Chapter One

Train of Thought

In a world similar, but not quite the same as Earth was a young man that discovered that turning eighteen is a lot harder than he thought it would be. He was no stranger to strife and the difficulties of life. Being an orphan while attending a school for some of the richest kids in the world tended to make being seventeen pretty hard. 

Still, the school gave him what he wanted- a higher education and if that meant he needed to be " the charity case ". Then so be it. He had worked hard to get the scholarship. It had always been that way. Since he could remember he had applied himself to the best of his ability to get to where he was. There were many obstacles, of course, but the one thing that truly served him well in all those years of his short life was nothing more than a simple realization.

This idea he had grasped may seem mundane or even simple, but there is a fundamental and complete difference between living it and knowing it. To him, it was a universal truth, a mantra, the words he told himself every time he thought of giving up or felt it was too much. Yes, there were those days- bad ones when he felt he could just give up and sink into obscurity. Life owed him nothing.

So when he walked up to the podium, in the school for rich kids as the valedictorian, he could not help but think his way of life and hard work had been worth it. His thoughts and vindication did not do a thing for the nervousness he felt while walking up there. No, he still felt the pressure in talking in front of a crowd. Especially the crowd that was present at the time.

His hands were clammy, his right leg twitchy and sweat was soaking his back. The boy's face had been so sweaty that there was a point where he felt like applying roll-on to his forehead would be a good idea. For some reason, however, the sweat on his face had evaporated along with most of the blood in his face when he saw the crowd as he sat down at the start of the ceremony. 

The opening speeches by the faculty and the Dean had gone by in what felt to him like a blur. It was his turn to hopefully not make a fool of himself. With his second-hand shoes pounding along with his heart as they clopped and clapped on the polished wood of the stage, he finally reached the podium. 

Eyes that were predominantly filled with a plethora of three emotions followed his every move- Boredom, excitement, and apathy. 

When looking at his peers, he once again reaffirmed something to himself; He was writing his speech when an idea struck him out of the blue, but the understanding he had come to- truly hit home at that moment. He suddenly felt very motivated. 'This will probably be my only chance to ever have an impact on these people. ' 

So he went with what he knew in his speech, he went with his mantra and code to life. Taking a moment to collect himself, buying time by ruffling his notes in front of him the nervousness abated and he stepped into the calm that often came when he wrote tests or had fencing matches.

“I am honored to be standing in front of you today and to have been given this opportunity. I will try to not bore or put you to sleep; I just want to share three stories from my life. No big deal, just three stories.” He watched as this sentence spilled over the crowd. Some frowned, others nodded and one guy in the left row was picking his nose.

He continued. “Let me start with what has allowed me to get to where I am right now. It is something I realized or more accurately, it was a way of thinking forced upon me; Life owes us nothing.”

Taking a deep breath and fighting the emotions that wanted to spill out of his heart, he started with the first of his stories.

“Some of you may not know, but I am an orphan. I was left on the steps of an orphanage almost eighteen years ago and here I am among you; people who will one day have the lives of hundreds in the palm of their hands. I mention this because I am proud to be here. I am proud to be graduating today. I am proud to be alive.”

After that, he swallowed down the lump in his throat. He had never admitted to this so openly.

 “The first time I understood that life owes us nothing was roughly at the age of five. The orphanage, I grew up in was a poor one and we often went hungry or ate just enough. The caretakers did not know, but the older children would regularly bully the younger ones and take their food. To this day I honestly can’t blame them, they were hungry too, and growing up in a place where guidance, as well as the drive to do the “right” thing, was not taught- how could I? They did not know better and neither did I. Going hungry because I was weak and that was it. At the time I did not know this of course.  Hiding my food and when asked said that someone had already taken it. Often, in those days I would be in my bed wondering why I was in this situation while thinking of the other “normal” children with parents and be angry because I did not have any. I would imagine being adopted and becoming one of the “normal” kids. Thinking of a happy life with these parents and how we would go out to eat all the food I could ever want. It never happened.”

