1 Neophyte
"For the ones who dream of stranger worlds." -V.E. Schwab
"He's here!"
"Let's pick him up"
* * *
The sky was covered with clouds. The streets were busy. A deafening sound of the engine of the bus consumed entirely the whole trip. Lukas was sitting beside the window. He was overwhelmed by the sight of the city of Tagum. No wonder why it is called the City of Palm because tall palm trees beside the road welcome you at its grandest like royalty.
He can smell the city, busy streets, random people, the smoke of the car. He never has been in Tagum. It was his first time to have a glimpse of it. Though he heard a lot about the city from the place he left. It was true, it is just like a small piece cropped out from Davao City and located in another direction. He was glad that he will not worry about missing his home.
His home? He wondered.
He saw a building with big mirrors and great posts, the Provincial office. It was quietly enormous. Across the street was the Provincial Sports Complex. It has great facilities and establishments. The bus often stops to drop some passenger corner by corner. He saw a glimpse of a carenderia-a small stall where you can eat and buy foods, budget-friendly as well. He realized, he has not consumed food since the bus departed from the Davao terminal and he did not have the chance to snatch an opportunity to buy something to eat at stopovers because the bus seems to be in a hurry. Pushing back the thought might help, he assumed.
Not knowingly, they now arrived at the bus terminal. He waited for the other passenger to empty the bus. He does not want to join them rushing to get out of the bus. A feeling of excitement and hesitant composed inside him. What life awaits him in the city. The place is stranger to him as well as him, a stranger to the city.
He observed the place. The crowd consumed the whole place, differ from each other. From their age, gender, skin color, dresses, and everything. Well, every human being is unique to each other, no one is alike. Even him, he is aware of his own.
Two people were on his way. A man with his grey shirt that perfectly fits his body paired with a knee-length plain black short, with his hair just right above his ear and headphone back on his neck. He was just tall as him, he thought. A woman, obviously shorter than him, worn a black off-shoulder top showing her well-shaped collar bone. Her skin was pale, just like him. A skin showing after the end of her clothes. She partnered it with a flowy black skirt printed with patterned small flames. How odd-fashion taste they have, his mind said.
The two stood in front of him, just near that he could smell their perfume, or it is? Their scents were a mixture of amusement and nauseous.
He took his handkerchief from his pocket. He felt dizzy and about to throw up. He had a sensation of his feeling at the moment. He remembered his stomach was empty. He heard the guy said something. He dropped the handkerchief, unknowingly. "Who are you? You are not them" said Luke.
"Welcome Lucian, at last!" the guy uttered. The woman beside her chuckled with eagerness. Her laugh cracked out of the air. It was a pain to his ear. "I am Cassandra and this is my brother, Arthuro." She smiled "Cass and Art", she offered her hand, a gesture of a handshake. Luke hesitated. Cass rolled her eyes in the air, "That's very, welcoming."
His heart was pounding against his chest. He felt the fast movement of his organ. He was astonished by his consciousness. Afraid, fear, horror. His body shivered to cold.
He kneels, losing hold of his bag. He turned his hand to a fist. Something grabbed him from the back. He felt the hardness of the hand. It was strong, a lot of force. He forced himself to look back with difficulty. It was the guy. He was shocked by how he missed the guy moved to his back.
His strength was losing, the vision too. It fades from blurry to black. His hand opened from a fist. He lost consciousness.
He passed out.
* * *
"Someone took him first."
"Uncle must know about this."
"Right. We should go back, immediately."
