Alex' Corner

Chapter 6: The life of people in the zone

Whiteman took Adaru back to his apartment. When they got to their floor, they were received by a jubilant Faith who ran to hug Adaru.

“Don’t do that ever again!” she scolded him.

“I’ll try,” Adaru said.

“Do you need me to escort you inside?” Whiteman said.

“No, that’s OK,” Adaru said remembering his mom was still laying drunk in the middle of the room.

Adaru and Faith got inside just when people were getting out of their apartments to see Tico and his men being carried inside a black van.

They were cheering and clapping the arrest. Adaru still resented that minutes before some of them were throwing him to the wolves.

“They just care about themselves,” he thought to himself.

He went to the bedroom that had no bed and he just fell asleep on the corner.

He woke up being shaken by Faith. She was nervous, and for a moment, Adaru forgot he was in the zone.

“What?” he said.

“The man with the funny hat is here,” she said.

That woke Adaru completely. He rose and got outside the room to see his mom suffering from a hangover, and using the kitchen counter to keep her balanced. Adaru saw Bellingham at the entranced and he remembered he had to go to his audition.

“It seems that you are not ready to go,” Bellingham said.

“I will be in five minutes,” Adaru said.

“It doesn’t matter. We have to go now,” he said, signaling that Faith and her mom were also coming with him. Adaru was too tired to complain.

There were people outside the building. He could hear they were chatting about what happened last night.

“I heard it was a boy, but a man must have beaten that Tico guy. No way that a kid survived the attack of that monster,” a woman said.

“I heard it was the police that came and saved the day,” someone else said.

“That’s the kid! He’s the one who fought Tico!” a neighbor said when he saw Adaru and his family getting on the black government car.

The neighborhood got in a frenzy wanting to see Adaru. Faith and Adaru jumped inside the car and then pulled their clueless mother in.

When Bellingham got in the front seat, he turned toward them. He was having a hard time containing his smile.

“You clearly caused a commotion yesterday, mister Sepien. Your attitude against authority has clearly not changed when you moved to the zone,” he said.

“So what is going to happen?” Adaru asked.

“Normally, we would ask you some questions and do an audition similar to the ones we do on Evolution Day to measure the strength of your ability. However, you are a special case,” Bellingham said.

Faith tugged Adaru’s arm. She pointed again to the crystal building that was getting closer and taller. Adaru hugged Faith as a way to protect her.

Luckily, they were not going to that building, but to the one next to it. It was a smaller, squarer and brown building that had the words “Federal Inner Migration Office” on the front. The limousine got into the parking garage. The family got out and they were escorted to the elevator that took them to the third floor.

“Your family can remain here until you finished your audition,” Bellingham said pointing to the chairs in the hallway.

Adaru was taken to a white room with a bed in the center. He was told to strip and they gave him a tunic to wear. He had to wait for half an hour for a doctor to analyze him by looking inside his mouth, ears and into his eyes. He was put on the bed and a machine lighted a green beam that covered Adaru’s body, from his forehead to his toes.

The doctor went away and Adaru had to wait like another hour for him to return and then hear he had no toxic substances or radiation emanating from him. He only had some sprains in his legs and arms but Adaru was no threat to other people. The doctor then bandaged his ankles and elbows, and told him to rest.

He was then escorted to a gray room that had one chair in the middle of the room and three other chairs in front of it. He was told to sit.

Bellingham and other men entered the room, with two of them sitting next to Bellingham and the other four standing behind them. Adaru only recognized the man with a boot-shaped nose standing behind Bellingham.

“So let the record be clear on this Friday Oct. 5 we are present for the audition of Adaru Sepien, fifteen, whose abilities are at this time, believe to be of physical type, but specialty and level are unknowns,” Bellingham said to what Adaru thought it was a microphone.

“Mister Sepien, do you swear to tell the truth knowing that any falsehood would be considered a criminal felony?” Bellingham said.

“I- I do,” Adaru said.

“Then tell us. What is your ability?”

Adaru didn’t know what to answer. The truth is that he had no ability.

“I am more agile than others,” Adaru said. It wasn’t a lie, technically.

“Yes, you have shown proficiency on past auditions that measured agility but you did not pass the criteria,” Bellingham said. “Have you shown any other abilities not considered normal on a boy like you?”

“Uh, no,” Adaru said and he regretted not lying. They were definitely going to test Faith if Adaru didn’t convince them he had an ability.

“Are you sure?” Bellingham said.

“Well, weird things have happened around me,” he said, again, not technically lying.

“Then, how do you explain this?” Bellingham said when he pushed a button. A panel on a wall moved to show a screen. Then, a video image appeared. Adaru didn’t know what he was seeing until he recognized his apartment building. It was footage of what had happened last night. It was from a camera that must have been in the building next to his apartment. He could see himself on the left side of the screen, giving his back to the camera. He could also see Tico’s face. Adaru had to see again how Tico created a blast that smashed the car and garbage container that were next to Adaru.

“Could you tell us how you survived that blast?” Bellingham said.

“No I cannot,” Adaru said, more embarrassed than he should have.

The image then changed to another camera. That must have been from Adaru’s building because he was now right of the screen. It was the moment he attacked Tico with a lighter. Bellingham paused when Tico’s shirt caught fire.

“How did you produce that fire?”

“I had spread alcohol to Tico first,” Adaru said. Some of them gave a small laugh.

“Alcohol does not produce a fire of that intensity. It is very unlikely,” Bellingham said. “Remember that you are under oath.”

“I swear, I don’t know how it happened,” Adaru said. He then remembered that Faith was also there, looking at the fight. Did the camera catch her on tape?

Adaru felt his pulse beat faster. The man with the boot-shaped nose got closer to Bellingham and spoke to him softly on his hear.

“Are you nervous?” Bellingham asked Adaru.

“A little.”

“Well, so far we are very little information on you. But we do know is that you have done a service to the government by capturing Tico Szalinski,” Bellingham said.

And with that, he smiled and Adaru was shocked when the rest of the men applauded him.

“We also saw how you escape from the black market,” Bellingham said. The screen changed again and Adaru recognized the warehouse because he saw himself on top of it when it was collapsing. Another video showed the moment Adaru was caught by Tico’s henchman on the street and then how he was punched by the man with the red vest.

“We don’t know what kind of ability you have, but we know you have talent,” Bellingham said. “That’s why I proposed to give you a temporary visa to the zone for one year and classify you as ‘Physical,’” Bellingham said. “Do we have a disagreement?”

Bellingham turned to the two men beside him. They were quiet but both were staring and smiling at Adaru.

“Then, Mr. Sepien, you are now a legal citizen of Alpha Zone One.”

Adaru was surprised that it was that easy.

“This is it?” he said.

“Well, we are also need to mention that by helping on the capture of a criminal living in the zone, you are also receiving a $20,000 reward.”

This was Adaru’s best day ever.

He got out of the room with a big smile. He hugged Faith and he was in so a happy mood that he didn’t care when his mother yelled loudly after hearing the news.

Faith was smiling, but Adaru could tell she was not happy.

The Sepien family was told to go to another office. In here, they had their pictures taken again. A man asked for Adaru to show his right arm. The man put him a red bracelet on his wrist.

“This is your identification bracelet that shows what kind of ability you have and proves that you can live in the zone,” the man said. “It is hygienic and cannot be taken out. If it’s damage for some reason, you must come to this office for replacement.”

Adaru saw his bracelet closer. It had engraved letters on the back that read “Agility.”

“Bracelets are divided in colors to show what ability the user has. Each bracelet has engraved the specialty of the individual,” the man said. “In your case, that is agility.”

“Bracelets also show a roman number from one to five, which described the level of proficiency and strength of that ability with five being the strongest. Your level is unknown,” the man said.

The man then went to his mother and put a black bracelet on her.

