Ryu frowned.
Playfully, Alex punched her brother’s shoulder and, in doing so, saw his circular birthmark through his white T-shirt. “You know Grandma wants us to hide these, Ryu.”
He looked over his shoulder and then poked her where she had the exact same birthmark under her sundress’s short sleeve. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Grandma’s never told us why we have to hide them. I think she’s afraid it’s just one more reason everyone would pick on us. The whole village already thinks we’re freaks without knowing we have identical birthmarks.”
Alex paused. “I’m not sure it’s as simple as that. One time, I was wearing a sleeveless shirt when a few of her friends came over. Grandma turned pale and rushed me off to put on a sweater. It was a perfectly modest shirt, Ryu. I think she was afraid someone would see the birthmark. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, and I didn’t dare intrude in her mind. She would’ve killed me.”
Ryu laughed, knowing their grandmother’s temper. Then he scratched the mud in his hair while he thought. “Sis, what if these birthmarks mean something? What if they have something to do with why we’re different?”
Like what? she thought. But he might be right. Grandma certainly knows something she isn’t telling us. Yeah, in the morning I’ll talk with her once Ryu leaves for school.
Alex looked up at her brother seriously. “When I move to El Miret, I’ll investigate as much as I can. I promise, Ryu. I’ll find answers about us. And I’ll come back for you. We’ll both get out of this place once…” She looked through the screen door into the house.
Grandma’s not young, she thought. She’s stubborn and won’t leave her home, and I guess I can’t blame her. But we can’t leave her alone here either, so Ryu has to stay, for now. But when Grandma…
Alex tried not to think on this sad future day.
Ryu pulled off a glob of mud and sighed. “I guess that’s all I can ask. And I know you worry, so I promise to be good and stay out of trouble while you’re away.”
They were silent a moment, and Alex was relieved to find in her brother’s mind that his declaration was sincere.
She smiled at her brother and motioned to the door. “Grandma probably left dinner in the cold storage. She’ll be asleep by now, so eat quietly. I already ate after my shift at work, so it’s all yours. I’m going to sleep. We have chores at the crack of dawn.”
Ryu rubbed his stomach and smiled down at her. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
They entered the house’s small kitchen, and Alex peeked down a short hall to see that their grandmother’s bedroom door was already shut for the night. Parting, Ryu went to the cold storage and Alex walked to her room.
Inside her bedroom, Alex yawned and changed into pajamas.
I dread morning chores, she thought. How does Ryu survive on so little sleep?
Once Alex climbed under her covers and turned off her light, she looked out the window at the foot of her bed. The evening light was still warm, but dimming. Her mind was too busy to sleep just yet, so she looked over her shoulder at her bare arm and used her opposite hand to trace the strange birthmark. She ran her finger around and around its circular shape. Eventually, the soothing motion put her to sleep.
Hours later, Alex jolted awake. It was now dark, and frogs outside her window chirped at the night. Her mind had been in Ryu’s dreams. She liked doing that. It gave her good blackmail for the next morning. But Ryu’s dreams hadn’t woken her. Something was wrong.
Alex sat up in bed and concentrated. She sensed a force she’d never come in contact with before. She knew the few adult telepaths in their region who reached out occasionally, but this force was different. More powerful. And she sensed somehow that it was specifically directed at her. Whatever it was, it was getting stronger. Closer.
Right before it happened, the world went strangely quiet. The only thing Alex heard was the sound of her heavy breathing. Sweat formed under the hair on her neck. Her body tingled.
Suddenly a warm, red light shone through her window onto where she sat in bed. The red light was only on her. It didn’t illuminate the bedclothes or the walls – only her body caught the light.
Alex felt herself being lifted. She tried to scream but couldn’t make a sound. With a jerk, she was wrenched forward off her bed, and she floated toward the open window. Alex tried to grab the window’s frame, but she was trapped in some kind of force field. Her hands slipped from the window, and her nails dug through the paint as she was torn free. She looked into the black night, but the light shown so violently red that she had to close her eyes.
The world constricted as she was drawn into a metallic structure.
Clang!
