Miami, Florida, U.S.A
CniDaria- 23
"May these feelings be real please?"
I breathe in deeply to take in the scenery. I sit Indian-style trying to stretch my hamstring before my morning workout. The sun is barely emerging above the hill across from me kissing the field below it with sunlight. It's been six years since I was back in America, back in probably the only place in the world where I can have a clear mind. My old high school track held good memories for me. It was the only time in my life where I was a normal kid, doing normal high school athletics. I had what felt like, genuine friends and the only thing that was a lie about me was my last name. I was myself here, not an alias. Running, pushing myself, always cleared my mind. It was an escape from the mental and physical abuse I experienced daily at Lucius house. This field was the only "home" I had felt in this world since Sierra Leone.
Thinking of Sierra Leone, brought my thoughts to the log I got back in Russia. I read it almost daily, thinking of my parents. I used to think that they were villains who threw away their kids the first chance they got. After tearing through the log as much as I did, I wasn't so sure.
I discovered much like us but separately they were orphans found on the street. Homeless and parentless. Picked up, educated, trained from the age of toddlers to kill and manipulate people, situations. Their whole life was exploitation of them being ghosts. To the point that even their eventual relationship was manufactured. They were pros at their jobs, masters of misdirection. They were described as the Bonnie and Clyde of their generation on an international scale. There missions shaped the world in the late 90s and the 2000s. Known terrorist attacks, natural disasters, unexplained deaths. They had a hand in every meaningful event and then they vanished. They were known not to be apart of any one government entity, despite that they were respected and coveted to the point multiple intelligence agencies were trying to get them to flip on their employers. 'The Company' however, was too powerful an entity for that to be even possible. Not long after a more than decade of hiatus they reemerged full force for a little while. I understood what happened next since I was the one who caused it. I know longer had any resentment towards my parents for their actions. We were just tools in a mission that I had no clue about. They were probably ordered to make us just to make more inventory for the company. We were destined to be weapons. This idea brought a sort of peace to me. I wasn't some tragic case that could have lived a normal life. This life was always meant for me, I read this log so much to remind myself of that. I kept this log from my brother not because I was hiding it from him but because he didn't need it. He had his purpose, and I doubt this would do anything for him. He had long come to terms to what we did to our parents, and I doubt he regretted it or gave it a second thought. What disappointed me though, was that there was no hint of any supernatural abilities that my parents possessed. They had incredible feats for sure but I could see any well-trained human getting it done. Nothing like what Ty and I could do. I looked at my hand where I now manifested violet aura freely in my palm, twisting with such dexterity that you would of thought I was doing card tricks. I now exerted perfect control of my powers and the physical feats I could pull off increased by the day. The knowledge I obtained about the body greatly helped me enhance my capabilities with this power. This power was just another muscle for me. The more I pushed it the more I was able to come back and do more with it. I wasn't even sure if Ty had achieved this sort of mastery with his own powers. I had accepted that these powers were an anomaly that could only be explained through research of my own body. Part of the reason of studying to become a medical doctor was to find out the reason why my body could do these things and brother's mind could do those things. A purpose that brought a smile to my face. In a cherry mood, I finished stretching and started running.
I had very few days off since I started med school and clinicals. I wanted to stay in England for med school but the war in Europe had started to escalate. National borders were seesawing with each passing week. It was very plausible that there wouldn't be a Great Britain in the years to come. This was true for almost every country remaining in the Eastern Hemisphere. The fall of the Chinese and Russian Governments seemed to do more harm than good. The world war before that event saw low levels of casualties. It was mostly cyber and diplomatic warfare. It was more accurate to say it was a Cold World War. You could count on your hands the amount of actual battles that transpired in the world over the past 6 years on one of your hands. However, after what's being called the "Fall of Communism" bloody battles have increased tenfold. Destabilizing Asia and Europe in the process. The Western Hemisphere seems to have calmed itself, but the national borders were vastly different. There were far less countries than it used to be. The United States of America is a quarter of the size it used to be. They lost California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah to Mexico. Incredible loss considering the size and strength of their former military. It seems like losing their leadership impacted the country in more ways than we initially intended. The loss of leadership also resulted in a collapse of the country's economy, losing billions of the country's wealth. With no money to pay for weapons or soldiers there was a massive amount of desertion to neighboring countries. Canada capitalized nicely from this as well claiming Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. The U.S were able to make a stand at Arkansas and Indiana to stop the bleeding but fighting two countries on two different fronts wouldn't bode well for anyone. The four years after that, were spent stabilizing the economy while keeping an eye on both Canada and Mexico. Basically, patching yourself up with your mouth while both hands were tied behind your back. U.S will never be what it used to be but there have been positive changes from it. They value their citizens much more now. Free healthcare and free education. They were all in on developing their citizens and in turn strengthening the economy. It was obvious that the focus wasn't international power anymore but internally having better lives. The numbers of the North American War as of now: 35 million dead, 150 million displaced, 180 million now reside in the country that is Mexico, 110 million now reside in the country that is Canada, 100 million still reside in the country that is the United States of America.
I started to speed up my running. The numbers don't bother me like they used to. Everyone's lives are just pawns on a chessboard. Everyone with power thinks like that, so why shouldn't I? I start to round the track and put myself in a stride. I started taking human souls at the age of 15, what's the difference if I'm the cause of millions more. I'm in a full-on sprint. I'm finally at peace with my direction in life. The life me, my brother, and my angel are destined to have. Someone looking at their phone walks onto the track.
"WHAT THE FUCK! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
I veer out the way before I collide with the idiot. I then ensue to roll my ankle and take a tumble for a couple of feet. I stop lying face down with a mouth full of rubber gravel and sharp pain in my ankle.
"Ah shit I'm so sorry, I didn't think anyone would be here this early in the morning." I look up to see a dark man jogging over to me. "Are you ok? Do I need to call an ambulance?" I actually take a good look at him and to my surprise it's Nicholas.
"Nick? Is that you?" A huge smile replaces the look of guilt on his face.
"CniDaria, my god I didn't even recognize you. You changed your hair again."
"Yea." I grimaced as I tried to get back on my feet but my ankle wasn't having it.
"Don't! I got you, just hold on to my neck." This was a sight to see. He picked me up with ease. I could feel his solid biceps and pectorals as he carried me away. Nick was no longer the little string bean I used to know. His beard had fully grown in and he smelled like fresh laundry. I felt my body stiffen a little.
"Put me down, I can walk to my car from here."
"Are you sure?" He looked in my eyes. I never noticed how pretty his eyes were.
"Yes, please put me down!"
"Ok, ok, I'll put you down. Don't bite my head off."
He put me down on my feet, my ankle was stiff, but I could at least put some of my weight on it. Honestly it was already slowly healing. He observed me, smiling as I faked gingerly walked towards my car. The annoyance I felt that he decided to stand in the middle of the track didn't melt away with his smile. I finally get to my sedan, hop on top of the trunk and take a good look at him again. He looked totally different from when I saw him back in Britain. He had put on a good twenty pounds of muscle. He grew out his full beard and he was dressed as if he had just come from working out. He had this air of confidence about him. An air of swagger that he never had any time previously in his life. He had the looks of a grown man, something that I never thought he was capable of. However, the big smile he continued to have on his face started to annoy me further.