Mike was now furious, that Johnny wasn’t listening, he then walked over to Johnny ready to snatch the device from him.
"Coward! Give me the device if you’re too scared to press it." Said Mike.
Not wanting Mike to grab the device, Kevin sprints after him, and tackles him to the ground. The two began to wrestle as Mike tried to crawl towards Johnny trying to reach for the device in his hands. Kevin continued to hold Mike preventing him from going after his best friend. Realizing the struggle dealing with Kevin, Mike looks over to his friends.
"Get that device!" Mike ordered.
His friends responded as they went after Johnny. As Kevin continues to hold Mike down, he sees Mike’s goons heading towards his friend. Realizing that Johnny hasn’t pressed the button, there may be a chance to convince him not to; Kevin makes a quick decision; he needed to protect Johnny. Kevin punched Mike stunning him, which gave him the opportunity to go after Mike’s friends. Kevin reached Mike’s friends in time as he grabbed one and punched him. The other two looked back to see their friend knocked out by Kevin. Kevin maneuvered his way through the two and stood in front of Johnny, protecting him. Johnny looked at Kevin, confused as to why he was doing this.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Johnny asked.
"I told you to leave, Johnny. I’ll deal with them while you escape." Kevin commanded.
"Dude, you should be the one running. Johnny replied. I was going to betray you just now…I still can; why you protecting me?" Johnny asked.
"Because we’re brothers. You could’ve turned me in at the race last night but you didn’t; and for that I thank you. At this moment, whatever you chose to do, whatever happens, you still my bro, got it?" Kevin replied.
Two of Mike’s friends attacked Kevin at once, but Kevin deflected and easily blocked their attacks using martial arts. At that moment, Kevin was honestly grateful for the martial arts classes he begged his folks to take him to all those years ago. Unfortunately, Kevin was too distracted to notice Mike was coming around for Johnny from behind. Johnny sensed someone approaching from behind. As he looked back he sees Mike from behind and tried to run but Mike was able to grab a part of the device and started pulling; Johnny was pulling too, trying to keep it out of Mike’s hands.
"No, let go!" Yelled Johnny.
Kevin hears his friend’s voice and looks back to check on him, only to be tackled by all of Mike’s friends, who pin him to the ground. Mike punched Johnny in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Still feeling the effects of the punch, Johnny lets go of the device as it rolls a couple of feet away to a halt. Johnny goes down on his knees, gasping for air. Mike laughs as he picks up the device from the ground. Suddenly the weather starts to change as storm clouds were rolling in preparing to release the rain. Soon peels of thunder and lightning filled the sky. Mike holds the device in front of everybody as he prepares to press it.
"Got ya now, Seirei Jin Freak." Mike chuckled.
He pressed the button, which started the signal to contact the Advant Guard. Once they received the device’s beacon, the soldiers were already prepared and started their way to the woods where Mike’s friends held Kevin.
Kevin struggled to break free, as Mike’s goons were pinning him down keeping him from moving as the three were using their weight to keep Kevin down. Mike turned to Johnny, who was beginning to regain his breathing. Without warning, Mike kicks Johnny hard in the stomach knocking him to the ground.
"As for you, I’ll make sure you and your family are sentenced for harboring a half-breed." Bragged Mike.
Mike then started beating Johnny up; Kevin watched feeling helpless as his friend was getting beaten by Mike. He needed to do something, anything. Kevin clenches the grass and dirt in his hands, enraged as he sees Johnny getting beaten up pretty bad as blow after blow, Johnny’s face was looking bloody, and swollen.
"I need to stop this." Kevin thought to himself.
Deep within him, Kevin could only think about the power and strength to save his friend. Something inside his consciousness; in a small room that looked like a dungeon cell were spirit lights in the room acting like flames on a torch but were not bright enough to light a figure hidden in the dark recesses of his being bound by chains. The figure was on his knees, his head hung low as he was weak. His arms stretched out as the chains wrapped around his arms connected to the walls. On his back were four long blue stakes of reiki energy. The figure raises his head as he can sense Kevin’s desire for power and strength.
"Is it, power you seek?" It faintly whispered.
Suddenly the entity started to charge up emanating purple and black energy but only an outline of it as the chains that bind him began to glow trying to block it from using its power. The entity groans in pain but continues to fight to resist.
"I…want…power." It faintly whispered with its eyes glowing purple. As Kevin and the entity both desired power, they solely focused on that. Like ants crawling up a hill, Kevin unknowingly began to absorb the life energy of the grass and dirt as the energy was moving through his veins causing the grass and dirt to slowly wither and dry up underneath him.
