Visionary

In my nineteen years of living, I had spent a good amount of time daydreaming about making history. Changing the world. Doing something that mattered.

I never thought it would actually happen.

But there I was, standing in front of millions of people, about to give a speech that would make history. The cameras were all pointed directly at me, livestreaming what would be written in history books years from now. My years of fantasies were finally coming to fruition, and it was terrifying.

I always had stage fright. Back when I was in junior high, I was cast as the lead actress in a play. My grandmother had taught me some skills to help with my performance anxiety: deep breathing, counting to ten, and focusing on just one person in the audience.

At this point, however, I wasn’t even sure if my grandmother was still alive.

My hands shook as I looked upon the expectant faces standing in front of me. Each one of them wondering what I was going to say. Wondering who I was and why I had interrupted the president. I’m sure a good amount of them were wondering where the president even was.

I shakily gripped the microphone, pausing to take a breath, before speaking to the crowd in front of me.

“These people are not who they say they are,” I said, my voice wavering with anxiety and terror. “They are lying about wanting to help us. They are evil and plan to take away our rights.”

I heard murmuring among the crowd. It was clear they were trying to figure out what was going on. I sighed, cleared my throat, and continued.

“The president is currently on his way to a safe house in a remote island halfway across the country. He has abandoned us, leaving us in the hands of these people, no, these monsters.” I gestured to the large building behind me, the building taken over by the malicious government.

The people began murmuring softly, most likely wondering why this kid was talking to them.

“How do you know this?!” A barely discernible voice shouted from the crowd. Murmurs of agreement followed.

“I witnessed it.” I took another deep breath. “In one of my visions.”

A valley of harsh whispers made its way through the crowd. The people had begun to realize I was one of the Visionaries. The people who saw into the future. The people that were slowly disappearing one by one.

I had witnessed the government take my fellow Visionaries. I had countless nights of terrible visions, seeing the horrible ways they were killing them off. Some old, some young, some even babies. All because of the Visionary mark on our foreheads.

“Think about it! These people without powers claim they can help us enhance them? They take over our country and regulate our behaviors, all while claiming they’re helping us?” I exclaimed, getting more worked up with each word that left my mouth.

“Electricians, you have to pay triple for your electricity every time you use your powers! Levitators, you are forced to take public transportation rather than flying! Don’t you guys realize what they’re doing? They’re trying to silence us!”

The people in the crowd must have begun to realize I was telling the truth. They began yelling out words of encouragement, their energy growing. I felt the empathetic part of my powers flow strongly within me, knowing these people were on my side.

“If we don’t stop the president from leaving this country, they will destroy us,” I yelled, feeling just as riled up as my fellow citizens. “Everything we’ve built, everything we’ve accomplished, all of it will be gone.”

The shouts and cheers from the crowd told me that I wouldn’t have to worry about stopping the president on my own. I had a team alongside me. Not the army our government tried to turn us into, but a team.

After taking out the Visionaries, the government had then decided to put Levitators and Electricians in special schools. Schools where they learned how to use their powers as weapons. They tried to turn these helpless kids into soldiers. I remember one vision told me that if that timeline had continued, those kids would have been forced to turn against the rest of us.

“They know how powerful we are!” I continued, feeling the beginning of a vision cloud my memory. “That’s why they’re trying so hard to destroy us! They couldn’t turn us into an army, don’t let them turn us into dust!”

I saw pictures flash across my vision. I put my fingers to my temples, hoping to focus on some of them. I saw oceans, then a beach, and then a sign. I rubbed my temples, seeing the sign come into focus.

“Montgomery Beach!” I yelled into the microphone. “They’re going to fly off at Montgomery Beach! Take down that helicopter!”

The crowd gave out a final cheer and started racing towards the beach. I jumped off the stadium, feeling my adrenaline pumping. I looked up to see the Levitators flying rather than running, finally making use of their powers. The Electricians began super-powering the vehicles, zooming ahead of the rest of us. My fellow Visionaries, few in number, continued running.

I could see my own grandmother not too far away, running like a warrior. She smiled at me, and I felt reassurance knowing she hadn’t been taken away. I could see kids from high school, factory workers, firefighters, and even a few elementary school kids. All of us had managed to survive the hunt, and now we would avenge those that hadn’t.

As a team, we raced forth to battle. Together, we could take down the enemy, no matter how strong. I watched as my fellow citizens broke down the barriers to the beach, taking down the helicopter that contained the president. The cheers that rang out told me we would be safe.

And at that moment, I knew I had made history.