The Problem with Power

Chapter 1 - The Start of Something Wonderful

 Hello everyone this is jolibradsters here but just call me jolly if that makes it easier

This story is a reflection of some aspects of my life and also acts as an emotional output for me in times of stress.

As a result of this uploads will be sporadic as I'm a very impulsive writer at times too, so as a result the uploads will be irregular, but I will endeavour to make this a unique experience.

I will also be writing an additional small series call Battle Reports which I will use to practice writing theatrical battle scenes from different perspectives, from the eyes of the individual pilot or infantry to the wide scale of an entire pitched battle or maybe even a campaign. These will be mainly based off of my strategy game experience as I'm a very big RTS fan.

On that note please enjoy the first chapter of my story, any feedback would be appreciated. 

Chapter 1

A Start of Something Wonderful

Northland College was a collection of small, grey buildings. It was a local secondary school and sixth form which took in students from the surrounding village schools, known as feeder schools. Today was the fifth of September, which happened to be, in the year 2022 a Monday, the new students were going into education, a new phase.

For Dylan Coleman, this day was a day he was dreading. Being the small weedy type of kid that didn't make friends easily, the shy 11 year old that he was. To him this was a living hell. He had a head of dark brown hair a rather pale complexion. A short nose sat under a pair of deep blue eyes framed by bushy eye-brows, he was told they were like his grandmothers, but he never knew his grandmother. The few friends he did make at his primary school had gone to different schools, leaving him alone to fend for himself. The IGP had set out specific guidelines for all schools following its establishment. All pupils were to submit to a screening, as most powers developed around puberty. The process usually involved a simple blood test, which fed into a machine, which then gave a number between one and ten. Dylan hadn't been really paying attention however, he was terrified of needles.

Dylan had no close family. Being from the generation that had lost most of their parents in the wars, he had only his older sister, Heather who could look after him. Heather was forced to give up a promising spell at university to look after her younger brother, she was a short, plump brunette which a freckly face and a rosy complexion, she also wore very conservative cloths, with long sleeves and she hardly wore skirts, preferring to wear jeans or baggy shorts. She now worked in a local pharmacy, sorting out the various pills for prescriptions. She was earning enough to provide for two, with the help for her boyfriend Simon, who seemed not to mind living with the pair. Heather was an 8 on the power rating, whereas Simon was a 6. Simon made up for his lack of "super-power" by learning martial arts, going to the community centre twice a week for training. Heather was a Pyro, she could control fire. However, this power was strongly tied to her emotions, so she came across as uncaring and cold in the presence of strangers, but at home she glowed, sometimes literally in most cases.

Dylan on the other hand, wasn't sure where he'd be on the scale. He never really knew his parents, as they had died in the opening days of the conflicts, when he was only four years old. Heather rarely spoke of them or any of their family for that matter, mainly for her own wellbeing as much as Dylan's. Heather also made a point of walking Dylan to school that day. She had Mondays off, so it wasn't a problem for her.

"Remember to tell me about your first day when you get home" she said, pausing to straighten the tie that came with Dylan's uniform.
"Yeah" Dylan mumbled, trying not to sound too upset. Heather stopped and gently pulled Dylan around by the shoulder, dropping herself to his eye level.
"Hey" she said softly, pulling his chin slightly so that he could look at her "I know you're scared alright, but I bet you'll make loads of friends here" she paused slightly before continuing "The only advice I can give you is just to get stuck in, don't ask, just do it, that way, you'll make friends all the much more easily." Heather straightened back up, taking Dylan's hand in hers. "Right, let's get a move on bro, or we're going to be late!"
Dylan, not feeling reassured by his sister's efforts, resigned himself to silent worry as they made their way up the road to the school.

The school complex itself was set apart from the town in which they lived, North-haven, a small rural town in which not much happened and all in all it was rather dull. A small side road lead up to it, near which there was a bus stop, the bus stop to which Dylan will go to for the next 5/6 years of his education. Pavement lined either side of the road to provide pedestrian access; it was a generous size due to volume of students walking along it each day. The main entrance was a part of large metal gates with a security box, which was mainly for vehicles, students entered via a pair of side gates at the front and rear of the school. The main building was a looming edifice of peeling white paint and old, single glazed windows. The main reception seeming like it was from the 50's and this was where Dylan was deposited. Giving a hasty farewell to his sister, Dylan made is was to the queue of other kids who were just joining and like him, they were petrified too, because this one test would decide where they would be for the rest of their lives.

But for now they had to submit to the boring monotony of registration, where they were divided into groups, which would become their forms, each form having their own tutor. This was done mainly to ensure, or at least try to ensure a mix of people with different levels of power. The power a person could potentially have all depended on their genetic makeup. This could be detected in the blood and, from these results they could tell an individual the power they hate as well as an exact power rating. There were rumours abound that individuals could have a power rating of higher than ten, however that was not commonly heard of and rarely cropped up in most cases.

The registration took place in the main school hall, a large room with day windows and stage at one end. The curtains of the stage were a deep red and closed. The main space in the room was taken up by the testing equipment, which consisted of fifteen small white booths, each with a smiling man or woman in front of them. Dylan thought they looked rather creepy, as he joined the throng of other kids that slowly trickled into the hall. Quite a few of the kids were displaying their powers already. Those that had telekinesis weren't even carrying their bags, instead allowing them to float above them or behind them, Dylan spied a kid ahead of him with spiky hair and he was sure that he could see tiny arks of electricity between the hairs.

"Bunch of show-offs" a voice muttered to his right. He turned to find a rather heavy set kid standing next to him, scowling at the bags floating above the crowd. He spoke with a thick accent, possibly meaning he came from the north. He was broad shouldered, with a thick mop of dark brown hair, which covered his eye; Dylan could just make out a slightly pointed nose, which looked as though it might have been broken in the past.
"You think so?" Dylan queried, his voice coming out higher than he had intended, the strange boy grunted in reply, "You should never show your true nature around others." he growled " It can get you injured in the real world, or worse, killed."

Dylan was quite taken aback by this response, him was quite adverse to conflict, usually the one to be bullied rather than the bully, this was prevalent in primary school and it resulted in him not making many friends.
"Well, I'm Dylan, what's your name?" he nervously asked, maybe for once he could make a friend.
"Terry" grunted the boy "but time for chat is over, it's time for testing" Dylan hadn't noticed that they had crossed the threshold to the door, into a new phase of life. Something that was both interesting, terrifying and exciting, all at once.