The world was on fire.

In the far distance, the sun was a massive, fiery orb, a giant red ball of light blotting out a huge portion of the horizon. Even from the far distance, the heat was scorching. The air shimmered and danced with waves of hot air, and the entire sky was stained red as if the land was bathed in blood.

Sun [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG._WRSCju29Z._eQMI94RS?pid=ImgGn&w=1024&h=1024&rs=1]

Everything was dead. Well, except for me.

I laid there, in the middle of the city, my body sprawled out, my limbs askew. I stared into the endless blood-red sky, feeling the heat of the sun burning my eyes even as the air roasted me like a pig on a rotisserie.

Yet I survived.

My mind raced, desperately trying to piece together where I was, what had happened, why I was here, but try as I might, I couldn't remember anything. Not my name. Not what I was doing here.

It almost felt like a dream.

Or a nightmare.

I closed my eyes and tried to move, but my body wouldn't listen. It was as if I had forgotten how to move. Or maybe I was broken.

Something caught my attention. A sound. Like something was moving. Something heavy.

I opened my eyes and turned my head toward the source of the sound.

And that's when I saw it.

A gigantic absolutely horrifying monstrosity. It towered over many buildings, easily hundreds of feet tall. It was covered in dark wisps of smoke and seemed to be made of molten rock. It looked at me with glowing white eyes and roared:

"A̴͙̘̝̱͆̓͆̇͂̑̔͆̓̐E̸̬͋͌͛̄̅͊̒̇̏̃̚̕̕͜͝͝Ö̸̧̰͇̰͇͕̫́͐̏l̴͍̦̞̭̫̅̓̓I̸̛͇̰̊̓̂̐̆͐̊̏̄͝Ş̶̢̛̭̗̣͖̩̱̗̣́͌̽́̕͜͝͝ͅ"

I woke up screaming.

I sat up in bed and immediately stopped screaming. My heart pounded in my chest, and I was drenched in sweat.

Another nightmare.

I sighed and wiped the sweat off my forehead. They were getting worse.

"SORAX!" My sister screamed as she barged into my room. "Are you alright!? What's wrong!?"

I looked up at her. She was wearing her favorite pajamas, a pink shirt and shorts. Her blonde hair was a mess, and she looked like she had just woken up.

"No, don't worry. Just another stupid nightmare." I said.

She gave me a worried look and sat down next to me on the bed.

"Was it the same one?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah."

She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight.

"Don't worry big brother. It was just a dream. You're safe now." She said.

I sighed and hugged her back.

"Thanks Hyla." I said.

We stayed like that for a while. She eventually pulled away and smiled at me.

"Feel better now?" She asked.

I managed a smile.

"Yeah. Anyways, what time is it?" I asked.

She checked her watch.

"6 AM." She said.

I frowned.

"Why are you up so early?" I asked.

She blushed and looked away.

"I heard you screaming." She admitted.

I groaned and rubbed my temples.

"Sorry." I said.

She shook her head.

"Don't apologize. You know I'll always be here for you." She said.

I smiled again.

"Thanks sis." I said.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

She grinned.

"Anyways, I'm going to make breakfast. You want some?" She asked.

I shrugged. Wait.

"We still have some cans leftover from last night? I thought we finished them." I said.

She shook her head.

"Nah. We have enough for another meal or two." She said.

I nodded.

"Sweet."

She stood up.

"Alright. I'll start cooking. See you downstairs." She said.

She left my room. I sighed and stretched. I got out of bed and checked myself in the mirror. I was a mess. My black hair was a tangled mess, and I needed a shave. My clothes were dirty and worn out.

But I didn't care.

I stripped off my clothes and walked over to the closet, or what could be described as a closet. It was more like a pile of random stuff we found that we used to store our clothes. I rummaged through the pile and found some clean clothes. A black t-shirt, some jeans, and a hoodie.

I put them on and headed downstairs.

Hyla was already in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.

"Hey Sorax. beans or beans?" She asked.

I shrugged.

"Beans." I said.

She scooped some beans into a bowl and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I said.

We ate our breakfast in silence.

Afterwards, Hyla did the dishes, and I sat down on the couch. I was about to call for Hyla to sit down as well, when suddenly, a knock on the door.

We both froze.

We never got visitors. Ever.

Hyla and I looked at each other.

"Who is it?" She mouthed.

I shrugged.

We crept to the door and peered through the peephole.

