Chapter 14

For the second time within the trip, the red-clad boy came-to as he rose from his spot in the back of the van, his vision blurrier than ever, giving him an intense headache that made him dreary and incoherent.

"This must be side-effects to those stupid pills," Alvin mumbled to himself as he got to his knees and crawled his way over to the van's only back window.

Upon gazing out, his jaw dropped slightly at the magnificent sight. The atmosphere of the brightly lit place was nonchalant as people young and old traveled by foot or by car down the boulevard. Teenagers around Alvin's age were socializing that early morning; the majority of the teens lugged around their custom Nike knap sacks. A group in particular that walked past the van had navy-blue knapsacks slung over their shoulders. Some boys and girls in said group wore a plain black short-sleeved shirt tucked in to what seemed to be navy-blue BDU pants. Others in the group fashioned the same top, but with navy-blue jeans, much more laid back compared to the others' attire.

As the van suddenly halted to a stop, several people who happen to walk pass at that moment smiled and snickered with excitement as one pointed a finger towards the van.

"A MiniCovenite!" one teen shouted flamboyantly. "We have another one!"

At the sound of the extraordinary name, Alvin scrunched his face in shock as he continued to gaze through the small window, seeing hundreds and hundreds of people gathering around…

The van doors propped themselves open as Maxwell stepped through, sweat lining the sides of his face, his bright blue eyes wide with fright as a red-haired man took him gently by his shoulder to help him out of the van. In an odd way, as those hundreds of people huddled close to the van to get a glimpse at TeCoven's newest member, George felt as though he had gained a celebrity status as the large crowd ogled at his grand entrance.

Some entrance, he thought. "I'm cuffed and beaten up… and my parents must be worried sick about me…"

"What a handsome MiniCovenite!" a girl exclaimed over the commotion as the red-head man, Jack Garner, hauled the newcomer through the thick crowd, having to push some out the way just to make it through safely.

George raised an eyebrow at such a name, but disregarded it as he gazed all around, the brightly lit place catching his wild attention. So smooth, and so laid back, yet with a touch of busy; he appreciated this. It seemed as though the place was big enough to have little stores and restaurants, and… was that a post office he just past?

"Wow," George mumbled under his breath, the city-like atmosphere absolutely breathtaking to him. "What is this place? Is it like a mini city or something like that?"

The twenty-four-year-old Jack Garner scoffed with a broad smile as he let off George's shoulder, shoving his hands into his pockets. "This… my fine boy," he began, suddenly taking his hands from his pockets and fanning them out into the air, taking in a large breath, "This… is TeCoven…"

"TeCoven?" George repeated, almost tongue-tied, his eyes that once shimmered with fear now glowed with excitement.

"You like it so far?" Jack asked swiftly as he led the boy down the partially crowded boulevard. "You seem pretty… enthusiastic about your recruitment now than you did a couple of hours ago…"

"Well, you did kind of chase me down the street and what not," George replied with a smirk as he readjusted his sweaty wrists clamped down by the cuffs.

"But I kept my promise, right?"

"What promise?"

"The one where I said, 'this is the most I'll hurt you to get you'."

George rolled his eyes as he could taste the blood seeping inside his mouth. "Then why am I all battered?"

"You tripped, you fell!" Jack chuckled full-heartedly as he patted a tender hand upon George's bruised shoulder. "I didn't touch you!"

At that, George snarled with another roll of his eyes as he dipped his shoulder away from Jack's rhythmic pat. He didn't find that too funny at all; actually, the only "good" that came out of this situation was that he wasn't dead yet. "Is this all gonna be explained to me? Will I see my family and my friends again? Are you guys a cult of some kind?"

Jack sighed softly before replying with, "After your individual orientation, there will be a group orientation with you and some five-hundred others… then we'll assign you rooms and partners…"

George gasped slightly at Jack's words, his heart filling with fear. "Rooms? How long am I staying here exactly?"

"My fine boy, somewhere close to a month, but this will all be explained to you by a Top TeCovener – they'll teach you everything you need to know about this place…"

Without much warning, tears slipped from George's eyes, mixing in with his drying blood. "Why can't my life be normal for once?"

Jack raised an eyebrow before stopping the two in their tracks, his face fixed in confusion. "Well… you seem like a boy with an interesting background… and who seems awfully tired. Care to take a seat?" he asked politely before directing George to a nearby bench. "I'd love to hear about your short life…"

"Well," George began with a sigh, tactfully taking his seat as to not further injure his throbbing leg. "I didn't always live here in Los Angeles. Actually," he cleared his throat, "I lived in Mississippi my entire life until six months ago."

Jack looked on with full interest. Never before has he grown so connected with a generation through a simple talk. Usually, he never took the time to learn the names of new generations; this was a first.

"There were eight of us in a tiny house; Mom, Dad, and my six younger siblings. I was the oldest. I took care of them a lot of the time. They were almost like my own children. I took care of them because… well…" he paused, shame beginning to run past him. "Well… my dad would get drunk most nights and slap my mom around. She would have to go to the hospital and I was home taking care of my siblings until they got home. It sickened me that my dad would do such a thing, and it sickened me that my mom would accept his apology every… single… time. But… what sickened me the most was that I felt I should have been able to stop it all from happening. I always thought that I would be able to stop my dad, until he hit me, too, on my fourteenth birthday. Even though we lived under the same roof, I hardly spoke to him after that…"

"Is that true, now?"

