Beyond the Horizon

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Then again, none of those people ever had to experience a re-awakening while free falling into orbit. Everyone's re-awakenings were different and always had been, and you never knew what ability you would receive. Re-awakening could only occur after a life-threatening event, but even then, it was a lottery. The chances of some recessive gene deep inside you forcibly evolving into the exact thing you needed to survive were already slim. The chances of it saving your life while at the same time you're free falling into orbit was even more astronomically small. Yet as Ren found himself falling from orbit, at that moment when he accepted his soon-to-be fate, that extremely slim chance happened. A flash of gold light filled his vision, and Ren found power coursing through every fiber of his being. The energy flowing freely through him was so enthralling that he didn't even notice that he'd hit the ground on the world far below.

"Momma, is.. he okay?" The timid voice of a young girl standing nearby the crater asked. Ren slowly looked around at his surroundings and, through gold-tinted eyes, noticed for the first time where he was. He was standing on the ground. Having survived a horrific accident that should have ended him. He looked to the girl who spoke, and she shied behind her mother. The small crowd that gathered murmured as Ren began to move, and looking around, he found that he was standing in a shallow crater in what appeared to be a small downtown square in a mid-western town. As he took a step forward, he moved so fast that he smashed chest first into the side of the crater. The crowd gasped, and the lone deputy on the scene stepped forward from those gathered.

"Easy there, son. Seems you landed here, and I'm guessing it's from up there." The deputy said while pointing to the massive space elevator they could see in the distance. "What were you doing up there?" Ren blinked several times while trying to adjust to his now gold-tinted vision.

"I uh.." Ren mumbled while sitting up slowly and twisting his arms in front of himself, testing his reflexes while scanning for unseen injuries. "I was working on the station's safety casing at the docking platform. My safety harness broke when some debris hit the section I was repairing. Tony and I were..." Ren's eyes went wide as he suddenly jumped to his feet. Finally, realization dawned on him that he was the only one in the crater. His momentum from jumping to his feet launched him over the nearby street light, and he landed heavily and awkwardly on one of the buildings in the line of shops in the square. The crowd loudly gasped, and Ren squinted in embarrassment, but only briefly as he looked around. "Was there anyone else here? Did someone else fall with me? My friend Tony was working with me. We both fell." Ren spoke loudly, but no one there responded.

"Son, it was just you here. You startled us, but no one got injured. Is your friend re-awakened like you are?" The deputy asked, then quickly added in, "Sir."

Ren nodded slowly while looking to the area below him to dismount some twenty feet down, a moment of contemplation before hopping softly to the ground below. He mentally sighed to himself in relief that he had neither damaged the street nor himself from the significant drop and noticed that it was almost too easy for him.

"I'm going to run around and look for him, I think, if that's alright?" Ren asked the deputy while glancing at the crater in the street.

"Ah, yes, sir. Go ahead, and I'll wait until you get back to complete the paperwork." Ren paused, unsure what the deputy meant at first, then nodded again as he understood that some legal paperwork would be necessary for re-awakened events.

"Yeah, paperwork for the crater and the mess I made. I'll be sure to come back to fill that out for you." The deputy smiled and nodded though he still showed visible trepidation as Ren turned to leave.

Ren started taking two prolonged steps but found himself moving at nearly a full sprint from the little movement. He carefully aimed down the road, avoiding the cars and people nearby as he positioned himself to walk out of the small town. The town itself was laid out simply enough, with the main street going through the community and two stop lights on either end. Gas stations, some fast food, and a grocery store passed by as Ren walked at a speed that would put Olympic sprinters to shame. As soon as he cleared what he assumed would be the only hotel in the small town, he turned to see a large expanse of field stretching behind the sleepy town. A giant oak tree was on the hill overlooking the small community, so he turned and allowed himself to run to it. In retrospect, he probably should have just walked to it. However, before he could slow down from his run, he'd crossed the field, went up the hill, through the tree, and landed squarely in the pond on the other side of the large hill. The loud crashing of the tree resonated in the area, and Ren turned in shock and surprise as he watched the tree fall. He slowly stood up and walked back up the hill, his movement getting him there in mere moments. He looked again at his hands, the gold tint of the world washing out all other colors from his vision. He knew he wasn't glowing gold, or so he hoped.

