I sit there on the ground for a while, staring off into space. I see the broken piece of mirror I dropped earlier and pick it up, looking into it.

My eyes still haven't changed: One is dark brown and the other a dull blue-ish purple. I sigh tiredly. Oh Sekuum I'm becoming Amber!

I put the broken shard away and leaning my head back against the wall I close my eyes.

Everything was just fine before all this mess, wasn't it?

No. No it really wasn't. I still need to find Elon. Before that I need to find out what happened. I know he's a Time Traveller but surely he can control his powers?

I think about how his Mark was sizzling, its color an angry red. Then I remember what Etan and I read about the marking of the unwilling.

What if he was pushed into being marked? Blackmailed maybe? I can't believe I didn't notice sooner. I can't believe I didn't help him.

I feel someone sitting next to me but don't open my eyes. I'm so tired and besides I'm not in the mood to talk right now.

"I see you're ok." It's Etan. Even though I want to hug him tight in fear of losing him too, I don't move. Also I don't want him finding out about what happened, what with my eyes and stuff so I keep them closed. I nod instead.

"I heard what happened." Shit. "It's never happened to me before – my eyes turned violet when I got my powers and never changed after that – but I promise I'll find a way to fix this." Oh how I wish it wasn't real, that I didn't have mismatched eyes.

I sigh. When will everything turn back to normal? When will it all be over?

Etan puts an arm around me and pulls me to his chest. He's the only family I have left right now and I don't plan on losing him. It doesn't even feel like he was gone half our lives. It's like he's always been there.

I feel a small smile make its way onto my face. I'm happy I found him. Will Elon remember him? He was pretty young when everything happened – around 7 I think. I'm sure Mom and Dad will be really happy when they see him though.

If. If they see him.

My smile fades and my mood deflates.

Are they still alive? If so I hope we get to them in time.

We stay there in the safe room for a few hours before the others finally come back, some with good news and some with bad. Many have died, left on the streets. Many are in a coma, no hope for them to return. It has been at least 5 hours an if they could've come back, they would've. At least that's what I heard Doc say.

After contemplating over it, Amber finally states that we have to leave, that it's no longer safe to stay.

We all get up, some have a few possessions that they were able to save and others have nothing but the clothes on their back, no matter if they are bloodied and torn.

I stay close to Etan as everyone gets in a line.

"Tales," I hear Amber shout.

Etan and I both turn to her.

She sighs. "Etan. Take the back and be careful." Etan nods once before going to the back, leaving me in the middle.

Amber watches him go before she turns to me. "You come with me." I blink in shock but follow her.

We get to the front of the line and she starts leading everyone out the door. We go back through all the dark corridors I had to walk through once before.

When we get out in the open, everyone visibly tenses. The streets are filled with rubble and dead people. There's blood everywhere and it makes me feel sick. I try to avoid looking at it as much as I can. It's horrible to think all those people have died because of one sole person who gave information of our whereabouts away for personal gains.

My mind goes back to thinking about what Felix did. Of course it was just the chip putting me in that situation but I can't help but think it had some truth to it. I turn to look at Felix. His brows are drawn as he looks around again, as if searching for someone or something. He genuinely seems innocent, really. Maybe he's just feeling like I do, seeing all the blood and dead people on the ground; all of them dreaming a bitter dream, never to wake up again.

I sigh as I fall back in step with Amber. Earlier she had mentioned going to a temporary safe house until we recruit with others.

We walk through the streets with shaky legs, checking our surroundings with every single step. We keep in the shadows, trying not to be seen if there were aircrafts patrolling the area.

When we finally make it to the tree line we all break into a run. We try to stay as silent as we can but you can't really do that in the woods with all the twigs and fallen dry leaves, especially this time of year. Regardless we run until we're all breathless and collapse to the ground. We're a good distance away from the broken city but still it's not enough. We rest for a few minutes before moving again.

We arrive at sundown. The air is getting colder, the wind blowing and we're all tired. I almost cry in joy when Amber points us to the house.

A few people step out of the small cabin and walk towards us. They must be soldiers who came here to prepare everything for our arrival. They seem well rested too. They'll probably be keeping watch tonight.

Amber nods at them and they spread out, each going in a different direction. Told you, they're patrol for tonight.

We all head inside and Amber assigns us each to a different room.

I turn to leave at the end but Amber has other plans. "Evin," I turn to her. "Can I talk with you for a second?"

My friends and Etan give me worried glances as they pass me but don't wait to see what's going on. I watch them leave before going to Amber.

I don't speak as I wait for her to talk. She stares at me for a few seconds and I grow self-conscious.

"Your eyes."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

"Your eyes. They freak people out."

"Ok?" I frown. What am I supposed to do?

She sighs one of her signature sighs. "I asked Doc to find you this." She extends her hand and on top of it lays a small container which I'm guessing is for lenses. I frown at it and then raise an eyebrow at Amber.

