Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The day started off as dull as mundane as ever. I see the small trickles of light, embracing my body, as the sun rose to greet me while I stood behind the counter of a certain convenience store. I just love the way the sun makes the building across the street glow. Truly majestic, what a glorious sight to behold. As usual, I watched as a man pretended to read his newspaper in the same exact spot. Between two buildings and in its alleyway, with the shade providing cover for him from the sun. It was a wonder how he could afford to wear so little despite it still being the winter season. And how that no one else suspects anything about him despite being so ridiculously suspicious. An old grandmother greeted him as she passed by towards the market. He waved back. He actually waved back. It was in a way, I guess he was blending in by being suspicious or something like that.
"Hey" I heard a voice next to me. It was unfamiliar, I never heard that voice before. "Ah, you must be the newcomer..." I stated as I turned around to greet her. And then I stopped. It was a person I was very familiar with. "So it's you" I smiled, as I stared at the black haired girl. The first time I saw her, I guess you could say that she looked a lot worse, with thick makeup, excessively used pink powder and ridiculously long eyelashes. Her ponytail still remained from that time. But it didn't make her look bad, in fact, it brought out her looks that were hidden behind that thick layer of makeup. A sharp nose, eyes that looked rather seductive, enhanced by her double eyelids and a nice gentle mouth that didn't spread too wide or too little. "Stop staring so much, its embarrassing," she noticed me scrutinizing her face. "Don't misunderstand, I'm only here because of the pay" she declared for some reason, despite throwing a bag containing an expensive jacket just the other day. "Ah right, I never got your name," I asked, as I realized. "What's it to you?!" she replied defensively, as she ignored me. I caught a glimpse of her name tag with "Raelynn" wrote on it. "It's nice working with you Raelynn," I told her, causing her to turn furious, complaining about how the name tag shouldn't be a part of the uniform and things like that. Naturally, with a female cashier, the number of customers that took a while at the counter grew, it couldn't be helped, she was a budding flower that contained so much latent potential. Of course, only looking at the prospects of her being a beauty.
If I'm not wrong, her powers were quite strong as well. I wonder why she isn't studying at any higher education. I doubt her family's poor if they could easily afford an expensive jacket for repayment. I took a few other glances at her, as I worked to scan the goods. Giving my signature smile, the customers flowed in and out in the usual early morning rush hour. As the rush hour finished, I looked over and at the same time, Raelynn turned her head, causing her to catch me looking at her. Her face seemed to be tinged with red, as her blushing look enhanced her prospects of being a natural beauty. "DON'T STARE AT ME!" she covered her face for some reason. Forcing me to face forward with telekinesis, she continued to fume for an unknown reason. Be it Elly or her, I just don't understand the way they behave and react.
As the uneventful times came, where little customers even entered the store, I found myself staring outside as usual, with the occasional person coming to the suspicious newspaperman, talking for a bit, and leaving to go off to somewhere. One of these days, I just feel like following them and seeing what they are up to. Maybe I can even find a place to sell that 'Smiling Angel' to earn some money...or not. If this job goes well and I successfully get selected for the university, living will be kind of a problem with the school fees being priced so ridiculously high. If only I had gotten a scholarship in high school... Well, whatever. I'll just think about the future when it comes.
Raelynn seemed to be bored out of her mind, at this time, it was her that was sneaking peaks at me from time to time. "Yes?" I asked as I timed my turn with her, causing her to turn flustered and then angry? After she settled down, she seemed to have a question to ask.
"Hey" she began.
"What is it?" I replied. "What kind of power do you have?" she asked, curious. As one who had come into contact with it, she definitely felt like something was of. "Its a secret" I replied. "But Elly told me you told her" she seemed to be annoyed as she said that. If my memory served me right, they were supposed to be enemies right? Did they make up during the time I was in the hospital? "Then I guess she also told you that it's a secret, now have some common decency and don't pry" I answered. "Sorry" she replied, catching me off guard. She sounded a little sad as she said so. "Ah no, it's alright" I replied, flustered.
"She said that you guys were kidnapped but you rescued her once again. Are you trying to become her hero or something?" she mocked as she chuckled. "Its just a coincidence" I replied in all honesty. To be fair, if it wasn't always at the right place at the right time, I don't think that she'd be caught up in so many incidents. This city felt far more dangerous than it was spoken of. In the short time I've been here, there was already the distribution of an illegal drug and even kidnapping done by some crazed madman. Not forgetting the theft of the 'smiling angel' at night as well. I suspected that it was done by the same organization, but if it was so, they could've just made me cough it up when kidnapping me. I already spoke to Diane of the possibility of having a lot more children than just us being kidnapped, but so far, there was no response from her. According to Elly, her mother could easily crush a tank with her telekinesis alone while enjoying a cup of coffee, so I highly doubt that she'll be in some trouble that she can't handle.
"Is that so?" Raelynn responded in disbelief. She also seemed to be feeling annoyed. I decided to leave her alone and continue to ponder on things as I glanced outside. Ah right, there was the rumor of the thief's guild. I'd say, I wonder how I can get in contact with those guys. Do they trade things among members?
As useless thoughts flood my head, lunch came and went as well as dinner. Raelynn and I exchanged few words as the day came to a close. 10 p.m. she exchanged places with the manager.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"How's my favorite employee that keeps getting into trouble doing?" the manager was being awfully passive-aggressive. "hahaha" I let out a weak laugh. "So, what's on your mind?" the manager asked, curious. "Well, there's been rumors of a thief's guild in the city" as I said that, I could've sworn that I caught the manager's eyes widen for a split second. "Nah, I've been living here for so long, rumors are merely rumors, who'd believe in such a thing in this day and age?" the manager replied. "So why are you thinking about this?" the manager questioned. "I was thinking that if I don't manage to save enough for the university, I might become a member" I joked. "Why join the thief's guild when there's a simpler solution right in front of you! You can just fail the exam and work with me for life!" he laughed.
