The amount of soldiers that Kai saw while in the city the next day was alarming. He was also afraid that he wouldn’t be able to find any Chi. From what Jun said, pharmacies were on high alert that an ‘intruder’ was looking for it. Maybe a hospital would be less wary of him. Plenty of people in hospitals had scars.
However, Kai felt like there was more to do than to just get Chi. The divide between the east and west needed to end. He knew taking out the leader in the east wouldn’t suddenly solve everything, but it could be a start. If he could make the people in the east aware of the hardships those in the west faced, maybe they would open their eyes. If the people retaliated, the government couldn’t stop them all.
Kai ignored the hunger pains he felt, as well as the physical pain. Jun hurt him pretty badly, but Kai couldn’t be deterred. Any signs of weakness could get him killed.
“Shit.” Kai ducked when he saw a soldier making his rounds around the circumference of the nearest urgent care. It wasn’t a hospital, but they probably had Chi. He backed up towards the shopping district behind him and, as he turned around, nearly crashed into someone. When he looked at them to apologize, his jaw dropped.
“Careful. You okay?” The man in front of Kai gave him a once-over.
“I-yeah.” Kai managed to get out. He wouldn’t expect his father to know what he looked like, given his parents abandoned him at such a young age. “Sorry.” Of all people, why did Kai have to run into his father?
“Honey?” Kai knew that voice. It was his mother. She approached them from the entrance of a restaurant and stood next to her husband. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing. Just a little collision.” Kai’s father smiled at him. He couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.
“Wait…” His mother’s gaze never left Kai’s face. “...Kai?”
“I have to go.” Kai was about to turn around, but his father grabbed his wrist.
“Is it really you, Kai?” His father had an unreadable expression on his face.
“...Yes.” Kai managed to respond.
“What are you doing here?” His mother clutched onto her purse strap.
“Asa is really sick. I came to get him medication.” Kai didn’t want to ask the people who abandoned him and his brother for help, but maybe they had some semblance of a conscience. Especially if their son was dying.
“Asa?” Kai’s father mulled over the name. “Oh, your brother?”
“He’s also your son.” Kai gritted his teeth.
“What happened to your face?” His mother abruptly asked.
“Someone tried to attack Asa when we were younger and I had to protect him.” Kai crossed his arms over his chest.
“Trying to play hero, huh?” Kai’s dad grinned at him. “What medication do you need?”
“Chi.”
Kai’s mother and father looked at each other before they spoke to Kai.
“Here, come home with us. We can help you get Chi.” Kai’s mother finally said.
As much as Kai wanted to object, he couldn’t. His parents must have had enough of a heart to help Asa not die.
Kai followed his parents to a taxi and they went to their home. Kai was amazed at how beautiful the house was. He never got to live like they did, even when his parents were still with him.
“Come in. I’ll get you something to eat.” Kai’s mother ushered him into the house. She exchanged a look with her husband before they closed the front door.
“Thanks.” Kai managed to say. He sat down with his father, palms sweaty from his nerves despite the cold weather outside.
“We can’t help you get the medication until tomorrow.” Kai’s father looked down at his phone and typed on it. “There’s some around here, though. How about you stay here tonight?”
“Really?” Kai’s eyes lit up. He was stupid for considering accepting the offer, but he had been so lonely for so many years. He had Asa, but Kai was always the older one and had to be responsible. He never got to have a childhood and having people actually help him out meant a lot to him.
“Here.” Kai’s mother brought him some food and both of his parents sat with him as he ate.
“So,” Kai set down the napkin he was holding, “How is life in the east treating you?”
“Amazing.” Kai’s mother responded. “Utterly amazing. How is the west? How is school? You’re almost eighteen now, right?”
“Schools were shut down a long time ago. We don’t have enough resources to get a proper meal, let alone go to school.” Kai paused. “The west is in shambles. We have nothing. Also, I’m twenty-two.”
“Oh,” Kai’s father elected to ignore everything else Kai said, “Twenty-two. Wow.”
“Why don’t you take a rest for a bit? We have a guest room on the second floor.” Kai’s mother suggested. “Clean yourself up, too.
“Okay.” Kai got up. He didn’t really want to make conversation anyway, so he went upstairs and found the guest room. He cleaned himself up and locked the door before he laid down.