The sound shook her bones as whatever she was now inside closed behind her. She dropped out of the red force field onto a cold, metallic floor. A gas hissed into her face, and she began to cough. Her head swooned. Then she was unconscious.
Outside time
The portal hole I was looking through blurred at this point in past time, and I involuntarily drifted away. I tried to get back, but a current of light pulled me. I knew from experience that this meant I’d see no more of that time. This was one of those things that was hidden from me.
What’s this? I thought. Clearly I haven’t investigated Alex’s life enough if I missed this! But who took her? Why? And why aren’t I allowed to know?
“Poor girl,” I said aloud into the lights. “Poor, poor girl.”
Obviously I’d need to look into this further. But, for now, I knew Alex was beyond my vision. Whoever took her, wherever she was, whatever was happening to her – I wasn’t allowed to see. Instead, I’d continue watching Ryu until Alex turned up again. And she did return. I knew that much from current time. But why was this significant event in her past hidden from me?
This abduction was a surprise, to be sure. As the time-traveling Interceder that I’d become, I was rarely surprised. I didn’t like it.
15
“Gunning for a fight”
Past time
Ryu had been looking for his sister for months. The villagers believed Alex ran away, but Ryu knew she’d never have left without at least saying goodbye. Their grandmother had reported Alex missing to the local authorities, but they hadn’t cared about finding an insignificant girl. Alex was thereafter declared dead, but not because any evidence was found to support foul play. The case was closed because Malice hadn’t been in the mood to waste kronar on an investigation. Ryu suspected his sister’s fears had come true and she’d been discovered and taken by the Dominion. He had no proof, however.
Out of grief, their grandmother took ill and died a month after Alex vanished. And so, alone in the world, Ryu dropped out of school and set off in search.
Finding Alex was the only thing that mattered now. He’d managed so far to survive on what little kronar he’d inherited from their grandmother, and he’d sold their home. Ryu now traveled the region, looking for his missing sister. So far, he’d searched every town between their village and El Miret.
This rough city was where Ryu currently found himself. He didn’t have much trouble with the local scrappers, who would’ve killed him were it not for his size. He was extra thankful for his muscles and height as he now fought in sparring clubs, earning just enough kronar to stay alive.
The muscular man in the ring with Ryu was panting, but Ryu’d barely broken a sweat. He gave his opponent a minute to recoup and looked around the dingy spectator stands. His fans were cheering him on, and many stood on their feet as they sensed the final blow coming. He’d become a favorite here at the Shack. One woman had a sign with ‘The Bear Rules!’ stenciled over an enlarged picture of his face.
I’m not sure what I think about the nickname, thought Ryu. But, the Bear persona is helping my fighting rates.
“Get him, Bear!” a man yelled from the stands.
His opponent lunged forward with a weak punch to Ryu’s chest. “Urgh!”
Ryu knew what
the crowd wanted, so he moved closer. He felt the tingling burn as he prepared to use the unusual degree of strength provided by his mutate-genes. He made a quick step to his left, and his opponent fell for it and turned. Ryu spun right and grabbed the big man around the torso, then lifted him overhead, which drove the spectators wild. Ryu threw his opponent down again, and the man’s muscular bulk thudded on the floor’s thin cushioning. Ryu stood over him, but his opponent refused to rise from where he’d landed.
The crowd erupted in applause and chants. “Bear! Bear! Bear!”
Raising his hand, Ryu showed his fans that he was choosing mercy for his opponent. They cheered him all the more.
Lewk, the grubby owner of the Shack, stepped into the ring to hold up Ryu’s arm in victory. The voice projector squealed as he congratulated Ryu. “Ladies and gentleman, I give you your champion for the tenth straight fight, Bear!”
Ryu smiled for the crowd and raised his hands with a wave. They went crazy for him, and he wiped his brow and tried to look as if this had been a close one. The woman with the sign was jumping up and down. A group of betting men exchanged kronar tubes. The row of other fighters glared at Ryu and didn’t seem eager to get their turns with him in the ring. Ryu also recognized a Dominion operative who’d been tailing him the last couple of clubs.
