By the time the suns climbed high enough to bleach the silver clouds thin, the field was already alive with motion.
Lines of children moved in unison—running, vaulting, striking weighted dummies that hummed faintly. Little boots pattered the soft ground in a reluctant rhythm.
This was mandatory weekend fitness training.
Mr. Brown stood at the edge of the field in sunglasses and an all-black athletic outfit, his hands clasped behind his back, like an inspector in a military camp for adults.
It'd have been impressive if the trainees were not children slipping on mud and slamming face first into the dirt every time they tried to run through a tire maze.
After a few more impressive grassy face-plants Mr. Brown announced,
"Training dismissed," Then, after a beat, "Tom. Ray. You need to meet with your caregiver after now"
"Okay, Sir" We nodded.
Giving each other a knowing look, we joined the others to prep in the locker rooms.
It's been a few months since we arrived at Lumel. And so far, we've just been going through the same routines. All we've been taught in school is history before Odin, math, English, and the painfully obvious weak points of fantasy creatures from stories. Oh, and of course, geography.
But I've lost faith in it after what happened… there.
At this point I feel like I'm hearing the same words repeatedly in each class… is it just me?
We finally arrived at the ward, Ray asked Eli to help him with his bag before we began to head towards Mrs. Brown's office.
Knocking on the door we heard a warm disarming voice from behind it.
"Come in"
Click.
The office smelled faintly of citrus cleaner and old paper, sunlight slipping through the linen curtains draped over the open glass windows, stopping just short of her sleek wooden desk that was occupied with papers, a coffee mug, and a few toys.
There weren't many things in the office other than a pot plant and a painting hanging overhead, directly behind our caretaker. It obviously looked like something was done by a child.
"Good evening Mrs. Brown,"
We both gave a short nod towards our caretaker.
When Mrs. Brown looked up, her light brown eyes caught the light from the window.
"Good evening kids, have a seat" She smiled and gestured to two chairs before her desk.
"I called you here because of the issue of your unexpected awakening" She began, looking through some files on her desk.
"Is there any problem?" Ray twirled his fingers,
"In nine months," She made eye contact with both of us, "you'll both be scheduled for surgery."
Ray stiffened. My eyebrows twitched.
"Sorry, ma— can I ask why?" I asked, in mild annoyance.
"It's the rules." Mrs. Brown turned to me. "Every awakened must pass through this step."
She stopped, staring at us clearly expecting something.
After a moment, she realized we weren't getting the memo.
"You see," she said carefully, "this is the only known way to ensure a safe awakening. Without it, awakening is… unpredictable. Dangerous. And very painful." She ended with a very melancholic smile on her face.
"Okay, but… can we awaken without it?" I asked.
She stared at me for a little while before answering, "It's not impossible."
"So, if we can awaken without it…
why do we need the surgery?" My doubt-filled voice travelled across the room.
"I'd like to know too," Ray voiced out, prompting our caretaker to face him.
"Sigh"
Resigned, she began,
"Look, the awakening process starts with a spark that's been found to originate from the heart, and this spark multiplies to create its own channels—essence veins—in the body from the blood veins. What do you think would happen when the veins separate all the way to the heart?"
She relaxed back on her chair and turned to the city view shown through the windows and sighed.
"When the first generation of superhumans were discovered," she went on, "it was found that they all died at very young ages shortly after they awakened. It was a painful and very quick demise that reduced them to their most basic forms,
Dust."
She turned back to face us with a serious expression.
"Kids, you'll die without the surgery,"
"HICK."
Ray shivered.
"But…" She stretched her palms towards us with a tender expression.
"If you agree to the treatment, the government promises to nurture you into adulthood. We'll provide you with the necessary facilities, resources, and everything you need to help your spark shine brightly."
As Mrs. Brown finished, the office settled into a helpless silence.
'What do I do?
What can I do?'
There's still so much I need to find out about this world yet, I've already faced death multiple times.
"Okay."
My head turned to the boy sitting beside me. With eyes filled with trust, hope, and fear, he gave his answer,
"I'll do it"
This spurred our caretaker to smile.
"Well done, Ray, I'm proud of you."
"And you?"
She then turned to face me, her eyes filled with this calm expectancy.
No one would choose death over life, only a mad person would do so. And I wasn't crazy.
…at least, that's what she thought. I thought so too.
"I need some time to think about it" I said after a brief pause.
"Okay," She smiled, "I'll give some time to think about it.
…You may leave," she gestured to the door.
"Thank you," I mustered, letting out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
…
…
"Urgh"
I've been feeling sick since the meeting.
We were walking towards East Lumel High in silence, the city waking around us. Transport rails hummed overhead. Vendors lifted shutters. Life went on, unchanged by words that rearranged futures of extras.
