Another day came. Waking up to the same quiet, peaceful sounds, he felt surprisingly invigorated. By now, Norie would have left. That was the first thing that came into his mind as he passed through the crowded hallway, thinking of things he tried his best to forget. Stadweld, the domes, his father, and such, they persisted. It was annoying, but he still felt invigorated. Invigorated by the New Year, a new chance to make a new life. He had his mom, he had Jessica, everything was aligning, he would graduate soon, and he would find his place in this world. Yet the unreal events which had changed his formally morbid outlook on life tugged at his mind. He thought of sacrifice. Had fate taken his father from him to give him a clear picture? Guilt rose and fell like the waves of the sea within him. He had a hard time rationalizing. He wanted to find the answers, somewhere inside of him he wanted to know.
What was it that drove Jack to madness? Why was Kylie an adopted child now? Norie couldn’t cope with the truth of things. He wondered if Hiro did, if Rey did. They were his connections to that world. How was he handling the truth? How has he dealt with things? Spending long nights with his sister, he spilled his guts out to her. His troubled mind was often alleviated by her, and he alleviated her fears as well. Even still, their social lives remained a separate thing. He was so thankful to get along with his siblings. Even little Edward was starting to mature, and yet because of Kaz’s foreign nature, it shocked the young adolescent into a more formal state. Life was going in a good direction, in till it seemed that misfortune knocked once again.
He was at school, staying a bit late in the library to try and get some studying done, yet his mind could not focus on the words which peered up at him with sleepy eyes. So dry, so thick, so dense. How could someone stay awake long enough to even write such a document? A robot, he guessed. While mulling over the tiny black letters that scrunched together on the thin white page, he felt someone lean over his shoulder, and he was unsure as to whom it was. “Ah, economics, an interesting subject.” As the words poured into his ears, he jolted back in his seat, nearly knocking the person over, as an uncertain fear rose within his chest. His heart raced; the sly, cunning, taunting intonation could not be mistaken, and as his eyes fell upon the hooded figure; his assumptions of the person were proven true, and under his breath he uttered the name of his unwelcomed visitor. “Trey!” The young man removed his hood, revealing his freshly trimmed brown hair, and yet still the dark eyes peered at him mirthfully. Kaz instinctively braced himself for something miraculous to happen when he began to contemplate how bizarre it would actually be for his former coworker to appear in this city. Ever other remnant in Stadweld had come here, so why not the rumor-lord himself? Aside from the suspicion that he was involved with the domes, curiosities exempt, the boy in his mind was logically innocent, though the demeanor and mannerisms of Trey pointed elsewhere. A dark, plotting, foreboding omen of terrible things to come.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Trey commented with a chuckle, and Kaz slowly eased up and sighed. “I wasn’t expecting you of all people to suddenly show up.” He admitted, sitting back down, and closing his book; he wouldn’t be getting anywhere with that now. “Well, I’ve been busy you know, and I decided to drop in on an old friend.” The informant stepped around the small table, and sat across from Kaz, folding his hands together. Friend? Since when have we been friends? Aside from work all you did was follow around muttering strange things. Kaz thought as he put his book into his already heavy backpack. “Yeah? Is there something you want? I don’t know anything.” He tried guessing at what Trey might want. “Oh, it’s nothing quite like that…at least not yet. In fact, it’s the other way around. I was hoping I could share something with you.” The young man’s eyes narrowed, and Kaz let out a sigh. “If it has anything to do with that god forsaken place, I think I’ll pass thanks.” He stood up, pushed in the chair, and shouldered his bag. “Now, now, Kaz, you might think you can just walk away from everything that happened without consequence…” Trey’s tone turned dark and serious as he followed him out of the school library, and out onto the cold frozen sidewalk. “They won’t just let you walk away.” He reiterated. “What do they want with me? I didn’t do anything.” He breathed; the conversation was starting to piss him off. “That doesn’t mean you don’t know anything.” What did he know? He knew that a lot of bad things had happened. His role in the dome incident was a personal one, and it had very little to do with the big picture. “What? Some chemical company accidentally released some harmful pollutant into the air, which killed and crippled thousands of people? That’s common knowledge.” He stopped; he didn’t feel like leading Trey to his house, even though the sneaky young man probably already knew where it was anyway. “These people hate loose ends. I just thought I’d warn you. If you’d like to know more…meet me at this place come 6 O'clock. I won’t wait more than five minutes.” It was unusually formal for Trey, who slipped him a tiny white card before waving and walking off back in the direction of the school. Kaz slowly turned it over, and noticed that it was written with a black marker. It was just some public coffee house, so he felt he could rest easy. Whatever it was that tugged at his mind, was becoming more and more prevalent.
It was ten to six when Kaz finally left his house, with rising anxiety in his chest. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, he just left. His shoes crunched on the thin layer of snow as tiny snowflakes fluttered from the sky obscuring his vision. His mind worked through a variety of possibilities that would stem out of this unfavored meeting with Trey. An ambush. A job offer. A stab in the back. Each possibility didn't seem positive in the least. Though if he could deal with what Trey had in mind, he could at least grant his family some safety. Though that worked wonders last time, didn't it? He clenched his fist as he pushed his way through the glass door and into the bright, coffee scented building. As usual, there was a variety of comfy chairs, a little bar where people could sit and enjoy their drinks; laptops, writers, and so on. It was just like any other coffee shop at six, and as his eyes looked around, he noticed Trey was near the back where the bathrooms were. The man was standing with a slight grin on his face, as he leaned against the wall. He was empty handed, Kaz noticed as he approached and then he stopped to look at him.
