[Opening Song: Kyouran Hey Kids! – By: The Oral Cigarettes]
Two silhouettes stared one another down, one with blood covering their face, or at least, what remained of it, laying back first on the destroyed pavement of a city street, and the other, heavily wounded with a spear-like appendage going through their stomach and out of its back. The one with half of its face, specifically the right half missing, had a large, near-demonic smile taking up its visage with blood trailing down the sides of its mouth. The other standing silhouette, meanwhile, had nothing but fury, pain, and agony taking up its visage.
Blue eyes stared into the sole remaining crimson-red eye of its opponent. Decades and decades of history lurked behind that one eye. Knowledge unseen and unknown. Like a scholar staring at a fledgling. A part of the standing silhouette felt as if it was felling an immortal being. One that had illuded it for far too long, and needed to be killed.
For all the evil it had committed. For all the deaths that it caused. For all the pain and suffering that it had spread throughout the standing silhouette's home. It needed to be done. For the good of the public and those in charge
So why… oh why… did it feel as if it had been played? Why did that sole, crimson-red eye shine with what looked to be both acceptance and joy rather than anger and grief that its plan had been stopped? Why did that sole, crimson-red eye stare back up at him as if it had known that this was going to happen? As if it had planned this whole thing?
Why?
Why?!
To the outside world, a battle unlike any other had just occurred. It would rock the world for generations to come, and the repairs it would take to fix the city where the battle had taken place would take well over hundreds of billions of dollars, and decades of time. A battle so devastating, a battle so soul-crushing, a battle that killed so many that it rivalled the events of the Nagasaki Bombing in terms of destruction.
Fires raised over the horizon, as rubble filled the streets. Dead civilians who unfortunately got caught in the crossfire littered the place. Families would have no choice but to bury their wives, husbands, and children, and it was all thanks to the two combatants. To make matters worse, helicopters belonging to the public news channels hung overhead, recording every detail, all the while the government worked as hard as it could to try and get the broadcasts shut down.
No one was allowed to know this battle took place. No one was to know the damage that it caused. Certainly not the public. Government officials? Maybe, but only those that needed to know. This needed to be put under wraps, for the safety of the world at large, and anyone who spoke out… well, they wouldn't remain alive long enough to speak for too long.
All for the safety of the people of their honoured country.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the standing silhouette spoke.
"It's over… You've lost…." The standing silhouette said with pain in its voice as the one on the ground coughed, blood staining its chest as it laughed. Not a cheery kind of laugh, either. One that was deep, and filled with just as much malice as there was merriment. The kind of laugh only a demon could muster.
And then, its voice. Deep and baritone. Haunting yet elegant. Spoken like a true demon. A monster all of its own, however yet distorted due to the blood filling its lungs and choking it out.
"Did… I… really? Ehehe… no…. I did not lose…. I will live on…. In a different place…. In a different time…. I have supporters in places you could never reach…." The silhouette paused, coughing up more blood as the other, standing silhouette scowled. "You… have not won this day…. You will never win…. Not when I am two steps ahead of you…."
"What do you mean…" the standing silhouette growled, narrowing its eyes as the laying one spoke. But this time, there was no merriment. There was no joy. There was nothing but pure hatred and malice and had anyone been around them to hear it, they would have recoiled in fear.
"Oh… you'll see soon enough…. I will return. And when I do… it will not be in a form you recognize. And when I find you…. I will kill everyone you ever loved. I will paint this world red with your and yours blood! I will make sure that everything you ever cared about will be destroyed. I. WILL. COME. BAC—"
The standing silhouette raised its fist and slammed it into the remaining portion of the others face, causing it to go stiff like a board, before it fell flat against the ground, blood covering the standing silhouette's fist and decorating what remained of the other's head. Rage coloured its blue eyes as its teeth gnashed together.
It was over.
He was dead.
He would never hurt anyone ever again.
The self-titled Demon Lord will never hurt anyone ever again.
Right?
