The San Diego International Airport sat rather quiet.

There were only hundreds of people working or waiting for planes, yet it was still quiet.

Early in the morning, nobody was fully awake.

At one gate, a young white man was sitting wearing a metal band t-shirt under an open flannel with black jeans covered in holes and tears and black converse shoes.

He was slumped over far in the chair, his head at the bottom while his legs were stretched far out.

“Sit up.” A woman said with a silent shout.

The boy rolled his eyes and sat up, staring at a woman in her late 20s wearing a very expensive dress, sunglasses despite them being indoors while the sun was still hiding, and waving herself with a large fan.

Next to her was a man who was at least 20 years older than her, passed out asleep in an expensive suit.

“Why are we here so early?” The boy asked.

“Because I wanted to get here before too many people got here. Being seen along with all of these…” She stopped as she struggled to come up with a word to describe the poor people around her.

“Let me guess…peasants.” He said.

She shivered and covered her face.

“Maybe if you hadn’t broken the private jet, we’d already be in Bali by now. But you had to have a stupid party with your friends.” She tried her best to not be too loud. To not draw attention to herself.

“I’m going to use the bathroom. If Dad wakes up, tell him I ran away.” The boy said as he got up, walking away before she could say anything else.

She looked offended, but then pulled out her phone to message all of her friends in a group chat.

Over at another gate, a very large boy with dark skin was sitting, wearing a football jersey. He was reading War and Peace, a massive book that he was already halfway through.

“Are you ready?” A voice asked.

The young boy looked over at an older man with similar skin tone.

“I’m ready Dad.” The boy sighed.

His Dad sighed, leaning forward and reaching out to very slowly close the book.

“This school will be good for you. I mean, Notre Dame? You’ll get a full ride! All you gotta do is play football, and you are the best player I’ve ever seen.” His Dad said.

“But I told you. I don’t want to do football.” The boy said, trying to open the book again.

His Dad sighed.

“We’ve talked about this. You going to somewhere like Yale or MIT or Harvard is impressive, but then what are you going to do after that?” His Dad asked.

“And I told you I had a plan.” His Son replied, going back to reading the book.

“A quadruple major isn’t going to do anything for you. You’ll spend so much time focusing on studying that you won’t be able to do anything else. No football, no friends, no partying. You’ll just be learning.” His Dad said.

The boy didn’t respond.

To him, all of that stuff sounded perfect.

His Dad reached out and put his hand on the boy’s knee.

“Just think about your Mom.”

The boy suddenly felt his entire body go stiff and tense.

“Don’t do that. That’s not fair.”

The boy began to tear up.

His Dad sighed, sitting back with an apologetic face.

“I’m sorry…but you know what she wanted.” He said softly.

The boy shut his book rather hard.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

The boy stood up, his Father reaching out, but not following him.

“Fuck.” The Dad whispered to himself.

At a third gate, another young white boy was sitting. His hair was orange and curly, very poorly maintained. His eyes had heavy bags, almost like he had never slept in his entire life.

“Where’s the pretty lady with more…”

The boy looked over at an old man with a very poorly kept white beard. Around him were dozens of empty beer bottles and crushed up beer cans.

“That lady was a flight attendant. And she doesn’t have more drinks. She was picking up the ones you left here as a mess.” The boy said as he groaned.

“Well I need more. Go get me some.”

The man pulled out a wallet and threw it at the boy. The boy opened it to see an empty wallet, not even ID inside.

“Yeah…sure thing Dad.” He rolled his eyes and got up, just wanting to get away from his alcoholic Father.

He walked the quiet and empty halls of the airport terminal. None of the shops or food places were open. Everything was shut tightly. He found a vending machine full of junk food, stopping and staring at the bags of chips and candy bars. His stomach grumbled as he pulled at all four of his pockets in his blue jeans, all of them coming out to show they were completely empty.

“God damn it…” He mumbled to himself.

He could see his reflection in the glass of the vending machine.

His messy face and hair. The bags under his eyes so large and deep that his cheeks were almost gone completely.

He looked over his shoulder in the reflection, spotting his Dad walking around drunk.

“Shit.” He said before turning around and running after them.

At a fourth gate, there were 8 boys, all college aged wearing tank tops and shorts while laughing loudly.

“Man this trip is gonna be SIIIICCCKKK!” One shouted, dropping his voice very low as he shouted sick.

“I’m hoping to get fucked up man. I heard Ibiza has some crazy drugs you can’t find anywhere else.” Another said.

While the 8 boys laughed, a 9th sat at the edge, looking uncomfortable and nervous.