"Not going to get anything?" He asked, and Trey shook his head. "I don't feel like drinking coffee this late." He said, pushing opening the men's bathroom. "Come on, let me show you something." Kaz didn't like it. A strange vibe was flowing through his body, as he reluctantly followed his former co-worker into the bathroom. Two sinks, a couple of urinals, and of course a stall at the back, which unfortunately had an out of order sign on it. Despite that however, Trey simply walked over to the bathroom door, and opened it. Kaz looked surprised, and then suspicious. Were there any cameras in this room? He couldn't tell yet Trey beckoned to him quickly and he walked into the stall, and Trey quickly closed the door.
It was here that Kaz noticed another door was positioned behind the toilet, so that nobody would even know it was there, and not only that it appeared to be locked. The turquoise steel door fit perfectly in with the color scheme of the bathroom, and even if someone did walk through the out of order toilet, they wouldn't even be suspicious of a door behind the toilet, assuming it was for some kind of electric service or something. Trey stepped behind the toilet, and inserted the key into the lock and twisted it open. "Once inside I'll explain a little more." He promised as Kaz followed him through the secret door, which immediately came to a spiraling carpeted staircase, and the faint sound of jovial music was playing. "This is one of the many entrances to the underground. A base of operations if you will." He said quietly as they slowly began to ascend down underneath the cafe. "Who controls it?" Kaz asked curiously, and Trey laughed. "Cylinder, most likely." The answer didn't mean anything to Kaz. "Cylinder?" He questioned. They passed down into what appeared to be a real bar, straight out of a classic story or anime. There were all kinds of strangers, sitting there drinking, enjoying the music playing from a nearby radio, and when Trey and Kaz entered, a few heads turned, but they didn't seem too surprised, and went back to whatever it was they were doing. The two took their seat at a table off in the corner, where two drinks were already set out.
"Go on, it's just coke if you'd like." Trey offered as he leaned back in his chair. He wasn't smiling necessary, but he looked like he was at home, enjoying himself. Kaz couldn't help but feel relaxed too, the slightly dim lighting reminded him of a Chinese restaurant. "I'm going to tell you just about everything I know. In return I hope you will be willing to help me out." Trey began looking serious. Kaz nodded, deciding to take a sip of the coke.
"It all begins an uncertain amount of time ago. A group of graduates from a variety of schools pooled together their knowledge in different areas of science and anatomy, and were astounded with a revelation. A chemical compound which could inherently intoxicate a human being without impairing their physical mobility. I suppose in layman's terms, it's mind control. Though the actual science behind it is far beyond me, those who discovered it were activists unfortunately, and they did a good job of hiding their secret. It wasn't long in till they decided to try it out on society, given their twisted ideology. After a few failures on individual subjects, the product was perfected, and not only that, with the aid of computer sciences, a program was constructed, one that would offer rational, and logical decisions to the people who were affected by the chemical. Though we believe that something a little more extreme has been used recently. They advanced their product to a state which could only be called 'complete control'. Nearly everyone in Stadweld was exposed to this "computer chemical" and thus when the power supply blew out the computers, the program ceased, causing them to all stop functioning."
Kaz took in what he was being told, slowly draining his drink. The information seemed overly obscure, and there was no way to prove it. He kept that in mind. "So? Why don't more people know about this then?" He asked casually. "It's not so simple. As you probably know, people are skeptical. Earlier you brushed it off a chemical leak which caused everyone to call into a coma. Didn't it ever cross your mind that those who helped clear out Stadweld were also under the control of the program? There is no limit to how far it can reach. Obviously, senators and politicians need to move around the country occasionally." Concern crossed Kaz's face. "They control the government?" He asked, and Trey shrugged. "It's highly possible. I said they were activists, and after a while a name surfaced. Hive, how fitting. They just attach everyone to the queen bee and everyone does what they are supposed to."
"This better not be some kind of bullshit, you know my dad died because of these bastards." Kaz was starting to get angry. "Relax, I didn't waste my time taking you to this place to tell you some wild story. There is a rumor about the origins of Hive...they say that this city was the first one they tried to work on, and they came extremely close to ensnaring it." He leaned forward his eyes narrowed. "Do you know how they were stopped?" He asked. Kaz shook his head. Trey reached into his pocket, and removed what appeared to be two clear pill capsules. "The only known antithesis to the chemical."
Kaz looked at them curiously. "If there is an antidote, then why don't you use them to save everyone?" He questioned, a severe look crossed his face. "Nothing is so simple...the ones who have the largest amount of the antidote are Hive themselves, obviously they needed it to supply a sense of security among their own ranks. How can an organization thrive when there is the risk of them being put under control? However, one piece of luck is still in our favor...the way the antidote was created is still beyond them. For the time being, they are unable to create a successful product." Trey put the capsules back into his pocket.
"If they didn't create it, then who did?" Kaz asked. "Cylinder did." Trey replied. "Who's Cylinder?" He asked and Trey burst out laughing. "You know, I hardly know anything about them. If there is anyone more mysterious in the world, it is that organization. Apparently they wear white and silver robes, and roam around trying to stop Hive at every turn." Kaz smirked. "It sounds a lot like what your doing." Trey shook his head. "We're only connected through the underground. My people and Cylinder, are not...on good terms so to speak."
"So what? Isn't Hive the common enemy?"