"Very. And I can't forget to mention that my dad was a racist son of a bitch. The majority of my friends were black, but my dad wouldn't have it. If I talked to a black person, my dad would slap me so hard; I'd pass out for a couple of minutes. But what hurt the most was…" he paused in mid-sentence; his cries hidden in the back of his throat beginning to choke him. He cleared his throat once more before starting again;

"I was in love with a black girl. Her name was Sarah Rutherford. I thought she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen in my life! We started dating when we were fifteen, but of course I hid it from my dad; he'd wring my neck dry. I just wish my dad would accept the fact that I loved her to death. He didn't, so I'd sneak out the house, just to go see her every night. We'd mess around for a bit, and I'd leave, but after a while, I just came to visit because one night, she told me that she was pregnant…"

Jack's eyes grew wide as he adjusted his seating, crossing one leg over the other in astonishment.

George smiled, fond memories beginning to sweep in. "Of course her parents weren't proud, and the only person I could confide to was my mom; she was really understanding, and that shocked me. So… Time passed, and she had our baby. We named him Herman. And the best part? My dad never knew about the pregnancy at the time; not a single detail. God knows what he would have done to me and Sarah if he knew."

"So… how did you raise Herman?"

"On nights when my mom worked, I had her drive me to Sarah's for the rest of the night, and I'd sit up with him and play until he got drowsy and fall asleep in my arms. Boy, he had the curliest black hair I had ever seen, and his eyes were so pretty and green," he described straight from the heart, holding out his arms as if he were still holding his son. "I loved my son; I truly did… But one day… my youngest sister, Ruby Jean found out about Herman… and told my father…"

"How bad did he hurt you?"

"Bad… but not physically…" George admitted with a confused look plastered on his face. "But he hurt me bad… he called Child Services on Sarah, and they took Herman away. Now that… was the most intense pain I ever felt… seeing my son leave me…

"So, you know what I did?" he exclaimed happily. "I took my mom and siblings and moved, never looking back once! I mean, I loved Sarah, but the memories were painful, and my dad was painful to look, the sick bastard, ever since that night, so I left… It was a good thing Sarah understood. She knew it was something I had to do, or my dad would continue to torment us…"

"And now you're here?"

"Exactly! I'm here… and I'm still getting hurt," he mentioned referring to the blood continuing to trickle down his face. "Thanks a lot," he finished sarcastically.

"I can assure you, George," Jack started with a firm hold on George's shoulder, "Where you are now… you'll never have to worry about getting hurt…"

"Damn…" Alvin mumbled under his breath, his blue-eyed gaze inspecting his new surroundings. "This place…"

"Pretty incredible, isn't it?" Craig asked, showing off his pearly whites through a broad smile as he led Alvin through the thick crowd of bystanders that scrutinized the newcomer. "To make our TeCoveners happy here, we've basically evolved this place into a little city. We even have a cinema here. Back in 1959, TeCoven didn't have one, but-"

"Care to explain what this all is?" Alvin interrupted without a single guilt as he yanked away from Craig, his eyes narrowed tight. "You kidnap me, and you expect me to believe all this garbage coming from your mouth? Are you kidding?"

Darrell and Craig merely chuckled under their breath at the fuming Alvin as Craig continued to lead him down the boulevard. "Alvin, I can assure you that the Top TeCovener will explain everything to you after your individual orientation," Darrel explained.

"Will it hurt?" Alvin asked downright seriously as he gestured a nod towards his aching leg that had practically been electrocuted, which left behind a reddish-purple scar.

"All you have to do is answer simple questions. Then, there will be a group orientation; you're not the only new one here, Alvin, if that's what you are afraid of."

"I just want to know why everything is happening… and how do you know my name?" Alvin questioned spitefully.

"The Top TeCovener will teach you everything you need to know before your classes begin-" Craig suddenly paused, directing his stern gaze to Alvin, startling the red-clad teen quite a bit. "And don't, for the love of God, try to run away… there are deep consequences…"

Alvin swallowed hard at the sudden knowledge; running away was the first thing he had in mind… now, for Alvin, it was no longer an option.

Just like Craig had described earlier, the place called TeCoven was definitely a little city; a tiny Chicago, a miniature New York, a baby Los Angeles, and whatever other city could be named. The time was 2:39 in the morning, Alvin had noticed coming from a giant clock towering over TeCoven. The early hours didn't seem to bother TeCoven's residents, almost as if some of these people had become nocturnal over time. Whatever the case may have been, Alvin saw that these people were wide awake, greeting others with wide smiles and handshakes. To the right of Alvin, a caged-off section stood, and within it were several teens, an adult with a whistle in his mouth, and a mannequin target many feet ahead of them. On the whistle, the teens fired the same lightning device Darrell had used on Alvin, all of their aims electrocuting the mannequin to smithereens. To the left of him, and to his upmost shock, teens and adults alike raced each other… on hover boards, darting and gliding throughout the dark, star-lit skies.

"Are those-" Alvin began, his jaw dropped like a kid in a candy store.

"Yes, sir," Darrell clarified with a wide smile. "P8 v.3.m Hover Boards…"

With that, Alvin shot the men a flabbergasted look, his face twisted in somewhat pain. "P… who-the-what?" he attempted to repeat.

"Like I said," Darrell began once more, "this will all make sense after your orientation…"

**I feel as though this is the most useless chapter in this entire story! D: Maybe it'll be of some importance, but I haven't decided yet. Keep reading!**