---Rise ‘n’ Shine Time---

My body still hasn’t thawed out completely but I’m getting there. In fact I’d probably already be out of this ice if it wasn’t for the hypothermia that pervaded my entire body. At least I can’t feel my wrist anymore. At least it doesn’t hurt anymore.

I’m stuck looking at the ravaged man. I’m stuck looking at what my power...no, I’m looking at what I did because I felt like it. ‘Now that I think about it he was probably stuck in here along with me. Forced into this place like everyone else.’ Where is everyone else? Why is this fucking freezer put in the corner of a lunchroom?

Speaking of the devil suddenly the doors open and I see slouched figures make their way into the lunch room in an orderly fashion. They appeared to be monotonous in action and somehow color. Like conveyor belt works they seemed to follow some set instructions. I don’t know if grey is a specific feeling but it seemed to be what they’re exuding. People of almost all ages above ten seemed to walk in from ten at the youngest to what appeared to be an eighty-year-old man. This place really is a prison.

I heard school is tough from my sister but I didn’t know it was to this extent. They all ignore me and get in line to get a meal instead. My stomach growls and I realize I hadn’t eaten in about two days. It’d be great if someone thawed me out of this ice cocoon.

The line goes all the way from the concession stand all the way down the stairs and to the corner of the room where I currently stand frozen. I try to get their attention but moving and muscle of my body appears to be excessively hard. I could probably get their attention with my power...no usage of powers is against the rules. ‘Fuck this. Guess I’ll just wait it out.’ As it turns out I didn’t really have a choice in the matter anyway.

Ages seem to go by and the excruciating feeling of my skin shrinking and muscles contracting sporadically seems to fade away along with my consciousness. Strange enough as it seems my dreams didn’t come allowing me to sleep properly for the first time in a long while. Even more strange I found myself missing my daughter’s face more than I thought I would. My dreams are one of the few places I can be with her. I’ve already tried imagining her up but it is just not the same as my pseudo-memory dreams. They are very...realistic. I appreciate my dreams dearly no matter how gruesome or terrible they are. Consciousness is an aspect of oneself that is often hard to describe but can easily be found to be one’s ability to acclimate with the help of said person’s past.

---Different People Different Time---

“I’m just saying I’ve cleaned up the past few messes so it should be your turn,” Damien said to Corty as he passed by her to check up on the boy. It was dark because they had to clean up late at night while the students were elsewhere. Using a flashlight Damien peered into the burst open metal storage box.

“This metal is cold to the touch even though this room is heated around the clock. He must have really gone off on the kid.” Damien analyzed the situation and pointed his flashlight to the frozen figure and grimaced a little. Seeing a little kid frozen like a statue is not a welcome sight. But such is life. It probably shouldn’t be. But it is.

“Hey Corty you got the heat gun?” Damien questioned the stoic figure behind him. Corty’s disposition to quietness has always irked him as he is a chatterbox himself.

“No, you always bring it.” She responded just like he expected.

“Fine can you go get it then please?”

“...”

“Okay be my guest but then you’re gonna have to clean up while I go get the heat gun,” He said in an exasperated manner. Without an answer Corty disappeared through one of the many doors leading to God knows where in search of the heat gun. A small maniacal grin appears on Damien’s face and he quickly pulls something from inside his suit. A circular object that has a cone of metal inverted inwards in it. It has a singular small red button and multiple warnings on it. Most of them read “Caution Extremely Hot When Activated!” and so on.

Damien’s black silhouette enters the cold room leaving a faint shadow in the mist created by the cold and hot temperatures. He chuckles deeply as he does so leave no doubt about his malicious intent. He walks up to Tom’s frozen figure and his smile widens showing all his teeth and gums off. Like a wild dog that has been given a new chew toy.

“Hey there buddy. I’ve been hearing a lot about you as of late and thought I might as well come to check up on you myself. I can’t help but say that I am very disappointed. Who would have thought that a legendary SSS class like you would be a weakling? How do I know that? Don’t ask questions kid. Anyways, kid, I’m going to have to remove you now, nothing personal just business is all. Bosses orders ya know. Actually you wouldn’t understand you’re just a little rat.” Damien spoke to the frozen Tom as if he could understand. Damien heats up the heat gun and aims it at Tom’s chest. Three seconds. Three seconds is the time it took to melt the ice on Tom’s chest. Damien reaches out to touch Tom.