What he did not say was that hiding food sometimes did not work and he would get beaten when caught. “By the time I was six the thought came to me for the first time; Life owes us nothing. The things I imagined would not come and I would need to find a way to eat more. So I learned my second lesson. Hard work pays off. When school started it was an escape. The books and lessons were a distraction from my everyday life so I threw myself into them. It was the same for sports and other activities. I did anything productive to get away from my situation. I was lucky that I chose the school as my escape. Other kids at the orphanage chose less… savory means. Using drugs and joining gangs to feel like they are part of a family.”

His heart nearly exploded at that last sentence. One of his good friends was lost to that path. “A year later I got my first scholarship to a private school and I finally got out. It was a boarding school much like this one and to be honest it saved my life. I realized my hard work and dedication to school work is what resulted in my escape and it spurred me on to work even harder and so it went until it led to me standing here today. So I would like to say; Work hard and appreciate those that do as well. Grab every opportunity you can, better yourselves and maybe, just maybe we will be as interesting and fabulous as Mr. Parson one day.”

Laughter, followed his last statement. Mr. Parson was for lack of a better word an eccentric teacher at the school. Probably the youngest one teaching there and he dressed the part. He always wore aviators and a leather jacket. His hair had the latest style and he drove the latest, almost, affordable sports car. What spoiled the image was the fact that his socks never matched as well as his habit of saying “fabulous” whenever questions he asked in the class got promptly answered.

He waited for the laughter to die down before continuing. “Being fabulous aside, my next story is a bit more ordinary. At the boarding school, I met a librarian and in my opinion, the man was without a doubt, insane. His passion as he called it was living out science. He would spend his days at the library reading books on science and then trying all the experiments they listed. So avid was he in this pursuit that he lost a hand during an experiment that had gone bad, or that was the rumor until I asked him one day.”

The truth is he was forced into asking by the rest of his class. The librarian was not a popular man on the count of his muttering to himself while he read the science books and the hook he wore to compensate for the lost hand. He was a scary figure that the older kids would tell ghost stories about.

“How he answered stuck with me and to be honest changed my life. As it turned out he did not lose his hand during an experiment but in an accident. He not only lost his hand, but his wife and daughter too. The event resulted in him obsessing not in science, but what he called the little things in life. So many people don’t notice the little things. He did not notice that there was a pothole in the road. He did not notice the car speeding in the oncoming lane and he was convinced that if he had, his family would still be alive. 

"The speeding car had hit the pothole and swerved into his lane causing the accident. I think to stay moderately sane he came up with the theory and pursued it.”

Confused gazes looked up at him. It was not surprising, how did it have anything to do with life owing you nothing and what lesson was he trying to convey? In truth, it was the effect he was hoping for. 

“Mr. Cook, the librarian passionately explained to me that science was the culmination of the little things that makes up the laws of life. The laws of physics, the atoms that make up everything and the protons and electrons that make up atoms. Everything can be divided or made smaller. A math problem can be broken up into pieces and made easier and so too can obstacles we face in everyday life. The same can be said for good things. The reason we are here is a result of years of study, which can be broken up into days, which can be broken up into hours. You can add other variables like how much effort you put in as well as the things that distracted you. This made me realize he was right.”

He once more made eye contact with a few and a lot of them were pondering what he said. “It's human nature not to notice the little things; humans keep their focus on their goals, not noticing what goes into achieving them, but simply doing them and in doing so it is viewed as everyday life. We sometimes feel a problem is unsolvable because we focus on the problem instead of breaking it up and finding methods to solve the small issues, which resulted in, one, big, seemingly unassailable mountain. A wise man once said- If you are not part of the solution. You are part of the problem; there is no gray area.”

He ran his hand through his hair and leaning forward on the podium while looking gravely at his audience, he said. “Notice the little things. When you feel overwhelmed, look closer. When you want to achieve something, do it in steps because life owes us nothing and what we want, we have to take for ourselves starting with one little thing at a time.”

The last part he nearly whispered and he felt good noticing more people were paying attention. The guy in the left row was still picking his nose though.

Standing upright once more he let out a long breath. “My next story is related to the only constant thing in life. No matter what, it’s always happening and there is nothing we can do about it, we can only influence it. For those wondering what I am talking about- its change, change comes whether we want it to or not and a lot of times it can be painful. Change can lead to love, but it can also lead to a loss. Getting into the boarding school changed my life for the better, but little did I know that loss would soon follow. By the time I was ten years old the orphanage finally closed down and people I knew for better or worse got sent all over the country. The small family I had, albeit dysfunctional in so, so many ways had been broken up. By then I had made friends with a few during the vacations the school was closed and it was a hard blow. What followed was even worse; I won’t go too deeply into it and will keep it short.”

