“What!?” screamed Albert.

He had woken up to a horrendous sound coming from above him. But he couldn’t see anything as he seemed to be trapped inside a metal machine. That’s when he overheard Linus’ voice asking about the man at the skyscraper. The answer, though, caught him completely off guard.

Linus and Valentina got up when they heard Albert’s voice.

“Bro! You’re okay!” said Linus, ecstatic. The director, on the other hand, was fighting to keep him inside the scanner.

“Stay still kid!” she said to Albert, who squirmed in the table trying to get out.

“Relax for a second, it’ll be all over soon” added Valentina.

He finally stopped moving and Amelia finished his examination. The metal scanner opened and Albert sighed in relief. Although that didn’t last very long, when he got up the first face he saw was Valentina’s.

“Shit. What is she doing here?” he said springing to his feet like a spooked cat. He looked at Linus and asked “She’s the one who knocked me out, you know?”.

“Yeah, I know...” answered Linus, feeling a bit guilty. “But she said there’s an explanation for it. I was about to hear it too.”

“An explanation? Fine. Let’s hear it then.”

“All, right, first get down from the table and come sit with us” Valentina answered pointing to the reclined chair.

Albert did as he was told, but didn’t take his eyes off her. As he sat down he remembered something.

“By the way, what was that horrible nois...”

“YOU SHOULD BELIEEEEEVE MEEEEEE!” sang the director with her headphones blaring.

“Nevermind...”

When all three of them were seated Valentina resumed her explanation.

“As I was saying, the ‘person’ you met on top of the building is probably a god.”

“God… The God? Like, the one the Creation Church says created the world?” asked Linus, dumbfounded.

“No” answered Valentina. She closed her eyes and stopped to think for a second. After a deep breath she continued “Ok. Forget everything you associate with the word God. I’m not talking about hypothesis or faith here”.

“Imagine the forces of nature. The movement of the tides, the growth of the trees, the directions of the wind. All of it shifts according to an energy we call Ruach. There are many types, aerial energy, heat energy, life energy, and so on. It pushes and pulls, and moves about with its own random pattern in mind. When a lot of that energy is concentrated in one place a God is reborn. They personify that unharnessed natural power and they live in places where their energy thrives.”

“In other words, what you met was a powerful being, that commands the energy of world. What we in the business call, a God.” she concluded.

Silence hung in the air as the boys digested the information. It was completely absurd, of course. But they had had their fair share of unbelievable lately. The first to speak was Linus.

“But if that is true, how come we don’t know about it? How come the world doesn’t know about it?” he asked.

“At first it was common knowledge. But you can imagine how that made some people feel. Some idolized them, claimed that they were the true owners of this world. Others thought they inhibited humanity’s development, and sought to destroy them. That caused the entire planet, and the people who lived in it, to be at constant war with themselves. Secrecy was the solution.” Valentina explained all that as if she was citing a textbook. “All 6 countries in our world work to keep it that way.”

With a smirk, she continued “Even now. Can you imagine what would happen if you tried telling the people in school about it?”

Linus nodded slowly.

“No one would believe it. And with good reason.”

“Yeah. Never underestimate the power of a government and their censorship. Of course, that was decided a long time ago, so that also helps.” she concluded.

“What about you, then?” said Albert. He still sounded a little angry “What the fuck are you?”

“I am one of the people who keeps the secret. A descendant of a person who was once blessed by those gods.” Valentina flashed him a rare smile.

She put her hand up and it shone with a yellow light that would slowly pulsate. Her eyes also shared the same glow.

“Our ancestors, at some point, fell on the graces of a god, for whatever reason, and in return that god infused the power of the Ruach in their bodies. That’s why, we are more powerful than a regular human. You are too, whether you believe it or not.”

“No he’s not!”

Everybody was surprised by the interruption. Especially because that denial did not come from Linus, nor from Albert. But from Director Amelia.

She had her headphones off and she stared at her screen wide-eyed.

“He’s not a descendant.” she repeated.

“What? He has powers, I saw it with my own eyes! He stepped on air just like one of those damned aerial gods!” exclaimed Valentina turning off her powers. She went up to the screen.

“That’s the thing. He can’t be a descendant, because he has no energy flow. None.”

Valentina looked at the monitor in shock. The boys, on the other hand, were a bit confused.

“Well, doesn’t that mean he is normal? If he has none of that ‘Rua’ thing in his body, then he is just a normal person, right?” asked Linus.

“No, you don’t understand. Descendants and Gods are specially powerful creatures. But everybody has a bit of Ruach in their bodies. Think about it, we are part of nature, we eat plants and animals, we house bacteria. This boy.” said Amelia, looking at Albert with newfound interest “has none. Nothing. It’s like he is not even alive.”