“You know Tom I have a very unique power you see. Whatever I touch and willingly wish to turn to poison turns to poison. Very crazy right. This world. These powers. Ah whatever I’m just rambling at this point but you should understand. A lot of people have been vying for your death you know because you got some crazy powerful superpower and I quote "that's strong even among the strongest people". A five year old scares the upper echelons enough to kill you no less. A crazy world I live in, truly crazy indeed.”

With a huge smile but dead eyes Damien puts his hand on Tom’s chest.

“The weak obey the strong and the strong kill the weak so they will remain the strong. You are a weak child who will never come to power because they saw it fit that your legacy ends here. Your parents, Julian, mostly everybody but a few want you dead. There is no story, there is no rising action, there is no climax to this story you end here. Me saying this is just an obligation you see. To you and all the other people I eliminate. Bye then.” Suddenly Tom’s chest skin starts melting turning into a poisonous liquid. One second is how long it takes for Tom to wake up. Two seconds is how long it takes for him to feel the pain. Three seconds is how long it takes for him to freak out.

A literal tsunami of hatred and fear bursts out of Tom blasting Damien away faster than it would take one to blink. Destruction was all that was on Tom’s mind. Destruction is what he got. The single blast of water had blasted through the metal container, launched itself through multiple tables, and effectively embedded itself in the wall along with Damien. A mini crater formed around Damien as he dangled from the wall unconscious.

“Ah! Help! Help! Someone my skin is melting! It’s melting! Help! Fuck! Someone!” Tom started writhing in his ice prison and managed to break the ice. But he could not remain on his feet for long and fell to the ground spasming sporadically. Screaming until his throat bled and then some more Tom \waited in agony for someone to come to his rescue.

“Damien I couldn’t find the...Damien what…” The women named Corty looked over and saw Tom. “Fucking christ Damien he’s just a kid.” Corty ran over to Tom and activated her power on Tom to stop the corrosive effect of Damien’s power but it did not heal the damage that was done. Gritting his teeth hard enough to crack them he screamed through the pain.

“Just calm down kid. I’ll get someone down here soon.” Even the stone-hearted Corty couldn’t help but feel for the kid. But with the people in the facility she knew that he would be alright soon, so she is not all too worried.

“Hello yes can I get Sheryl down to the lunch room? There’s been an incident with the new inductee. Ah yes as soon as possible. Thanks, bye.” Corty kept the talking as succinct and brief as possible. Glancing at the boy she put on her stone face and walked over to where Damien was dangling.

“Someone finally put you in your place huh Damien? You fucking cunt. Is your position in this godforsaken place really that important to you.” As if in response to Corty’s words Damien’s eyes opened ever so slightly. Blood dripping from his forehead made its way into his mouth but he appeared to not be able to spit.

“Br...bra-...” Damien gargled in his own blood as he tried to speak.

“Just wait for Sheryl to get here Damien and quit struggling you’re just making your wounds worse. This is what you get for playing with fire.” His head shook ever so slightly.

“Brain...brainwash…”

“You know we can’t do that Damien that goes against government protocol.”

“T-..stron...g.”

“Damien just tell me this when you get better.” He appeared to relent and nodded. Corty then made her way through the debris once more to check on the boy. She knew Damien must have been ordered to kill Tom but what she didn’t understand is why they hadn’t just killed him when they discovered him all those years ago. She shivered just thinking about the event, so she didn’t.

“Hey kid shut up you’re getting annoying. Haven’t you ever played with a little bleach? This is just like that no need to worry.”

“That sounds like something I need to fucking worry about!”

“I told you to calm down you’re getting annoying. Be happy I’m doing this for you in the first place.”

“Why does this weird as shit always happen to me? I just want my daughter! Where’s my daughter!?” Tom cried out in pain incomprehensively. The pain is just too much for such a small mind to handle.

“Daughter? But you’re like five years old.”

“I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care! This is a nightmare!”

The world to Tom suddenly blurred between reality and dream as he reached the state of half-consciousness; a being of pure instinct with little thought to regulate it. His face darkened as red-blood dripped down it and he cried out in anguish. A pitch black mask of a laughing man appeared on his face and he unleashed his pent up anger.