One turned to him, slapping his back hard, making him lose his breath in an instant.

“Aww what’s wrong boy, gotta call your Mom for permission?” He joked, all of the other boys laughing.

The boy immediately stood up and began to walk away, the boys all laughing and pointing at him.

He began to cry, so he wiped the tears away as he walked into the nearest restroom. He quickly made his way through the empty space and went to one of the stalls, shutting it and sitting down hard. He buried his face into his hands, crying quietly as his body shook.

As he sat, he heard the restroom door open again.

He stopped and looked at the bottom of the stalls, lifting his legs up so he couldn’t be spotted.

“God damn…”

A voice said, sounding tired and annoyed.

The large dark skinned boy made his way to the mirror, turning the sink on and splashing the water onto his face. He groaned and stared deep into the eyes of his reflection, taking long and deep breaths.

A few seconds later, the door opened again.

The first young boy with his metal shirt walked in, immediately going to the sinks and leaning against the wall, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the internet.

The dark skinned boy looked over at him and smirked.

“Hiding from your parents?” He asked.

“Crazy stepmom who married my dad for his money. You?” He asked.

“Dad who wants me to go to college to play football rather than go where I want to go and do what I want to do.” He replied.

“Oh, that’s gotta suck.” The other boy replied.

“What’s your name?” The dark skinned boy asked.

The other boy sighed.

“Tristan. Yours?” He asked.

The black boy sighed.

“Kenny.”

“Why the sigh?” Tristan asked.

“I’m named after Kenny Washington.” He replied.

Tristan looked completely oblivious.

“Kenny Washington? First African American to sign a contract with the NFL? There’s a documentary about him and three other athletes called Forgotten Four.” Kenny said.

Tristan kept looking oblivious.

“Alright, whatever.” He sighed.

The stall door opened as the other boy stepped out, both of them looking at him.

“Did you flush?” Tristan asked.

“Did you even go?” Kenny asked.

The boy looked nervous and scared, wiping his eyes quickly.

“Y…y…yeah…just need…to…” He began to walk towards the sinks with shaking hands.

Tristan sighed.

“What’s going on with you buddy?” He asked.

The boy looked nervous and cleared his throat.

“Well…my name…is Jordan…and I’m…in a fra…frat house…” He said.

Tristan softly chuckled.

“Let me guess. They did all the hazing stuff to you?” Tristan joked, thinking it was light hearted.

“They…locked me…in a basement…for a week…completely naked…during winter break.” He said.

Tristan’s eyes went wide as Kenny stepped back.

“Holy shit.” They both said in unison.

“I almost died…got saved by a janitor who wasn’t even supposed to be there.” Jordan said as his eye teared up.

Kenny stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him.

Jordan immediately began to cry as he was embraced, wrapping his arms around Kenny.

Kenny and Tristan looked at each other, Kenny mouthing to Tristan.

“Get over here.”

Tristan moved his arms around as he mouthed back.

“What am I gonna do?”

“Hug him.”

“I don’t want to hug him. I’m not a group hug kind of guy either.”

Kenny gave very intense eyes to Tristan, who rolled his own before walking over. He was about to wrap his arms around Jordan from behind, but then the restroom door flung open loudly, making all three boys jump.

The drunk man stumbled in, needing the wall to hold himself up as he began to stand between two urinals, pulling his pants all the way down.

“Dad!”

The fourth boy ran in and pulled his Dad to the side just before he began to pee with a loud and long stream into the urinal. The boy groaned and rubbed his head as his Dad peed.

“Sorry about that. He likes to stumble around when he’s drunk.” He said, looking like the dictionary definition of exhaustion.

“You need to get in on this group hug?” Kenny asked.

Tristan looked at Kenny annoyed as Jordan wiped his face.

“Group hug? Why would I do that with some strangers?” He asked.

“I’m Kenny. That’s Tristan and this is Jordan. There, now we’re not strangers anymore.” Kenny said with a smile.

The boy softly chuckled and tried to hide a smirk.

“Alright, but why should I tell you my name?” He asked.

“I didn’t say you had to.” Kenny replied.

The boy looked over at Tristan, who was scratching the back of his head.

“What’s everyone else’s deal?” He asked.

Tristan looked at him annoyed.

“Tristan has a crazy gold digger stepmom. I got a Dad pushing me to do something I don’t want to do. Jordan here is in an abusive cult.” Kenny said.

“Abusive cult? Is that code for frat house or something?” The boy asked.

Kenny shrugged as the boy locked eyes with Jordan.