[XXXX]
The sound of birds chirping could be heard throughout a small, quaint little neighbourhood located in the town of Gravesfield, Connecticut. It was bright and early in the morning, the sun just starting to peek out from the treeline, its rays of honeyed gold hitting the streets and sidewalks, unleashing a cascade of warmth typical of a summer day in the southern United States Of America.
As the birds chirped, doing their regular morning greetings to one another, signs of people waking up became prevalent as lights turned on in various houses, front doors opened as men and women alike began their commute to work, and in some instances, dogs barked and cats meowed, telling their owners that it was time to greet the day.
In the distance, the sound of the local church bell began to ring, the bell belonging to St. Peters Liturgical Church. Of course, it was only one of the many churches in Gravesfield, but it was the second most prevalent, aside from The Wittebane Megachurch located further up in the town.
Within the neighbourhood, filled with similar houses all akin to one another, there was one house tucked away a little further than the rest, as it wasn't built by the construction company who had built the other houses, rather, it was built by a personal construction company well over 80 years ago.
The house sat near the woods surrounding the small town, as the family who had it commissed wished to be by their lonesome. And while that family no longer owned the house, it was still being used and currently owned by a family of two. As for the house itself, compared to all the other houses, it wasn't all that big. As a matter of fact, it was no bigger than what one would expect a slightly below-middle-class home to be, and the same could be said for its appearance.
It was a small, two-storey home with a blue convex roof with blue tiles and a brick chimney. The base of the house was constructed out of wood, whereas the walls were made of off-white concrete. Bushes surrounded the wooden base of the house, some with flowers and others without. Peeking out of the roof was a wooden framed window, with another smaller convex roof atop it.
The front of the house had several windows, with two windows flanking the screen door, one on the left and one on the right. Further off to the right, four more windows sat with a gutter pipe dividing them that led into the ground and connected to the sewer system underneath the house.
A set of stairs that thinned out at the entrance of the house was connected to a small stone pathway that met up with a sidewalk. Surrounding the house, aside from the front, was a white fence that divided the properties surrounding it. A garbage can sat next to the path, filled to the brim with trash, set out from last night and ready to collect.
The lawn had seen better days, what with it not being maintained in a little over a few weeks. Not that it was the fault of the homeowners. The lawnmower had broken down and was still needing repairs. But, due to budgetary restrictions, they couldn't get it fixed. And so, the messy lawn would have to do. Even if it greatly upsetted the neighbours.
It was a Saturday, and the beginning of summer vacation, meaning school was out for the rest of the year. However, while that normally meant it was time to sleep in and catch some extra Z's, for one Luz Noceda, that was not the case. She had to be up bright and early to catch a special bus that would take her to a not-so-special summer camp.
The sound of an electric alarm rang into her ears, a buzzing, irritating sound the likes of which she did not enjoy. Luz groaned as she sat up in her bed, throwing the covers off of her body as they hit the floor with a soft thud. She was wearing a set of light blue pyjamas with stars littering across the outfit, and white buttons keeping the top together.
Her hair was an absolute mess—the worst case of bedhead ever imaginable. Her eyes were droopy and tired as if weighed down by bags of cement. A yawn escaped her mouth as she stretched out her arms from behind her head, after which she slumped forward. Had this been any other day, she would have been excited for the morning. After all, it was the best time of day.
But today? Not even remotely. She was actually hoping that she hadn't woken up at all. Not because she was depressed, mind you. Far from it! Her reason for not wanting to get up had to do with the aforementioned "not-so-special summer camp".
Reality Check Summer Camp. Their slogan? Think Inside the Box. Her mother had signed her up for it in a misguided attempt to help her get her, and she was quoting directly from her mother "Her creativity in check".
Bless her mom to the heavens and back, but there were some days that she wished that her mama would just listen to her. Luz even knew that her mother knew that it wasn't even a good idea, as she had been really touchy about talking about it. As if she knew that Luz would have gotten extremely upset at the mention of it—which she was! She didn't even get to a say word about it!
