It was nightfall. 

Before he could orient himself, someone grabbed his left arm and pulled him back. He looked back and saw a very tall Advent Guard behind him. Then, Kevin glanced at his arm. It was smaller. Somehow, he was a child again.

What the-

"Kevin!" yelled a female voice that he recognized.

Mom?!

Kevin turned toward the voice and saw his mother, Alexcia. She was younger than he remembered, and very pregnant. She struggled to break free from the Advent Guards that had restrained her and dragged her toward a large SUV nearby.

"Mom!" he cried with his childlike voice for her and stretched his other hand, trying to reach her, knowing it was pointless as the Advent guard pulled him away

There was another flash, and Kevin was no longer being held by an Advent Guard. He was standing in place. He was still a child, and now, he was surrounded by Advent Guards in every direction. They had their guns aimed at him, ready to fire.

Where am I?

A couple of the guards began to move, and Kevin realized they were opening a path for a man with an eye patch. He wore a brown overcoat over his tan three-piece suit with matching fedora. Kevin recognized this well-dressed gentleman to be an Agent, highly trained personnel who only oversees seirei jin captures that are class “A” or “S”. 

The Agent stood next to a young man that Kevin recognized as his own father David. A couple of soldiers forced his father down to his knees. Kevin looked to the well-dressed man for answers, and the man only glared back. 

“Kevin, I'm OK, son," his father yelled. "You need to calm down."

Calm down; what is he—Kevin stopped mid-thought as his right arm rose on its own. What the hell? I can’t control my arm.

He watched his own body as though he was outside of it, raising his right hand toward the Guards who stood behind his father. Blue energy rose like steam from his body. He could feel an immense power building within. Kevin watched helplessly as he pointed at one of the Guards closest to his father. Energy built around his first finger.

"No, I-“

Kevin’s attention diverted for a moment. He saw the teen with the buzz cut watching from a distance, hiding behind several parked cars nearby. 

"Is that…”

Without warning, he released the energy blast from his finger, and it rocketed toward the enemy. 

Another flash of light brought Kevin back to the mall. Time had briefly ceased during that encounter, and now resumed. Kevin caught himself from falling and hunched over, catching his breath, shocked over everything that had just happened. His heart was racing. His body trembled.

What the hell was that?

He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. When he finally was able to stand again, he was met with another surprise: the teen with the buzz cut was still there, staring at him with fear. If Kevin didn’t know any better, he would think that he and the teen just went through the same vision. They both looked a little nauseous, shocked, and curious. 

The more Kevin looked at the teen, he looked mostly normal, if not a little scraggly. Yet, something about him was different. Kevin felt Johnny and Sara approach behind him, having finally torn their gazes from the TV and become aware of the situation.

"Hey Kev, you alright?" Johnny said gingerly.

Kevin ignored him. There was something about this weird kid that kept his focus. Suddenly, Kevin saw what he swore was a quick flash of purple light in the teen’s pupils. He blinked. The teen’s pupils were now very dilated. Kevin felt a warm sensation come over him, centering in his eyes. He wanted to respond, even though he didn’t know what that meant. His eyes grew warmer and warmer until the strange mark in his right pupil glowed white, seemingly in response. The teen’s eyes returned to normal; he watched as the strange mark turned dull.

He blocked my gaze, the teen thought.

The sensation Kevin felt faded as quickly as it had come, and it was replaced by a burning pain in both his right eye and the scar. It was excruciating. Kevin placed his hand over the scar and closed his right eye with a groan. Nothing he did seemed to ease the discomfort. It felt like someone had pressed a hot iron over the right side of his face. 

The teen’s curious expression transformed into one of wonder.

"Whoa, no way," the teen said under his breath. His expression curled into a smile.

At that moment, Kevin's friends couldn’t wait any longer for answers.

"Kevin, are you alright?" Sara asked, more forcefully this time. She turned to the teen, who was still staring at Kevin.

"Did you do something to him?" 

Her sharp voice finally seemed to snap the teen out of his thoughts. Without hesitation, he fled toward the nearby mall exit. 

"Hey!” she called out. “I was talking to you!" 

Her voice echoed through the empty mall. The strange teen was already out the door.

She looked back at Kevin, who had now regained his composure. His body had stopped trembling, and the pain had subsided. He straightened up and exhaled in relief.

"Dude, you alright?" Johnny asked.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Let's get out of here."

His friends were more than willing to follow his lead. Outside, darkness had fallen. Only streetlights now illuminated the night. The trio usually parked their motorcycles on the north side of the mall, and they now approached the lot together. 

Sara waited until she was mounting her motorcycle before she began asking questions.

"What was that all about?" 

Johnny pulled his helmet on, already on his bike. 

"Yeah, I mean, we only looked away for a second. And when we looked back, you looked like hell. Did he do something to you?" 

Kevin remained silent as he got on his own bike. Even he couldn't figure out what had just happened. Thoughts raced in his head. Should he try to tell his friends what he saw? What had he seen anyway? And if he told them, would they even believe him? 

His thoughts then shifted to the teen in the mall. Kevin was so used to ignoring the jeers and looks of fear and disgust that he usually received from his classmates. But this teen hadn’t been afraid of him. That fact made him feel much more at ease. 

"It was nothing,” he said as he put on his helmet. “I just got startled when he bumped into me, that's all.”

The two stared at Kevin, expecting more explanation. He quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, the race is on Saturday after graduation,” he continued. “I say we do a couple of practice laps after school tomorrow."

Both Sara and Johnny nodded in agreement. Kevin revved up his bike, putting an end to the conversation, and his friends followed. 

Once they got onto the main road, Sara went in one direction, and Johnny and Kevin traveled together opposite. Sara drove so quickly that they could hear her bike for at least the first mile after she left them. The two boys cruised at a slightly more reasonable speed. They swerved off the highway and toward their neighborhood.

Once they reached a red light, Johnny looked over at Kevin. Clearly, the guy was on autopilot. Something was on his mind. Johnny pressed a button on his helmet’s Bluetooth device, which dialed the number to Kevin's cell phone. This caught Kevin's attention and woke him from his deep train of thought. He pressed the answer button on his own helmet.

"Yeah, man, what's up?"

"I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Johnny said. “I mean, it looks like that guy really got to you. Did he make fun of the way you look?"

Before Kevin could answer, the traffic light turned green.

"Just drop it already," Kevin snapped, his bike climbing in speed. "All I care about is winning this race. We’ve got one more day to practice, and only one chance to make it to Nationals. And whether we win or lose, I'm leaving this place behind."

The two wove through cars with ease as they drew closer to their respective exits.

Johnny sighed. He never understood why his friend got into these moods. 

"What makes you think leaving this place and starting over will change anything?" 

Kevin was silent.

Johnny continued pushing. "It doesn't matter whether you stay here or go someplace else. Not everybody is gonna like you. The ones who accept you for who you are? They are the ones to lean on. But honestly, it all starts with accepting yourself."

Kevin scooted over into the turn lane. Johnny now rode beside him.

"It's hard to accept yourself when people always want to remind you how they see you," Kevin replied.

Johnny sighed once more. He stretched out his arm and balled his hand into a fist.

"Just shrug it off man,” he said. “I'll see ya tomorrow."

Kevin stretched out his own arm and bumped his friend's fist. Then, the two parted ways, as Kevin turned left onto his street.