“Well damn. I’m sorry to hear that.” He said.

They all stood in silence, well as much silence as they could with the boy’s dad still peeing.

“So, what’s your name?” Tristan asked.

“Joan! I need your help!” The boy’s father shouted.

The boy sighed and slowly closed his eyes, embarrassed.

“Yeah yeah dad.” He walked over and grabbed his dad by his shoulders, shaking him to get the last bit of pee out. The he crouched down in order to help him get his pants up. Even having to button and zip them.

“Joan?” Kenny asked.

“Cause when he was born…he looked like Joan Jett!” His father shouted before falling to the ground, snoring loudly.

Joan clenched his hands into fists before taking a very slow and deep breath.

“That’s a very weird person to look like when you’re born.” Kenny replied.

“Are you like secretly old or something? Who are these people?” Tristan asked.

“You don’t know who Joan Jett is?” Kenny asked.

“No. I listen to good music.” Tristan showed off his shirt.

“Alright, we can discuss that at another time.” Kenny replied.

The boys all looked at each other with awkward tension.

“So, I guess we should go back to our gates now huh?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah. Never thought I’d make friends in a airport bathroom.” Joan said.

“Nope. We aren't friends. Just some guys who were in the bathroom at the same time.” Tristan replied.

He went to leave, but a airport police officer walked into the bathroom. All four boys froze with faces of panic as the officer looked at the passed out man on the floor.

Kenny immediately lifted his hands into the air while Jordan and Joan slowly lifted theirs, and Tristan didn’t lift his at all.

“What’s going on in here?” The officer asked.

“Just my dad being drunk and passed out like always.” Joan said as he tried to pick his dad up, but he was too heavy.

The officer looked at the other three boys.

Tristan looked like he couldn’t be bothered, Jordan looked only slightly fearful, and Kenny was shaking and sweating.

“Excuse me son, are you alright?” The officer asked as his eyes locked onto Kenny, who towered over himself and the other boys.

Kenny stared at him with more panic in his eyes.

“Officer he didn’t do anything. Lay off.” Tristan said.

The officer turned his attention to Tristan, reaching down to his belt.

“Excuse me?” The officer asked.

“Oh come on. You’re an officer at an airport. What can you do?” Tristan asked.

The officer softly chuckled, then went to punch Tristan.

His arm suddenly froze in midair, his entire body seeming to go rigid, yet shaking.

His eyes were full of pain and anger, bulging with bloodshot eyes.

Tristan looked confused, but then looked over the officer’s shoulder.

Joan was crouched on the ground with his eyes glowing blood red.

“No ******* way.” Tristan said, shocked at what he was seeing.

The officer suddenly dropped to the ground as Joan’s eyes stopped glowing.

“I…” Tristan started.

“You didn’t see anything.” Joan said as he lifted his father up, not struggling at all.

“No I mean…”

Tristan’s eyes began to glow bright purple as the air around him was pressed into tight balls in his hands, turning into liquid, then solid oxygen and hydrogen. In a split second, the solid turned into balls of plasma before he let them turn back into air.

“Oxygen Manipulation?” Joan asked.

“Hydrogen. Can control it completely. Change the state of matter, control where it goes. Stuff like that.” Tristan asked.

“So you could control water?” Joan asked.

“It’s difficult because of the oxygen, but yeah.” Tristan replied.

“Nice. I got Collagen. Rather specific, but comes in handy for things like that.” Joan replied back.

The two then looked over at Kenny and Jordan.

“Shit.” Tristan said.

Jordan swallowed hard, closing his eyes slowly when they began to glow a faint, dark blue color.

He opened them, and the light bulbs in the room began to flicker rapidly before bolts of electricity shot out and into Jordan’s body. The room was dark, pitch black with all of the lights off. Lightning flickered and ran over his body, creating flashes of light and sparks to illuminate himself and the space around him, before they shot back to the light bulbs, the lights turning back on and shining as if nothing happened.

“Electricity…don’t really understand it more than that.” Jordan said with a nervous smile.

All three of them turned and looked at Kenny, who had an obviously fake face of shock.

“Holy shit! This is crazy! What the **** am…”

Kenny realized the three didn’t buy it, making him sigh and slouch his shoulders.

“Alright fine.”

He went over to the kitchen counter and put his hand on it. He closed his eyes and they began to glow a dark brown color.

His skin suddenly became the same pattern as the counter. Very ugly beige, green, and brown dots covering his hand before it spread more. Within a few seconds, his entire body was the same color and pattern. He pulled his hand away and raised his arms up.

