"Nebula news. Just last night, the kidnappers responsible for the disappearances going on in our city were caught and abducted. The victims were unharmed and saved. And sources tell us this was possible only because of a young man called Brian Ashton..."Brian could still remember the news as he was seated in the middle row of seats in the Dolly Hall.Just as he thought, the news about Brian saving the victims spread like wildfire that in three weeks, Brian was like a celebrity in the city.All the victims were returned to their families after being checked on in the hospital. Brian received a lot of thank-you messages from them on social media. Brian couldn't be happier.The children in Richard's mansion were also returned to their families. And what more?Brian snitched on Gabe and his friends about his connection with the kidnaps and his drug dealing. They were now in the police station, preparing for his verdict.These last few days were nice. Students now treated Brian like a cel
Brian became dumbstruck after Lana dropped the bombshell. Charlene's mouth hung open, Melanie covered hers while Dalton was the one who spoke in astonishment. "She's-what now?" "The person that called said she tried to carry out an abortion, but...it..." Tears streamed out of her eyes. Brian didn't need the complete statement to understand. His ex-girlfriend was dead. Alexia Baker was gone from this world forever. Brian exhaled deeply. Perhaps, if he was still dating her he would have burst into tears and rushed to the hospital like an insane person to hug her corpse and cry harder. But he didn't do that. His sadness for her death wasn't overwhelming. She wasn't worth his tears. But that didn't mean he wanted her dead. Alexia, just like Patricia, did horrible things but they didn't deserve death. They could have changed their ways and lived better. "I told her not to do it. This is all my fault." Lana continued crying, refusing to wipe her cheeks which were wet with tears. "
"SURPRISE." Brian's heart skipped as applause and cheers filled his ears. He blinked repeatedly and looked. The living room was crowded with a lot of people, at least two dozen and they were all clapping and cheering. Edward and Rosanna stood in front of them with smiles on their face. Conan was behind them, grinning. About two dozen of Nightbirds, Gray Guardians, and Butterflies also filled the room. Brian looks around. There was a line of flag pennants attached to the ceiling, together with flags with letters forming the word, "Happy Coronation." "Welcome home, honey." Rosanna stepped forward and hugged Brian. "I...you guys didn't have to throw a welcome home party for me," Brian said after they separated. "This is not a welcome home party, silly." Rosanna laughed softly. "What is it then?" Edward stepped forward to explain. "Well, it's the tradition of the Addams to celebrate the heir of the family on their eighteenth birthday. Kinda like an heir coronation. But with the gi
In a little cafe in Star City, Brian and his two friends and co-workers, Melanie and Charlene, watched as the last customer left the cafe. "Finally." Brian yawned, to express his tiredness. "Let's pack up and go home. I haven't written my assignment," said Charlene. "Home will have to wait for some time," Melanie said and nudged her head at the door. The door opened, causing Brian to turn. He frowned when he saw the group of girls that had just entered. Charlene groaned. "Can't Patricia and her cronies find somewhere else to eat? It's nine o'clock for crying out loud." "The things we do to earn a living. Be a good girl and do the honors of collecting their orders, Charlene." Charlene rolled her eyes and approached the table where Patricia and her three friends sat. The door opened again and two people walked in. Brian sighed. Do people sleep at all? As they got closer, Brian knitted his brows. One of the people who just walked in was Raymond Kevorkian, the richest student in t
Brian blinked. "Pardon?" "I said get on your knees, kiss my shoes, and apologize," Raymond repeated impatiently. Brian stared at Raymond with deep hatred, wishing he could throw him out through the window. It's one thing to apologize to Raymond, now he was expected to kneel and kiss his shoes? "If you don't, you can leave," His boss added. Brian pondered on this. If he didn't do it, he would lose his job. But the thought of kneeling before Raymond alone irked him a lot. But his job was at stake. Brian's knees buckled slowly. Raymond smiled, thinking his plan worked well. Meanwhile, unknown to anyone except her, Patricia was getting the whole moment on video. She bit her lips in anticipation. If she caught this embarrassing moment on camera and posted it on her I*******m account, she could get a lot of likes and new followers. However, to the disappointment of everyone except Melanie and Charlene, Brian straightened before his knees could touch the ground. "No. No way. I can'
His saviors were a group of three men with huge biceps and muscles, dressed in ripped jackets, T-shirts, and jeans. Their whole arms were covered with tattoos. Bandanas of different colors were tied on their head, covering their hairs. The man in the middle had dark shades on and he had piercings on his nose. Brian guessed they were some of the gangsters who hung out in the alley. He chuckled nervously. "Hello. Thanks for the help. I'll be leaving now." He wanted to walk out from there as soon as possible but their hard glares prevented him from moving a muscle. They just laughed with a deep hoarse voice after Brian spoke. The one with the piercings, who seemed to be the leader, clicked his tongue. "Tsk. You poor naive thing. You are going nowhere." Brian squealed and staggered back. "I'm very sorry for being here. Please don't hurt me." The dark-shade guy laughed again. When his laughter died down, his expression became serious and he ordered. "Get him." Panic immediately too
