6 Chapter 6 - Emma

It was a while before I even tried tracking Silas down. I had other duties as a new hero that I had to attend to, most of which involved shady alleys or men in masks. Then again, my visit with Silas would be about a man in a mask. I finally took the time to do some rather discrete checking up on who he was, and even asked my sister who she thought Kaity's best friend would be. Turned out the girl's description matched exactly what I had found on Silas Tylers. The only concern was the lack of photograph in his census file.

I walked down the street in a casual black jacket and jeans, glancing every so often behind me. When Conductor had said he lived in the eastern quadrant, I suspected the neighborhood would be a little shady. I hadn't expected him to live in what was known as the most notoriously dangerous territory for low level Evolved.

Maybe this had been a trap, but then again all the evidence pointed to this Silas actually being her best friend, and this was where the census records put him. Mom always told me to be careful of this area of town.

I was just thinking of turning around when I managed to make a fool of myself. I tripped over my own two feet and fell to the sidewalk. The only person in sight came rushing, no doubt hoping for an easy target. I curled up to protect myself, but the blows never came.

"What are you still doing down there? It's not safe to just sit there with all the Evolved that could go crazy in this area," a voice said. When I opened my eyes, there was a young man standing in front of me with his hand outstretched. I decided to take it and let him help me up.

"Don't you mean all of the basic gangs? Aren't they just a little more dangerous?" I asked as I was heaved to my feet.

He simply chuckled and asked, "You're an Evolved, aren't you?"

"There a problem with that?"

"Nah, I'm good friends with some Evolved," he reassured me before running his hands through his red, curly hair. "You should probably get a bandage of some sort on that though, and soon."

I didn't know what he was referring to before I looked down at my hand. It had blood on it. I looked down to the knee that had taken most of the force of the fall and found it pretty badly scraped up. He was right, I did need something on it.

"I probably have something back at my house, if you're able to walk with it. Care to join me on my way?" the boy asked. The help was greatly appreciated, but I had things I needed to do.

"Sorry, I've got someone I need to find around here. I don't have time for being hurt," I told him. He looked at me with something similar to recognition.

"I get it. If you don't mind my asking, who are you looking for?"

"I guess I can tell you," I thought aloud, "I'm looking for a guy named Silas Tylers." His face changed only for a moment. "You know him, don't you? Can you take me to where he lives?"

"Yeah, I guess I could," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Something was off about him now. I didn't tell him, but I would know if he was leading me to the wrong building. My GPS confirmed each turn he led me through on the way to Kaity's friend's house. He actually knew Silas Tylers.

When we got to the apartment, he turned and said, "You know, you should really be careful. He's very… anti-Evolved, so just be careful."

"How'd you know I was an Evolved?" I asked him.

He smirked and told me, "You learn to identify the Evolved on sight when you live in this sort of area. They tend to suck. That and the way you say the word basic."

"Oh?" I questioned, "Then why did you help me? If they all suck, why'd you go out of your way to do something for me?"

"It's irrelevant. I'm gonna go now, since you're here," he answered. I expected him to walk away and never see him again, but instead, he opened the door to the apartment and closed the door behind him. Then I realized who I had been talking to.

"Silas Tylers! I was walking with the person I had been looking for this entire time…" It wasn't quite fair, so I reached over and knocked on the door. He opened the door and glared at me. I shied away and my foot slipped on the three steps in front of his building. I felt myself falling backward, then I stopped.

Silas had grabbed the front of my shirt to stop me from falling. I wasn't sure what it was on his face, but his anger had melted into shock and fear. When he turned silently and walked back into the building without closing the door, I followed him.

"Hey, what was that?" I shouted back to the strange red-head. "Didn't you just say you hate Evolved? Why do you keep helping me?"

"Because you still have a chance to see how twisted and two-faced they all are!" he shouted, turning. I was caught off guard and stumbled back into the doorway. "I don't hate the Evolved, but I do hate those Evolved that everyone admires, High Solis more than most." He seemed to have calmed down from his minor tirade, so I tried to approach him slowly. It felt like trying to approach a wild animal that was finally calming down.

"Why do you hate the city's biggest hero so much? I can tell you're agitated." I kept my voice calm and soothing, but still wanted him to keep going.

"Because they aren't a hero, like they claim to be. They're selfish, horrible, and conceited." He clearly hesitated before continuing to say, "They didn't help Kaity." I had a guess as to the likely reason this was the case, but there was one other possibility. It sounded like he almost admired her, so he must not know who her father was.

"Heroes can't always save everyone. Just because they didn't co-" I started, only to be cut off.

"But they did come!" Silas exploded in renewed anger, "High Solis herself came through the clouds. I thought Kaity might have had help in that moment. She was a ray of hope for me, but rather than that, she killed the men who had taken my home as a base then left. She looked straight at Kaity…" he stopped for a moment, and I saw a darkness flash across his face. A darkness that scared me.

"High Solis looked straight at Kaity and do you know what she said?" he growled. I stayed silent until he told me. "I've helped enough. That's what she decided. Kaity wasn't worth helping because High Solis had done… 'enough'! Now are you going to tell me I don't have reason to hate the high Evolved? A kid like you would never understand it all. "

I didn't know what to say. I had never heard of High Solis not saving someone, but in Kaity's case, it made sense. Silas stalked into the next room and came out with a bag.

"Thanks for the painful reminder of just why I hate your kind so much," he breathed as he went for the door. I did the only thing I could to keep him from leaving and stepped in front of the door.

I stared him straight in the eyes and said, "I believe you, but don't group me with High Solis, or any of my family. Don't you dare do that." He stared at me for one second before placing a hand on my shoulder and lowering his head. I thought he was about to say something, but before I knew it, I was on the floor and the door swung open. I decided to be stupid and run after him.

"Wait!" he turned, scoffed, and kept walking. "Didn't I say I believed you? I know you might be right, considering that someone else has already told me the same thing. Those that others say are evil are actually the good guy, right? Those who are thought to be pure are the dirtiest of all? A friend told me that. One I believe."

I waited for a second, and with those last words, he stopped and slung his bag in front of him. He fiddled with something, then in a sudden movement, something flipped over his shoulders and clicked onto his torso, spreading down his arms. Then I felt a solid field slam into my head. My body decided this would be the optimal time to blackout. I don't know how I hadn't noticed the similarities between the philosophies of Silas and Basic until I said them out loud. I hadn't seen the truth about the person Kaity had sent me to talk to until it hit me smack in the face. Literally, of course.

Silas Tylers was Basic.