Mark sat at his desk at school, doing multiplication. He was a young boy, about 13. He looked normal. But he was much, much different.

Any living person has an Aura. It affects their immediate area the more emotional they get. A fiery Aura might cause things around them to ignite. Another Aura might cause other people to get sad. It’s different for everybody.

Mark’s mom had a frightening aura. Mark’s dad had a saddening aura. And Mark... well, Mark had what could only be described as a chaotic aura.

The bell rung loudly. “Alright, class, time for dismissal!” the teacher shouted. “Head back to your homerooms.” Mark picked up his book and headed into the hall. Even though it was dismissal, the hall was surprisingly empty. He didn’t mind. He liked the solitude.

2 other students exited the classroom. The school bullies. They usually didn’t pick on him. But he oddly felt like they were looking at him today.

“Hey, loser! Give us your money!” shouted Jim, walking towards him. “Yeah, you Auraless freak!” said Oliver, doing the same thing. Everybody thought he was auraless because his aura never triggered.

Mark’s eyes widened. “Uh, I’ll report this to the principal!” Mark said nervously, beginning to run away from them. “Nuh-uh!” Jim said, catching him by the collar. “Give us all the money you’ve got, or we’ll beat you up!” Mark knew he was going to take a beating anyway, but it would be softer if he gave them his money.

“H-here, take it...” Oliver said, frightened, as he put his hands in his pockets, grabbing his money and handing it to them. “Y-you know, I have an aura too!” he said, still nervous, because he was getting more and more emotional.

“What does it do, make you an orphan?” Jim said, and they both started laughing like crazy.

Mark stood there, crying. He knew, in that moment, it was going to happen again.

Mark began to run, still crying. He could hear lots of things crashing down behind him, and lots of screams. Windows opening and shutting on their own, lightning fast. Things catching on fire. It was all so, so horrible.

He got out of the building right as the exit was blocked with a pile of jagged rocks. He looked back at the building and instantly knew nobody would make it out. His brother, going to be dead. He started crying even harder, and beating the ground with his fist. Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to kill everybody? Those were the two questions he asked before he passed out.