The Signs of a Bigger Problem

“Our

psyches seem to protect us until we’re able to confront the pain, and then the

internal alarm clock rings, telling us it’s time to wake up and go to work” – Hope

Edelman: Motherless Daughters.

  The group

opted to reside in the tail end of the bus, as they were scattered between the

two final rows in an effort to bond with their closest colleagues on the way to

school. Expectedly, it was from this section that the most indiscriminate

chatter could be heard, as hordes of voices echoed and spoke over one another.

  The seating arrangements though appearing

random, were intentionally deliberate as the contents of their discussions had

been planned out prior to the current moment – with the only inhibiting factor

being time as both Damien and Conner were unaware. To the far right window sat

Damien, with Conner taking up the middlemost seat. Rosetta was situated closest

to Damien, as she leaned over him to rest her face on the open window seal,

watching as the many buildings, vehicles, and landmarks blew by.

  Dean sat

in-between Rosetta and Conner as he tried his hardest not to stare at Rosetta’s

hunched over body. A task at which he was just barely successful, as Luke, who

sat to Conner’s left, so helpfully pointed out to Stacy, who took the aisle

seat of the row in front of him, which led her to burst into laughter as she

noticed.

“Ha-hah, you’re such an op!” Gerard chuckled out as

he rested his elbow on the left window seal and placed his chin in his open palm,

proceeding to enjoy the cool wind as it blew in while everybody laughed away.

“Hmmm??! I wonder what that was about?!” Rosetta

blissfully asked a cherry red Damien as she sat back down in her seat,

resulting in him slapping his forehead – an action that only confused her even

more. “Hey c’mon tell me!” she asked persistently as she playfully shook his

shoulder.

“God I wish I was as blissfully unaware as you!”

Lilia, Rosetta’s best friend, as well as being the girl that sat in the aisle

seat ahead of her, stated wishfully as she took off her black spectacles and

held them in her left palm, rubbing her brow with her right hand as she simply

accepted the situation. Her appearance was very subtle, dressing in a white

track suite with white circumscribed-triangle patterns repeated randomly along

the black sleeves of the jacket as well as from the black knees to the ankles

of her track pants, also appearing on the jackets black hood that also mixed in

star-like shapes, a pair of white trainers with black souls, black socks, and a

coral blue wrist watch. Though the factors that really brought her look

together were her brown eyes and short flowing silver hair that radiated with

her thin hourglass trim and darker complexion. “Sigh!! Please never grow up

Zee!” she stated warmly as she pulled a book from the backpack that sat at her

feet and proceeded to start reading it.

“Ok curvatures aside, for the last time I’m not

doing it man!” Damien ecstatically argued with Kiru, one of his closest friends

and the athletic guy who was hunched over in the seat in front of him looking

back.

“Don’t woos out now dude it’s a classic. Plus I’ve

got some serious money riding on this; you can’t let the fans down now!” Kiru

defended persuasively as he bit on one of the chords that hung from the hood of

his opened blue jumper that had the same design as Lilia’s. The only notable

differences in the two’s attire were that Kiru wore a pair of completely black

track pants and a plain black shirt underneath. He squinted as the morning

light reflected off Damien’s open window and shown into his golden eyes,

grunting as he attempted to use his short black wavy hair to protect them and

failed. Which led him to put on the hood as he continued to pressure Damien.

“It’s just way too cringe bruv!! And besides, I

don’t think any girl wants to become the centre of attention at her friend’s

party! And what if I get shot down; then what?!!” Damien said assertively, as

he leaned in to justify his position. “I appreciate the effort and all; but I

don’t think Stacy’d be cool with being blindsided like that!” he continued, as

he leaned back into his seat where he placed his elbow on the widow seal and

proceeded to stare entrancedly out of it.

“I don’t know bro, you’d be surprised how much that

girl loves attention!” Rosetta murmured suggestively, as she playfully slung

her right arm around Damien’s neck and brought him down to chest height, “Your

attention that is!” She spouted as she rubbed her hand through his hair

repeatedly.

  Surprisingly

though, this playful act was enough to snap him out of his funk and restore his

self-confidence. But despite how comforting the thought of the gesture was, he

resolved to escape it upon seeing Kiru and Lilia’s suggestive expressions in

response to it.

“C’mon Zee, the one time I actually prep it!” Damien

pushed back as he pretended to be upset, though his joyfully ecstatic grin gave

him away.

