✔ WHEN FISH FLY (OpenNovellaContest2021)

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟

"Mum, dad!" I scream, running into our apartment as quickly as I can, the fear of what might have happened to my parents blinding me.

I can't believe this is happening.

When I came back from work at the Imperium Police Station I had found the door ajar, the lock torn out of the wooden panel indicating a break-in.

"Mum!" I shout again, moving to the kitchen - empty.

"Dad!" I scream, running towards the main bathroom - empty.

Their bedroom - empty.

Living room - empty.

My bedroom - empty.

Slamming into the door of the guest bedroom, I take in the scene before me, horror coursing through my now petrified body, my mind scrambling to interpret what is happening.

Two men - both dressed in black - are standing in the middle of the room, one of them holding a gun in the direction of my parents, the other holding an identical weapon in my direction, disgust appearing on his face as he seems to realise who I am.

I can feel my heartbeat quicken as I debate what to do, my eyes locked on the two men, trying to keep as much eye contact as possible. In the slight moment I had to digest the room I saw that both my parents are tied up, a piece of tape covering their mouths so that they can't make any noise. Mum has turned her restraints into black, while my dad still has their normal cream colour.

"What do you want?" I ask.

I've been trained to keep a cool head in these kinds of situations, taught to stay under control, but having the lives of my parents at risk is something I have never planned for

"We want you to go down. You don't deserve to be on level ten! Your father is nothing other than a slave, he has no right to earn the amount of money required to keep you on this level, Lothus!" The man pointing his weapon at me shouts, the anger in his voice making me flinch. It's been a long time since anybody has insulted me for being a Lorem, but the sting that comes from that word doesn't seem to ease as the years go by.

They must be in a gang, I rationalize, trying to keep my head clear. Only gangs have access to the old weapons, so it's the only thing that makes sense. And they want us to move down a level or two, so they believe they are better than powered people - They must be part of the Dominus Gang.

"Please don't hurt my parents... We will leave, we know we don't deserve what we have," I try calming them down, my left hand slowly moving towards the taser I have attached to my hip, the same one that had been given to me on my first day of training.

The Dominus Gang is an old one, appearing with the first Lorem. Their numbers have grown over the years and their power, their ability to get their objectives done, has grown. A few years back there was a case against a few lawyers in my dad's firm who were suspected of being part of the gang, and it wouldn't surprise me if the men before me were them. There are rumours that they plan on infiltrating the government, something that they have already managed to do in some cities outside of Italy. London is now under the rule of the Dominus, all the Lorem who had been enjoying their lives now having to live in barracks as slaves or thrown into camps inspired by the nazis. I have a friend who was part of the rich district in London and luckily she managed to get out of there before they took her and her family into their camps, but not soon enough, for she had to witness the horrors her friends and family are suffering - or suffered; most Lorem don't last more than a month. 

The problem we are now facing is that each city or country is fighting its own internal wars, and they can't ask for help from other places because they are isolated due to the weather surrounding them. That's why I want to make sure Venice doesn't fall into the wrong hands, one of the many reasons I trained to become a policewoman and defend my city.

"You are damn right, you hardly deserve to live!" The man looking towards my parents shouts, his eyes strained on them as his partner stares at me.

My fingers touch the metal object on my waist, my hand wrapping around it. I'm ready, all I have to do is -

A shot rings through the apartment, the sound so loud it makes me jump, my instincts kicking in as I point my taser towards the men, "Drop your weapon!" one of them shouts.

My mother is crying as she tries to plead, her voice muffled due to the tape over her mouth. Behind her, there is a hole, cracks surrounding it like a cobweb. My dad has his eyes closed, although I can tell he is scared based on the way his hands are now wrapped around my mum's fingers, his knuckles white.

I drop the weapon.

Panic is suddenly filling my mind, the fear of losing my parents, or even my own life, starting to make me lose my calm. I need to breathe, to relax - but I can't.

"I'm sorry... Ju-Just please don't hurt them," I stutter, my voice a whisper, my concentration on keeping eye contact with the man pointing a gun at me wavering.

"Move over there," The man in front of me orders as he pulls me towards my parents, shoving me to make me walk quicker. The other man nears my parents and pushes my father, "I told you that if you went against Gillian bad things would happen,".

Crack.

I hear my mother scream as she is pushed against the cracked window, the glass shattering as she impacts and falls through, her body free-falling towards the ground beneath her. My father tries to stop her, holding out his tied up hands, but he fails. Both my parents fall, their bodies soaring at high speed towards the traffic underneath.

My mind freezes, my instincts taking over.

It feels like things are going in slow motion, my hands pulling from the drains that connect to the bathroom, water rushing to the two men and freezing around them. I can see each and every droplet of water freeze before I throw the rest of the water out of the window, my mind creating a rope to tie around my parents, cocoon them and pull them up. Once I can feel the water has touched them, I freeze it, ready to take the weight of their bodies.

But it never comes.

CHAPTER SEVEN WORD COUNT: 1150

I hope you enjoyed the flashback! If you did, please leave a star, it means a lot to know there are people who like my story! I've decided I am going to ask a question per chapter (I know some of you might not answer, but I'm curious to know what you think!)

What power would you like to have? (They don't have to be in the story!) Personally, I would LOVE to fly!