“Somebody come hit me.” He said.

Tristan walked over and felt his skin.

It was the same material as the counter.

“Holy shit.” He said.

“Skin, muscles, even my bones.” He replied.

Tristan pulled his hand back and punched hard, his hand hitting a wall and making him clutch his hand.

“Aww…fuck!” He said loudly as he shook his hand around.

Kenny softly laughed before closing his eyes and seeming to concentrate. His body slowly went back to its normal skin tone and texture.

“How does that work?” Joan asked.

“I have done a lot of research into it. I haven’t exactly found any research papers about human bodies changing the material they’re made of.” Kenny joked.

The four boys looked at each other, unsure what to do or say next.

“So…we just go back to our awful lives and pretend we never met?” Jordan asked.

They continued to all share looks at each other.

“You know…I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.” Joan piped in.

“Well, here we are.”

The four young men were standing outside the airport, looking around at the small but beautiful land of Hawaii.

None of them had any luggage or personal belongings, only the clothing that they were currently wearing on their bodies.

“What should we do first?” Joan asked.

“Find a place to stay. Get some new clothes.” Tristan replied.

“Sounds like a plan.” Kenny said afterwards.

Jordan looked around, almost unbelieving that he was in the beautiful place he was in.

“Well I guess we gotta get going then. Can’t just stand around here forever.” Tristan said as he began to walk forward a few steps, then stopped and looked around.

“You have no idea where you’re going do you?” Kenny asked.

“No I do not.” Tristan replied.

“And here I was thinking you were some rich kid who had traveled the whole world.” Kenny said in a teasing tone.

“Oh please. I’ve been to Hawaii before, just not this island.” He replied.

“Way to brag.” Kenny joked.

Tristan pulled out his cellphone and began to type away, then lifted the phone to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” Joan asked.

Tristan held his finger up, the others all staying silent.

“Henry? It’s Tristan. No I’m not…well it’s complicated. Is the beach house available? Alright, thank you. We are at the Hana Airport. Yes I know. I know Henry. Take your time. There is no rush. Alright, that sounds perfect.”

Tristan hung up the phone.

“And?” Kenny asked.

“Butler is coming to get us next week so we can stay at a family beach house. Until then, we are here for a week.”

Tristan looked at Kenny and Joan standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Um…where’s Jordan?” Tristan asked.

Kenny and Joan both began to look around.

“He must’ve wandered off.” Joan said.

“Well we need to go find him.” Kenny replied.

“Why? I’m not his parent.” Tristan said.

“Because we should stick together until we get settled.” Kenny replied.

“Oh my God I did not plan on being a babysitter when we did this.” Tristan complained.

“Well too bad. We gotta find him.” Kenny said, taking off in one direction. Joan began to follow him until Kenny stopped.

“No, I go this way. You go that way.” Kenny pointed the opposite direction.

“Oh yeah, right.” Joan replied, turning around and walking quickly.

“I’m buying leashes for all of you.” Tristan said loudly as he turned around.

He took a few steps before bumping into two young men, dressed in leather outfits and looking seductively at Tristan.

“Nope. Not dealing with this.” Tristan turned around and began to walk quickly, typing on his phone as he did.

Jordan was wandering around the empty fields surrounding the small airport. He continued to walk aimlessly, unsure of where to go or what to do.

He eventually made his way to an area with beautiful trees and flowers. He walked into the covering quietly, looking around at the beauty.

The flowers were all sorts of colors and shapes, creating a beautiful field for him to admire.

Jordan reached out, feeling the flowers brush against his skin.

But as Jordan reached out, he could feel something strange happening in his body.

His eyes began to glow, his reaction seeming to become afraid and nervous as they did.

It didn’t make sense to him.

Lightning suddenly fired out from his hand, hitting the flowers and exploding into a violent burst of flames that sent him flying back.

Jordan was breathing very quickly, hyperventilating from fear and nervousness as he panicked, looking around.

There was a small, poorly maintained metal building nearby.

Jordan got up and ran to it as quickly as he could.

“Please! Help! There’s a fire!” He shouted as he ran through the front door.

The building was empty, nothing inside but a rundown room with a torn up floor, a wall missing, and holes in the roof.

Jordan was breathing even faster and shorter breaths, beginning to stumble as he grew more and more light headed.

“I need…need to find…a way…to help.”

Jordan fell over, sitting against the wall as his eyes began to water and his body began to shake.

He pulled his knees close to his chest, struggling to handle what had happened.

Tristan was walking around aimlessly, looking for something or someone to help him find Jordan.

