“Mom, come quick!” Kevin’s younger brother, Brandon, yelled from the living room. “Kevin’s school is on TV!”

Alexcia, her long skirt gathering around her legs and long hair tied tightly back, rushed into the living room from where she was working in the kitchen. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the TV, she froze. That was Kevin’s school. The screen showed parents holding their children who had been injured in the blast. There were already paramedics on site. A reporter wore a somber expression as she stood before the wreckage.

"As you can see behind me, a section of “Charles Adams High School” was destroyed by a Seirei Jin attack this afternoon. Sources say they are unsure how a being like that entered the facility undetected. We have a clip that one student filmed just before the explosion."

The video flashed onto the broadcast. A young teen crouched on his knees, clearly in pain as he yelled and glowed bright purple. Right next to him stood Kevin, clearly trying to communicate with the boy. Then, an explosion of light abruptly cut off the video.

"Kevin," his mother whispered to herself, clearly in shock.

The broadcast continued. Alexcia felt herself frozen in place as she saw the principal walk up next to the reporter.

"Principal Davidson, please tell us what happened after this terrible explosion,” the reporter said.

"It happened so fast," he replied. "The Jin took one of my students and vanished. We have no idea where they disappeared to, so I called the Advent Guard. I really hope they’ll get a hold of him soon and that we’re not too late."

"The hostage has been identified as senior Kevin Riley, and the suspect is…”

Alexcia tuned out everything else after that.

"David!” she yelled. “David, Kevin’s in trouble!”

David rushed out of his office and into the living room just in time to see his son’s senior picture next to the word “hostage” on the TV. His mind raced. This would mean the Advent Guard would arrive soon. They had to do something. He turned to Alexcia, his eyes wide with fear, just as there was a knock at the door.

David led the way to the front door, Alexcia following close behind, both of them expecting the worst. Thankfully, when they opened the door, it was only Sara and Johnny. They both let out sighs of relief.

The teens both had eyes rimmed with red and hoarse voices. Johnny looked like he was about to collapse.

"Mr. and Mrs. Riley, please forgive us," Johnny said, speaking far faster than normal.

"Please, come in," David said, his voice as gentle as he could manage during such a difficult moment.

"We tried to help him," Sara said as she pushed her way inside. She tried to hold back tears, but she was unsuccessful and was beginning to cry. "He just vanished before our eyes. We have no idea where he went."

Alexcia approached her and pulled her into an embrace. “It’s not your fault,” she whispered, though Sara continued to cry.

"We wanted to go find him, but Principal Davidson wanted us to evacuate," Johnny explained. “We really did want to find him. If the Advent Guard weren’t on their way already, we would-“

David placed his hand on Johnny's right shoulder, and Johnny stopped speaking. Kevin's father smiled, though his expression was strained.

"You did what you could,” David said. “Really. 

Johnny nodded in agreement. Alexcia and David locked eyes. They had to be strong, especially now that these young people were around.

"Have you two spoken with your folks?" David asked in as calm a voice as he could manage. "I'm sure they're worried about you two."

"Our phones stopped working because of the explosion," Johnny said. He took out his phone and tried to turn it on, but it remained black.

"You can use ours," Alexcia offered. She released Sara from her embrace and then gestured toward the landline phone.

The two teens migrated toward the phone, and again, the parents locked eyes. In their gaze swirled their concern for their son, but they knew that, in this moment, there was absolutely nothing they could do.

— ✧ —

"I don't believe this," Kevin snapped. "You’re telling me I’m a Jin?”

"Well, actually, you’re a half-breed,” Stewart corrected.

"Half-breed?"

“Yea, part Seirei Jin, part human. We possess a little more power than a normal jin. The downside is we are late bloomers; so our powers can awaken at any time in our lives. Those Jin attacks on the news? Those guys are half-breeds too and so are you.”

This was even more difficult for Kevin to wrap his head around. “How do I know you’re not lying to me? Humans would never cross with Jins? That doesn’t make any sense!”

"I wish I was lying to you, said Stewart. He took a deep breath and then continued. "I was eight years old when my powers awakened. I could hear the thoughts of the people I thought were my parents. That’s how I found out what I am. Turns out, they were paid to pretend to play those roles. If my powers were to surface, they were supposed to inform the Guard immediately."

