In a small suburb right outside New York City, a woman was walking as quickly as she could while carrying multiple bags of groceries and wearing broken high heels. Her hair was a mess, and her torso was covered by a nice polo with the logo of a local restaurant on the chest, but underneath was another branded shirt for a fast food franchise. Inside one of the bags was two more pairs of clothing while the other three held food that looked quite fresh. Her face had smeared make up and visible tear trails on her cheek. She stopped at a large concrete building with wooden boards covered in graffiti replacing glass windows. She pushed through the front door into a small lobby full of nothing but garbage and broken wood. She made her way to a concrete staircase. She carefully began to climb step by step, carefully holding onto the bags and maintaining her balance. She was one step away from the top, but felt herself lose balance and lean back. She was able to catch herself on the railing, the bag she was holding tilting and spilling fruit onto the floor, some of it rolling down the stairs. She sighed and grabbed what she could quickly before turning back and walking to one of the disheveled wooden doors with a piece of paper nailed to it, reading “4A”.

She opened the door slowly, no locks on any of the doors. The small apartment was full of light despite it being late. There was a large courtyard of nothing but concrete next to the building, but next to that was a massive billboard with bright neon lights. The lights slowly faded from pink to blue.

Small but fast footsteps filled the room as a small shadow moved through the light. The bags were removed from her arms as she groaned. A massive weight lifted off her body as she limped to the kitchen. She flicked the switch, but nothing happened. She sighed and went to turn around, but could hear the footsteps again run to the closet before running back, handing her a lightbulb. The small thing climbed up her back before sitting on her shoulders before she lifted the light bulb up into their hand. After a few seconds, she could hear the light bulb get screwed in.

“Okay Mom, should work now.”

A young and excited voice said loudly. The woman couldn’t help but softly laugh. She carefully helped the child down with his back to her. She groaned and cracked her own back before looking down.

A small boy was staring up at her with a bright smile. His skin was a bright and vibrant orange color, but around his eyes and mouth was pitch black. His hair was the same shade of black, almost like it was made out of darkness itself. Whatever movements the boy made, his hair stayed perfectly still. He was only wearing black sweat pants, which showed off his orange torso and arms.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” The woman asked with a smile on her tired face.

“I mean…yes…but I wanted to see what you got.”

His voice was full of excitement and happiness as he quickly looked through the bags.

“I got some good stuff today. But you have to remember that this is for the month.” She smiled and rubbed his stiff hair. They began to pull food out of the bags and work together to put it where it needed to go. Cheese and meat in the refrigerator. Lots of canned and processed, packaged food going into the cabinets. They collected the bags and folded them nicely before adding them to a large stack on the floor of a dusty and dirty closet.

“Did you eat today?” She asked.

“Yes Mom. The food was all delicious.” He laughed.

She went to the trash can to see a box of microwaveable meals. She reached down and moved the boxes, pulling out a large candy wrapper. She held it up with a playful smirk.

“I…um…somebody broke in, ate the chocolate, and put that there.” The boy sounded nervous.

His Mother just laughed, which made him comfortable enough to laugh too. He ran over and hugged her tightly as she patted his head.

“It’s okay sweetie. I just wanted something sweet to eat after four shifts in a row.”

“Well…um…”

He quickly ran and climbed up onto the counter, opening one of the cabinets and reaching far back to grab something. He pulled it back, revealing a new candy bar wrapped in very bright and vibrant colors.

“Where did you get that?” She asked.

His happy smile very quickly faded as he slowly climbed down off the counter. Her body language and face quickly changed as well.

“Where?”

Her voice was sharp with a hint of poison. The boy was looking down at the floor with his arms behind his back.

“I went…out…”

She immediately grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close. He looked up with tears starting to run down his face.

“What have I told you about going outside without me? Huh?” She shouted.

“I wore all my clothes.” He replied, choking while trying to hold back tears.

“I don’t care! What if somebody saw you?” She shouted.

The boy finally began to cry and hugged his Mom tightly. She didn’t hug back right away, her arms down to the side. Her eyes began to tear up as well.

“I’m sorry Mom. I just…I felt bad when I ate it…well after I ate it, it was so good…but I wanted to get one for you to make up for it.” The boy choked on his tears and was starting to have issues breathing.

His Mother sighed and made him step back. Without using any words, the two locked eyes and began to control their breathing. Once they were both breathing long and deep breaths, she finally hugged her son.