“Hence why I just had to. I mean since when was the

great Damien Wade afraid of anything!! You’re much hotter than that Luscious so

don’t go soft on me!!!” Rosetta stated blushingly as she leaned in to nudge

him, “Hey look at it this way; I wouldn’t mind taking your disfigured face

after she messes you up; that’s what being a second wife’s all about right!!”

she laughed, expressing plausible deniability.

“Bold of you to assume you were even a choice!” Damien

responded with a snarky expression on his face as he leaned back to

exaggeratedly stare at her red cheeks.

“Good point; I’m definitely out of your league!” Rosetta

remarked with a cheery expression on her face as she used her hands to proudly

fix her hair.

“Right!!?” Damien muttered sceptically as he raised his

eyebrow and rolled his eyes, “You’re definitely the attractive one here!” He

said sarcastically as he leaned back onto the window seal and smiled at her.

“Wow man! I never pegged you’d set your sights on

the sister next; turns out homeboy’s got some game!” Kiru joked as he stared at

the two suggestively, as Lilia punched his right thigh with her closed right

fist, taking no time whatsoever from reading her book. “C’mon babe!!! What did

I do?!!!!” he squirmed as he rubbed his leg to relieve the pain.

“You’re this close my love!” Lilia said seriously

while reading her book, as she lifted he right arm to show the small space

between the tips of her thumb and middle finger.

“Yeah right he wishes!” Rosetta stated, asserting

her dominance as she brushed up against Damien’s shoulder and made him blush in

confusion.

  The entirety

of the back rows burst into laughter as Damien tried to pry Rosetta of his

shoulder by pushing her into Dean – as Conner and Stacy bickered about the

earlier incident.

  After a

couple of minutes or so of chaos, the bus arrived at ‘Voco Technical High-School’,

pulling in next to the entrance as all the students reluctantly disembarked – with

the general consensus around the group being terror, as the realisation dawned

on all of them. With the exception being Rosetta.

   She looked

puzzled for a moment, as she slowly realised why her friends gave off an air of

depression. “You guys forgot to do the assignments again didn’t you?!” Rosetta

stated as her concern slowly turned to disappointment.

“Can you be anymore condescending when you say that,”

Luke stated with an offended demeanour, “And besides; the assignments were on

the Third World War and the Phoenix Blood Massacre! Ain’t nobody got time to

read up on all of that!!’ He said with an air of pride and prestige.

“Remind me again how you’re the smartest person in

school?!” Rosetta asked as her bafflement was as clear as day.

“Simple,” Luke uttered proudly, “There’s no point in

studying something you’re gonna be lectured on the next day anyway!” He shrugged

as he walked through the large glass doors that led into the hallway. ”And

besides; Miss V’s hella backed up with her side gig so she’s definitely gonna

space out about it regardless,” He stated as he opened his locker, grabbed a

manga, and stuffed it in his ‘Elemental History’ textbook, “I’ll just sit back

and enjoy some classical reading while my mind does the rest!” he smirked as

they all headed to class on the second floor.

  Upon

reaching the door of the room as he nearly walked in, Conner was grabbed by the

elbow and pulled to the side by a girl who seemed to be distraught.

  The girl

looked shy, as an ecstatic blush ran across her face. Her faded pink baggy

shirt tightened around her waist as a dress, as she wore a bedazzled belt to

accentuate her pear-like petite figure. Her red shoulder length hair

complimented the white trim on her coral blue trainers and red shoulder bag,

ending her attire off with a diamond heart necklace and three diamond bracelets

which hung from her left wrist. With her eyes focused on the floor as she

tugged on his right pinkie finger, the two prompted to walk off to her locker,

which was located just down the hallway, to continue their discussion.

  Knowing he’d

be late, Conner tossed his three books to Stacy who caught them without any need

for foresight. “You better make it a quickie; I’m not bailing your butt out of

this one if Miss Val goes ballistic!” She stated supportively as she took her

window seat by the front of the class.

“It’s always something lewd with you; see that’s why

you still single!!” Conner remarked, as his comment triggered a wave of shock

to sweep through the class, accompanied by some light chuckles from both

parties.

“Hey we need to talk babe!” The girl murmured as

Conner tried to bask in the excellence of his wit.

  Sensing the

increasing tension, Conner thought to break off from her and make his way back

to class – but her gentle grip and sorrowful attitude as she squeezed his

finger convinced him to rethink his approach. Ultimately resolving to see it

through as his consciousness weighed on him and his nerves grew anxious. “Crap,

what do I do now; I mean I can’t leave Mai like this, that’s boyfriend rule

101; but still, is sticking around for whatever bombshell she’s about to drop

really worth it!? God; what would that nincompoop do right now?!--” He thought

to himself while ruffling nervously through his hair as Damien sneezed in the

middle of conversing with Kiru, as his train of thought was cut off by her

snicker. “Crap; I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--!!!” He said frantically in an

attempt to console her by pulling out his handkerchief and wiping her tears off.

