"What?!" Ashton exclaimed, concerned by the strange thesis the commanding police officer had just said to them. "What does that mean? Why does that stop us from going back home?"
Jamil was as impatient as Ashton as well. He stood up from his seat hastily saying,
"Did the mutant not die? If it really is still alive, we can just find it and send it off to the mages academy…right?"
A small laugh echoed through the room. It was the police officer's laughter. He paced about the room with his hands in his trouser pocket. He then said;
"Boys, it would be better to find that beast alive." He scratched his hair and then continued. "If it were dead, you both are dead too."
As the boys heard this, they were thrown into another state of confusion. Wouldn't it have been better if the mutant was dead than alive? Why will they be endangered by the death of the mutant they had seen? They wanted answers, they wanted to be clarified of their unsettling assumptions.
"If the mutant is still alive, how does that make us safer than when it is dead?"
"Have you ever wondered why the mutant's body evaporates whenever they are killed according to historical mythology? Their soul leaves their body child, coursing it to go back to its soul rector"
"And, what is that soul rector?"Jamil asked, still confused about the whole new theory he was hearing for the first time in his entire life.
The police officer shook his head. "I am just a cop…what more can I know about these strange mutants? Information about the beasts are kept confidential and are sealed behind the four walls of the Mages Training Academy." He said, with a glum look on his face.
Ashton stood up nervously, he kept biting off the fingernail on his thumb as he paced about in the room. "Are we now left with no choice than to keep living behind these walls? Until the mutant is caught? Alive?" He asked, his voice laced with worry. He hoped his fearful reasoning about the situation was going to be altered by some good news.
The door to the room flung open and another policeman came in after offering his salute. He quickly announced his reason for intruding. The commanding officer had received a call, a really urgent one. The commanding officer left the boys after taking a brief glance at them. He sighed and walked out of the door.
As soon as he had left, Ashton turned to Jamil.
"I'm sorry, Jamil," he started. "I brought you into this mess. Now, you're in danger because of me. I'm sorry man." He mumbled.
"Shut up Ashton! It was my choice. I chose to do that with you..you did not force me to do it. So, stop whining and let us think of a way to get out of this mess."
***
Eventually, the police commanding officer returned and without much delay, he announced to the boys to prepare for 'a journey'.
"What journey?"
In about ten minutes, the journey into the unknown began. They were driven out of the street and off to the furthermost area of the city, a location they had never been to in their entire life. As the journey continued, it was becoming tiring for both boys. The road potholes were not friendly at least as the vehicle bounced into them occasionally.
Amidst the road chaos, Ashton managed to fall asleep. He really was tired; he didn't mind if he was comfortable or not and with that, a haze mortified his eyes, clearing him off to dream.
~~~
A woman's face was lurking over his and he could feel her tears drop on his cheeks. She was tapping his shoulder frantically telling him to wake up.
"Wake up Ash, you have to wake up." She pleaded to the boy.
Ashton was again pissed at her for shaking him so much. He just wanted to have a peaceful sleep. He shrugged at her touch not minding her tears falling in his face like a drizzling rain.
"Let me be." He managed to say back to her, but she wasn't backing off easily at his words.
"You have to wake up Ashton, you have to wake up. You're in danger."
Even at the mention of danger, Ashton remained adamant wanting to get every bit of sleep he could get at that moment. He yawned, his vision grew dimmer as he was not ready to awake from his slumber.
The voice didn't go away and it called at him again, and again, shaking him rigorously trying to jerk Ashton back to life.
Her voice began to echo loudly into his ears…the voice seemed like a memory to him as it called his name.
"A-Ashton! Wake up! Ashton!!, Ashton!!!"
~~~
"Ashton!" Jamil called again, shaking Ashton out of his slumber. "What is wrong with you?"
Ashton shrugged, sitting up properly. He wiped his drool with his shirt and looked around before saying a word to Jamil.
Night had fallen already but he could point out some distinct sounds around the area. The trees were swaying in the night wind, their branches creaking and groaning like they were expecting him to come. The leaves rustling and fluttering in the breeze, making a gentle, whispering sound.
Soon, it dawned on Ashton that the place they had been brought to had a strange aura swerving and lurking in every element. It had a distinct feature from the city.
He knew for sure they were out of the safety of the city he had always been accustomed with. There were no signs of street lamps around. What exactly were the policemen thinking before they embarked on the journey into the night and into the unknown?
Perhaps, they had brought them here to kill them so they could avoid future casualties that could endanger the lives of other citizens.
'Wait what?! That actually seems like a plausible answer' Ashton thought to himself. ''I cannot die now! I have not accomplished anything yet.'
With fear of the unknown fast rising within him, he voiced out at the policemen who were with them in the vehicle.
"Where are we? Why are we out into the unknown in the middle of the night?" Ashton asked, hastily.
"Ahem!" The commanding officer who had been sitting in the passenger seat beside the wheel cleared his throat. "Here we are boys. A safe harbor."
"A safe harbor? In the middle of nowhere?"
Suddenly, a great light pierced through the darkness, a giant gate which had been carefully hidden by the darkness appeared before them. The vehicle swerved through the gate. The commanding officer's next announcement left both boys in an ethereal shock.
"Welcome...Ashton, Jamil, welcome to the Mages Training Academy."
"MTA?" Jamil said back, dazed.
"What?!" Ashton gasped his eyes darting about their environs.