Chapter 15: Bad day
The situation became extremely chaotic in a single instant. Unsure if he was imagining things or actually experiencing a cursed event, he approached the nearest patrol, which happened to consist of three soldiers. He was not sure the soldiers could have resolved the situation, but he absolutely did not expect to be so easily pulled off his bike and manhandled.
Raising his new knife to the soldier's neck was pure instinct. In fact, Nero had to consciously prevent himself from actually stabbing the neck, and settle for keeping it pressed firmly against it. But the instant he did that, he realised he messed up. Sure, there was no need for them to pull him off his bike like that, but he shouldn't have let his instincts kick in.
The soldier stopped moving, though he did not seem afraid.
Nero slowly withdrew the knife. He was about to apologise and explain the situation, but the moment he moved the knife away, the soldier immediately picked up Nero and slammed him onto the ground, knocking the air out of him.
"Don't activate your innate ability, or any cards," a threatening voice spoke over him as the soldier bound Nero's hands behind his back. The other two soldiers approached and one of them put their boot on Nero's head while the third activated some kind card.
His face pressed into the ground Nero could not see what was happening, but a fire began building in his chest before it instantly vanished. In Nero's mind, the image of a blue, cold flame appeared, and it seemed to absorb all his feelings. It filled his veins with ice and killed the part of him that instantly wanted revenge.
Calmly and coldly, he analysed the situation, as if he wasn't the one being subjected to unnecessary violence. He distanced himself from the pressure of the boot pressing his face into the ground, from the soldier pushing his hands so far up behind his back they were on the verge of breaking. Instead, he tried to understand what was happening.
Two of the soldiers had manhandled him, much too easily. Considering Nero's weight, as well as his training, being captured so easily meant only one thing. The soldier who had picked him up from his cycle was an Initiate.
While Neophytes only gained access to aether, Initiates began to evolve into something greater. That came with a boost in all functions and processes of the body, which obviously meant an overall boost in strength as well.
The second soldier was holding his head in place. The third was doing something Nero could not see, and none of the sounds he was hearing told him anything either. If Nero had to guess, the third soldier was...
"He's clear. No signs of possession," an unfamiliar voice said, and suddenly Nero felt the boot lift from his head. But the absence of the pressure did not bring relief, instead it made him dizzy for a few seconds.
When his head cleared, Nero discovered that the soldier binding his hands had loosened them, though he still kept Nero down on the ground.
"There are signs of accelerated aether absorption in his body. Hey kid, did you just synchronise?"
Nero did not immediately reply. Instead, his brain parsed the information and immediately made sense of the situation. First, the soldiers checked to see if his body had been possessed. They would most likely check him for other signs of curses or contamination subsequently. But none of that had required to treat him so poorly.
The immediate and unnecessary use of force, the unsupervised location, the aggressive tone... When combining these and various other factors that Nero considered, he came to the conclusion that he was dealing with a group of small-time bullies. They were using their authority in a situation where they couldn't get in trouble and boosting their egos. Or, possibly, facing a cursed incident just required them to react so aggressively. Nero was a little too disoriented to think properly.
"Marick, did you kick him too hard on the head? Is he awake? Hey kid, did you just synchronise?"
"Yes, just a short while ago," Nero answered through gritted teeth. He was not feeling the anger he was displaying, not in that fiery way, at least. No, instead, his mind was becoming cold and calculating as it was recovering.
A part of him wanted to pick up the soldier, slam him on the ground, place his foot on his face, but his clear state of mind allowed him to calculate his priorities precisely and act accordingly. But displaying the expected emotion, he would prevent them from scrutinising him, giving him an opportunity to plan things out better.
First and foremost, he had to ensure his own safety. That included safety from the soldiers, but also any potential cursed event. As for seeking revenge for being mistreated... unless an opportunity dropped from the sky, Nero would have to wait for that or just put it aside.
The soldiers performed a couple of other tests before the guy holding him down moved aside.
"You're incredibly weak, but your body is rapidly absorbing aether, making you a perfect target for an Apparition curse. You're fine now, but if you stay in the dark for too long, you won't be able to avoid it. Go home, kid," the third soldier said, his eyes fixed on some kind of device rather than Nero.
"What do you mean, go home ?" asked the first soldier, who had a menacing smile on his face. "You all saw it? The kid tried to kill me. Attempted murder of a soldier, that's not a light crime."
The smile on his face widened as he looked at Nero, anticipating the expressions of fear and desperation. But his smile faltered. He didn't see fear, instead he saw dead cold eyes.
"I'm a brand new Neophyte, and you guys are soldiers. Initiate probably. No one in their right mind will believe I tried to kill you for no reason. Three soldiers, grabbing a kid in the dark, and..." using his hand, Nero ripped open his pants, breaking the button off it.
