Genesis

3024

There weren't any warning signs. It all happened so quickly, no one had time to prepare for what was happening. The Government's army had begun their take over quietly. They distributed damaging information about the President and members of Parliament, this caused unrest among the people. The Government tried everything to assure the country that the flyers posted everywhere were false; this temporarily worked and everything quieted down.

Everything seeming normal, the army stayed quiet and no one suspected. They made their move in the middle of the night; gunfire was released into the night as soldiers stormed into homes and herded the people into the square. Those in the city waited, trembling with fear until they heard the trucks; they were not the only ones affected. The army had gathered those from the surrounding towns; once everyone had been gathered, the General walked to the center. Scanning the crowd of confused people, a dangerously cruel smirk lifted his lips and he began to speak:

“Good people of the Americas,” greeted General Holsten, “I understand this is a time of confusion and I want you to know that there is a purpose. For too long, we've suffered under a government that values frivolity and spending your hard earned coin. We've decided: No More!”

The crowd remained silent. He smiled and gestured to his armed soldiers behind him:

“We are going to free you from this Government and put in place a system that will benefit all. I will be the President and our great land will be known as the Genesis...there will be new laws that will be explained tomorrow, at nine o'clock. This is mandatory, anyone who chooses to stay away will face the consequences. There will be a special presentation, that will demonstrate our determination to make this a better world.”

With that, General Holsten turned and walked towards the Presidents place of residence; the soldiers escorted those from the city back to their homes, while the others were pushed back into the trucks to sleep in uncomfortable quarters for the night.

Kenna held tightly to her father's hand as he pulled her through the crowd and to one of the military transport trucks. He pulled his seven year old daughter onto his lap and encouraged her to sleep; Penn feared this new rule, up until now he had been able to keep his daughter and her abilities safe and it was crucial now more than ever to keep her ability to heal and take life away, a secret. He looked up and saw his neighbour Lena cradling her ten year old son Wren; they knew that the safe world they had been trying to make for their children had been destroyed in a matter of minutes.

....................................................

Kenna pulled her hat down further, hoping to avoid being noticed by the group of soldiers standing a few feet from the well. Although this was a mundane task, Kenna looked forward to it; her father rarely let her out of the house because he wanted to keep her abilities hidden.

She kept her eyes lowered as she walked; trying to make herself appear smaller as she attached the first bucket. The soldiers loud laughter unsettled her and she immediately wished she had asked Wren to come with her. Slowly, Kenna raised her bucket, her muscles straining with the effort; finally the bucket came into view, carefully placing it beside her and she began the routine again with the second bucket.

A loud wolf whistle erupted the silence, followed by smothered laughter; Kenna kept her head down, doing her best to ignore them. As Kenna picked up the heavy buckets, she quickly began to walk back home; she was desperate to get away from the soldiers. As she walked, she heard the familiar stomping of boots and picked up her pace; it wasn't long however, until a hand snatched one of the buckets from her. Her heart thundered mightily in her chest, as she attempted take the bucket back, much to the amusement of the soldiers.

“Oh come one, sweetheart,” winked the soldier who'd taken the bucket, “I'm just trying to be chivalrous...the only reward, I seek is a kiss.”

A blush heated her cheeks, Kenna whispered, “I don't need help...please, let me have my bucket.”

Smirking, the soldier replied, “Alright, in an exchange for a kiss...I will gladly hand the bucket over...”

“Please, my father is expecting me.” pleaded Kenna her eyes watched his boots

“In. Exchange. For. A. Kiss...” emphasized the soldier taking a step closer to her

Kenna released a shaky breath, a familiar tingle began to warm up her veins and knew she could easily get herself out of this situation. 'If I do though, they'll take me to the General and who knows what will happen.' Kenna thought forcing herself to be calm

“Kenna!” shouted Wren running towards her

Wren was stopped by the other soldiers, his eyes took in the situation before speaking, “Kenna, your father sent me to help you with the water.”

Kenna's green eyes found Wren, relief coursing through her; she took a step toward him but was stopped by the soldier. The soldier looked between the young woman and the man; a grin lit up his face.

“Is this your boyfriend, darling?” He crooned in her ear

“I'm her friend.” snapped Wren attempting to push his way to Kenna, “You don't have any reason to detain her, soldier!”

“Hold him.” barked the Soldier wrapping his arm around Kenna's waist, “You obviously don't know who I am...let me enlighten you. I'm General Holsten's son Lincoln, which means you will show me respect.” Wren was forced to his knee's, a hand gripped his hair, forcing him to look up at Lincoln.

Before Wren could say anything, Lincoln continued, “Since this beautiful woman isn't yours, you wouldn't mind if I kissed her, would you?”

