Chapter 153 - Untrusty Ally
"..." the rest of the family members spoke staring in shock.
Seeing the government agents on the ground bleeding with one knocked out, they had a hard time believing what they were seeing. Staring at the individual that had a handgun in one of the federal official's mouth, his cold expression made him seem almost like a different person. Hearing the one near them cringe, groan, and crawling to a chair, none of them felt compelled to help him. The part that made the group question was that the doctor's attitude toward them had change. From his previous tense and stressed self, he was now relative calm while interrogating the one that he and the two teens were hovering over.
"Looks like Jin knows how to handle a gun despite how he looks," Tiffany whispered impressed. "I didn't entirely believe Renee when she told me from the school incident...but when I saw it in the paper, I was a bit amazed. Do you shoot Alex?"
"...no...I don't," he answered shaking his head a little. "None of us do."
"...okay...maybe he is a hardcore arcade player," Ms. Sanders suggested turning her head toward the Ainsleys. "Right?"
"...no...the last time he was at the arcades was a few years ago."
"...?" she reacted with questionable look on her face. Looking at Samantha, she looked equally lost.
"...does this mean you two don't know everything about Jin?" Tiffany asked. Seeing them blink and look at her with ambivalence, it made her lean back a little. Smirking a little, she turned back to the scene at the floor.
'...damn...now I'm more impressed,' she thought then looked at Renee. '...I wonder how much she knows and didn't tell me...kids with secrets...adults with secrets.'
After a minute or so, security came into the room. Their entrance caused a majority of the people inside to turn around and remain still. Hearing Dr. McCole speak and approached them, he explained in detail of what happened. He also grabbed one of the documents that both he and Jin were handed to sign. Showing them a fine print area and telling them what it read, almost everyone became surprised. Renee went to the other one that was on the table and picked it up.
'...holy shit...this is...Gamco's doing,' the junior stated in her mind with shock. Hearing a couple of footsteps, she saw Gene go to her. Asking her what was the fine print, she kneeled down and showed him. Seeing him read it carefully and look sort of confused, Renee explained it in simpler details.
"...that's...basically being fooled to become their puppet!" the younger brother stated with his eyes going wide and his mouth to open.
Looking at his brother and heading over to where he was, he slowed down and approached carefully. The sophomore had not taken the gun out of the man's mouth and still had the look of a cold-blooded killer. Ami had removed her now blood coated finger from the man's shoulder. Watching the man cringing and panting in agony, it seemed to please her. Seeing her cruel smile on her face, the younger brother's stare made her glance at him.
"...!?" Gene reacted with flinching a little from being afraid. Seeing slight movement near her, he looked over and froze. His brother's eyes slowly look up to meet his. It was one of the rare times that the boy had seen a darker version of his relatively quiet older sibling.
"...yes Gene...it was to become...their slave," Jin spoke stoically without changing his expression or moving. "...and forfeit all that I say...of what happened in E.D.E. and to myself...all to protect Gamco Inc. from receiving any negative judgment."
"..." the younger sibling responded and nodded his head slightly. "...how did you know they were fake?"
"Dear boy," Selbith replied with a grin and pointed her trickling red finger at him loosely. "When you have ascended to a higher and more powerful form in the other world...it changes you in this world."
"...hey..." Renee reacted heading toward where they were. Kneeling on the floor and giving her a stern look, she placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Knock it off...you are being creepy and are scaring him."
"I-I'm not scared," Gene countered quietly and pointed back at Ami. "She's a Grim Reaper in E.D.E...that's scary cool."
"Excuse us," the security lead of the group spoke and stood over them. "We'll take him and the others now...if you could give us the gun as well."
"..." Jin answered with keeping the gun still in the man's mouth.
Clicking the safety on, he pulled out the weapon. Keeping it pointed down and changing hand positions, the sophomore handed it to the guard. Seeing him take pistol, he then picked up the wounded individual. Seeing the rest of the security personnel take the imposters away, it left the room with only the doctor, his patients, and the remaining family members. Letting out a relieved sigh, he went over to where Jin was standing.
"Jin...as much as I do not approve of such violent acts...that was hella satisfying to see," he stated with a smile the stuck his hand out to him. "Also, for getting us out of a situation that could have been much worse."