Brian stared at Melanie from head to toe in shock. "OK, I don't get it. You own those men?" Brian asked. Melanie didn't strike him as someone with that power. "No time for questions. We have to get out of here." Melanie answered. She hooked her arm into Brian's and lifted him. Brian winced as his body hurt. But the pain didn't suppress his surprise. "How did you know I was here?" he asked. "I said no time for questions." Melanie snapped. When they neared the exit of the alley, Brian saw a black Mercedes Benz waiting. And, at last, he saw the men standing by the car. They were dressed in casual clothes and had nose masks on their faces. Brian's jaw dropped. He became scared that it took all of his willpower to walk properly. These men were built up with so many muscles that Brian could see their chest and broad shoulder outline on their shirts. Their biceps popped out in their long sleeve. "Who are those?" Brian asked. He felt like a child in the presence of the men. "Chill. T
Brian's eyes widened at his mother's statement. His father? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? "This man...my father?" stuttered Brian in shock, his eyes darting from his mother to the man. But his mother told him his father died before he was even born. Had she been lying all this while? "Brian," The man called and slowly drew closer to Brian. Brian transfixed on his spot, took in the man's features as he approached. Brian, resembling his mother, had nothing in common with the man except the eye color. Their eyes were the same shade of brown. Could this be his father? The man exhaled deeply in happiness, running his hand on Brian's body. "You've grown so much." Brian looked into his eyes. "Are you really my father?" The man's hands stopped on Brian's shoulders. He answered with a hug. Brian stood still in shock as the man's arm tightened around him. His father was alive in all of his twenty-two years of life? His face twitched with disgust immediately and he pushed him away. T
"SURPRISE." Brian's heart skipped as applause and cheers filled his ears. He blinked repeatedly and looked. The living room was crowded with a lot of people, at least two dozen and they were all clapping and cheering. Edward and Rosanna stood in front of them with smiles on their face. Conan was behind them, grinning. About two dozen of Nightbirds, Gray Guardians, and Butterflies also filled the room. Brian looks around. There was a line of flag pennants attached to the ceiling, together with flags with letters forming the word, "Happy Coronation." "Welcome home, honey." Rosanna stepped forward and hugged Brian. "I...you guys didn't have to throw a welcome home party for me," Brian said after they separated. "This is not a welcome home party, silly." Rosanna laughed softly. "What is it then?" Edward stepped forward to explain. "Well, it's the tradition of the Addams to celebrate the heir of the family on their eighteenth birthday. Kinda like an heir coronation. But with the gi
Brian became dumbstruck after Lana dropped the bombshell. Charlene's mouth hung open, Melanie covered hers while Dalton was the one who spoke in astonishment. "She's-what now?" "The person that called said she tried to carry out an abortion, but...it..." Tears streamed out of her eyes. Brian didn't need the complete statement to understand. His ex-girlfriend was dead. Alexia Baker was gone from this world forever. Brian exhaled deeply. Perhaps, if he was still dating her he would have burst into tears and rushed to the hospital like an insane person to hug her corpse and cry harder. But he didn't do that. His sadness for her death wasn't overwhelming. She wasn't worth his tears. But that didn't mean he wanted her dead. Alexia, just like Patricia, did horrible things but they didn't deserve death. They could have changed their ways and lived better. "I told her not to do it. This is all my fault." Lana continued crying, refusing to wipe her cheeks which were wet with tears. "
"Nebula news. Just last night, the kidnappers responsible for the disappearances going on in our city were caught and abducted. The victims were unharmed and saved. And sources tell us this was possible only because of a young man called Brian Ashton..."Brian could still remember the news as he was seated in the middle row of seats in the Dolly Hall.Just as he thought, the news about Brian saving the victims spread like wildfire that in three weeks, Brian was like a celebrity in the city.All the victims were returned to their families after being checked on in the hospital. Brian received a lot of thank-you messages from them on social media. Brian couldn't be happier.The children in Richard's mansion were also returned to their families. And what more?Brian snitched on Gabe and his friends about his connection with the kidnaps and his drug dealing. They were now in the police station, preparing for his verdict.These last few days were nice. Students now treated Brian like a cel
