LOSING CONTROL

TEMI

The mood Ola emanated when he stood up was intimidating. There was a golden aura of excellence around him that covered his entire body. He stood up from where he had been kneeling, close to his father. With every step he took as he moved towards the government officials, the entire world seemed to be shaking. The officials retreated, their own perceptions influenced by the pressure of his wonderful aura. I examined Ola more closely as he drew near the officials. There was a faint dark spark that ran along the edges of the aura surrounding him. "What was that?" I grumbled. The energy that he carried was not just light—but something. Something darker. Something primal.

One of the uniformed men drew his belt and pulled out what looked like a suppression device. "Stand down, Olamilekan! You are now in the hands of the government. If you resist, we will be forced to—"

Before he could finish it, Ola moved. Too fast. One second, he was standing over his father. The next, he was standing next to the official, gripping his wrist so hard that the device cracked in his hand.

"You think you can take me?" Twisted, Ola's voice was thick with something ancient and powerful. His eyes blazed golden, but behind them, a seething pit of darkness pulled at the fringes of everything. Runes—shining, ancient runes—began to write themselves in the air about him, twisting and morphing like living things.

The second officer threatened him, baton at the back of Ola's head. Before a heartbeat could pass, Ola released the first man and raised his hand. A snap of his fingers produced a golden shockwave that hurled the attacker across the yard, sending him crashing into the side of the house.

A shocked gasp came from behind us. "Ola! What is going on here?!"

I spun around and saw his mother in the doorway, bags of groceries spilling from her arms as she struggled to comprehend the chaos before her—her unconscious husband, the fallen official, and her son radiating like an unearthly figure of devastation.

"Stay back, Mom!" Joshua yelled, leaping into her path to shield her.

It was too late. Ola had totally lost his mind.

A guttural, low-pitched voice exploded from his throat, words that made no sense to me. The runes that whirled about him flared brighter, whirling outward as if the power of the cosmos had been unleashed. The ground beneath him broke apart, and in a moment—he was levitating.

He was flying.

"This is not good," one of the officials complained, stumbling for balance. "He's developing abilities beyond the recorded parameters. We have to restrain him now!"

The first agent recovered, adjusting his suit. "Full force engaged. If we don't, we're all dead."

The two agents launched themselves at Ola, their movements helped by some unseen power. One pulled out a baton that glowed with electricity, the other summoned a shield of dark energy upon his arms. Ola, still suspended, waved both hands. Pillars of golden light erupted from the sky, crashing into the ground like divine meteors, sending agents scurrying to escape them.

But they were professionals.

One of them teleported behind Ola, cuffing a energy-restraining cuff around his wrist. It snapped shut in a blue burst of light. Ola's energy flared in response, and the device shattered into pieces. He snarled in rage, punching the agent in the chest, sending him through the fence.

The other two officials took advantage of the opportunity and unleashed a flurry of swift-shot energy bolts. One landed squarely on the back of Ola, which made him spasm forward. Another struck his leg. He merely flinched.

"Enough!" Ola yelled, his arms extended. The world itself trembled as raw, unchecked power ripped outward. The blast hurled us all—myself included—across the ground. I could hardly draw a breath as the mere weight of his power bludgeoned down upon me.

And then, something changed.

Ola fell out of the air. The dark sparks in his aura diffused, tainting the golden light with something evil. His face twisted as though he fought an internal struggle. The runes blazed wildly. His breathing grew ragged.

"Restrain him now!" the other agent bellowed.

A pod-like object of metal exploded from his wrist, stretching itself into a net of chains that glittered. Ola was captured before he could even shift, his limbs wrapped by the restraints. He shouted with a raw, feral sound as his power churned in wild revolt against the chains.

But they were designed for someone like him.

His flight was unsuccessful. His body spasmned. The runes shattered in light.

And then, there was nothing.

OLAMILEKAN

I drifted in darkness. No earth, no sky—only a shapeless void that retreated beyond comprehension. I floated uselessly, my body weightless, my mind confused.

Then, I heard it.

A whisper, faint but echoing in the void.

"It is the end—he can't be stopped."

My gaze swept around. "Who's there?"

No answer. Only the words, repeated over and over, louder, echoing in every direction.

"It is the end—he can't be stopped."

I clenched my fists. "What do you mean?! Who is 'he'?"

The whispers merged into a chant, hundreds of voices mingling, speaking an ancient language, older than the very fabric of time itself. The shadows close to me began to writhe, coil, like a snake.

Then a single figure emerged from the darkness. Dark, faceless, towering over me. Its very presence made me tremble throughout my entire body.

"It is the end—he can't be stopped."

A jolt of energy ran through me, and I was suddenly—

Awake in a dark, cramped space. My head throbbed. The smell of metal and disinfectant stung my nostrils.

Joshua sat beside me, wrists secured by strange cuffs. He was drowsy but awake.

"Where—"

My dry mouth. I struggled to move but felt restrained.

"We're in a van," Joshua slurred. "They're taking us to the NSDA."

"NSDA?"

"It's their headquarters— I suppose." Joshua replied.

And then, harsh reality slapped me in the face. I lost.

And we were hostages.