The night in the hospital was sleepless for Atlas for 2 reasons. First one is that he was thinking about the other world he visited. He finally got the rest he needed. Now he has all the time to think and analyze the situation he is in.

He found an unknown portal, tunnel which leads to another world. They are usually reported to the authorities. The one who found the tunnel can usually get some reward for finding it. If tunnels are not reported, nothing really happens, since they are found anyway. This is mainly because the longer the tunnel stays on Earth, the more energy it starts emitting. And eventually it is being found by some faction. Factions are always in an active search for the portals, due to them being the main source of income and powers. Now it got Atlas curious. Why has that portal not been found after all the time? The time he was in the hospital, the time he was in the portal and who knows for how long it was active before he found it.

He knew one thing for sure. He does not want to report it. The time in the portal was scary -yes, dangerous - very, but he never felt so alive in his life. He was scared, but the more he thought about it, the more he craved to return.

So that is why he decided not to report it. He is going to return there. Yet he is not going to go there unarmed. He has to get prepared.

Oh and yes, the second reason he is not able to sleep is…

Turning the music off and taking the earphones out, Atlas hoped to hear the dead silence. And yet again, his hopes were brutally murdered. A very loud snore could be heard somewhere from the left side of his bed.

“Why can’t she sleep quieter? I am not even asking for her to stay shut, just snore a little bit quieter. Feels like I am trying to sleep near a truck engine working full force”

It was around 2 a.m. and Atlas could not sleep at all.

However he was not that angry about it. Now he had all the time to test his new ability as well. His very first ability.

There are several things he learnt about his ability.

First one is that visually it changes his appearance. His left eye goes fully blue. No more iris, eye ball etc. just a blue shine coming from the eye. It creates some lines on the left side of his face. They look like cracks and start to hurt the more he uses his ability. The only logical reason Atlas could think of is that his body cannot hold this ability for a very long time, due to his lack of training with energy.

All the people who have the ability, have one thing in common. The energy source in their bodies. The bigger the source, the more they are able to use their powers. Some call it mana, some call it spirit flow but anyone has it. Even people without abilities. But in order to train the mana source, one has to have an ability, since only abilities allow the energy to escape the mana source.

Abilities are something essential to have these days. There used to be some factions who tried to become powerhouses without having any powers. They tried to use tech and guns to compete with the ones with abilities. However none of those factions left, since ability-less people with guns appeared to be weaker than people with abilities and guns. Yes, nobody forbids hunters to use any weapons and some abilities work very well with bullets.

Returning to Atlas abilities, he also learnt more about the usage. When it is active, he is able to both sense and see the energy flow. When it is visible, it looks like blue strands flying around. He is able to sense and see them even through walls. The radius of the ability feels like it is around 40 meters. But the further the energy source, the thinner the lines are.

Seeing energy is somewhat of an easy concept for Atlas. However feeling the energy is something on a different scale. Using an ability, he is able to sense the energy around him. If there is some energy behind him, he knows it’s there. He just simply knows, he feels it. Yet he was unable to test it more, since the concept is very new to him. Moreover he needs to get used to a new sense of his body.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

One thing however was bothering him. Activating his ability, Atlas looked to the bed next to his. He could see a silhouette lying on a bed. Pitch black hair lying everywhere, and reaching the waist. A very fit body, with the right proportions. All looked like he was looking at some beauty model.

*SNORE

“Uh, give me a break!” cried Atlas in his mind, barely hearing his own thoughts.

Her name is Alice, at least that's what she told him 2 seconds before falling asleep.

Atlas’ conversation was not long with her. All he hears is her calling him a wimp, saying her name and how bored she is. Atlas had no idea of who she was.

But looking at her with his left eye, Atlas was looking at something strange. The girl had an immense energy source. Almost comparable with an ex-hunter Ms Scarlett, whom he saw earlier the day. That alone made him sure she was a hunter as well.

But something else was visible for Atlas as well. Her energy source was being disrupted. The flow was uneven, chaotic and he could even see some energy with a bit of a different shade. Purplish energy was flowing inside her and disrupting the even flow of her own energy.

“Is that why she is here? Hunters are usually not wasting much time in the hospitals, since they are being treated fast. Maybe doctors cannot get rid of that weird energy inside of her.”

After all of his thought process, Atlas noticed something weird in the room. No more sound could be heard.

“Not just a wimp, but a pervert as well. I see.” A voice came from a bed next to him.

Surprised Atlas could only say “You…you are not sleeping?”

Turning his ability off, he was hoping she did not notice it.

*Did she see my ability? Freak, it is a freaking glowing eye after all, obviously she would wake up* Atlas was blaming himself in his thoughts.

“Dude, lemme tell ya one thing. When hunters sleep, we sleep with “one eye open”. It is to prevent being ambushed while sleeping. And trust me, I could feel your perverted stare on me, even when I saw my fourth nightmare”

“Sorry” was the only thing Atlas could say

*I’ll just go to sleep now* was thinking Atlas putting on his earphones.

“What was that with your eye tho?” Alice asked

“What are you talking about?” Atlas tried to play dumb hoping he could just sweep it off.

“Dude, I am not as stupid as people you are used to talk to, if you think that really works”

“Fair enough,” Atlas said, thinking that he did not really talk to a lot of people in his life “It is my ability. It allows me to wake not-so stupid girls up when they snore like a train, goodnight” Atlas told her as he turned the music on and closed his eyes.

“Good one, wimp. G’night”

————————————

In a laboratory, two doctors were discussing something while looking at the monitors.

“What do you think it could be?”

“I am not sure, she said she was stung by a horror. Might be a venom, but no evidence of intoxication was found in her blood analysis. She looks fine on the MRI as well.”

“She claims that she is unable to use her ability properly. She says it hurts very much using it.”

“Well, results show nothing. Maybe she is faking it, or what is more likely, she is in shock. Not many hunters can make it constantly fighting horrors. They are called horrors not just for fun. Anyway, we are going to discharge her after tomorrow with the other boy.”

“Ah, yes Atlas if I remember correctly. He was brutally beaten by his peers. What a sad story.”

“Do you believe him?”

“What do you mean, doctor?”

“His injuries are not just something that can be acquired in a fist fight. Unless they used some kind of explosion ability, metal bats and other unimaginable stuff. And as far as I know, Lamante does not possess such. I will check into it further. As for now, let's get going, we have Bond Montcalm. He is from the Montcalm family. I wonder why he is not getting treated in their own hospital.”

“No idea, maybe he is a lower rank hunter. As people say, he was beaten by someone, although no one really told us who beat him or even what he looked like. Funny guy I must say. Nurses love him. Oh, and when he heard about that boy Atlas, he instantly wanted to see him.”

“They know each other? Interesting. Both got severe injuries, both are around 16-19 years. Maybe there is something going on now. Anyways, lets get some rest”