"Not exactly...if you think about it. From Hive's point of view, the world is an evil place. If they can control people, then nobody will die by a stupid reason such as getting run over by a car, or getting shot by a gang and the like. They use the chemical to prevent people from acting irrationally. Also, they control key politicians, and they rig the votes to secure government positions. They are basically in control of the entire nation, and hope to spread to other powerful countries in till they have the world under their control." It seemed like a far fetched plan. It seemed as if he was suddenly thrown into a trilogy of science fiction novels, where just when you thought things were going the right way, a cliffhanger shows up, and turning the page just means getting into more trouble.
"So what do you want do then...if you don't want to stop Hive?" He asked, working through all the information Trey had presented him. "Our goal is simple...we want to scratch this world, and we want to make a new one." He said quietly. Kaz couldn't help but looked discontent. "You want to destroy the world? What kind of cliche storyline is that?" He almost felt like laughing, as Trey seemed entirely serious on the matter. "Not destroy it. We want to scratch the idea of it, and work up a new one. Hive has the means of controlling all the people on the planet. Cylinder has the means of creating a new world. Our organization is trying to use both parties against each other in till we have what we want." To Kaz, it seemed like every single party working was somehow evil.
"So what do you want me to do then? You obviously sought me out for something more than just filling me with information. Oh let me guess...? You can't possibly let me off the hook now that I know everything right?" He stated irritated. "More or less, I thought you'd want to do what you can against Hive...before they find you and your family. They will bind you and control your daily life."
"What are you offering?"
"A place within my organization...but I don't want you alone." He placed the capsules on the table top and slide the over to Kaz. "What do you mean?" Kaz had an idea already in his head, and he wasn't sure he liked it. "Pick a family member, any family member it doesn't matter, someone you trust. I'll give you three days to make your choice." Kaz looked longingly at the two capsules. "Oh, before you go..." Trey took out what looked like a gun and pointed it at Kaz. The boy backed away, nearly knocking over his chair. "What the hell?" He yelled, and a few heads turned their direction but they didn't seem to mind. "You have to consume one of the antidotes." He said and Kaz began to wonder just what they were, if they really were the antidote. His hand shook as he slowly reached over and picked up one, and popped it into his mouth and swallowed. "There...ah..." He felt his body shudder slightly, and almost fell over but he caught himself on the chair. He felt something course through his veins and then the feeling passed and everything was alright.
"Come back here in three days, six pm. Don't come alone." Trey warned, and Kaz nodded taking the other capsule and putting it into his pocket, and he marched up the spiral staircase, in till he climbed through the door and into the out of order stall. The turquoise door locked behind him and he sighed looking at the clear capsule in his hand. Then he pocketed it again, and sighed. "Why do I have to pick a family member?" He asked quietly stepping through the bathroom and out of the coffee shop. They had talked for nearly an hour.
It was odd though. He didn't even need to think over the decision. It was obvious.
Jessica. She would become tangled in the world's twisted web.
/End
The Author, despite the previous update, decided to stay on track with the story. However, it will most likely only update once a week for the time being. Stay tuned for Chapter 24, as Kaz reveals the deep truths he has learned to his most trusted sister...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
MoreTime is required
Scratch has been slow moving lately.
As you know, there was no new chapter on Friday. To play it safe, I'm going to take off another week as I get back into my new school schedule and think of where I want to take this.
I know you guys don't like hearing about updates, you'd much rather see some kind of chapter up.
Twenty Three is in a semi-rough state, so far nothing is beyond that. School often stimulates me to write, so chances are Scratch will return after another week break. Sorry 2011 is looking bleak so far! But forcing writing, well, it tends to lead me in bad directions.
Anyway. Take care, keep warm if you live in a cold place like me!
:)
As you know, there was no new chapter on Friday. To play it safe, I'm going to take off another week as I get back into my new school schedule and think of where I want to take this.
I know you guys don't like hearing about updates, you'd much rather see some kind of chapter up.
Twenty Three is in a semi-rough state, so far nothing is beyond that. School often stimulates me to write, so chances are Scratch will return after another week break. Sorry 2011 is looking bleak so far! But forcing writing, well, it tends to lead me in bad directions.
Anyway. Take care, keep warm if you live in a cold place like me!
:)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Chapter Twenty Two: Reappearances
Three Months Later...
A loud snap, followed by a thump made his eyes open as he pulled away from an uneasy sleep. He reached his hand up and touched his face as he stared up at the white plaster ceiling, and the bumpy surface. The air around him was cold, and he didn't want to remove the covers just yet as he rolled over staring at the black alarm clock resting on his scratched wooden nightstand. 6:30. He closed his eyes as he pressed his face into his pillow, knowing that it was still dark outside. Humans weren't allowed to wake up before the sun. He groaned as he forced himself up onto his hands. He shook his head, shaking the sleep from his mind and body as he stumbled through the darkness of his room. He scooped up his bath towel from the floor, and stalked through the cold basement of his home. His mom emerged from the laundry room smiling at him, waving her hand. He waved back to her, wishing he could smile, but to him it was too early to be happy about returning to school after a long and joyful winter break.
He stepped into the bathroom, and slung the towel onto a tiny hook before starting to run the water. As he let the water run over his body he began to wonder about the horrifying dream that had plagued him just before the sudden awakening, in which he was actually thankful for. He was in a very similar shower, except it was more or less a jagged memory of the time he spent in a twisted laboratory, and following the events three months ago he knew that he had lost two very important people in just a short time, he was thankful that he still had anyone left to support him. Kaz let the water dampen his growing long brown hair as he rubbed his fingers over his incoming facial hair. Ever since Novembeard, he had been thinking of growing it out a bit. His mom thought it wasn't a good idea but his sister said he should definitely try to go for it. Judging that Jessica probably had a better handle on what was going on in the world, he went for it. Still he wondered how long it would last.
