Chapter 20

“What the hell took you two so long?” Sara barked at her teammates. “We almost got disqualified. I came up with so many excuses for you …”

“Sorry, it’s my fault.” Kevin smiled awkwardly. “I was having problems with the suit.”

Johnny glanced at Kevin, trying not to look nervous—it was obvious he was lying. He looked back at the fuming Sara, waiting to see if she was convinced. Sara narrowed her eyes but let out a long sigh. They didn’t really have time to argue right now.

“Okay, whatever,” she muttered. “Let’s just get on our bikes.”

Kevin sighed in relief, and even Johnny seemed slightly less nervous after this response. The three approached their bikes, and Kevin was just about to climb into his when he heard a voice behind him.

“Ha. No way you actually came.”

Kevin looked back to see Mike and friends, standing together in a pose that had clearly been rehearsed before.

“I guess the Advent Guard saves weirdos too,” Mike said with a shrug. “Who knew? I figured you would be home, scared after that Jin incident at the school. I honestly didn’t think you would show up for graduation let alone here.”

“You underestimate me, Mike,” Kevin said, his voice calm. “I don't go down that easily.”

Mike walked up to Kevin matching his gaze as they were face to face.

“I'm coming after you, Riley,” Mike muttered. “This race will be your last.”

Before Kevin could answer, Mike bumped hard into Kevin's right shoulder. Then, he and his friends retreated to their vehicles.

This was going to be a big race, no doubt about that. But Kevin was ready. He had to be.

His anger simmered as Mike and his crew walked off. He clenched his fists. A part of him wished he knew how to use his powers. He could teach Mike a lesson right then and there. He took a long, slow breath and pushed those thoughts to the side. They had a race to win. He turned to his crew.

“Well, we have a clear goal out there,” Kevin said, determined. “We have to make sure those guys don’t win. This is what we trained for.”

His friends grinned, their expressions conveying just how much they agreed with him. Kevin outstretched his hand to the center of their huddle.

“Do your best out there,” he said.

Sara stacked her hand on his. Johnny hesitated for just a moment, staring at their hands. Kevin could see Johnny’s mind working. Was this still a good idea after what just happened in the locker room? Johnny, feeling Kevin’s eyes on him, remembered his friend’s words in the locker room: he had to believe that Kevin would be all right.

Johnny added his hand to the pile.

“Thank you, guys,” Kevin added. “I couldn’t ask for a better crew.”

Then, they broke the huddle and assembled into their starting positions.

All around the track, the racers donned their helmets and lined up as they were supposed to. Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw Sara wave and give a thumbs-up. On his other side, Johnny appeared worried. Kevin felt it too but gave a reassuring thumbs-up. He had to keep his powers under control. There was no other option.

The referee stood on the podium overlooking the racers. When the ref seemed satisfied that everyone was in position, he activated the starting lights.

The first red light glowed.

“Racers, on your mark!” the referee announced.

The second red light lit up. The audience held their breath. Engines roared to life, revving with pure adrenaline and excitement. Corners of the crowd were already erupting into cheers.

Kevin tightened his grip on the handlebars. “You got this,” he whispered to himself.

The light turned green. Engines screamed. Tires spun. The racers took off as the crowd erupted into chaos.

— ✧ —

Elsewhere, the day was winding down. The construction manager made his usual rounds, inspecting each crew’s performance. When he approached the last team, he noticed that only half their work had been completed. Barely a quarter of the trees had been cut. He stormed over, upset at the delay.

“I thought I told you I wanted this cleared before sundown,” he said through gritted teeth, immediately getting the attention of his employees. “You’re putting us behind schedule.”

“Our equipment shorted out,” one of the workers protested. “The batteries are dead, and charging them ain’t working. We couldn’t even radio you.”

“Then use the gas-powered saws,” the manager said. “We just have to cut these damn trees. I don’t care how you get it done.”

Before anyone from the crew could respond, he stormed off. The crew, shaken, headed to base camp to retrieve the gas-powered chainsaws. Soon, they were back at work. Trees toppled one by one, until only one remained. The giant hollow oak tree, with the gemstone inside.

A worker approached the giant tree as though it were any other. He yanked the ripcord, and the saw roared, spinning its steel blades at a rapid pace. Without any ceremony, the man dug his saw into the tree.

Birds scattered into the sky, and creatures scampered away. The gemstone felt the unnatural vibrations and sent out another electric magnetic pulse. The device wasn’t disabled. The gemstone didn’t understand this limit to its power.

At last, the oak tree began to teeter. It cracked, then toppled to the ground. The forest shook upon impact.

The metal box tumbled from the hollowed tree, the stone within fell out and landed on the ground. A branch broke from the fallen tree, landing over the stone’s glow thus hidden from sight.