"...you're welcome..." the male teen responded with a faint smile. Shaking the doctor's hand firmly, it made the man feel a bit more relaxed. Both released their hands in which a silence came afterwards. Causing a mild tension to generate in the room, the medical staffer forced a cough to get everyone's attention.
"...well...other than asking you to go back to your assigned room...was there anything you wanted or needed prior to heading back?"
"..." Jin answered looking down a little and thinking. After a couple of moments, he looked up and shook his head.
"...no...I will head back now."
"Alright...I have to stay here to fill out the incident report prior to leaving," Dr. McCole mentioned holding up a clipboard that was given to him by one of the security guards. "Unless you want to be escorted back, you are free to move around."
"Okay...bye doctor," the male teen responded and gave a small head nod.
Turning toward the door, his family was standing there with Tiffany. Approaching them, they initially did not move out of the way. Stopping and looking at them, he just held a stoic face. Each one held a different expression until Samantha took a step forward and reached for his shoulders.
"...honey...are you okay?" she asked scared and astonished at the same time.
"Yes mom."
"...when...when did you learn to shoot a gun?" the woman continued and held his shoulders. They were not stiff or tense. It seemed to spark a sense of dread from not able to read him.
"In the game," the sophomore answered flatly.
"...?" the adults reacted with lone eyebrow raises.
"But...playing a VR game where you are in a sleep state...you aren't holding a gun or shooting one," Alex indicated.
"That's true," Jin continued to answer the same tone of voice. The aspect that he was not changing his expression or tone made his parents more uncomfortable.
"...Jin...you can tell me if something is wrong...didn't we agree about that?" Samantha stated in a quieter tone.
"...yes..."
"..." his mother reacted with curling her lips inward and biting them a little before speaking. "...Jin...please talk to me...I know you are not okay."
"...I do not feel like talking right now..." he mentioned not blinking at her. Seeing her a little taken back from his statement, his father approached with an annoyed face.
"You better explain your-"
"SHUT UP!" the male teen yelled angrily at him.
The dramatic dynamic of him being calm to aggressive without a wind up startled everyone including Selbith and Renee. Watching the sophomore try to calm himself down, he kept a scornful expression. Not looking at his mother, he gently pried her fingers and hands off his shoulders. Placing them at her side, he walked around them to the door. Almost getting his hand on the door handle to open it, he heard someone move and put a firm hand on his left shoulder.
"Jin. You better-!?" Mr. Ainsley began sounding upset with him. Not believing that his son would hurt him, Jin turned toward him and bared his teeth at him.
"...leave...me...alone..." Jin spoke with a small growl in his voice.
"You need to calm down and change your tone right now," he stated firmly. He only made his son seem to get more agitated.
"...let...me...go...now..." he growled more and curled his fingers into tight fists.
"...Alex...stop it..." Tiffany whispered taking a defensive stance. Seeing him shake his head, he continued firmed his grip on his son's shoulder.
"No. You need to apologize and stop this right now!" he stated louder at his son.
"YOU WILL RELEASE ME NOW OR I WILL HURT YOU!" Jin shouted with wrath in his voice.
"...!?" the adults reacted with a flinch. The veins protruding on the male teen's temples gave indication that there was no tolerance left in him.
'...oh my god...no...' Samantha whispered in her mind and put a hand over her mouth.
"...he has returned..." Ami whispered feeling a smile growing on her face. Seeing Renee glance at her with a taken a back expression, it made her smile wider.
"His Blighter transcendence has never left."
"...shut up..." the female teen responded with anger.
Both reacted to hearing movement and turned their heads. Seeing his father raise his free hand, it was not open. Attempting to punch Jin's face, the sophomore evaded it. Releasing a short growling shout, he jumped up a little. Thrusting both feet forward, he dropped kicked him in the mid-torso.
Launching him backwards and seeing him stumbling to the ground, it made the shock level in the room rise. Seeing the sophomore land on his feet while bending his knees, he stood up slowly. Seeing everyone first look at Mr. Ainsley at the floor, they slowly looked at him flabbergasted. Seeing the male teen look at the brink of losing to rage, he shut his eyes.
"..." Jin spoke shaking all over with pent up frustration and anger.
Forcing himself to calm down, he slowly closed his mouth from showing his tightly clenched teeth. Opening his eyes and expressing a scowl, he walked backwards to watch everyone. Finding the door handle, he slowly opened it waiting for someone to move. Continuing till he was on the other side of the door, no one moved still. Letting it close by itself, Jin stared down everyone and remained still.
