Perfect World

Chapter 2: When the Sun Sets

CHAPTER 2

When the Sun Sets

            Pete was never one to have nightmares, but when he did, it was usually related to that night fourteen years ago. He was only a toddler at the time, but he remembered it well. It was the night that his father and brother disappeared.

            As Pete suffered from energy deprivation, he took a trip down memory lane. It was his and Allen’s third birthday, and his father had finally returned home from a mission. Pete remembered him as an irregularly tall man with short brown hair and the most brilliant blue eyes. That was how he looked naturally, but being the powerful Kinetic that he was, he was able to alter his appearance through biokinesis so that others couldn’t recognize him. As the secret hero who’d helped bring the end of World War III, Leone Gallaway had dark brown hair and emerald green eyes, just like Pete.

            He was a very kind man, and every time he returned home to the old country house they once lived in, both Pete and Allen became the happiest boys in the world. It was no different on the day of their third birthday. It was nearing sundown, and Gallaway walked through the kitchen door.

            “Father!” Pete cried, hopping down from his booster seat and racing to his father’s side. Allen somehow beat him, grabbing onto his father’s left leg seconds before Pete attached himself to his right.

            Pete looked up, beaming, and for a moment, his father seemed anxious. He was looking at Pete’s human mother who was about to light the candles of their cake. Right when Pete noticed this, his father smiled and returned his gaze to the two boys.

            Happy birthday, my little men!” he cheerily sang as he bent down and took them in an embrace. He rubbed Pete’s head, and Pete could remember how incredibly warm it felt to be surrounded by his father’s arms. “How old are you today?”

            “Three!” Pete exclaimed. He’d hoped that his brother would join in, but Allen hadn’t made a sound. He looked over, confused, and Allen had stopped hugging their father.

            That was when his mom’s voice broke in. “The sun’s about to set.” She emerged from behind Pete and bent down to pick up Allen. He seemed to cling to his mom, as if he was afraid. She looked down at their father. “You could’ve come sooner. Do we have time to light the candles?”

            Pete looked back at his father just as he wrapped his strong fingers around Pete’s waist and lifted him up off the ground. Pete beamed and threw his arms around his neck, glad that he finally had his father all to himself.

            “There’s no time,” his father said. “I’m sorry, Holly. Come, let’s put them to bed.”

            As a halfblood, Pete was pretty intelligent at three years old, and it seemed as if all his life he knew what the dreaded B word meant. They were always put to bed before the sun set, but Pete knew that it wasn’t because of him. There was something wrong with Allen, and every time he was left alone in the dark, he was mean and set things on fire just by looking at it. Once, he even hurt Pete when they were playing. He had a scar on his left ankle to prove it.

            Pete watched the kitchen disappear as they hurried out of the room, the untouched cake and presents calling out in fear of being left alone. That was the last time he ever saw a birthday cake. After that day, his mom didn’t allow celebration of any kind.

            When they finally reached their bedroom, Pete was set down on his bed while his father searched for his pajamas. Across the room beside Allen’s bed, his mom was preparing his brother’s medicine.