Control

ii | aidan

THE FRESHMEN WERE IN THE BUILDING AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION, HAVING THEIR OVERNIGHT STAY AT THE SCHOOL, MARKING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETED. There were about two-hundred and fifty students in the building and a handful of adults supervising. Parents, teachers, staff.

That was only the beginning of a string of bombings and mass murders. The firefighters, paramedics and the few volunteers from other parts of the city still weren't able to find all the bodies, since another incident happened nearly every other day.

It's been two weeks. So far, a hundred and seven casualties. Mostly people over the age of twenty-five.

King Jacin and the rest of us were pretty sure who was behind the attacks. We weren't exactly sure why, though.

"How's it going down there, over." Tyson's voice rang out of the walkie talkie.

I grabbed the device from my hoodie pocket. "Pretty good," I said, then paused. "Or, not really. Twenty more bodies. Jess - er - Cobalt's seeking everyone out like a bloodhound. Do you know what the dead toll is, over."

The air was filled with dust and the ground piled with debris. I watched as Jessica, now as Cobalt, helped the firefighters dig out some of the still trapped people. I should've helped, but instead just stayed on the sidelines.

"I can't even say for sure, it keeps on rising," Tyson said. "We've lost like, half the population, over."

"Pfft, it can't be that high. It's only here, isn't it?" I asked.

"Uh, no." His voice comes out shaky. "There are attacks all over the kingdom. Yes, that was a hyperbole though. It's still a huge amount of people though. Mostly adults, which is kinda strange, over."

I gulped. What were they thinking? Why so many people? Then a thought hit me. "Wait, why is it strange, only adults? Over."

"I mean, some of the places hit were schools, but like at ours, only ten or so students died. Isn't that kinda weird?"

It was, kind of. "I mean, officials got there pretty quickly so we were able to save a bunch of people..." I didn't know where I was going with that. "Never mind, over."

"Give me a second, I have to deal with Sof, over."

"Okay, over."

I started walking around, getting a different angle of the attack sight. I wasn't actually sure if all this rubble was from the school or the office building nearby. There were pieces of glass and brick everywhere, making it hard to put your foot somewhere with a flat surface.

What was a beautiful city that surrounded me everywhere I went was now partially in bits. Though a lot of the skyline was still in tack, hardly anyone left their houses anymore. The end of the school year just faded without anymore big parties or even graduation for the seniors.

At least I'm not waiting forever for someone to join me while playing video games, I thought, trying to make myself feel better. A voice inside my head replied with shut up, Aidan.

"How's it going here?" My head snapped back to see who the voice belonged to. Jessica. She sounded so much more different, confident, as Cobalt. I was able to breathe, knowing it was just her. "Having fun just watching? Would you like to help, because I know at least I'd appreciate it."

"I was just..."

"Lost in thought?" She asked. I nodded. "About what?"

"Everything."