Daniel Xander, Chapter 7: The Noise Around You

"Just a little farther." Said Liz walking in front of him as Daniel followed. He had spent the night in a hotel which hadn't had anything noteworthy about it. Except for the fact that the gargoyles with glowing eyes had been all over the place. In the lift, outside the window, everywhere.
"Where are we going, again?" Yawned Daniel. He'd put on a blue t shirt with strips and black shorts after his shower, and was now following Liz to who-knew-where. She'd just turned up at his doorstep in the morning and handed him a heavily laden breakfast tray. By the time he'd finished, she'd come back all uniformed and told him to follow her.

He'd just spent the entire night worrying about his participation in the siege factions. What was his Imperium? He had no clue at all. The streets were really busy today; much busier than they'd been last evening. Men and women in fashionable suits all around the place, some of them on their phone, many of them with briefcases.
The morning sun was really hot on his neck and......wait.
"Hey Liz?" Daniel began, squinting up, "What is that star called?"
"So you have properly begun to understand that we are no longer in the second plane." said Liz smiling, "That star is called M-5. The lone source of heat and light for the M-5 system of planets."
"Uh huh." Said Daniel. How much of the second plane had the entity copy pasted here? Moreover, where were they even off to? They passed bakeries, official looking complexes, general stores and stationery shops, before finally stopping in front of a huge building which looked like a library. The sign over the huge entrance read: Bartemius Scholar accessories shop.
Liz climbed the stairs leading up to the entrance and pushed open the door. There was a sound, like the ring of a bell from within. Daniel followed her inside and almost fell back after catching a glimpse of the display before him. There were shelves all around the place, towering over 10 feet. But the astonishing part was that the shelves were not only on the ground, but similar to the Madron coffee house, there were shelves attached to the ceiling and the walls as well. Thick books lay on the rows of tables stretching across center of the room. People of all ages were flicking through the pages and taking notes. It was evident from their formal attire that they were all students. Some of them were walking upside down on the ceiling, and a lot of them were picking up books from the shelves attached to the walls. The ceiling was about three stories over their head. Vertical maze like pathways were carved into the walls leading up to the different floors and up to the ceiling.
"Don't worry lil bro," said Liz catching a glimpse of his astonished expression and patting his shoulder reassuringly, "go and sit down. I will just talk to the owner and get you the books you need for your school. What?" She added as Daniel turned to look at her open-mouthed.
"School?" He asked, completely flabbergasted.
"You know Daniel, you are really weird." said Liz scratching her chin, "First, you will make people think that you are really sharp, and then, throw these really senseless doubts at me. You are in a different existence, and you can't just enter a siege faction without giving an examination. You need to properly learn everything. Focus on academics. After an 8 month preparation, you can finally give an examination and join a siege faction."
"But the fee, and where am I going to live?" Said Daniel stuttering.
"Everything can be taken care of." Said Liz reassuringly, "You are my family's responsibility. But we can't let you stay with us. Nor can you stay at the dorms, because the other students might try something. So we are gonna buy you a one bedroom apartment. And don't worry about the fee. I can take care of it all."
"Why can't I stay with you guys, or at the dorms?" Said Daniel.
"Because-"

"Miss Brown? Do you need something from here?" Came a voice from behind. Liz paused and looked back. Suddenly, her face was flooded with relief, as if she was relieved that the interruption had saved her from explaining the reason to Daniel. Daniel couldn't help but feel annoyed. He looked back at the source of interruption, and almost raised an eyebrow in surprise and amusement.
There stood Nathan Kyle, his nose squashed up and swollen a bit. Right behind him was a guy a bit shorter than him. His long dark hair fell into his dark eyes. His face was a very handsome one. Hollowed cheeks and a rather pointed nose. It was the same guy Daniel had seen yesterday; the one who had been sitting behind the cash counter. He was wearing a red t shirt with a logo Daniel had never seen before, and black shorts with loafers. Nathan, much in contrast with this guy, was dressed in a black armour plate over a purple t shirt and black jeans. His combat boots looked really sturdy, and his green hair was properly combed. Side by side, the two of them looked like polar opposites. Also, the dark haired dude looked really familiar.
"I was just helping Daniel with his school books." Said Liz waving towards the massive shelves.