Kevin didn’t know how to think about this. He recalled his vision of being separated from his parents. Could that really be a coincidence? He shook his head. "Wait, but if you got your powers, how come the Advent Guard didn’t take you away?”

Stewart remained silent for a moment. It was far more complicated than he could explain right now. "Well, the simplest answer is that they don't know. And they never will.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes as Stewart continued.

"As my powers grew, I discovered I can control their minds. I made them tell the Guard that my powers never surfaced and I was just a normal kid. I made them adopt me as their own, and we began to really seem like a family. I’ve been trying to keep my powers in check, but whenever a new ability would pop up and someone saw it, I would erase their memories. It’s worked pretty well for a while now. Honestly, I should’ve done that today and made everyone suspect a gas leak as being responsible for the explosion, or something like that…"

"Why can't you?” Kevin shrugged. “Maybe it's not too late."

"It's too late," he replied. "Like I said, I can see into the realities that I chose, but lately, each time I do, it doesn't turn out the way I thought it would. Something seems to be altering my decisions, guiding me to this moment, and all the while, I have this feeling like I don’t have much time. That's why I brought you here."

Kevin shook his head. He didn’t know how he was supposed to be involved with this.

"That night, your powers emerged. The Guard was going to take you away, but something stopped them. That’s how you’ve been able to live a normal life."

"Normal?!" Kevin scoffed and pointed to the right side of his face. "My life was hell growing up. The other kids mocked me, called me names, they thought I was cursed. And now you’re telling me I’m part Seirei Jin? Great, just add it to the list of reasons why my life will never be normal. I can’t even have one moment of being like everyone else.

Stewart shook his head. "You still don't believe you're a Jin, do you?"

“I’m not,” Kevin said. “I’m just…me.”

Stewart’s expression turned serious. "Then tell me: do you still hear them? The voices?"

Kevin froze. "What did you say?"

"They used to call to you when you were little. Sometimes in your sleep, but other times when you were awake too."

Kevin recalled the time as a child crying at night, complaining to his folks about being attacked by the Advent Guard, but his parents assured him it was only a dream. Another time in fifth grade, he was chasing Johnny during a game of tag in the park. The voices in his head called to him. He had stopped, entranced by them, which then demanded he make a choice between protection or power. It was the first time he had entered that dark void of emptiness, the glowing flames of energy, and the voices that Stewart was referring to.

“How do you-“

Stewart held up his hand. "You’ve ignored them all these years, but they've been calling you for quite some time."

Kevin closed his eyes in order to shut out all of the new information he was receiving. The silence only lasted a second before another memory flashed in his head. One that he couldn’t recognize. In his mind’s eye it was night, he was a child again. Kneeling before him was a tall person in a three-piece suit smiling as he spoke.

"What's your name, kid?" an agent's voice echoed in his head. He could barely see the agent’s face but recalled his hair a dark grey and over his left eye was an eyepatch.

“When I was in your head, I heard them,” Stewart said.

"Please, stop," Kevin begged.

"The one who seeks to protect and the one who seeks power."

"I said stop!" Kevin yelled, and as he did, he slammed his fist against a nearby rack of equipment.

The rack fell with a loud metal clatter, and balls rolled in every direction. Stewart didn’t flinch, though Kevin did. He snapped out of his mental lapse and turned on Stewart with anger in his eyes.

That had crossed the line. Kevin stormed out of the storage room and onto the school’s track, which made a big loop around the grassy football field. The fresh air hit him. He stood there, still, lost in thought. Were the people he’d lived with his whole life actually his parents? Just thinking about the question made him upset, and his anger at Stewart grew for making him ask it. He reflected on his life thus far, memories and moments flashing by like playing cards being shuffled in his head. He remembered two moments in his life when the voices in his head paused: when he met his two best friends. Now, that was something that remained unchanged after his conversation with Stewart. Something he could hang onto. He felt himself begin to calm down.

Unbeknownst to Kevin, a drone spotted him on the field from above. A camera caught Kevin immediately, identified him, and sent that identification right back to the Advent Guard.