Dying himself off, he wrapped the towel around him and set off to get dressed. The rest of the house seemed silent. Edward probably wasn't going to wake up any time soon, but Jessica certainly should out of bed by now. He smiled. He was glad that he was liked by his sister, and even his younger brother was starting to grow on him. Even though he got thrown into a small den in his mom's basement, it certainly felt more family like than waking up to his stern father, who still would have greeted him with a cup of coffee held firmly in his hand...Kaz stopped halfway through getting dressed, feeling sad. 'When will I get over this...old man...if you're out there, I'm sorry I couldn't be tough like you.' He pulled up his jeans and his thermal black long sleeve. Like a zombie he came up the stairs into the kitchen where his mother was busy eating her own breakfast.
"Huh, shouldn't Jess be up?" He asked peering down the hall and the woman shook her head. "She had to get to school early she's already gone." She said smiling. "Oh wow that sure beats me. Must be pretty motivated." He took a seat at the table after pouring himself a bowl of cereal and he slowly began to munch away. "Has the new term started yet?" His mom asked clearing away her dishes. "Not yet, " he started with a mouthful of corn flakes. "It will end sometime in March."
"Still going to graduate early?" She asked and he set his spoon down going towards the fridge to get some orange juice. "Yep. I'm still doing double credit load to make up for what was lost. Thank god the standards at Stadweld carried over." He was really thankful for that. They managed to recover the most vital information from that now deserted city, and he would be able to graduate early, and then, finally he would be able to start to piece his life together. Cleaning up his own dishes, Kaz gave his mom a hug before grabbing his bag and heading out the door, looking up at the thick layers of snow that coated the side of the driveway. He was surprised that his mom was actually single, and living in such a house. It wasn't the largest house in the wealthy suburb, but it still was a nice home for someone who worked at a publishing firm, if it could be called that. Tightening his scarf around his face he trudged along the street, seeing his school towering in the distance. It was surprising, ever since that...unfortunate incident he found himself both distanced from people, and yet also more approachable. He was also surprised that there were many of those who survived the Stadweld incident in the same town as him.
He had seen Hiro and Norie even from time to time, and what was even more surprising was the fact that Rey Pichanto, perhaps the most notorious student to ever set foot in a public school had also come. He had heard a strange rumor that her father was on his death bed, but had yet to pass. 'That would be strange if there were two fatherless children from the same town, wouldn't it?' Though to him, one thing was obvious. Rey was not about to let anyone become her friend. He hadn't been the one to bring it up, but it had gone something like this. "I don't give a damn whether or not a bunch of kids were there with me! I have my own shit to figure out, so just leave me alone." Being strikingly beautiful and also a terrifying woman, made her extremely dangerous. Though he hadn't heard anything of her getting hurt...
Aside from her, everyone else seemed to get along just fine, despite being in different grades. So naturally the senior was set apart from the others, but time to time they would get to talking. Times were hard. Norie had heard that he had lost his father, and also that he had a sister. He was worried that she would make the same mistake as he did with Kylie, but it never did escalate to that, at least in the month period they had talked. Norie had spent a lot of time in the hospital, and even though she was torn up by her loss of Maki, she still had friends who were there to support her.
He arrived at school, and headed off to his locker. He hadn't made too many friends, but the stories he told, he had no choice but to soften up a bit on them. Not very many people knew about Stadweld except that all of their citizens had to evacuate, and many of them were hospitalized. "Hey Kaz! How was your winter break?" A cheerful young man asked patting him roughly on the back. He smiled slightly as he grabbed his first period books and closed his locker. "It was fine Dale, nice and relaxing. Yours?" He asked as they walked through the halls. Dale was a slightly large boy with glasses and long black hair, which was covered by a baseball cap. A first class nerd in Kaz's book, but still he wouldn't deny that things of magic and fantasy were of his interest as well. The two had made a great friendship and now that Kaz thought about it, he had no idea how it actually came to be.
"Fine, fine...man are you really going to graduate early?" Dale asked and Kaz nodded as he took a seat inside of his first period class, in which Dale took the seat next to him. "Man...that's tough." He said thinking about something. "Yeah it sure is..." Kaz said opening up his notebook looking over the notes he made right before Christmas break. A new year, a new chance, and for once he hadn't wasted any of his time doing what he thought was right. His grades were looking top notch. "Hey." Dale nudged his arm, and he looked up and saw Norie standing in the doorway of his classroom looking a bit concerned about something. Kaz had given Dale a brief rundown of what had happened at one point as well as all the characters he knew about. Excusing himself, he exited the room and came to Norie with a slight smile on his face.
Though he didn't see himself as one of the key players he had hoped that he was one of the people who had helped the formally energetic girl. "What's up?" He asked, still feeling a bit shy in all honesty, and the girl shrugged, looking out of the window. "A week from tomorrow...me and Hiro are going back." She said quietly, looking around to see if anyone was listening, and then turned back to look out of the window. Kaz's eyes narrowed. 'Going back? To Stadweld? If you're inviting me, I am going to have to decline.'. His concerned look had caught her attention. "I didn't think you'd come, but I had to ask Kaz." She said quietly. "I...I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me..." She stated watching the students approach the school from the lot. "No problem. We have to look out for each other...but...I'm done running around trying to solve mysteries..." He had a hard time saying it, as Norie slowly nodded her head. "Why go back anyway?" He asked leaning against the wall, feeling the heat from the heater warm his arms. She sighed, closing her eyes. "There's something there...for him." She said quietly. "I want...to go back. I want to know...for sure." She admitted, and he knew exactly what she meant. Maki. Not just Maki, but Dare as well he suspected. The entire story had been told to him piece by piece. Placing a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eyes. "I'll be here for when you come back." He smiled and they embraced. "Stay safe." He whispered quietly.
