Standing completely still and silent in the alleyway, Eliot and Zander both stared at Vincent. Their faces showed an equal amount of confusion and, more so for Zander, rejection of the idea of superpowers being real.

“Hold on, Vincent, you’re going to have to explain yourself,” Zander said, seemingly still a bit dazed from the previous encounter.

“Y-yeah, Vince, I’m not following what you’re saying either. What exactly do you mean by ‘super powers’?” Eliot questioned nervously.

Vincent stared at the both of them, just smiling. He knew what he meant—he knew exactly what he was talking about. He held his half-cocked smile for a few seconds longer, then walked towards Eliot and Zander. “You know what I mean.”

“No, no I don’t know what you mean. Nothing is making any sense right now and I don’t like it,” Zander spouted with a bit of anger seeping into his voice.

“Well, if you want, I can show you again. After all, it’s pretty cool.”

“H-h-hold on guys, let’s save this for later,” Eliot chimed in as he walked towards the beaten and unconscious victim from earlier. “We need to get help right now...I mean he needs to get help right now, and we gotta call the cops and the fire department and—” Eliot rambled before being cut off.

Putting his hand on Eliot’s shoulder, Zander said plainly, “Eliot, there’s no need to get so worked up about this. We need to think this through calmly and carefully.” Zander seemed to visibly relax a bit, although his eyes still had a worried and confused look to them. “First, we need to call the paramedics for this savagely beaten fellow,” he said pointing at the unconscious victim. “Second, we need to call the cops and get this criminal apprehended, detained, and arrested.”

As Zander was finishing his thought, the unconscious victim began to stir and wake up. Eliot immediately ran over and asked if he was alright. The victim replied that he was well enough to move a bit and to stay awake. He also told the group that his name was Bruce and that the muscled freak that was knocked out at the end of the alley was one of his lifting buddies, named George. Bruce told the group that they didn’t have to stick around and deal with his problems; he could call the police and get everything sorted out because it was his problem to deal with.

Eliot refused to just leave Bruce behind, but Vincent and Zander managed to convince Eliot that the situation was going to be alright. Vincent was the one who agreed with Bruce the most, but for more personal reasons. He had never had any positive experiences with police officers or any job that dealt with enforcing or interpreting the law. From his parents’ divorce, to the headache that was his legal custody battle, to his false imprisonment for theft, every avenue seemed to have it out for him, even though he has tried in the past to do things the proper way.

With a majority of the group in agreement, Eliot, Zander, and Vincent walked to Zander’s house. The walk there was eerily silent, seeing as no one talked the entire time, most likely because everyone was still trying to comprehend the prior event.

Vincent, on the other hand, was deeper in thought than usual. He thought about the strange feeling he was feeling at the moment. It was a sense of emptiness that resided in both his heart and his mind. It was only noticeable if he stopped and really thought about it.

What is this feeling exactly? How long has it been here? Does it mean something? Those thoughts rattled around in his mind endlessly as he walked towards Zander’s house.

Zander lived in a wealthy suburb right outside of the city, one that was gated and hard to get into. Walking from the park to his house usually takes Vincent about twenty minutes or so, but after the encounter in the alleyway, Vincent’s pace was quicker than normal.

Walking through the gated suburb, there were tall, giant, and extravagant houses on every road and every corner. Some were made of beautiful brick that always looked as if it was laid the day before, some had a more modern finish to them, while some houses were made just to flaunt the owner’s wealth. The thing that most houses here shared in common was that they have only been here for around ten to twenty years. In the driveway of almost every house, there was either a new sports car, electric car, or some other sort of higher-end vehicle.

Towards the back of the suburb was Zander’s house, which had been there for many years—before most of the houses in the suburb were even built. Zander’s family was one of the first families to build a house and live here. Because of their extreme wealth, the place where they built their home attracted a lot of other wealthy people, and slowly the suburb grew in size.

Zander’s house can only be described as a beautiful, white mansion that extends into smaller, connected rooms on both sides that are the size of small houses. In the gated front yard there were flower gardens, bushes, hedges, and a few workers tending to the greenery.

