Having agreed to go with the elderly man, Johnny was taken outside to a bright red car that was waiting for him and the elderly man to return.
“Where are you taking me?” Johnny asked as he got into the passenger seat of the car.
“To my home in Buffalo.” The elderly man answered as he sat in the driver’s seat.
“Since you’ll be living with me from now on, I should tell you, my name. I’m Edward Kennedy. Nice to formally meet you.” The elderly man said introducing himself.
“Johnny Sanchez” Johnny replied.
After Johnny and Edward introduced themselves to each other, the rest of the car ride back to Buffalo was spent in silence. Once they arrived in Buffalo, Edward drove into the driveway of a two-story wooden traditional house that had a rocking chair that sat on top of the porch.
“We’re here,” Edward exclaimed.
It was at this moment that Johnny realized that he is far away from the world that he used to know. The busy city life filled with air pollution and poverty was replaced by the smell of a forest in the middle of nowhere.
After Johnny got out of the car he looked around and saw several deer and other animals surrounding his new home. Before Edward went inside his home, he stopped and turned to Johnny with a warm smile on his face.
“Welcome home, Johnny,” Edward said as he turned back around to go indoors.
Inside the house, there were no signs of any technology, not even a phone in case of emergencies. There was a chandelier along with a long table complete with six chairs in the kitchen, in place of a sofa there were two bamboo mats on the ground, and there were beds in Edward and Johnny’s rooms to sleep on.
“If you still want answers. Go get washed up and meet me back outside in about an hour.” Edward said.
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Admittedly still curious as to how he’s still alive, Johnny did as he was told.
“I picked out new clothes for you, they’re in your room,” Edward explained to Johnny from outside of the bathroom.
While showering, several questions raced through Johnny’s mind as he thought about his new environment. Unable to find the answers to his questions on his own, he pushed them aside and finished his shower.
“What the hell?” Johnny whispered as he saw the new clothes Edward had picked out for him to wear.
On top of his bed were baggy gray sweatpants, a white short-sleeved shirt with the word “Nyan” written in huge pink glitter lettering on the front of it, and next to it were bamboo sandals. Having no other choice, but to wear that outside, he quickly threw it on and went outside to meet Edward in front of their house.
“You look great!” Edward said earnestly.
“Yeah….” Johnny replied begrudgingly.
“I know you have a lot of questions, so I’ll get to the point,” Edward said as he picked up a blade of grass.
“All around us is life and we possess the breath to control it,” Edward explained while the blade of grass levitated in the center of his palm.
At first, Johnny was shocked by the grass levitating then he remembered an even more impressive feat he had seen Edward do.
“Of course, there are conditions to being able to control life. First, to manipulate something, there must be a medium that you can physically touch without harming yourself. Meaning that you can shoot fireballs if you have a lighter, a stove, or even a lit cigarette, but not by physically touching a flame and there must be a clear intention before you can breathe life into something.” Edward continued.
“There are other things that I’m leaving out, but this is enough for you to start with,” Edward added.
“For me to start?” Johnny asked, looking confusedly at Edward.
“Yep, I’ve chosen you to be my successor.” Edward insisted.
Johnny scrambled around in his head trying to find words to say.
“Successor. Me?! Why, just because I didn’t jump you with the others?!” Johnny blurted out as he was trying to process everything.
“In these modern times, people have become desensitized to the world around them to the point where something as horrible as a mass shooting has become commonplace. Humans are attracted to the idea of violence which is what fuels some parts of social media.” Edward explained.
“Although you have done horrible unforgivable things, during your time with that gang, you desperately held onto your morals which means that you can change and atone for your past.” Edward continued.
Johnny took a deep breath and finally calmed down. He remembered everything he had done up until this point and all the pain that he had caused.
“Fine. I’ll do it.” Johnny conceded.