Chapter 2. The Emblem.
"Ugh, what time is it?" a sixteen-year-old boy groaned, clutching the back of his head. The sun, beaming through the window and onto his face, had rudely interrupted his sleep.
He brushed aside messy strands of long silver hair, revealing eyes just as silver. Reaching for a silver pocket watch on his bedstand, he checked the time.
"Crap, I'm late!" he swore, scrambling out of bed. He dressed in a hurry and rushed out of his small apartment and into the street.
He made his way down the street, stopping at a small food stall. It looked like any other fast food place. Behind the counter, a man in his late fifties smiled as he approached.
"Hey there, kiddo!"
"Good morning, Uncle Tris," the young man greeted, then turned to a girl, a bit younger than him, who also stood behind the counter.
"Hey, Annie."
"Hey, Timmy. Thought you would've left by now," she replied, waving back.
"Well, as you can see, I woke up really late," Timmy admitted with a sheepish smile.
"That's not good, kid. Today's a big day for you, and you overslept?" Uncle Tris scolded, his expression serious. He picked up a package wrapped in a paper bag and held it out to Timmy.
Timmy gratefully took the package but then realized with a pang of guilt that he hadn't grabbed enough cash in his rush.
"Don't worry about paying. Consider it a congratulations gift, in advance. Now, get going," Uncle Tris said, noticing Timmy's sheepish grin.
"Oh, well, thanks for the food, Uncle," Timmy said, relieved.
"No problem at all. Just remember this old man when you're some big shot, alright?" Uncle Tris chuckled, giving Timmy a hearty pat on the back.
"I will, I will," Timmy agreed quickly, not wanting to start an argument with the man.
Today was a significant day for Timmy and his classmates. Today, they would take the bloodline optimization fluid. The fluid had the potential to awaken dormant bloodlines and grant them special abilities.
There was no guarantee, of course. Activating one's bloodline was a matter of probability, not a certainty. Some would awaken their abilities, and some wouldn't. But for some reason, Uncle Tris seemed absolutely convinced that Timmy was guaranteed to develop powers and become quite powerful at that.
"Okay, bye Uncle, bye Annie!" Timmy waved, hurrying away.
"See ya, kid…"
"Bye, Timmy…" Their voices faded as he walked away, the sandwich in the paper bag Uncle Tris had given him earlier getting smaller with every bite.
As hurried down the street he soon arrived at the nearby teleportation station. This was his stop. Teleportation had become one of the most efficient modes of transportation since the emergence of ability users. With a heavy heart and a significantly lighter wallet, he paid the expensive fare and stepped into the portal, which would transport him to the station closest to his school.
The magical portal deposited him on the other side with a slight dizzy spell. His head, which had been throbbing since he woke up, felt even worse now. He reached back to rub it, and his fingers encountered a tender bump.
"What the hell happened yesterday?" he wondered aloud. Apart from waking up and getting ready for school, his memories of the previous day were hazy. He couldn't even remember how he'd gotten home from school yesterday.
Pushing the thought aside, he continued his hurried journey to the school, which wasn't too far from the station.
Checking his watch, he saw it was already 10:09 am.
"Damn it!" he swore under his breath and broke into a run. He reached the school building and rushed inside. He found the other students, all around his age, already gathered in the large hall.
As he entered, all eyes turned to him, and a few giggles erupted. Ignoring them, he scanned the room, relieved to see the ceremony hadn't started yet.
'Well, looks like luck's on my side today,' Timmy mumbled, scanning the hall again. He soon spotted his two best friends, Marcus and Arthur.
Of all the teenagers in the room, these two looked the least like teenagers. Marcus, with his dirty blond hair and bulky physique, easily looked older than his age. Arthur, with his sharp jawline and the beginnings of a beard, could pass for a young adult.
They both offered a wave and a smile when they saw him, but Timmy couldn't help but notice the tired look in their eyes and their disheveled appearance.
"Hey, guys," Timmy greeted, reaching them and taking a seat beside them.
"Hey, Timmy," they both echoed.
"What's up with you two? You both look a little worse for wear," Timmy commented, taking in their appearance.
"Blame this one right here," Arthur said, throwing Marcus an annoyed glare.
"Come on, man, at least the booze were good," Marcus countered.
"Booze? You mean you were drinking alcohol? Isn't that illegal?" Timmy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It ain't illegal if you don't get caught," Marcus retorted with a shrug.
Timmy put his head in his hands, already sensing a headache coming on. This was typical Marcus.
"Why were you even drinking? What was the occasion?" he asked.
"Well, Marcus here thought it would be a good idea to drink to our future as ability users," Arthur explained, rubbing his forehead with a grimace;
"Problem is, we were supposed to be having beer, not whatever it was they served. One sip, and I was gone."
Timmy couldn't help but groan internally. Marcus, ever the life of the party, always found an excuse to indulge in things he wasn't supposed to, like alcohol and other illicit activities. It didn't hurt that his appearance made it easy to fool people into thinking he was older. He'd been trying to drag Timmy and Arthur into his escapades for a while, but they had always resisted… until now, it seemed.
"We haven't even taken the bloodline optimization fluid yet! There's no guarantee we'll even develop abilities, and yet you guys are already out celebrating?" Timmy pointed out, feeling exasperated.
"Gotta keep the spirits high, you know," Marcus said with another carefree shrug.
Timmy sighed. Marcus was the kind of person who would celebrate a job promotion before even applying for the job. If it meant a party and a good time, Marcus would find a reason, no matter how illogical.
"What about you? You don't look so good yourself," Arthur commented, concern replacing the annoyance in his voice.
"Yeah, about that…" Timmy hesitated.
"I woke up with a killer headache and a head injury I don't remember getting. My memory's pretty foggy about yesterday."
"They must've really gotten you good if you don't remember anything," Arthur said, frowning with concern.
"Gotten me? What are you talking about? Who?" Timmy asked, confused.
"You know, when you got the emblem?" Marcus chimed in.
"Are you deaf or just stupid? The guy just said he can't remember!" Arthur snapped at Marcus.
Ignoring their bickering, Timmy went still, Arthur's words triggering something in his foggy memory.
'No wonder everyone was giggling when I walked in earlier,' he thought to himself.
Of course he knows about the infamous emblem. Every week, one unfortunate student would be randomly chosen to receive it, which made them the target of a series of elaborate pranks. It was basically a rite of passage, and everyone secretly hoped they weren't the unlucky victim.
Suddenly, pieces of the previous day came flooding back. He had arrived at school, only to find out he was the recipient of the dreaded emblem. Someone must've knocked him out cold, which would explain the head injury.
They must have drugged him with something strong, something that knocked him out for the entire day and most of the following morning. Their goal was obvious: to make him miss the ceremony and ruin his chance of activating his abilities.
A shiver ran down Timmy's spine. It was a cruel and calculated move, even for a prank.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized something wasn't right. This wasn't some spur-of-the-moment scheme. Someone had planned this, and planned it well. Someone with enough influence to rig the emblem selection and make sure it landed on him.
Only two people came to mind who were capable of such a thing. His gaze instinctively drifted towards the front row…