“I’m fine; it’s nothing really; you need to get to

class!” Mai spoke sombrely as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.

“You’re terrible at this remember!” Conner said in a

comforting tone as he leaned down and wiped her tears off himself, “So tell me

what’s up; I’m not going anywhere!”

  Miss Breonna

Valerie paused halfway through her lecture, as a depressed Conner made a slight

ruckus when he walked into her classroom. “Forward; you’re late!!” She stated

authoritatively as she put down her textbook and picked up the metre ruler that

rested on her desk. It was clear she was angry, as she loosened her necktie and

rolled up the sleeves of her pantsuit jacket. The calm breeze that blew in from

the still opened door ran across her caffs and thighs, as her skirt only

protected her knees. Her brunette hair was in a bun that morning, clearly a

sign that she would be strict in all her endeavours, as Conner clearly noted

when he made direct eye contact, and her cold red irises stared him down. “Care

to explain yourself?!” She asked as Conner approached the front.

“It was my fault Mam; I had him rush back cause I

forgot something on the bus and I couldn’t find the driver!” Stacy stated respectfully

as she rose from her seat in his defence, leaving Conner surprised by the

sudden act of kindness.

“Even if I were to believe that which I don’t; it

still doesn’t account for the two hours he’s been absent!” Breonna stated as

she gave off an air of scepticism.

“Forgive me Mam!” Conner responded sincerely as both

he and Stacy bowed their heads.

“I promise nothing of the sorts will be repeated

next time!” Stacy added on, as her compliance to defend Conner left the class

mute with suspense.

“It seems you’re dedicated to maintaining the facade

and I admire that; but regardless, the both of you will have to make up for it

with remedial lessons this weekend!” Breonna asserted as she sent Conner to his

seat and let Stacy sit down, “Oh and Conner; please tell Mai I said hello!” She

stated, sending the whole class into a burst of laughter at her awareness.

  As Conner

walked to his seat, he stopped at Stacy’s desk to thank her for her help. “Hey

thanks for that….” He whispered sincerely as he handed her a book with a blank

cover.

“Consider us even!” Stacy remarked as she grabbed

the book and stared out the open window, as whatever she was watching gave her

a gloomy expression.

  Having no

desire to pry in further, Conner shrugged it off as he walked to his seat in

the back of the class. On his way he grabbed a head sock off his dozing

classmate Marco, who sat one seat in front of him, as he took his seat and

buried his face in his crossed arms on his desk. He made no sound as Damien,

who had the window seat to his left, looked on with concern at his current

state.

  He knew

something was bothering him, but opted not to take any action as that could

make his mood spiral even further down. “Hey Dad told me to give you these last

night….” Damien whispered to Conner as he handed him a set of car keys.

“So you’re not gonna ask…?” Conner responded as he

tilted his head slightly to look at him with one eye.

“Do I need to….?” Damien replied as he fixed his

posture and returned to facing Miss Breonna as she continued with the lecture.

“So can anybody tell me why the ‘Phoenix Blood

Massacre’ is considered one of the darkest moments in recorded history?!!!!!”

Breonna posed to the class, as she pointed to the words ‘Travesty’ on the white

board.

  With the

raising of his left hand, Luke proceeded to answer. “It’s because it shines a

light on the naivety of human pride. Simply put, the ‘Phoenix Bloods’ were a

living representation of all the insecurities the various ‘Bloodlines’ faced

when forced to accept the existence of peoples that proved that their confounded

clan prides were nothing but an empty message they fed each other to feel

powerful; so standing back and doing nothing as the last of the pacifistic

bloodlines they discriminated against for no valid reason and wiped out over

the period of a decade, truly went to show how twisted their narrative was!”

Luke stated bluntly, as he took no time away from reading his manga.

“Very good!” Breonna complimented, “Any other

contributions?!!” She stated as multiple hands went up and other students began

to explain their takes on the topic.

  The rest of

the lecture went by like a breeze, as it was pretty uneventful. That being

said, except for the point when Miss Breonna had to leave twenty minutes early

due to a barrage of phone calls she had been receiving during the class, giving

her a notable distain in her demeanour as she departed from the room.

“What was that about?” Gerard asked as he approached

Luke, Damien, Dean, Conner, and Rosetta, and began to stretch from exhaustion.

