Unexpected

This encounter lasted no more than 5 minutes, but it was a turning point in Lian's life.

With his sister's help Lian removed the woman's corpse from the middle of the road and put it under a tree on the sidewalk. Then he searched the man's body for ammo and they got on their way.

'Only 6 cartridges are left altogether...'

"So, Lian." His sister began speaking after a few minutes of silence. "Are you alright?"

"Better then ever." He said with calm voice. "You don't have to worry, I've decided for myself what I should do."

"Good."

And they continued on their way.

…

Running through the silent and empty city full of ruins and dead bodies is a bloodcurdling experience. And although Lian could not let go of his emotions, but he now began to understand what Sofi meant.

'This people are nobody for me, so why should I care? More so when they are dead. Better hurry to Jane's house. I really hope she is safe.'

Jane. She was a girl younger then Lian by a year. Both in age and in university. Her jokes could always make the atmosphere merrier and light. She was really easy to speak with and always seemed like she was in good mood. She was also very knowledgeable, so it was also very interesting for Lian to talk to her.

The main reason, though, why Lian chose to go there first was that he knew that she had a crush on him. And, although Lian did not show it in any way. But before all this happened, if he wanted to get into relationship, she would be the first person he would choose. And now…

'Dumbass, was so high and mighty. Used to think that I can find a better girl. But thinking about it now. Haaaah… So stupid. After all the time we spent together… it was so enjoyable… if I could not contact her I think I would still run to her place first… Hope she had not left her house and seen all these happenings.'

Lian had never experienced that type of love about which poets write beautiful words like 'raging fire' or 'destined love'. That type when you always think about a person and try to be especially good for him. That type of love when you can not find any fault in your loved one or are ready to give up anything you have on hand just to meet him.

No, he did not put an act to look good in front of somebody or cared about what others thought about him. He just behaved like he normally did. And, although he had a number of friends, Jane was the one he spent the most enjoyable time with. It was not some passionate love, but the one where he knew that he will have nothing to worry about or to hide, because she was always ready to make fun of him when it was appropriate or to listen and to help when needed. And now a voice in his head told him 'Find her. Or you will regret.'

'Ruined city full of dead bodies is a perfect place to think about love matters, huh?' Lian criticized himself. 'Still, I'm thankful that my brain began working before it was too late... I would have no idea what to do otherwise. But I regret I have not spoken to her earlier.'

"Sis, you know. The girl we will meet soon. Jane. Well, I would like to confess to her." Lian said unexpectedly in a quiet voice while running. He wanted his sister to know about his thoughts.

"Huh? What girl would like to become your girlfriend?" Sofi stopped and gave Lian an odd gaze.

"Sis, please don't joke. I'm talking about serious matters here." Lian gestured to her to continue moving. "We had just encountered so many tragical scenes, you know. Is it really the right time to make fun of me?"

"Same question here. I think you are the one making fun of me."

"No. I'm not in a mood for it." He said, sighing. The feeling of hurting a person, and then having his blood spilled over you. Lian found it disturbing and unsettling. Although he came to a conclusion that he will kill if necessary, it did not mean that he will do it with pleasure. Quite the opposite.

"Alright. Then tell me about your illusional girlfriend." Sofi saw that her brother was not ready for jokes now, so she shifted topic a little bit.

"Hmhm… You will see for yourself soon." Lian understood that even if his mood improved somehow and he stabilized his emotions, he should not let his concentration slip because of idle talk.

Otherwise, something unpleasant might happen. "Let's stop with this chatter. Better tell me, what do you think about our army headquarters being in ruin?"

Sofi frowned. A few black lines appeared between her eyebrows. "It was obviously destroyed not that long ago. And, what is more, it was intentional."

"I've got the same idea. But do you have anything else you saw or realized when you saw the ruins?" Lian continued asking. Even though he had some conjectures, he had no data to base them upon, so everything was only speculation for now.

"No. But I must say it is very strange that we did not hear any explosions, sounds of building's collapse or whatever sounds would accompany such a situation…" Sofi pointed out the thing she found the strangest.

"Agreed, and if the lack of sounds of shots outside Hinson's house we can still explain. Than this is really strange. Such big building collapsed, after all, it can't just pass by unnoticed." Lian began thinking hard. "Can it be some sort of ability that isolates sounds? Prevents them from passing through some barrier? Or just silences everything in the vicinity?"

"It could be? Also, what had happened to Hinson family?" Sofi said uncertainly.