Upon arriving at the house Vincent and Eliot waved to the guard at the front gate and the guard replied with a friendly and familiar smile. Vincent had been to Zander’s place more times than even Zander could count. All of the gardeners and guards knew who he was, seeing as he and Zander grew up together and have been best friends for as long as either of them can remember. Zander’s parents treated Vincent like another son, even to the point where Vincent lived there temporarily.

Almost like clockwork, the moment Zander stepped foot into his property, his parents walked out of the front door to greet him.

“Oh there you are, Son, I was wondering where you had gone, but my question was answered the moment I saw you two,” Zander’s father laughed. “Come on in, we’re having lunch in about an hour or so.”

“Thank you, Father. I will be up in my study for a while, so I might miss lunch,” Zander said.

His father furled his eyebrow in a fashion that showed disapproval when hearing that Zander might miss lunch.

“However, what I am studying at the moment requires my attention urgently. It is of great importance. You know I wouldn’t want to miss our family lunch if I didn’t have to,” Zander strongly stated.

“Well...alright, I understand. Your future is of more importance than our family meals. I trust that you are doing what is best for you and our family right now.” The father’s attention then shifted towards Vincent and Eliot. “Anyways, boys, the pool and basketball court are open so feel free to make yourself at home until lunch.” Zander’s father went back inside with his wife; Zander soon followed.

Vincent and Eliot made their way through the familiar maze of rooms that is Zander’s house and arrived at the outdoor basketball court. Both of them loved playing basketball, and Vincent especially loved playing it on the outside court.

Both of their playing styles complimented each other nicely. Vincent was someone who always charged in, trying to make plays happen in the paint, and Eliot preferred to stay back and shoot the ball. It was almost tradition for them to play a one-on-one game while Zander was off doing something around the house.

The beginning of their game was quieter than usual, and the air around them was awkward and tense. It eventually got to the point where Vincent had to say something.

“Yo, El,” Vincent said partway into their game. “I’m not gonna lie, these powers are pretty cool.”

“Are they actually powers? I’m having a bit of a hard time accepting it,” Eliot replied. He then overshot a three-point shot, missing the rim entirely.

“I’m dead serious, dude. Watch this.” Vincent began to back up past the half-court line. He was about three-fourths of the court away from the hoop when he stopped.

“Vince, what are you doing? You’ve never even made a half-courter before.”

Wordlessly, Vincent held the basketball at an angle in his hand. He concentrated and thought back to memories of that dark, empty place. When his thoughts reached that familiar state, a new picture appeared: his home.

Suddenly a small black sphere appeared in his hand where the basketball was. The basketball was launched from his hand towards the basketball hoop. The way the ball was flung forwards looked like it was stuck in a water pipe and was suddenly shot free from the growing pressure behind it. The ball almost reached the hoop before falling short—although, after a few bounces, it eventually rolled to where the hoop was.

“Wha—” Eliot couldn’t seem to get any full words out upon seeing what just happened.

“I told ya, this is something special,” Vincent replied.

“I-I-I mean I think I can believe you now. Besides, I’m not a doubter of everything like Zander.” Eliot’s body began to calm down and he looked as though he was collecting his thoughts. “So, what exactly can you do? How did you get that? Do you think it has something to do with that strange obelisk? How can you be so nonchalant about something like this? I just can’t really im—”

“Calm down, El, calm down. Let’s talk while we finish this game.”

“You’re right, you’re right. Sorry.” Eliot replied while taking deep breaths. “Also, you’re just saying that because you’re winning for once.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Vincent said with a slight smile. “To answer your first question, I think I basically figured out what I can do. It’s weird, I know what I can do but I also don’t know. It’s almost like it’s just all instinct. Basically, I can create an area where nothing is. Although, technically, I don't create a void, rather, I push all the matter in an area away, which creates a void.” Vincent could see the confusion in Eliot’s eyes. “I create voids, places where no matter can be—we’ll go with that.” He then drove past Eliot and made a layup.

“Ok, I think I’m following what you’re saying. So it’s basically like space?” Eliot asked.

“Pretty much, if that helps ya think about it. To answer your next question, I’m not entirely sure. I had a freaking weird dream last night and since then I’ve had a bad headache. It started to go away but flared back up to the worst it’s ever been when we encountered that giant muscle-head. At that point, it just kind of came to me and it’s always in the back of my head.”

