Defeated and feeling down to his wits, Oliver went home downtrodden. Head down, shoulders slouch as he dragged his feet upon entering the house.It was like there was this immense weight on his back that made his movements slouchy, weakening from the truth that was being bared at him.“Hey there, everything all right?”A pleasant and calm voice greeted him.It caused him to flinch when he notice how close it was.He felt goosebumps scattering all over his body, gaping in shock when he saw the man behind him.“Sir Chris, you shouldn’t be up. You need to be resting.”Was all he could say.There was this chill that crawled underneath his skin, unable to explain how the guy ended up there without him noticing.He didn’t hear a sound, nor was he able to sense his presence.Though he was deep in thought, he knew that there was no way that he could not have noticed him, considering his innate senses in his surroundings. Unless, of course, he popped out of thin air.He swallowed hard, trying
“How come? Is he in trouble, perhaps?”Sir Chris asks.The atmosphere has become calmer since they started having breakfast. It seems the food was good enough to warrant a conversation.“You know how the sergeant is. He’d always do the right thing, even if it means defying orders.”Oliver sighed, remembering all those recent reports about the man.Though he had talked to him about it, the guy was adamant to continue with his actions, holding firm to his beliefs.“Isn’t that one of his wonderful traits?”That made Chris tilt his head, munching on a piece of bacon as he gave him a questioning stare.“Yes, but it’s also been a cause for problems for him recently. He caught the eye of a few groups wanting to recruit him, together with the ire of the military.”All he could do was pout at the moment before stuffing himself with several pieces of fried egg.He wanted to erase his frustration by eating all his worries away.“I see. So literally, he’s up against the wall here.”Chris nods.Th
“Everything all right with you?”Sir Chris asks.The man was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at Oliver with intrigue. It seems he noticed how the lad was fidgeting and having a hard time putting on his seatbelt in a hurry.Upon realizing his abrupt actions, the youngster took in a deep breath, gathering his thoughts and wits as he calmed himself.“Yeah, I just need to check on something.”He says, smiling before locking the safety device on his seat.After that, he inhales a few more times before starting the car’s engine.Finally moving, sir Chris returns his gaze to the outside, looking at the window to his side as they were going out of the front gates.“You sure it’s okay for me to tag along?”The man asks, keeping his sights at the view on the streets.Seems the special private was as sharp as ever, noticing how the young officer was moving with such haste and urgency after the therapist’s examination.Oliver swallowed hard to remove the lump in his throat.He didn’t want
The ringing of the bells attacked to the door alerted the bartender of an arrival. The server was quick to snap out of his daze, having spaced out for some time now.“Welcome to Wishing well cafe…”The man stops midway his greeting, recognizing one of the two individuals that had entered his store. The familiar person threw a nod, which prompted the guy to straighten up and stop what he was doing.It was Oliver and behind him was the curious sir Chris, who looked around at the eerily quiet and empty place. Only the muffled sounds of vehicles on the streets gave it a sense of reality.Same as before, all the seats remained vacated, though the scent of caffeine lingered throughout the entire room. It would make someone think that they kept the coffee shop reserved for them.“I’m here for the usual.”He says after seeing that nobody was there.Like the last time, the bartender raised his fingers before he lets a loud, crunchy snap. In minutes, the cafe got engulfed with that pulsatin
“Sorry about that, Harold. Sir Chris is jumpy after what happened to him.”Oliver claps his hands together when he noticed the scar on the man’s neck. The special private’s grasp was so tight that it left a bruise on the area.“Tell me about it. Hey, at least he’s on our side.”The guy groaned, wincing from the sting that the mark had caused. He was now gently pressing ice on it so lessen the swell.They both chuckled as they threw a glance at the person, recalling that immense pressure that they suffered from the fellow a while ago.The force of it was strong enough to cause them to freeze in place, which gave the impression that the man was truly powerful.It felt comforting that they had him there right now, though Oliver still did not know what the man’s ability was. Just having him there was sufficient to put them at ease.“Yeah, but I don’t get it. These guys. What would they attain by abducting the sergeant?”He went back to their topic at hand, having recovered from the shock
They’d arrived at a street that was the entry point of pier eight. The houses that stood there were either made of old rusty roofs, light materials such as plywood, or worst tarpaulins strewn together.People of all ages and sizes would walk and run in and out of the area.There were those who were pushing wooden trollies filled with junk to sell at the scrap yard, while some were leaving for work or just arriving from their jobs.Several eyes shifted towards them, bystanders murmuring at one another with their gazes turning sharply.But that did not seem to bother the special private as he continued walking the streets of the said area.“Sir, maybe we shouldn’t go in too far.”Oliver tried reasoning out with the guy, sensing the danger that was afoot. The feel of those glares being thrown at them was enough to make their skin crawl.“You know, you wouldn’t be that obvious if you stop staring and keep your eyes straight.”Chris chuckled, though his own gaze was looking at some stores
In the middle of pier eight, three individuals were gathered within a room in a makeshift apartment made of wood.One of them was lying on the bed, hands bandaged, while the other two were arguing.“I told you we should have brought those things.”The tallest guy among them grumbled and cursed while he stomp on the wooden boards. All of them felt destitute because of their failure.“What are we going to do now? They will find us because of the traces we left.”The only woman in the group mumbled, tearing up as she could not move her hands and ended up being wounded because of her folly.“It’s not like we had a choice.”The third member groaned, clenching his fist in anger because they couldn’t do anything.“Did you guys feel that?”The first fellow states, feeling the sudden change in the air, together with the trembling on the floor.“You’re being too paranoid, we still have a chance to...”Before the second guy could finish his sentence, the roof falls down, rubbles spreading everyw
“You can’t be serious.”Oliver hissed, gawking at the special private because of what he had said.After all the trouble that they did to capture the trio, he couldn’t believe that they were not the guys who kidnapped Raynald.Besides that, he was certain that the energy traces of all three were there during the incident, as he can now confirm it with his senses.“I think it’s true, officer. Sergeant told me before he had some people from outside.”It was Harold who calmed him down, noticing that he was breathing heavily from that development.In the end, he could not do anything, seeing how calm and compose sir Chris was, as he was freeing them from the vines.“Why don’t we start with introductions before we proceed? My name is Chris Cruz, and that armored soldier is officer Oliver Gently, and the posh looking fellow next to him is Harold Von. We are friends of Sergeant Raynald Sanchez. May we know who you are?”The man states, letting out that warm smile of his as he introduced them