Freak Revolution

It started with the bombings. Many powerful countries from all over the world had participated in a disastrous campaign of nuclear warfare; causing the deaths of millions.

It started with the bombings. Many powerful countries from all over the world had participated in a disastrous campaign of nuclear warfare; causing the deaths of millions. Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. To this day, the wars are still raging fiercely in many parts of the globe and nuclear radiation has already become a major issue.

The radiation caused people to develop unnatural powers and abilities. These people were feared by others and the government and were labelled as ‘freaks’. So for fear of rebellion, the leaders have assembled a team of strong, loyal soldiers known as the Council of Protectors (COPs) to exterminate anyone that had been affected by radiation.

* * *

Royce Anderson woke up in an old, abandoned shed hidden in the outskirts of his home town. He was panting for he had awakened in a cold sweat; caused by the same nightmares that haunted his dreams every night. Forcing himself to get up from a small but warm bed, he arose and quickly got changed into a white t-shirt with blue jeans as well as his favourite red jacket.

He glanced at the battered shed door and wondered if he should risk going out this morning. Royce had been forced to hide somewhere in order to avoid being caught by the COPs, which were on the hunt for anyone who had dangerous powers caused by nuclear radiation. However, he had been cooped up in the shed for about a week now and he longed to visit his little sister, Penny, who he loved more than anything else in the world.

Finally deciding to take the risk, he grabbed the handle, turned it and pushed open the door. Rays of light immediately rushed into the poorly lit shed and Royce flinched at the brightness of the sun. When his brown eyes had adjusted to the light, he cautiously walked out and quickly glanced around for anyone that might be snooping around.

When he was convinced that he was safe, he breathed in the cool, morning air and headed towards town, where the home of his sister was located. Royce followed the dirt path until he saw half-destroyed houses in sight. The town had been torn apart from fights regarding the invasion of the COPs about a week ago and homeless people could be seen sleeping on the sides of dirty streets. To avoid being recognised, he pulled his hoodie over his head and continued to walk onwards.

He soon arrived at the doorstep of his family’s small and quiet house and knocked gently. After several long seconds, the door opened with a slight creak and standing at the doorway was his mother. At first, she didn’t recognise him and said, “May I help you?”

Royce took off his hoodie and avoided staring directly into his mother’s eyes. “Is Penny here?” He asked.

His mother gasped when she saw who it was and tears immediately started to form and roll down her pale cheeks. “Roy, I told you not to ever return. You are dangerous, and you’ll only get us arrested if you stay here for too long.” Even though the words sounded harsh to him, he knew deep down that his mother did not hate him, but was rather afraid of him.

That was when Penny had suddenly appeared from behind. “Please mum? Please let him stay for a short while, I promise it will be the last time,” Penny begged with desperation.

Mrs Anderson sighed but avoided eye contact with Royce. “Fine, you may stay for fifteen minutes the most.” And with that, she walked out of the room.

Royce looked down at his seven-year-old sister, who was smiling at him. Penny had chestnut brown eyes with short, dark brown hair that curled naturally at the end. “So… how’s life treating you?” He asked nervously.

Penny ignored her brother’s question. “How come mommy and daddy won’t let you stay with us?”

Royce looked at the ground and shifted uncomfortably. “Penny, you know perfectly well why I can’t stay. The COPs are after me because I’m dangerous and if I stay here, you might get hurt.”

“But you won’t hurt me, will you Roy?” She questioned with innocence in her eyes.

Royce smiled and held his sister by her shoulders. “Of course not, but the COPs might harm you and our parents if they think you were hiding me here.”

Before Penny could return the smile, a deafening alarm could be heard all around them and the lights suddenly went out. Immediately, their parents reappeared from the kitchen and frantically ran towards them. Mrs Anderson began to quickly close all the curtains, blocking the windows and the outsider’s view. “Get him out of here, now!” She shouted in a panic at her husband.

The alarm was still blaring away and impatient knocks could now be heard at the front door. This frightened Penny and she hurriedly hid behind her mother. Mr Anderson turned to Royce and made a grabbed for his arm. “Let’s go.”

Royce followed his father towards the backdoor without arguing, for he knew that the COPs would be on full patrol across the town soon. When he was outside, he looked back at his father for a brief second, and saw sadness in his eyes. However, he knew he had to get out of this area as quickly as possible, or he would never get the chance to see his family again.

He ran like the wind, but was careful to avoid being spotted by nearby COPs. They were all recognisable by their dark red uniform and huge batons, which were made entirely of steel. Some also carried additional weapons on their belts, which were mostly handguns.

“Just a few more minutes,” Royce whispered to himself as he approached the outskirts of town, where his shed that he had made his home would be right around the corner. He was about to make his great escape when he heard a loud, feminine scream pierce through the polluted air. He knew he should get out of town as soon as possible, but curiosity got the better of him and he carefully walked towards the source of the scream.

