Quickly, her sobs started turning into gasps.

"Alright," Rheager dragged out, his voice a weird mix of annoyed and calmed as he grabbed her shoulders, straightened her up a little bit, and then ducked his head down slightly to look at her face. "Oy, princess, look at me," He said, his voice automatically going a little softer in reassurance. "You're having a panic attack. It's okay, they suck, but you're fine. I need you to look at me though."

Her eyes stayed firmly squeezed shut.

"Oy," He said again, his voice never rising in pitch, coaxing her to listen. "I need you to look at me," He said again. "Y'know those round things on your face made for seeing? Yeah, direct those to mine, there you go," He smiled a little, like talking to a wounded animal. "Y'know, gaze at me like it happens in those cliche love stories, where a boy meets a girl and they lock eyes and ride into the sunset to live happily ever after with their white picket fence, four kids, and a dog. Though I'd want a dog and a cat, because I don't discriminate."

Even through her gasps, she started to smile a little, which brightened her eyes, so he had to continue.

"And I'd want a black fence because a white one would be a bitch to clean," He murmured, brushing some of the hair out of her face. "And I don't know about kids. I'd be a shitty father, so I think I'll just have a lot of pets. But I don't know about that either, especially because I've always wanted to foster a kid."

Her eyes flashed with surprise and her ducked her head down a little bit, her forehead touching his chest, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Foster...?" She breathed, getting herself back under control.

"Mhm," Rheager viscously brushed his hand through his hair, letting it fall back into his face. "I watched a video once, on foster families and all that, and it kinda made me want to do that. Help a kid that's never been loved."

She nodded a little bit, her hands tightening on his shirt. Funny. He hadn't even noticed she was gripping him. She let out a shaky sigh. "Have you ever had a panic attack before?" She whispered, "Because you really seemed like you knew what you were doing."

He shrugged a little, allowing her to take all the comfort she needed, but not doing anything to give comfort in return. "Yeah."

She peeked up at him, her green eyes watery with tears, but she didn't let any fall. He could easily read the question in her eyes.

"It was a while ago, princess," He muttered, brushing it off. "Haven't had one in a little over a year."

"They're kinda scary," She breathed.

"Yeah," The agreement left his lips before he could stop it, but he didn't take it back. He looked around the forest they were enclosed in, the smoke still leaving a hazy remnant around where they were trapped. And suddenly, he got an idea.

"Watch out, princess," He muttered, sliding her off his lap. "Back up a little," She didn't question him, just scooted back until she was behind him.

He slid off his jacket and tossed it to her, but ignored the small intake of breath she made, probably at the sight of all his scars. He went to the edge of the barrier and put his hands on the grass, concentrating. Immediately, a small patch sizzled and burned under his touch. The next part took a little bit more concentration, but he saw the dirt under his hands crumble into dust.

When he pulled away, there was a small hole about two feet deep. He was breathing hard and his hands were shaking, so he sat back on his heels, taking a break.
"That's so smart!" She squealed, skipping slightly to his side. "A tunnel?" She guessed.

"Sorta," He grunted, brushing his dirty hands on his knees. "I'm going to keep going that way," He muttered, pointing towards the barrier, "So it makes a path out. That part," He pointed towards the ground right under where he was burning a hole, "Will probably collapse. It'll lose its moisture. I'm just hoping the barrier doesn't go down with it."

"Why don't you just make the first part deeper?" She asked, pointing to where he had already started burning down. "If you make that part deeper, then it won't take out all the moisture from the top, will it?" She asked.

He bit down on his lip, thinking as he looked at the hole. "Probably not," He admitted, but that meant he'd have to crawl down the hole to burn the bottom part horizontally, which didn't sound very pleasant.

"You don't have to," She said quickly, probably reading the look on his face.

"No, it's a good idea," He said, shaking his head. "Watch out," He muttered, going back to what he was originally doing.

By the time he had burned a hole big enough for him to fit in, he was exhausted. He leaned against the grass, pressing his inflamed cheek to the ground and closing his eyes.

"Rheager," Dawn said, concern in her voice. "You can stop," She whispered, touching his back, but pulled back immediately. "You're really hot," She said.

Overheating, he thought, but didn't say anything.

"Why don't you stop?" She said, sitting next to him. "Think about it, whoever put us here won't keep us here forever. They'll have to come get us eventually."

"I... Will not be caged," He breathed. "Yeah, they'll come get us eventually, but... If I can get myself out, I will... I don't need them."

"Your health is more important than stupid male pride," She said, her voice rising with panic. "You really don't look good, Rheager, you're shaking."

