Thank you all for reading so far. I'd appreciate some feedback for the story 3
Another note is that this story is a Gwevin focused romance. I understand some people don't like the ship and I completely respect that. But I'd also appreciate some respect. If you don't like the Gwevin ship, then you're free to read through any other story that doesn't focus on it. Leaving reviews when you disagree with the ship and don't intend to read the story feels discouraging and plain rude even if it isn't someone's intention.
Once again, thank you!
I touch my head against the car window as soft rain splatters on the windshield. I don't know what to think about today. I don't know how I'll explain Denise's situation or at least delay it until I find a solution.
"Your friend will be okay," Kevin says, almost comfortingly. I turn and smile at him. He presses his lips together. "At least, that's my opinion…"
"Thank you," I say. "For helping me and for coming with me just now. You didn't have to."
"I can't just let you die. Because this is a suicide mission, ya know? He doesn't seem like the 'negotiate and help' type of guy. He's more of the… murderous type," he continues. "Besides, he owes me my money."
I roll my eyes. Why am I not surprised?
"So, is that your plan for the future? And for your 'rehab'?"
"I told you I don't like to be—"
"Lectured, I know. But what if you're caught? What if someone gives you in?" I pause, waiting. "What if I give you in?"
He doesn't respond. He continues to stare at the road ahead as if wanting to avoid talking to me. I see the radio tower appearing in the distance, and chills run up and down my spine, knowing we are getting closer.
I can't understand Kevin. He appears different, in a good way. No longer crazy-minded, and almost normal from afar. He has a second chance in his hands, and few people get that, so why is he trying to risk it all? I want to ask him, but I know it will lead to his defensiveness, and this isn't what we need right now—not when we are so near the enemy.
"Do you think he'll be alone?" I ask, deciding a change of subject is a better idea.
Kevin shrugs, his gaze never leaving the road. "Doubt it. Guys like him? They never like to be outnumbered."
I nod, feeling a cold knot tighten in my stomach. I'm not just walking into danger's way, I'm actively sprinting towards it. But just the thought of Denise makes me think I need to do this. I'm still unsure what this creature's powers are. For all I know, he could snap a finger and kill Denise before I could even find a way to help her. This is what's truly pushing me towards a stupid and impulsive decision like this—knowing that it could be too late. Or it might already be too late… I don't know.
"We need a plan," I murmur. "We can't just… walk in there."
"You think I don't know that?" Kevin says, glancing at me. "Look, I know we've had our… differences," he emphasizes the word as if unsure how to approach it. "But right now, you kinda need to trust me, you know? It is risky…"
He's right. I know he is. I need to trust him, and he needs to trust me in return, even temporarily. Otherwise, we might as well both be dead. Possibly. It won't work otherwise, and I'm aware of it. But at the same time, I need to be cautious. Denise is waiting for me back there, and one mistake could endanger her.
"I have some gadgets in the back of my truck in case we need them," he continues despite my silence. "Non-lethal, but they should give us an edge."
"Could they possibly be used against us?"
"No, they're not that kind. We're only taking them for precaution—in case we need to fight."
"We?" I ask, lifting an eyebrow.
He parks his car near the shadowed area of the radio tower, and I gulp with both nervousness and fear. We're finally here.
"Duh?" he says. "I told you, he owes me my money—money I need."
I smile, genuinely. Kevin avoids my gaze as we both exit the car and he heads to the trunk of his car. A part of me wants to believe that he's doing this for more than just money.
"Thank yo—"
"Here," he interrupts me, as if not wanting to hear it. I look at what he's holding, and I'm surprised that it's just a small, metallic disk. Nothing fancy, and nothing I can understand. I look at him in question and hesitantly grab it. "Stick this on your shirt. It's a shield booster. Won't stop a bullet, but it'll soften the blow… in case we have to deal with that, that is."
I clip it on, feeling a strange hum against my chest and stomach.
"Not like this." He takes a step closer to me, closing the space between us.
He looks at my shirt and adjusts the disc on it, and a blush creeps up on my face. I'm not used to close proximity with guys, especially when I can feel Kevin's breath against my face. I turn my head to the side, hoping he won't see, but when I turn back, I can see his smirk plastered on his face.
"There, that should be fine," he says and takes a step back. I feel relief at avoiding the embarrassment, but at the same time, I wish it had lasted for a second longer. It's probably my fear playing tricks on me.
"Are you ready?"
