Rafael and Dr. Vitalis by Noa Franklin, https://www.instagram.com/noa_franklin80/

Day 0, 7:43pm 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! 

“Rafael, mijo, please come out,” Mrs. Johnson pleaded as she knocked on her son’s bedroom door. 

Rafael Solano Jr. pressed his back against the locked door to keep everyone else in the house out. As he did, he also used his hands as a makeshift comb to try and put his shiny, disheveled black hair back to its original shape after it had been viciously yanked. Yanked by someone whom he wanted to make sure would stay as far away from him as possible. 

“It was an accident, Mama!” he hollered to her from behind the door, “I’m sorry.” 

“Mijo, it’s alright, just please open up,” she said. 

“No… he’ll yell at me,” Rafael said, with a shaky grimace. 

The young man’s mother turned to the man her son was referring to. A thin, but very tall white man with piercing blue eyes, a bald scalp sandwiched between two patches of black hair, and a slightly wrinkled face with little-to-no smile lines. He turned to a scorched hunk of fabric and wood that used to be his favorite armchair and scowled. His eyes then met his wife’s and she looked away in fear before talking to her son again in a much quieter tone. 

“Rafael, please, I know you and Harvey don’t really get along that well, bu-” she started to say. 

“That…!” Rafael interrupted his mother, “…is the understatement of the century, Ma!” 

She ignored his comment and continued, “But he really is trying his best to reach out to you, mijo. Maybe if you just gave him a chance, you two could le-” 

“Give him a chance to do what…?” Rafael cut her off again, “Hit me and Eva like he did you, Mama?!” 

The moment he said that, Mrs. Johnson heard a door down the hall creak open a little bit. She saw a young Latina of about 16-years-old peeking out with the same shiny black hair and chocolatey-brown eyes that she shared with her older brother and their late father. Mrs. Johnson turned to her with a look of sadness on her face. 

Suddenly, the girl’s eyes widened in horror and she quickly slammed the door. Mrs. Johnson turned around and came face to face with Harvey, his teeth gritting with pure rage as he stormed toward Rafael’s door. Mrs. Johnson backed away in fear at the sight of him. 

BANG!!! 

“Get out here right now, boy!” he shouted through the door, with a strong Southern accent, “Or else!” 

“Or else, what, you bastard!?” Rafael yelled back. 

“Trust me, boy, you don’t want to know!” he shouted back. 

Mrs. Johnson tried meekly to interject, “Harvey, please…” 

He aggressively turned to her and harshly whispered, “I’ll deal with him, you go into the other room and call the Doc.” 

“What ‘Doc’?” Rafael asked, obviously having heard his stepfather. 

Mrs. Johnson looked at the door worried, then back at Harvey even more worried. He nudged his head toward the door without a word. 

“He runs that institute out in Texas that we told you about,” she told Rafael. 

The young man shivered at the idea being brought up again. He knew it wasn’t her’s, for sure. She may have been scared of what he could do, but Rafael knew his mother could never be scared enough to send him away because of it. 

Not wanting to listen anymore, Rafael crossed his room toward the window where he looked out into the peaceful neighborhood of suburban Albuquerque. The crisp night air gave him little comfort as he tried to focus on something besides the screaming match going on just outside his door. His eyes caught sight of the lovely royal poinciana tree planted in his next door neighbor, Lupe’s, backyard and he smiled at the thought of her. Lupe was a kindly old woman who planted that tree herself when she was just a little girl and tended to it every day since with loving care. 

BANG!!! 

Another pound on the door brought him back to what was going on in his own home. 

“Are you even listening to me, boy!?” Harvey shouted. 

“I’m not going!” Rafael shouted, finally snapping out of his momentary trance, “I know what I did was scary, but you can’t just send me away. You can’t just do that!” 

“It’s for your own good, son,” Harvey said, suddenly trying to sound less aggressive than he had previously, “After all, you don’t wanna hurt your Ma and sister anymore than you have, now do you?” 

“Me!?!” Rafael retorted, turning around full of sudden rage, “I’m not the one who gave a teenage girl a black eye just for spilling paint in the garage.” 

BANG!!!! 

“THAT’S IT!!!” Harvey shouted even louder, his true nature returning, “You listen up, you little freak, and listen good!! You’re going to that institute in Texas to get this thing you’re doing to stop, whether you like it or not!” 

“No, I’m not! Shut the hell up you gasoline-huffing cousin-fucker! Just – shut – up!!!” Rafael screamed. 

That’s when he felt it. 

A sudden surge of pain filled Rafael’s head like boiling water being injected directly into his brain. He grabbed his temples with both hands and felt his eyes well up with tears as the pain reached its peak. And the instant that it did… 

SPARK! 

…the poincianas in Lupe’s backyard, all of a sudden, burst into smoky flames as red as the flowers! 

Rafael opened his eyes and the tears of pain flooded out as he came face to face with the raging inferno that was once his kindly old neighbor’s prized childhood tree. He quickly backed away from the window and up against the door to get away from the growing flames and encroaching smoke. Not to mention the horrified Lupe running outside at the sight of her beloved tree now aflame. 

As his heart sank like a stone made of horror and guilt, all Rafael could bring himself to do was follow its lead. He slumped down to the floor in sadness and despair at the sound of Lupe’s frantic voice coming from outside: 

“FUEGO!” “FUEGO!” “FUEGO!” 

_ 

Day 1, 10:31am 

A man in his early thirties wearing a tweed jacket and matching brown pants walked down the halls of The Michelangelo Institute of Unexplained Phenomena. He had a brand-new batch of students for the boss to meet, but first he had to go get him. 

As he rounded the corner, he saw the varnished pine-wood door that led to the big man’s office with his name, Doctor Lyceon Vitalis, printed on the wall beside it. 

Suddenly, he heard an angry shout followed by the crackling of someone on a phone. 

“He’s arguing with the Major again,” the man thought to himself as he took a deep breath and silently let it all out. 

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. 

“Come in!” came a Greek-accented voice from the other side of the door, followed immediately by the sound of a phone being put back on its receiver. 

The office the man entered was very expensive-looking to say the least; every inch of the place was varnished wood with an elaborate rug woven in green, red, and white patterns on the floor. One wall was completely covered in books on everything from astral projection to the lost city of Atlantis, while the other was covered by glass display cases containing various gizmos and gadgets for detecting ghosts and supernatural abilities, as well as a door leading into the man’s own private quarters. 

Sitting at the front of the room was a middle-aged man with olive skin and black hair with graying sides. He had a strong, square-like jaw that was recently shaved and implacable black eyes that shined in the dim light of his desk lamp. 

“Dr. Vitalis,” the man in tweed said, “They’ve arrived, sir.” 

The man looked up from the paperwork on his desk and flashed his tweed-wearing assistant a fiery half-smile. He stood up, revealing his expensive blue suit and dark red tie, which he adjusted before heading out with his assistant close behind him. 

In the building’s large lobby stood about half-a-dozen young men and women, mostly in their teens, surrounded by men in military uniforms and MP helmets. The guards also wore dark sunglasses that completely obscured their eyes and left the youngsters a little unnerved. Rafael Solano was among them, and, like the others, his family members were nowhere to be found. They all had to take a bus out there without anyone to check out the institute, even out of morbid curiosity. 

“Well, this is just great,” Rafael thought to himself, “Talk about a dumping ground for the world’s weirdest trash.” 

“I know,” came a disgruntled female voice just a few inches away from him. 

Rafael turned to see a pretty young woman no older than himself with pale, fair skin and long auburn hair. She was dressed in a dark gray top with long black sleeves and a black skirt held up by a red belt. She had on blood-red lipstick and lots of black eyeliner that made her look almost like a vampire. The prettiest vampire Rafael had ever seen. 

She let out a groan and said, trying to sound as apathetic as possible, “I can’t believe my parents would send me halfway across the country to a place like this.” 

Rafael pursed his lips together empathically before his gaze turned to the hand she had hanging limply at her side. 

“Yeah, I feel that,” he thought to himself again, “I wonder if she would appreciate me holding her hand.” 

All of a sudden, she reached out and grabbed his hand almost magnetically before she said, not turning to face him as she spoke, “Thank you, you’re very kind.” 

“But, h-how did you-” Rafael said, looking at her with surprised eyes. 

“Settle everyone, settle,” the man in tweed suddenly said, calling everyone’s attention toward the front, “May I present to you, the head-man here at the Michelangelo Institute for Unexplained Phenomena, Dr. Lyceon Vitalis.” 

No one clapped as the middle-aged Greek man stepped forward and surveyed the small crowd of young people, ending with Rafael. He did a quick double-take the moment he saw the young man and kept his gaze on him for a few extra seconds. Rafael’s eyes narrowed with a confused suspicion. Finally, the man took a deep breath before turning back to the crowd in front of him. 

“Good morning, young ladies and gentlemen,” he said, his Greek accent tickling a few of them as he spoke, including Rafael, “I suspect you all are wondering why it is that your families suggested – or insisted – that you come here to the institute. Am I correct?” 

Most of the youngsters nodded, while one loud boy in the back said, “You’re damn straight we are!” 

Dr. Vitalis held up his hand to quiet the young man before continuing. 

“Well, young ladies and gentlemen, the answer is obvious,” he said, “It’s because each and every one of you has experienced something strange. Something abnormal that neither you nor anyone else has been able to explain. Something that usually occurred when you were either very angry or very frightened. Am I warm?” 

He finished that last part looking directly at Rafael. The young man’s eyes widened and his heart began beating like a jackhammer. All of the others were looking almost exactly the same way, except for the girl at his side who had let go of his hand and rubbed her fingers on her temples like she had a headache. Dr. Vitalis’ lip curled into an almost mischievous half-smile as he watched the young ones devolve into silent panic. 

