"Here's where we keep track of everyone," Davis said, showing Ken a large screen filled with moving dots. "Makes it easier to organize teams and missions."
'Something is fishy, why are they so in order when it had only been 2 days?'
He stared at the dots, some barely visible while others glowed intensely. "What's with the different colors?"
"Shows how strong people's powers are." Davis pointed at various spots on the screen. "Grey means no powers, just regular survivors. Green dots are D rank, weak stuff like warming up coffee or making ice cubes. Blue is C rank, bit stronger but nothing special. Yellow dots are B rank."
"And the red ones?" He noticed only three red dots scattered across the display.
"A rank. Strongest we had until you showed up." He tapped some keys and a white dot appeared. "You're S rank. First one we've found."
"Doesn't feel special," he said, remembering the melted bodies in his town. "Just feels weird."
Davis led him to another tent where three people sat around a metal table. "These are the A ranks. They'll help you figure out your powers." He left without another word.
'The hell is up with him? He was nicer but now just seems rude and annoyed at me for some reason.' He thought, looking back at him leaving.
The woman at the table looked up from a tablet. "You're the new guy? I'm Hana." She went back to whatever she was reading.
"Tom," said a guy with short black hair, not bothering to look up from his phone.
The third person nodded at him. "Mike. Grab a seat if you want."
'Haaah, of course I am group with people like this.'
He sat down, the tingling in his chest still there but weaker now.
No one said anything for a while. He watched Hana scroll through her tablet, noticed how she kept her distance from anything that looked flammable. Tom's water bottle was completely frozen, a thin layer of frost coating the outside.
These people had powers too, but they didn't look excited about it. They looked tired and Careful. Like they were always thinking about what they might accidentally destroy.
"So what happened to your town?" Tom finally asked, putting his phone down.
Ken's throat felt dry. The images flashed through his mind - the melted bodies, his parents fused to their bed, the burning air. "Heat wave. Like the others." He didn't want to say more.
Hana put down her tablet. "How'd you survive?"
"Lake. Jumped in when I saw it coming." His hands tingled stronger at the memory. "Water got so hot it nearly cooked me, but..."
"Better than the alternative," Mike finished. He reached for something in his pocket, then stopped. "Look, we're supposed to help you with your powers, but there's no rush. Took us weeks just to stop breaking everything we touched."
'I fucking knew it, this has been going on for far longer than they told me.'
He nodded, grateful that no one was pushing him to demonstrate anything. His hands still felt dangerous, like they might burn through his pockets any second.
"Food's probably ready at the mess tent," Hana said, standing up. "You hungry?"
He wasn't, not really, but sitting here thinking about everything wasn't helping either. "Yeah, sure."
As they walked to the mess tent, he noticed more inconsistencies. The camp was too organized, the equipment too advanced. Something wasn't adding up about the two-day timeline Davis had mentioned.
'Maybe he meant this tear specifically? Hmmm.'
They went into the hall that was full of people. They grabbed their food and began looking around for an empty table.
"How long have you really been here?" He asked, he needed to know for sure.
She paused, then sighed. "Noticed that, huh? Smart kid." She sat down at an empty table. "It's been about two months for me."
Tom and Mike joined them, exchanging looks. "Month and a half for me," Tom said, his tray covered in frost. "Mike's been here longest."
"Three months," Mike nodded. "They tell everyone it's been two days. Easier than explaining why they didn't warn people, I guess."
Ken put down his fork. "They knew? They knew this was coming and didn't warn anyone?"
"Keep your voice down," she whispered, looking around. "Look, we don't know everything, but those tears? They started appearing way before the heat waves. Government kept it quiet to avoid panic."
"They were preparing while people died? My family died goddammit!" His power melted the fork and a few people turned their heads, wondering what was going on.
Mike leaned forward. "Be careful man, you might have the most potential power wise but that does not mean your are currently the strongest. Most people here are fiercely loyal and will report you without hesitation. so calm down."
He stared at the melted fork, his hands trembling as the tingling sensation receded. The mess hall buzzed with uneasy glances, but Hana's sharp glare silenced the onlookers. She leaned in, her voice low. "Not here. Follow us."
They slipped out of the tent, weaving through the camp until they reached a secluded area behind the medical tent. Tom kicked a charred log, frost creeping from his fingertips to douse the embers. "You can't lose it like that again," he said, his breath visible in the cold air his power created. "They'll lock you up 'for training' if they think you're unstable."
"Lock me up? What aren't they telling us?"
Mike crouched, tracing a finger through the ash-covered ground. "Camp Hope isn't the only one. There are others—camps where they test people. We've heard rumors. Survivors taken away, never seen again."
Hana crossed her arms, flames flickering briefly in her pupils. "Davis and the doc report to someone higher. They're not just gathering survivors to fight. They're cataloging us. Ranking us. Like lab rats."
Ken's chest burned, not from his power, but from rage. "So we're expendable to them?"
"Worse," Tom muttered. "We're ammunition."
"Fuck. What the hell is the world turning into. I lost everyone I loved and now I am being used as ammunition?" His anger was reaching a point where the air began to steam.
"Look, just do what they want and you won't face any issues, its not that bad here." Hana said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder but she quickly took it off, Ken was burning up.
"Fuck off, I am not going to be someone's lab rat, I am getting the fuck out of here." He tried to pass them but Tom grabbed him, his hand covered in ice so he would not burn.
"We can't allow that, if you leave now, they will blame us and we will be punished." He was serious, his ice power began covering Ken's shoulder but for some reason, he was not feeling anything.
"Take your hand off me!" He titled his head back and they all jumped back, their instincts warning them not to mess with him. "Stay here if you want, see how that ends for you." He ran off, disappearing in the distance.
"....Go tell the lieutenant."