The rest of the ride to school was quiet, fortunately. I’d managed to calm myself down for the most part. I was still wary of Loriana. It was obvious that she was hiding something, even to someone like me who didn’t pick up on body language all that well. While I still had no idea what her aim or goal exactly was, I at least didn’t feel like I was in any immediate danger. That allowed me to enjoy the rest of the ride to school in some amount of peace.
Our school wasn’t anything special. Smaller than those you’d find in a bigger city, naturally. A gray dull, two-story cube of a building. The thing was just as boring inside as it was outside. We did have a football field and gym, though. We weren’t total hicks. Still, it didn’t have many bells and whistles. Despite all that, it did its job and was still standing tall like a grey sore thumb in our city’s green slice of tranquility.
“Hey, can you help show me around, please? I, uh, I’m not really familiar...” Loriana trailed off, looking toward her feet. She awkwardly shuffled in place before trying to get a grip with her surroundings. She looked concerned viewing over her school schedule on a wrinkled piece of paper.
I did feel bad for her. Even if she might have been rude to me while waiting for the bus, she did seem genuinely lost and confused. I did understand how that could feel, and it didn’t feel good. When Mom and Dad died, I felt out of place, even in my own home. When something so familiar to you suddenly changes, a sense of wrongness can easily pop into your mind. I felt guilty for my initial reaction. While I still thought she had something she wasn’t telling me, I felt like she was genuinely frustrated.
I sighed. “Sure. Let me see your schedule. Have you been to Wheeler before?”
She handed me her schedule with a confused, blank look on her face. I sighed again, shoulders slumping. I pointed to the front of the school.
“Cassidy Wheeler High School. The school you’re enrolled in and the one we’re at right now.” I was more than a little exasperated by that point. “What’s up with you? Even if you suddenly moved here from the other side of the country, you don’t even know what school you’re going to?”
“I’m not hiding anything!” she said, glaring up at me. “And you don’t need to treat me like an idiot. Just help me find my classes. Please. Pretty please.”
At least she said please.
“Okay, okay, sorry,” I said while looking over her schedule. Her first and last classes were the same ones I had. I took off walking and motioned for her to follow. “All right Loriana, we have first and sixth period together, so I can walk you to those. I think I know where your other classrooms are, so I can meet you outside fifth period. Come on, I’ll show you now while we have time. Oh, right! My name. I’m Ethan.”
“Thanks for your help. You can call me Lori, by the way.” She stopped and twirled some of her short hair around her finger. “Uh, sorry for being kind of rude to you earlier. I’m just in a less than favorable situation right now.”
I dismissed Lori’s comments with a wave. “No hard feelings. Teenagers aren’t known for being the nicest people or the best communicators.” She gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, her finger curling around her hair. We carried on toward the school without making things worse. Lori didn’t seem like a bad person, at least.
Naturally, there was a throng of students standing directly in front of the main door. I never understood why high school students felt the need to crowd by every door, especially when our school had a courtyard and students had places to be. There were always students clogging the hallways, too. It’s like they go out of their way just to annoy people trying to get on with their day. I felt myself getting more frustrated as we finally got through all the people, most of them only moving a little bit.
More kids were getting off the buses, which only compounded the problem. Our school’s area for pickup and drop off was not well designed, causing a huge congestion of cars, buses, and people. I thought it was a miracle that there hadn’t been a single accident, especially with how teenagers tended to think that they’re immortal and nothing can harm them. That’s the kind of mentality that leads to accidents, and tragically, deaths. And then those people find out that tragedy can happen to anyone.
“Are you okay, Ethan?” Lori asked, a little short on breath. “You seem a little upset.” There was genuine concern in her eyes as she studied my face. I figured that I wasn’t as good at hiding my emotions as I thought I was. I gave a non-confirmatory shrug while trying to smooth over my features. Annoying things like that got to me more than many others and I didn’t really like to show just how annoyed that I got at them.
“I’m good,” I said, waving at her to follow again. “Let’s show you around.”
She smiled and nodded. I decided to show her to our first class, which was Pre-Calculus. Not a fun class to start the day with, by the way. It was located on the second floor, and like the front door, had large clumps of students blocking the way. For a small school, everyone still managed to be in the way all the time. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, feeling my frustration returning with the unwanted guest of anxiety.
Still, Lori and I made our way through all the students who just had to stand unnecessarily far into the hallway, up the stairs, and on the less populated second floor. Feeling like I could breathe again and not be crushed, my mood picked up a bit. I pointed in the direction of the restrooms and upstairs offices in case Lori ever needed them. She’d definitely need the former at some point in time. Then I took her down to the middle of the hall where our first class of the day was held.
“I always prefer to be early to class. It lets me sit, relax, and stay away from others,” I said, opening the door and going inside.
“Not a people person?” Lori asked, following me in.