"You guys look like you just failed an exam," Noah said, adjusting his bag.
Ray forced a smile. I didn't.
I'd been thinking about what Mrs. Brown told us yesterday and from what I noticed, it's not impossible to survive without the surgery.
But I got nothing.
"Was the meeting that bad?" Noah stared at us with an eyebrow raised.
"No, the meeting went well." I spoke, shaking my head.
Silence followed.
"Alright guys, do you guys want to go to an arcade after?" Ray looked at us trying to lighten up the mood.
"I'll introduce you to my friend." He continued with an anticipatory smile on his face. "We'll group up against you guys in Attack Stars." He punched at the air and faced Noah expectantly.
"U-Um…." Noah looked away.
I shook my head, the corner of my mouth slightly raised.
He probably wanted to spend his time reading again.
"Alright, why no—"
Sniff.
'What's that smell?'
Sniff.
"Tom, is there any issue?" Noah asked. As they'd noticed that I'd stopped in my tracks.
It smells like…
Sniff.
Blood?
I froze. Alarm ringing bells through my mind. My body tensed up.
I couldn't move.
I'd lost control for a moment, now I was enduring sensory overload again.
In. Out. Slowly.
Taking deep breaths to calm my nerves, "Sorry, my body's just reacting oddly." I waved it off casually.
We continued making our way to school, but now I made sure to pay more attention to where we were.
We took the long route because we would have gotten there too early.
Then I heard them.
Further ahead, halfway down a narrow side street, raised voices cut through the morning noise.
I prepared for flight as soon as we neared the place.
Then I saw him.
It was a scene covered in blood.
…at least some of the people were covered in blood.
There was a person with a short figure covered in blood on his knees, surrounded by a group of men.
They dressed alike—dark jackets, worn boots, loose stances—men who leaned like they had nowhere else to be and had all the time in the world.
There were some other bodies on the floor.
My memory flashed, enhanced by my dormant spark.
Short. Broad shoulders. Red-tinted hair cropped unevenly, like it had never quite been allowed to grow properly. When the dwarf lifted his head with blood covering his face, to reveal intense, deep red eyes. Like embers that refused to die out.
'He's the one we ignored before'
"Wait," Ray said. "Isn't that—"
I snapped my head to face him.
"You know him?" Noah asked, reading my mind.
Ray hesitated. Took a step forward. Then stopped.
The men surrounding the dwarf snickered. One shoved him lightly as he tried to make a run for it. Another mimicked his height, bending at the knees.
They dressed alike without meaning to—dark jackets, worn boots, loose stances—men who leaned like they had nowhere else to be and all the time in the world.
"Help," the dwarf said suddenly, eyes locking onto Ray. Recognition in his eyes. Desperation. Frustration. Yet when I stared at his eyes, all I saw was hopelessness.
'Damn,' The situation unnerved me a little.
'Why would you make that kind of face?' My eyebrows twitched in annoyance 'Did they kill your parents or something?'
"You know this guy?" one of the men asked Ray, shifting his stance revealing a sleek prosthetic arm. As he shifter I got a glimpse of concealed scars under his collar.
Ray's mouth opened.
Closed.
"No," he said. "Sorry. I don't."
And then he turned away.
The dwarf's face fell—not in anger, but in understanding.
We walked away.
Again.
Behind them, laughter rose again.
"You alright?" Noah asked after a few steps.
Ray didn't answer.
"We should get an officer," Noah added. "At least—"
"Yes," I cut him off. "We should."
After searching, we found one two streets down—a male in sleek black uniform, bored, leaning against a patrol unit.
"Sir," Ray began as we got close enough, "We saw a group of bad men two streets down…"
As Ray was speaking, I noticed the officer's brows crease. His eyes showing slight annoyance. Still, Ray continued oblivious of this fact
"These bad men are about to hurt my—"
"They were saying something about credits, Brights, and agencies sir." I cut Ray off, "It looked like they were fighting over a big box." I gestured wide with my hand to look like a convincing ten-year-old.
"There was blood everywhere" I said with a downcast expression on my face.
"Where did you say this was happening?" The guard's eyes lit up.
"Two streets down sir" I pointed to the path we passed through.
"Okay, leave it to me kids," He smiled and said, "I'll take it from here." He took off with a brisk pace towards where we directed.
All the while, Noah and Ray were just staring at me like I was a madman.
"D—Did you just lie to an officer," Noah said with a small smirk on his lips.
Ray remained speechless.
"What?" I stared back at them with an eyebrow raised.
"Did you really think he'd take us seriously?"
"C'mon, let's go before he comes back." I smirked nervously as we sprang into a light jog.
This is how an extra should save the day.