After Ren had departed from the town, the people of the quiet community turned to the deputy. The deputy walked over to the pharmacist and asked,

"Johnson, what do you make of that? Have you ever met one of those re-awakened folk before?" Dr. Johnson shook his head,

"No, I can't say I have. Read plenty about them, though." Everyone gathered murmured in agreement. "Joe, I think you'd be best off just sticking to the paperwork on this one. Don't get too involved like last time." He added to the deputy while gesturing to the crater. Joe, the deputy, nodded and pulled out an incident report from his car. He spent the better part of an hour filling out witness reports and getting everything ready when the sight of the still gold glowing man quickly approached. Ren paused a few paces away and motioned for Joe to approach.

"I couldn't find my friend, and I have never filled out any paperwork for anything like this. What do I need to do?" Joe passed him a pen and clipboard with the incident report and witness statement.

"If you could just fill out what happened from your side of things, I think that's all we need, and I-" Joe's mouth went noticeably slack as Ren filled out both papers in mere seconds. Ren blinked in surprise at how quickly his thoughts processed to the sheets of paper.

"I.. uh.. guess I'm much faster at paperwork than I knew before?" Ren stated hesitatingly.

"I don't mean to be insensitive, but did you uh... you know. Did you re-awaken today?" Joe asked tentatively while taking the pen and clipboard back. Ren froze, slowly turning his eyes to meet Joe's, and felt his gold glowing body and eyes betraying him. "You know what? It's none of my business." Joe offered as he took a step back, clipboard in hand.

"No, it's fine." Ren quickly said, "Yes. I re-awakened when I fell. I'm just a normal person. Er, I was just a normal person. I don't know how any of this works. I am moving super quickly, and I'm thinking faster. I don't know what I can do right now." Joe turned and properly looked Ren over for the first time. Ren looked to be in his early twenties, not much younger than Joe himself. Tan skin and blonde hair, he looked to be about an average build. His clothes looked rough and torn, but that wasn't a surprise after falling from who knows how high up. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary stuck out about him besides his brightly glowing golden eyes. This guy looked almost like one of the kids that played on the same football team as Joe's younger brother. Same goofy kind of side smile, same basic build, both a bit tan. His brother's friend had longer hair but not dramatically lengthier than the man standing before him.

"Hey. Listen, I..." Joe hesitated, not sure what to say. Then noticing the local people turning to him to observe the exchange, he decided it would be best to take a step back. "I'll take care of the paperwork for you. I hope your friend is alright." Joe stepped back, crossing his arms behind his back and gesturing with his body that the path was clear. Ren nodded his thanks, then strode incredibly fast out of town, leaving behind a crater and a sympathetic deputy in his wake.

Ren left town for the second time, allowing his body to carry him faster than before. He wasn't clear on what happened to him regarding his re-awakening, but there was no denying a visible change. Ren noted how quickly the world passed by as he moved, how he had survived the fall from the sky without injury, and how he passed through a tree without effort. He considered all of these things as he continued to run over the sparsely wooded hillsides to seek any sign of Tony. As he passed by a long stretch of open pasture, he realized with some regret that in moving so quickly, he had not noticed the many fences he sped through until a bit of barbed wire wrapped around his leg had caught his attention. The barbed wire had not cut nor hurt him at all. Though he did unwrap it carefully just in case, it could still hurt him.

Ren sat down after untangling himself and took stock of his recently torn clothes and dirty shoes. Then absent-mindedly ran his fingers through his hair, assuming it was likely messed up and looking disheveled like the rest of him. Finally, he sighed deeply and looked out over the pastures, appreciating the beauty of the moment while allowing himself a short rest. Tree and grass were lightly swaying in the sweet-scented summer breeze. A couple of young calves played joyfully around their mothers as the cattle went about grazing in the adjacent field. Birds were singing and busily flitting to and from their perches in search of the many insects loudly chirping and making noise in the grass. The moment was peaceful and calm. For the first time that day, Ren felt himself relax.

