I couldn’t make sense of his sudden behavior.
"What do you an?" I asked, staring at him in confusion.
He was panting, struggling to catch his breath between words.
"Your father is going to be arrested."
"What? What are you talking about?"
He took a deep breath.
"They’ve arrested your father. You have to get out of here imdiately before they co for you too."
He grabbed my hand tightly, trying to pull with him, but I tore my hand away violently.
"What nonsense are you talking about?! Why would they arrest my father?!"
"Your father didn’t send the reports he was supposed to. He’s been hiding a lot of information from the authorities. I saw it with my own eyes the officers, they took him from right in front of the house just now."
I didn’t move. I couldn’t process what he’d just said. But before I could say anything, there was a loud banging on the door, followed by deep voices shouting orders to open it.
Then he shouted,
"Don’t open the door! It’s them!"
I didn’t move. I just stood there, staring at his face as the color drained from it. Only seconds passed before the sound of the door shattering filled the air. The boy lunged toward and grabbed my hand again.
"We have to move, now!"
He tried to pull , but again I shoved his hand away. That’s when I noticed he had slipped sothing into my pocket I didn’t realize what it was at the ti. I rushed out of the room and ran toward my parents’ room, where my mother and Iris were.
But as soon as I reached the hallway, I saw them n wearing the sa long black coats my father used to wear, their faces shadowed under black hats.
From that mont on, my life began to fall apart.
They dragged us out by force my mother, Iris, and . My mother’s screams did nothing. Her pleas were worthless before their cold faces. They threw us into a dark carriage without a word of explanation, and it started moving beyond the city walls. Through the small window, I watched as the city vanished bit by bit, until all I could see was the wasteland beyond the walls.
Then the carriage stopped. They threw us out like garbage bags and drove away without looking back.
My mother fell to the ground, clutching little Iris in her arms. But she quickly stood again, her face sared with dirt and mud, and sohow, she tried to smile to calm Iris, who had started crying.
"We have to find shelter before nightfall, alright?"
She sared mud on our clothes, tore Iris’s shirt a little, then took my hand and walked. She didn’t say another word, but I could clearly see what she was trying to hide in her eyes fear and despair.
She led us through side alleys, avoiding the main roads, moving as if she knew exactly where to go. Her steps were quick, her face tense.
We stopped in front of an old house down a narrow alley. It didn’t look livable the walls were badly cracked, and the roof slanted dangerously, as if it could collapse any second.
My mother approached the wall, moved one of the bricks aside, and reached her hand into the hole. I heard the click of a lock opening. After we entered, she put the brick back in place exactly as it was.
I stared at her, stunned.
"How do you know this place?"
She gave a quick glance, then looked around at the dirty walls.
"This is your grandparents’ house. I lived here as a child before I t your father."
Iris tugged at my mother’s shirt and asked,
"Where’s Daddy, Mama?"
My mother lifted Iris into her arms and held her tight, without answering.
...
Days passed, and through them I began to learn the truth from my mother. Mr. Gabriel the father of that boy and my father were both responsible for this district. Gabriel was the direct overseer, while my father was in charge of writing the reports and sending them to the higher authorities.
But instead of sending every report, my father had been hiding many of them most of them, in fact especially those concerning children with supernatural abilities.
That night, as I sat by the window, I rembered the paper the boy had slipped into my pocket before we were separated. I pulled it out of my coat, unfolded it with trembling hands, and began reading it under the moonlight.
The letter was long, written in terrible handwriting barely legible.
"With every eting I had with Adam, I found myself more fascinated by the strange powers he displayed. I watched him use them so naturally, rging with the wall each ti. As you know, he tried to teach , but I failed. I couldn’t do what he did. I realized I would never have power like his, no matter how hard I tried. And yet, I didn’t feel hopeless."
"I started searching for another way a ans to obtain a power like his. I thought maybe shock was the key, so I tried to hurt myself. I jumped from a tall tree, breaking both my legs and my arm in the process. But I wished, with all my heart, that I would awaken a power like those possessed by the warriors and heroes in old stories."
"And sohow, it worked. I beca faster, stronger I could even beat Bobby the giant at arm wrestling. But unfortunately, I couldn’t hide it for long. One day, my mother saw jump to the top of that big tree in a single effortless leap."
"She told my father, and he ca to asking about it. I tried to deny it at first, but eventually I told him everything except for the part about Adam. Then he smiled, sat beside , and began explaining excitedly about sothing called the Authority. He said those supernatural powers run in the blood of high ranking officers, and that children born to them have a high chance of inheriting it. The power takes shape according to the will of the assimilator, but to activate it, the person must go through a strong shock either physical or psychological."
"He also told there are many kinds of Authorities, and that the police possess a special kind known as the ’Knight’s Authority.’ It grants its wielder great speed, strength, and endurance."
"I’m writing this letter because I think you’re like , Diana. I’m certain you have that power too. When things calm down, I’ll send you this letter. Then we can climb over the wall and go find Adam again."
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