บท 14: The Smell of Fear
Lynd and Meryl felt terrified. Who would have thought that their internet exposure would draw in the Brass Fist?
"I have a business proposal for you, Seeker Carlean." Cliff laughed.
Seeker's angry frowned slowly turned into a happy smile.
"What a coincidence! Now that I think about it, I have a proposal for you too!" Seeker returned with a smile that was devoid of all fear.
Cliff was surprised at Seeker's reaction. He expected shivering, silence, or pleading. But this kid actually looked happy?
"I think we should find a more secretive place to discuss this. Do you know of any other places that are more conducive than the open grounds of school?" Seeker asked innocently.
"Well, of course! Anything for my business partner! In fact, I know the perfect place! Let's go together after school! It would be a shame if my partners would get lost."
"See you later then. Let's go." Seeker led his two friends away.
Cliff ignored Seeker's nonchalant attitude. He knew that this was the kid who experienced a manic breakdown two days ago.
Lynd and Meryl tried to match Seeker's pace. After an intense discussion with the most dangerous person in school, the two tried to walk as fast as they could to get away from Cliff, but their ailing leg prevented them from doing so.
Students couldn't help but stare at the odd pace the three walked.
"Zeek? Do you know what you're doing?" Lynd worriedly asks.
"Oh geez, don't be a baby, Lynd! You've seen how Zeek could dodge a bullet! Zeek would be sure to give that Cliff Fangwood something that his fangs couldn't scratch! Right, Zeek?" Meryl's confident tone changed to an inquiringly worried voice at the end of the sentence.
"Don't worry about him. I just thought of a good way to use him." Seeker smiled.
Lynd and Meryl were relieved. Things were easier when you're with a super teen.
"Anyways, Zeek, what about the workout? I don't think I could type if we push through with it later on. Can't we give it a rest?" Meryl complained once more.
"No. We need to get you guys used to extreme movements. Otherwise, we can't dive into phase two of your workouts. Once you guys are ready, I'll even have Charles join us."
"Wait. Is Charles going to join us? Have you seen his abs?"
"No, Meryl. I don't search for images of his abs." Seeker sardonically replied.
"I'm just saying, you can't group Lynd and me with him to do whatever exercises you want." Meryl then blushed.
"And man, his abs are yummy. Are you going to have abs like him, Zeek?"
Seeker gave a disgusted look at Meryl.
"Well, of course, you will! I can't wait to get my hands on those delightful rocks!" Meryl stared greedily at Seeker.
"When I signed the contract of our friendship, I was sure that there was no clause indicating that I have to reveal my abs to you and have you touch it."
"I'm adding a clause right now!" Meryl joyfully countered.
"Umm… Yeah. Going back to the workout Zeek." Lynd inquired pleadingly.
Seeker gave an exasperated sigh.
"You don't have a choice, guys. I need to ensure you guys get into the first steps of the Unlocking."
"Unlock us? Why would you need to unlock us?" Meryl gave a surprised cry.
"If I can't unlock you guys, then the future would probably remain as bleak as it was. I can't do everything by myself, you guys should know that by now." Seeker started getting more and more frustrated.
"Zeek, Why are you trying to unlock us? It's not as if we'd be soldiers like you, right?" Lynd asked with a confused expression.
"You aren't, but that's not the point." Seeker waved his hands in anger.
The two were startled at Seeker's sudden rage and remained silent.
"Sorry, Zeek. It's just that we don't have the memories that you have. We aren't soldiers. We're just some Rising students. You know how capable we are. It would be not right if you demanded more from us." Meryl calmly spoke.
Seeker remained silent.
The bell rang, and students started to shuffle towards the class. Seeker's pace started to increase as he rushed to class. But Lynd and Meryl continued with their snail-paced walk.
The class carried on as usual. Lynd and Meryl gave a curious stare when Ms. Alean Cipril arrived to teach her usual lesson. Who would have thought that her father would be involved in something terrible as human trafficking? They couldn't help but wonder if she is involved as well.
The classes for that day had no unusual occurrences. Seeker remained passive in everything while Meryl and Lynd wondered how long they will experience peaceful days like this.
The class later ended, and the trio walked out of school to meet a group of eight students. Leading the eight was the delinquent that they just met earlier, Cliff Fangwood. The group smiled at a distance. They knew that with the many watchful eyes around, they couldn't touch Seeker. Cliff casually nodded his head, indicating that Seeker was to follow.
Seeker merely smiled. Lynd and Meryl were no longer afraid. They knew that if Seeker could display this confident smile, no harm would befall them. They slowly followed the group of eight.