This would be fun, thought Ryu, if I didn’t have the Dominion drooling all over me. I’m not the first professional fighter who’s caught their attention. I shouldn’t push my luck – too much fame and the Dominion will enlist me whether I like it or not.
With the crowd still cheering, Ryu and Lewk left the ring, where the defeated fighter still lay groaning. Lewk had earlier agreed on a price for the show, so they made their way toward a back office of the smoke-filled, dirty Shack.
Away from the spectators, Lewk was less exuberant but still easygoing. “That was a fine show, kid. I’d be glad to have ya back for another match.”
Ryu smiled. “Oh, I think ten-for-ten is a good way to end things.”
“You sure? Next time, I’d find ya a worthier challenger. I just wasn’t expecting a kid to wop a big man like that, even if you are a Bear.” Lewk chuckled.
They reached the office, and Lewk opened the door to lead Ryu inside. The shorter, more portly man walked to his desk and opened a safe. Ryu removed the wraps from his fists.
“Sure I can’t talk ya into another match?”
Ryu grinned. “Thanks for the offer, but I need to move on.”
“Well, I’ll be sad to lose ya, kid. Your reputation wasn’t exaggerated, and you pack a full house.” Lewk paused what he was doing and helped himself to a cigar. He waved at a cooler. “Grab yourself a drink.”
“Thanks.” Ryu opened the cooler to retrieve an electrolyte-rich, neon-colored beverage. He chugged it down while Lewk counted out kronar from the safe.
He’s wrong about finding worthy opponents, thought Ryu. Not only am I stronger than most, but most know it and won’t fight me. That’s another reason I have to move on. The Bear is getting too famous, so I’ll have to run pretty far so my legend doesn’t precede me… And I need to lose that Dominion recruiter. And I need to find Alex. Those investigators I hired with my last winnings didn’t find anything here in El Miret, so off I go. It’ll take every tube of kronar I just earned to buy a ticket out of this region.
Lewk left the safe, kronar in hand, and walked over to where Ryu waited with an outstretched palm. While puffing his illegal, Shfex-laced cigar, Lewk took one yellow tube of kronar at a time and scanned it over Ryu’s ID tag. The fiberoptics inside the tube lit up, activating the download.
“Could I have half the tubes un-scanned?” asked Ryu. “I need to pay someone before I can get to a terminal.”
“No problem.” Lewk wasn’t a stickler for records, so he handed Ryu the remaining kronar. The paid kronar he tossed on his desk to recycle later.
Ryu prepared to leave. “Thanks again, Lewk. I’ll be moving on, so you might not see me again. I’m heading west, toward Angeles. I liked fighting here at the Shack, though. You have one of the nicest places I’ve seen.”
“I’d hate to see the other clubs, then. Good luck findin’ that sister you were talkin’ about.” Lewk looked at Ryu over his cigar. “Oh, and look out for patrols in the next city, kid. I don’t know where you’re from, but the Elite who runs this region is Malice, and he’s earned the name. Ever since a Youth MOB broke his nose, he’s had it out for all young MOB. Watch yourself.”
Ryu’s head snapped up as he tucked away the kronar tubes. After Alex’s disappearance, he’d taken her advice and tried to blend in as much as possible. He’d come to realize she was right about keeping his genetic gifts a secret. Fighting in clubs allowed him to use his strength and blend in at the same time, but he’d taken precautions and never told anyone about his mutate-genes. He certainly didn’t want his Dominion fans to know he was MOB. As another precaution, he always wore a Bear sticker tattoo over his birthmark. Who knew if the birthmarks meant something? He couldn’t take chances.
Lewk raised an eyebrow. “What, ya thought I didn’t know? No kid in his teen years can fight like that unless he has a genetic reason for it. You have MOB strength?”
Reluctantly, Ryu nodded.
“Don’t worry, kid. I won’t tell anyone. I respect a boy in a man’s world. You’re tough. You’ll make it. Besides, I’m not the kind to seek attention, if ya catch my drift.” He motioned with his cigar to his box of Shfex, a hazardous drug even the Dominion declared illegal.
Ryu smiled. “Well, thanks again. I’ll just clean up and be on my way.”