"He escaped." Dalton completed. "What? How?" Brian exclaimed. "We tried holding him but some guards came to his rescue. We were outnumbered." Melanie explained. Brian curled his fist. He should have sent some men to help them. But then, he wasn't expecting them to be outnumbered. "Did you see anyone with dreadlock run this way?" Brian asked Arata. Arata shook his head. "We guarded here heavily. No one left or entered." Brian's brows furrowed. How did Raymond escape? Was there some kind of secret passageway or tunnel in the house? Melanie let out a weak gasp and winced. The pain on her side was getting intense. Brian returned his attention to her and stared at her side. She seemed to have been stabbed where she was stabbed previously at Alexia's place. She needed treatment immediately. Just then, a deep voice boomed, causing Brian to jump a bit. "FREEZE." Brian turned. Blood drained from his face at what he saw. Several men barged into the compound. They were all armed
"You are not the only one with a bullet vest here." Miss Claudine cackled and pointed her black pistol at him again. "You are all dead meat."Before she could pull the trigger, Dalton moved and kicked her hand. Her gun skidded from her hand and she yelped."You must have forgotten you are outnumbered," Dalton said. "No one is dead meat except you."Miss Claudine straightened up."It's over." Brian raised his gun at her. A gunshot was heard in the hallway, causing Brian to turn. Two guards lay on the ground meters from them. They were shot by the Nightbirds.Raymond took advantage of the distraction. He grabbed Melanie's hand and twisted it.Melanie winced in pain and left her gun. Then, Raymond delivered a kick on her abdomen which propelled her towards Brian. As Brain caught her, he and Miss Claudine took off in the direction of the stairwell. Dalton raised his hand to shoot but they started moving in a zigzag manner making it difficult for Dalton to target. They entered the stairw
Brian's heartbeat increased its rate as he glanced at the guards pointing their guns at them as if they prepared for this moment their whole life. Melanie and their others stood in the same state of shock as Brian. The guards were about ten in number. Some of the guards stepped forward and took their guns, leaving them with no means to defend themselves. "Awn, sweet Brian thought his plan would work. Haha." Miss Claudine cackled maniacally. "But we were already one step ahead." Brian gritted his teeth at the sight of his Business Law teacher. Nothing had changed about her except that she was wearing a black shirt and black leather jeans, something he thought he would never see her wear. Her dimples, which once gave her a nice look, now made her look sinister with the wicked grin. "Long time no see." Raymond chirped in. Brian glared at him. Raymond also wore black like everyone else and for the first time, Brian saw Raymond without his earrings or chains. His dreadlocks dangled on
Conan tapped a button on the control unit of the kit after Brian's order and sent the command to the transmitter. Instantly, the lights went off and the area was covered in darkness. Brian tapped the button by his glasses and jumped out. He started seeing in radioactive green through the glasses. He moved towards the fence with the others. Just like they planned, the Nightbirds stood on the shoulders of the Gray Guardians. The Guardians stood up, lifting the Nightbirds to touch the electric wire.Since the power supply had been disrupted, they were able to touch the wire without being electrocuted. They snapped the wire quietly with wire cutters. Still on the Guardian's shoulders, they shot all the guards they found in the compound. As if fate was on their side, the cloud had covered the full moon, so the darkness thickened a bit.After they'd shot the guards, they indicated to the guardians that the coast was clear by tapping their feet on their shoulders.The Guardians lifted the
The black Sienna drove through the road in the forest. The headlights were dimmed to avoid easy spotting so Dalton had to drive carefully because of the limited light. Luckily, the full moon helped with some illumination. Some meters behind, two black minivans, in which Richard, Sasha, and the rest of the men and women were in, trailed behind. For some reason unknown to Brian, the cars made little noise as they moved. The laptop stood on the middle of the car dashboard. They were following the dot on the map which was still moving on the water as represented on the map. There was another dot on the map. It was a blue dot that represented them, enabling them to know how far they were from the kidnappers. The two dots were meters apart, the red dot being by the right and ahead of the blue one. Brian's uneasiness came back for a moment but he shoved it aside. He had started this already, so there was no point being negative. "Will our gas be enough for the whole journey?" Brian inq
Brian watched in amazement as a Nightbird, whose name was Killian (he was apparently the best voice imitator and actor they had), put on a Mohawk wig that resembled Gabe's hair. His face had already been covered with makeup, giving him Gabe's complexion. His eyes were covered with contact lenses, giving him Gabe's blue eyes color. "Wow, this is impressive work," Brian said to Sasha was just finishing applying the makeup. She bowed and smiled. "Thank you." "Now for the voice part. How's it going?" Killian took out his earpiece with which he had been listening to Gabe's voice. "How's this?" He cleared his throat and changed his facial expression to an angry one. He looked just like Gabe. "Hey, dude. What the hell are you doing?" He spoke in a voice that almost sounded like Gabe's if not for the deepness and pitch. Brian nodded again, impressed with what he witnessed. "Wow. How did you do that?" "Well, I've been listening to his voice since today so I studied his speech tone an