Nathan nodded. His narrow black eyes moved towards Daniel, where they rested. Daniel stared back with contempt. Split personality, huh? Or just an act? Did he assume this persona whenever he was in the company of his equals? Then why act all casual around Smith Baker? Maybe, they were best friends or something. Daniel felt a strong sense of dislike towards Nathan. Not because he'd beaten him up or lied to him, but because of how much of himself he faked around these people. Cowardly, really. He felt some comfort in knowing that Liz had broken his nose. Not so pretty with a squashed nose, eh? Thought Daniel, though he felt that saying something like that out loud would be really uncalled for and an unnecessary provocation.
Then, out of nowhere, Nathan said, "I apologise."
Daniel half expected the earth to tear itself apart and swallow everything up. He wanted to look up and witness the act of divine justice as god himself descended from the heavens and struck down this unholy world. He wanted to look around for Penelope Sherman, who was most probably at a karaoke with all sorts of delinquents.
All of this had been more likely to happen than Nathan apologising to Daniel.
Perhaps, the dark haired dude felt the same way. He'd been looking around the place curiously until now. Suddenly, he turned to look at Nathan, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
"What did Cecile put in your breakfast?" He asked sounding concerned, "Tell me, what was it?"
"Quiet down, Rex." Said Nathan closing his eyes, a vein bulging in his temple, "I am just being courteous. I have been impolite and acted in ways unbecoming of a gentleman. For that, I owe an apology to Daniel."
Even though he said it all, his eyes were giving off completely different signals. Though Daniel certainly was able to sense some remorse in his expression and the way he spoke. He sighed.
"It's ok," he said measuring his words as he'd done with Penelope, "I was also discourteous and extremely insolent. I apologise for that."
Nathan simply nodded. Rex Madron's eyes were moving from Daniel to Nathan.
"Well, since you guys have resolved your drama," said Liz, clearing her throat, "I will go and get your books, Daniel."
"I will come with you." Said Nathan, "I have to discuss the matter of the entrance exam of my guild with Mr. Bartemius."
"Right," said Liz and both of them started to walk towards the wall, taking a sudden leap and now, they were walking on the wall, just like Madron coffee house.
"So," said Rex suddenly, "why don't we sit down?"
"Yeah, sure!" Said Daniel, a bit surprised.
Both of them walked towards the really long tables in the middle of the hall and sat down on the second one. Daniel looked around. Next to the paths carved into the walls were huge windows through which sunlight-or rather the light of M-5-streamed through. Daniel looked up towards the ceiling. Beyond the proper marble paths attached to the ceiling, it was clear that the ceiling itself was made from glass. Rays of sunlight (sunlight, because it's more convenient) shone through the gaps in between the paths. It was really impressive.
"Cool, right?" Said Rex Madron, following Daniel's gaze and looking up.
"Yeah," said Daniel. Then, something struck him.
"Is your Imperium gravity control?" He asked with interest.
"No." said Rex, looking surprised, "Why do you ask?"
"It's just that, Liz said the owner of Madron coffee house has imbued the place with his Imperium, gravity control. So I assumed..."
Rex laughed.
"You are pretty good," he said, "but I am not the owner. My dad is. I just work there part time. My real job is just normal government work."
"Oh, I see." Said Daniel.

He looked around, trying to find some other topic he could start a conversation on. He wanted to ask Rex about his Imperium, but thought against it. His eyes trailed to the entrance of the stationery. Someone opened the door and entered. It was a girl with long black hair tied back in a ponytail with a fringe in front of her forehead, bright blue eyes and black semi-rimmed spectacles. She was dressed in what looked like a school uniform. White shirt, tie, skirt with leggings and black shoes. Her shirt had a logo on it. It was the waitress from yesterday, Cecile. Rex Madron looked towards the entrance and waved towards Cecile, clearly telling her to join them. Cecile looked at them and her solemn face brightened. She walked towards the long table, pulled out a chair next to Rex and sat down.
"So, Rex," she said, "Where's madam? I was expecting to see her here."
"She went to get some books for this gentleman." said Rex, waving a hand and pointing towards Daniel, "You might know him. He is Samuel Xander's son. His name is Daniel."
Cecile's expression changed visibly as she moved her gaze to Daniel. It was an almost unreadable expression, but there was something in it. Something not very pleasing. Maybe, she was one of the people who held a grudge against Samuel. It's not like Daniel particularly cared. But it wasn't helping his growing unease that he was related to a figure of controversy. He couldn't help but stare back the only way he knew how: the look of utter and absolute confusion. He'd practiced this look a lot, thinking about what he would do if he found someone staring at him. Other people practiced smothering gazes, Daniel practiced confused looks.
