Setting out

Two days have already passed since that night. But they had not seen anyone from Hinson family during this time.

In the morning of the first day Aunt Rey called them and told that she had also left. She told them to feel at home and be careful. But when Lian walked passed by the door to the Donald's office he saw a soldier standing in front of it.

'Fell at home, huh, Aunt Rey?' Lian thought sarcastically.

During the first day he tried different things to check how his ability works. After all, it was not eye-catching. As in contrast to his sister's. So he could easily test everything he could think of.

Still he didn't want to rush everything. He did a light workout for an hour or so in the small gym on the underground floor. Then he returned to his room and practiced French and playing the guitar.

…

On the second day he found out that his physique has really improved. From his 10 pull ups max per repetition he could do yesterday he was now capable to do 16. He progressed in other exercises as well.

His sister was in the gym too. She had nothing to do, so she decided it was a good idea to have a work out. But it looked like her physique really became better after acquiring her ability, so she could go toe to toe with Lian's results.

"Bro, are you really a man? I can do same as you, and I'm just a 16-year-old girl." She trolled him from time to time.

"We'll see soon how you are going to compete with me." Lian answered calmly. He understood that he just needed time, and patience and he would be able to learn or train in anything with his ability.

…

And now it was the third day.

In the morning after waking up, eating and reading a bit Lian didn't go to the gym. He instead went to the Donald's office. To be precise, he was going not into his office but to the soldier guarding it.

When he got there, he saw that a person was still standing there with a gun in his hands.

'Well, it is good that he thinks that he can hold us off by himself. As they say "The less you know…"' Lian thought to himself.

"Sorry, I can't allow you entry here." The soldier saw Lian a few seconds later. He bowed his head a little bit, as if apologizing. But his eyes never left Lian's body. He did not wear anything covering his face now, so Lian could see him clearly. He was a man, not looking even 30 years-old. He had shortly-cut dark hair, a square jaw and overall, he reminded Lian of Peeta from Hunger games. His voice sounded a bit familiar as well. A second later Lian realized that the captain of the squad three days prior talked in this same voice.

"I could guess that much." Lian said in a calm voice.

He really liked this soldier's attitude. He even apologized when he could just shoo Lian away. It showed that he didn't want any conflicts to make things difficult. It would be an easier talk than what Lian had imagined.

"But I actually came to ask you for help."

"Has something happened?" The soldier asked, quickly reaching his hand to his walkie-talkie, on a ready to report whatever happened. He then looked intently at Lian.

"Yes, some bloody hell has happened a few days ago. I want you to help me with that." Lian took a small pause here to look at that soldier.

The soldier did not move. He just continued looking at Lian. Taking this as a sign that soldier was ready to hear what he had to say, Lian continued.

"I have never learned how to fight before. I thought that I could do so when I joined army a few years from now... But, as you see, the situation now is really dangerous, and I have no methods to protect myself. I understand that I can't ask you for a weapon, but some sort of protection method is a must. So, I wanted to ask you to help me with this problem. I was wondering if you have free time to teach me some sort of Military Martial Arts."

Lian gave a few seconds to the soldier to think over what he had just said, and then continued not giving him a chance to respond.

"Of course I know that any kind of knowledge costs something. So I could speak up a few words for you in front of General Hinson when I get to see him again."

After saying that, Lian stopped talking and looked at the soldier, waiting for his reply. He knew that if that person was not a fool he would see that, if Lian could speak up for him, he could also do the opposite if he was not willing to teach him. Whether he would believe that or not was a completely different question, though.

And for whether Lian could really talk up for him... Lian himself did not care about his promise. He just wanted to see how long it will take him to learn something like hand-to-hand combat. After all it was a completely different concept from learning a foreign language and more difficult than playing a guitar.

'Blackmailing people is not a glorious thing… Lying also is a bad thing. Who cares though? Not me for sure. Still, you better accept that proposal, or I will have to ask Mary for a favor.'

The soldier took off his hand from the radio and looked at Lian with a long stare.

"Sure, I can help you with this." The soldier said in a neutral voice. "Though I need you to know that army hand combat training is harsh and demanding. So, if something happens to you, I have nothing to do with it."

'Are you trying to threaten me?' Lian thought with some amusement.

"I guess that is alright. Learning any martial art is very difficult and can result in an injury." Lian was showing understanding on the surface. "So, how should I address you, and when can we begin?"

