Knowing that he didn’t have much room to maneuver, Sylas bolted to his full Speed again after leaving the range of the police officers. He accelerated down the streets he had already memorized.
From here to Bloom and Mark’s home was about a 30-mile distance. By car, because they had to follow the streets, it took 45 minutes to get to their destination.
Sylas cut through all of this, taking shortcuts where he could and quickly making his way forward. At his current Speed, especially thanks to the nimbleness of the human body versus a car, he was able to make it back to a familiar neighborhood in just half an hour.
However, when Sylas climbed a tree to check on the house from a distance, the worst outcome was laid out before him.
It was completely surrounded.
At first glance, everything looked fine. But…
‘There’s one, two, three, four… seven vehicles that I don’t recognize in this region. And, the lights are on in the dead of night. If it was just one or two lights, that would be fine. But all of them?’
Sylas had also been here for several days. He had gotten used to seeing the same cars in the neighborhood and he had taken note of them. How could he not? They were essentially fugitives in the middle of a city run by the government. He had forced himself to remain aware of any suspicious ongoing activity.
Plus, he wasn’t exactly someone special. In a suburban neighborhood like this, which probably had its own neighborhood watch, even a middle-aged housewife would raise an eyebrow when she suddenly saw the movement of unknown people and vehicles.
What stood out even more about these cars was that many of them were wide body, with off-roading tires, and heavily tinted windows. It was hard to tell in the dark, but the street lights were a saving grace.
Sylas knew immediately that he couldn’t return, but he wasn’t exactly sure of what to do either.
After some thought, his eyes narrowed and he looked toward where he had seen Carter disappear all those days ago. He was sure that the youth would likely know something.
…
Sylas walked down an unknown street. He hadn’t actually seen exactly which house Carter entered, but he wasn’t worried either. That was because he had his visualization.
Even now, he wasn’t sure where this visualization came from. But what he did know was that it existed in some rudimentary form when he first started to grasp his telekinesis, but after his Luck skyrocketed to its current value, it became like a burst of colors in his mind.
So long as there was no Aether or barriers formed by Aether involved, seeing everything clearly within 20 meters wasn’t a problem.
So, as he walked down the street, he stuck to the side that Carter had walked on and began to scan the homes one by one.
After a while, he felt a bit weird about it since it was just a bunch of people sleeping; it was the middle of the night, after all. But he ignored those feelings and pressed on.
He got to the end of the street and still hadn’t seen Carter.
‘Did he walk down the wrong street on purpose?’
That was very much possible. The kid was sharp enough to take advantage of his stats immediately to make off with quite a fortune. If he used it right, he would probably be set for a long while.
Then again, if he lived in this neighborhood, he was already set. He was definitely more of an angsty teen looking to rebel than anything else.
Sylas remained patient and began walking down the streets one by one.
Eventually, three blocks over, at the end of a cul-de-sac, he found Carter, sleeping alone amidst piles of junk food.
However, after scanning the rest of the home, Sylas realized that the kid was literally the only one there.
Sylas had wondered how he was going to deal with the situation if there were other people involved and Carter kicked up a fuss, but it seemed that he had wasted unnecessary time worrying about it.
With casual movements, Sylas walked up to the front door like he owned the place. Using his visualization and telekinesis, he unlocked the door from the inside and strode in from the outside.
The door swung open with a smooth motion, and he slipped inside.
Almost instantly, Carter shot up, an almost demonic glint in his eyes.
Sylas saw it despite the fact the latter was in the basement and he was still on the first floor. But he wasn’t surprised.
He had learned long ago that Carter was sharp. He had survived in the Trial all alone for months. If he could be caught off guard just because he was sleeping, he would have died long ago.
“It’s me.”
Sylas spoke out loud enough for Carter to hear him from below.
“I know you’re awake, so just come up here and let’s have a chat. I would like to ask you some questions.”
…
Soon, the duo was sitting across from one another on a dirty granite kitchen island. The home was probably worth millions, but Carter was single-handedly running it into the dumps.
Sylas didn’t ask about his situation or why such a young kid was living alone in such a big house. Considering the world they were living in now, it was only natural that many had lost people, and he wasn’t here to dig up Carter’s traumatic events or anything of the like.
“How much do you know about the undercover ops in the neighborhood?”
Carter was startled. “You’ve seen them, too?!”
“So you have noticed them.”
“Shit, I thought they were here for me. But from what you’re saying, it sounds like that’s not the case.”
Carter sighed a breath of relief. He had really been on pins and needles these past few days. Part of why he had been so sharp when he woke up was because he thought the government had finally found him.
“Tell me everything you know.”
