AT HOME, EVERYTHING WAS normal. The mention of Dyna Blades wasn't brought up. Whenever Allison went away on her trips, she made Victoria head of the house until she returned. It was their usual routine at home. Mila teased Kimberly about how she was trying to get into Stephen's pants while Victoria was preparing dinner.
"Mila, Kim, tonight is steak night," Victoria announced.
Stephen had heard that phrase many times before. Only this time, the two were a little shocked.
'Was that Morse code for something?' he asked himself.
"Yay!" Mila screamed. "We're having medium-rare, right?"
Stephen observed how quickly his roommate's attitude changed. He was positive that, for a split second, Kimberly looked slightly alarmed at Victoria's announcement. After learning more about the Dyna Blade world, he paid close attention to his roommates. There were no thoughts of trying to let them hide any more secrets.
After their meal, Stephen said he felt full, so he was going to call it an early night. Like he promised, he prayed and then went to bed. A few minutes later, the girls were still in the house cleaning. After another hour, he heard the house getting quieter.
That was his sign to get up.
Slightly opening his door, he heard his roommates changing their garments. Mila, in a pouty tone, said, "Tonight I was gonna finish a special stuffed animal…"
"Keep it down," Victoria addressed.
"It's okay," Kimberly assured. "Steph's usually fast asleep by now."
"Heh… If that bird-brain ever figured we used the dinner menu as a signal, we'd be in serious trouble."
Victoria's words confirmed exactly what Stephen had expected. They were going out for a ride.
'I don't think so,' he thought to himself, quickly getting dressed.
The girls didn't use the front door when they finished. Perhaps they thought opening it might make too much noise. Instead, they went into Allison's room and opened her window. Like the wind, they then flew into the night sky, riding over the roofs of houses.
Trailing behind them on the ground was Stephen. He was riding his bicycle as fast as he could while maintaining a safe distance. To no surprise, he, too, was being followed. It was the Steller's Jay.
"Looks like you're interested, too, huh?" he smirked at the bird.
Compared to the speed of his pedaling, Dyna Blades were ten times faster. Plus, they had an aerial advantage. A few paces later, Stephen lost sight of the girls. Had he dared to leave at the same time they did, one of them would have spotted him.
It came as no surprise that he would lose them. But he had a plan.
"You can understand me, right?" he asked the bird.
Landing on his shoulders, he took it as a sign of yes.
"Alright, then find out where those three girls went."
The bird flew high in the sky, heading east. A confident look appeared on Stephen's face as he pedaled toward that direction. It took him almost two hours to reach his destination. There was a moment when he thought the bird was leading him away from the city.
And, in a sense, it was. He had never been in this part of the city before. By the time he came to a stop, he found himself on a high bridge with train tracks. Half a mile away from him were large, unfinished constructions.
If he were to guess, he was on the outskirts of the city. The bird flew on his shoulders, looking as if it wanted to be praised for its work. Petting its head with his finger, he thanked it. The bird then flew away.
Pedaling forward across the bridge, he looked for any signs that his roommates had been here. If he had wasted his time trying to figure out what they were hiding, he'd have no problems turning around. That was until something caught his attention. A little farther down the tracks, there was a small building with a large neon sign that read "D.B. Shop."
He pedaled to it. Coming to its storefront, he asked himself why a Dyna Blade shop with a mini-car attached to it would be stationed so far out from the city. More importantly, why was it open this late?
"What a surprise," a woman's voice said with a heavy Russian accent. "Ya came here on a bike?"
A large woman wearing a puffy jacket came out to greet him. She had brunette hair and wore thick red lipstick, saying, "This is a shop for riders, malchishka."
A malchishka is the Russian word for urchin or brat. As for whoever this lady was, he had little to no idea.
"Actually," he said, "I'm looking for a group of three girls that may have passed by here. Have you seen 'em?"
"Nope," she replied. "Are those girls riders or somethin'?"
"Yeah. They're from the Lion's Den."
The instant the woman heard that name, she made an alarmed face. Her tone became more serious as she asked, "Ya've met them, malchishka?!"
Stephen didn't reply. He was cautious of how the atmosphere quickly shifted at the mention of his roommate's team. Planning to leave, the woman climbed over the counter and grabbed his hood. This caused him to slip through his jacket before swiftly turning to face her.
Thinking she was trying to cause trouble, he noticed her gazing at the inside of his jacket.
"Ah," she said, keeping a straight face, "it looks like ya ain't a liar, malchishka."
Handing back his jacket, she pointed toward the large construction site just behind the shop, saying, "They're in that direction."
The area she pointed at was too dark to truly see anything. And considering he was several yards above ground, he'd have to climb all the way down just to reach the site. What was more peculiar was why the Russian woman had a sudden change of heart. His thoughts were answered when he noticed a Lion's Den sticker on his jacket—something he had been planning to show off at school before Kimberly's promise.
Just as he was about to head out, the woman stopped him.
"Why're ya going that way?" she asked. "Ol' man! Got a minute?"
