[Two days later.]
[Location: Tonic's Statue Park.]
The just-risen sun shone softly on the city, the streets bustling with mid-morning activities.
The figure that had been captured a few days ago emerged from the same corner as last time. He wore the same hoodie and carried the same one-hand bag.
The pursuers were chasing him again, but this time the distance he had from them was greater.
"Tch. I should change my escape route next time," the figure murmured to himself as he caught his breath.
He took a moment to look around the park before heading towards a hoverbike hidden among some bushes at the corner of the park. The bike was well concealed.
"Well... I made extra preparations for today. Baldy and friends won't be catching up anytime soon." The figure said, seemingly talking to someone that couldn't be seen.
The figure tapped some buttons on his wristband. The bushes surrounding the bike broke down into light, leaving only a small object on a bike. The bushes had been image from a high-tech hologram. Its realism was top-notch.
He grabbed the hologram device, stuffed it into his bag, and placed the bag on the bike's seat, right between his legs.
He was already sitting and preparing to ignite the bike when he felt an odd additional weight on the bike.
"What the fuck?" The figure turned around, his voice tinged with confusion. "It's you!"
"This is the first time I'm on this type of bike," Femi said,.
"Kick my ass, you are the last person I want to see right now," the figure yelled while using his elbow to try and hit Femi away.
"He went this way!"
"The park!"
The voices of the pursuers reached the figure's ears, making him panic.
"Holy reaction. They're nearby. No no no, not today again," the figure muttered, putting on his helmet. He ignited the bike and hit the pedal.
He hoped the sudden acceleration would make Femi tumble, but to his disappointment, Femi gripped his waist tightly to prevent himself from falling off.
"You! Get off!"
The figure tried to shake Femi off but to no avail. He didn't care if Femi ended up injured.
"This... is... not…so bad," the breeze from the acceleration disrupted Femi's voice.
It pissed the figure off even more.
"Get your hands off my waist," the figure yelled, trying hard not to lose control of the bike's handlebars.
***
At the end of the day, the figure gave up on shaking Femi off. Escaping his chasers grasps were top priority.
He was caught the last time, he didn't want to get caught during his next.
After taking detours to ensure no one was tailing him, they stopped in front of a huge warehouse at the edge of the city with 'Junk Yard' written on it.
It was where the city discarded trash, unusable materials, and the like for sorting and recycling. Since the junkyard didn't hold anything of much importance, security in the area was minimal. At least, not this junkyard.
"Hey, who are you? Why did you follow me? Did he send you to spy on me?" The figure walked towards Femi, who was looking at the double doors of the warehouse, and pinned him to the wall.
They both stared at each other for a few seconds. As silence brewed, Femi looked hard at the face hidden under the hood, and the figure also studied Femi's face.
Finally, the figure broke the silence.
"You can't be from him; I would have known who you were immediately," he said, increasing the force on Femi's neck. "I might look feeble, but I assure you, make a wrong move and you die. I won't be charged if I kill a 'stalker.'"
"I'm Femi Noma. Nice to meet ya," Femi said, ignoring everything the hooded figure said.
The figure twitched his head, signaling Femi to explain more. After formulating an explanation, Femi did.
"Ahhh, you see, I've been watching the park from my hotel window, waiting for you for the past two days. Hmm, I would have said I followed you because you said I should save you, but nahh. Truth be told, I think fate truly led to us meeting."
The figure continued to look at Femi for a few seconds without saying anything.
"Cut your bull crap and get out of here. I don't need your fucking saving. I already escaped from them. Whatever fate bull crap you're playing, go do it elsewhere," he said, letting go of Femi's collar and walking towards the double doors.
"You do," Femi replied. He stood his ground, looking at the face hidden under the hood.
Instead of the screen displaying a different text this time, Femi's hunch responsible for the screen he sees whispered words into Femi's head.
With the guidance of the whisper, he said, "You say you escaped, but those eyes you're trying to hide say you escaped to a bigger cage. You're running away from something, but you're not running properly. Those eyes... your eyes, they look pitiful... and scared."
~BANG!~
What Femi had just said clearly triggered the figure. The helmet landed right next to Femi's face, missing him by inches. Whether the figure had intentionally missed or he just had poor aim, Femi didn't know… Or care.
Femi didn't flinch. Instead, he continued to look straight at the figure's face, focusing on the almost well-hidden eyes.