“Now don’t let these fine men and women in uniform worry you,” he continued, “The institute may be funded primarily by the United States government, but I can assure you that we’ve brought you all here to help you learn to understand the unexplained phenomena which surrounds you. Perhaps even find ways to control them, if possible.” 

The man’s gaze once more drifted to Rafael as he spoke. The young Latino was nearly at the point where he wanted to yell at the old coot for staring at him. 

“Ha! That’s a laugh!” came a sudden voice from the back. 

Dr. Vitalis turned to the source of the voice. It was the same guy in the back of the crowd who had cried out earlier. He looked like he was on the cusp of being eighteen with thick, bristled brown hair, light gray eyes and a small patch of freckles around the bridge of his nose. 

“You have something to say, young man?” Dr. Vitalis asked, arms folded over his chest and an eyebrow raised. 

“Yeah,” the guy said, “Why are you so full of bullshit?” 

A couple of people in the crowd let out small chuckles at his response. 

“Would you care to elaborate?” Dr. Vitalis asked, maintaining his firm composure. 

The guy rolled his eyes and said, “Well, aside from the fact that everyone has had some kind of unexplainable thing happen at least once in their life; places like this are for pretentious folks like you who’re funding other people’s stupidity so you can maintain your own insanity.” 

“English, please,” Dr. Vitalis said sarcastically, warranting a few snickers from among the crowd. 

“I’m saying, that’s why our families sent us here, right?” he replied, irritated, “You’re paying them to have us come here for some kind of bizarre study, right?” 

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Dr. Vitalis said, “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t paranormal forces affecting each and every one of you. And that certainly doesn’t mean we don’t want to help you learn to understand or even control said paranormal phenomena.” 

The guy grumbled mockingly to himself before saying, “Listen, old man, whatever I’ve experienced, is my shit to deal with. So you and your little ‘team’ can just-” 

BZZZZZZ!!!

Suddenly, as the guy was speaking, a bottle of water on a nearby table levitated into the air as an eerie electrical noise filled the room. The tweed-wearing man at Dr. Vitalis’ side held up his right hand, palm-open, and wherever it moved, so too did the levitating bottle of water. He then held out his other hand and suddenly one of the MPs’ hats lifted off of his head and began dancing in midair alongside the bottle of water. They were soon followed by more hats, the remaining bottles of water, and even a foam board display in the back as well. 

Dr. Vitalis smirked at the loud young man and said, “You were saying?” 

Rafael, like the rest of the youngsters, was left speechless and in awe at the sight of so many objects floating in midair all by themselves. Dr. Vitalis was right about the paranormal phenomena! And, for the first time in a long time, his heart filled with something other than rage and fear. 

That is, until Dr. Vitalis’s eyes turned back to Rafael one last time. For a split second, the young man thought he could see the man stick the tip of his tongue out from behind his teeth in an almost seductive way. 

The young Latino shuddered uncomfortably. 

_ 

Day 1, 9:59pm  

Rafael couldn’t sleep after everything he had seen today. 

For what felt like the first time in his whole life, he knew why the mysterious fires always seemed to happen around him. Why it always seemed to happen whenever he was pissed off. Mr. Grizzle – the man in the tweed – said he was something called a “telepyric” and that it was a very rare gift. One that the folks here at The Michelangelo Institute were very interested in studying. 

Especially Dr. Vitalis. 

“Yeesh!” Rafael said to himself, suppressing a shudder. 

He still couldn’t figure that guy out. The way he looked at him all throughout the orientation process was deeply concerning to say the least. Dr. Grizzle said he was just a very passionate and curious man with an interest in the rarer talents he comes across. But Rafael felt like that was some kind of excuse. 

“If I didn’t know any better,” Rafael thought to himself, “I’d say he was leering at me or something.” 

Not wanting to dwell on the idea any further, Rafael pulled out his slightly charred pajamas and got ready for bed. The room he was given was pretty nice. It wasn’t a lavish luxury or anything, but the bed was comfy and it came with a desk, a private bathroom, and even a mini-fridge. After orientation, he spent the rest of the day unpacking and looking over the schedule for tomorrow, which mainly consisted of ice-breakers, group workshops, and lectures on different subjects he had only heard of in science fiction novels. 

It all sounded pretty cool. Mostly, he was just relieved that there was a reason behind what had been happening to him. That, and he was finally free from that bastard, Harvey. If he could have anything else in the world right now, it would be for his mom and his little sister Eva to be there with him. 

And, with that thought in his mind, he finally fell asleep on his comfy new bed… 

WHOOSH! 

Suddenly, Rafael’s eyes shot open. Everything in his new room was in black and white, even his own arms and legs. 

“Arms and legs?” he thought to himself as he realized his covers were gone. 

He suspected that the whooshing sound must’ve been the covers being pulled away from his bed. As he tried to sit up and look for them, he noticed that he couldn’t move! 

“What the hell!?!” he thought in a panic. 

No matter how hard he tried to get up, he just couldn’t. It was as if his whole body, except for his head and neck, were made of iron and the bed was a giant magnet keeping him pinned to it. He turned his head from side to side as if he could somehow wiggle his way out of the bizarre feeling, but after a few minutes it just felt like no use. 

And then that’s when he saw him… 

In the far corner of the room near the door, he saw a large figure standing in the shadows. He looked like a man, at least six-feet tall with broad shoulders and something that looked almost like an animal’s head on top of them. Rafael’s heart began to beat faster than it already was. Not only was he stuck to his new bed, but he was stuck to it with some shadowy stranger staring at him in the corner like a beast stalking its prey. 

“Wh-Who’s th-” he began to stammer. 

Suddenly, the shadowy figure moved his right hand towards his head, right where his mouth would be and uttered a single, blood-curdling noise that sounded as loud as a gong: 

“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

And that’s when Rafael woke up! 

The first thing he did was sit up, which he did with almost no difficulty. Then he turned until he was sitting on the side of the bed, his bare feet on the floor and his face now in his hands. For almost ten minutes he just sat on the edge of the bed panting in fear. 

“Thank God,” he said to himself, “It was just a dream.” 

When he pulled his face out from his palms he suddenly noticed something weird: His covers were no longer on his bed; they were on the floor… on the other side of the room. 

Almost as though someone had hurriedly stripped them off while he was sleeping. 

_ 

Day 4, 11:36am 

“Now concentrate on the mannequin, Candace,” Mr. Grizzle said to the auburn-haired goth girl who came with Rafael and the others. 

After a few days of completing various evaluation tests, the youngsters were finally doing some exercises to help understand their abilities. Most of the others were in different rooms focusing on their more passive abilities, while the ones with more active abilities were gathered in a large room – like a cross between a gymnasium and a nuclear bomb shelter. 

Rafael was among them wearing a dark red tank top, camouflage cargo pants, and black sandals. In addition to that, he was wearing a pair of orange goggles with matching orange and navy blue fireman gloves, as insisted by the staff for safety concerns. The only other people in the room was the loud, skeptical guy from before – whose name was Jed – with four guards posted at different points throughout the room and six scientists off to the sides either taking notes or monitoring the equipment. 

Candace was in the center of the room while Rafael, Jed, and Mr. Grizzle stood about ten feet behind her. There were three mannequins set up at the front of the room to practice on while various wires with suction cup-like devices on the ends were attached to the girl’s head. Each one was connected to different machines with blinking lights that spat out line graphs. 

“Don’t be afraid,” Mr. Grizzle said. 

“Okay, I’ll try,” Candace replied, almost irritated. 

Suddenly, after a moment of silence, the machines linked to Candace began beeping loudly and the meters on the line graphs went crazy. All of a sudden, the center mannequin began to shake slightly before lifting about a foot into the air all by itself. 

Mr. Grizzle and the two young men began to applaud as they came up beside her. 

“Very good, Candace,” he said, “Very good indeed.” 

“Yeah, you did great, chica!” Rafael said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Thanks,” she said, trying not to show that she was blushing. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Jed said, his arms folded over his chest and refusing to meet her gaze. 

After another minute of congratulations, it was Jed’s turn to test out his abilities. Just like with Candace, he was hooked up to the same wiry machines. Only, unlike Candace, Mr. Grizzle didn’t need to give him an encouraging talk or anything. Between the three of them, he was the only one who seemed to have the most control over his abilities right off the bat. 

“Okay, go for it,” Mr. Grizzle said. 

With that, Jed looked at the mannequin to the left and growled loudly as he charged at it like a mad bull. He picked it up and broke off one of the legs before charging at the wall with it at super-fast speed like a joustman. 

And, just like that, a massive dent appeared in the metal wall where Jed hit it with the broken mannequin’s leg. 

“Die!” he growled angrily at the wall. 

Mr. Grizzle and everyone else remained quiet for almost a full minute before they broke into a slow, uncomfortable applause. 

“That’s… that’s very good, Jed,” Mr. Grizzle said, slowly approaching the young man with arms prepared to take the broken mannequin leg from him, “Your ability to control the fight-or-flight impulses in your brain seems to be coming along nicely. Although, since our purpose here is to help you keep your abilities under control, I would strongly recommend that you try not to be so… passionate in your use of it.” 

In response, Jed turned slowly to the man and growled without speaking. That’s when Mr. Grizzle took a few steps back as the scientists came in and started taking the wires off of his head. 

“Alright…” Mr. Grizzle said, finally turning to Rafael, “So… uh, Rafael, your turn.” 

Rafael’s eyes widened as he realized that both of the other two already had their turns. 

“Um…” he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, “I’d really rather not. My, uh, ‘ability’ is pretty dangerous and I don’t feel comfortable doing it with everybody else around.” 

