EXISTENCE

CHAPTER 11: Second Coming

Mimi had no idea what to do. In her house stood two people whose hands were covered with a thick dark shroud of energy. This was not something she was used to.

The man, Ethan, had a smug yet sinister look strewn about on his face. He was eyeing this entire situation is little more than a game, a time-waster of an activity. He'd determined the outcome and had a carefully constructed plan set in place for the girl in front of him.

Hawa wasn't completely sure what to do. Despite the sinister man that stood before her, only one thought ran across her mind.

Protect this house. Protect this woman. Protect this family.

Her fight wasn't meant to destroy her opponent; her fight was meant solely to defend the people who were in her opponent's sights. These people had been good to her - leaving them to die to some lunatic would be nothing short of rude.

Ethan leered at her. He was puzzled, quite frankly. How could she have been so far gone? The woman standing in front of him with her hands up in a fighting pose was an eyesore at this point; but Ethan could tell. There was still traces of the person he was looking for lingering within this woman. And he meant to bring her back.

He made another dash at her. Hawa, immediately predicting his movements, jumped to the side and struck with a kick square in the British man's jaw, sending him flying towards the neatly arranged pottery that adorned the corner of the house. With a loud crash, Ethan gathered himself together, brushing off the shards of pottery that now lined his shoulders. Hawa looked on and made a mental note to try and minimize any damge done to Mimi's house.

Ethan calmly looked at her. "If that's the best you can do," he leered, "then this will be far too easy."

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Adam and Rym sat at a table in the school courtyard. The two were eating a lunch that Rym herself had made - a lamb-chop burger, one of Adam's personal favorites.

Adam hurriedly scarfed down his burger. The only thing on his mind at the moment was what Rym had to say about his dad. Rym simply looked on in amazement. Adam swallowed hard and finished off his meal with the bottle of Fanta that Rym packed for him.

"All right, lunch is over. Now tell me what you know, Rym!"

Rym rested her head on her hand. "Well, like I said, this is only just a feeling...but I've honestly had this feeling for a while now. It's like he never even left."

Adam looked at her. "But he did leave! I mean, it's not like he's here, right?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Adam! I can feel the presence of anyone I know...that is, you all feel distinct from one another to me. And the feeling I got from Tarek is, well, still there." She looked up. "It's the same feeling I got from him since we were little."

Adam tilted his head. "What do you mean by that?"

Rym looked down, blushing slyly. "You remember that time when we first met?"

"Sure I do." Adam rubbed his chin. "You were being bullied by like four kids. I saved you from them."

"Yeah, you did." She was extremely red now. "And then we met your dad. Ever since that day, I picked up a sort of vibe from the both of you." She looked back up at him. "It hasn't gone away since."

Adam stared. "So you still feel his energy out there...he's still alive!" He broke out a big smile. "This is great! This is great! This is so great! My dad's still alive!" He ran off and started bouncing around the courtyard, expressing his joy loudly to the frustration of many other kids who just wanted to eat their food in peace.