It’s the year 5,000. Society’s broken in the eyes of the beholder. Thirty five billion people living in a caged society are left to rot with useless lives. This is a result of our own species’ demise. The ignorance of the humans carried with them the downfall towards the end.

Nothing can be changed from what had ended up happening previously in the world everyone used to know. Life outside of The Zone has significantly changed and the efforts to restore it can’t keep up with the pace of the downfall. Most plant, animal, and ocean life has dissipated. Everyone knows the higher-ups are making an attempt to restore the forgotten land. The people that live inside the zone have little to no concern for the circumstances outside of the premises, but only some consider the cessation.

The Zone can be divided up into five categories starting from the top, being the throne room, considered “The Power of All.” This is what’s to be believed as the ruler of rulers and the controller of everything. No one knows who that person may be but the possibility that the apex predator of the entire system being overthrown is inexorable. Then there’s the upcoming control system that is being ruled out by The Power of All. Being controlled, they are who sets out all of the options and unknown settings that people go through within their daily lives. The wealthy class continues with the trend of being somewhat powerful in a way that they can take advantage of the lower ranks. With the money they have, they unlock options available to them unknowingly from others anonymously. Then there comes the mid-class which results in being average among the rest but having absolutely no say in their choices or anything they want to do. Taking into consideration the fact that there is a person per box strongly categorizes this class as having no value within the system of The Zone, they are basically peasants. The weakest ranking of them all is impoverished. The lowest of lows and they have no use in being taken care of in The Zone. Or that’s what the higher-ups think. They have virtually no benefits but struggle to maintain balance surpassing even the weakest of the mid-class. The classes don’t matter to anyone though.

Each box is separate from one another, built and powered by a magnetic system that controls the walls. Each box is about as big as a room filled with 10 people, small but spacious enough to keep someone from doing anything out of the ordinary. This is what we call, The Zone. The area where everyone and everything is kept.

There are also those called the gifted. The rare ones who are granted powers beyond one’s imagination. No one in particular knows much about it, but whoever gets chosen must be the right one… 

Communication is rash among people because of how forbidden it seems to transmit information. Once a week for 5 minutes is all we get, nothing more, nothing less. The discussions could be on whatever topic you decide but be careful with your wording because they’re watching your every move. 

The unfortunate are also caught and thrown into the world of ghastly consequences. They will die. No one comes back alive from outside the zone. Not one person has or ever will. Bad decisions only lead to death

Beyond The Zone are The Barricades, fencing the beyond to contain the unfortunate that are thrown out like a bag of garbage. They prohibit anyone from going past the barricade otherwise they will be killed on sight. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard of from rumors. But maybe they are just rumors, who knows. Assuming that they are truly coming from only one person.

I wished there were windows. Nothing but an eerie, sensational aura arose from the walls. My box is quiet like most. It has a soft bed with blue sheet covers that slowly slip off the edges of the bed frame. Under each bed is a black lever to signify to the control system that there is a problem. There were white walls that illuminated the room to become even more pale and boring than it already is. A brown carpet that feels rough on the feet and too distinct from the walls along with the bed to make anything look decently nice. A toilet in the corner of the room across from the bed. A closet for our uniforms, uniforms with no color; just a broad grayish tone to it. And then a sink for water… of course.

I’m a part of the mid-class. I’m just a regular among many and nothing important comes out of my living, I’m just here and irrelevant to others. I rant to myself on and on every day if the possibility of escape is even achievable. There will come a point when I just can’t contain myself anymore from this tedious life everyone lives in.

“Hey Timothy!” Chloe says. “What are you up to? The usual or just you being weird and empty as expected!”

I guess it’s the day we get to speak again. I talk to Chloe once a week but don’t enjoy her company. She is loud and rambunctious all the time! Why did I have to get matched up with her!

“Say something, you bozo!” Chloe shouts from the opening. “Don’t you understand that communication is key within the zone,” she rants on.

“Shut up,” I say, quietly under my breath. Hoping she doesn’t hear me.

“Huh, what’d you say!” As she screams.

“Fine, would you like me to treat you with a fine punch in your face or could you quiet down a bit so I don’t have to!” I spoke.

I walk over as she continues to rant on and on about how she should be liked and loved by everyone. As I slowly approached she slumped her shoulders, frowned her face, and looked towards the ground.