He had to take a moment as the memories of what happened came flooding back. Opening old wounds, which felt like it was physically causing him pain. When he collected himself and was finally able to continue his voice sounded weak to his ears. “I was not sent to an orphanage, but rather foster parents that took in orphans and were paid a certain amount to take care of us. We were five in the house. A man that I had never seen sober since the first day I moved in and a woman he would beat if he did not have alcohol. There were two others with me in the house, orphans like me. They were older and well adapted to the lifestyle. I, on the other hand, was not and often got used as the scapegoat for the man to vent his frustrations. When there was no money to feed his habit he would force us to beg on the streets. It was a bad time and I once again realized that life did not owe me anything.”

Another pause followed this as he remembered the hopelessness, the fear and how often they had to fight other beggars to keep their spots.

“It took me a while, but I realized something had to change or I would not survive. So when we begged I would keep some of what I made for myself and saved up for a camera phone. You see, I had reported the man before, but his brother worked at the local police precinct and… well, it did not end well. I started gathering evidence, recording the man when I could as well as his brother when I once again purposefully went to the precinct to put in a report. It once again did not end well for me, but I had my evidence. When I got out of the hospital I sent the videos and recordings to every media outlet, every police department, every single place of authority I could think of and it finally resulted in change. This made me realize that change comes for us all, but we can also cause a change. We can control some of it to a degree and we can change the lives of others with just a sentence or a word for good or bad.”

After saying everything his feelings were a mess. It was strange, he felt empty, but at the same time relieved. Like a burden had been lifted. “I mention this not because I want sympathy or anything of the kind, but because you who will probably be powerful in the future can bring great change, good change. Don’t feel obligated or guilty because you have what you have. I am no fool and I know you face your challenges. We all do. The change could be just for you or thousands. All I am saying is make it a good change. Make it worth something and if for some reason, you feel like you are too small to achieve anything, think of a mosquito. How small it is, how insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but have you ever tried to sleep with one buzzing in your ear?”

With his speech almost over the boy felt relief blanket him and it almost gave him gooseflesh. “Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. It sounds so epic when you say it like that. Despite the paths laid out before us our futures are unknown, how exciting.” Turning to give Mr. Parsons a smile he leaned down to the microphone, the pause in speech hanging so thickly in the air so thickly that it was nearly tangible. “How fabulous!”

Mr. Parson smiled back at that moment and even the aviators he was wearing could not hide the lust for life the man had in his eyes. Turning back the boy gave a curt nod to the audience and stepped back, making way for the Dean once more.

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He had then taken his seat, the comfort on his posterior spreading through the rest of him like a tangible thing as the relief that he no longer had to speech finally and truly sunk in. The graduates politely clapped.

The last thing he remembers about the event before it all turned into a blur was the Dean thanking him for the wonderful speech. His mind was lost in harder times; his past. The speech had somehow brought him closure, he realized. He felt light. Afloat in the recesses of his mind riding waves of memories that were a part of him. They made him who he was and he felt proud of that.

When all the formalities were finally done, he made his way outside of the almost ageless looking hall. The air was crisp and he could see his breath in front of him. It was fall, and the oak trees were winning a battle against the campus gardeners; shedding their leaves all over the usually pristine campus grounds. He walked over to a bench overlooking the sports fields, promptly sat down and looked over it all. The sports grounds were the one place that his status did not matter. It was amazing to him how people could come together in the face of a common enemy. When facing others or simply practicing, he finally felt a part of something bigger than himself; he almost felt like he was part of a family. After practice or the games, everything would go back to normal.

“A penny for your thoughts.” A familiar voice had rung out behind him. It caused a frown to grow on his face.

‘What does she want at a time like this? Be calm, not like you will ever see her again.’ He found himself thinking.

He chose to ignore her, simply sitting and staring over the view. The bench shook and in the corner of his eye, he saw a blood-red strand of hair dancing in the wind as she sat down next to him.

“Klaus, can we just talk for a minute?”

