Lucent Black Chapter 4: Proposal

A slurp is heard, before Skairan gulped and swallowed some iced Honeymilk from his cup. A quick glance was given towards his Viscomm to check the time, every minute or so. Skairan, being an impatient and passionate teenager, hated waiting.

His bench was located near the edge of the acrylic glass barrier, which prevented a fall that led a few hundred metres into the abyss. The Western Commoners Park was the greenest area in Metropolaris and bordered both the Acro and the Vasi altitude levels. It was a sanctuary.

It contained plants, trees and artificial ponds. It left a wide area for the sun to shine upon and many people who still had some love for the environment cherished this place dearly.

The number of visitors was rather low, since it was during the working shifts at this time of day. In the distance was a silhouette of a feminine person, walking around on the designated pathways of the park until she sat down on the other end next to Skairan's bench.

Skairan finished his cup and threw it into the bin next to him. Stretching, he then leaned back onto the backrest and supported his arms on it.

Stezany removed her fluffy earphones and her eyes fixated the ground in front of her feet as she spoke.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Her voice seemed strong and decisive as always.

Skairan frowned, adding a soft grunt in surprise. "So, you watched that, huh."
But suddenly he remembered that she got in from the Western District. That's at least two stations before his own. How could she have seen it? Stezany was already ahead of him, before he was able to ask.

"I had some business to do in the Central District."

A brow raised itself on Skairan's face.
"Are ya sayin' that you brought me all~ the way out here to ask me this?"

Stezany now finally turned her head and looked at him.
"Of course not, dumbass. I need you to help me with something."

Skairan's impatience only grew more.
"Well, why won't you get on with it?!"
"If you would just shut the hell up for only two seconds, I'd tell you!"

Both of them stared each other down with bared fangs. Finally, Stezany Korsten resumed.

"Look, since you're kinda good with your fists, I need you to help me with some people."
She blushed. It wasn't like her to ask for the help of others, Skairan assumed and folded his arms. His temparament seemed to have been overridden by curiosity.

"And what makes ya think I'll help you?" He tried his best to sound annoyed and disinterested.

There was a quite long silence as her cyan blue eyes dug into his own green ones.
"I can offer you change."

Skairan blinked at her, quite baffled.
"Change? That's pretty weak if you're gonna offer me spare coins to beat up some guys."

"That's not what I meant, you idiot!"
She facepalmed quite loudly and groaned into her hand.

"Then what did you mean?! I ain't really following."

Another pause, before Stezany elaborated further, her voice tone now calm and explanatory. Her eyes rested as she stared at the grass in front of them.
"You're not satisfied with your life and your planned future as it is. You seek change. You seek the power to change."

Skairan's eyes widened and he felt his pulse rise rapidly.
"What the hell do you know about m~~"
"I know who you are, Barond. What you are. I know more about you, than you can imagine."

Her rather aggressive and vicious attitude was absent entirely. As if she took on a different personality. But it wasn't like that. It was the fact that she was dead-solemn about this. Or at least, that's what Skairan thought she was.

"I can offer you that power. That power to change the things you want to be changed."

Skairan stood up on his feet, his fists clenched in front of him as he glared down at his school mate.
"Stop messin' with me! You're batshit crazy, Korsten!"
"If you don't believe me, I can show you. My organisation can show you the path you're looking for."

Skairan frowned at her, then turned around.
"You think you can get me into some weird cult, huh? Well guess what, you can f**k off", he nearly yelled and strolled off, leaving her behind on the bench without casting another look back.

The pace of his steps was irregular and swift. He groaned slightly at his own irritation.

"What the hell does she know about me? Nothin'!", he mumbled to himself repeatedly, while he made his way back to the magnet train station.

In due time, the "what" turned into "how" in his mind. How? How does she know about his inner desires? About his ambitions?

Skairan never was afraid of big, scary thugs or armored Police Forces. But this? This made him feel true fear to its very core. Even starting to believe that she wasn't real. A figment of his imagination. Although, he shook that thought off immediately, since Boris saw and interracted with her, also. And he's quite positive, that he wasn't mentally unstable.

The white train with red stripes arrived at the station. Skairan didn't even notice, that he stopped on the correct platform. Stepping inside, he saw how all the seats were taken. So, he decided to remain standing.

Taking off slowly, then increasing its speed, the magnet train departed from the Station, heading towards the Central District. Skairan sighed deeply. He decided to just forget about it, even to avoid Stezany Korsten in the future.

Arriving at the station, Skairan made his way back home on the quickest route. His mother was still ironing some suits and shirts, that belonged to Valen, Skairan's older brother. She didn't even spare him a glance, as he slided his card to the Barond's apartment and entered. Making his way to his room he mumbled "I'm back", before he shut the door behind him.

His room was still as messy as always. Sheiva, his mother, doesn't even bother anymore to clean it. Especially after countless arguments about tidiness in one's room.

Stezany's words still echoed in his mind.
I can offer you the power to change.

Skarian shook his head. What kind of 'power' she possibly could have to offer? She's the same age as him. Sure, her father used to be a Police Force employee, but still. There isn't much that could fuel or aid his ambitions to change Metropolaris to the better.

