Interlude VII

  Maddie Camello

  Prestige had been bred into Maddie from a very young age. Ever since she was able to learn, she knew of the great heritage of the Camellos. How each and ever generation of Camello had produced talent after talent, knowing that each generation would eventually produce newer and better talents that would rise up from the dregs of society where they were placed and rise to the top.

  What her family didn’t know, what no one down in the slums knew, was that many on the surface actually wished to have the opportunity to preserve their families by heading to the slums.

  That leaving the slums was actually a death sentence to families that were not prepared.

  How did Maddie know this?

  The same way she seemed to know almost every major piece of information she came across, she just knew.

  When she was younger these feelings would be wilder and more volatile.

  But now she had them almost daily.

  She could read books and pinpoint the lies or untruths. She could hear and see people and see who would be important.

  It took her time to realize that this was a manifestation of her talent.

  At first it frightened her, seeming to know things that might or might not be important years down the road. The way she could all but hear falsehoods.

  Yes, she could hear untruths being told. They would cause her teeth to tingle in a way that was similar to not brushing, a most unpleasant feeling to be around. For this reason, she always hated being near or around her brother, who seemed to never be able to tell the truth to save his life.

  It was also around the time that she discovered that she could notice lies and falsehoods that she started losing her vision. This was a slow and gradual thing.

  At first, she wondered why her eyesight would act in such a way.

  She could see, the doctors and specialists that treated her proved that her eyes still worked properly. But her mind seemed to dismiss everything that was a lie. Eventually, she would be able to pick up a book and read a handful of sentences and pick up the entire truths of the story, or the lessons being taught. Great for learning, as she seemed to always get and understand the true meaning of each lessons being taught, but terrible for reading stories that were all entirely fiction.

  Then again, after a point, even hearing fiction stories read out loud began to grade on her nerves, for she could hear the falsehoods in those stories as well.

  That was just the start of her powers.

  After some time, people began to fade away. She might see faint traces or whisps of color for a moment or too, and then people were gone.

  Only a few people were visible to her, and only then based on their perceived impact to her life. Again, these were lessons she learned only after the fact.

  The most prominent people she could see were her parents, and a hazy outline of her brother. She had cousins, but they were mostly hazy to her.

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  Then she met him.

  The boy who glowed.

  Even now, as her eyes seemed to reject almost every form of color or vibrance, she could still remember him. The glowing boy and his radiant smile.

  There was just one problem.

  Luther hated that boy, likely because Maddie could not take his eyes off of them.

  Perhaps Luther knew the true meaning of why her eyesight was going.

  Only now that it was getting close to her awakening day, did Maddie really understand herself.

  She was a prophetess, someone who would be blinded, but in so doing they would be able to see the truths and true states of all things.

  That was why she saw that boy, why he stood out to her like a beacon.

  The brighter he burned to Maddie’s future sight, the more Luther seemed to fade.

  He didn’t realize it, Maddie didn’t either, but now that they were here, Maddie knew.

  Squeak, squeak, squeak.

  Maddie’s wheelchair squeaked as her tires spun forward when pushed by her mother. Today was a grand day, the day that Maddie would officially awaken her powers. Though, Maddie should confess, that she inadvertently awakened her powers on her own years ago.

  Now all that would happen was the last band aid would be ripped off and what was left of her senses would be converted into this odd gift that dulled everything around her. Until there was just two things, the truth, and those who would remain in her life.

  Even now, her parents were fading, just as Luther had.

  She wanted to feel sad for them, but part of her realized that this was their reward for not stopping Luther when they could. For driving Frank Fotos away.

  Even now she could read that name, as if it was burned brightly into her mind. She could read his name and see his smiling face.

  “Here we are,” her mother began, but Maddie was already up and walking up the steps.

  Steps that glowed to her mind.

  Normally she couldn’t see at all and would need assistance to walk. But there, these steps burned brightly with the energy of her future. A future that was undeniable.

  Walking forward, she moved step by step, until she came to the orb. One that she would place her hands on and reveal her true powers for all to see.

  She wasn’t an S-Rank.

  Her power would go well beyond that, but fortunately those who were gathered would be able to recognize the signs.

  She turned her head, scanning the crowd.

  Right now, her eyes were pale husks that looked like they were deeply covered in cataracts, that was how everyone knew she was now blind. Fortunately, she was allowed to wear a thick silken cover around her eyes to prevent others from being frightened by the visage. Even with the coverings she could still see, just as well as they always had.

  She looked and saw an old man, with dual powers.

  Catching sight of the person she waved.

  Seeing the odd gesture from the girl caused him to look on in confusion for a moment, but then he gave an awkward wave back.

  Then seeing that she was clearly blind he came over, wondering if she needed any assistance.

  “Can I help you?” He asked.

  “Vanguard, know that I am going to be ready to take the calibration test again, once the readouts appear to be questionable,” Maddie stated.

  “Okay,” the grizzled veteran replied, and dismissed the frail girl. But not after he looked up at the girl, under her eye coverings and saw the milk white husks for eyes that she had.

  Seeing those husks, he wondered how she knew where he was. Furthermore, he wondered how she knew who he was? Had someone told her? No, that didn’t seem likely as everyone around seemed to avoid her at all costs.

  Still, he was intrigued by the odd girl.

  This was to be Vanguard’s last awakening tour before he was sent up to the surface, having to fill in for a lost squad of soldiers that went down during a routine prisoner transport mission.

  Why was he thinking about that? Well, as a matter of fact, the prisoner that the group had been escorting came from here, this very district.

  In fact, it was due to that accident that opened this up to include even younger students as there would likely be well over a year of separation before they could head back to the surface.

  This way anyone over ten would be awoken and given a chance to grow into their powers.

  He hoped that there were only a handful of students that would be forced to go up to the surface, but the laws of averages noted that with more kids being tried all at once, the number of children that would have to be taken up to their deaths would be increased.

  Still, he did have a special spot in his heart for kids with moxie, which this blind girl did.

  Though even if she did have an S-Ranked power he would recommend she stay down here with her loved ones who could care for her. For there was no power that she could unlock that would make her so valuable that it would be worth risking her life by taking her to the surface.

  A surface filled with monsters that had destroyed the major military academy, forcing two separate but equally important facilities to be created at once.

  These kids would be the push of the future. Taken up to those facilities to learn and harness their powers as long as possible. At least that is what he had been told, but he would believe it, when he saw it.

  FWOOOOSHH!

  The moment the girl put her hand on the orb, a surge of static electricity was released, causing the hairs on Vanguard’s head to rise up. Simultaneously, he could feel the sudden gust of wind push past him as a palpable tension seemed to form in the building.

  Then he saw a readout that caused his blood to run cold.

  Yes, the kids couldn’t see, or rather weren’t trained on where to look, but grizzled veterans like him knew where to look to see the power and rating unlocked.

  There in bold lettering was a power he had never seen before, only read about in archives and histories.

  Even the symbol for the powers rating and distance was the same odd infinity loop that he had read about as well.

  Blinking once, he cleared his eyes trying to even look away. But as soon as her turned back, he still saw the same message.

  A message that caused everyone on his team to let out gasps of awe.

  For after this time, they had found her.