“This bracelet is to show that you do not have an ability but you are legally allowed to live in the zone,” the man said. He then did the same thing with Faith.

Adaru then was taken to the second floor which had the zone’s bank. They transferred the little money they had from their account in New Haven. They were also given the reward money, which was the best news Adaru’s mom had heard in a long time.

There was also an office that was related to the schools in the zone. Adaru was enrolled at the high school and he received a tablet where he would download his electronic books when he enrolled. The question was where to put Faith.

There was one school that catered to students without an ability. The lady at the desk also told them Faith could be home schooled and they could give her a tablet for Faith to do all her course work at home. Adaru told Faith she should pick that. He thought that was the best option for her to remain hidden.

It was a very long day for the family. They used the money they had to buy furniture like the beds and a TV. Everything was shipped to their apartment, which was finally looking like a home, even though it was a very cramped home.

When they turned on the television, Faith complained there were only two channels.

“What are we supposed to watch? There aren’t any cable shows or cartoons,” she said.

She was certainly in a bad mood all day because she didn’t care about what was on television before. Adaru was eager to try to climb the buildings because he had seen that was actually encouraged, so he wanted to leave the apartment as soon as possible.

First, they needed to buy clothes and Faith just got grumpier. She refused to buy new items. Her mother forced her to buy a couple of new outfits, so she had clothes for a couple of weeks. They returned to their now home with bags of clothes on both hands. Then, their mother left to search for some alcohol, which Adaru believed if someone would find it in the zone, it would be her. Now, Adaru decided to talk to Faith.

She was looking at the window. She had a solemn face that made her look older. For some reason, that made Adaru uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“We are still in the zone. I am now enrolled in school and you and mom actually want to live here.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You were happy that you passed your audition.”

“I was happy that I passed and that they would not have to test you,” he said. “I was also happy that we got a lot of money.”

“You almost died yesterday. Are you sure you won’t have to face other people like those guys?”

“They were criminals.”

“What about the boy who started the fire at our old house? He wasn’t a criminal.”

“That was an accident.”

“And we are in a city where every single person can hurt us by accident.”

“You are exaggerating,” Adaru said getting closer. “If you so want us out of here, we will get out.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t think we should get out. I think I am like the boy,” Faith said looking at him. “At least here I can’t hurt normal people.”

“Do you make fire?”

“No. I think I am more dangerous.”

“You are not that dangerous.”

“Yes. I know I made that earthquake happen. I don’t know how, but I am afraid I can do worse.”

“No you cannot,” Adaru said while hugging her. “You are a sweet child who will not do anything to harm anyone else. And I will find a way to get ourselves out.”

He didn’t leave her that evening until they went to bed. The next day, Faith was still nervous about getting out. Adaru told her she could stay while he went for a walk. Their mother had not woken up even though it was almost 10 in the morning.

If they were spending a few days in the zone, Adaru wanted to see the most as he could. And he saw cameras in almost every corner. The only places he didn’t see them where in the corners of the black market, but he could see cables sprouting from walls and lamp posts.

The streets were clean of people that evening, but Adaru could see a lot of burned trees and dented cars. He found a nice alley where he could practice some climbing. He stretched and did some chin ups. He noticed the ledges were smoother and there were more places where he could hold on to compared to buildings in New Haven. He saw why when he reached the roof. There were many people like him, who were climbing and jumping from roof to roof for fun.

He climbed on walls and then he jumped on roofs of different apartment complexes that were next to one another. He saw more people on higher ceilings and in windows frames looking at the city. They all waved to him like they knew him. He never waved back.

He didn’t even smile at them.

He had to wait for a crowded roof to get empty before he jumped. He didn’t want to embarrass himself just in case he missed. Even though if he did, he would probably fell to the alley and kill himself.

In some roofs, there were zip-lines that help people go to different parts of the zone. He saw three before he decided to line up to experience one of them.

“Why so many people?” Adaru asked to the young man who was in front of him.

“Because they are fun, faster than a bus and they make us feel like a super hero,” the man said with a grin.

When it was his turn, the young man screamed a big “yahoo” that Adaru could hear until the man disappeared when the zip line made turn, next to a tall building.

With less embarrassment and more curiosity, Adaru put on a harness that was tied to the line. He then grabbed a handle bar and jumped. He felt the wind hitting his face. It was exhilarating seeing the buildings coming closer to him but the line moving just before hitting them.

The ride took several minutes. There were minutes of speed and strain to Adaru’s shoulders and arms.

He screamed every second and he loved it just the same. He saw the floor getting closer and closer. He landed downtown the zone with a big smile.

It was the commercial area and he hoped to see more people using their abilities, but everyone was acting normal. There was a big park and businesses that looked like gyms or gave the clients a chance to use their ability. Adaru wanted to get in but he needed to pay a membership. Also, one employee told him they only accepted level 3s and higher and because Adaru’s bracelet didn’t have a level, he couldn’t apply for membership.

Adaru was disappointed to see people use their abilities for menial tasks. In one restaurant, he saw a man looking at his plate. The knife and fork lifted from the table and cut a piece of black steak. The steak then floated until it reached his open mouth.

He entered a library where he got a map of the zone. He found the bridge to New Haven and then got on a bus that took him there in about an hour.

For the first time, Adaru was on the other side of the bridge. New Haven had smaller buildings, but it still looked beautiful when the last rays of the sun gave it a dark orange glow. Adaru walked by the fence, hoping it led it to the entrance to the bridge.

When he got there, he saw a military jeep and several soldiers patrolling the area.

“Excuse me sir,” Adaru said to one of the soldiers. “How can someone leave the zone?”

“But why do you want to leave?” he said with a smile.

“I just moved into the zone and I miss my friends,” Adaru said, which was true. He was thinking of Jade and his other friends but getting Faith out was his priority. “I was wondering what I can do to see them again.”

“I understand what you are going through. That happened to me when I just moved in as well some years ago. Unfortunately, you need to apply for a special visa and we don’t give it to minors like you,” he said.

“How long does it take if my mother applies for one?”

“That depends. At least a couple of months you can get a permit to visit New Haven for a day,” the man said.

Adaru gave thanks to the soldier for his time and turned to start his journey back to the apartment and tell Faith the bad news.

It was at that moment an alarm was set off and officers ran toward the gap dividing the zone and the city. When a helicopter flew overhead, Adaru’s curiousness got the better of him. He ran up to the nearest building. He found a ledge and he lifted himself up, ignoring the pain that he still had.

There was a big beam of light from the helicopter that helped Adaru see two figures running toward New Haven. He heard gunshots, and one of the figures fell. The other gave up and kneeled with his hands up. The helicopter never left him out of the light.

He was trapped.

They all were.

Coming back

Sorry I havent written anything in so long. Did not feel motivated and getting too distracted these days. Also, summer meant wife was on vacxation, so we spent more time watching TV and I didn’t have to do homework..and writing for the blog was part homework, part amusement.

So I will try to write more, maybe twice per week. Foor now, I am back enjoying the NBA.

Coronavirus Journal part 3

So are you guys happy? I am talking to all who wanted to be free to roam, not wanting to wear facemasks and went straight to the bars when they were opened… now we are seeing a big surge. Don’t tell me it was for the BLM protests because Memorial Day, stay-at-home protests happened before and the surge is only in parts of the country, while the BLM protests happened nation wide.

Well, rant is over. Now you know why I haven’t written. I have been kind of mad.

Life has not changed for me since the last post. Working from home, then after trying to do some studying and failing, and mostly watching Netflix, Fandango and any movie the wife finds on cable streaming. What I have been trying to do is contacting my older relatives. I think my mon would get mad if she founds out I talk more to her sisters than her. (I love you mom!)

Calling my grandmother, however, is becoming heartbreaking.