"..." the group said seeing the image of the sophomore get blocked by the door. When they could no longer see him, it felt as if a heavy dungeon gate closed. Expecting to hear heavy footsteps, nothing was heard. The stillness in the room was blocked by how high the shock, tension, and apprehension that generated. Breaking out of her shock, Samantha quickly went to the door and opened it.
"Jin!" she called out with worry and fear. Blinking in surprise and higher anxiety, she looked both ways. He was not in the hallway of either direction. Given the distance from where the long hallway turns into another direction, he would have to have sprinted quite fast before she opened the door.
'...I don't remember him being that fast...when did this happen?' Ms. Ainsley asked in her head. The pondering aspect of her not knowing what her son was capable of made her feel less connected to him. It was as if another side of him came out that she never noticed.
"You alright Alex?" Tiffany asked back in the room.
"...?" Samantha responded with looking back inside. Seeing both Ms. Sanders, Dr. McCole, and Gene help him up, Renee and Ami were walking toward her.
"...which way did Jin go?" the junior asked with a concerned look on her face. By contrast, Selbith had a look of being semi-pleased.
"...yeah...just...surprised and confused at the moment," Mr. Ainsley remarked getting up and standing up straight.
"..." Jin's mother answered with a blink looking at him. Turning her attention to the two teens, she spoke softly.
"...I did not see which way he went down the hallway..."
"That is fine," Ami mentioned with a small smile. "We shall seek him regardless."
"...may I ask why you seem to enjoy this?" she asked turning to Derek's daughter. The smile on her face instantly made her irritated.
"Because...he is finally expressing himself," she explained then smirked. "His bottle of feelings inside himself has begun to leak out."
"..." Samantha reacted from feeling her face break a little.
"Don't worry Mrs. Ainsley," Renee spoke trying to reassure. "Jin is just overly stressed out and fatigued...he hasn't fully recovered from being locked in the game yet."
"..." she responded with silence and changed to an unreadable face. Replaying what both teens stated, part of her knew what they said was true. The other part of her wanted to deny that the statements were true. Blinking from feeling her hands being touched, it was Tiffany's daughter.
"I will call you once he is found and calmed down."
"...okay..." Samantha muttered quietly then held a downcast face.
Seeing the two walk pass her and get into the hallway, their footsteps began to sound quieter. Hearing the door close behind her, she looked up. Seeing Tiffany holding onto Alex's arm to assist him, Dr. McCole helped on the other side. Gene tried helping but stopped from seeing the doctor stepping in. Her son did look upset; however, he had a confliction look on his face.
"..." Mrs. Ainsley responded. As if the sight affected her more than it should, she felt defeated, fatigued, and hopeless. Turning around, she left the room.
"Mom?" Gene called out seeing her leave and the door closing. Instead of staying with his father, he quickly tried catching up to her.
Upon getting to the hallway, Renee and Ami looked in both directions. Seeing that there was no one down either direction, they turned to themselves.
"..." the junior stated having an annoyed look on her face.
"..." the thin teen responded with a mocking smirk.
"...if this will be a staring match thief...I will go find him on my own."
"That's fine...after checking his assigned room."
"You think he would go back to where he will be targeted by the creators?" Selbith asked still giving the same expression.
"Doesn't hurt to start there," the junior remarked with putting her hands on her hips. "If he had his phone, then there might have been a chance he would respond to make this easier."
"Respond? Hmph. He is already going back to his Blighter tendencies."
"No...he is not a monster," Renee commented and walked pass her.
"..." Ami responded with a small airy chuckle of mirth. Turning around, she followed her back to Jin's room. Upon getting to the door, the junior opened it and entered. Going inside the room as well, it was vacant.
"Like I said thief...he wouldn't go back to a known location."
"...that means we don't have to search here," the young Sanders replied then turned back to the door. "I'm going to go back and check all the rooms to see if he has holed himself up in one. You can do...whatever."
"We shall see who finds him first," Selbith stated with a smirk. With both exiting, they went opposite directions with different intents of trying to find the missing male teen.
'...finally...' Allison thought lying back down on her hospital bed. '...this mortal's family finally left...'
'The aspect to fake being sleepy and overly fatigued was...revolting to do at best,' Lamashtu continued frowning a little. Closing her eyes to rest them, for some reason the eye lids did not go back up initially. Not seeing any visions of any kind, she forced herself to open up her eyes. Freezing in place, Jin was staring her down with an icy expression.