As he approached the area, he hid most of his body behind an old, broken wall which was once part of a nice, small house. Royce stuck his head out of the side of the wall, and saw a teenage girl slowly backing towards a half-destroyed brick wall. She looked about his age, and had long blonde hair that went past her shoulders. Her eyes were a startling green, but judging from the way she looked, Royce could tell that she was in great fear.

He couldn’t blame her, as two COPs were walking towards the teenage girl with batons held high. “Stay away from me!” She yelled with both hands held in front of her face in a defensive position. As if on cue, her hands glowed, emitting an eerie green light. Almost instantly, the COP standing directly in front of her dropped to the ground and screamed with his hands covering his face.

Royce did not know what had happened to him, but the COP shook violently for a few more seconds before stopping suddenly, like if he had died all of a sudden. Without warning, the second COP marched up towards her and swung his baton hard. The cold steel made contact with the girl’s head, knocking her to the ground with a sickening smack. She let out a cry of pain as blood gushed out from the side of her head, staining part of her clothes.

Anger boiled up inside of him and without thinking, Royce leaped out of his hiding spot and charged towards the COP, who was already lifting his baton in order to strike the girl again. “Leave her alone!” He shouted in a rage as he tackled the unknowing COP to the ground. Before the brutal soldier could contain his look of surprise, Royce grabbed the fallen baton and swung it at his head. This knocked the soldier unconscious and he fell back down on the dirty ground.

Royce turned around to meet the girl’s pretty green eyes and extended an arm towards her. “Are you okay?” He asked with a look of concern. She met his eyes and smiled while reaching out to grab his hand. Even though her hair was a mess and half of her face was covered in blood, she struck him as beautiful.

“Thanks for saving me,” the girl said as Royce helped her to her feet. By now, blood had stopped flowing out of her right temple.

“My name’s Royce Anderson, but you can call me Roy. What’s yours?” He asked with a warm smile.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably, but answered his question nonetheless. “I’m Heather Klein, are you one of us? Are you another freak?”

Royce winced at the word that she had used. ‘Freak’ was a label given to anyone that had strange abilities due to nuclear radiation. For some unknown reason, only a small percentage of people who were exposed to radiation gained such powers.

“I guess you could say that. What happened to the first COP that tried to attack you? I saw your hands glow green an-“

“I killed him.” She said sadly as her eyes dropped to the ground. Before any of them could say anything else, voices could be heard from behind them.

Turning around, Royce sighted a group of about seven COPs heading towards them with batons raised. “Kill them both!” One of them commanded.

In an instant, he grabbed Heather’s arm and ran. “We need to get out of here,” he whispered calmly while he forced her to run with him. Royce lead her pass many half-destroyed homes and buildings. They soon arrived at the outskirts of town, and when he turned around, there was no sign of their pursuers. He stopped for a while to catch his breath and noticed Heather staring at him.

“So, now that it’s just the two of us again, how did you kill that guy back there?” Royce asked out of pure curiosity.

Heather's eyes darted away as guilt took over her facial expression. “I can turn w-water into a-acid. I was s-scared, so I turned the s-sweat on his forehead i-into…” she stopped stuttering and her eyes widened in terror.

Confused, he raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?” He noted the way she was looking past him and Royce turned his head to look behind him. Again, the seven COPs appeared about twenty metres away from them.

“Don’t let them escape!” One of them yelled at the top of his lungs as they broke into an aggressive sprint.

With an exasperated sigh, he faced Heather and told her to run. She didn’t argue, and took off in the opposite direction without looking back at him. Royce pulled his red hoodie back over his head to hide part of his face and spun around, facing his attackers. As they continued to charge towards him with steel batons waving wildly in the polluted air, he curled his hands into a ball, causing them to glow a strong fiery red.

He then opened his fists and raised them slowly, pointing his palms at the approaching COPs. Before they could process what was happening, one large fireball appeared from each hand and sailed towards the defenceless soldiers. The twin fireballs soared through the air like rockets, leaving behind a trail of dying flames and smoke. The second the fireballs made contact with their targets, a huge explosion occurred with a bang, killing the seven COPs and turning them into ashes.

Royce turned his eyes away from his murdered assailants and started in the direction of Heather. Within a minute of running, his heart sank at what he saw. About ten metres away, Heather’s lifeless body laid near a half destroyed wire fence in a pool of her own blood. Without thinking, he approached her with concern and breathed a sigh of relief when he realised she was still breathing, even though she was unconscious.

Before he could investigate the reason behind her incident, there was a quick shuffle of footsteps behind him. Royce did not have enough time to turn his head before he felt the impact of cold steel against his temple. Intense pain exploded in his head and as he began to collapse alongside Heather, everything went black.