"I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't absolutely necessary but it is. So please, accept my wish."

I frown at her but accept the container nonetheless.

"Sleep well." She nods at me.

I breathe out and turn to walk away, holding the container tightly in my palm. It might not seem like a big deal to many. But then I feel like I'm hiding myself.

At first I head to the bathroom but the line for it is too long so I head to the kitchen. There's a few people there too, eating. There's no mirror there either so I head out of it.

I head to the basement. No one was assigned to sleep there plus there might be a mirror lying around.

I step down the creaking wooden stairs and turn the light on at the bottom. I was right. There is a mirror here. I step in front of it and look at myself. My eyes do seem terrifying; one brown and one almost purple. To anyone who doesn't know what happened, I might seem like a Witch or something.

I sigh and open the container. The brown lens is lying there mocking me, waiting for me to back out. But I don't.

I pick it up and then look in the mirror one last time before looking up and slipping into my right eye. It hurts for a second before I blink a few times and it adjusts.

I look at my new self in the mirror and somehow it seems like I'm staring at a stranger even though it's supposed to be like this.

The glow is still making it seem like my right eye isn't brown but it has to do.

I close the container and put it in my pocket. I take one last glance at the mirror before leaving the basement.

That night when everyone is sleeping, I lay awake on my place on the couch. Some were lucky enough to get a place on a bed or in a bedroom but I'm on the couch with many others in the living room.

I just can't find it in me to go to sleep. My heart beats fast and my breathing is hard and shallow as if expecting something to happen. I'm scared even though I don't exactly know why.

After a few hours of tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling, I finally get up and go to the porch, sitting on one of the steps. I lean my head on the railing and stare into the dark woods.

I sit there in silence for a few minutes before I hear the creaking of the hardwood floor behind me. I snap my head around and find Etan slowly walking out of the house.

I relax as he sits down beside me on the porch steps. He looks at me. "Couldn't sleep?" I shake my head. "Me neither."

We sit there staring at the darkness for a few minutes before Etan breaks the silence.

"Have you ever wondered why they call us Phoenixes?" I turn to look at Etan whose gaze is on the dusty stairs.

"Um... no?" I frown in confusion. "Isn't that what we are though? Phoenixes? You know, creatures with big wings made of fire?"

"No we're not. Phoenixes are birds made of fire; we're Humans with wings made of fire." He pauses, taking a deep breath before turning to meet my gaze. "Mom and Dad knew that when they sent me away. We aren't meant to have wings, let alone ones made of fire."

He wets his lips and glances away while I wait for him to explain, frozen. "Mom and Dad aren't Human, at least not completely." He frowns at his own words. "They were kind of like Advanced Humans. Like they're completely form the Human species, meaning their ancestors were Human but with time they evolved into, uh, something else."

I nod. "So this means we're Advanced Humans too?"

"Yes which means we have a power we're not supposed to have."

"What do you mean?"

He takes a deep breath. "Well our first ancestor who developed powers most likely didn't expect it to happen. His powers were probably weaker than one could imagine but as those powers were passed down through generations in the bloodline, they started to evolve, getting more powerful, more intense. Put some Supernaturals, like Granny, in the mix and you have yourself a jump in the evolution. We're the same as the first person who had the powers, the difference being that we have Supernaturals mixed in the bloodline which made our powers more intense over time."

This means we're just more advanced than other Humans. We're not Supernaturals, we're not Human either. We're Advanced Humans, thanks to our bloodline.

"Mom and Dad were scared because they weren't expecting me to show signs of having powers that soon, or this intense at that. They had gained their powers when they were much older. You and Elon didn't get your powers but I did and to them it seemed unusual. They were scared I would hurt you so they sent me away." His voice shakes at the end. It wasn't his fault Mother and Father were scared.

"They sent me to live with Granny who is an Elemental Witch. She could help train me and if anything were to go wrong she could protect herself. She wasn't as strong as I am now but she knew how to help me handle my powers. She taught me how to have control until I mastered them."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that on your own." 

"Don't worry, it wasn't that bad. Turns out Granny loved to bake..." He trails of when I gasp.

"You! I never even saw Granny that much! How dare you complain when you had her baking for you all this time?!" I frown and pout at him, utterly heartbroken and then he has the decency to laugh at me.

I shake my head but join in. I'm really sad that he had to stay away from us just because he was different. He didn't deserve to go through all that alone. If only Elon were here. He would scream at Etan. Elon likes Granny's baking the most and I'm sure he would be mad that his older brother always got more than him.

How I would laugh at them fighting. They used to do that a lot too. They fought all the time and our parents always asked me to break them up. What I did was to get a bowl of popcorn and watch as they screamed, pulling at each other's hair. It was always on something so dramatic like who got to play with a toy first or who stole who's pencil. It was usually me stealing their stuff so I could get them to fight. I don't know why I did it but I admit it was fun.

After our laughter dies down, we sit there in silence.

It's not long until it's yet again broken.