Entities seemed to appear everywhere in the lunchroom some were normal people, some were dead people, and then there’re the demons that chase after you when walking up the stairs at night. The demons all varied some were tall figures standing on pegs with waterfalls of blood dripping out of them, some had there fingers pulled back all the way and no lips, and some looked like completely normal animals that somehow emanated pure evil. They are the embodiment of all of Tom’s hatred. Unrelenting and unfazed just for the world in general. His life has never been easy in fact some would say it has been a hard one.

Corty activated her power at Tom full force after seeing him go awol but nothing happened. It was like he wasn’t affected in the least. Corty felt something drip on her shoulder she lifted her hand up to touch the damp spot and brought her hand to her eyes. Shining her flashlight on her finger she saw her hand drenched in blood. Her eyes widened as she simultaneously looked up seeing an enormous devil looking down back into her eyes.

Corty leaped back for cover but she isn’t quick enough and the claws of the beast stroke her. However they seem to pass right through her body as if they aren’t even there. Tom, he has the power of imagination that’s all I know. So maybe whatever he creates isn’t real. Corty contemplated to herself but she realized that couldn’t be true the blood had been very real. Real to the touch. Suddenly Tom’s laughing mask turned toward Corty and the laughing smile grew wider. Corty looked at Tom then back up to the demon.

“May-maybe brainwashing him isn’t such a bad idea after all.” A huge ray of blood shot out of the beasts circular almost gas mask like face. Blasting Corty straight through the entrance doors and skidding her across the tiled floors for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, she landed at the feet of a person dressed in a white lab coat.

“You call me up at this time at night for something like this Corty. You know I have more important things to do.”

“Ow.”

“Just shut it.” She used her power on Corty and with a brief bout of pain Corty became as good as new.

“Thanks Sheryl.” Sheryl is a lady in her mid-thirties with far too many gray hairs. Her services are quite the necessity around here. She is very tall standing at just under six foot seven without shoes on. Her hair is a deep black brushed to the right and kept at shoulder length. She has been overworked and underpaid for the past eight years.

“Whatever just bring me to the problem case and I’ll see what I can do.”

“About that, we probably shouldn’t go in right now. The industry has gone a little wild and is out of control.”

“Then just use your power on him like always.”

“Ah it seems…it seems.” Lines formed on Corty’s face as she frowned deeply.

“It seems your power isn’t working right?” Corty could only nod.

“That makes things more complicated. Well then let's just wait it out shall we? I needed a break away from work for a few minutes before going back anyways. The kid should be done soon anyway, you know how they get with tantrums and all no need to worry about this at all.” Said Sheryl as she tried to calm down Corty. She knew this must have been a big shocker to her with her power not working at all. ‘I’m just sympathetic like that.’ Sheryl thought to herself.

“This seems like something I really need to worry about.” Corty sat down and rest her back against the wall.

“Is this what parenthood is like Sheryl?”

“Dear God I am so thankful I don’t know. Praise the condom god.”

“...”

“I think I understand why Annette gave away him now.”

“That’s Annette’s child?”

“Yup.”

“No fucking wonder.” Things seemed to clear up in Sheryl’s head after she said that. Sheryl joined Corty and laid against the cold wall.

“Time to just wait it out.”

---Same time and place but this time it's from Tom’s mind---

Hate, I hate then hate some more and then I throw some more hate onto my hate meal deluxe. I seem to be in some sort of lucid dream. A void of blackness surrounds me but I can still see my hands and my body. It’s like all the light around me ceased to exist. I can’t feel my body but I can move. This really must be a lucid dream.

‘My life is so sucky maybe I should just end it. But what if I’m reincarnated again? What if I never see my daughter again? This darkness is so comfy. Like a soft blanket that isn’t too warm or too cold. I fucking hate it too.’ I start running and running as fast as I can but I can’t feel my legs pounding and my breathe doesn’t become laborious. Like a lucid dream.

“What is your goal Tom?” A soft sweet voice rang throughout the void echoing through its endlessness. ‘Annette? Annette! That’s Annette’s voice I could never forget it!’

“Annette where are you?! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I couldn’t save you that day! I was too useless I’m so sorry!” The void flashed with new found light.

“What is your goal Tom?” The voice asked again.

“G-goal? To find you of course.”

“You will never find me Tom and you know that. I am dead and gone. I exist on my own plane now. Now what is your real goal?”

