17 Years Later:

"Sal, Sal wake up! Now you blubbering idiot!" The slap that happened after was a strong incentive.

"Ok. Ok im awake. What is it, Miranda?" I asked

"We gotta move. They're onto us again." she replied with urgency in her voice.

"But that's impossible!" I replied. "I haven't been him for three months now. There's no way they can track us."

"I can't explain it either. The details are sketchy, but Telsin says we need to move NOW!"

And again we sprang into action. This was the third safehouse this week we had to evacuate. The Epoch were becoming very persistent. At this rate they would find us soon. Gathering the last of the little possessions I had. I packed my satchel and ran to the front door, where Telsin and Miranda were waiting eagerly for me.

"How did they find us?" Miranda was talking to Telsin

"A family who lives nearby recognised us. The disguises failed....."

Telsin didn't look happy at all.

"Im sorry." Miranda said, "I didn't have enough resources to craft some good disguises"

"Its alright." he replied "They've been really stepping up with their searches for Kyosuke. Without him the Epoch will never win this war."

"So what's the plan this time." I asked

"We leave. I got a friend who borrowed us a shuttle off this planet. Its in the back of this complex, near the field. Lets go."

Just to clarify. Miranda and Telsin aren't my parents. They saved my life after the Epoch's failed attempt at destroying my consciousness. Doing so would allow my counterpart Kyosuke Ito, the Epoch bound to me to escape and restore the Epoch race. Doing so would wipe humanity from the universe. And with the increased rate that the E-tech soldiers were finding us, I started to doubt our chances of survival.

"But Telsin. How are we even gonna get out of the building." I asked

"Let me deal with that." he said "Just run when I tell you to. Got it?"

"Yeah we got it. Right Sal?" Miranda replied sternly.

"Yeah." I said "On your command Telsin"

"Ready. Now!"

He opened the door and looked outside. There were two heavily armed soldiers in armor outside we ran as fast as we could to the exit stairs. I looked back and saw Telsin attacking the guards. I wanted to help but Miranda pulled me away.

"Sal! He can take care of himself. We have to move!"

"But..."

"No excuses Sal! Lets go."

We ran down the stairs and down the other floors of the apartment complex. The thought of leaving Telsin behind angered me. A large commotion began to stir in the apartment block and people began to realise who we really were and glances went around. At this point I really started to hate who I was. We had arrived on the ground floor and found people blocking the exit.

"There that's him! That's the kid with the 3 billion credits bounty." the lead man of the group shouted.

Yep. I was being hunted down. E-tech had offered 3 billion credits for my alive capture.

"We catch him and we'll be set for life, no more work for us. We can have lives of luxury." another woman said.

"Let's get him!" the crowd roared and started to advance forcing Miranda and myself to end up cornered near the stairs.

"Back off!" Miranda replied and pulled out her safety pistol.

The crowd took a step back. I was standing behind Miranda. I studied their faces, they looked greedy.

"Sal. Let's back up. We're finding another way out of here."

I nodded. We started to back up when I bumped into someone behind me. It was an armored soldier, one of the two we encountered before. We now had no hope of escape.

"Telsin......" I uttered under my breath.

I started to back away. I was now back to back with Miranda in the lobby.

"Uh...... Miranda."

"What is it, Sal?" She turned her head to the side and saw the soldier.

"Damn." She said.

"What do we do?" I asked.

For the first time in my life I heard her say. "I don't know Sal."

We were now between a mob and an armored soldier. The soldier spoke.

"This ends now boy!" He leaned in to grab me.

Miranda turned around and fired. The shot bounced clean off the armor. The soldier grabbed her arm and threw her to the wall. The pistol fell, I ran to grab it in the struggle but the mob members raced to grab me. Just as I grabbed the pistol I was captured. I began to flail with all my might.

"Miranda!!!" I called

"Sal, hold on!" The soldier had her pinned to the wall.

"That's enough outta you!" He shouted.

He swung his arm hard and punched her square in the face. It all seemed like slow motion. Her auburn hair falling with her to the ground. I saw the blood leave her nose and mouth as she hit the cold hard floor. I couldn't believe the brutality he put into hitting her. My blood began to boil as I saw her unconscious on the ground. A face as beautiful as hers being subjected to such. It was sickening.

"Now get the kid, kill the mob if you have to. But the kid stays alive." A voice spoke.

The other soldier had returned and was dragging Telsin along with him. He was tied up. The first soldier pulled out his weapon. He aimed it at the crowd. The man who held me captive tightened his grip. I looked at Miranda and hung my head down. I couldn't struggle anymore. I felt weak. And at that point. I felt what I had felt countless times before. I felt the change. I knew it so much I could tell all the stages.

First you're able to feel your heart actually beat inside your chest, as if it wants to break out of your body. Its why I felt so weak, unable to move. Second your body heats up to untouchable levels.........

"Agh. What is this? It hurts. Ouch!"

