The Gifted

Gabriel

I step out of the room when a comment of the today's attack was mentioned in the council meeting. My father stood from his chair and banged his fist on the marble table. His dark brown eyes burned with anger at all his officials as he yelled, "Where are my commands going to?! What have you done?!"

As always, Luthenberg stands up with defiance and started a war inside of the Supermacy as well. But that still doesn't stop us from taking in the distraction from everyone and stepping out of the meeting room. Ade follows close behind me as we make our way to the large doors letting panicked soldiers in and out. One decision against the Gifted and it can mean another world war here. The atmosphere carries panic as everyone gets ready for any sort of attack against the Supremacy.

They should be worried. It's what they get for hurting innocent people.

"Hey! You!"

Adeline points at a guard that raced by us. He drives back and lets us see his scared eyes. My sister only has to gesture at the pod for him to get off and offer his ride to us. But this time I don't correct her disrespect. My mind is bombarded by thoughts on my friends. They have to be safe.

I pray that Kat is safe....

I drive us to the house as fast as I can. But even the traffic seems to reflect the disaster we've caused. The disaster my father let pass under his nose without noticing.

We ride over the city that was bombarded and my heart shrinks. There is no one there but ambulance and medics with a red badge on their uniform. Gifted. This must be the Forgotten City. Where only Gifted live and supposedly have a safe fortress.

Nowhere is safe anymore.

Just before we arrive at the house, the panel inside our pod rings loudly and a screen appears before us. My father's tired expression and furious eyes shine through the screen. "Where the hell are you two?"

Adeline and I exchange surprised looks. We stutter a little until I say out of a familiar instinct, "We're here to treat the wounded."

"Get out of there," he growls. "It's dangerous. We need to solve this and put it back where it was before anything breaks."

My heart shrinks at these commands. I look down beneath me and see the small house. Everything is left intact and there is silence. As if nothing ever happened in the city. Adeline also seems to carry a hint of sympathy and...sadness for that house. For the first time, regret shines in her eyes as she nods at the screen. "We're on our way."

With this, the screen disappears and we fly back. The moment I step foot inside, security and guards lead us to the small room where only the presidential family can be in. This room is sort of like a bunker for us, so we enter through the wall to see our father sitting at the piano bench. His eyes on the black marble floor and his expression far from this place. The wall closes behind us and the room falls silent from the chaos outside.

My sister and I exchange quiet looks as we step up to our father. He slowly looks up at us, and that sadness overwhelms his whole strong and confident posture. I put a hand on his shoulder and give him a reassuring squeeze. "Dad--"

"How was it?"

Adeline and I exchange confused looks. "What do you mean?" she says to him.

"How was the city? How was...." He fights back tears and I understand what he's talking about.

Images of the Forbidden City comes back to me and my own eyes start to tear up at the memory. The streets, the buildings, every single piece of cement you can think of is destroyed. It's like walking into a war zone. But that's not the worst part.