Chapter 1

“No one here likes what I love. I might as well leave.”

Someone said in a loud whisper as the harsh monsoon of early June drowns his weary voice; the heavy pellets of rain pelts him on his back as the socks in his shoes get damper with each step. Everywhere he looked it seemed pitch black as he walked down what he guessed was the main avenue out to the city proper, which was a sight that doubled as his only lightsource while he walked. He never did packed his belongings, the only property he has are his umbrella, the clothes on his back and the money that he stole from his mother before his retreat, he had an idea on where to go and he had a plan, but he has to do it fast for it would only be a couple of hours before they noticed he was gone. The glimmering lights of the city drew closer and closer and as it did the noise of civilization started to dawn upon his ears. He knew he was on the right track. As he exits the walls that enclosed the land behind him, he is greeted by the loud rushing noises of trucks, cars and buses punching huge pockets of air through the thick curtain of rain that dominated everything in sight. He could only pray that one of the passing vehicles was a public jeepney which was always a reliable source of transport anywhere in these lands.

Unluckily there was none as the roads had cleared right at the moment he had arrived leaving him to think that somebody was orchestrating his misfortunes. Right across the street he spots a small side store dimly lit by a single candle inside to calm the darkness. He rushes right towards it hoping to find some shelter for the meantime as he waits for a jeepney to come by or for the storm to wither, whichever came first. He takes a gander at the store’s interior, it was dark and gloomy as the candle barely illuminates the various potato chips, sweets and canned goods that lined up the shelves just in front of him and the walls ,that barely had any paint, was all covered up with advertisement posters from the floor to its ceiling with most of its contents looking like it was taken from a gravure calendar. A lonely ceiling fan spun its blades slowly above the room and as the skies had clapped thunder over the realm, he noticed there was no ceiling, just the floor and its joists from the space above that enclosed the room. Grumpily it dawned on him that there might not be anyone to service him at the moment, that is until he found a rusted service bell by the counter within arms reach, which made him feel densely short sighted as he slapped the button to give it a ring.

‘What is it?’ Said a faint voice from inside.

‘Reds...’ He answered as a young lady, young enough to still be in school, steps out from the dark and pulls out a plastic case filled with cigarettes of different kinds. Just as he was about to take a stick out from one of the boxes, the sky decided to spat out lightning as it booms to light up the dim late afternoon sky.

‘Wait, you look like we go to the same school. Ma told me not to sell cigarettes to other kids like me.’ She said as the flash enabled her to recognize the scary looking boy in his bright yellow parka who was soaking wet from the storm. His eyes, looking intensely round as his thick and messy brow collides down to a frown while he kept his gaze. He shrugs and sighs as he fidgets around his pockets for his wallet, taking out his ID to show to the girl. ‘You look older here than in person.’ She reacts as she hands him back his ID.

‘Really? Weird, usually it’s the opposite.’

He takes a single cigarette stick from the box and lights it up with a match that sat on the store’s counter, paying the girl his due before walking away. He finds an empty bench for him to sit on right beside the store as he sits down, resting his chin on his palm while his cigarette hand rests on his knee, taking deep puffs of smoke as he contemplates his day and the night ahead. He was about halfway through his cigarette when a heart pounding sound echoed from the street somewhere ahead. The rain was falling heavily and visibility was poor, the only thing he could make out was a pair of headlights coming from afar but whatever it was, it sure grabbed his attention when it drew near.

A bright green Lamborghini appeared from the curtain of rain and stopped just in front of where he sat, he couldn’t see the driver inside but he was honking his horn as if he was running out of time. ‘Coming!’ Someone said from behind. Beside the bench he sat on, there was a pinkish terracotta gate that leads to a flight of steps; the boy heard frantic footsteps climbing down from it as a skimpily dressed lady bursts out of it, hastily locking the gate back in place as she hops inside the car in a hurry. Whatever the situation was the both of them were not wasting much time as the Lamborghini peeled away from in front of him. He takes another puff from his cigarette as he shook his head in disbelief ‘Well that’s rare’ He told himself, pitching his back on the wall with a smirk on his face, thinking that maybe he needs another round of smokes but soon enough those thoughts will be rendered unnecessary as his ears picked up another flurry of sounds.

This time however, it was louder.

He held his breath in an effort to increase the silence as the sound got louder and louder as it got closer and closer to where he stood and he figured, that maybe, maybe there were many. And they are.

One by one the lights arrived, one by one in a flash. As the heavy metal masses of pure power and speed hurled by him in a moment faster than a blink of an eye. A thousand pounds of violent energy surged through his body, every wake of air that was punched by the machines blasted him away as he tried his hardest to keep in place. The machines, as he had recognized them, were darting past him without apology that he could barely distinguish one, as to him they all blended into one huge train of pure fearsome rage. The screams of the singing engines and the flames that they spat out was a pleasure to all of his senses that he felt no remorse about his position, as each passing car drenched him in the rain water they so furiously destroyed out of their wake. He felt as if this was going to be the pinnacle of his life, a discovery of something he knew existed but had no proof to show otherwise besides some words displayed on a message board. To him it was like witnessing magic firsthand after years of searching.

