The man in an azure-coloured suit had a look of contemplation as he walked forward slowly, "Lockdown this forest and do a clean sweep of the entire surrounding!" He commanded, "No one is allowed to come in or go out of this forest! Anyone found within this vicinity must be brought in for questioning!"
Immediately after he finished giving out this set of instructions, the four guards behind dashed off in separate directions, heading deep into the forest.
"I need every ounce of resource and power I can lay my hands on right now!" The man in an azure-coloured suit muttered with a solemn face as he placed his hands behind his back, interlocking his fingers.
The medical man behind shook his head and sighed after hearing his last statement.
...
Suicide City,
Black-Water Street
...
A large man could be seen walking down the not-so-crowded street among other pedestrians and a few trash robots here and there who ensured the black coal tar road remained dirt-free.
The large man wore a long, white lab coat with a hint of silver lining a green button-up shirt and a pair of white smart trousers underneath his lab coat.
He adorned himself with silver accessories, such as cufflinks, a watch, a belt buckle, and a pair of black sturdy boots.
The man's attire was slightly rumpled as if he had been working on a project and forgot to tidy up. Even his spiky green afro was in tatters.
As the green-haired scientist moved, his lab coat parted, revealing a hint of dishevelment beneath. His shirt was slightly untucked, and a stray thread dangled from his cuff.
But none of those seemed to matter to him as he moved his wobbly legs with eyes that swayed in random directions as if they were following the movement of the wind.
Despite his apparently high and drunken state, the man still had a cigarette in his hand as he puffed a smoke every 3 steps.
Eventually, he arrived in front of a fairly large bungalow by the street, and proceeded to ring the doorbell.
'Ding-Dong'
There was no response so he proceeded to do this-
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
'Ding-Dong'
"What the hell mister?!" A lady had eventually opened the door and the look on her face wasn't the best. She didn't look friendly at all.
This was Louis Talison, birth mother of both Victor Talison and Famous Talison. She was the husband of Simeon Talison.
Graham standing outside, looking disheveled and drunk gazed at her with an unfocused stare and slurred.
"M- madam, sorry to intrude but the global paradigm is being interfered... (burp) Excuse me! (slurp) It's a matter of quantum entanglement, you see... (hiccup) There's a rift in the con- shit!(stumbles forward)
I've come to recalibrate his ontological resonance... (vomits on the doorstep) Oh, pardon me!"
Louis's expression changed from one of annoyance to that of sincere disgust as she moved away heading towards a car parked by the side.
"I don't have the time or patience for this!"
As Louis walked away, Graham stumbled after her, still slurring his words.
"W- wait, madam! (hiccup) Y- you don't understand! (burp) Your son... (stumbles and almost falls) H- he is... (vomits again) I think I need to... (passes out on the ground)"
...
A few minutes earlier
...
"Ugh"
Victor groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His head was pounding. He wasn't sure if it was because of the way he slept or the fact that he slept in his childhood bathtub.
"Wait! The bathtub?" Victor suddenly asked himself looking around to confirm his current location,
He noticed that he was in a pretty empty but very small room containing nothing except the tiny bathtub he was in and a broken wardrobe by the side
"I'm home?"
"I don't understand, how did I ..." He stood, getting off the bathtub, "I was going to forfeit my ... then the mountain ... that lightning ..."
"Am I not supposed to be dead or paralysed at best?"
Victor thought hard, trying to remember any additional detail but nothing was coming to mind.
"Ugggghhh!" He screamed in frustration.
"This doesn't make any sense." He said when he noticed a handwritten note by the side of the bathtub.
Picking it up, he didn't recognise the handwriting but it was clearly written in English.
It read:
[You're probably wondering why and how you ended up at home when you're supposed to have crossed over by now.
I could tell you the answer to that question but what fun would that be?
I could still give you a clue though ... think of a cat ... a black cat.
Anyway, I left a surprise for you ... whenever you're ready just say the words "I'm such useless lad."
Haha!]
Victor's eyes widened as he read the note, his mind racing with questions. Who wrote this? How did they know what happened to him? And by 'crossed over' did they know he was planning on committing suicide?
He crumpled the note in his hand, feeling a mix of frustration and curiosity. A black cat? What could that possibly have to do with anything?
Victor took a deep breath and that was he remembered something very important, "Isn't today the day inspectors from the ABC, Altereds Bureau Corps, would come to visit our school and give out scholarships?"
"Shit man, gotta run!"
Victor exclaimed as he ran out through his tiny room door and arrived before a small passage that led to the living room.
...
"Famous, mother trusts that you'll do well today," A light female voice filled with tenderness could be heard ahead, "From what I heard, those inspectors will be giving out scholarships to ABCA, Altereds Bureau Corps Academy, today."
"Of course, Mother, I'll surely make you proud," A tiny male voice replied, "Those inspectors would be blind not to notice me, I'm the highest graded S-gene at school anyway."
The male voice was laced with unconcealed pride.
"That's my boy," The female replied, "come on now let's drop you off at school."
Just as she finished saying that, Victor appeared in the living room.
It was a small but well-structured living room. The walls were coated with glowing tiles and there were sofas arranged in an 'L' format, and a cabinet several feet behind could be seen in the room.
On the cabinet was a round orb that projected a seven-foot-tall holographic image of of three people:
Simeon, a dark middle-aged man with jet-black hair. Louis, a fair woman who looked to be in her early forties sporting long white hair. and Famous, a young boy who looked like a younger version Victor except he was really fair and not dark-skinned.
Louis, the female who was speaking earlier was standing at the doorpost and beside her was a five-foot-tall kid- Famous, who was clad in an aubergine (dark purple) coloured school uniform like the one Victor wore.
They turned around and noticed Victor coming from the passageway.
But that was it.
They totally ignored him as his mother moved towards the door, Famous following suit.
"Mum, ca- can you drop me off too?" Victor quietly asked before they could step out. It was almost like a whisper.
But his mother heard it and paused her steps, turning around to stare at him with a look of undisfuised disgust.
"How many times have I warned you- you piece of trash- not to call me that again?!
I am not your mother!
And I have only one son- only one son! and he- is- right- here!" Louis screamed.
"You are worthless- a liability. You have no ounce of usefulness embedded in you and you never will!" She stated harshly.
"Filth," Famous said, "You should be glad my mother and father tolerate you enough to allow you stay in this house, pay your school fees and even feed you.
Don't waste the opportunity."
While they were talking, the doorbell rang, but Louis, Famous' mother, totally ignored it and continued barking.
"I still don't know how in this world Simeon and I ended up creating such a useless, helpless, insignificant and good for nothing incompetent discarded junk like you!"
"I should probably ask my doctor if my baby was swapped during delivery without my consent for this... humanoid walking sack of inept garbage!"
Victor stared down dejectedly as they ridiculed him. He was supposed to be used to this by now, but for somehow, every time they spoke to him this way he felt the pain all over.
It would have been easier if they whole world except his family was against him but this time, his family was the biggest opposition.
It stung like when you spot a mosquito on your groin and you forget that that is your own fucking penis and you decide to slap the little blood sucker away with maximum effort only to feel maximum pain on your penis.
Again, the doorbell rang, but this time, it rang multiple times in quick succession; As if the person behind the door was short on time.
"Trash like you deserves to walk to school," Famous stated, spat and turned around pulling his mother by the arm.
Slam!
The door was slammed shut after they walked through it, leaving Victor to wallow alone in self-pity as he stood in the same position thinking about his life.