Mason

Chapter I: Me and Two Others I can still hear you. It’s getting stronger, we must be getting closer! Over and over, the voices keep sounding in my head. I hear them conversing as they get closer together, exciting over the idea of meeting. With our numbers dwindling, I can’t blame them. But I don’t plan on losing who we have. These people; a band of people I’ve never met, a group that I’m so well connected to but I can’t see, one I’ve never met. It’s weird, I don’t know why I feel this way, I don’t know who any of them are, I’ve never even seen any of their faces. Yet, despite all that, I know they’re alive, I can feel them tugging on me like I’m attached to strings. It’s like an invisible ropes is tied to my body and each one of them are grabbing it, pulling at their ends ever so subtly. I can feel them, I know they’re alive, I know they’re there. I know I want to meet them all. In a big, empty gym room, upstairs from the facility, I sit, hunched over on the bench as I watch the kids train. They’re having battle with each other, laughing and conversating in between sessions. From where I sit, I can see lights flashing and purple mist flying across the room. Laughter swallows the sound of battle, bright lights go off like fireworks. These kids mean so much to me; why? I don’t know them very well, I barely know anything about them. Just like the others, with what little I know I feel such a strong connection. Logan is young and dumb, I can tell he dreams of being a hero one day. He dreams of being the biggest man on campus, the one that everybody looks up to; in reality, he’s never felt real pain, he doesn’t know true hardship. Whether it’s due to ignorance or bravery, I know he has a heart of solid steel, I know he’d do anything to protect us all. A 15 year old hot headed kid who wants to be the protagonist, it seems like he wants to be the big brother he never got to become. Victoria is a hard one to get fond of for sure; she’s not very cooperative, nice, social, helpful… She’s not a lot of things. They say all 14 year olds are like this but I feel that she’s really working for a world record here. Although, as far as Rose tells me, she really does care a lot. She cares way more than she’s willing to clarify; she wears a facade on her sleeve like she hates the word, like she hates us all. She doesn’t want to admit who she is because she’s afraid of what people will think of her, she’s afraid of people judging her for who she really is. It’s not bad to be judged for a fake personality, it hurts to be judged based on who you are as a person, who you are deep down. Rose is a hard one to talk to but she’s so sweet. Timid, afraid, nervous, anxious, she’s got so many things working against her, both socially and in training. The power she possesses is bottlenecked by her fears, I know what she can do; I’ve witnessed what she can do. If she would just buck up and admit to her own power she’d be able to do so much; a tremendous amount. I see why she doesn’t; I can’t blame her. She’s 12, her powers are pretty controversial, it’s hard to believe that what she does is okay, it’s hard to see the good in her abilities. At that age, I’m sure that I would be afraid as well. I see the good, I know who she is. If anybody was to use her talents for good, it’d be her. The lights catch my gaze like fireworks; it feels like so little ago I was watching the night sky fill up with bright lights in pretty colors, explosions from every person I couldn’t see. Not long ago sparked a new year, a year where maybe I can finally make a true difference in the world. If I didn’t know any better, I would think we didn’t have a single thing to worry about. But I have so much to worry about. We’ve been through several mock battles so far but the kids are still having trouble learning how to control their emotions in the heat of a fight and, more importantly, how to work together. I can see progress but anxiety fills my mind as I ponder to myself how much time do we have left?