bed that he was tricked into being in.”

“Where is he?”

“Jac?” The captain moved out of the way and motioned for me to move forward.

“Not even a letter? You could have said that you were still alive.” I said to the man.

“You went and dyed your hair? Why! It was perfect.”

“...What are you talking about? Don’t change the subject. What’s so important that you had to die?”

“The apocalypse or what could be. The number of monsters appearing in remote areas is increasing. At this very moment an Island in the Atlantic has appeared with creatures of unknown origin. This side of the world is like a black hole, you don’t get out once you get in and the more you know the clearer the signs of danger. As a member of Slayers it is my duty to fight the intruders that intend to bring harm to this world. Your duty should be finishing school.”

“But sir!”

“Didn’t you just say the end was coming? One it’s the end of summer, two, I’m legally dead. Finally if the world is in danger, why bother hitting books when I can hit monsters?”

“If you truly insist I’ll let you see this world’s terrors. My position doesn’t afford me the ability to turn down recruits with potential. You’ll see why many refer to this side as hell. Now go get something to eat.”

“Right.” I immediately left the room, only to feel my energy suddenly as a wave of vertigo hit. The world spun for a long moment as time seemed to stutter. Moments later, I saw a red-scaled long dragon with emerald eyes, white fur around the neck, and brown antlers entering the world. At the same time, a black tiger with white stripes entered from a different location. The power I sensed from their entrances into the world caused my nose to start bleeding as my senses were flooded with information. Both had more power than I could imagine, and I’d die if I were to fight a threat like this today.

The ship’s captain approached me. Noticing the blood pooling on the ground.

“Did someone attack you?”

“I just had a vision. A powerful dragon and Tiger have either just arrived or will be coming soon. I don’t understand what I just saw.”

“Triangle tier Espers may unlock the ability to see the future should their senses be strong enough.”

“What even are these tiers?”

“Dots are recently turned Espers with no understanding of their senses or powers. Lines can either use their power or senses in combat, sometimes secondary abilities develop. Triangles have a greater understanding of either their power or senses, and gain tertiary psychic abilities such as precognition, and psychokinetic talents. On top of the specialized abilities granted by their base abilities, their bodies also begin the state of transcending into a higher tier of human.. Squares, are the step up a second mandatory stage of evolution that increases the efficiency of all abilities. From there it branches off into three paths, one can go liner and continue increasing the number of lines with diminishing returns until they evolve into a round. There is only one round currently. The other is to become a cross, which happens when an Esper ingest a monster. They gain the powers of said monster but in turn lose the ability to increase their psychic abilities outside future consumption. Crosses become human chimeras, beasts that hunt monsters.”

“And the last one?”

“Infinants, this one is theoretical, one may train their mind to create a never ending cycle of power growth and adaptation. It requires one to stop at square and transition via meditation and mastering one’s abilities without losing their humanity.”

“Losing humanity?”

“That’s the nature of becoming an Esper, the stronger you grow the less empathy you have for others. The creation of Espers requires altering the brain, doing so has consequences. Humans weren’t meant to play these games. Yet here we are, alive and in a world determined to kill us all..”

“So I guess the people saying global warming would be the end was wrong.”

“I mean, we might survive the first only to have to deal with the second.”

I sighed, having gotten to my feet as the vertigo passed. First, I needed to regain my weight, then I needed to grow stronger, and finally, I’d need to drink a cup of coffee.

[End]