The last car had passed by him as it spits flames from its exhaust while rounding at the corner before disappearing behind the curtain of downpour, its tail lights now are the only objects visible from a distance.

‘Denzo?’ A voice had sprouted suddenly by his ear.

‘Denzo!’ The voice shouted again as the boy had woken up from his stupor, his face now wet from the splash that came from the car’s wake and his pants were now soaked down to his underwear. He turns his gaze towards where the shouting came and realized someone familiar from across the road.

‘Denzo please come back! Please!’ Said the woman across the road.

The boy just shrugs his shoulder as he looks at her with a defiant stare.

‘Denzo come home…’ She said, as her voice toned down quite faintly. She had every reason to do so as the boy across the road broke his gaze and walked away, hailing a bus that happened to pass by at the right moment. His being now gone from her sight as she worriedly looked on the bus while it drove away.

Empty seats filled his vision as he entered, with only a handful of people who sat near the front. His wet clothes were clearly bothering most of the passengers inside as he rolled his eyes in contempt at the people he did not wish to know. The air conditioning inside the bus was unfortunately on full blast and he can feel the freezing chill up into his spine as he removes his yellow parka after picking a spot near the window in hopes that some heat might come to him from the outside. He sat as he watched the world pass by the window pane wondering about the people in the houses and establishments they passed by and if ever there were people who were just like him that lived within those houses. People who were different and wild, people who were questioning their own existence, their purpose, their dreams. He wondered if there was anyone there that he could bring with him, that he could “rescue" before thinking to himself on how foolish and arrogant those thoughts might be. He had lost himself in his own deep train of thought and before he could even realize it, he had already fallen asleep.

‘It’s not gonna earn you money or even a livelihood.’

‘What do you think is gonna happen afterwards? A happy ever after?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, it simply can’t be’

‘It’s only for the rich and famous’

‘You watch too much T.V’

‘Turn that off.’

‘I said TURN - THAT - OFF!’

‘NO!’

His body jerked forwards the moment he mouthed the word as his electrocuted response startled the people surrounding him. It took his vision a couple of seconds to return from blackness but sure enough his cheeks turned bright red at the moment he could see. The boy didn’t know how long he was asleep but he was sure it had been a while as the bus was already filled with people on their homeward commute. He unfluffs his yellow parka and wears it, not minding that it was still wet, as he needed a place to hide his face for a moment while he tries to identify his bearings that he had lost during his slumber. He spots the pillars of an elevated train tracks by his window followed by the sight of huge billboards as he thought to himself that he must be in or around the C4 route towards the south of the capital. From the traffic he had estimated another 30 minutes before the bus arrived at his stop and sure enough at a quarter past 6 o’clock he un-boarded the bus to a location that he knew too well.

-Buzz-

The door opens and on the foreground the silhouette of the boy stands weary and soaked from the nasty weather. On the other side of the door, inside the warm confines of his own home, stood an old man around his sixties looking irate at the boy, who had ruined his 6 o’clock T.V news binge.

‘Denzo? Didn’t I tell you I can’t accommodate you?’ The man replied with a confused, irritated look on his face

‘Do you have a choice now?’ He replied as the old man paused with an ominous stare.

‘C’mon Uncle Thor don’t just leave me here.’ Denzo said as the old man rolled his eyes and let him in. Denzo on the other hand, grins wide as he walks inside the house and into the living room.

‘Hey not so fast!’ Uncle Thor said as he pointed out his wet shoes and wet clothes. ‘You’re mudding up my place. If you’re gonna stay here then you’re gonna keep this place clean! I don’t want no mess lyin around where you’ve been. This is my home! Not a trash heap!’ He sternly reprimands the kid as Denzo removes his wet clothes by the door.

‘Sorry…’ Denzo replied. ‘Can I get the window room tho?’

‘Fine…’

He rushes upstairs with his damp bag in tow to change into some dry clothes. He hung his bag on the hook at the door and checked all the drawers and cabinets to see if there was anything he could find that the old man accidentally left, preferably some spare change.

After failing to find anything of value, Denzo felt his stomach grumble as he decided to get a snack from downstairs but before doing so, he grabbed his wallet from his bag as a precaution. Afterall, he was only assuming that the old man had food for him knowing that he lives alone.

Stomping down the stairs he made his way straight into the kitchen and toward the refrigerator. Sadly the only thing inside were ice and bottles of beer. He inspects the cupboards for anything edible and thankfully there were some canned tuna he could eat, it wasn’t much but it’ll have to make do. ‘Hey old man I’m gonna take your tuna if you don’t mind.’ He said but Uncle Thor didn’t answer.

