Core: The First Step

Chapter 7: A Little Detour To Iktus ( Ethan )

( Ethan )

As we split our ways, I ran as fast as I could. I was searching for a transport, something that can send me to Zone 26. I can't take the bus or a taxi, as I remembered Hera's warning. Don't trust anybody. 

Somewhere along the way, I saw a black car left on, with the door hanging open. Quickly, I jumped on the driver's seat and dashed off. I heard a guy shouting out cusses to me, but I ignored him. I have to get to my siblings as soon as possible.

I have to say, the car wasn't bad. Not bad at all. The Nissan GTR R-32 if I remembered. Unfortunately, I'm not a good driver. I bumped to the safety barrier twice and nearly crashed to the truck from the rear. I even got stuck in a traffic jam. I raged out, " Come on, you meatball salad eaters!!!"

Yes, you're questioning why my curses involve food. Honestly, because my auntie tried her best to make sure we didn't cuss. So, my siblings and I discuss our way of cursing in our house. We finally agreed to curse with food. At first, we only did it at home and our vocabulary was limited, like 'meatballs' and 'frick nuggets'. Now, we expanded that vocabulary and it becomes a habit to me. I only said those cuss words when I'm really angry.

I reached to Zone 26 after 20 minutes of traffic and crashing. When I drove around the small town, everyone looked at the car. Busted and broken, but still functioning. I looked around small stores and buildings around this place, some of them were even build out of wood. Compared to Zone 1, this place looked somewhat outdated, yet it's slowly advancing. Very slowly, in fact. Even though this place is supported by the rich, I wasn't sure if they are aware about this place. At least, the upper class residents didn't know about it. But maybe the leaders of Kriton does.

I parked in front of my two-storey house, with the front bumper peeling off from the car with a thud. Like the rest of the house at my neighbourhood, it's like an average house you normally see in televisions. It's yellow colour was still bright, since it was just painted two weeks ago. The roof was old red, cracked by the sunlight. It was home sweet home,  a home which I might not returned to.

I went out of the car. When I slammed the door shut, it fell to the ground with a crash. Yeah, the car is busted.

I knocked on the door furiously, before Evelyn opened the door. " What the hell is wrong with-" she stopped bickering when she saw me, clothes tattered and ruined, and my right forearm bandage. Speaking of which, it stopped aching long ago. 

" Ethan, what the meatballs happened to you?" she fretted. " And are you supposed to be in school?"

" Evelyn, pack your stuff, please. We have to leave-" I stopped as I sniffed the air. Syron grumbled, " Ugghhh, is that Adam cooking?" I shut the door as I stumbled to the kitchen. As usual, Adam made another epic fail. Unlike Evelyn and I, his hair was brown and was a lot messier than mine ( Evelyn's hair was straight ). The only thing my siblings and I have in common is the brown gemstone eyes. The stove was an absolute mess, with egg yolk lying around it, the shells were on the ground. The window in front of the stove was splattered with ketchup. The burnt smell was hanging in the air. 

" Adam! For omelettes sake, what in the salad are you cooking?!?" I exclaimed. Adam twirled to face me. " Oh wow, didn't expect you to be here," he grinned at first until he saw my clothes. " W-What happened to you?" he mumbled.

" Where's Aunt Clare?" I demanded. Adam flinched, realising I wasn't joking around. " Um, she should be here soon. I mean, she left-" he got interrupted when Aunt Clare opened the door. She scolded, " Kids, how many times do I have to tell you to stop cooking lunch without me? Now, look what you-" she faltered when she saw me. Her natural pale skin went paler, her eyes widen in horror. But it wasn't like ' Ethan, what happen to you?' but more like, ' Oh god, they know.'