Besieged (Book One): Rise of the Misfit

The Boy Shrouded In A Haze

Dr. Imarri was yet to understand if the explanation was so simple. “He… floats…?”

“Weightless, to be more specific. Just like a man in space.”

Back when the incident happened, the result was that quite a number of people had awakened to abilities, of which, Finnian was among. He had woken up to being suspended in mid-air, floating around like a feather, and even a feather had more weight than he did. With the help of his family, he was able to overcome that crisis by stuffing weights in his clothes, and even then, he would sometimes float away. Since that time, he had always felt embarrassed because of the weight he had to carry to stay steady on the ground, and most times, he had to reinforce the weights again and again to at least be able to walk like everyone else. This might have been difficult for him, but there was nothing else he could do for the time being.

This went on until the monthly research inspection began. At the time, Dr. Hani found it bizarre that a kid wore so many weights and could move around even though not normally. He then asked Finnian to take them off to see for himself, and when that happened, he had to get helpers to help get the lad back down on the ground. Dr. Hani was stunned by what he had seen and reported to the board of executives about Finnian’s case, tagging the latter as a flight class Cyph.

However, the report from the board came back to him saying that based on what they had seen, Finnian wasn’t flying but was suspended in mid-air. To be more specific, he was weightless. It was clear he had no sense of direction when floating, just like a man in space, as Dr. Hani had said.

Dr. Hani wasn’t too disappointed by this but was instead rather curious to know what Finnian’s ability would be over the years, but even till today, the lad was yet to display anything. And though there were strict rules on how to use powers in school, fights were still permitted under the watch of a commissioner. This, Dr. Hani, was looking forward to, but for now, he could only sit back and observe the boy from afar. The weighty clothes were Dr. Hani’s handwork to make things easier for Finnian, and it remained him and Finnian who knew just how much those weights weight. Yet the boy could move around so leisurely as if it was nothing.

After a series of explanations, Dr. Imarri’s reaction was the same as Dr. Hani’s when he first found out Finnian. And although there were other rather exceptional kids as well, there were some facts about Finnian that remained shrouded in a haze. Speaking of facts and hazes, Dr. Imarri seemed to have remembered something and quickly rushed to her desk, pulled out her drawer, and took out a plastic bag, and inside this bag was the twisted needle.

“What is that? Is that a… needle?” Dr. Hani narrowed his eyes. “Why is it like that? What happened?”

“I was hoping to ask you the same thing.”

“I don’t understand,”

“It was the boy, Finnian.”

Dr. Hani was perplexed, “Why would he twist your needle?”

“Technically, I can’t say it’s him, but it happened when I was about to take his blood samples. I hadn’t even pricked his skin yet and was just a few inches to do so when the needle started to twist till it got like this.”

Dr. Hani arched an eyebrow, hoping to understand what his colleague was saying.

“What, it hasn’t happened to you before?” Dr. Imarri asked, seeing how Dr. Hani looked at her as if she was imagining things.

“No, this is my first time hearing this. Let me have a look,” Dr. Hani took the bag to look at the needle, and on a closer look, he saw firsthand how deformed the needle had gotten. He fell into deep contemplation before saying lightly, “He could be showing signs of strength enhancement.”

“That was exactly what I thought, but then, those with strength enhancement would bend the needle or at most break it due to how tough their skin was. But this… this is different. And I’m certain that the needle hadn’t touched him yet it ended up like this.”

Dr. Imarri’s detailed explanation veered Dr. Hani’s thoughts to a different direction. He thought more about it and indeed, the results of those with physical enhancements were as she said.

“So you didn’t take his blood samples?”

“I tried the second time and I succeeded, that’s the crazy part.” Dr. Imarri was not just a doctor for nothing, and as a doctor, she believed there was an explanation for everything, and not finding an answer for this made her want to investigate more. But Dr. Hani knew the nature of his colleague and smiled, “I’ll look into it myself.”

Dr. Imarri, by nature, was thorough with her work and didn’t like loopholes anywhere. This had undoubtedly gained her recognition in the organization, thereby assigning her as one of the leading figures of the research team. Besides Dr. Hani, she was the next in rank and authority. But she very much favored the doctor’s work and didn’t doubt his competency in any way. So when she was assured of a result from him, she simply agreed to it.

“Alright, I’ll let you handle it, but you’ll have to give me feedback when you find something.”

“Haha, I will,” Dr. Hani reassured again with a smile. “I’ll help you tidy things here.”

“That won’t be necessary. There isn’t much left to do and I’m already done with the important ones. You should go home and rest; you’ve had a busy day yourself.”

Dr. Hani sighed tiredly after gulping his coffee, “You’re a big lifesaver,” He said while making his way through the door, “See you tomorrow.”