Chapter Text
It was a snowy cold winter night. The only source of light was from the luminous moon that stood out in the black of the night sky. A young blonde girl, no more than thirteen or fourteen, was tossing and turning in her bed. Not from the lack of sleep, but from the struggle of attempting to wake up. This isn’t the first time she had dreams like this. For weeks, she’s been having these strange dreams, but they were different from the ones she usually had. They were more realistic, more vivid. And on rare occasions, her dreams would come true.
The fight to awaken was still ongoing, even when her brother, whose hair color was identical to her own, came into her room trying to soothe her awake. But no soothing words or comforting touch could disturb her from her subconscious . She fought harder and harder until finally she shot up into a sitting position, trembling and hyperventilating.
“What did you dream this time?” her brother asked in a thick accent.
“A city,” she said in a less accented voice while she still struggled for breath. “People were screaming, running from something.” The cries of terror were still ringing in her ears. She can still see buildings crumbing to the ground. But that wasn’t what scared her the most. “A man was there, he looked like a rat. He was playing with these different colored crystals or something in his hand, grinning like he just conquered the world.
“And there was a boy there, trying to protect everyone. But he was losing. He seemed sad, weak, like he was in pain.” She had no idea who that boy was, as she didn’t know a lot of the people she had dreamt about recently. But this boy was different. There was something about him she couldn’t put her finger on, but he was important. And somehow, she knew he would meet this boy.
“What else?” her brother asked.
“The boy. I think he dies.”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The brunette boy slammed his hand down on his alarm clock to shut up its incessant beeping. The time read 6:45 in the morning. Groaning, the boy rolled over and buried himself back into the blankets. He was not looking forward to today.
What was today? Today was the day Thomas was leaving for Ms. Paige’s School for Gifted Individuals. Sounds like an all girls boarding school, but it’s not. It’s a school for teenagers and young adults to find, learn, and control their powers. Oh yeah, Thomas has a super power. What super power? He still isn’t sure.
Most kids discover their ability at the beginning of puberty, but at eighteen, Thomas’s ability had yet to reveal itself. That’s why his parents - his dad Vince, who had super strength and could fly, and his mother, Mary, who could heal and resurrect - had decided that they should send Thomas to the school to learn his ability. ‘It’ll be like going to college’ his mother tried to convince him. Ava Paige, the director of the school, was famous for helping people find their gifts when they wouldn’t present themselves on their own. So after spending the summer with his family and friends, it was time for Thomas to finally leave.
The only thing Thomas knew about his power was that it was connected to the medallion he wore around his neck. Inside it rests a gem. His earliest memories consist of his parents reminding him constantly that he could never take the medallion off, as the gem was the source of his power. Yet, eighteen years later, it proved to be nothing but a necklace. But he never ever took it off. A few times he tried to, but something inside himself stopped him.
His parents were also very vague whenever Thomas asked them about the possibilities of his power. It always seemed like they knew more than they let on. How did they know the gem was his source of power without knowing what his actual power was? But he learned a long time ago trying to figure it out was useless. They would never budge.
While Thomas was excited to learn his power , he was afraid. Afraid of leaving home for the first time, afraid his power would never come, afraid of what his power might be. He hoped it wasn’t something lame. He met a guy once, his name was Paul, and all he could do was turn into a squirrel.
The only plus side of this was that his best friend since preschool, Teresa, was going with him as well. She decided to take a gap year before college to learn more about her power and other powered people, but Thomas knows it was just so he didn’t have to endure this alone. She spent so many nights consoling him whenever he would get upset about not knowing his power. And while he wants her to go ahead to college, he’s incredibly grateful to have her by his side.
Her gift came around when she was fifteen. She could read other people’s minds. Thomas found out the hard way, since Teresa would reveal his embarrassing thoughts out loud. At least he wouldn’t be totally alone on this crazy journey.
“Thomas!” His mother’s voice came from outside the his bedroom door, followed by knocking. “You better be awake, your train leaves at 8:15!”
Sighing, the boy grumpily rolled out of bed, told his mother that he would shower and be down for breakfast. He rinsed himself as fast as possible, got dressed, and joined the rest of his family for the meal. His father was reading the paper while sipping his coffee. Chuck, his younger twelve year old brother, was eating cereal and watching a show on his tablet, while his mother was cooking on the stove.
“Morning Thomas,” Vince greeted. “You excited for today?”
“I really don’t know Dad,” Thomas admitted, plopping down onto one of the kitchen chairs. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course!” Mary exclaimed. “Thomas, we just want you to know what your gift is. It won’t be forever. Just try it out,” she said as she served him his breakfast. “If you don’t like it after a little while, we will pull you out and try some other things. Just give it a shot. I know Ava, and she is very good at her job. She’ll help you out, I’m sure of it,” his mother smiled.
“I can’t wait until you get your power!” Chuck squealed. “I hope you can fly or something!”
“Thanks buddy,” Thomas said ruffling his hair. “You gonna miss me when I’m gone?”
“Nope. I’m gonna play all your video games!”
“The hell you will!”
“Boys!” Mary yelled. “We need to drive Thomas to the train station in twenty minutes. Get all your stuff together.
They finished their breakfast, got ready, and they were off.
Now, they were at the station, Thomas getting ready to board the train. He would too, if only his mother would stop crying and hugging him with a firm grip.
“I’m gonna miss you so much. Oh, my baby boy!”
“Mom, please. You know it won’t be forever,” Thomas said, holding her tighter. He was slightly annoyed and embarrassed that she hadn’t let go of him yet, but then he remembered how much he would miss her too. So he let her have her moment, pretending that he didn’t feel like crying too.