Without waiting for a response, Lincoln pressed his lips against Kenna's, his hand wrapping around her dark brown hair holding her close as she tried to push him away. The kiss seemed to last a life time and Lincoln didn't seem to be in a hurry to release her; when he finally released her mouth, Kenna gasped for air. Lincoln smirked and tightened his grip on her waist.

“I think she enjoyed that,” sneered Lincoln laughing at the outrage on Wren's face, “You should hurry home sweetheart, but trust me when I say that I look forward to seeing you again very soon.”

Kenna snatched the bucket from him and hurried over to Wren. He took one of the buckets and with the other hand, took her hand in his. They ran from the town square and walked when they were safely out of view from Lincoln and his men.

“Are you okay?” whispered Wren squeezing her hand

“Don't worry Wren, I didn't expose my abilities.” sighed Kenna her mind tried to erase the memory of Lincoln's lips on hers, “Are you okay? You looked like you would've killed him.”

“I wasn't worried about you exposing your abilities Kenna,” said Wren frustration leaked into his voice, “I didn't like the way he was looking at you...like you're a prized object for his collection.”

They walked silently for a few minutes before he added softly, “If they hadn't held me down, I would have killed Lincoln.”

“Why?”

“Kenna, we've grown up together,” sighed Wren a slight blush crept into his cheeks, “we're neighbours and your dad trusts me to look out for you...Ugh, I'm just going to say it...Kenna, I love you!”

Kenna stopped walking, her eyes widening as she looked up at him; she wasn't sure what to say to that declaration. She looked into his eyes and saw that he spoke the truth, Kenna thought biting her lower lip, 'I have to admit I've noticed that he has been looking at me differently lately...'

“You don't need to say anything now,” said Wren gently caressing her cheek, “I only ask that you consider me as something more and to search your heart...let's get this water inside before your father tans my hide.”

Kenna snorted with laughter, handing him the other bucket; though as soon as she turned her back her smile faded as she thought of what Wren had asked her. Now that she had unwittingly gained the attention of the General's son, it was only a matter of time before her abilities were discovered. She smiled when she saw her father attempting to keep the stew from burning.

“It smells wonderful father,” grinned Kenna patting her stomach, “and just in time too, I'm starving.”

“If I can keep it from burning,” chortled Penn shaking his head, “it might just pass for stew...Is everything alright? No one spoke to you?”

“Just like every week father, no one talked to me.” sighed Kenna feeling a twinge of guilt for lying to her father, she didn't want to worry him about what had happened

Wren opened his mouth to correct her, but stopped when she jabbed her elbow into his side; she shook her head slightly. He frowned at her, mouthing, “Tell him or I will!”. She shook her head again, silently mouthing back, “It could be nothing.”

“Ouch!” growled Penn holding his hand tightly

“Father, let me help...” started Kenna standing up when her father held up his hand

“No, it's alright...any use of your gifts can be dangerous.” said Penn firmly as he sat

Kenna stood up and moved closer to her father, picking up his hand and examined the burn closely. She understood that if she was found out, the General would likely use her as a weapon to further his greed for power and land. 'He's practically taken over the entire continent and has been a horrible influence on other world leaders...everyone is too scared of him to stop him.'

“Father, stop being stubborn,” chided Kenna holding his hand firmly, “No one but Wren and myself know that you burned your hand...let me heal you.”

Penn sighed heavily and nodded; he observed his daughter as she placed her hand over the burn and closed her eyes. He had always known that his daughter was different, the moment she was born; his wife had also known but decided she didn't want to live with the risk of getting caught with a magical daughter. She had abandoned them before Kenna was three months old. Lena had helped him raise her and he returned the favor when her husband died.

Kenna felt power surging through her fingers, warmth spread through her hands as she put all of her attention into healing the burn on her fathers hand. This took only seconds as when she opened her eyes, it was as though nothing had harmed him.

She glanced up at her father and when he smiled, Kenna returned his smile and started to serve the stew just as Lena joined them. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Lena speaking to her; Wren kicked her feet. Startled, she looked up, hearing Lena's kind laughter; Kenna mentally kicked herself for paying heed only to finding out how she felt about Wren.

“I'm sorry Lena, I was distracted.” shrugged Kenna calmly yet hoping that they couldn't see the blush

“Something good must have happened today,” observed Lena slyly, “I've never seen you blush so much.”

“I'm not blushing,” denied Kenna speaking around bites of potato, “it's warm in here.”

Wren grinned to himself; he knew exactly what she was thinking about. Despite being happy that she was considering him, he was worried now that Lincoln had her on his radar. Lincoln's interest in her was obvious but Wren knew that she would become a pawn in a very dangerous game...with the General at the helm.

