1 Chapter 1: The New World

A large screen flickers on in a dark auditorium, on it several scenes begin to go by while over the speakers a mans voice can be heard.

To this day nobody can remember when the war happened, but we do know it's what changed the world. The "old humans" as we call them now, started a global war, and with it they used weapons capable of untold destruction. They had quite an after effect it would seem though. Whatever the planet was like before, is long gone and has mutated to what it is now.

We have some idea of what the world before was like thanks to some books that survived, and "old human" settlements that did too. But they were remnants of an era long passed. A normal human was nothing more than a reminder that humans used to be powerless and weak. They relied on outside forces to fight and defend themselves. None more known than their bombs.

Nukes are what they were called. And when used the released powerful radiation that destroyed near everything and left a strong after effect. In the last war of the "old humans" nearly every nuke they had was used. Total annihilation was the result, and they had to know that's what would happen. But there wasn't a care for them. To destroy your enemies, even your own destruction was a weapon. An idea that we new breed of humans, better known as "the advanced" believe was a fair idea.

Now the world beyond just us has changed. Animals, plants, the oceans. Everything had changed from what used to be here, and with that. The old way of the world was gone too. Humanity before was divided between nearly everything. Now only a few things did. The old and new, and the strong and weak.

But all of this is common knowledge to you all isn't it? None of you are here because you wanted to, well maybe a few are but that's foolish. The larger world outside is different than the small scale here for you. But that's the point of academies like this one. To find out who of you will remain on homesteads and take care of those who are younger, and those who will go out, and find what else can be used for further advancement.

Now of course that means you will be tested, but not as you are now. No no, first we will find who can evolve into true advanced ones, and from there, who is useful enough to evolve further. Deviation from this is not recommended, unless you wish to face the outside world as you are now, nothing better than the old ones who we protect our of the decency of our ancestry.

You have today to pack whatever you wish to take with you, starting tomorrow, you'll be transported to a facility to find out your latent powers, and from there you'll be brought back home, or you will be brought to your new housing for the next few years.

With that the lights in the room turned back on and the large screen I had been watching turned dark. It took a moment but then everyone started getting up to leave. Some looked shaken, others excited, and some like they couldn't care. I for one did not know what to think. All except for one thing, whatever happens tomorrow, I refuse to come back.

When I got home all my little siblings greeted me, excited that their big brother was back. They thought I was out running errands, a nice lie our mother told them. Now they aren't my real family, none of us were related as far as I knew. We were all orphans left behind by the same thing that was about to take me away from them. I could remember when my older siblings left, it felt lonely.

"Welcome home," said my father, "is your sister with you?"

"No, we went to different buildings, I'm sure she should be home soon," I said as I was tackled by the little ones.

"Well you should get upstairs and get prepared, tomorrow starts a very important time in your life," my mom said, refusing to look my in the eye.

I knew why she wouldn't look at me, most people never come back to where they were born and raised after leaving for training. The entire life you knew before is likely to never exist again. Chances are you'll be separated from those close to you when you leave, people from the same settlement are rarely sent to the same training facility.

After spending some time with the little ones, I made my way upstairs to me and my sisters room. Since we were actual birth siblings we shared a room to try to preserve the bond of actual family being around. We got along pretty well, in the idea that we also had to try to do better then the other.

"I heard you got home before me, but you already came to start packing," she said as she came into our room.

Me and my sister are twins. We both have red hair, hers is long and straight and mine is short and curly. We both have brown eyes and slender builds, but she's a bit taller than me and is the older one out of the two of us.

"Of course I did, the longer we take for this, the more it'll hurt, and you know that Xynthia," I said.

"You've always been a pessimist Caesar," she said.

"I don't mean to be, it's just hard with the way everything is, maybe starting tomorrow my view will change," I said as I continued to pack what few clothes I had.

"Well let's hope so, because I'm making sure we go to the same facility so I can keep an eye on you," she said laughing.

"Oh what a caring sister I have," I said as I threw a pillow at her.

"Oh you love me, and maybe now you'll make some friends," she said as she began packing too. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow starts a the rest of our lives."