"Oh, look!" Came Liz's voice from behind him, and he turned back to look at her, feeling pathetic relief, "Cecile's here! Hey Cecile? This is my brother Daniel. He's gonna be enrolling into your academy. Why don't you chat with him for a while. Try and get to know him-"
"I am sorry, Miss Brown, but I must pass," said Cecile, with an uncannily charming smile, "I have extra classes today, and I would rather spend my time studying in the library than slacking off."
"Oh, bummer." Said Liz. She was holding a huge stack of books in her hand. Really thick ones. Daniel eyed them with a degree of interest mixed with horror. Would he have to study all of these? How much time did he have?
"I think I should take my leave." Said Cecile and hurried away from the table. Before opening the door to exit she turned back once and shot Daniel a very weird look, almost as if she was disappointed.

"That was really weird. Does she often act this way?" Said Rex Madron, looking confused.
"Eh, maybe she was busy with school or something." Said Liz.
"I don't think I am wrong in assuming that she wasn't too keen to waste her precious time on him." Said Nathan with an air of his usual sarcasm.
"That can't be right." muttered Liz, "I have spent a lot of time with her. And even though she was a spoiled kid once, I don't think she would judge someone based on their appearance now that she has changed so muc-"
"What's wrong with my appearance?" Said Daniel crossly.
"Hah? No! Nothing!" Said Liz with a bit of nervous energy, "You look really good lil bro-"
"Don't call me that, please." Said Daniel looking down.
"Oh, is it annoying?" Said Liz smirking at him, "Can't do anything about it, lil bro-"
"It's annoying because I didn't even know you existed until yesterday." said Daniel feeling a little irritated now, "Maybe you should wait and get to know me as your brother before announcing it to everyone."
Liz looked really taken aback at this. Nathan was expression less and Rex was just staring into space. Daniel felt a bit guilty at acting the way he had. But he couldn't put up the brave, curious and friendly front any longer. The truth was that he was a coward. He was too scared to fight in the war even if that meant he would be saving himself. He was scared of the training he might have to go through. Uninvited, Samuel's voice floated into his head at once: "The training you will be put through might cause you pain beyond imagination."
He didn't want to undergo pain beyond imagination. He was just a 15 year old and he had to fight in this big war to reclaim a territory? All this time he'd just followed Samuel's advice and taken all his decisions with cold, hard logic. He hadn't even been aware of the fact that all this time, he'd basically been bottling up his true feelings. The disbelief, the horror, the resentment towards almost everyone. But he was aware now. All at once, his emotions came flooding back to him. Nathan's beatdown, his parents' secrets, and the fact that his life had basically performed a headstand within just a day. How fast all of this had happened, Daniel hadn't realised. Everyone had been impressed with the fact that he'd adapted to it all. In reality, he'd only been able to adapt because he'd been too lost inside his head to fathom the scale and reality of things. He'd been comparing his situation with that of a novel or comic book protagonist. But he didn't have any plot armour. He could actually die. Worst of all, he couldn't trust anyone. He was fearfully doubtful of everyone and their motives now. He had only known these people for 2 to 3 days at max. He couldn't trust them. Why should he? All his life he'd never had anyone to talk to except for his parents. Everytime his track team had asked him if he was feeling alright or not, he'd always replied, "Well, obviously! What could happen to me?" Because he'd been too scared to talk to anyone. His parents had never given him a reason as to why he had to stay homebound and when he'd actually told his track team about his situation one day, they'd laughed it off. He hadn't ever been able to rely on anyone or trust anyone. In short, he had no friends. Not because others hadn't wanted to befriend him, but because of his own demeanor. His outlook to everything. And the fact that he thought nobody except for his parents mattered. And now looking at Liz and Penelope and Darius and looking at the fact they were genuinely being decent to him and that he could for the first time in his life confide in someone; it was too much for Daniel to take in.
"I am willing to wait to get to know you." Said Liz with a firmness in her voice, breaking him out of his dream state, "I am sorry I forgot that everything is going very fast for you. It's just that-"
"All of us, me included of course," cut in Rex Madron calmly, "Have personally known Samuel. We all have heard a lot about you from him. We may have forgotten that you are your own man and we shouldn't have formed assumptions about your personality based on our mental image of you. You are your own man, and hence, no one should judge you for who you choose to be."