She gets genuinely happy when she hears my voice. She is getting on her years and living in a city with a very high number of cases at the moment. She is getting tired of being locked up. She only receives visits from two of her sons, and she is clearly missing seeing the rest of the family. She normally would be visiting her daughters and her grandchildren, who some already have kids of their own.

She loves seeing the kids, and she misses the interaction. I have trouble keeping a conversation going. I don’t know if she just doesn’t hear it or I am seeing the first signs of Alzheimer (her mother died of it).

I live far away, so there is not much I can do. If you have an elder relative and your country is still under lockdown – which at this stage is mostly USA and some countries in Latin America – call them. They will need the interaction.

Where Naruto went wrong

The Shonen manga was among my all-time favorite…until author made a mistake in my opinion

Last clash between Nauto and Neji at their battle on the Chunin exam. (narutocouple.wikia.com)

Way back when I was a youngling, I used to devour manga. I read all the Japanese comics that I could find and spent reading until late at night. I had found several websites where I could read for free since I did not have the money to pay for it. I did buy the Shonen Jump magazine, so don’t criticize me that harshly. I read Shaman King, One Piece, and one manga I forgot the name which consists of playing Go.

However, one of my favorites was Naruto.

What is about

The manga is about a young ninja who has been neglected by his shinobi clan. He has been so isolated that he has lashed out and been rambunctious. He has decided to become the Hokage, the top shinobi who is elected to become the leader of the village. The problem is he acts before he thinks, and when he thinks, his ideas tend to be not so smart.

He has another drawback. He is the host of a Demon Fox that almost destroyed the village. Only the Fourth Hokage was able to stop it by sealing the spirit into Naruto’s body when he was a baby. That is the reason why the village shuns Naruto. They are afraid the Demon Fox will spill out. However, the Demon Fox has a large amount of chakra, energy that Naruto can use for ninja techniques and make him enormously powerful.

Naruto finds outs he has the Demon Fox inside him early on. Through the series, he slowly learns to use his energy and when he grows up, he learns to communicate with the Demon Fox, become friends, and thus save the world. At the end he becomes the Seventh Hokage.

Message

The main reason I was attracted to Naruto was that the protagonist was a failure. Still, he kept trying. He only started succeeding when he did things his way. Slowly, his genius started appearing. His tenacity was the attribute I admired the most. He was born into nothing, and when everybody was telling how a failure he was, he kept insisting he was going to prove them wrong.

The Chunin Exams

This story arc was my favorite, and the reason I became hooked to the series. Naruto and his teammates need to pass several examinations to become true chunin shinobi. It is like the O.W.L exams in the Harry Potter universe, but with one-on-one fights in one section. They meet powerful rivals, and in the last test, Naruto faces with Neji, a genius young ninja who has a dark family history.

Nature vs. Nurture

During his battle, Naruto learns that even though Neji is a ninja genius, he will always be a servant. His father and uncle were twins, but Neji’s father was born second. The family has a royal line where the oldest maintains the secrets of the clan while the rest must protect at all cost. So Neji will always be there to be second fiddle to his cousin, the shy and clumsy Hinata.

Of course, this causes resentment for Neji. He laughs at Naruto’s ambitions to become Hokage because only the main families will obtain the title. Naruto, a born nobody, will never obtain it no matter how hard he works at it.

Naruto dismisses him and claims he will become Hokage by sheer will. At the climax of the battle, he promises to Neji that he will take away his family’s discriminatory rule when he becomes Hokage. This is the last thing he says before he beats Neji.

The problem

The entire premise of the show at the time was that everybody could make their dreams come true by sheer determination and iron will. It didn’t matter how you were born or whose family’s name you were inheriting. Sure, it gave advantages and prestige, but they meant nothing if you didn’t have the fire to pursue your dreams.

Naruto was born into nothing. He worked hard and never surrendered until he become a great ninja. The problem was that he wasn’t a peasant. He was born into shinobi royalty.

The Fan theory

At the height of the series’ popularity, everybody started wondering about who Naruto’s parents were. A main theory was that the Fourth Hokage was his father because they were drawn similarly.

That was the main clue, and it ended being just enough.

This is where my disillusionment with the series began.

The plot hole

When Naruto’s past was fleshed out, it was revealed his mother was the original host, but something went wrong during his birth and the demon got freed. Naruto’s parents needed to combine their energy and sacrificed their lives to contain it once again, this time inside Naruto.

So, if they survived, Naruto’s life would of course be different. He would have been honored just by being the son of the Fourth Hokage instead of being a scamp. This change doesn’t undermine Naruto’s ambitions. He didn’t know his parents and never received special treatment. What it does is create a big plot-hole that affects all the series

It was revealed that there are nine Demon Animals and were used as ultimate weapons by different countries. This means that Naruto should have been protected by being the host of a mystical weapon, not shunned. He was supposed to protect the village, but instead he was treated as a pariah.

The main reason why Naruto was great is that it symbolizes you don’t need pedigree to obtain your dreams. The problem was that the main character was royalty from the start. He just didn’t know it yet.

The best season of Legend of Korra

What Book was the best?

My copy of The Legend of Korra DVD set. The series is owned and created by Nickelodeon.

One of my all-time favorite TV shows has been Avatar the Last Airbender. It was the show I couldn’t miss in a time where streaming wasn’t available, and I didn’t have a TV. When Nickelodeon transmitted the last episodes, I went to my job so I could watch in the television. This was on a Saturday!

When the sequel, The Legend of Korra, was announced, I knew I was not going to miss it.

Korra was a vastly different series. It had different cast, different plot and the world had evolved. It was still the same, but is like saying the US was the same in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was the same country but in different conditions.

I re-watched the series last week. The show’s main difference with its predecessor was that it only planned for one season versus Last Airbender’s three. That affected the plot’s pacing and even the villains. The Last Airbender had some of the most iconic villains in a children’s TV show and that was because they were properly developed. In Korra, each season -called Book – had a different feeling, villain, and main theme. While in The Last Airbender the ultimate goal was to defeat the Fire Lord and his family, Korra’s was saving a city from Civil War, then stopping the end of the world, then protecting the Air Nomads, and finally stopping a dictator who took over the Earth Kingdom.

It went all over the place.

Which season was the best? I thought. Since I have a blog and I always wanted to do a list about something, well, here it is!

What is about:

First for people who have never heard of the shows (how dare you? Go watch them!). The show is set in a world where people can control one of the four elements. They are benders, and they formed different countries depending on what element they can bend. The Last Airbender focused more on this since the main plot was the Fire Nation trying to take over the world. At the beginning of the series they had killed the Air Nomads to extinction, one fight away from beating the Water Tribes, and had the Earth Kingdom on the defense.

Here, look at the intro. That is all you need.

Of course, the Avatar Aang stopped them and brought balance to the world.

The Avatar’s main duty was that: bring balance. He/she is the only person able to learn the four elements and can commune with spirits. Each time an Avatar dies, he/she gets reincarnated into continuing a cycle that goes Air-Water-Earth-Fire.

Cast:

Before we go into the list, a brief explanation of Team Avatar:

Korra: the Avatar from the Southern Water Tribe. Headstrong and impulsive at the beginning of the series.
Mako: a Firebender. Former thug. Talented bender and Korra’s first love interest. Cares for others.
Bolin: an Earthbender. Mako’s younger brother and the series’ main comic relief. Goofy who ended up being a ladies’ man by the end of the series.
Asami. Daughter of one of the richest and innovative industrialists. She does not bend but knows martial arts and has keen mind for business and inventions. She has a love triangle going on with Mako and Korra.
Tenzin: an Airbender. Aang’s youngest son. He and his three children are the last Airbenders at the beginning of the series. He becomes Korra’s main mentor.

The Ranking

From worst to best, here is the listing. Most of it is subjective, but this is my list and if you disagree with it, you are wrong.