— ✧ —

“Dr. Milan, the machine is heating up,” a scientist announced, tone laced with worry.

Milan rushed to the scientist’s side to investigate the situation, and sure enough, he watched as the temperature gauge for the reality inducer started to rise. Its motion was quick. Pretty soon, it would be at critical levels.

“Can’t you cool it down?” Dr. Milan asked, though his voice was breathless.

“I tried but the fans aren’t responding.”

Just then, they heard a loud metallic clunk. Something hit the ground nearby. Dr. Milan and the scientist looked back only to see the reality device billowing smoke on one side. The whole team erupted into panic.

“Get the extinguisher!” Dr. Milan hollered. “Shut down the machine, and make sure that you seal the Seirei Jins’ powers before you do.

The scientists scrambled, clearly not wanting to disappoint their boss. A couple grabbed fire extinguishers, while another shut off the machine and flipped the switch that would create a barrier to the Seirei Jins’ powers.

Inside that void, Stewart watched the machine's red eyes fade to black. He had succeeded in shutting it down.. He found himself back inside the pod. Though he was still unable to move his body or use his powers, he was conscious enough to rest inside the pod and tune in to the commotion outside. The scientists could not manage to figure out why the machine was malfunctioning, which brought Stewart a little bit of glee.

He heard them open the compartment door nearby, and he knew what they saw there: a small fire. He heard them spray it down with anti-flammable powder. How he wished he could see their faces!

Alright, if the machine is out of commission, then the reality they created should change, he thought. This should buy me some time to figure out how to break free and help Kevin.

His thoughts returned to the vision he saw of Kevin holding that strange stone and the cryptic message he heard.

I still don’t understand that weird message, but it has something to do with Kevin.

As Stewart pondered his plan, Dr. Milan looked inside the machine's compartment. He found several hydraulic pumps on the ground and let out a deep sigh of frustration. He turned back to his scientists.

“Get me Agent Reynolds,” he ordered.

— ✧ —

Elsewhere in Arlington, Virginia, inside a lavish office, five individuals in tailored suits sat behind a long, curved desk. The screen they all shared showed the race Kevin and his team were participating in. Unlike the crowd on-site at the event, the individuals in tailored suits were not particularly enthused.

These were the Executives, appointed by the United Nations after the initial Seirei Jin invasion. In the aftermath of such surprising dangers, it was decided that each country would have five delegates charged with maintaining control over any potential Jin tyranny. In North America, each delegate came from and represented the interests of a different region on the continent.

At the far end of the desk, a rotund elderly gentleman, with a silver beard and mustache that covered much of the lower half of his face, was head of the Southwest region. He went by the name Theodore, though most of his allies called him Theo. As he watched the race, he held a folder with Kevin’s age-ten picture clipped to the front.

“Are we ready to begin?” he asked.

“Well, I sure am,” remarked a man in his mid-twenties. He was named Caius, the head of the Midwest region, and he’d been the one to take the initiative to invite everyone here. Coincidentally, he was also the most excited. He lifted his glass, and the assistant, a young woman in a smart blouse and skirt, poured him a glass of wine. He took a sip. “Our little friend should be there by now. So shall we place a wager?”

“My money is on the boy,” said a middle-aged woman in her fifties, with a smirk. Tessa was the head of the Southeast, and despite her age, she couldn’t help but admire the handsome features of the young teen riding around the track. She brushes her bangs aside, which these days are showing signs of grey in her auburn hair. “I want to see this power for myself.”

“You mean ‘if’ he has it,” Theo responded with a swirl of his glass. He placed the folder on the table. “We may just as well be sending a young man to an early grave.”

“Does it matter?” asked a gentleman in his forties. Jaxon was already bored of watching the race, so his eyes were mostly on his phone, checking the status of several deals he made out in the West. He smiled. One of his overseas clients had struck a deal. His next words took on a cheerful tone. “If he dies, we no longer have to waste resources on Doctor Riley. And we get rid of him and that family.”

“Agreed,” commented Amelia, head of the Northeast. She placed her empty glass on the table and began to circle her finger around the rim. “I just hope Agent Reynolds is right about this. I’m not looking to waste my time.”

“Oh! That reminds me.” Caius pressed a button in front of him, which connected to a built-in paging device in the table. He looked excited to show off.

A female receptionist on the other end answered. “How may I help you, sir?”

“Can you please send our Elites to Faraday, to retrieve our prize?” Caius ordered. “Dead or alive.”

“As you wish.” The line went dead.

The Executives returned their collective attention back to the TV. Caius sat back in his chair with a satisfied grin.

“Now it’s time for the fun to begin.”