For the rest of the day, the idea bothered him. What was Hiro thinking? He didn't know, and a part of him didn't want to. Getting involved wasn't something he wanted anymore. He had seen what had happened the last time he had taken that risk. It got his best friend killed. He finished up his schoolwork, and decided to skip out on staying the extra hour for study time, and returned home. As he came through the front door, his mom smiled handing him an envelope. "Oh, something for me?" He asked trying to sound excited as he took it to his room, downstairs, and closing the door securely. He undid the envelope and slowly removed a folded up letter. The Kanji were unmistakable, even though the rest was written in English. His eyes widened with surprise. (美智子笠原 = Michiko Kasahara). He had sent a letter a while back, and this was the first reply.
How are you Kaz?! I know our time together was short. I'm sorry! >.<, I really miss you, I got your letter, but I didn't have time to write back, forgive me :[... How is Norie doing? I hope she's okay...I wish I could come and visit but right now things are a bit hectic, my parents don't have any intention of returning to America for a while...
You know what's weird? I bumped into Toru! He was doing fine I think...he isn't a people person though...he had business with my parents...everyone over here is fine. You know you should come here and visit. I promise I'll keep my mom away from the Sake!
. We'd love to have you. Please write back soon!!
-美智子笠原 (Michiko Kasahara, or just Michi
)
It made him smile. It made him remember a time he wish he could have back. He flipped it over to find a little message written to him in different lettering.
Hello Kaz Reinfold. Thank you for assisting me during that horrible incident. Sorry for your loss, I somehow feel responsible for your friend's death. A package will arrive soon with a just compensation.
It didn't say who it was from but his guess was that it was Michi's mom. He folded up the notebook paper and set it inside of his nightstand, thinking he should write a reply, but he decided to wait for the package to arrive.
A lot has changed...but I think...I'm finally turning a corner.
The well furnished office was darkly lit for a reason. One could tell that the sun was setting as the fading orange light was trickling through the blinds covering the windows. At the back wall the desk was lined with papers and lamp that remained untouched in the slowly darkening room. A man sat in his chair looking down at the documents without a definite expression on his face. He looked up slowly, the door at the end of his office then opened, and almost soundlessly a person stepped inside, quietly closing it. The man took a quick glance before shuffling the documents aside and stuffing them into a drawer. As the person came closer, the man removed his glasses and rubbed his face. He was tired, he had been working all day.
"You're late." The commanding tone also carried and irritable feel, but the other person didn't seem to care as he took a seat across from the man. "Come to lie about your failure?" The man added standing up from his desk, despite his visitor taking the place across from him. The older of the two shuffled over to the blinds and closed out the orange sunlight, and at the same time, the visitor turned on the small desk lamp, casting a slight glow onto the well polished desk. The man returned to his seat, staring at the silent man who had dropped in, bearing a soft smile. "It wasn't a complete failure, after all the domes were destroyed." He added with a gesture of his hand. "But you failed to run off the head of the Pichanto." The other added sternly. "I never got a clean shot. Having to return to the city after all that running around...it can really get to you." There was amusement in his words. "You better not be planning anything." The man warned. "Still...even if you were, it wouldn't get you very far."
The two stared at each other wordlessly for a moment, before the younger man placed a vanilla envelope on the table. "Here are the profiles of all the people who played a part in the Stadweld incident." The man flipped it open to see a wide variety of photographs and typed up documents. The man fingered through them, before nodding and letting them slide out onto the desk. "At least you didn't come empty handed...let's see...what of this girl, then, where is she?" He said pointing at a black haired girl who looked rather upset in the picture, and it appeared to have been taken from a security camera judging by the angle. "Rey Pichanto. I don't understand your obsession with a low-time criminal family..." The other stated and the man grunted. "They have connections to the underground, which means a link to Cylinder, which means trouble." The man said tapping his finger on the girl. "Where is she?" He pressed. "Same place as everyone else, you have her father to thank for that." The other replied. "Did you know that would happen? Is that why you failed?"
"I failed because I don't like getting shot." The man laughed. "Well, well, I guess even you have your limits."
"I am only human. Despite what you've heard."
"Why is she in Minnesota then?" The man changed the subject. "She's probably looking for this man." The information dealer then placed down a picture of a fedora wearing man who looked just as angry as Rey did in her picture. "Who is he?" The man asked. "Theodore Lavantes, one of the gatekeepers to the underground."
"Is he a Cylinder?" The man asked sounding a bit skeptical. "No association, he's probably just a well informed rumor lord who has money and power." The man continued to look skeptical. "Illegal power of course, nothing Hive would know about publicly." The man leaned back in his chair, and he then shuffled through the pictures and papers once again and stopped. "What about this little girl? What we her role?"
"Kylie Oswin."
"Oswin?"
"Her name changed when she was recently adopted. The daughter of the Stadweld Mayor." He said leaning back, and man put the picture back down, looking confused. Then a thought came to him, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What about Maki?" A strange silence seemed to come. Both men in the room knew about the 'potentially inhuman' character who had been a highly prized subject of the Hive organization. They both knew that she was in the dome that exploded, yet they could not be certain of her death. "It's a frantic search. This is just rumor...but I hear even Cylinder is frantically searching for clues."