"My power," He started, prying his eyes open to look at her. "Is like a battery inside me. When I use it, it drains energy... Some things don't really affect me," he snapped his fingers, a flame dancing on the tip. "I could do that all day... And not feel a thing," He muttered, extinguishing the flame. "But what I was just doing" He gestured towards the ground. "Shooting fire like my hands are flamethrowers?" He grunted and rolled onto his back. "That takes a toll."

He pushed himself into a sitting position and sat still for a while, feeling the start of a headache pulse between his temples. "I'll be okay," He grumbled. "I'll eat, take a nap, and be as good as new." He looked over at her, but she was still studying him with concern in her large eyes, so he had to look away again.

Why was she so worried? He was helping her out. He was getting her out of here too. He thought she would have been snapping at him to hurry his ass up.

She rested her hand on his arm like she could hear his thoughts. "I don't want you to hurt yourself," She whispered, her voice ringing with honesty. "If you need to stop, stop. I'm fine here. I can wait."

And that small amount of caring, the caring he's never received from anyone, not even his own mother, had him rolling over to face the hole, ready to get this done.

"I'm gonna go down there," He muttered, looking down at the hole that was about eight or nine feet down. "I'll burn it all the way across, and up, and then you can come down," He paused, and looked around. "My phone's in my jacket," He said, taking it out and handing it to her. "When you get down there, use the flashlight and go across as quickly as possible."

"How are you going to get out?" She asked.

He paused for a moment and thought, before he shook his head. "I'll figure it out," He muttered. He didn't want her down there in case it did collapse.

"Be careful, Rheager," She begged, squeezing his arm gently as he started to lower himself down the hole.

He grunted, wanting to roll his eyes, but not wanting to offend her. "I will," He grumbled, and dropped down.

For a moment, he just stood there and let himself adjust. It was colder down here, darker, and there wasn't a lot of room for him to move. If he had to spend too long down here, he'd probably get claustrophobia.
He looked up briefly, meeting Dawn's eyes as she hovered over the opening, watching him.

Then he pressed his hands to the dirt and did what he did best: destroyed.

With his hands never leaving the dirt, he was able to go all the way across and still not need a break, though he felt like shit. He took a small moment to prepare himself, pressing his hands above him and burning as much as he could before he couldn't touch the dirt anymore. Then, he grunted, knowing this was going to hurt as he shot the flames from his hands to finish the job.
He had his jaw clenched tightly, his entire body tense to avoid crying out. He felt like he did when he broke his hand in eighth grade. The hand already hurt, but then he got to the doctor they had to re-break it so it healed the right way.

Right now, it was like his entire body was being re-broken.

When he finally saw sunlight again, his breath was leaving his lips in hard, shaky gasps, much like Dawn's had just been when she had her panic attack. His stomach rolled, threatening to launch anything he had eaten for the day, and his vision blurred so much he thought he was going to pass out.

He paused for a moment, leaning against the dirt wall and breathing, just breathing, trying to wait for the nausea to pass.

This. Sucked. Ass.

"Rheager?" Dawn called, her voice a worried shout.

He groaned, swallowing thickly as he reached as far as up as he could, his body screaming in agony as he pulled himself over the edge. He had to scramble a little, because his arms were shaking, but he eventually had himself laying on the other side of the barrier.

He sat up immediately, gagging and heaving the contents of his stomach until there was nothing left to throw up, but even then, his stomach still worked, which had painful dry heaves shaking his entire body.

"Ugh," He groaned, rolling over and flopping onto his back, rubbing his face.

"Rheager... I can't reach," Dawn called.

He looked up slowly, surprised to see that Dawn had crawled through and was jumping at the bottom, trying to pull herself up.

He grunted, crawling to the lip of the hole and reaching down as far as he could. Still, he couldn't get a grip of her. He released a small breath. "C'mon, princess," He pleaded, his entire body aching. "Jump, do something."
She jumped but their fingers didn't do anything more than brush.

Rheager let out a tiny groan, pressing his forehead against the remaining grass, not missing the way it sizzled against his body heat.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, her voice choked. "I'm so sorry, Rheager, please don't be mad at me," She sniffled, sounding so sad that he felt like a dick even though he didn't do anything wrong.

He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to sit up. "Move back and stop crying," He grunted.

She moved back immediately, wiping at her face.

Rheager dropped down, immediately falling to his knees when the impact wracked more pain through his body. "Fuck," He hissed, resting his head on his arms.

"I'm so sorry," She said again.

"Stop it," He commanded, sucking in a deep breath before he got to his feet. "And come here. It'll be tight but I'll push you up and out and then I'll climb out afterwards."

She moved forward immediately, but Rheager wasn't really prepared for how tight a squeeze it was going to be. It was the wrong moment to think about it, but their bodies were pressed so close together that he could feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

"You smell nice," She commented, her voice choked like she was talking to distract herself. "Like smoke and... I don't know how to explain it. It's something nice."