4th

Book 4: Balance

The last season of the show brought nothing new to the series. All previous seasons had brought something to expand the lore and the world. This season is just picking up the pieces. This is the season where Korra is at her weakest. She has been near death multiple times and is now suffering from PTSD and cannot recover. Kuvira, the main villain, is somewhat interesting and an able fighter but not as interesting as the other villains.

What is good: Korra and Asami’s relationship. When the finale aired, it created a controversy with people divided if they were good friends or partners. If you re-watch the series, you will figured it out since the clues were there, and the creators have made it official that Korra and Asami are a couple, one the first LBGT couples on a children’s show. The final battle is amusing with great animation.

3rd

Book 1: Air

I think this will be controversial, since the season had Amon, a great and powerful villain. He was mysterious and had a good cause. He wanted equality between benders and non-benders. However, they were lies. Considering this is the first season, most of it is good. At the end, there was nothing else that hook us for future seasons beside name recognition.

You know what? That was enough.

What is good: The season is not bad. It is an incredibly good season with great episodes. It introduces characters and there is great tension. Pro-Bending episodes were fun. The season is not as good as the others though.

2nd

Book 3: Changes

The season is better than Book 1 because of the villain. Zaheer was powerful, mysterious and as charismatic as Amon. The main difference is that he genuinely believed what he preached. He was the leader of the Red Lotus; whose leaders were powerful benders on their own. Zaheer was also the first Airbender villain both series has had. When he appeared in Book 4, people wanted to see him instead of Kuvira. Zaheer was also successful in killing the Earth Queen, setting up the conflict for the next season, and almost truly killed Korra and all future Avatars. He broke her. That is not something to say lightly.

What is good: Fights had good animation and created different fighting styles. It introduced magma bending, and the Beifongs. The biggest positive change the season brought to the Avatar universe was the return of the Air Nomads. The audience was finally able to see a large group of Airbending happening at the same time.

1st

Book 2: Spirits

It completely expanded the world’s lore. Season one was just one city, but this once set the seeds for bigger and better things. Unalaq is the weakest human antagonist, but his scheme to bring a Dark Avatar and fusing with Vaatu had the highest stakes of the series. They both wanted the destruction of the known world and almost accomplished it. This was Korra’s at his strongest when she defeated them both.

What is good: Almost everything. All secondary characters had something to do and went through their own story arcs: Bolin became engaged and a movie star, Mako investigated a conspiracy, Tenzin came to peace with his father’s legacy, and Asumi was trying to save her company. It brought funny and interesting characters. There was mystery, family strife and we met the first ever Avatar.

The Coronavirus Pandemic Experience

Picture showing our groceries — We got bottled water separated so the virus in plastic dies off. (Picture taken by me)

We are living through an historic phase, and I am doing my part in recording it…through this blog.

It is April 8 and I have been living the quarantine life for two weeks. Most of the world have been at this longer than me because I don’t count the week I was on Mexico.

The good news is that I have not developed symptoms, so I didn’t get it in any tourist attraction on my trip nor on the airports, which was causing me stress. If I do contract the virus, I will catch it here, and I think I should be considered “second wave,” at least in Austin.

We are just going out to do light exercise. It consists of walking a trail for 45 minutes. I am so out of shape that I get winded after that. We see people, and we are keeping our distance.

Hope that is enough.

What are we doing for entertainment, the wife and I, during the confinement? Nothing much different. We are seeing a lot of Netflix, and I am renting movies in Fandango. Currently, we are watching the sixth episode of “Tiger King” (yes, it is a weird show and if you are reading this 20 years from now, you should analyze the cultural phenomenon this docuseries caused). Our binge skills are strong. We finished season four of “Money Heist” in one setting.

My time is split into working from home, which I am lucky to have because last week, 6.6 million people applied for unemployment, and finishing up my Social Media Certification and Bilingual Court Interpreting course work. Believe me, it is a lot of work.

The wife is taking good care of me by being a good “grocery hunter.” At this time, we have found the basic groceries, and she has divided them into unwashed and washed items.

What’s going on:

We are hunkering down. There have been a bunch of scary stories. For example:

Young people, like this 32-year-old woman, are dying when we thought senior people were more susceptible.
Deaths in Ecuador are so many, dead are being left on the streets.
New York and Louisiana have been hit the hardest. Washington and California seem to be turning the tide after being hit first. Still, it seems the worst is yet to come.

My anxiety level has been high.

You can see some of my anxiety on my Instagram or Facebook profile, which I hope you follow. I need suggestions to what to write, so you can send me suggestions that way.

What we are doing:

We have these high-value items:

Water.
Food for at least two weeks. Restaurants are still open for carry out.
Toilet paper!

Unfortunately, we are running low on cleaning supplies.

The picture shown is how we are dividing our groceries. The bags have not been gone through the disinfecting process, so they are outside the kitchen. We have been told the virus dies in two days. Since these groceries are non-perishable, there is no need to put them on the fridge just yet.

What we will do:

We are going to start doing more exercise. We have gone to walks, but the paranoia is starting to set in. The are we walk is still used by people. The only thing we haven’t done is laundry.

Last week I was still adapting. I didn’t feel like writing, but I plan to resume writing reviews. Please visit my Contact Me page (I have changed it!).

I also plan to continue posting chapters of my novel, which the main page is here. Please let me know what you think.

Spring Break – Reprise

El Canon del Sumidero was a beautiful site to visit, but also very crowded. (Photo taken by me)

As anyone who is living right now, I have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Not as much as others. I don’t have symptoms, nobody in my household has, we have acquired groceries (including milk, eggs and toilet paper which we were low), and have hunkered down for one week of who-knows-how-many.

I needed to let some time pass to write again. My last post about Spring Break could have been misunderstood that I was one of the crazy young people going to Florida even though authorities say to avoid it.

I wasn’t. I was anxious about my trip and the uncertainity of what was happening. The reason why I was optimistic was that Mexico, specially the state of Chiapas, had fewer positive cases than Austin. I thought I was escaping from the pandemic for one week. My destination was safer!

I got anxious just seeing people with masks at the airports. When we arrived at our destination, we went to see the town of Tuxtla Gutierrez. See, I thought we were on a small group and mostly visiting rural areas. I had the idea we would not be in crowded places, but when we visted the plaza, my preconceived notions were all wrong. It was packed!

Now I was concerned. Chiapas is not wealthy, it relies mostly on tourism and is rural in almost all areas. My first impression was that if it got the disease, a lot of people were going to suffer.

I try to enjoy the trip, but I kept reading the news. There were rumors of the border closing but nothing concrete. I knew it was coming, but we didn’t have a specific date.

Then, on our last days, our tourist guide got the news. The historical sites were closing down to avoid the pandemic. There were a lot of tourists from different places of the world – including Asia and Europe – visiting the same small places. It seems we were the last wave of people visiting those sites since they closed down a day after we visited. On our return date, we knew the border was closing.

Now everything is worse as before we left. I haven’t shown symptoms, and Mexico is in denial, like Americans were weeks ago. The denial is more out of necessity. Without tourism, they are going to lose their jobs and way of life.

But…most of the places I went were so far away that there is hope the virus will never get there. There is a chance the poorest sites will not see the disease, while the richer sections of the country will suffer.

That’s wishful thinking of my part. At the time I am writing this there are reports that rich Mexicans brought the virus and are infecting domestic workers. Rich people will get the treatment. The poor will not.

Chapter 5: The Unexpected Test

Faith wanted him to reconsider. She didn’t want him to leave that night in a city they didn’t know.

“I will be fine, don’t worry,” Adaru said. “This is to help me for tomorrow.”

He left an hour later, after he made sure his mom was already knocked up by possibly the last bottle she would be able to drink in a while.

