Evening had set in and shops, stalls and other businesses were trying to close for the day's work. It left Jay wondering how long he had been in that strange place with the woman.
Everything around him looked normal but no one knew what had happened right under their noses. He wasn't surprised at all when he looked at his hand and couldn't find any bruise. He knew from the start that she was no one ordinary.
She had offered to take him directly to his house but he declined, insisting that his house was around the corner and he would soon get home.
When they had stepped out of the wall, the men where no longer in sight. It was like nothing had happened. He asked her but she just shrugged it off and told him not to think about. The only thing he saw was his backpack that he dropped when the rogues had tried to kill him. He picked it up and headed home.
As he hurried on to get home, he passed by the bus stop where he had got off to chase the girl in the hoodie. He had also asked the messenger about it and she told him that it was just a ploy to get his attention.
He thought of what they had discussed about, but didn't understand anything. He had always knew that he was a little special but didn't think it'll be something like this.
But there was something that he had forgotten to ask her about. Who were they actually up against? Who will they protect the power she had talked about from? When will it all start? How would he find the kids that were part of all this?
Lots of thoughts swam through his head and he couldn't think straight anymore. He suddenly had a severe headache and had to clutch his head for few minutes before he continued to walk slowly home.
He was grateful when he got home in one piece. He was puzzled when he tried to open the door but found it locked. There was no reason for the door to still be locked, unless no one was back.
He unlocked it anyways and walked in. He threw his bag away and it landed on the nearest couch. He couldn't care less, he just wanted to get rid of the sharp pain in his head.
He went straight to the pantry. Sometimes mom kept some drugs there. After few minutes of rummaging through the store, he found the painkillers and took them immediately with the cup of water he had gotten earlier.
He walked back to the sitting room and fell on the couch. He decided to take a nap.
Just before sleep took him, he looked at his wrist watch and saw that it was already six pm. What was keeping Nick and Anna?
~~~~~~~
The school halls were crowded with students. Everyone trying to find their way out. Some standing close to the wall and discussing while some others were at their lockers, taking or keeping whatever they wanted.
Nick and his classmates had decided that they were going to a birthday party at 3 pm, so they all agreed to gather at the basketball court.
Immediately the school bell was heard, Nick and a few friends filed out of the class and headed for the basketball court.
Kim's best friend Luna was the birthday girl. They had been waiting for the birthday to come and had made lots of plans for it.
Anna's boyfriend, Tom was also going so Anna had agreed to come too.
When they got to the court, Kim and Luna were already there with some of her friends. Nick sauntered off towards Kim and gave her a very long kiss amidst the cheers that erupted.
A little while later, Anna came in with Tom and few other friends. The basketball court had filled up with lots of students who were eager to go to the party.
The birthday girl had insisted that they all wait till it was time to go. So they waited for a few more minutes until it was finally time to go. The students moved out of the court and everyone found their ride.
Luna's house wasn't far from the school, so they got there in no time. Luna had announced that her parents had given her the house to celebrate her birthday as they weren't going to be home for it.
She was an only child, so her parents treated her with excessive care. They pampered her a lot. She got all she wanted without stress. So she adopted a lavish lifestyle and spent money anywhere she could.
The house was exquisite. Just by looking at the outdoor surrounding one could tell that the owners of this house were people of high social class. The cars pulled up in the garage and everyone stepped out. The exterior design was perfect as the decorations also stood in place.
The party was to be held at the pool, so everyone gathered around the pool and took in the breathtaking view. The pool reflected the sun and gave out a beautiful shade that accentuated the richness of the mansion they found themselves in.
Without wasting time, the party started in full swing. Drinks were passed around. Some students had already worn their swimming suit and dived into the pool. One of the students had offered to stand in as the DJ of which Luna agreed.
After few minutes of setting up, he started playing. The music wafted through the loudspeakers and it helped to ease the mind of those who were uncomfortable. Before long everyone started to dance to the tune of the music.
Luna had invited some of her close friends inside the mansion that including Kim, Nick and even Anna and Tom. They've all been friends ever since their freshman year.
The lighting inside the building was colorful and less bright. A different kind of music was playing inside the mansion and every sound that was made outside couldn't come through, due to the presence of soundproof drywall.
Nick sat with the boys on the couch as they talked about something or clearly someone, but his mind wasn't there. All he could think about was Kim, he just wanted to take her to somewhere quiet and kiss her brains out.
But it couldn't happen because she was in the kitchen with Luna doing God knows what. He sighed as he kept thinking about it, only if he could steal her away from there.
Zack who noticed him staring at the kitchen, playfully hit him hard on the arm. Nick turned sharply "What the hell was that for?" He asked while the other guys looked at them, not understanding what was going on.
Zack laughed out "come on man, I saw what you were doing"
"What did he do?" Someone asked
"He kept staring at the kitchen, and we know what that means" Zach dragged.
"That means he's missing his little baby" another finished and the laughter followed made Nick to temporarily hate Zack.
"Is it that bad? It's really not my fault and I can't seem to do anything about it" Nick admitted.
"Yeah, we understand. That's just how it is when you're in love" Zack smiled and touched him on the back. This time it was a gentle pat.