“Well today is pretty big; honestly I’d be more

worried if she was calm,” Luke asserted as he sat on Damien’s desk and leaned

against the wall, “Never the less though it means we’ve got some free time on

our hands and I know just how to spend it!” He smirked excitedly as he placed

his feet on the table and proceeded to continue reading his manga.

“And that’s why you’re never gonna get any….” Rosetta

whispered seductively as she leaned in from beside his left and kissed his

cheek, leaving Luke awestruck as she left the room clinging to Damien’s left

forearm.

“What was that about?” Damien asked facing her as

the two made their way out of the classroom and onto the staircase.

“Oh nothing; just thought I’d tease him a little!”

Rosetta remarked joyfully as she let go and stretched her arms behind her head,

letting out several grunts of relief as they walked out of the school building

and into the parking lot. “So where’s he supposed to drop them off anyway!?”

She asked as she looked around the full lot to see no available spaces.

“I don’t know; he said they’d be delivered around a

quarter to 1, so they should be here by now?” Damien responded as he checked

the message he had received from Christopher on his locked screen.

“Maybe we ought to--” Rosetta stated as she was cut

off by the sounds of a truck horn on the street behind her.

“I guess that’s the guy!” Damien stated

optimistically as the two exited the school premises and crossed the street to

the adjacent fuel station.

  The delivery

truck was a standard bottle nose eighteen wheeler with a shipping container as

its trolley. Though secure, it also meant that you couldn’t tell what was

inside the trailer until it was opened. Leading the cautiousness of those

around it to grow heavily as they avoided close proximity.

  The driver

stared exhaustedly as he opened his door and stepped out of the high truck,

with the dust from his boots getting kicked up as he landed on the ground. He

was a tall rugged man with dark rooted blond hair and a brunette full beard. He

concealed what appeared to be his extremely exhausted looking eyes behind a

thin pair of really dark sunglasses that seemed to cancel out all the light in

both directions. The pair of grey overalls he wore were rattled with oil stains

and mud patches that ran all across, even reaching the white vest he wore

underneath. Overall, giving the impression that he was not somebody to easily

overlook.

  Regardless,

Damien and Rosetta approached him with confidence, even though they received a

myriad of concerned and frightened looks from the adults and children around

them. With a sigh of disgust, they stared back at them – disappointed on how

they all jumped to conclusions about the man, simply because they had not met

him previously. Though it was understandable, especially when taking into

consideration the recent roamers of a new criminal organization emerging that

kidnapped pedestrians off the streets. But all in all it didn’t matter to them,

as the two had faith that they could most likely get themselves out of any

situation that seemed like trouble – clearly noted by how Damien walked with

his arms tucked into his pockets and unclenched.

“Hey kid; is this shipment yours?!!!” The driver

grunted solidly as he pointed over his shoulder, with his thumb, to the trailer

behind him.

“A bike and a car right; yeah it’s mine!!!” Damien

agreed as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and pushed a button when two

beeps echoed from inside, proceeding which the driver handed him a signature

pad.

“I’ll never understand how your Dad has got enough

money to blow on unnecessary procedures like this when he’s just an

accountant!” Rosetta stated with appal as she snatched the pad from Damien,

signed it in his place, and handed it back to the driver who proceeded to go to

the back of the trailer and unlock it, stepping firmly out of their view.

“Well important men do have the luxury to forgo the

red lines that limit the rest of us!!!!” The driver yelled in a more open manner

as the doors swung open and slammed into the trailer’s sides, “After all, very

few men can even hope to lay claim to his accomplishments!!!” He uttered as he

left the two dumbfounded.

“Wait; but I thought you were a--” Damien questioned

as he looked on dumbfounded whilst the driver pulled down the ramp and

offloaded the bike.

“C’mon kid; the boss is many things; but trusting of

random strangers isn’t one of them!” The driver interjected as he stepped back

in to push the car out. “Though if you ask me; it’s cause of what happened

between him and the ‘Forsaken One’! No one should have to live through that

kind of hell!!” The driver grunted in a posttraumatic tone as he got back into

his truck and closed the door.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!!” Rosetta asked with

frightened curiosity.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about for now

kid!” The driver responded as he leaned his head out of the window and side

glanced at her – revealing his glowing turquoise irises with a moving white

Mobius strip where his pupil should have been.

  Rosetta

jolted back in shock, though having no idea why she had just gone into high

alert, as the driver started his engine and slowly pulled into the street. Her

feelings of uneasiness only grew further as she watched him drive off and

recalled a meeting she had overheard through the door between her father and a

feminine figure as they discussed somebody referred to as ‘The Forsaken One’.