He went back to the store and asked how he could reach Smith or Red. The cashier told him to take the bus 27 Blue at the corner. He also warned him that it was dangerous to go there at that time.

It was already getting dark when the bus arrived and Adaru got inside.

“Where to?” the driver said.

“To Red and Smith.”

Adaru sat and he tried to enjoy seeing the zone in the night. The life and joy of the zone were gone and now it was filled with shadows that disappeared on the corners. There were only less than a dozen of people riding the bus, but in a few minutes, Adaru was the only one remaining.

It only took 15 minutes for Adaru to reach Red Street. He felt relieved that it was close to his new apartment.

“Be safe kid,” the driver told him when he got out.

Adaru walked the street, hoping to find the warehouse. Instead, he heard noises from a hallway. He followed and was surprised to find the famous black market his dad told stories about.

It was on a narrow street between empty buildings. It covered almost two blocks. People were walking on the street instead of the sidewalk because the sidewalks were for the merchandise.

The merchants were on old rugs and were all smiles trying to show their boxes of illegal products.

Vendors didn’t scream or attempted to attract customers. They had to be cautious, so they waited for the clients to come to them. The clients perused the merchandise quickly. His father used to say that if people lingered, a sale was about to be made.

The merchandise was equipment, junk food and even bootlegged movies and some magazines. Adaru was looking for something that was given more in secret. And it was also more dangerous.

He didn’t know where to go, so he started asking merchants if he knew where Lizzy was. Some of them told him to get away, others cursed at him. Finally, one pointed toward a young man who was all alone.

The young man was on the middle of the street, looking at all the vendors on the sides. Adaru saw he was trembling.

Soon, a second man approached him and talked to him.

Adaru saw the man smiled and nodded his head eagerly. The two men started walking into the alley, away from the market. Adaru walked behind them.

He kept his distance when the pair walked to the back of a green warehouse. He heard someone knocking some trash cans behind him, so he hurried inside the warehouse. When turning a corner, he was pulled by an arm and pushed to the wall. Adaru only felt the force of the pull. A strong arm lifted him several feet off the ground.

“Who are you? Why are you following us?” a man said.

Adaru saw his captor. He was a dark skinned man with furious eyes.

“I just came for some pills,” Adaru said. “I’m looking for Lizzy.”

“That’s it? Show me your arms!” the man demanded.

Adaru rolled his sleeves and lifted his arms.

The man laughed when he saw no bracelet.

“How the hell did you manage to get all this way?” he said while he put Adaru down. “I’m impressed. You must be really desperate.”

Adaru fell to his knees and coughed. The man patted him on his back, trying to comfort him, but Adaru felt like cinder blocks were hitting him.

“Come, come,” the man said while he lifted him up. “This is where all the good stuff is.”

Adaru could see the pair he was following. The customer seemed more nervous now. The man he had come with smiled and said everything was OK.

The four of them turned into a second alley filled with trash cans. They turned another corner and were behind the warehouse. Adaru felt trapped by the wall right of him. It was shorter than the warehouse, but not by much. He ought for an exit behind the men, but he only saw a large garbage container near the wall. He couldn’t get back or go forward.

Adaru saw the entrance and there were two men with rifles. He looked around to see people in the ground, some of them were convulsing, and others were unconscious.

“What happened to them?” Adaru asked.

“They just took some of our product,” said the man trying to reassure him. “This is obviously your first time. So don’t worry. This is just temporary.”

Three men were lining up to a man who had a bag. Behind him, there were more men with guns. One by one, they gave him money or other things. The last one gave him his cell phone.

“Hey Lizzy! We have two more customers!”

The dealer saw Adaru and let his tongue out when Adaru got closer to him. It was a lizard’s tongue that could go to the bottom of his neck.

Adaru couldn’t hide his disgust.

“Never seen one like me, boy?” he said to Adaru while getting closer to him. “Don’t worry, you may get a tongue like mine if you take one of these pills. “

He whipped his tongue to Adaru so fast he only saw it when it hit him on his shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but Adaru was still suffering from the pain of the pinch earlier, so he fell once again.

The men laughed. The dark-skinned man lifted Adaru from the floor meanwhile the dealer offered him a pill.

“The first pill is on the house. Just ingest it right now,” he said.

Adaru looked at the red and blue pill.

“What ability am I getting?” Adaru asked to nobody in particular.

“The only thing we can imitate with the pills is an animal-based ability. We can make you as agile as a monkey or as strong as an ox,” the strong man with the intense eyes said behind Adaru.

“How long will it last?” Adaru asked.

“It depends on the person but it will be enough for you to pass any government hearing within the week. It’s better to do it sooner rather than later. Also, our new formula is undetectable.”

Adaru looked to his left and saw a woman laying face up. She was drooling but she didn’t seem to care. She had vacant eyes, and for a moment, Adaru remembered her mother who he was sure was now in a similar position back at the apartment with Faith.

Would he become someone like his mother if he took the pill? Adaru thought.

“No,” Adaru said.

“What did you say boy?” the lizard-tongue man said with surprise.

“I said no, thank you,” Adaru repeated pushing the dealer’s hand away.

The men laughed, but now in a different manner. Adaru felt he was in danger now.

The dark-skinned man got behind him and grabbed his shirt.

“You’re telling me you came all this way to not take a free pill?” he said. “I’m hurt.”

He tossed Adaru to the wall closest to the alley where they had come from. Adaru raised his head, and for one moment, he thought he heard more people coming into the alley.

“We are not done with you boy,” Lizzy said. He then turned to the nervous customer who came before Adaru.

“Are you a first customer also? Don’t worry. We are only rough to those who disrespect us,” he said while taking out his tongue.

The man smiled, but he kept trembling.

He took a pill and he looked directly to the man.

“I think I will say no as well,” he said.

“It looks like we have a copycat here,” Lizzy said.

“No,” he said. “You have a rival.”

With that, he hit the chin of the lizard man so hard that Adaru could not see where he landed.

“You should have had wings,” the nervous man said laughing.

The dark-skinned man didn’t wait. He hit the man hard. The man flew almost to the other side of the backyard, hitting the large garbage container. The man stood up and was not scared, even though he was being surrounded.

“Who are you?” the dark-skinned man asked, angry and nervous.

“I work for Tico. You guys are getting into our territory,” the nervous man said. “Bad move.”

“Bad move for you,” the dark-skinned man said. He whistled and the other men started approaching the rival. “You are surrounded.”

“That’s how I like it,” he said.

He grabbed the garbage container with his two arms and hit three men with it. The dark skinned man evaded the hit and ran toward him. They collided and embraced going through the wall, making a big hole. Adaru heard their grunting and fighting on the other side.

Adaru stood up, at the same time men came from all sides of the warehouse shooting and cussing. He had been forgotten, so without thinking, Adaru hugged the wall and tried making himself smaller.

He saw two men fall and some of the clients fleeing. Some of them were not lucky and fell victim to the shots.

“Tico is here! Tico is here!” someone yelled scared.

Then, Adaru felt it before he heard it.

A wave pushed Adaru to the wall that was three feet away. He heard a loud explosion after it.

“It’s Tico! Everyone run!” he heard.

Adaru saw men running toward the warehouse to escape, not paying attention to him.

Adaru crawled, trying to recover his energy. He raised his head, just to see a tall man entering the alley. Adaru could see he had blond hair, strong shoulders and he was wearing a vest that showed the muscles on his arms.

He had to be Tico.

Fear made Adaru stand up. He ran to the wall, jumped and bounced from it to grab the edge of the warehouse’s roof. Adaru ignored the pain on his arms and shoulders. He lifted himself up and he rolled to his back. He took some breaths before standing and running again.

He only took some steps when he heard another explosion. He turned just in time to see part of the warehouse collapsing. Adaru ran until the end of the warehouse to jump, and land on the floor.

