Chapter 4

Karl! No! No!!!

I put my hands on my head, clenching my hair on and on while spinning around like a crazy person. Elliot was trying to calm me down and Allaya was saying something I wasn't able to understand anymore.

"Mia, what happened? Who's Karl?"

"My brother…he's sick. I need to find him. Now!"

"Calm down. Listen to me."

I was pissed, scared and confused.

"No! Karl is sick and he needs me. I'm going after him. He is alive…he can't be..."

Allaya hugged me strongly and I instantly started to cry like never before. And we stood there until my tears dried up and my eyes got swollen. We looked into each other's eyes and we felt the same pain. All of them lost somebody.

"Have you found your families?"

They looked at each other, then Elliot answered:

"Yes and no. Our parents were in Rogyo, celebrating their anniversary. We tried to reach them on the phones, but it was hopeless. Some of our friends are dead and other three are still alive, searching their families too.

"Where they also different?"

"Two of them were still normal, but the other one has changed."

"Changed how?"

"He looked more like a…corpse. His lips were purple, the skin was translucent with pale yellow spots around his mouth and eyes."

Allaya stopped him when she saw that I was about to suffer the tenth shock in that day.

"I lost my daughter." Bill said all of a sudden. "I found her body under the theatre buildings' bricks. She died happy, at least…doing what she loved most."

He had his back turned to us, but I knew he was in tears and still grieving.

"Bill, I'm so sorry!"

"Uuh, yeah…me too. We will find your brother, but first things first. You have to be strong, Whitey. Can you do that?"

I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself for the worse. Bill was analyzing me carefully, probably waiting for me to have another breakdown.

"I will try to be…as much as I can."

"That is good enough for the moment."

"Wait. It's the second time you call me Whitey. What is this, my new nickname?" I said raising my eyebrows to all of them.

"Mia, sweety. What do you think your hair color is?" Allaya asked.

"What do you mean? You already know that, it's brown."

And when I saw it, I was agape. What the fuck?! My hair was white. No, not white. It was gray! Much longer with curled peaks.

"Mia, don't freak out, please!" Allaya said.

"Too late. She's not breathing anymore." Elliot giggled at me.

"How? Is it because of the…?"

"Yes, it's because of the change, your power. We believe that the acquired powers were influenced by our personality and, possibly, by the mood we had in that moment. Take my case as example. I'm a nurse, so my power is to heal myself and maybe others. Or Bill; he is a bodyguard at a nightclub, so he's power is strength."

"Can we talk while we go? We need a home as Ria is about to wake up and we need to take care of her and Mia's hands."

Bill was seriously worried and he took me into consideration for the first time. And he was right. We had to find a home before dark. Every night, the police and ambulances collected the dead bodies and the wounded ones. A hospital was ready and the patients were already cared for, under the observation of the authorities.

The good news was that they already put out the skeleton of the structures, drywalled the framing and installed all the windows and doors in one district. The bad news was the big number of districts in the capital, not mentioning the rest of the cities, especially the big ones.

Also, the President and Mayor were alive. They had an important meeting with the representatives of other countries in order to discuss the new situation of our world. Apparently, only 4 countries were seriously damaged. The other ones had few cities affected.

After this meeting, we were informed that according to an agreement, the unaffected countries will provide us with food, medicine, electronics and guns. But only if the debt will be paid in 8 years from now, thankfully with no interest.

*

Bill was standing in front of a half green modern house, studying the doors, windows and the garden. Ria was still asleep and I tried not to look at her back. That thought made me blame myself as her pain and scars were my fault.

"The rain is about to start. I think this house is good for the moment. What do you think?" Bill looked at us, waiting for an answer.

"First, let's get inside and make sure that it's abandoned. We don't want any other surprises." I replied.

Elliot was already at the door, that seemed to be hinged and stable. Maybe someone was actually living there, but we still took a look inside. The house had two levels and the roof was ruined, but the ground floor was in good condition. It had a long hall with a living room on the right side, followed by the bathroom. The kitchen was across the hall.