“Hey; are you okay?!!” Damien asked as he shook

Rosetta’s shoulder and snapped her out of her trawls.

“Yeah, I’m good; just clearing my head a little that’s

all!” Rosetta grinned nervously as she tried to shake the feeling; “Why; what

were we talking about?!” She asked, taking more strained breathes by each

passing moment.

“Easy….” Damien whispered calmly as he held her

shoulder and calmed her down, “I was just asking if you could give Conner a

ring and let him know to come drive the car in.” He said patiently as he held

his keys around his right index finger.

“No need!!” Rosetta stated cheerfully in a shift of

personality, “I already got them!” She said as she pulled the keys from her

pocket and grinned for a compliment.

“Oh cool; so you can take it inside!” Damien

responded as he ignored her request for a compliment.

“Nah I’m sick of the car; give me the bike

instead!!!” Rosetta scowled as she animatedly tried to grab the keys out of

Damien’s hand as he held them out of her reach.

“Next time!! Or maybe when they’re less things you

could destroy around us!!!” Damien stated un-ecstatically as her jumping caused

him to shake slightly.

“Fine!! I wanted to go anyways!!!” Rosetta remarked,

still scowled as she puffed her cheeks proudly and walked to the car’s right

hand driver’s seat.

  Besides its

impressive exterior, the car was really something to marvel at in its chrome

neon blue trim. It was a high performance hyper-car hybrid with a sedan build

that looked like something straight out of a concept car catalogue. It had an

elongated engine compartment and a short trunk that were perfectly stream lined

by the two large openings on the edges of the forward and rear bumpers,

finalizing the vents with the small elongated opening that stretched from the

front to the back. The platinum coloured grill had a staircase design, one that

matched the partial fenders that protruded outward going forward with a design

that resembled claws, as the spaces along them at the front emphasized –

letting the driver get a perfect view of the wide seventeen inch low-profile

tires is condition without need to step out. Its front lights resembled the

squinted eyes of a dragon as the indicators trailed along their edges and the

large indented fog lights that were smaller by the tips grew larger as they got

closer to the central vet and almost touched the grill. The standard rear view

mirrors were instead replaced with thin elongated cameras that had strip-light

indicators along their front and transmitted their feed to screens that sat on

the ends of the dash board. The sides of the vehicle slightly protruded along

the middle of the doors to give them an even more stream lined design. The doors

in particular were forwards and backwards opening butterfly doors respectfully,

with the driver’s doors being longer than the passengers. The interior was very

spacious, with the control board running in between the driver and passenger

seat and contained a modified stick shift handle at its centre, along with

various knobs and dials that served different functions as it slopped up to the

touch screen radio and joined the dashboard. The steering wheel had both volume

and mode functions, with paddle shifters on the side, as well as an analogue

and holographic dashboard. Despite all these features, the rear was still very

spacious, capable of fitting three incredibly large and tall individuals.

Finally, the back of the car was what looked most aggressive, as the various

bends and streams contorted with the lights to give them a more curved and

balanced appearance as they slightly protruded from the body. Bringing it all

together with the large diffuser that was decorated with protruding vertical

lines and adjacent openings on each side for its twin aftermarket exhausts that

spat flames every time the gears changed.

  Regardless,

the bike was nothing to scoff at either, as it too looked like something out of

a concept catalogue. It was a superbike – or rather a hyper bike hybrid that

incorporated a myriad of varied designs to produce a machine of pure velocity. It

had two wide eighteen inch tires with closed ash black rims with small dots

along their edges that concealed the rotor, caliper and brake line. It had

three fork tubes, each connecting to the centre of the other – with the main

running from the wheel to the front, the second from the centre of the first to

the side fairing, and the third concealed by the fairing itself. It had two

intake ducts on each side of its face, with a cross hatched design that matched

the front fender. The face also portrayed aggression, as the central light

resembled two squinted eyes that nearly joined at the centre – separated by a

platinum coloured strip that ran up till the tip of the blacked out wind

screen, giving it a divided look as it gave a display inside like a screen. The

bar end and throttle grip were protected by a suspended smart gyroscopic-like

glove pad that used the sense of the fingers tilting up to engage the brakes. Its

dashboard was holo and registered the performance of all its parts, along with

some other functions that laid behind a locked screen icon. The rearset and

brake pedals were encapsulated in an attachment that ran from the sub frame to

the bottom of the lower fairing and served to protect the legs from any damage

when making sharp high speed turns, as it was not only flexible and adaptive to

stimuli, but retractable as well, with the three mufflers on each end

protruding ever so slightly and spiting flames at the change of a gear, as the

cowl cover had a thin rectangular exhaust protruding from within it.

