Alana hurriedly took steps towards the direction she felt where someone just left. Hoping she'd see it.
But she saw nothing, making her feel like she is being too paranoid over nothing. She looked back at the three and received weird looks, which makes total sense.
"Go on. Don't mind me." She awkwardly chuckled. Everyone focused back on Owen, who shook his head and anxiously chuckled, "Well, I... I don't know about that. Why would I want to leave this place? Work is easy for me, food and place is nice, and I got my friends here." he reasoned out.
Sure, it was nice seeing the friends he used to look for when he was younger. To see that they all went well, and living on a journey. A journey he's supposed to be in since they are all different from others, he knew no one can understand them better than each other.
The ones whom he promised to live with during the night they escaped.
But what would it bring him? Another set of uncertainty? Being in the factory is the first place where he initially felt welcomed by everyone. He does not want to risk losing it.
"Owen, I get it. This is a lot to take in, but please just think about it." Kiel patted his shoulders as he sincerely empathize with him. However, Owen breathed out, he looked at Kiel and others. He held Kiel's hand that was still on his shoulder, he squeezed it and then removed it from his shoulder, "If the tracker can help, I will give it to you. But I'm not coming, I'm sorry." he took a few steps back before turning and completely leaving the place.
"Wait, Owen!" Alana tried to run after him but Kiel stopped her. He gave her a look and that is when she agreed to give Owen a bit of time, or also start thinking about leaving since he seemed to have made up his mind.
==
Duerre and Forty-six made it in front of the factory, hiding within the trees. Besides the production area is a small office wherein the boss is working. The transactions go from there before products are shipped to whichever city the customers are in.
Both the boys hurried to get close to that office. Forty-six peeked into the window and noticed that no one is there besides the boss, quietly skimming through the papers on his table. He smirked because it was just the right opportunity.
He casually entered the office and locked it. The old man stopped from his work and confusedly looked at him, trying to recognize who is the person in front of him. "Hello there young man, can I help you with something? I'm afraid I don't recognize you," he said.
Forty-six slowly walked near the table, his smile curving a little. "I can't stay here for long, I just have to ask you something." he leaned into the table as soon as he reached it so his face can be nearer to the boss. The old man seemed frozen to where he had been sitting, his eyes pinned to the sly-looking boy in front of him.
"Owen, your top worker, what if you come up with something to humiliate him in front of everyone?" Forty-six said those words while his now silver eyes flashed before the old man. After that, he did not hear any response, he immediately left the office back to Duerre.
==
"Owen!"
Owen heard Sky calling him from a distance, beside Sky is Arch and Tito. He smiled and joined the three. They walked back to the factory. "What did you and Kiel talk about?" Tito asked in curiosity. "Just some random things with Jolene and Alana." his tone was being indifferent.
"Wow, Owen here hanging with the pretty ladies!" Tito teased as the rest laughed. "Right, he's not even inviting us anymore."
"Hey it's just small talk, and I didn't even know they'd be there." Owen protested to the boys but they still won't stop teasing Owen for it, he later then just decides to get along with it.
But their jokes and laughter were cut short when they were just a few meters away to get into the factory and they saw Gray and Alex standing in front, looking straight as if they have been waiting for the four of them. Owen swallowed hard as he and Arch walked behind Sky and Tito. "Gray, Alex! Are you guys going inside? Let's go." Sky naively said to the two, he thought the two are just waiting on them because they saw the four of them come anyway.
Gray did not move an inch, but Alex smiled and swung his arms around Sky's shoulder, "Yeah right, let's go." he said as he quickly led the three, Owen was behind and he was supposed to come along with the rest but Gray held his arm to stop him, "Where do you think you're going?"
He wanted to roll his eyes and say " not again" but he kept it to himself.
Gray spoke again, "Did you handle Kiel? What did he say?"
"He doesn't want anything, he will keep his mouth shut." he tried to keep it short and simple so that the conversation won't get any longer. Gray locked his stare at Owen before turning his back and following the rest inside the factory.
As soon as Gray was inside, Owen sighed in relief, he hopes that that would be the last unusual thing to happen and that no one would stop him from having a regular day. He started walking back to the factory.
He was only able to take three steps away from where he was when someone poked him from behind, "Oh come on, you need something to me too?" he said it and then looked behind him. One of his eyebrows raised when he sees a guy, complete stranger, smirking at him. "Excuse me who are y-"
"That old man should stop running his mouth thinking that he's better than anyone! You know you're better than anyone here Owen, so when your boss tries to degrade you, you will fight back. You will let out all that anger inside you!" the guy told Owen. He could not remove his gaze to its silver eyes, to the point when that was the only thing his mind could register. The stranger left and so he continued walking to get back to his work.
"What did you do?" Duerre casually asks Forty-six when he gets back. He calmly sat down, a subtle smile did not escape Duerre's sight of him. "Since you like dramas so much, I might just give it to you."