"Everyone is too afraid to return to Stadweld." The older man chuckled, pulling out a bottle of liquor, and he looked sternly at the other man. "Care for a drink?" He asked and the other shook his head. "Intoxication is not very wise in my line of work." He said with a smile. With an expression that resembled 'suit yourself' the man poured himself a generous helping. With a sigh he put his glass down. "You've been immensely useful. Even though..." He paused, "doing business with you has always had it's risk, so far it's been rewarding." He poured himself another glass and raised it like a toast. "I will have my people working on snaring these slippery bastards. Make sure they don't do anything..unexpected." The visitor stood up extending his hand. "Send my regards to the Big K for me." He then turned around and left.
Standing just outside of the office, the information dealer let out a heavy sigh. He looked left and ride at the two silent guards who were both armed. 'Even though I've been around these mindless guys for all these years..still freaks me out how mindless they are.' He walked from the building and found himself in the middle of a quiet looking town. It was a least a lot warmer here than it was in the Midwest. A nice breeze blew, and he had the suspicion that it might rain. Slowly he slumped back to his hotel room, where he checked it thoroughly for any unnecessary spies. It seems like there dissent even among the higher ups at Hive. Still, "Big K" remains a mysterious, as well as "T", I have worked very hard just get that much. These leaders better not get too comfortable...because if I ever find out who they are, it's going to be a big...'
His thoughts were cut short as his phone began to ring. He took it up and pressed it against his head. "Yes?" He paused for a while. "Understood..." He closed the phone, and then he dialed a number into it. "Hallo. Sprechen Sie Deutsch mein freund?" He paused with a smile on his face. "Ah, forgive me." He laughed as he fell back onto his bed staring up at the ceiling.
"I will come as soon as I can. I'm out west right now...It will be a few hours..." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a picture with a document attached to it. "There is an old friend I'd like to visit, maybe offer him a job." He couldn't help but chuckle at how easy it was. The header of the document he was holding onto read in bold letters: "Kaz Reinfold.", with the picture of the unconscious boy sitting in the middle of a strangely familiar hallway...
Only a fool would so gladly hand over all the information in his possession...the chaos is only beginning.
/End.
A loud snap, followed by a thump made his eyes open as he pulled away from an uneasy sleep. He reached his hand up and touched his face as he stared up at the white plaster ceiling, and the bumpy surface. The air around him was cold, and he didn't want to remove the covers just yet as he rolled over staring at the black alarm clock resting on his scratched wooden nightstand. 6:30. He closed his eyes as he pressed his face into his pillow, knowing that it was still dark outside. Humans weren't allowed to wake up before the sun. He groaned as he forced himself up onto his hands. He shook his head, shaking the sleep from his mind and body as he stumbled through the darkness of his room. He scooped up his bath towel from the floor, and stalked through the cold basement of his home. His mom emerged from the laundry room smiling at him, waving her hand. He waved back to her, wishing he could smile, but to him it was too early to be happy about returning to school after a long and joyful winter break.
He stepped into the bathroom, and slung the towel onto a tiny hook before starting to run the water. As he let the water run over his body he began to wonder about the horrifying dream that had plagued him just before the sudden awakening, in which he was actually thankful for. He was in a very similar shower, except it was more or less a jagged memory of the time he spent in a twisted laboratory, and following the events three months ago he knew that he had lost two very important people in just a short time, he was thankful that he still had anyone left to support him. Kaz let the water dampen his growing long brown hair as he rubbed his fingers over his incoming facial hair. Ever since Novembeard, he had been thinking of growing it out a bit. His mom thought it wasn't a good idea but his sister said he should definitely try to go for it. Judging that Jessica probably had a better handle on what was going on in the world, he went for it. Still he wondered how long it would last.
Dying himself off, he wrapped the towel around him and set off to get dressed. The rest of the house seemed silent. Edward probably wasn't going to wake up any time soon, but Jessica certainly should out of bed by now. He smiled. He was glad that he was liked by his sister, and even his younger brother was starting to grow on him. Even though he got thrown into a small den in his mom's basement, it certainly felt more family like than waking up to his stern father, who still would have greeted him with a cup of coffee held firmly in his hand...Kaz stopped halfway through getting dressed, feeling sad. 'When will I get over this...old man...if you're out there, I'm sorry I couldn't be tough like you.' He pulled up his jeans and his thermal black long sleeve. Like a zombie he came up the stairs into the kitchen where his mother was busy eating her own breakfast.
"Huh, shouldn't Jess be up?" He asked peering down the hall and the woman shook her head. "She had to get to school early she's already gone." She said smiling. "Oh wow that sure beats me. Must be pretty motivated." He took a seat at the table after pouring himself a bowl of cereal and he slowly began to munch away. "Has the new term started yet?" His mom asked clearing away her dishes. "Not yet, " he started with a mouthful of corn flakes. "It will end sometime in March."
"Still going to graduate early?" She asked and he set his spoon down going towards the fridge to get some orange juice. "Yep. I'm still doing double credit load to make up for what was lost. Thank god the standards at Stadweld carried over." He was really thankful for that. They managed to recover the most vital information from that now deserted city, and he would be able to graduate early, and then, finally he would be able to start to piece his life together. Cleaning up his own dishes, Kaz gave his mom a hug before grabbing his bag and heading out the door, looking up at the thick layers of snow that coated the side of the driveway. He was surprised that his mom was actually single, and living in such a house. It wasn't the largest house in the wealthy suburb, but it still was a nice home for someone who worked at a publishing firm, if it could be called that. Tightening his scarf around his face he trudged along the street, seeing his school towering in the distance. It was surprising, ever since that...unfortunate incident he found himself both distanced from people, and yet also more approachable. He was also surprised that there were many of those who survived the Stadweld incident in the same town as him.