As soon as Kai’s head hit the pillow, he fell asleep. However, his internal body clock didn’t let him sleep as long as he wanted to. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but it was seven in the evening. Kai got up and unlocked the door. He was about to head downstairs until he heard his parents speaking to someone.
“Yes, it’s him.” Kai’s mother said. “Scar and everything. I can give you any information you need, given he is our son. If you have that, there’s no chance he can get away.”
“And we will compensate you two greatly for the inconvenience.” A man whose voice he didn’t recognize responded.
“Much appreciated. He’s upstairs. Go down the hall and it’s the second door on your right. Please, take whatever measures you need. We ended our relationship with him long ago because of his antics. He’s lied multiple times, stating that we abandoned him in the west. That is false. He ran away at a young age and stayed in the west. He’s a liar.” Kai’s father sighed. “Do whatever you need to do.”
Kai locked the door to the room once more and his heart raced. He was a fool for thinking his parents would help him. He was just so exhausted from everything he went through, that a comfortable bed and meal caused him to let his guard down.
There was a window in the room, so Kai quietly opened it and threw his bag down before he crawled out.
There wasn’t a balcony as much as a decorative fence that posed as a stepping stool for Kai. He closed the window and grabbed onto the fencing. He gripped onto it and let himself drop, so he could hang from the fence. He needed to create as little space between him and the ground as possible. Kai didn’t think a broken leg was going to benefit him.
Luckily, Kai dropped and grabbed his bag before he ran. He had no idea where he was going, but it didn’t matter. The further he got from his parents, the better.
When Kai felt like his chest was going to explode, he slowed down and collapsed onto a bench that was in the park he ran into. He bit off more than he could chew and the worst part was that he couldn’t call his brother and help relieve the stress of wondering if Kai was okay or not.
Kai’s body was stiff. Combined with the injuries he had from Jun, the running exacerbated all of the pain he felt. He couldn’t imagine lifting his legs and running. They were stuck.
“Shit.” Kai mumbled to himself when he saw a figure approaching. He couldn’t get himself up to run.
“Hi there.” Jun came into view once he was under a lamp post. “You’re a tough man to track down, you know that?”
“I get that a lot.” Kai responded. He shuffled himself to the edge of the bench, so he could force himself up and make a run for it.
Jun must have caught on because, as soon as Kai got up, Jun lunged for him.
Kai could already hear sirens in the distance. Even if he got away from Jun, he would be shot down.
Jun shoved Kai against a tree in the park. He pressed his forearm against Kai’s neck and used his other hand to cover Kai’s mouth.
“Don’t make any noises, unless you want to die.” Jun whispered to Kai. Kai could feel his legs getting slightly numb from Jun’s position on him. He couldn’t run even if he wanted to.
Jun stared intensely at Kai and Kai did the same.
When the sirens passed, Jun removed his hand from Kai’s mouth, but kept his forearm pressed against Kai’s neck.
“Why’d you run away from me?” Jun asked Kai. a blank expression on his face.
“I told you,” Kai sighed, “I’m going to get my brother Chi. You said you were going to turn me in. Why wouldn’t I run away? I mean, come on. It’s not like I could have taken the Chi I already got.” He glared at Jun.
Jun got up and held Kai’s wrist tightly in his hand. “Come with me.” He said.
Kai tried to resist, but Jun practically dragged him along. When they got in front of a black van, Jun opened the back of it and eyed Kai expectantly.
“Get in.” Jun looked at Kai.
Kai tried to pull away and Jun gave him a pointed look.
“I’m not going to turn you in. We’re going to talk. Get in.” Jun shoved Kai into the back of the van and went in after him. Jun closed the back doors of the van and watched Kai rub his elbow.
Any seats that would typically be in the van were removed and, instead, were replaced with various boxes that Kai was afraid to know what was in them. It was similar to the van he had taken, except there was no divide between the front of the van and the back. It was just as spacious.
“Sit.” Jun demanded and Kai obliged. He hated being told what to do.
“What do you want?” Kai kept his bag close to his side.
“It’s more what you want, isn’t it?” Jun raised his brow. “You aren’t being very careful, you know. You’re quite recognizable, if that wasn’t obvious. But I’m sure you let your guard down when you saw your parents.”
