Leap of faith, rebuilding our worlds

Chapter 1: A Fated Encounte

(09 september 2021)

Callum was bored and alone. His family was busy and he had an art block for some time. His brother was busy with his two girlfriends, Aanya and Ellis, and with college. Mom and Harrow were on a business trip and after that, they were going to stay there for a while as vacation. Claudia, his childhood friend, was on vacation with her girlfriend Nyx after they had a major theater gig and Soren was in Seattle, he was going to start playing there since he landed a major contract with the SeaHawks.

Callum understood that they had lives of their own and that he was no baby. It was late in the night and Callum decided to go to the bar near his apartment. One would think that one of the most renowned artists in the world would be living in one of the most extravagant houses and meeting important people but he was not that type of person, hence why he was using the pseudonym "Skywing elf".

People all over the world wanted to meet him and many lived near him. He saw the bar neon sign, "Silvergrove" Callum red in his mind. The bar looked old but well conserved, the floors were made of ebony and so was the counter. A woman was the bartender and she looked bored while she was cleaning a glass. It was odd for Callum that the bar was empty, considering that it was Friday night and it was the start of the football season. Callum took out his cloak and sat in front of the counter. -"What do you want?" It was more a statement than a question but it didn't bother Callum. -"Just a beer and could you turn on the tv? a friend of mine will be playing in tonight's game" Callum asked while he smiled at the barwoman. She was beautiful, Callum thought, she was wearing a white shirt and a black vest. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail and she had the most awesome eyes he had seen.

She went to serve him a beer and turned on the tv, the sports channel was transmitting the match between Denver and Seattle. Callums was smiling happily and cheered when the name of his friend was shown on the Tv. The bar women looked at him oddly. -"You have money to pay?" The woman asked while she crossed her arms. Callum looked at her with a smile and handed her a hundred dollar note and returned his atencion at the tv. He was proud that Soren was there even when his father never supported him through College and his sportsman career while he gave everything to Claudia.

The beer was good and the silence was pleasant. He heard a sound and turned to see the barwoman handing another beer after he had just finished his. -"On the house. I was rude to you but here is my peace offering" Callum smiled at her and nodded, handing her another hundred dollars. -"Keep the change" Callum told her and directed his attention to the game.

After two hours it was finally the middle time, and he was hungry. A burger appeared in front of him. -"You must be hungry and it's my lunch break so come with me and you get a free burger" The barwoman told him and he followed her, sure it was strange that someone was offering food but he was hungry. He followed her to a nearby table and they both sat and started to eat their burgers. After a while she stood up and brought back some beers with a smile. -"Here, it's on the house too. I'm Rayla by the way. You are very bold to be here" Rayla told him with a grin while he raised an eyebrow. He was confused and really did not understand what she meant. -"Callum,  and why?" he simply asked.

-"This is the base of the moonlight gang, a famous black ops squad from the government" Rayla said with a 'duh' tone in her voice. -"They are working now and I believe that a pair of ambassadors from Katolis, who were giving a conference in Germany hire them to be their bodyguards for two months there." She said amused that he had the courage to be here. Callum froze up but relaxed instantly, he knew that there was a reason why the bar was empty and he knew why now. -"I heard that here you could buy entertainment here and I got curious" He responded to her with a smile at her but his eyes were glued to the tv screen, watching his friend play.