CHAPTER FIVE

ARRIVAL IN BOSTON

“These days have been pretty rough for me… First, I had to
make sure my powers were not discovered by anyone, which
meant I had to become distant. Many people noticed my lack of
social activity so they thought I went through some form of
depression and decided to cheer me up. It’s good to know they
care, but I don’t want to hurt them by accident. My high school
life was normal until the end. I took every exam in mind and
passed with flying colors. My friends then decided to celebrate
our success and we went out for a drink. I don’t drink alcohol,
and neither do they so it was a first for all of us. My parents
were okay with the idea so I went with them to some pub
downtown. We had fun… until Lucian got drunk and started to
dance on tables. We started laughing so hard we couldn’t
breathe. We even spilled some wine on our clothes. Lisa was
kind enough to wipe my coat with her napkin.”
“Here you go, champ.”
“Thanks. I know I passed all of you, but don’t make me feel bad
about it.”
“What do you mean?! You rock! Don’t ever feel ashamed. We
will always support you. Because you always supported us.”
“You know what? Sometimes you are so kind I almost forget
about your bad jokes.”
“Now you are just mean!”
Andrew and Lisa head back to their friends and finish their
drinks while listening to the singer on stage. Lucian gets back on
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his chair and touches Andrew’s elbow.
“That girl sure knows how to move her lips, doesn’t she, Dre?”
“Man, you’re way too out of it to even understand a single
word. Go buy something sour.”
“God, with that attitude, I understand why you didn’t get a
girlfriend while we were colleagues.”
Lisa looks at Lucian. She gets irritated but remains silent.
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me how to get a girl. I just want my
first one to be special.”
“Oh! So you say my first girlfriend was a bitch, huh? Is that it,
Dre?!”
Lisa stands between them as they both get up.
“I think you drank enough, Luce. Cool it, man.”
“Cool it?! He just said he thinks my girlfriends were basic
bitches who would hook up with anyone!”
“Hey, you are misinterpreting words. I didn’t try to say bad
things about you.”
“You think so highly of yourself sometimes. YOU ARE AT THE
TOP OF EVERYTHING AND YOU ENJOY IT! HOW DOES IT FEEL
LIKE TO LOOK DOWN ON EVERYONE ALL THE TIME?!”
“Okay, it’s enough.”
Lucian raises his hand, trying to punch Andrew. Lisa grabs his
arm, stopping him at the last moment.
“He is right. It is enough.”
Lucian escapes her grasp and walks out of the pub filled
with anger, kicking the door shut in his leave. The rest of the
group stand up and call the waitress.
“I think we should head home, guys. I certainly don’t want to
end up saying those things too.”
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“It’s alright, man. I can call a taxi for us. See you, guys!”
Andrew and Lisa are left alone and they leave the pub.
“I’m sorry you had to intervene.”
“It’s okay. He had it wrong. Talk to him tomorrow. I don’t want
to see you guys lose contact now. We’ve known each other for
years.”
“Sure thing.”
Andrew waits for Lisa’s taxi, and he then decides to walk
home on his own.

***

“It sure was rough that day. I tried to call Luce. But he didn’t
respond. Lisa tried to call him too. I’m sorry he thought I was
playing around with him. He was a good guy. He seemed to
disappear from the face of the earth. We found out later that
him and his whole family went missing. Nobody seems to know
what happened. I just hope he is alright, truly. We even put up a
small funeral for them, with all the people from the
neighborhood, but I still hope this funeral was for nothing…
After all that trouble, I finally had been accepted to MIT in
Boston. It was my one and only chance to leave the country and
start a new life. Actually, Lisa had high grades too. She was
admitted to the same university. It was a pleasant thing to
know I had a person who I could trust in the middle of the
unknown. My parents threw a party for me back home. Many
family members came and many friends did too. Although Luce
didn’t come, we still had lots of fun. Currently, I am renting one
of aunt Maria’s apartments. She was kind enough to not ask for
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money. I actually said I could give her the average price per
month but she refused with a smile on her face. She is a very
kind woman, very short too, with bright white hair and blue
eyes. She even wears the same clothes she had when I was a
kid. Those floral dresses never age… I started to control my
strength. I no longer have to be distant. I can sort of channel the
power in one spot and not worry about the rest. Usually, I
channel it to the head, and then the rest of my body becomes
normal again. The precise senses are still there, and I still don’t
feel pain. I only felt pain once after that guy did that to me. I
touched some sort of ancient blade at a museum and it made
my hand numb and full of pain. Today, I have been invited by
Lisa to drink some coffee with her at a shop near my place. It’s
nothing fancy, because she is currently living alone and I
understand she can’t afford anything too expensive right now.
And she won’t ever let me buy anything for her.”
Andrew arrives at the shop, dressed in a leather jacket, a white
T-shirt and large blue jeans.
“I think I can look good in something besides my usual clothing.
“Well, at least I know I won’t look like a fresh student beside
her…“
Andrew sees Lisa in the distance and he is stunned by her
appearance. She had curly hair, a black skirt with a leather
jacket on top.
“I was wrong… I look like a moron right now…”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Haven’t you seen a
model before?”
“I have seen many models. But I am impressed you actually
know how to dress.”
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“I don’t think that was a compliment.”
“It definitely was not.”
“Man, you sure know how to ruin the mood. So, what’s up?”
“It’s all good. I actually have adapted quite well to the new
environment. There are some girls who grew quite fond of me.”
“OH, DID THEY?”
“Caught you… I was kidding!”
“You were never good at jokes.”
“So, what about you?”
“Well, I’m still not used to being such a small being in such a big
city, I guess.”
The two of them spend a lot of time talking, laughing, and
when the sun sets, they decide to leave the cafeteria.
“Well, I guess we part ways again. Bye, Andrew!”
“See you around!”
Lisa starts to walk towards her apartment. She lives in a
shady part of the town, filled with delinquents and drug
dealers. As she tries to move faster, she is approached by two
men.

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“Damn, girl! You look fine! Wanna take you for a ride up
North?”
Lisa starts to walk away at a faster pace, but the men keep
following.
“Grab her, Jayden!”
“No! Someone help! Don’t… don’t even dare!”
Lisa starts to fight the men, throwing strong kicks and
punches. The men seem to not get hurt because of their
endurance and simply laugh off her hits, but she manages to
land a strong leg kick to one’s head. That person falls to the
floor and tries to regain his composure, but Lisa gets
approached from behind and gets knocked out by a brick to the
head.
One of the men grabs Lisa by her stomach and places her
in the backseat of a car, tying her legs and hands.
Later, Lisa wakes up in the back of that car.
“Oh, God… What do I do? What do I do?! I still have my phone!”
Lisa starts to touch the phone in her back pocket. She tries
to dial the last called number. Andrew responds.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“HELP ME! I’M IN A RED CAMARO! THEY GRABBED M-”
“SHUT UP, BITCH!”
“Lisa are you okay?! Who’s that?!”
“Help me, please!”
“I SAID SHUT THAT MOUTH!”
The call gets cut short and Lisa’s phone is thrown out the
window. Andrew punches the brick wall of a building, leaving a
huge hole.
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“GOD DAMMIT! I SHOULD HAVE WALKED HER HOME”
He tries to call 911.
“HELLO? THERE HAS BEEN A KIDNAPPING! HELLO?!”
His phone dies.
“DAMN!”
Shortly after the battery on his phone dies, from a solid
brick wall, the figure approaches.
“You sure said that you would hide me. But I am so amused
that I must ask. Do you need my help, boy?”
“You…”

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