“I love you...that’s why I need you to be careful.” She said.

“Okay Mom…”

They hugged for almost a minute before they finally let go.

“So…no chocolate?” The boy asked.

She softly laughed and grabbed the bar. She opened it and gave him a small piece, which made him jump up and down excitedly. They walked around the kitchen counter and moved through the pretty sizable living room which only contained a single couch. They walked through a doorway with no door and the boy jumped onto a mattress laying on the floor. She slowly finished the chocolate before laying in the bed next to him. A thin blanket laying on top of their bodies didn’t provide much warmth, but it was all they had. They both shivered softly, and did so until they fell asleep.

While he was sleeping, the boy began to shake around a bit more violently. His eyelids began to have a very faint light illuminating them as he laid.

He opened his eyes and saw himself standing in the middle of a beautiful forest. He looked around at the trees, able to hear birds singing and other animals moving throughout bushes and breaking branches on the floor. He looked down at his hands, which looked bigger than the ones he was used to. He looked down to see the ground further away than he was used to, which then made him stumble and catch himself on a tree. His skin was still bright orange as he rubbed his hands all over his body. He was covered in black leather clothes, including a large trench coat, gloves, and pants. His boots around his feet were heavy and thick, almost like they were made for fighting. He reached into his jacket and felt something cold and hard. He pulled out a large, pitch black revolver before jumping and dropping it, letting out a deep gasp. He covered his mouth quickly before slowly moving his hand away.

“Hello?”

His voice was quite deep with a small amount of raspiness to it. It made him jump and look around, as if somebody else had spoken. He could hear more movement in the distance, but it grew louder and louder. He bent down to grab the revolver before he heard somebody shout.

“Omen!”

The boy quickly sat up from the mattress laying on the floor. The thin blanket was thrown off his body and landed on top of his Mother. He aggressively rubbed his eyes, which had a very subtle burning sensation to them. He looked at his hands, using the faint light from his eyes. They were small and unclothed like he expected. The glow disappeared and he was left in complete darkness. He rubbed his face and laid back down, reaching over to grip part of the thin blanket again, pulling it to cover himself. He closed his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t sleep. His mind was racing quickly, but of nothing specific. He remembered what he saw.

What he felt.

Where was that?

Why did he see that?

How did he see that?

What was that gun?

But one question kept repeating over and over…

What the hell is Omen?

The boy slowly started to wake up the next day, lifting his head up to see the empty mattress. He groaned and slowly got up, walking over to the kitchen. There was a note sitting on the counter he read over.

“Breakfast is waffles in the freezer. Lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich in the fridge. Dinner is whatever you want. Should be home around midnight, so you better be asleep.”

The boy nodded and reached into the freezer, pulling out a cardboard box holding some frozen waffles. He threw them into the toaster and shut the doors firmly, double checking to make sure they were shut. He pushed the toaster slider down, but it didn’t stick. He tried again and had to push hard while it was down before it locked. He yawned and grabbed a small glass sitting on the counter. He filled it with water from the sink, which wasn’t very clear or clean. He took a large sip and stood in the kitchen, staring at the toaster and waiting for what felt like forever. The toaster finally popped as the boy grabbed them and ate them straight from his hand. They were just warm enough to eat as he walked over to the couch. Once he finished, he sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a while. Despite the sun shining brightly, the constantly changing neon lights were still slightly visible. They made the floor slightly different shades and danced across the blinding light.

The boy finally got back up and went into the bedroom, grabbing some thick but poor condition text books along with a large and bulky piece of metal. He opened what looked like a bulky and low tech laptop. A keyboard of letters and nothing else, a small black screen, and a large joint that lets it all bend in half. He turned on the laptop, which had a very loud hum before the black screen turned a shade of gray with a single, flashing green line. The boy tapped a key which filled the air with cheap plastic and metal clicking sounds. A letter pop up with a subtle beep before the flashing line was now next to the letter. The boy tapped another button that made the letter disappear. Every key gave a loud clicking or clacking sound while the computer itself made a subtle beep.

The boy reached over and grabbed a science textbook, flipping through until he found the page that had the corner bent inside.

“Chapter Sixteen. DNA.”

He began to read and type notes on the things he wanted to remember. Compared to most other subjects, he was fascinated and kept notes on nearly every word. Once he finished the chapter, he had a subtle but disappointed look on his face. He ran into the bedroom and dug through other books before he found another science one. He flipped through until he found the chapter on DNA. It had a lot of the same talking points, but a few new ones as well. He quickly ran over to put the notes in and stared at the tower of notes he took.

