Chapter 5

Days after the incident, Sonia and Chance were spending some quality time at the local mall. "This is pure torture." Chance sighed as he stared into the ceiling. Sonia had spent the last twelve hours trying on random outfits, or so it seemed. "I'm glad I decided to ditch classes that day, or I could have ended up like Nick, or worse." Sonia overheard Nick's name and decided to walk out of the dressing room in a possible addition to her wardrobe. Chance's jaw nearly hit the floor when he caught sight of her. The slim, green dress complimented her dark brown hair, which fell onto her shoulders and nearly covered the straps of the dress. "Wow."

"Thanks." Sonia responded, blushing slightly. "But what did you say about Nick?"

"I said I was glad we weren't there, or else we would have been worse off. Flo said that he must have injured himself. He can't walk anymore."

"Yeah." Sonia agreed. Her face brightened for a moment. "But isn't it so adorable that Flo is nursing him back to health and trying to help him get back on his feet." She paused for a moment, then regretted her words. "Oh." She remained silent for a moment, choosing to sink back into the dressing room. Suddenly, she turned back around. "Do you know what I think we should do?"

"Well." Chance snickered. "your vote is probably to take the romantic angle and 'fan the flames of love ever higher,' but my thought is more centered around the fact that we, Nick's close friends, are wasting time shopping when we should be helping Flo take care of him."

Sonia, somewhat upset with Chance's incredibly accurate deduction, started for the door, until the clerk stopped her "You have to pay for that, dear." Sonia scrambled back to her dressing room, flustered and annoyed. Chance hung his head, knowing the ever-possible threat of Sonia returning to her lengthy one-woman fashion show, and slumped down into the nearest chair.

vvvvvvvvvvv

As the couple made their way to the mall's exit, Chance heard a noise that unnerved him. It sounded like an angry dog, but when he looked around, there was not a single dog around; he even looked for policemen and blind people, but no one looked like they brought a dog. He continued to search, and before he realized it, he separated from Sonia and wound up outside the mall. "Sonia? Where did you-" A notice lighting up on the side of the wall caught his eye. "Are the streets safe anymore?" he read intently in a barely audible tone. "Missing persons count rapidly rising." Chance continued reading the notice until a sharp pain in his head.

"Carl! Stop trying to scare the girls and come out here!"

"Augh!" Chance held his head, writhing in pain as he struggled with his memory. "Carl?" Chance looked around with a puzzled expression until Sonia found him.

"Hey!" Sonia lightly slapped the back of Chance's head, spooking him into almost falling forward into the wall. "What are you doing?"

"I…don't know." Chance slowly answered. He felt like there was something wrong, like he was somehow keeping a secret from himself, but he couldn't quite explain how or why. "Sonia, have you seen Carl recently?"

"No. It's like he just left us. That's not like him." Sonia said with a frown. "Come on. I just called Flo and we agreed to meet her by the diner. She's bringing Nick with her, too."

"Okay." Chance responded distantly, still confused about the event he tried to remember. He ultimately brushed the topic aside and returned his thoughts to the events at hand; specifically, the walk with his girlfriend to visit his ailing friend. Along the way, they passed an alley that held an aroma so foul that Chance's eyes began to burn. "What is that smell?! Did a swarm of rats die in there?"

"Really?" Sonia asked as she sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything."

"How can you not smell that?" Chance fumed as he clamped his nostrils shut. "That smell is so potent that I'm practically seeing stink lines!"

"Chance, maybe you need to lie down when we get to the diner. You've been acting weird." Sonia pouted, somewhat spooked by Chance's attitude. "The last thing we need is Nick getting worked up by your behavior." The couple continued to the diner, with no more outbursts from Chance.

vvvvvvvvvvv

"I never knew the Supreme Kingdom could be so evil." Nick sighed. He pushed himself forward in his wheelchair, attempting to keep Flo from having to change her pace. "They simply destroyed nearly every country that did not submit to them."

"Yes." Flo replied. "Every country involved in the war, save for the United States, Canada, and Japan, lost their name, or worse…. Even the so-called "free" countries are shackled under the grip of the Supreme Kingdom. Canada faces the bulk of the tyranny, and we aren't too far behind." She walked in silence, but her thoughts continued. "However, soon the Supreme Kingdom, the shining symbol of human corruption, will fall." She looked at Nick, who steadily kept up with her. "This guy was supposedly capable of single-handedly wiping out our race. If that's true, I can't ever let him know I am a Chimera."

"Flo! Nick!" Sonia's voice echoed from further up the street. Flo looked ahead and saw Sonia and Chance sprinting towards them. "Where are you two going? I thought we were meeting at the diner."

"What?" Flo looked back. Behind her, nearly a block down the street, was the diner they agreed to meet at. "Oh. We were walking and I was thinking about…something else." she replied, slightly embarrassed at herself.

"You were staring right at Nick for a while." Sonia noted with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Is something going on?" All eyes were on Flo at the statement.