  Rosetta

stared on at the bike with wishful eyes as she opened the door of the car and

got into the driver’s seat. Though she was a bit too short and had to readjust

the seat, the vehicle fit her like a glove, as her seat purred heavily once she

turned the key and put it into drive. “Hey; what’s the assault mode for?!!” She

asked Damien, who sat on the bike, as she slide down the passenger window and

pointed to the knob on the control board next to the gear lever.

“Let’s just say that it’s not something you’d wanna

try in an area filled with people you wanted alive!!” Damien replied with haste

as he put on his gloves and turned the bike on with a wave of his palm.

  Upon revving

the engine to check its condition, a loud crackle shot through the confined

building gaps of the streets passageways. Instantly alerting the rest of the

group that it was nearly time for departure as the bike pulled into the parking

lot, and the car there after it.

“Well that should’ve been loud enough!” Damien said

as he and Rosetta parked and began to await the sound of the final school bell.

  As the bell

rang and everybody began to exit the school building in swarms, Rosetta thought

to herself as she leaned on the hood of the car and her expression grew

concerned. “I still can’t shake it; who the hell was that guy? And better yet;

what did he mean by the ‘Forsaken One’? Nothing about this feels right!!” She

thought as the look of realization hit her face and the shock left her stunned.

It was as though she was hit by a wave of despair and resentment at the same

time, as her vision narrowed and the world around her began to spin. And

although she tried to hide it, the feeling of vertigo was more than her mind

could take, causing her to slouch forward as she gripped her forehead in pain.

“Rose--!!!” Stacy cried out in a panic as she

dropped her bag and rushed to Rosetta, barely unable to finish calling out her

name as she dashed to her aid leaving everybody else in a daze as Damien caught

her just before she could topple over. “What happened?!!” She yelled in a

concerned rant as she and Damien helped Rosetta back onto the hood and checked

her temperature with the backs of their hands.

“Here take this!” Gerard called as he pulled a two

litre water bottle from his bag and handed it to Stacy, who held it as Rosetta

drunk the entire thing.

“Pha!! Thanks; that feels a little better!” Rosetta

thanked them whole heartedly as she pretended nothing was wrong by letting out

a large grin and lazily waving her arms at chest height. Though it was clearly

an empty one as everybody could tell.

“Cut the crap!!! What was the trigger this time?!!!”

Damien said demandingly as he grabbed her left wrist with his right arm and

glared at her worryingly.

“It’s cool, I’m serious!” Rosetta responded as she

tried to ease his nerves.

“It was that guy wasn’t it!!” Damien implied as he

clenched his left fist.

“What guy?!” Conner asked in an attempt to get more

information on the situation.

“Nobody!! He was just a delivery man!” Rosetta

stated in an attempt to divert their interests.

“Not with eyes like that!!” Damien stated as he

discarded her wrist as he took a breath and cracked his knuckles “Everything

was fine until he brought up somebody my Dad used to know; some guy called ‘The

forsaken one’!!”

  A moment of

silence went by, as the strange title resonated with each one of them, though

they were unable to understand why – that is, all except Luke.

“You mean ‘The Kin Slayer’!!!” Luke mumbled

fearfully as the weight of his words weighed heavily on his heart.

“Don’t even joke about that!” Stacy said in a grunt

as she scowled at Luke – but before she could move, Dean beat her to the punch.

“What the Hell!!!” Dean yelled as he grabbed Luke’s

collar aggressively and pulled him in, “I thought you were smarter than

that!!!!” He screamed as Luke froze with shock and the people around them

stopped and stared.

“Guys; this isn’t the place!” Damien said calmly

with authority as he turned his back to them and glared at the forming crowd.

“Tsk!! You aren’t even worth it right now!” Dean

stated as he let go of Luke and pushed him back.

“We’ll be late if we don’t get going!” Conner imposed

optimistically in a shift of tone as he approached Rosetta and got the keys out

of her hand.

“Then I guess Stacy’s with me!” Damien stated in his

usual tone as he pressed the seat of his bike and two helmets came popping out,

handing her the red one as he put on the black.

“No way; I already called dibs last night!!” Rosetta

objected as she rose to her feet and tried to get the red helmet with her left

hand.

“You’re in no condition!” Conner said as he grabbed

her wrist just before she could reach it, “Just take shotgun for now!!” He smiled

as he masked his concern.

“Fine whatever!!” Rosetta pouted animatedly as she

forcefully pulled her wrist back and went to take her seat, glaring out the

window in disappointment.

