Five minutes after scolding Edwin, Dan was caught in a whirlpool of guilt and regret.
He felt like a walking corpse before reaching his police car and throwing himself on the driver's seat. Shutting the door, even the faintest noises were gone. The eerie silence inside the metal container gave Dan the isolated space he wanted. He stared blankly at the steering wheel, feeling the jumble of emotions boiling up inside. Whether it is confusion, rage, disappointment, or guilt, he let all of them swirling in his head.
As an officer that's been in his position for decades, Dan had delt with robbers, murderers, and even an esper – the symbol of fear for many. Yet he still lost control over a puny, introverted brat.
Letting his feelings run free didn't seem to comfort him, so he began looking around for clues to the source of his guilt. A few seconds later, the picture of him and a young boy he had in the car entered his sight. In the frame, a younger version of himself smiled delightfully, while the five-years old boy laughed in his arms. The innocent and happy look on the kid's face resonated with a past Dan had tried to burry a long time ago.
◆ ◆ ◆
The wooden house next to the river sat alone, clearing out a grassland in the middle of the forest. It was late into autumn, with the cold breeze stripping the trees off of their leaves, revealing a web of intertwining branches that extended all the way to the feet of the snowy mountains.
Dan sat on the porch of the house, holding the photograph in his hand. He had found it lying in the drawer earlier today, its surface covered with a thin layer of dust. Staring at the boy laughing wholeheartedly in the frame, he could almost hear him calling him "dad" and see him running towards Dan's opened arms.
"If only it could always be this way…"
The happy scenery disappeared a long time ago. He hoped every day that it would return, but there wasn't any sign of it coming back.
"I'm home, dad," came a thin voice from the porch. Dan lowered the photograph he held and saw the seven-years old boy walking past him. It was as if a trail of ice formed behind his footsteps – Dan couldn't feel any warmth but only indifference when the boy walked by.
"Right, Albert, I'll go prepare supper…" sighed Dan while the boy headed inside without a reply. The banging of the door upstairs suggested that he had locked himself in his room – like always.
The boiling stew bubbled like Dan's thoughts, popping in and out of existence as he tried to figure out what had happened that twisted the innocent heart of the once adorable kid of his. The kid was unfortunate, after all: he lost his mother years ago in an accident, which since then had scarred him deeply. However, Dan was sure that it wasn't the death alone that changed him – something else had stabbed deeper than any traumas ever could. To outsiders, the event was just another accident, but behind it was as complex web of relationships and dirty trades. The criminal wasn't just any broke drunkard. As a result, the wealth and power packed him in layers of protection as thick as the fat around his belly. Dan could still recall his anger and disbelief when the man who destroyed his family merely got away with an insignificant compensation. What he remembered more vividly than his own feelings were the reaction of his five-years old son Albert.
"Why isn't he in jail?" Dan remembered him asking. "Why wasn't the person who killed mom not getting punished?"
Of course, Dan tried all sorts of things – talks, lawsuits, and, at one point, even resorted to solving the problem with physical violence. In the end, nothing worked out – he was just a nobody, anyways. What pained him the most was how his son reacted since then: a little child's hope for a wonderful world suddenly crumbled, revealing an abysmal forest where the strong feeds on the weak – fairness and joy were nothing but childish illusions. Not believing that the world had any good left in it, the kid became more and more isolated, locking himself away.
Only when droplets of the boiling water from the pot splashed his hand did Dan get pulled back from his thoughts. He wiped the drops from his arm and prepared the stew. Dan filled a bowl and brought it upstairs, then put it in front of the door. Dan knocked on it before heading downstairs. The boy hadn't dinned with him for weeks.
Switching on the TV, Dan sat back in the couch, watching the report of the evening news. That was when the concept of espers first entered Dan's life: on the news, a scene of an entire city block reduced into piles of burnt ash and craters was photographed from an aerial view. Having pulled in his attention, Dan leaned forward, listening closely to the reporter.
"…latest news from the frontlines confirmed the use of 'supernatural abilities' by the Libertanian Government. We were showed of their overwhelming powers: buildings demolished into ashes in seconds, armored tanks molten or frozen in a blink of an eye. While the supporters of the Libertanian army deems them as 'National Heroes', many considered their acts as 'irresponsible and immoral'…"
"The world really is getting crazier" was Dan's first thought. For a moment, he childishly imagined himself possessing that sort of abilities…with such power, nothing can ever stand in one's way. He looked at his opened palm, and imagined flames sprouting out of it, reaching far in to the dark, lighting the surroundings with a bright red, burning down the abys of a world he lives in, along with those that deserved punishment but escaped from them…For a moment, Dan felt a sense of satisfaction when he imagined those he despised being burnt to dust, but immediately rejected the idea. He realized what a demon he could've become. Shaking his head, he switched to the sports channel, trying to clear up his mind with some soccer.
"All I ever needed was to ignore these things," he thought to himself, "however you look at it, I'm too insignificant of a man to be blessed with these 'supernatural' powers."
An explosion came from upstairs, mixed with the loud cracking of the wooden floor and the sound of glass windows shattering. Dan immediately rushed upstairs and kicked open the door. There, he saw the devastation: half of the room disappeared, replaced by the image of the dark night of the forest. The image was framed with broken planks that used to be the walls, with cables and a wooden fragment dangling down the ceiling. Looking around the corner, he found his son shrank in the corner, face buried between his legs, gasping heavily.
"Are you hurt?" Dan kneeled beside the boy and put his hand on his shoulders. "What happened?"
"I…I don't know…" whimpered Albert, "I just felt something strange and uncomfortable…I tried letting that feeling out…then the room…"
"It's alright now," whispered Dan, pulling the boy into his arms, gently stroking his head, "dad's here. There's nothing to be afraid of…"
He then glanced at Albert's thin arms, and caught something disturbing: since he had taken off the coat, the numerous bruises hidden beneath the clothing were revealed.