“...I wasn’t expecting them to turn me in. It was pure desperation going with them. I even explained to them that my brother was sick.” Kai ran a hand through his hair. “I’m assuming you got the call that they reported me?”
“Mhm. Like the other soldiers.” Jun nodded. “I knew you would be gone by the time they got there, which was why I waited.”
“Figures.” Kai mumbled. “So, what are you going to do now?”
“I’m thinking about it.” Jun responded. “You were right about one thing. They’re going to kill you if they find you. You’re considered a hindrance to the east and now they know your name. Now, I’ll make a deal with you. If you’re interested. There’s no way you can do this on your own. You’ll be slaughtered.”
“What’s the deal?” Kai sat up as much as he could. He winced slightly as he did so. His body didn’t want to work after everything he went through.
“I’ll help you get Chi. I’m going to look into the Great Separation and see if you’re bullshitting or not. If I find out you are, I kill you without helping you. If you’re being genuine, I’ll help you get Chi and we can get it to your brother.” Jun paused. “The catch is that you have to let me turn you in after. I send you to your death in return for your brother’s survival.”
“Okay.” Kai said far too quickly, shocking Jun slightly. “That’s fine. Can I write a letter to him if I don’t get to deliver the Chi to him? You can give it to him, I just want to be able to tell him how much I love him and assure him that he will be okay without me.”
“Oh…alright.” Jun had an unreadable expression on his face. “That’s fine.”
“I–” Kai hesitated. “Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me? I just told you I’m going to kill you.” Jun looked at Kai.
“Because you’re going to help me. I went to my parents as a last resort and thought it was the end for me.” Kai smiled to himself. “I’m just thinking about how happy Asa is going to be when he’s healthy.”
“Don’t get all excited yet.” Jun shook his head. “You’re still wanted. They’re going to come after you. You can’t hide and you can’t do this alone. You have to work with me and do everything I say. If you betray me even once, I’ll slit your throat on the spot.”
“I’ll listen.” Kai responded.
“If I let you stay in this van, you cannot drive away from me. You hear me?” Jun raised his brow and eyed Kai expectantly. “You stay where I tell you to stay and you go where I tell you to go.”
“Fine, fine. That’s all fine. I won’t be stupid.” Kai sighed.
“And show me everything you have in your bag.” Jun motioned to the bag Kai had close to him.
“Why?” Kai held his bag tighter. “I don’t have a gun.”
“Let me look. All weapons have to go.” Jun said. “Open up the bag and drop everything here.” He motioned to the floor in between them.
The last thing Kai wanted to do was let some asshole rifle through his things again, but he had to oblige. Helping Kai was the least Jun could do, and Kai had to play along until he made sure Asa was okay.
Kai begrudgingly opened the bag and emptied the contents in front of Jun. Apparently Jun didn’t get a good enough look the last time he ransacked Kai’s bag.
“You barely have anything.” Jun picked up a bottle of painkillers. He threw the uniform Kai took to the side and continued to look through his things. “Why did you leave so much of your stuff home before you came here? You knew this was going to be a tough task.”
“This is everything I have from home.” Kai picked up a notebook. “I had an emergency phone, too. It’s either still in that hotel room, or you have it.” He opened the notebook. “I wrote down as much as I could about Chi.” The pages were tattered and water damaged, but Jun could tell that Kai most likely found it that way.
“This is everything you have? Surely, that’s not true. Also, I don’t have your phone.” Jun moved to sit next to Kai, so he could look at the notebook. Kai had to try his hardest not to punch Jun.
“It is.” Kai looked over at Jun momentarily. “Well, besides a couple of shirts and stuff like that.”
“Did you give your brother everything, or what?” Jun couldn’t understand why Kai didn’t have anything.
“I get him as much as I can, but he also doesn’t have a lot. I got lucky finding some blankets and stuff for him. We don’t have a proper bed and the last thing I want is for someone who is already aching and sick to sleep on the hard ground.” Kai flipped to the next page. “Anyway, there isn’t much I know. But this is my best shot at helping my brother.”
“I don’t need to see that anymore. It’s not useful.” Jun closed the notebook Kai was holding. Truthfully, he felt bad that Kai had nothing. It made him wonder if the rest of the west was truly the same.
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