“Safe travels.” Lewk waved with his cigar and turned to work at his desk.
Ryu left the office and headed to the locker room, which smelled like every other locker room he’d been in. He walked to the locker with his name taped at eye level, pulled out a towel, and went to the showers. He saw he was alone, so he tried to relax. After turning on a shower, he peeled off his sweaty clothes and stepped under the warm water. He stood with his head dipped, letting the water spray into his hair and drip off his face.
I’m going to miss these showers, he thought. I don’t have to duck to fit.
Once clean, he wrapped the towel around his waist and went back to his locker. Here he changed into street clothes and packed his few belongings in a duffle bag.
“You didn’t have to throw me down so hard.”
Ryu looked over and saw his beaten opponent emerge from the far showers. The man wore only a towel, and he held his back as he walked to his locker.
“Sorry. Lewk paid extra for that. I figured you’d agree it was worth it.” Ryu pulled out the un-scanned kronar tubes from Lewk. “Here. All yours. Thanks for agreeing to fight me.”
The man scoffed but took the kronar. “Now I know why the others warned me about you.” He reached in his locker, muttering to himself as he gathered his things. “I always get the bad end of these sparring shows. No one’s going to take me seriously now that a kid’s beat me. I gotta find a manager.” With that, he held his back and walked off with his belongings toward the showers again.
Alone, Ryu closed his locker for the last time and swung his bag over his shoulder. Exiting the locker room, he walked down a dark hall and pushed open a rear exit to step into the light of midday.
The alley here was littered with trash and dumpsters, but a cool breeze brought better smells from the food stopovers on the main street. Ryu’s stomach rumbled, and he turned to follow his nose.
A gang of kids jumped out from behind a dumpster. Their leader tossed a razor knife from hand to hand. They clearly planned to mug him, and Ryu wondered how much more a person could take.
Really? he thought. Are these kids stupid? I could kill them with one punch. I’m standing right outside a sparring club, aren’t I? Oh, well. If they’re dumb enough to choose me for a victim, I guess I can take the time to teach them a lesson. They look half-starved, so at least they’re not Dominion Youth. They’re probably un
trained and just fighting to survive. I know a little something about that.
“Come on, big guy,” said the cocky leader, still playing with his knife. “We just wanna pluck your kronar, then we’ll let ya go.”
Ryu spun into the younger teen and slammed him against the side of the building. He held the kid pinned and yanked the razor knife out of his hand. With a glare at the kid, he squeezed the knife’s handle until it crumbled. The shock on the punk’s face was priceless.
“Oh, flush me!” said one of the other boys. “That’s the Bear! Guys, this is the Bear!”
Ryu focused on the kid he held pinned. “I don’t have kronar on me, but how about if I let you go?”
The teen looked to his friends but discovered no one was going to challenge his captor. He nodded furiously. As soon as Ryu let his feet hit pavement, the gang took off down the alley.
Ryu found himself alone again. With a sigh, he adjusted the bag over his shoulder, then walked the rest of the way to the crowded street.
It was loud and crowded here, but the smell of frying food again reached his nose. His growling stomach reminded him once more that he hadn’t eaten today. Patting his abs, Ryu looked along the street until he saw the familiar, arched sign of a Dominion-owned food stopover. Ryu pushed his way against the crowds to reach the entrance.
Once inside, he noticed that the rougher class seemed to be everywhere in El Miret. Even here, in a Dominion food stopover, black market dealers lounged without fear. What few Dominion patrols existed in this city didn’t bother about them, so they were free to roam and do business as they pleased. As Ryu stood in line, he also recognized several fighters from the local sparring clubs.
I beat most of these guys, he thought. The others I didn’t fight. And I probably never will now that I’m so famous.
When it was his turn at the counter, Ryu placed his order. He scanned his palm over the counter’s data screen to pay and waited for the attendant to get his order, all the time watching his back. When his tray of food arrived, he turned to find a seat amongst the cluttered tables. He waded through diners to the back of the room, where he found an empty table. Here he could sit by himself and also have a good view. With a happy moan, he bit into his meaty sandwich.
The Kota Page 24