special ones

part 1

ONE

                                 
I wish I could tell you exactly how long I've been here, but the truth is, I don’t know. All I remember is that I’ve been here since I was seven. The world outside? I have no idea how bad it's become. All I know is that I’m... special. Special enough to be locked up in this place—the Power Enclave, or T.P.E. as they call it. It's more like a prison, where kids like me are kept and trained to be heroes. They call us the “Special Ones.” Each of us developed powers at the age of seven, but no one really knows why. Some say it’s a virus. Others claim it’s a curse on humanity. And some even think it’s a sign that the world is ending soon, and we’re here to stop it.
The government took it upon themselves to "help" people like us. They started raiding homes, snatching kids whose eyes glow—the mark of our powers. Just like the others, I don’t remember my family or anything from before. The only thing we’re allowed to keep is our name. Well… that was true until a few days ago.
I started having dreams. Two, to be exact. In one, I’m in a house with two people, their faces always blurry. A cake with candles sits in front of me as they sing happy birthday. In the other dream, there’s a boy—also faceless—and I’m giving him a bracelet. I still have that bracelet, though I don’t know who the boy is. But he feels important.

Melanie, 1:30 a.m.
                                                                                                                                            I close my notebook, tucking it under my pillow, then lay my head down and close my eyes.
“Psst, hey.”
A whisper makes me open my eyes. I turn to see Jaden hanging her head over the edge of her bunk, peering down at me. Bunk beds—I hate them.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” I ask. The faint glow of the tracking devices around our necks gives us just enough light to see each other.
“Couldn’t sleep,” she whispers, pulling herself down from the bed. “Scoot over.”
I shift to give her space, and she sits beside me.
“Thinking about tomorrow?” I ask, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my chin on my knees. She nods.
“Of course. It’s everything we’ve trained for, everything we’ve wanted.”
She looks down at her hand. We? Tomorrow is our Trial Day, the day we get tested after years of training. It’s our chance to finally become T.P.E. heroes, to get out of this prison.
“I think you’ll do great,” I tell her. She doesn’t reply, just stares at the small lamp on the nightstand. Her fingers reach out, and the lamp floats up with a simple touch.
“You think so?” she asks quietly.
Before I can respond, a soft glow reflects off the wall. I turn to see Leo, lighting a small flame between his fingers as he rubs his eyes.
“Why are you two still up?” he mumbles, sitting at the edge of my bed.
Jaden rolls her eyes at the flame. “Turn it off before you set something on fire—again.”
“I was eight when that happened. I’ve got it under control now,” he retorts, blowing the flame out. The soft light from our tracking devices is all that remains. Jaden and I laugh.
“Sure, you do,” we tease, nudging each other.
Leo rolls his eyes. “We’ll see who's laughing when I pass the test tomorrow with flying colours.”
“Assuming you don’t burn the place down,” Jaden quips, reaching out to pinch his cheeks. He swats her hand away, trying to hide a smile but failing.Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Leo grumbles, looking at me. “How about you, Melanie? Nervous?”
I glance down at my gloved hands. The black gloves that I’ve never taken off since I discovered my powers. If not for these gloves, anything I touched would turn to ash in seconds. The scientists here—the same ones who made our tracking devices—designed them to contain my powers. Unlike Jaden, I can’t control my abilities.
Before I can answer, both Jaden and Leo reach out and place their hands over mine.
“You’ll be fine. We’ve got each other, remember?” Leo says with a nod.
“Yeah,” Jaden adds, squeezing our hands. “Together. Always and forever.”
I smile. I love them—they're like family.
“What are you three still doing up?”
The voice startles me, and I sit up straight. Professor Ethan stands in the doorway, a flashlight pointed right at us.
“Ah! Get that thing out of my face,” Leo grumbles, shielding his eyes.
The professor sighs, lowering the flashlight. “You should all be asleep. Tomorrow is a big day. Now, back to your own beds.”
Jaden and Leo scramble to their beds, mumbling apologies. I nod and whisper, “Sorry, Professor.”
He smiles and kneels by my bed, gently placing the floating lamp back on the nightstand. “You’re lucky it was me who caught you.” He stands and turns to leave, then pauses. “Melanie… happy birthday, kiddo.”
There’s something about his expression that’s off—his smile fades, his eyes look sad for a moment. I wonder why.
“Thank you,” I reply softly, closing my eyes.