Prologue: The Fall Of The Eagles
The buildings continued to burn and the screams of my kin continued to fill my ears. It was as if flying away at a high speed was doing absolutely nothing to allow me to escape the ensuing chaos.
"FABIANA!"
I blinked for a brief moment and turned back in front of me to see my father looking back at me. The concern in his eyes was more than I had ever seen before.
"You have to get out of here...it's not safe here anymore," he said.
I shook my head as we landed.
"But...what about mom?" I asked.
He shook his hand and crouched down to hug me.
"I'll do my best to get her out of there but your safety is what's important right now," he replied.
He led me to a small shack in the middle of the woods and handed me a bag.
"You have to keep yourself hidden...no matter what happens to me or anyone else, you have to keep your identity a secret...do you understand?" he asked.
I nodded slowly as he smiled at me.
"You've always been a good girl Fabiana...I never wanted you to be involved in the coming chaos but fate seems to have had other plans for us all," he said.
"What's happening dad?" I asked.
His eyes slowly turned green, indicating that he was focusing his power.
"The end of our kind..."
I jolted back to reality, looking around frantically for anything that could do me harm...only to realize that I was perfectly safe. I cursed loudly as I saw my alarm clock had gotten fried from my lack of control over my powers.
"Damn it...now I have to get another one,"
I slowly rose from my bed and looking at my phone to see that I had slept in yet again.
"Fourth day in a row...I guess I won't be driving today,"
My phone began to vibrate and I smiled in relief as I recognized the name.
"Hello?"
"You sound like you just watched a horror film,"
I rolled my eyes as I walked into my bathroom.
"Dreams are annoying," I replied.
"And you overslept again,"
I sighed deeply.
"It was hard to sleep last night...I dreamt of my dad again,"
"It happened years ago Fabiana...you've got to let it go,"
I shook my head.
"I'll see you in class?"
"I'll be late today; have to get something done before I leave,"
"Didn't finish your homework on time again didn't you?"
I snickered at her sigh.
"You know me so well,"
"I wouldn't be much of a best friend if I didn't know you inside out Mili,"
She laughed softly.
"Bring it to class; I'll take a look at it for you and we can probably do it quickly," I said.
"You're the best," she replied.
I shook my head, laughing softly to myself as I cut off the call. I quickly made myself presentable before going back into the study. I ensured my bag had all of the books I needed for the day and once I was satisfied, I slung it over my shoulder. I looked to my car keys on the desk and shook my head.
"There's no way I'm going to get there on time in that old thing..."
I put the hood of my jacket over my head and made my way to the back of my house. I closed my eyes and listened closely to the surrounding environment. Once I was satisfied that there was no one around, I took a breath before taking to the air. Once I felt I was high enough to not be noticed by others, I shot off towards school.
Did four years really pass by so quickly since that fateful day? The day where all of my kind met their end at the hands of the combined efforts of the other factions. The day I lost everything...
The day that we would all remember as the Fall Of The Eagles.
"So is this where the new class is supposed to take place?" asked Mili.
Fabiana nodded slowly.
"Looks like it...don't understand why this is suddenly now a required course," she replied.
"I guess the humans really want to let everyone be aware of that day and help them to fully understand us," she replied.
They took their seats at the second to last row of the auditorium.
"Times like this I'm really thankful that the school's mostly made up of them," said Mili with a sigh of relief.
"I agree," replied Fabiana.
They were broken from their conversation once the audible pang of microphone feedback filled the air. They turned to see a man, no older than 50 sitting at the desk in the middle of the room. He was dressed in a suit but had taken the jacket off and loosened his red tie slightly in order to speak a little more freely.
"Everyone take your seats so we can begin?" he asked.
Fabiana removed a blank notebook from her bag and watched attentively while Mili simply took out her phone.
"Aren't you going to pay attention?" asked Fabiana.
"Why bother when you're going to write everything he says anyway?" she replied with a snicker.
Fabiana rolled her eyes.
"Now I'm sure that everyone here is fully aware of the coup that occurred 5 years ago but to refresh everyone's memory, we're going to revisit," he said.