“Huh, that’s pretty weird. But I’m putting it together now. And what about the obelisk? Does it have anything to do with your powers? It seems pretty coincidental.”

“Yeah, I think that’s probably right. But we’ll find out as soon as Zander cracks that code.” Vincent then stole the ball from Eliot and almost missed a shot. “That reminds me of something, El. Take a look at this.” He then took out the black shard that was in his backpack.

“Vince, what is that?” Eliot asked with a bit of nervousness to his voice.

“I’m not sure, I found it in my house this morning. It looks just like that obelisk in the park—even the symbols look the same. I wanted to give this Zander to look at but I kinda forgot,” Vincent laughed.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand you,” Eliot replied, shaking his head.

Just as Eliot and Vincent were finishing their conversation a familiar bell chimed; their lunch was ready. They both decided to table their discussion until they were able to talk to Zander.

Walking into the mansion and into the lavish dining room, there was an unexpected person sitting at the table. Zander was silently sitting at his regular seat, eating his meal. He was staring at the table as if he was in deep thought. Vincent tried to get his attention by calling his name, but Zander would not answer. The lunch was awkward and eerily silent; Zander’s parents were not present and Zander himself didn’t even seem to acknowledge anyone or anything around him.

Finally, after finishing his meal, Zander looked up at Vincent and Eliot with a look of defeat but also confusion. “I just don’t get it…” Zander’s thoughts seem to trail off to nothing.

“What’s wrong, dude? Were you not able to figure anything out?” Eliot asked with genuine concern in his voice.

“No, no, it’s not that. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite—I figured it all out. Everything. The entire puzzle, the whole script,” Zander replied with obvious annoyance in his voice.

“Oh, wow! Then what’s the—”

Zander then suddenly slammed both of his hands on the table. “But I shouldn’t have been able to figure it out so quickly and easily. It’s like the thing itself is mocking my intelligence and I can’t figure out why.”

Zander then began to calm down and looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. “Every time I would think of a possible idea for what a piece of the puzzle could be, I would be correct. This happened every single time. The entire point of puzzles, riddles, and math is that you have to figure things out; you have to go through the process. However, this obelisk’s cipher—which has been stumping everyone I’ve seen online—was essentially just handed to me, and it’s driving me crazy. I just can’t figure out why I was able to solve it so easily.”

Not seeing the big deal as to why Zander was upset, Vincent looked him in the eyes and said “What’s the big deal? You probably got lucky with your guesses. It’s not a big deal, dude.”

“Of course it is! You just don’t get it, Vince, you don’t.”

Vincent took a bit of offense to the statement and he visibly showed it. “Alright, asshat, you know that’s not true. I love science and everything about it, so I understand ‘the process’.”

“H-hey guys, let’s calm down for a second,” Eliot interrupted. “Zander, you’re really smart—definitely a lot more than me—so I’m not surprised you figured it out. You know that this was probably just a fluke, and it is by no means a mockery of what you can do.”

Zander seemed to calm down a bit, but his face was still a bit red with anger. He sat back down in his chair and drank some lemon tea.

“So, what exactly did you find out?” Eliot questioned.

“Well,” Zander sighed, reaching for his bag that he brought down with him, “I wrote the entirety of the obelisk down in this notebook. But, honestly, it seems like a prank and it doesn't make a lot of sense—especially the first part.”

Vincent quickly reached for the notebook and began to read it aloud. “To the world, to the people of the world, and to The Chosen, this is a message that you will find gravely important. You will begin to notice strange things occurring around the world at this time, more specifically, people with strange powers. These people are blessed with the gift of Resonance, and therefore, they are known as Resonators.”

“This sounds like the most childish, ingenuine thing someone could come up with,” Zander mocked. “Honestly, it sounds like something your video game-loving brain came up with, Vince,” Zander said while laughing to himself a little.

