Damien decided not to.
The Dusk organization weren't stupid enough to leave such traceable tracks. They always moved covertly.
Besides, Damien wasn't the only one who heard Freddo when he took up Victor's offer.
Again, Damien didn't want to paint an even bigger target on his back.
If he told his suspicions to Mr. Davis and the other teachers, at best they would brush it off after a cursory check. At worst, Victor would be scrutinized and questioned stringently.
Victor wouldn't take kindly to that and go out of his way to make Damien suffer.
Just because Damien now had class 4 agents as security didn't mean that he was invulnerable.
Established families like the Kaisers could easily target his parents in the dark. There was no reason for Damien to go out of his way to invite trouble on himself.
He would rather mind his own business.
"If those three aren't coming, we might as well set off," Mr. Davis muttered under his breath. He knew that there was a high possibility of those three being kidnapped by Dusk agents. With how careful those Dusk agents were, finding the missing kids would be a pipedream.
At least they didn't get Damien. That would be horrifying, he thought to himself as he stole a glance at the quiet boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes on his right.
As usual, Damien was quiet, looking around and keeping his distance.
That boy is special. Too bad he doesn't like interacting with his mates though, Mr. Davis thought.
He had high hopes for Damien.
The results of the government test had proven his assertions and Mr. Davis knew that in a few hours, Damien would become an Awakened.
The future was bright for that boy. If he worked hard enough, he would seize it.
Mr. Davis broke out of his thoughts and gave directions to the teachers and students.
The students who had normal and above average marks were made to board a hoverbus. They were accompanied by all the teachers excluding Mr. Davis.
The hoverbus would join up with other hoverbuses from different schools in the city.
Together, they would all be taken to the Braithwaite Research Facility, a government owned lab which would be where they underwent their awakening.
The best five students though were made to take a government hovercar with Mr. Davis.
Six class 4 agents closely followed the hovercar, ready to defend against any abduction attempt.
The five would be taken to the Penning Research Lab, a state-of-the-art facility owned by government.
It was the place where those with a good mark underwent their awakening. There, they would receive high grade Enlightenment fluid and be closely guided by top-notch scientists throughout their Awakening process.
**
It didn't take long for Mr. Davis and the five students to arrive.
The ride had been quiet as all the students were tormented by their own thoughts and their anxiety.
There was nothing more nerve-wracking than this. A few hours from now, they would no longer be mundane humans anymore but awakened with varying powers.
Each of them had high hopes and aspirations to awaken a good power and further cement their value in the eyes of the government.
After passing through stringent security checks and DNA testing, they were finally let into the humongous structure known as Penning Research Lab.
Pristine white buildings stood orderly while scientists in white lab coats rushed busily from building to building.
Military personnel in grey and white nano-armor patrolled around to deter any intruder. Unseen to the naked eye, multiple sensors performed a routine sweep of the surroundings to pick out intruders.
Inside such a secure facility, the possibility of Dusk agents infiltrating to kidnap the students was nil. The facility was well protected.
"Alright students, here we are!" said Mr. Davis with a lively voice, trying to lighten the mood. The students gave half-hearted smiles which did little to calm them down.
"So now that we are here let me give you some instructions. Whatever the scientists tell you to do, please do it. Follow every order they give you. Be calm and don't panic. It will be over before you know it," said Mr. Davis.
The students nodded at Mr. Davis that they understood.
All that was left now was for them to enter the lab for the awakening process.
Damien took a glance at the other four students around him. Including him, there were three boys and two girls. The boys were him, Victor Kaiser and a buff guy called Neo.
The girls were Isabella and Dixie. They both wore glasses and had petite frames. Dixie had dyed her pixie cut an obnoxious purple and had the appearance of a goth girl while Isabella had normal black shoulder length hair.
Damien wondered which powers they would awaken.
Someone like Neo was a no brainer. He had a bulky and muscular frame. The possibility of him awakening a body based power was very high.
For the rest, they would probably awaken some body enhancements or elemental affinities.
Anything could happen though.
A female scientist with a clipboard approached the group. "You are the students about to undergo awakening right?" she asked.
"Yes please," Mr. Davis answered cordially.
"Very well. Please follow me… the five of you only not your teacher," said the female scientist as she rapidly wrote on her clipboard, her blond ponytail waving.
She frowned and looked up.
"It says here that there are supposed to be six of you. Why is there only five people present?" she asked Mr. Davis.
"One of them got missing. Efforts to locate him have been futile," answered Mr. Davis.
The scientist clicked her tongue in annoyance and walked away, motioning for the five to follow her.
She led them into one of the pristine white buildings in the facility and they were made to take a seat.
"Alright students, this is the defining point of your life. Take it easy and don't panic. The awakening process rarely keeps long. Hopefully; you all will awaken top notch powers. Who is Damien Walker?" said the scientist.
Damien stood up.
"Come with me, Damien. You are the first person," said the female scientist.
She turned quickly on her heels and walked away while Damien tried to catch up.
She led him to a door with a big number 12 written on it.
"That's your lab, Damien. Knock and enter," she said. Damien nodded and watched as the female scientist waltzed off.
Taking a deep breath, Damien knocked on the door and entered.
Inside, there were two people in lab coats. A man with a fading hairline and fatherly smile and a young woman with long brown hair.
"You must be Damien. Please have a seat," smiled the man, pointing at a bed in the center of the room.
The room was fairly big and extremely bright. Complex machines were neatly arranged in the corner and there was a pristine white bed in the center of the room.
Cabinets were lined up behind it and three robots floated at the side
There was a huge pod too in the room which was surrounded by strange apparatus.
Damien sighed and went to sit on the bed.
"My name is Dr. Manfred and this is my assistant Dr. Joyce. It's a pleasure to meet you," said the scientist.
Damien nodded and the scientist went to sit behind the Omni-computer in the lab.
"Pretty impressive mark there, Damien," smiled the man as he fiddled with the Omni-computer in the room.
"Yeah," said Damien halfheartedly. Nervousness was getting the best of him.
"Mm… according to the regulations, you're eligible for an A grade enlightenment fluid," said the man.
Damien's brows went wide in shock.
A grade enlightenment fluid wasn't even sold on the market!
He thought he would receive a B or C grade fluid. The government was taking him really seriously.
"Okay Damien. The awakening process will begin shortly. Please remove your clothes… you can keep your undies on though," winked Dr. Manfred.
Damien complied with the order and Dr. Joyce strapped him to the bed.
Dr. Manfred walked to one of the cabinets and took out a huge syringe.
Damien gulped.
What kind of syringe was this big?!
Nervously, he watched on as Dr. Manfred went to another cabinet and took out a thin container.
With expert ease, he filled the huge syringe with a deep purple fluid from the thin container.
That was an authentic A grade enlightenment fluid.
The quality of enlightenment fluid was seen from the color. The deeper it was, the higher the grade.
The one in the syringe was deep like ink.
"Hold on tight Damien, this might hurt a little," said Dr. Manfred, walking up to Damien who was strapped to the white bed.
Like hell it won't! Damien exclaimed inwardly.
Without warning, Dr. Manfred smoothly injected his neck.
Damien gritted his teeth, waiting to be hit by the truck of pain but nothing happened!
Huh?
A few seconds passed but Damien still wasn't feeling any pain.
What was going on?
That was when a sharp piercing pain hit his mind, making him grit his teeth in agony!
Damien felt as if his head was on fire!
The awakening process had begun!