In the school hall there was a commotion. A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy was seen being thrown into the lockers by another boy his age. He had blood dripping down his nose as he balled his fists looking for an opening as he turned around to retaliate. The others were laughing. It was the second to last day of school and their spirits were lifted. Lana, rage consuming her facial features, stepped from the classroom. Her blood boiled as once again her brother was being bullied. His watch sadly displayed the number 1. It was common for those who were stronger to bully those with no ability. They were considered weaker than others and would amount to having no place in society that was "productive". They would end up doing labor that required no skill.
Humans didn't always have abilities but in recent years they became more common. During the Dalki War, ability users joined forces with the military when it seemed all hope was lost. The human species was going to be annihilated. Some came forward and began to teach their abilities to others on the provision they join the faction or family who owned the ability, ensuring exclusivity. Others taught their ability to any who desired to learn and ended up having their abilities written into books and sold on the public market, decreasing the power of those who had the ability originally. This led to those families who kept the ability exclusively to be called "Original" as the only way to get that ability was through that specific family. In this post-war world, those with no ability were looked down upon as though they had no value to society. And were punished for it.
Dobin took a swing as a torrent of water was sprayed from his assailant's hand and once again, he was pushed into the locker by the pressure of the water. The impact reverberated down the hall. Lana cursed the teachers for their lack of action. She cursed this society for being so horrid, unseeing and uncaring. And worse, she cursed her parents for abandoning her and her twin at the Black Rock Orphanage.
With her right hand she threw out a vine that seemed to come out of her hand wrapping around the offending hand which dared to throw water at her brother. She yanked the vine bringing the unaware boy into her range. Before he could react, she wrapped the vine around his throat and pulled as hard as she could. She smiled as she could hear the desperate gasps for air, the desperate hands trying to break her vines. "Do you think a weakling such as you could break this?" she breathed quietly into his ear. Chills ran down his body as fear struck him to the core.
Dobin, having recovered, ran to her. "Lana, let him go. I know you're angry, but you don't need this." He got closer and whispered in her ear "You don't need this attention, PLEASE! We start the Academy in three days. Do you want them to find out?" Her temper started to subside and she released the vine. With all the strength she could muster, she kicked him from behind hitting the back of his knees causing him to fall on his back, then walked over him. Standing on his stomach, she then pointed to her own watch reminding him that hers displayed the number 5. The maximum number could be 8 while his was only a 4.
It was a three-mile walk to the orphanage which the twins undertook each day by themselves. There were others their age who lived there but they didn't speak much to them. The twins were known as trouble-makers. They didn't know how to follow the rules and were always being punished. One rule was no use of abilities on the premises. The reason for this was most children didn't have abilities. The orphanage administrators felt the other children felt bad when the few who did an ability, displayed it. That, somehow the other orphans were more privileged than they were for having richer parents before they came to live in such a place. Lana was a special case anyway. Under normal circumstances, a child would be taught an ability through a teacher or an ability book. Lana had always had her ability while Dobin was one of many without. It didn't bother him that his sister had an ability, any more that is. He did have some fighting prowess and was able to have her back while she always had her vines to protect him when he got into sticky situations. Lana had spent countless hours in the library trying to learn anything she could about her powers but she always came up empty-handed. She didn't have a name for her ability. She didn't even know how much more she could learn. Was there anything beyond level 5 for her? Had she achieved everything a level 5 should?
"Have you given any more thought as to how much you will let them see?" Dobin was the first person to break the silence as they were both lost in their thoughts about what had just occurred.
"I think the agricultural stuff is safest. They will see it as an asset but not enough to endanger me or get me noticed by anyone." And, in her head, she whispered the words "I hope". Turning to her brother, her greatest treasure, "Dobin, I want you to take their stupid book. Take the ability they offer you."
"Are you sure? We have been told what that means…" Dobin gulped as he spoke those words knowing what it meant to do such a thing.
"Yeah. I have been thinking about this for a long time. He told us two years ago what to expect. I think we have prepared as much as we can for what's coming. I'm hoping we can find allies. No, I'm SURE we can." She offered her brother a bright, giddy smile pretending things were not as serious as they were, just as she did when they were younger. Then she started giggling and skipping down the road trying to lighten the emotions her brother was experiencing, her green and pink ponytails bobbing as she skipped. Before they knew it, they were racing to the dilapidated building they called home, laughing as they did.
As they reached the gate, Dobin tapped it lightly and it fell off the hinges. Again. As he yelled "Safe!" They didn't even care they would get yelled at for the gate falling off. For like the 100th time. They would be leaving this place soon. They walked solemnly though, up the path. Joy was not permitted under the headmistress. The shutters were falling off, the roof leaked, the place would have been condemned in a society that actually cared about the less fortunate. They entered the building and went to the room they shared even though they were 16 years old. Noone wanted to have them in their room, they didn't care. They belonged together anyway. They were in the room the roof leaked into.
They changed out of their uniforms and got ready for dinner. Fish soup. They could smell the stench in the air. "One thing about what's coming, Dobin, tonight will be the last time we need to choke down fish soup," Lana said with a giggle. She could always put a smile on Dobin's face.
When they entered the dining hall, Mrs. Fitts was waiting for them. She grabbed them both by the ear and, despite their size, dragged them out of the room and into her office which was adjacent.
"Explain the gate!" knowing it was the two of them that touched it.
Dobin was getting ready to respond when he heard "explain why it's broken and is not getting fixed! It's not like we broke it for real. It's not even attached to the fence! How are we supposed to enter if we are not allowed to touch it!"
Mrs. Fitts' face turned red and the twins could visualize steam coming from her ears. "No dinner for either of you! Go to your room" as she pointed in the direction of the stairs they were afraid to climb, fearing their feet would fall through on any of the steps.
After nightfall, the twins snuck out once again. Not too far from the orphanage, Lana whispered "this is our last night, let's see how well I can do this."
She touched the branches of a willow tree that looked like any other willow. The branches curled around her arms. Next thing she knew it threw her high into the air and she had the biggest smile on her face.