Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for reading my novel. It means a lot to me! Make sure to come back every Tuesday and Friday for the new releases! If you want to support me more, you can always rate and review on whichever platform you're reading this. It really helps me out a lot. If you see some things that would make the story better or more comprehensive, make sure to leave it in the comments or the review section. Thank you again. Enjoy!!
End of Author's Note.
Episode 9: The Quest of the Doctor
Liam looked up at Travis and was wondering what he meant by that. He quite literally just lost his parents only a few hours ago. How could anything make sense? His world had just flipped upside down and seemed to have dumped out everything meaningful that he ever held close. Things were moving too fast for him and all he could do was break down again. The tears flowed from his eyes like a waterfall. It was then that Travis realized he needed to take a step back. Even though he was already trying his best to approach all of this with kid gloves, his best was not enough for someone who wasn't even seven years old yet.
Travis was just so unpredictably enraged about his best friend's deaths and wasn't thinking about the age of the one who was most affected. All he could think about was the immediate danger that this could put all of them in and how fast things would need to move to keep everyone safe. "I'm sorry Liam. I know this is very hard on you… I mean it's hard on every single person here, but not like it is for you." Travis said, trying to let him know that he didn't mean anything by rushing things around. Hearing this, Liam felt like, somehow, Travis's words had calmed him down a bit. He made direct eye contact with Travis before his uncle continued. "You just lost your mom and dad right in front of your eyes, I'm not even sure I can say I know anything about that kind of pain, but there is one thing I do know buddy. It's the fact that your dad told you to run to us… to come here for safety, right?" Liam shook his head with tears still falling, however, not as intense and he wasn't crying audibly anymore. It was only the stream of tears falling.
Travis didn't think it was right for what he was about to do. He was going to have to put even more pressure on this young man, but it was something he agreed to a couple years ago and for Barry, he would follow through. It was about four and a half years after Barry and Monica had Liam. After about an hour of the Sanely family being at the log cabin, Barry asked to speak with Travis in private. Barry had set up a cookout in celebration for Travis's achievements at work. When asked to talk, Travis didn't think anything of it and they both went into Barry's study. After Travis walked in, Barry shut the door behind himself to give them their own space to talk. "Have a seat brother. How has work been for you?" Barry asked. "It's been pretty good so far and, as you've heard, I just recently got a promotion to 'site supervisor'. I mean I am working longer hours, but Brittany doesn't mind the extra cash flow we're getting ha ha!" Travis always had a way of cheering anyone up that was around him.
Barry couldn't help but have a cheerful smile. Travis was his best friend and had been for many many years. Both families even had pregnancies pop up one month apart from each other, to the exact day. Their deliveries followed suit. Paisley was older, but Liam was always bigger than her somehow. Just like Barry and Travis, their kids were inseparable. They did absolutely everything together.
"Good I'm glad everything is going well for you guys." Barry said. He then grabbed two decorative glasses and threw some fancy ice cubes in it. He placed both on the desk in front of each of them and poured in some rich brown name brand bourbon until it almost reached the rim of the glasses. Barry continued speaking after sliding the glass he poured for Travis a little closer to him, "However, I do actually have something quite serious to talk to you about if you'd be willing to hear me out." Travis couldn't put his finger on it, but felt like something was up. A big hint was seeing how much bourbon he poured for them. Barry never talks like this unless something is wrong. Travis didn't hesitate, "Yeah of course man, anything you need, I'm here for you guys, you know that." Barry smiled again before stating, "I'm glad to hear it, but honestly, you might want to hear what I have to say before agreeing." Barry sighed outward in an emotional fashion before continuing, "I'm actually kind of surprised that after all the time we've been around each other, you have never asked about how or why Liam was different. I want to thank you for accepting us and him the way he is. Before I go into any serious detail, I wanted to ask you for a favor that is so incredibly selfish, but as his father, I can't just do nothing. Travis, I'm not saying something would, but if anything were to happen to Monica and I, would you take over legal guardianship of Liam? I know this is something you and Brittany would need to discuss, but I really need to know. Would you make sure he grew up safe and would be cared for?"