The scientists all whispered to each other in a slight bit of panic while the guards seemed to grip their rifles and night-sticks a little tighter. Jed even chuckled a little and called Rafael a “sissy” under his breath. 

Mr. Grizzle walked over to Rafael and said, with a hand on his shoulder, “That’s why we asked you to put on the safety gear, Rafael. I understand your fear, really, I do. You have arguably the most dangerous power out of all of us here, but if you ever want to keep it from getting out of control again, you need to take the time to learn how it works. Please try.” 

Rafael grimaced a little before looking at Candace, who shot him an encouraging nod. 

“Alright… I’ll try,” he finally said, unsure of himself as he pulled down the goggles. 

The young man stepped forward in the middle of the room as the scientists gathered around to place the wires on his head. Once everybody was off to the side again, Rafael turned to the final mannequin on the right and stared as hard as he could at it. He kept staring for about five minutes; he even closed his eyes and twitched his nose almost playfully. When he opened his eyes, the mannequin just stood there without so much as a scorch mark. 

“I’m sorry,” Rafael finally said, putting his head down a little too quickly, “I just can’t get it to light.” 

“Pathetic creature,” came a deep, Greek-accented voice from behind all of them. 

Everyone went silent as they turned and saw Dr. Vitalis standing next to the door.  He was looking almost disapprovingly at Rafael with his arms folded over his chest. Today he was wearing an olive-green suit with a brass-colored tie and his face had a shadow of stubble on it, as if he had neglected to shave that day. 

As he began walking toward the young man, he said, “The power isn’t coming to you because you don’t want it to. You fear it. And as long as you live in fear of your own power, your own emotions, you’ll never be able to make it work.” 

Rafael balled his hands into fists and said, “Well, why wouldn’t I be…? It’s brought me nothing but trouble.” 

Dr. Vitalis frowned before replying, “And what, pretell, is this trouble it’s brought you…?” 

“Oh, let me think, I’ve burned just about everything in my house, not to mention my neighbor’s prized tree that she grew since she was little, and my own family sees me as a… As a…” Rafael responded. 

“A freak…?” the older man asked. 

The silent look Rafael gave him indicated that it was true. 

“Now that’s where the fear lies,” the man continued, “Your family fears your powers, don’t they? I’m certain they do. The moment your gift manifested, they started looking at you differently, am I right?” 

The young man’s fists clenched tighter. 

“Of course I’m right,” he said, slowly edging closer to the young man, “It’s a common problem many others have faced here at The Michelangelo Institute. You’re letting someone else’s fear influence how you feel about yourself and your gift. Now the only question is, does it come from a fear of losing someone you love or angering someone you don’t?” 

He was now so close he was jabbing the young man’s chest as he spoke. Rafael looked up into the man’s face with defiance. 

“Oh, I see!” Dr. Vitalis said in a mocking tone with a smug look on his face, “A bit of both. So, what is it, then? Does one of your parents hit you? Your stepfather, perhaps?” 

Rafael growled through gritted teeth at him. 

Dr. Vitalis smirked and said, “Ah, yes. I’m not the least bit surprised, considering that angry, defiant look in your eyes. The look of a fatherless boy desperately trying to protect his poor mother from the other rooster who found his way into her henhouse.” 

“Shut up!” he suddenly shouted at the man as droplets of sweat formed on his brow, back, and chest, “SHUT UP!!!” 

All of a sudden, he felt it happening again.

The same pain emerged in his head just like before.

“No!”  

As quick as he could, he turned around and looked directly at the one mannequin left in the corner. It suddenly began to smolder and turn black for a split second before finally bursting into flames right before the terrified eyes of everyone in the room. 

“Whoa!” Mr. Grizzle said, as the rest of the small crowd backed up in fear. 

Rafael’s eyes shot open to the feeling of intense heat before him, along with the smell of smoke and the sound of fearful murmurs. As quick as he could, he ripped the wires from his head and body before running toward the door. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly as his eyes started to water, “I’m so sorry.” 

Suddenly, the door locked all on its own and a strong hand grabbed hold of his shoulder. He turned around to see the tall, muscular shape of Dr. Vitalis through his teary eyes, followed by Mr. Grizzle pointing at the door – he was the one who made it lock by itself. In the background, one of the guards was busy spraying down the burning mannequin with a fire extinguisher. 

“Rafael…” Mr. Grizzle said, coming up beside him with a friendlier look on his face than before, “It’s alright. You don’t have to be afraid. Look, the fire’s out and no one’s hurt. It’s okay.” 

The young man let out a sniffle and quickly wiped away his tears as he said, “Sorry, it’s just, uh…” 

“You’re not used to starting a fire and everything being alright, am I correct?” Dr. Vitalis said, finishing his sentence for him. 

Mr. Grizzle turned to Dr. Vitalis, who still had his hand on Rafael’s shoulder. 

“Forgive me, Mr. Solano, I only meant to show you your own potential,” said Dr. Vitalis, before turning to Mr. Grizzle, “If it’s no bother to you, old friend, I would like to take over his training myself.” 

Both Rafael and Mr. Grizzle went quiet at the sound of that. 

“Of course not, sir,” Mr. Grizzle said after a brief pause. 

Rafael raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, what about me?” he asked, “Just out of curiosity, why do you want to handle my training yourself… sir?” 

Right when he said that last part, Dr. Vitais smiled lustfully at the young man as he and everyone else suddenly felt the temperature rise again by a few degrees. Dr. Vitalis then took his hand off of Rafael’s shoulder and turned directly towards the other side of the long room where the remains of the three mannequins were. The older man held both of his arms perfectly at his sides before closing his eyes, tilting his head back and releasing a slight, pleasured shudder. 

All of a sudden… 

“Phos!” he whispered. 

…all three mannequins – including the broken one – simultaneously became engulfed in blue flames which literally burned all the way through them until they were both nothing but piles of ash! 

Everybody, including Rafael and Mr. Grizzle, went wide-eyed and their mouths fell open with shock. The scientists began taking more notes as quickly as possible. One of them even turned to Dr. Vitalis and asked if they could hook him up to the machines to further test his abilities. Dr. Vitalis chuckled and told them maybe some other time. 

Finally, he turned back to Rafael and said, “Does that answer your question… boy?” 

Rafael, still in a daze over what he just witnessed, turned to the man and uttered a simple “Uh-huh” as he nodded his head. 

“Good,” Dr. Vitalis said, “See me in my office tonight after dinner.” 

And, with that, the man walked out with a solid, gentleman’s composure. 

_ 

Day 4, 8:01pm 

Rafael finished eating dinner and then made his way to Dr. Vitalis’ office, as the man himself had asked. A process easier said than done since the Michaelangelo Institute was so much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Rafael figured that the place was underground, which made sense considering that the place was at least partially funded by the U.S. government. 

Finally, the young man made it to the varnished mahogany door of Dr. Vitalis’ office and was about to knock. Suddenly, before his knuckle even had the chance to tap the wood, he heard Dr. Vitalis talking to someone inside. 

“It’s only been a few days, Major,” he heard the man say, “You can’t expect our new recruits to make the kind of progress you want in only a few days.” 

After a brief pause, Rafael heard a small, buzzing noise. That’s when he realized that Dr. Vitalis was talking on the phone with somebody. And, based on the serious tone in his voice, it was somebody important. 

The older man then let out a deep sigh and said, “Yes, sir, I understand. At the same time, many of these young people are still too afraid of their own abilities. We need to take the necessary time to help them overcome their fear, sir, or else they will be of no use to anyone, especially not you!” 

What followed next was an extremely long stretch of near-silence. Dr. Vitalis didn’t speak a single word for almost five minutes straight, and all Rafael heard was the incoherent muffle of the person speaking on the other line. There were a few words he could make out, but he didn’t understand the context behind any of them: 9/11, The Vietnam War, Hitler, and The Holocaust. Whatever it was, Rafael was almost certain he didn’t want to know.  

Finally, Dr. Vitalis took a long, deep breath and said, “Alright, alright. We will do everything we can to speed up the process, sir.” 

Dr. Vitalis hung up the phone, turned to the door, and said, “Come in, Mr. Solano!”  

Rafael’s heart jumped the moment he heard Dr. Vitalis holler his name. He hesitated for a moment before slowly opening the varnished mahogany door. 

The older man motioned for him to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. 

“How’d you know I was waiting on the other side?” Rafael asked as he sat down. 

“Waiting?” the man said, snarkily, “You mean eavesdropping, don’t you boy?” 

Rafael narrowed his eyes at the man in spiteful irritation. 

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched as he stifled a smile before enclosing his fingers together and saying, “Well, no harm done… Time to get down to business.” 

All of a sudden, his gaze was drawn to a small red candle sitting on the desk with various other knick-knacks. Dr. Vitalis stared intently at it for a few seconds before the wick suddenly burst into a smoky blue flame for a split second before the color flickered back to its usual yellow-orange. 

“Whoa!” Rafael said, jumping in his seat. 

“Exactly,” Dr. Vitalis said, “It took me years to control my power and, in that time, I burned quite a few things, and quite a few people as well. Which is part of why I wanted to oversee your training myself.” 

Rafael stared intently at the flickering little flame as his still-heaving breaths grew slowly back down to its regular pace. 

“But…” Rafael said, “Why me?” 

Dr. Vitalis furrowed his brow and asked, “What do you mean?” 

“I mean… Why do I have this power? Where did it come from… and how do I get rid of it?” he said. 

The older man narrowed his eyes on the boy and said, “Firstly, you can’t get rid of it, my boy. The power is just as much a part of you as your arms and legs are. And, just like your arms and legs, trying to get rid of them usually has some very messy results.” 

“How do you know?” Rafael asked. 