“Not in large groups. I start to feel trapped and claustrophobic.” I turned to face Mrs. Sway, our teacher for our first period. “Good morning. This is a new student, Loriana, and she has this class first. I was going to show her around the school before we started class.”
Mrs. Sway was an older lady, at least sixty years old. Her age didn’t stop her from being a very enjoyable teacher. She was able to explain the material she taught to everyone who needed more help, and she was rather good with technology. Every day, she had a local news stream playing on the projector, and today was no different. Most students didn’t care about watching. They could usually get any news information from their phones or their parents. I thought it was useful to keep up to date on local affairs when I could, so I appreciated her efforts.
“Oh, of course, Ethan! Good morning to you and good morning to you, Ms. Davis. I was surprised to learn of your transfer this time of the school year. We don’t get many new students this time of year.” She smiled and greeted Loriana with a gentle handshake. “How kind of you, Ethan. This is why you’re my favorite student. You’re always willing to lend a helping hand.”
I felt my cheeks get red and I looked at the floor. She always tended to overstate simple actions, and I’ve always been quick to embarrass. Between the two of us, Shelly got the outgoing and cool genes.
I tried to play it off with a small laugh after I cleared my throat. “I guess, Mrs. Sway. Anyway, I should probably show Lori here around the rest of the school. We only have one other class together, so I can’t show her after all of them.”
At that point, I was eager to get away again. I could see Lori smirking at me, which I figured was done to increase my awkwardness. Scratch being eager to get out of there. I needed to get out of there, or else I was going to risk the awkwardness taking over entirely. It wasn’t even born from anything serious either. It was just how my brain handled it.
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“Oh, yes, of course. You’re a kind and responsible young man. You make sure she’s prepared now, okay?” Mrs. Sway sounded like a doting mother. I nodded to affirm that I would take care of it. I did appreciate just how much Mrs. Sway cared about her students. There were teachers at school who were miserable, but the nice lady in front of me was not one of them.
We were just about to leave the room when an alert for breaking news appeared on the projector screen. I was expecting something about a robbery in Gable Square. Crime wasn’t all that common in Shamrock, so when it happened, it usually happened in Gable Square and it was a big deal. That guess was the most wrong I’d ever been in my entire life. A simple robbery in Gable Square would have been forgotten about in a few weeks, but it wouldn’t have changed the path our entire species was going down in an instant. God, how I wished it had been just a simple robbery.
“This is Ashley Mason with Channel 6 News,” the brunette news anchor said with an even voice. “Thank you for letting me into your home this morning. We’ve received numerous reports that Vancouver, Canada has been attacked by an unknown group. Details are scarce, but we will take you to our correspondents in Vancouver.”
Fear was already threatening to grip at my heart. It seemed that Lori and Mrs. Sway had the same feeling, judging by their faces. Lori looked downright terrified. Did she have family in Vancouver?
We didn’t have much time to guess what was happening before Ashley Mason was replaced with a shot of downtown Vancouver. A skyscraper was on fire, black smoke billowing toward the blue sky. It was hard to make anything else out at that moment. The thing that caught everyone’s attention was the burning building, and there didn’t seem to be a cause visible on the screen. At least until the shouting started.
“Something’s up there! What the hell? It’s floating!” It was a random pedestrian shouting. The cameraman adjusted the shot, likely following pointing. Sure enough, five figures were floating above the city. They looked like black specks against the blue sky until the camera’s shot was zoomed in, and then humanity’s nightmare became clear as day.
Mrs. Sway and I were mostly puzzled. Loriana’s skin grew pale and her lips parted slightly. My mind just could not process what I was seeing. Five people, all of them floating in the middle of a city. It looked like something out of a movie. I was just unable to comprehend that what I was seeing was real. It wouldn’t take long for that to change and the reality of the situation to become apparent.
Without appearing to move any parts of their bodies, the five people slowly descended forward. They were moving like there was an invisible escalator beneath them, but this pacing was deliberate. They were building for something. Tragically, the stunned citizens didn’t know what was in store for them.
The five touched the ground and the screams began. The cameraman turned around to grace the world with a horrible sight. A blue flame engulfed the citizens of Vancouver, their screams stacking and compounding with each other. I wanted to cover my ears and shut my eyes. I couldn’t make my body move. The screams were so damn horrible. I knew I would never be able to get them out of my head for good. Hearing their screams reminded me of the people walking in on the night of my parents’ deaths, all horror at lost life and senseless violence. My heart ached at the thought of everyone suffering like they were. I could only hope that their deaths were swift and as painless as possible.
As the screams died down, smoldering bodies were all that remained. At least dozens of dead innocents littered the streets. Men, women, and children; none in the vicinity were spared. People simply trying to go about their day at their stressful jobs in the new year. Parents were dropping off their kids at school, or maybe they were playing a little hooky. The charred corpses made me sick to look at. It took everything I had to not vomit at the sight. I couldn't believe the camera feed wasn’t instantly cut. Was what we had seen so monumental they wouldn’t cut the feed at the sight of charred children?