Tristan sighed and began to scroll through his phone as he walked.

“Jordan, where are you?” He said not too loudly, as if faking that he was trying.

Tristan yawned, stopping and looking as if he was about to lay down on the ground.

But then he could smell something.

Something burning.

He looked up to see a massive cloud of black smoke overtaking the sky, blocking out the beautiful and serene blue. It overtook the white clouds and corrupted them into the same dark tint.

“Uh oh.” Tristan said softly.

Kenny was speed walking quickly, determined to find Jordan.

“Jordan!” He said loudly, looking around as he walked along the edge of a cliff, looking over and into the ocean just to be safe.

“Jordan! You here buddy?” He continued to yell.

As Kenny walked around, he kept looking out onto the silent ocean with the waves hitting the rock in an almost muted way.

He smiled, never thinking he would see such a beautiful view in his life.

“Well, this sure does feel nice.” He said softly, smiling before continuing to walk.

“Jordan!” He shouted.

He turned to look away from the coast, freezing as he saw a massive pillar of black smoke shooting into the air.

“Oh shit.” Kenny said, immediately taking off running as quickly as he could.

Joan was walking a different direction, continuing to walk towards a small beach full of people.

He immediately froze and looked around, thinking about turning around and walking back.

He swallowed hard and put his hands into his pockets as deep as he could.

“Alright…do it for Jordan.” He whispered.

Joan began to walk, going onto the sand which was dark, almost black with a large amount of black rocks everywhere.

Children were running around and loudly cheering and laughing.

Teenagers were loudly talking and laughing.

Everyone was in swim trunks and bikinis, showing a lot of skin while Joan was wearing dark blue jeans and a t-shirt.

He wasn’t looking at any of the people as he walked by.

He just looked down at the dark sand and moved.

“Woah! What’s that?” Somebody shouted loudly.

Joan was confused and lifted his gaze to see everyone facing the direction he came from. He slowly turned around, seeing a massive cloud of black smoke reaching up into the sky.

Joan’s face dropped and his eyes went wide.

People didn’t run away, instead standing still and staring at the massive plume of smoke.

Joan immediately began to sprint as quickly as he could towards the smoke.

Tristan made it to the large area of trees, flowers, and bushes all being consumed by a massive fire. The fire had expanded to the size of a football field, everything inside being turned to ash.

Tristan cracked his neck and closed his eyes to concentrate.

“What the **** is going on?” Kenny suddenly shouted.

Tristan groaned and opened his eyes, annoyed.

“It’s a giant fire dumbass! Can’t you see?” Tristan shouted back.

Tristan closed his eyes to focus again.

“Where’s Jordan?” Kenny shouted.

Tristan ignored him at first.

“Where is he?” Kenny shouted again as he walked closer to him.

“I don’t know man! Now shut up so I can put this fire out!” Kenny screamed.

Kenny sighed and looked around, seeing the abandoned building and quickly running to it.

Tristan’s eyes began to glow through his eyelids as he took long and deep breaths.

The flames were slowly beginning to shrink in size.

The hydrogen being drained out and pushing all of the air out with it, creating a growing vacuum that the fire began to die inside.

Tristan was taking more and longer, deeper breaths as he tried to focus with everything he had.

As he was using his power, his body was slowly beginning to grow thinner. His muscles were shrinking rapidly as his breathing began to hesitate and struggle.

“Fuck…” He groaned quietly.

Tristan had created a full vacuum, the fire almost completely gone as he kept the air out, a sphere of hydrogen blocking everything else.

“Tristan!” Joan shouted, grabbing Tristan as a way to slow him down from his fast running.

Tristan was forced forward from the force, his concentration broken as the sphere suddenly collapsed.

All of the air quickly rushed in, a massive explosion of fire and hot air rushing out in every direction. The forceful shockwave sent both Tristan and Joan flying back as the fire was now suddenly three times larger, a massive and uncontrollable flame overtaking everything nearby.

Inside of the abandoned building, Kenny ran inside and looked around.

“Well, that’s good. Nobody…”

Kenny turned and was about to run out the door again, but spotted Jordan curled up in a ball against the wall and on the floor.

“Jordan?” He shouted.

The building was suddenly consumed by a massive shockwave of hot air, the building shaking and the roof collapsing in on itself. The flame had grown large enough that it was beginning to overtake the wooden and metal as Kenny groaned. He turned to see the entire side of the house being obscured by a wall of flames. He looked around before seeing his hands on the dirty, concrete foundation of a floor.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. They began to glow through his eyelids when his entire body turned into concrete. He stood up just as the roof collapsed over him, the hot metal and wood breaking over his hard body. He ran to Jordan, who was still curled into an anxious ball.

