The soldiers immediately opened fire, peppering Adam and his family with bullets. A wall of bullets then appeared in the air in both directions of the corridor as Adam stopped them mid-air with his telekinesis, freezing them in place.

His parents returned fire with their automatic weapons, their own bullets passing unopposed through Adam's forcefield. The soldiers found themselves on the receiving end, forced to retreat as three of their own number fell dead. Adam felt their lives peter out like a muted scream. It was a harrowing feeling.

"This way!" Adam's father led them through the right corridor towards the stairwell where the intruders lost two of their members. Before the rest of the intruders could form up inside the stairwell, Adam's family was upon them.

Using the fact that the soldiers needed to point their guns upward while maintaining their balance over the uneven steps, Adam pushed them down with a telekinetic push, sending a few tumbling down the stairs. His parents then opened fire, killing five as they proceeded down the stairwell and into the next floors.

The wave of death that swept through Adam's mind as they battled their way through the stairs and corridors made him vomit a few times. His mind was not used to the uncomfortable and nauseating experience of feeling human lives get snuffed out from their mind and body.

It also didn't sit right with him that his own parents were doing the killing, with brutal efficiency and effectiveness. It was as if he was witnessing monsters using his parent's skin as they culled human lives.

But Adam knew better. Or at least he hoped he did.

Eventually, they found their way on the ground floor. It was a deserted mess and littered with bodies. The intruders had resorted to senseless slaughter to reach them. It was a barbaric and tragic scene.

Police sirens shouted in the distance as helicopters whirred. Gunfire rang continuously as people screamed and shouted just outside the apartment. It was like a warzone, and Adam was to blame. Or rather, he was beginning to blame himself.

Suddenly, one of the revolving doors in the apartment entrance moved and two men went through. Adam's parents immediately raised their weapons to fire, but raised hands and familiar voice made them stop at the last second.

"It's me! Hold your fire!" One of the men shouted. He was wearing tactical gear, but it was unlike the ones used by the intruders. He had short blonde hair over his scarred face. He was a family friend, and he had blood on his face.

"Holland?" Adam's father lowered his rifle and so too did his mother.

"Felix, Chloe," Holland turned to look at Adam, "Adam, my boy, you look pale. In fact, you all do."

Why was uncle Holland acting as if he was used to something like this? Adam was sure he was about to throw up again in the next minute or so, but their family friend over here didn't seem affected.

"What happened?" Chloe, Adam's mother, asked as she caught her breath, "How the hell did they find out who we were and where we lived?"

Holland's expression turned dark and serious, "We don't know. We've been tracking suspicious movement along the border for the last few months. Then suddenly they're all over this goddamned city. We arranged an intervention at the port when we received intelligence that they were gathering there, but uh... you already know where that went."

Adam frowned as he took some deep breaths. He could feel his emotions rising. Anger. Sadness. These were the hardest emotions to control, and the worst when it came to handling his power.

Felix, Adam's father, walked towards Holland and gave him a hug.

"It's good to see you still with us, my friend." Felix said, patting their friend on the back. Holland did the same.

Removing themselves from their embrace, the two men looked at Adam and decided that it was time to proceed.

"They're here for my boy, that's for certain. Either that or they want us dead. Regardless, we need to get as far away from here as possible." Felix said.

"They'll have to go through the both of us before they take my son!" Chloe hissed, surprising Adam with her aggressive tone.

"Make that three, I'm in this too you know," Holland said, half-joking, "But yeah, we already have the transport ready outside. The brass are honoring the agreement. You'll be escorted out of the city by tryck and flown out of here via helicopter. Escorts will be provided along the way."

Adam, more confused than ever, spoke up, "B-but where are we going? I'm supposed to go to college by-"

"You can't go to college while you're being hunted down, Adam," Holland deadpanned, but he looked like he regretted his delivery, "Sorry, I don't want you to worry but-"

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"Worry? I'm terrified!" Adam snapped, his voice rising as the building began to quake.

"Easy there, son. Remember what we taught you." Felix reminded, trying to calm his son down.

"Dad, please, wake me up. Tell me this is a dream. Please." Adam begged as the reality of their situation came crashing down on him, "Mom! You're here right? Tell me this isn't real. Tell me!"

Adam looked at his mother, and he found her staring at him with regret and shock. It was too much.

Tears streamed down his eyes as Adam fell to the floor and cried on his knees. His mother was quickly by his side, embracing him as he sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Chloe wept alongside. Her initial apprehension had now transformed into a desperate attempt to comfort her now traumatized son. She hated herself more than ever.

An explosion from outside rocked the ground floor where they were, signaling to them that they needed to go.

Holland's partner, who had thus far remained silent up until then, called for the rest of the group to come out and board the military truck waiting outside.