“Timothy, do you really hate me that much?” Chloe spoke in a tone I never thought she had. It was soft and now more comfortable to be around.

“Of course not, I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I’m sorry Chloe.” Oh my god…

“My oh my, looks to me like you have some problems when it comes to affecting others’ emotions,” Chloe states. I mean she’s not very wrong. I have to be careful with what I say as she’s the only person I can create a relationship with.

 “I’m sorry, okay, my bad,” I said.

“Wow, why are you so kind all of a sudden? Hahaha!” Of course, Chloe laughs and rolls on the ground. She was making a scene that entire time… of course she was! Her personality is just out of this world… Please stop laughing! There was literally no point in making a comedy show for your own entertainment, stupid…

It’s been about a day since I spoke with Chloe. I’m getting back to my usual boring self again. Either way, it should almost be time for me to eat. The food should get passed through the levitation vents that the control system created. Sure enough, a splotch of meat, beans, and a bottle of water plops right down onto the countertop of the sink. We only eat this crap every day, of course, they have no concern for our health.

As I go to grab my platter something happens…

 “You are one of them…” a voice spoke out. 

It rang in my head non-stop without repercussions. 

“Why the fear? I’m nothing but a mere miracle, a mere nothing to most. Let me just tell you that this is a gift, a blessing to make you the best version of yourself.

 “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” My head vibrates.

“Do you think that I’m stupid or something? I’m surprised a low life like you can’t comprehend a simple sense of speaking through the mind…? Breath, breathe, breathe…”

These voices are all in my head and I can’t shake it off. So, I must do what it tells me to do, otherwise! Breathe in, and out…

Everything around me began to warp. My eyes are dazzled by the sight. It feels as if I am inside of a portal or some machine. The sky is stretching, and the ground breaks. Along with the visual pleasure, my body feels as if it is about to be ripped apart. My legs hurt, everything hurts! I try to scream but nothing comes out. Am I going to die, will I ever talk to Chloe again, and what’s this voice in my head? Please, someone, help me! My thoughts slowly drag out of reach as I can feel control over my body again and embrace an impact. Soft ground, am I back? Is this even real life!? 

I look around me, beautiful trees with lights that hang from each leaf. Green grass is the color of ocean water when flooded with life. Then there’s a shadow, ominously standing over the entire terrain and enveloping me in an aura that shot goosebumps throughout my entire body. Shivers coil around me, and my veins feel as if they are being frozen over. Just the presence alone is frightening enough to make it seem to me that this is the end, I was useless for the time I lived. Nothing came out of my existence and everything I’ve done up to now is completely useless. 

It spoke… “You see me right? This is what my true form looks like. I’m surprised, you look frightened. Haha! Wow, I must have chosen the biggest idiot in the world to obtain the powers of the gifted!” 

I’m a bit more relieved now. “Okay, so you’re saying that I have been granted the powers of the gifted?” I said.

“Precisely!” 

“And this is some sort of initiation ritual thing that I have to go through,” I said.

“Correct again!” It yells.

Its screams pounded my chest. “Hold up, I don’t understand what’s going on. First of all, I just warped through space like it was nothing. Then my entire body feels like it is about to snap in half. And now look at where I ended up! In this weird-looking place that no one probably knows about!” I screamed.

“Mhmmmmmmmmm…” it says.

“Hey! What’s with the prolonged agreement? I know you probably hate me but I need you to tell me exactly what is going on. And what is going to happen to me, cause honestly I’m pretty freaked out about this encounter!” I say sarcastically.

“I’ll feed you in on some delectable information. Make sure you listen to everything I have to say very carefully, because this will tie into the result of this induction.”

“Whatever, I have to listen to you anyways. So, what’s up…?”

“In the beginning, The Zones’ creation was supposed to keep the impoverished protected. Along with the mid-class people who had nearly no life for themselves. The Power of All decided to grant the impoverished people the power of the gifted. No one clearly understands how they granted those powers. The first power of all who granted this power would go into others’ minds and transform them into hyper-sensitive human beings with abilities that came at random. All different but similar to one another in some sort of way. So basically, when the original power of all passed, the impoverished that he granted those skills passed the traits on randomly. Now every time one of the impoverished gets passed down the powers can continue on the family tree of the gifted and randomly set a target to allow the powers to be gifted. Are you understanding any of this… Timothy?”

