"Find the boy." The figure gave off a sickly sweet smell, drenching the gathering with a rich perfume. Men and women pushed against one another, they craned their necks over heads, shuffled closer, clawed into ankles with rigid shoes; designed especially for the occasion. They all had one goal in mind: catch a glimpse of the speaker.
Pristine, radiating the very thing each Petrafer hunted; a glorious aura, beautiful and strong, molded around the individual. It was the source of the scent. The source of the excitement. And everyone wanted it.
Aura. Fame. Recognition.
"Long ago, the Petrafers ruled over the forest." The figure shouted, quieting the gathered people. "For generations we lived PEACEFULLY in our woods. We were HAPPY! We were FREE!" The crowd was silent. "Four weeks ago, Techtics INVADED OUR LAND! They KILLED our most powerful leaders and BURNED our trees to the ground!" The speaker paused, and the crowd roared in anger. "WE the invincible PETRAFERS must smash those Tech bastards to dust! Only then will we regain our PRIDE, our GLORY!"
"Our PRIDE! Our GLORY!" the crowd echoed. Three hundred Petrafers raised their hands in salute, one arm across the other, forming an X.
The speaker bowed. "Find the boy! He's the key to our success!"
"Find the boy! Find the boy!"
"FOR PETRAFER!"
Applause and cheers exploded from the Petrafers, the three hundred dispersing, going to their respective groups. A hunt had begun. Soon, the main dish would be served.
One boy, coming right up.
******
Kai sneezed.
The car jostled him, tossing his hair up and down. Kai was beginning to understand just how premature humanity was. Even with the colossal discovery of cars, they still had things like roads.
"Shuttle with the people. Make sure to tip the driver. Ask for his/her name, then get back to work." The message from Z shoved its way to the front of Kai's cluttered mind.
Kai stared at his reflection in the tinted window. "Shuttle with the people." What did that mean? Which code was it? He knew a few, but without VPP, he didn't understand the meaning behind the words. A shuttle? Tip?
Bouncing hair came to a rest as the car slowed and stopped.
Two unblinking eyes from a fox-like boy tested his sanity--almost as much as school had--with an indifferent stare. Kai deliberately did not look back. Maybe if ignored, the boy would look away.
Massive animal eyes and a charming smile; two traits that were unnerving together. Minutes passed.
Still there.
'Does he ever blink?' Kai thought. He shook his head and gave up. Too tired to do anything else, Kai swung his head around, intent on telling the fox boy off.
The door opened, letting Nataly observe as an exasperated Kai asked the boy. "Do you ever get tired of staring at me!?" Their faces were almost touching.
Nataly raised an eyebrow.
"AH!!" Kai scrambled red faced away from the fox boy. He looked from the boy to Nataly. "Um that was NOT what it looked like. I-"
"Aww get over yourself. I don't give a dam--"
"HARPER!" Quinn snapped, walking over. "Watch your tongue!"
She started, but rolled her eyes. "Yes sir, sorry sir."
"Now we've got a lot to cover, but for now you three probably need some rest." Quinn dropped a hand on Nataly's shoulder. "Nataly, I'll drop you off at the Academy. I've already notified the front office of our situation. When you arrive, Miss. Schlutz will be there to escort you to the campus hospital."
"Sir I--"
"NO--this topic is not up for debate." Quinn motioned for Nataly to take shotgun. She obliged, and got in the car.
'Campus hospital?' Kai vaguely noted, mind still on the curious fox boy. He paid little attention as Quinn briefed Nataly. Some updates on the campus events, the school stats, he even passed her a paper--it looked official. Was Nataly important at her school?
'Important?' Z face popped into Kai's head. He immediately got a headache.
"Hey." A voice said.
Kai jumped. "Vdwgv76g3&^)#*2!" A ghost? Phantom? Undead spirit enacting revenge? Z?
It was the fox boy.
"Oh." Kai shivered--he was way too paranoid without VPP. "It's just you."
"Disappointed?"
"Nah. Relieved actually. I thought you were someone else."
The fox boy stared at him for a long moment.
"Uh. Can I ask you a question?" Kai shifted uncomfortably under his stare, eyebrows creased.
The boy had turned to look at someone else, but he nodded.
"Why do you do that?" Kai said. "Stare at people?"
"..."
No response?
"..."
People were so weird. To pass the time, Kai snuck a glance at the fox boy, looking at something other than his demanding eyes, judging his character. The boy had scratches along his fingers, scrapes down his legs and large nail marks around his neck. What the... What had this guy been through?
*****
Loud thuds were heard from the room next door. Conner and Rex were sparring, so it couldn't be helped. However, the room Soyer and Roe occupied was silent. Just the thing Soyer needed. Getting chased by police didn't help with one's stress levels, and Soyer was still feeling the effects. Right now, all he needed was some time and space. Life could throw whatever it wanted at him after, but first, some down time.
A deep gruff voice ripped the silence from the room. "Soyer, Roe."
Soyer glanced up. A huge man was blocking the light of the door. Huge hands, huge build.. The man had black facial hair running down the sides of his face and a scar under his chin. His face was kept in a permanent scowl, thick eyebrows in a V and brown eyes angry.
Good Glory, not him. "Yes sir?" He replied. Bless the holy angels--how had Rullen gotten here?
Roe picked behind his ear, examined his finger, and flicked it away. "What?"
The man leaned over Soyer, the rotten stench of his breath almost made Soyer gag. The one thing holding Soyer back was his desire to keep living.