So, yeah! Not exactly something that she would be all too fond of going to. Luz was the type of person who loved to think outside of the box. Her mother even said that her creativity knew no bounds! However, it was because of that creativity that she was in the situation she was in. Because of her rampant creativity, she had a hard time, well, not being overtly creative. It often made it so she overdid things, to the point where it got out of hand.
For example, her final project for her English 9 class that year was a book report. That was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back, seeing as it involved live snakes that she may or may not have stolen from the local park. Don't ask her why she chose to involve live snakes, it just seemed like a really good idea at the time!
And so, because of that blunder, which her mama was now calling the "Creative Incident of 2018" in a joking manner, she was going to have to attend that rubbish, no-good, no-fun, uncreative summer camp.
It wasn't because of that one incident, either. There were plenty of other incidents just like it. Like the time she tried out for the cheerleading committee and had gone entirely off script. Or the time she was in a play that she may or may not have overacted in. The less she talked about the accidental home-economics kitchen fire, the better, too. She didn't know you could burn water! Honestly!
All of that, combined with the live snakes, had caused the principal to put his foot down, and had it not been for her mama swooping in and promising that she would get Luz "under control" over the summer, she would have been expelled from the school and would have had to find another school to go to.
Hence her going to Reality Check Summer Camp.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Luz crawled out of bed with an unenthusiastic groan, meandering over to her dresser to get a fresh set of clothes to put on. From drawer number one she pulled out a short-sleeved half-lavender-blue and half-white hooded shirt that had cat ears attached to the hood. In drawer number two high-waisted pair of jean shorts along with a pair of dark navy-gray capri leggings. In drawer number three, and the final drawer, she grabbed a pair of black socks, along with assorted undergarments.
After a few minutes of getting dressed and brushing her hair to make sure it didn't look as if she had woken up in a tornado, Luz sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at her alarm clock, which read the time. Her alarm was scheduled to go off at 7:30 am, and the clock displayed that it was 8:00 am. Her mama had specifically told her to get up at 7:30, hence the alarm.
Usually, Luz never got up this early, which was weird because she was often known for her energy. But, all of that energy had to come from somewhere. So, she often found herself oversleeping on the weekends. But, due to her having to go to the bus stop at 9:30, her mama wanted her to be up so that she had an hour to become a person.
Contrary to popular belief, Luz was not a morning person. And while her mother forbade her from having coffee due to what it did to her, she had other ways of waking up. Such as drinking sugary drinks to give her a boost in the morning—mostly Decafe G-Fuel, specifically their Lord Frieza Flavour. She might not have liked Dragon Ball the show, but the memorabilia surrounding it was always fun to look at.
"Mija! Get ready! You need to start walking to the bus station! You don't want to be late!" The voice of her mother, Camila Noceda, rang throughout the house as Luz sighed.
"Coming, Mama!" As Luz said that, she balled her hands into fists, trying to get herself out of the little funk she had been in. "Come on, it won't be that bad, right?" Luz muttered to herself, bringing her arms and balled-up hands from either side of herself, resting her fists on her bed as she tried to think happy thoughts.
"It's just the whole summer at a boring, dull, number-crunching camp. This might be a chance to make friends!" As Luz said that, she slumped, uncurling her fists as she rested her hands against her chin, resting her elbows on her knees. "Yeah, right… like that'll ever happen…"
A sad fact about Luz's life was that she had, quite literally, zero friends. No one wanted to hang out with her. Not because of anything about her, but because of all the rumours at school. There were times when Luz would find herself just… staring out at the world, thinking about what she wanted to do after school or daydreaming about The Good Witch Azura.
That's not where the rumours stemmed from. They stemmed from her hyperactivity. How she was constantly bouncing all over the place. When she was little, it was seen as cute. Now that she was on the precipice of becoming a full-blown high school student, and considering her ethnicity… well, teenagers were always cruel.
