Chapter one: Escape

The lights flickered as multiple explosions rocked the facility. For what felt like an eternity, the tremors continued—then suddenly, silence.
The once-white room was now bathed in crimson from the emergency lights. The entire corridor outside echoed with chaos as footsteps thundered in every direction.
Uyi and his friends had been caught off guard. Vibrations shook the ground beneath them, stronger here than anywhere else. Explosions weren’t uncommon in this place, but something felt different. Normally, tremors came in short bursts and ended quickly. This time, they returned every thirty seconds.
Uyi exchanged glances with Sara—the pale girl with snow-white hair—then with Fred, the bald boy, and finally with Larry, the bespectacled one. They all nodded in unison, their eyes fixed on the door.
They knew little about the facility. Locked away for so long, they had no sense of time—neither day nor year. Larry, however, had speculated that the exit lay in the opposite direction of the research hall. Well-read and quick to reason, he was the only one who understood even a little about mechanics and electronics. Unlike some of the others, he hadn’t been born here. Memories of his childhood outside still lingered.
The group froze as guards rushed past their cell. No one dared to breathe. If a soldier entered, their plan would collapse before it began.
Larry had noticed something before: whenever emergencies like this erupted, soldiers always ran in the opposite direction of the research halls. Today was no different.
Moments later, the corridor fell silent. The lights in their room blinked out. A metallic clank rang, followed by the hiss of hydraulics. Slowly, their cell door creaked open.
Uyi raised his hand, signaling the others to wait. He crept forward, peeking through the opening. The hallway was empty.
Gunfire rattled in the distance, then faded.
They had waited for this chance for a long time. Amy—the frail girl asleep in the corner—had promised it would come. Her predictions were never wrong. Even the researchers treated her with reverence, wary of her strange powers.
But belts locked around their waists suppressed every ability. Escaping without their powers was near impossible. Still, after the torment they had endured, any risk was worth it.
Uyi gestured the all-clear. Sara carefully lifted Amy onto her back. After a moment’s hesitation, they stepped out of their cell—for the first time, leaving of their own free will.
---


They moved swiftly down the hallway. Whenever they stumbled upon a corpse, they turned aside, slowing their pace. The alarms blared relentlessly as they pressed on.
Children and soldiers lay sprawled on the floor alike, their blood splattered across the walls like grotesque paintings.
Sara felt her stomach twist. Raised in privilege, she had never imagined such brutality.
They advanced with painstaking caution, every movement calculated. At one turn, they spotted a guard who hadn’t noticed them.
Uyi blurred—too fast for the eye to follow—and appeared behind him. With one swift motion, he snapped the guard’s neck. Without hesitation, he took the man’s dagger and continued forward.
The others froze, shocked. Uyi’s expression remained hard and unshaken, as if killing was nothing to him.
Sara felt her chest tighten. Still a teenager, watching another her age take a life made her ache with sadness. It was a grim reflection of how far the world had fallen.
Fred lowered his head, guilt flickering in his eyes. Larry’s face darkened; though he had read about death, witnessing it firsthand left him shaken.
But they followed Uyi’s lead. Using Larry’s knowledge of electronics, they bypassed doors, while carefully avoiding wider corridors lined with cameras.
---


Eventually, they reached an intersection. From the west, gunfire and screams echoed. To the north loomed a massive reinforced door. They had come from the southern wing—so they turned east.
Half an hour later, they stumbled upon a battle. Peering down the corridor, Uyi saw an old man dispatching guards with his bare hands.
The man turned and met Uyi’s eyes.
Uyi flinched. That gaze froze his blood. Without a word, he pulled his friends away, leading them down another passage.
The further they went, the fewer doors and cameras they found. Soon, they entered a quieter section of the facility.
Then came a voice. Deep. Menacing. Familiar to anyone who had ever lived here.
“To think you lot would make it this far.”
A hand clamped down on Uyi’s shoulder. He spun, disbelieving. How—?
His friends collapsed around him, unconscious.
A sudden force hurled Uyi against the wall. Concrete cracked, giving way to an office on the other side.
Enkari stood before him, smirking. But his smirk faltered as footsteps approached. An old man emerged from the shadows.
“Old man,” Enkari sneered, “you seem lost.”
In an instant, Enkari was gone from his spot—and reappeared slammed against the far wall.
The old man stood where he had been, faint light radiating from his body. His eyes lingered on Sara. “Poor child… If only I hadn’t made that mistake.”
Enkari staggered up, clutching his ribs. Even as a power user, the difference in strength was too great.
The old man gently lifted Sara. Turning to Uyi and Fred, who were just regaining their footing, he spoke calmly: “This place will be destroyed in minutes. Try to escape while you can.”
Then he turned, carrying Sara away, heading in the opposite direction of Enkari.
Enkari barely heard the words. Rage consumed him. Limping forward, black mist curling around his body, he advanced on Uyi’s group.
Uyi wanted to follow the old man—but he knew doing so meant death. Not even Enkari could stand against that man.
Instead, he slung Larry onto his back, while Fred carried his sister. Together, they ran.
Enkari’s face darkened. He crouched like an athlete at the starting line. With a deafening boom, he launched forward, the ground shattering beneath him.
Despair clawed at Uyi—Enkari was using his full power.
Then, unexpectedly, the belts around their waists clicked open and fell to the ground.
Uyi’s lips curled into a smile. Fred’s eyes widened with hope.
Uyi hurled Larry toward Fred. Everything happened so quickly Enkari failed to notice.
Now free, Uyi turned, facing Enkari head-on.
The man vanished.
A thunderous impact sent Fred crashing past Uyi. Larry landed at Uyi’s feet, dazed.
Amy now dangled limply in Enkari’s grip, clutched like a doll.
Her eyes fluttered open. She saw him—and panic seized her. She struggled wildly.
A sharp slap from Enkari stilled her.
Uyi’s stomach sank. He had underestimated Enkari. He barely understood the man’s abilities.
Thank God I hid my true power, Enkari thought. That old man would have killed me if he knew.
The ground shuddered again. Tremors rocked the walls. A blinding light erupted from behind Enkari, heat washing over them.
Time slowed.
Amy smiled faintly, stretching out her hand. Strange markings across her skin began to glow.
In that instant, only she moved. Everyone else was frozen in slowed motion. A barrier of light enveloped Uyi and the others.
"I hope we meet again" she said
Then, in a burst of radiance, Amy vanished.
A deafening explosion followed, the facility consumed in fire, dust, and darkness.