pThe darkness was becoming a nuisance to me at this point, and I was ready for it to finally go away. For the light to come save me from this shrouded pest. But the absence of light was obvious as the bag came off and I was thrown out of the van unto the sidewalk. I slowly rose to my feet, but the vehicle had vanished from sight./p

"Jerks," I muttered to myself. "Why the hell did they want to know all of that anyways?"

I remembered the prototype, which should still be in the back alley of AmeriCorp. Maybe I should go retrieve the pieces, just to make sure that boss guy doesn't replicate it. But for now, it was late and I was weak. I lost a lot of blood while walking home, and could tell I'd have trouble getting through my front door. As I began walking towards the door, a sharp pain shot up through my leg and all over my body.

"Argh, damnit!" I yelled in agony. "Must've broken something from the fall."

I couldn't just lay there in the street, someone could easily rob me. So I had to power through the unbearable pain, every step hurting more than the last. By the time I made it to the stairs inside my home, I could barely stand. Using the railing, I pulled myself up the steps. It took forever, but I eventually made it to my room.

I let my body fall unto my bed, not having enough energy left to even stand. That's when I past out from fatigue.

I woke up the next morning, feeling lightheaded and groggy. I looked over at the clock to see it was an hour past noon. I had slept pretty late into the day, but I wasn't ready to get up. That shocking pain was still lingering, stalking, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. I laid there in silence for a few moments before sitting myself upright and getting out of bed. I exited my room towards the bathroom.

Inside of the bathroom, I had an eery feeling that something was off. Kind of like déjà vu, but instead of it being the same it was different. A gut churning feeling that what used to be normal was no more, and that it wouldn't be back to normal for a while. It really set me off, made me feel dizzy. Then again, that could've been the blood loss.

I tried to find the source, the out of place abnormality that just didn't belong. I couldn't see it, I couldn't sense it in any natural process. But I could feel it, and it drove me insane. Was it my hair? My clothes? Was it even me?

It had to be me. The bathroom looked the exact same, as did it's reflection. I looked the same, but my reflection had messed up somewhere. It just wasn't the same. My eyes finally opened up, and the difference became obvious.

"What the hell? My hair... it's blonde?" I asked myself, closely examining the glass.

Somehow, my hair had changed color overnight. Or maybe it has always been blonde? No, my hair wasn't blonde, it hasn't since I was born. But there was no denying what I saw, and I saw a yellow mound of hair on top of my head. Why did this happen?

"Must've been that prototype thing, the TM-1300 or whatever," I said. "Guess I was kinda' right about it's effect on me, or maybe it wasn't the real deal?"

I wasn't completely mistaken for thinking this, why would that scientist give those guys a machine to help them rule the world? And even if he did, I destroyed it. I guess I had saved the world or something.

"Hm," I mentally noted, "neat."

I went downstairs to have some breakfast, and turned on the television as I ate. It switched on to the morning news, some field reporter lady was interviewing an aged man in a long and white jacket.

"...thanks John, I have with me here the CEO of AmeriCorp, Mr. Calean. Now, last night we heard that some sort of break-in occurred resulting in the death of one of your scientists, could you tell us what you know?" She asked as I munched on my cereal.

"Well our surveillance cameras were down for the most part of the infiltration, but we did manage to catch one of the robbers just as they were escaping."

My chewing slowed. I felt my nerves perk up on the back of my neck.

"Oh. Well, would you mind if we rolled the footage?"

"Of course, we need all the help we can get in catching this perpetrator."

I was static as I cautiously looked up at the screen, refusing to do so much as even breath. I couldn't risk missing this footage, I needed to see those two thugs. I needed to know who exactly to avoid.

"As Mr. Calean said," the reporter spoke as a looping video replaced the interview, "cameras caught the violator just as he was making his escape from the lower levels of the building."

My eyes widened as the TV zoomed in on the second-story conference room. It zoomed in on some kid as he jammed a video game into a prototype, as he fired it, as the beam bounced around the conference room, as it launched into him, throwing him through the window.

Throwing me through the window.

"Oh shit" I said, lost for words in my paralyzingly shock.

