The lone military truck rolled over the smooth freeway as a light snow fell from the silent gray clouds that hovered ominously above them. It was an early snow, unexpected and the cold was definitely unwelcoming. Aside from the driver, the vehicle carried four passengers who wished to return to Stadweld one last time. Unsatisfying news had reached them as they had heard that a massive amount of chemical gas was pumped into the city, and used during a variety of events. Almost all of the population were being stricken by a crippling coma, making them unable to recover. The four sat looking out of their respected windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the city they had called home for so many years. Not all of the refugees were as lucky as they were; many were still in the hospital, and waiting to be transported to another city in Minnesota. The state national guard had showed up after the Senba private army had done their job, and there were talks of a personal investigation of the two dome structures. Though little news was brought to the young survivors. All that was said was that they would have to relocate to a new city, in particular, there was one city which was willing to take them in. It was a suburb of the twin cities, which means they would be traveling east, but it may ease their wounds as an incident like this wouldn't be likely to happen again in a city where there were many neighboring towns.
A new life could be exciting, but nobody likes to be forced to do anything. The vehicle came to a stop near the edge of the city and the drive told them that this was their stop, and he needed to go back now to get more refugees who wanted to come and collect their items or find out who was on the disabled list, some even overacted to the chemical and had died. The line was quite long already, people had drive here despite the many road blocks issued around the city. It was a huge deal, but it had been a week or so since the initial incident had happened, so hopefully there wouldn't be any gas left. They four stood close to each other in the howling snow; despite their statuses or upbringings the four had gotten to talking to one another about the crazy events which had taken place on that fateful Wednesday afternoon. Toru was the first to speak up to them now that they were out of earshot of the driver. "I'd hate to say it after such a thing." He started to say darkly, which was unusual for the care free somewhat rash executive to be. Dressed in a black, well stuffed coat, with a black baseball cap titled off to the side, none would have taken Toru as a business man. He gave off the impression of a gangster more than anything. "Say what?" Rey asked, looking down at the frozen ground she was prodding with the tip of her boot. In great contrast to the other boy, she was wearing a white coat, with a pink scarf wrapped around her neck. "I don't think it's over yet." He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced upward. "Whether it's over or not, I don't want to do anything more with this." Kaz muttered, and Hiro remained silent as he watched the men in military uniforms direct the people through to the city. "To be honest, I didn't really like this place much." Toru said as he began to walk towards the designated entryway. "I don't have any great ties here, just a nobody rich kid." Upon hearing the word nobody, Rey reflected upon the silent browned haired girl she had encountered in the domes. There was a rumor that they never made it out. Her half sister should have made it out safely, but if she was in the hands of the enemy, what good would she serve now? Stadweld is gone. "Home is home...I hate to see it ruined." Hiro finally spoke following after Toru as the group made their way toward the line. People were shouting, and asking questions, and the understaffed men were trying to calm them down as best they could. As they tried to see what the system was working a woman came walking over to Kaz, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Kaz?" She asked and as he turned his eyes widened with surprise. "Mom?" He asked, and she hugged him. The others instinctively drifted away. There was much worry and relief in his mothers eyes, and he was surprised at how beautiful she still was considering the time they had spent away from each other--she was still the same woman she was back then. Stepping up beside her was a young high school freshmen of a girl who had dyed her hair black. It was tied up into a ponytail and she smiled and waved sheepishly, and Kaz couldn't help himself. "Jess..." He embraced her, feeling a tinge of happiness. He had missed her greatly. Then he tried to smile but he couldn't get it to stay, for some reason he felt sad. He remember the guilt he felt considering his father. "We were so worried, nobody would tell us anything about you or your father. Is he alright?" His mom asked and he looked down at the ground feeling that guilt grow. "I...I don't know, mom. A lot of things happened." He felt her hug him tightly again. "I'm just so glad that you're safe...come on, we'll get a chance to look at the list." They waited in line a while, without speaking much. Jessica seemed to be on edge a bit too, though it was clear she was happy that he was alive, but from what he knew of her, she would be worried about dad. She always was worried about him. She was his little girl, and even when she was taken away, she was still, daddy's little girl. There had been times when she'd call. It made him wish he could go back in time to try and remedy the situation.