“Quiet, I’m trying to read the rest of this, asshole.” Vincent then began to read the writing again. “Resonators are people with strong wills and minds, and there is no stopping them from appearing. Those who resonate with an aspect of the universe are known as Dominators, while those who resonate with themselves and make real those resonations are known as Appirators. The Chosen is among them and among you, and they must save the world from the impending doom that will befall the world in due time. The One, a being that will bring the end of all things, has already descended upon this world, and the Chosen must unlock the secrets of this new world to save it. Huh, I guess that makes me a Resonator, I guess.”

“I’m going to be honest, I’m starting to agree with Zander on this one. This all sounds kind of made up,” Eliot stated.

Vincent then reached into his bag and grabbed the shard. He then slapped the shard onto the table in response to Eliot’s criticism of the obelisk’s message. “I’m not done with this, yet. Zander, take a look at this. I found this in my house and I think it might be important,” Vincent stated with absolute confidence.

Zander rolled his eyes and took the shard. Over the course of the ten minutes it took for him to translate the message on the shard, Zander’s expression went from one that showed how much he didn’t take the situation seriously to one of confusion and annoyance. When he was done, he took a deep sigh and looked up at Vincent with a completely blank expression.

“So, what did it say?” Vincent asked with a bit of excitement in his voice.

“Well...it said…” Zander replied, his voice trailing off as if he was having a hard time finding the correct words. “Whatever, I’ll just tell you what it said word for word. It said: Vincent Huron, the Chosen, you must save this world. Follow the obelisks and you will find the answers at the end. Find the other shard-bearers to aid you along your way. Only you can do this.”

“Is that all it says?” Vincent asked.

“Umm…” Zander replied, flipping over the shard. “It doesn’t look like—“ Before he finished his thought, his eyes widened and a look of confusion shot across his face.

“What’s wrong, Zander?” Eliot questioned, with some worry in his voice.

With a deep breath, Zander said “There’s small writing on the back, and it looks a little more crappy than the rest.”

“What does it say? What does it say?” Vincent impatiently asked.

“Well...it says: Please save them. With them, on broken wings, you’ll fly.”

“What does that mean?” Eliot asked.

“Who cares?” Vincent dismissed. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get searching for those obelisks!”

“You can’t be serious right now, Vincent. You can’t just leave everything here just because a big statue said so,” Zander retorted.

“What do you mean ‘leave everything’? I got nothin’ here to leave.” Vincent looked off in the direction of his empty house.

“Um, what about us?” Eliot shyly said, with a bit of sadness to his voice.

“I’m not leaving you guys; you guys are coming with me,” Vincent replied with a smile on his face.

“WOAH! Hold on, I never agreed to this,” Zander quickly stated. “Besides, you don’t even know where to start looking.”

“Doesn’t that writing on the obelisk say where to go? I would assume the directions would be there,” Vincent replied.

Zander’s eyes wandered down to his bag and a worried expression shot across his face for a second. After looking at his bag, he fell silent and looked around the room and whistled. He looked everywhere but in Vincent’s eyes. Vincent continued to stare directly at Zander, unmoving.

In the past, whenever Vincent had Zander in a corner—whether that was because he was right about something or because Zander was hiding something from him—Zander would just stop talking instead of admitting defeat.

After a few seconds of silence, Zander suddenly groaned and looked back at Vincent. “Fine, you’re right, there is more written on the obelisk, but I haven’t bothered trying to figure it out, yet.”

“That’s more like it. So, what does it say?” Vincent said.

Zander pulled out another notebook from his bag and began to read what was written on it. “The next obelisk is located in a place where the sands of time still hold true; a place where the heat never ceases. Th—”

“Egypt! Easy,” Vincent replied, crossing his arms in satisfaction.

“What? There are so many things wrong with what you just said,” Zander replied.

“Nope. Sand is referring to a desert because deserts have sand. Also, deserts are always hot, so it has to be a desert. And what place on earth is a desert?” Vincent asked rhetorically. “That’s right, it’s Egypt.

“I swear you have the smoothest brain out there. It amazes me how you do better in science class than me. Deserts are one of the coldest places at night, so if we were going with a place that’s always hot, I would think about it possibly referring to a volcano. Also, Egypt isn’t the only place with a desert.”

“I know I’m right, I can feel it. Keep reading, Zander.”