The term "coked-up Mexican" came up a lot in the rumour mill. Which was weird, because Luz wasn't Mexican. She was Dominican. But, then again, she didn't exactly expect much from a bunch of low-life racists, now did she?
There was also a rumour going around that because she got good grades and got along with one of the teachers at the school, Mr. Jones, who had been her science teacher…. Again, you can imagine where that went. And while that part mostly circled the girl's friend groups, it was still a rumour and people heard it.
Neither of those rumours she had told her mother about. She refused to tell her mother about it because she would worry too much. She also didn't need to hear about the bullying either. She would deal with it herself by ignoring it.
Yes, it made her angry at times. But she would never allow it to boil over. She would plunge herself into her shows and AMVs and ignore them. Ignore their toxic words and their disgusting rumours. She didn't need friends, and she certainly didn't need her mother freaking out about what was going on at school. She had been able to bury it for this long, a little longer wouldn't hurt at all.
That's why Luz had been so looking forward to summer. Where she could relax inside and edit AMVs, read fanfiction and watch movies with her mother all summer long! At least, until this whole summer camp thing jumped her out of nowhere. Now she had a summer full of number-crunching and other related subjects ahead of her.
When Luz first found out, she begged her mama to reconsider. But, she wasn't having any of it. Her mother had been extremely angry at her for the snake incident, which had only made her decision easier. It was funny and slightly annoying at first. But what she did could have caused actual, real harm. Snakes were no laughing matter. They were dangerous, sometimes venomous creatures that were liable to bite when threatened.
No matter how many times she apologized, and no matter how many times she promised her that she would never do that again, her mama refused to budge. She had made her choice and had already paid for the camp. If there was one thing that Luz didn't like about her mother, it was her stubbornness.
In Luz's mind, her mother either couldn't or wouldn't understand her. Considering recent events, she opted for the latter explanation. She loved her mama from the bottom of her heart. But when she was angry, she refused to listen to anyone. It was her way or the highway and that was final.
It was what annoyed her the most about this. Her mama wouldn't listen, and it was actively driving them apart. Some days, Luz wished that her mama would just sit down and talk things out. And while that did happen from time to time, stress mixed with wine and an overactive daughter didn't mix well. Outbursts would happen, and they've only gotten worse as time's gone on.
She knew her mom was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She knew her mama wasn't doing this to spite her. But it just felt like she was up against a brick wall. "I know the difference between reality and fantasy. Why won't Mama see that?" Luz thought as she wiped at her eyes, preventing any tears from falling before they had the chance to leave her eyes.
She promised herself she wouldn't cry over something so small. But after everything that her mama had said to her yesterday, it was too much. That was the angriest she had ever seen her. And the loudest. The drive home was even worse.
Collecting herself before she could start full-blown crying, Luz took a few deep breaths, before pulling her hands away from her face to look down at them, her expression going from one of sadness to one of confusion in a matter of mere moments.
Why? Well, it was because that was when she noticed something off about her hands. Specifically, the palms of her hands.
Typically, when someone assumed that there was something off about their hands, it was usually a cut or a scrape. That was what people usually saw on the palms of their hands when they were referring to something off or weird. But in this instance? Luz saw neither of those things. What Luz saw was, potentially, worse than that.
In the palms of her hands were tiny, dime-sized holes. Luz blinked, as initially, she thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her. She blinked once, and then twice, but each time she blinked, those holes remained there. In a bid to make sure she wasn't dreaming, Luz pinched herself on the cheek. When she felt the slight jolting pain that came with being pinched, it dawned on her that she was, in fact, awake.
Alarm bells went off in Luz's head as she jolted up from her bed. Unfortunately, at the same time that she had jumped up from her bed, she had accidentally slipped on a piece of stray paper on the floor, causing her to slam up against her mattress as she groaned, a loud thud echoing throughout her bedroom.
