Avilien

Other

Luke looked at Jayce, who looked at him and then at the purple cat. The cat leapt onto Luke's shoulder and perched there as if it were a parrot. It shook with fear, its four tails going bushy and eyes growing wide.

"Are you going to fight them?" asked the cat in a hushed tone. It breathed ever so gently into Luke's ear.

"We need to run," Luke whispered in reply as he began to back up. He shook just as much as the cat, but unlike the cat, he didn't grow in size over fear and he didn't want to get beaten up again.

Oftentimes when Luke came home battered and bruised, his stepmother would scowl at him and call him a delinquent. His father, when he was home—and that was a rare occasion—would just shake his head. He didn't shake it in disgust...it almost seemed as though he shook it in disbelief, like he couldn't believe Luke had gotten beaten up again. What could Luke do, though? Jayce took lessons in mixed martial arts and he wasn't even the worse bully in Luke's school; he just happened to be the main one. The school was nothing but endless torture for Luke, and that was all thanks to Jayce and his stepmother.

Jayce stepped forward with a smile and a stick in hand, causing Luke to gulp.

"Look, guys, it's the loser. A loser and fifty XP...this has to be a two-for-one deal. I bet he can't even see that Avilien creature on his shoulder because he's too poor to afford a pair of GTs." Jayce pointed the stick at Luke, who stepped further back, his legs quaking.

Knowing what was going to happen, Luke turned on his heel and started to run. He bolted out of the alley with the cat clinging to his shirt; he could feel this strange creature digging claws into him. An augmented reality creature that was able to interact with real-world surroundings was unheard of. Amidst the terrified screams of the cat, Luke could hear Jayce shouting and cursing.

"Get back here, chicken! Get back here now with my fifty XP!" If he so much as stopped, they would pounce on him and clobber him and the cat.

The high street of Islington was half filled with crowds of people and various shoppers carrying large bags of goods. The pedestrians made it easy for Luke to dodge and weave through them as most gawped at him in confusion, staring at the screaming strange cat that barely held onto his shoulder as he ran. So amazed by the appearance of the strange being, they stopped still, allowing Luke to navigate towards the road crossing at the end of the street. His legs burned as if they had been set alight and his lungs felt so big, Luke thought they would burst. He doubled over, trying to catch his breath at the light, hoping he had done enough to evade the three bullies.

Giving a quick glance back towards the Amazing Comics store and Warehouse 207, Luke could see Jayce in hot pursuit. He whacked people with the stick to move them out of the way, causing public hysteria and anger as adults tried to grab at him. Bart and Drew had given up the chase, but both of them were nothing compared to Jayce in strength and speed.

"Why don't you just delete him? You're a knight," questioned the cat as it repositioned itself on Luke's right shoulder, its size now that of a housecat and starting to weigh a fair amount.

"I can't win against Jayce. That is why I am running." Luke kept hitting the button for the traffic light as cars sped past. People surrounding him waiting to cross looked down at him and the cat; through their shades, they could see a floating fifty XP next to a tiny green bar of health above the cat's head.

Before anyone could do or say a word, the light flicked to red and Luke took off again. He raced across the road past the stopped cars and up the next street, past the large brick library with its stone grey columns. Another couple of streets later, past more stores and restaurants on the way to his house, Luke gave up running. He had lost Jayce and now found himself alone with the strange cat on the old country road leading up a steep hill.