My Reedsy Prompt Entries

Heroes and Villians (#263)

~ A Villians Story

In this world, everything was black and white. You were either special or you weren't. They say 100 years ago, blessings started to be bestowed upon humans. Just one day the birth of children everywhere happened simultaneously, but every child was born with a mark. Later on, when those children hit puberty some earlier than others, they manifested gifts of different abilities. Some could fly, some could turn invisible, some controlled plant life, there were just so many. Now anyone born with a mark is treated with the utmost care. They are raised in rich gated communities cut off from the public, but mostly non-gifted. The rest live either decent lives or are in the slums.

I was lucky enough to live with the rest of the decent people. My mother was more than lucky enough to be born blessed. Last year I reached the age of 15, the age limit for nongifted to live with the gates, and I was sent to live with my dad. The government says it is for our safety but the danger is outside of the gates.

On my way home from school, I stopped by the bakery. This was routine, as I walked in, the owner Ann, was already finishing boxing up my pastries. Walking up to the counter she handed them over with a smile. "There's extra filling this just the way your mom likes it."
"Thank you. She'll eat those first." I laughed and waved goodbye.
I made my way to my mother's gated community.  Like clockwork, I was always on time for visiting hours. Any second the gates will slide open just enough for a filed line to form for entry. By the time I reached the security desk, it was still closed. I tapped on the window to get the attention of the guard. Has he turned to attend to me I realized he was not the regular guard.
"How can I help you?" His face was dull and neutral.
"Where's Danny?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Never heard of him. If that's all please step away." He was ready to walk away.
"No wait. I'm here to see my mother, Ms. Moore." 
"There will be no visitation until further notice. If you would like to speak to a resident of 'Blessing Fields' please call them directly." With that said he walked away.

I wonder if someone got sick again. Depending on who it probably is best that they stop visits. The walk home felt uneasy, it made me walk faster. When I got home, my father surprisingly wasn't around. Everything seemed off. I placed the pastries on the table, turned on the TV, and headed towards the shower. I tried not to overthink why I couldn't see my mother. There was always an excuse as to why a nongifted couldn't go within the gates. By the time I finished my shower, it had already begun to get dark outside. I entered my room to get dressed and grab an extra towel for my hair. As I leaned over to dry my hair, I jumped to a loud thump that came from outside my room.
"Dad is that you?" I yelled. But no one answered.
Standing back up I continue to still wait for a sign of life. Just when I had grown impatient of waiting the thump happened again. This time I was creeping into the hallway. Looking down the hall I could see the flashing lights from the living room TV and the fluorescent light from the kitchen. I slowly made my way down the hall the closer I got the sound of crowds of people began to get louder. It was coming from the TV. I watched as people pushed and fought through crowds of angry mobs, in the background were great flames people were burning things down. Finally, my attention was broken by the voice of the new anchor.
"I am reporting live from 'The Gift' gated housing community where people have begun to riot. Claims of missing 'gifted' family members and abuse have caused havoc outside their gates. The housing manager for this community has yet to make a statement. The authorities say they do what they can but the 'gifted take care of themselves'. No one has answers to the question of why gifted people, some of their family members, are going missing." Before she could continue her report someone came and snatched her mic.

"The SFFG is a lie! They are taking our loved ones and using them for experiments. There are people with money in power who want to use them. Their kidnapping nongifted to use as test subjects soon anybody can call themselves blessed. We need..." he was cut off but colors and a static ringing. The channel was shut down.