Realistic or Modern This is no Utopia

[RiversEdge]

The U.S.A Utopia, United Power, was thriving. They had a organized system that made everything work smoothly. No one was starving or poor, crime was low, and everyone had a job to do. It was the year 4000. Though there were no flying cars progress had been made by leaps and bounds. It was impressive considering they had built themselves up from the scraps of a nuclear war. People were stronger, smarter, and faster than anyone had ever dreamed they would be. But there laying just beneath the surface was unease. Was this really the Utopia everyone wanted? History repeats itself. Only time will time if a system based on social classes will last.

 

[goldcat16471]

------------------------------ Age 10 ------------------------------

At last, the final box was set down on their new living room floor. The Leski family stood quietly for a moment taking in their new home. To most of them it was a downgrade from their old home in the city, but Cleora had immediately taken a fancy to it. They had moved to a cute, small town where Elan- Cleo's mother- had grown up. Just a few street's down lived Elan's parents who said that they could help the family get back on their feet after Vyctor had lost his advertising job. It may have not been the ideal situation for the family to be in, but they would make it work. At least they had found a decent home for their family. It matched their social class. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by neighbors of different classes. The street they lived on was most definitely filled with physical powers. Vyctor and Elan were uncomfortable knowing that, but this was the nicest home in their price range.

The children were mostly oblivious to any of this though. There was Jazen- the oldest at twelve, ten year old Cleora, Emery who was seven, and baby Jaeke who was three. They had a loving family, and so far through life they have all taken care of one another.

The family continued on to take a look at all the rooms around the house. At last they had finished up with moving for the day, and planned to unpack tomorrow. Cleora looked out the window of her new bedroom and then ran to her mother. "Mom, can I go walk around the neighborhood?" Elan and Vyktor exchanged looks.

"You may, but Jazen has to go with you." Her mother replied after a few moments.

Cleora looked over at Jazen expectantly. The boy was already planning on going for a walk, so he just waved her along. "Come on..." The two of them went out the door, and began their walk down the street. Cleo skipped happily on her way when she heard Jazen speak to her in her mind. "I know I don't want to go to the same places you do, so if you want to split up and go where you want you can. But you can't tell Mom and Dad...!"

Cleo looked at him slightly surprised. All she wanted to do was explore. Going alone could be fun, though. She could play her own game. Jazen wouldn't have played with her anyway. "Okay, I won't tell." With that, the two of split off. Jazen went towards the small town's center, and Cleora found a small little path the led to the woods. She walked along that path for about five minutes, making up a game in her mind. The path came to a fork and she took a right. It lead her to a small clearing with a stream. The place was absolutely beautiful. She giggled softly from the nature around her, and continued with her game.

 

[RiversEdge]

_________________Age 11_________________

His pops was a storm casher. Odion didn't care what anybody said. That had to be the coolest job on the planet! Who else got up close an' personal to tornados and was back on safe ground into he blink of an eye? Nobody, that's who. He wanted a piece of that. There had to be some kind of bring your kid to work day for it. But his pops always turned him down. Was too dangerous, he said. Whatever, he figured it was because he was so young or something. When he got old enough he was definitely going to be a Storm Chaser. He even took out some books from the library about storms. At the moment, he was in his room, flat on his stomach as he thumbed through the pages. His eyes were glued to the pictures at some points but he was quick to focus on the words. Odion was proving a point after all. After about about an hour though he could feel himself starting to fall asleep. So he bookmarked his page and saved it for later.

His mom and pops were in the livingroom. His pops, Bach Pastor to the neighbors, was actually pretty mild mannered. There never seemed to be a lot that surprised him, probably why he was such a valued member of his workplace. His wife, Sofia was a perfect counterpart, always there as a guiding hand and with an enthused outlook.

