Chapter 18 - An encounter

"Remember, Lucien, whenever you feel tired, hungry… or just need a shoulder to cry on… Please, remember that you have a home here with us!" With watery eyes, standing at their front porch, Martha Lewis was doing her best not to crack and cry in front of the departing youth.

Standing in front of their house, the husband and wife pair of the Lewis family were waving their heart-breaking goodbye to the lean, black-haired young man, Lucien. He was wearing a set of new clothes gifted to him by the motherly woman, Martha.

He was wearing a long, black hooded raincoat with a zipper over a light blue t-shirt and dark blue jeans. With the dark grey sports shoes donning his feet and the dark brown leather gloves atop his hands he looked quite unique. Definitely not matching the average homeless he actually was.

It was already close to lunchtime, Lucien already spent way too much time trying to leave this kind pair and set out alone. He had to admit, it wasn't easy, he actually felt a new emotion, reluctance as his cold-looking pair of dark brown eyes gazed at their figure. The woman, the more honest with her feelings of the two, was on the verge of crying, something quite surprising considering they only spent a short time together.

The elderly hunter, George, was standing with Roxy, his hunting aide, and partner to the woman's right, standing with a stoic, strict outlook. Still, Lucien could feel their rapid heartbeats, they were emotional and reluctant to let the boy that they let into their fold go.

Even George had to admit that this boy was the closest they ever get to be a full family. He was already on the verge of stepping into adulthood, but regardless, this boy, Lucien, was the closest to a son they never had the chance to be blessed with.

This boy was heaven's gift, but sadly they had to let him go and just pray that God will keep him safe.

Although he projected a cold, emotionless farce on the outside, inwardly, Lucien was quite troubled to leave them behind. What they did was something Lucien never knew that he could receive. It was completely unexpected, a new sensation, a new side of the world was shown to him.

They showed him love. Kindness. A taste of what it could have been if he had a family instead of the cold walls of the institute.

Still, he had to turn his back on them and leave them behind. It was for their benefit. They shouldn't be subjected to the curse that surrounded him, they shouldn't suffer for not being as corrupt as the rest of the world.

He glanced over the two adults, forcing the same insipid, emotionless expression, ultimately lingering slightly longer on the elderly woman's watery eyes.

Closing his eyes, he heaved a heavy sigh and bowed his head slightly.

"Thank you for all the kindness that you have given me. I am forever thankful to you both. I…" He spoke, first with the same forced harsh tone he planned, but at the end, he still with wavering emotions. He couldn't keep his distance. He stopped his speech and turned around before he would say or do something that would bear even worse consequences.

He turned away, steeling his heart that for the first time was subjected to an unfamiliar warmth and at the same time, a newfound pain.

Opening the small wooden gate, he stopped for a moment, turning his head sideways he muttered his goodbyes.

"Farewell Martha Lewis, Good bye George Lewis. I will be forever thankful to you both."

With that said, he turned away, and stepped out, slowly departing towards the south, the center of this small hillside village.

As his figure slowly grew smaller and smaller, the husband and wife duo kept looking at his back. They didn't want to let the boy go, but they couldn't hold him back either. They could only hope that they will one day meet again...

Lucien finally found a glimpse of what his childhood missed. He found the kindness and love that his heart was screaming for, yet he had to leave it all behind.

Maybe this was his fate, his curse. He was destined to be alone, a stranger to these warm, kindling feelings.

It wasn't as easy as it may have looked, but he was sure that what he did was the correct choice. Maybe, just maybe after everything was resolved, and he was no longer hunted for simply existing he could return to this small slice of heaven he found…

"Hope you will both be safe, and that I haven't brought my curse upon you…" He muttered under his breath as he took one last glance towards them before turning around the corner.

---

The "village" where Martha and George Lewis lived their lives in peace was a small, tiny settlement along the nearby hill. To Lucien's surprise, he was told that he was still in New York state. It turns out he never left his 'home', he was just taken somewhere to the northern borders.

The 'village' that the Lewis's kept referring to was actually a hamlet, a small settlement with slightly above the 40 000 mark in terms of population. It was a small hillside town with nothing of interest. There wasn't much traffic going in and out of the small town, it was akin to a communal reserve. A preserved little section of the past.

Most of the locals lived by what game they hunted during the season, or by the crops of their fields.

They have known each other through the generations they have spent here. It was a local community, friendly, and kind. With being at an average distance from the Big City, the townsfolk had nothing to truly worry about.

After some thinking, Lucien decided to get back to the Big City, New York, and visit his old orphanage for some much-needed answers. He needed to know why he was shunned, why he was so hated, why he was sold… and ultimately, who his parents were. Did he have a family out there somewhere? Why was he given away, why didn't his mother and father love him? What did he do to earn such treatment from his own parents?

While it may be futile, and an ultimately pointless goal, Lucien needed to understand, he needed to learn the truth. He was different from the others, which he learned very early in his life, but he never understood the depth of this dark hole. He never knew he had such a monstrous entity inside him, or that what purpose the floating eerie text served. Where did it come from, who did it truly serve? Was it a gift, or maybe, -and considering his life so far-, most likely a curse?

'I hope I will find some answers…' He sighed, lamenting inwardly as he looked towards the mid-day clear sky as he traversed the streets alone.

As he was deep in thought, his feet kept carrying him forward. Arriving at a crossing, without being aware of it, he stepped down from the sidewalk to cross to the other side, not keeping his attention on the red light.

The blaring sounds of a horn and the screeching noises of tires brought him back from his trance. He quickly turned towards the source only to see a rapidly approaching front of a dark blue car. Without thinking, the muscles in his legs flexed, and contorted, he kicked himself up from the ground, jumping to a height he himself wasn't ready for.

His body flew upwards, reaching an altitude of almost 10 feet in the air, way above the car that ultimately sped through under him without touching a hair of him.

The handbrake pulled the car was leaving a long tire mark on the ground as it loudly screeched to a halt, just in time as Lucien landed agilely as well. He himself, and all those nearby that saw his impossible feat was looking with wide eyes, incredulously at him.

'What just happened?'

He looked with a daze in front of him, trying to process what had just happened.

"ARE YOU OKAY?!" A heavenly, bell-like feminine voice reached his ears as it shouted a question with visible worry and concern behind her tone.

Still, deep in his own little world, Lucien didn't respond at the start, he was trying to make sense of the incredulity of the feat he has just accomplished.

'D-did I just fly up? What on Earth is going on?! Is this the System's doing?' He couldn't really process that he was capable of something like this. Before today, he never had such superhuman strength, he wasn't capable of feats of strength like this! Was this the result of the System's activation?

"Hey you, kid! Are you fine? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?" The bell-like voice rang in his ears once again, this time much closer. He shook his head, coming back from his trance. He turned his head to look at the newcomer, the driver of the car to give him his mind.

"Yeah I am, no thanks to you! Lady what were you doing?!" He exclaimed angrily, as he turned to glance at a long, blonde-haired beauty. She was of similar height as him, with gentle, generous curves where it mattered and matching slender and slim traits at other places. As their eyes met for the first time, Lucien felt something. His heart responded, thumping wildly, at the sight of this stranger.

Stranger, yet at the same time, it was as if she had met this woman before… Somewhere, he just couldn't remember. He was fairly certain that she was never at the orphanage, nor did he ever saw her during any of the experiments in the past five years.

Yet, still… His heart just couldn't let go of this feeling, it was as if they have met before...

Unable to contain himself any longer, he asked another question, before the woman had a chance to respond to his first exclamation.

"Lady, who are you?!"