The Battle by Jennifer Torres

escorted from the meeting, Tim looked at John and could see he was nervous.
    â€œIt’s too late,” John whispered. “They are sending jets up now. Once they start shooting at each other, it won’t matter who started it in the first place—we will be at war.”
    â€œWhat do we do?” Tim asked.
    â€œI want you and Nina to head down to the shelter on the bottom level with the other kids,” he answered softly. “They are going to attack this building first—maybe there you might have a chance.”
    â€œBut what about you?” Tim pleaded. “You have to come, too.”
    â€œI have to stay up here, Tim,” he said. “This is what I do. If anything happens to me, I want you to know I feel so blessed that I got to know you, even if it was just for a short time.”
    â€œWait, look!” Tim shouted pointing up to the sky.
    The warships from Indus were pulling away; they pulled up into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.
    â€œWhat does it mean?” Tim asked.
    â€œI can’t believe it,” John said. “It looks like they are retreating.”
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    The door to the office where Trident was sitting burst open and several security officers surrounded him.
    â€œWhat is going on here?” he asked with outrage.
    The chief walked in the room, followed closely by Rusty, Steve, Ms. Duvall, and Mr. Kull who was holding a large stack of papers.
    â€œWhat’s going on is that you are going to jail,” the chief loudly replied. “We have proof of your crimes right here.” He pointed to the stack of papers Kull was holding.
    Trident jumped up and pushed past security, knocking Kull to the floor, and ran from the room.
    â€œAfter him!” called the chief.
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    They all gathered in a huge reception hall.
    â€œOkay, everyone listen up for a moment,” a man in full military dress called out. “This has been quite a day, so I’m going to give you a chance to relax and just be with each other to celebrate this victory.”
    Everyone let out a cheer.
    â€œBut tomorrow we have work to do,” he added. “With the discovery of so many special powers among you, we need to test everyone for theirs and see how we might be able to use them for the good of the planet. Agreed?”
    Everyone did.
    Surrounded by his friends—Max, Luke, Emily, Isabelle, Eva, and Anthony—Tim felt safe for the first time in a very long time. He knew his parents from Briny Deep would be arriving in the next few days, and he couldn’t wait to see them! All his friends had parents coming in on the next ship—except for Nina. Her parents could not be located.
    He watched as they laughed and hugged each other. It felt so good to be together again —all together.
    Tim looked over at Nina. They had been through so much. He turned and walked to look out at a window.
    I love you, Nina,
he thought to himself, too afraid to say it aloud.
    Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
    â€œLooks like we share the same special power,” she laughed. “I love you, too.”
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    Somewhere in the desert of Arizona, a man with dark hair passed through a small town. It was evening. The sky was pitch-black, not a star in sight. Darkness covered the old, cracked concrete of the sidewalk where he walked, making it hard to see.
    But he could see.
    Turning to the bank on his right, and ignoring the “We’re closed” sign dangling out front, Trident reached for the metal lock on the door—and it crushed to powder in his hands.
    â€œTwo special powers and counting,” he said aloud. “Wait until I harness them all.”

I’m thankful for so many things.
    A late night chat years ago under a sea of stars when my son Timmy and I began to dream up a story about a place called Briny Deep.
    My daughter Emily who believed in the story and