AAOOOSC! Junior Powers!

Kale jolts himself in a bed, his eyes flying wide open. He scrambles up to a sitting position, darting his eyes around his surroundings.

He is in a small, dusky room. The only light is coming from the slit of the bottom of the door to the left. He peers down at himself, noticing he is wearing a hospital gown while sitting on a matching hospital bed.

Kale runs his fingers through his thick hair, taking in deep breaths. I’m not falling, there’s no pain, I’m okay...I’m okay…

He then warily turns his head from the right to the left, making sure that no one is around. Afterward, he slips himself to the edge of the bed, his bare feet making contact with the cold, sticky tile flooring.

He lifts himself to his feet, his eyes glued to the shadowy door, and steps up to it. With a deep breath held, he places his hand on the silver door handle and presses down on it.

The handle lowers to his pressure, opening the door.

Kale pushes the door open, becoming deluged in the blinding, luminous, white light emitting from the other side. He instantly shields his eyes with his hands, squeezing his eyes closed to avoid the stinging of such bright light contrasted to the darkness he is used to.

Finally, he slowly lowers his hand while opening his eyes and blinks rapidly, feeling the stinging pain from his eyes fade away as he becomes used to the light. He then peers ahead, attempting to figure out where he is.

He is standing in the doorway of the room, facing the side of a white-coloured hallway. Rows of fluorescent lights are situated on the popcorn ceiling, casting the bright lights onto the same tile flooring below; columns of doors line the walls on both ends. The smell of bleach lingers in the musty air, causing him to scrunch his nose in disgust.

Kale glances quickly to the left before facing the right side. He begins tiptoeing down the hallway’s straight path. Then—

"Hey!"

Kale instantly freezes in his tracks, becoming stiff.

"It’s after hours!" the same voice like a foghorn, deep and gravelly, barks. "Get back in your room!"

Kale whirls around, spotting the owner of the voice.

On the other side of the hallway are two security guards, dressed in navy blue with holsters loaded with weapons. Their sharp eyes are on him.

Kale’s eyes immediately go wide in fear. He spins back around and makes a dead sprint down the hallway.

"Get back here!" he hears the guard bellows.

Following the command are thunderous footsteps briskly approaching him.

Kale continues racing down the hallway, his breathing becoming laborious, his heart slamming against his chest, sweat forming on his face.

He then senses sharp projectiles of air skipping across his skin as the sound of clattering and whooshing emits from around him.

He peers down at the rushing ground, noticing red tranquilizers darts littering the floor.

His eyes widen at the sight as his heart rate lurches higher.

In a panic, Kale conjures a handful of wheat stalks in both hands. He automatically waves them around, swatting the darts away from him.

Up ahead, he spots an opening to a stairwell situated to the left. He zooms into the opening, ducking out of the hallway and emerging into the dimly-light, concrete-made, spiralling stairwell.

He hastily clamours down the levels of stairs, watching every rushing step he takes to avoid falling over. He turns and turns to the path of the twisting staircases, using the aid of the railing to keep up with his accelerated stride.

Suddenly, Kale hears the stomach-wrenching footsteps thundering from above and echoing throughout the room. He picks up his pace, going around the lowering staircase. Yet he can feel the uneasy presence of the two guards weighing on his back.

In anxiety, Kale halts and spins around, facing the empty staircase he just zipped through. He shoots his hands out at it and sprays countless stalks of wheat, building a pile as high as the railings.

His eyes flick up at the source of the approaching footsteps, spotting the bobbing heads of the guards from above.

The frightening sight automatically causes him continue scurrying down the stairs, leaving a trail of wheat behind.

Stairs after stairs, he steps down in a frenzy, his mind scrambling for other ways to surely lose the guards as his heart is beating uncontrollably in his chest.

Kale then spots flat concrete flooring below him with a door situated to the right, giving him a spring of hope.

With swiftness, he jumps the last two steps, landing on the ground level with great balance, and throws himself against the door, pushing it open and stumbling to the other side.

Kale then skids to a halt, taking in where he staggered into.

The night is chilly with a biting wind, whipping through Kale’s hospital gown and giving him goosebumps.

Laid out in front of him is a one-way driveway stretching from left to right. On the other side is a chain-linked fence, which marks the property line. There are yellowed lights lined on the building’s wall, casting eerie brightness on the back side of the building.

"Where am I, where am I, where am I?" Kale whirls his head from left to right and right to left, attempt to recognize the area.

He then hears the heart-dropping footsteps echoing from inside the building, briskly approaching him.

Kale lurches forward, ready to resume his chase when suddenly, a black, four-door car zooms into view, screeching right in front of him. He immediately halts his movements with wide eyes at the unexpected vehicle.

The driver’s window rolls down, letting the driver poke his head into the light. The driver is a much older man than him with thick, wavy, dirty blond hair, thick eyebrows, and a goatee.

"Get in!" he orders brusquely at him.

In haste, Kale takes one last glance behind him before rushing to the car. He pulls the back door open and throws himself.

Suddenly, the door to the building bursts open with the two guards bolting into sight.

With a gasp, Kale thrusts the door closed and presses his back against the black leather seat of the car, avoiding to be seen through the window.

Immediately, the car jolts forward and emits a screeching sound as it tears away from the guards and rushes past the building, escaping from the chase.

Notes