"I know you're there. I'm not going to hurt you."
How do I know I can trust him? Do I really have a choice? Edwin thought
"Alright! I'm coming out!" Edwin got up slowly, and saw a man, maybe 20, 22 years old, Asian. He was short, only around 5'6". He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with close cropped dark hair. "How did you see me?"
"It ain't hard son. When you spend as much time here as me, you get pretty good at pickin' people out."
Looking closer, Edwin noticed cuts and bruises all over the man.
"Ah. You noticed my friends? I was captured a few weeks ago. I got a little careless trying to carry out my contract."
"Captured? Contract?" Dozens of questions streamed through Edwin's head, all of them fighting for his attention.
"Yep. I'm somewhere in the Middle East, maybe Africa. I'm not sure 'cause I was on a car moving for a few days. Oh and I'm a merc. Name's Daniel."
As he said that, his clothing flashed into what looked like military BDU's, in dark browns and light tans. They flashed back before Edwin got too good of a look.
"Can you get out? Do you need help?" Maybe...maybe I can help. I can do something. Find someone.
"I can tell what you're thinking kid. And yeah. I can get out. I was waiting to see if I could get anything else, but there's no point. You being here and aware tells me you're just like me. You can touch it. Can't you?"
Edwin didn't have to ask what "it" was. He nodded his head slowly. "You can too?"
"Sure can. Been able to for about six years. Thats why I became a merc. I was in the military for a little while, but I couldn't use my magic for anything without drawing attention. I split off and went my own way. Thats how I ended up here."
"What does it feel like? Your magic I mean. When you want to use it, how do you get it?"
"It feels like-"
"Like molten ice and freezing lava? You feel more alive when you have it?" Edwin cut him off, sure of how it would play out.
"Yeah. As for getting it, its like wrestling for something that can wipe me out. Using it...it's like walking a tight rope above a huge drop. I have to force it to do what I want."
"Its called saidin. Only we can touch this half. Women can touch something similar. I can explain it to you in more detail. But it sounds to me like you have more practical knowledge. How about we trade what we know? I'll tell you what I know, and you help train me. I can probably help you too. So how about it?"
Edwin knew he needed help. The training he had been able to do wasn't enough. He was making tiny steps when he knew he needed to be making massive leaps.
"Alright kid. You got a deal. Give me a week to get out of here, get fixed up, and then we'll meet up here again so we can sort out the details." Daniel started walking away, a hand up, waving.