Power (Book 1)

Prologue

It was the night before my sixteenth birthday.

I hadn't been able to sleep. My birthday was the next day, and I was excited. I would finally turn sixteen, after all this time. I had the last birthday of the year in my class, being a "late bloomer" as my father had so eloquently put it.

I looked over at my nightstand next to my bed. The clock said it was 12:07. I was born at precisely 12:17 AM, so my birthday wasn't exactly here yet.

I turned, restless. You never notice how long every second is until you're waiting for the time to go by.

I had decided to get up to get something to drink when an unearthly glow suddenly lit up the room. I squinted my eyes, waiting for them to adjust. They didn't.

With my eyes nearly closed, I walked around my room searching for my phone. I looked everywhere, sorting through the items under my bed, on top of my dresser, even under my bed sheets.

I finally found it under my dirty underwear in the middle of my floor. I scowled. I was such a slob. I needed to take better care of my room.

I looked at my phone, expecting a text alert to be lighting up the screen. It was off.

Huh. That was funny.

Slightly annoyed, I climbed back into bed, hoping that at least some time had passed. The clock read 12:14.

The glow didn't let up. In fact, I think it intensified. I had to close my eyes tightly to keep from being blinded. I wondered where it came from. Whatever it was, it needed to stop.

I laid down and tried to ignore the light seeping through my eyelids. Yep, it was definitely getting stronger.

Suddenly, my back arched up in pain. I cried out in surprise, opening my eyes. I was instantly blinded by the light coming from...everywhere.

Then I realized why it was everywhere. Why I couldn't find the source.

The source was me.

As I struggled off the bed, blind and in pain, I heard a sudden sucking sound. I crashed into something and fell flat on my face on the floor. I just laid there in silence.

I wanted the pain to stop. More than anything, I just wanted the pain to stop. It felt like a thousand knives were being plunged into my body over and over again. This must be how Julius Caesar felt before he died.

I tried to feel my way around to the door. I felt the doorway around my fingers and tried to pull myself through, gritting my teeth from the effort. If I could reach my parents' room, then maybe I could get their help.

Then there was that sucking sound again and I crashed into something else.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled. Where were they when I needed them most?

Then, the pain became unbearable. It was just too much. It hurt everywhere, my back, my face, my chest. I screamed, wanting someone- anyone- to hear me, to help me. But no one came to my aid.

As I cried out one final time, I felt darkness closing in around me. I sighed in relief. Finally, the pain would cease. The torture would end.

As I passed out, the clock read 12:17.