And I could tell the man restraining me could feel it as well. He let me go and I fell to the ground. But with no body control. (That also occurs. Loss of body movement. A good example of an out of body experience). The mob surrounded me at a safe distance while the soldiers watched. I just fell and laid still on the floor. Additionally the pain that accompanies the change is excruciating. Third and finally, all vision fades, and you lose consciousness. I looked at Miranda on the floor, I saw Telsin crawling towards her. He knew what happens next. Kyosuke was coming. I look at them both. Telsin looked back at me.

"Telsin." I said. "I'm sorry........"

And everything faded to black.

The next thing I remembered. I woke up on what I think was an infirmary bed. Still dizzy and with my vision in a daze. I tried to stand up. A hand led me back down.

"Hey kiddo. You're finally awake. How are you holding up?"

My vision cleared. It was Telsin. He looked ok except for a bandage wrapped around his head. He stood to the right of the bed.

"Telsin....... Wait what happened! Where's Miranda?"

I started to panic.

"Relax. She'll be alright, she's a little shaken up but she'll be okay." He said.

"Telsin I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it back. I tried but......" I stammered

"It's ok Sal. It's was bad enough a situation." He softly replied.

I looked to my left. There was a window. We were in space.

"Telsin."

"Yeah?"

"How did we escape?" I asked.

"Nevermind that. We going to the Europan star system. I hear they have a lot of tech you can get busy with. I have an informant there who can get us a new ship and some gear and............"

He was hiding something. He stood up to leave and I grabbed his arm with what little strength I had left.

"How did we escape?" I asked again with a stern look.

"Sal there are things you shouldn't know........." he said

He was definitely hiding something. I had to know.

"How did we escape!!" I yelled.

He looked at me with a sad expression.

"Ok. I'll show you." He picked up the TV remote and pointed it to the overhead TV.

He tuned into IGN. The intergalactic news station. There was a large broadcast dated a few hours ago. He pressed play. The news anchor reported this:

"The incident that claimed the lives of over 200 people and the destruction of a local apartment complex has people in mystery as they come to terms with the bizarre event."

"Two hundred people? Destruction of an apartment complex? What was she talking about. She didn't mean......" I thought roughly.

The next part caught my attention.

"We now go live to an eyewitness at the scene."

It was a man. He looked as if he had seen death in the face........... and lived.

"There was that kid. You know, the one with the 3 billion credits bounty. My buddy said he got real hot and they let him go. But he just plopped down on the ground like a sack of potatoes. The soldiers were threatening to shoot us if we didn't hand him over. His two buddies were beaten up near the stairs, but then the kid just stood up. He looked at all of us with a blank expression, then his eyes went pitch black. Even the white part, then his pupils glowed a strong red colour. And then......... and then........ I'm sorry I can't do this."

The man on TV looked away from the camera as if he wanted to cry at the matter. Tears were sitting on the top of his eyes, ready to flow at any second. But he didn't. I looked at Telsin, he was staring at the TV with nothing but a blank look on his face. The bandage covering most of his black hair. I glanced back at the TV.

"It's okay." The news woman there kept telling him. "Just tell us what you saw."

"The kid he........ he killed............. everyone!!!"

Shock pierced my body. It was impossible. I couldn't have. I couldn't. The man continued:

"All of 'em, he ran rampant using some.......... power I've never seen before. My friends, family. All of them were dying, right in front of my own eyes!!!!!! He just wouldn't stop. I saw him rip a man's heart out with his bare hands. The two soldiers didn't even stand a chance. The worst death I saw was the one who punched that girl. He literally tore that man...... limb........ from....... limb. I don't know why he spared me. After he killed everyone. I tried playing dead but it's like he knew I was still alive. He walked over and grabbed me by the chest. I saw the darkness and emptiness in them, I saw no trace of a soul. He looked at me with an evil smile on his face. The same smile he had as he killed everyone I knew and loved. I thought for sure it was the end. But he just let me go, he stared to walk away and he told me to give a message. For someone named Sal. He said, "I'm coming. Soon. And there's nothing you can do about it." Just then that one guy the soldiers caught shot him with a tranq dart and he and the girl grabbed the kid and ran."

"Is that all?" The news woman asked.

"No. Just before they shot the kid. He unleashed some sort of wave, and brought down the entire apartment block. He killed 80 people with his bare hands, and then killed 120 more inside the apartment complex. Innocent men, women and children who wanted nothing to do with this. They're all dead because of him. That bastard will pay for what he's done! I swear on my life, he will pay!"

Telsin switched off the TV.

"Sal. It's not your fault........."

"What isn't?" I interrupted. My voice cold. "The fact that I have an evil, soulless murderer bound to me. Or the fact that I just let him kill 200 innocent people. What's NOT my fault Telsin?"

"I...... I don't know....... Look, just get some sleep. We'll figure this out tomorrow morning."

"Yeah sure." I said.

Telsin walked to the door, his hand on the light switch. I turned over to sleep.

"Sal." He said.

"Yeah."

"None of this, will ever be your fault." He turned off the lights and left. I stayed silent. While slowly drifting off to sleep and looking out into the vast expansion of space. I wondered.

"Will this nightmare ever end?"