We were astonished to find clear water and we drunk it greedily, filling up the bottles. I went to the bathroom and Allaya helped me clean my face and arms.

"Allaya, can you try to heal my arms? I've heard what Bill said about your powers. You can try it on me, you know…"

"I don't know, Mia. Are you sure?"

"I can barely move them, not to mention the pain I'm struggling with. So yes, I'm sure."

"Uhm…ok. But you have to describe me everything you feel and all the signs your body sends you, alright?

"Yes, ma'am!" I smiled and we both started to laugh.

Allaya gently grabbed my hands and closed her eyes. After almost ten seconds, I felt like someone was taking control of my body.

"Mia, talk to me!"

"Right, sorry. I feel like I'm not the only one who has control over my body anymore. Like somebody is touching me and my pulse raised a little bit. My arms sting and tickle, and my muscles are pounding."

"Aha…ok, that's good. I'm about to make it more intense, so don't be scared and don't move."

"Mhm…yes, I can feel it."

"What else?"

"Small electrical vibrations up to my elbow and a burning sensation. And pain. Mmm…the pain is growing."

"Mia…"

"Don't stop! Just do it."

"Ok, I will increase cell proliferation, capillary budding, and the synthesis of extracellular matrix to fill in the damaged tissue."

"…right."

"It's amazing! I can control your blood, your DNA and organize it as I want."

"Aaa…great. It sounds relieving….and deadly."

Bill and the twins were watching us from the door. I could swear they weren't breathing anymore and neither was I. My arms were shaking and the pain numbed my senses. Suddenly, my body got so tense that I arched my back and tilted my head back. I wanted to warn Allaya, but I couldn't speak anymore until a thunder pulled me out of the trance.

"Allaya, what's happening? Someone is attacking��us?"

Bill and Allaya were staring at me from a distance with shaken breath. They were frightened and I tried to remember when Allaya let go of my hands. I've heard another thunder and the rain was already started.

"Allaya, Bill. I'm so sorry! I didn't want this to happen again, I swear, please… I will control it."

"How? You almost killed us, again." Bill said with a flat voice.

"I know and I'm sorry, ok? I just…"

"It wasn't the lightning this time. It was the air, Whitey!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the air density you lowered, leaving us without oxygen. If it wasn't the thunder, we could all be dead."

"It's not like I want this, Bill. It's just happens, all of a sudden. But this time was different. I felt the power and recognized it as part of me. If you want me to control it, first I have to release it and…feel it, play with it. Please, tell me you understand."

Bill tried to say something, but the front door was slammed into the wall and Elise started to scream. Ria was still unconscious on the sofa and Elliot stepped aside in front of his sister. We ran to them and froze. Three big armed guys were staring at us and the house.

"Well, well, look at this beautiful house." The bold one said.

The other two started to laugh, playing with their guns.

"Boss, we should keep it. And that pretty girl over there." – he pointed at Elise.

"Boys, let's talk it over, shall we?" Allaya said, while Bill put his hand in front of her.

"You can have the house and we will leave. All of us." Bill said.

"Hmm… Or, you let us have the house and the girl for my boy Tommy. This way nobody dies. That's a fair deal, right guys?" he said.

"Yes! Yes! I want that girl!"

Elise was trembling and Elliot was ready for a fight. Jesus! I couldn't let those animals put a hand on Elise under any circumstances. My blood was boiling over from angriness and I was already pissed off from the previous incident.

I tried to barricade the outside world for a few moments and to reach in to my power. First, I felt it in my chest, then flowing all over my body. I channeled small electricity tendrils into my fingers, playing with it until I could control the intensity and amount of power. I was ready. Sort of…

"The girl will come with us." Bill cautiously said.

Their boss came closer to Bill and punched him so hard that Allaya screamed, but Bill didn't move an inch.

"What the…"

Bill instantly broke his ribs with a fist so quick that the other one didn't even had the time to finish the sentence. He fell on the floor with his arms spread around his body, gasping and trying to breathe. How isn't he dead already?!

And in a second, the image in front of us will remain imprinted into our mind forever.

"Run!!" Bill screamed.