"Ow…" Luz groaned as she looked back at her hands again. It was… weird to say the very least. And, also a little bit distracting. She couldn't stop staring at the little holes in the palms of her hands. So many questions blurred about in her head as she tried to figure out when she had gotten them.
"When did I get these?! I didn't have holes in my hands yesterday, so why do I have them now?!" Luz thought, panicked as she tried to rationalize the reason she had holes in her hands.
"Come to think of it, there was that strange dream I had…" Luz thought, frowning. She had "woken up" in a dark, black void of a room. It was barren and empty with nothing in sight except for two, empty chairs, a concrete platform, and a large red carpet. It was devoid of life, with nothing but darkness surrounding her.
She had remembered calling out to someone in the dream, asking if anyone was there, but to no avail. There was nothing and no one. At least, not until she felt someone clasp her right shoulder. But, before she could say or do anything, she had woken up. By then, it was midnight, and rather than bugging her mother about it, she had promptly gone back to bed.
Strangely, that dream never returned. It was probably the first lucid dream she had ever experienced, and it just had to be a creepy one. But, that begged the question…. "Did that dream have anything to do with these holes in my hands?" Luz thought, frowning.
"Mija?! ¿Va todo bien ahí arriba? I heard a loud noise up there!" Her mother called up, breaking her out of her thoughts as Luz instinctively slid her hands into her shorts pockets, just in case her mama ran up the stairs.
"I'm alright, Mama! Just slipped on a stray… piece of paper!" Luz called down, earning no response. She sighed out of relief, taking her hands out of her pockets as she helped herself off the ground. Looking back at her palms, Luz bit the inside of her lip. Deciding to test something, she took her left pointer finger and went to stick it inside of her right hand's palm hole.
In the best-case scenario, they were just random doodles she did on her hands yesterday.
In the worst-case scenario, the holes were real, and if the holes were real, that meant something must've happened to cause them.
The more realistic side of Luz rationalized that it was nothing more than a drawing she had done on herself out of boredom. Besides, it would've been fantastical to believe that the holes were real. And Luz was able to separate fantasy from reality, so obviously what was going on had to be the former. There was just no possible way for it to be the latter.
So, when the tip of her finger actually went into the hole, and immediately came out, to say that Luz was beyond confused, concerned, and also a tad bit excited, would be an understatement. Without thinking twice, Luz immediately ran and opened the door to her bedroom and ran down the stairs, her expression riddled with confusion, slight excitement, as well as enthusiasm.
She had to tell her mom! Especially because if her mom didn't find out sooner rather than later. If she had waited, then the freak-out would probably be worse. That, and perhaps there was a chance that she could avoid going to that summer camp. Especially because of this! She could pass it off as a medical emergency and ditch the camp entirely!
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she sharply turned into the kitchen, which was where her mother was. "Mamá! Mamá! Look! C'mere! Mamá!" Luz practically shouted, trying to get her attention. Unfortunately, her mother was on the phone, and more focused on the call than her pleas for attention.
Strangely, Her expression was confused, too. Luz didn't know why, but she seemed confused as well. A part of Luz suddenly became worried, especially considering the recent happenings. For some context, Camila was an immigrant from The Dominican Republic of Spain. As such, much like Luz, she had caramel tan skin. Unlike Luz, medium-length brown hair with some grey hairs mixed in, and dark brown eyes, whereas Luz had short brown hair and golden-brown eyes.
Right now, Camila was wearing a set of cyan scrubs with darker blue-rimmed sleeves, along with a pair of white shoes. She wore a pair of glasses with white and black frames, along with a pair of blue earrings. It was what she usually wore in the mornings, except for on weekends when she didn't have work.
As for why she was wearing that, her mother was a vet, and she worked at the local vet clinic in town. She had recently taken up a job to look after an elderly lady's sick cat that needed to be monitored. Luz had met Mister the Cat and had grown quite attached to the old flee bag. She hoped it wasn't any bad.
