Chapter 6 - A Night Out

  The man that once stood before us disappeared, leaving not even a trace of its existence.

  “Phew! Thought I had to whip out the big guns for a moment,” Dante said.

  Kane was flabbergasted by the showcase. Riven, though his face was expressionless, I could tell that he was still surprised by the sheer power level.

  Phoebe started squealing, “MR. DANTE! That was sooo cool. Just think of the possibilities if I enhanced your mana level!”

  “Wow there, calm down. You don’t think that’s all I can do, right?” Dante said.

  Phoebe praised and worshipped him while Dante just took it all in without denying anything. Though the real question was where the man went. It went out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop it.

  “Well, glad you asked! But before I tell you, can someone determine what my skill is?” Dante asked.

  “It's shadow manipulation,” Riven said.

  “Bingo! It is indeed shadow manipulation. And because of the shadows, there is a space where nothing else exists, kind of like outer space. That is where I sent the man for the time being. Hopefully he’ll be still sane after I release him when we get back to headquarters,” Dante explained. “But before we do, I think this should call for a celebration! You guys' first ever patrol! Plus, after that much walking, I should at least treat you guys to a nice dinner.”

  Everyone agreed to the dinner as we followed Dante to the spot. It was a Korean BBQ restaurant. By the looks of it, it didn’t have many customers. We walked in and got seated immediately. Normally, citizens would be scared to see Spectrals come into their shop. In some cases the store owners might kick them out, but the owners of this restaurant didn’t even bat an eye towards us.

  “Dante, aren’t store owners usually afraid of Spectrals in their shops?” I asked.

  “Typically, yes, but I’m a regular and I often bring other officers to come eat with me. So the store owner is already used to it,” Dante replied.

  “That explains it.”

  We sat in silence for a few moments while eating the appetizers. Dante suddenly asked, “Kat, how’s your relationship with your brother?”

  “What?” I responded, choking on my drink.

  “You know, Aiden. You didn’t look so happy when I told you that I was part of his group.”

  “Our relationship is complicated. We were never that close, it was always just me and Luka.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but Luka is your younger brother right?”

  “Wait, how do you know that?” I asked

  “Though he may not seem like it, Aiden actually cares deeply for you two. You know, when we were first put into a group together, all he could think of was the two of you.”

  “Oh really?” I asked sarcastically. “If ignoring us counts as helping, then he sure did.”

  “Just give him a chance. You will realize it sooner or later that he has been protecting you two for multiple years.

  “What do you me—” I began to ask.

  I was cut off by the waiter bringing our food. The rest of the time we spent talking about Dante’s skill, though we couldn’t get any more information out of him.

  After we finished dinner, we got some ice cream and returned to our dorm rooms to go to sleep. As I laid on my bed I couldn’t help but wonder about what Dante said about Aiden.

  Does he actually care about us? Or was all Dante said a lie?

  Multiple days passed. Repeating the process of waking up; eating breakfast; having a short training session; eating lunch; patrolling; eating dinner; and going to sleep. In addition to some more training sessions and mock battles with Group 4. Until one day, instead of following our usual schedule of going to the Korean BBQ place, we went to a bar.

  “Ever went to a bar?” Dante asked.

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  “No,” we said simultaneously.

  “So first time eh? Well drink to your hearts content!”

  “Hey Dante?” I asked. “If we're going to a bar, is it okay if I go someplace else to take care of something?”

  “Sure, but you have to have at least one drink first.”

  We walked into the bar and sat down at the bar stools. The place was dimly lit with multiple small tables. It was mostly empty with only a few customers and the bartender.

  This place reeks of alcohol.

  “Can we get four beers and a vodka please?” Dante said.

  “Make that three beers and two vodka!” someone shouted.

  We all turned around to see Kane being the one to change it.

  “Are you sure you can handle Vodka?” Dante asked.

  “I can drink it in my sleep!”

  “Want to make it a drinking contest?”

  “You're on,” Kane said.

  Never thought that Kane would be an alcoholic.

