It was the night before my sixteenth birthday.
I hadn't been able to sleep. My birthday was the next day, and I was excited. I would finally turn sixteen, after all this time. I had the last birthday of the year in my class, being a "late bloomer" as my father had so eloquently put it.
I looked over at my nightstand next to my bed. The clock said it was 12:07. I was born at precisely 12:17 AM, so my birthday wasn't exactly here yet.
I turned, restless. You never notice how long every second is until you're waiting for the time to go by.
I had decided to get up to get something to drink when an unearthly glow suddenly lit up the room. I squinted my eyes, waiting for them to adjust. They didn't.
With my eyes nearly closed, I walked around my room searching for my phone. I looked everywhere, sorting through the items under my bed, on top of my dresser, even under my bed sheets.
I finally found it under my dirty underwear in the middle of my floor. I scowled. I was such a slob. I needed to take better care of my room.
I looked at my phone, expecting a text alert to be lighting up the screen. It was off.
Huh. That was funny.
Slightly annoyed, I climbed back into bed, hoping that at least some time had passed. The clock read 12:14.
The glow didn't let up. In fact, I think it intensified. I had to close my eyes tightly to keep from being blinded. I wondered where it came from. Whatever it was, it needed to stop.
I laid down and tried to ignore the light seeping through my eyelids. Yep, it was definitely getting stronger.
Suddenly, my back arched up in pain. I cried out in surprise, opening my eyes. I was instantly blinded by the light coming from...everywhere.
Then I realized why it was everywhere. Why I couldn't find the source.
The source was me.
As I struggled off the bed, blind and in pain, I heard a sudden sucking sound. I crashed into something and fell flat on my face on the floor. I just laid there in silence.
I wanted the pain to stop. More than anything, I just wanted the pain to stop. It felt like a thousand knives were being plunged into my body over and over again. This must be how Julius Caesar felt before he died.
I tried to feel my way around to the door. I felt the doorway around my fingers and tried to pull myself through, gritting my teeth from the effort. If I could reach my parents' room, then maybe I could get their help.
Then there was that sucking sound again and I crashed into something else.
"Mom! Dad!" I yelled. Where were they when I needed them most?
Then, the pain became unbearable. It was just too much. It hurt everywhere, my back, my face, my chest. I screamed, wanting someone- anyone- to hear me, to help me. But no one came to my aid.
As I cried out one final time, I felt darkness closing in around me. I sighed in relief. Finally, the pain would cease. The torture would end.
As I passed out, the clock read 12:17.
YOU ARE READING
Power (Book 1)
ActionJay West used to be an ordinary guy, hanging out with his friends, worrying about college, and having teenage problems. Then, on his sixteenth birthday, everything changed. He could suddenly do things that he never could before, and somehow, his blo...