Later that night, a knock sounded on their door; the sound seemed to vibrate the entire house. Penn opened the door to reveal a soldier! Penn's posture stiffened as he accepted a letter, before shutting the door with a heavy hand. The letter was clenched in his fist; he walked back back to his chair by the fire. When someone received a letter from the General's government, there was bound to be trouble; those who went to the Parliament building rarely returned to their home.

“Father, what is it?” asked Kenna watching him carefully

“It's addressed to you my dear,” murmured Penn rubbing his forehead, “it's not from the General, the handwriting is far too different.”

Kenna took the letter from her father, avoiding eye contact; she was worried he would see in her eyes what she was withholding. She opened the letter and read silently much to the frustration to her father and Wren.

'Sweetheart,

I wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and that I fully intend to pursue you. I know that your father would not dare refuse me. I will see you soon.

Lincoln'

A knot formed in her stomach as she realized that Lincoln would not easily forget her; she could feel her father's eyes boring into her. Guiltily, she looked up and handed him the letter. Kenna watched his eyes grow wide with anger and confusion.

“Father, I didn't think it would become anything...he saw me getting water from the well,” stammered Kenna frantically, “He took one of the buckets and wouldn't give it back unless I gave him a kiss...that was it, I swear!”

Penn looked to Wren for further explanation. Wren, sheepishly looked down at his feet, answering, “I tried to stop him but he was with his cronies...I didn't think too much of it Penn, I'm sorry!”

“We have to leave,” stated Penn decidedly, “you're on the Prince's radar now and he is just like his father...if he has his way and takes you from me to make you his own; it won't be long before the General finds out about you.”

“Where would we go father?” asked Kenna taking the letter and tossing it into the fire, “The General's arm is too long. His soldiers will find us, take me, use my gifts and execute you, Wren and Lena for trying to hide me...for hiding my gifts.”

Wren cleared his throat, “The mountains...rebellion is strong there and he's been unable to get that area under his control...we'd have to leave at night, in order to stay undetected.”

Penn and Lena looked at each other and knew that, that would be the best option. Penn ran his hand over his face before speaking, “What do you think Lena? You've been rather quiet this evening.”

Lena sighed, “Well, I think we all knew that sooner or later, this day would come. I believe that going to the mountains is the best option for us...and Penn, please know that this is only a suggestion...”

Penn held his breath, while Lena took a deep breath, “Kenna's abilities to both heal and take life has grown and well...she's become powerful and so I have been thinking that she could use those gifts for good and help us take back our country.”

Kenna and Wren exchanged looks of shock before they shifted their gaze to Penn, waiting for his reply. Penn stared at Lena with a look, Kenna had never seen her father wear before; so when he spoke, his words were quiet but firm.

“Kenna, Wren, please go upstairs.”

They both knew not to argue and so did as they were told; as they always did when they worried about the future, Kenna and Wren climbed onto their roof and watched the stars until they were ready to talk. Time passed by slowly, they caught the occasional word as their parents argued.

“I always thought that my gifts were more of a curse,” whispered Kenna quietly, “I thought that was why father rarely let me out of the house...when your mom said I could use my gifts to destroy the General's reign...I felt excited, you know, like I actually could.”

“I know you can Kenna,” replied Wren looking over at her, “you have incredible control over your gifts...I will stay by your side, through it all.”

Kenna smiled at his words; a warmth filled her chest so quickly that she knew she would love to discover what they could be together. Turning onto her side, she took his hand in hers and kissed the back of his knuckles. Wren turned to face her, hope shone brightly in his eyes; 'This could mean one of two things...either she's accepting my pursuit of her or she's letting me down gently.' Wren thought nervously hoping it was the first option

“Wren, I've been thinking about what you said earlier,” murmured Kenna thoughtfully, “we've grown up together, we know each other's secrets and I cannot imagine my life without you.”

She took a calming breath, continuing, “I don't want to lose you, Wren...I want to see where we can go together. We are stronger together and I guess in my own clumsy way...I'm saying I am falling in love with you.”

Wren smiled, gently pressed his lips to her forehead, from the light of the moon, he could see the blush brighten her cheeks. “Can we do this whole dating thing...slow?” asked Kenna softly

“Yes,” whispered Wren happily, “you know my mother always says that love always blooms from friendship...I can't believe I just quoted my mother!”

Wren and Kenna burst into laughter; Wren rolled onto his back and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest. Kenna smiled, 'I made the right choice...'. She shifted and looked down at him with a soft smile on her lips; he shared her smile as she leaned in closer to him. That kiss was the first of many.