Of course there was his little bro Tino. He was only five but learned to walk quick and talk even quicker. Odion kind of had a soft spot for him when he wasn't being an absolute pain. "M' bored. I'm going to go out for awhile." Like clockwork, Tino was at his side in a millisecond. "Where? Can I go too? You know all the best places to go and last time you came back with ice cream and didn't even tell me about it!" It was all said faster than normal, but Odion was used to it.

"No way. I take you most of the time an' you end up running off to who knows where half the time!" Odion crossed his arms as Tino puffed his cheeks, looking indignant. Sensing an incoming argument, Bach looked over from the television an shut them both down. To Odion's pleasure, it was decided that he would go alone. But he would have to treat Tino to Ice Cream that week. Which was fine, he saved up a lot of his allowance.

Naturally he went of to his spot in the forest. Sometimes he would bring friends and they'd play ball or pretend to sword fight or something. But it was nice to be alone in it too. Sometimes sitting in his room all the time made him feel cramped and he hated that. Made him feel trapped. Odion was familiar with most of the place, climbing up over the branches and effortlessly gliding through the brush. He settled down towards the shores of the stream, picking up a couple rocks on the way. He was just getting to skip some across the lake, was hard at first because he threw 'em too hard. But he managed to get it right eventually.

Then he hears it, a voice, a laugh? Odion spotted her, someone new...had to be. He's never seen her and the town was pretty small. "Hey, what are you doing 'round here?" It sounded almost like he meant to interrogate her, but he was more curious than anything else.

 

[goldcat16471]

"Yes sir!" Cleo saluted her general, and went off to complete her assigned mission. She picked a branch up off the ground and approached the stream, poking it to test if it was safe for her and her small team to cross. She was the leader, and she had to make the calls, otherwise her team could get injured in the nuclear war.

Games like these were commonly played by Cleora. She only ever played it alone now because once before she and Jazen got yelled at for the cruel nature of these games. Since then, Jazen said that these sort of games weren't meant for Cleora, and he stopped playing them with her. She continued with them anyway. They were more exciting than most games. That didn't mean she didn't like playing the other games too, it's just that she would make the most of her alone time by playing this one.

"It looks safe to cross... Move carefully." She was just about to pretend cross when a splash came from not too far off. She thought it was a fish and jumped back, giggling. "Red alert! Move back, move back we're being-"

The presence of another person alarmed her before she had even heard their voice. Cleora felt them approach and whipped around to face them. It was a boy, close to her age, that had startled her out of her thoughts. His accent was sort of funny when he spoke and she tilted her head curiously at him. Her long, scarlet hair fell in front of her face. "I'm new here. I was exploring..." She brushed her hair aside and rocked on her tip toes with her arms behind her back. She wondered if he had seen her playing.

The young girl wasn't sure if she should be nervous being alone with a stranger, but she with some consideration she decided that she truly wasn't. This was the first person she met at the new town and it was exciting to her. Perhaps she had met her first friend! She grinned at him then walked up to him holding out her hand, "I'm Cleora, but you can call me Cleo." She was surprisingly a very open child, and not shy to making new friends. "And you are?

 

[RiversEdge]

Okay, so he was right. Man she was lucky she met him first. Some of the other kids liked to clown on the newbies. Which he didn't really do, not if they didn't give him any trouble. It was kind of like a right of passage or something. Nothing ever got too physical though. Almost did with him since he uh....kind of took it too seriously.

But it seemed like she would be okay. He was kind of surprised that she was so friendly? Nah what's the word....outgoing maybe. Odion grinned, taking her hand in his for a surprisingly firm handshake. "You picked a good place to explore Cleo. This spot here is the best for getting away. My name's Odion! Welcome to the neighborhood." He released her hand, the weight of some rocks were in his other hand. "Was just skipping some rocks a minute ago. There isn't much to do this weekend now, since most of the stores and arcades here are closed up."

Once every two or three weeks there was a service weekend. All classes strength and lower got a complete break, a small thank you for their service. There was apparently a resort that they could go to for free that weekend. But no one said much about it. He thought it was kinda cool. He was a strength after all. He mentioned it to his folks, but his dad seemed kind of turned off by the idea.