“DNA…interesting.” He said to himself as he stared at the laptop. He had to grab a small device and attach it to the side of the laptop. After a few seconds, the device began to flash a red light rapidly. A few more seconds and the light changed to a solid green color. The boy pulled it out, and as he did the laptop screen went blank. The notes were all gone, and the boy quickly put the science books away, grabbing a history book.

“Where did I last…”

The boy spoke to himself as he kept flipping pages.

“World War One. Alright…now let’s see…”

He began to read over the events that lead up to the war. He finished at the assination of Franz Ferdinand before looking at his screen.

There were barely any notes as he sighed.

“History is so boring.”

He closed the book, resting his head down onto the cushion. His eyes began to burn softly as he looked up. The orange glow reflected off his screen as he stared forward. He tried to cover his eyes and push them hard, but nothing made his eyes stop glowing or burning.

The boy moved his hands away from his eyes to see what new place he was going to be in.

He was standing inside of a small room, white tile floors and white walls. Both were quite dirty, like they hadn’t been cleaned in some time. There was a large table covered in computers and monitors, showing what looked to be the interior and exterior of a small gas station. The boy heard a faint noise and looked down at the floor.

A middle aged man was laying on the floor in a large puddle of blood. The boy felt his heart skip a beat and his chest start to contract. He raised one hand to touch his chest, but when he raised the other he saw a bloody and rusty baseball bat.

He felt the hand of the man gripping his pant leg and jumped.

“Please…don’t…kill me…” The man said with a weak voice.

The boy could feel himself starting to cry, but had a strange force inside of him take over. The emotion began to dissipate until he felt nothing. His face went stoic as the tears kept running down his cheeks. He lifted the bat up over his head as he looked down at the man. Omen could feel his arms quickly swinging downward.

Omen could hear the sound of a skull shattering, but fell backwards off the couch and hit the floor of his apartment hard. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around. He wasn’t sure what happened or where he had been, but he hated it. He hated how he felt in that moment. Whatever that moment was, whether it be a nightmare…or something else…he hated it.

He could hear the front door opening as he jumped up. He only just now realized the darkness of the room. The neon billboard wasn’t working, leaving the world the boy knew in darkness. He saw a small amount of light behind his Mother as she opened the door and stepped inside. She flicked on the kitchen light and saw her son sitting on the floor.

“Honey, are you okay?” She asked as she ran over to hold him.

“Yeah. I fell asleep and got scared when you opened the door.” He replied.

“I’m sorry sweetie. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She said, softly rubbing his head.

“How was school?” She asked him.

“It was…fine. I did a lot of science, but fell asleep during history.” He replied.

“Did you get any other subjects done?” She asked.

He didn’t respond at first.

“Well…”

She softly laughed.

“Tomorrow just math and english okay?” She wiped his face as she spoke.

“Fine…” The boy replied with a disappointed tone.

“Did you eat?” She asked as she went back to the kitchen.

His stomach softly rumbled.

“I forgot. I had breakfast and then…”

She looked back at him from the kitchen.

“Have you been asleep all day?” She asked.

“Uhhhhhh.”

She sighed and grabbed the dinner for him, throwing it into the microwave.

“Get ready for bed. After you finish eating you go to sleep okay?” She rubbed her eyes before kissing him on his forehead. She went to the bedroom and got into bed, almost immediately following asleep. The microwave beeped and the boy ran over to open it, carefully taking the plastic container out to try and not burn himself. He sat it on the counter and climbed up to sit next to it. He grabbed a fork and began to eat the microwaveable chicken and rice. It wasn’t the tastiest thing in the world, but having food at all was a luxury for him. He kept eating the food and smiled. Once he finished eating the small meal, he threw the container away before washing his hands and heading to the bedroom. His laptop and books were still on the couch, sitting after hours of being untouched.

The boy climbed into the bed and could hear his Mother’s heavy breathing. He stared up at the ceiling, laying in the cold room on the cold mattress. He didn’t even try to grab the thin blanket. He let his Mother have the whole blanket. After her long day of work, she deserved it.

