O.M.G: Oh My Gravity

I woke up in a sweat, my breath coming in short, quick rasps and my head aching.

I didn’t know if the dream was real. A memory of something that had happened three years ago. Perhaps it was fake. Something that my mind conjured up all on it’s own.

But how could something that big be made up? It wasn’t possible.

I sat up in my bed and looked around, feeling slightly disoriented and confused.

The dream was so vivid, so intense that I decided it was a memory. No mind could make up something so serious.

I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles and rolled myself out of bed. How could someone just run away with your brother and take away all your memories of him with simple music?

My mind raced with frantic thoughts, like the instruments in my dream frantically snatching smoky memory swirls.

I stood on the fluffy carpet, its smooth wool sliding between my toes. It was the first time I actually took in the appearance of my room. A large window was located on the left hand side of my bed and the walls were painted a light blue. A white-washed chest of drawers stood opposite the end of the bed. Most likely holding clothes provided by S.H.H. I walked over to the drawers and pulled out a navy blue polo shirt. On the right hand side of the chest were the letters, S.H.H sewn in cotton, proving my guess that the clothes were placed there by Super Human Headquarters.

I slipped out of my battered singlet and shorts. God knows how long I have been wearing the same thing. I slipped the polo shirt over my head and pulled on a pair of cargo shorts. I then walked out of my room and into the living room. It was a large space with high ceilings and a crystal chandelier. Plush material lounges were placed in a circle around a dark wooden coffee table one on which Dallas the sausage dog rested on his back with his legs in the air. A large flat screen TV was mounted on the wall and a large red rug was placed on the white marble floor.

“This room is fit for a King,” I said softly and laughed.

I walked passed the lounge room and into the bathroom which was lit with bright automatic lights. The lights shone off the white bench tops and marble floor, making everything look twice as clean.

I ran my fingers along the bench top almost hesitantly. I didn’t want to dirty this place. But as I pulled my hand away, steam rose off the bench and my finger prints disappeared instantly.

This place could not get anymore technical, I thought to myself. But obviously, like always, it did.

The blue icons started to flash on the large mirror mounted on the wall. One said “schedule”, another said “care” and the last one said “messages”. I stared at the mirror with wide eyes, and jumped when an automated voice sounded over head.

“Good morning, Alex,” said the female’s voice. “Would you like to check your schedule, messages or would you like to pamper yourself?”

I stared at the mirror, looking at my shocked face staring back at me.

“S-s-schedule please,” I stuttered, my voice coming out soft and croaky.

The icon expanded into a large grid with the days of the week mapped out at the top.

“Today you have training in 5 minutes,” the voice said, slightly startling me. “You then have lunch with Shadow Aqueous at 12:00 pm then you have training again until 3:00 pm when you will head out to dinner with Tory and Shadow. You may check your schedule later on to update any plans that have changed.”

I nodded my head and said, “Thanks”.

I turned away awkwardly and walked out of the bathroom, running my hands through my messy curly hair.

I walked through the lounge room and into the front hallway where a pair of blue converse sneakers sat in front of the door. I smiled to myself as I made my way over to them and saw a small piece of white paper sticking out from behind the shoelaces. I unlaced the laces, pulled the paper out and read the small note inscribed on it.

Dear Alex,

I hope you enjoyed the night in your new room. It was a very warm evening and the sun stayed up all night... I got some new shoes delivered to your room this morning. Your old ones were a tad tattered...

Anyway, I wanted to know if you would accompany me to lunch after training. I need to tell you something important that I forgot to tell you yesterday if you haven’t already figured it out yourself... somehow.

We’ll see you soon

Shadow Aqueous.

I folded the paper, put it in my pocket and slipped on the sneakers Shadow had delivered.

“Was she talking about Daniel?” I said aloud, realising that it was the first time I said his name aloud. “Daniel. My brother...”

I felt a strong tug in my stomach but I knew it wasn’t because of the gravity. It was an emotion that I had felt only once before; sadness. I hoped that Shadow was going to tell me about Daniel. Maybe she could help me figure things out with him before we had to save the world from the sun... I needed a clear head. I took a deep breath, walked out of my room and headed into the closest elevator down the hall. I could hear Dallas’ paws clicking on the marble floor as he followed me.

