Chapter 8:The Tower Beyond Black Mountain
983 Words
Leo could barely sleep that night.
The broken silver coin sat on his desk, glowing faintly whenever the moonlight touched it. Every time he looked at it, he remembered the silver-eyed boy hovering above the bridge like a ghost.
“You’re not the only one with powers.”
Those words repeated again and again inside Leo’s mind.
By morning, dark circles had formed under his eyes. He dragged himself downstairs, but even breakfast felt strange. His mother talked about school while his father read the newspaper, completely unaware that their son had nearly fallen into a river during a battle with another flying teenager.
“Leo, are you listening?” his mother asked.
“Huh? Oh… yeah.”
But he was not listening.
He was thinking about Black Mountain.
At school, Maya was already waiting near his locker. She looked nervous.
“You didn’t answer my texts,” she whispered.
“I know. I needed time to think.”
“Well, we don’t have much time.” She glanced around carefully before lowering her voice. “I searched for Black Mountain last night.”
“And?”
“It’s real.”
Leo straightened immediately.
Maya opened her tablet and showed him a map. Far outside the city, surrounded by thick forest, stood a huge mountain covered in fog.
“People avoid this place,” Maya explained. “There are stories online about disappearances, strange lights, and abandoned buildings.”
Leo stared at the screen.
Then he noticed something strange.
At the top of the mountain was a dark shape hidden beneath clouds.
A tower.
“The tower beyond Black Mountain…” Leo muttered.
Maya nodded slowly. “That silver-eyed guy wants you to go there.”
“But why?”
Before Maya could answer, the school bell rang loudly.
The hallway suddenly buzzed with students moving toward their classrooms.
Then Leo noticed something strange.
Two men wearing black jackets stood near the school entrance. They looked completely still, their eyes scanning the hallway carefully.
Watching him.
Leo quickly turned away.
“Maya,” he whispered urgently, “don’t look now, but I think we’re being followed.”
She froze. “What?”
“The men by the entrance.”
Maya carefully glanced sideways and immediately looked pale.
“They weren’t there before.”
One of the men suddenly lifted his hand to his ear like he was speaking into a hidden microphone.
Then both men started walking toward them.
“Run,” Leo said.
“What?!”
“NOW!”
The two of them sprinted down the hallway as confused students shouted behind them. The men pushed through the crowd, chasing after them without saying a word.
“They’re fast!” Maya gasped.
Leo grabbed her hand and pulled her through the back exit door. They burst outside behind the school building.
Dead end.
A tall fence blocked their path.
Footsteps approached rapidly behind them.
Maya panicked. “Leo—”
“Trust me.”
Leo wrapped one arm around her waist.
Then he jumped.
WHOOSH!
Maya screamed as Leo launched into the air, soaring over the massive fence effortlessly. Wind rushed past them as they flew above the streets below.
“Oh my gosh!” Maya shouted. “You could’ve warned me first!”
“Sorry!”
Leo landed safely on the roof of an old apartment building several blocks away. Both of them bent over, breathing hard.
“What is happening?” Maya asked.
Leo looked back toward the school in the distance.
“I think those men know about me.”
Suddenly, a voice echoed behind them.
“Of course they do.”
Leo spun around instantly.
The silver-eyed boy stood at the edge of the rooftop, his black coat blowing in the wind.
“You!” Leo shouted.
Maya stepped backward nervously.
“How did you find us?” she asked.
The boy ignored her and stared directly at Leo.
“They have been searching for you since your powers awakened,” he said calmly.
“Who are they?”
“The Order.”
Leo frowned. “What kind of name is that?”
“A dangerous one.”
The silver-eyed boy slowly walked closer.
“For years, the Order hunted people like us.”
“Us?” Leo repeated.
The boy nodded once.
“Humans with abilities.”
Leo’s heartbeat quickened.
“So there are others?”
“More than you can imagine.”
Maya looked shocked. “This sounds insane…”
“It’s the truth,” the boy replied coldly.
Leo clenched his fists. “Then tell me the truth about my powers.”
For a moment, silence filled the rooftop.
Then the silver-eyed boy finally spoke.
“Your father lied to you.”
Leo froze.
“What?”
“Your abilities were never an accident,” the boy continued. “You were born because of an experiment.”
Leo felt like the ground disappeared beneath him.
“No,” he whispered. “That’s impossible.”
“The Order created children with powers years ago. Most of them died.” The boy’s silver eyes darkened. “But a few survived.”
Leo stepped backward slowly.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” The boy tossed another object toward Leo.
Leo caught it carefully.
It was an old photograph.
His hands trembled.
In the picture stood several scientists wearing white coats inside a laboratory.
And among them…
Was his father.
Behind the scientists stood a group of children.
One of them was Leo.
A much younger Leo.
And beside him stood the silver-eyed boy.
Leo’s breath stopped.
“You…” he whispered.
The boy looked away.
“My name is Kael,” he said quietly. “And we were raised together before the Order destroyed everything.”
Dark clouds rolled across the sky above them.
And suddenly, Leo realized his entire life had been built on secrets.
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