Then, a group of black helicopters came into Ren's field of view as they flew quickly in the opposite direction from the small town. The sounds of their blades reverberated even as far away as they were now. Ren sat up more attentively. Black helicopters were alarming, and he was moving again in a moment, rushing towards them. Knowing they must surely be there to investigate him, he knew that the government has always been heavily involved in anything related to re-awakened individuals.

Ren found himself standing in the small town for the third time that day. The sign caught his attention for the first time as he passed it. The sign read Horizon, population 892. He paused, looking at it for a moment, something about the situation giving him a strange wave of deja vu as he stood there. The crater was now quiet, with caution tape and cones around it. The helicopters, however, weren't there or anywhere near the area. Ren passed quickly through the town and watched the helicopters congregating in an area several miles to the south. He was confused at first but found himself still walking in that direction. As the distance quickly closed, he found his steps getting heavier and heavier. By the time he arrived within sight of the scene, he had slowed to almost average speeds. However, the speed change wasn't intentional, and he noticed a slight grey wash to the world around him as he got closer.

Several soldiers noticed his approach and immediately ran forward to stop him. Ren was startled at first as they approached rapidly with their weapons slung but realized that they weren't acting aggressively hostile.

"Sir, please wait. There is a task force on site already for the incident." Ren felt his mind racing as he quickly tried to piece together their assumption. Finally, he concluded that they were under the impression that he was coming to the location officially since re-awakened individuals could often find work with the government to handle dangerous situations.

"Could you uh.. show me to your boss? Or your um.. commanding officer?" Ren asked while lowering his hands in a peaceful gesture. The soldiers looked at each other, but before either could respond, a crisp and rather harsh voice resounded from behind Ren.

"That would be me." Ren spun out of alarm and surprise and found himself standing just a few feet away from a woman with short buzz-cut styled hair, camouflage fatigues, and noticeably glowing grey eyes. He felt pressure increase as she took a strong stride forward and extended her hand to him, "I'm Rodriguez. I am the commanding officer on scene for this RA event." Ren nodded and took her hand, shaking it regrettably weaker than he'd have liked. The grey light emanating off her made his movements and thoughts more sluggish like they were that morning when he and Tony had started their two-hour-long commute in the space elevator to begin working on the safety casing repairs. The same feeling he'd typically experience before having his morning coffee.

"Ren Jones. I think you might be looking for me. I don't know what an RA event is, but I re-awakened today..." His voice trailed off as he put two and two together, "RA is the re-awakened event. I got that now. Sorry, my mind feels a little fuzzy at the moment."

"There were two?" Rodriguez asked while looking at the two soldiers who had approached closer. Neither of the soldiers looked as though they knew anything about a second site. They both stood a little straighter but offered no explanation or excuse. She turned her attention back to Ren and continued, "I can't disclose more information to you at this time. Please follow these two gentlemen to the debriefing tent. I'll be along shortly." With a curt nod, the men moved to either side of Ren and began leading him through the impromptu staging area. The military had set up a relatively large area of operation in very little time. The entire area was a small buzz of commotion as Ren witnessed tents erected, orders shouted out, and more than a few pairs of eyes landed on him as he was being escorted through the encampment. After leading him to a small white tent, the soldiers stood outside on either side of the opening. The small white tent he found himself in had very little besides a couple of tables and chairs. He sat at one of the tables while preparing mentally to answer whatever questions he felt they would ask him. As he waited, he realized that he had more questions than answers and hoped they'd be able to answer some of those for him. He tapped his foot impatiently and wondered if they knew what happened to Tony or if they were looking for him too.

Two long hours later, Rodriguez returned. She had the same incident report that Ren had filled out with Joe back in the town of Horizon. Ren nodded, to himself, as he felt more of the world drain in color to grey and his above-human speed slow down to normal parameters again. The strangest sensation for him was feeling his mind slow down to an almost early morning groggy-like state as the grey light washed over him.

