A Bad Turn

This is Jage's point of view.

Throughout my life, I often had trouble with Orenji. Before, it felt funny because it only involved school matters, teachers, and extracurriculars. But now it’s different. Now, everything becomes a matter of life and death. That’s why I work so hard to learn the language of plants at the emergency school in Duluth. That’s why I train hard in fencing. Sanguinara is invading this place; they are evil, big, strong, and terrifying. Like the frightening three men, weighing tons. And at the same time, there is my younger brother and Orenji, who have not gained any superpowers.I love them more than myself; don’t get me wrong. And when it comes to the safety of the people we love, we tend to be braver in sacrificing and taking risks than concerning our own safety. Now, Orenji is flying to Chicago. So I just need to think about how Oliver and I will catch up with him. Although I guess it’s impossible right now.The police car we are in drives along the busy paved road, heading to the police station. There is a long traffic jam ahead, and our car suddenly stops. This will take hours. For a moment, I leaned my head against the window. A brief rest before I start thinking again. Until dawn breaks in the east, looking warm and beautiful. But lately, warm temperatures are always associated with death.*****The hip-hop song on the radio wakes me up. I am not sure how long I have been asleep, but when I woke up, Oliver was leaning on my shoulder. His gentle expression, which never appears when he is awake, makes me realize that he is sound asleep. I glance outside, and it seems we are free from the traffic jam because the car is moving quickly. The hip-hop song is still playing when suddenly the volume decreases, and breaking news interrupts the broadcast abruptly.“Attention, the mayor has just announced that the city is on Level 1 Alert. Sanguinara is heading here after wreaking havoc in Chicago and Louisiana. Please go to the town hall to board the prepared bus. Only bring important items like important documents, clothes, and medications.” “Oh wow, a bit late for the mayor's announcement, huh?” I wanted to comment, but four words made me freeze: ‘... after wreaking havoc in Chicago.’ Oh God, what have I done to Orenji? Oliver seems to sense my anxiety, as he wakes up and looks at me.“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks.My lips tremble; no sound comes out. My mind is panicking, thinking about what has happened to Orenji after his plane arrives in Chicago. “Jage,” Oliver urges me to speak.“Damn, you’re lucky,” the officer in front says, taking Oliver’s attention for a moment. I use that little time to catch my breath and regain my composure. “It’s good that you didn’t end up going to Chicago, huh?”“What? What happened?” Oliver asks, confused, still somewhat groggy from waking up.“Chicago and Louisiana are being attacked by Sanguinara. They are walking here now,” I said, my voice tense. My younger brother glances at me with a look of denial. Then, as understanding dawns, a layer of tears appears in his eyes, which he quickly turns away from. At that moment, I realized his feelings towards Orenji.“I’m sorry,” I say again. My voice fades before I finish that word, after he immediately turn my face away.“Well, since we all have to head to the town hall now to save ourselves, we will escort you to the special prisoner bus,” the officer says, acting all generous. So, they drop us off in front of the town hall, which is not too crowded yet, and take us to the special prisoner bus. But there’s a problem. The bus is full.“What’s they did?” asks the police officer standing in front of the bus. If it’s not too heavy, better let them go.“Actually, they are pretending to be mega-tutors.”“Relax, we haven’t harmed anyone,” I quickly say, but no one listens to me.“Oh, another deceitful punk,” curses the officer, making me choke. “Leave them here with the Sanguinara. The punishment is what it is.”
“Wait, wait, buddy—” I tried to intervene. “Think about it again; we are just teenagers—”“You look old enough to me, and don’t call me buddy. I’m not your friend.”I laughed in frustration. “Oh, come on. Look, we promise we won’t deceive anyone again, okay? We just want to get a plane ticket to escape. I know Sanguinara will come here before the mayor makes the announcement. So please—” “Sorry, we’re taking you to jail,” the officer who brought us says, and I gasp when he suddenly grabs Oliver.“Hey, let go!” Oliver says, but he can’t do anything.Panicking, I quickly conjured a short, very sharp knife in my fingers. A knife that also emits a hot light and can cut through steel handcuffs. Once I free myself, I immediately toss the knife and summon another sword, long and flat, like a fencing sword. The police officers are stunned and reflexively grab their guns, but I don’t compromise. I slash forward, disarming them, and take off running with Oliver. We had just run a few meters when suddenly something shot my leg, and I fell. Oliver stops in front of me. Tears glisten on his cheeks as he tries to help me stand.The world is in chaos around us as a squad of police surrounds us and captures us. Someone pulls Oliver away from me, and I immediately fight back. However, I froze when I saw a man approaching us. Falcon Miller, the mayor of Duluth. “Your superpower generates those glowing and hot swords?” he asks me. “Yes,” I reply, gritting my jaw to hold back the pain. “And does your brother have the same power?” he asks again. L“Let us go!” my brother screamed. “Can’t you see? My brother needs medical attention immediately!”“Yes, we can provide him with medical attention,” Falcon Miller says. Then he turned to me. “But on the condition that you join the super soldier program, kid.” Hearing that, I blinked for a moment. My vision is blurred from the tears forming due to the pain, and now the mayor is telling me that he has a special force called the Super Soldier. “Your superpower is very useful. Will you join the super soldier program and fight against Sanguinara?” I nodded quickly. I don’t want to die here. Not now, not forever. My brother and Orenji need me. “Good,” Mr. Miller says again. “Now take him to the medical bus.” They took me to a bus painted red and white, and for a moment, I tried to glance at my brother. Strangely, he was not brought with me.“Hey, my brother—”“Don’t worry,” Mr. Miller says. Even so, when I turned, I saw him signaling the police to take him away. Not towards the bus, but towards a car that takes him somewhere unknown. Panicking, I struggle, but someone suddenly strikes my neck from behind, and I faint into the darkness.