Travis couldn't really process everything that was being asked, but he questioned, "What's going on Barry? Are you guys in trouble? I'm sure I can help you out somehow. Tell me what's wrong, please." If nothing else, Barry knew he had a really great friend. "Travis, I will explain more, I promise, but I need an answer before I can move forward. I'm being cryptic for everyone's safety." A saddened look crept up on Barry's eyes, but his lips were still curved upward in a small forced smile. Travis nodded as if he knew Barry was serious about not going any further until then. "Yes. Yes I would in a heartbeat." Travis said immediately and without any doubt in the words he spoke. "Travis, I want you to think about…" Barry was cut off, "I said yes Barry. This is important to you, which means it's important to me. I would take care of Liam as if he were my own son because that's already how I see him. We love him and you already know that because it's the same for you and Monica with Paisley. I can see it in the way you guys treat my daughter. You have no idea how grateful I am to have you as my best friend… to have you as my brother. There wouldn't be a single thing I wouldn't do for you guys."
After saying those words, Travis sat back in the recliner and ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it a bit,"' as this conversation was quickly turning emotional. Travis got his thoughts together and looked up to see Barry glossy eyed with a heartfelt expression on his face. A sniffle came out of Barry before saying, "I'm glad you feel that way, because I do too! Now that I can feel comfortable about that, I can tell you more, or show you more to be exact." He then pulled out a brown package in an envelope style and popped it open. Barry pulled out a laptop and placed it on the desk. Travis caught a glimpse of the sender label and it stated that it was from someone named 'J K'.
Travis took a look at Liam sitting on the couch in the Sanely family's living room, "Hey Liam, I know you were a little younger, but do you remember that party your dad threw me a couple years ago? It was for my work." Liam nodded, but he remembered playing with Paisley more than anything else. "Well, your dad showed me a video that day explaining a lot of stuff that happened in your past. That 'J K' guy was the person doing all the talking. They said if anything like this happened, I was to show you the same video. A few days after the party, that package showed up at our door and we weren't allowed to open it unless you came to us like you did."
All this did for Liam was make him even more confused. Travis placed Paisley down in Brittany's lap and gave them both a loving kiss on the forehead. Liam stood up and leered at the package as if it was a mysterious piece of treasure. Travis walked to his side and got down on one knee and grabbed the brown envelope. Just like Barry did those few years ago, he popped it open and grabbed the laptop that was inside. "After I open this up, the video should play on its own. You need to pay attention as best as you can. If it's the same video as the one your dad showed me, it's about you and how you are able to use your powers. There's more than that, but I'll let 'J K' do all the talking."
Travis flipped open the laptop and the first thing Liam could see was an older clean shaven man with snow white hair. The man was sitting down and the view was as if the camera was sitting on his desk aimed at him. "Hello there Liam!" the man said while smiling. "I am doctor James Kryo, also known as 'J K'. I wish I could have met you in person to see how much you have grown. There is no way for me to be able to tell how old you are right now, but I'm hoping your parents have told you about me. If not, that's okay and also why I have sent this video to your aunt and uncle. I'm just hoping you are old enough to understand what I have to say. I'm assuming Travis and Brittany are watching too. Hi everyone. Well, the first thing that I want to tell you Liam is that I am the doctor that delivered you when your parents came to the hospital. Also, if you are in fact seeing this from your aunt and uncle's package, I am dead. The other point I can assume is most likely, your parents are too. I am so sorry Liam. Your parents were truly beautiful people and you were such a handsome baby."
The view on the screen changed from looking at the man to a video being played, but it was of a room in some kind of medical facility. That's when Liam noticed that he recognized the two people standing in the room and the one that was laying down on the bed. His mother and father were two of the people and the snowy haired doctor was the third. They were talking about the state of the world, the king, and even a mysterious serum. Liam's parents eventually agreed to have the serum injected into him. They all heard stuff about lives lost and pieces of one thousand human souls being used to make the serum. Throughout the video, the doctor left and came back a couple times with quite a bit of information. Finally, Monica was seen pushing and out came baby Liam.
The doctor shifted back onto the screen and said, "I hope all of that made sense, but to understand yourself more and why you can do things that others your age can't, Liam I need you to pay the most attention right here okay? This will show you why you and your parents were targeted, as well as myself. I'm just glad you escaped somehow." With that being said, a white room made its way onto the laptop for everyone to see. Barry was just off to the side near where Monica was sitting in her wheelchair near a desk. Little baby Liam was on a small cushioned table in the center of the room and the doctor was next to him in a chair. Liam's dark hair contrasted with the table to the point that it drew them all in to look directly at Liam. It was like if you put a black dot on a blank white piece of paper. The doctor then pulled out a type of syringe and the color of the contents looked eerily like Liam's current hair color, not the dark hair color he had as the baby in the video.