Odion looked towards Cleo, thoughtful, and brushed a over his slightly curly hair. She didn't seem too bad. "Want to join? If not maybe I can show you around a bit. Some of the others might be out if their folks decided to let 'em loose."

 

[goldcat16471]

She smiled warm and confidently at the boy as they shook hands. "Odion..." She reinforced the name. "Thank you!" He then offered to skip rocks with the girl and show her around, and her smile grew. She found herself to be fond of this new kid. Moving to the small town was becoming more and more of a blessing to her.

Back in the city, people weren't always nice to one another. She recalled seeing older kids roughhousing when her family visited some friends in another part of town, and occasionally at Jazen's public middle school. Maybe it was different out here? Only time would tell, but right now Cleora decided she would enjoy her time with what would perhaps be a new friend. "Yes, I'd love to join you, and see the area as well."

She looked around at their surroundings. "It sure is beautiful here." Cleora walked along the edge of the stream beside them where she could see a lake further ahead. The view was astounding to the young girl and her mouth fell open slightly. "Wow..." She whispered to herself. "I've never seen anything like that before..." Images of her old home popped into Cleora's mind. Her family had lived in a very nice house in a nice neighborhood outside the center of the city. The center was by far the most impressive. It was supreme and modern with fancy skyscrapers that towered high into the sky. On the outskirts of the city, however, buildings were run down and it was crowded with low lives. Her family lived smack dab in the middle of those two extremes.

None of those images amazed Cleo more than the scenery in front of her did now. She suddenly remembered that she had company and turned to look at Odion. "My family came from the city. It's a lot different than this place. At least from what I can tell... Let's go closer to the lake!" She gently yet eagerly grabbed the boy's wrist encouraging him to rush with her along the stream to the lake.

 

[RiversEdge]

"Whoa, wait up!" Odion grinned, letting her lead him along. He could do more than keep up after all. Seeing her get all hopped up over seeing just a lake kind of made him feel like he had something special here. Which he did! But now it felt more important for some reason. "Never took a vacation from that city of yours?" Once they had neared the edge of the lake he stopped them both, taking his hand from hers.

"This place is pretty much a nature preserve now." He gestured to the lake, spinning on his feet a little bit to swing his arm to the whole forest. "No houses are allowed to be built here. Not for anything." Odion paused, crossing his arms and nodding his head with a slight smirk. "Which also means it's the perfect spot to get away and do whatever you want. I come here sometimes when I'm bored." He rubbed the back of his neck and stared out towards the lake. Looking past it it seemed like there was nothing but mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see.

He always wondered what someone could find if they just kept going. That whole area was basically a whole lot of uncharted territory. Odion whipped his head back toward her suddenly. "Hey, I'm gonna show you something cool." He stood over at the shore of the lake, still armed with a few rocks. "Not sure if what power you got, but I'm a heart." He placed his small fist over his chest. "A strength. Sometimes people say we got too much it too be able to do normal stuff. Like skipping rocks...."

He faced the lake, tossing a rock in his hand once or twice before hurling it across the water. It only skipped three times before smacking against a tree on the other side. Then he did it a second time and only skipped the rock maybe a yard across the lake, skipping it multiple time before it sank. He turned to her with the proudest smile on his face. "Isn't that hard to control. Just needed practice."

 

[goldcat16471]

Cleora rushed on eagerly ahead, pulling the boy behind her. She didn't know why or how she felt comfortable with him already. She wondered if she was being naive, but then perhaps it was the circumstances they had met in- out in the nature, where all felt serene and nothing could disturb that peace. Maybe it was Odion himself and his friendly words. He offered to show her around, and didn't make a fuss about the young girl dragging him along. Maybe she was destined to make a friend that day. Who could say? She certainly didn't know, but it felt like a situation where 'everything happens for a reason.'

