The World Aflame Book 1: Rise Of A Nation

The World Aflame Chapter 1: A Milk Run

The World Aflame
By: Stratford Ukena

Chapter 1: A Milk Run

It's funny how the world works these day's. A fifteen year old kid can fall from the sky and cause a seizmic quake a still no one bats an eye. Even for a city like Manhattan this is abnormal. But then again the world isn't what it used to be.
About a year ago a disease ripped throughout North America and parts of Europe. At least that's what I've heard, i've spent the last three years on the run from get this; the government. You might be thinking that that's odd but really it's not.
Not when the government gives you the choice of either being dissected or being turned into a weapon. But i'll get into that later. First you might like to know why i'm being hunted, well first off it's not just me being hunted, it's every kid that survived the disease that's between the ages of eight and nineteen.
Every kid who survived, they live through the true tragedy. We who survived developed strange, if not, terrifying abilities. I mean super hero like powers. For example I have the ability to manipulate energy itself. I can fly, make impenetrable shields, and shoot energy balls from my hands.
Now that's not all I can do but you get the idea. Other powers are pyromancers, telepathy, mutation, and super strength, etc. The one weekness to all of those Are that using the ability extremely depletes our body's energy and, requires us to rest for long periods or eat a full meal.
As you can imagine you don't have enough time or places to eat since you are full on the run, so that's why we must sleep. But during that time we're vulnerable. The only power exempt from this rule, are energy users like myself. But we are also very rare, so that makes us extremely valuable to the government.
Well I'll getting back to the story of why I was flying over Manhattan. My little Six year old sister Aria is also an energy user, but she has a slight problem, she must drink milk or her strength wanes until she can't even move. We can't exactly waltz into downtown Manhattan and go to Dillons, so my sister hid outside the city just over the Brookeland Bridge while I headed in. I got the milk from someone's apartment, but on the way back I was ambushed by government F-23 fighter jets.
Since energy users have a natural energy shield surrounding them that enable them to take a lot of damage, the F-23's opened fire on sight with missiles and guns blazing.
So there I was carrying a cartoon of milk while trying to dodge projectiles. I do believe that it could be the world's most interesting grocery run. There were three jets and I managed to down two of them but, the last one got a lucky hit on me with a target heat sinking missle. I was hit square in the back and the explosion sent me flying almost sensless into the pavement far below.
When I opened my eyes I was in the epicenter of a crater with a ten foot radius. Around me a crowd had gathered, no doubt to get a good look at the warmongering trouble-making child that they thought I was. I heard a few people ask each other if they thought "it" was still alive. I sat up and looked for at the milk carton cradled in my arms. Amazingly it had survived the fall. I heard a bunch of gasps as I stood but I ignored them. I was surrounded by a bunch of adults who were ignorant of the truth.
They thought the children with abilities had been changed into horrible fiends with a thirst for blood. At least that's what the government told them, And they stupidly believed it. My sister must be getting worried at this point so I needed to hurry but, just as I got ready to take off again, three black government SUV's pulled up next to the crater and soldiers in black body armor, armed with tranquilizer aitomatic rifles exited the vehicle. So it was take him alive today.
The crowd made way for them as I put the milk in my backpack and turned to face them.
"How about we don't do this today," I told them. I really need to get back I have a milk delivery to make then i've got to get home for dinner or the little one will go crazy." They didn't think that was funny but I like to think they were laughing on the inside. In response they just leveled their gun barrels at me.
"Oh come on you and I both know those weapons won't work on me. If you want to stop an energy user you''re going to have to get up close and personal with me. I do hope you introduce yourself to me first."
This made some of the soldiers shift nervously but they stayed put. I eyed all of the people that had retreated to a safe distance from the confrontation, but were still watching with clear interest. Sighing I dropped into a ready stance. "Okay but just remember you asked for it." I told them. Immediately after I attacked, I launched a moderately sized glob of energy at them, And as expected they scrambled to get out of the way. I was in no mood to stay for dinner so I let loose two more that were designed to do no more than blind them.
See unlike what the people were told, us power holders don't "Thirst for blood" as the government puts it. We're just trying to survive. So when the smoke cleared the soldier understood three things. Number one: was they were still alive, number two: that I was long gone, and number three: was my message to them. It said that I could've slaughtered them all if I had wanted to but, I spared them.
Meanwhile I had made good time on the way back to where me and Aria were camped. It was an old abandoned building that we had fixed up enough to be our home. It was when I landed that my heart was cluchted by the spirit of Antarctica itself. The place had been totally destroyed, even more than normal I mean It had been ransacked. I threw all thoughts to the wind as I rushed inside.
"Aria!" I shouted. "Are you there?!" No response. Panic built in my chest as I rushed to the area that Aria had walled off with blankets as her room. It sat in the corner of the building, using the corner for two walls and some old, almost moldy blankets as the other two. I ripped the blankets down but where Aria should have been, there was only the blankets that she had used to sleep with and on the floor there was blood. Now I was having an all out panick attack. The government had waited until I had left to attack my sister who was weak from not getting any milk in over a week. Then they had ambushed me as a distraction.
I was about to leave when I spotted the top right corner, the corner up against the stone walls was lifted up a little.
I knelt down and pulled back the blanket and there scratched into the dirt was a single sentence that spoke volumes about my little sister.
It said;

"Don't come for me."