Day Of The Test

Early in the morning, the door clicked open and Obed walked in with a medium-sized black bag on his back.

He looked around the room for a minute as if he had misplaced something. After a minute of observation, he walked to one of the couches and sank into it.

Luke was lying on the other one. He was sleeping and Obed didn't bother to wake him up. Obed lay flat on his couch and before long, he slept off on it.

Not long after Obed slept off, he started snoring loud enough to wake up Luke.

Luke woke up, his eyes blurry as he spotted a broad person on the couch close to him. His instincts pushed him out of the couch.

Luke inched forward to take a close look at the newcomer and noted that it was just Obed.

"This bastard couldn't even wake me up." Luke walked away, but not without throwing a pillow at Obed, abruptly interrupting Obed's breathing pattern.

Luke turned to walk away when he spotted the jar containing two orbs, the ones he had made the previous day, sitting on the grey center table. He picked the jar up and stared at the orbs for a moment before dropping it back on the table.

He breathed deeply and walked into the kitchen. He had to make breakfast before Obed was awake. He began by cutting the necessary ingredients and when he placed everything inside the pot, he reduced the intensity of the fire before walking out of the kitchen.

Luke walked into his room, and on one of the tables was a brown book with a hardcover. Its cover was filled with different shapes and writings but one stood out most. The title of the book, written boldly (The Past).

He picked it up and walked back to the sitting room, sat down on the couch, and opened the book to read.

The pages were brown from age and looked like they would wither at the slightest touch, yet they remained firm as Luke flipped them one after another until he came to a stop. At the center of the page, was a small flat stick. It acted as a checkpoint for Luke. He placed it on whatever page he stopped and when he needed to continue, he'd open to the place with the flat stick.

Then he continued reading from where he had stopped…

For over thirty minutes, he read and flipped pages when he was done with the page.

'Tyze walked amongst his enemies but they couldn't sense him. Enemies so strong that a thousand of them would destroy an army of ten thousand. Yet, none of them could sense Tyze's presence. One by one, he cut their throats and altered his appearance to look…'

He perceived the smell of something burning and instantly recalled he had left food on fire.

"Shit!" He flew out of the chair and dashed to the kitchen to put off the fire.

Cough. Cough.

Obed was woken from his sleep by the smell of burning food.

"The hell did you burn?" He yelled at Luke.

"The food," Luke replied, walking out of the kitchen with the hot pot in his hands.

"Who's going to eat burnt food?" Obed asked.

"It's not all burnt. Just a tiny part got burnt."

Luke placed the pot on the grey table and opened it to let the heat out. "While we're at it, I need to inform you that you'll be going for the awakening test today. Your results should be out moments after you finish the test. Your results should be astounding enough. It'll help us out later."

"Hmm. You still don't wanna tell me why I'm the only one going for the test." Obed stared at Luke deep in the eyes.

Luke sighed and then replied. "Fine, take the test, get the result back and I'll explain it to you. Now, please let's eat. I'll be going to work today and very soon at that."

Obed had always known Luke. If Luke had a reason not to tell him at the moment, then, so be it. He nodded and picked up a spoon. "Understood." He dipped his spoon into the pot of hot porridge.

*****

"I need to get somewhere before I show up at the old man's store." Luke informed Obed just before he walked out of the apartment.

Obed's head turned. "Where?"

Luke shook his head, notifying ones that he wouldn't tell him. "It's a secret place. It wouldn't be a secret if you knew."

Obed's eyebrows narrowed. "Then why did you bother telling me?"

Luke thought for a while before he replied. "So, if I die, you'll know I died there."

Obed stood up and slowly walked toward Luke. "What's the point of knowing how you died when I don't even know where?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know." He smiled.

Obed pointed to the exit. "Now get the hell out before I throw you out."

Luke chuckled and walked out. "See you later."

He walked down the street, heading for the abandoned factory while Obed peacefully went back to sleep.

"Hey, who's home?" Luke yelled the moment he got close to the factory.

One by one, the members of the Forever Gang popped out.

Luke didn't bother and just continued to approach them. He got to the first one. Luke had beaten every member at least once and remembered their faces. But this one looked new and he seemed like someone with a high rank so Luke asked him. "Where's Khar?"

He looked at Luke from the top to the ground. Then he answered. "Inside. The usual spot."

Hearing his reply, whispers spread among the other members who knew Luke.

Luke smiled at the newcomer. "Great. Now, you can leave. I need to speak with him." Luke waved him off.

"You can't." The man stood in front of Luke, stopping him from moving forward.

Sighs rang here and there and the new member couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from and why.

Luke spoke calmly again. "I'll say it one more time. I need to speak with Khar. You'll be in trouble if he finds out you delayed me."

"The boss says he doesn't want a visitor for the whole of today, no matter who it is. I intend to keep it that way." The guard shook his head.

Luke scratched his head. "You're new, aren't you? The others should've warned you but they didn't."

The guard's anger level spiked. "They don't need to warn me about someone like…" As he spoke, he noticed the others shaking their heads and some even walking away.

Bang.

Luke punched the guard in the face making the guard stagger backward. He clenched his fists and rushed at Luke. "Bastard! Who do you think you are?!"

Bang.

The guard went to his knees. A blow to the abdomen from Luke had silenced him.

"Quite the unlucky lad.If only he knew the whole gang was scared of that young man." One of the others said under his breath and the others close to him nodded.

Luke eyed him for a moment. "After I leave, ask the others who I am."

*****

Back at home, Obed woke up. He looked at his clothes and breathed. "This should be okay. It's just a test after all."

He walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind him. He was on his way to the awakening test.

***************

I just wanna say a big "Thank You" to all of you that keep reading. A big shout-out to you all.