"I don't understand. What do you mean your son started to breathe fire? Rachael, please calm down. I'm sure he's just being hysterical. Look, I have to go, my daughter is bugging me. I'm just a vet, so I can't help you with what your problem is, go to the doctors and have them check it out there," Camila said, hanging up the phone before looking over at Luz. "Hello, Mija, how're you doin—"
"Mamá! Look! I've got holes in my hands!" Luz exclaimed as Camila recoiled, her eyes adjusting to having hands shoved into her face. When she saw the small holes in the palms of her daughter's hands, she pushed down the urge to frown, sighing.
"Mija, come now, this is ridiculous. Come here, I'm going to clean your hands, then you gotta get going," Camila said, not too impressed with what was going on if her annoyed expression was something to go off of.
"No, Mamá! I'm serious! I'm not—"
"Luz, not right now!" Camila snapped, causing Luz to wince as they walked over to the sink. Camila grabbed the cloth that was draped over the sink tap, before rinsing the cloth under warm water, and immediately afterward she put a drop of soap in the center of the cloth, scrubbing it together to create suds. Once she was done, Camila walked over to Luz, grabbed her wrist held her hand steady, and then began to scrub over the hole. "You need to stop drawing on yourself. That's something a little girl does. Ahora tienes catorce años, Luz. Empieza a actuar según tu edad!"
Luz frowned. "Mamá! Por favor, just listen to me, I'm not—"
As she scrubbed the "doodle" one of Camila's fingers brushed over it. As she put more pressure on it, her finger, along with the part of the cloth that her finger had pressed down on, entered the hole, making Camila's eyes widen.
Camila backed away, taking the cloth away from the hand and letting go of Luz's wrist. Luz shook her hand, an uncomfortable expression on her face. The two stared at one another, Camila flabbergasted and Luz a little nervous.
"See, I told you Mamá, I'm not lying. I really do have holes in my hands!" Luz said, her voice meek as Camila looked over to her phone, then back to Luz, then back to her phone, then finally back to Luz. It was then that her motherly panic took over, which caused Camila to once again grab Luz by the wrist and take toward the front door.
"¡Oh Dios mío! Luz! We're going to the doctor, right now!"
"¡Espera, mamá!"
"No discussion, we're getting this checked out, now!"
And that was exactly what happened. There was no argument, and there was no fighting about it. Luz was going to the doctor for an impromptu appointment. When they got to the bus station, instead of boarding the bus heading toward the Summer Camp, which funnily enough was not there. Luz, now with Camila, boarded the bus toward the city to take her to the doctor, the entire way Camila was nervously muttering to herself in Spanish, making Luz feel a tad bit uncomfortable.
If what Luz had overhead on the phone conversation was true, perhaps the summer camp was being delayed due to what was going on. If other people were waking up with strange anomalies like the holes in her hands, then maybe the camp was cancelled.
If that were the case, then Luz would be pretty happy with that idea. Not going to that lame summer camp would have been the best blessing in the whole wide world! Then she could actually do what she wanted over the summer and not bore herself to tears.
When they got to the doctor's office after getting off the bus, the pair were greeted by several children Luz's age in a very similar situation. Some kids were floating things with their minds with excitement on their faces, and worry and trepidation from their parents. A few had ice forming on their hands, and a few even had gills on their necks.
If Luz had to describe it, she would probably have to describe it as something ripped out of a fantasy novel. However, if that wasn't confusing when she walked into the room, there were thin, barely visible strings attached to those with powers. Out of the 50 people in the room, 35 of them had some kind of power, visible or otherwise.
None of the other kids knew about the strings, or if they did they didn't pay attention to them. Luz blinked in a bout of confusion, and just like that, the strings were gone, which only served to confuse Luz even more.
Why were there strings around those people? Better yet, why didn't they notice them? "What was that?" Luz thought as she observed the atmosphere of the waiting room. The staff were just as confused as everyone else, trying to organize something to make the area less chaotic. TVs were playing as they usually did. News stories of children 12 to 15 waking up with superpowers across the globe.
