Chapter 3: Confessions in the Dark
Pod sat in the dark corner of the old, rundown restaurant, his leg bouncing nervously as he stared at the phone screen in his hand. He had been debating for hours whether or not to call Ryan. His mind raced with a thousand thoughts, all of them ending with the same horrifying conclusion: they would find out.
The churches. The Midnight Sun. The Red Cry. If either of them knew what he had become… he shuddered at the thought. Pod had seen what happened to Choujin who didn't have a powerful faction behind them. They were either recruited or… eliminated.
He dialed Ryan's number before he could change his mind. The phone rang once, twice, and then—
"Pod? What's up?" Ryan's voice sounded tired, but there was a hint of concern too.
"I, uh… I need to talk to you. Can you meet me? That old restaurant by West End. You know the one," Pod said, his voice shaky.
There was a pause on the other end. "West End? You mean the one that's been closed for years? Why there?"
"I just… I just need to talk to you, okay? It's important."
Ryan sighed. "Alright, give me twenty minutes."
Pod hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket, his heart pounding in his chest. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Ryan, or even if he could. How do you tell your best friend that you've become the very thing that destroyed your city?
The restaurant, a small hole-in-the-wall place that had been shut down years ago, was as grimy and forgotten as Pod felt. Dust covered the tables, and the windows were clouded with grime. It had once been a popular spot for late-night meals, but after the last Choujin war seven years ago, businesses like this one had never recovered.
The front door creaked open, and Ryan stepped in, looking around with a confused expression. "Man, this place is a wreck," he said, kicking a piece of debris out of his path as he walked over to Pod. "You sure this is the best spot for a chat?"
Pod didn't answer immediately. He stared at the table, running his fingers along the chipped wood. His mind was a tangled mess, full of dark thoughts and fears he didn't know how to share.
Ryan slid into the seat across from him and set down a can of Pringles he'd brought with him. "Alright, what's going on? You sounded weird on the phone."
Pod swallowed hard, staring at Ryan's familiar face. How could he explain? How could he admit what he had done, what he had become?
"Do you ever think about… the Choujin war?" Pod started, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Seven years ago? Yeah, I think about it. Hard not to, considering the city's still in ruins because of it. Why?"
Pod rubbed the back of his neck, his throat tightening. "I was just… remembering. The way everything changed. All those people… gone in an instant. Buildings destroyed. And… how nobody really cared once it was over. We all just tried to move on."
Ryan popped open the can of Pringles and crunched on a chip, shrugging. "Yeah, it was brutal. But what are you getting at, Pod?"
Pod looked up, his eyes wide and panicked. "I—I think about it all the time. What it was like before the war. And how it could happen again, at any moment. And if the churches find out about me…"
Ryan narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Find out what about you?"
Pod clenched his fists, his breathing quickening. He couldn't do it. He couldn't say it.
But then the words tumbled out in a jumble, faster than he could stop them. "I… I'm different now, Ryan. I'm not like before. I'm… I'm a Choujin."
The room fell into an eerie silence. The creaks of the building, the distant hum of the city outside—it all seemed to fade away in that moment. Ryan froze, mid-bite, his eyes wide as he stared at Pod.
"You're… you're what?" Ryan said, his voice barely audible.
Pod's face flushed with a mix of shame and fear. "I… I made a deal, Ryan. I didn't want to, but I did. I took… something, and now I'm like them. I'm a Choujin."
Ryan blinked, his hand still hovering near his mouth with a chip of Pringles. His mind was clearly struggling to process what he had just heard. "Wait… you mean… you have powers now? Like the people who wrecked the city?"
Pod nodded slowly. "Yeah. I didn't want to, but I— I couldn't stand being powerless anymore. After what happened to my dad, and with the way the city is falling apart... I thought—"
Ryan's mouth hung open in disbelief. He started to say something but instead coughed violently as the chip in his mouth got stuck in his throat. He tried to take a breath, but the coughs only grew worse, his face turning red as he struggled for air.
Pod shot up from his seat. "Ryan? Ryan, are you—?"
Ryan stood up, clutching his throat, still choking on the piece of Pringles. His eyes watered as he stumbled back, knocking over his chair in the process. Pod rushed around the table, smacking Ryan's back in an attempt to help him dislodge the chip.
With one last heave, Ryan spat the chip onto the floor and gasped for air, doubling over in relief. He wheezed for a few moments before finally catching his breath.
"You… you're a Choujin… and I almost just died… from a freaking Pringle?" Ryan croaked, still bent over, hands on his knees.
Pod stared at him, wide-eyed, his heart still pounding from the panic of both his confession and the near-disaster. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to freak you out. I just… I had to tell you."
Ryan straightened up slowly, still wiping the tears from his eyes. "You couldn't have picked a better way to drop that bomb, huh?"
Pod managed a weak chuckle, though the weight of what he had revealed still hung heavily between them.
Ryan shook his head, still processing. "So… what now? What are you going to do?"
Pod swallowed, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I don't know. But if one of the churches finds out what I am… they'll either recruit me, or worse."
Ryan gave him a long, thoughtful look. "Well, you're not doing this alone. I'm with you, man. We'll figure it out."
Pod nodded, feeling a bit of the tension lift. But deep down, he knew things were only going to get more complicated from here.
As they left the old restaurant, Pod couldn't help but wonder if he'd made the right choice—telling Ryan, making the bargain, becoming something he never wanted to be. But now, there was no turning back.