"...male Caucasian teenager, attempting to escape with the stolen property and accidentally shooting himself with it. Police believe he is armed with the futuristic device."

Wait, they think I still have the prototype? But I had left it in pieces in the alley. That would mean someone else, had...

"Oh SHIT!" I shouted.

The reporter continued, "Look out for anyone wearing dense clothing, as the criminal is most likely suffering from deep wounds after jumping through the glass."

At her note of the cuts, I looked down at my arms and legs. I was surprised to find absolutely no cuts at all, even with evidence of excessive bleeding. There were numerous spots on my pants and shirt, slashed or crusted with red. But I found no separations in my skin, not even a sign of last night. As if it hadn't happened, as if I hadn't been there.

I was pulled out of my trance by an ear-splitting noise that blasted through the house. I wailed in agony, falling to my knees while holding my ears. The noise soon subsided, but only to come back again moments later. It kept doing this, going on and off, back and forth. I could barely think, I felt like my brain would soon explode. And just as I was about to rip my ears off, the noise finally stopped. The only thing that came back was silence.

I wasn't fast to get to my feet. I lied there for a while, waiting for the aftermath of headaches to dim down. When it did, I got up quickly. Maybe a little bit too quickly. I had difficulty standing, my vision was blurry and threw me off my balance. I limped towards a wall for support, and stood against it until I was able to see properly.

My view swayed across the room, resting on a blinking light for the home phone. I slowly approached it, fearful that noise would come back.

Afraid of why the noise existed.

"Was that the phone," I asked out loud, "ringing?"

I reached out for the phone, but my hand was stopped when I saw something on the palm of it. I turned my hand over to reveal a layer of blood. I turned the other hand to find likewise, then tested just below my ears to feel a liquid running down from them. This almost caused me to fall again, but I kept my balance, as well as my stomach, in check.

My hair on the back of my neck began standing on end, and the air began to fill with a blanket of invisible static. I unconsciously lunged for the phone and grabbed it. It wasn't ringing at the time, but when I pressed the green button, my mom was on the other end.

"Paren!" She yelled.

"Oh, hey mom," I happily replied. "I was on the TV, did you see me?"

"See you? SEE YOU?! You were on breaking news! How could I not see you?!"

"Okay, I get that you're mad, but there is a reason behind all of this. I'm innocent!"

"Then why are you a criminal wanted for arrest? You know what I'm going to do, don't you?"

"Wait, you're not actually considering turning me in to the authorities, are you?"

"I'm so sorry Paren," she forced, "but I already called them. The cops should be at the front door shortly."

"Wha-, how," I had trouble forcing the words out, "how could you?!"

"Please, sweety."

"I'm your son! Your my mom! We're family!"

"Paren, please don't make this any more hard on me."

"Oh yeah, sorry! I totally forgot you were the one being ratted out to the cops after almost getting killed trying to... argh, DAMNIT!"

"Please don't fight the cops. Just let them arrest you, I don't want you to get hurt."

I was in silence at this point, trying to comprehend what was happening, and how I had been led up to this point. If only I had just moved on past that alley. If only I had minded my own business. If only I didn't have to be such a big damn hero! But how could any of this be my fault? Anyone would've done exactly what I had done, right?

It was all just bad luck. Someone had been plotting to screw me over, and her name was Lady Luck. It could have been anybody else in this damn world, why did it have to be me. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and everything else was just a follow-up.

And now here I was, stuck between a rock and the police, AmeriCorp, some third-world Mafia, and even my own goddamn mother! I had two decisions as I saw it. I could take my mom's suggestion and just give in. Let the authorities arrest me, do some time, and die when the Mafia has an inside guy shank me during a lunch period.

"Or..." I said to myself.

I heard sirens down the street, along with the soft pattering of rain drops on the roof.

"Please Paren, I only want what's best for both of us," my mother said.

"What's this 'us'?" I said, "'Us' ended when you turned me in..."

The police cars were screeching to a halt right in front of the house. The noise probably should have out me into the coma, but I was now determined. I had a goal in mind, and I would stop at nothing to reach it.

