In the middle of a broken, shabby street, a young girl—long shoulder-length black hair with a bright brown complexion, slightly silvery irises, a perfectly shaped face laced in a moderately enchanting beauty with a tinge of innocence, about 14 years old—hastily walks, following behind an older teenager with a darker complexion, brown hair, and a few inches taller, being the only difference between the two. The street is a little crowded with many people moving towards one direction. A siren is heard wailing in the distance where most people are moving towards. The two, on the other hand, don't seem to mind the commotion. In fact, the two seem to be enjoying the show.
"Why do you think Aedar dislikes the organisations that are part of The Pact so much?" the boy asks. "Ey, I get that Abstract is shitty, especially considering all the blood collection in exchange for resources and all, but why all the others? It really doesn't make sense, especially considering he ain't telling us shit."
"Don't tell me you can't feel something is not right with these guys, especially considering some remarkable people end up disappearing a while after interacting with them, Jake." Amereiln looks inquisitively, then adds quietly, "Not to remind you of those who come back becoming more dogs with inflated egos than human. Can't say I feel any different."
The two cross two more streets until they come to a more deserted street before Jake turns to her and sighs. "I get all that, Rain, but not all of them come back abnormal anyway. Personally, I think your opinion is solely based on Aedar's biased opinion of them, hehehe. Not to say I would join them, but if it wasn't for his crazy disgust for them, I'd have fallen hook, line, and sinker for what they offer."
"Sometimes I think you hold the greed card in the family. It's crazy to think you are entrusted with dealing with Ted, and we ain't dead yet—not to mention that eccentric guy. What's his name again?"
"Tch, leave him out of it. Ndung'u is a pretty great guy—plus he is kinda normal other than the eccentric need to praise the Circle of Creation during his endeavours. What else is so bad about him? Plus, isn't he the guy who bought you that necklace? Ahh! I remember now—Aedar took it as soon as he gave the present, almost like he was afraid of a guy stealing his woman! HA! HA! HA! Or a father who wants his daughter to stay home forever. Sometimes I think he is in love with you just as much as you are with him." Jake laughs without end.
"Where does that put you? After all, you have broken more bones and smashed in teeth of many more people than him, and all they have in common is that they approached me one way or the other. Not to mention the times when you got your ass saved by Avery and brother after your fight went south. I don't have to remind you the time when Ted saved you when you almost died fighting in my name while solving your grudges. Don't even mention the fact that you fought Ndung'u the first time we met. Should I remind y..."
"Okay, those were completely reasonable, especially considering it's been two years since you met him. You were young, and I also think you'd know better than to think letting Aedar handle everything would end in anything good. We are already outcasts as we are—it'd be bad if many more disappeared after a clash with us. God knows he ain't as forgiving, especially after those two." Jake's mood turns malicious as he says the last words.
"Yeah." Amereiln's mood also turns sour, and they continue to move till they are outside an old-looking house with another teenager sitting right on the verandah.
The kid on the verandah has short ebony black hair, barely an inch long, a light brown complexion, irises matching the hair, and clad in an oversized hood. His gaze turns a little lively for a second as the two approach but slowly seems to dim to a certain extent.
"Find anything from Ted?" Aedar asks.
"Nothing out of the usual. Truth be told, I ain't sure why y'all in so much distress lately. Other than the new drugs and the improving conditions of most people, I can't tell any red flags really—but hey, if it's just you, I'll believe, but the two of you are uneasy, and that doesn't make me feel any better." Jake sighs. "Besides, that Karis said that most of the information brokers are strained, and some of our own seem to have found escape into the organisations."
"Yeah, school also has more organisation proactive campaigns since the last week. I feel this foreboding might have something to do with it, or at the very least someone involved with them."
Aedar frowns, then stands up and walks to the door, and the two follow and move to the dimly lit room with two huge couches and a large table in the middle. There is a small kitchen area to the side and a corridor on the very end. The three sit down, and Aedar takes out a paper and places it on the table.
"Two of ours are gone to the organisations, one's gone missing, and another's dead. From what I can tell, Ones has also gone completely underground, and you are aware of how hard he is to find—not to consider what would happen if I were to be followed trying to find him and his crew. This is the clue he left behind. My worries were not unfounded—there is something they're looking for, and most of the younger ones have it, and now they don't seem to feel like hiding it with blood donations and research contributions. Things are not looking good."
"Did you find what they are after?" Jake asks worriedly as he picks up the papers.
"Why now?" Amereiln asks in frustration.
"You all know there is a lot of weird shit going on, especially the last two years." Aedar looks at the others, and they lean in in thought.
"I think some of the outcast groups might be involved. The recent drug activity in the street is too high to be detached from the organisations. Should we leave the town?" Jake looks at Aedar worriedly. "I think underground is the best option until we prepare to leave the place."
Jake passes the papers to Amereiln, and she skims through them and frowns. She shakes involuntarily, then looks at Aedar with a cold look.
"This doesn't seem to be just about the outcasts, is it?" Amereiln asks.
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In the year 2097, after people settled a bit and settlements like the town Daraja were established, the organisations started recruitments. And during that time, the little that remained of the human civilization started to change. The change was there before the year 2097—it was just not noticeable. After all, those who had any big change were pretty much dead. After all, they were too close to the holes, and the lifeforms that came out weren't all that accommodating.
The organisations that came to be were mostly based near these places with holes or around them. The organisations seemed to want to keep this hidden so that all those who manifested the least bit of abnormalities were all for grabs by the organisations after the slightest whiff of the information on it. The only problem was that as the energy on the surface became stronger, people started to get a little stronger. But with everyone getting stronger, it wasn't really noticeable, and the masses were simply told it was the energy in the world creating haywire conditions—a believable lie. After all, most of those alive had seen what had happened to technology after the holes started opening.
Most of the organisations were simply a way to recruit the most extraordinary-looking people. Hell, those who had a whiff of anything slightly above what was considered the apparent ordinary were also taken. Some simply disappeared from the general public. Some danger was thus accompanied with the opportunity of working with organisations of The Pact. Many flocked to the organisations. After all, it's like going to the hive to get the honey with no equipment while in a desert. Despite this, some completely refused to associate with most of these organisations, and thus outcasts were born in the city of Daraja.
These three orphans were one among many outcasts. There were many like them, but most had turned to organisations. After all, most outcasts were kinda ostracized in a sense, but those who could protect themselves were not pushed too much. As for the changes in the nature of human beings, the three were not entirely clueless. After all, they wouldn't survive if they were weak.
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