He stopped them near the edge of the lake and Cleo knelt down to run her fingers through the clear water. It was cool against her skin. She kept her eyes down as she responded to his question, "This is my first time being out of the city. Ever." She glanced back up at him as he spoke, and stood when he gestured around. Cleora found herself spinning all the way around taking in the view from all angles. She stopped face to face with him, and grinned sheepishly as he crossed his arms. "I love it." Cleora regained her confidence and crossed her own arms, "And I love having a secret get away. Don't be surprised if you find me out here." Her smile grew, causes crinkles by her eyes.

They both looked out again, taking in the mountains in the distant. "Absolutely incredible..." She whispered to herself. Suddenly, Odion turned to face her again. His words piqued her interest. She tilted her head at him and listened in fascination. He was a strength user. Not understanding the social hierarchy very much, Cleo thought that it was exciting. Then the boy tossed the first rock in his example. Cleora's mouth fell open at the distance it traveled. "Whoa...!" She exclaimed as it crossed the lake. She was equally astounded the second time and giggled turning towards him, "Odion, that's really cool! You've mastered the art of skipping rocks!" There was no sarcasm found in her voice. She was genuinely impressed. "I can't even skip a rock..." She pursed her lips.

"Although, I can do this..." She focused on the boy beside her and spoke- not out loud, but in his head. "I'm a telepath. My father tells me I'm advanced for my age, but I don't know if that's true. My whole family is telepathic."

 

[RiversEdge]

Odion rubbed the back of his neck and waved her off. Though he was smiling. "Wasn't much of anything really. Just some practice." Truth be told he wasn't used to getting compliments on stuff as simple as that. It felt nice though, that she thought it was cool. "Wait, you don't know how to skip 'em?" That was definitely something he could fix! He wasn't sure if he'd be any good at teaching but he never backed down from a challenge. Plus Cleo looked like she had pretty decent smarts. But he waited patiently to see what she would do first...

....and promptly feel over backwards with less grace than a startled deer. "Whoa what!" He landed butt first in the sand, looking more shocked and surprised than embarrassed. Odion didn't feel a thing and was quick to brush himself off, staring at Cleo in near awe. "Holy heck Cleo, you're a telepath? That's so cool! I keep hearing that most of 'em only live up in city and far off towns. You guys are one of the few in this town then." He's never seen one up close before. The way people describe them made them seem like...robots or something. But Cleo wasn't like that at all. She was really cool. It felt so weird for him to have someone talking to him in his head. But he couldn't deny that it was really neat. "...and your whole family is like that? Man you guys have a whole other way to talk to each other without anyone noticing!"

He paused for a moment, grinning all the while. "I'm actually the only strength in my family. The uh....rest of them are all speedsters." It happened every now and then, for a family to have a kid with a power different than them. It was normal. His parents assured him that they loved him just as much as they would if he was born a speedster. Odion felt weird about it for awhile, but he got used to it. Only difference was that he couldn't learn the way his power worked from them. But he was doing fine with that!

"Say, none of your family have any different powers?" He was trying to sound casual and not curious.

 

[goldcat16471]

The young girl's hands flew to her mouth as Odion fell butt first in the sand. She tried to hold back from giggling but she lost it at 'Holy heck.' "I'm sorry, are you okay?" She asked all the while laughing. She had impressed him! Cleora understood that telepathy was a less common power, but since it was part of her everyday life, she often forgot how extraordinary the power truly was. Based off what the boy was saying it appeared that it wasn't common in this neighborhood either. At her old home Cleo remembered that a lot of her neighbors had been telepaths. She was interested in meeting the others like her family here, but found that she was more excited to interact with all the different sorts of people here like Odion!

He mentioned how it was cool that her family could communicate a whole different way, and she smirked. "It's great. My siblings and I like to chat like that often. Especially when we're supposed to be in bed." She giggled again. "Except my parents have caught on to our expressions when we communicate like that, so they can easily catch us if we're doing it." Her smile lessened, and she shrugged. So far through life, telepathy hadn't been super important for the young girl. She didn't have any real reasons to make use of it. The power had been mostly just fun and games with her siblings, and an occasional private lecture with her parents. Cleora thought that the power would become more useful as she grew up.

