Red Dawn ✔

Chapter one

The screams of the new recruits had finally stopped. In my tiny room, you could hear the outcries even after they had stopped as they echoed off the underground walls. Sitting up, I listened for the call of the trained hawk to tell me the time. Five calls rang sharply in my ears a moment later. The screams lasted for five long dreadful hours, which means these were the weakest recruits yet. Their screams mean they have no idea what their power is, they probably didn't even know they possessed powers. All this means they came from the Wastelands, the place that smells like death. The place that constantly has a metallic taste in the air from too much blood being spilled, the air heavy with ash from the piles of dead bodies that seems to never end. It leaves the air with a permanent grey haze.

The Wastelands are the place of war and destruction, the place that our beloved King Alexi thinks holds the answer to our Kingdom that seems to be falling. Honestly, it's our beloved king, precious King Alexi of Martopia. He is the cause of our Kingdom's troubles, but no one believes that except us the rebel alliance. Some think we use our powers to commit evil acts, but we don't, we use them for good, we use them to help the people our King isn't. The people we call the Pures are the higher class, the ones that are usually born with multiple powers. Then there is us, after all, we have been through, we like to call ourselves survivors. But the Pures like to call us scum. The Pures believe having only one power is useless. What they don't know is that most of us here have been born with more than one, sometimes all of them. For most of us, one power is much stronger than the rest of them. We like to call our alliance the Red Dawn. Red is the colour of our Kingdom and the dawn represents the new beginning that's going to happen, and it's coming soon.

Rolling out of my lumpy and worn mattress I call a bed, I throw on a pair of black leggings, a burgundy t-shirt, my purple sweatshirt, and my black boots. I walk into my confining bathroom and turn on the lantern to a faint flicker. I brush my teeth and splash some cold water onto my face to wake myself up. I make my way out of my bunker and stop by the kitchen to grab an orange and a couple of bottles of water for my no doubt long day of training. I exit the kitchen and head to one of the training rooms that is specially equipped for the people gifted with the power of combat. I walk through the underground tunnels, illuminated by the glow from the lanterns lining the concrete walls. Cloth banners displaying the symbols of each power in our world cover the tunnel walls like curtains cover a window. I stop and look at them as I do every time I pass them, each tells the story of all the powers in our world.

The first is a rich gold and silver with hands holding a brain that represents the power of mind control. We call these people Imagy. The second a deep royal purple and bold burgundy with a gleaming sword and arrow representing the power of combat. We call these people Assassiea. The third has deep and lavish shades of green with hands covered in dirt representing the power of earth. We call these people Earthia. The fourth has rich deep reds and burnt oranges with hands holding fire. We call these people Firika. The fifth beautiful icy blues and deep blues so dark they could be black with hands holding water in the palms. We call these people Watika. Finally the sixth has different shades of grey and white with hands holding a tornado that has sparks of lightning coming out of the tornado. We call these people Airtia. Legend says we had six different gods, they were the ones that have gifted us with these abilities, but I'm unsure if I believe in them. I walk past the beautiful banners and continue to make my way to the training room.

Once getting there, I sit down in the middle of one of the dense but squishy mats. I peel my orange and crack open a bottle of water. Finishing my orange I walk over to the waste bin and chuck my peel remnants into it. Walking back over to the mat, I sit down and start stretching my legs, arms and shoulders. Getting up I start walking straight towards the sword rack, pulling my long, thick ruby red hair into a ponytail as I go. Reaching the sword rack I pick up my beautiful Cordelia. Every new combat recruit gets a sword upon arrival and they are tasked with picking the name that speaks to them and the sword. However, I was different. I came here with a sword in hand, already named and ready for revenge.

"You're getting a head start on the day," says a voice from the shadows.

"Samu, you should know by now I am an early riser," I reply with a small chuckle.

"Oh little Atlas, how you make me proud my little prodigy," says Samu. As he walks out of the shadows, his tall frame makes him look sinister. His pale golden hair catches the faint trickle of sunlight leaking through the large windows. Shaking my head, I walk back over to the mats and start to practice my footwork. My feet are swift, and as light as a feather. My body is as strong as steel, my eyes as fast and precise as an eagle. I can feel Samu's emerald green eyes on me, watching my every move. Samu has the most powerful combat power I have ever seen, and it helps that he also was gifted with the power to control people's minds. Needless to say, he was a highly ranked war general and was strongly feared by his enemies. When the war ended and the King no longer needed him, he kicked him out of the army and ordered him to leave the city. So Samu came here. He helps us gifted with combat to harness our power to its full potential. In my opinion, the King was scared of Samu, and how powerful he is, and that is why the King got rid of him.

"Shoulders up Atlas, you're slouching. Warriors do not slouch!" exclaims Samu.

"Sorry Samu," I reply.

"We have a new batch of recruits and I want you to help me train them," says Samu. I stopped dead and turned to him, and looked at him with calm anger.

"You're kidding me right, did you not hear them last night?" I asked him, Samu crosses his arms against his chest and raises his left eyebrow at me.

"Yes, I heard them! The whole bloody underground heard them. Which is why I need your help Atlas," Samu said. He turns away from me and starts walking towards the wall holding the bows. He picks up his bow and walks to the shelf where all the quivers are and shrugs one onto his back. Then he goes to the target area of the room where he presses some controls on the remote. He loads his bow, closes his eyes and waits patiently. Then a target appears and before it disappears he aims and shoots. Samu continues to do that for an entire set of targets. Once the targets stop he opens his eyes and observes the outcome with pride. Every single target had an arrow sticking into it, right in the bullseye.

"You're in a show-off mood today Samu, it's not good for your ego," I bluntly tell him.

"Atlas, you're always in a show-off mood, so why don't you today in front of the new recruits," Samu says with a smirk.

"Oh no, you're not going to pull a fast one on me Samu," I tell him shaking my head, walking back towards the sword rack. "They came from the Wastelands Samu, they don't even know they have powers," I say to him.

"Atlas, you are one of the most gifted people I've ever seen with this power, I need you to help them harness their power. I know you can do it," Samu says.

"I don't know Samu," I reply, shaking my head.

"Please Atlas," he asks me, as he walks toward the sword rack where he then leans against it, arms crossed staring at me waiting for me to agree.

"Okay," I say quietly.

"You'll do it?" he asks me as I put Cordelia in her spot on the rack.

"Yes, Samu I'll do it," I reply, turning to face him. He has a small rare smile on his face.

"Thank you Atlas," He says, then his smile fades, "now start running laps and do a regular day of training, just because you are helping me today does not mean you can slack off. Am I clear?"

"Yes Samu, crystal," I reply and started running my laps. Today is going to be a long and tiring day I think to myself.