“I know,” Dr. Vitalis said, refusing to go further than that, “As for where they come from… did you know your father? Or any other members of your family on his side?” 

Rafael raised an eyebrow and said, “Not really. He died some time after my sister was born. Why do you ask?” 

“Well, the scientific evidence we currently have on the subject of genetics and psychic phenomena indicates that the male is the carrier of the gene,” the older man explained, “Most psychics are first-generations whose abilities were not shared by their parents or any other relatives. However, I suspect your father, or one of your other paternal relatives, may have had the power as well considering the extent we’ve seen of your abilities.” 

The young man shot him another confused look. 

“It happens,” Dr. Vitalis said, almost smugly. 

“I doubt it,” Rafael retorted, “My mother would’ve told me if my father or someone in his family could start fires too, especially if she saw me doing it.” 

Dr. Vitalis raised an eyebrow and said, “Would she? After all, maybe he didn’t tell her, or maybe she never met his family. It’s even possible she knew all along and was just too terrified of your abilities, or his abilities, to tell you. Believe me, you wouldn’t be the first person here to experience that.” 

“Well then, you obviously don’t know my Mama,” the younger man replied, a little too quick. 

“Maybe not,” Dr. Vitalis continued, “Or maybe you’re the one who doesn’t know her as well as you think you do.” 

Rafael’s hand tightened into a fist and he grumbled incoherently through gritted teeth. 

Dr. Vitalis’ mouth curled into a full-blown mischievous smile and he said, “After all, when he comes around, does your mother try to stop him or does she cower in fear like the helpless damsel she is.” 

And that, right there, was the young man’s limit. 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU OLD GOAT!!!” he shouted, jumping immediately to his feet, “URGH!!!!” 

All of a sudden, Rafael groaned in pain and grabbed his head from that feeling again. 

That’s when… 

SPARK! 

…Rafael felt the heat burst forth from his brain and light up something right in front of him. And, if his sudden suspicion was true, it was something far worse than anything he had burned before! 

“Oh my god, I set him on fire!” was his first thought, until he opened his teary eyes. 

Right between the two men, Rafael saw the fire he had just created floating in midair like a gravity-less ball of flaming newspaper. That’s when he caught sight of Dr. Vitalis, who stood calm, cool and collected on the other side of the beach-ball-sized mass of flame, his arms outstretched like he was holding it. He had a snarky smile spread across his face as he looked back at the young man through the fire. 

“See what you can do if you just take the time to understand yourself?” the older man finally said. 

All of a sudden, the flames turned bright blue and their temperature went up by at least another hundred degrees before finally shrinking down to the size of a ping-pong ball and fizzling out with a slight pop. Rafael stood back in stunned silence for a minute at what he had just witnessed. 

“H-How did you do that?” he finally stammered out. 

“The same way you do, my boy,” he replied, “I’ve just learned how to better focus my emotions and control it. The one thing you must know about this power, Rafael, is that unlike most other psychic abilities, pyrokinesis is fueled primarily by emotion. Passion. The fire within. And, if you ever want to control that fire, and keep it from hurting, both inside and out, you must learn to embrace your emotions without being ruled by them.” 

Rafael looked down at his feet and thought about it for almost a full minute. 

“Alright,” he finally said, looking back at the older male, “How do I do it?” 

Dr. Vitalis smiled, almost seductively, at Rafael as he walked slowly around his desk until he was behind the young man and resting his hands on his shoulders. 

“Let’s start with trying to embrace some of those more… intense emotions,” he said, bringing his head close to Rafael’s and whispering in his ear, “Just out of curiosity, how often do you play with yourself?” 

That’s when Rafael’s eyes widened and he gulped in fear and embarrassment. 

_ 

Day 4, 10:16pm 

Rafael had gone back to his room in a worried daze. 

On his way back, he moved much slower than he normally did, and somewhat on purpose, too. Despite what it was, he really wasn’t too keen on doing the thing Dr. Vitalis had given him as a “homework assignment”. 

“I want you to go back to your room and play with yourself,” the older man’s exact words echoed in his mind. 

“Ah, geez!” the young man moaned to himself as soon as he was behind closed doors. 

He slowly locked said door, even going so far as to lean a chair under the door knob just to make extra certain no one would be coming in while he did his ‘work’. He then slowly approached the thermostat on the side wall to check the temperature; it was sixty-six degrees in the room. Finally, with the blinds closed up, he slowly stripped himself naked. 

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” he thought to himself as he laid down on the bed fully unclothed and with his worried heart beating out of his chest. 

It had been a while since he had done something like this. At least a couple of years, since his mother had gotten remarried to that whiskey-soaked pile of white trash. Ever since then, all he could think about was trying not to hear the sound of the bastard soiling the bed that his mother used to share with his father. Or worse, the sound of him beating the poor crap out of her just for daring to ask him why he had to take that engine apart on the coffee table. 

“But you’re not there anymore are you?” he heard a voice say in his head, “So, why worry about them at this one moment now?” 

With that thought now in his head, he slowly moved his hand downward and got to it. 

“Just close your eyes and think of the hottest chica you can,” he whispered, trying to urge himself on. 

He moved his hand up and down repeatedly as he felt himself go stiff and the sweat began to seep from every pore of his body. Hottest chica he could think of; he almost counted them in his mind’s eye. 

“There was that pin-up Wonder Woman poster my old buddy, Jerry, gave me back in junior high,” he thought to himself, “Oh, and also that hot blonde in the PlayBoy magazine I borrowed during junior year. She really used to get me going. And, speaking of junior year, Libby, from the girls’ lacrosse team. Yum! Oh, and Coach Saxon too! I used to beat myself off to him all the time back in…” 

Suddenly, his eyes shot open before he squeezed them shut again and cringed. 

“Oh, fuck! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! You promised you would never think about that ever again!” he berated himself internally. 

All of a sudden… 

Rafael opened his eyes and suddenly everything in the room was in black and white again. His arms were now mysteriously at his sides and he felt his entire body from his head to his heels were once more glued to the mattress. 

“What the… Oh, no. Not again,” he thought to himself, realizing what was going on. 

Just as he was trying to pull himself free, he looked in the corner and spotted the shadowy figure from before. The one that looked like a man with a furry animal’s head. His heart began to beat even faster as he saw the figure standing still as a statue, but with his breathing loud enough for him to hear across the room. 

He tried to open his mouth to call for someone, but couldn’t. Not only did it feel like his body was glued to the bed, it also felt like his lips were glued together. 

“Oh, god! What the hell is going on!” he thought again. 

“This is a dream,” came a deep voice from the shadowy figure in the corner, “Don’t be afraid.” 

Suddenly, the shadowy figure began slowly walking towards the bed. 

Rafael’s heart rate continued to quicken as the figure moved closer, each individual body part coming one by one into the dim light from the blind-covered window. First, a pair of large bare feet whose skin appeared pale and indistinguishable in color as the tiny stripes of light. After that, a pair of muscular, hairy legs and a naked pelvis sporting a particularly meaty man’s genitalia. Genitalia that Rafael, for some reason, couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of. 

“Don’t fight it,” the shadowy figure’s voice said as his big, strong arms and beefy chest –  covered with a large patch of dark stubble – came into the light, “This is all in your mind… so there’s no need to fear what happens next.” 

Just as he said that last part, his head finally came into the light. It was covered by a black wolf-head mask with silver fur and dark holes in place of its eyes. 

Rafael released a muffled whimper as the man in the wolf mask moved closer. The young man felt sweat dripping all over his body and, for some reason, he still felt very stiff. Finally, the wolf-headed man stretched out his arm and reached for Rafael’s body. 

“I wanna wake up! Please wake up!” he screamed over and over again in his head. 

“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” the man said, just like the previous night. 

Only, this time, the boy didn’t wake up right away. 

He felt the man’s warm, strong hands caress his body gently, like a father touching his newborn son’s cheek. The moment he made physical contact, Rafael was suddenly filled with a wave of warmth and pleasure. He didn’t even notice that his mouth had finally opened up slightly, or that his previously tight arms had now relaxed to the point of drifting an inch or two away from his torso. 

That’s when… 

“UUUNNNNGGGHHHH!!!” 

…the man took Rafael in hand and the young man became lost in a sea of pleasure for a few brief minutes. Which is when he finally opened his eyes to a room in color. 

Rafael looked down at his waist to see his own hand wrapped around his slowly softening member and his entire bed drenched in sweat. He then took in a deep breath and began violently coughing and sputtering, but not because anything was on fire. The entire room itself was all of a sudden too hot and stuffy to breathe in. 

As quick as he could, he jumped to his feet – ignoring the sticky fluid dripping down his torso – and rushed to open the window. He then rushed over to the thermostat on his wall and stared in disbelief as the temperature read 101 degrees fahrenheit! 

“What the hell!” he said to himself before remembering that it was supposed to be time for sleep. 

He quickly pulled on a pair of pants, ripped away the chair from beneath the doorknob, and finally stepped into the hallway. As he did, he was hit by a sudden rush of cool air that made it feel like one of those walk-in freezers at the grocery store compared to his room. He paced back and forth in the middle of the hall, trying to think of what just happened as he tried to get some air flowing through the room. 

“What kind of loco dream was that!?” he thought to himself, “And what kind of sicko would sneak into my room and turn the heat up that high while I was…” 

And then that’s when it hit him… Heat! 

The sudden rise in temperature of his room coupled with that weird, erotic dream. It wasn’t some crazy prank pulled by some even crazier person. It was himself. He made the room’s temperature rise like that, and he did it without setting anything ablaze. 

Rafael looked up from the floor at that still-hot and stuffy room of his and smiled. 