The boy woke up the next day, once again alone on the mattress. He let out a loud sigh before sitting up slowly. He rubbed his eyes and went into the kitchen. He skipped breakfast, going straight for the ham and cheese sandwich. It was quite cold, but he ate it rather quickly. He sighed and groaned as he leaned against the counter. He grabbed his glass he used the day before and filled it with water before drinking it all at once. He then went over to the couch and pressed a button on the laptop, but nothing happened. He tried again, but nothing changed.

He sighed and leaned back against the couch cushions, a frustrated look on his face. He grabbed his math textbook and stared at the cover, but just above it he could see the science books stacked on top of each other. His eyes kept moving back and forth between the books. He sighed and grabbed the science books, but then immediately put them underneath the couch.

“Out of sight…out of mind.” He said before opening the math book.

“Let’s see…algebra.”

Compared to the other books, he was only a few chapters into the math book. He tried his best to read through the pages, but it was much more difficult than anything else he had ever done before.

All of the words and numbers blurred together into a blob. He tried his best to focus his vision, but nothing worked. He groaned and tossed the book down to the floor, making the science books jolt and peek out from under the couch. The boy stared at them and puckered his lips while in deep thought. He finally reached down and grabbed the books, opening them up and reading through.

“I wanna be a scientist.” He muttered to himself softly.

After a few hours of reading through the science books, he went over and looked for some food to eat. He looked over all of the options, but there wasn’t much fresh or good stuff. He went to grab another microwaveable meal, pulling from the large stack in the back. He was about to throw it into the microwave, but suddenly all of the lights flickered out. The fridge and the freezer stopped working, and the microwave flipped off.

“Uh oh…”

He groaned and kept trying to hit the microwave, hoping it would suddenly start working again.

“Well great…guess I have to go fix this.”

The boy made his way over to the closet. The sun was bright enough to illuminate the living room, with the light bouncing off the floor just enough for him to see enough and walk around. He opened the door and reached up to grab a large black hooded jacket. He unzipped it and pulled it down before reaching down into a small box on the floor. Black gloves, black shoes, and a black face mask all sat inside. He put on everything he could, finishing with the face mask. As long as he kept the hood up, the only skin that was visible was his eyes and bottom of his forehead. As long as he looked down, it would be okay. He wouldn’t have to worry about people seeing his unusual skin. Once he was ready to go, he opened his front door and shut it tightly and quite harshly. Any softer and the door wouldn't have stayed closed.

He carefully and quietly walked along the floor before making it to the concrete stairs. He very slowly reached out and grabbed hold of the railing, slowly wrapping his fingers about the poorly maintained wood as his foot moved down to the first step. He continued to walk down the steps slowly and carefully, finally stopping on the ground floor and looking towards the entrance of the building. He pushed the door open just enough to peek his head out, looking down the sidewalks and streets to make sure nobody else was around. He took a big and deep breath as he stepped out onto the sidewalk.

The air was cold and thin, almost like the atmosphere was thin. The only buildings around were massive concrete blocks like the one he lived in. He looked out to see more massive billboards. Only a few had the lights on them to grab more attention, but it was impossible to look around and not see product placement. The roads were so poorly maintained that broken curbs, potholes, and serious cracks were everywhere. There were even parts of the road completely missing for multiple feet, making driving on them a nightmare.

The boy walked down the sidewalk, staring down at the sidewalk with his hands in his jacket pockets. He made his way through a small alleyway, barely wide enough for him to walk through, to get to the backside of his building. He continued to walk through the confined space before being able to step out and stretch his arms.

He looked over at a large generator attached to the wall. The boy slowly walked over and reached out to touch the door. It was quiet but very hot to the touch. The boy pulled his hand back and shook it around before pressing it hard into his jacket and stomach. He sighed and looked around the box before finding the panel that would open. It had a small lock on it that needed a key. The boy grabbed the lock, which wasn’t as hot as the rest of the box, and pulled. At first nothing happened, but the second time he pulled as hard as he could, not only breaking the lock in two, but making the panel and latch that held it shut break off as well. The boy fell back hard and looked at his gloved hand, holding the broken metal. He looked at the pieces laying on the floor and then looked up at the exposed machine. He groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet. He walked over and looked inside at the wires, which were a flood of criss crossed colors that made his head spin. He looked as far inside as he could, able to smell something burning as he got closer. He coughed harshly and reached inside. He touched the wires, but they didn’t do anything. He kept moving his hand around inside, able to realize the wires weren’t working.

“Well…if only I knew how to fix this.”