"...I hope you're happy with your decisions..."

"Paren, don't do anything stupid," she pleaded.

"This is the police, we have the place surrounded! Come out with your hands where we can see them, and things won't have to get messy."

"...because I sure as hell am happy with what I'm about to do. See you never, you son of a bi-"

SMASH!

Smoke began filling the room, cutting me off from my conversation. I dropped the phone just as a squad of S.W.A.T. officers kicked in the door.

BAM!

I could barely see, there was too much smoke, not to mention the lights strapped to their guns were blinding. But then, the prickly feeling came back. After that, I can barley recollect what exactly happened

Everything moved so much slower than usual. I didn't even feel like I controlled what I did then. But I didn't need to think or feel or control. I need to escape. I dashed around the corner, past the front door, and up the stairs. I was moving faster than I though I could, faster than I thought was even possible. I ran into my room, locking the door behind me. I grabbed the top of my dresser, and shoved it down to barricade myself in.

I looked out the window, and saw half of the police force. Not just that, a tank had parked itself right in front of the entrance. I saw a police officer who was holding the megaphone. And he saw me as well. I looked at him for an eternity, trying to communicate something to him through my eyes. I tried to tell him that I was innocent, that there was a much greater evil on the loose and I was trying to do what was right just as much as he was. But I couldn't do such a thing. I wasn't capable of any "super powers". Then he nodded, as if he heard everything. As if he actually knew the truth.

My confusion was cut short by a sharp pain cutting right into my heart.

I fell to my knees, desperately gasping for air. There was nothing in the air, but I felt like my heart was trying to commit suicide by jumping right through my ribs. It was beating faster than an electronic track. I couldn't calm myself down, my heart rate just continued rising. The static feeling was still present, and was as discomforting as ever. I slouched against a wall, coughing my last breaths, trying to replenish my heart with the oxygen it was burning through. I just couldn't inhale as fast as my heart was pumping.

I could feel my lungs painfully shriveling up like old peppers. Everything was hurting, but I guess that's what death feels like. And it was right at my front step, beating on the door, trying to knock it down. Death wanted to speed up the process for my sake, to prevent me from feeling unnecessary pain. And I surely was feeling it.

Every part of my body had its individual hell of pain, every bone ached in agonizing distress. My sight began fading, failing, leaving me, abandoning me. Everything was becoming darker, both in my room and in my future. I wished for the pain to end, for my death to just come. It wanted to help me, it as trying its hardest to break down the door. But the dresser was in the way. He was fighting for me.

And when he finally opened the door, I saw his teammates. Death... No.

'Not Death,' I thought, 'not today.'

The S.W.A.T. team filed into my room, all of their guns traced onto me. I felt like I had a blanket over my eyes, because everything was becoming darker. I knew that Death had his fingers on their triggers, he only had to flex to end my life. My sight was zooming in, everything became bigger. But someone had left. My sight was no longer fading, my heart had stopped pumping so quickly, the pain was all gone.

I watched as Death walked out of my room. I guess it really wasn't my time. Or maybe he saw something in my future.

My attention was brought to the barrel of a gun that was staring me down. My eyes began darting around the room, there had to be some way out of this. Death couldn't have just seen jail in my future. I could see nothing to help me. But the officers definitely seemed surprised by something.

It was the first time I had found myself with a gun aimed at me point-blank, but I didn't expect the shooter to be staring at me as if it was the first time they'd seen a human in their life. And they were all staring at me in horror, even more then I was at them. They were all growing in size, becoming freakishly taller then me.

"What the fuck are you?" One of them asked.

I sat there in awe at this question. What the hell did he mean "what are you"?

"I'm a human for God's sake!" I shouted.

They all looked at each other, perplexed by what I had said. They began whispering to each other, one of them muttered some words into his radio. I could pick up what they were whispering as if they were shouting.

"I remember seeing something like it in a game my kid was playing."

"Which game was that?"

"Can't remember."

"Hey, what are you all talking about? What's going on?" I yelled, becoming angered by there ignorance of me.

They all kept staring at me, which caused me to look down at my hands. And that's when things got a lot more complicated then before.