It was like a national disaster was being reported on. Some of the news anchors were freaking out, saying it was some sort of secret conspiracy. Of course, it was Fox News who was on, specifically Tucker Carlson, because of course it was.
"Let me guess, your kid got one of those freaky superpowers, too?" The secretary lady asked, catching both Camila's and Luz's attention. The pair walked up to the desk as the lady sighed. She looked tired with bags under her eyes. She was wearing a white shirt, and that was all that Luz could see seeing as the counter blocked the rest of her view. "So, does she? If it's nothing too troublesome we can let you see a doctor right away."
"I don't know if it's troublesome or not, but…. She's got holes in her hands. I don't know when they showed up, but—"
"It was probably late last night, that's what everyone else is saying. So that probably extends to your kid, too," the secretary interrupted, reclining in her chair, giving Luz a glimpse of the lady's black yoga pants. "Seeing as your kid's power doesn't cause any kind of property damage, we'll let you sneak into one of the doctor's offices. Quickly, get. The furthest down on the right. Go."
With that, Camila and Luz went down the hallway. Luz looked back at everyone else in the waiting room, all of them trying to figure out whatever superpower they had gotten. To Luz, it all made no sense. Just yesterday, everything seemed normal. Now all of a sudden everything was warping into some strange amalgamation between fantasy and reality.
In a way, she found it funny. Everyone had been telling her to separate fantasy from reality, and now it was blending together. The irony was palpable. "Suck it, crappy teachers! 1 point for Luz, 0 points for restrictive school!"
When they entered the doctor's office, they were greeted by a young white-skinned black-haired man, wearing a white doctor's coat. Underneath the coat was a pair of light blue scrubs, not too dissimilar to what Camilia was wearing, and a pair of black lace-up shoes.
"Good morning. I take it you're in a similar situation as everyone else right now?" The doctor asked as Luz took a seat in front of him, shuffling around anxiously while Camila sat on the sidelines before speaking up.
"Yes. My daughter woke up this morning and found holes in her hands. At first, I thought she drew on herself again, but this was different. Please, doctor, can you tell me what's wrong with my baby girl?" Camila asked, her voice almost desperate sounding as Luz recoiled. There was nothing wrong with her. Why had she assumed the holes in her hands were bad? It wasn't like they hurt or anything.
The doctor motioned if he could see her hands, to which Luz reluctantly accepted, opening her hands up to reveal the small dime-sized hole. The doctor scratched the side of his head in confusion, shrugging his shoulders as he looked over to Camila.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. But… just in case…." And thus, the doctor began a rather standard check-up procedure. When nothing was found wrong with Luz, the doctor scratched the side of his head again, just as puzzled as everyone else. "I can honestly say your daughter is in good health, Mrs…?"
"It's Ms. And, my name is Camila Noceda. This is my daughter, Luz Noceda. I'm sorry, I should've introduced ourselves before this. I was just so caught up in what was going on that I—"
"No, no, it's quite understandable, Ms. Noceda. However, your daughter is fine. The only thing I could recommend right now is for her to be careful and to wash her hands extra thoroughly. Although, I'd like to ask you, Luz. What's your perspective on this?" The doctor asked as Luz rubbed the back of her neck, a tinge of anxiety building up in her chest.
"Uh… well, when I woke up, I didn't even notice them at first. It was only after I… wiped the sleep out of my eyes that I saw them. I told my mom, then we came here," Luz began, before glancing to the side of the room, making her nervousness evident with how she raised her shoulders. She never liked talking to doctors. There was just something about her that gave her the heebie-jeebies. "But when I came into the waiting room and looked at the others… I saw strings. I counted the strings, and all those who had a string had superpowers because others didn't have strings… the older people, I mean. When I blinked, the strings were gone."
As Luz finished her explanation, the doctor quirked an eyebrow. "Strings? Did anyone else see them?" The doctor asked as Luz shrugged.