He had to chuckle, amusement momentarily making him block out the pain. "Thanks, I guess," He muttered, putting his hands on her waist and starting to lift her.

She made a little squeaking noise in surprise, her hands automatically gripping his shoulders. "Do you use cologne?" She asked, but now it was obvious she was distracting herself.

"No," He muttered. "It draws attention. But I do use deodorant and shower everyday, like a normal person," He mused.

She giggled but sniffled afterwards. "I really am sorry, Rheager," She whispered, reaching for the edge.

He grunted and hefted her higher, surprised by how light she was. Which was a good thing, considering if she were any heavier, he probably wouldn't be able to lift her, not in this condition. "I know," He muttered, adjusting his hands so they were right under her butt, heaving her higher. "You're making up for it by letting me grope you."

She laughed, which surprised him, considering what he said was crude and from his experience, girls didn't like jokes like that. She whined as she pressed herself against the wall and dragged herself over the top.

Then, Rheager sagged against the side, breathing hard.

"Your turn," She said, trying to coax him into moving.

"I'm good here," He breathed, squeezing his eyes shut.

"C'mon, Rheager," She murmured, her voice dropping to the same gentle coo he had used when talking her down from her panic attack. "You're almost done. As soon as you get out, you can take a small nap and we'll figure out what's going on. Then, we'll find something to eat and drink; whatever you want. Just get yourself out of that hole. It's kind of dirty down there, right? I wouldn't want to be stuck down there longer than necessary."

He swallowed hard, pressing against the wall. His head felt like it was going to explode.

"Almost there, Rheager, please-"

"Dawn," He said, his voice weak. "I know you're trying to help, but please," He murmured, emphasizing the word. "Stop talking right now."

His voice was so reasonable, so pleading, so un-Rheager-like that she didn't even question him.

"Fuck me," He groaned, reaching and scrambling his way to the top of the hole, and then forcing himself over.

"Extraordinary."

Though it hurt, Rheager forced himself to his feet. His body swayed so much that Dawn actually moved under his arm to form a temporary crutch, but he was so out of it that he would have swung fire if it came down to protecting them.

Himself. He meant himself. There was no way he would go to extreme lengths to protect Dawn.

For a long moment, Rheager thought he passed out and was dreaming because that was the only explanation he had as to why there was an old ass man gaping at Rheager like a fat kid looks at cake.

The man was tall, skinny, with an extremely impressive white beard. His eyes were a shade so blue they almost looked white, and his beaming smile made him seem a little like Santa Claus.

"Who are you?" Rheager commanded, his voice stronger than he felt. He moved Dawn behind him, but then told himself it was because he didn't want her touching him anymore, even though she gripped the back of his shirt and he didn't stop her.

"I am Constance Leonard P. Questrin. Everyone calls me Constance," His beaming smile never faded as he held his hand out, but Rheager didn't do anything other than stare at it.
Constance laughed lightly, not seeming offended in any way. "You must be confused and I will explain momentarily, but let me express how impressed I am with your tactic," He beamed, gesturing towards the hole he burned under the barrier. "No one's been able to break free before."

Rheager blinked, trying to work through what he was saying, even though his mind felt like molasses. "You're telling me other people are here?" He asked. He already put together some of the pieces. They were here because of these "powers" that they had. That had to mean there were more people like him and Dawn, right? Was Constance one of those people? And how did the principal fit in all of this?

"Oh, yes," He said, nodding in emphasis. "Ten in total. You and Miss Dawn here would make twelve. Not including, the teachers of course."

"I swear if this is some knockoff version of Hogwarts, where this is a school for us to get our "powers" under control, I am going to throw up again," Rheager snapped, not in the mood to play these games.

Constance's eyes brightened. "I've never quite thought of it like that. I suppose we are like Hogwarts, only we don't accept witches and wizards. Only kids like you, with extraordinary powers." He clapped his hands once. "But there will be more time for stories later. Why don't I take you to the school and we can work through things there?" He started to walk back, away from the barrier and towards the forest, but Rheager didn't follow.

He looked over his shoulder at Dawn, who stared up at him with wide eyes, complete fear in this situation and trust that Rheager would make everything okay.

"No," He said, looking back at Constance, who stopped to face them curiously. "I want to know now," He said, crossing his arms over his chest. It didn't matter that his body yearned for sleep and his head pounded. All that mattered was getting answers. He wasn't walking into an unknown situation without knowing all the facts.

Constance's eyes flashed with surprise. "Very well," He said, his voice subdued, like he was thinking. "Although, it is a long story. Are you sure you wouldn't like to wait? That," He waved towards the hole. "Looks like it took a toll on you."

