20 years ago

Laying on the roof of his family home, John stared up at the sky. The scar lights were covered by a thick cover of clouds. He could smell the rain all day long but it hadn't started yet. The suburban street was quiet except for two children playing with a pall further up the street. They shouts seemed unnaturally loud as they cut through the silence.

With a screeching of tires, a car came speeding around the corner and towards John's house. It stopped in front of his home with a squeal, the pounding of music on the speakers was audible for only a moment before the driver lowered the volume. With a sigh, John lowered himself off the roof and landed on his front yard with a crunch of dead grass. Reluctantly, he walked around the vehicle to the passenger side, slamming the door as he got in.

"Hey, easy on my car!" Erick, his childhood friend, chided with a playful punch on John's arm.

"I wasn't really in the mood for Bones tonight," John muttered, his gaze fixed outside.

"We need this, man. A break from everything. Plus, you can't mope at home all night," Erick said, his tone light but eyes serious.

As they drove out of the city limits into the desert, John saw the sign "Now leaving Solara" flash by in the darkness. After driving through the darkness for a time, they saw the light of fires in the distance. Erick turned onto a dirt path and drove until he reached a circle of cars surrounded by two giant bonfires and dozens of people. Erick parked just outside of the circle of cars. The loud hip hop music assaulted John's ears as he stepped out of the car. He looked around as Erick got out of the car. A blue truck had been parked at the center of the circle with its door wide open, its spinning rims and glowing green lights underneath visible to everyone. The truck shook as the music played from its speakers. The bass was like a physical blow every time it sounded, wave after wave of cacophonous tones that could be felt through the entire body. Two bonfires had been lit on either side of the truck, and people danced all around, beers in hand. Erick had to yell to get John's attention.

"Don't look so down! Let's go have some fun!"

John gave him a doubtful look as a girl rushed by to throw up behind a nearby car. They walked into the crowd, both of them being pushed back and forth by the crowd as they jumped up and down to the rhythm of the music. John quickly lost sight of Erick as they looked for familiar faces and decided to get out of the sea of bodies. Only a few minutes had passed, and he was already soaked to the bone with beer from the intoxicated crowd. As John left the crowd behind and sat on top of Erick's car, a form detached itself from the masses and came walking towards him.

"Didn't expect to see you here," a voice called out over the music. Audrey, with her bright red hair and infectious smile, joined him, offering a beer.

"I heard you'd be here," John replied, trying to mask his turmoil with a smile.

"You should be careful. Brad hates you."

John pulled her in and kissed her, "You said you left that empty-headed jock already."

She giggled drunkenly, "Yes but he still gets jealous."

"Im not worried....."

Behind them John saw more forms detach from the party. Well that was fast. I really should stop talking to girls that are taken, he though. There was a good chance the girl had set this up too. She was very pretty but she got off on conflict and pitting suitors affections against each other. John normally didn't mind the games, but this was part of the reason he hadn't wanted to come tonight. Problems came to him, at least when he didn't stay in one spot for long.

John got off the car and handed the beer calmly back to Audrey with a lifted eyebrow, " You didn't need to come over if you knew he was here already."

She let out a gasp of surprise, "Brad... what is he... what is he doing here? I heard he wasn't coming."

John looked at her skeptically, " You didn't come with him"

She shook her head adamantly, " I came with my girls. Me and Brad aren't together since yesterday."

John sighed as Brad and his gang circled around them. Some of the guys swayed drunkenly, beers in hand, as they tried to keep their balance. Brad staggered forward and shoved John into the truck. The other guys laughed and jeered. The party and the bon fires were far enough that dark shadows mostly hid the group from the sight of others. The cars on the other side of a slight hill.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Brad shoved him again.

Audrey pulled at his arm, sobbing, “Stop! Please stop!"

Brad hit her across the face, knocking her to the ground, "Bitch! I told you, you're mine. I'll deal with you later."

She picked herself up and ran towards the party. Brad turned towards John with an evil glare.

"I'll deal with you now", he snarled.

John stood straight with his hands in the air, "You're drunk Brad. I don't want to fight you. Let's all go home."

Brad punched him in the jaw, "But i do want to fight you!"

"Stop it!" John closed his eyes, clenching his fists as they began to heat up.

Brad kicked him in the stomach, motioning for the others to join. They began kicking him as well, one guy even pulled a knife from out of his jacket pocket. John curled into a ball, not even noticing the pain of the blows anymore. He struggled as he fought to control his emotions. The lack of response to their hits caused them to become infuriated. John lifted his head and opened his eyes. They glowed a bright, blood-red that shone in the night.

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Laughing with everyone else, Erick blended with the group of mindless people he detested but he knew could help him make connections for the future. He noticed Audrey,running back from the desert, alone.

He stepped in her path as she got closer, "Where's John? Didn't he leave with you?"

She clung to him, sobbing, "Brad is up there with him!" she pointed to a hill out in the desert, "You have to help him. Brad can't control himself when he gets drunk!"

Erick saw a red glow starting to strengthen on the other side of the hill.

"O shit!" he turned around, yelling helplessly. "Get down!"

An explosion sounded, blocking out the music like a physical blow and covering the sky in flames.

Wow.... Did I get wasted again? Why is everything so loud?