I nod, my head finally clearing up. "Let's do this."
We move stealthily towards the tower, the rain muffling our footsteps. Every shadow seems threatening, every noise a potential alarm. My heart hammers in my chest.
Just as the building comes into full view, the air around it shimmers, and a host of creatures materialize, surrounding the tower. They're made of pulsating black energy, their forms barely distinguishable from the rain and mist, yet unmistakably threatening.
"What are those things?" I ask.
"Amperon's guards, I guess?" Kevin says.
"Amperon?" I ask, surprised by the name.
"Oh, yeah that's his name apparently. It just came to me."
I stare at Kevin in confusion. "Right. Amperon then."
"Anyways, these creatures are nothing we can't get through." He cracks his knuckles together and is about to walk towards one of them.
"Wait!" I yell out, placing my hand on his shoulder. "We don't know how many of them are in there. I think we should take it… slow."
"Forget it. That's not how I—"
"Work? Yes, I'm aware. But we are not barging in there. Let me at least check what we are dealing with."
Before Kevin can object, my eyes have already turned a bright shade of pink. I know he's aware, considering his silence. I try to concentrate on the building, which has at least three floors, and I make a mental note of every abnormal aura and energy I sense around me. I close my eyes and reopen them, their color back to normal again.
"There are only three in this building," I note. "But over ten on the second floor. I don't think we can just 'punch' our way in. We need a better plan, because they definitely don't use bullets."
My phone rings as I'm about to warn Kevin further about his impulsive and dangerous plan. I nearly jump out of my skin. The unexpected vibration feels like a jolt of electricity in the tense silence of the night. Hastily, I grab it from my pocket and pick it up.
"Yes?" I answer, keeping my voice as steady as possible despite my racing heart.
Kevin shoots me a look and mouths 'really?' but I can't care less at that moment. It's my mom, and it's already far too late for her not to have noticed my absence.
"Gwendolyn, where are you? It has been hours since school finished and—"
"Sorry, Mom, Denise and I were studying for the exam tomorrow," I lie smoothly, adding a touch of exhaustion to my voice to make it more believable. "I forgot to tell you, but I'm staying over... we need to prepare for a project too."
"Hello, big alien trying to kill humanity here," Kevin says, not loud enough for my mom to hear, waiting for me to hang up.
I roll my eyes, then look the other way while still on the phone.
"If it's with Denise then it's okay. But don't work too hard, okay? I'm sure you'll ace the test."
"Thanks, Mom. I'll call you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Gwen." I place the phone back in my pocket and turn to Kevin.
"Really?" is all he says.
"Just because I'm here with you doesn't mean I don't have a family."
Kevin chooses not to comment further and instead nods in agreement, as if he can relate. I wonder if he has a family, someone waiting for him at home. Maybe a mother? A part of me wants to ask him, but I know better than to expect an honest response—or a response at all.
"Anyways, back to business now." His hand touches a metal pole next to us, his body transforming into shiny metal right away. I stare at him in surprise and astonishment. And once again, I'm filled with questions I want to ask him, though I know it's not the time.
"We can try and—ah!"
I wince in pain, and my body swoons to the side. I prepare to hit the ground, but Kevin catches me in time, with one hand wrapped around my waist.
"Are you okay?"
"It's happening again," I say.
"Your headache thing?"
"Yes, it's… it's visions," I continue, deep in breath. "I think it's caused by Amperon. I feel the same energy every time, the same one I felt when I first encountered him."
Kevin holds me closer, as if he's afraid I'll fall straight to the ground. His eyebrows are raised and his touch is awfully gentle, almost as if he believes he might hurt me. The visions stop all at once. An odd numbness overcomes me, but I'm able to stand by myself now. Kevin doesn't realize this and continues to hold onto me.
"Maybe we should deal with your vision issue first before going for a fight," he suggests.
I gently push away from his grasp and straighten my slightly crumpled clothes. I shake my head at his words. "It's fine now, it doesn't last long."
Kevin is unsure, I can tell, but we don't have another option right now. Stalling wouldn't help either. Plus, we are already here. We start walking again, until we are 50 meters away from the entrance of the radio tower.
We both spot the figure standing there, and I squint to take a better look. Although it's hard to see, there is a black mist surrounding its body and a red glow around its eyes. Whatever it is, it barely resembles a human. What is most surprising, however, is the fact that it's doing absolutely nothing—it's just standing there, almost in a limbo state, staring ahead at nothing specific. Maybe that means its defenses are down?