“I did it!” he whispered joyfully to himself, “I made it hot… but nothing burned!” 

“Wait til the doc hears about this!” 

_ 

Day 7, 12:16pm 

“That’s it, Mr. Solano,” Dr. Vitalis said, his hands on the young man’s shoulders, “Just a bit more.” 

Rafael was sitting on a chair in the middle of the same gymnasium/bomb shelter room as before with machines hooked up to him once again, as well as his fireman’s gloves and goggles. However, this time, it was just him, Dr. Vitalis, and the small team of scientists and guards – now all wearing asbestos suits. In the middle of the large room were blocks of wood laid out on a metal tray in front of him. 

“You can feel it, can’t you?” the older man continued. 

Rafael took in a deep, shaky breath with his eyes closed and he kept his gloved hand up his shirt – right where his nipple was – as he replied, “Yes… I can.” 

That’s when he opened his eyes, and squeezed. 

Suddenly, all of the machines Rafael was hooked up to began to beep and light up. An electronic thermometer dinged louder and louder as the room’s temperature began to rise. As the beeping continued, the blocks of wood suddenly began to turn black and smoke emerged from them before they gently became enveloped in flames on top of the metal tray. 

Dr. Vitalis smiled and said, “Teleiotita!” 

Rafael’s tired eyes filled with relief as he used the back of his hand to wipe a fine sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. 

“Oh, that’s no way to wipe your sweat, my boy,” Dr. Vitalis said, offering him a silken handkerchief that looked quite expensive. 

The young man looked at the piece of silk for a few seconds before looking up into the older man’s eyes and thanking him. Dr. Vitalis smiled warmly as he intently watched the boy pull off his gloves and wipe the sweat from his head, arm, and chest. He looked almost mesmerized by the sight of him doing it. As Rafael absorbed the sweat, one of the scientists in his asbestos suit came up to Dr. Vitalis with one of the graph sheets spurted out by the machines. 

“He’s made tremendous progress in the last few days, sir,” the scientist said, showing him the sheet of paper, “We’re eager to see just how far his abilities can reach-” 

Dr. Vitalis made a signal with his hand to cease talking. 

“Yes, Dr. Lu,” he replied, “As am I. But this young man has already done as much as he can for the time being and we can’t see how far he can go if we push him too far. Isn’t that right, Mr. Solano?” 

The young man smiled and said, “As long as it’s alright with you, sir.” 

“Of course it is,” he said, putting his hand softly on the young man’s shoulder. 

Dr. Lu shot a concerned look at Dr. Vitalis before saying, “I understand, sir… but I’m certain Major West would like a substantial update before tonight’s event.” 

The second Dr. Vitalis heard the name he broke into a cold sweat. Rafael furrowed his brow at the older man; he had never seen him this way before. That’s when he saw the man’s fists begin to clench up and he pulled Dr. Lu away to the other side of the room while Rafael continued to rest. 

“Listen,” Dr. Vitalis whispered, “Major West will get the results he’s looking for, but we don’t have the time or the resources to get them to him before tonight. And, if he has a problem with that, then he can lick my feet and call them candy.” 

Dr. Lu stood still as a statue for a brief moment before nodding slightly at him. 

The two of them parted ways uncomfortably before Dr. Vitalis made his way back to Rafael who was finally standing up in his blue tank top and black and grey camo pants. 

“Is everything alright, Doc?” he asked, lifting up his goggles. 

Dr. Vitalis nodded and said, “Yes, of course. How are you feeling?” 

“I’m a little winded, but I’ll be just fine, especially in time for the big luau tonight,” he replied, “By the way, why are we having a party tonight, again?” 

The man smiled and said, “Why, to celebrate you and your fellow recruits’ progress, my young friend. All of you have made so much progress in just your first week alone; better than most of my past students. If that’s not something worthy of a fun, Hawaiian-themed celebration, then I don’t know what is.” 

The young man smiled and said, “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that.” 

Dr. Vitalis chuckled a little before saying, “So, have you asked anyone to go with you to the party at all tonight?” 

That’s when the young man’s smile faded and, after a brief silence, he finally said, “I was thinking… maybe I might ask Candace to go with me.” 

The older man’s smile faded a bit and he said, “Oh, I see. She’s a marvelous choice.” 

Rafael furrowed his brow and asked, “Is that a bad thing? I mean, if you don’t mind me saying, sir, you seem a little bit-” 

“Disappointed? Of course not. I just…” he said, before suddenly stopping to think for a moment, “I just had a very special idea in mind that you and I could do to liven up the celebration a bit, but now that you mentioned asking Miss Newman to go with you…” 

The older man suddenly stopped and smiled almost mischievously as a brand new idea entered his mind, “…I think I might’ve just come up with something even better.” 

The boy raised an eyebrow and replied, “Okay, sir… I’m listening.” 

“How good are you at dancing?” the older man asked. 

_ 

Day 7, 6:31pm 

“Thank you all for coming,” Dr. Vitalis said, standing at a podium while wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt with orange flowers on it. 

The large gymnasium/bomb shelter room had been completely transformed into a gorgeous Hawaiian-themed party room decorated with tikis, palm trees, strung flowers, and a buffet table full of pork, pineapple, and poi. All of the recruits, scientists, guards, and a few extra military members had gathered to join in the celebration. However, all of the military guests didn’t seem to understand the importance of dressing down for an informal celebration of the new recruits’ progress. They were all still dressed in their uniforms, complete with the reflective sunglasses to obscure their eyes from sight. 

“After twenty years of working hard to help gifted young ladies and gentlemen like you learn to use their gifts for the benefit of society,” Dr. Vitalis continued, “I can honestly say I have never encountered a group of youngsters more gifted than all of you. In only one week, just about all of you have managed to gain nearly full control of your abilities.” 

Just as he said that, Rafael and Candace looked at each other and smiled with pride and delight over what they each have managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Rafael wore a red Hawaiian shirt similar to his mentor’s with navy blue flowers on it. As for Candace, she had dressed in a dark purple bikini top with a matching grass-style dress and a blood red orchid in her now-curled hair. 

Rafael couldn’t have been happier… until he looked back up at Dr. Vitalis. 

The older man looked a little concerned as he looked over at a man about ten years older than him with silver hair and a matching beard. He was dressed in a decorated US army uniform with the same reflective glasses as the rest of them. 

Dr. Vitalis swallowed hard before saying, “In addition to that, it is my privilege to announce that, joining us here tonight, is our benefactor: US Major Myles West.” 

The whole room broke out into applause at the announcement of the silver-haired military man’s mere presence. Just then, Dr. Vitalis stepped aside as Major West walked up to the podium to give a speech of his own. Rafael’s blood ran cold as he saw his mentor step back so humbly, and with such apprehension, from this one old man. 

“Thank you, Doctor,” Major West said, speaking with a gruff, Southern accent that horrifically reminded Rafael of his stepfather, “It is my honor to be here tonight to see such a fine group of gifted young Americans dancing the night away after making such amazing progress. You all make your country very proud and, for the next week, I and my fellow soldiers shall be remaining here to observe just how far you fine young ladies and gentlemen can go in the way of said progress.” 

Rafael’s heart shuddered at the sound of that. He had just learned to get control of his powers, and now he was going to be put through psychic boot camp to make them stronger? 

“Yeah, I’m worried about it too,” Candace whispered, agreeing with the thoughts she had picked up from him. 

Rafael gritted his teeth and leaned in to whisper a response when she interrupted once more to apologize. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she said, “I did promise to stay out of your mind during the party. That was my bad.” 

He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing to listen to the Major go on. 

“As long as we remain here, you young ladies and gentlemen will be encouraged to push yourselves farther than you have already gone. Don’t worry, we will understand if it takes a bit of time for some of you to reach your peak, but, just remember, your country needs you. So, we hope you will do your absolute best. Thank you,” he said, finally concluding. 

Once he had finished, the music started playing and everybody started dancing. Jed, always the competitive one, broke out on the dance floor to prove himself the best dancer, while Mr. Grizzle and most of the scientists headed over to the buffet table to begin stuffing their faces. Rafael and Candace just grabbed some punch and waited off to the side for a slow song to come on so they could enjoy a tender dance together. In the meantime, they both just talked. 

“So, you’re originally from Portland, Oregon?” Rafael asked. 

“Yep,” Candace said, “My dad owns a mortuary there. Actually, at this point, he owns practically a whole chain of them.” 

Rafael chuckled and said, “Ah, so that explains why you’ve got the goth aura going on.” 

Candace laughed and said, “No, I’ve just always felt a natural affinity for all things dark and unusual. To be honest, I actually was never afraid of my powers; I just never wanted to share them with the United States Government.” 

“But your dad did?” Rafael guessed. 

“Hell no,” Candace said, “My dad was mostly okay with it, so long as I didn’t snap a bone or stop someone’s heart with it. But my step-monster, on the other hand; she hated it.” 

Rafael almost spat out his punch when she said that. 

“You have a step-parent who hates your abilities too?” he said. 

“Yeah,” she said, “Mr. Grizzle says that there are two kinds of non-psychics out in the world. There are the ones who feel a natural sense of awe toward psychics – like my dad and your mom – and then there are those who feel a natural sense of rage and fear towards us. You and I were just unlucky enough to have parents that remarried to the wrong kind of people.” 

Rafael pursed his lips together in sad understanding at that. That is, until Dr. Vitalis walked over to the two of them. 

“Hi, Dr. Vitalis,” they both said. 

“Good evening, my young friends,” he replied, taking a final sip from his own glass of punch, “I hope you two don’t mind, but Major West was hoping that the three of us could put on that performance I told you about a little earlier than we intended.” 

The young couple looked suspiciously at each other, then slowly turned back to the older man and said, “Sure, why not?” 