John opened his eyes slowly. Everything was blurry but he could see the outlines of people as they passed by and he heard the people yelling and arguing. Slowly, his vision became cleared, and he noticed his surroundings. He was lying on a gurney in the middle of a hospital hallway with medical personnel rushing past him. His clothes had been completely burned except for most of his jeans and his shoes were a ragged mess with no soles that clung to his feet. He could see his mother talking to a doctor further down the hall. There was another gurney across the hall from his but a group of nurses concealed the person from view. His mother came up to him and stood at the edge of his bed.

"I can't believe this keeps happening John. You did it again." She shook her head sadly. "How many times are you going to make me go through this? First you burn down the house, then you blew up my car in the middle of the freeway, and you even set a park on fire and hurt so many people. But now this? You killed people John. People are dead this time."

John felt empty, nothing but a hollow shell. His mother's words reverberated through his mind. He hadn't meant to kill them. His powers had gotten out of control, just like they always had in the past. For years his short temper had always been a release for his powers. John looked down at his feet, unable to face his mother.

"Something has to happen because I can't take this anymore." John's mother walked away and john turned his attention to a nearby TV.

The screen showed a news reporter at the desert filming the aftermath of the explosion.

The reporter looked around her, "As you can see, smoke still covers much of the area. The rain that started not too long ago has already put out many of the numerous fires."

She walked to what used to be Audrey's truck. Its frame had been melted and twisted until it was barely recognizable as a vehicle.

"Here is the wreckage left behind by the explosions. There have been five confirmed deaths as a result. Dozens more have been wounded."

John couldn't look as the pictures of Brad and his friends were posted on the screen.

"The police believe this to be an act of terrorism by Al Qaeda but do not, as of yet, have any suspects or a motive."

John wasn't paying attention anymore as the reporter continued talking. He had always feared his power, since he was a child. He could control fire, and the only other people knew were his mother and Erick. As a child he had not shown any sign of powers until his 6th birthday when he relit the birthday candles he had blown out, which pleased his father but scared his mother. When his father had left John had tried to stop using his powers all together, but it would just burst out from him when he lost control of his emotions and became easily distracted. This was the worst that it had ever gotten out of control. He didn't notice when Erick came over and sat on the edge of his gurney.

"Hey bro... you going to be ok?"

John kept staring down, "You're seriously asking that right now?"

"It's not your fault. I always told you that completely rejecting your power would backfire. No one knew it would happen like this though."

"I did this. I got angry and lost control." John looked at Erick, "I killed them, Erick! They're dead because of me!"

Erick looked away from him "Yes. They're dead, and there is nothing we can do to change that. All we can do is move forward and go on with our life like we have before. This probably isn't what you want to hear right now, but it's the truth. This isn't anything new for us".

John's mom came back over. "Let's go. The doctors let me sign you out already. Erick, your mom is waiting for you outside."

John changed into some new clothes and tossed the burned remains into the trash. On his way out, he saw a person lying on the gurney next to his. It was one of the guys who had been at the party. The entire right side of his face had been burned badly. The doctors had shaved away all the guy's burned hair off and bandages covered the majority of his head.

The car ride home was spent in silence. When he got home, john went straight to his room. He slammed his door shut and sat on the floor, his back leaning against the door. He looked around at the guitar, cd’s, and clothes that lay around on his floor. It looked just like the room of any normal teenager despite the fact that its occupant was anything but normal. His desk was covered in homework and textbooks. A picture stood on top of his computer. John stood up and picked up the picture, looking it over.

It was a picture of John when he was around eight years old. John's father stood next to him, their faces so similar it was like the past and future of the exact same person. John's father looked up out of the picture with a captivating smile on his face and one hand on John's shoulder. His father had the same dark blond hair and bright blue eyes as john. His hair hung in a braid that fell back down to his waist and his eyes seemed to stare right into a person's soul, unraveling who they were. John's father had disappeared not long after this picture had been taken. He'd left without a word, telling no one of his departure and leaving behind nothing but a broken family and his favorite necklace by John's night stand. The necklace was a dragon wrapped around an orb of gold with the tail hanging off the bottom, and the wings surrounding it.

John furiously threw the picture across the room, shattering the glass as it hit the wall. His memories of his father were few, but vivid. He could still remember his mother's expression and the words, it's all your father’s fault, After he had set his house on fire as a young child. She would not talk about his father after that, no matter how much John asked. His father’s name became taboo in his house. A knock on his door brought John from the past back to reality. John's mom stood in his doorway.

"We need to talk," she said.

John just leaned his head against his wall not saying anything.

"I can't do this anymore. I give up," she said expressionless, "I don't know what to do anymore. Luckily you have an aunt who offered to take care of you. She said she'll take care of you for now. I can't handle this. You have to leave tonight though, before the police investigation involves you again. They won't be so easy to get rid of this time."

John just stared at the floor, not answering. His mother kneeled next to him, "I know this is hard, but I know you'll find a way to help yourself. She lives in New Your, so you'll see a new place." She smiled sadly.

As his mom got up to walk out, John finally spoke up, "I didn't know you had a sister."

That stopped his mom dead in her tracks, "She's not my sister. She's related to your dad. We don't keep in touch."

John stared at her surprised, "Does she know where my father is?"

"No! I don't know where he is and neither does she!" his mom snapped.

After a moment his mom sighed and got down on her knees to hug him. “I’m really sorry about all of this. This is hard for me too. You'll be able to come back home when this all blows over. I'll let you get packed."