Kevin clenches his fists, and decides to walk ahead toward the monster. The creature doesn't react at first, continuing to stare off as if hypnotized. But once Kevin is maybe 5 meters in front of me, its whole body shifts toward us and its red eyes widen.
I quickly walk ahead. I don't like where this is going. I charge and hit it with my power quickly, but it does nothing. The monster materializes a shield in mere seconds, blocking my attack.
Kevin raises his hand high and punches the creature where its eyes are located. His fist goes straight through the monster, but it still stumbles back. I wait for it to react, and its eyes turn toward both of us. It looks like it's analyzing us. In one quick movement, it shoots a black blast of mist toward Kevin.
My reflexes react purely out of instinct, and I project a shield to protect him. It stops mere centimeters away from Kevin's face.
"Thanks," he says. I nod at him.
I gather a pink energy ball and throw it at the creature once again. This time, it hits the creature directly, severing its arm. The arm falls to the muddy ground, slowly disappearing into an ashy substance and flying into the sky.
"Okay, that was freaky."
"Tell me about it," I comment.
Kevin rushes ahead and punches its other arm, trying to replicate the results from before. But it doesn't do much. I create an energy whip, slamming the monster directly onto the ground. This gives Kevin enough time to run and punch it. He punches it once. Twice. Then again. He continues until I lose count, and until the monster stops moving.
The monsters lets out a loud scream, so high-pitched and penetrating it vibrates through my whole body and hurts my ears. Once it stops, its body remains lifeless on the ground and it materializes into nothingness, disappearing into the air around us.
"What the hell are these things?" Kevin asks, catching his breath.
"It looks like…I think it's his creations. They resemble him and his powers."
"I'll go with that theory," he says.
Kevin returns to normal and then uses his powers to absorb the bronze door. His arm switches to bronze, and he shoves his key in the door, until it expands and breaks the door in half.
"I didn't know you could do that. I thought punching things was all you could do."
Kevin shrugs. "I can do more. I just prefer punching."
He's about to step inside, but I place my hand on his shoulder. "Wait."
I close my eyes and use my powers to locate the rest of them.
"There aren't any creatures on the first floor. I think they're all upstairs," I continue. "I don't know if we can take all of them on. Not like this."
"Oh, trust me, we definitely can." Kevin opens the door and enters the building.
"Kevin!" I yell. "It's too risky, you can't just go barging in like that."
I'm not surprised when he doesn't listen. He rushes inside, and I follow behind him. He absorbs a metal surface once again, turning into metal, and I summon my mana, waiting for an attack to happen at any moment.
We're inside a small room, which I assume to be a back storage room. It's filled with junk and machinery that doesn't work. I take a good look around me, but Kevin rushes ahead toward the door. He kicks the door down and I gasp. He isn't just actively running into danger, he's trying to announce our location.
"They could hear us!" I yell out.
Kevin steps ahead, and once again, I follow him. My shoulders relax when I realize there truly is no one on this floor, and Kevin appears to be less tense as well.
"I guess they're all upstairs then," I say. "We should take it slow."
"I don't like 'slow.'"
"Well, I do. And we're going to do this my way."
Kevin grunts in annoyance but doesn't object. Right, we are both meant to trust each other and collaborate. Perhaps he remembers our conversation from before.
"Remember, slowly," I emphasize, "and we'll attack the creatures in the first room, okay? No barging in or yelling." I feel as if I'm lecturing a child.
He looks like he wants to object, but I glare at him when he does so. After a moment, we both come to an agreement and quickly move on. As we climb up the stairs, the lights are all off and it's difficult to see anything in here. I can summon my mana for light, but I'm afraid we might be found out.
"Stay close to the wall," I say to Kevin.
As we cross through the hallway, we enter the first room we find unlocked. I point to the two monsters that are standing there and press a finger to my lips, warning Kevin to stay quiet. Kevin nods, smirks, and crouches toward them. I hold my breath when I see Kevin reach his arms around the monster, placing it in a chokehold. It barely seems to affect it.
Using my mana, I create a sharp surface toward the ceiling. I point my hands downward, and it lands directly onto the monster, cutting its head off in one single movement. Although I hope it's effective, I'm overwhelmed with horror when the severed head turns toward the both of us and its red eyes widen.