He picked up a small black object and pressed a button which caused the large projector above him to come to life. The large board behind him then produced three images, each detailing the features of the different factions.
"As you all know, superhumans are very much real and this is made possible by the genetic mutation of a set of genes known only as the Raptor genes," he explained.
A student raised his hand as the professor pointed to him.
"What precisely causes the mutation sir?" he asked.
The man adjusted his glasses.
"Scientists are still unraveling exactly what causes the mutation but from what we understand, mankind evolved an extra set of chromosomes roughly 200 years ago, which is what caused The Great Divide that sorted all of us into the countries we are now,"
He clicked the button again which caused the projector to switch to a picture of a man with bright orange eyes.
"The most common mutation is this one which we call the Vulture, denoted by the deep orange pupils that are common to this particular set of Raptor genes,"
He clicked again to show a picture of the same man, now restrained against a wall with steel buckles. Unlike before, his eyes were now deep red and he seemed to be in an almost feral rage as he struggled to escape his bonds.
"Vultures are extremely dangerous and are often considered the most dangerous type of superhuman due to their innate feral nature as well as their ability to consume the DNA of other superhumans in order to evolve into this..."
With another click, the very same man appeared but instead of orange eyes, they appeared almost golden.
"Any Vulture who consumes enough DNA will evolve into an Alpha, which is considered the most dangerous threat in the known world," he explained.
"Why are they so dangerous?" asked a student.
The man looked towards her.
"Alphas are on a different level of power in comparison to their lesser counterparts and are more than capable of overwhelming most living beings with little to no effort and unlike their previous forms, they do not suffer the same blind rage that they are all susceptible to," he said.
Fabiana's eyes narrowed as the painful memory of her father came rushing back to her. Almost as if she sensed her friend's discomfort, Mili put her phone down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm right here," she said.
Fabiana swallowed her pain and looked back at the professor.
"Next are the Hawks, denoted by the radiant amber eyes they manifest whenever they tap into their gifts," he explained.
The picture had switched to a beautiful woman, dressed in a scientist's uniform.
"They are unique from the others due to their ability to access 70% of their brain's capacity which is also the reason why Europe is now the most technologically advanced country in the world; they're years ahead of anywhere else on the planet and it is the place to live," he said with a smile.
"Sounds like you've been there before sir," said another student.
He nodded.
"I had the privilege of studying a course at a university in Germany and it was an experience like no other let me tell you,"
Fabiana looked away, her attention now fixated on the clouds outside. She closed her eyes and focused her senses.
"And what about the Eagles sir?"
She snapped back to reality to see that a man three seats down from her had raised his hand in curiosity. The professor adjusted his glasses once more.
"Eagles...are no more,"
He clicked the button to show a picture of a town on fire.
"On December 10th 2035, the Eagles were wiped out by an alliance between Vultures and a group of totalitarian Hawks who call themselves the true leaders of the world...there isn't a recorded survivor of the coup and every single individual was hunted down and killed,"
"But why?"
The man shook his head.
"Many believe that the Hawks were naturally jealous of their complete set of genes which had absolutely no defects in any shape or regard...maybe it was their two gifts instead of the usual one that they each possessed or maybe it was because they believed it was time to expand their living space...whatever the reason, Eagles have become extinct,"
Mili shook her head and growled loudly.
"He doesn't know a thing about that day...only what those parasites have fed him in books," she growled.
Fabiana put a hand on her friends arm.
"Calm down...you know what happens when you get angry," she said.
Mili took a breath and shook her head clear of the emotions that had begun to flare up.
"Are you sure there are no survivors sir?"
The professor looked up and smiled.
"I believe that anything is possible...and of six million Eagles? I'm sure that at least a handful survived and now hide in different parts of the world...but as far as I'm concerned, the age of the Eagle is over and we are now at the mercy of the Hawks," he said.
He sighed deeply.
"I truly wish that we had all gotten along; peace was so close to being achieved," he continued.
Fabiana nodded in agreement.
"I guess conflict can arise from anyone...even ones with more power than most,"
