Feeling a tap to his phone, Aiden pressed the confirm button and felt a little vibration surge through his fingers, the transaction was complete.
Today was starting off great, 20 Units already in the Bit Bank and it wasn’t even lunch time yet.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SxppSgfjO
“Thank you kindly” he sincerely replied tucking his phone back into his pockets. The two kind girls soon left Aiden alone on the cold bench, seemingly heading towards the Beryl Guild “hmm, Miners... Warriors?” he mumbled under his breath as the newspaper covering his face fluttered.
A sudden gust of breeze blasted into Aiden, stealing the newspaper covering him.
Trying desperately to grab the newspaper, Aiden could only watch as the paper rushed down the street on a road of wind.
Cold shivers nipped through his scraggy clothes as he hugged himself tightly for scraps of heat, but the freezing winds teased and danced around him. His mucky face trembled as the elements pinched and slapped his cheeks, the whiskers of his aging beard trembled and his long mane stood on ends.
Brrrrr It’s getting too cold, winter must be here soon he thought as he tried to breathe hot air into his hands.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVFA4SJ20N
Winter times are dangerous times for people like Aiden, with no homes to return to and no comfy bed to cuddle and dream in. The streets of stone and concrete would become their only option, but during the night, when the temperatures were at their lowest. The darkness would freeze and bite into the flesh of any who would dare to sleep under moonlight.
But the worst part was the smell. During the festive season that was encroaching, Aiden would suffer the most as the mouth watering smells of roast pork and turkey would waft from people’s homes. Outside of restaurants and diners, every time the doors would open, smells of boiled vegetables, fat and meaty gravy would pounce and attack him.
Aiden’s stomach growled a painful ache in his gut as the sudden thought of warm food crept into his mind.
“Oowwww... shit, that hurts... gnnhh” he groaned as if his stomach was twisting and pulling his insides.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGz6tt4E3q
Breathing heavily as his body writhed in pain, Aiden was forced to sit back up on the bench but each movement tugged and gnawed into him as his belly levelled out.
With his head resting on the back of the bench, Aiden let out a huge sigh of relief as the weight of his torture subdued.
“20 Units, huff (wheeze) should get something to eat...sigh”.
With the pain gone and the weather calming down, Aiden carefully lifted himself from his temporary home and embarked down the road heading for a warm meal.
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Just on the outskirts of town on the road to Hazel Valley stood a lone diner. Unlike the rest of Greendenn, the diner was well kept, clean and looked brand new. The only thing that looked broken or run down was the last “n” on the red neon sign for “Denn”.
Aiden pushed open the front door as a bell rang above him, the diner felt warm and cosy, and the smells from the kitchen were very inviting.
As Aiden cautiously entered, a pleasant young voice called out to him “Welcome to Diner Denn, please take a seat sir”.
Standing next to a set of red booths was a charming young lady dressed as a Waitress kindly showing Aiden to a set of available seats.
The diner was decently packed with patrons sitting at the counter and others filling up the booths. Despite Aiden’s dishevelled appearance, nobody in the diner even batted an eye as the homeless man made his way over to his booth.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjq5XU65AP
Nobody, except for three rough looking young men at the back of the diner. They sneered at Aiden and openly mocked the homeless man.
“Hey Rebecca, toss this old fucker out. He ain’t got any Units and he’s starting to stink up the place” called out a man in a blue waistcoat.
Aiden paused before he sat down and looked at the waitress, waiting for her to tell him to leave. But she wasn’t looking back at him, instead she was glaring at the three in the back.
“Kyle! I’ve told you before, if you don’t stop antagonizing our new customers then I’ll have to bar you from the diner” replied Rebecca strictly as she gently pushed Aiden into his seat.
But before Kyle could retort, Rebecca shoved a menu into Aiden’s hands and put on a sweet innocent smile “Can I get you a warm drink while you look through our menu?” Rebecca asked charmingly, completely ignoring the fuming men in the back.