Rheager straightened his shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me," He said, his voice gruff.

There was the strangest smile on his lips, like Rheager was something he wasn't expecting, but was pleased with him. "Very well," He said again. He snapped his fingers and immediately a tree was behind him for him to lean against.

Rheager tried not to gape.

"Nearly twenty years ago," Constance began, his voice gentle, "Nineteen years, to be specific, a group called Spero, was created. Spero had one goal: create beings so powerful, they could stop any war or any disaster on Earth. They wanted to create peace and they thought they could do it by creating, metaphorically speaking, Gods."

Dawn, who was still behind Rheager (though peeked from the side of his arm) started to grow tense, pressing tighter to him.

"So then began the experiments. For months they tried anything and everything, growing more and more desperate as the failures grew. Until finally, they had a success. A baby boy, named Zeus, after the Greek God of Lightning. His power was everything. Fire, water, air; everything that could be controlled, he controlled it. But quickly, Spero learned that giving all that power to one person wasn't wise. As a baby, just a temper tantrum could wipe out entire cities. Zeus had to be terminated."

Dawn sucked in a deep breath and Rheager closed his eyes, imagining a little boy who couldn't be controlled. A little boy who didn't ask for anything that was done to him. A little boy murdered.

"I am only telling you this because you asked," Constance said, his voice ringing with truth. "And I want to be honest with you so we can develop trust. It's important for you to trust us," He said, his voice light.

Rheager hid a snort. Good luck with that.

"So they split the powers; one for each child. Ten children in total."

He said there were twelve of us. Rheager kept his mouth shut, but saved that question for later.

"Each child came out perfect. Until they reached the age of puberty and they needed to start using their powers for the good of the world. Some of them did splendid; doing as they were told and being the Gods Spero hoped to create. But others, others didn't understand. They spent their life in the laboratory and didn't want to help those who didn't deserve it. So they didn't help and let people die. Eventually, they started corrupting the good ones as well, and no one was helping anyone. They were causing destruction, rather than solving it."

Rheager knew what he was going to say before he open his mouth and he had to close his eyes again.

"They had to be terminated."

Dawn let out a sound that resembled a whimper, squeezing his arm.

"Finally, Spero got the right idea. Ten children, each with their own power, living their lives as normal kids until they were ready to have them back. When they hit the right age, Spero was going to take them in, train them, and let them save the world."

Constance smiled, spreading his hands out. "You two are the final creations of Spero."

That was supposed to make Rheager excited, wasn't it? Everytime he joked about being God's gift to the world, now he could say it was true, but...
Rheager didn't feel excited. He had a lot of questions. Questions he didn't feel comfortable asking a guy who literally moved a tree just to lean on it.

If he fucked up, he was going to be terminated.

Constance was hinting like he was a part of Spero, but he spoke about them like he wasn't connected. "Spero got the right idea" "Spero hoped to create" not we got the right idea, not we hoped to create.

When did they know the "right age" that they would take them back? Rheager was seventeen. Dawn was sixteen.

How could Spero have only created ten, but Constance say there was twelve? What about the other two?

And finally, which probably fucked him up the most, Rheager's mom was raped. Someone raped her to create him. Did that mean Spero hired someone to do that? Or was that part of his life a lie? It didn't feel like it. His mother was an insane alcoholic, but that wasn't something she made up. He knew it.

Constance looked between them like he was waiting for them to say something, anything, but Rheager didn't have a response. This didn't feel right. He had a bad feeling about this.

Rheager knew he should have turned around. Should have found out where he was and found a way back home. This wasn't his fight. He didn't owe anyone anything.

But then he felt Dawn's shaky hand gripping his shirt and he knew he couldn't leave her. She was just as lost as he was. And she was smart. He could talk to her about it later.

"I'm tired," Rheager said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Where's this school you were talking about?"

Constance's eyes flashed with surprise again (probably because Rheager wasn't freaking out at the idea of being a "God") but he nodded his acceptance. "Of course, this way," He said, smiling again before turning on his heels and approaching the forest.

He waited until the old man was a good distance away before he started following, but Dawn tugged on his shirt, her eyes filled with tears. "Rheager, this-"

He put a finger to his lips and shook his head ever so slightly. He ducked down to grab his jacket, whispering as he did so. "Not now. Not safe. Trust me."

When he straightened up and slid on his leather jacket, he was ready for her to run the opposite way. She had no reason to trust him. Rheager was a pyromaniac. A delinquent. A bad kid. She was the exact opposite.

But when she looked up at him, he could see the resolve shining in her eyes, and she didn't say anything as she slipped her hand in his, and followed Constance.

And Rheager didn't pull away.