“We gotta go!” Kenny screamed, picking Jordan up.

Jordan was balling heavily as he put his arm around Kenny’s shoulders.

He struggled to walk, his emotions so hard and heavy that they were weighing him down.

Kenny ran through the safe side of the building, through the missing wall and into the field.

He turned to see Tristan and Joan arguing and almost fighting as the fire grew larger and larger every second.

“God damn it!” Kenny shouted, picking Jordan up fully onto his back before running quickly.

“I had it under control !” Tristan screamed.

“I said I’m sorry!” Joan shouted back.

Tristan was getting red both from anger and the heat hitting his skin.

“Go away!” Tristan shouted.

Joan went silent and stepped back as Tristan looked at the giant inferno.

“Fuck. Okay, I have an idea.” Tristan said as he shut his eyes.

He was reaching back to the ocean, the waves beginning to move more aggressively and rapidly, The water began to group together and pull away from the shore, collecting together into a massive wave that was sitting still. Tristan began to move the wall closer to the land and fire, the wave racing at a high speed.

“What are you doing?” Kenny shouted.

Tristan gritted his teeth as he tried to keep his focus.

“Tristan is trying to put the flame out!” Joan shouted.

Tristan shut his eyes as tightly as he could.

His muscles were draining away so quickly as he was straining himself further than ever before.

The massive wave was beginning to block out the clean sky.

The sky became half black, hellish darkness. And the other half a shimmering and heavenly glow as the Sun reflected off the water moving through the air.

“AHHHHH!” Tristan screamed as the wave reached higher into the sky.

The people at the beach all screamed at the tidal wave seeming to come out of nowhere, trying their best to run to safety.

The massive wave finally crashed down violently, completely submerging the half of the island, the water racing to the Red Hill and Waihou Spring Trail, the water ending and sitting as still, harmless puddles.

But behind the limit, everything was buried under miles and miles of water.

The water very quickly raced back to the ocean, things becoming uncovered in about a minute.

Everyone was coughing violently.

Fish and other sea life were covering the ground, flopping around before quickly dying.

Kenny coughed hard, his body still concrete but soaked completely through. Kenny groaned as his body began to stiffen, preventing him from moving until he forced his body back to normal, collapsing to the ground and gasping for air.

Joan and Jordan were both violently coughing and vomiting the ocean water from their lungs.

Tristan was laying on the ground, his body incredibly thin and slender, almost like a skeleton laying on the soaking wet ground with flopping fish surrounding him.

The innocent citizens on the beach were all gasping and coughing violently.

Well, at least the ones that weren’t lying on the coast unmoving and unbreathing.

A massive fire that was spreading rapidly, immediately followed by half an island suddenly submerged under the ocean.

The four young men were sitting at a rocky cliff near the Waikaloa Bay.

Tristan was wrapped up in a blanket they found in poor condition, but it was thick and warm. He was eating a very large bowl of rice and fish that had landed on the ground. His muscle definition was almost back to normal, but not all the way back to normal.

Jordan was still curled into a tight ball, his bowl of rice and fish sitting completely untouched on the ground next to him.

Kenny was standing, holding his empty bowl as he stared out to the vast ocean, with the sea levels visibly lower than normal. He continued to just stare out in contemplation.

Joan was sitting with his legs crossed as he picked at his food, repeatedly rubbing his tired eyes.

The four of them sat in complete silence.

Tension thicker than steel.

Joan reached down and rubbed his hand along the rocky ground, which was still moist from the tidal wave of water.

The trees nearby were dripping water off their leaves and branches.

Tristan finally finished his bowl and placed it down.

He lifted his gaze just enough to stare out into the vast horizon in front of him. His eyes were somber and full of sorrow as he pulled his knees close to his chest.

His muscles were all back to their normal size, but even then it didn’t matter.

Jordan’s eyes continued to be full of anxiety and fear. He wasn’t shaking anymore, but the language his body was speaking was enough.

“So…hell of a first day.” Joan said.

Kenny turned to look back at him while Jordan and Tristan both continued to stare forward.

“Stop talking.” Kenny said rather demandingly.

“Oh come on. We need to talk about this. We can’t just sulk and be sad.” Joan said as he slowly stood up to his feet.

Tristan turned to look at Joan, his eyes beginning to turn red from tears. Jordan’s eyes were already painfully red and dry, his body running out of tears to cry.