Twenty minutes passed in till they finally got to the list. They searched the safely evacuated list, and then sinking back to the crippled list, and then disheartened, they scanned the deceased list. His heart pounded in his chest, as he read the name "Reinfold" near the end and he was taken aback. His father was dead. He stood there motionless and in shock, and even while his mom was pushing him to a private area he felt all the guilt he had built up pouring out. Jessica was holding onto his arm, and after they had moved into the city and away from the crowd at the gate they stuck together like magnets. Their pain was very different, but the cause was the same. Kaz was filled with regret of things he wish he could have said, could have done. What did his dad die for? Jess was filled with a similar regret, but it wasn't her fault. She wanted to be there, but she had no choice. After a few minutes to trying to absorb their pain, they were hurried out of the cold, as a man in a different military vehicle took them to the address of their home. Here they would be given a chance to retrieve any valuables, assuming they'd have the proper identification. Nothing would be moved for weeks to come, as they needed to prevent any theft or robbery. A medical staff had filed a report that the man had suffered from some kind of heart attack late evening on Wednesday. They body never made it to a hospital. Kaz sat in his living room watching as Jess walked around as if it were an enchanted forest. The girl had spend her childhood here, and even though she was heartbroken by the death of her father, the girl was overcome with nostalgia. His mother too, but on a less exuberant level. The woman would just stare off into space from time to time, unsure of what to say. Kaz had a good feeling of what was going on in his mother and sister's minds. He felt the pain, the shock the grief, but somehow he had built up a resistance to it. Maybe it was because a week ago he had beat his best friend lifeless. The virginity of experiencing death had been broken.
"So Ed didn't come?" Kaz asked and the woman shook her head. "You know we moved back to Minnesota." She suddenly brought up. "I just wasn't sure, so I wanted to ask...are you coming with us?" She asked and he leaned back shrugging. "I don't know what else to do. I have nowhere else to go mom." He scratched his head and nodded. "I can't stay here...so...I go with you." He wondered if there was another man in his mother's life. Still as soon as he graduated from high school he would probably be gone. He had wanted a chance to live with his family again as a whole but...now that it was here, he didn't feel right. Jess placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've missed you." She said with a smile, and he nodded. "I've missed you too, Jess."
The group had split up ever since Kaz was taken away by his mom. Toru had waited in line, saying he didn't need to see some kind of god damn list, and he ignored the offer made by one of the drivers to take him to his destination. The son of the executive walked down the street with his hands in his coat pockets, and his eyes downcast. He could care less if his father was dead or alive. His man had completely lost it obviously. Unfit to continue with the company policy. The young man walked through the ghastly streets, and he occasionally would spot someone crying on the sidewalk or inside of a home rummaging through things, it was a real mess. He would have Keiko take him, Michi, and her mother to an airport to Japan. It was the least he could do considering that it was his father's own incompetence he felt, that had caused the entire mess to happen. Though he knew that the Senba army that had come in long before the national guard, was working for his father. Not his father's kid. That fact alone told him that this was far from over. Someone had definitely stormed the American Senba branch. It was best to return to their roots and keep it nice and simple in Japan. In Japan where things made sense, and none of this crazy bullshit happened. He would at least get to see his mom again. He came up to the mansion, which had been infiltrated by the private army no doubt. He was actually glad that Keiko had ignored his orders to stay locked up. Her performance had saved him in a way. He knew that there would be goons lurking around trying to bump off anyone who knew about their little experiments. He had his gun reloaded, and occasionally he would give his former maid instructions. They were staying out near Fargo, and they'd come in once he was done here, and be on their way out before the Senba private army even knew where he went. It's not like they cared.
As he passed into the mansion he started his long and thorough search of each and every room. There were some extra rounds he placed into his backpack. No need to worry about stupid rules set up by the national guard. Stepping through to his own room he secured a few of his assists, and then the moment of truth had come. He stepped through the dining room and marched right up to the closest where he had forced his father to remain for a while. With great hesitation he reached and opened the door quickly. It was empty. He stood looking at the empty space where his father was trapped, and he sighed. "Damn it." He cursed slamming the door angrily.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" One of the guards asked stepping into the room, his command like voice shocked Toru as the man had suddenly appeared. "What the hell? This is my own house damn it. I signed the god damn paper." He yelled. He was in a poor enough mood as it was. 'We have this mansion marked under the property of the Senba Organization's executive. He is listed as safely evacuated, now why are you here? Your assets will be moved at a later day--" Toru pulled out his gun without even thinking that he was pointing it at a trained soldier. "My father was bat shit crazy when I left here last. How the hell could he have 'safely' evacuated? Huh? I'm here because I've got a plane to catch in a few god damn days, and I can't wait a week to get some of my god damn assets." The man was put on the defensive. "Put down the gun sir." He said backing away. "Oh bullshit. It's not like I'm going to shoot a US citizen." He scoffed putting his gun into his back pocket. "You should seriously consider following the protocol. I could have reported your misconduct, but considering your urgency, I'll let it slide." The soldier said leaving Toru there and the boy sighed, falling back into one of the chairs. He tapped his fingers against the gun and wondered what he was going to do. He didn't feel like returning. He flipped out his phone. "Hey Keiko, how quickly can you get to Stadweld?" He asked and then he nodded. "Please do so. We're getting out here as soon as possible." He closed it and then stomped on the floor. "God damn it! Bastards! I'm going to fucking kill them! God damn old man!" He kicked back, storming around the house in till he finally grew tired and once more began stuffing his bag full of useful items that may come in handy in his uncertain future.
