Ken didn’t remember how he got these wounds. The tons of gashes on his body… He could feel them smarting from the perspiration flowing into them. And his shirt was officially unusable. Ever. His head buzzed. He remembered being hit really hard on the head. And then his mind went blank.
What puzzled him more was that he couldn’t see. His eyes had finally focused, and all he saw was black. Maybe he was blind. He panicked. Then he noticed that there was something covering his face. No wonder. Well, it wasn’t so bad then, he thought. He wasn’t blind. But the sack did smell strongly of apples. Too strong. Ken never liked apples.
Next moment, the sack covering his head was whipped off. And he looked into a pair of light brown eyes.
“You okay?” His captor had beautiful hair, unlike Ken’s own mohawk-ish style. The guy's hair fell messily on his forehead. A simple white tee hid behind a brown, cloth jacket. He had a grin which made you feel high.
Before answering, Ken absent-mindedly observed his surroundings. He was in a warehouse. Or something like it. Stacks of powdered cement were scattered here and there. The wall was filthy with graffiti. A few wooden chairs, with people sitting on them. A fan lazily rotated as Ken stared at it. It made him dizzy, so he stopped.
Only then did he notice the guy was still grinning at him, albeit not as eager as a few minutes before.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” groaned Ken. Here comes the corny line. “Where am I?”
“USJ 1 warehouse. Well, Yuv sleeps here. Marcus and Michelle live somewhere else,” said the guy. Yuv must be the Indian. They didn’t really pay much attention to Ken.
“Okay…” Ken glanced around again. Then he realized his arms were free to move, so he shook them up a bit. “Why am I here?”
“You know Justin? He came after you. Right? And he damned near killed you. Good thing Jian was there.” The guy smirked. “Basically, I saved your life!” He looked really proud of himself.
Ken didn't quite know what to say. "Er... Thanks."
“No problem. Now, let’s get down to business,” he added, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Ken, who stared intently at his “savior”.
“I guess you know this, but Justin tracked you down cause you’re a power user. He works in a company called The Facility. FCLT for short,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “All of us,” he indicated Marcus, Paul and Yuv, “Were attacked before. By chance, we met up. And we’re kind of trying to hide from the guys.” He paused for awhile.
“But now, things have changed. We’ve been working to save people. Now we have the powers to attack. The FCLT’s network of spies and assassins are growing, and there’s nothing stopping them. Except us.”
Ken wondered. “So… You’re terrorists?”
The boy gaped. “What?”
“Well, terrorists attack companies, and facilities and the White House.”
“No! We’re not like that,” snapped the guy. “These people are planning something. And they’re killing off people like us. We’re trying to protect our kind of people.”
“…Why?” That word caught the guy off guard. Ken repeated the question. “Why bother? Isn’t it safer to forget about this? And live on with your life?” Ken stopped, then continued, “What’s your problem with the FCLT?”
The guy hesitated. He was wearing a pretty bitter smile. Then he uttered slowly, in no more than a whisper. “I got something to settle with them. They took away something important from me.” At that, he looked up at Ken.
“Anyway, I’m asking you to join me.”
"Join you?”
“Yes, smarty pants. Join us. We’re trying to get rid of a big threat here. We need the people. Besides,” he added, “It’s fun.” Marcus seemed pretty annoyed at the fun part, but decided to stay quiet.
Ken drooped his head, so it looked as if he was asleep. Could he do it? He was a power user. He could fight. After all, what were his powers for, if not for fighting? Simple and clean. He decided.
“Why not?” The guy grinned.
“Nice choice.” The atmosphere suddenly lightened. The guys looked more friendly, as if they were tensed up just now.
“Oh yeah.” The guy help up his hand, grinning. Again. “I’m Nick.”
Ken took his hand. “I’m Ken.”
Ken stopped. There was something itching at the back of his brain since Nick explained things to him.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“…Who’s Justin and Jian?”
Nick looked puzzled. “Don’t you know them?”
Ken looked just as confused.
“…No.”
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