Read The Gifted: Far Traveler :: 8. Anastasia

Luka DeFranco had solidified his grip on power by acquiring Jozef’s failing research center, seamlessly folding it into the sprawling empire of his Holo Company. While the world spun on, Felix found himself adrift, off duty and drowning in a sea of alcohol. His days blurred into nights spent in the tavern, where each evening was marked by the hauntingly beautiful voice of Anastasia. He never found the courage to call her, yet she seemed to watch him more intently than he dared to look at her. In the shadows of his life, Emil and Leonid had begun to distance themselves, their avoidance palpable, a silent acknowledgment of the tumultuous events that had unraveled. The news of Helena’s body being discovered in the woods came as both a shock and a grim acceptance. The papers labeled it a suicide, a narrative that turned Felix’s stomach. It was a cruel twist of fate that Leonid Medvedev, a name synonymous with criminality, was now a hiker in the eyes of the world. Irony dripped from the situation, and Felix couldn’t help but find a dark humor in it. Of course, they would label it a suicide. Of course, they would evade accountability. And of course, Vivi would have to grow up haunted by the specter of her mother’s death. But this time would be different; this time, he would be there to help her navigate the darkness. Yet as he sat in the tavern, drowning in his thoughts, he felt an overwhelming sense of impotence. It burned within him, a rage fueled by uncertainty and fear. He had no idea what to do, and that realization gnawed at him like a relentless parasite. The tavern was beginning to close for the night, the waiter making multiple attempts to usher him out. Felix, however, was far from ready to leave the sanctuary of his bottle. The alcohol blurred his vision and dulled the edges of his pain, and as the laughter bubbled up from deep within, he found a twisted amusement in the way the waitstaff hesitated to approach him. They were too intimidated by his notorious reputation, the whispers of his past lending him a certain fearsome allure. Suddenly, a scream pierced through the dimly lit room, jolting him from his stupor.

“What’s happening there?” he asked, hugging one of the waiters.

“The boss must be there.”

“Boss?”

“Luka DeFranco.”

“Wasn’t he the boss of that fancy shithole of a restaurant?”

“Here, he’s also the boss, as the owner of this place is in debt, and his daughter has to pay part of that debt.”

Felix laughed. “Ugly bastard, can’t even find someone who likes him…” He said, heading to the backstage.

“Felix, wait!” the waiter screamed but didn’t follow.

There he found Anastasia struggling to keep that man, who always smelled good and was always dressed nicely, away from her. She was pushing him while he was grabbing her body until he saw Felix standing there at the door, playing with a dagger.

“You are off duty, boy; leave!” the man ordered, but the same fear was in Luka’s eyes as it had been in the waiters' before.

“No, you will leave.”

“You want Nikolai to give you another lesson?”

“If it will be for killing you now, it will be worth it,” Felix said with an ominous smile on his face. Luka let Anastasia go, and the girl, in a panic, ran to Felix, grabbing his hand.

“I’m just a singer here; I’m not your whore,” she said.

“You will be what I order.”

“And what do you order?” Felix asked. Luka didn’t give him an answer. He was wise enough to recognize a youngster with a burning passion to kill. Felix’s eyes were black, and the way he was holding the dagger suggested he was ready to throw it at any second. Luka left, slowly turning around trying to hide humiliation on his face, but he hated Felix at that moment with burning passion.

Anastasia was quick to let go of Felix once the man was gone.

“Thank you,” she said calmly.

“But I owe you nothing.” She added and turned her head. It was years he knew the boy. He basically grew up in front of her very eyes and now, at nineteen she couldn't deny his presence anymore. He grew into handsome young man.

“Fair enough.”

Minutes passed. He was just standing there, with no intention to leave—not because of her, but because he knew he had nowhere to go. Finally, she embraced him, as he dropped his dagger.

“I’m tired; I hate them, I hate this life, I hate this town, I hate myself,” he wanted to say but didn’t. Still, it was as if she knew, as she knew he needed that hug.

“Luka sent you this,” Gleb showed up at Felix’s house the next morning.

“What is this?” Felix asked while sitting in his underwear and his hair undone. His former father figure pulled him out of bed, and the boy was cheeky enough not to put on any clothes to greet him.

“Some family owes a lot to Holo Company; you need to confiscate their house.”

“This is a house?” Felix asked, turning over a photograph he found in the file. It was a small family home, not a villa.

“Yes.”

“I’m not doing this.” He said, throwing the file on the ground.

“Boy…”

“Boy?” Felix asked curiously, seeing Gleb change. He didn’t see Felix as his son anymore. He was looking at him the same way Nikolai was—like a problem.

“Sir?”

“Felix, you can’t fight them.”

“I know.”

He knew he couldn’t. But he also knew he must live. He must survive. He decided that very same night at some celebration they hosted. Nikolai was celebrating the birthday of one of his children. He had a wife and five or six kids. They never experienced pain as Felix did, as his aunt did, as many children Jozef would experiment on. He was looking at them, laughing, cheering, asking why they could have it while others would experience happiness only in the afterlife, if any of this were true. It wasn’t fair, but if he screamed and jumped on them, he would only end up beaten again. Finally, he had to admit to himself that he was weak—too weak to face his mentor, and his blood enemy Nikolai. The man he wanted to become, the man he wanted to take everything from in order to have a chance to change anything in this broken world.

“Felix…” Emil asked him in a thin voice, seeing his former friend grabbing a knife for the whole night without eating anything. Emil never recovered from Nikolai’s attack; his face remained ruined.

He didn’t answer but left the party early.

Finally, he took that paper Anastasia had given him months ago. He took it and called.

“I have a plan,” he said. And indeed, he had a plan: stealing money from Luka’s house, as much as he could, and running away. To where? To anywhere. Anastasia wouldn't think twice before joining him on this crazy adventure. Not because it was an opportunity but because she knew she had no other choice.

They left for Sochi, living on the coast for more than two years, spending enormous amounts of money, and once they would run out, Felix used his powers to gain more. He didn’t choose his victims; as long as they were rich and privileged, they were fair game.

They were riding luxurious cars, wearing designer clothes, renting the priciest apartments and houses, and once they grew bored of one city, they would move to another. It was a good life. With this luxury, passion bloomed; Felix was finally old enough to seduce his first crush, and she gave him everything.

“I once belonged to that man, to Luka,” she once confessed.

“I don’t care,” Felix would reply while holding her in his arms.

“Nikolai too,” she added.

The boy smirked. “I couldn’t care less…” he added and kissed her to stop her from confessing more. He promised to take everything from them, and this was only the beginning.