Finished with his little speech, Lorn looked down at the kid. The latter looked up at him, frowning. Lorn could almost see the cogs in his head turning.
"Mister, please don't drink before evenings," the kid finally said.
Lorn chuckled, despite himself.
"I'm not drunk. And I'm also very serious," Lorn said, pointing. "Any time now, some thugs might appear from behind that store and chase me down."
Though, despite his words, Lorn really hoped he was wrong.
"Stop lying, mister," the kid said with a sigh, and pushed himself back to swing harder.
"Why would I even lie to you about this?"
"To look cool?"
"Bah," Lorn spat. "Who would consider being chased by loan sharks cool?"
"An 'adult'," the kid said, fingers quoting, "who sits next to a kid on an empty playground and starts talking nonsense?"
'Bah, kids these days…' Lorn thought as he glanced at the store again. Nothing.
"It doesn't matter if I'm lying or not," he said to the boy. "If some people do actually come through that corner, you need to tell them I went right… no left! Tell them I went left, alright?"
Lorn pointed at the fork at the end of another road. If they did come, they wouldn't be able to tell which path he'd take.
"There's a dead end if you go right, mister."
"I know, I know. I can see it on the map here," Lorn replied, waving his phone. "Just make sure you tell them I went left."
"Whatever, mister."
The boy was acting cool, but Lorn could sense the interest in his voice. He smiled, thinking he could trust the kid. He was a bit worried his chasers would somehow find the kid suspicious… but surely, those assholes wouldn't bother a kid so much, right?
"Check this way!"
"Fucker can't run forever!" two voices echoed somewhere close, followed by closing footsteps.
"Left," Lorn whispered to the kid and was already off running.
"He's over there!"
The two of his chasers saw a glimpse of him. That was good. He reached the fork and immediately turned right. He saw a metal door surrounded by concrete walls. Makeshift spearheads decorated their topside. Hoping he wouldn't run into a dog or something, he jumped up the wall. He grabbed one of the spearheads and pulled himself up, trying not to over-jump and get spotted.
"He-, he went left!"
Lorn heard the kid stutter out and smiled. And thankfully, he did not encounter any dogs or people on the other side of the wall. Only the backyard of some botanic enthusiast. A variety of flowers and bonsai trees decorated the yard. Some were even taller than he was.
'Damn rich people,' Lorn cursed as he landed beside a delicately trimmed tree and waited for his two pursuers to run past.
Two hurried footsteps closed in, stopped for a brief moment, then faded away.
Triumphantly, Lorn jumped over the wall again, intending to reward the kid. But just before he turned another corner, he heard a panicked voice.
"W-why are you all chasing that person, sir?"
Lorn stopped in his tracks. The two that ran past him weren't the only ones chasing.
"He stole something from us, see?" a familiar voice replied. "Has he spoken with you?"
'Elan…' Lorn cursed in his mind. 'That creepy motherfucker… of course he would be the one to stay behind to interrogate a kid.'
Lorn debated running at the tall bastard and slamming his head in. Wasn't that one of the reasons he came to the One Country? To solve his problems through 'justified violence'? No, Elan was not someone he could mess with. Now, he just needed to have faith in the kid.
"He d-did," the kid stuttered out.
Lorn cringed, hearing the response. 'Just say no, goddammit.'
"And? What did he tell you?"
"…"
"If you're scared, don't be. It's just a scar. Wouldn't come to life and swallow you up."
"…"
"Go on, what did he tell you?"
"I- I don't remember… well! I don't remember well! I wasn't listening well."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll remember soon enough," Elan's voice turned smoother than usual. Lorn was sure the man's posture was turning more and more predatory. "As we wait, perhaps you'd want something to eat, or to drink?"
A tense silence filled the air.
"It's okay... I- I remembered now. He told me about how he was running away from, the uh, the loaners."
"…"
"I thought he was maybe drunk, or maybe just delusional, or something. And wasn't listening well."
"Mm. Did he mention anything about where he was going?"
"N-no…? But he went left from that fork. There."
"Mm," Elan seemed to nod, before grunted lightly.
'Damnit,' Lorn cursed and slowly climbed the wall again. He couldn't hear Elan's approaching footsteps, but he knew instinctively that he was coming towards him.
He was back inside the garden again and started searching for a place to hide. He quickly ran behind the pot of some large bush and waited. It didn't conceal him completely, but he had no other choice.
Through the leaves and branches, he saw a hand grab one of the makeshift spears, followed by an Asian face with a scarred right cheek. A slightly bulging line went from his cheekbone, all the way to the base of his neck. It looked fine from afar, but Lorn knew how disgusting it look from up close.
'Don't come inside. Don't come inside,' Lorn chanted.
Elan looked right beneath the wall he was clinging onto, a toying smile on his face. Though it faded quickly, when he didn't find Lorn clinging to the wall like he seemed to expect. He then glanced around the garden for a second, before jumping back down.
"Sorry for the bother," Elan spoke. "Here's a little something for your time."
Lorn let out a sigh of relief, hearing the man's footsteps fading away.
Slowly and silently, he peeked out of the garden, and found only the kid staring back at him with a dumbfounded face. Lorn nodded at the kid and climbed down.