Liam thought, "Wait, I used to have black hair? But that's not what I look like now. This is so weird!!" Next the doctor was pointing the needle at Liam's arm and then poked through. He took longer than normal to administer the serum than it would have for a regular shot. Moment by moment as the doctor squeezed a little more into Liam, an iridescent color was seen running rampant throughout his veins. Once all of it had been used up, all of the serum in his veins rushed to his head and enveloped his hair in a new and vibrant color. It was the same color of iridescent seen in the syringe, in his veins, and now on top of his head. At that exact moment, Monica and Barry looked confused because they were looking all around, but the doctor told them to pay attention to the baby. It was obvious something was happening that everyone watching the video couldn't understand yet. A fraction of a second later, the most beautiful burst of colors spread out from Liam and knocked the doctor and Barry down and forced Monica to roll backwards in her chair.
The camera that was recording everything going down became fuzzy and distorted from the pressure. One moment everything could be seen and then almost nothing for about thirty seconds. Eventually, the video feed restored itself and the room was a bit different. Where Liam was in the center, nothing had changed. Everything else, on the other hand, was shoved up against the walls in all directions. Liam, Paisley, Brittany and Travis could not peel their eyes away from the screen. "Did I do that?" he asked out loud. "Did that really come from me?" Travis chimed in, "Yeah little man. That serum J K gave to you made you really strong." Liam looked at his hands for a few seconds and then back to the screen.
James Kryo popped back into view and started speaking as if it were a lecture prepared for a child. "I don't want to make this super long and drawn out. Before I gave you that special serum, you would have already been the most powerful person on the planet of Keena. However, that serum, as you heard earlier, multiplied your power by one thousand times." James paused here for a minute or two in order for the news to sink in. He cleared his throat and began again, "The biggest thing you should know about your powers is that you need to use them. Practice with them everyday, even if it's something small. Your power can grow in strength. The more you practice, the quicker you will find out what your power is and once you do that, you can expand on it. Also, I know without a doubt that you could have the power to destroy everything around you or save everything that is good and demolish all of the darkness. I don't know how events played out for things to end up this way, but you just need to remember there is bad and good in this world and it will be up to you to pick which side you stand on. If you asked me for my two cents, I'd want you on the good side. Again, I'm so sorry about your parents and the things you must be going through. I want you to think about something. The man, or men, in the white and gold suits, they were strong weren't they? Those were the king's men." James predicted what would have happened years before it occurred.
Liam took an unfortunate moment to recall the brute strength the big man had to have to hold his dad up by his neck with one hand like that. Subconsciously, he shook his head unknowingly admitting to everyone in the room that the man was indeed very strong. "I know this is incredibly unfair for me to ask even more from you Liam, but I must. Get strong, stronger than anyone else could ever hope to amount to. Get strong enough to protect those around you. Make the world clean of corruption. The most important request I want to ask for, one that my life was given for, is kill the king of Keena, please… I am begging you, do this for me, for your parents, and for everyone you love that's still alive."
The young boy didn't know how to feel right now. In their society, they are taught to love the king, but his parents never really acted like the type of people that truly felt that way. The doctor had a few final words for everyone in the room and not just Liam. He announced, "I have created a safe house miles away in another city. Travis and Brittany, I will show those coordinates on the screen after the video ends. Take your whole family and go there. As for Liam, I have a bit more news. I have legally changed your name to Liam Sanely to help hide you. The Gray family name ran much deeper than I originally thought. I can't give you much details on that, but with how powerful you will be, I have no doubt you will discover the hidden truths about your own lineage. Even though your legal name has been changed, after you grow so strong that nobody can stand against you, make sure you scream the Gray family name at the top of your lungs at all of your enemies in the world. These are my final few words, so Brittany and Travis, pay close attention. After this video ends and the coordinates pop up, don't close the laptop. Gather what you need, pack your car and then come back to the laptop. Leave it in the house and just before you leave, close it. My guess is, whoever killed Liam's parents probably took the other laptop back to the king to be examined and searched. Once you close it, the other laptop will simultaneously combust into an explosion so big that anyone within one hundred feet will be vaporized, even through walls. I hope you all live much longer than I did. Good luck and goodbye."
End of Episode 9: The Quest of the Doctor
Author's Name
ClodiasManga