“So who are you?” I said.

“I’m the original. I’m just in a state of mental consciousness and can only communicate through the mind. So now see…”

I look down at the ground to process all of this. He is giving me the abilities of the gifted. So does that mean that a gifted person just died and passed it forward to me? It must! I thought. 

“Do we know what type of powers you are granting me then? That’s if this is all true though!” I said firmly.

“I can’t predict or know what powers I give that get passed down. All I do is grant them. Nothing more, nothing less,” It said.

“If you don’t know what powers I’m given then how do I understand how to control them?”

“That is something that you will figure out on your own. All events from now on are a result of your decisions and opinions on choices that you will have to make. Whether it’s making a choice between saving yourself or the others around you, no one dictates how you make use of this gift. There is only a certain amount of time you can stay in this dimension though. Don’t you dare forget about how lucky you are out of the many, understand the risk and reward. Do you want to see something… and cool… and fresh… and pure… and… You’re abnormal…”

The things’ words began to slur. It sounded like he was talking gibberish. Nothing came out clear anymore. Right as its presence disappeared the hair on my arms began to tingle and have a twitching motion to it. Am I warping again? I thought. 

My feet began to slowly hurt. But it did not feel like last time. It didn’t feel like I was about to be torn apart either. They lifted off the ground. My feet were floating in the air. This shouldn’t be possible, it doesn’t make any sense! My head started to ring again.

The tree’s glowered like a ray of sunshine as my eyes got beamed by the radiating light. It was beautiful, all of them as bright as the sun but as warm as a regular day. 

Nothing compares to it but by the time I was about 10 feet in the air, the front portion of my body felt like it was getting pushed by an invisible force. As I got shot backwards everything around me began to warp again, my eyes saw everything. Nothing anyone could expect. Why me, why me, why me! My mind ripples and my body feels contorted. 

I try to move but can’t as my legs and arms get spiked with a sharp pain unimaginable to a single thing. It feels as if I can tell that I will soon complete my arrival to who knows where. I land on something soft, but can’t really tell what it is. The air and space around me slows down and slowly dilates out of view, getting smaller and smaller. 

Am I Back? I thought.

Days, maybe weeks. I’m sitting on my bed. Face towards the ceiling. It’s confusing. What just happened to me. No one told me anything yet and the thing hasn’t spoken through my consciousness. Wait, so am I now one of the gifted. If so, let’s try these cool pow….

“Where are you?” Chloe yelled sarcastically. “We have 5 special minutes together for some good quality time!”

“Give me one second!” I screamed back.

“Fine…,” Chloe says quietly under her breath.

What has happened to me? It hasn’t even been a day since I got sent into that other world. Did time move faster in there? That’s weird.

I walked up to Chloe. As I approach, she raises her head and waves.

“We only have 4 minutes left, you’re wasting time,” She states.

“We need to talk!” I say this in a tone where she has concern.

I put my hand up against the clear glass. She looked very confused, of course she did. Chloe has absolutely no clue what happened to me. Should I tell her about my powers? Should I keep it to myself? Or test them right now? I don’t know what to do!

But then a blaring sound erupted. My hand shudders as the glass slowly cracks. Shards pierce out the sides and the entire thing crumbles to many pieces. I look at my left hand in confusion and notice that it has a small hole straight through the middle of it. I just blew it off, with my hand! It was an accident. It happened on its own! My hand feels as if it has its own pulse right in the middle. It hurts! 

I quickly run over to my bed and grab the sheets, rip them apart, and wrap the cloth over my hand to cover it up. As I turn around to see if Chloe noticed, there she is. Standing right in front of me.

“What are you…!” She says blaring.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s up with me. When I touched the glass it just broke!” I shouted. She began to slowly back away when she noticed that I was wrapping a fabric around my left hand.

“What’s on your hand?” Chloe said.

“What are you talking about, there’s nothing wrong with my hand,” I said with a worried look on my face. I turn back around to continue wrapping my hand with the sheet from the bed. It looked like I had a thick blue sheet of paper that was tied onto my left hand for no apparent reason. I have to get out of here soon. Otherwise she may signify to the control system with the black lever that we have an urgent problem down here. If I can figure out a way to hinder her from doing anything too sudden, then I might be able to make an attempt to escape, somehow…

I quickly swept my feet from underneath myself, I was able to catch her legs and sweep them up!