"W-What?" Flo stammered. "I wasn't- It's not like that!" Sonia's smirk was still there, despite the claim.

"Suure…" Sonia mocked.

Sonia kept badgering the two while Chance just shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman in the alley watching them. She had an intense glare, and her eyes were unlike any others Chance had seen before. They looked inhuman to him, somehow. As the one woman kept watching, more people slowly came into view, obscured by the shadows. "Guys?"

"Admit it, Flo! There's nothing to be ashamed of." Sonia urged.

"Guys! Let's go to the diner already!" Chance yelled, more out of fear of the shadowed figures than actual annoyance.

"That's a good idea." Nick agreed. "I haven't eaten all day." Chance looked subtly back into the alley, unable to see a single person. He then got the others to head for the diner while he did the same, looking around all the while until they were finally right outside the diner. "Good thing this place is wheelchair accessible." Nick chuckled.

"Right." Chance added. "About that…is it permanent?"

"Chance!" Sonia shouted as she struck him in the arm. "What kind of question is that? Of course it's not permanent. Right, Flo?"

"Um…" Flo knew the answer, but did not want to think of it. She could not explain without revealing her secret.

"Come on, guys. We didn't come here just to sympathize about me." Nick said, trying to change the topic. "Let's go get something to eat."

vvvvvvvvvv

"That was the best meal I've had in days!" Chance groaned as he pushed away his empty plate and leaned back in his chair. "Looks like Nick's feeling the same way, too. Is that your third, or fourth burger?"

Nick paused for a moment, swallowed, then quickly said "Fourth." before attacking the burger again.

"Does Eunice even feed you?"

"Stop calling me that!" Flo pouted as she scanned her salad. "The reason he wanted us to meet here was so he could get those things. This place puts meat on just about everything."

"Well, no wonder Nick's tearing through these burgers." Chance laughed. "After having nothing but all that vegan garbage you eat for days would do this to him. He's the most carnivorous guy I know." He then leaned over to Sonia, who had been quietly sipping soup. "Another reason why they aren't compatible." he mumbled, trying to keep Flo and Nick from hearing them.

"That's not a problem for true love." Sonia whispered back.

"Oh, come on! The only thing they have in common is their obsession with hoodies. They don't even wear them the same way."

"There's more than that." Sonia retorted. "Let's see: she's nursing him back to health, he doesn't go anywhere without her, and he's probably seen her without the silly thing on."

"Wha-Why is that important?"

"Because she doesn't eat meat. she's probably super skinny and really hot without it. That proves it."

"That proves nothing! Just because she 'might' be really pretty without it doesn't mean they're an item. You're just speculating. And he doesn't go anywhere because-" Chance turned back to notice Flo and Nick were both watching them intently, not eating a single bite. "W-Were you two listening to us?"

"You aren't as quiet as you think." Nick chuckled.

"Oh." Sonia responded, turning several shades of red. "Why'd you stop eating?"

"I noticed this meat tastes kind of funny." Nick answered. "I don't know if it's horsemeat or something, but it's…pretty weird."

"I found definite evidence of beef broth in my salad." Flo added. "It might be slow right now, but the poor service is inexcusable."

"I'll call the waitress then." Sonia offered.

"That's fine." Flo responded, getting up from her chair. "I'm going to the restroom. Tell her to make sure that they don't let meat touch my order this time."

vvvvvvvvv

"Sir Leonard." Gar grunted. "Father is disappointed in your performance. Both children managed to escape your grasp."

"I apologize to him." Leonard answered. He stood tall, more than seven feet in height, but even he bowed low to his leader and his leader's personal guard. "I will find them and personally bring them back."

"No you won't." Gar snapped back. "We have been trying very hard to keep the other countries ignorant of the war until our might is unchallengeable. We even had to target the media system early to flood the news with exaggerated stories, just in case someone tried to send a warning, which has happened. If you went to either country, you would only succeed in proving the rumors true."

"Then we have lost them…" Leonard sighed.

"Not quite." Gene added, stepping into Leonard's view. "We have spies all over both countries; some are even well known and loved in the human world, able to seamlessly blend in with society. Granted, they will not be able to capture the children without difficulty, so a more experienced hunter needs to…"

"Please reconsider!" Leonard pleaded.

"There's not much else we can do." Gar said regretfully. "We'll need a high-class assassin to bring them in."

"If you must. But don't send him to Japan!" Leonard begged.

"No one would make that mistake." Gar barked back. "He's going to pursue the boy. We know of your son's 'distractions,' and we need him on the top of his game. If it is required, we will have to prevent him from returning to his 'pride' until after his mission is successful."

"Yes, that will motivate the young king." Gene chuckled.

"I…I see. Liam will be ready to leave by noon tomorrow." Leonard sighed.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

So many questions to be answered.

What happened to Nick? What is happening to Chance? Who were those people in the alley? These questions and more will be answered soon.