“Really making the tallest guy take the back; this

is some abuse!!” Luke complained as he bent down to enter the backseat.

“Just get in there!!” Dean laughed as he kicked him

to the middle and took the left window seat, with Gerard taking the right as

Conner let it run.

“Let’s go ladies; time’s a-wasting!!!!” Conner

yelled out of his window to Damien and Stacy as they got on, as he honked the

horn and revved the engine.

“Whatever; we’re still gonna get there first!!”

Stacy yelled back cockily as she dropped her visor and put her arms around

Damien’s waist as he stated the engine.

“Hunh!! As if!!” Conner responded as he pulled out

rapidly and took off into the street.

“Hey; you think she’s gonna be--?” Stacy asked

sombrely as she leaned her head on Damien’s back and gripped his waist tightly.

“She’s stronger than you think y’know; so take it

easy!” Damien mumbled reassuringly as he faced straight ahead, “For now, let’s

worry about showing Conner whose boss!!” He grinned as he gripped the

accelerator and the two took off in a wheelie.

  Conner was

doing 190km/h on the freeway when Damien and Stacy zoomed passed them, as they

swerved between cars and trucks to take the lead.

“Ah nah!!” Conner stated with a chuckle as he turned

a knob on the control board next to the radio and pushed it in. An action that

caused the windshield to blackout and become digital as a hologram projecting

‘Afterburners Active’ appeared.

  The rear

rang with mechanical noises as each set of twin exhausts expanded and fused

into one, creating a singular exhaust pipe on each side with a compressed

nozzle, as a stream of neon blue gas shot out of them that rapidly accelerated

the car forward with a loud rapture – barely a moment passed as they caught up

to Damien and Stacy and surpassed them with a large margin as the freeway let

out into a desert road with seldom any vehicles on it.

“Hold on!!!” Damien yelled to Stacy through the ferocious

wind as he placed his hands over the brake glove and pressed them down until

they clicked, triggering a shell to emerge from the back that covered them and

went into the now expanded sub frame and lower fairing – completely concealing

the two underneath as its interior turned digital and a hologram reading ‘Jet

burn Deployed’ appeared.

  With a short

hollow whistle, all exhausts on the bike spat out a red streak, as the bike

thundered down the road and caught up to Conner and the rest. As the two

continued to trade the first and second positions throughout their 812km

journey for the remaining 1 hour and 6 minutes. Not taking into account the

amount of swerving and manoeuvring they had to do to avoid pot holes and

oncoming traffic.

“You know maybe I should have driven instead!!”

Rosetta stated frantically as she held on to the arm rail and tried to avoid

swaying with the turns.

“C’mon; we’re almost there!!!” Conner stated

optimistically, as the sense of competition had his eyes fixed on the road

ahead of them.

“I should’ve written a will!!!” Gerard cried out

nauseously as he pulled a brown paper bag from the bag at his feet and puked in

it. Staying still as any slight movements he made turned his face green and

caused him to upchuck more.

“Just keep it in the bag!!” Luke yelled as he

scooted away from Gerard and into Dean, who tried to push him back and the two

struggled.

  As a right

gravel road came into view ahead and Damien and Stacy turned down it, Conner

saw an opportunity to reclaim the lead, as he veered onto the rough patch and

pressed on the acceleration pedal further.

“What the heck!!! Warn us first!!!” Rosetta stated

as they all lifted slightly off their seats and slammed back down, while Conner

tried to control the sliding the car did on the sand patch.

“No time!!” Conner cried back in his defence, as the

many bumps and ridges they went over caused them all to bounce around – all

excluding Dean, who sat firmly in his seat and didn’t nudge even slightly.

“We could die you know!!!” Luke yelled out in

protest as Gerard’s nausea got worse.

“You’re exaggerating! See; Dean is just fine!!”

Conner said in a poor attempt to persuade them.

“That’s a terrible example!!!” Gerard cried out in

between his pukes.

“Yeah!! How dare you use somebody who can absorb

vibrations as a justification!!!!” Luke cried passionately as he pointed his

right index finger at Conner in appal – who shrugged it off as even though he

drove faster, he couldn’t catch up.

“My possible death aside! I’ve been meaning to ask

you Dean; how exactly can you control vibrations? Is it a nature thing or?”

Rosetta asked inquisitively in a curious tone.

“Hmmm?!!” Dean shrugged as he crossed his arms,

leaned back, and had a hundred mile stare out the window. “Sigh! I don’t know

exactly.” He replied calmly, faming his disinterest in the topic.

“How so?!” Rosetta inquired further.