  As I got my beer, I chugged it down as fast as I could. I slammed the glass onto the counter and turned around to leave. As I stepped out I took a deep breath of fresh air.

  I couldn’t stand one more moment in there, glad I got out.

  I started making my way down the road. I wasn’t exactly sure if I knew the way, but I couldn’t access a map even if I wanted to. As soon as we entered the Corps, the first thing they took away were our cell phones. Leaving me with just my brain to try and think of the path.

  After a while of wandering around, I finally got to the part of town that I used to live in. Before I even had the chance to think, I started sprinting towards the apartments. Through the door or the red building, up three flights of stairs, and to the door in the very far left. I was panting when I pressed the doorbell. One, two, three, the door swung open. Behind it appeared a boy wearing his usual grin.

  “Luka!” I shouted as I jumped into his embrace.

  “Whoa there sis, calm down!”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t hold back my excitement.”

  “Nah, it's alright. Come in, I have so many things to tell you.”

  I walked in and took in the familiar scent of home. But something was missing. No. Someone.

  “Luka, where’s dad?” I asked frantically.

  “He’s missing.”

  “What-what do you mean he’s missing?” I asked as my heart started beating faster and faster.

  “Nah, just messing with you. He had to stay late for work.”

  “LUKA, you have to stop joking around about that stuff,” I shouted while lightly hitting him on the back.

  “Okay okay, I just wanted to mess with you. After all, it's been a while.”

  We went to the couch and sat down. Luka told me what he’s been doing these past few weeks. Telling me about the stories about him helping our neighbors and all the new video games he has been exploring. I couldn’t feel happier to be next to him again. Especially after the whole entrance exam in the Corps. But I couldn’t tell him that, if I did it would only worry him.

  “Hey Kat, are you feeling ok?” Luka asked.

  “Yeah I’m fine.”

  “You’re usually full of energy and laughing when you're home, did something happen at the Corps? You're kind of acting all gloomy and depressed, kind of like how you act at school”

  “Sorry, it's been kind of stressful. Nothing bad happened, don’t worry.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah I’m sure. Let's play one of the new games that you told me about.”

  “YEAh, come with me.”

  We went to his room and sat down on his bed. I was feeling nostalgic even though I haven’t been gone for long. We started playing the game and couldn’t stop. After a while I looked at the clock, it was already 8:30 pm.

  “Shoot, I didn’t realize it would be this late,” I said while getting up.

  “No need to rush. But before you go, I have an early birthday present. Since I didn’t know when I was going to see you next, I just decided to buy it early.”

  “You didn’t have too. My birthday is still a month away.”

  He went over to his drawer and pulled something out.

  “No need to be modest, just take it. But close your eyes, I want it to be a surprise," he said

  I closed my eyes. As he placed it into my hands it was cold to the touch.

  “You can open your eyes now.”

  I opened it and saw a pair of hair sticks. They were both silver with a fairly pointy end. On the thicker end, one had a pearl with twisting metal surrounding it. The other one had a sapphire, my birthstone.

  “I hope you like it. The hair stick reminded me of how you always liked to put your hair in a bun during PE. I also put in your and my birth stone.”

  “I love it,” I say as I hug him. “But you still have to take me out for dinner.”

  “All right.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes, I do. I will no matter what comes up.”

  “Good,” I said. “I have to go now. Take care of yourself and dad, and don’t get into any trouble.”

  “Ok, you got it!”

  As I walked down stairs and into the street, I could see him waving from the window. I smiled and waved back.

  If only this could last forever.

  But like everything else it was short-lived. After I got back to the Corps headquarters, I went to my dorm room and was ready to go to sleep. Right before I laid down, there was an announcement on the speakers.

  “Members of Group 3, please come to the briefing room.”

  I walked in to see Mr. Lee standing there along with my teammates.

  “Everyone sit down,” Mr. Lee ordered. “This will be your first mission. To investigate a series of warehouses. I warn you, we have already sent two other groups there to investigate. But they all went missing without leaving a trace. I wish you the best of luck Group 3. Dismissed.”