Duerre's mouth fell open, still smiling. "Tell me what is your plan now!" he excitedly urged.
Meanwhile, as soon as Owen entered the production area, he saw his boss looking around, inspecting their products. He did not pay much attention to it and started working. He was nailing up two pieces of wood together when the boss stopped in front of him, looking angry and pissed. "Your latest work is a big joke!" everyone stopped as it echoed across the busy room. Owen moved his eyes a bit and was aggravated to see everyone looking at him. Without warning, his boss clasped on the neck of his shirt and led him outside to go to the place where finished products are put. He ended up in front of a wardrobe. He recognizes it, he made it. But the difference is that it has huge scratches, it also seemed as if the intricate design was heavily scraped and scratched by a wood-carving knife. It wasn't hard to figure that someone had destroyed it.
"Someone destroyed it." Owen simply replied, but his gaze was fiery towards the boss. They both did not notice that the workers had followed them to look. After all, it's not an everyday sight that their boss would drag and humiliate someone. He was strict, but he's mostly professional.
It's not also a usual sight to see Owen get a bad review of his work.
Duerre and Forty-six had changed their location and gone up to a tree near the window where they can have a complete view of what was happening. Forty-six has his ability still up, both the boss and Owen are still under his control.
"Boss, it was obviously scratched by someone! We saw it before-" Sky, who was mixed in the crowd of workers, decided to speak up and protest. But he was not able to finish his sentence when the boss shushed him. "Who would suddenly destroy his work?" he asked Sky and then turned back to Owen, "I don't believe your lies!"
Owen was fuming up in anger, if his stare could kill, his boss would have been drop dead for a few minutes now. "It was you," he said in an ominous tone. The old man sarcastically laughed and raised his eyebrows, "Me? And why would I do that?" he picked a thin cardboard on a table beside him, he rolled it and hit it over Owen's head, "I would never waste such effort for that."
"Oof, he's lying. The old man did it!" Duerre exclaimed to Forty-six with his beaming red eyes.
Owen could not move as their eyes are nailed to each other, but then, his boss let out a subtle grin. And that was it for him, the confirmation that his boss had been playing with him with this trick. He finally snapped.
"You!" he pushed his boss violently that he took three steps backward before eventually falling onto the ground. Everyone's jaw dropped, it seemed that Owen is very angry and will fight their boss. Everything was too quick before anyone could think of interrupting. Owen walked towards the old man, the latter decided to use his cane as a weapon and started hitting on Owen everywhere, but Owen can't be stopped. Their boss hit him once more but Owen caught it this time, and then something unexpected unfolded in everyone's eyes.
The cane cracked, starting in the middle, where Owen's hand was in. It cracked until eventually broke down into pieces like shards of chopped wood even though it's metal. Everyone was fazed, there is no way it could happen. People were focused on the cane until one man shouted Owen's name in fear, they all look at Owen and saw nothing but fury in his face, and his eyes... they are oddly green.
Owen did not stop to the cane though, he started breaking the furnitures around, all by just simply touching them. Some broke like glass, bursting and popping all over, or like ground wood, or just withered like fragile objects. No one could process it enough go to stop him, all they feel is fear, and awe at the same time.
"You said you wanted to eliminate Owen..." Forty-six spoke.
When Owen touched everything near him, the place was almost empty and he reached the wall, he growled and touched it too. He went further as to touching one of the foundations of the building. He laid his hands there long enough and in deep rage until the entire wall on that side of their factory started cracking.
That is the point where everyone realized this is getting worse, "The building will collapse! W-we have to run!" one man screamed and so everyone started running outside.
"What would be a better way to eliminate him quietly..."
Owen roared loud and then finally, the foundation was pulverized and broke down, followed by the wall. As a chain effect, the other foundation could not carry the weight of the building and it began to crumble down. One by one until the factory was down in shatters.
Thankfully, most of the workers were able to go out before the building collapsed, except Owen who was still inside when everything went down. However, a few workers still got injured. The people waited to hear movements from the factory. Most people believe that Owen is probably dead, but from what they just witnessed, he is not what everyone thinks he is.
And in everyone's astonishment, Owen rose from the crumbles, yelping like a frightened kid. He also seem clueless about how dreadful just happened, but he was obviously back to being the usual him. Their boss was standing among the crowd, Gray was beside him because he helped him get away from the building fast. Their boss didn't seem angry but very much appalled. Owen went to the people but they were avoiding him.
"What are you? What have you done!" one man yelled at him.
He looked back and his lips parted as he was stunned at the sight, the big furniture factory is nothing but shambles now.
"Now we have no more jobs!"
"You hurt us!"
"Monster!"
Owen heard more and more of people's angry screams at him. He didn't know what got him to this point. To vent as much anger like that. But he could not utter any word to defend himself. He even watched as some bulky men come towards him, ready to give him a fist. He gulped hard, he does not want to fight, but he knows that this is not going to end well.
Forty-six curved a little smile to finish his sentence, "...than to let the people around him here kill him."