"I will discard everything Samuel has told me about you." Said Liz reassuringly, "And I will wait to personally get to know you. The real you and not the image Samuel has given us."
"It might be a very big disappointment, considering the fact that my dad tends to over exaggerate everything about me." Mumbled Daniel, somewhat touched by their words.
"It doesn't matter. I may only have known you for a day but I have a strong intuition and anyway, one day was enough for me to get a general idea of what you are like. I have a very strong intuition." Replied Liz with confidence.
He nodded, feeling much at ease now. But somewhere inside him, he still had a ton of emotions he needed to let loose. He didn't wanna breakdown in front of anyone. And he didn't know if he could talk to anyone about all his bottled feelings. But he didn't know if he could. He didn't want to breakdown on his own. Maybe, getting some space and time would loosen this knot in his stomach. He wanted to talk to someone very badly but didn't have that kind of confidence. He was afraid of opening himself up. Was he wrong in choosing not to talk to her? Was he closing himself off? Should he talk to these people? No. It didn't feel right. He already belittled himself over his cowardice. He didn't want anyone else doing that. He thought about Cecile's fallen face as she'd looked back at him. Even though he'd tried to convince himself that her opinion on him didn't matter; deep down, he felt like a letdown to these people who were expecting to see Samuel Xander in him. Or atleast an image of Samuel Xander. Nathan, Liz, Darius, Penelope, Cecile and maybe even Rex. Maybe, this was like the burden on Liz's shoulders. But the difference was that she was bravely trying to prove her worth while he didn't even want to be here.

He stood up and turned to leave the store. He needed a breath of fresh air, a lot of space and a lot of time to compose himself.
"I gotta get out for some time." He said facing the three of them, "I will just look around the city and come back by evening. I will find my way back to the hotel."
"Daniel, if you're not feeling well," said Liz solemn, "you can talk to me. I know you don't know me well and I don't know you, but maybe if you opened up-"
If only I didn't feel the way I do about myself, he thought, I guess I really am a drama queen who likes to keep himself secluded.
"I am alright." He said, smiling over his shoulder, "I just want to explore the city a bit. Maybe go for a jog in a park or something. Can you tell me where I can find one?"

10 minutes later, he was in a park, having navigated through the city with little to no difficulty. His sense of direction was pretty good for someone who'd hardly left their house. Or maybe, he'd just gotten lucky. He raised his head and took a deep breath. The city had been as normal as any metropolitan area with little gardens and orchards here and there. The park he was in was huge. According to a board, the border was about 1 kilometre. He preferred using this much better than using miles. Maybe because his old man had never used the mile system himself. Immediately, he broke into a jog, following the path lined with trees. Their shade covered the pathway in dark shapes.
He hadn't noticed it before, but he was actually breathing really easy. Was it because the air here was cleaner?

All around him, there were joggers, old couples taking walks and women and children. He kept on jogging, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead and neck. After 4 rounds, he was completely drenched. He walked away from the gravelly path and tried to find himself a bench, looking all around.
Suddenly, he stopped. About 20 meters to his right, sitting on a park bench was Cecile Kress. She was in a casual attire, sporting a blue t shirt, black track pants, and running shoes. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her glasses were sliding down her nose slightly. Beside her was a dark skinned guy with an athletic build, short black hair and very intense amber eyes. He was dressed in a similar fashion, in a black t shirt with a logo on it, track pants, and jogging shoes. Both of them seemed to be having a very heated argument about something.
School work, my foot, thought Daniel sourly, you could just have said you didn't want to show me around. He started to stalk away when, a very familiar sensation filled him. He stopped where he was and immediately ran to the bench next to the one Cecile was sitting on, about 10 meters away. He lowered his head and rested his chin on his hand. If he was right.....
Yes. Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, he could hear voices, as if someone had started to play a recording in his ears.
"I didn't skip school," came Cecile's voice, "it ended earlier than usual because apparently there is something Darius Rowse wants to investigate."
"I see." said the guy, "I wonder what it is. Anyway, didn't you go to the library-bookstore, whatever that place is?"
"I did," said Cecile, "but there was that Xander idiot there, the one I told you about on text."
"The one with terrible eating habits?" Asked the guy sounding genuinely interested.
"That's the one," said Cecile, "evidently, he is already pretty close with madam, Darius and Rex Madron. Well, I guess being the son of the tragic war hero has it's benefits."