“Ow!” She said as she landed hard on the floor. “What’s wrong with you?” Chloe shouted.

I said nothing in return as I quickly dashed over to my closet, grabbing a clothes hanger and speeding back over to her. She was slowly rising up from the fall and proceeded to speak nonsense. I didn’t need to hear any of what she had to say. I grabbed her leg and tried my best to shove her into the closet. She was moving radically everywhere and kept shaking, attempting to escape. But I couldn’t just let go, I couldn’t just let her discover what I am and what I’m trying to do. I shove her into the closet, quickly slide the door across, and use the clothes hanger to secure both doors together.

“Help!” She screamed. “Help!” She continued to bellow on.

“Be quiet, this is for your own good, your own safety! I’m sorry, I really am, but until I can get you to trust me, I’ll come back and save you. I promise,” I said.

“Timothy, this isn’t you, I don’t know what’s gotten into you but maybe we can figure something out and work together to fix this broken bond,” she said, softening her tone.

“I’m sorry, again, I can’t help you. It’s not my fault this is happening, blame the thing,” I said directly as if she was standing right in front of me. I began to slowly walk away.

“What thing?” she said, sounding discouraged.

“That’s something I can’t tell you yet. I have my own intentions to append to!” I stated clearly so that she could hear me without needing to use a response. 

I continue my walk to the broken glass. No noise comes from the closet where I locked Chloe up. Am I a bad person for doing this? No no no, this is the right thing to do, for now. 

I’m standing about a foot away from the shattered glass. There’s a light coming from the bottom of the frame that holds the glass. I look down. Smoke, smoke for miles down. I can’t see anything but an eerie haze resting over the scene. Is this the land beyond The Zone? “Jump, you’ll be okay…” A Voice rang in my head. 

It’s back! I thought. My body shot back in fear.

“Why do you want me to jump? I’d be killing myself!” My thoughts rang.

“So that’s all huh? Now you don’t want to talk! What a life saver you are, I appreciate all the help!” I said sarcastically in my head.

What am I supposed to do now? Do I jump? No I’d die, surely!

My legs are shaking. I try to control myself but can’t find a way to relax. I look down once more as I second guess my decisions in life and if this is all worth it. Everything I have done up to this point has been somewhat important. My legs are still trembling. I take a deep breath, step back and… 

I can hear footsteps behind me. Patting quickly over to my location and stopping at a still. I could feel pressure on the back of my spine. I attempt to look back but I’m out of time to save myself.

“Die…”  her voice repercussed.

My life flashed before my eyes. I was falling. Falling very, very slowly towards my doom. 

Chloe pushed me. How!? How’d Chloe get out, impossible!? I thought.

I could feel the air whistle past me as I could faintly see some sort of structure. Who knows what that is. I need to make an attempt to turn around. 

I could barely see a backdrop of what had looked like someone standing over the edge near where the glass would be held, the shadows. Then two more people phased into the scene, taking Chloe with. I had to assume that they were part of the control system after she must’ve pulled the lever sitting under the bed. Yet I was still falling with the wind rushing past my ears.

This all happened in a split second while that stupid thing had distracted me. You’re an idiot, idiot, idiot!” I thought anxiously.

While falling I swung my legs from underneath me to twist my back, as I was now facing the ground. 

Gosh darnit! I’m going to die and there’s nothing I can do about it. I tried my best, even as the low-life I am! I thought to myself. I began to close my eyes, let my entire body relax, but something happened…

I snapped! My entire body rattled with a sensation that felt nearly pleasing to the soul. It felt as if I was in control of everything. Tingling throughout my veins forced my legs back, putting me into an upright position. Shoulders now broad, legs controlled, arms entangled with aura, and a left hand. A left hand unwrapped from the wind now wide open to the eye. Unveiling from it a single point, a sphere of black energy right in the middle. This is a new awakening for me! I thought. 

The authority I have over my body now is not restricted to the stupid powers of the higher ups. I could feel the wretched aurora stretch and entangle throughout my entire body before I knew something, something which I could see the future with. Something bizarre, something compelling, and something deathly powerful…! 

They doubted me from the beginning, those idiots…