"I need to save him." Kevin to himself as thoughts of Johnny’s safety were racing in his mind.
With the help of the life energy he absorbed from the ground, Kevin began to emit the blue reiki energy from before as it began to build within him. His pupils begin to glow; sparks begin to ignite around him. Mike’s friends could feel the electrical vibrations surge through them but were unsure where it was coming from. Kevin’s aura begins to shine brightly, catching Mike and Johnny’s attention. They watched as, like a match, Kevin’s spark ignited and became flames of reiki energy.
"Enough!" Yelled Kevin
Fueled by his anger, Kevin released his energy at Mike’s friends, sending them flying in separate directions. Surrounded by a blue aura, Kevin stands up and walks towards his fallen and beaten friend. Mike was stunned by Kevin’s sudden energy blast as he had never seen Kevin’s power before. As he approached Johnny, Mike quickly steps back in case Kevin would try to attack him too. Kevin goes down on his knees, helping Johnny to sit up as he was bruised, injured, and almost unconscious from the injuries. He could see his friend wanting to pass out but he gently shakes him to keep him up unsure to how severe his injuries were.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Johnny, stay with me man. You need to stay awake… please." Kevin pleaded
The gemstone hidden in Kevin’s inner pocket sensed Kevin using his reiki energy. The Celtic-like markings appeared once again and remove his reiki powers. The light from Kevin’s eyes and the Celtic markings faded. Not too far from them were the sounds of a helicopter and vehicles approaching their location as the Advant Guard were coming in close.
Johnny was indeed severely beaten, almost to the point of death. Knowing that he would lose consciousness soon, he looked at Kevin and tried to speak but was too weak to raise his voice. Kevin realized and moved in closer to hear what he was trying to say.
"R-run." Johnny whispered.
Kevin looked at Johnny, surprised that he wanted him to leave. With little strength he had, Johnny reached into his pocket and took out the keys to his motorcycle. With Key in hand, he raised it towards Kevin; Kevin grabbed it as they both stared at each other.
"W-whatever happens, y-you my bro." Johnny whispered.
Kevin nodded in agreement with tears in his eyes relieved that Johnny was still his friend, that he has someone he can trust in this place. With little time left before the guards came he laid Johnny back down, only for him to go unconscious. Kevin stood up and looked around. Up in the sky, the storm arrived, and rain began to come to fall. In the woods ahead, he started seeing flashlights moving around as they drew near their location. Without a moment to lose, Kevin heads back to Johnny’s bike. Mike watched and realized Kevin was trying to escape but he noticed the advent guard was here and waited to see Kevin get caught.
"No use running half-breed, they’re here, and they’ll catch you!" Mike yelled.
Ignoring Mike’s threats, Kevin maneuvered around the woods hiding in bushes and behind trees avoiding the Advant Guard, who were heading to the device's location. Kevin was home free as he spotted Johnny’s bike alone and not surrounded by vehicles from the Advant Guard. Mike realized Kevin was escaping unnoticed; he ran into a group of guards to get their attention.
"Look! The Half breed is escaping on that motorcycle hurry!" Mike warned the guards as he pointed to where Kevin was heading.
The guards turned around to see Kevin had reached Johnny’s bike, with his helmet in place, starting up the bike. They ran after Kevin trying to stop him before he left, but they were too far to reach him. Mike ran to his bike and chose to continue the chase to stop Kevin. One of the guards used his radio to contact HQ into the scientist lab where Stewart and the other Class A psychic half-breeds were.
"Attention, the suspect Riley has escaped, I repeat, the suspect Riley has escaped." Reported the guard.
The scientists heard the radio conversation and were puzzled that Kevin had escaped.
"How is this possible?" The head scientist asked as he replied back to the guard. "This wasn’t supposed to happen."
The scientist looked at their findings to see a change in Stewart’s vitals and brain activity as his thought patterns changed compared to the others. They looked at their four subjects and saw the changed vision Stewart had created on the holo screen.
"Get me, Agent Reynolds, now!" Ordered the head scientist.
Deep in the galaxy's far reaches, the pillar of light has reached our known planets' familiar galactic solar system. The pillar continues to stretch towards the third planet from the sun, Earth. Meanwhile, Reynolds was driving towards his predestined area when he got a call from the lab.
“Reynolds.” He answered the phone.
Agent Reynolds, the reality has changed. The head Scientist exclaimed. The boy has escaped, nothing is going as planned.
