Seeing the stranger leave his car, the first thing on Gary’s mind was to turn and run away.
‘No, get away from me! It’s dangerous to stay near me! If I’m next to anyone, there’s a chance that I could… that I could…’ The teenage boy’s mind was spinning, as he took a careful step back, heading towards the forest.
“Hey, stop! Where do you think you’re going, kid? You can’t stay out like that!” The stranger shouted and was quickly by Gary’s side. It was at that moment, that his Energy bar dropped even lower.
[8/120 Energy]
The high schooler almost fell to the ground out of exhaustion, yet the stranger managed to catch him, easily carrying him to his car, where he placed him down in the back seat. Gary’s eyes were closed and he had fallen into a light slumber.
The stranger continued to drive his car along the street, looking around frantically through the forest for something. Eventually, just when he had been about to head into the forest himself, his phone vibrated and he read the text he had just received.
“Argh, so you’re telling me I came all the way out here for no reason? No, no, I should just be happy that she’s safe. ‘Don’t tell Dad’? Does she really believe she can hide that fact from him?” The stranger muttered to himself, letting out a big sigh.
His monologue seemed to awaken Gary a little bit. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the car with that stranger. He wasn’t sure what to think about that. What were the chances that the guy had rescued him from the kindness of his heart?
Unfortunately, there was little he could do about it. He still suffered from the same problems as before. Top of the list was the immense pain that originated from his stomach. It felt like someone was reaching in pulling his insides.
However, for some reason, it didn’t feel as bad as the last time he was low on Energy. Gary theorised that it might just be because he now had experienced that painful transformation. Compared to that, this seemed like a walk in the park.
“You’re in luck, streaker kid, my plans just fell through. So now I can deal with you.” The man addressed him, apparently aware that he was conscious again. “What happened to you? Why do you have no clothes on? And what are you doing so late?”
Gary was trying to get a look at his ‘saviour’ but with the other’s face looking at the road ahead it was hard to make out anything but his eyes from the rear view mirror. Still, he did notice a few things. For one, the car they were in seemed to be an expensive nice one. The quality of the seats, the space, and the brand on the wheel indicated that it was expensive, probably even an import.
Then, there was the person himself, from the side he could make out defined tricep muscles sticking out from a short sleeve shirt. He wasn’t exactly a large person, seemingly a few inches over Gary, but there was hardly any fat showing on his arm.
‘He’s even more ripped than that coach at the gym. Who is this guy?’ Gary wondered.
“Come on, streaker boy, I need an answer. Right now, I’m still feeling generous, but if you don’t want to spill the beans, I’ll have to just drop you off at the police station.” The stranger rushed him in an annoyed tone. Gary wasn’t sure if he was the reason for his apparent bad mood, or if it had to do with the plans that had fallen through.
“No please, not the police!” The teenager immediately pleaded. He knew that they had his blood in the record now. If he was taken in, they might be able to link him to all the other cases, something he needed to avoid at all costs, but what would he say?
“This is just… I… I’m being bullied at school. They called me out here today before they took all my clothes. I-I can’t fight back…they have connections.” Gary lied, trying to cry to add to his story, though nothing but sobs came out.
He considered this to be quite the feasible story. Of course, that didn’t explain all the scratches all over his body. Gary just hoped that this sob story was enough for the stranger to not bother with those inconsistencies, and ask him anything else. Fortunately for the teenager, the stranger did indeed feel bad to pry into things any further.
“… my condolences. I guess you’re lucky that I found you then. So where exactly did you intend to go before I picked you up? Shall I drop you off at your house?” He asked Gary.
With the way the high schooler was now, home was the last place he wanted to be. He honestly wanted nothing more but to be left alone until this torture was over, but he couldn’t just ask the stranger to drop him off at the storage warehous. Come to think of it, he dreaded the thought of what he had done, to get out there in the first place…
‘If I stay with him, there is a chance that I might attack him as well.’ Gary worried.
“No answer again, huh. Home trouble on top of school trouble? Look, I’ll do you a favour just this once. I’m staying at a hotel at the moment, and the room is way bigger than what a normal person needs. There are plenty of extra beds. I’ll let you stay there for the night if you want. Then in the morning you can leave and do as you like, no questions asked, alright?” The stranger offered.
“Yes, sir!” Gary immediately agreed, a huge smile on his face. Perhaps there would be a way for him to leave once he was in the room or the stranger had gone to sleep. It was late after all.
“Sir? Do I really look that old to you?” The stranger complained.
‘Damn it, why can’t I help but be nice to people like him. Is it because it reminds me of my own situation.’ The stranger scratched his head.
—
A short while later, the car stopped before a very nice looking hotel that was located at the far end of Cipen. It was one of the Slough’s posher areas, but the good thing was that it wasn’t too far away from the Yellow Stack.
Now that they were out of the car, Gary had a better look at the guy in front of him, who was all of a sudden taking off his shirt, revealing his hard abs and everything underneath. The next second he threw the shirt to the kid.
“Cover yourself with that and stay behind me for now.” The stranger ordered as they walked in the hotel. Gary did as he was told. Fortunately, the other was slightly larger than him, allowing him to stretch his shirt to hide certain exposed parts of his body.
Now that he got a closer look at his samaritan, he was wondering where he had seen this person before. The guy had a familiar face but Gary just couldn’t quite pinpoint where he had seen him before.
“Welcome back, Mr. Tiger. Would you like us to help with anything in your room?” A female voice greeted him with respect.
‘Holy sh*t, that’s it!!! He’s Jayden Tiger! What is one of the top Altereds in our country! What is he doing in a sh*thole like Slough?!’ Gary, being the Altered fighter fanatic that he was, instantly recognised him after hearing the last name.
Any other day of the week, he might be fanboying over the chance to not only meet but stay with one of his idols, but now he was only worried.
He was running from one tough situation to the next.