And then it happens. Its mouth opens so wide that it's basically all I can see, and it makes the loudest, screeching noise I have ever heard. The scream bounces from wall to wall and travels across the whole building. Kevin and I hold our ears, and I feel like my eardrums will explode.
And then it suddenly stops. But the momentary relief is replaced by horror at the realization that all the other creatures are heading our way.
"So much for stealth," Kevin says. He punches the severed head, and it bounces off the wall until it finally disappears into mist.
"Kevin, watch out!" I call out. I raise my hand and create a shield around his whole body, protecting him from a surge of black ash. "This is really bad, they're all coming."
"I think your cousin would be very useful in this situation."
I'm about to comment when I feel something reach toward my leg. I turn to my left and stretch my leg forward, kicking the monster further away from me. I quickly back away. But the more steps I take, the more monsters continue to pour into the room until we are both surrounded. My back touches Kevin's, and I straighten my back. It's twelve against two.
"Are you ready?" Kevin asks.
I turn my head slightly to the side to look at him. "Ready for what?"
"For this," he says as he reaches to the ground. He pulls a large piece of the concrete wall and throws it directly at them. It works to temporarily immobilize them. I quickly go into action, summoning as many mana beams as I can and throwing them at the monsters, seriously injuring some of them. One falls to the ground, unable to move, while another one only has its arms cut off.
I move forward with a front flip and jump over some debris. I put my hands together, summoning a storm over one of them. It's a small cloud, combined with mana rain that falls over it. It creates holes throughout their bodies and melts the ash monsters away until they evaporate into nothing.
"Maybe do more of that," Kevin says.
"I'll try."
I do it once more, turning my attention to the three monsters by Kevin's side. I summon a bigger one, then call for Kevin to move to the side. The mana rain continues to fall, melting them away and giving us the opportunity to flee. Though there's no way we would.
"Gwen, behind you!" calls Kevin. He runs up to me, holding my body and pushing me to the ground as he stands protectively over me. He hisses as if he's been hit, and I take hold of him, helping him to the side. When I inspect him for any injuries, I notice a tear on his shirt, but there is no visible sign of any wound.
I stand up and quickly make another mini-mana cloud, instantly killing the monster that hurt Kevin. I help Kevin to his feet and support him as we move.
"Can you walk?" I ask.
"Yes. Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay. I think we got them all," I say, looking around with pride. The room is a mess, with holes all over the walls, debris and dust everywhere. But at least the monsters are gone.
"Where is he?" Kevin says with a groan. He holds a hand over his wound and then stretches his shoulders. "All of his freaks were here, but I don't see him."
I close my eyes and touch my fingers against my temples. "I can feel his energy somewhere here."
"Let's keep looking then."
I move ahead towards a door that leads to an outside railing. Before I can move further, Kevin gently holds my arm and stops me.
"Wait," he says. "Let me go first."
I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.
"You're unprotected. Absorbing metal gives me some sort of shield in case someone attacks us without warning."
Kevin moves ahead, and I stay close behind him. I keep carefully inspecting the room, making sure to remain on the lookout in case anything unusual happens. The aura of this place isn't normal. It feels threatening, yet I can't sense any other creatures. It's almost as if the place is empty and full at the same time.
We reach the door that leads outside, and we slowly open it. A loud noise, almost like electricity zapping, echoes all around. Kevin and I share a worried look, but we head up the stairs and towards the roof of the building. We move a bit slower once we reach the top, as the growing wind is dangerous and could knock us off at any moment. A storm is coming, and the wind is only making it worse.
At the top of the roof, the sound is ten times louder. It makes it impossible to hear anything. When I look over to my side, my eyes widen and I poke Kevin to catch his attention. He's here. Amperon. He's standing near the antenna, patiently waiting. He hasn't noticed us yet, and he looks rather concentrated on what he's doing. Something tells me he knows we are here. If I can sense him, then I think he can sense me as well.
"Careful," I whisper to Kevin.
Kevin gestures ahead, suggesting we move to the side of the roof where some metal bars offer us a hiding spot, and he suggests that we get ready to attack. I move back and tiptoe forward. I summon my powers and with a deep breath, I shoot a large energy ball directly at Amperon.
I stare with anticipation. But Amperon raises his hands and blocks my attack. I stand there with my mouth open, knowing this is about to get really bad.
"You're finally here," Amperon says with an emotionless expression.
Kevin and I share a knowing look. Something feels wrong.