“What?! How is this happening?” Reynolds asked, enraged.
The head scientist looked at the data coming from the four half breeds and noticed constant spike levels fluctuating in Stewart’s brain activity compared to the others. The others imitated his but on a smaller scale, following its patterns simultaneously. It was then the scientist understood.
“It appears Stewart has somehow taken control of the other half-breeds. He’s changing the reality.” The scientist sadly replied
“Where is that reality’s course heading to?” Reynolds asked.
“It seems to loop at a point in time where the Riley kid is hanging off a cliff somewhere. We can’t see anything beyond that; he won’t let us change the reality.” Replied the head scientist
“Keep trying; we need the kid!” Reynolds yelled over the phone. He shuts off the phone and thinks about where Kevin would be hanging from a cliff.
He then remembers a mountain bike trail not too far from the town that Kevin might go to that he may end up hanging over a cliff. He makes a u-turn and heads towards the trail. The storm continues to pour, and the wind begins to pick up. Kevin continues to drive through the harsh wind and rain. Kevin heads to the town border, thinking he could make it before the Advant Guard surrounds it. However, as he neared the border, he saw the armored vehicles and guards waiting for him. Suddenly a bright light shines over him; he quickly looks up to see a helicopter spotted him and following him as the pilots inform those below Kevin’s location. Kevin wasn’t sure of what to do as the Advant Guard would soon surround him. He then drives past a billboard displaying Gorman’s Mountain Bike Trail at the next exit.
"Maybe I can lose them that way." Kevin thought to himself.
Knowing the trail is narrow and not easy for motorcycles to ride through, he takes the chance hoping to lose the guards. He looked through his rearview mirror and saw Mike was still following him. Knowing Mike is still drunk from alcohol, he would surely lose Mike in the trail. Kevin takes the exit with Mike and the helicopter following behind. As he rode further into the narrow paved trail, the trees began to conceal his location, preventing the helicopter from tracking him.
“Attention, the target has fled into Gorman’s mountain trail; we lost visual on him. I repeat, we lost visual on the target.” The pilot reported over the radio.
Agent Reynolds arrived at the mountain trail. Unable to go further with his vehicle, he continued on foot, carrying a two-way radio with him to contact the Advant Guards as he tried to catch up with Kevin before the predicted incident.
“I’m going on foot after the target; I need back up in case he’s hostile.” Radioed Reynolds to the Advant Guards.
A couple of armored vehicles with the guards inside arrived at the bike trail and also went through the trail on foot, looking for Kevin.
The trail led Kevin upwards, where he was next to a cliff guarded by wooden guard rails. The higher he went up the trail, the width was getting thinner, almost making it difficult even for Kevin to maneuver through. Mike had enough of tailing and decided it was time to end it. Even though the road is narrow, Mike drives closer to Kevin’s motorcycle and begins ramming it, hoping Kevin will fall over. Despite Mike’s attempt, Kevin kept his balance as best as he could. Further up ahead, the branch of a tree breaks from the harsh gust of wind and falls on the trail. Mike tightly fits his way alongside Kevin, forcing him to be close to the wooden rail.
“You’re going down, ya freak!” Mike yelled.
Mike prepares to ram Kevin off the wooden rail; as they reach the area with the fallen branch, a large gust of wind picks it up; the sharp pointed edge aims towards Mike coming at full speed. Mike looks forward and sees the branch coming for him but, with his slow reflex, is unsure what to do. Kevin sees the branch coming for Mike, and despite Mike trying to kill him, he can’t allow himself to let Mike get killed by the branch. He rams Mike off the trail, making him crash into the woods; the branch hits the side of Kevin’s helmet, knocking it off his head. The impact causes Kevin to lose his balance as he crashes into the wooden guard rail breaking it as he heads off the cliff. Kevin jumps off his bike and hangs onto the edge of the cliff. The rain and moist soil was making it difficult for Kevin to hold on as he was slowly slipping.
Back at the lab, the scientist was busy working on trying to take back control of the four half breeds, starting with Stewart as they increased the hypnotic trance. Stewart slowly started to succumb to the hypnotic trance once again.
As his brain waves were returning to the hypnotic patterns they were before, the other half-breeds followed. The reality that Stewart once made begins to change, showing Agent Reynolds rescuing Kevin from falling.
“Excellent; I believe we have our reality back.” Announced the head scientist. “Make sure his levels are maintained; we can’t afford any more foul-ups.”