“We need to get better at using our abilities. If we don’t, we might destroy this entire island.” Kenny said.

“You think the news has broken?” Jordan asked.

“Probably. I mean, a fire that could probably be seen from space followed by half the island disappearing under water.” Kenny replied dryly.

Both Jordan and Tristan looked like the response was a gut punch. Their faces were both covered in sorrow as Joan sighed, scratching his head and face.

“Well, we should figure out a place to stay for the next few days. No boats or planes are traveling in the area until they figure out the cause of the incidents.” Tristan said, reading breaking news off of his phone.

“How is your phone working?” Kenny asked.

“Because I have a waterproof phone. The only problem will be when I go to charge it.” Tristan replied.

Jordan pushed his small container of rice and fish to Tristan.

They didn’t share any words, just looked at each other when Jordan gave a subtle nod.

Tristan moved the fish around and put his phone in the rice, letting it sit and absorb the moisture.

“Thanks.” Tristan said softly.

Jordan gave a very small smile before turning away.

“Well, we should find somewhere far away from any towns or cities.” Kenny said.

“There aren’t many on this island. We’ll be fine.” Tristan replied.

“Well, where is that city?” Kenny asked.

“Kahului. We’re on the other side of the island from it so we’ll be okay.” Tristan replied.

“Sounds good. But there are a few houses spread out around here.” Kenny said.

“A small neighborhood.” Joan said.

“So, where should we go?” Kenny asked.

“Nānu'Alele Point.” Jordan spoke up.

The other three looked at him surprised.

“It’s far from most things here. The roads to get to it are long and hard to traverse.” Jordan replied.

“I like the sound of it, but how sure are we?” Kenny asked.

The four young men shared glances at each other repeatedly.

“Whether it’s perfect or not, we don’t have too many other choices.” Tristan replied.

The four continued to share glances, as if waiting for somebody to give direction or take charge.

“Alright, let’s go.” Kenny finally said.

Jordan and Tristan moved closer in order to help each other get to their feet. Tristan picked up the container full of rice and his phone as they all began to walk along the coastline.

“So, what should we do when we get there?” Joan asked.

“Build a house or something.” Kenny replied.

“That sounds like a lot of work.” Tristan joked, sounding like he was complaining.

“Unless you got some workers to build one for you.” Kenny replied back.

Tristan tried his best to make it look like that didn’t bother him as they continued to walk.

The four made their way along the coastline, finally coming across their end point.

Kenny was carrying Jordan on his back while Tristan and Joan had their arms wrapped over each other.

“Holy shit…my legs are killing me.” Tristan complained.

“We’re almost there. I see a good open spot.” Kenny said.

Jordan lifted his head up and looked forward.

“This seems remote enough.” Jordan said.

“Let’s hope so.” Tristan replied.

All four men dropped to the ground, leaning against different trees while panting and stretching their legs, massaging the burning and aching muscles.

“Holy shit…I’ve never walked that far before.” Tristan said.

“At least you weren’t carrying somebody.” Kenny replied.

Jordan frowned and hid his face as he kept massaging his sore legs.

“So, we gonna tear down all these trees and build a house?” Tristan asked.

“We can’t tear down too many, otherwise it’ll draw attention.” Kenny replied.

“And we shouldn’t take any from the outer perimeter. That way even if boats come by, they won’t notice.” Joan chimed in.

“Sounds good.” Kenny said.

The four men all sat around and continued to rest, sitting in tired silence.

“So…” Jordan said softly.

“So.” Joan replied, as neutral a tone as he could give.

“So.” Tristan said, sounding tired and annoyed.

“So.” Kenny said in a light and cheerful tone.

All four men began to smirk, which quickly turned to quiet laughing.

“Did any of us ever imagine we’d run away to live in Hawaii with strangers we met in an airport bathroom?” Kenny asked.

“Well, when you say it like that…” Jordan began to say before they all started laughing.

“Yeah well, what should we do?” Joan asked.

Tristan snapped his fingers.

“I have an idea.”

“Okay…you’re not allowed to have any more ideas.” Kenny said with his arms crossed over his chest.

The four young men were all standing on a small hill, staring down at a nudist beach with people walking through the sand and lying down to get an even tan.

“Oh come on. We can all enjoy this right?” Tristan asked as he began to take his shirt off.

Jordan very slowly and nervously started to pull his own shirt, but Kenny reached out and softly grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Tristan, didn’t we agree to take things slow and stay hidden?” Kenny asked.

“Hey, I’m here to party.” Tristan replied.