"...well...you are staying true to your Blighter form," she spoke ambivalent to his materialization without her knowledge. Seeing him stare down at her hard, the verbal poking at him did nothing. Instead, his intensity was making her feel more awake.
"Did someone cut off your tongue?" the female teen asked smirking at him.
"..." he responded slowly turning his head to one of the guest chairs. Going to it and picking it up, he went to the other side of the bed. Placing it down and sitting, Allison's prone position on the bed provided moderate amount of blockage from the door. Leaning back and clasping his hands together, he stared at the opposite wall.
"Three agents from either the creator's company or himself were here," Jin began quietly.
"...Agents?..." Lamashtu repeated feeling interested. Sitting up a little bit, she spoke again.
"What kind of agents?"
"Borderline assassins/con artists/thieves."
"...what would they want to steal in this semi-blasphemous grounds?" she asked looking at him.
"They were prepared to use force to get me to sign a waiver," he began then put his hands on his knees. "Nullifying anything to what I have said and done to the creator's company. That way in a legal trial...my statements cannot be used as evidence against Gamco Inc...or Adam's organization."
"...interrogation by having dogs due his work...how original...and what did you do dear?" she asked interested still. Seeing him turn his head to look at her, his face was more stoic than intense.
"...bashed one of the men's head on the edge of the table...shot one in the shoulder and stomped on it afterwards...shot both thighs of the third individual."
"Sounds wonderous," Allison commented and smiled. "It is a pity...that I could not see that."
"I'm sure you feel that way," Jin remarked then leaned back in his chair again. "I came to you...seeking shelter."
"...?" Lamashtu responded blinking in surprise. Sitting more up, she crawled to be at the edge of the bed.
"Shelter? From what?"
"Everyone," he answered then looked at her. She smirked at him and moved her legs to hang off the side of the bed.
"Seeking the warm embrace from your mate."
"..." the male teen responded with rolling his eyes. "...stupid question...how have you not gone crazy from being in Hell?"
"...hee hee hee..." the female teen giggled then chuckled a little. "Your perspective of crazy is what Blighter?"
"...mmm..." the sophomore replied with a grunt. "Figured you'd turned that question around."
"You did state that it was a stupid question."
"...grrr...fine," Jin stated then looked at her with irritation. "How did you suppress yourself from wanting to hurt your peers and subordinates in Hell?"
"Suppress?" she repeated then laughed more. "Why show constraint when making lower ranks submit to your power is the goal and way in Hell?"
"..." he reacted with narrowing his eyes at her. Standing up, he began walking toward the door.
"Where are you going dear?" Lamashtu asked still having mirth in her voice.
"Seeking shelter elsewhere."
"And where will you find that...in this place Jin?" Allison mentioned suddenly changing her tone. "Who will give you sanctuary...in this corrupt building?"
"Nobody has to give me it...I can find some nook in the wall somewhere for a while," the male teen answered back while still heading toward the door.
"I forbid you from leaving."
"Forbid me from leaving?" he repeated. Stopping in front of the door, he turned around and frowned at her.
"And what the hell are you going to do? Scream at the top of your lungs?"
"I can if that will make things better," she answered with a serious face.
"Are you really that desperate and feeble that you go that low? For someone as all powerful as you, you are just going to scream at me?"
"..." Lamashtu reacted with a glare and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Let me tell you something about this reality...goddess," Jin began walking toward her. Getting at the side of the bed, he got in her face.
"...you have none of your abilities...none of your powers...no immortality...none of your subordinates...everyone you have ever known in Hell of the other world...is gone...you are just like me...flesh...bone...mortal."
"Telling me the conditions again...of transcending into this world...is not going to intimidate me...dear," she stated giving him a cruel smile and moved closer to him.
"Even the fact that I can overpower you...with just mortal powers...doesn't stir you at all huh," he stated mildly mocking her.
"...well...it might depending on how you...overpower me..." Allison replied lifting her hands to his face. He grabbed her wrists slowly and held them from touching his face. Thinking that would make her irritated, she continued to give an evil smile.
"How about this dear...you entertain me here...I will hide you and give you your sanctuary...what do you say?"
"...I'm listening..." Jin responded with stoic expression and looking down at her. Seeing her bare her teeth at him with a grin, she began to explain.