Nick sighed again and turned fully to the guys. He just had to wait a few minutes more. Any slightest chance he got, he wouldn't hesitate to use it. So They continued to chit chat until someone asked a question.
Everyone's eyes turned to the direction of the question. It had come from Wally. No one had heard his question.
"What did you say Wally?" Zack asked
"I was talking to Nick. Where is Jay? He should be here" Wally replied and all eyes went back to Nick
"Oh!!" Nick started " I think he should be at home. You know he doesn't like to come to this kind of thing or-"
"Or even have friends at all" Dylan finished for him.
"Yeah"
"But have you ever asked his reason for detaching himself from friends" Wally asked again.
Nick thought about it for a while. He hadn't thought about his brother. He wasn't even sure if he was actually at home.
"No I haven't" Nick was taken aback by Wally's sudden interest in his brother. But he was also sad that he had never tried to figure out what was really wrong with him.
"It's really weird how both of you are brothers yet two different people who don't know anything about each other" Wally continued.
Everywhere became quiet. Zack noticing the situation had to do something about it
Let's talk about something else. "Did anyone see those girls who came in the Bugatti"
The question seemed to have brought everyone back as they all started to talk about how beautiful and rich the girls were. But Nick was tired of sitting so he stood up and went outside the mansion.
He walked over to the garden. The flowers all arranged in a very attractive pattern. The smell infiltrating his nose, a beautiful and interesting scent.
He moved round the garden and felt the lush smoothness of the petals. He noticed the trimmed parts and was amazed at the skilled work.
He kept on wandering around the garden until he found a bench at the center of the garden. He sat down quietly and thoughts of what Wally had said lingered in his ears.
He truly didn't know who his brother was. They always believed whatever their parents had told them. But it felt like everything they've been told was all lies. Even the fact that they were born in the same year but different months.
Their parents had told them it was just that Jay refused to come forth. But it was totally impossible. There was no way that was the truth.
He felt a tap on his back and turned to find Kim staring at him. She walked to his front and held his face in her hands.
"Why are you out here all alone" she asked with worry on her face
He looked around and understood what she was saying. There was no one here except him, but he didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy the silence and peace. Probably think some more.
"Nothing I just wanted to take a break from all the fuss and enjoy the evening sun" he replied without breaking eye contact.
'Okay if you say so"
"Yeah, but I'm happy to see you. I've been waiting for you"
"I'm sorry I was busy and-" he cut her short
"Shhh.. It's fine. As long as you're here that's all that matters to me right now"
He pulled her down to sit beside him on the bench and he leaned in closer. She leaned in too but just as they were about to kiss, a scream erupted from somewhere and Kim pulled back.
Nick tried to kiss her but she stopped him. "Didn't you hear that?" she asked
"Oh...I did" he replied reluctantly.
"Come on let's go and check it out" she added and pulled him up
They went into the building and more screams and gasps were heard. As they kept running the screams seemed to come from the pool side, so they increased their pace.
On getting to the pool, they saw that everyone had laid down flat on the ground. They moved closer and found three men who wore black masks and pointing guns everywhere. They walked around giving out orders and hitting the noncompliant ones.
The men had not seen them, so they stood behind a wall.
Nick looked closer and saw everyone out there. He saw Zack, Luna, Wally, Tom and other friends all on their stomachs. But he couldn't find Anna.
"What are we going to do now? Should we call the cops?"Kim asked
Nick didn't answer her instead his eyes darted around looking for his sister. He couldn't find her among the people who were on the ground so he looked towards the men and found one of them dragging Anna towards the pool.
Rage filled him. Whatever they wanted, his sister clearly didn't have but they wanted to get it at all costs. He turned back to Kim.
"Kim, I want you to go and find a phone, call the cops immediately"
"Okay, but what are you gonna do?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just do what I tell you"
"I will" Kim said and turned to go, but Nick held her back. He drew her closer and kissed her on the forehead.
He withdrew and let her go. Few seconds later she was gone.
He looked back to scene. It was time to whoop some ass!!
He charged towards the one closest to him and hit him on the head. The man fell unconscious and he went to the next one who held Anna.
But as he was about to reach the him, another had seen him and the next thing he heard was a gunshot.
He was shot.
Nick didn't feel anything. Not even a single ting. Was this how being shot felt like? No. He looked at himself again. Nothing happened to him or so he thought
With rage and anger, he rushed towards the one who had shot him and gave him a hard hit that sent him flying into the pool.
He turned to the last one who held Anna. The man dropped her immediately and tried to run but he picked up the gun that the second guy had dropped.
He aimed for him as he ran and shot him on the leg. The man fell and gave out a loud yelp holding the leg that was hit.
Nick dropped the gun and ran to Anna. She looked exhausted. He pulled her up to a sitting position and checked her for any bruises. He checked her side but didn't find anything but as he tried to lift her up he saw a drop of blood on her shirt.
Surprised, he looked at her face and saw her looking back at him.
"What's wrong?" She asked
But he lifted her to standing position quietly and tried to check her again but she pointed to his chest with a terrified look on her face.
He looked down to his chest and saw blood stained all over his own shirt. Then he remembered.
He was actually shot. His senses began to dull. His eyes were closing and the only thing he saw and heard was the beautiful rise of the moon in the dark sky and the shouts of his name that were now distant as he went unconscious.
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