“Something with my Mom I guess. My nature is

unreadable; and whenever I try to ask my Sisters or any of my Mom’s old friends

about it, they never give me a straight answer!” Dean reluctantly stated as he

bit his tongue to avoid feeling any emotion about it.

“Have you tried to ask Miss Valerie or Mrs Wade

about it? I mean they helped me with my powers; so I’m sure they could do the

same with you!” Rosetta insisted optimistically as Dean’s mood began to shift.

“You think they’d really?!!” Dean asked cautiously

as he tried to avoid feeling unnecessary hope.

“Sure man!!!! And if my Mom doesn’t; then I’m sure

my Dad’d love to just to spite her!!!” Conner added on, further helping to

affirm the claim, “Though it’d have to be some time after the party!!!”

“Thanks!” Dean said sincerely as he tried to mask

his joy, resulting in a light blush appearing on his cheeks.

“Awwwr; how cute!!!” Rosetta giggled as she watched

him through the rear view mirror – just before the car hit a large thud.

“Brace yourselves!!!!!” Conner loudly informed them

as Damien and Stacy vanished into a large stone arc that had a rock through its

centre, “It’ll be close!!!” He cried frantically as the car’s front wheel hit

another thud. Causing it to spin uncontrollably as they smacked into the

boulder and phased through it. Briefly noticing what seemed to be a road that

flowed through a spinning rainbow coloured space as they fell unconscious.

  Upon

awaking, Rosetta, Dean, Luke, Gerard, and Conner found themselves perfectly

fitted in one of the several lane spaces that made up an expansive parking lot.

One that measured several acres.

“Hah I hate that gate!!” Conner grunted irritably as

he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his left index finger and thumb.

“Remind me again why your Mom had to make it that

way!!?” Rosetta asked nauseously as she stepped out of the car and hunched over

the door to take a breath.

“It’s to keep out people with malicious intent!!!”

Luke yelled calmly from inside the car as he kicked a stubborn Dean out the

door and stepped out.

“So you guys finally made it hunh!!” Stacy said as

she and Damien approached them with bottles of water and visor caps, “Took you

long enough!! Guess we win!!!!”

“How did you guys--?” Gerard asked with

disorientation as he ran off to a nearby bush to vomit.

“I’ll go help him before he passes out!” Luke lifted

his right arm reluctantly and his sleeve as he walked to assist Gerard.

“Should we?” Stacy asked nervously as she pointed to

Gerard.

“Nah; he’ll be fine!” Damien shrugged as he waved

his wrist to forget about it. “So what’s up; you guys look half dead!!” He

laughed as he looked at their condition.

“I just wanna know how you guys had the time to get

all those supplies; we were literally seconds apart?!!” Rosetta asked as she

found it harder to suppress the urge to puke.

“Time dilation remember! I told you guys my Mom was

planning to increase the temporal window last night.” Damien said as he pulled

a chocolate candy from his pocket and threw it to Rosetta, snapping her back to

normal as she caught it over her shoulder and put it in her mouth.

“Mmmh!!!! So much better!!!!!” Rosetta squealed with

a blushing face as she sucked on the chocolate, before she noticed that

everybody was staring at her and trying not to laugh. “Ehem!! Back to business!

So shall we go in?!!” She said leading the charge through the massive entrance

billboard that read ‘WELCOME TO THE R3K (A.K.A THE LOST CITY)’.

“Shall we?!” Stacy said chivalrously as she curtsied

and stretched her right arm out to Damien.

“I think we shall!!” Damien replied with absolute

dignity as he caught her hand, raised her to her feet, and the two walked in

together hand in hand.

:

:

:

:

:

“So it was that bad hunh?!” Breonna stated

pessimistically over the phone as she sat in her office with all the windows

closed and the monitor face on.

“We can’t afford to take chances on this anymore; that

means--!” The static but authoritative yet cautious voice on the other end of

the call said.

“I’m aware of the strategy!” Breonna interjected

numbingly, “But just so you know; the ‘Anarchy General' won’t be a fan!!” She

stated with complete conviction.

“It doesn’t matter what Monica thinks; as long as

she doesn’t get a say in the matter then its fine!” The voice responded, making

their convictions known as well.

“Whatever you say sir!!” Breonna responded casually

with the utmost respect, “Oh and Christopher; you better come home to your wife

and kids tonight!!!” She stated, with intense hostility.

“See you later Breonna!!” Christopher said in a much

more clear tone, as we saw him standing in a long dimly lit metallic corridor

as he stared up to a painting out of view. “And I plan to end this quickly!” He

stated as he gritted his teeth and all the remaining light bubbles surged and

exploded.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***