The Perplexing Ways of Hollinson Gray

Chapter 1: Initiation

The archaic drumming followed my body, and the beating of the yak skin echoed through the woods. My heart followed the intense and lurking beat, a tribal energy surging from the very pores of my body. This feeling is horrifying, but it also makes sense. Am I meant to be here?

Running through the same woods, I can feel the vibrations follow through my feet and into the very core of my being. This is who I am supposed to be. It is prophesied and destined, but I don't want to be like my father. He is different from the rest of us; he seems to have weaker powers. I wouldn't exactly call them "powers" per se, but the ability to change the density and proportions of certain objects with your mind isn't the easiest thing, so we give him credit where it's due.

My father has different abilities than me. He can only change the density of water, dirt, and metal. He usually uses them to fix our water pipes, but sometimes he struggles. I can change all objects, but I can't manifest them like Grandmami yet. When I was younger, grandmami used to make flowers for the ceremonial bouquets that we would use for the passing or births of new tribal members; she was always very clean about her bouquets. If you even messed with them, she would scream at you, "Don't touch my flowers!" I guess Grandmami has some issues, but she also had to deal with her husband for hundreds of years, and he was an asshole.

Now let's talk about history and how humans have these mysterious magical powers. Never would have thought, huh? Surprising right? It's so cool; I obviously haven't even begun mastering them, but I'm glad that I'm not a scummy rich man who's powerless. I've found superhero comics before; I guess they wished to be like us—whatever, I don't know any different.

I only know what Mama told me before she died, but I think I know enough about what happened—some bad things.

The people of Earth have changed over the last few hundred years. In the year 2098, a comet hit the Earth that was full of mysterious chemicals and radiation.

Eventually, the governments of the old world got their hands on this stuff and wanted to use it to their own advantage; clearly, there was a military advantage. They saw that anyone who interacted with the comet would get weird genetic mutations that usually killed them, but some people adapted and gained an early form of what my tribe has worked for centuries to master. They didn't know what to call these powers, so in the science notes they have left, it just says "erratic genetic mutations", or for short, EGM. I'm no scientist, but I know the old world was a lot more complicated than it is now, especially with nature.

Bored, I reach out. I touch a leaf.
"Hello leaf," I whisper to it, how astounding it is to be in the face of such wondrous beauty. I push myself, and a rose—red as can be—blooms from the leaf.

Eventually, the old United States would contain this power and harness war machines from it. Eventually, we get what was called the "mortis sine fine" event. Weird little humans love to use Latin for some reason; it's a strange language. Grandmami taught me that.

She said that when schools were still open to the "changed", they learned hundreds of languages that used to exist prior to the Great War. She says that during the war, four continents were wiped out. All communication from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia disappeared on that gruesome day. The war started on September 17th, 2101. It lasted for a grueling 10 months, and the aftereffects still loom over our modern world nearly 300 years later.

The 10-month war began with a nuke. Not just any nuke, but a nuke infused with subatomic particles from a comet.

The first hit Europe, specifically Germany, decimating any country on the coast within minutes, quickly working its way higher and higher north when it eventually bombarded the United Kingdom. It is said that the booming could be heard around the world, with the strength of the blast knocking buildings over on the other side of the world. Whoever did this possessed too much brute power and strength. Eventually more nukes were dropped on the rest of the continents, decimating life within minutes, leaving only one continent remaining unbeknownst to the disastrous effects they had caused on the beautiful planet—the brutal and atrocious murder of seven billion with the click of a few buttons.

Each continent was enveloped in the ruins of its own suffering. The ashes of the comet unleashed power, falling down upon the reigning survivors of the brutal massacre. Many countries, seizing their last opportunity to fight back, unleashed their strongest and most powerful weapons on the countries that destroyed them. The missiles and nukes plummet across the entire East Coast, causing every coastal city to be immediately destroyed, like a shock wave plowing across the great continent of America. The shaking of the earth causes massive earthquakes and shifts in tectonic plates.

Much of what was left of the old world has tumbled into the sea. It's like that DVD that I just saw about a city called "Atlantis", but then again, that was just an old-world theory, and grandmami says they were all crazy.

Sometimes I wish that I could just go back in time and experience the ways of the old world. People had jobs, routines, and cars! God, I wish we still had cars. Now we have to walk everywhere. Well, we do. Not the unchanged, the richest population on the planet, dwelling and sucking off the riches that the abusive governments abandoned in their banks—they want to rebuild the world without us in it. They say that we are the problem, that we are what caused the war in the first place, and that we are unwanted. If I'm honest, they're all just losers who are jealous that they can't create shit with their minds like grandmami can.

Today is important to Grandmami and Father because it's the initiation. Today is my special day; it is all about me and what powers I get that will benefit the local community. As we grow up, our powers fluctuate some people are born stronger than others. Our powers are all based on how strong our parents were or are. Papa is pretty strong when it comes to powers; he is just limited, but Grandmami is not, and she can create and change almost anything. I feel a lot more like her—hopefully my gut feeling is true. I really admire her. She inspires me to be a better person and not be like her. I'm glad that I'm not the unchanged though, if they still even exist, they're greedy and selfish when it comes to materialistic things. I wish that Mama had never went missing, we all assumed she died — and I guess I eventually lost all hope for her return too. Mama and her mom were super close, and I guess when she went missing, it really made Grandmami change, and she filled the hole in her heart with me.

I love her, though, and her obsession with the city.

AUTHORS NOTE

I would deeply appreciate feedback and commentary on this story! I am so deeply intertwined with this amazing community, seeing the absolute diversity in these stories has recreated the childlike wonder that I felt when I read stories!

This story is new, but it has been in the works for a few years, especially laying out the series and books! I was inspired to write this story during the beginning of the pandemic, and it created some brand new feelings and a newfound appreciation for writing, and to read others stories!

Thank you so much for reading!