Chapter 2 Acquiring Water

"How will I multibox now?" Ked asked to himself. Ked only had one capsule. Even if he could somehow afford another capsule for 12 dollars, he doesn't possess two bodies.

Ked couldn't stand the masses of people flooding the server so he decided to wait for the congestion to stop. He knew out of the millions of people, only the ones that went to the conventions were allowed to purchase the game. Several conventions were held worldwide, but the locations weren't announced until the last minute.

He felt as if he was walking through circles in this metropolitan area. Another school day was over, the commute home to the suburban part of the city would take 1 hour of transportation. But today was different.

He was jealous of his classmates because they have gone to so many parts of the city while he had spent everyday on Loktus. The sky was already dark at 5 PM because the days were nearing toward winter solstice.

A slim, tall, fit-looking guy in a black silky suit walked past him. His dress shoes were polished and had a nice black sheen. Ked decided to follow him because what's more fun than stalking... er... following a stranger? The man suddenly crossed the sidewalk and opened the door of his car.

"It's now or never," Ked told himself, "I probably will never meet him again." Ked began running up to the man. When he tried to plead, he kept stuttering and could not come up with a lie.

The man said, "Go away kid." Ked sniffed a little. It smelled like drugs, slightly different from those pharmaceutical kinds with a stronger stench. Ked was scared. He recognized that this man was dangerous, but there was a thrill in him to find out more. It was an exhilaration he rarely felt.

"I will call the cops," Ked said.

"Do you want to die?" the man shouted. Ked reaching into his bookbag as if he actually had a phone inside, once more said, "I will call the police that you are selling illegal drugs. I memorized the license plate too and I know what you look like too!"

The man lost his cool right after Ked said those words. Ked's guess was right on the dot.

"Get inside." The man grabbed Ked's arm and held a knife toward him. "You will come inside."

Obediently, Ked followed what the man said. Maybe I gone too far, he thought. He was scared of sharp objects especially knives. He hated getting hurt and coud not stand the sight of blood.

The man began to drive and threatened that if Ked tried anything funny, he will not hesitate to kill on the spot. The man continued driving while Ked remained silent. He felt a slight bump on the cushion and decided to look under. On the bottom of the seat, there was a glass container the size of an eraser labeled [Water].

"Inside must be a drug. I'll just take a small sniff." The scent was so irresistibly addicting that Ked gulped the whole container, making no sound and licked it clean. "What do I do now?" Ked thought. Quickly off the top of his head, he uncapped his bottle of water and pour the same amount back inside. He placed the container back undear the seat where it once belonged.

The drug slowly started to take effect, and Ked felt a numbing sensation. "Will I die?" he asked himself, but now he no longer cared. He would let this euphoria overtake him as he drift into unconsciousness. The man driving the car drove on the highway choosing the shortest routes. Not once in a while he would turn around to keep watch.

This time, he notice Ked had passed out. "It's not possible right? He couldn't have noticed it. He must have passed out from fright. I must report this brat to my boss. He knows how to handle these types of issues. At least the money and that thing is tucked away nicely."

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Ked awoke with this painful throdding in his head. He heard a gruffy but young voice saying, "Look, he's awake now. What will you do with him?"

Another voice of an older man replied, "We will keep him here and it will depend on how much he knows and how the heck he even found out about us. We will have the money deposited in the bank and make sure you send that "thing" to THE BOSS'. I heard rumors that he is giving it to his son.

"I heard his son was addicted to gaming, but the boss always had to step in to 'help' out."

Ked was feeling nauseated and his groans were getting louder. "It was a prank", he cried out.

The older man said sternly, "You were fooled?"

"No. I heard from my very own ears what the boy said," the young man retorted.

"Did he have any proof?"

"Ye..." The young man began to said, but once again he was unsure.

"You idiot!"

"I didn't know!"

"Now what do we do with this boy?"

"Kill him." the young man suggested.

"You said he had a phone remember? All phones have GPS now. Throw all his clothes into the sea."

"Why his clothes?" the young man replied back.

"Just do what I say and get out your smallest sized suit. We will test 'that machine' today."

"Stop, what are you doing," Ked said. The young man began to take off all of Ked's clothes, starting from his t-shirt then onto removing the pants and shoes. Ked wanted to struggle but his muscles were numb and the man forcefully removed the remaining articles of clothing. Finally Ked collapsed from exhausting all his energy. His glasses fell off and the man had accidently crushed it under his foot.

The young man carried Ked's body and heaved it onto the machine.

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When Ked woke up, he was back on the bench by his school. He wore this blue crisp suit he never seen before. All his muscle ache and his skin felt as if it been burnt. "What happened yesterday? Did I sleep outside the whole night?" He tried to recall but his memory was a mess. School's about to begin. I look so ridiculous in this outfit. It feels so uncomfortable too.

Once inside, he went inside the school bathroom to look in the mirror. "My hair! Why is it so ... nicely cut, trimmed and styled? It feels like someone messed with it and tried to fix it again."

"Something else is off too. Why am I wearing contacts?"

Ked didn't know what happened to him. For that entire day, his classmate and teachers saw a new image of Ked. He didn't notice that people were focusing in on him for he just wanted the day to be over.

End of Chapter 2: Acquiring Water