Little did Stephen know, a second person had been in the shop. Standing from a small seat behind the counter was an old man about four feet tall. His white beard, hat, and large aviator sunglasses covered the majority of his face, making him unrecognizable. Apart from his baggy overalls, he also had on Dyna Blades.
"Hmm-hmm…" the old man coughed. "Alrighty, young fella, I'll guide you! Follow…" In one motion, he jumped right over the rails, screaming, "Me!"
Stephen looked and saw that it was like a large, unpowered water dam.
"Well, what's the hold-up?" the woman asked. "You'll lose the ol' man if ya don't hurry."
After her words, she noticed a smirk on Stephen's face. Without batting an eye, he jumped on his bike, pedaled toward the edge, and bunny hopped off!
"That's one gutsy malchishka…"
Wind rushed past Stephen's face as he accelerated to catch up to the old man. At the end of the trail, he saw he was about to enter a large sewage hole. No turning back now. So he pedaled faster.
Inside, he rode sideways on the walls. Instinctively, he nollied up and rotated the bike's front end to perform a tailwhip. The feeling was exhilarating.
"You're pretty talented, grasshopper!"
Looking up, Stephen noticed it was the old man. He was riding his Dyna Blades right above him!
"You haven't seen anything yet," Stephen said.
Shifting his rear tire, the bike skidded, allowing him to do the tire slide technique. He then bunny hopped off the momentum to do an opposite three-sixty-degree tailwhip. The bicycle frame spun without his foot stance changing just as he landed on the side of the wall. Considering only a handful of bikers across the world could chain a combo like that, it had to have impressed the old man.
"Y'er too slow!" he yelled. "Can't you go any faster?!"
'This guy's incredible. Fine then!'
Annoyed that the old man didn't find his trick impressive, he pedaled as fast and as hard as he could.
"Ho-ho," the old man laughed. "Y'er still green, eh?"
After a few more minutes into the ride, they finally reached the outside, near the construction site. Stephen was too exhausted. He couldn't keep up any longer, so he came to a halt.
"Giving up already?" the old man teased.
"I never give up," he said, glaring menacingly.
"Ho-ho! Well, good, because we're here to the world you seek."
"What do you mean by—"
"Look!" the old man said, pointing up. "The moon's out fully tonight. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge."
'That's a verse from the Holy Bible,' he remembered.
When Stephen recited the verse, Psalms 19:2, out loud, the old man jumped high into the sky, laughing, "Child from heaven! You're wise. Truly, you're wise!"
The moon caused a silhouette to form around the old man, giving him an ominous appearance. He was so high up, Stephen could barely see his figure. All that could be heard was his echoing voice: "Why did you come to this place tonight? Do you skate for wisdom? What do you hope to gain by crawling about all day like those earthly men?!"
Suddenly, the ground beneath began shaking. Or rather, the platform Stephen was standing on was opening. He quickly pedaled to the side until he was safe. Turning his bike to look what was inside, he noticed a deep underground entrance with various rails, staircases, and floors.
The sound of engine revving was then heard. He looked up and saw seven Road Riders wearing shark masks and sporting the same gear. Each of them bounced off the walls, grinding on the rails while performing difficult tricks. The old man from above laughed while yelling, "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Boy, the ones you seek are before you. Make haste and ride with them. That is… if you have a death wish!"
Stephen marveled as the Road Riders gradually disappeared. There wasn't a chance he was going to follow them, especially after what the old man said. Staring at what could be so far down, he heard a vehicle coming from behind.
It was the shop. Pulling in front was the Russian woman from earlier. She got out and said, "Child, give me your hand."
Raising his hand to receive whatever she had to offer, the woman said, "Here's a token of our meeting."
She then gave a big smile, winking at him while saying, "Come back anytime, korol!"
Stephen watched as the woman entered back into the car. On the passenger's seat was the old man. With all the ruckus made earlier, he had neither seen nor heard where he could have come from to enter the vehicle. The window to the car opened with the old man sticking his head out, yelling, "Next time, bring your right pair of wings! Ha-ha-ha!"
By the time Stephen returned home, the sun was already rising. The events that happened last night seemed like a dream. He couldn't even remember how he got back. All he knew was that if he kept riding his bicycle, he'd eventually make it home.
He parked his bicycle on the side, unlocked the door, and casually walked inside. Down the hall, he happened to notice Victoria and Kimberly's door slightly ajar. He was positive all the doors were closed when he left.
'They came back before I did?'
For all he knew, they might have been in that large underground hole. Yet he was too tired to think about it.
"Just you wait," he quietly said to himself. "I'll keep up with you all one day."
After shutting their door to give them their privacy, he went into his room. Little did he know, Kimberly was smiling blissfully in her bed. It was almost as if she had heard him in her sleep. Now in his room, he lay down on his back, right leg resting on his left knee.
He held up the gift the Russian woman had given him. It was a pair of Dyna Blade wheels. Inscribed on one wheel—in a blue, cursive font—were the words "PRINCE OF," and on the second wheel: "NIGHTMARES."