"Really? Maybe you misunderstood? They could have been escorting him you know." Said the guy uncertainly.
"Escorts don't buy you dinner Davy." said Cecile sounding tired, "They were being legitimately chummy with him. I was so annoyed! I just wanted to let him have it! I remember when Nathan escorted me here last year. He didn't even ask me for water!"
"Because you were talking his ear off." Said Davy.
"Who's side are you on?" Asked Cecile furiously.
"Chill Cecile," said Davy calmly, "you might actually be reading too much into this. Maybe the guy just had a long day and Liz felt bad for him so she bought him dinner? I can't say anything without personally meeting the guy."
"His upbringing should be enough to convince you." Said Cecile dismissively.
"What's wrong with his upbringing?" Asked Davy, as Daniel's heart skipped a beat. He didn't want to make any sudden movements or draw attention to himself.
"He is Samuel Xander's son," said Cecile sounding disgusted, "I mean, seriously. That man tore apart the Anoterose military power and then had the guts to go to the mortal realm and meet a mortal and have a son? How low can a man stoop? I am still relatively new to this place, so I don't know too much-"
"Then don't talk too much," said Davy sounding stern, "the guy shouldn't be judged for what his father did. His father did it for himself, not for his son."
"You really know very little, Davy." said Cecile with a sigh, "Try and understand. Anyone reasonable in his place would have given his comrade a proper honourable burial and then continued to serve the nation. He let his emotions get to him and the result? Anoterose loses the two strongest system busters. On top of that, his son with the repressed Imperium wouldn't be much of an asset. He will be dead weight in battle! Anyone else in his shoes would have retired and lived with their head down."
"Is that so?" Asked Davy, now sounding very uncertain, "But still, it was his life. He should be allowed to do whatever he wants."
"Whatever." Said Cecile with conviction, "I am just sure that I am not gonna let that weak moron anywhere near me. All of my classmates feel that way too. I just talked to Natasha today. She said she'd seen him with Darius yesterday. She was horrified when I told her who he is. I don't care if Liz tells me off for not being friendly with him."
She stood up stretching and said, "Let's spar one more time. Try to focus your hits to my face this time."
Davy nodded without saying anything. Together, they jogged away. He looked around. No one was around him. He stood up calmly, turned, and punched the bench he'd been sitting on with all his strength. He could feel the hard metal biting into his knuckles. He removed his hand to see that the bench had a dent right where he'd hit it. He didn't know where that strength had come from. Nor did he care. He only knew that he was angry. Looking down at his hand, he knew he would later come to regret what he'd done after his adrenaline rush wore off. His knuckle was red and bloody. Atleast his bone hadn't caved in. Daniel sat back down and put his face into his hands. This was his reputation here. This was what people thought about him. That he shouldn't have been born. That he was a mistake. Maybe everyone felt that way about him. One year he had to stay here and bear everything. He could feel his eyes getting a bit moist. Great. Was he about to cry? Seriously? He didn't know anyway to take out his frustration with himself. What a weakling he was. He sat there for the longest time ever, head down, and forced back his tears. This was no time to cry. He wanted to stand up and run, but he didn't feel like it anymore. So he just stood there and waited for time to pass, unaware that he was actually falling asleep.

"Hello mister," came a bright voice from somewhere to his right, "do you mind if I join you?"
Daniel raised his head with a start. The sky was a bright orange and it was evident that the sun was setting. The lamp posts all around the park were starting to light up. He looked towards the source of the voice. It was a guy with a wheatish complexion, black hair cut choppy and uneven, and a very slender build. He was considerably shorter than Daniel, but he looked like he was the same age. He looked very normal, dressed in a white t shirt and black pants. But his eyes were extremely unsettling. It was like staring into a mirror. Literally. The irises were the colour of a very well polished silver, with a slight black outline so that they weren't melding with the whites. The pupils were very distinct, right in the center of the polished-silver irises.
Daniel rubbed his eyes and indicated the guy to the bench.
"Thank you." He said and sat down beside Daniel, on the other end of the bench.

What had happened? Had he fallen asleep here or something? His head was aching pretty bad. The conversation he had eavesdropped on so long ago still danced in his head, making him crazy. Moreover, his knuckle was-
What? His knuckle no longer ached. Someone had cleaned the wound and tied a thick bandage around it. It still stung a bit, but it didn't hurt too much.
