After the events of Costa Rica, Lillian became more and more cautious. I can't say I blame her. It was her mission to take down the corrupt governments that had ruined so many lives. That goal would be difficult enough to take on without attracting their attention before we were even ready. We never stayed in one place for more than a day, blazing our way through Central America and in to Brazil. It wasn't enough to make it to Brazil. We still had to find Lillian's next target and convince them to join. According to Barron, however, that would be the easiest part of the mission. The deeper we went in to Brazil, the more chaotic things became. We were constantly detouring to avoid gun fights and warfare. It seems there wasn't much of a government to speak of here. When I asked Lillian how a country without a government could create the same super human drugs as the other countries, she told me, "Brazil had a major drug lord hiding out somewhere in its depths. He runs an empire from the shadows. He's more powerful than many of the governments that are creating super humans. Naturally, he wanted a powerful body guard. Someone to follow him without question and protect him from any and all attackers. Well, its more like some thing." She refused to comment further, saying I'd find out when we got there. I really hoped she knew what she was doing. I had put my life, my entire future in her hands. I suppose I shouldn't complain, though. She saved my life and still takes time to help me master my powers. I'm close. I can feel it. But every time I get close to a breakthrough, I'm torn from my thoughts by Ferus. She's a lot more talkative now that we've been traveling together for a while. She has an air of whimsy about her that really keeps me going through all of this. In a lot of ways, she reminds me of Nora, the woman I left behind when this all started. I realized that I hadn't contacted her in months. She probably already knew what happened at the park and assumed I was in jail or worse. I contemplated finding a way to get in touch with her, but I didn't know how well that would blow over. Regardless of whether or not I contacted her, it was safe to assume that we were finished. There's no way she would want to travel the world looking for experimental super humans with a group of strangers. I would never ask her to do such a thing anyway. One day, however, we saw a break in the action. Lillian gave us the day off to recover. I decided to write her a letter, but I didn't know how I was going to get it to her. Not that it even mattered. As I was writing, Jolene came to me and started asking questions. I had already mentioned Nora to her before. She looked over my letter and promptly tore it to shreds. "What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed as I watched her rip apart the letter I had spent several hours composing. "You wouldn't have any way to get it to her anyway. Not without broadcasting our location to the world," she replied coldly, "Besides, I have a much better way to contact her." She led me to a small room in the house we had taken for the time being. Inside I saw various gadgets and devices, no doubt some of Jolene's creations. She opened up her backpack and pulled out the portal gun she had used back in Costa Rica. "I save the coordinates of every point of interest we cross in case we need to go back. That includes the town where you lived." She opened up the portal and shoved me through. I found myself standing outside of my old apartment building. It was strange being back here after everything that had happened. I had a feeling Jolene was watching me through some crazy device she had rigged up and decided it was best not to linger. I made my way to Nora's apartment, hoping she still lived there. I looked over the list of residents on the call board outside. She had moved. Now there was no way for me to contact her. I sighed and slowly walked away. I'm not sure why, but I went to the park where we had met. The bridge I destroyed had been rebuilt, and to my surprise, I saw Nora standing on it. Suddenly, I was a bundle of nerves. Various thoughts and emotions swept over me. I didn't know what to say to her, but this was probably going to be my last chance to talk to her. I slowly approached her, looking around to make sure we were alone, then I called out to her. "Nora. It's been a long time." She jumped, startled by my voice, and turned around to face me. Her eyes grew wide, almost with a sense of panic. "Marcus?! What are you doing here?" There seemed to be a hint of excitement in her voice, but that was drowned out by what I could only assume was terror. "I'm sorry I left you, Nora. I didn't really have time to explain what was going on. Everything happened so fast. I can't give you all of the details of what I'm doing now, but it's extremely important," I spoke softly, barely maintaining eye contact as I slowly approached her. I expected her to retreat or yell or invoke some sort of negative reaction, but she just stood there. I gently grabbed her hands and looked in to her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that had, at one point, soothed my soul and melted all of my problems away. Now, they were just another set of eyes, looking back at me as though I were a stranger. We sat on a nearby bench and I told her everything that had happened leading up to my disappearance. I was careful not to mention Lillian or her group. By the way she was looking at me, I had my doubts that I could trust Nora at this point. She told me all about what she had been going through since I left. She got a new job a few towns over. She moved there and started a new life, complete with a new boyfriend. My former best friend, Thomas. She had returned to the park where we met for closure. We talked for a few more minutes before I told her I had to go. It was clear to me that I had no place in this town anymore. I made my way to an isolated location and called for Jolene. After several minutes, I called again. I had assumed that she was monitoring me, but that didn't seem to be the case. Why wasn't she sending me a portal to return to them? Were they abandoning me? Did they set me up? I slowly started to panic as the reality of the situation set in. Here I was, in the middle of the town I had caused so much damage to with no way to get out this time. As my mind began to race, I could feel something inside me building up. Unsure of what to do, I started running. I didn't really have anywhere in mind, I just had to get out of there. Whatever it was that was building up inside, I wouldn't be able to hold it back much longer. Just as I reached the center of town, my vision failed me. All I could see was darkness. Then I heard a massive explosion, followed by the sound of rubble crashing to the ground. I felt my knees collide with the ground. The air around me was scorching hot, almost as if someone had set off a bomb. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it wasn't good. I tried to move but found myself paralyzed. My vision refused to return to me. I didn't know what I was going to do next.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.