Karl! No! No!!!

I raised my hands to my head, yanking my hair on and on while spinning around like a mad. Elliot was trying to calm me down and Allaya was saying something, but I wasn’t able to understand them.

“Mia, what happened? Who’s Karl?” Allaya asked.

“My brother… he’s sick! I need to find him. Now!”

“Calm down. Listen to me.”

I was pissed, scared and confused.

“No! Karl is sick and he needs me. I’m going after him. He’s alive… he can’t be...”

Allaya hugged me tightly and I instantly started to cry like never before. We stood there until my tears dried up and my eyes got swollen. We looked into each other’s eyes and I sensed we felt the same pain. All of us lost somebody.

“Have you found your families?” I suddenly asked.

They looked at each other, then Elliot answered:

“Yes and no. Our parents were in Rogyo, celebrating their anniversary. We don’t know anything about them. Some of our friends are dead and another other three are still alive, searching their families too.”

“Where they also different?”

“Two of them were still normal, but one other has changed.”

“Changed how?”

“He looked more like a… corpse. His lips were purple and his skin was translucent, with pale yellow spots around his mouth and eyes.”

Allaya stopped him when she saw I was about to suffer the tenth shock of the day.

“I lost my daughter.” Bill said, all of a sudden. “I found her body under the theatre buildings’ bricks. She died happy, at least… doing what she loved most.”

“Bill, I’m so sorry!”

“…me too. We will find your brother, but first things first. You have to be strong, Whitey. Can you do that?”

I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself for the worse. Bill was analyzing me carefully, probably waiting for me to have another breakdown.

“I will try to be… as much as I’m able to.”

“That’s good enough for the moment.”

“Wait. This is the second time you’ve called me Whitey. What’s this, my new… nickname?” I said, raising my eyebrows at them.

“Mia, sweety. What do you think your hair color is?” Allaya asked.

“What do you mean? It’s brown.” I told her, grasping at a strand of hair to show her.

And then I saw it. What the fuck?! My hair was white. No, not white. It was gray… silver! Much longer too, with curled peaks.

“Mia, don’t freak out, please.” Allaya said.

“Too late. She’s not breathing anymore.” Elliot giggled at me.

“How? Is this because of the…?”

“Yes, it’s because of the change, because of your power. We believe that the acquired powers were influenced by our personality and, possibly, by the mood we had in that moment. Take my case as example. I’m a nurse, so my power is to heal myself and… maybe others. Or Bill. He was a bodyguard at a nightclub, so he’s power gave him strength.”

“Can we talk while we walk? We need a home, since Ria is about to wake up and we need to take care of her and Mia’s hands.”

Bill was seriously worried and he took me into consideration for the first time. And he was right. We had to find a home before dark. Every night, the police and ambulances collected the dead bodies and the wounded. A hospital was ready and the patients were already cared for, under the observation of the authorities.

The good news was that they had already raised the skeleton of the structures, drywalled the framing and installed all the windows and doors in one district. The bad news was the high number of districts in the capital, not to mention the rest of the cities. Especially the big ones.

Also, the President and the Mayor were alive. They had an important meeting with the representatives of other countries, in order to discuss the new situation of our world. Apparently, only four or so countries were seriously impacted. The other ones had few cities affected.

After this meeting, we were informed that according to an agreement, the unaffected countries will provide us with food, medicine, electronics and weapons. But only if the debt will be paid back in eight years from now, hopefully with no interest.

***

Bill was standing in front of a half-green, modern looking house, studying the doors, windows and the garden. Ria was still asleep and I tried not to look at her back. That sight made me blame myself as her pain and scars were my fault.

“The rain is about to start. I think this house is good enough for the moment. What do you think?” Bill looked at us, waiting for an answer.

“First, let’s get inside and make sure that it’s abandoned. We don’t want any other surprises.” I replied.

Elliot was already at the door, which seemed to be hinged and stable. Maybe someone was actually living there, but we still took a look inside. The house had two levels and the roof was ruined, but the ground floor was in a good condition. It had a long hall, with a living room on the right side, followed by a bathroom. The kitchen was across the hall.

We were astonished to find clear water and we drunk it greedily, filling up the bottles. I went to the bathroom and Allaya helped me clean my face and arms.