Lian looked at her face and only now did he realize that it was strange. 'So, she does not care when it comes to other people's life, but she can still express all her emotions. She can still have fun and hesitation. Did this change really come with her acquiring her ability?'

But he immediately dismissed all the thoughts about such untimely topic.

"Whatever, for now we just need to meet our friends, no need to worry about those, who don't worry much about us. Also, if those people attacked the army, it means they are probably against the government. It also means that it is a group that was able to coordinate people two days, or so, after calamity to attack a protected by army territory. They should be powerful and influential even after this disaster to do that. So we should try not to get in the crossfire. Maybe even leave The Hinson's residence."

Lian just said everything that he had on his mind. Maybe some conjectures were partially or totally wrong. But he just wanted to tell his sister the picture that he had in mind, so that she could understand what he was thinking and act accordingly.

"Then what about Mary?" He heard her sister's voice from the side.

"Mary…" It was really a difficult question, as he did not want to leave her alone there. A girl with a gun, who did not know what had happened to her family or what awaits her in this city. But at the same time, she, most likely, would not leave the house. She was too used to following her father's words.

"Let's see how it goes. We will talk to her about it. And only then decide what to do."

"Then let's do as you say. By the way, how long we still have to run? And how long will it take us to reach Sofi after?"

"Em… About thirty minutes more? Or something like that. And then to go to Sofi's place. Should be about one more hour after that? But that is if we run all the way. I'm pretty sure that it will take more time… I don't think Jane can run all the way. Not if she hadn't developed an ability, at least."

"Um, I see some bikes parked over there, should we grab a pair? It should be much faster, right?" Sofi said pointing at a few bikes, standing in a row a hundred meters away, near the entrance to a side alley. They were of different colors and sizes. It was obviously some good and pretty expensive bikes. What is more, not all of them had chain locks, so it was a perfect spot to get some free transport.

"Sis, you are great, I did not see it at all. Let's get one each. But take the one on which you can take a second person." Lian moved towards the bikes to choose a fitting one.

'Their owners are probably dead now, so it can't be considered stealing?' He thought, a bit sad. This process of reevaluating human's life was too difficult for a 20-year-old boy.

After a minute or so they were already on the way. Lian was riding on a black bike that looked really comfortable and had a second seat to carry another person. Sofi was riding the same model but of a red color.

"Now then, I can assure you, we will be much quicker. Even though we have to maneuver around cars sometimes, it is still faster then going on foot." Lian told Sofi. He was feeling anxiety and anticipation over his future meeting with Jane.

"That's good."

"Sis, I wanted to ask you. How are you using your ability? I mean, do you have to gather some sort of energy in your body? Or do you have to control some sort of particles in the atmosphere? How does that work?" Lian changed the topic. It was important to know what to expect from his sister's ability.

He wanted to talk about it on the very first day. But, at first, he was too worried about getting to a safe place to talk about it. Then he instructed Sofi not to talk about abilities himself. And when they got onto the streets again, he was in no mood to learn anything about it.

"Em… No… I just want a lightning to strike. And then it strikes. Nothing more." Sofi told her brother honestly. Although on the inside she was a bit stumped by how much he overcomplicates things.

"And… that's it?" Lian questioned, bewildered. 'Should not such strong ability be difficult to use? And she should understand how it works, right?'

"That's it"

But hearing her answer, Lian felt like it was him who was overthinking everything.

"But how do you regulate how strong a lightning should be? Why did it fell from the sky at the first time, and during the second encounter it flew from your hand? How do you know how many times you can use it?"

"Because I could not make such strong lightning strike in my body, so I had to create in in the atmosphere." Sofi said, recalling how she felt at those times. "I just know everything about it. It is like instinctual knowledge."

"So there are still some sort of rules that restrict your ability…" Lian said with a pondering expression. Then he shook his head and gripped tightly the handlebars, speeding up

…

After about ten more minutes they were already not far from Jane's house when Lian saw an inconceivable scene.

With his improved eyesight he was able to see a person walking 50 meters ahead of him in their direction, waving his hands at them. It was not even the bottle of rum in that person's hand that was already opened and from which the liquid was spilling that surprised Lian or an old-fashioned flintlock pistol that was hanging by his waist, but the person himself.

"What the hell is Johnny Depp doing here?"

Lian really saw Johnny Depp walking towards them. Or, to be precise, Captain Jack Sparrow. He was wearing his usual outfit with his iconic tricorne on the head, beads in his hair and a compass on his neck.

As Lian and Sofi saw this incredible scene, they stopped their bikes and looked at the figure, not knowing what to think.