“Now you’re just bullshitting me. Is this some sort of elaborate prank or something? I’m not even alive?” said Albert losing his patience. “Listen, that was a fun story and all but I’ve lived long enough to know I’m not dead. Let’s go bro.”

Albert tapped Linus on the shoulder and started walking towards the door. However, Valentina ran to him and stopped him with her hand on his chest.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but you can’t just walk out of this. There’s a video on the internet of you meeting a God. Not only that but he gave you a Relic.” she said showing him the scroll “People are probably already looking for you.”

“Why would anyone look for me? You heard her, I got no weird special power. And as for that” he said, pointing to the Relic “You can keep it.”

Albert brushed her arm to the side and went past her. But as he reached for the door they all heard a huge “BOOM” outside of the house, and, soon after, footsteps on the corridor. Lucca burst into the room with a panicked face.

“We’re under attack” he said hurriedly.

“An attack!? By who?” asked the Director Amelia taking off her lab coat and her glasses.

“We don’t know. But they’re not normal people. Bullets don’t work and they’re keeping up with our fighters.” answered Lucca.

“Shit” she took a moment to think “Ok, we’re going out. Tell Oreul to meet me outside we need to organize ourselves.”

“I’ll go too” said Valentina.

“No. I want you to take these two and the kids to safety. You can run away through the woods, there’s an underground passage there. I know you know where it is.” answered Amelia with a wink.

“Ma’am I can fight!” replied Valentina, angrily. “You know I’m one of the most powerful people here, let me go with you.”

Amelia put her hands on her face.

“I know my dear. But we don’t know what we are fighting. If they had the guts to blast through our front gate I must take this seriously. I can’t let the kids risk themselves.”

“And what about you? You’re gonna risk yourself? Alone?” asked Valentina

“You’re my best bet. Please. Do it for me.”

Valentina’s eyes were still defiant but Linus interrupted.

“Fucking bullets!? And they’re not even working? We really need to get out of here Albie.”

“And she won’t be alone. I’ll be there with her, all our fighters will too.” added Lucca.

Albert turned to Valentina.

“You’re the one who brought us here in the first place, and now we’re in danger. Let’s get those kids and get the hell outta here.”

She finally dropped her head, resigned.

“Listen my dear, I’ll be fine, ok?” said Amelia giving her a warm embrace “You have your phone, right? I’ll send you a location where you can hide, we’ll call you back when it’s safe.”

The director and Lucca turned around ran ahead leaving the three youngsters behind. Valentina still had a worried look on her face, but she shrugged it off.

“All right. Follow me.”

They ran back up into the house. Upstairs the noises of battle were louder, but instead of heading towards the front of the house they took a right turn and moved to the west wing, on the second floor of the mansion.

When they arrived, there were already a few kids and teenagers in the hallways, some were in their pajamas. The noises pulled them out of bed and they were all gathered around the tall windows trying to see what was going on. When Valentina turned the corner followed by Albert and Linus, they all came to her.

“Yo, Val, what’s with this ruckus?” asked Rios, one of the teenagers. Out of the people there he was the one who seemed closer to their age. He was as tall as Linus, but had dark hair and a brownish skin. The kids were gathered around him, as if he was their leader.

“We’re under attack, wake everybody up, we have orders to evacuate.” said Valentina, curt as ever.

“Wait, wait, wait a minute. What?” continued Rios. “Attacked by who?”

“Listen, we don’t have time for this. Amelia is worried and she told me to take the kids out...”

“And let her, and the masters fight? To protect us? This is what we train for Valentina. We have to help!” behind her she saw the agreeing nods of the people in the hallway. More and more kids started pouring out of their rooms and their whispers were getting louder. I must control this before it gets out of hand... thought Valentina.

“I will not let kids risk their lives here! But I can’t stop you, Rios. Or you Kayla” she said looking at a girl with blue dyed hair.

“I wanted to fight too. And I understand. But I’ll follow my orders. If you’re over 16 and you wish to help, you’re free to stay and do so. As for the rest of you” Valentina stared at the younger kids. “I will not let you through. You’ll follow me to the safe house.”

Some bigger boys and girls looked at her with resentment, but none dared question her authority.

That day Valentina stood there as she watched some of her oldest friends walk past her. Rios, the tall courageous boy, Kayla, the dyed hair pierced sweetie, Domy, the sporty boy with an attitude, Gail, the painter with delicate hands and a powerful kick, and Rony, the quiet skinny boy who was always sulking.

She greeted all of them with a nod as they passed. After they were gone she felt the gaze of the kids fall on her. She also felt the weight of the responsibility that her master had put on her shoulders.

Valentina’s hand glowed with power and she slapped the tall window that shattered without resistance.

“Let’s go!” she screamed as she grabbed Albert and Linus by the waist and plunged into the emptiness of the night.