His jaw clenched involuntarily at how she said his name. Memories of times spent with her in his arms spilled into his mind, only to be spoiled by the memory of her betrayal. To him, his name felt dirty coming from her lips.

“I thought you would be on your way home by now.” He finally managed to say.

A warm hand touched him and he quickly pulled his away before the visions came. He had forgotten to wear his gloves and did not want to see those visions again. It had started a month before the final exams and had been the only thing that saved him from her.

They were in each other’s arms, embracing after his very first experience of making out when the first vision hit him like a ton of ice water; A vision of her discussing and planning with others to do something to him, to put him in his place, remind him of his station. It seemed crazy at first, but woke him up from the love-struck stupor he was in. Soon, he started to notice things; times when she just disappeared or would be talking to someone only to stop and pretend like she did not know that person when he got close.

When he followed her to the old abandoned library one day after another vision, he realized it was true. Instead of waiting and calmly thinking of a plan he had burst in and broken things off, laughing at them in derision and ridiculing them for thinking he was stupid enough to fall for whatever plan they may have had. In truth, he felt like he was dying inside.

She had been his first love, his first kiss, his first everything regarding relationships; when it came to relationships between a man and a woman

.

“Clarissa, please don’t touch me.” He said, turning to her, noticing the hurt in her eyes. She had approached him later explaining that the night he barged in was the night she was going to tell them she could not go through with it anymore. She had fallen for him.

It was too little too late. Considering his past and finally letting someone in only to find out it was all fake up to a point was enough to close the cage around his heart once more and he had said as much.

As he looked at her sitting there next to him, looking as perfect as the day they met. He could see the tears threatening to spill out of her emerald green eyes above a lightly freckled button nose. Full lips, were stuck in a straight line while she fought her own conflicting emotions. She did not wear makeup today, but she did not need it to look incredible to him.

Placing her hands in her lap, she simply nodded and said. “I understand.”

‘God, why is it so hard to stay angry with her- a part of me wants to move on and forget while another part wants to hold her close and tell her that everything will be okay.’ He thought while clenching and unclenching his hands. ‘Perhaps I could forgive her, pick up where we left off? No, it will never be the same. I will always be wary of her and expect the worst. It would not be fair to either of us.’

Letting out a long sigh, he looked up through the canopy of the large tree right behind the bench. Its leaves were awash with warm colors so in contrast with the mood and overall weather. He had always felt it was summer, giving its last farewell before the winter came and turned everything white. “Look, I think a part of me has already forgiven you.”

In the corner of his eye her head whipped up and her eyes flooded with new hope, but his next words broke that. “But I don’t think I can ever truly trust you again. It would feel like I would always have to look over my shoulder or something of the sort. That would not be fair to you or me.”

She leaned forward again almost grabbing his hand, but stopped at the last second. “I can work for your trust, you know, I can get it back that way. This is so unfair, if only you had not followed me that night all this would be different.”

He shook his head and her shoulders deflated like she was a balloon that had sprung a leak. “No, I don’t think it will work and I don’t want to prolong this any longer. Besides, we come from different worlds.” He added the last part weakly. By saying those words he acknowledged his choice and by doing that he felt relief, settle in with a sense of loss. In the back of his mind, it amazed him how many things humans could feel at once.

She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue he had no idea where from or when appeared. She let out her long sigh before collecting herself by pretending to dust herself off. “Then I guess this is goodbye.” She finally forced out after noticing he was not about to say anything else.

“I guess so.”

He then looked away and at the view again. He did not want to see her retreating when she walked away. A muffled sound next to him, as well as a quick kiss on his cheek, was the last he would ever see of her, or so he thought.

Crunching leaves announced her departure and he suddenly felt very lonely.

‘Well, I had better get ready to leave as well.’

Getting up, he noticed a small box-shaped present wrapped in red with a stylish white bow that must have been put there by her when she kissed him. On it was a card. He opened the card only to find one sentence.

I know I am a few days early, but happy eighteenth birthday, Klaus Alexandros Roth.

From: Clarrisa Lacroix

He gave the package a complicated look, but finally decided to pick it up and put it in his pocket. She had given him another first; his first present. It nettled him a bit that she used his full names; the only thing left behind by his biological parents, but he shrugged it off quickly as he went to go pack his things.