Odion then explained the powers of his family. He was the only strength. She tried to examine his facial expression to gather how he felt about that. He looked, for the most part, accepting of it. "Hey, that's kind of cool to be the odd one out! Makes you more unique!" She smiled kindly at him, then after he asked his question, Cleora replied, "Nope. We're all just telepathic. Me, my parents, my older brother, and my little brother and sister. In my family everyone does the same thing. It would be kind of cool to have some differences between us like in your family." Cleo stuck out her tongue slightly. Occasionally the young girl felt like she lost herself with her family. She wasn't sure why that was. When she was alone, however, she made the most of it by being completely true to herself.

 

[RiversEdge]

"Unique huh? You think so?" Odion hadn't thought of it like that. He didn't mind being different. But no one had really gone out of their way to compliment it. He grinned. "Maybe you're right. After all, it can be pretty nice to do things not a whole lot of other people can." Maybe when he got older they would see how strong he was and they'd have to let him be a storm chaser! He turned to the girl and gave her a thoughtful squint. "Well, it's not all about power type to. There's tons of other stuff you could do different. I know how to pick locks. My little brother...talks a lot."

He made a face that looked close to a grimace. "Ugh, 'nough about that though. Let me teach you how to skip rocks." He brightened immediately at the subject. Odion gestured for her to come closer. "Skipping 'em is pretty simple. But if you want to be a master at it I'm your guy. First off it can't just be any rock. I mean, I guess every rock can be skipped, but for the best skip-" He sifted through the banks until he found a proper stone. "- you want a flat rock. Not too big either because then they just wobble around instead of goin' further." He stood up and showed her the rock before stepping up to throw it.

"...and when you do throw it ya gotta throw it low. Just a couple feet above the water. If you try throwing it high you've got nothing good." He reared back and gave the rock a quick fling, it spun in the air and skipped about halfway across the lake. That was good. Better control than his usual. He went to find her another rock, smooth and fairly flat. Odion held it out for her. "You give it a try."

 

[goldcat16471]

Cleora listened thoughtfully to Odion while he described a couple of examples that made him and his brother different. She giggled at the image of a miniature Odion talking nonstop. "He sounds cute." For a few moments the young girl tried to determine what was unique about each of her siblings. Jazen was talented at eating a lot of food. One time Cleo made fun of how much snacks the boy was munching on and her parents told her that teenage boys need more food than regular. She didn't quite understand. Jazen was only twelve and he still had another year before he was considered a "teenager." Her little sister Emory was a master at the puppy dog eyes. Jaeke was still too young for Cleora to have discovered what he might be good at. As for herself, she considered her talent to be a great storyteller.

She kept these thoughts to herself at the time as Odion mentioned rock skipping again. "You think you really can teach me...?" She asked him secretly nervous of making a fool out of herself. Her new friend looked excited about the task at hand so Cleora decided to try and go with it. As he explained the procedures of rock skipping, she memorized all the tips he mentioned. As he skipped the rock in his hand, her mouth dropped at the distance it traveled. "Wow." Odion found another rock and held it out for her. "O-Okay." She took the rock from his grasp and took a deep breath. You got this. She thought to herself. She held the rock low to the water and reared her hand back. She focused on getting it to skip and at last flung the rock. It soared through the air. Splush! It sunk into the water.

She giggled nervously and her cheeks heated up. "That did not work." She glanced around at Odion. "How long did it take for you to get one to skip...?" That was only her first try, but she was a bit worried he thought it was stupid she couldn't do the simple task of skipping a rock. As she waited for him to answer, she knelt down in search of another rock. She couldn't find a proper one because they all looked too similar to her. "Umm.." She picked up a bumpy one that any skipper could tell would not work and held it up to Odion foolishly. She grinned sheepishly while getting embarrassed. "Would this work?"