"If they did, they paid no attention to them," Luz replied as the doctor sighed.
"Alright. Well, my recommendation is the same as before. And if you see those strings again, maybe try seeing what they do. I suspect the government is going to want to know what these powers are about at some point. Try and stay safe. You're free to leave."
When the doctor finished, he gestured for the pair to leave his office. The two did as they were silently asked as another older person walked past her and entered the office. As Luz re-entered the waiting room, she saw the strings again.
So, she did as the doctor suggested. She reached out toward the string, her palm connecting to the string. When it did, small crimson-red sparks started dancing around on her fingers and all over her hand, before she swiftly put her hand away in her shorts pocket, as a few people looked in her direction. She casually waved at them, chuckling nervously before turning away from the crowd.
"Weird…." Luz thought as Camila glanced over at her, then away. Luz felt weird when her mother looked over at her like that. There was a hint of concern in her eyes, yet also… fear? No, that made no sense. Maybe it was because of what she described to the doctor that she was slightly scared of her. But why? Luz had no idea why that was, but she wasn't going to press it.
When they got home, her mother immediately asked her to sit down. When she did, her mother sat across from her at the table and placed her phone down on the table. There was a picture of Reality Check Summer Camp with big red words saying "Closed till tomorrow".
A part of Luz got excited. Maybe because it was closed, her mother would—
"You're still going there, Luz. I already paid $250 for your admission. I know you don't like it, but I promise you will come out of it a better person. You'll meet friends! Bond over classical radio and crunch numbers! Besides, it's a learning experience, too. What's so bad about that?"
Luz was taken aback by that, before frowning. "But, mama! I don't want to go! I'll die there of boredom! That's like, torture!" Luz said as Camila crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Luz. That was the "you're on thin ice" stare.
"We are not getting into this again, Luz. You are going, whether you like it or not. I am not going to budge on this. I know you don't want to, but I don't want you expelled from school. So, for your own good, you're going there," as Camila said that, she stood up and put her phone away back into her purse, before circling the table, and smiling. "Te quiero, Luz. I'll see you after work."
With that, Camila kissed her forehead, then left the house with the sound of the door closing echoing throughout the now-empty house. Luz sat at the table, slumping forward, her hands on her cheeks as she looked absently at the time on the stove.
It seemed like that she was going to Reality Check Summer Camp after all. "1 point for dull and crappy camp. 0 points to Luz Noceda….."
[XXXX]
"Are you sure about this, sir?" A man pale-skinned man with brown hair, black eyes, and thin-blue framed glasses dressed in a black suit and red tie asked a man obscured in shadow. He sat at his desk, clear of all things as he tapped its surface in a steady rhythm. It was a slapped-together, half-baked plan. Realistically, it wouldn't, nor should it work.
But… The Federal Government had their hands tied behind their back. This sort of thing had been happening for well over a week now. Kids were waking up all across the world with superpowers of some kind, and it was causing mass panic and far too much trouble.
The man in the shadows frowned. He was not about to have this state fall into utter pandemonium. Not because of those freaks. Besides, he wasn't doing anything illegal. It was a matter of national security. If he didn't stop this outbreak of misfits from spreading, then what would happen when the world was ruled by those mongrels?
"Our benefactor has already paid us to get it done. We are not going to waste his time. I already spoke to the counsellor of that camp yesterday. A deal has already been reached. I'm too far in now. Besides, we have a part of the military in on it. We'll be fine. Just in case any of those little demonspawns try to escape, they'll gunned down on sight.
The man in the suit swallowed back his nervousness, silently nodding before leaving the small office. It was empty, save for his aforementioned desk file cabinets and a calendar. By God as his witness, those heathens would not hurt the god-fearing citizens of his state. They elected him to do as such and come hell or high water, nothing, and he meant nothing, would get in his way.
-To Be Continued in – The "Not-so-Dull" Summer Camp Pt 1-
[-Ending Song: Life – By Rude-a]