Aiden was flabbergasted, if he had sat down in an eatery in a place like Silver Cross City, he would have been thrown out and beaten at the curb for even daring to show his face in public.
Glancing back and forth between Rebecca’s beautiful smile and the detest on Kyle’s face. Aiden didn’t know what to say, he felt very out of place being welcomed by such a lovely lady.
“Y-your cheapest coffee please, I’ve only got 20 Units to spend” Aiden admitted, feeling worried that he won’t have enough to afford a decent meal.
The young waitress smiled as she leant in more closely in front of Aiden, pointing towards the opened menu.
“In that case hun, I would recommend our breakfast combo. Ya get two sausages, a stack of bacon, a poached egg, two pieces of toast and baked beans. And to top it off, you get a cup of coffee or tea for free, all for the price of 5 Units”.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFCLGKmj2N
So cheap! Aiden thought as his mouth watered from listening to her list off the ingredients might have to come here again someday.
“Coffee please and I’ll have the breakfast combo, thank you very much”
Peeking into the corner of her eye, confirming that Kyle was still watching her. Rebecca made a warm pleasant smile that could melt any man’s heart.
What a lovely young lady Aiden mused to himself as he watched her walk over to the kitchen. He knew immediately what she was trying to do.
That young lady must be trying to make that man jealous or something, with all the winking and gorgeous smiles I’m getting.
Watching from his table, Kyle was fuming. Rebecca, the girl he has his eyes on, was talking sweetly and flirting nicely to an old decrepit homeless piece of trash. She had never treated him this way before, even though he comes to see her everyday and tried his hardest to ask her out.
As Rebecca entered the kitchen and was out of sight, Kyle furiously stormed over from his table despite the protests from his friends, and made his way to Aiden.
Two older patrons sitting at the counter who had been watching the development unfold, quickly got off their stools and intercepted Kyle.
The two older men held Kyle back, pushing him away from Aiden “don’t do it Kyle, if ya do we’re telling Lilly”.
Kyle was about to shove past the old men but noticed the other patrons watching with discontent.
“You better stop flirting with my girl you old fucker or I will end you!” Kyle promised pointing his finger like a dagger to Aiden’s face.
As Kyle cursed and fumed his way back to his friends, the two old men shrugged and sighed to each other before turning to Aiden.
“Sorry about him, he’s a local hot head” said the older looking man.
“Do you mind if we sit with you” asked the younger man.
“Please, and it’s alright, I’ve experienced worse threats from people twice his age” Aiden replied warmly as he gestured the two to sit with him.
The two men joined Aiden at his table and surprised Aiden as they gestured for a handshake. It has been many years since anyone treated him kindly, and after experiencing one kind gesture after another today, it could bring a tear to his old eyes.
Reaching for the older man’s hand first, Aiden grasped it and felt the amazingly rugged and strong hand squeeze back “I’m Scott, this is my younger brother Dylan. It’s a pleasure to meet you”.
With a comforting feeling welling up inside, Aiden smiled at his two new friends “I’m Aiden and thank you for earlier”.
Strolling from the kitchen with a tray in her hands, Rebecca cheerfully hummed a tune as she walked over to Aiden’s booth.
“Well, well, well. Making friends already I see” Rebecca remarked with delight as she waved to Dylan and Scott.
“Eat up and enjoy hun, you look like you could use something warm in ya” she winked playfully as she set down the plate and coffee.
Aiden’s eyes widened with glee as he saw the mountain of food on his plate for 5 Units...wow! He thought as he began to tuck in.
Dylan chuckled as he watched Aiden eat like no tomorrow “ease up mate, we’re not here to steal your food”. Aiden just smiled as he shovelled a fork full of beans and bacon into his gullet.
As the juice of baked beans dripped from his mouth, Aiden was lost in the world of warm food and pleasant company as he chatted away with his new friends.
“The food’s great here isn’t it” remarked Dylan as he drank from his cup of tea.
