August 13th, 2106. The day my life will change forever. It is Test Day. The day I have spent the last 18 years of my life waiting for with dread and hope. To find out if I am somebody or nobody, Gifted or an Omega. I mean I will be gifted right? My father is Gifted although incredibly weak, or an Alpha. But I should get something from them, right? After all the scientists say it is probable for offspring of Gifted to have gifts. I hope so.
My nervous thoughts sprang through my head faster than I could rationalize. Staring at the plain beige walls in front of me with nothing to focus on, my anxiety began to grow. Determined to stop worrying over nothing I stood up and paced the waiting hall. Students lined the wall to the left sitting in hard plastic chairs waiting to know their fate just as I was. There was Charlie the resident all star athlete sleeping on the floor to pass the time. He had led our plasma team to our 2ndMartian championship in the past year and was sure to be recruited for the professional leagues if he wasn’t Gifted.
I was so nervous I was sweating, and my mouth was dry. Water. I needed water. With an objective in mind I headed down the hall past groups of students trying to pass the time. Past Jordan King, the only student already known to be Gifted. He was one lucky guy to have already had his Gift unlocked. While the Gift is typically unlocked by some chemical process scientists perfected, extreme situations and events can rarely force the Gift’s development. Jordan had been in a hovercraft when the rotors and propulsion drive lost power due to a loose bolt. The craft had fallen straight downward into oncoming traffic. While Jordan claims not to remember what occurred, a traffic camera recorded him leap from the craft to land safely in a pond. Normal right? After all, hovercrafts only stay at most 50 feet above ground. Well the pond was over 200 feet from where he jumped. Needless to say, his superb jump became instantly famous around my school since natural formed Gifted are incredibly rare.
Finishing my envious thoughts, I rounded the corner to the water fountain. I guzzled the cool water down, dousing my nervousness. I turned back to hurry down the hall, my turn was coming up and I can not miss it.
“Jason Werner” came the metallic noise over the speaker system a full hour after I had returned and sat down. I stood up and shook my hands in an attempt to hide the tremble in my fingers. I knew what was about to happen, it was common knowledge. I was going to be given an injection of a whole cocktail of chemicals designed to trigger a variety of junk DNA while sending the recipient unconscious. If successful, some sort of unique dream appears. Always different for every person some believe it relates to the person’s Gift, but there have not been enough tests to support this theory. If the person is not gifted nothing happens and they simply wake up understanding their place in society is with the rest of the Omegas destined to serve those who succeeded where they failed.
I pushed through the metal double doors marking the Testing Room. It’s a small room with metallic walls and a single chair in the middle. The chair however is frightening to see. It is like the full body dentist chairs, except those don’t have numerous restraints on them.
“Please lay down so I can strap you in before we begin” startled by the proximity of the voice I look over to see a man standing in the corner of the room next to a refrigerator. Following his directive, I lay down. He efficiently straps down my legs and moves up my body until I am unable to move anything except my eyes.
“I understand this is uncomfortable, but it is for your safety during the Test. Sometimes acquiring a gift can cause some… problems.” He stated after my eyes questioned the point of the straps. Relaxing I try to release my tension and fail miserably as I see the man bring over an enormous shot filled with an ambiguous mixture. My breathe starts to come faster and faster as he brings needle closer.
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“Relax” He says right as he jabs it into my neck. Immediately I do. All my nervousness seems to flow out of me and now all I want to do is sleep. My eyes began to close, and I notice funnily that the man is running away towards his original corner.
Weird he just disappeared into the wall.
Colors began streaming across my vision as my eyes finally close.
Darkness streams with the colors as if it is chasing them away.
For an eternity it seems as if the colors battled until eventually the colors are pushed out of my vision.
Now there is only black.
Only black.
Red. I blink
Yellow. Streaks of lighting flash across my vision in front of a dark indistinguishable background. I blink.
Blue. Streams of Energy fly towards me. Impact is inevitable. I blink.
Purple. Plasma flies across a war-torn battlefield. The broken buildings cast sinister shadows upon the smoke drifting across the landscape. I see a small child crying underneath fallen rubble, trying to survive. I take a step towards her just as a plasma beam hits her frail protection. I blink.
The darkness came back yet it was no longer foreign or frightening. Comforting like a favorite blanket. I let it envelope me.
“Ugh” a gasp of pain slipped from my tense lips as the bright lights of the room blinded my sensitive eyes. I quickly covered them with my hands and relieved the burning sensation that wouldn’t go away.
Wait. How did I move my hand? They are -were- strapped down. Not willing to risk my eyesight yet, I curiously feel around for the restraints on the chair. One problem, I couldn’t find the chair. I was lying on cold ground surrounded by … dust?
I opened my eyes. Closed them. Opened them. And blinked once more trying to rationalize what was going. I am still in the same room as before, I think. But there are a few differences, mainly the dark scorch marks etched all over the walls and floor and the fact that the dentist chair appears to have been transformed into a pile of ash/dust. Weird.
“Clap. Clap. Clap. Well that was not normal”
I jumped at the unexpected commentary as the man from earlier walked into my vision.
“What did you do?” I growl angry at his interference in my Test. “Nothing. You did this” he gleefully replied. “The moment you went under you unleashed enough energy to vaporize your seating arrangement and seriously damage the room. I also want to add that you nearly caught me leaving the room and turning into a pile of extra crispy bacon is not on my plans for the day”
“How?” I stuttered as I realized the danger I possessed. “Actual answer, I have no clue. Probably enhanced mitochondria and some sort of reinforced nervous system. Short answer, congrats you’re Gifted!”
I’m Gifted? I’m Gifted. I’m Gifted! This is incredible! I’m not nobody! I am … dangerous. I have a terrible power that I have no clue how to control. Crap. But I will learn and once I do I will be a great power for good.
Glancing down at my hands, I se nothing different with the skin. Same tan complexion, long slender fingers, my three moles that from a right triangle, my scar from… wait. My scar is gone. The long scar starting at the webbing between my middle and index finger and ending at my wrist is gone. The reminder of my carelessness with knives is no longer there. What ….
“Now since my equipment is showing that you are clearly a higher level Gifted you will have an automatic acceptance into The Academy.” He interrupted, derailing my train of thought. “Congrats! This is an incredible opportunity typically only available for Premier legacies or unusually strong gifted from Alpha or Omega classes. Only .1% of gifted can attend, roughly .0000001% of humanity. I should mention that due to the dangerous and powerful nature of your gift you will be required to attend for your benefit as well as for societies”.
“I don’t know what to say… its mandatory?” I questioned.
“Yes. Now if you would, I have many more of your classmates to test. While I seriously doubt they will put on as good of a firework show as you have, there is a slim chance. I have gone ahead and blocked your Gift. You will receive everything you need to know about The Academy later. Now go celebrate with your family, this is a momentous occasion”, he concluded.
Dazed, I left the room. Left the school. Left my old life behind to join the ranks of the Gifted and the students of the academy.