The Change

A Rude Awakening

York's P.O.V.
A lot can happen in less than two hours. Don't believe me? Let me tell you.
Thud.
A sharp pain coursed through my back. I groaned and opened my eyes. I rubbed them lightly while my vision became clear. My eyes shot across the room as I gathered my surroundings. The nightstand was next to my head and my clock sat above me. I looked around the room and everything was still in its place. A few pictures were crooked but nothing out of the ordinary. Except my bed was beside me and not under me.
Was I on the.. Floor?
I had fallen out of my bed. Again. This happened almost every night. Nightmares kept me either awake or tossing and turning. They left me uneasy and they were strangely realistic. As if they were, real visions.
This one was about my little sister, Lani. She was in the middle of an empty parking lot at night. She was normal but instead she had bubblegum pink and black hair and this weird dress on. She was lying on the concrete of the parking lot. I tried to move my body but I couldn't move an inch. A dark figure towered over her body. He held a knife. I tried to scream and tell her to look out but I couldn't open my mouth. Right before he plunged the knife in her back, I woke up. They got stranger and stranger as the nights progressed.
Can't I get one night of normal sleep? I asked to myself.
While sitting up, I noticed the house was quieter than normal. The only sounds audible were the wind blowing outside my window and faint sounds of the fan whirring above me. I stood and checked the clock next to me.
1:46 am.
That's odd. Wouldn't Lani be awake playing her video games or chatting with a friend? She normally stays up later. She's fine, York. You're overthinking this. I thought to myself.
I quietly walked to my door and lightly pressed my ear against it. Silence was all to be heard. I became very worried that something had gone terribly wrong. Before I could think any more about the subject, I threw the door open and raced through it. I stopped and listened again for any signs of life. I heard the slightest sound of static, as if a TV was on. We only had one television in the house and sprinted to the living room, where it was located. I paused at the doorframe and peered in.
Lani was sitting in front of the TV, legs crossed in front of her, her eyes intently on the screen. She appeared to be in pain from what was on the monitor. Her dirty blonde hair was in a tangled mess, like she hadn't slept either. Her eyes were red around the edges and her cheeks were stained with tears. She was still in her night clothes; messy T-shirt, boxer shorts, and socks. My heart tightened at the sight of her. You never want to see your sister in this much pain, for whatever reason.
I took another step towards her and the floor creaked. She turned to look at me and her eyes widened. With amazing speed, she reached for the remote and flipped the TV off. She had been taught that at the academy. I squinted my eyes at her. She would never use her skills at home, especially with turning the TV off. What was she watching?
"Lani? What's wrong? Why are you up at," I checked the clock on the desk, "1:59 am?" I hesitantly ask. Was she sick? Hurt?
"I-I could ask the same for you." She stuttered. I reached out to grab the remote from her but she pulled back.
"Stubborn as always," I muttered under my breath. "What's was on the TV? It clearly upset you. You're crying." Her hands absentmindedly reached up to her face and felt the tears.
"It was nothing. Uh.. A cat died. Yeah. A cat. It was sad." She lied through her teeth. I raised my eyebrows, clearly not buying her story.
"Lani, please. I'm your brother. Tell me what's going on." I begged her. She stared at me while showing no emotion, then sighed and flipped the TV back on.
The screen had labeled different academy names. Pictures of kids popped up on the TV and it showed their names.
"Wh-what's this?" I croaked and moved to look at her. I turned my attention towards the screen again as another academy name appeared.
"It's.. The battle we've been training for. It's here. Five kids from five academies are going to be injected with this serum type thing. It gives them like- powers. They make you more powerful and faster.They're going to train them more and send them to battle. It was all on the news and- you know what? Never mind. I'm tired. We don't have to watch it anymore. Let's go and just sleep and-" she cut herself off as the news announcer showed another academy. Our academy.
"Oh my god." I gasped as a picture of my best friend appeared on the screen, Metal Lee. "No, not Metal.." I sat on the couch and Lani came and sat next to me. His brown swept hair was gelled up; school pictures.
"It's gonna be okay, York. He's good. He won't have any issue with this." Lani tried to comfort me. It didn't help. Metal had gotten me through some tough times in me and Lani's life for which we would both give our lives for him. I had hoped it would be okay. His picture was removed from the screen and another name and photo popped up. A girl named Phenix Darling. She was the school's most popular girl. And annoying.
"She deserves to be in this. She's a little b-"
"Lani. Language." I boomed. She looked down sheepishly and muttered the rest of the word under her breath. I grinned at my little sister and realized she took well after me. Her picture remained on the screen for a while until it was taken down and replaced with another girl.
Zara Wilbern. She was quiet. She didn't like to socialize with anyone and always was hidden in corners. Everyone always made rumors about her and said she was a vampire. Or a witch. I just always though she was a little shy. She was pretty too. Kinda like a silent beauty. It was terrible that she had to be thrown into this. Lani's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Who do you think the last two are?" She whispered quietly. I shrugged and waited for the screen to change. She turned her head to the TV showed another kid. The next picture took my breath away.
It was Lani.
"Oh god.." She whimpered. Her hands covered her mouth and she was shaking like a mad woman. "No... I can't. I-it can't be." Tears ran down her face and I rushed over to her. I enveloped her in a hug and rubbed her hair. She wrapped her arms around me and I kept chanting 'it's gonna be okay', when in reality, I was scared out of my mind.
"I-I-is this real?" She cried. I slowly nodded and she sobbed harder. She clutched my shirt and cried into it. I kept my hair towards the TV and the last photo appeared. It was me.
"L-Lani.." I lifted her up and pointed to the screen. She saw me and continued crying.
"We're going to get through this. Together." I rubbed her back for a while and I shut the TV off. No less then a minute later, our front door slammed open. Guards poured in and a large man stepped up.
"Lani and York Madson?" The guard yelled. We both hesitantly nodded. "Come with me." They pulled us out of the house and the last thing I saw was the clock.
3:15.
Now do you see what all happens in less than two hours?