Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~ONE~

~amelie~

SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER

I stand in line with my sister and my parents, smiling widely and making sure to crinkle my eyes for the camera. A horde of journalists stand in front of us, all jostling to get a picture of the reputed Nathan Carmichael and his family on the seventeenth anniversary of The Explosion. Nobody really talks about it, but when you see those words in the newspaper you know exactly what's being talked about - the day it all started.

Dad holds me tight, Mum and Sophia next to him. He flashes a smile at the nearest camera, completely becoming the hero he is. What seems like hours pass as I stand there, light and noise all around me - being photographed from a hundred different angles.

Eventually Dad holds up a hand to signal the end of the photos, and a group of men in dark clothing appear and begin to push the crowd back. A few last cameras pop up, desperate to grab one last shot, but we've already turned away.

Dad slips away from me, and I move closer to Mum as he makes his way through the last remnants of the media towards the stage. He reaches its centre, a slim podium perched in front of him, just as we finally reach the same platform and sit in three diagonally-arranged seats off to one side. The atmosphere quietens and I can feel the apprehension as Dad steps up onto the podium and begins to speak, his words transmitted to the whole world.

"Today, my friends, is a very sad day. Today is the day we remember The Explosion - the terrible accident that killed over a thousand people, when one man with abilities lost control and unleashed them on innocents. But it is also a day of celebration - for today completes the seventeenth full year since this event. For this time, I and my unit have tracked and contained people like him, who pose risks to themselves and those around them, keeping them safe and away, and for another year, nobody has fallen to these powers again."

Dad pauses, and looks down at the podium for a second before continuing, letting go of it and using his hands to illustrate his words. This is the part of his speech every year when he recounts the history of the Explosion and its aftermath, and it's the part everybody knows.

"As you know, every year we remember the history of our world. Seventeen years ago, there was a golden age of superhumans. They protected the world, stopping wars and saving people everywhere they went.

"But, after the history-altering events of the Explosion, many of these superhumans rose up in support of the man who caused this tragic event. Riots broke out across the world, superhumans who thought they were above regular people using their powers to destroy and to harm. Many people lost their lives, including the few superhumans who tried to help stop the others, and multiple cities and countless buildings were destroyed. After we only just managed to stop someone trying to copy the Explosion, the nations of the world decided these superhumans were simply too dangerous, to volatile, to remain in the open.

"Camps were set up across the globe to help contain these abilities, and for seventeen years and counting they have worked. Nothing has ever happened like this since, and nothing will again."

Dad stops again, briefly, and then his serious expression becomes slightly lighter.

"Today, we celebrate safety. Let there never be anything like that again. To our continued health and happiness!"

As Dad raises his hand, an imaginary glass high in the sky, the whole of the crowd below us - journalists, government officials, powerful people from all over the planet - mimic his movement and cheer, the noise echoing all around the stage and nearly blowing my head off. It's the sound of every person in the world filled with relief that danger is still controlled, the joy at the prospect of safety for another year, and it's breathtaking. I join in and so does Sophia, swinging her little legs next to me excitedly.