“Allaya, can you try to heal my arms? I’ve heard what Bill said about your powers. You can try it on me, you know…”

“I don’t know, Mia. Are you sure?” She said, worried.

“I can barely move them, not to mention the pain I’m struggling with. So yes, I’m sure.”

“Uhm… alright. But you have to describe to me everything that you feel and all the signs your body sends to you, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am!” I half-smiled.

Allaya gently grabbed my hands and closed her eyes. After almost ten seconds, I felt like someone was taking control of my body.

“Mia, talk to me.”

“Right. Sorry. Uhm…I feel like I’m not the only one who has control over my body anymore. Like somebody is touching me and my pulse just quickened by a little bit. My arms sting and tickle and my muscles are throbbing.”

“I see… ok, that’s good. I’m about to make it more intense, so don’t be scared and don’t move.”

“Mhm… yes, I can feel it.”

“What else?”

“Small electrical vibrations up to my elbow and a burning sensation. And pain. …the pain is growing.”

“Mia…”

“Don’t stop. Just do it.”

“Ok, I will increase cell proliferation, capillary budding, and the synthesis of extracellular matrix to fill in the damaged tissue.”

“…right.”

“It’s amazing! I can control your blood, your DNA and organize it as I want.”

“Aaa… great. It sounds relieving….and deadly.”

Bill and the twins were watching us from the door. I could swear they weren’t breathing anymore and neither was I. My arms were shaking and the pain numbed my senses. Suddenly, my body got so tense that I arched my back and tilted my head back. I wanted to warn Allaya, but I couldn’t speak anymore until a thunder pulled me out of the trance.

“Allaya, what’s happening? Is someone attacking us?”

Bill and Allaya were staring at me from a distance with shaken breaths. They were frightened and I tried to remember when Allaya let go of my hands. I’ve heard another thunder and the rain was already started.

Then I understood.

“Allaya, Bill. I’m so sorry! I didn’t want this to happen again, I swear. I will control it.”

“How? You almost killed us, again.” Bill said with a flat voice.

“I know and I’m sorry, ok? I just…”

“It wasn’t the lightning this time. It was the air, Whitey!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the air density you lowered, leaving us without any oxygen. If it wasn’t for the thunder, we would have all been dead.”

“It’s not like I want this, Bill. It’s just happened, all of a sudden. But this time was different. I felt the power and…recognized it, somehow. If you want me to control it, first I have to release it and… feel it, I guess. Play with it. Please, tell me you understand.”

Bill tried to say something, but the front door was slammed into the wall and Elise started to scream. Ria was still unconscious on the sofa and Elliot stepped aside in front of his sister. We ran to them and froze. Three men were staring at us and the house. They were big. And armed.

“Well, well, look at this beautiful house.” One of them said.

The other two started to laugh, playing around with their guns.

“Boss, we should keep it. And that pretty girl over there.” another pointed at Elise.

“Boys, let’s talk it over, shall we?” Allaya said, while Bill put his hand in front of her.

“You can have the house and we will leave. All of us.” Bill said.

“Hmm… Or, you let us have the house and the girl for my boy Tommy. This way nobody dies. That’s a fair deal, right guys?” he said.

“Yeah!” the one named Tommy leered. “I want the girl.”

Elise was trembling and Elliot was ready for a fight. Jesus! I couldn’t let those animals put a hand on Elise, under any circumstances. My blood was boiling over from all the angriness that was bottled up inside me.

I tried to block the outside world for a few moments and to reach in, for my power. I first felt it in my chest. After that, I felt it flowing, all over my body. I channeled small electricity tendrils into my fingers, playing with it until I could control the intensity and amount of power. I was ready. Sort of…

“The girl will come with us.” Bill cautiously said.

Their boss stepped closer to Bill and punched him so hard that Allaya screamed, but Bill didn’t move an inch.

“What the…”

Bill instantly broke his ribs with a fist so quick that his opponent didn’t even have the time to finish his sentence. He fell on the floor with his arms spread around his body, gasping and trying to breathe. How isn’t he dead already?!

The following second was marked by the scene changing and not for the better. The image of it will remain imprinted into our minds forever.

“Run!!” Bill screamed.