Inciting Events

Chapter 5

(Another warning, sorry. But this chapter does go into detail about physical abuse and also has hinted sexual abuse. There is also a brief mention of a school shooting. I know these are extremely sensitive topics, so I apologise if you can't read this chapter. I'll put in the note at the end of the chapter what happens, and please, if any of the things mentioned above trigger you do not read this chapter. And if you have been or are in any situation similar to this, please reach out and get help! I know it can be difficult, but please do. I tried to handle these topics carefully. Please read with caution and knowledge of your own mental and physical health.)

Cyrus Anders

‘Shit’, was all that went through Cyrus’s mind as his hand slipped. He had been dutifully working on another prototype, but then there were more screams coming from outside the lab. It seemed like each one was getting louder and more deafening than the last. Cyrus had gotten used to these over the years, but now that he knew he could’ve prevented those yells, it got to him more.

He knew that he couldn’t force himself to think about his projects any longer, so he didn’t even try. Cyrus grabbed a band-aid and a small disinfectant wipe from under his desk, setting himself to work at patching up his small wound. He winced slightly when the disinfectant came in contact with the slightly bloody skin, but he just continued to put the bandage over it.

Cyrus stood up and went over to the television. The nightly news would be starting soon, and he had recently heard that they would be adding a new section to the news. Though he didn’t know what they would need to add. They had the weather, the politics, the worldwide news, and everything else you would think to typically be played. He had no idea what else there was to add, but he was admittedly curious. Cyrus had heard that it was all made to be appealing to teenage audiences to get them to watch the news, so maybe he would end up liking it.

When he turned on the tv, he found that they had just started a minute or two ago. He wished he had grabbed a soda or something while he had been up, but now that he was sitting down, he thought it best to just watch and soak up the information.

The weather lady had said that they were due to get rain and thunder all throughout the coming week, with some cloudy sunny weather near the end of the week. In the politics section, a debate happened over some new law about drugs that had been recently passed somewhere. In the case of worldwide news, a girl fell in a well in Spain, and a school shooting happened in Florida. The girl was fine, but sixteen students and two staff members had died in the shooting.

Now, usually, the worldwide news was usually the last thing that aired, and then they went back to playing the scheduled movies and everything. But now, today, no, not today. Cyrus leaned forward in his seat when the lady started talking about the new section.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard about us adding a new section, and this is not just rumors. This section will not be centered around your normal news stories. At this time, we will now be talking about the ever-present superheroes. From the flyers to the healers, we’ll be talking about all of them. Handing it off to a new reporter, just a young sixteen old, Holiday Anders.”

“Yes, thank you so much, Gemma, and I am honored to be reporting here for you tonight. Now for our first story…”

Cyrus stopped listening. The second he saw his sister on the screen, he was in utter shock. She was wearing a very nice velvet dark green dress and had taken her hair out of the usual braids, letting it fall into its natural curls. There were gold hoops hanging from her ears, and matching bracelets fit on her wrists. He was amazed. He had seen her up close for so long, and he was astonished at how much his little sister had grown up.