Aiden slowed down as he led Dora toward the
compound. Dora noticed something was wrong and looked up at him and asked, Aiden
brother, what's the matter? Aiden said with his index finger held to his lips, indicating
she should be silent. The intelligent and sensible Dora held their breath and looked
around curiously.
Aiden had spent a lot of time on Maple Street lately and now he sensed that something
was not quite right. As he moved forward, his sharp eyes took in every detail around them. Then he raised his eyebrows as he studied the maple leaves all over the ground.
They reached the steel security gate at the front entrance to Lovelace Mountain. Under
normal circumstances, Aiden would drop Dora off here and she would travel up to the
main house on her own. Seeing Aiden and Dora approach, two bald men in front of the
steel gate nodded to him slightly.
Then one of the guards gently pressed the fingerprint lock on the door and the gates
opened smoothly. Everything seemed fine. However, as Aiden examined the men more
closely, he realized they had never nodded to him before.
Dora and Aiden exchanged their usual goodbyes cleverly and Dora took her school bag
from him. But instead of letting go so she could go through the gate, Aiden gave the bag
a tug. Dora looked up in surprise and asked, Aiden, what's wrong with you? Nothing,
Aiden replied.
I just remembered that I have a new pastry tonight. Would you like to try it? Oh, yes,
please. Dora clapped her hands and bounced with excitement.
She loved the premium apricot carrot cake from his restaurant. Aiden's suggestion,
however, caught the attention of the guards whose expressions changed. They glanced
at each other, then stepped forward to stand at either side of Aiden.
Aiden knew something was amiss. Stop, one of them said as the other exclaimed. You
can't take the girl.
Dora looked at them suspiciously, as if they didn't know who she and Aiden were. Uncles,
she said. I'm just going to play with brother Aiden at his shop for a while.
It's okay, I'll be back soon. The men suddenly looked angry and one shouted, No, you
can't. Dora wanted to explain, but Aiden pulled her behind his body to protect.
With a sneer, Aiden said, Dora, can't you see that your two uncles have betrayed your
father? Dora looked up and could sense greed in their fierce eyes. She also recognized
them. They were the men who had taken her from the supermarket.
She tucked herself fully behind Aiden. Damn it, I think she recognizes us, one guard said.
Crap, quick, let's tie them up, replied the other.
As they lunged forward to grab Aiden, he turned around and grabbed Dora in his arms,
then ran quickly down Maple Street to escape. Don't let him run away, one yelled as they
gave chase. The guards were stunned by Aiden's speed, and in the blink of an eye, he
was already 10 yards ahead of them.
But the men kept pace with Aiden in their pursuit. Aiden wondered where Anthony had
hired them from. They seemed to be incomparably strong, extremely agile, and able to keep up with Aiden's speed.
Even running on the slippery leaves all over the road didn't slow them down. As they
continued to the chase, Aiden remembered another threat they posed. These two men
were armed.
The guards continued to pursue Aiden down the street. He
still carried Dora in his arms, but knew he had to do something other than just run. He
could see the men behind him getting closer, and then an idea came to him.
He dragged his foot slightly as he kicked off and sent some leaves up from the
pavement. Yes, he thought. Aiden stopped and turned his body to the side, then swept
his leg again, this time like the tail of dragons swooping from the side and across his
body up a great swirl of leaves into the faces of the men.
They were covered in leaves and stopped as they tried to bat the leaves out of their
faces so they could see. Both were clearly angry at the surprise cloud of leaves. Aiden
took the opportunity to catch his breath and examine the scene.
He noticed both men carried tasers. If they managed to strike him with a taser, this fight
would be over. Don't move, he told Dora as she stood on the street.
Then he leaped in the air. With the aid of his enhanced eyesight, Aiden kicked out with
both feet, one in the direction of each attacker. His legs split in just the right direction to
hit each guard's wrist and send their tasers into their own faces.
Two tragic wails came from the men as they instantly fell to the ground, spasming from
the shocks. Aiden grabbed up Dora and took off again down the road toward the city. If
he guessed correctly, the K-Family Villa had been taken over.
Only Bayside District would be safe. As he ran, Aiden pulled out his phone and called the
police chief. Captain Robert, I'm being chased by the people of the human trafficking
group.
My location is in the northern suburbs. But his words cut off as two thick beams of light
came from behind. Aiden glanced back to see a jeep speeding toward them.