"What the…what happened?" Dan asked with a shocked and worried tone.
Albert said nothing, only buried his face deeper in Dan's arms. It seemed that it was a secret he tried to keep away from Dan.
"What a fool I've been," thought Dan, feeling a burning sensation rising in his chest, "I should've seen this coming…no classmates would tolerate his isolated character."
Unknown to Dan, that was the last time he will hold his son this close.
◆ ◆ ◆
The next day, after Albert's esper powers were awakened, Dan had made a decision: he will talk to the school after that work. As an officer, he had little breaks to take. Packing up his bag, Dan headed for town.
It wasn't long before the school reached him first. The call came to the police station in the early afternoon. According to the caller, there had been an attack in the school. Before the police could ask more questions, however, the call was cut off abruptly following a loud banging and what sounded like a distorted scream. Without any hesitation, Dan, and a dozen officers, set off for the scene. Along the way, Dan tried his best to calm himself down, but to him, even the screeching police sirens were suppressed by the loud banging of his heartbeat.
When he reached the site, a corner of the rectangular brick building was blasted into pieces while black smoke streamed out of the windows. In front of the gate, people fled out. The air was filled with yelling and ashes, which distorted in shape amidst the unbearably hot air.
"Have you seen Albert?" Dan asked the first teacher he saw, grabbing him by the arm.
"Al…Albert?" The teacher stuttered. Then, his expression began twisting with fear and disgust. "That introverted brat is the criminal behind this!"
Dan wasted no energy arguing with the man who had just insulted his son. Before his colleagues could stop him, Dan dashed through the crowd into the burning building, straight toward the hallway. The thought that his son was responsible chocked him more than the smoke. He felt like fainting, but pushed through, hoping that what he heard were mere lies, that his beloved boy was still how he imagined him to be.
Through the flickering flames, a slim shadow came into Dan's view: dark hair, long shirt, and thin arms – his son had his back to him while staring at something curled up in a corner.
"Stop! Please!" the adult in the corner of the wall begged in a desperate voice, "I'm sorry, okay? What can I do to make up for everything?"
The boy said nothing. His eyes glowing red in the light of the flames, while his mouth slowly turned into a terrifying smile. He slowly raised his right hand, preparing to send the final blow.
"All of you should just die…" Albert murmured, "like you all told me to…"
"Albert!" Dan yelled, "stop!"
Hearing his father's voice, the kid froze on the spot. His smile quickly disappeared as he turned around. The red eyes quickly lost their intimidating glow. His mouth hanged open, not knowing what to say.
"Dad…why are you here…" A trembling voice mixed with sadness and confusion came out of Albert. "How did it come to this?"
"I'm sorry, dear…it's my fault." Dan tried his best to suppress the agony, making his voice sound distorted, "I should've noticed earlier that you were living in such pain…I love you son. Now please come home with me."
Albert stood there. His eyes fixed on his father. With the slim arms dangling around his thin body. The brute contrast with his angel-like appearance and the burning landscape painted the worst image of Dan's life. Slowly, streams of tears rolled down Albert's cheeks. But what came after the tears was something Dan never anticipated. The boy looked emptily at Dan; his eyes began burning with anger. In a trembling voice, Albert spoke.
"You are right – it is all your fault. This world is at fault…everyone is at fault…they built this hell that I live in. Now…"
To Dan's horror, under the empty red eyes of the boy, a wide smile appeared across Albert's face.
"I'm no longer powerless – I want to destroy it all. All of it."
"Don't-"
It was too late. The boy quickly raised his hand and what used to be a human in the corner of the wall was instantly gone. What remained was a gaping hole in the wall, with blood splattered around it. The boy then looked towards Dan; the wicked smile remained. With tiny flick of his finger, Dan was sent flying backwards, landing heavily on his back.
"No, Albert, listen to me!" Gasping, Dan yelled at what used to be his son, unwilling to face the blood-thirsty demon present that he had become. "Please, stop it!"
"Die…all of you are evil…now die…" The boy murmured the horrendous words in his innocent voice, while walking closer towards Dan.
He clenched his hand into a fist, followed by a loud rumbling from the ground. Cracks soon spread around the floor like tree roots. The next second, the block the size of a car was lifted off the floor, and was hurdled toward Dan. In the tight space of the hallway, there were nowhere to hide.
Before the boulder completely blocked the view of his son, Dan saw in Albert's eyes nothing but burning anger and sadistic joy.
A deafening gunshot boomed across the hallway, with the bullet burying itself into the boulder from the opposite side almost instantaneously. The chunk suddenly lost its lift and smashed to the ground, creating a solid wall that split the hallway.
Dan was able to see through it from a hold in the middle. Albert, as if being pushed strenuously on the left shoulder, was being flung forward onto the ground. The metal fragment mercilessly ripped through the side of his body. Instead of leaving a hole, it blasted his left arm off cleanly from his shoulder. Without a grunt, he fell to the ground, along with flying pieces of blood-stained bone. A red puddle bloomed around the silent figure.
"Albert!" he yelled, extending his arm through the opening, trying to reach the lifeless body.
He felt somebody grabbing him by the arms, dragging him away. It was after the whole incident when he was told that the local police department was informed previously by a certain agency, which was unheard of before. The heavily armed soldiers were said to be "the International Department of Supernatural Abilities". At the time being, however, Dan could not care less. He struggled to get free from the hold of his colleagues while trying to reach forward toward the figure behind the boulder.
For some reason, he found it hard to hear anything since a blurred scream surrounded him, blocking out any other noise.
It took him a few seconds to realize that this noise was his own grieved scream.