"I plan on being a Galactic Wanderer. Join me. I'll help you. Or better still, let's use each other."
"Hm? A space traveler?" For the first time, the figure's voice sounded a bit calm.
"Exactly!" Femi replied.
The figure walked away from Femi and towards the bike parked in front of the junkyard. He took a card from his bag, walked to the double doors, and swiped the card on a small square reader on the wall. The doors opened.
"Get inside. Outside is not a good place to talk." He dragged the bike inside while Femi followed behind.
As they entered, the lights in the warehouse automatically turned on. The warehouse was about square in shape, each side around 35 meters.
One side of the junkyard had vehicles and equipment regularly used for work. The remaining parts were mostly used metals stacked and ready to be recycled. There were no workers in the junkyard yet.
"The junkyard workers get here a few minutes to noon. Don't touch anything," the figure instructed.
Femi was a curious person for his age, but he could act properly when the situation called for it.
"Firstly, I'll introduce myself." The figure took off his hood, letting Femi see his face clearly for the first time. "I'm Arwan. I assume we're the same age."
Arwan was about 6ft tall, making him and Femi the same height. He had white hair with shades of blue, a sharp face, and dark blue eyes that blended well with his hair and pale skin. Aside from looking obviously feeble, Arwan resembled a noble out of a fantasy book.
"Yes, you're right. The whole planet is a cage to me. And I want to leave," Arwan spoke like someone at a business negotiation, professionally and coldly.
With a short sigh, he continued speaking, "I can't leave through the usual Star-port. I'll be caught immediately if step foot down there. The whole planet is basically monitoring me. Only a few places like this are where I can break through those surveillances. How will your crew help me? I don't need to join, nor do I want to join. But how much do I have to pay? Funds should be able to please you wanderers, right?"
"Ah.... First thing is, I'm the only member of my crew. Ehhh, well, more specifically, there's no crew yet," Femi paused for a second and then replied, reciprocating the same serious tone Arwan had.
"Kick me in the ass!" Arwan's frustration was palpable. "There's no one in your crew, which means you don't have a spacecraft or any of that. Are you even registered as a wanderer?"
"Bingo..." Femi reverted to his usual, uncaring self. "I just came here from Earth a few days back. I had a hunch that I'd meet my first crewmate here and I can tell that person is you. Like I said, fate brought us together, hahahah."
"Y'know what, fuck your hunch. If you're not careful, I might actually end up killing you. Tch, you're really lucky I'm not in a bad mood," Arwan retorted.
"Oi, watch your tongue. Don't judge if you don't know," the sudden change in Femi's eyes and the tone of his voice made Arwan subconsciously step back a little. Craziest of all, Femi eyes that looked menacing were supported by Femi's casual jolly smile.
The aura Femi emitted, though inferior, was still reminiscent of the high-ranked individuals Arwan rarely encountered at the GRA. It was enough to shake Arwan a bit.
"Gulp." Arwan subconsciously swallowed whatever he was about to say.
"I've been living my whole life based on my instincts. I trust it," Femi's demeanor returned to normal. "Anyways, I'm sure if we think and formulate a plan, we'll definitely find a way. You look rich, we could just buy a spacecraft."
Arwan stood in thought for a moment before speaking. He decided to go along with this fellow in front of him for a bit.
"Follow me."
"Your bike?"
"I'll get it later. Just stay near me."
They walked towards the back door of the warehouse, which led to the main junkyard. Unlike the front door, the back door just required a button to open it.
The junkyard itself was a vast space, spanning many acres. The stacked trash here was not organized like the piles from earlier. There were crushed cars, magazines, bottles, etc., stacked randomly like small towers in different corners.
Arwan had already readied his gun in case Femi decided to do something funny, but nothing happened.
The walk was mostly quiet, with a few questions coming from Arwan, which Femi answered with his eyes scanning random junk.
Femi didn't pay attention to the questions as he answered honestly, there weren't much things in his life that needed to be kept secret. Instead, in his mind, he was anticipating where Arwan was taking him.
They had already walked through more than half of the junkyard, which seemed untouched for months, if not years, before seeing a building hidden behind a pile of junk.
"This place was used long ago, but now it's abandoned, and people don't come here anymore."
Femi had stopped looking around and paid attention to what Arwan was saying.
"This is also where I keep my most valued treasure."
As the door opened, Femi's eyes widened. He didn't expect to see what he saw inside this warehouse.