The Last Chosen Summoner

6| Trap at Grandpa's House

Eryk woke up screaming. Sweat was starting to dry on his forehead, and his arms were getting goosebumps. He could see his breath under the layer of awning stretched between the branches above him. As it sat, the tree creaked, and the nest in which it lay shook slightly. The white owl rushed away from Eryk's hand.

"Coincidence," Eryk muttered. "This must be just a coincidence."

"What is it?" White asked. He landed from the branch above Eryk's head and approached him beside the young man.

Eryk closed his eyes and imagined a gold ring with a distinctive symbol on the finger of the pale man who had attacked him.

"Tell me, White. How can I come back here? Wasn't the last time I was attacked on the sidewalk in the middle of Rockwool City?"

"Yeah, you passed out after a bunch of guys threw you from a great height. My friends and I tried to catch you and land you on the pavement. But after that, you screamed like crazy, and you passed out again."

"Not!" Eric shook his head. "That's not how it happened. That man… he came at me with the figure of a summoned spirit in the fog."

"That man?" White tilted his head. "Which man, Eryk?"

Eric thought. "At the time, I thought I didn't know him. But now I'm sure I've seen the guy somewhere. I need to make sure," said Eryk, who suddenly stood up until his head hit a tree branch.

"Ow!" Eryk shouted while rubbing his throbbing head. "Damn tree branch!" he said.

White only glanced at Eryk. "This is your fault. I told you to stay down, but you insisted on building a nest here. You're human, Eryk, not a bird like us."

As Eryk peeked through the crack of the nest he had made in the tree, he realized that it was still dark. He lay back down but couldn't sleep, not with the image of the man casting faint echoes in Eryk's mind.

Eryk pushed aside the covers and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The nest is a stilt house atop a three-meter-long tree. He made it from broken wood beams and braided twigs. He made windows on the floor using a sheet of corrugated plastic. More twigs were woven around the edge of the nest with plank sections he had scavenged from the construction site. He covered it with plastic and used tent cloth from the roof to the door.

Eryk didn't have much treasure in that nest. Only a backpack was thrown away with his body by the two men who had kidnapped him when he left the airport.

It's cold inside the den, especially in winter, but dry. When White brought Eryk to this old park six months ago, they settled in an abandoned treehouse on a lower branch. But, once Eryk realized that it was too low and easy to reach for those who might pass below, Eryk climbed higher and built his own nest high above—far above the world.

Eryk unhooked the side of the tarp and pulled it aside. A drop of rain splashed on the back of his neck, and he shuddered. The moon over the garden was a thin slice against a cloudless sky. White perched on a branch outside, motionless. Its white fur is silvery in the moonlight. His head spun, and his pale, sharp eyes seemed to fixate on Eryk.

Eryk inhaled the scent of the city; car fumes, mold, and something dead in the gutters. It was raining, but no amount of rain could make Rockwool smell clean.

Eryk's stomach rumbled, but he was relieved by his hunger. Hunger sharpened his senses, driving horror to the back of his head into the shadows. He needs fresh air. He had to clear his head.

"You went looking for food?" White started to speak.

"There are more important things than just eating. I'm returning to my grandfather's house in Black Lake."

The white owl looked surprised. "Are you sure? After six months have passed? Are you starting to change your mind by coming over there and reclaiming your place from that annoying uncle of yours?"

"No, White. It's not time for me to take back what they took from me. I must gather strength and devise a strategy to get it back without risking my life."

White looked irritated. "I have offered you the easiest way. Make a deal with me. Exchange your soul for the power that I will give you. But, you keep rejecting it."

"No, White. Your offer is too unreasonable. Even though I often saw summoners here in Rockwool, all I witnessed was the horrors of their lives. My life is already horrible enough. I don't want to end up like them. You see, if only yesterday they knew that I was a summoner, I might not be here with you now."

"You're too scared, Eryk," White quipped. "And what's even more annoying, you underestimate my power as a summoned spirit. You haven't even tried it yet."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm too scared. Even to face my uncle, I was too scared to run away like this. But the nightmare bothered me. I need to confirm something. I will return to my grandfather's house or maybe come to his grave, and I don't know whichever is as long as it answers my curiosity."

"Was it about the black-haired figure that appeared in your dream?"

"How do you know? You're saying that that figure wasn't real and wasn't present when I fell on the pavement?"

"Oh, come on, Eric. You say it over and over in your sleep. You kept mentioning his features throughout your delirium, especially his hollow eyes like the night."

Eryk was stunned by the tallest tree branch outside his nest. He was ready to jump down but hesitated. From the height of an old tree in an abandoned park whose gate had not been opened for a long time, Eryk could stare into the distance. He could see the boundaries that imprisoned Rockwool City.

In the past, Eryk never thought that Rockwool City existed. During Eryk's childhood, he lived in the luxurious Black Lake City with all its modernity. People mentioned Rockwool several times but have yet to go there. They say Rockwool is the biggest waste dump. Rockwool is where all forms of sewage are disposed of from the cities around it.

Therefore, the city magnates built a high stone wall to surround Rockwool. The stone wall was made to cover all dirt and trash inside the Rockwool not to spoil the view.

Eryk never knew that Rockwool was a city and was inhabited by humans. Even more surprising, Eryk didn't think that the humans living in Rockwool were people with special powers like summoners.

Right next to the abandoned old playground where Eryk now lives, there is the biggest and strongest prison that was purposely built in Rockwool. The prison was made specifically to hold humans with superpowers. Summoners also guard the dungeon with special abilities. Not just anyone can go in and out there; of course, only the most terrible criminals are sent there.