"Hello, Mr. Jones. I introduced myself to you earlier today. My name is Captain Rodriguez, special forces task leader. I understand you were working on the Atlas City sky elevator and your partner Antonio Hernandez took a fall." Ren perked up, a look of elevation crossing his features at the mention of Tony. Rodriguez raised her hand in a slowing gesture. "I'm sorry to say that I've been authorized to inform you of Mr. Hernandez's passing from the impact." She paused, and the weight of what she said fell heavy on Ren.

"I.. I was hoping he re-awakened like I did." Ren said softly as his eyes dropped. "Tony and I worked every shift together for the past two years. We.. We were like.."

"Like brothers. I know what it's like to lose good men in accidents. It's never easy." Rodriguez offered as she took a seat properly in front of him. "I will tell you this: Mr. Hernandez also went through a re-awakening. Unfortunately, his wasn't as immediately helpful as yours had been. He developed gills and webbed appendages." Ren had heard of this kind of thing happening before on the news. Someone in a life-threatening situation would experience a re-awakening but not get a gene re-awakened that would help them survive at that moment. That's what happened with Tony, and he was fortunate that it wasn't what happened with him.

"What will happen with him?" Ren asked. The room's grey hue grew stronger as Ren's gold light faded.

"As per our procedures, we've relocated his remains to a secure location for further study." Rodriguez paused and waited patiently for Ren to look back up and meet her gaze. "We will need to conduct some tests with you as well, and unfortunately, those tests will need to happen immediately. We'll need to assess your gene awakening, determine a threat level, and discuss the next steps for you."

"Will you be doing the tests with me?"

"No." Rodriguez smiled warmly, and for the first time, some of the oppressive grey light emanating from her pulled back. "No, Mr. Johnson, I won't be part of that, but it's not bad. My re-awakening is how I started my military career. The testing process itself is time-consuming. It took me three or four days, but it isn't hard or dangerous." Her reassuring smile was somehow overshadowed by the white lab coat, a mad doctor-looking man that walked in beside her. A toothy grin and a stumble to the table as he attempted to shake Ren's hand told him quite a bit about this doctor's character,

"Mr. Jones, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Henry Wallace."

Seven long days later, Ren stared dubiously at the military doctor and his pseudo-captor, Dr. Henry Wallace.

"Wally, I don't think I want to try this one," Ren said while staring at a fully armored tank. "The last several times you shot me, it hurt pretty badly." Then, the hatch door of the tank swung open, and an older, self-admittedly eccentric-looking man leaned out. The doctor's glasses were twisted, and his beard was noticeably unkempt. His grey hair was balding on the top, and he had a grease stain across his cheek.

"Ah, come on.." The doctor chided, "We already did the math, and we both know that this can't do any real damage. But, I want to make sure." Ren grimaced but nodded and put on his safety glasses while walking into position in front of the tank. A deafening moment later, the glasses and Ren were gone. Propelled away by the force of the impact. Ren almost immediately returned to the spot and tossed the shattered glasses into a box with many other broken bits of safety equipment.

"Phenomenal!" The doctor exclaimed as he exited the tank, "Your durability is astounding. The double re-awakens you've experienced never stop impressing me." He paused while frowning at Ren's still glowing gold eyes. While the glowing had now reduced, it was far from gone.

"I still haven't been able to figure out the gold glowing eyes yet. I keep thinking it will be something like Captain Rodriguez has with the ability suppression field, but..." Ren's disappointment was noticeable as the pair walked across the small field. They'd been conducting these tests here the whole week, and after going through a wide gambit of tests to determine what precisely that mysterious third re-awakened ability was, they had yet to figure it out.

"Maybe," The doctor got his speculating voice out again, "The entire ability is simply glowing gold eyes. Maybe that is all there is to it." He pursed his lips together while contemplating this before finally nodding and adding, "Even if it's not, that's just what we're going to have to put down. Neither of us has been able to figure it out, and the rest of my team gave up four days ago." Ren nodded as he got into the refrigerator to pull out a couple of drinks for the pair.

"Then, in that case..." Captain Amelia Rodriguez's voice broke out loudly as she strode into the area, washing everything in a noticeably grey hue. A wide smile crossed her face as she warmly approached, "I'm guessing you're ready to come with me, Private Jones." Together they turned away from the testing field, where a giant oak once stood on the hill just beyond Horizon.