The darkness continued to stay in its place, as Lero floated about. He did not know for how long, but it felt like an eternity. For all he could remember, was that he landed on some structure by those apartments, and struck by who knew what. That was so ridiculous, considering how close he was to his final destination. Just on the edge of freedom once again, to only fall short even still. And the worst part about it, was that he was more than likely dead too. What a waste of life.
"Father, it's been a day and he hasn't woken up yet." some voice pierced through the silence.
Attempting to look about, which was extremely difficult to do, Lero could still see no sign of the source, which kept him wary of what was going on. Just his luck that even in death, was he being harassed by strangers. It couldn't be written any better than this.
"I think he'll be just fine," a new voice interrupted his thoughts, "He's beginning to move now, if you look closely."
"Oh, you're right!"
"Keep your voice down now, son."
Son? Father? At first, Lero thought that he was imagining those words, but it was actually being spewed out from space, with the silence quick to return. The real question now was to question whether he was alive or not? He had to try something or be stuck in this prison forever. Maybe he did have one last shot left.
Taking some breaths, Lero attempted to regain more control of his body, feeling the sensation of his fingers and wrists, gaining the ability to move them. Slowly working his way around his body, he took his time and not rushing the process, as he was starting to get a sense of feeling. In those moments, he could twist his arms and legs around, with the darkness itself beginning to fade to white. Was this it?
.....
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" the boy looked towards the middle-aged man, who was indeed his father.
"Yes, he's coming to his senses now. Make sure he's comfortable." the man took off his glasses, as he watched Lero's body on the couch slowly move.
Propping the man up just in time, the pair managed to move back just as the fallen man shot his eyes open. Moving his pupils to study his surroundings rather quickly, Lero could take into consideration the fact that he was inside someone's apartment, as small as it was.
"Sir, are you okay?" the boy's voice rang again, as Lero turned his head to see the person talking. "Would you like some water?"
"Yea." he spoke rather raspy, "I got to say, first and foremost, who in the bloody world are you lot? And how long have a been here? Am I dead? Do you know whe-?"
"I can see you have many questions, please don't waste your energy right now." the father watched his son move towards the kitchen, before refacing Lero, "My name is Dr. Light, but you can call me Ben. My son's name is Henry. We saw you crash onto our balcony outside, and based on the noises from above, could assume you're wanted?"
"I rather not jump to those conclusions." Lero started up again, before Henry returned with water, to which he gulped down eagerly, "Thank you. As I was saying, I'm not wanted. But I've had some issues with Youden's men, as you can guess."
"Interesting. Well, to answer your next question, it's only been a single day since you came into our world, so thankfully your wound wasn't as serious as I thought it would be."
"Wound? From my fall?"
"Oh, well no, it appears that you've been shot in the side. Surprisingly, it missed all your vital organs and went cleanly through. Me and Henry managed to patch it up to the best of our abilities in our home, so you should be alright."
"Not again."
"You've been shot before?" Henry chimed in, taking a seat next to his father, "You sir, must be really lucky indeed."
"Nah, I'm just built differently."
"Sure, as you claim." Ben took the joke lightheartedly, "So we can address you properly, what is your name, since you know ours."
"Lero. Lero Bentom."
"Nice to meet you Lero!" Henry shook his hand, as Lero stifled in some pain attempting to adjust himself.
"Ah, them buggers really will get it now."
"Well, we don't really wish you disturb you much longer as you still heal, so once dinner is ready, we can discuss what happens next, okay?" Ben raised his hand for Henry to get up and leave.
"Sounds good to me." Lero gave a quick grin.
"Good to hear. Stay put and you will be just fine." Ben gave him some magazines from the region, "This should keep you entertained in the meantime."
"Thank you."
Nodding, Ben placed his glasses back on his face after a final inspection, before leaving the man in peace. Lero had no real choice but to be grateful for their hospitality, despite not knowing their true motives. They at any time could turn him in and be rewarded, but had yet to do so. Perhaps it was to gain his trust first, to have him as comfortable as possible, before snatching their opportunity. Even then, he did give them his actual name, so that wasn't going to be doing him much of a favor. He had to just give them the benefit of the doubt.
Feeling the bandage wrapped around his waist, he briefly thought about Keru and her life at this very moment. She probably was doing just fine, not worrying about being killed by Youden's men like he was exactly, and living her life as she intended to. Hopefully, all went well with her, causing him to crack a smile at the thought.
Opening the first magazine that he was given, Lero was surprised to see it on aircraft and vehicles which piqued his interest immensely. Getting to the third page, he barely noticed a blazing light zoom through the corner of his vision. As strange as the sight was, he moved his head back to see some type of fireball slowing down over the city skyline. Reminding him of Jamal, it was a bit strange to see something of that nature, as Lero stared with much interest. Just as it was almost out of his vision, the attack's form was quick to break down shape, before it collapsed on itself and a shockwave took its place. Which only confirmed the one thing Lero was really hoping was possibly true.
"No way," he could only mutter, holding onto the couch due to the building trembling from the blast, "Jamal, are you here?"