Elementals

Chapter 17 - Oh right, I forgot about him

Aidan dragged himself through the city, pulling his chain and flying between buildings. His brow furrowed as his eyes locked on a towering building in the southernmost part of the Rockefeller Single. Tall and pure white, twisting into the sky and watching the city below it. Grim leaned over Aidan's shoulder in his mind and took a large bite of an apple.

"So, why do you look so angry?" Grim asked him, chewing her apple loudly.

"Bright Lite. I know them." Aidan responded. "They're a company my father worked with in the past."

"Oh right, your dad runs a company..." Grim spaced out for a second before taking another bite of her apple. "What company was that again?"

Aidan stopped zipping through the city, flying through the air as he looked back at Grim.

"How long have you been in my head?"

"Uh... let's not worry about that." Grim answered. "Let's just say I've been asleep for a very long time."

"Whatever." Aidan caught the edge of a building and swung himself around it, turning around the street corner. "My father runs a company called Aytian. It's the biggest company on the planet."

"What does it do?"

"What doesn't it do? I've seen energy drinks, smart phones, clothes, neighborhoods, restaurants, you can say pretty much any business and they do it."

"So, where does Bright Lite tie into Aytian?"

"Weapon development."

"Weapon huh?" Grim looked down at Aidan, her mouth agape, and bits of apple stuck on her lip.

"Bright Lite is essentially a private militia, hired by the rich to protect the rich. You've seen this place, superhumans as far as the eyes can see, and there's several reminders around this town alone that remind you of that." Aidan soared through the air as he answered Grim's questions. Letting the wind flow through his hair, yet his coat hung low, too heavy for the wind to move.

"And your father made weapons for them?"

"They made weapons for each other." Aidan answered, jumping off a giant gear stuck to the side of a building. A group of tourists took pictures of both the gear and him as he flew by. "My father gave them... somethin'. I never saw what it was, but I saw what they gave him."

"And?" Grim looked on, listening like a child having a story read to them.

"Trainin'. They took me away. I don't even remember when, the earliest thing I can remember is those damn concrete walls. I was there for so long, fightin' and fightin'. From before I could walk to when I could run, all I did was fight."

"But didn't your father want to spend time with you? You're his son, after all."

"He wasn't worried about me. He had all the faith in the world I would be fine. He spent all his time either at work or with my sisters."

"Did your sisters know about this?"

"No. In fact, they think I'm adopted."

"They do?!" Grim shouted. "There's no way!"

"Yep." Aidan landed on the rooftop of a short, crummy apartment right next to the tower. "I never wanted to be back anywhere near here, but here I fuckin' am. These guys have somethin' to do with that rock, and what Drew's doin' here."

"Yeah..." Grim paused. "So, are you actually adopted?"

"No." he looked up at the twisting ivory tower and peered over every window and door he saw. Dozens of people walked into the front door, and dozens of people walked out. A constant stream of people clogged the street around the tower. Aidan hopped down and infiltrated the crowd, slinking his way into the tower. Around him stood stressed out young men and women, wearing the most formal attire they could scrounge. The ones that wished to enter the building had a hint of optimism in their eyes, but the ones leaving had become dejected.