The Gifted (ONC 2023)

Chapter 10 Gift or Curse?

„So that's all we know for this moment," Aleks finished retelling the new finding as they sat at dinner in their family home. Antoni agreed that this is something they should discuss as a family.

Grażyna rubbed her brow and took off her glasses. "This is horrible. This discovery changes everything."

"Does it?" Antoni crossed his arms, and his aura flared into aggressive scarlet.

"Of course! Do you think you can keep working for GSO, knowing it slowly kills you?" Grażyna asked incredulously.

"The way I see it, this information changed nothing. We are serving the public as peacekeepers. We swore we would protect this city, country, and people. There was always a risk involved."

"Yes, it was supposed to be a high-risk job, but now it's a death sentence!" Grażyna's fist slammed the table rattling the cutlery. "You can't seriously consider staying in GSO now."

"Mum." Aleks raised her hands, trying to keep the situation from escalating. She couldn't tell which aura was redder, Toni's or their mother's. "We are here to discuss our options, not to argue. Can you please listen to us?"

Grażyna huffed and took a long sip from her wine glass. "I'm not going to like what you have to say, am I?"

"It's not a simple decision, Mum," Aleks replied. And it was true. They talked about the revelation the whole night, and they still couldn't say what the best option for them was.

"But trust me, we considered everything," Toni added. "I don't think we can simply walk away from the agency."

"Why not?" Grażyna asked, looking at her children pleadingly. "You are young, and you can do whatever you want. If you insist on working in public service, join the regular police. Choose the option that gives you at least a sliver of a chance for a normal, happy life."

"Let's say we do this." Aleks nodded. "And we would probably not be the only ones. GSO would have just a few experienced agents, and their ability to thwart deviants would be minimal. What if the deviants grew in numbers and became an unstoppable threat to public order? Who will stop them if the gifted are too afraid to use their powers?"

"They will all die eventually. You said it yourself; it's a death sentence. Let them kill themselves if that's what they want to."

"It's not that simple," Toni scoffed. "If the Rioters and other deviants sniff so much of shadow of the weakness in GSO, they will stage a coup to take over the governing power in the city, or maybe even the whole country. I saw them, Mum. They can easily do it if no one tries to stop them."

"But why does it have to be you? Had our family not done enough for this country? Your father lost his life in the service. If you... I can't...." A sob escaped her lips, and she hid her face in her hands.

Aleks moved around the table and wrapped her arm around her mother's trembling shoulders. "It's alright, Mum. We're not going anywhere."

Toni downed his wine and looked away; his jaw clenched. "You knew we wouldn't be able just to walk away. Even if we withdrew from GSO, the moment we saw a danger from deviants, we would not just stand by and watch. It's not in our nature."

"Wielding fire is not in human nature!" Grażyna cried, looking up at her son. "When that damned factory exploded, I prayed to God to save my children from the ill effects of human greed. When you discovered your gifts, I wanted to believe it was a blessing. That perhaps something beautiful would grow from the wickedness of small-minded." She shook her head. "Now I see I was naïve. It is not a blessing, but a curse."