Chapter 2

"Ethan? What are you doing back there?" Vendet asked, walking towards him. He suddenly stopped right before him as Ethan's glowing eyes faded back to their normal yellow color. "Did you... Did you cause this?" Vendet asked angrily, unable to come up with any other possible explanation in his head.

"What? There’s no way I could have caused this..." Ethan denied, stepping back.

"But your eyes were glowing just a second ago. That could only mean..." Vendet hesitated to continue. "Come with me!" he added, grabbing Ethan by the hand.

"Where are you taking me?" Ethan yelled, trying to resist.

"Where else? I’m taking you to a place where they can come up with an explanation for this because I’m sure this was your doing. Trying to kill us because I corrected you? You will have to suffer the consequences!"

"Let me go! I had no hand in this! Emmanuel, say something!" Ethan yelled, turning to Emmanuel, who stood among the group of students.

Emmanuel looked away, unable to say anything to help his friend, as he himself understood nothing of what had just happened.

***

"Are you sure about what you’re saying, Vendet? You could have just been hallucinating," said an officer of high rank in the force, arms folded. He had a dark mustache and wore a gray uniform like the students, except his was decorated with badges for various achievements, lined up in an inclined row across his chest. A pin in the shape of a hawk was attached to his collar.

"I’m telling you, I know what I saw. His eyes glowed the moment he stepped out of hiding after the machine stopped attacking. Besides, this hasn’t happened in over 50 years in the history of the force, and this is only the second case. There is no other explanation!" Vendet said in a firm tone.

The officer, whose name was Sir Marvelous, sighed, then turned to Ethan.

"I don’t even know what you guys are talking about..." Ethan said, squinting his eyes.

Sir Marvelous sighed again, then explained, "Fifty years ago, something like this happened. There was a girl your age who suddenly gained the ability to control machines telepathically. Unfortunately, she lost control on her first attempt at using the power and destroyed the entire base. After hours of struggle, we were finally able to subdue her and put her in a sleeping chamber to slumber for eternity."

"Wait, so you’re going to do the same to me?" Ethan asked, surprised and a little startled.

"Well, no. First, we’re not sure if you actually have that ability, and if you do, we’ll have to restrain you if you lose control like she did."

"Okay... So what now?" Ethan asked, and Vendet turned to him.

"We’ll hand you over to the only man who was able to defeat her. The Mad Commander," he said.

***

"Yo, dude, wait!" Emmanuel yelled, running after Ethan along the streets of Terra-Zeldra.

It was late in the evening, and the sun was almost completely out of the sky, giving it a beautiful tint of orange.

Emmanuel finally caught up to Ethan and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Bro, what’s up?" he asked with a worried tone.

"Leave me alone, Emmanuel! I don’t want to talk to you!" Ethan yelled.

Emmanuel stepped back. "Hey, I’m sorry, man. There was nothing I could have done to help," he said.

"Yeah, because you were afraid of being suspected, too?" Ethan replied angrily.

"Dude, you’re not being fair here. I really wanted to say something, but—" Emmanuel was about to finish his sentence when Ethan cut him off.

"But what? You’re the worst friend in history, and I never want to see you again."

Ethan walked away angrily, pulling on the straps of his backpack, while Emmanuel watched as he disappeared into the crowd of civilians on the street.

***

Ethan finally got home. The door to his room in the large hotel slid open, and he walked in. He threw his bag on the table beside his bed, then opened the only window in his room to let in some air.

The sight of the city was beautiful: lights filled every corner and alley like a swarm of fireflies, and flying vehicles hovered by. The sounds from everyone and everything merged in perfect harmony, creating a tune that was both soul-calming and pleasing to the ear.

"It’s been over two years now. Mom and Dad, I need you..." Ethan said, letting out a sigh with a sad expression on his face.

As he stared at the vehicles passing by, the feeling from earlier struck again. "Someone’s watching me again," he said, then looked up at a large, red hot air blimp.

He squinted his eyes, attempting to get a clearer look at what he thought was staring at him, and found a shadowy figure with long glowing hair, smiling down at him with white glowing eyes.

"What’s that?!" he exclaimed, then fell back, hitting his head hard on the ground. "Oww..." he groaned in pain, scratching his head. He got up from the ground and looked through the window again, but the figure had vanished.

"Probably just a hallucination," he concluded, letting out a sigh, then turned to his bed. "Some sleep should help..."

Both Ethan and Emmanuel were 14 years old. Emmanuel was an orphan, and Ethan’s parents were away on a trip to the fallen city known as Chrysoverse. They had been inseparable friends since childhood, and everything they did, they did together.

***

A large door slid open with a blaring sound echoing through a large facility in the base. Ethan watched as the door opened, and on the other side, a shadowy figure stood.

"Is that him? The Mad Commander..." Ethan asked himself in his thoughts as he stared at the man.

Rumors had spread around the base for years that the Mad Commander was the cruelest teacher in the entire force. His methods of teaching were the most dangerous and painful of all, and any student who failed to withstand his intense training was immediately expelled.

"Ethan Morphy!" A thick voice boomed, snapping Ethan out of his reverie.

"Yes, sir!" Ethan replied, saluting hastily.

The door opened fully, revealing the man's face.

"My name is Commander Grimhold, and I shall be your new coach..." he said in a terrifying tone, and Ethan gulped.

***

Ethan began walking with the commander as he showed him all the departments and offices in his territory. This part of the base was Grimhold’s domain, and he controlled every single person and everything that worked in it.

After a long day of walking around, they finally reached a special room. "Do you know what room this is?" Commander Grimhold asked.

Ethan replied with a slight stammer, "N... No, sir..."

The door to the room slid open, and a red light poured out along with a heavy amount of steam.

"What in the..." Ethan exclaimed as he saw what was inside.

"This is the cryo-chamber, where criminals who have committed various degrees of offenses against the citizens of Terra-Zeldra are punished for their deeds," Commander Grimhold explained.

"But it just looks like they’re sleeping," Ethan said, judging by what he saw.

Grimhold shut his eyes, then replied, "Each of these cryo-pods contains technology that can cause pain—not to the physical body of the criminal, but to the mind. It manipulates their dreams and thoughts, turning them into horrible nightmares and agonizing torture, and the best part is, they can never escape. It is by far the most effective means of retribution for their crimes."

Ethan clenched his fist as he heard this; he was beyond terrified. It was as if he could hear the screams of every criminal sleeping in the pods.

"And how long do they stay there?" he asked.

Commander Grimhold sighed, then said, "Some for years, some for only a few months. But the result is always the same. If they come out of cryo-sleep, they become mentally challenged, unfit to live among the citizens of Terra-Zeldra, and far less of a nuisance to society. But there is one we dare not let out of her slumber. She’s caused more chaos than any criminal here..."

Ethan had already realized who he was talking about. The girl. He walked with the commander toward another chamber, and its doors opened.