Blood started to drip down Nero's forehead, but that made his dead expression look even more wretched in the eyes of the soldier.
"As far as crimes are concerned, I wonder how serious attempted rape is in the eyes of the army. My dads a sergeant, I should ask him sometime."
Nero lied about his father's position, obviously, but they had no way of knowing that. More importantly, he needed to get out of this situation before it got worse.
Silence. Dead silence filled the air between Nero and the three soldiers as they wrapped their heads around the fact that they were being threatened! The worst part was, considering the massive bruise that was developing on Nero's forehead from being pushed into the ground, his story sounded legible - and if his father really was a sergeant...
"You!" roared the man who had pressed Nero onto the ground, but before the situation could develop further, a police patrol arrived.
"What's going on here?" the policeman asked, parking his car right behind Nero and getting out.
The policeman had his sword already drawn, and he was ready to face any threats. His partner, a much larger man, also got out of the car, ready for a fight.
For a moment, no one answered, as Nero and the soldiers glared at each other. Finally, the third soldier who had scanned Nero spoke.
"The kid reported experiencing an anomaly. We scanned him according to protocol. Signs indicate a developing Apparition curse. We've already dispelled it."
The policeman did not immediately respond. Instead, he glanced onto the floor, where Nero's knife had fallen, before his gaze travelled up to his torn pants. Then he studied Nero's bleeding forehead, before looking towards the three soldiers, as if deciding whether to believe them or not.
As much as Nero wanted to expose them, he did not believe for a second that these soldiers would actually be punished for something so small. Even if his story was believed, he doubted they'd get more than a slap on the wrist for what they did.
"Come on kid, we'll drop you home," said the larger policeman, not caring about the situation.
"Thanks," Nero murmured, before grabbing his knife and getting in the car, all the while holding his pants up. As the situation was diffused, the effects of the blue flame in Nero's mind began to fade, and his emotions slowly returned.
He wondered if that was an actual part of his innate ability. He recalled the mental image of a blue flame affecting his emotions earlier in the day as well, during the temple attack.
Today had been an unbelievably hectic and unlucky day for him. Nero sighed, and pulled out FAK (First Aid Kit) and used the card for the very first time, stopping the bleeding on his forehead.
"Kid, where are we taking you?" the policeman asked, once they got in the car. Although he did not make it obvious, Nero had been observing them from within. The police and the soldiers exchanged a few words, and both left shortly after.
"Mount Aidin hostel," Nero said succinctly. He was not in the mood to talk. His arms, neck and head were hurting, and though he did not care about the pain, the humiliation he felt was welling up inside him.
He had to control his emotions, decide on a course of action, and focus on his tasks.
"Kid, was there really a chance for an Apparition curse? Did they purify it?" the policeman asked again as he started the car and began driving.
Nero paid particularly close attention to the route the car was taking. If he sensed even the slightest issue, he would immediately send an S.O.S. message to his dad. He had already pulled out his phone, but kept it hidden in his hand.
"They said something about the curse, but I don't think they purified it."
"Are you familiar with Apparition curses?"
"I've never heard of them, no," he admitted truthfully.
"They are the simplest and most easily avoided curses. At the same time, they are the most annoying and potentially dangerous. I take it you haven't been synchronised long or else you would have been briefed about it by now.
"Becoming a Neophyte doesn't just make you stronger. It also makes you more susceptible to curses, and more of a target as well. Apparition curses don't normally target new Neophytes, they don't have enough aether. But there are rare occurrences now and then. I'm surprised no one at the AAB told you this. Regardless, once you get to your hostel, make sure you tell someone about this and have them take you through a simple purification."
Nero did not respond for a moment as he absorbed the information. A part of him wanted to continue being silent, the part of him that was still recovering from a reminder of how weak he was against the real dangers of the world, regardless of how he performed in school. But the more logical part of him told him to establish a relationship with the policeman for the future. It could be useful. Sympathy was a good tool for that.
"The AAB was attacked right after I completed my synchronisation. I didn't really get a chance to talk to anyone about becoming a Neophyte."
"Oh, you were there for that? You're just having a really bad day, huh? That was nasty business. I heard some guys say that over a dozen AAB guards died, and more than double the number of civilians got caught in the crossfire. It was really freaky. I heard a bunch of weird stuff has happened at the AAB since. I wasn't there, but one of the guys said that one of the corpses smelled really nice, even though it was burnt to a crisp. There was..."
"Albert, I think that's enough," said the very tall policeman, causing the other to realise that maybe this wasn't the best topic.
Nero's thoughts, on the other hand, had long drifted off. He thought of Hildi, the beautiful and chirpy receptionist who had awakened the ability of always smelling nice. She had wished him luck and asked him to tell her what ability he awoke. He never really got the chance.
"Yeah, I guess it really is a bad day," Nero murmured as he looked up at the sky. He saw nothing but darkness.