“Go home, Dallas,” I said as I walked into the elevator. “Training isn’t for you”

He tucked his tail between his back legs and walked back into my apartment. I smiled sadly as Dallas sulked all the way down the hall.

“Level 376, please,” I said, feeling a better mood than I felt last night.

“Yes, Alex,” the elevator replied and we ascended with a smooth jolt up into the training quarters.

The elevator doors opened and a bright light flooded my vision. When my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I stepped out into an oversized room which was about the same size as the dining hall. It had large, hanging industrial lights that shone onto a smooth, glittery, concrete floor. It was a bit different76 than I thought it would be, though. I thought it would have had punching bags, weights and monkey bars like any sort of training gym. Instead, it had solar system models, benches with all sorts of different equipment on them and large floor-to-ceiling windows all around with glowing blue icons scattered on the glass, very similar to my mirror.

My feet tapped on the concrete as I walked towards the small group that was gathered around the solar system models. I could make out Shadow’s blonde bouncy curls amongst the group and Tory’s short spiky hair. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone. Funny how friends can make you feel that way.

“Hey Alex!” Shadow said and ran up to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head against my shoulder. It felt nice to hug her. She smelt like the sea and sweet frangipanis.

“Hi Shadow,” I replied. I gave her a small squeeze and pulled back, waving to the rest of the group.

Tory walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Did you have an okay sleep?” she asked softly, her thick voice was soothing.

“It was alright...” I replied, looking at my feet. “I sorta had a bad dream.”

I looked up and caught Shadow giving Tory a frantic look. I could tell they already knew what I had dreamt about.

“Oh well,” Tory said, smiling. “Perhaps you can talk it out with Shadow over lunch. For now we have some serious work to do.”

Tory walked me over to the larger solar system model where the group were chatting amongst themselves.

“Okay, crew,” Tory said. “Listen up. Today is a very busy day and we have to get down to training immediately. We are due to collide with the sun tomorrow at approximately 6:00 am sharp. We-”

I raised my hand and smiled at Tory.

“Quick question,” I said. “Shouldn’t we be dead already? I mean being this close to the sun has got to kill us...”

Tory laughed and so did the others.

“Alex, you are very funny,” she said between giggles. “But you are right in thinking that. The minute you were born, Super Human Headquarters tried very hard to do what they could to protect the normal humans from dying. They used up all their strength to put up a ginormous shield that would prevent the UV rays from reaching in and killing the earths population. Sure it is extremely hot, but the rays are not harmful anymore because of the shield. I hope that explains it.”

I smiled and said, “It does. Please continue... Sorry for interrupting.”

Tory smiled and turned back to the small group of Super Humans whose faces were unfamiliar to me.

“Firstly you will buddy up and try to use your powers in order to overcome different obstacles because teamwork is a key thing to learn in these sort of circumstances. Now choose your partner and let’s begin.”

Tory turned back to me and said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry you had to get rushed into this. You must be so confused...”

“Actually,” I said. “I’m not confused. I’m glad you chose me.”

“We made the right choice,” she told me. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at her.

“You and Shadow can stick together for now,” she said. “Our Special Operations crew aren’t here yet.”

I thought about who the Special Operations crew might be for a while, actually, with my nose scrunched up. Then I remembered the Super Humans I searched up on the computer who were required for special operations. My brother was one of them. Did that mean he would be here today?

I looked up at Tory who had a sad look on her face. She knew. It was so obvious. Everyone knew. How could they not know? Daniel had been with them for 3 years now. Of course they knew.

“They’ll be coming later though,” Shadow said quietly. “We might be finished by then.”

I smiled at Tory and Shadow and cleared my throat.

“I want to meet this ‘Special Operations Crew’,” I told them and their sad expressions turned to ones of surprise. “I mean, if I want to fit in I’ll need to make friends right?”

Shadow smiled and nodded.

“Stop wasting time now,” Tory said jokingly. “Get to work.”

I laughed and grabbed Shadows smooth glittering hand. In this light, her skin sparkled even more than usual. She was breathtakingly beautiful. I realised I was staring and quickly looked away, leading her into a corner at the back of the room. Set up in the corner at the back of the room was a pile of large wooden logs set for a bonfire. In the middle of the wooden logs was a tiny crystal in the shape of a water droplet. I had a strange feeling in my stomach that this was set up for Shadow and I.

