Chlorine Halos

Heroes

My head cocked to the side, feeling pulled to the floor by my bewilderment. The blood in my face ran away with the color, leaving only a pale stare. My throat dried, crippling and shaking my voice.

"You knew my father?" I asked, barely managing to get out the words.

Jasper looked down and the dimples in his cheeks appeared with the recollection. "We grew up together. We were the best of friends, brothers even," he said fondly. "I was five or six when I found a boy my age, digging through the garbage outside my family's home. He was looking for something to eat. He was lost, frightened, and all alone. My parents took him in and searched high and low for his family; their best of efforts were of no avail. 

One day, they sat us down and my mother said, 'We will never lose hope for your parents, but a child needs a family. We'd like for you to be a part of ours.' That was the first time I saw your father experience joy. He was embraced by my mother and father, finally finding a tangible form of love. He completed our family.

About a year later, I got really sick. I became so weak, I couldn't leave the confines of my bed. Doctors never declared a diagnosis, but knew whatever it was, it was killing me. My parents were inconsolable and tried to busy themselves to keep their minds from the reality. But, your father never left my side. The wooden chair at my bedside was his perch. He would tell me fairy tales about this far off land where his parents were. They were noble warriors—heroes—protecting a castle in the heavens. During one of his stories, I felt myself drifting off, not to sleep, but to something just as peaceful.

The next thing I remember is hearing the screams of my storyteller, who clutched my hand and wrist. I opened my eyes, seeing the disbelief drawn on your father's face. I climbed out of bed, feeling better and stronger than I had in a long, long time. Before I knew it, I was running, playing, relishing the childhood I thought had abandoned me. I was a boy on top of the world and I was able to enjoy the view for quite some time.

Shortly after my thirteenth birthday, your father and I were walking home over a stone bridge, having just finished closing up the family's workshop in town. A speeding car swerved on the bridge, breaking the barrier, and fell down to the river below. Panicked, we looked over the edge, hearing the cries of the people trapped inside. We were far from home and far from town. By the time we got to either, it would be too late for them. We wanted to help, but had no idea how. 

Terrified, I could only shut my eyes and whisper over and over, 'Please, please, please...' I heard your father doing the same. After a moment, he tapped my arm with the back of his hand and pointed down with the other. The car was on the riverbank, passengers crawling out, clamoring with thanks. We looked at each other, completely amazed.

We never met the rescued, but the town's newspaper printed the story of the people inexplicably saved. Not long after its publication, a white-haired man with a scruffy beard came knocking at our door. He sat down and spoke with my parents in the kitchen as your father and I did our best to eavesdrop, with little success. We only heard the man say that we were special and needed to be protected. They all stood up from the table and shook hands, my mother wiping away stray tears. We were doing our best just to stay hidden behind the couch.

My parents began to pack our things. The man found us in our not-so-clever hiding spot. He got us to plop down on the cushions and listen to what he had to say.

'My name is E.J. Brandstaff. The two of you are exceptionally special. We must always hold close those who are. You will find your performance at the bridge to be merely an opening act. Your roles go far beyond that. And I will show you just how far.'

We said goodbye to the two people who loved us most and were taken to the Annex, an educational institution for those like us. Safe from opposing factions, we learned about the importance of the grid, the power of the aperas, and how to channel the incredible energy. Once you embrace the aperas, wondrous abilities emerge. These abilities put you in one of two divisions: elements or arbiters.