She let go after that, and Thomas and Vince exchanged a few words and hugged as well. Finally, there was Chuck. “So you really not gonna miss me?” Thomas teased.
Chuck quickly ran into Thomas and squeezed him tight. “Of course I will doofus,” he mumbled into his brother’s chest. Thomas wrapped his arms around his little brother, actually trying to hold his tears in. Of course the little beast would be the one to make him cry. “Knock if off kiddo, you’re gonna make me cry.”
“Cause you’re a big baby.”
They shared a laugh and let go, Thomas ruffling the boys hair.
“Thomas!” a voice called to his left.
He looked and saw Teresa walking over with her parents, each holding some of her luggage for her. “Hey Teresa,” he greeted and hugged the girl when she came over to him. “You ready for this?”
“Yeah, it’d be cool to learn more about my powers, especially if I could get more!”
It wasn’t uncommon for gifted individuals to have more than one power. Those with something like super speed or strength usually only had the one. However, it was possible for others to have at least two. Teresa, for example, could take her mind reading, practice it, and possibly develop telepathy. It’s been done before, but it doesn’t always happen.
“Hey Chuck!” Teresa hugged the chubby boy. “You gonna miss your stinky older brother?”
“No way!”
“Hey, I don’t stink!”
“Your feet kinda do Tom.”
The sound of the train approaching broke up their playful banter. After last goodbyes - Mary crying again - the pair boarded the train. Their new life awaited them.
“Here we go,” Teresa after they put their luggage away and sat down.
“Yeah, here we go.”
A five hour train ride wasn’t too bad. They passed the time reading, talking, listening to music, and sleeping. Once they got off the train, they were met with a car service outside that Ava Paige had sent for them. They were only fifteen minutes away from their new school.
“Why do they call it a school anyway?” Thomas asked. “It’s not actually a school school.”
“It kind of is,” Teresa said. “There’s only about fifty or so kids there. It’s built like a school. Those who didn’t go to school can take actually classes and still get a high school diploma. We also take classes that help channel our powers, how to control them, and learn about the history of gifted individuals. It’s pretty wicked.”
“So you think they’ll give us homework?” Thomas teased.
“Shut up, you dork.”
The drive was pretty quick. Thomas was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t really much pay attention. Glade City was supposed to be a beautiful place. Large, pristine skyscrapers, a city rich with vast culture, and on one side there was an open glade - hence the name Glade City - just before reaching a forest with mountains. But he couldn’t focus on that. His nerves were starting to set in. He was going to be around other kids with powers. A lot of them would already know their gifts and how to use them, while Thomas was completely clueless. He hoped they wouldn’t make fun of him for that.
“We’re here!” Teresa yelled.
The car reached a large iron gate that opened after a couple of seconds, revealing a few large white buildings. It seemed like a college campus of sorts. Some buildings were clearly where classes took place, and others were normal houses. He assumed that’s where he would be staying. Luckily, he knew he and Teresa were staying in the same building, just different rooms. The driver pulled up to the main building, and dropped them off. He gave instructions to wait in the lobby for Ava Paige to come and meet them.
Thomas looked around seeing the other kids and adults walking about. They all seemed totally normal, and none of them appeared to be using their powers. A few kids were playing football, some were laying on the grass chatting, and others walking to their classes Thomas assumed. He had a good feeling about this place.
Then there were two blondes sitting under a tree, a boy and a girl. The girl was talking to the boy next to her, while the boy was reading a book and apparently ignoring her. His hair was messy, but still looked like it was styled that way, and he was quite skinny yet somewhat muscular. And the sunlight made it look as if there was a halo on his head. Thomas could faintly hear Teresa saying something to him, but he felt kind of lost in a trance.
He was too distracted that he didn’t see the tall kid coming. He bumped into him and fell onto the ground, luckily not hitting his head on the pavement. “Tom, you okay?”
“Yeah,” Thomas said getting up, turning to look at the kid he bumped into. “I’m so sor-”
His words were cut short when he was being grabbed by the collar of his shirt. “You stupid or something greenie?!” the boy yelled.
He was tall, definitely strong. His brown hair simply a buzz cut. His nose seemed slightly crooked and his eyebrows stood out the most. They were...unique, which is the nice way of putting it. However, the anger in the kids eyes really scared Thomas. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going!”
“Gally, let him down!” A voice yelled.
Thomas turned to see a muscular Asian boy walking over, his hair perfectly gelled up. It seemed like not even the strongest winds could make it fall over. Although he seemed like a tough guy, Thomas could sense the kindness and generosity radiating behind the boys tougher features.
Gally let go of him reluctantly, huffed, and walked away. “Thanks,” Thomas mumbled to the Asian boy.
“Names Minho greenie,” he said, offering his hand to Thomas.
Thomas shook the boys hand, and introduced him to Teresa as well. “You two new here?” Minho asked.
“Yeah, we’re supposed to meet Ava Paige in the lobby,” Teresa answered.
“Probably to show you to your rooms. Your first few days here are pretty much just a tour and talking. Then you get assigned to classes and a bunch of klunk. Listen, I gotta run, but I’ll catch you guys around!” And then the boy was gone.
After picking up his things, Thomas and Teresa walked into the lobby to be immediately met by a tall blonde woman, hair put up in a bun, wearing all white. She turned at the sound of the doors opening and smiled at the two.
“You must be Thomas and Teresa,” she said. Once they nodded in response, she continued. “My name is Ava Paige. Welcome. Our goal here is to help you learn how to use and control your powers. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your living quarters and have a tour arranged for you.”
The woman spoke with an authoritative tone, but it still seemed genuine. Like she actually cared for them. Thomas smiled at the warmth that was radiating off of her. Despite his encounter with that Gally kid, Thomas actually had a good feeling about this place.