Rey was standing off to the side by herself when a black car drove up along the roadside and even though the military seemed wary of it, they didn't do anything about it. The black vehicle looked oddly familiar as he pulled up close to where she was standing and the window rolled down. "Miss Pichanto." One of the passengers stated, and she came up to the car looking irritated. "We request your presence in this most dire of times." The man said slowly opening the door of the car, and she looked around, noticing that Hiro was mindlessly staring up at the sky, and Toru had gone off on his own already. She slipped into the vehicle, and there were three men in the car all together, each wearing black fedoras and suits. It may have seemed like a classic mafia attire, if it were the 20's or 30's, but in truth it was a sign. She knew what it meant, and she felt extremely uncomfortable sitting in with some of her father's men. "What is the business, how does the family still have power if the city is under the jurisdiction of the national guard?" She asked and the man sitting next to her began to explain things while fixing himself with a cigar. "Your father's place among his other ownerships have all been accounted for thanks to our efforts on his behalf. The city is dead but we still have to keep the scroungers from digging out our gold." He said rolling down the window as he puffed smoke out into the cold air. "Truth be told Miss Pichanto, the gas never really did reach the ghetto, many of the poor folk were unaffected, some even went off robbing places before getting caught and imprisoned." He chuckled slightly, but all the while Rey looked irritated and cold. She was getting pissed off that this guy was smoking when it was so cold outside. "Yeah? Well what are we doing now?" She asked shifting around in the uncomfortable seat. "Paying a visit to your old man. He's dying." Dying? Meaning he isn't dead yet? She thought looking out of the window, wondering how she'd take it if he died, or rather, what would happen to her if she died. "I see." The men in matching fedoras meant that someone was about to die, or had already died, so now it was just a matter of time. The car pulled up to the large house, and they all got out looking around. She took the lead ahead of them and burst into her house, not even bothering with removing her shoes. "You stay down there and keep watch. I don't want anyone to disturb us." She ordered, and with a smirk the talker obliged. She pressed onward into her father's room, where the delirious man rested.
His covers neatly folded over his graying body, the man looked sad as she entered the room. "Rey...my daughter...you're alive and safe...?" He asked and she walked over to him curtly, kneeling next to his bed, as she was taught to do. He took her hands into his, and she could feel them shaking. "Father..." She trailed off, keeping her head bent. "Who is it that has burdened you so?" She asked, feeling her black hair fall over her forehead. "The Senba...bastards nearly killed...us all...that gas, is dangerous..." he was coughing. She kept her head bent. "I shall avenge you father." She said tonelessly, though she wondered if she could actually feel like it. If anything she'd avenge her half sister's death, but that too was a diminishing bond. It seemed like there weren't any people left in this world for her to turn to. "A friend...you must...find...him..." He sputtered. "Who must I find, father?" She asked, and he pulled her up, away from her bowing motion, close to his body. "Rey...Reyna...my sweet angel..." He said kissing her on the forehead. "You must...find...Lavantes, Theo Lavantes." He coughed, and she pressed her own lips against his burning fever. "Rest." She soothed. "In Minneapolis." He breathed, before closing his eyes. She pondered about it. She didn't know what would happen to her after he died, but if he wanted to spend his last words instructing her, then it was fine by her.
She stepped down stairs in the company of the black suits, and she directed them to the billiards room. "Boys...we're moving to Minnesota. As a request of my father's dying words." She began their consul solemnly.
Hiro had taken up in the line about five minutes after he realized everyone had gone their separate ways. For him this was a real trial. The daydreamer had thought about his biography less and less, and it was strange because he life was getting more and more interesting from an outside point of view. When he found his parent's names on the disabled list he took his time in processing the information before taking a military escort to his home. There he found his parents being looked after by a medical personnel. He was shocked at first, and the doctor stopped to look at him. "Hiro Reder?" He asked, and the boy nodded, showing him his ID, and the doctor nodded. "Allow me to explain." He said quietly, sitting the boy down in his own kitchen. The military doctor was a bit gruff in his approach, but Hiro could deal with that. "It's a kind of coma, where the subject doesn't wake up in till everything is brought up to a functioning level, think of a deep sleep. The gas your family was exposed to isn't of a fatal kind. With proper medical treatment they can be sustained in till they come to, or, if things become worse, succumb to complications. We're working hard on moving them to a hospital location, but it may still be a while before they actually become conscious." During the entire explanation Hiro couldn't help but look sadly at his dad, who must have been suddenly onset by the mysterious gas while working on some minute program. Was it his fault? Had he caused this to happen? The doctors left after a while, to give him some time as he went up to his room, and fished through a variety of trinkets, many of them were bringing back memories of his mom and dad. He didn't really cry, he wasn't sure how he felt. Just how he didn't know how he felt during the events of the dome. Yet while he was digging around in his room, an envelope fell out of his coat pocket.