He reached inside and tried to look for a switch or button that could magically fix it. He kept reaching around before he could feel his eyes starting to glow and burn.

“Wait now? Why is…”

The boy turned around and was suddenly in the same spot, but the buildings were all destroyed and run down. He looked up at the building he lived in, with all but the first two stories completely gone. Rubble was everywhere. He looked around more to see more buildings had been put up, but those too were reduced to rubble.

“What the…”

His voice was once again deep with that hint of raspiness. He jumped back and looked at the electrical box. It looked the exact same, even with the criss crossed wires. The boy could feel the strange feeling wash over him, like he was being pushed back to just be an observer. He closed his eyes and felt himself float to the back of his own head.

“You know…you’re lucky I remember this happening…”

His voice spoke on its own accord, like he was watching his future self speak and act normally.

“Watch carefully so you know how to do it yourself. You’ll have to do this a few more times.” His voice spoke.

The young boy inside his own head watched on as his adult body did the work. He watched as closely as he could, watching him move the wires around and untwist them. He made sure to remember which ones went where. After he finished, the body shut the door firmly and clapped his hands together, which were covered by black leather gloves that resembled the gloves the young boy was wearing.

“I know you can’t really speak, but next time you get the chance, hug your Mom. Tell her you love her. It’s something I wish I did more often.”

The boy was confused as he continued to watch through his adult body’s eyes.

“Also…make sure you keep learning and studying…it will come in handy.”

The body said before softly laughing.

“Omen!”

The boy snapped back to his young body, looking at his hand still reaching deep into the electrical box.

Once again, he saw his adult body.

Once again, he heard that word get shouted out.

The boy quickly shook his head firmly before turning his full attention to the box. He began to grab the wires, rewiring and uncrossing exactly the way he saw. Once the final wire was moved, sparks flew out and sent him flying back. His gloves were ripped and exposed his orange fingers, which were burned from the fingertips down to the first knuckle. He sucked on them as he got back to his feet, making his way through the thin alleyway and back inside. His mind didn’t think about the broken metal laying on the ground, or what repercussions could possibly come from them.

He made it inside and shut the door, removing his clothes and putting them away exactly how he found them, hoping his Mom wouldn’t notice. He put the torn glove inside and was more focused on the burns on his fingers. He went to the sink and began to run cold water before putting his hand underneath them. He bit his lip and held back screaming as the cold water kept hitting his hot skin. It was the first time he had ever been burned, and it was more painful than he would’ve ever thought.

The boy was sitting on the couch, reading through an English textbook when the front door opened. He looked over to see his Mom walking in.

“Mom? You’re home early.”

It was still light outside, the room filled with warmth and light as the boy got up and ran over.

“Yeah…I um…I got fired from two of my jobs.”

She sounded sad and scared, the evidence of her already having bawled her eyes out covering her face.

“Oh no…I’m sorry Mom.”

He quickly helped her take her thin jacket off and hugged her tightly.

“It’s fine…I just have to find two more. Otherwise we won’t have money to finally leave.” She said, sounding exhausted.

“I could always get a job.” He replied.

She softly laughed and rubbed his head.

“I think you’re too young for that.” She joked.

She went over to the kitchen, quickly glancing over at the microwave before stopping.

“Why is the time flashing?” She asked.

The boy ran over and looked at the microwave, the time flashing on and off.

“Oh…the um…power went out…” The boy replied quietly.

“Well that’s not good. When did it come back on?” She asked.

“I wanna say not long, but I have been so busy studying I don’t remember.” He smiled up at her and watched her fix the microwave until the proper time was set and stayed bright.

“Well, that should be okay. What do you want to do while I’m here?” She asked.

“I don’t know…it’s the first time you’ve gotten home early.” The boy replied.

His Mother made her way past him and went into the bedroom. She lifted up the mattress off the floor, revealing a small key laying on the floor. She then took the key over to the closet, moving all of the jackets from one side to the other. There was a small keyhole she put the key inside, turning until there was a click. She pulled and a small door opened to reveal a small box. Inside was quite a large amount of money, disorganized and haphazardly sitting in a pile.

“Well…we have enough money to get some food delivered.” She said as she dug through the pile. The boy looked disappointed.

“We can’t go out to eat?” He asked.

She quickly turned and gave him a death stare.

“You know the rules.” She said quickly and sharply.