As soon as they said that, Dr. Vitalis took the two of them to a different room where they stayed for almost ten minutes. When they finally returned to the lobby, they were wearing long, grassy blankets which covered every part of their bodies but their faces. 

Finally, Dr. Vitalis got back up on the podium and announced that he, Candace, and Rafael had a special performance to put on for everyone. The entire crowd moved calmly off to the sides of the room to give the three of them enough room for their performance. All except for Jed who angrily stomped his way off to the side over the three of them interrupting his precious dance floor time. 

“Just as I described, remember?” Dr. Vitalis said to the two youngsters as they stepped out into the middle of the room. 

They both nodded as the three of them got into position, standing shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. Candace stood in the middle of the small line with the two men on either side of her. 

“And now, for your personal inspiration and enjoyment,” Dr. Vilatis said, “Miss Newman, Mr. Solano, and I are going to… make it hot!” 

That’s when the three of them tore off their grassy blankets to reveal concealed grass skirts and other traditional Hawaiian tribal garbs beneath them. Both men, young and old, were shirtless with very muscular bodies. Rafael was the thinner of the two, while Dr. Vitalis was thicker. 

“…in our own special tribute to Hawaiian fire-dancing,” Dr. Vitalis added. 

All of a sudden, the three of them simultaneously closed their eyes as loud, drumming Polynesian music started to play. Just then, the crowd’s eyes all widened as a circle of fireballs all formed around the three of them. A dozen of them just appeared in midair, as if by magic, in a large ring; half orange and half blue. The temperature in the room increased dramatically to the point where everyone began to wipe their brows and pull at their collars. 

Everyone, however, except for the mysterious Major West, who stood perfectly still with the hardened composure of a soldier. 

That’s when Rafael and Dr. Vitalis both began dancing in-sync with each others’ movements. As they did, the balls of floating fire moved with them while Candace – who also tore her blanket off to reveal a sexy bikini top and grass skirt – used her telekinesis to keep the flames perfectly aligned with the two men’s movements. 

The crowd cheered and awed at the amazing choreography of the two performers, as well as the vastness of Candace’s kinetic abilities complimenting the two men perfectly. Even the hardened Major West seemed to be impressed by what he was seeing. 

Finally, came the point of the big finish. Rafael and Dr. Vitalis moved closer and closer to each other, dancing an enormous ring around the open area – a ring of fire – slowly combining each of their balls of fire into each other until they each held a single large fireball above their respective heads. Eventually, they made it to the end of the ring where they pressed their chests up against each other and held their hands high above their heads as the two large balls of flame slowly melted into each other like a reverse mitosis and then burst into a flurry of sparkling ash that spread across the whole room! 

The entire crowd went wild, cheering and applauding at the beautiful display before them. Both Rafael and Dr. Vitalis’ sweaty bare chests heaved against each other from being out of breath. Finally, Rafael opened his eyes for the first time since the performance began and he was stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of his mentor staring right at him with sparkling, lustful eyes. 

The older man smiled with his dark eyes glazed over like a man lost in a dream-filled daze and said, “Rodolfo… Agapi Mou.” 

That’s when he leaned in to kiss the young man before him! 

Rafael’s heart jumped inside his chest and he quickly pulled away at the last second before anyone could catch sight of what was happening. All of a sudden, Dr. Vitalis snapped back to reality and took a few steps away from Rafael, blushing hard with embarrassment and worry. Rafael shook his head and began waving to the crowd as Candace walked over to join the two men as they all soaked in the applause. 

While that was going on, Major West stood directly at the back of the room, staring even harder at the young man than his own mentor had been a moment before… and with a serpent’s smile stretched across his face. 

Both Rafael and Dr. Vitalis caught sight of that smile and shuddered simultaneously. 

_ 

Day 8, 12:44am 

Rafael laid in his bed wide awake and staring up at the ceiling. 

It had been hours since the luau came to an end and, even though he usually would’ve been dead tired after a performance like that, he just couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep. The sight of the Major smiling at him like a snake about to eat its prey, not to mention Dr. Vitalis trying to kiss him after their big dance, was more than enough to keep his mind going. 

“Come on… sleep!” he moaned to himself, staring at his bedside clock. 

Suddenly, an idea came to him on what he can do to sleep. An idea partly inspired by his previous assignment from Dr. Vitalis, which is why he almost immediately shot it down. 

“No way!” he growled to himself, “It’s not happening!” 

He quickly stuck one of his extra pillows between his legs and tried once again to get back to sleep, but to no avail. After another twenty minutes or so of his skin growing hot with stress and his eyes going extended periods without closing, he finally growled, “Fine!” 

Rafael pushed his pillow and covers aside and pulled his pajama pants down around his ankles. He took himself in hand and the first person he thought of was Candace whom he imagined in a black, silken bikini. In his mind, she blew kisses at him as she slowly stripped down to nothing and his hand moved faster and faster as the fantasy continued. After finally pulling off her little bikini panties, she began walking toward him until she was crawling on to the bed and caressing his chest under his pajamas. 

Until… 

“Huh?!” 

…he suddenly opened his eyes and the room was black and white again like before, but it wasn’t Candace hanging over him anymore. 

Rafael’s eyes widened to see the naked man in the wolf mask from his dream the other night. He tried to open his mouth to scream, but just like before his lips were stuck together and his body was frozen in place with both of his arms at his sides. 

“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” he heard the masked man say in his head, “But you can’t keep denying what you are anymore… and neither can I.” 

Rafael wanted to scream, but he could only muster a few muffled moans and groans full of fear. That’s when the man reached behind his own head and the young man could hear the sound of velcro straps being undone. The older man placed his hand on the forehead of the wolf mask and ripped it off to reveal the messy-haired, unshaven, but still recognizable, face… 

…of Dr. Lyceon Vitalis! 

The young man’s eyes widened in absolute shock. Dr. Vitalis, his own mentor for a week now, was the mysterious, wolf-headed figure in his dreams! His lungs tightened in fear of what this meant, and where it might go next. 

Dr. Vitalis then strapped the wolf-mask on to the still-unmoving young man’s head before reaching down toward his and the young man’s now-touching tools. He began using a combination of hand and pelvis movement to rub them together; Rafael could feel his own hips betraying him as he began moving in-unison with the older man, similar to how they moved earlier tonight at the luau. 

They moved. And moved. And moved, until… 

UUUNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! 

…Rafael finally opened his eyes and everything was back to normal again. Almost everything, that is. The young man coughed and sputtered as smoke entered his lungs. 

The entire room, save for Rafael’s bed was completely ablaze! 

FUEGO! FUEGO!! FUEGO!!! 

_ 

Day 8, 1:51am 

Rafael’s room was completely destroyed. 

At that moment, he sat in the middle of an overly air-conditioned room with a fire extinguisher in every corner and a jug of ice water on the metal table before him. He shivered hard from the cold air, which was so crisp that even the blanket he was wrapped in wasn’t enough to keep him warm. 

That’s when he heard footsteps coming down a flight of stairs. The same stairs he was brought down earlier after turning his own room into a charcoal briquette. Finally, he heard a loud buzzing noise coming from the door, followed by a click. 

“Hello, Rafael,” Dr. Vitalis said, stepping into the room in an olive-green bathrobe and black sandals. 

The young man said nothing and just turned his head to the side. 

“Would you like to tell me what happened…?” Dr. Vitalis asked, “Were you thinking about your stepfather again? Had a nightmare about him, perhaps?” 

Rafael gritted his teeth slightly, but still said nothing. 

“I’m trying to help you, Rafael. However, I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what’s going on,” Dr. Vitalis said, “Whatever issue you currently have is affecting your abilities, which makes it something that I need to be able to understand. So, please Rafael, tell me what happened to you earlier tonight?” 

Rafael remained silent for another few seconds before finally saying, without looking at the man, “Why the wolf mask?” 

Dr. Vitalis furrowed his brow and said, “I beg your pardon?” 

“You heard me, old man!” the young man continued, “Ever since I got here, I’ve been having weird dreams about a man in a wolf mask appearing in my room, staring at me from the shadows.” 

The older man’s eyes grew wider and his heart began to beat faster. 

“You have?” he asked. 

Rafael finally turned around and said, still not making eye contact, “Yes. The last time I had one was a few days ago. The man in the wolf mask finally came into the light and spoke to me. He also touched me… inappropriately.” 

Dr. Vitalis immediately unfolded his arms in shock and stammered out, “W-What…?” 

That’s when Rafael looked up directly into Dr. Vitalis’ eyes as he continued, “Tonight, it happened again. Only, this time, he went further in touching me inappropriately… much further.” 

The older man’s heart was beating like a jackhammer and a fine sweat began forming on his temples. 

“Right when he was in the middle of it,” Rafael said, “He pulled the wolf mask off…” 

“And…?” Dr. Vitalis urged. 

Rafael gulped down all of his fear and said, “And, underneath, it was… it was y-you.” 

Dr. Vitalis stood at the other end of the room looking completely stunned by what he had just heard. He let out a slight gasp, but nothing more, as he stared at his apprentice, his protege, the young man who shared the same power as him. The young man who had just admitted what he just admitted to him. 

“M-M-Me…?” he finally managed to stammer out after a long, speechless stretch. 

Rafael slowly gave the older male the slightest of nods before saying, “Just be honest with me… Did you make me have those dreams somehow, or am I just crazy?” 

Dr. Vitalis stood silently for a long moment before he put his hands together and twiddled his thumbs like a child, looking down at the floor ashamed. The young man raised an eyebrow, realizing that that was all the confirmation he needed. 

“I knew it,” Rafael said, folding his arms over his chest, “How did you do it?” 