In the dark, he couldn't see how many people were in the car. Stop that kid, Aiden heard
someone shout from the car. Aiden could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
He looked down and noticed that the maple leaves on the street had been crushed by
tires. He could tell by the width and depth of the marks that they didn't come from
ordinary car tires, but seemed more like tires on a jeep or off-road vehicle. Normally, the
only cars on the road leading to Lovelace Mountain belonged to the K-Family, and none
of them drove an SUV.
It then clicked for Aiden that the people in the jeep following them might be connected
to the traitorous security guards. But unlike the guards, the SUV could travel much faster
than anyone on foot. Aiden mentally calculated how soon he would be overtaken by the
jeep before he could get into Bayside.
His eyes flashed as he caught a glimpse of the woods alongside the road. Bayside
District was situated just below the mountains to the north, with the river separating the
main city from the western suburbs, which were also mostly surrounded by mountains.
This forest ran from town to the Lovelace Mountain compound.
Normally, the forest in this area was empty of people, especially at night. Even during
the day, the terrain could be difficult to navigate for people unfamiliar with the area.
Aiden's idea was simple.
He and Doro would hide out in the forest to slow down the suspected human traffickers
until Chief Robert and the police could arrive. As he moved off the road, he heard
another voice shouting from the jeep, Don't let him into the woods! Behind Aiden,
someone leaned out of the window of the jeep and aimed a pistol at Aiden's back. The
sudden sound of gunfire was startling in the darkness.
Aiden's vision narrowed and his heart beat violently in his chest as he ran deeper into
the woods, Dora clinging tightly to his chest. There was a sense of exhilaration to the life
and death situation they were experiencing. Not that Aiden would let anything happen to
Dora.
Danger perception. Insight plus one. Current progress, one out of ten.
Current level, beginner. Automatic trigger. Entry level, insight.
Threat to life. Seek protection. Aiden glanced back at the sound of another gunshot.
It seemed to come from the other side of the car. Without thought, Aiden zigged and
zagged and twist his body as he moved through the trees. Aiden's eardrum vibrated
from the sound, and he could feel the air shift next to his head as a bullet whizzed by.
Aiden instinctively reached up and covered his ear. The bullet just missed him and
embedded itself in a tree trunk. Strong sound shock.
Ear damage. Brain damage. Automatic trigger.
Recovery ability level, beginner. Body repair. A cool sensation appeared from within his
skull and spread to his ear canal, soothing the pain there.
Although the bullet did not hit Aiden, the sound of the explosion had shocked him. But
adrenaline and something magical took over, and the discomfort rapidly disappeared.
Between life and death, there is great terror, he thought.
This was Aiden's first encounter with real guns, and also the first time he'd ever felt so
close to death. This was not a game of paintball on the middle school battlefield. These
were people shooting real bullets at him from real guns.
They could kill him or Dora with a single shot. If it was not for good luck and quick
thinking, they'd both be dead already. Aiden said a quick thank you to the powers that
be and kept running.
He held Dora tight in his arms and slipped deeper into the woods, ducking behind some
bushes. Behind him, the jeep finally had to stop as the trees grew too dense and there
was no road to follow. Aiden peered through the bush to see one figure and then another
jump out of the car.
They were of different shapes and dressed in blue overalls like he'd seen on factory
workers. But the expressions on their faces were more like murderers escaped from
prison. As they grew closer, he could see that their overalls had multiple pockets and
straps to hold a variety of weapons.
The smaller man stopped at the big tree that had been shot through and in a deep voice
said, Damn it, Roy, how did you miss it? The short guy's voice was full of annoyance. Roy
had the reputation of being one hell of a sharp shooter, yet he'd missed the kid. They
both originally thought Aiden had been hit, but somehow the boy had managed to avoid
the bullet.
This was unacceptable to the short man. Asshole! From inside the jeep came a cold
female voice. I'd like to see you make that shot, Roy shouted back toward the car.
The woman's voice called out again. You could have hit Dora. If you hurt her, you're
going to pay for it.
The short guy ran back to the car apologizing, trembling all over. Miss Garner, I'm sorry.
Please don't tell the boss man.
He'll kill me, he begged. Well, Hank, she said. Why don't you save me the trouble and
beat yourself up? Aiden watched in surprise as the man proceeded to punch himself in
the face hard enough to draw blood.