"Uh, excuse me?" Began Daniel with a wheezy voice, "How long have you been in this park?"
"Just half an hour." Replied the guy, "Why do you ask?"
"It's just that, someone bandaged my hand while I was out." Said Daniel, clearing his throat.
"Oh, you mean the brown haired woman and her dragon armour friend? Yeah, they were here about 20 minutes ago." Replied the guy.
So it had been Liz and Darius. A lump of emotion formed inside Daniel's throat. What had he done for them in the first place? Had they felt bad for him? He'd dismissed her just this morning, and now her and Darius had come looking out for him. How had they known that he was here in the first place? Why even bother looking for him?
"You know, random acts of kindness really move me." Said the guy suddenly, "You sure are lucky to have such awesome siblings. Your older sister tried moving you, but you wouldn't budge."
"How come?" Asked Daniel, surprised.
"You threw a tantrum, like a little child." Said the guy trying to unsuccessfully conceal his smile.
Daniel's ears grew hot, but he didn't say anything. Oh god. What might they be thinking of him? Why did he have to act like a child? He couldn't remember anything at all.
"What time is it?" Asked Daniel.
"It's 7:15." Replied the guy checking his watch.
"Right, I had better move." Said Daniel standing up and preparing to break into a run. He had come out here to compose himself. Instead, he was left more confused than before. Much to his disdain, he didn't want to stay here any longer. God, he was so pathetic.
He didn't even have a cogent reason for the way he'd acted. Feeling more ashamed than ever, he began to walk away.
"If you don't mind me asking, is something wrong?" Called the guy.
"Nah, I am fine." Said Daniel not looking back.
"You know, seclusion can be really harmful." Said the guy, suddenly appearing beside Daniel.
"I am sure it can be really harmful." Said Daniel a little irritated, "I am not secluding myself, ok? Now I really gotta go."
"Your forlorn expression says otherwise." Said the guy solemnly, "It's never good to bottle up your emotions. If your dam were to break, it would only mean extra pain for you."
"I see," said Daniel, trying to sound interested, "yeah dams are very nice. Big and sturdy and stuff. Now I gotta go and find my-" he caught himself. He'd almost called these unfamiliar people his friends. Normally, he wouldn't have had any problem in calling any random person his friend if it meant leaving a strange man behind. But somehow, this time, he faltered. He didn't know how he felt about them. Liz and Darius. They'd treated him nicely, and he'd run away just to wallow in his self pity, just because some people had an opinion about him and didn't know him personally. Seriously, how messed up was his head?
"You have that expression on your face again," said the guy, "that confused dreamy expression, that says you have too much going on in your head and you just don't have anyone to talk it out with. You can tell me what's wrong."
"Who are you?" Asked Daniel irritably, "Look whatever I am feeling is my business-"
"Look, I agree you don't know me," said the guy raising his hands in submission, "but maybe you can get to know me. I am just someone who likes sharing everyone's burdens. I like hearing people's problems. Maybe it will sound weird to you, but like I said random acts of kindness really move me. And I want to perform one such act now. Maybe if you talk it out with someone at all, you can sort yourself out. You are new here right? I can tell! Look if you don't wanna talk I can understand, but know this: I am just someone who wants to help you out. It's like a gamble for you. Anyway, what could I even do to you if you were to sit down and talk to me? You are way bigger and stronger than me. You can just vaguely talk about whatever you want to get off your chest. People who listen are valuable. And I am someone who wants to listen! So talk to me."
This made Daniel hesitate. On one hand this guy was a complete stranger, and he was trying too hard to convince Daniel to talk to him. On the other hand, he sounded very genuine when he talked. Daniel eyed him. The guy could be a mugger....or a kidnapper. But he could easily have sedated Daniel while he was out and then taken him away. Was he waiting for someone? Or maybe, Daniel was overthinking again. He looked around. The park wasn't too crowded, but still crowded enough for people to notice a kidnapping. Quietly, Daniel walked back to the bench and sat down, not looking at the guy.
The guy sat down beside him. Before he could stop himself, Daniel started talking.