Since he was turning eighteen soon, he would no longer be allowed at the orphanage, as a result, he had already applied for an internship at a prestigious law firm in Davos city. Due to his great marks and track record, they had jumped at the opportunity to have him. He would have to share an apartment with two other people while there, but he looked forward to the new experience before going to the University of Davos on another scholarship. 

His end goal was to become a lawyer. One that focused on cases on child abuse and family law.

Klaus had once read that the gods hear and laugh at our plans. He would find out how true that was.

He was waiting at the train station when a large man stepped up to him. He was busy on a phone he had gotten himself the year before. The hustle and bustle around him would usually have made it difficult to notice one person in particular, but this man was huge even compared to Klaus, who was just less than one point nine meters tall. He usually towered over others, which also served to draw his attention to the man.

He looked up from his cell phone with confusion. The man was just standing there, not moving an inch. He had a sleek black suit on with sunglasses that hid his eyes, but Klause could instinctively feel he was being stared at by the stranger and it was not a friendly stare. The man’s head was shaved so apart from his large stature nothing else stood out about him.

Klaus glanced around, he was looking for a police officer or security guard, however, none were in sight.

The man took two steps forward, which further panicked Klaus because now he felt trapped against the wall he had been leaning on and his instincts from the days on the streets were screaming at him.

‘What could Baldy want from me? We are in a public place so he can’t do much without others noticing. I am good here for now, but if he does move I better be prepared…’

With that thought, Klaus inconspicuously bent down to put his cell phone in his bag, but at the same time slipped an old and trusted friend over his wrist and folded it double to be somewhat hidden in his palm.

The man’s facial expression finally changed. He smiled, but like the stare, it was not a friendly one. He had noticed the sap before it disappeared into the boy’s palm, which was now hidden behind his back.

The man found it especially interesting how the boy was now looking at him. There was still some surprise in Klaus’ eyes, but also a challenge. The man welcomed it.

Consciously or unconsciously, people started to make space around the two. Some picked up on the subtle cues and others with their minds on autopilot, simply followed.

Klaus was not liking this at all. If the train came now there would be a lot fewer people around so time was also limited. “What do you want?” He finally asked.

The man took another step closer and Klaus dropped the sap so that it now hung loosely from his wrist and would be ready for use.

“We want you to come with us.”

Klaus swore on the inside. ‘Us, he said, us so there should be more than one. Are they blocking my escape? Think, Klaus. There has to be a way out of this, there always is.’

His eyes darted around, he had no idea what this man wanted, but it could not be good and he needed a way out if things went south. ‘Maybe, Clarrisa sent goons after me? No, she would not… I hope?’

The screeching of train breaks stirred him from his thoughts. He was not the only one. People around him all suddenly started moving towards the train platform.

Two people passed between the two of them and Klaus grabbed the opportunity. Taking off like a bat out of hell and ignoring the curses of the two people as the man smashed through them in pursuit, he danced around a couple holding hands in front of him before jumping clean over a baggage trolley. More curses followed when his pursuer crashed into it, but it’s lost to Klaus as a similarly dressed man revealed himself on the train platform. They almost looked identical, shaved heads, dark shades, and black suits. This one was smaller though.

Klaus skidded to halt just as Baldy number one started to get up from a heap of baggage, the owner of said baggage loudly cursing him. Something that had been asleep in Klaus unless he was fencing or when he was fighting on the streets so long ago came to life once more. 

Without a second thought, he sprinted at the man blocking him, an old voice playing in his head. ‘If you have the choice, always go for the smaller one when trying to escape. They usually run faster than the bigger ones and will put up less of a fight, unless they have had training. If they have had training, you are buggered from the start.’

When the old beggar told him so years ago, Klaus never thought the advice would be used after graduating. Baldy two, prepared to receive Klaus when he saw the fool boy sprinting at him, his partner was shouting something, but the noise of the people and his focus on Klaus meant whatever was shouted was not heard. This is why he was utterly and luckily surprised when the sap made its appearance. It was the last thing the man experienced before waking up in the hospital two days later. It crashed down with a resounding clap and the crack of the man’s jaw. Klaus paid it no mind, except to thank his lucky stars before continuing his desperate sprint towards the train.