"What did I tell you?" he slapped the kid on the back. "Let's go get you some food or candies, or whatever else kids are into these days."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll buy himself whatever he desires."
A hand fell on Lorn's shoulders, and his body stiffened instinctively. He felt he should've been trying to run, but decided against it, feeling something sharp pricking at his side. The hand slid down to grab his, before attaching something to his wrist. A handcuff… no, a leash.
Elan casually pulled at the leash and approached the kid, casually folding the knife in Lorn's eyes and putting it away. He handed the kid a hundred dollar note and patted him on the head.
"Go on now," Elan said.
The kid went running immediately.
Elan then pulled out his phone. Lorn heard it beeping a few times before someone picked up. "I found our runaway. Send a car to me, and tell the grunts they can take a break for the day."
"Did you seriously pretend to walk away while standing still? As if you're some cartoon villain trying to catch some kids off guard?" Lorn asked, his head searching for ways out of this situation.
"Oh, don't be petty," Elan shrugged. "Childish methods are still methods. Weren't you the same? You must've told the kid something or another before jumping over the wall. Were you that desperate?"
"Well, you tend to get desperate and lonely when some fiendish loaners follow you day and night. Can't you be satisfied with taking my house and my everything?"
"Normally, we would've left you be after taking your everything. After all, you had no parents or partners we could pressure," Elan spoke. "But your debts were still there. And you looked far from broken and hopeless. In fact, you looked relieved, knowing you had nothing more to give. I wonder what you were thinking in your head? 'With this, they'll surely would leave me alone…' " Elan came closer. " 'With this, I can finally climb from scratch' "
Elan smiled, pinched Lorn's cheeks as if he was handling a child, and pulled him closer. Lorn could almost smell the scar on Elan's face. "There was still hope in your eyes. Tiny embers. Fire." Elan let go. "Coincidentally, you were still in debt. Hence, it would be foolish of me to let you be."
Lorn scoffed. "Doesn't change the fact that I'm penniless. Would you like to take the cardboard boxes I sleep under?"
"Ah, about that," Elan smiled. He felt Lorn all over and grabbed the phone in his pocket. "Every time we left you… penniless, as you say, you somehow still manage to reappear wearing decent clothes and a flagship phone to boot."
"Don't leave me penniless, then."
"Oh, I'm all for you bringing me a new phone every other month. So, I was thinking you could use that skill of yours to shave off some of the debt you've accumulated. But the problem is, that's illegal. I'm sure you wouldn't have minded it one bit, but if I have you do it, you'd have something over me, see?"
"Bastard."
"I know," Elan chuckled. "Besides, a better option came to my hand. Apparently, we can sell you out."
"What?" Lorn asked, imagining all sorts of things. 'Sell me? What the hell does that mean?'
"Oh, it's probably not something you're imagining. Though… maybe it is?" Elan rubbed his chin. "Eh, you'll learn soon enough. The One Leader has asked for volunteers. They'll do some experiments on your brain. Try to copy it, store it, transport it, whatever you can do with a consciousness. Maybe they can even change someone's personality eventually? Perhaps sometime in the future, you'd be a quivering in fear, instead of showing a brave front? Or perhaps I'd someday feel bad about the things I do to people," Elan smiled thinly.
The car he'd called appeared nearby and Elan pulled Lorn inside. Inside, he pulled out a small stack of documents titled 'Seeking Volunteers for Non-public Lvl.5 Experiment #008 - 3'. Beside it, was the stamp of the One Leader, proving its legitimacy.
'A Non-public Lvl.5? And it's the country's third attempt at it…'
Lorn's attention was instantly drawn. The only other Unpublic Lvl.5 he knew of was the infamous #001 and the #004. The Founding of the One Country and The Expansion.
He was getting into something big. And there were big opportunities in big things.
"Pretty interesting stuff, to be honest," Elan continued as he read. "I would've loved to volunteer myself, except the whole thing's still pretty… experimental. To volunteer, you need to sign an agreement saying you don't mind getting a little damaged in the head… Oh, nothing too serious," Elan added quickly. "You won't turn into a vegetable. Just a little… muddled in the head."
Lorn did not like where this was going. He could be hungry, broke, or even sick, he could always rely on his head to offer solutions to him. And not only that, damage to the head was always something to worry about, even if it's 'just a little'.
But... this was a chance.
"Don't look so concerned," Elan chuckled. "It's not as if the damage is guaranteed. According to the, paper, 20% of the volunteers are expected to be fine, while the other 80% will suffer varying degrees of… muddle-headedness. The risk is high, yes, but you see, the pay's extremely enticing. In fact, you'll be paid better than the average private doctor. 12000 dollars a month! One fifth of your leftover debt! But you must hurry. It rises every month."
Elan creeped over and caressed Lorn on the shoulder. Lorn instinctively shied away from the touch. He looked to his feet, trying to hide his expression.
"I don't know how long the experiment will last, but I'm sure it'll be a bountiful job for you. And of course, for me as well."
Elan pulled his hand away and settled with staring out the car window.
'He didn't see…' Lorn thought.
He did not see the hopeful smile on Lorn's face.