“This is us,” I said and dropped to my knees in front of the arrangement. I prodded the wood and smiled. “I know what we have to do. I set the fire, then use my magic to shift the fire while you use your water shaft to pull out the water crystal.”

I turned to Shadow and smiled. Her face wore a mask of confusion, that I had once wore but was now rid of. I laughed and touched her hand.

“Here,” I said. “Watch.”

I closed my eyes and touched my palm to the rough wooden log, thinking about heat, fire and flames. I took a deep breath and blew out of my mouth softly, feeling a tug deep inside my stomach. A blast of heat rushed into my face and I opened my eyes.

The wooden logs were now on fire, the flames reaching extremely high. Glowing embers floated around the room coming off the tongues of fire licking at the ceiling.

I glanced at Shadow. Her bottom jaw was nearly touching the floor and the orange flames reflected in her sparkling blue eyes.

“Concentrate,” I said softly. “You can’t afford to get side tracked.”

I frowned to myself just then. Was it me or did I actually sound like a leader. I corrected my frown and turned it into a smile. I should be happy I was living up to the role I had been given.

I am happy, I told myself sternly. The world might be ending but I’m happy. Because I’ll be the one to lead the Super Humans into saving the Earth.

Shadow was smiling at me and nodded.

“Go ahead, Chief,” she said, gesturing to the fire. “I’m ready when you are.”

I took a deep breath and placed my hand in the fire. It burnt for a little while, around two seconds and I crinkled my nose. But the pain stopped and I closed my eyes, giving in to the warm sensation rising up my arm.

“Okay,” I said, as the warmth started to subside. “When I open my eyes-”

“I open my palm slowly and grab the water crystal with my water funnel,” she sounded confident now. I smiled with my eyes closed and soon enough the warmth was gone. I was ready to open my eyes.

“Now,” I said, my eye lids opening slowly.

There was no fire where my arm was. Just a gapping hole of cool air leading to the water crystal. I turned to Shadow who was looking at me waiting for a signal to ‘go’.

I nodded my head and her eyebrows knitted together in concentration as she opened her palm ever so slowly. A swirling, thin funnel of water drifted through the hole in the flames. As it passed my hand, I felt a cool breeze travel up my arm, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. A thin snake of water slithered up my arm and into the flames, lining the walls of the gap with a coating of sparkling water. It was breathtaking to watch. The swirl of water then splashed briefly on the crystal then retreated back to shadows palm. I pulled my hand out of the gap in the flames and they joined back up again to form a normal bonfire. I looked to Shadow as she opened her hand and sure enough, sitting in a puddle of water in Shadow’s palm, was the water crystal, sparkling along with the droplets of water in Shadow’s skin.

I beamed at her and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her waist and hugging her tightly.

“We did it!” I laughed, spinning her light figure in a circle. “That was so awesome!”

Shadow giggled in my arms.

“We make a good team!” she said enthusiastically. She rested her head on my shoulder. I took in her scent again, as we stood there, my head spinning and my heart thumping in my chest.

What is this feeling? I though, looking up at the hanging lights. Was it love? It couldn’t be. Ugh, shut up, Alex.

I pulled back slightly to look at Shadow. Her eyes were wide with excitement and her lips were pulled back in a huge smile.

“What is it?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. It was cute when she did that.

“Nothing,” I replied, smiling and blushing at the same time. I didn’t want to say anything stupid so I stopped myself at ‘nothing.’

She looked up from beneath her eye lashes and giggled under her breath.

I heard a cough from behind me and turned around. The Super Humans were gathered around our blazing bonfire watching Shadow and I with awed gazed.

My face turned scarlet and I laughed nervously.

“Didn’t see you there guys,” I said, my voice shaking. “How’s practice going?”

They all smiled at me and shook their heads.

“Your’s was too interesting,” said a small boy. “We had to come watch.”

“You were there the whole time?” I asked them.

“Duh,” said an older girl. “Your combined magic is unique. It’s powerful. We had to watch it.”

I smiled and then turned serious, trying to fulfil my role as leader.

“You’ve seen it,” I said. “Now get back to practicing. No more distractions.”

They nodded and walked away, all except for a small girl with pig tails.

“If you ask me,” she said with a lisp. “When you put water and fire together you get powerful magic.”

She smiled and skipped off, her pig tails bouncing behind her.

Water and Fire.

Fire and Water.

Two opposing forces of nature.

But what was it they said?

Opposites attract?