Without pause from his food, Aiden just nodded with delight as he chowed down into the buttered toast.
“Glad to hear it, our young friend Oscar works part time here as a chef in the kitchen. Me and my brother always come here when he’s behind the cooker” Dylan laughed as he thought about how bad the other cooks food tastes.
“I haven’t seen you around before, are you new to Greendenn?” enquired Scott as he wondered why he has never seen this particular homeless man in Greendenn.
Wiping away the juices from his lips, Aiden paused briefly as he thought about the question.
“I’ve... I’ve been here before, once quite some time ago. Didn’t realise I was in Greendenn, the place has changed allot since then”
The brothers sighed together, they knew what he had meant. Greendenn was once a lovely thriving town back in the old days, until roughly 11 years ago when things turned for the worse.
“Yeah, it has been awhile since then. People are still leaving for better lives elsewhere and the town has turned into more or less a village with whose left” Scott remarked.
“What about you two? Why do you stay?” Aiden asked as he took a swig from his cup.
The two brothers grinned to each other as they wrapped an arm over each other “we’ve lived here all our lives and were not going anywhere yet”.
“We’ve also got friends still living here” said Scott.
“And jobs too” Dylan added.
“We wouldn’t abandon them any time soon”
Even though the two old men before him were still living in a dying town, the thought of them staying for their friends was very heart warming to hear.
Before Aiden could continue the conversation with his new friends, a sudden loud ring tone blasted from Scott’s person.
“I thought I told you to reset the volume after last night’s dig” Dylan asked annoyed.
Quickly rummaging through his pockets, Scott pulled out his phone and placed it between his own and his brother’s ear.
The phone call was decently loud as Aiden could hear the entire conversation.
“Hello?” asked Scott
“Scott, where are you and Dylan right now?” asked a female voice worriedly.
“W- Were over at Oscars Diner having breakfast, why? What’s going on?”
“Thank god you’re alright, it’s just that there’s been an incident at last night’s Portal and I just had to call to make sure you’re alright.”
Scott and Dylan looked to each other worriedly “what kind of incident” enquired Dylan.
“A Warrior went missing in the Portal and apparently he never made it out. I’ve just got word that an investigation is going under way and that we may be involved somehow”
Aiden’s eyes narrowed at the conversation a Warrior is missing? He thought heavily as he listened closely.
“Pick up Oscar while you’re at the diner, I’ve just got off the phone with him before calling you and told him to meet us at the Guild. Apparently a Hunter is going to stop by soon to ask us a few questions”.
“A Hunter! It’s that serious huh”
“Okay guy’s I’ve got to hang up now, I still need to call Andy to make sure he’s okay”.
As the conversation ended the two brothers quickly waved Rebecca over to the table and payed for their bill. A younger man rushed out off the kitchen and hurried over to join them still wearing a chef’s apron and outfit.
“You got the call too?” Oscar asked out of breath, his hands shaking and covered in flour.
“Yeah, were going now” replied Scott.
As the two brothers exited the booth, Scott turned to Aiden with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry for running off like this, it was a nice to talk with you, I hope me and my brother can chat with you again sometime?” he asked before Scott, Dylan and Oscar rushed out of the door and hurried into Greendenn.
Silence befell the diner as the only sounds emanated from the boxed TV on the counter. Aiden pondered over the conversation on the phone. He was genuinely curious as to what happened last night.
A warrior going missing in a Portal?... Hmm they only use the term “missing” if it can’t be confirmed the Warrior died inside.
But then a flush of worry struck his heart didn’t they mention a Hunter was coming soon?
His hands trembled over that thought as he rummaged into his pockets and grabbed his phone.
“Rebecca” Aiden waved trying to grab her attention.
“Do you want another Coffee hun?” she asked sweetly as she hurried over.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9wtqigkCN
“No thank you, I would like to pay for my bill and be on my way” he replied as he hurried out of his seat.