The now-shaking camera turned toward the five figures. They hadn’t budged an inch. They looked aloof as they casually observed the scenery surrounding them. All of them except for one. The one in the center looked directly down the camera lens. Humanity was about to learn that he was their leader. The one that orchestrated the attack and sent so many to early deaths.
He was a massive man, almost larger than life. He wore a red cloak with gold fur trim, the broadness of his shoulders evident under it. His height was well beyond six feet. He had long blond hair that flowed down his back, and slightly darker facial hair trimmed in a short beard. The man looked like a king. He had the look and aura of an emperor. He looked like the kind of man who could make anyone bend to his will from his sheer power.
He threw his cloak aside, letting everyone see how muscular he was. Beyond his massive arms, the man looked incredibly solid. If a speeding truck was heading toward him, he looked like he could easily stop it. He was the immovable object, completely unaffected by the world around him with no unstoppable force that could oppose him.
From his hip, he drew a massive sword. From my admittedly limited knowledge of bladed weaponry, I guessed it was a claymore. It was not basket-hilted, it was massive, and this man held it with one hand like a regular person would hold a stick. Without a word, the point was driven forward beneath the camera. That would at least be the final scream of this broadcast. The man pulled his blade free, and it was coated with blood that dripped onto the street below. The camera began to fall as its poor operator collapsed, but it suddenly stabilized and remained at a fixed height.
“Hello, people of Vancouver and of Earth.” His voice was deep and booming, completely befitting his image. He was a commander. He was to be heard and there was no one who would dare not listen. “I am Jarrett McLeod, and I am here to declare a war for the liberation of my people. I will destroy the shackles humanity has put on us. No doubt, many of you are confused. Allow my brothers and sisters here to show you firsthand what we are capable of.”
McLeod moved to the side to let a woman take his place. Her deeply sunken, almost black eyes stared at the world through the camera. She hardly looked alive. Her skin was deathly pale, and she appeared to be malnourished. She was tall and she couldn’t have weighed more than eighty pounds. Her pitch-black hair made her look like something from a horror movie. What she proceeded to do wouldn’t have been too out of place in a horror movie.
The camera turned as the black-haired woman pointed toward a skyscraper, and it began to violently shake. Windows shattered, causing the glass to pour down in a deadly rain to the sidewalk. The sounds of it breaking were horrible. Metal bent and broke under the stress and bits of the building landed in the street, kicking up small clouds of dust. I considered it lucky that were only heard that instead of the people inside. The people that littered the streets were enough.
A massive hole opened beneath the building, and it slowly vanished beneath it, kicking up water and dirt. In the corner of the shot, the pale hand of the woman made a fist, and the hole closed as quickly as it opened. Only bits of rubble, metal, and glass remained as proof of the building. In its place was a perfectly square plot of dirt. Then, on that dirt, beautiful flowers rose up on the graves of everyone who died in that building. They grew and bloomed faster than should have been possible. Where a building filled with people once stood, greenery took over in less than a minute. It was as beautiful and mesmerizing as it was disgusting and horrible.
It was wrong. Not just morally, but impossible. There was nothing about this that made sense. How can an entire building just be swallowed by the ground beneath it? Even an earthquake couldn’t do what the world just saw. Why was beautiful flora already growing where it just stood? How could any of that be happening?
Jarrett McLeod stepped back in front of the camera. “Understand that this is only a small fraction of what my brothers and sisters can do. Long have we existed, it is time for my brothers and sisters to usher in the era of our dominance. No longer will we live beneath inferior beings. There are others out there—others like us—and this is your chance to join us. Do not live in fear of your gifts. Do not live under those who cannot understand you. You are better.”
He walked toward the flowers, beckoning the camera to follow. Without the assistance of anyone holding it, the camera slowly trailed behind him. As it moved closer, the beauty of it all was truly remarkable. Flowers and plants that likely wouldn’t exist together naturally, all standing tall and proud amongst each other. Reds, greens, blues, and everything else between. It was more vibrant than any nature exhibit I’d ever seen. I might have remained mesmerized by the beauty that bordered on otherworldly had it not been for the way it was created.
“Listen well, as this will be your single chance,” McLeod’s voice boomed, startling me. “I will welcome any of those who are not limited by humanity, but do not misunderstand, I have no qualms cutting those down who stand against my brothers, sisters, or myself. Regardless, we will find all of you, and you will be given the choice. The path to the future goes through each and every one of you, it is just up to you how that path will be traveled. You will all be cared for, but you will swear to us your undying loyalty. Transcend and rise above, my new family.”
As soon as the sirens for emergency response vehicles could be heard, the grinning McLeod vanished.