Cliff led the gang towards a small park, which was no longer maintained by the city. The park used to have beautiful flowers and was regularly maintained as many visitors would relax at this place thanks to the serene sounds caused by the nearby river. However, as the water slowly became more and more polluted, fewer people visited the park, and soon, it was abandoned by the government.
Seeker knew that they would be led here. This was the known hideout for Cliff and his gang.
"So, Seeker…" Cliff began. He stared at Seeker with a haughty expression.
"Now that you are here, I hope you can enjoy our hospitality." The seven teens who followed Cliff started to stand around Seeker and his group.
"My business proposal is simple. I want all your Credits. Everything that you earn from your game guide is now mine." Cliff arrogantly demanded.
"And what do I get in return?" Seeker calmly asked.
"You don't get punched by me. You think I'm scared of your mom? So what if she works in this school?" Cliff mocked.
Seeker laughed.
"That's a very unfair proposal. Why should I accept?"
Cliff looked angry.
"Let me get this into your brain-damaged head. Because I will beat the crap out of you! See this?" Cliff took out the Brass Fist.
"Do you want to get punched by this? Brass Fist is always looking for some stupid nerd to hit! You should fear me!" Cliff arrogantly clenched his fist with the brass knuckles.
"Fear you?" Seeker smiled.
"Do you even know what fear is?" As soon as they heard Seeker, Cliff and his gang felt as if the air itself disappeared. They couldn't breathe. An unexplainable dread started to clutch their hearts.
"Fear is caused by a number of factors." Seeker calmly walked around Cliff. Cliff started shivering as he saw this.
Seeker approached one of Cliff's gang members. The student started to back away in fear at the sight of Seeker approaching.
"When you see a tiger slowly approach you, your brain interprets that as a threat. That is fear." Seeker smiled as he approached closer. The teen couldn't even speak or cry out. His fears were escalating as Seeker's steps drew nearer.
"But how does the brain do that? The answer? Sometimes it deduces what to fear is based on your knowledge. If you don't know if something is poisonous, you won't be afraid of eating it." Seeker smiled at the terrorized teen.
The teen stumbled back. Except for Meryl and Lynd, none of the other students could move. They were scared stiff at the unthreatening sight of Seeker walking.
"The brain may also instinctively know what to fear. This is because the brain may interpret an unfamiliar object, person, or idea as something to fear."
Seeker turned around and returned to the center of the circle. Every one of Cliff's gang tried to back away, but somehow they felt that their body wasn't responding.
"Both knowledge and ignorance may lead to fear." Seeker stood in the center and started clacking his knuckles.
At the sound of the unremarkable cracks of Seeker's knuckles, several of the students flinched.
"As you can see, fear can also be heightened based on the circumstance and scenarios present. The brain takes into consideration sight, sounds, and senses. This is why the sound of a gunshot is interpreted as a threat, and people panic when they hear that sound."
After saying this sentence, Seeker immediately dashed towards another student. The poor student couldn't react at Seeker's sudden acceleration.
CLAP!
Seeker clapped his hands directly in front of the teen's face. The shock of Seeker's sudden movement, paired with the loud clap, caused the student to immediately stumble. The student started to convulse as he lay on the grassy earth.
Everyone, including Lynd and Meryl, started to sweat in fear. A mere clap caused this person to faint.
"There is another method to induce fear. And it's that very method that's causing you to be intensely frightened right now."
Seeker slowly approached Cliff.
"And that method is through smell." Seeker smiled. That smile was etched deep into Cliff's memories.
POW!
A tooth shattering uppercut was delivered, and Cliff stumbled down. The jolt of pain awakened him from his paralyzed state. However, Seeker's uppercut shook his entire being. His vision was blurry, he tried to stand, but he was too dizzy. Cliff started to crawl, and the moment he finally regained a bit of sense as to where he was and what was happening around, he saw several of his friends on the ground beaten and bleeding. As he gazed upward, he was even more horrified. Seeker was using another teen as a human log and smashed this teen to another.
Seeker tossed the pummeled body of the teen-log, and then Seeker dashed towards Cliff. A white blur was all that Cliff could see, and then he felt a sudden pain in his face as Seeker smashed his kneecap towards Cliff's face.
Cliff stumbled back, facing the sky. He couldn't move anymore. He gazed at the vast sky and could hear various screams of pain. He had no doubt that those were his friends pleading for their lives. But despite the hysterical screams, Cliff allowed peace to take over. Slowly his consciousness left him.
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