Adaru couldn’t stand up; his entire body was claiming rest. The wall surrounding the warehouse had collapsed and there was rubble everywhere.

“Look for survivors,” he heard.

Adaru opened his eyes. He managed to see the shapes of Tico’s men looking into the rubble.

“I found someone!”

Adaru wanted his body to jump and run, but it was not listening. He looked around to see where the men were. No one was near him. They were picking up another man several feet away. When Tico got near him, he grabbed him by his neck.

“Who is your supplier?” he said.

The man choked. Adaru’s sight was improving and he could see Tico clearly grabbing Lizzy by the neck.

“I know you are getting your drugs from outside the zone. You are clever. It’s a different formula, so tell me, who is your supplier?” Tico said again.

Adaru stood up. If he was silent, he could probably get away.

Tonight wasn’t his day because the lizard-tongue man saw him.

“He knows. That boy knows,” he said.

“What boy?”

“The one behind you.”

Tico turned.

“Get him!” he yelled.

Two of his men leaped and in seconds, they got to a pile of rubble near Adaru. They were so close that Adaru could see their smiles. He thought that if they were able to leap that far, then he had no opportunity of escaping.

“Now come with us,” one of the two said.

They walked on top of the rubble, but the rocks moved below their feet.

“Wh-?” the second man said when two men emerged from the pile making them fall, confused.

They were the dark-skinned man and the nervous man who were still throwing punches and wrestling each other.

“Hey, be careful,” said the first man. But it was too late. He had fallen behind one of them. The nervous man stepped back and stepped on the first man’s leg. Adaru heard his bone cracked before he heard the man yelling in pain.

It was that yell that woke Adaru’s body.

He ran to the street and turned a corner. The streets were getting crowded by people who heard the bangs and were curious to know what had happened. Adaru ran the opposite way when he felt an arm grabbing his shoulder.

He turned to see the second man who could leap very far away grinning at him. They were separated when a big muscled man wearing a red shirt came between them. It was just for a second, but Adaru saw the muscled man’s wallet hanging from his back pocket.

Quickly, he grabbed the wallet and threw it to his pursuer.

“Hey sir! That man is stealing your wallet!” Adaru yelled.

The man turned and put his hand on his back pocket. After not feeling the wallet and seeing the man with a wallet on his hands, he yelled angrily “You thief!”

“No, wa-“the pursuer tried to say but was interrupted with a big smack to his face.

Adaru ran through the street, quickly becoming crowded, hoping to hide. He turned and saw a man on top of the building next to the warehouse pointing at him and yelling.

Adaru ran even though his legs and chest were hurting. Fear made him run. When he fell, the fear made him stand up again and keep on running.

He didn’t stop when he saw the bus. He didn’t stop when he turned the corner and saw the building where his family now called home. He didn’t stop when he got up all the stairs and he reached the door of his new apartment.

He only stopped when Faith opened the door and he collapsed at the entrance.

“What happened?” she asked.

“This town is more dangerous than I thought,” he said, relieved that he got home safely. “I really don’t think we are going to survive here a week.”

“Well, did you get what you were going to get?”

“No, and it is a good thing. We just have to survive tomorrow and say the jump was a big fluke,” Adaru said. “ Don’t do anything that make them pay attention to you.”

“I’ll try,” Faith said while Adaru stood up.

He decided to calm himself and not scare Faith more than she already was. He ignored the noise of cars passing by the building, but he couldn’t ignore them when they started parking near it.

He could hear murmur from neighbors and then he could hear the voices of the men who were in the parking lot.

The panic came back to him when he heard one voice.

“WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE BOY! WE FOLLOWED YOU FROM THE MARKET!” the voice said.

“IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU MUST COME DOWN NOW!”

Adaru’s eyes got wide. He ducked behind the door, like it was the best place to hide.

“What’s going on Adaru?” Faith asked. “They are not coming for you, right?”

But she only needed to see his face to know that was wishful thinking.

“TO EVERYBODY ELSE, YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE AND YOU WILL NOT CALL THE POLICE OR SAY ANYTHING. WE WILL KNOW IF YOU DO AND WE WILL COME BACK!” the voice continued. “TICO ONLY WANTS THE BOY WE SAW RUNNING INSIDE THIS BUILDING”

Adaru peeked at the window to see if there were people on the hallways, but they were empty. Everybody must know who Tico was and feared him.

“YOU BETTER COME OUT OR WE WILL GO IN! AND IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT IF ANYONE GETS HURT. YOU DON’T WANT SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT GETTING HURT, DO YOU?”

And then panic, erupted. Neighbors started yelling from their rooms. Adaru couldn’t see them, but he guessed they were also hiding behind their walls.

“Please! Get out! We have two small children here!” someone said.

“Why did you have to make Tico mad?” someone else said. “Get out and be done with it.”

Adaru realized that he was dead. Tico wouldn’t let him live and he didn’t need a lot of effort to do it. He was now scared that Faith could get hurt.

“I have to get down,” he told Faith.

“No,” she said grabbing his arm. “You cannot!”

“They will hurt you if I don’t,” Adaru said.

“I don’t care,” she said.

“I have to,” he said while getting up and opening the door.

“At least, take something that you can use,” she said.

“Like what?”

Faith went to a room on the corner and came back with Adaru’s lunchbox.

“There must be something here we can use,” she said.

There were only papers and money. She emptied the box on the floor and then, they heard a metallic sound.

It was a silver lighter that their dad must have used for smoking. Adaru grabbed it and he then saw his mother, still laying face down in the middle of the room with the bottle on her hand. He grabbed the bottle.

He only had the bottle and a lighter against someone who made buildings crumble.

“I don’t think I can do anything with this,” he said with desperation.

“GET OUT NOW! WE ARE COMING IN.”

Adaru cursed.

“I have to go,” he said. “If something happens, just lay low so the man with the mustache and hat doesn’t notices you.”

“I don’t want you to go!” Faith said and Adaru could see tears coming out. “I won’t let you get hurt!”

“I’m sorry,” he said while he got out. He couldn’t dare to see her. In his mind, he had failed to protect her. He got to the corner where he could see three cars with about a dozen of men waiting for him. He could distinguish Tico from that height.

“I am here!” he yelled. “I am coming out!”

He heard them jeering and even some clapping. His plan was to get to the elevator, but a man appeared from the edge.

“We don’t like waiting,” the man said. Adaru could see he was the one who was hit by the strong man with the red jacket. His nose was swollen, and bleeding, and he had a dark eye. His smile was missing all but five teeth.

He grabbed Adaru and they fell to the bottom floor. He let go of Adaru who couldn’t remain standing like him. He hit his shoulder and face because he couldn’t use his hands to protect him from the fall. He had the bottle on his right hand, and the lighter on the left.

“So this is the kid who was causing too much trouble?” he heard.

Adaru stood up to face the strong blond man from the warehouse.

“Still, you got my respect,” he said with a crispy voice. “Like a tiger respects the ant before it steps on it.”

Adaru could see it like it was happening on slow motion. Tico extended his arms so wide Adaru could see his armpits. Tico then clapped.

Adaru heard a loud BOOM and a second later, he was pushed so hard he hit the ground face up several feet away. His head started buzzing and he felt pain on his back and chest.

He stood up. A car that was next to him had been damaged like it was hit by a trailer. The windows behind him were broken and a trash container had a big dent, like if it was hit by a bull.

But Adaru was standing; something that Tico was not used to seeing.

Even his gang was surprised.

“He is still standing?” someone said. “He must have strength level 3!”

“He wasn’t that strong back on the market. He must be a sensorial.”