"How did you get back to Black Lake?" White asked. "Not just anyone can leave Rockwool with super tight guard. The guards are summoners with superior strength."

"That's what we've learned over the last six months. And without you knowing, I thought of the easiest way, namely through landfills.

"You are crazy? Do you want to crawl through the sewers and across Rockwool City to Black Lake? You think there's no protection down the sewers?"

"No, White. I don't have to go through that disgusting place. I need to get into the garbage truck going to Black Lake. You will come with me?"

"No, Eryk Wayland!" said the owl curtly. "I've never left Rockwool in my entire life. My place is here. I will only come with you if you make a pact with me. Surrender your soul to me; I will continue to accompany you wherever you go."

"So, who's the coward here?" quipped Eric.

Eryk glanced briefly at White before jumping up with a splash as he stepped into a rain puddle.

Eryk shouted at White, who was still perched on a tree. "Not now, White. No contracts! I can go home and face everything on my own. Wait here. In a few days, I will be back."

***

Eryk returned to the landfill. He slipped quietly into the garbage truck parking lot. When the garbage collectors with sleepy faces started arriving and driving the truck, Eryk suddenly dropped into the back of the truck.

Eryk could hear and feel the truck starting to pass through the first gate. The gate is what separates Rockwool City from other cities outside it.

Eryk peeked through the slightly rusty tailgate of the truck. A summoner guarding the gate with a summoned dog inspects the truck leaving the landfill.

The summoned dog looks like a hellhound. Its feathers were filled with blazing flames. Its eyes were very vicious with sharp fangs, and it kept barking.

Eryk stepped back because he was so surprised by the dog's barking. He covered his face and body with excrement to cover up the smell. Eryk didn't want to get caught by that hellhound, or he would end up before he could get out of there.

The officer circled the truck where Eryk was hiding twice to ensure nothing was out of the ordinary. When the officer ordered the driver to move on, Eryk immediately lay down while holding his breath. The rotten smell and wet leachate still stuck to the truck, and his body made Eryk nauseous and want to vomit. However, he was trying to hold it in.

An hour later, the garbage collection truck arrived in Black Lake City and started work picking up the city's trash. The truck turns into a playground. When the garbage collectors stopped to pick up the trash, Eryk sneaked out quietly.

The garbage collector sensed something strange about the noise in his truck. He tried to check just as Eryk rolled under the truck.

"Most, it's just rats!" said his partner, who sat in the driver's seat.

When the garbage truck drove to the next stop, Eryk ran to the nearest toilet. He completely cleansed his body of dirt. Eryk threw away his clothes and replaced them with the janitor's clothes he stole from the storage area.

Eric looked at his body. He wore too big and musty clothes, but he didn't complain.

"It's better than me wearing trash-smelling clothes."

Even though he had washed his hair and body many times, it was as if the scent of leachate still lingered in his nostrils.

Eric's face was very pale. He rarely went out during the day. Since six months ago, he had been trying to live as a nocturnal being. He was afraid to face the sun, scared that others might recognize him. Because of that, Eryk is more comfortable going out at night. But today, he is forced to live a normal life like an average human.

In front of Eryk, now stretched the very magnificent City of Black Lake. There are skyscrapers, smooth streets, luxury apartments, and beautiful parks. Opposite to Rockwool. People were walking around in branded and expensive clothes. There are no poor people, homeless people, and beggars there. All of them consist of people of the middle to high economic class.

Eryk slipped and got on the tram running through the middle of the city. People looked at him with cynicism because he was wearing the worst clothes among the other passengers. Eric doesn't care. He lowered his head and hid his face under his hat.

A few minutes later, he stopped in front of a luxurious mansion. On the gate of the mansion is written a large W as an acronym for the family name Wayland.

The mansion has been inhabited for a long time and has yet to be visited. The gate looked like it hadn't been opened in weeks. The courtyard is also empty without guards.

"This is unusual," Eryk muttered.

Many armed security guards had been guarding the house the last time he'd been to his grandfather's mansion. But today, everything looks empty. It was as if the mansion was uninhabited and abandoned.

Eryk had almost crossed the street when a car passed and stopped right in front of the mansion gate. Eryk immediately looked for a hiding place.

Several men dressed all in black rushed out of the SUV. They ran towards the mansion.

Eryk watched everything from across the street. A few minutes later, he heard gunshots. Eryk gasped in surprise. The men who had previously entered were running out of the van and rushing out of the mansion.

Eric is curious. After ensuring the situation was safe, he climbed over the side fence and sneaked into the mansion. The place was completely dark and looked like it had not been inhabited for a long time.

Eryk arrived on the second floor. He saw his grandfather's study door slightly open. Eryk walked over to it and slowly opened the door. Eryk's footsteps stopped because the toe of his shoe stepped on a stagnant pool of red blood. 

"Not!" shouted Eryk.

The uncle was huddled on the floor behind the desk. Eryk thought the man was dead with a bullet through his chest. However, when Eryk checked, his uncle's hand suddenly moved and grabbed Eryk's wrist.

"Help me...."

Eryk was annoyed because his hand was held. Inside he was happy to see his uncle dying. He pulled his hand away.

"Eryk...go!" said the uncle haltingly. "Go as far as you can. They'll be looking for you. Those who killed your parents. Save yourself—"

Erick's steps stopped. He did not understand what his uncle was saying.

The emergency alarm sounded suddenly. The entire mansion came alive in an instant, and Erick looked around. The surveillance camera that was previously off now suddenly turns on.

"Damn! Who did all this?"