He had seen Hiro and Norie even from time to time, and what was even more surprising was the fact that Rey Pichanto, perhaps the most notorious student to ever set foot in a public school had also come. He had heard a strange rumor that her father was on his death bed, but had yet to pass. 'That would be strange if there were two fatherless children from the same town, wouldn't it?' Though to him, one thing was obvious. Rey was not about to let anyone become her friend. He hadn't been the one to bring it up, but it had gone something like this. "I don't give a damn whether or not a bunch of kids were there with me! I have my own shit to figure out, so just leave me alone." Being strikingly beautiful and also a terrifying woman, made her extremely dangerous. Though he hadn't heard anything of her getting hurt...
Aside from her, everyone else seemed to get along just fine, despite being in different grades. So naturally the senior was set apart from the others, but time to time they would get to talking. Times were hard. Norie had heard that he had lost his father, and also that he had a sister. He was worried that she would make the same mistake as he did with Kylie, but it never did escalate to that, at least in the month period they had talked. Norie had spent a lot of time in the hospital, and even though she was torn up by her loss of Maki, she still had friends who were there to support her.
He arrived at school, and headed off to his locker. He hadn't made too many friends, but the stories he told, he had no choice but to soften up a bit on them. Not very many people knew about Stadweld except that all of their citizens had to evacuate, and many of them were hospitalized. "Hey Kaz! How was your winter break?" A cheerful young man asked patting him roughly on the back. He smiled slightly as he grabbed his first period books and closed his locker. "It was fine Dale, nice and relaxing. Yours?" He asked as they walked through the halls. Dale was a slightly large boy with glasses and long black hair, which was covered by a baseball cap. A first class nerd in Kaz's book, but still he wouldn't deny that things of magic and fantasy were of his interest as well. The two had made a great friendship and now that Kaz thought about it, he had no idea how it actually came to be.
"Fine, fine...man are you really going to graduate early?" Dale asked and Kaz nodded as he took a seat inside of his first period class, in which Dale took the seat next to him. "Man...that's tough." He said thinking about something. "Yeah it sure is..." Kaz said opening up his notebook looking over the notes he made right before Christmas break. A new year, a new chance, and for once he hadn't wasted any of his time doing what he thought was right. His grades were looking top notch. "Hey." Dale nudged his arm, and he looked up and saw Norie standing in the doorway of his classroom looking a bit concerned about something. Kaz had given Dale a brief rundown of what had happened at one point as well as all the characters he knew about. Excusing himself, he exited the room and came to Norie with a slight smile on his face.
Though he didn't see himself as one of the key players he had hoped that he was one of the people who had helped the formally energetic girl. "What's up?" He asked, still feeling a bit shy in all honesty, and the girl shrugged, looking out of the window. "A week from tomorrow...me and Hiro are going back." She said quietly, looking around to see if anyone was listening, and then turned back to look out of the window. Kaz's eyes narrowed. 'Going back? To Stadweld? If you're inviting me, I am going to have to decline.'. His concerned look had caught her attention. "I didn't think you'd come, but I had to ask Kaz." She said quietly. "I...I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me..." She stated watching the students approach the school from the lot. "No problem. We have to look out for each other...but...I'm done running around trying to solve mysteries..." He had a hard time saying it, as Norie slowly nodded her head. "Why go back anyway?" He asked leaning against the wall, feeling the heat from the heater warm his arms. She sighed, closing her eyes. "There's something there...for him." She said quietly. "I want...to go back. I want to know...for sure." She admitted, and he knew exactly what she meant. Maki. Not just Maki, but Dare as well he suspected. The entire story had been told to him piece by piece. Placing a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eyes. "I'll be here for when you come back." He smiled and they embraced. "Stay safe." He whispered quietly.
For the rest of the day, the idea bothered him. What was Hiro thinking? He didn't know, and a part of him didn't want to. Getting involved wasn't something he wanted anymore. He had seen what had happened the last time he had taken that risk. It got his best friend killed. He finished up his schoolwork, and decided to skip out on staying the extra hour for study time, and returned home. As he came through the front door, his mom smiled handing him an envelope. "Oh, something for me?" He asked trying to sound excited as he took it to his room, downstairs, and closing the door securely. He undid the envelope and slowly removed a folded up letter. The Kanji were unmistakable, even though the rest was written in English. His eyes widened with surprise. (美智子笠原 = Michiko Kasahara). He had sent a letter a while back, and this was the first reply.
How are you Kaz?! I know our time together was short. I'm sorry! >.<, I really miss you, I got your letter, but I didn't have time to write back, forgive me :[... How is Norie doing? I hope she's okay...I wish I could come and visit but right now things are a bit hectic, my parents don't have any intention of returning to America for a while...
You know what's weird? I bumped into Toru! He was doing fine I think...he isn't a people person though...he had business with my parents...everyone over here is fine. You know you should come here and visit. I promise I'll keep my mom away from the Sake!
. We'd love to have you. Please write back soon!! -美智子笠原 (Michiko Kasahara, or just Michi
)It made him smile. It made him remember a time he wish he could have back. He flipped it over to find a little message written to him in different lettering.
Hello Kaz Reinfold. Thank you for assisting me during that horrible incident. Sorry for your loss, I somehow feel responsible for your friend's death. A package will arrive soon with a just compensation.
It didn't say who it was from but his guess was that it was Michi's mom. He folded up the notebook paper and set it inside of his nightstand, thinking he should write a reply, but he decided to wait for the package to arrive.