“Well, we’re going to go build a house. Come back when you’re going to take this more seriously.” Kenny turned around.

“Oh my God it’s not a big deal.” Tristan replied, making Kenny stop in his tracks.

“What did you just say?” Kenny asked.

Tristan swallowed hard, knowing he just messed up.

Kenny turned back and stepped face to face with Kenny.

“We submerged half an island underwater. We don’t even know how many people are dead. So why don’t you actually take this shit seriously.” Kenny replied.

Tristan was hiding his gaze, but suddenly stood up straight and stared back with intensity.

“You don’t know how I ******* feel. I’m the one who did that shit and this is how I grieve. This is the only way I’ll be able to keep it back. I’m not going to feel sorry or depressed, I’m going to ignore those feelings and enjoy life. So leave me alone and let me do what I need to do.” Tristan said before taking his shirt off while still staring deep into Kenny’s eyes. His torso was muscular but thin as he stood. He undid his pants and pulled them down while staying stoic and strong in his composure.

The group was silent as Tristan stood *****, his face just under Kenny’s.

Tristan finally turned and marched off towards the beach as the three others watched.

“You going to join him?” Kenny asked.

Joan and Jordan shared glances with each other.

“Alright…let’s go build a house.” Kenny said soft and somber before turning to walk the other direction.

Joan and Jordan were trying to communicate in silence, their faces and bodies shifting and motioning in either direction.

Finally, Jordan went after Kenny while Joan slowly made his way towards the beach, slowly and nervously removing his clothes as he did.

Tristan was standing nude, looking out at the water.

His eyes were beginning to tear up.

He swallowed hard as he quickly turned away, not wanting to look over the water anymore.

He cleared his throat before making his way over to a beautiful blonde girl laying on the beach, who looked to be about his age. A young college aged girl who didn’t have any worries and responsibilities.

Her hair was incredibly curly and stretched down past her shoulders as she smiled wide, not even shades on her surprisingly pale and smooth skin.

“Hey, you from around here?” Tristan asked.

She opened her eyes, which were a piercingly bright blue color as she looked over at him. She slowly sat up and smiled.

“Depends on how far you mean when you say around.” She replied.

Tristan smirked and moved to sit down next to her.

“Well, why don’t we have a conversation and I’ll determine if that’s what I mean.” He replied.

She simply shrugged with her smile staying wide and vibrant.

“I guess you could say I’m from the ocean. Spend more time there than anywhere else.” She said as she turned to face the water.

Tristan turned to look at it, but then stopped.

The haunting blue that many others found relaxing and soothing made his brain want to scream.

“Yeah…I can understand that.” Tristan said in a weak and tired voice.

“A shame about that tidal wave though.” She replied.

Tristan felt his body tense up as he forced a swallow down his throat.

“Yeah…crazy huh?” He replied, trying to sound casual and friendly.

“So, what brings you here?” She asked, shifting to lean back and look at him on her side.

“How do you know I’m not from here?” He asked.

“I looked at you and heard you talk.” She replied.

Tristan began to feel more at ease as he spoke.

“Is that…is that a compliment or an insult?” Tristan asked.

“Not sure. Guess we’ll have to see what happens.” She replied.

A shout suddenly filled the air as Tristan looked over at the water.

Jordan had slipped and fell into the water just as a wave came, pulling him further away from the shore.

“Son of a…” Tristan mumbled to himself, but the girl suddenly jumped up and ran quickly into the water, diving in with beautiful ease.

Tristan watched as she disappeared under the blue liquid, clean and reflecting the peaceful sky with shining light.

Tristan swallowed at the tranquil sea, still feeling uneasy and afraid.

The woman suddenly appeared out within a few seconds, carrying Jordan in her arms like he weighed nothing.

Tristan watched on feeling multiple emotions.

Horniness. Confusion. Relief.

“This yours?” The girl asked, holding Jordan before dropping him onto the sand right by Tristan’s feet.

Jordan gasped as he hit, water shooting out of his mouth.

“Holy shit that’s salty.” He said as he gasped and coughed violently.

Tristan’s eyes were locked onto the girl as he swallowed hard.

“Y…yeah…I know him.” He replied.

The girl smiled and turned around, walking towards the water.

“Well, make sure you don’t lose him again. I’ll see you around.” She said before she dove into the water, disappearing while Tristan was frozen in place.

“You okay?” Tristan asked quietly while still staring blankly forward.

“I think so. You?” Jordan asked as he finally got into a sitting position.

“I think…I’m in love.” Tristan replied.