"You were right. I am someone new here. And I have no idea what even is going on here. My life was so normal and then one day boom! I was in this world of Imperiums and superpowers. And the transition wasn't even smooth. It was so rough that I couldn't even keep up with everything. It still feels weird that I am in a different plane itself. Also, my escort was a huge pain. I understand he was under pressure, but he hid so many details of-of everything from me. I came here under the impression that I would have to spend just one summer here. But apparently, I have to spend a whole year here and participate in a war that has got nothing to do with me. Now all that in itself is not all that bad. But then, I found out that my father is a figure of extreme controversy. The whole time I have had people talking about me in some way or the other. People know me even though I have no idea who the hell they even are. Everyone has this mental image of me and I am seriously afraid of letting everyone down by showing them that I am nowhere near as good as my father made it out to be. Some people think I am some brave and powerful figure of greatness, just like my father was. Others think I am just some weakling. Some people think of my father as a hero, others think of him as someone damaging. The whole time I tried to put up a front, but I sorta broke down this morning, and am too ashamed to face them all again. I have no idea who I am even supposed to be. On top of that, I was just introduced to these complete strangers who are somehow my family, and my father didn't even tell me about any of that. Now I am just.....a mess. I don't know if I should be angry or sad or should I cry out or whatever. I told myself before coming here that I wasn't mad at my parents. But the truth is that I am pretty mad at them. They kept me safe but at the same time, they couldn't even tell me about anything related to their world. Moreover, I can't help but wonder why they even chose to have me in the first place? Like everyone said, I am dead weight in a fight. If they knew I would be put through this, why even have me in the first place?" His voice broke down as the lump in his throat swelled.
"Are you feeling any better at all?" Asked the guy sounding sympathetic.
Daniel shook his head. In all honesty, he didn't feel better at all. He still didn't know what to feel.
"You don't mind if I try to sort this out for you?" Said the guy, his voice kind. Daniel couldn't meet his eyes, but he nodded, not knowing how this dude was gonna sort it all out.
"Well, for starters, you feel anger at the betrayal of your parents. Obviously you should be angry. But not unfairly so. Try and understand the reservations your parents must have had. I mean, imagine trying to explain the complexity of a different world itself to a child. The concept of superpowers would amuse any child but hardly be something a child would take seriously. No matter how repetitive the explanation is. With the passing of time, the child would probably dismiss the parents as senile. In cases such as these, the parents probably have to wait for something like a bizarre occurence. Incase something like that doesn't happen, it becomes highly improbable that the child would take his parents seriously.
"The way your escort treated you is pretty bad. And people forming judgements about you without getting to personally know you is also something I do not support. However, try to understand that you have no need to let the image of yours in their minds affect you. Perhaps, you should focus on becoming your own man and let others see you for who you are. As for you not knowing how you feel, I think everyone of us has been there sometime. When we just didn't want to discuss our problems with anyone. You shouldn't worry about your breakdown. If there are people who don't know you but genuinely want to know you, I don't think they would mind waiting for you to sort yourself out. Hell, I am certain that they would probably encourage you to spit all your problems and anger out. As for the controversy surrounding your father; well I don't think the noise people make around you regarding him should be something you should care about. I understand it's your father and it becomes hard to just listen to them talk about him, but what the hell? Your father is just a person who should be allowed to take his own decisions. If you are here for a limited amount of time, maybe you should start with focusing on what you have to do. You have no need to prove your worth to anyone if you genuinely try your hardest. And stop thinking of yourself as a mistake! I hate it when people don't realise that they are of some importance to others."

Daniel was silent for some time. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down to normal. Really, he felt much at ease now. He hadn't realised the importance of talking out to someone. He'd finally let his frustration be known, and the result had been pretty satisfactory. The guy hadn't just listened to him; he'd actually given Daniel some real good pep talk. He felt good, and just a bit stupid. He'd been carrying all this inside him for no good reason. With some guilt, he remembered Liz asking him if he was alright from the yesterday. He could atleast have talked to her about how he felt about Samuel's past. But overall, he was really feeling good now.
"Thank you." Said Daniel turning to look at the guy, genuinely grateful for his words, "for forcing me to sit down and talk to you. You really give amazing pep talks."
"Like I said, I just wanted to help someone out." Said the guy happily. He stood up and said, "Are you feeling better?"
"Loads." Said Daniel earnestly.
"Glad to hear it," said the guy smiling broadly, "it's late, so we both should probably head back."
"Yeah." Said Daniel.
Both of them began to walk in opposite directions. But Daniel had almost forgotten to ask the guy's name. He turned and started to open his mouth, only to see that there was no one around. Night had properly fallen now. The sky was an inky black, stars etched into it like pearls. Daniel sighed and began walking away, back to his current residence, still wondering who that kind stranger might have been.