City of Light

Chapter 11

When I was little I dreamed of being a combat medic. Not something a normal 7 years old would think. Most kids my age didn't even know what a combat medic is. As I got older my thought process changed, I listened to the news and stayed on top of the war. Before I knew it I became obsessed, memorizing formations, maps, models of weapons, tactics. At the age of nine, my mother forced me to find something else. I didn't stop I  just did it in secret, then I got into engineering, I hated it but I started developing a solution for the nation's problem, the energy capsules for the machines were minimal, the machine would burn through it, and the capsule couldn't be reused. I ended up decreasing the size and materials needed to produce it and increased the energy kept inside. At ten the army found me and asked for my plans to the capsule, which I called "Wits End". I sold it for half a million. In that same year they paid attention to me more, they explored my tactics and my knowledge of the war. In a word they were impressed. I had the mind and an adult, and my age had a lot of people confused. My skills needed to be refined of course, but the physical training was a pain in my ass. Took me a while to pass because of my size but at least that was done.

The army took me in, a child that was placed on the front lines was never heard of, or holding a high place in the ranks, I left home at the age of ten not to return will I was sixteen. At eleven, I was their lab rat before my promotion. They hooked me up to god knows how many machines, and measured me energy out put. Every human on this Earth has a certain amount of energy, the gifted ones have the highest energy output, and unfortunately snatched up by their government to be an unnatural superpower. Fortunately it's disgustingly rare, only five recorded people, last time I checked. The world calls us the Strangers, the term The Vitality also has been tossed around also.

During my time in the front lines ally and enemy alike called me a child psychopath. I'm not, well okay, sure this one time a squad of scouts were being nosy, they had no protection at all, they were on airborne cycles and with only thick coats to protect them from the cold. They were baby chicks without their mother. I flanked them with my jet pack and kicked a few out of their seats, slit the throats of another couple, I think I accidentally cut the head of one. The last one I jumped on this young mans back in the middle of their formation and left a little present for them, a sticky bomb and fast acting, only take two seconds to detonate. Five of them were all around me, they were all charging at me, the poor sap just had to be in the perfect place for my success. A thick black plume of smoke formed after words, the guys never hit me once, bullets no, blades no. They were about just as useless as my soldiers. I mean is that psychopathic? Isn't that a soldiers job?

Not long into my new position after my promotion I was assigned to assault an enemy camp in a destroyed village. I and four others flew approximately 5 miles, this was around the time when they discovered that a humans energy can affect the power of a bomb, knowing them I was the first to try it out. As the test went on it was safe to use in the field, and this camp was this bombs first use. I never quite figured it out but, the final product came out in a rifle form. An energy capsule and a long barrel, a red sight. The weapon is black with wood where the hands would sit, it's an odd one. One man asked me why he was there he told me it was a solo mission. It was annoying to keep being questioned, I told the man to watch the flank. It was obvious that the enemy would see us, it was a clear day. I charge the shot and a yellow stream with purple, darts through the air and then when it makes contact a massive explosion occurs, a gigantic black cloud covers the whole village. The force from the explosion killed the nearby trees, and the grass died. Even though we were at a safe distance the force knocked one of my soldiers out of the air and another had to save him from the fall. All I thought to my self what a gorgeous sight it was, trying to hide my crooked smile.