‘Hey I said i was--’

Denzo walking back from the kitchen with the tuna in hand when he saw Uncle Thor speaking on the phone.

‘Yes… He’s here…’

Nonetheless, Denzo didn't need to know in detail what was happening. He knew at that moment that old man was talking to the last person he’d want to hear from that day as he turned his back around to head back into the kitchen. Every action he made from that point on was enacted in force as a show of displeasure from what the old man was doing. Though he was still careful enough to not smash the plates.

‘Stop that racket!’ Uncle Thor shouted, the veins in his neck were bulging as he stressed out the command.

‘You done talking to that bitch?’

Uncle Thor was appalled. It was the first time he heard such words from the boy, he knew to an extent that he and his mother were not on the greatest of terms, but the way he was acting at that moment visibly threw him off.

‘Watch that mouth of yours kid. If you can disrespect her in your home, You can’t disrespect her here.’ The old man said in authority.

‘Why?’

‘Cuz I don’t like it and this is my house.’

Denzo clenched his fists in knowing that there was no other option, but still he didn’t like the thought of potentially seeing that person anytime soon.

‘Well I don’t like you reporting my location to people I don’t like either.’ Denzo replies.

‘I don’t care kid, last time I remembered, it was YOU who came crawling here. Also it’s my phone so I can contact anyone I want to with it.’ Uncle Thor responds while Denzo’s eyes glared at him menacingly. ‘If you don’t like it, then leave then…’ The old man continued.

Denzo can feel his pulse beating through his arms and neck, there was a great burning itch deep in his chest that made him want to stab the fork that he held deep into the Old Man’s neck. It pains him to admit it but he had no choice but concede as he breathes a deep sigh.

‘Fine, but if you ever invite her here THEN, i’ll leave. After that i’ll make sure you’ll never find me again.’

Uncle Thor almost laughed at the boy’s seemingly empty threat. He knows Denzo well enough to identify his mood swings, but at the same time knowing that he was there in his home unannounced made him fear that something serious must’ve happened to finally make him act on his threats. The old man sighed as he looked at the boy, wondering what happened to make him do what he had done.

‘Well… fine… I’ll leave you be.’ Uncle Thor said. He wanted to pry, but decided it was the wrong time and place for such questions. With that said, he turns around muttering something under his breath and retired back to the living room to resume watching on this T.V.

I would take another hour to pass before Denzo appeared from the kitchen and headed straight back up to his room. Uncle Thor was surprised that Denzo had cleaned up after himself as he expected to give him another round of scolding, but he guessed he judged the boy's immaturity too early. Perhaps he wasn’t as childish as he thought he was.

Meanwhile, Denzo had already unpacked his bag and organized the contents atop of the mattress of his soon-to-be bed. He made a big enough clearing on the study table beside where the mattress was to fit his laptop as he opens it to reveal a heavily tabbed browser. He opens one of the tabs to reveal a message board site concerning the multiple appearances of street racing in the greater metro area. He had been following the story for a month now and he had expressed interest in finding out clues about the next location they were set to appear. He can’t quite confirm if the earlier incident was connected or not to these appearances but if it did, he thought that it would likely be just a parade run going to the real destination. He skimmed through about ten pages on the forums to check if there were any news concerning what he saw earlier, but to his dismay there was none.

He then turns his attention to another rumour that had caught his attention.

There were some rumours of a hidden utopia made for “delinquent teenagers” where all the vices for every teenage boy and girl curious enough to experience such things are available to their heart's content. So far the only clue he has was the name.

“Jack and Barry’s”

And nothing more. There was also something special inside those mythical walls that made him wanna go find it in the first place. It was a good thing that he left “them” already, otherwise, he knew he would never have the opportunity to venture around the city. Especially now that school was about to start. He has some clues that he’d gathered from previous links in the posts that he read but he was having trouble deciphering most of them, he figured since school wouldn’t start until that Wednesday that he had two days to prepare how he’d search for it.

He already had an idea after seeing what Uncle Thor had done earlier but he wasn’t sure if he could count on it. Otherwise, Denzo felt the need to make countermeasures if he were to succeed. And with that thought in mind, there was a knock on the door.

‘Kid?’ The old man said from behind the door. ‘No need to open, I’ll be gone early tomorrow to get some of your stuff, so I need you to be up by seven to watch the house.’

‘My stuff?’ Denzo asked.

‘Yes… for school.’

Denzo smiled. He knew something along these lines would happen, he just didn’t know which one would he get. ‘Alright…’ He answered back, as he pretends to give him the most disinterested sounding reply he can ever muster.

He leaps up onto the mattress and positions himself next to the window as he cracks it open. He took out the cigarettes he bought earlier and noticed it was damp. Denzo quickly checks if the sticks inside had been affected, to his relief there was none. He lights one up and puffs a sigh of relief as he stared at the gloomy night sky. There was a slight cool breeze that came as the rain died down.

At this moment he thought. ‘One day I’ll find them… The people I wanna belong to.’