"Where's my puppy?" Rullen growled.
"About that--"
"The authorities came an' there was this whole mess!" Roe interrupted. Where he got the enthusiasm to talk to someone like Rullen, Soyer couldn't fathom. "They found the hideout and the gem I dragged up'ther we had to leave behind. You wouldn't believe it boss! Champ was the naivest green horn I've e'er come across! Took a drug like candy he did. This kid was the perfect--"
"I DON'T CARE about a half dead bastard you idiot!" Rullen yelled. He poked Roe in the stomach--a warning. "TELL ME WHERE WHITE IS!"
"He's not with us...sir." Roe looked down.
There was silence.
"You mean to tell me... he got captured?"
Roe didn't say anything--which was a confirmation in itself--no words needed to be said. The large man grabbed Roe's collar and yanked him against the wall. "Do'you know why I'm pissed?" Rullen's voice grew quiet, dangerously so.
Roe didn't say a word--his one brain cell must've kicked in.
"Because you can't keep your head on straight." Rullen reached his other hand out, touching Roe's neck. He stroked it with a nail.
Roe closed his eyes, a pathetic noise escaped his throat when Rullen's nail penetrated skin. He dragged it down the length of Roe's neck. Blood blossomed underneath his chin. Soyer looked away.
"Do you know what happens to dogs who lose their bite?" Rullen's massive size made it impossible to struggle, Roe just hung there, not moving would lessen the pain. "They get put down."
They'd both seen this happen on multiple occasions, but experiencing it yourself was a hundred times worse--when he died Rullen wasn't making it to heaven.
Roe coughed up blood, his eyes strained as Rullens other hand came up, squeezing. Pupils went large and Roe's eyes fuzzed over. Rullen dropped him. "Go find my puppy." He wiped the blood off his hands.
Soyer tried not to tremble. "Yes sir."
Rullen turned to go. Soyer just stared at Roe's body, not daring to move for fear the same fate would greet him.
Rullen paused halfway through the door, he looked back at Soyer. "Oh yeh, you got a promotion." He left with a raise of his hand--the one without blood on it. "Congrats."
*****
They were silent on the way to the station. Kai had given up trying to talk to him, and the boy, content on staring, was fine with that.
After Nataly had gotten in, Quinn had explained that while White was most likely going to jail--he'd stabbed Nataly--Kai still had to be questioned about his kidnappers, so they were both being taken to the station. Quinn promised to let him go afterwards, so Kai wasn't too worried about it. His main concern was VPP. It hadn't responded for some time, and the longer Kai waited, the more his spirits sank. Could VPP really track its case? Had it died before it completed the job? Kai hadn't checked the device's battery level when he'd initiated the search--he was regretting that now.
Doors shut, the car resumed its loud roar and the three of them continued on their way--with an addition of Nataly.
Kai tried to get some sleep, but for the second time that day, a certain someone sent his body shivering with an uncanny stare. He remembered the nail marks on the boy's neck, and unconsciously touched his own.
The boy was still staring at him, but his mouth was now frowning. The fox boy looked at the ground. He looked at the seat. He looked at the window. Anywhere that wasn't Kai. Why the sudden loss of interest? Not that he was complaining--not having him staring down his neck was fine with--ah his neck. Kai quickly lowered his hands. 'That was insensitive.'
"So, where are you from?" Kai tried to start a conversation--he was not good at silence--didn't matter who the person was, if Kai was sitting next to them Kai was talking. Silence killed him in every way.
"From here." the boy replied. He didn't ask a question of his own.
'A two word answer? Okay...progress I guess.' Kai thought.
"Yeah me too." Kai said.
The boy slowly shook his head, his frown deepening. Oh crap--did the boy know everyone in the city? By the way he stared at people Kai wouldn't be surprised if he did.
"Well actually I was raised in another town, but this is my birthplace so I couldn't be happier to be back in...back in uh..." Kai looked around desperately. What was the town's name? He hadn't bothered to learn it, since VPP had a map Kai had easy access to.
'Well not ANYMORE!'
"Lakeview."
"Oh uh yeah." Kai smiled. "I had a hard time remembering that for some reason! Too many places in the world am I right, haha. Got them all mixed up in my head."
"You're not from here," The boy resumed staring at him, a smile starting to spread over his face, "are you?" Meanwhile the car cruised to a stop.
Kai began to sweat.
The boy's eyes darted from Kai's hands to his neck. He made a snap decision and held out his hand. "I'm White." he said.
Kai nodded. "Yes...so am I." What was the hand for? Did he take it? Did humans take each other's hands??? And what was with the ethnicity drop? What did it matter?
'VPP hurry up!' He pleaded internally. 'I can't do this much longer!'
Quinn's head popped through the window, saving Kai from further embarrassment. "Sorry to rain on your parade," Quinn thumbed towards a big building behind him. "But we're here." The words 'Lakeview Police' were written in black block letters, and a small group of men in black clothing stood outside. When they saw Quinn, they hurried over.
"This the station?" Kai asked. Quinn opened the door, holding a hand out for Kai. He took it, hoisting himself out of the car, happy to escape the fox boy's stare
"Yup!" Quinn gestured to the building. "Welcome to Lakeview's local police station!"
A head peeked out from the backseat. Quinn jubilantly called him over. "Come out White, we're here!"
White? Who just calls someone by there...WAIT...White was...
"I'm White." he'd said, sticking his hand out.
Ah.
It was his name.