“Last night, I had a horrible vision,” Fai said, her voice filled with fear.

Fai was standing in a dim lab, a loud whirring sound scaring her.

“We were in a lab, with kids I didn’t know. And there was the sky. 

Fai remembered the blue sky as she seemed to fall into it.

But something went wrong…and the institute crumbled to the ground,” she said, the terrible images of Quianto shaking and crumbling making her shiver.

“Then, I fell into a dark, frozen sea.”

Quianto institute

Somewhere in South America

1700H.

“A frozen sea?” Susana Lugo said, her voice clear with doubt. Susanna was Fai’s best friend, mainly known as Susi. She had ice-blue hair and blue eyes, and a light complexion.

“I…I have a very bad feeling about this, Susi,” Fai said, looking at the ground, her mind flashing back to the surreal images in her dream. 

“Pfft,” Susi scoffed. “That sounds like a nightmare, not one of your visions!” Susi said as they walked through the textured white and blue halls. 

“But it felt so vivid…” Fai said, trailing off.

“But, Fai, chica!” Susi said in her trying-to-reason-with-dramatic-Fai-voice. 

“Vivid or not, there’s no way to see the sky from the labs,” Susi threw her arms in the air, gesturing to the halls of the institute around them. “The whole institute is underground! And the labs are on the lowest level!”

Fai nervously looked around, not wanting Susi to make people want to eavesdrop. 

“Y-you’re right,” Fai mumbled, trying to convince herself. 

“‘Course I am,” Susi said. “Now, let’s hurry! The new students are arriving soon.”

“Y-yeah!” Fai said, still trying to tell herself it was not a vision and the dream had all been her crazy imagination. 

“Last one to get there is a frozen toe!” Susi said, hinting at her power. Then she hurried down the hall.

“Wait, Susi!” Fai exclaimed, pushing her fears behind her and grinning as she raced after Susana. 

“You had a head start!” Fai said as they ran down the halls.

“Hehe, Fai’s a frozen toe!” Susi called back teasingly. They ran down the remaining halls, eventually getting to a wide corridor. They hurried over, fighting through a crowd to get to the lined-off area of the hallway. It was the entrance to Quianto institute, where the new kids were going to come in.

Eighty years ago, The Last War destroyed most of the European continent, and left it inhabitable.

Then, a frameshift mutation appeared in the mitochondrial DNA of some humans.

Thanks to an extra 38th gene, energy production within the body was increased…

And repurposed.

They called these abilities Chondrias, and the ones who wielded them Mits.

Mits are rare, and most Chondrias are hardly noticeable. The Card Reader, the kid who feels auras. 

Yet, a few are exceptional.

Those are the Mits that the military seeks, and trains in secret facilities called Institutes. 

But back to our girls…

“I win!” Susi said, grinning and flashing the peace sign as she made it to the large corridor that was partly blocked off. This was where the new kids came.

Fai was gasping for breath behind Susi. 

“Of course, Susi.” Fai said, draping her arms over the sides of the large railings in exhaustion. “I didn’t need future visions to know you’d win!” 

“You alright?” Susi asked, patting her on the back. “Ay, no seas Llorona. (Oh, don’t be a crybaby).”

“FIVE MINUTES, EVERYONE,” the head woman of Quianto, Agent Kline, called over the speakers.

“You know? I wonder what the new students’ Chondrias are like. Their from the Laire institute, after all.”

“So?” Fai asked, still panting. 

Susi looked surprised. “You live under a rock or something? Laire is top tier MIT research. 

“O-oh…” Fai said.

“They’ve got Top Priority Chondrias and all. Heat absorption? Undecipherable premonitions?” 

Susi’s fingertips turned frosty as ice crystals formed in the air, and her face turned slightly red.

“Susi, you’ll overheat,” Fai warned.

“Na’ah, chica.” Susi said. “There will be no ‘I can read the thoughts of frogs,’ kinda garbage. Not with Laire, anyway…”

“Hey!” A boy with messy pink hair and glasses exclaimed from nearby. “That’s a legit Chondria!” 

“Anyway,” Susi said, leaning closer to Fai. “They say there’s a Mit there who’s the most dangerous they’ve ever had. 

A Vector Chondria that gives them crazy telekinesis? An Entropy Chondria of heat redirection? Who knows what they can do,” Susi said as Fai nervously imagined all kinds of powerful and dangerous Chondrias the kid could have. 

“Why are they coming here, then? Quianto students aren’t so advanced.” Fai said.

“Beats me,” Susi said, pushing on the large railing and leaning back. “Why don’t you try having a vision about that?”

“I’ll…I’ll try next session,” Fai said.

“Speaking of Laire students, you got any dirt on our new Roomie?” Susi asked, leaning closer to Fai and giving her an evil smile.

“D-dirt?” Fai said. 

“Yeah.” Susi put her hands together. “Do know her name? Her Chondria?” 

Fai snorted. “Here, take a look!” Fai handed her a small tablet. 

The picture was of a girl around their age, with long pale green hair and dark eyes. She was wearing a black sort of suit, nervously smiling at the camera.

Anne Marie de Delle. Was what it said. 

Surname: de Delle

Name: Anne Marie

Age: 11

Gender: F

Grade: 5

MIT traits: Hair (Green)

Eyes (Black)

Chondria type: Kel. (Unclassified) 

Roommates: Lugo, Susana 

Fai N.A.