The next morning— before Edward could even leave his motel— a loud series of knocks interrupted him while he was eating his breakfast. He and Ikarus immediately looked up at the door, startled. Edward's arm froze as a spoonful of breakfast cereal hovered just before his mouth. He looked at the window overlooking the parking lot, yet saw nobody standing near it.
'Somebody's at the door?' Edward thought to himself. He quickly checked the time and found it far too early to receive visitors. He immediately stood up, both curious and frightened, and set his cereal on his nightstand. Then, as Edward quickly rose to his feet, he waved his arm at Ikarus and whispered, "Hide!"
Ikarus immediately obeyed as he carefully dropped to the floor. The floor creaked underneath Ikarus's weight as he landed but soon fell quiet as Ikarus slowly made his way to the room's bathroom. After Edward confirmed that Ikarus managed to hide in the bathroom, he looked at the door and slowly approached it.
Then, just as his hand hovered over the door's handle, a series of knocks once again echoed through the room.
Edward quickly opened the door, though he only kept it open far enough to reveal his face. When he peaked onto the porch and gazed at the people waiting for him to answer, he was momentarily stunned.
"The police? Am I in trouble?" Edward immediately asked. Three people were standing before him, each of them wearing heavy black suits and staring back at Edward with a thick pair of sunglasses. Two of the three were tall men with bulging muscles— one was bald and dark-skinned while the other wore a military haircut and had pale skin.
His attention didn't linger upon the bodyguard-looking men for long. Instead, he found himself staring at the woman standing between them. She had long red hair and wore a nicer suit than both of her bodyguards combined. As soon as Edward revealed himself, she took off her shades and looked into Edward's eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Colt," the woman spoke. As soon as he heard his name, Edward became confused and worried.
"Who are you?" Edward immediately asked. One of the bodyguards stepped forward and stared at Edward in anger. The woman immediately put her arm on the man's shoulder and sighed.
"Calm down, Jon. This man can rip you apart with one hand if he wants to. You two, go wait in the car," The woman said. The bodyguards looked at their employer for a moment before ultimately obeying. Edward watched them leave, no less suspicious than he was a moment ago.
"I am Anne Snow, the CEO of Desert Industries. We developed the DDS in hopes of establishing ourselves in the game market," The woman spoke as she answered Edward's previous question, "But, as you're already aware, something happened that caused some players to gain… unnatural abilities."
"And why are you here now?" Edward asked as he grew nervous. He didn't voice the next part aloud, in fear that the woman would use it against him, 'Is this about last night? Shit! I should've held back more!'
"I came to speak to you. When one of my employees found evidence of your abilities in the police records, I didn't believe it at first. However, now that I've finally found you, there's one thing I must do first before anything else. Mr. Colt, I apologize. Because of me and my technology, your life was met with a strange set of abilities that were never promised to you. Whether I caused you any pain, discomfort, or even inconvenience, I apologize."
Edward stared at her, momentarily frozen. He managed to give a small nod to the woman— though the grip on his door didn't loosen at all. He continued to watch her and the bodyguards with skepticism.
"Secondly, I wanted to meet you because you're the first one we've seen that's demonstrated what we already know," Snow said, "As far as we can tell, there are no others like you. I'd like to run some tests on you and your abilities to see exactly how this phenomenon has affected you."
"Tests?" Edward asked as a chill ran down his spine.
"Nothing dangerous, I assure you," Mrs. Snow chuckled, "We'd sign a contract guaranteeing your freedom and safety. You don't have to worry— we won't perform anything that you're thinking of right now. I guarantee it. If you accept my offer, we'll also compensate you properly."
"Compensate? In what way?" Edward asked.
"Money, most likely, but I may be able to offer you something else if you wish," Mrs. Snow answered. Edward considered her offer for a moment as he looked into her eyes. He recognized that this was a very delicate situation— now that the truth of his powers had managed to escape from his grasp— and initially believed it would've been better to run halfway across the country.
However, when he looked into Mrs. Snow's eyes his instincts told him it was safe to go with her. He sighed, then opened the door until his full body was exposed.
"Sure, just one question," Edward asked. Mrs. Snow beamed as he accepted her offer that she didn't even think about his question. She quickly nodded, then began to turn to her bodyguards waiting near her car. As she looked back at Edward, she was met with a creature as large as a golden retriever.
However, unlike a golden retriever, this creature would be capable of ripping her to shreds in moments. Mrs. Snow took a step back— terrified— as she turned to Edward.
"Can I bring my dragon?"