Zander rolled his eyes. “This is a place where architecture is a wonder and the great rulers of the past remain inside pyramids. The stone guardian watches over all that is there. At the center of this country is where the next obelisk resides. That’s all it says.” As Zander finished his thought he looked over at Vincent, who had the biggest grin possible on his face. Zander’s expression suddenly sunk and he buried his head in his hands.

“Wait, what’s wrong? What did I miss?” Eliot asked.

“It’s Egypt,” Zander mumbled.

“You’re damn right it is! Now, let’s get our things packed and start heading there now,” Vincent said, already walking to the door.

“Hold on, Vincent. No one agreed to anything here,” Zander replied.

“What do you mean? This is a chance to go do something amazing and fun. Besides, we know that these superpowers exist and we have to do something.”

“Um...before you argue any further, can I mention something?” Eliot said quietly. “I’m with Vincent in the fact that I believe these superpowers exist.” Eliot had a worried look on his face and his body squirmed in an uncomfortable way. “However, I think we should stay and protect ourselves and our families. What if another bad guy comes, like the muscle guy? Vincent is the only one who can protect us.”

“I personally think that it would be more dangerous to stay here,” Vincent retorted. “If there are these ‘Resonators’ out there already, there’s no way in hell I can take them all. I think if your main concern is your family, then we should go figure this shit out. If we do, maybe we could stop it all.”

“That is a huge gamble, Vincent, and one that puts all of us in more danger,” Zander replied. “What you are proposing is nonsense and foolish. This isn’t some kid’s game, this is real life, and it involves our real families.”

“I know that, which is why I think my idea is the best one. We can just leave as soon as we can—I already thought of a way there.”

“You’re not listening at all!” Zander’s voice began to grow in volume. “We know something that most people don’t right now. We need to stay here, go to the authorities, report what we know, and stay with our families. That’s what my parents said to do in case of an emergency.”

“Guys, we really shouldn’t be fight—” Eliot said before getting cut off.

“Protect our families?” Vincent angrily questioned Zander. “What have they done for you, besides giving birth to you? And don’t give me that ‘that’s what my parents said’ bullshit. You’re not them, you can think for yourself. You’re gonna waste this once-in-a-lifetime experience just because your scaredy-ass can’t ever disobey your parents? What a load.”

Zander’s face was as red as can be and his muscles were visibly tense. “That’s because they know best! But what would you know? Your parents certainly never knew best when it came to anything. That’s why your house is always empty. Your dad is never home because of work and your mom is probably off having intercourse with three different men as we speak.”

The room suddenly went silent. Both Vincent and Zander just stared at each other with an intense hatred in their eyes. The air was stagnant and the only sound audible was the creaking of the walls from the intense gust of wind that suddenly blew through.

After a few seconds, Vincent felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Eliot. Eliot, with disappointment in his eyes, calmly said “Please stop. We’re friends, so there’s no need to talk about the faults in each other’s families. No family is perfect, so please just stop.”

With a feeling of instant regret, Vincent replied “I’m sorry, El, I forgot you were in the room. You’re right, we shouldn’t have said those things. Family is important, even if it isn’t perfect,” Vincent said with a strange calmness to his voice.

“I think I’m going to go home now, I need to rest.”

“Yeah, you do, Eliot. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow at school. Goodbye for today,” Zander said coldly. He then began to walk to his room, slowly.

“Ya need any help walking home, El?” Vincent asked.

“No I’m good, thank you,” Eliot replied. “I think we all need a break; this has been a lot for one day.”

Vincent waved goodbye to Eliot as they left Zander’s house, walking in a different direction than Eliot. Still set on going to Egypt, Vincent began to think hard about how exactly he was going to pull off the stunt he had in mind for getting there. Before he had any more time to consider his plan, his phone went off—he had a text message.

Looking down at the message, he could see that it was from his school. To all students and faculty: there will be a mandatory school assembly first thing in the morning. All students MUST attend. That includes those who don’t have the best attendance record—you know who you are.

A morning assembly? The school doesn’t have morning assemblies unless something extremely important comes up. The last morning assembly was about the death of one of the students, but that was before Vincent’s time at the high school. He wondered what the assembly could possibly be about, but deep down, he knew exactly what it was going to be about and he wasn’t looking forward to it.