He made it to the congested door and had to force his way through, complaints followed in his wake. He had no time to be cordial, so simply ignored them and pushed on to the next part of the train, hoping the angry people would object, even more to being shoved around by the next asshole that came along.

 Said asshole had just made it to the door only to find the eldest and most decrepit old man he had ever seen blocking his way. The old man was giving him a glare that he could never match. The old man gave his walking stick a good stomp to emphasize his next words. “Just try it boy’o. I dare ye.”

People around them were now staring and common sense warned him that if he tried to move the old man, many would come to his rescue. He only stood there a second before running to the next cart in the line.

To his dismay, the next one was even more congested and he heard the very familiar whistles that the law enforcement officers were forced to use. This and the fact that he knew there was already someone on the train made him back off.

Klaus, who had gotten a cap from somewhere to hide his face had watched as Baldy number one left the platform just before the police arrived. After asking around quickly, the police set off in Baldy’s direction, the luggage owner in tow.

The last few people rushed in, finding seats and the door closed. Klaus could finally let out a long sigh of relief, he had escaped or so he thought.

The relief was short-lived when the adrenaline left him and he could finally think clearly. ‘I am so buggered. The train has two stops before Davo and even if I do make it there, they probably know my plans. These people would not just target some kid minding his own business. What could they possibly want from me? Old enemies? Unlikely, I never pissed anyone off that badly before. The only people it could have been the rich kids, or maybe Clarissa?’

His thoughts stopped dead when he finally noticed something strange was going on. It was dead quiet; the hustle and bustle of everyone settling into their seats were not there. When he looked around what he saw astounded him. All the people around him had split like the red sea; cramping themselves into the far corners of the train cart and staying as far away from him and one other person that was sitting across from him.

“So, you finally noticed. Tut, tut, I was impressed by how you dealt with the gorillas, but you only notice my manipulations now.” She waved her hand like flinging something dirty off of it before she gave Klaus a toothy smile.

Klaus was struck speechless. First and foremost, the person sitting there was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Dressed in a sleek business suit that tried, but could not hide the athletic and curvaceous body underneath; she gave off an air of confidence, competence and judging by how she had manipulated the situation she had reason to be. Her hair was blonde, almost silver and he could not see clearly as it was hidden behind her, but it seemed long. Her lips blood-red and full were set in a perfect knowing smile, but the most striking was her purple eyes staring right into his.

Forcing himself to look away, Klaus could not help but berate himself. ‘I am so dumb; I went to the one place they knew I was going. How was I to know they had hired so many people?’ Looking around, he had to reassess the situation. Among the people in the cart were children and the elderly as well. ‘The way they are standing all bunched up and the vacant stares. Were they hypnotized? Ridiculous. They look like zombies without the blood and stuff.’ The thought caused his hair to stand on end and he realized something. ‘I never had a chance from the beginning.’

The thought had brought on a brief feeling of helplessness, but he soon pushed it down and decided that all he could do then was accept the situation. ‘Maybe if I am compliant they will lower their guard and I will have an opportunity to get away.’

He then sat down while taking the cap off with slumped shoulders, his eyes taking in the stranger across from him. Her eyes had never left him.

She then leaned forward and beamed another perfect smile his way. “Good, that was not so hard now was it?”

He snorted. “Not like you gave me a choice. What would you have done if I ran the other way?

“Oh, don’t be a sourpuss. You were surrounded and would have been caught no matter which way you went. I only got on the train after you did.” She said, reclining back into her seat, her arms resting along with the backrest.

It surprised him that she looked so totally unguarded against him. It caused alarm bells to ring in his head. ‘Is she trying to lure me into a false sense of security the way I am trying to with her? Something tells me this lady is not so simple.’

As if she could read his mind, she smiled brightly once more. “I find your way of thinking fascinating.”

‘Is she reading?…’

“Yes, I can read your mind.”

‘That’s…’

“Ridiculous? Hardly dear Klaus, have you not done the same thing to others on several occasions now? Yes, I am talking about that tramp of a redhead and her little posse.” The cold bite of anger in her last words surprised him nearly as much as the fact that she could read his mind and knew about him.

His head was spinning. ‘How long have they been watching me?’

“All of your short life.” Was her reply to HIS thought?