The white, unstamped and un-licked envelope stared up at him as he looked bewildered at it. Carefully bending down he picked it up and found a piece of computer paper folded inside. It was a simple message, and it was clearly written in his father's poor handwriting. "The flash drive in the desk, third drawer down." Was all it said, and he wondered if this message was there before but he quickly threw it aside and bolted downstairs, finding the third drawer, he flung it open to find the flash drive there just as his father said. He put it into his pocket. Should I use it now? He thought to himself looking outside, and realizing that the doctors had gone, now would be the time to make his move. He turned on his father's PC, and waited for the OS to boot up as he continued to look out of the window nervously. He inserted the flash drive into the USB port, and waited for the folder to appear on the screen. His heart was pounding in his chest, as he clicked open the folder. His eyes scanned the file names, and he scanned down looking at a notepad document called "For my Hiro." He opened it and read the message his father had left him.
If you are reading this, hopefully you are my son Hiro Reder. If you aren't, then please find him. Ha doesn't this sound like some kind of quest? Unfortunately I can't be that relaxed about something this important. Son, if you are reading this then I am most likely in a state where I can't be of much use to you. I know it must have been hard...I feel bad, but I had a feeling something like that would happen. You probably have a lot of questions about how I know this. That'll be for when you make things right, so I can tell you face to face! Please don't feel angry towards me...anyway. If you want to make things right again, there is something you have to do.
A few years back I worked on a project with a young woman named Amy. She might seem a bit...eccentric at times, but she is a very old friend of mine who knows a lot about the current situation no doubt, and she owes me one. Somehow, somehow you have to find this girl. I know there are people who are good at that sort of thing. You're a bright kid Hiro, me and your mom are real proud of you. If you return to this place in a few months, there will be someone here to meet with you. The specific date is January 12th. Don't forget Hiro. You need to come back here. The person will help you find Amy.
I'm counting on you.
-Dad [and Mom].
He was shaking. There wasn't any time to think, because the front door quickly opened and the military units had returned. He unplugged the flash drive quickly, and pocketed it. Without saying a word he left the house, and came out into the street, where he stopped in the cold snow. Whatever was going through his head he wasn't sure of. He wanted the world to just stop spinning right then and there so he'd have time to think. Make things right? How could he make things right? He must have made a lot of mistakes for things to get this way as it is...but...he had hope. No...it wasn't hope. It was a dream. A dream of a future he wanted. A future he was willing to fight for.
/end
Author's notes:
Scratch will take a break for a while. In this chapter you get a prelude to what is happening to a small pool of characters only. As the author I am at a crossroads as the many characters I introduced so far will be going down different paths for now. There will be four small arcs I believe. Instead of doing alternative chapters each week, these small arcs will feature a single character or group of characters. The arc I lead off with is still undecided, but here is a little preview to what may be coming your way:
Obviously the scope is changing from the Dakotas [?] to Minnesota. There are still many unanswered parts of the series! The story of Kaz. The young man is not at ease, despite claiming not to want to delve into the issues any further. When he receives an unwanted tip that something should come to his attention, he curiously goes to investigate...his investigation finds him face to face with someone he would rather not see...[may appear in the next issue]
The story of Rey: Heading her father's words, the young tough girl surprisingly takes over as the head of the Pichanto family. She shows a great deal of power, which took those wishes to steal from her father's empire, it seems as if the Mafia is growing even more powerful as they move into Minnesota in search of a mysterious character; Theo Lavantes. [May appear in the next issue]
The story of Hiro: Living low, the proposed main character of the series sinks back to Stadweld with Norie in toe. When he encounters a person who is supposed to be in the know of things, and get him in touch with Amy...what surprising things will Hiro find? [May appear in the next issue].
Japan: A two part story including a short detail on Toru and Michi's return to Japan, as well as a mysterious young girl who is accompanied by two silver robed figures...
Whichever I decide to go with, please continue to read! I am thankful that I even have any views at all. I'd like to think that people are enjoying it somewhat because the last chapter, the climax I proposed jumped to the top of the most viewed list on my blog in the shortest time. It gives me some confidence I think...
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