-Friday, 8:00 PM, Harrison High School Football Field-

The bright spotlights shone like magnified stars against the inky darkness of the night, looking down upon the field below. Cheers rang out from the bleachers as the blue and gold uniforms of the Harrison High School Football Team - The Fighting Submariners - clashed against those of the rival Clapton High School. As the players attacked one another, vying for control of the ball, a sudden breakaway occurred. A lone Submariner shot past Clapton's green and white defense and, ball tucked deep in his arm, sped straight as an arrow towards the opposing goal. He went ten yards, twenty yards, headed for thirty, before being brought down by the full force tackle of an oversized linebacker who had caught up with him. Still, the crowd cheered, as it had been an incredible play. More importantly, it had been a good play for their team. That Clapton still had a sizeable lead in points was no longer any concern, at least for the moment.

Joshua also cheered as the play was made, though he had to admit that he wasn't terribly excited about the game. For all the talk of Harrison and Clapton being big rivals, it had been decades since Harrison had won a single game against them, and it seemed like tonight would be no different; just the typical yearly blowout of Harrison High School's dignity. Not only that, but the night brought with it a chilling wind that turned the metal bleachers into ice. Joshua shivered, bundling himself deeper into his coat. If he was being perfectly honest, he didn't even really like football that much. The reason he came to these games was the sense of spirit that filled the air every time the Submariners made a goal - the camaraderie he shared with his fellow students. Of course, that only works when the team you're cheering for actually makes goals, Joshua moodily thought to himself.

His stomach growled. At least the food is decent, Joshua thought. As the players on the field set up for another charge, he gathered his belongings and headed down to the snack hut. The grounds were packed with people milling about, moving to and from their seats or simply standing around and enjoying the game from a closer spot. Joshua wove through the crowd, dodging the people walking from the hut and avoiding any stationary clusters.

As Joshua moved to the line in front of the snack hut, a flash of movement from the dark alley next to the hut caught his eye. Ordinarily he would've given it no thought, but there had been something very strange about what he had seen. He wasn't sure, but Joshua thought he had seen a stray metal pipe lift off the ground and disappear behind the hut all on its own.

Joshua looked around. No one else seemed to have noticed the pipe move. Perhaps it was only a trick of the light. Someone behind the alley had probably picked up the pipe, and Joshua just hadn't seen their hand in the darkness. There was absolutely no reason to think about it any more. And yet…

As Joshua continued to stand outside the line, he couldn't stop thinking about the pipe. It couldn't have moved on its own, and yet Joshua was certain that he hadn't seen anyone touch it. He decided to quickly check behind the hut, prove to himself that nothing weird had happened, and put the whole thing out of his mind. Joshua walked through the alley, only to find a frankly bizarre scene unfolding behind the snack hut.

The pipe was laying on the ground, but now there was a deep bend in the middle. Joshua barely noticed this, however, as his attention was mostly focused on the two other people behind the hut. The one closest to Joshua looked about his age, maybe a little older. He had very pale skin and jet black hair that had a shaved pattern on one side. One of his ears was pierced with a gold stud, and he was wearing a black and gold patterned tracksuit. He was crouching, staring with gritted determination on the other person in the alley.

The other man was, in one word, massive. He was at least six feet tall, and built like a brick wall. His muscles bulged through his white muscle shirt. Pinned to the shirt was a dark blue emblem. His hair was cropped short, and his nose had been bloodied. He was returning Tracksuit Guy's stare with the exact same intensity. Neither seemed to have noticed Joshua's entrance.

Joshua felt a seriously menacing aura pervading the scene before him. The other people in the alley both looked like serious thugs. Judging by Muscle Shirt Guy's bloody nose, they had been fighting. But then, if they had been fighting, why were they so far apart from each other? Everything about this felt incredibly off. Whatever it was, Joshua knew he wanted nothing to do with it. He needed to exit the alley before the thugs noticed him, return to the game, and pretend that he hadn't seen anything. Before he could, Tracksuit Guy smirked, beginning to chuckle.

"You having trouble keeping up there?" Tracksuit Guy said. "Maybe you need me to stop for a second? Let you get a couple free hits in?" He stayed crouched, not moving an inch.

"Let's see you laugh once your face is pounded into the ground," Muscle Shirt Guy panted. "Cocky bitch!" It sounded as if he was about to lunge, yet he too didn't move at all. And then the strangest thing yet happened.

Neither man had moved from their spot, but Muscle Shirt Guy suddenly reeled back as if he had been punched. He then reeled back again, this time in the opposite direction. He grunted, but still didn't move toward Tracksuit Guy. Then, through some unseen force, Muscle Shirt Guy was shoved against the chain link fence. The entire time, Tracksuit Guy remained in a crouching position with a smug look on his face. "You're the one who attacked me," Tracksuit Guy said with a shrug. "I'm just defending myself."

Joshua couldn't believe his eyes. What was happening? Somehow Tracksuit Guy was fighting Muscle Shirt Guy - and winning - without touching him or even moving. How could this be possible? Joshua didn't understand what was going on, but his brain was telling him to get out - something very dangerous was going on. Despite all the alarm bells going off in his head, his body wouldn't move. Joshua was frozen in fear.

No, he wasn't just frozen in fear. Joshua looked down at his feet, only to discover that his feet had somehow become trapped within the pavement. Terror started to fill his mind as he struggled to free his feet, only to find he couldn't move them at all. Joshua lost his balance, and fell on the ground with a thud. As he fell, he involuntarily let out a panicked yelp.

Tracksuit Guy and Muscle Shirt Guy, noticing the yelp, suddenly turned to look at Joshua. At least, Muscle Shirt Guy looked at him. Tracksuit Guy seemed to be looking at something - or someone - behind Joshua. "Ah shi-"

Then something heavy struck the back of Joshua's head, and everything went black.

-To Be Continued- Awakened Power (Act 1)


Alright, welcome to my first published story here! This has been over a year of planning and procrastination in the making (mostly the latter), and I'm really excited to share it now. A new chapter will hopefully come out every couple weeks or so. Constructive feedback is always appreciated, so leave a review below if you feel like it.