The sound of the door slamming shut reverberated all around the empty house. The lights were all out, and the dark storm clouds outside had completely blocked whatever sunlight the evening had to offer.
10-year-old Mark hid in his room as he heard loud footsteps from a single person marching around the house. He pulled his blanket over his head as the footsteps slowly approached.
The intruder was now in the lobby, briskly walking towards his room.
"Marcus!" the intruder yelled, kicking the bedroom door open. Little Mark was frightened and let out a high-pitched shriek.
"Stop that noise, silly boy." It was Mark's mother, Christina. She slowly pulled the blanket that covered Mark until he was utterly exposed.
Mark was relieved to see that his mother was the one who stepped into his room, but his fear quickly returned when he saw the frightful look on her face.
"I was looking for you all over. Why are you hiding in here?" The anger in Christina's voice was very noticeable.
Mark immediately apologized, hoping to de-escalate his mother's anger.
"I'm very sorry, Mum. I didn't mean to hurt him."
Christina was enraged from the moment she stepped into the house, but hearing the words of her little boy calmed her anger. However, it did nothing to temper the fear that rose within her.
"Oh, you hard-headed boy. I warned you so many times never to use your powers in public. I warned you not to, no matter what!"
"It wasn't in public, Mum. Nobody saw me."
"Yes, they did, Mark! They saw you electrocute that boy. How do you think I heard about it?"
"I didn't want to. He's the one who chased after me."
"Who?"
"The bully."
"Why was he chasing you, Mark? What did you do?"
Mark paused for a while, trying to recall the exact events of the evening. He had saved another kid from a bully while they were in school, and the bully couldn't let it slide.
"He followed me after school and beat me up," Mark continued, "I tried to fight back, but he was bigger than me."
"Is that why you used your power?"
"Well... He refused to let me go, so I shocked him a little and ran away."
Mark could almost hear his mother's pressure rising, but then he heard her sigh before she said another word.
"I warned you, Mark. I warned you never to use your powers. I told you that bad things would happen if you did."
Mark began to sob lightly and moved closer to his mother. "I'm sorry, Mum. I won't do it again."
"No... It's too late, Mark. Pack up your stuff. We're leaving tonight."
'I don't want to go." Mark protested vehemently.
"I warned you of the consequences of using your powers in public. We have to leave now."
"No!" Mark screamed and jumped onto his bed, covering himself with his blanket once again.
Christina sighed and walked closer to the bed, sitting on it.
'We talked about this, Mark. You know we have to leave."
"No, we don't!" Mark yelled out underneath his blanket.
"Yes, we do. I warned you about the dangerous men who are going to take you away if you ever used your power to hurt someone. Now, we have to leave before they find us here."
"No. I'm not leaving!"
Christina sighed again. She loved her son, but ever since she found out he was a weather manipulator, she lived in fear — fear that someday her only child would be taken away.
"I tried to make things easy for us, Mark. I wanted you to give up your powers, but you begged me to keep it. I shouldn't have listened to you. You're just a ten-year-old child who knows nothing of the horrors in this world."
The evening was getting darker, and Christina could hear the strong winds raging outside. She sighed once more and stood up from the bed. When she spoke, it was with a tone of finality.
"You're going to get your things, and we're moving out tonight. When we find a new place to live, I'll take you to someone who will block your manipulation permanently."
Mark fell into a fit at the thought of losing his powers. He threw off the blanket and jumped upright on his bed.
"No! You'll never take my powers away!"
"It's for your own good, Mark. Your powers are dangerous."
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"You don't have a choice. You're coming with me."
"Leave me alone!"
A faint blue aura began to radiate around Mark, and his eyes began to glow with an electric blue color. The angrier he got, the brighter his aura grew.
The raging winds outside grew louder and began to beat the house mercilessly. The storm got worse, and Christina quickly sensed that her son was the cause. To calm him down, she attempted to approach him.
"Mark, please listen to me."
"No!!!" Mark yelled out and instinctively raised his right hand at Christina.
A bright blue bolt of lightning shot out of his fingertips, jumping right toward Christina's chest and tossing her backward. She fell with a slight thud and let out a low shriek.
Mark immediately realized what he had done. His blue aura vanished, and he ran to his mother, crying regretfully.
"Mommy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."
Christina groaned painfully as she sat up on the floor, her young son crying beside her. She knew he had little control over his powers, for this was not the first he had electrocuted her.
However, this only proved her point.
Long ago, a Space Manipulator had killed her husband, and her hatred for Manipulators grew from that very moment.
To her, they were dangerous and needed to be stopped.
Slowly and bitterly, Christina stood up from the floor and turned towards her son.
"Your powers are destructive and need to be erased. There will be no more discussion about this. Get your things, and get ready to leave. Now!"
Mark looked sullen, but he couldn't argue anymore. Sad and defeated, he walked about his room, picking up his little clothes and folding them into a small travelling bag.
Christina watched as her son walked about the room, looking glum. She wanted to give him a better life, but this was the only way to guarantee that he grew up with a peaceful childhood.
She ran up to her son and wrapped her arms around him, and he wrapped his little arms around her.
"I love you so much, Mark."
"Me too, Mommy."
Their warm embrace tightened, and Christina began to shed tears.
"I just want the best for you, Mark. I want you to grow up happy."
"But I like my powers, Mom."
"I promise you, child. You'll be better off without it. You won't hurt anybody else again."
She eventually let her son go and nudged him to carry on with his packing.
"Get as much as you can. I'll replace whatever we leave behind, I promise. Hurry and meet me outside before the rain starts."
Mark nodded his head in response. Christina smiled back at him.
"I'm going to get my stuff," Christina said as she walked to the door.
At that moment, they both heard a weird noise from the living room.
Christina stopped dead in her tracks. Instinctively, she turned to her son, Mark, and placed her finger on her lip, prompting him to stay quiet.
There was a deep silence which lasted for a few seconds after that. Then Christina heard footsteps coming from the living room.
Someone else was in their house!