I can hear the news clearly from where I'm sitting in the bathroom. I'm not GOING because I can't go...literally. I haven't taken a dump since 'The Transformation' occurred. That's what the media called it. I'm sitting here because once in a while I pretend to be normal and do normal stuff...like GOING. But I'm not and I don't. 'The Transformation' happened globally two years ago. Like climate change. No. Not like climate change; climate change is a gradual process. This...was sudden. It first hit like an epidemic. There were reports of some people not being hungry, fatigued and not being able to pass out waste anymore - you know, the things that make us, US...or them. There's been a segregation since The Transformation. The normal people tend to be afraid of us. Can you blame them? After the first wave of medical anomalies, the second wave came...this time, it was ABILITIES. The stuff we only saw in SciFi movies or superhero comics. People started flying, running faster than the speed of sound, shooting laser beams from their eyes...they could move things with their minds, they could heal injuries in a medically impossible way or manipulate fire - like 'The Sisters' ; the Lagos heroes we've seen once in a while on TV. After that, abilities in people would pop up here and there. The usual first significant sign was they were never hungry, never actually tired and they never had the urge to take a dump - they could eat though - but no dumps. The commercials back then made us understand that moments of severe duress could sometimes activate those abilities.
Depending on how powerful they were, they could lift a car or lift a mountain...figuratively. According to the efficiency of abilities, the world categorized the 'transformed' into Sigma One to Four; One being the most powerful. Those weren't very many. And you'd rarely find two Sigma Ones in the same immediate area. A few of the Ones had in recent times started becoming big issues globally and not in a good way. The earthquake of magnitude 8.0 in Budapest, the Canada fires, the Hurricane Sigma that had almost totally wiped out Myanmar...the Tsunami that the news says is currently heading for Lagos State, Nigeria; where I live with my family. I and my family personally believe it's what would naturally happen when human beings are gifted such powers. It amplifies their true nature. And it's a given - human beings are not particularly known for always being on their best behavior.
My family knows what I am. I think it became quite evident the day we got looted; it was a year and the half ago, just a week after my 21st birthday. Like I said, human beings and good behavior, they hardly ever gel. The first couple of catastrophic sigma incidents had sparked panic and rumors of a Third World War - that or Aliens had finally come to frag the planet. The most interesting one was The Armageddon had begun. Of course, what's the next thing hoodlums do? That's right. Rape and loot; which I find strange because if the world is truly ending, then property doesn't profit one bit.
We had heard the looters ram through the estate gate with their heavy-duty trucks they must have stolen. Then they fanned out, using Jeeps to knock down gates and fences so they could loot the houses. We'd been too alarmed to run - where would we have gone? A number of them burst in the front door of our bungalow while the rest looted the other parts of the estate. They were six and they all had automatic weapons. Till today, I still wonder who supplies guys like these weaponry. Even before The Transformation it had been that way around here; gang voilence, Election voilence, the militants, the Boko Haram, the herdsmen.
We all went down on our knees with our hands in the air as a sign of surrender soon as the first shot went off in the air. Myself, my dad, my mom and 18-and-the-half year old sister, Kara. The looters didn't even bother hiding their faces. They took all the valuables they could, forcing us to show them where they all were. When they were done, they huddled us in the living room. They would have left. They should have left. But the one with the stupid grin on his face had the stupid idea of 'tasting' my sister before they said 'goodbye'. The rest laughed and catcalled, cheering him on. 'Bosco', they'd called him. He gave his gun to one of the others and made for my sister. That's when the scuffle began. I was too shocked to move, my heartbeat rate bursting through the roof. My dad and mom, however, yelling at the top of their lungs, rushed to my sister's side, trying to shield her from her assailant. The other five didn't take it well. And so, while barking vile words at my dad and mom, they leveled their guns and opened fire.
For my parents and sister, it was over in an instant. But for me, it was surreal. Everything slowed down to a stop. Only the bullets they had fired were still moving very slowly. It was like the stuff I'd seen in movies but this time i was experiencing it for real. In that moment, I didn't think, I just acted. I made for the bullets headed for my parents. I caught a glimpse of my left arm glowing and emitting a strong yellow energy as I moved. I snatched the bullets in my left hand. Still in stride, I bolted further towards the bastard trying to violate my sister. I threw my left fist into the side of his head. The impact fragged his head as if a grenade went off in his brain. At that instant, everything around the room went back to normal speed.
The impact sent the rest of his body slamming hard into the adjacent wall like a large slab of meat and bones. His blood had sputtered all over my sister, my parents and me. The other five froze in shock, as did the rest of my family. My dad had later told me I looked like a glowing nightmare with my glowing eyes and arm full of unworldly power.