A lot has changed...but I think...I'm finally turning a corner.
The well furnished office was darkly lit for a reason. One could tell that the sun was setting as the fading orange light was trickling through the blinds covering the windows. At the back wall the desk was lined with papers and lamp that remained untouched in the slowly darkening room. A man sat in his chair looking down at the documents without a definite expression on his face. He looked up slowly, the door at the end of his office then opened, and almost soundlessly a person stepped inside, quietly closing it. The man took a quick glance before shuffling the documents aside and stuffing them into a drawer. As the person came closer, the man removed his glasses and rubbed his face. He was tired, he had been working all day.
"You're late." The commanding tone also carried and irritable feel, but the other person didn't seem to care as he took a seat across from the man. "Come to lie about your failure?" The man added standing up from his desk, despite his visitor taking the place across from him. The older of the two shuffled over to the blinds and closed out the orange sunlight, and at the same time, the visitor turned on the small desk lamp, casting a slight glow onto the well polished desk. The man returned to his seat, staring at the silent man who had dropped in, bearing a soft smile. "It wasn't a complete failure, after all the domes were destroyed." He added with a gesture of his hand. "But you failed to run off the head of the Pichanto." The other added sternly. "I never got a clean shot. Having to return to the city after all that running around...it can really get to you." There was amusement in his words. "You better not be planning anything." The man warned. "Still...even if you were, it wouldn't get you very far."
The two stared at each other wordlessly for a moment, before the younger man placed a vanilla envelope on the table. "Here are the profiles of all the people who played a part in the Stadweld incident." The man flipped it open to see a wide variety of photographs and typed up documents. The man fingered through them, before nodding and letting them slide out onto the desk. "At least you didn't come empty handed...let's see...what of this girl, then, where is she?" He said pointing at a black haired girl who looked rather upset in the picture, and it appeared to have been taken from a security camera judging by the angle. "Rey Pichanto. I don't understand your obsession with a low-time criminal family..." The other stated and the man grunted. "They have connections to the underground, which means a link to Cylinder, which means trouble." The man said tapping his finger on the girl. "Where is she?" He pressed. "Same place as everyone else, you have her father to thank for that." The other replied. "Did you know that would happen? Is that why you failed?"
"I failed because I don't like getting shot." The man laughed. "Well, well, I guess even you have your limits."
"I am only human. Despite what you've heard."
"Why is she in Minnesota then?" The man changed the subject. "She's probably looking for this man." The information dealer then placed down a picture of a fedora wearing man who looked just as angry as Rey did in her picture. "Who is he?" The man asked. "Theodore Lavantes, one of the gatekeepers to the underground."
"Is he a Cylinder?" The man asked sounding a bit skeptical. "No association, he's probably just a well informed rumor lord who has money and power." The man continued to look skeptical. "Illegal power of course, nothing Hive would know about publicly." The man leaned back in his chair, and he then shuffled through the pictures and papers once again and stopped. "What about this little girl? What we her role?"
"Kylie Oswin."
"Oswin?"
"Her name changed when she was recently adopted. The daughter of the Stadweld Mayor." He said leaning back, and man put the picture back down, looking confused. Then a thought came to him, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What about Maki?" A strange silence seemed to come. Both men in the room knew about the 'potentially inhuman' character who had been a highly prized subject of the Hive organization. They both knew that she was in the dome that exploded, yet they could not be certain of her death. "It's a frantic search. This is just rumor...but I hear even Cylinder is frantically searching for clues."
"Everyone is too afraid to return to Stadweld." The older man chuckled, pulling out a bottle of liquor, and he looked sternly at the other man. "Care for a drink?" He asked and the other shook his head. "Intoxication is not very wise in my line of work." He said with a smile. With an expression that resembled 'suit yourself' the man poured himself a generous helping. With a sigh he put his glass down. "You've been immensely useful. Even though..." He paused, "doing business with you has always had it's risk, so far it's been rewarding." He poured himself another glass and raised it like a toast. "I will have my people working on snaring these slippery bastards. Make sure they don't do anything..unexpected." The visitor stood up extending his hand. "Send my regards to the Big K for me." He then turned around and left.
Standing just outside of the office, the information dealer let out a heavy sigh. He looked left and ride at the two silent guards who were both armed. 'Even though I've been around these mindless guys for all these years..still freaks me out how mindless they are.' He walked from the building and found himself in the middle of a quiet looking town. It was a least a lot warmer here than it was in the Midwest. A nice breeze blew, and he had the suspicion that it might rain. Slowly he slumped back to his hotel room, where he checked it thoroughly for any unnecessary spies. It seems like there dissent even among the higher ups at Hive. Still, "Big K" remains a mysterious, as well as "T", I have worked very hard just get that much. These leaders better not get too comfortable...because if I ever find out who they are, it's going to be a big...'
His thoughts were cut short as his phone began to ring. He took it up and pressed it against his head. "Yes?" He paused for a while. "Understood..." He closed the phone, and then he dialed a number into it. "Hallo. Sprechen Sie Deutsch mein freund?" He paused with a smile on his face. "Ah, forgive me." He laughed as he fell back onto his bed staring up at the ceiling.
"I will come as soon as I can. I'm out west right now...It will be a few hours..." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a picture with a document attached to it. "There is an old friend I'd like to visit, maybe offer him a job." He couldn't help but chuckle at how easy it was. The header of the document he was holding onto read in bold letters: "Kaz Reinfold.", with the picture of the unconscious boy sitting in the middle of a strangely familiar hallway...
Only a fool would so gladly hand over all the information in his possession...the chaos is only beginning.
/End.
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