Naturally he could chose the political path for change, which his parents originally intendeed for him, but it never suited him. Nor did he have the patience or even the intellect for that kind of profession. He sought his own path for personal and collective satisfaction.

He sat at his desk and started up his personal terminal. The screen flickered on as the electricity surged through the gadget, upon pressing the power button. Its operating system displayed the logo before the desktop is revealed. Skairan selected the Metropolaris Network and started browsing the first page, which contained the local news.

Most of the articles were about the Senator and Representative elections, newest Gossips about celebrities and new trends. Skarian shook his head. Metropolaris has much more important matters that should be adressed by the media. But of course, people prefer to only read about things that lift up their spirits. Most of the readers have fallen victim to it.

A headline of an article caught Skairan's attention.

"GraviSports Sale this week! Find your local GraviSport store and profit!"

Skairan double clicked it as he nodded at himself, before he put his red and black striped jacket on and left his apartment. Sheiva Barond once again, not taking any note at all.

GraviBall was his favorite sport and he was quite talented at it. Basically, it's a large field in a hall, spanning from 100 metres in length and 50 metres in width, with very low gravity. Specially developed suits and boots with induced magnetic energy allows the player to move in high speeds and jump unnatural heights, without suffering the 'falling damage'. The goal is to score points into a large container by hitting the Graviball with the Graviball bat into the designated zone. And even the Graviball has its own magnetic field, which amplifies itself to be tossed and hit in long distances.

Skairan thought about asking Boris to join him in his shopping spree, but he remembered that his best friend wasn't really the sporty type. The elevator took him down to the main floor, before he made his way to the Central District main station. It was starting to dusk as he entered the massive station building. He even made it just in time to catch the 16:00 magnet train.

Rush hour was just about to begin, as people around this time of day seemed more stressed out and hasty. And again, all seats were taken, forcing him to stand near the doors. As the magnet train departed, Skairan thought about all the new equipment he could buy today with the local discount.

His gaze now wandered to the windows, where all the tall, glassy buildings rushed by.

A scream broke the silence in the train. Skairan turned around abruptly. A man stood at the end of the wagon, holding a fully automatic crossbow. He was shaking heavily.
"You- You b******s are all responsible for this!"

All the other passengers were nearly breaking out in panic. Women were sobbing or wincing. Children were all just frozen solid, staring at the crazy person, while the men tried to regain their composure. Skairan felt a sting in his guts. It was literally ordering him to do something about him.
Now was his chance to make a difference in this city. He could save lives. Glory and fame didn't concern him. It was the thought of helping people.

Trying to blend behind some other standing passengers, Skairan carefully stepped in between them, his eyes fixated on the man with the weapon who now started to make demands.

"I- I will need all your wallets and j-jewlery on the floor, and you will all then walk over to the other side of the wagon. Then nobody moves anymore...!"

Most of them did as they were told and dropped their valuable belongings to the floor and stumbled to the other end with raised arms. Skarian bit his lip. His chance of shining was fading away.

The armed man now aimed at a young middle aged woman who shook her head.

"Pl-please! This belonged to my dead mother, I can't leave it...!"
"Drop it!", he insisted and now made a step towards her. The tip of the bolt aiming straight at her face.

"No! Please! I beg you!" The woman continued to bargain.
"L-listen, if you won't give it to me, I will shoot you!" His voice was shaky and sweat started to curl down his cheeks.
But still she held on to her necklase with a golden locket. The man lost his patience and slapped her across the face, which made her yelp. Skarian couldn't bear it any longer and used the timing of his slap to try and disarm him. He pushed two guys in front of him aside and sprinted off.

Catching on to Skairan's intentions, the maniac quickly lifted his crossbow and released two to three shots at him in panic.

The young boy's heart stopped as several clanking noises are heard. Three shining dots flying directly at him, quickly and deadly.

Despite facing life or death situation, he carried on. Trying his best to avoid the bolts, he attempted to turn his body sideways in a split second. But to his disfortune, one of them hits its mark. The tip of the bolt drilled into his shoulder. The pain. The pain was unlike anything he has ever experienced so far. Just the mere fact, that a sharp foreign object is penetrating the layers of skin, muscle and flesh was beyond comprehension.

Skairan yelped loudly and fell forward and cletched on to the bolt that was still stuck in his body. A warm substance made its way through the gaps in his hand. It was warm and rather viscous. His own blood.

"Hey! I thought I told you nobody moves!"
The crossbow in his hand shaking even more intense. His aim now was directed towards Skairan.
"I should kill you right now, just to prove my p-point! You little f****r!"

The man's pupils were widened and sweat was clearly visible on his forehead. He then nodded at himself.
"Yes, yes! I think this will show you all that I'm not kidding around!"
He aimed through the small scope and adjusted his amining stance.

This... This can't be the end! Skairan clenched his teeth and seemed frozen solid.

A brief hiss is heard from the back, before the maniac suddenly heald the side of his throat. He began twitching intensively. The entire body of the man began shaking uncontrollably, even forcing him to drop the weapon. After a few seconds, he fell to the floor and the spasms continued for another few seconds, before he finally moved no longer.

Skairan panted heavily and turned around spotting a very familiar, but displeasing face.

"You're a mess, Barond."
Stezany stood in front of him, her hands buried in her jacket pockets. A rather vicious smile on her face. Skairan was speechless.