She took some money out before putting the box back, shutting the door, pulling the key out, and moving the jackets over. As she turned, her foot hit the box on the floor, knocking the lid off. She reached down to put the lid back, but stared inside at something that looked off.

“What happened to your glove?”

She pulled it out to see the torn material.

The boy looked nervous and held his arms behind his back, fiddling with his fingers while starting to look towards the ground.

“I don’t know…”

She ran over and grabbed his shoulders while gripping the glove hard.

“I need you to tell me…what happened?”

The boy slowly lifted his head up, tears running down his face.

“The power went out…so I went outside…”

Before he could say anything else, his Mother stepped back and threw the glove to the ground. The boy stared at the burnt and torn fabric.

“I have told you countless times! You can not go outside! If one person sees you, they will want to hurt you!” She screamed out.

“Nobody was outside…it was quiet.” He replied.

She raised her arm like she was going to slap him, but caught herself and began to break down crying as well. She dropped to her knees as the two hugged as tightly as they could, both letting all of their emotions flow out without holding back.

“You know I only want you to be okay. I love you sweetie. You are my special boy.” She said, burying her face into his shoulder and sobbing.

He choked on his tears and rubbed her back, still staring at the glove.

“I won’t leave ever again Mom. I promise.” He said.

The two continued to hug and cry as it felt like the world froze. They were the only things in the world at that moment.

While laying in bed late at night, the boy couldn’t keep his eyes closed. His eyes were wide open staring at the wall as he laid on his side, his back to his Mother wrapped up in the blanket. Once again he gave his half to her, making sure she stayed warm and comfortable while he shivered. He could hear a car drive on the road outside, the first time that had happened in years. He very carefully and quietly got to his feet, walking over to the small window that was covered in dirty and broken wooden boards. He peeked through a hole to look outside. The streets and buildings were illuminated only by billboards and advertisements flashing neon, which made the dark and cold street look like a canvas of moving and changing hues. Pink and blue blending together before the blue subtly morphs into a dark green, eventually being met with the pink changing to a multicolor video with lots of white and black, making the colors dance around like they were their own characters on the cold concrete and pavement.

In the dancing colors, the boy could see a few figures moving around and talking. One pulled out a flashlight, shining it over to a small car with a star on the door and writing that the boy couldn’t see clearly. The top of the car had a long line of lights that weren’t on. Despite all of the movement, all of the color, the people moving around…it was completely silent.

The boy watched as the other men pulled out flashlights, the bright pure light interrupting the beautiful and dancing colors, making them scatter like spiders running into the darkness. The men all made their way over to the alleyway, one by one walking through the cramped space until the boy lost track of them.

He continued to sit, being drawn back to the beautiful colors covering the ground and dancing around. The colors changed beautifully, like paint that washes away and turns into new colors. He got lost in the beauty, not realizing how much time had passed when he saw the pure lights appear once again, interrupting the beauty and peace. He hid as best he could while still being able to see. The men were standing around talking before they made their way back into the car. A loud siren blared out as flashing red and blue lights blasted out from the car. The car drove down the road until the lights disappeared into the darkness, and the siren went silent.

The boy made his way back to the mattress, climbing in and curling up into a ball as he tried to fall asleep.

“Sweetie? Sweetie wake up.”

The boy lifted his head up very slowly and opened his eyes, looking right at his Mother as she was softly shaking him.

“Mom? You’re never here when I wake up.” He sounded tired and rubbed his eyes.

“I gotta go look for more jobs, but today I have the day off.”

The boy looked confused.

“When was the last time that happened?” He asked.

“I’m not sure. I think before you were born to be honest.” She replied.

He yawned and stretched his entire body at the same time.

“I imagine you don’t usually sleep in so late. Did you sleep okay?” She asked.

“I fell asleep later than I normally do. There was something outside.” He replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll let you sleep a bit later while I make you a special breakfast.”

She kissed his forehead and put the blanket on top of him, tucking him in as he smiled. The boy turned to his side and curled up underneath the blanket. He heard his Mother walk out of the room and towards the kitchen. His eyes were shut peacefully and his hands under his head.

As the boy kept laying with his eyes closed, everything began to slowly fade away. As he laid in his bed, his eyelashes began to glow a faint orange shade.

The sound of screaming filled his ears, accompanied by gunfire and loud marching. He continued to lay and hear the noise. Tears subtly ran down his face, but his mouth began to slowly form into a smile. His mouth opened as he softly whispered to himself.

“I…am…”