“Shut up,” Tico said, annoyed. “I must have missed. Nobody could stand up from my blasts like he did. “

Tico was about to clap again. Without thinking, Adaru threw the bottle at him. The gesture surprised even Tico, who stopped his motion to protect his face from the improvised attack, breaking it with his arms. Tico cursed when he smelled the alcohol on him. Adaru ran toward him as fast as he could. Tico was clearly angrier now, so he also ran to met Adaru halfway.

Adaru jumped to the garbage container and jumped again to fell on top of Tico, who caught him with his two arms and a big smile on his face.

“Got you,” he said while he raised him higher. He was going to smash Adaru to the pavement. Adaru opened his left hand to turn on the lighter. When he felt he was going down, he let go of it and he could see the flame hitting Tico’s right shoulder.

Tico let him go when his shirt caught fire.

Adaru fell hard on his back again and he rolled to get away from Tico. It was a smart choice because on his panic, Tico tried to put out the flames by hitting his body. When he did, he caused another BOOM.

Adaru had covered his face to protect himself from the blast. When he looked, he saw Tico had fallen to his back.

The flames had gotten bigger, which was something Adaru couldn’t believe it should happen. Tico’s men had rushed to cover him and make the flames disappear.

“Run Adaru!” he heard. He looked up to see Faith looking at him.

“You are not going anywhere,” one of Tico’s men said.

It was then than the street was filled with blue and red lights and the sounds of sirens. The men cursed and they lifted Tico up to escape, but the patrol cars had arrived.

“Zone police!” Adaru heard.

The lights blinded Adaru, but he could see a woman jumping over the cars and faced two men. She kicked one on the groin and she punched the second on the neck. A third tried to hit her but she grabbed his arm and twisted it. Adaru yelled to warn her about two men behind her, but it was not needed. One of the cars belonging to the gang flew towards them and knocked them out. Adaru could see a man grabbing a second car with his hands over his head. He threw it to a small group who appeared were about to attack him and made them scatter. Adaru could now see the man was Custos and the woman was his partner, agent Whiteman.

Tico didn’t have any fire on him anymore. He clapped again, but Whiteman got out of the way. The three men she had subdued flew away by the blast. Custos raised his arms to protect himself but the blast only made him take two steps back. He then ran toward Tico, who was about to clap again, but Custos hit him straight to the chest.

Tico flew back and fell. He didn’t stand up.

Custos ran to check on Adaru, who was now really happy to see him. Custos asked if he was hurt, but Adaru said he had been worse.

“Do you know what you just did?” Custos said. “You have faced the biggest criminal in the zone and you are still standing!”

“So, what does that mean?” Adaru said.

“It means that I think you are not going to need an audition,” Custos said. “This has earned you a place in the zone!”

Chapter 4: Discovered

After the fear and excitement of escaping from a fiery death, Adaru embraced the chaos of medics and police surrounding him, asking questions and taking care of his injuries. His ankles were only twisted, but the medics took him to the hospital just as a safety measure.

Adaru was exhausted, so he fell asleep just minutes of touching the hospital bed. When he woke up, Faith and his mother were in the room.

Faith was smiling when she saw him. His mother didn’t dare to look him. At least, Adaru got some enjoyment in seeing her embarrassed.

“Where were you?”

“I just went out. It was just for a couple of minutes,” she said, still looking away.

“You went to the bar, don’t lie.”

“That’s not true. I just went for a walk, and then I couldn’t come back.”

“It must have been a very long walk,” Adaru said turning away.

“I am your mother. You can’t treat me like this!” she said.

Adaru didn’t want to answer that. He was too tired to start an argument and nothing would have changed at the end.

“Talk to me,” his mother said.

“I’m tired,” he said.

But he couldn’t rest. Just five minutes later, he had two visitors and Adaru was surprised that he recognized one of them.

He was Horatio Bellingham who was joined by a tall, slim man with black hair and a nose shaped like a boot.

“Good morning,” Bellingham said taking off his bowler hat. “I hope I am not intruding.”

“I know you,” Adaru said, with his voice betraying his nervousness.

“And I know you,” Bellingham said with a smile. “The young lad who showed disrespect to the main judge during his audition by giving him a fright, therefore, he became a hit and a media darling. I also remember your other auditions”, he said while moving a chair and sitting down in front of him.

“They were good, but as we both know, not that good.”

“How can we help you?” his mother said with some excitement.

“Well, we hope for you to help us fill some holes of what happened yesterday,” Bellingham said.

“You see, agents from the Department of Inner Migration went to your address to do a local audition for a young man that showed promise. Unfortunately, it appears the young man’s ability to control fire was not enough since his apartment was the spot where the sinister started.”

“What happened to them?” Adaru said to Bellingham.

“They died,” Bellingham said without emotion. “I wished we had arrived to the family earlier, but it was bad timing that the kid’s ability started during Evolution Day weekend.”

“But even though it was a horrible loss of a great potential, my agents came back saying they saw a remarkable feat of physical ability. They saw a young man making an impossible jump while carrying someone on his back.”

“It wasn’t that impossible. You know I am not that good,” Adaru said.

“I remember,” Bellingham said. “Still, it was an impossible jump. If someone had done that at their audition, that person would certainly have passed the test.”

“Passed? You mean he would be able to live in the zone?” Adaru’s mother said.

Bellingham saw her for the first time.

“You must be their mother, Rachel Sepien right?” Bellingham said. “Your husband’s name is Joseph?”

That brought fear to Adaru and to Rachel as well. They looked at each other, wondering if they will be punished by his crimes.

“We know that Joseph was a big-time smuggler. I know people in New Haven don’t consider that a big crime, but getting in and out from the zone is a national security issue,” Bellingham said. “Still, your relationship with him does bring some red flags for us. We first need to know is, how did you accomplish that jump?”

“I don’t know how to answer that. I just did,” Adaru said.

“Are you sure? Because that jump merits a second audition. You may be accepted into the zone,” Bellingham said.

Adaru turned to see Faith. She was trying to avoid looking at Bellingham by looking down. He saw the nervousness by how she was biting her lip. She glimpsed at him and her eyes were wide.

“I think it was just a lucky jump,” Adaru said.

“It was not. My agent saw that you, apparently, made a jump while in the air,” Bellingham said.

“That’s impossible,” Adaru said, even though he remembered the force he felt. It was at the same time that Faith yelled.

“Then, if it wasn’t you, perhaps another made you do it,” Bellingham said.

He then turned to see Faith, who was still trying to avoid looking at him.

“Who are you, little girl?” Bellingham said to her.

Faith was quiet.

“Darling, the man asked you a question,” her mom said. “Don’t be rude and also looked at him.”

“My name is Faith sir,” she said, looking at him.

“Incredible, green eyes and red hair. That’s something you don’t see in a family of brown eyes and dark hair,” the man with a boot-shaped nose said.

“Yes, she was blessed by being unique,” Rachel Sepien said. “Nobody believed me that she had dark hair when she was a baby. I swear she changed her color of her eyes and hair when she was two.”

“Interesting,” Bellingham said. “So perhaps you could have helped your brother made that jump.”

Adaru got into the conversation again by almost shouting. “I made the jump, it was all me.”

“Really? Then why haven’t we seen those same skills during your auditions?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think I could have done it until yesterday.”

“That’s seems plausible,” Bellingham said. “Physical-based abilities are harder to gauge because some of them are based on adrenaline. No matter, we can give you another shot to see if you should live in the zone.”

Adaru had to ignore that his mother was making little jumps of excitement and smiling broadly.

“I don’t think I want to live in the zone,” Adaru said.

“Well, you won’t if you don’t pass, but you must if you do,” Bellingham said. “It’s the law and you saw why yesterday. We have the zone so people with an ability cannot hurt the normal folk.”

“Yeah, but I can’t kill people by jumping very far.”