My white tank top was heavily stained with the blood and brain cells of my enemy. Now, I turned my attention to the other five hoodlums. I felt powerful in an intoxicating way. I could tell I looked like a horror show, the way they gaped at me. I grinned at them.
In a show of force and bravery, they all cocked their guns and unloaded their bullets at me. Stupid move. I stood there, with my back to my family, 6 feet 3 inches frame taking all the bullets that I couldn't even feel. One hit my face, bouncing away and it felt like an adolescent's pinch. The rain of gunfire stopped. I looked down at my now tattered tank top. That was my favourite tank top. I think when I looked back at them, they saw murder in my eyes.
In the next instant, they rushed for the door and everything slowed down once again. The first one I reached from behind, I plunged my right hand into his back and jarred out his spine. The next, I held his head and rammed it into the wall next to the TV, crushing his skull. The third, I lifted up in a chokehold with my left hand and pulverised his skull in a blast of energy from my right fist. I walked forward, blocking off the exit and grabbing the fourth and fifth by the front of their shirts. With a thought, I let everything resume their normal speed. My parents and sister screamed at the gory sight of what I had done.
I had never taken a life before. Even then, I don't think I wanted to kill. But I did. I couldn't stop myself. It's like the power inside me wanted me to kill them. It wasn't my fault. They had tried to hurt my family. I turned my attention to the two miscreants who were now whimpering like lost puppies.
"You...", I said through clenched teeth, as if counting my words. "...will never hurt anyone else ever again". And with that, I snapped their necks. They hit the ground, dead. I wasn't quite satisfied, but I became calm. There was utter silence as my family regarded me with fear. Then a woman's scream for help from the next compound split the air.
I could faintly hear the others all around the estate and I knew my killing spree wasn't over. The noise all over the estate was hysterical. People being robbed, raped...probably even shot. I became infuriated again. The power in me willed me towards the door.
"John...", my father called.
I looked back at him and managed a smile, hoping it didn't come out as a devilish grin.
I was told later on, it looked quite evil. And with that, I walked out into the compound. My family followed not too far behind me. As they watched, I started to leave the ground, floating for a few seconds and then I blasted off, visiting grim death upon all the voilators I laid my hands on. For my parents, the estate fell considerably quiet after a few minutes. Pushing my body's limits in anger, I had moved faster than anyone could see. For me, it was like killing mosquitoes - mosquitoes that had no ability to move or fly. I had killed all the thugs in the estate. There were probably Sigmas amongst them but it made no difference to me. They were all the same; weak...and dead. Then I started to feel what I can only describe as a mental nudge or soft push. Like a tiny ping at the back of my head...and it elevated into a sudden urge to fly somewhere. I didn't know where, but I knew If I followed that urge, i'd find something important wherever it took me. However, there was no way I'd leave my family, especially not after what had just happened. I headed home.
When I came home, I was a gory mess of blood, none of which was mine. As I came closer to my parents, the glowing from my arm and eyes died down and dissipated totally. I had expected them to run away from me, seeing me this way. Instead, they all ran to me and hugged me, crying. I had saved them. I had saved my baby sister - my Kara. As we stood in the middle of the bloodied living room with grotesque corpses all around us, I promised I'd never let anyone hurt them ever again.
And now something bigger than thugs and hoodlums was coming.
I walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. The news about the Tsunami was suddenly replaced by white noise and glitchy activity so there was nothing to see. The audio was distorted, but we could hear what it said.
"Everyone must leave or everyone will die. You have three days. If you don't leave, we'll drown you all and let the sea take away your bodies. Lagos is ours now. It is ground Zero for the change this world has long needed. Any Sigma who wishes to join us may do so only after proving their fealty to us...and they can start by finding us". Then the broadcast started all over again.
My mom, dad and sister all turned to look at me, worry in their eyes. I had kept them safe for a year and the half, but I was no hero. Not like "The Sisters". I was something else. Something worse. The thing inside me was murderous and powerful. No one else apart from my family knew what I was. Anybody else would run for the hills if they knew I wasn't just any Sigma; I was a ONE. I hardly ever got involved in what wasn't about my family and when I did, when i pushed my limits, I was too fast for anyone to see. All they ever recorded seeing was a yellow blur or a cackle of yellow electricity and then whoever was the assailant was dead in an instant.
I looked at the TV, my brows creasing and turning into a frown, my teeth clenching, power flooding every cell in my body.
I'm no hero. But these Sigmas - whoever they are - are threatening my city. That means they're threatening the safety of my family. Nobody threatens my family. Whoever does, Sigma or human, I'll kill them...I'll kill them all. But I can't do this alone. I need allies. So, first, I need to find The Sisters... and quickly.