“I know this is just a dream and a conjecture formed by my own brain trying to save myself. But fuck that! You’re my daughter, my one and only, my sunshine. I go to sleep every night and have nightmares of you dying just so I can see you once more. My life literally has no meaning, no goal, no nothing without you. I would literally go into the depths of hell just to find you! A fucking plane of existence won’t stop me from having my happy little family!” The void flashes brighter than before.

“I just told you to give up.”

“And I just told you that I’m going to find your ass then love and appreciate the hell out of you!” The void is no longer a void and is blindingly bright.

“At least promise me this dad. Have fun and enjoy your life it was hard getting it for you.”

“Wha-? This is a dream right?” The light encompassed Tom and he appeared in his old location. He fell down in pain once more sprawled out in the blood of his making and his temporary undoing.

---An Hour Later Back With The Ladies---

“Sheryl, hey Sheryl wake up I think the screaming has stopped.”

“Hmm wha-...oh, oh yes of course. Sorry I didn’t mean to drool on you.”

“Don’t think about it. Anyways we have to go check on the boy and Damien both were in pretty critical conditions last I saw them.”

“Okay let's make this quick.” They walked through the hallway and through the almost unhinged steel push doors. They both felt the dampness of the inch thick layer of blood and went to wipe it off but instead found it to be pointless because the blood flooded everywhere.

“You weren’t kidding wasn’t safe. There’s blood everywhere.” Sheryl stood looking around with a little shock.

“The monsters he created seemed to generate this blood. One had attacked me with a focused blast of it. It probably would have been lethal if you hadn’t come along.”

“This definitely isn’t blood. It’s more like corn syrup with dark red dye. It’s much too sticky. Also where are these monsters you were talking about.”

“I dunno must’ve disappeared along with the boy. Are you sure this isn’t blood? This smells like blood?”

“It’s definitely not blood. Anyways where is the boy? Ah, nevermind there he is.” Sheryl quickly rushed over to the small figure and laid her hands on him activating her power. She knew not to waste time in these situations through past experiences. Her power flooded into him almost instantly like a vacuum he drew on her. Tom’s body became red hot with a fever and started wiggling around on the ground like mad. Like a kid having a tantrum he pounded the ground around him.

“Whew a real fighter we got here.”

“Tell me about it.”

Tom’s eyes bulged open and he gasped for air panting only to pass out a few seconds later.

“He’s a real fighter for someone his age. I can’t believe he endured for so long with an arm like that most kids would have just straight up died from circulatory shock with that amount of pain. Not only that he had Damien’s touch on top of it.”

“Arm?”

“Specifically his wrist but there were some minor issues with his arm also. It seemed to have been completely dislocated.”

“Oh yeah I had just set it yesterday when I was bringing him to the cold box. It shouldn’t have been that bad I mean he only dislocated it.”

“Well you did an awful job Corty. Well with whatever he was doing he almost tore all the tendons in his wrist completely and he definitely broke a good portion of the bones in his hands. Not only that the way you tried to set it back in place all suddenly probably destroyed what little semblance of a hand he once had. It definitely ruined any chance of it ever functioning again without me being here of course. What exactly caused it to break in the first place?”

“Julien had tested him. He said it was some standard thing he did to everyone before they entered the complex. I didn’t know it was that bad.” Corty had thought she was going on a regular pick up and take in mission when Julien had picked her up. Now she’s starting to think differently.

“Anyways let’s hurry up and heal Damien too.” They rushed over to where Damien was and just as quickly Sheryl used her power on him.

“Tch.”

“What?”

“This is bad I’m going to have to take him back to my office to do some more extensive work. I can stabilize him but this is going to take a while. Let us call the cleanup crew and a few stretchers. They are probably going to send the kid down under after this but that’s probably for the best. He seems to be too unstable mentally right now.”

“Okay I’ll call clean up right now.” Corty took out her phone once more and speed dialed a number.

“Hello is this clean up? Yeah we had an incident down at the kitchen. No it’s nothing too bad. Yeah things are a little bloody. Bring two stretchers. No Gerald I won’t go on a date with you, you have a loving wife and kids. Okay thanks.” Corty shut her flip phone and put it in her pocket.

“They’re on their way I’m gonna go get a drink from the kitchen.”

“Yeah, me too.”