The Visionaries

14

Six stared at his room. He held his bag in his hand. It was a big room with two beds. There were posters plastered on the wall and a computer off to the side. Was that his? Or other people? He must have been sharing it with someone. There was stuff in a laundry basket.

"Hurry up, you're gonna be late!" a voice said. She came out of the hall into his room. She was tall, skinny, and tan with long black hair. She was wearing beaded earrings. She heavily resembled the woman that he saw in his first flashback. His mother. He knew it was only a memory but he wanted to hug her. Ask what had become of her.

"Look at you." she said, putting her hands on her shoulders. "When did you grow up so fast on me?"

A man came in. It looked like an older version of him.

"We're so proud of you." he said. "Trust me, you'll do great."

Six smiled at them. Three faces popped out of the hall.

"You know the deal, say goodbye to your brother." the woman-his mother-said. It was two kids- a boy and girl around his age, a younger girl and a boy that was still in middle school. Those were his siblings.

"See ya, bro." he fist bumped him.

"Bye, have fun, I guess." the older girl said.

The younger girl smiled and hugged him. "Write back, okay?"

"You know I will. I can't spend that much time away from you guys." he smiled at her. She had short brown hair and big brown eyes.

"Bye bye!" the boy said.

Six stared at his parents. They were smiling at him, holding hands. When would he ever see any of them again? He woke up in bed, goosebumps all over him. There were a couple of other people asleep in beds besides him. He got up and headed to the cafeteria. There were a few other people awake. Some were chatting with each other at the tables or with the kitchen staff.

Others were playing cards or on their phones.

Alma and Norrin were chatting by the window. The sun was starting to rise.

"You're up early." Norrin said.

"Is everyone else up?" Six rubbed his eyes. Damn, he was still tired.

"I didn't sleep at all." Norrin said. "The guy besides me was snoring way too loud and the girl next to me was sleep crying."

"Same. I was just out here all night." Alma said. "I still have a lot on my mind."

"Hey, Alma, wanna go train?" Norrin asked.

"Sure." Alma responded.

"Do you want to come with us? It might give you the chance to perfect your skills." Norrin said.

"I guess." Six replied.

They started to walk down the hall. They passed two people. It was a black girl with her hair in butterfly locs and a short woman with her hair in a ponytail.

"Hey Mirelle! Hey Maddie!" Alma said. The woman smiled.

"Hey, long time no see." the girl with locs said. Now who was who?

"So, what happened after the Crystal Manor incident, Mirelle?" Alma asked her.

"I left before they started torturing people for clues. Michael Winters was furious." Mirelle said. "Especially when his golden boy turned against him." She stared at Six.

"Speaking of which, why did you turn?" Madeleine raised her brow at him.

"Well, I couldn't kill my own kin." Six said.

"I should have known...." she replied. "Anyway, we'll leave you to do whatever you are gonna do."

The women walked away. They continued to the hall where Alma turned right and then left. They reached a set of double doors when Norrin stepped in front of Alma. They opened double doors with a retina scan. It was a huge gym. It had a big sandbox-type thing in the center and a water pool to the side. There were a couple of plants around them as well.

"This is where we train." Alma said.

"Wow. That's cool." Six said.

"Right? So who do you want to train with?" Norrin asked.

"You and me." Six said to Norrin.

"Fair enough. Hit me with your best shot." Norrin stood at the sandbar.

Six felt his fists get hot and tremble as a small flame formed around his hand. He threw it at Norrin who managed to make a water ball and throw them at the flame balls. He did this repeatedly as Alma watched. Norrin seemed to breeze through the training. Finally, his hands were numb, his fingers were tingling and he was drained.

"Alright, let's try with Alma." he said.

"Hmm, alrighty then." Alma looked at the plants and swung her arm towards them as gigantic vines came from the plants. Six swung his arm in front of him and flames appeared, burning the plants. Alma then raised the sand up into a fist and he jumped to avoid it as it caught his foot and he fell face first. He extended his hand out to release flames that instantly turned the sand into glass.

Alma avoided it narrowly, her arm grazing the sand spikes. She looked shocked before getting a big grin on her smile. She raised another fist that knocked him into the padded ceiling. He was falling again when a thick vine wrapped around him. Norrin joined in and watered the plant, the vine getting thicker.

Six tried to wiggle free but damn it was tight. He allowed his arms to get hot and the smell of burnt leaves hit his nose. He fell down.

"You look tired. Wanna forfeit?" Alma asked.

"Yeah, I guess." he got up. He was exhausted but he was glad he had a better grip on his ability. They put everything back in its place and locked the door after them.

"So did you have fun?" Alma asked.

"I did, actually." Six smiled at her.

"Seems like it." Norrin replied.

"It's better than to be threatened all the time with them picking your brain." Six watched someone pass by. Maybe he was finally free.