The older man swallowed hard and said, “It’s… a long story and quite complicated as well. Let’s just say that some psychic abilities you have to be born with, while others can be… learned.” 

Rafael furrowed his brow and said, “Okay… Now for my next question: What do you want from me, old man?” 

That’s when Dr. Vitalis finally looked the young man in the eyes and answered, “Do you remember when I mentioned your father the day I insisted on becoming your personal mentor…? Well, all of those things I said about one of your father’s relatives having the same power as you wasn’t mere guesswork on my part.” 

Rafael’s eyes widened and he quickly unfolded his arms. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, a small touch of concern in his voice. 

Taking a deep breath, Dr. Vitalis said, “I suspect your father may not have told you or your mother about Rodolfo. Especially considering they didn’t get along, even as children.” 

“What are you talking about?!” Rafael demanded, finally standing up. 

He finally let out his deep breath and continued, “Twenty years ago, I knew a man by the name of Rodolfo… Rodolfo Solano. He was my lover… and the twin brother of your father, Rafael Solano Sr.” 

As soon as he heard that, Rafael’s eyes grew so wide that his eye sockets felt like they were cramping and he went dizzy for a moment. 

“My father had a…” Rafael said, trailing off as his brain went fuzzy. 

“Yes,” he replied. 

Rafael couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In fact, he refused to believe it, but at the same time couldn’t ignore the whole possibility itself. After all, he barely even knew his father and he knew his mother wouldn’t hide something like this from him, unless she never knew in the first place. 

“I-I-I…” Rafael tried to say as he began stumbling backwards. 

All of a sudden, his eyes closed and he collapsed right where he stood. He would’ve fallen flat on the floor if it wasn’t for what happened next. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Dr. Vitalis said, catching the young man in his arms. 

The young man, still dizzy, shook his head and looked up into the older man’s dark eyes, which sparkled like two perfectly polished onyx beads. Suddenly, Rafael felt a strange warmth fill his body from his cheeks to his groin, similar to what he felt when the dreams came over him. 

As for Dr. Vitalis, he stared longingly into the young man’s chocolatey brown eyes before his gaze drifted down to his lightly quivering mouth. The older man licked his lips in anticipation before he suddenly felt Rafael’s hand on his cheek, edging him to come closer. 

And that’s when… they touched. They touched passionately. 

_ 

Day 12, 6:09pm 

Rafael let out a deep sigh as he stuck his hands in his pockets and began making his way toward Dr. Vitalis’ office. For the past few days, he had been working solely with Mr. Grizzle and a few others, but never Dr. Vitalis. 

After what happened three nights ago, Rafael was sure the older man had been trying to avoid him as much as possible. He knew that after what the man had told him the other night he must’ve been afraid to see him. Or ashamed to see him. Either way, he needed to see the man. He needed to learn more about the uncle he didn’t even know existed until the other night. Not to mention why he felt for the man the way he did. 

“Come on, get a hold of yourself,” he thought to himself, “He’s a middle-aged man, for crying out loud. And, if what he told you before was true, he almost became your uncle!” 

Finally, he came to the door of Dr. Vitalis’ office. He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and, with a deep breath, he lifted his knuckle to knock… 

“No, no, no!” 

…only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a loud sound coming from the other side of the door; a sound he had become all too familiar with ever since his mother got remarried. 

Dr. Vitalis was inside shouting at someone, his voice heavy with anger and a touch of fear. Suddenly, the young man heard his voice followed by another man’s voice. A gruff, Southern-accented voice that sent Rafael’s spine tingling. 

“Why the Hell not? You promised that they’d be offered to the military once they’ve proven their worth,” he heard Major West say. 

“I know what I promised, Sir!” Dr. Vitalis replied, putting an angry emphasis on the last word, “I already feel guilty enough about making that promise in the first place, but when you add this new request to it as well…” 

“What’s he talking about? What promise? What new request?” Rafael thought. 

“You forget, old friend,” the major continued, “I made a promise too. I agreed that no harm will come to them, as long as you and your staff convince them to join. And, whether you like it or not, we of the United States Military would like your young protege to join us.” 

“I told you, the answer is no!” Dr. Vitalis bellowed. 

Even though he wasn’t in the room, Rafael could almost sense that Major West was raising an eyebrow and folding his arms over his chest like a disappointed father. 

“Again, why not? He seems like a fine, willful young man. Brave, confident, maybe even a little patriotic if my thoughts are correct; he’s exactly the kind of person we need for our operations. If you don’t want to give him up, then surely there must be a reason…?” the major said. 

A long pause followed that statement. Either Dr. Vitalis had no answer to his question, or the answer he had was one he refused to share. Whatever the reason, Rafael didn’t really want to hear more; the slight break in the conversation gave him just the chance he needed. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK 

“Come in!” Dr. Vitalis growled, almost desperately, from the other side of the door. 

When Rafael stepped inside, he saw Dr. Vitalis dressed in a gray suit with a burgundy tie and sitting on the edge of his desk. Standing only a few feet away was Major West, still dressed in the same uniform, hat, and reflective sunglasses as the previous night. He turned around and smiled that serpent-like smile he had from before. Just the sight of it, combined with his eyes being obscured by the sunglasses, made Rafael’s skin crawl. 

“Speak of the devil,” Major West said, turning back to Dr. Vitalis for a brief moment before exiting. 

As soon as he was gone, Rafael released a shiver throughout his body. 

“He frightens you, doesn’t he?” Dr. Vitalis said. 

Rafael swallowed hard and gave a little nod without looking his mentor in the eye. 

He then took a deep breath and said, “Just what exactly were you two talking about, anyway?” 

The older man’s eyes darted away as he said, “Nothing for you to worry about.” 

The young man, still refusing to look the man’s way, said, “I think after what you and I did three nights ago, I’ve at least earned the right for you to be honest with me, sir.” 

Dr. Vitalis turned his head in surprise at the young man’s words. His eyes remained transfixed on Rafael for a moment until he finally closed them and let out a sigh as he took a few steps closer. 

“Yes, my young pupil, you have earned the right,” he said, taking a quick look around to make sure no one was listening, “Major West and I were discussing the progress made by you, Miss Newman, and Mr. Larken. He’s very impressed. So impressed, in fact, that by the week’s end he wants to take the three of you to a classified government installation for the continuation of your training.” 

Rafael’s eyes widened and his heart began to beat faster at the sound of that. 

“Why?” he asked, finally facing the man. 

Dr. Vitalis paused for a moment and looked around one more time before saying in a whisper voice, “He wants to train the three of you in combat with your abilities. To see if you can be made into some kind of U. S. Military ‘Psychic-Kinetic Division’, as he said.” 

The young man’s eyes widened even further at the idea of that. However, he couldn’t quite tell yet whether he was widening his eyes out of fear or a slight sense of intrigue. Quite possibly both. But there was another question he was wondering about at that moment that he wanted answered. 

“And, based on what I overheard, I take it you don’t want that, right?” Rafael asked. 

Suddenly, Dr. Vitalis went rigid with anger and hysteria before grabbing hold of the young man by his shirt and shaking him violently as he said, “To have the military turn you and two other troubled, but still innocent youngsters into the ultimate weapon?! To allow them to wield the greatest natural force that the world has ever known!?! I would much rather burn this entire institution down with myself inside!!!” 

Rafael was frightened out of his wits by what he was witnessing, but he also felt a strange flicker of a more positive emotion beneath the surface. An emotion that he couldn’t quite put his finger on at that moment. 

“Why do you care so much about me, Dr. Vitalis?” Rafael asked. 

The older male was suddenly taken aback by that question. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“I overheard you telling him that you didn’t want me to be a part of this ‘Division’ he wanted, more so than Jed and Candace,” he replied, “Why is that? Is it because of your history with my supposed uncle… Or is it because of what happened between us?” 

Dr. Vitalis let go of Rafael and took a few steps back. He put his head down, refusing to look him in the eye. For a second, Rafael thought he could see the older man blush. 

“Tell me!” Rafael demanded, a flicker of need in his voice. 

The older man, still refusing to look at him, finally said, “I’m so sorry. I never should have done it. Any of it! They were your dreams; the one place you could be perfectly safe. I had no right and I perfectly understand if you want to report me. Or never see me again. After all, I’m sure you don’t feel that way about other males and I-” 

Suddenly, the man was cut off by Rafael running up and pressing his lips passionately against the older man’s. Dr. Vitalis was completely caught off guard, but only for a moment before he began kissing the young man back with the same intensity he had been given. 

That’s when Rafael tore off his shirt and began doing the same to Dr. Vitalis’ jacket. 

“Wait!” the older man said, stopping him for a moment, “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, boy.” 

Rafael looked into his dark eyes with passion and replied, “Neither do you, old man.” 

The older male smiled before continuing to kiss the younger male intensely and tear off the rest of his clothes in the process. As the two of them continued, they began slowly making their way to the other side of Dr. Vitalis’ office toward the private quarters. 

By the time they got there, both men were completely naked, while Dr. Vitalis turned on the water in his personal bathroom’s shower. 

“Cold?” Rafael said, noticing the setting he had the water turned to. 

Dr. Vitalis turned to him with a smirk and said, “Trust me, son, between the two of us, we’re going to need it.” 

Rafael smiled sensually before joining the older man in the cold running water. 

The two men pressed up against each other without even bothering to close up the shower curtain. Dr. Vitalis pressed his lips against Rafael’s and suckled them greedily. As he did, he reached down between Rafael’s legs and took him right in his hand. The young man reached down and did the same until they were rubbing against each other beneath the cold water. Both of their heart rates quickened and their breathing became hotter and heavier. 