"Call me Trush. We can start in the evening. I will come at 8pm. Find a spacious place to train in till then." The soldier answered and then gestured with his hand. "Now go. Don't disturb my duty."

"Thank you, Trush. See you soon." Lian bowed forward and went away.

'Well, then. Should I go and train some more? Nah, don't feel like that today. There has been no news from the government for the past few days. Did everything really blow up? Soldiers are still in front of the house, so everything should be alright? I also can't connect to any social networks. Seems like servers are down. But I can still call my parents, so mobile networks should be still alright.'

Lian walked up the stairs towards his room.

'No idea, though, when aunt, uncle and Alan will be back. Was he really taken for the experiments? Too bad for him then. Sorry Alan, I could not tell them that me or my sister got abilities, could I? I wonder if there are many people left in the city. Oh, I could probably try to sneak out? Need to bring sis, though, or I can easily get into trouble if something happens. Too bad I can't rain lightning from the skies.'

Lian entered his room and saw his sister sitting in the bed, playing with her smartphone. She rose her head to look at her brother.

"You are already back? Thought you will go to the gym again. No? Are you already disinterested in it? "

"Alright-alright, sis. Stop it, please. I know how you like to make fun of me, but I have question for you. I plan to go out for some time. What do you think about it?" Lian sat down opposite his sister.

At this question Sofi's expression became a bit uncomfortable and unsure.

"Well…" She began hesitantly. "We can try, but are you sure those guys will let us leave?"

"Why not? I don't think they really care about whether we are here or not. If we leave they will have one less thing to worry about. At least for some time. And we can go and look at what the city has become like. "

"And what for do we need that?" Sofi continued asking.

"Well, I want to find someone and ask a few questions. We were locked here for two and a half days straight. We can't access social networks and the last news we had was 'Do not panic'. We need to look for ourselves what is happening outside to decide what to do next." Lian patiently explained what he wanted. He had an idea that Sofi was still uncomfortable with her lack of emotions after killing a person.

"Um… Alright then. Do we need to take anything with us now?" Sofi stood from the bed in pajamas.

"Oh…" Lian was caught off guard by his sister's quick decision. And, although he understood that asking this question was not a good idea, he still could not help it. "Sis, is everything alright? That guy's death…"

He was interrupted by Sofi. "Everything is alright. It is even better this way, don't you think so? It is easier to roam the city with me having no feelings for people's lives. It is more pragmatic. I can kill a few more people if it means our safety and well-being."

'What the hell did she think about to come to such a conclusion? Though, I must admit, it is the best mindset for the current situation.' Lian thought. He had mixed feelings. He was glad that his sister did not enter some sort of depression after what has happened. But he was apprehensive about her killer-machine thoughts.

"Sis, like last time. Follow my orders, don't act rashly or do anything by yourself. Unless we are in an imminent danger and I don't see it."

"Alright. Could you leave the room please? I need to change clothes. And should go to the bathroom too. Let's move out in half an hour." Sofi shooed him out of the room.

"I'm waiting at the first floor then." Lian stood up and walked out of the room. Heading to the first floor he began to think about what was to come.

'Sister is indifferent to killing. Although any morally upright person would say that this is bad and immoral, that person would probably die with a knife in his back from our dead robber… So, I think that I would give the same command if we get into such a situation once more. And sis will probably follow suit.'

Thinking over the things one more time, Lian confirmed this mentality to be the best for the current troubled time.

'So then, we will go outside. What if we meet some cops or army? Are they going to shoot? Then we better be careful about them. And if we meet somebody with abilities? Well, no idea. If everybody has same overpowered abilities as my sister, we better not mess with them. But for me it looks like most abilities should not be this destructive. Otherwise the city would have been done for already.'

Lian came downstairs, sat on a sofa in a waiting room and just spent next thirty minutes thinking, making plans and daydreaming a bit.

'Ah, it would be so cool to meet my friends. And then to find out that they all have overpowered abilities. Then we can make a gang and we will have nothing to worry about…'

"Lian, I'm ready."

While Lian was daydreaming, he heard a voice calling out to him. He opened his eyes and saw his sister standing in front of the sofa. She wore jeans, Nike boots and a black sweatshirt. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her face was opened up. Looking at her carefully, Lian saw that her facial features has changed. All the excessive fat on her cheeks that used to make them round was gone. Her high cheek bones could now be easily spotted, and with her thin lips, small straight nose and rather large for a western person eyes together with newly found resolve burning in them made her the picture of person full of determination and willpower.

"Great, let's go then." He stood up and went to the front door.