With that jolly atmosphere, my shift ended and I made my way back.
As I opened the back door and left, a very familiar scene was laid before me. Blood, wet and moist were dripped in a path before me. In the cold harsh winter night, I once again found myself being led by trails of blood to the depths of the back alleyway.
"Well well, look who's here again" an antagonistic voice greeted me, as I see a familiar tanned girl with dyed hair, but this time, she was being levitated in the air and held down by Raelynn. "You're pretty brave to try and ambush me alone" Raelynn taunted her, as she tightened her grip on her neck. "You think I'd really come here alone? I was waiting for that guy there all along!" Raelynn was suddenly pushed back, as 3 figures emerged from the dark. "Oh man it's been a long long time hasn't it, come on boys, let's have some fun!" I noticed all 3 of them with spiky hair, dyed yellow, red and green. They reminded me of... "traffic lights?" I blurted out. "Fuck you" they cursed. As predicted, I made a mirage of myself and matched it to be assaulted by the yellow guy.
Running for Raelynn who was being held down by the tanned bitch and green and red, I slammed the tanned bitch in the liver once more with my kneecap. Hopefully, she gets hospitalized this time. The sudden assault made the guys shocked, as I made my mirage pretend to use telekinesis while punching them with my fists. I aimed for their family jewels, starting with yellow, before delivering a finisher to his jaw.
"You bastard" the other two randomly fired their telekinesis, forcing my real body to be blown back. I slammed against the wall at the back, as my mirage faded. "Teleportation?!" they seemed shocked, as the illusion disappeared. I could feel the pain from slamming into the wall. It was a good thing I covered my head, allowing my body to absorb the impact. The two of them were considerably strong. Why are there delinquents like this? Well, they might be strong to me, but out there, they might just as well be air in the face of truly strong ones. I noticed Raelynn stretching her hand out, catching them by surprise and forcing the two of them to hit their heads against the wall. Without stopping, she mercilessly dropped them onto the ground in an instant, without giving them the opportunity to retaliate. I dragged my body and pretended to be completely fine as I slowly walked over.
"Do you guys give up?" I made a fake smile as I threatened with nothing to back my words. Their eyes were fuming. I made a mirage of myself and made it walk towards them, marching forward without fear. I hid as far away as I could, while the two's attacks did nothing to my illusion. I don't have the concentration to manipulate their hearing. So my illusion couldn't 'speak'.
"DAMN IT WHY?!" they screamed as my illusion got closer. Come on Raelynn, do something. As I hoped, she sent them slamming into the wall once more. Without confirming if they were truly down, I made my mirage disappear from the lack of concentration. I could almost feel my nose itching to bleed.
Walking back to where Raelynn was, her face had a small cut and her body was obviously bruised as it was reflected on her light skin. "Are you alright?" I stretched my hand out. She didn't reply. She slowly stood up and leaned against me. "So this is how it feels to be bullied..." her words sounded brave, but it was trembling like the vibrato of a violin. I hear the sound of liquid hitting the wet snow, as her shoulders followed her words. Without much thought, I embraced her. I could feel how close we were, as she slowly came to a stop. Her body felt soft, even though she wore a jacket. I could feel her breath hitting my chest, as the last of her tears came to a stop. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this" she warned, as she separated from me. "The fight or..." I made a smile, as she lightly hit me in mock anger. "IDIOT" she shouted, as she parted, gone just like the wind.
I looked around at the fainted youngsters on the ground. It was kind of a bad idea to leave them lying around, they might actually die from the cold. Dragging them towards the front entrance of the store, the manager sighed once more, as he began to make a phone call upon noticing me.
I'm really really sorry about this. I sighed in my heart, as the manager continued to be troubled by yet another incident. Do I really have some sort of affinity with these kinds of things?
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As I was dropped off at my apartment block in the police car, the friendly officer warned me to stay out of trouble and to report anything suspicious, as he drove away. Apparently, it was dangerous to let a young man like me walk home alone at night. It was just an excuse to offer me a ride.
As I opened my apartment door, I stripped naked and deposited my clothing into the automated cleaner. Enjoying a nice warm bath, I rewarded myself by falling asleep the moment I laid down on my mattress, with a new blanket that was thicker and bigger. I should really spend less on such luxuries.
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Elton found himself dreaming. It was the sort of dream where you know it is, and at the same time, the absurd situation leads you to believe that it is a reality. In this case, for one who dwells and mixes with illusions, Elton had an especially hard time doing so.
"Elton!" a familiar voice called out to him. A young boy with natural blonde hair was reaching out to him as he seemed to be hiding from something. The red curtains drew in the background, as Elton found himself on stage. He was naked, placed up in the middle of a spotlight, as cheers and bids came in the dozens. A rather happy host was dancing in joy, as the number of digits that flashed on a large screen continued to rise.
"ELTON!" the familiar voice screamed out again, as Elton found himself trapped in a steel cage. He watched as the blonde haired boy was dragged away, as he was happily received by a fat and obese man. "NO! Arth..." the scene faded, as Elton found himself face to face with the lifeless body of a blonde-haired boy in the same steel cage. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"
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"NO!" I awoke, screaming for whatever godforsaken reason. I don't know, neither do I remember. Perhaps I had a nightmare.
Slowly, I began to prepare for the day. Doing a little bit of studying, before heading out to work. For some reason, I felt a lot more lethargic than ever. Yesterday must've been getting to me.
I don't know why, but I felt like things were changing yet again. Little by little.
"Are you Elton?" I see a man appear before me. "Yes?" I replied. And that was the last thing I said before I was bounded and gagged from behind.