All of a sudden, the cold water spewing from the shower head became instantaneously warmer to the point of steaming. Feeling the temperature rise so quickly, Rafael felt the older man grow stiff in his hand and it made him so excited that he did the same. 

“D-Dr. Vit-t-talis…?” he stammered as he panted like a dog in the middle of summer. 

The older man pressed his finger up to the young man’s lips and said, looking down at him with those dark, shiny eyes, “Call me… Lyceon.” 

Rafael’s eyes went droopy and he grinned with pleasure as he repeated, “L-Lyceon…” 

The older man smiled before using his other hand to cup the back of the young man’s head and kissed him again. Slower and more intimately. 

Both men continued like this for minutes at a time, kissing each other and rubbing against each other in their self-heated shower. They rubbed and rubbed until Rafael felt he was approaching a climax, which is when Lyceon detached his mouth from the young man’s all of a sudden. 

With his hand still cupping the back of Rafael’s head, he looked down at him again with those big, lustful eyes and said, “Do you want to take a poke at me, boy?” 

Rafael furrowed his brow confused, not understanding the older man’s offer, until his hand moved away from the young man’s groin and passionately squeezed his buttock. The man’s finger wiggled slightly toward the crack as he spoke

“Or would you like me to take a poke at you instead?” he asked. 

The young man’s ecstatic smile returned and he whispered his answer into the older man’s ear. 

His haughty mentor smiled and said, “Of course… if you can prepare it correctly.” 

As he spoke, the older man turned around and presented the young man with his rear. 

Rafael knelt down and licked his lips once again before he got to work. 

The process took longer than the older male had expected it to, but the young man did his work with the same gusto as a fat man eating a plate of food. The more he continued, the more stiff Rafael became, not understanding what made this act feel so disgustingly blissful. 

Finally, he finished with a loud, wet pop and stood up with his pelvis inches away from the older man’s. 

“You sure you want me to do this, sir…?” he asked his mentor. 

Lyceon Vitalis turned his head to the side with a smirk and said, his one eye looking right at him, “Show me a man, my young apprentice.” 

Rafael returned the older man’s smirk and pushed forward with passionate precision. 

Pure ecstasy! 

_

Day 12, 6:22pm (cafeteria)

“Is it hot in here?” Jed asked as he sat down right next to Candace. 

She sat all by herself in the corner of the cafeteria and absent-mindedly twirled her spork in a broken-up scoop of potato salad. As Jed sat down in the seat next to her, she could already tell what he was thinking without even having to use her telepathy. 

“Good one,” she said sarcastically, “Too bad it’s wasted. Get lost Jed, I’m not in the mood for you right now.” 

Jed’s smirk faded slightly as he said, “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” 

Candace rolled her eyes and said, “Nice try. You wouldn’t understand.” 

His response wasn’t what Candace expected, inside or out. She thought he’d stomp away in a huff, or worse, grab her angrily, demanding to know what she meant. Instead he took a deep breath and spoke to her in a calm, almost understanding tone. 

“Look,” he said, “I know I’m probably not your first choice when it comes to talking about your feelings, but I am willing to listen if you want to share.” 

Normally, Candace would’ve walked away without a word, but her telepathy told her that this wasn’t a lie or some trick. His intentions weren’t pure – that was certain – but she could tell he was reaching out for more than just a chance to get in her panties, which gave her hope. 

“Well, if you must know,” she said, “Rafael has been acting kind of weird the past couple of days since the luau. He hasn’t been attending his sessions with Dr. Vitalis and then, of course, there was that whole debacle in his room the other night.” 

Jed thought about it for a moment and said, “Maybe he’s just worried about the army guys hanging around here more than usual. I mean, I was actually kind of excited about it when it was announced, but now I’m starting to have second thoughts. With them around, it’s worse than my foster home.” 

“It’s possible,” she said, “But my telepathy is giving me a different picture.” 

“You’ve been reading his mind?” Jed asked, a little concerned. 

“Only because I’m worried about him,” she countered, a little too quickly, “I refuse to read the minds of people I care about. It’s unethical for me to do so without a reason.” 

“I see. Well, what’s he been thinking about… if you don’t mind me asking?” Jed replied. 

She took a deep breath, hesitant at first, before saying, “I’m only telling you because I already know you won’t tell anyone… unless you want me to tell people that you’re 18 and you still worry about wetting the bed at night.” 

Jed’s eyes widened in shock and his hand clenched into a fist before calming down a moment later. 

He swallowed and said, “Okay…” 

Candace smiled mischievously at him for a split second and said, “Well, despite not seeing the man for two days, Rafael has been thinking a lot about Dr. Vitalis lately. Especially about the big performance we put on at the luau, when it ended with them pressed up against each other.” 

“Maybe he finds Dr. Vitalis attractive!” Jed thought to himself, releasing a chuckle. 

When he saw Candace give a concerned frown, he did the same and said, “You heard that, didn’t you?” 

“Yes,” she replied, “But, to be honest, I’ve actually been wondering the same thing.” 

Jed’s eyes widened again before he put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She touched his hand and the two shared a look. A long look. The normally brash Jed gave her a sweet, somewhat boyish smile and she smiled back at him with her pale cheeks going red as a freshly-picked strawberry. 

“Jedediah, you’re making me blush,” she said. 

His smile faded slightly and he said, “Are my thoughts really that loud?” 

She smiled wider and said, nodding, “No.” 

He laughed at that. Once his laughter died down, the two of them licked their lips and slowly began leaning in toward each other, when all of a sudden… 

“OUCH!!!” 

…they heard the sound of someone at the table across from them yelping in pain after attempting to pick up his glass of cola. Everyone turned to see the cola in the glass going all fizzy with wisps of steam coming off of it. 

“It’s hot!” the guy said, shaking his hand about. 

Suddenly, another person yelped from the other side of the cafeteria. A girl dropped her bottle of water, which was also beginning to bubble and steam. As were all of the other drinks and various liquids in the place. Someone even ran out of the bathroom covered in hot, streaming water. 

“The toilets are boiling!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. 

“What the hell is going on!?!” Candace screeched. 

That’s when it hit Jed like a car being backed into a pole. 

“Let’s think!” he said, “Who do we know that has the ability to make water in a bottle or cup inexplicably start to boil?” 

Candace’s eyes widened and the realization hit her so hard it made her food tray do a back-flip in midair before she even had a chance to know what she, herself, was doing. As it happened, she narrowed her eyes in a mixture of irritation and suspicion. 

“Rafael!” 

_ 

Day 12, 10:11pm 

Rafael fell asleep that night in Dr. Lyceon Vitalis’ arms… as well as his bed. 

The older male decided to let the young man stay the night with him, seeing how his own room was still charred from the other night’s flame-out. Not to mention, after their little shower together, they were quite a ways past the point of being too uncomfortable to sleep in the same bed. 

“Are you warm enough, boy?” Dr. Vitalis asked him as they snuggled together. 

Rafael looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and said, “After what we just did a few hours ago, are you really asking me that question, old man?” 

He narrowed his eyes at the youngster for a brief moment before a smile spread across his face and he laughed. Rafael soon followed with reciprocated laughter as he nuzzled up to the older male’s bare chest. That’s when a new thought entered his mind that made his smile slowly fade away. 

“Sir…?” he asked, “What does this mean for us?” 

Dr. Vitalis frowned and asked, “What do you mean?” 

Rafael swallowed and said, “I mean, are we dating? Are we friends with benefits, or what are we, exactly?” 

The older man thought about it for a minute and said, “Well, not to sound too new-age or anything, but I think traditional labels may not be applicable in our instance. After all, I don’t know a good word to describe the relationship between a man and his deceased lover’s nephew.” 

“Or between a firestarter and his mentor for that matter,” Rafael added. 

The two of them both burst into laughter again at that. 

Finally, after another several minutes of talking and laughing, the two of them fell fast asleep in each other’s arms. It had been a rather interesting day for both of them, especially the huge aftermath of their hot and heavy shower together. Luckily, Dr. Vitalis was able to convince everyone that it was merely an adverse side effect of him and Rafael’s new form of training. Everyone except Candace, which made Rafael a little sad because of what he might have to tell her if things end up going the way he suspects they might. 

Unfortunately, things didn’t end up going the way anybody suspected that night. 

A little after midnight, Rafael was awakened from his cozy slumber by a sudden jolt from Dr. Vitalis’ body. Almost as if the man experienced a really strong electric shock for a split second. Rafael looked up at the older man through tired eyes and saw a horrified look on his face for a moment before he passed out again. 

“Lyceon!” Rafael said, suddenly kneeling on the bed and shaking the man, “Are you okay?!” 

All of a sudden… 

“Ow!” Rafael yelped at the feeling of a needle being shoved into the side of his neck. 

When he turned around, he came face to face with a soldier dressed in black with his face covered in paint to camouflage him with the night. Rafael gritted his teeth, directing his energy at the camouflaged man to light him up like one of the mannequins from his training sessions. However, Rafael was hit by a sudden feeling of fatigue that made his energy fizzle to the point of only making the guy a little sweaty. 

“Sorry kid,” the guy said, holding up the used syringe, “This shit was made especially for folks like you.” 

The fatigue grew stronger, but Rafael refused to let the feeling overcome him without a fight. He managed to make a fist and threw a punch. Missed. He quickly made another and threw it. More pathetic than before. Finally, the young man fell over his mentor’s limp legs and then rolled off the edge of the bed to the carpeted floor below. 

“Ly-ce-on…” he croaked out before the dark veil of unconsciousness took him. 

To be continued… 

El Iniciador de Fuego by Snowy Zombie, Gmail: snowyzombie@gmail.com Tumblr: SnowyZombie BlueSky: SnowyZombie Discord: SnowyZombie Reddit: SnowyZombie