Rebecca watched the old man curiously as he left his plate half eaten. A homeless man leaving behind food was unthinkable, even the scraps of juice from the baked beans would have been licked clean off the plate.
“Sure... okay hun...”
Pulling out a small device from her apron, Rebecca typed in the bill and handed it towards Aiden who tapped his phone to the screen.
Shoving his phone back into his raggedy coat pocket, Aiden waved goodbye to the kind waitress and paced out the door heading into Greendenn.
As Rebecca started to tidy away Aiden’s booth, Kyle and his two friends pushed past Rebecca knocking her against the table, chasing after Aiden.
“KYLE” she shouted trying to stop him. But it was too late, they were already out of sight.
Rebecca fumed over the antics of Kyle and his friends, the three of them had ditched the diner without paying their bill.
As Rebecca marched herself into the kitchen to report Kyle to the owner, she had past an old boxed TV at the end of the counter.
The patrons sitting at the counter was watched intently as the national news was on.
“It has been confirmed, the latest victim of the Scorched Murders is 27 year old C-Ranked “Ethan Kleiner”. The body was found last week in Chiffon Town. Just like the rest of the Scorched victims, the body was of a Warrior burnt and charred beyond recognition. Only his dental records were able to be recovered and identify him”.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LfBVTjuia
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A strong gust of wind tore into Aiden’s ragged clothes as he frantically scampered into town. He did not dare to stop nor wait any longer in Greendenn if a Hunter was coming to town, but there was something precious to him that he had left behind and he could not bear to lose it.
As he ran further into town with the diner and the last set of buildings now in the distance, Aiden paused to catch his breath. The warm food in his stomach had yet to settle and was weighing him down.
“(Wheeze) shit... huff, no time to waste” he remarked as he readied for another sprint.
Suddenly Aiden was shoved off his feet and slammed into the ground as Kyle tackled his legs.
“You fucking piece of trash, you dare talk to MY girl” Kyle spat as he climbed up Aiden’s back, pinning him down with his knee.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lx2AZE4jd
Aiden squirmed to try and wriggle himself free but the trio of men laughed at his pitiful attempts. But Aiden was not frightened of them. It was not even close to the terror he felt if a Hunter had found him.
“Please, you have to let me go, I can’t stay here much longer” Aiden begged as one of Kyle’s friends stood on his right hand.
Kyle smiled a twisted grin to his mates as he pulled a sharp crescent bladed knife from his blue waistcoat “I’ll let you go alright, you can go only after I’m done with ya”
His fellow friends egged him on as Kyle waved the blade next to Aiden’s face “Rebecca doesn’t like you, she doesn’t like old pieces of shit coming into the diner and stinking up the place” he snarled into Aiden’s ear.
Without warning, Kyle jammed the blade into the side of Aiden’s chest hoping to pierce an organ or two.
“No one would care if an old man like you were to disappear off our streets, now fuck off and die” Kyle laughed menacingly as he reached for another stab.
But as Kyle raised his knife in the air, he noticed one of his mates gawking at it, like he saw something incredible and frightening.
“What da fuck you looking at?” he asked confused.
Lowering the blade so that he could see it clearly in the sunlight, Kyle’s face turned from a cocky menacing brat to a confused child, staring at his broken blade.
Kyle examined the knife in his hand closely and he couldn’t figure out how the thick steel broke so easily... until one of his mates spoke up.
“Oh shit, the old dudes an Awakened!” he said worriedly.
Quickly getting off the old man in alarm, Kyle composed himself so that he didn’t look weak in front of his friends. Neither he nor his friends were an Awakened and any Awakened living on the streets were bad news if messed with.
“Now look old man” he demanded, waving his broken knife around trying to look terrifying.
“Ya better not try anything funny” Kyle continued as his voice started to waver.
With the young man off his back, Aiden picked himself off the ground, dusting his coat and picking out the broken steel wedged inside.
The blade was clean, there was not a single drop of blood on it as Aiden tossed it aside.
