Upon hearing that, Edel immediately stopped time on her own initiative, and they all ran towards one direction: Walker Park.A few moments later, they could see a large mural from afar located near the park and soccer field. The mural depicted five adult male faces, two of them with mustaches and one wearing a cap."That must be the place," said Dim-Dim, recognizing the large mural as 'The Immigrants,' a fairly famous mural in New York City.They paused there for a moment to catch their breath.Edel resumed time."So what now?" asked Noah, showing no signs of fatigue."Activate our superpowers," Velicia and Justin almost simultaneously replied. Velicia then transformed her hair into glowing pink, then blue, then yellow, and then green. "Okay, done!""Nice, Velicia," praised Poe, through the earpieces in their ears. "Justin, for the next five minutes, please don't stop time and let the monster continue to track you from behind. Don't make it suspicious.""Oh, okay, Poe..." said Justin,
Without a moment's hesitation, Dim-Dim's instincts kicked in, prompting him to transform into a big cat.With every stride, Dim-Dim pushed himself harder, fueled by the urgency of the situation. Time seemed to blur as he sprinted through the streets, dodging obstacles and narrowly evading capture. His thoughts raced alongside his body, grappling with the gravity of their predicament and the dire need to reunite with his companions.As he closed in on Edel, Velicia, and Justin, he could feel the weight of their collective struggle bearing down on him. With each passing moment, the distance between them grew shorter... *****Dim-Dim didn't remember how difficult it was to escape from those monsters. Not all the steps. But he remembered some parts.Every time he felt he had run far enough from them, they would leap beside him, grabbing his legs, and he found himself trying to escape by transforming back into a small animal, fleeing, turning into a bird, getting caught again, and turning
Is this what it feels like to be a teenager? Angry, frustrated, falling in love, heartbroken, hurt, angry, frustrated, angry, frustrated...Angry, frustrated...Frustrated...Dim-Dim took a deep breath, then decided to fly around his father's house and land in the backyard, then transform back into himself."Don't be a bratty teenager," he reminded himself mentally. "Don't let people label you as a rebellious teenager. That's enough..."Cath was reading a children's magazine on the back porch, looking bored and clearly waiting for someone.The kid was innocent. So it wasn't understandable Dim-Dim resented her. And she always tried to be nice to Dim-Dim, because she admired him. Maybe Dim-Dim should be nice to her too."Cath, hi," Dim-Dim greeted, stepping over the short fence of the back porch. "What are you up to?"Cath's eyes immediately shifted from the children's magazine she was reading, sparkling as she looked at Dim-Dim. "Dim-Dim!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I got a new bag! Wa
Dim-Dim couldn't refuse, especially since Edel and Cath seemed so excited about this dinner gathering of the two families.So he helped Edel and Cath move the table to the backyard, in bear form, and then they moved the spare chairs from the shed and cleaned them with a cloth.To be cautious in case of rain, they set up a canopy over the yard."Well, outdoor dinner," Cath exclaimed cheerfully. "I like your bear form. What type is it? There's a crescent moon here," she said, touching Dim-Dim's chest.Dim-Dim told him the type of bear it was, then, for fun, transformed into a pony which usually delighted young girls."They'll be here in two hours," Edel said. "Let's go home to shower, and then come back here," she said.Dim-Dim agreed. He transformed back into himself."Wait, don't go," Cath said. "You can shower in the bathroom in my room." Her eyes were so pleading that Dim-Dim felt pity.Perhaps some girls' dreams were to have an older brother figure, who knows."The problem is, I di
Returning from his father's house, Dim-Dim felt strange. It was as if he had just been awakened by God that he had a sister. Okay, he had known for a long time that he had a stepsister named Cath. But before tonight, he felt that Cath was just a name. But tonight, he began to associate Cath with many things. Cath likes mozzarella. Cath likes dolls. Cath's favorite doll, her greatest dream guardian, is a white-tailed eagle doll. Cath enjoys camping and performing strange rituals of interpreting words. Dim-Dim wanted to protect Cath.He was flying casually on his way home, passing through Safe City Central Park, when suddenly his eyes caught sight of a beautiful girl sitting on a park bench with a dim lamppost beside her. The girl stared blankly at the fountain in front of her."Okay, Dim-Dim, the girl is alone in the park. But what do you want? It's none of your business..." Dim-Dim tried to tell himself that Amma was no longer his concern.He saw Amma sitting with her knees hugged on
The next morning, Dim-Dim found himself struggling to focus in Earth Geography class. It was because Miss Melissa, his geography teacher, had a very tiny voice. Barely five minutes into watching her teach, he found himself daydreaming. And when the bell rang for break and he snapped back to reality, there was already writing on the whiteboard."Make groups of two, then choose a country and village to visit! Then examine how the local community protects their village from monsters. Create a documentary video report while visiting the place.""Miss Melissa!" Dim-Dim exclaimed, quickly standing up from his seat and chasing after Miss Melissa who was briskly walking out of the classroom. "About the assignment you gave—""Yes?" Miss Melissa asked, stopping in front of the class and looking at Dim-Dim with confusion."I'm an Illicitor, so I can't possibly visit other countries—""How could you not?" Miss Melissa said. Her voice was louder when speaking one-on-one like this than when she was
"He said I'm a danger."Hah. The truth has been spoken.And after saying the truth, Dim-Dim went to buy a cola from the vending machine at the end of the hallway in front of his classroom.He thought about Valir, he thought about Edel. He thought about Amma. He thought about many things.It felt strange that as he grew older, the problems also grew more numerous. It's as if there's no perfect year, or even age with a perfect life.Yet Dim-Dim and Valir used to be very close. Dim-Dim even missed going to Valir's house to read his complete comic collection. It sucks that they had to fight because of Edel, with Dim-Dim playing the role of the villain. But maybe that's the price Dim-Dim had to pay for having a relationship with Amaliah.Dim-Dim looked to the other end of the hallway, and saw the girl hanging out with her new friends in front of the lockers. Each of them was wearing sports attire without looking sweaty. Amma tied her hair up high, making her look beautiful and relaxed. The
"How do I look?" Velicia asked, twirling in the dress she had bought earlier today. It was yellow, with a skirt that flared out longer at the back than the front. Her curly hair, resembling vermicelli, cascaded naturally down her back."Nice," Justin replied, lounging casually on Velicia's study table. "But it doesn't quite go with your hair."Velicia quickly transformed her hair into shiny black locks, and Justin tilted his head momentarily, deep in thought."No offense, not meaning to offend you, but you kind of remind me of a bee—" Justin was about to say, but Dim-Dim hurriedly stood up and said with an exaggerated smile that looked natural, "Wow, Vel, you look so beautiful! By the way, let's go to the Venator building now before it's too late!"And Velicia responded to Dim-Dim with a bright smile. "Let's go!" she said.It was half past four in the afternoon, and like any Venator class advancement exam day, the streets of Safe City Pine Barrens were bustling, and every hotel room w