〈Prologue〉
It all began in 2050. The year my brother and I were born. I never had parents. They ditched us when we were young, and honestly, I can’t blame them. It was hard enough for a couple to survive, let alone a couple with kids. The world was over once the nuclear war started.
Countries were deleted in the blink of an eye, and in the first few years, a hundred or so countries were destroyed. The nuclear war laid waste to the Earth, and toxic chemicals spread everywhere. The air was so polluted that people struggled to breathe.
This was when everything changed. Somehow, the chemicals affected us infants differently. We gained special abilities, based on the conditions of how we lived. Some kids didn’t get affected by the chemicals, but I did. I didn’t have to breathe in oxygen to survive, and I could absorb the air around me. When I did, I would get stronger and faster. My brother, however, didn’t get any powers. This post-apocalyptic world was dangerous. Governments had been overthrown long ago. Now, gangs run our world.
My dreams haunt me, reminding me of my worst nightmares. They repeat, night after night, over and over, until they take over me. Losing my friends, watching kids like me die. The one that stays with me the most is the loss of my brother.
I can still hear the footsteps following us in the rain. The shouts that echo within the streets. My heart hammering in my chest, I remember sprinting away from the noise, away from trouble. Using all the strength I can muster, I take in the air around me, more than ever before, leaving none for my pursuers. Hearing them cough and gasp for air puts a smile on my face, if not just for a few seconds, before I hear a crash to my right. In horror, I realize it’s my brother, Casper, who tripped and fell face flat on the pavement. In my head, I’m screaming at him to get up, but it is already too late. My sudden hesitation allows the air in the room to flow out of me.
In that sudden moment of fear, my mind blanks. I feel at a sudden loss, and I can’t summon my powers. Frantically, I try to suck in all the oxygen again, but it’s too late. The pursuers catch their breath and reach my brother. My brain tells me to stay and fight, but the rest of me wants to run away. Tears pouring down my face, I sprint away, leaving behind the last remnants of my family, and my best friend.
All I can think about is how it was my fault that my brotherwas gone. They were after my power. They saw me use it on a gangster trying to rob us. I didn’t know what they did to my brother, but I knew it wasn’t good.
Even to this day, I hear Casper’s screams travel throughout the night sky, even after the nightmares stop and I wake up. Casper haunts me, and regret fills me to the bone. As time goes on, my regret and remorse morph into anger. My body burns with rage, vengeance coursing through my veins.
I will make them pay. They will feel my revenge. They will fear me. I will do anything to stop future kids like me from watching their families get ripped from them. As I get out of my bed, and look out below me, I see how much I accomplished. Everything I created, every single person I recruited for the Liberti Warriors, was for Casper.
When I was Darian, I didn’t have the power to protect Casper. Now, I do. I am the leader of the Liberti Warriors. I am Airless.
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2024專利防護中