Aiden didn’t care about these degenerates, he didn’t care that his life was threatened by someone so aggressive and knife happy. He just wanted to get away from the real danger that was encroaching Greendenn.
But first he needed to find his precious.
As Aiden began to walk away, pushing past one of the young men, a sense of relief washed over Kyle as he was unprepared to face an Awakened.
But suddenly one of his friends piped up as his eyes narrowed, he didn’t seem to grasp the situation he was in “hang on, haven’t I seen you before on TV?”
Aiden stopped immediately in his tracks, his back was turned away from the three men, but he was listening intently.
“Yeah... it is you...I’ve seen you before on-“
But before he could finish his sentence, a hand suddenly materialised and grabbed firmly on his face as Aiden appeared before him in a puff of hot ash and embers.
“I just wanted to be left in peace” Aiden remarked as red Magic surged into his hand.
The man’s face cracked and broke into an orange glow as his screams muffled in Aiden’s hand. His face burned and blackened as intense heat coursed throughout his body.
Kyle watched on in horror as his friend’s clothes burst into flames and his skin flaked off into dust.
With a clench into a fist, Aiden crushed the man’s charred remains into ash, falling into a pile on the ground.
Kyle’s other friend screamed in horror as he tried to flee, racing away screeching as he ran heading towards the diner, heading for safety.
But suddenly a cloud of burning ash formed in front of him as Aiden emerged grabbing his throat.
Watching from a distance, Kyle collapsed onto the floor as his pants soiled in fear as his friend disappeared into the wind.
A hot sizzling sound crackled into his ear as Aiden re-appeared next to him, placing an ash covered hand onto his shoulder.
“Would anyone miss you?” Aiden asked coldly as his hand glowed red.
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Feeling weak and woozy from over use of his Magic, Aiden hobbled down the street. The cold winds tore into his coat, blowing away the layers of ash he was covered in.
A feeling of remorse crept into his mind as he looked at his ash covered hands. They were stained in the remains of the three young men he had just murdered.
“Scott... Dylan... sorry but, I guess I won’t be coming back anytime soon” he lamented as he stopped outside of the Beryl Guild.
Looking fondly at the Guild, Aiden felt a sense of familiarity with it, despite never having set foot in this Guild before.
Taking a step back to briefly admire the building, Aiden bumped into the old red vintage car that was parked outside in the “no parking zone”.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5Au1exZH2
Gently patting her rough dented roof, Aiden smiled warmly as his red Magic coursed throughout the car.
“Time to go, old girl”
Like dust in the wind, both Aiden and his car disappeared in a swarm of ash and embers.
Their destination, unknown.
Wherever the winds of fate would take them.
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Trivia Section:
Elements: each Awakened has the potential to use Magic, what type of Magic is determined by the colour of their Core.
Red: a red Core means the user is a Scorch type. The individual is able to conjure and control intense heat and fire.
Yellow: a yellow Core means the user is a Surge type. The individual is able to control and withstand thousands of volts of electricity.
Blue: a blue Core means the user is a Torrent type. The individual is able to control and summon gallons of water at varying speeds.
Green: a green Core means the user is a Gale type. The individual is able to summon and even ride intense winds.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBjaPRaUo8
Brown: a brown Core means the user is a Earth type. The individual is able to control the very ground they step on.
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Authors notes:
This chapter took longer to write than expected.
I honestly struggled in trying to set this chapter right. I had the idea and plan set up in the diner, but the progression with the development of the characters involved took a few re-writes until I was satisfied.
Sorry for making this a shorter chapter than the last few, but I didn’t want to unnecessary drag it out too long just to match the word count on the last one.
But I hope you like Aiden, his character took many revisions before I even started writing this story as a whole. He wasn’t even homeless at first, that change happened late in his development plan.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79v7KI3z8u
Anyway, next chapter is back to Carin and the introduction of the final Main character.... Layla.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPZz6Aw2xP
Thank you for reading. 156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLw8HRItmR