A man was standing outside. He was wearing a black suit and tie. He had short brown hair and was wearing sunglasses. He looked like a government agent or something.

I looked at Hyla, and she shook her head.

I opened the door a crack.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

The man looked at me and frowned.

"Sorax and Hyla Kyzar, son and daughter of Zak and Helena Kyzar. Both deceased. Children missing. Presumed dead. Case closed." He said.

I blinked.

"Um...what?" I asked.

The man ignored me and continued.

"Sorax Kyzar. Shapeshifting physiology to counter powers. Hyla Kyzar. Ability to create pink crystals." He said.

My heart started racing. Who the hell was this guy? How did he know us?

"You two are in violation of the Superpower Protection Act. You must come with me." The man said.

HELL NO!

This was the Academy! No WAY we're going there!

I slammed the door shut and locked it. Hyla and I scrambled to the back door and ran out into the street.

We ran as fast as we could.

"SORAX!" Hyla yelled.

I turned around and he was already behind us.

FUCK! My powers can't do shit here! They can only disable others powers when used against me, and only against me.

I grabbed Hyla's hand and we kept running.

"STOP!" The man yelled.

We ignored him and kept running.

We turned a corner and came face to face with two more men. Both wearing the same black suits and ties.

SHIT!

I stopped in my tracks. Hyla and I were cornered.

The men approached us.

"You are under arrest."

I briefly looked at Hyla, her eyes were starting to glow pink, a sign her powers are activating, but before she could do anything, one of the men grabbed her by the arm.

"LET GO OF ME!" Hyla yelled.

The man ignored her and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He handcuffed Hyla's hands behind her back. Hey eyes instantly lost their glow.

I glared at the men.

"LET HER GO!" I yelled.

The man holding Hyla pushed her to the ground. She fell hard and cried out in pain.

"HEY!" I yelled.

Then another man walked towards me.

"Don't make this difficult." He said.

I glared at him.

Fine. Want to play dirty? I'll play dirty.

I pulled out a switchblade knife and pointed it at the man.

"Get away from her." I growled.

The man smirked.

"Put the knife down." He said.

I lunged at him. He dodged and punched me in the stomach. I doubled over in pain.

Fuck. He must be a martial artist or something.

I looked up and saw Hyla struggling to stand.

I took a deep breath and charged at the man again. I slashed wildly with the knife. The man dodged all of my attacks effortlessly.

I was getting frustrated. I couldn't land a single hit on him.

Suddenly, the man kicked me in the knee. I fell to the ground in pain.

"SORAX!" Hyla cried out.

The man loomed over me.

"Last chance. Put the knife down." He said.

NO WAY IN HELL!

I stabbed him in the leg.

He yelled in pain and staggered backwards.

The last man instantly lunged at me and pinned me to the ground before spraying something in my face.

I slowly started losing consciousness.

NO!

I struggled against the man, but I was too weak.

"Hyla..." I muttered.

Then everything went dark.

----------------------------------------

I struggled against my handcuffs.

"LET ME GO!" I screamed.

The man holding me down didn't budge.

"Stay calm." He said.

"FUCK YOU!"

"Heh. Feisty."

Suddenly, Sorax slumped to the ground, unconscious.

NO!

"SORAX!" I yelled.

"He's fine. Just a little sleepy. Kid your leg good, didn't he C? Hahaha." The one holding me down said.

"Shut up. B" The injured one hissed.

The man holding me down (B) sighed.

"Man, kid, you really picked a fight with the wrong people. We're from the academy you know." He said.

MY HEART DROPPED.

Nononono. Not the academy. NO.

"Please..." I whimpered.

B laughed.

"Oh, don't worry. You guys are going to have a great time there. Trust me." He said.

I sniffed and tried not to cry.

B patted my head.

"Ah, cheer up kiddo. You'll have fun. Promise." He said.

Fun? How the hell could anyone have fun in a prison for supers?

"Let's get these kids in the van." B said.

The man that sprayed Sorax nodded and picked him up.

"C, drag your ass into the van. We'll treat that shit later." B ordered.

C grunted and limped towards the van.

B dragged me towards the van and opened the door.

"Alright kiddo. In you go." He said.

I reluctantly climbed into the van. B followed and closed the door.

C was sitting in the passenger seat, grumbling. Sorax was lying on the floor, unconscious.

I tried not to cry.

The van started.

We were on our way to hell.