After boarding, Adam and his family were escorted by heavily-armed police through the city. Inside the truck, Adam tried to recover himself from his mental breakdown.

He learned along the way that they were being hunted down by a foreign government. Apparently Adam was valuable enough to risk an international incident. As Felix would point out, however, what they did was already beyond a mere incident.

It was an undeclared war. Holland assured that they were doing all they could, and that the military would soon be moving in.

All this trouble for a 22-year old who didn't even know why he had his power to begin with. The desperation of the foreign government was beyond reason, but that was not Adam's concern now.

He had questions. Foremost of which was simple. What was he really?

Adam spent the rest of the ride through the city in silence. His mother, Chloe, was there by his side to comfort him, but it was far from sufficient. Adam was still processing the day's events, hoping that things would get better, or that he'd instead wake up and find out that this was all just a bad dream.

The convoy made its way through the city, moving past several traffic jams and police blockades. Several military convoys passed them by, carrying soldiers and equipment as the fighting within the city grew more intense. If things continued the way they were, then the city would soon become a battlefield.

"Maybe they're just using Adam as an excuse," Adam heard his father say. The convoy was almost out of the city. They had taken several detours, leading them on an empty and forgotten dirt road that led to the outskirts.

"I'm hearing reports of several attacks across the border. The brass are ordering a general mobilization and a red alert. Whatever their reason was, it doesn't matter anymore. From what info I could gather, the president will soon announce hostilities." Holland said, sounding worried and defeated.

"You mean...?" Felix held his breath.

"War. We're at war, and we can't risk your son falling into enemy hands."

Suddenly, just as the convoy reached the outskirts, Adam felt the same chill down his spine before the attack on their apartment.

He immediately stood, surprising his mother who was wrapped around him. Before she could ask what was going on, Adam struck out his hands, summoning a forcefield around the truck just before several explosions rocked the convoy. In spite of his efforts, the forcefield broke against the pressure of the blasts, and the psychic whiplash that followed punched into his mind.

The truck was thrown upside down, causing Adam to fall unconscious after banging his head against a corner.

Everything went dark and quiet for a while, a blissful state of ignorance and peace. Then he heard the gunfire and screams, followed by the pleading wails of his mother as she desperately tried to wake her son.

Adam slowly opened his eyes to the sweltering heat of the sun as it shone above him. They were outside the truck, resting behind the overturned vehicle as bullets collided on the other side of it. His mother was kneeling right on top of him, crying as blood went down her forehead.

"M-mom?" Adam reached out to his mother, feeling her cheeks as she cried even harder.

"I thought I lost you," She said between her tears, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry we failed you. I'm a horrible mother. I'm sorry."

Chloe sobbed and sobbed, blaming herself as she held her son's hands. Adam, however, disagreed. But he was unable to formulate any words as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

He felt the same wave of death sweep over his mind as battle raged around them. Adam was far from able to join this fight. His mind was unfocused and his body uncoordinated. Pain flared all over him as the adrenaline from earlier began to fade away.

Despite this, he mustered whatever strength he had left and sat up. His vision was blurry as he looked around, barely making out the forest that surrounded them.

Just as he was regaining focus, another shiver ran down his spine. Only this time he couldn't do anything about it. He tried, but his unfocused mind was not able to create a strong enough forcefield to shield them from what came after.

An explosion engulfed their location, enveloping the area in an eruption of dust and smoke and flame. The gunfire ceased as silence took over, drowning the battlefield with quiet tension.

Adam's ears rang. Not only that, but the death wave that spiked through his mind debilitated him further. In spite of this, he could still sense the people around him. However, there was something wrong. He couldn't sense the others anymore. Their escorts, the attackers.

With that, he came to a conclusion. They were dead. All of them. Even Holland.

In a panic, he searched frantically for his parents. His mother was alive, and right on top of him. She had placed herself over Adam, shielding her son from the explosion when it happened. Adam her sweat and blood drip down on him as his vision cleared and he finally saw her battered and bloodied face.

His father, however, was somewhere nearby. He was experiencing immense pain, worry, and fear. Adam felt his father's mind, and in doing so came across a few others. They were approaching his father with twisted satisfaction.

"Mom..." Adam sputtered out, "Dad needs help, let me..." He tried to pull himself up but to no avail, his mother was not letting him.

Chloe shushed her son, putting a finger against his mouth before standing up by herself, peeking over the truck with rifle ready.

Adam felt the shock and fear that flashed inside his mother's mind, and that convinced him to push through.

With trembling legs, little balance, and enough pain to make him scream, Adam pulled himself up and managed to peek over the truck.

Just in time for him to see his father get shot in the head.