“That is why we have auditions, to see the magnitude of your ability. And frankly, you don’t have a say on this since we know you and your sister survived a fire you were not supposed to. So one of you has an ability,” Bellingham said again.”You can leave the hospital this afternoon. We will have a transport waiting for you to take you to the zone. I assume you have lost everything on the fire?”

“Yes,” Rachel said.

“It’s unfortunate, but it simplifies the moving process. If you passed, you will be given some help like housing and clothing,” Bellingham said.

And with that, he and the other man left the room with an excited Rachel, a nervous Adaru and a fearful Faith.

“Oh my god! We are going to live in the zone!” Rachel said. She hugged Faith and gave a kiss to Adaru before she left, almost jumping with glee.

Her son and daughter were not that excited.

“What are we going to do?” Faith said while getting near Adaru.

“I don’t know. We can only hope they see I don’t pass the audition and let us go,” he said.

“But what if they then do tests on me? What if they found out about my dreams?”

“I don’t think they can do that,” Adaru said.

“Are you sure?” Faith said.

Adaru wasn’t sure. He thought his only option was to make them pay attention to him instead of Faith.

“If I passed the audition, they will not experiment on you,” he said. “They only need one of us.”

“How can you fool them?”

“I don’t know yet. I just know I must,” he said. “That’s why I am your big brother.”

“You are the best big brother ever,” Faith said while getting on bed and hugging him. He hugged her back.

Adaru thought about his father. He needed his cunning to fool the freak with the bowling hat. Adaru only knew he had to protect Faith from them. She may be one of them, but she won’t belong to them, he thought.

He was released from the hospital that day. He was upset he could not see Jade one last time. She must have been worried when he didn’t show up to class that day. He was thinking why she didn’t visit him at the hospital when the family was picked up by a small bus outside the hospital.

Only their mother was eager to get on the bus. She had grabbed some bags of clothes from the local Red Cross. Then, they went to cross the bridge and into the zone. This trip was less amusing for Adaru than the trip he did on Evolution Day.

At the end of the gate, they got off and entered an office they had their pictures and fingerprints taken. The room was almost empty, so the process went very fast. They were told they would have an escort for the second leg of the trip.

Adaru could not hide his surprise very well. Their escort was the two police officers he met on Evolution Day.

“Welcome back.” Custos said to Adaru. “Ready for the tour?”

“My name is Candace Whiteman, and he is Nate Custos,” the woman said to Adaru’s mom. “Please come this way.”

She opened the door for a black car. Adaru entered first, then Faith and then their mother. The two police officers got in front. They drove and let the Sepien family discover a part of the zone they have never seen before.

The buildings were taller and Adaru thought they were shining when the sun hit them. Their glasses were transparent and reflected the people outside. The streets were alive with people walking, but the most interesting thing for him was the streets.

There was traffic like in New Haven, but this was a different kind of traffic. The streets were filled, but not only of cars but also of people running.

Adaru looked up and saw people jumping from roofs to roofs, like they were chasing each other. There were others who were flying. There were so many of them that there were even traffic lights floating in the sky to regulate traffic.

When the police car turned a corner to evade road work, Adaru could see there were two men and there was no machinery. Adaru saw one man punching the road to get rid of gravel. The other man grabbed it and threw it to a large container at the side.

At a traffic light, a man wearing a tight suit and a helmet stood next to the car and waved to Custos.

“Hello Jeremy, having a nice run?” he said.

“Yes I am, officer. I hope you have a nice day,” the man said.

“Remember to run below forty,” Custos said.

“Always,” he said at the same time the traffic light turned green and he ran so fast Adaru lost sight of him before the car started moving.

Adaru could not contain a laugh when he saw an old man lifting his parked car and put it between parked vehicles. Apparently, he had not enough space to maneuver for parallel parking.

He felt Faith giving him a tug on his sleeve. She told him to look up. When he did, he saw a very tall crystal building in the center of the zone. Adaru wanted to ask her if that was the same building of her dream, but he didn’t have to mutter the words. She just nodded.

The family was taken away from the downtown area and into a neighborhood area, not very different from their home at New Haven. The streets were cleaner, and the building looked that they were recently built. They parked in front of a big red square building that had a big parking lot.

“Here are your keys. Your apartment is in the fourth floor, room C,” agent Whiteman said. “Here are some vouchers you can use to purchase groceries at the store that is two blocks that way.”

Adaru’s mom nodded and then she told them to follow them to the room. There was an elevator, which was the first thing different from their old home.

Their apartment was one big room with a door going to the restroom and another on the opposite side leading to a bedroom. The kitchen was in the corner next to the entrance. It had only a big window between the stove and the door. It was smaller than their old apartment, but their mother wasn’t complaining.

“We did it! We are in the zone! Things will get better. We just need to give time to time,” she said trying to cheer up Faith and Adaru.

“It’s too small,” Adaru said.

“It’s homely,” his mother said. “Come, lets’ go buy something to eat.”

The store was underwhelming. It was only a one-floor white building that had “STORE” painted in red letters on the side. Inside, it was almost empty.

While his mother went to talk to the cashier, Adaru walked through almost empty shelves that occasionally had two products like lettuce or apples together. Three things on an aisle were the most he saw. There were fewer varieties of cereal and canned goods than Adaru used to see in New Haven

“Why do you mean there is no beer here?! What am I supposed to drink?!” he heard his mother say.

“Miss, we are not allowed to sell any alcoholic beverages,” the cashier said.

“You don’t even have chocolates here!”

“They are bad for you. We try to sell things that are good for you,” the cashier said.

“So what am I supposed to drink to have fun?”

“We have a wide variety of organic milk for you.”

Adaru and Faith had to hide their smiles. They had not seen their mother this mad before and they may finally see her more sober. Perhaps living in the zone would not be all bad, Adaru thought.

They managed to find a loaf of bread, a dozen of eggs, pasta and some fruit.

Her mother kept cursing all the way back to the house. When they got to the lobby, there were three people already waiting for the elevator, so Adaru decided to take the stairs instead. He wanted to be alone and focus on his problems. Adaru couldn’t find a way to convince Bellingham he had an ability when he had rejected him less than a week ago.

While walking up the stairs, a man with a pony tail was coming down, so Adaru went to the right side and grabbed the handrail.

“Where’s your bracelet?” the man said.

Adaru couldn’t get a word out due to his surprise. He only looked at his hand and had to take some minutes to remember he was supposed to have a bracelet to be considered resident of the zone.

“I…” he started to say.

“You are doing your audition?” the man said. “Are you up for it?”

Adaru didn’t want to talk to a complete stranger so he tried to ignore him.

“Hold on buddy. I want to help you,” the man said. “There are some pills that can help you fool the judges if you are not confident of your own skills.”

That caught Adaru’s attention. The man noticed.

“Just have to go to Smith Avenue and Red Street. There’s a warehouse at that corner. Ask for Lizzy,” the man said.

And with that, he left. Adaru got to the apartment and he was surprised that his mother had opened a bottle of whiskey and was already drinking.

“Where did you get that?” Adaru asked.

“I brought it from the city. Thank god I learned something from your father. I wouldn’t be able to celebrate properly without this,” her mother said.

“We really need to get a couch. At least there’s this bed,” she said while laying face up to a mattress that was in the bedroom.

“It was nice while it lasted,” Faith said to Adaru.

“Yeah. I am going out,” he said to her.

“Where?”

“I think I know how to pass the audition. Don’t wait up.”

Spring Break Trip

So…how is everyone?

Me, I am fine. I am currently in my Spring Break trip so I will be laying down on my social media…. Which I am still building it right now with all my links so you can know me more.

I plan to share some pictures of my trip in the upcoming trip but meanwhile I want to ask you, where is your dream trip?

You can tell your answers on my Instagram whofan55 or Twitter at @lafere.

Have a happy Spring Break everyone!

Hope the Coronavirus does not ruin your plans!