Chapter 9 - The Awakaner's Association

(An hour before Lucas's Awakening, at The Awakener's Association)

A young man was standing in front of a tall building, looking at it in marvel. "It's going to be another same day", he sighed. He then took a sip from his ice latte and exhaled out loud. "This place does sell the best latte", he said as he walked towards the building.

"ID Card please", said the burly security. He was wearing a dark blue security uniform and looked at him. "Please pass through this", he said and motioned for a tube in front of him. He walked through the tube and came out of the other side. The security nodded his head and gave back his ID. "Welcome to The Awakener's Association, Mr. David Hunt", he said as he returned his ID.

David was an average guy. Nothing about him stood out. He had black hair, which he had styled into a small quiff. He wore a pair of glasses and had a chiseled jawline. He had a clean-shaven face, suitable for an office desk job. He wore the normal attire, a white dress shirt tucked into a pair of black formal pants. He also wore a black tie around his collar. He held his latte in one hand and held a small black leather bag in his other hand.

He walked towards the building and entered it. He walked towards the lift and waited. After it opened up, he went inside. "Please take me to the 33rd floor", he said in a kind tone. The operator of the lift looked at him and smiled. "Mr. Hunt, it seems like you are in the usual mood today", he replied as he pressed some buttons and operated the lift. David just smiled.

After reaching the 33rd floor, he thanked the operator and got out of the lift. There was a table in front of him and a beautiful receptionist was sitting behind the desk. David just nodded his head towards her and flashed his ID on the scanner. "ID scan complete. ID verified: David Hunt", said the machine. Then another scanner came out and did a retina scan. "Verification complete", said the voice, and the door hissed open.

He walked past the door into the hall. There were cabinets all around and there were people in each cabinet, monitoring something. There were screens in front of them, and they were monitoring everything around the whole planet. David shook his head sideways and entered his small glass room. He took out his glass tablet and began to check the information that had been passed for the whole night.

After checking and seeing there was nothing abnormal, he sighed and relaxed a bit. There were nine screens in front of him. He turned it on and began to analyze everything from his tablet. It took him around fifty minutes to finish everything and conclude that there was nothing dangerous. Just as he was about to relax, his door was knocked. He pressed a button and the door opened, allowing a woman inside.

"Sir, I think you might have to see this", she said and swiped something from her tablet. The screen in front of him showed what they were seeing. David looked at it and put his fingers beneath his chin.

He motioned for her to leave and began to ponder. "The particle count emitted from this location is giving a steady rise. It hasn't exceeded the limit yet, but it is a bit higher than normal. It's nothing dangerous now, but let me keep an eye on the situation", he pondered.

The particle released exceeded the limit and began to flash orange. David paid close attention and saw the rise for a few more seconds when it dropped down. After a few minutes, the bar on the left began to rise. "Let's see the receiving particles", he thought. His eyes were keen and when he saw it pass the orange mark, his instincts told him the situation was dire.

He transferred to his tablet and began to type a series of commands. "Let's follow protocol", he thought as he walked swiftly to the lift, and went to the highest floor, the 45th floor.

The receptionist outside was a stunning beauty. She had long slender legs, very smooth and delicate skin, jade green eyes, thin lips, and a very well proportioned body. David was tempted as he saw her, but he held back the temptation. "I would like to meet the president. The situation is urgent", he said in a calm tone.

"The President is in a meeting, would you like to wait while I make the arrangements?", she asked. David raised his voice now. "It is a situation which must be reported to the President", he said sternly this time. The woman was stunned. She then typed something and looked at him. She shook her head sideways, indicating that it was not possible.

David didn't care about it. He walked past her and pushed the door open. He stormed into the office and looked around. There was a woman in her forties talking with the president. "Mr. President, there is an emergency that I would like to report", he said in a loud voice. The President turned his head towards him and motioned him to come towards him.

David swiftly moved towards him and took out his tablet. He showed what he was seeing, and the mark had passed the red and was mow flashing emergency. The President frowned when he saw this. "Where is this signature from?", he asked. "The Heart Kingdom, Alexandria Country", he said. "Did you say The Heart Kingdom?", he said in a loud voice.

He snatched the tablet from him and began to type something frantically. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. "Transfer it to my desk, NOW!", he roared. David didn't understand why the President was anxious. He did as said and transferred it. The President began to type a few commands and something popped up. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry about my attitude just now Mr...", he paused, as he didn't know his name. "David, Sir. David Hunt", he said as he straightened his back unconsciously. "Mr. Hunt. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You must have followed the protocol, right? If you did, then you must have locked onto his signature particle?", he asked. David nodded his head, confused where he was going with this.

"I want you to monitor this signature's movements and let me know their whereabouts. This is a very confidential mission, and I must be updated regularly. Can you do that?", he asked. David nodded his head. He didn't understand why this was a very confidential mission, but since the President wanted it, he nodded his head. He didn't like prying too much anyways.

"I will let the receptionist know about the special task that has been assigned to you, so you need not worry about being stopped. Anything that you find peculiar, report to me immediately", he said in an authoritative tone. David nodded his head and then bowed. "Shall I take my leave, Sir?", he asked in a submissive tone.

The President dismissed him and looked towards the woman in front of him. "It seems that 'he' has found his successor", he said in a low voice. The woman gasped. "Honey, you mean...", she said. The President nodded his head. "Benjamin Heart has passed it down to his descendant. Though I don't know which one, I'm sure it is his family members. That old fool better not die on me. Not while I'm alive and kicking", he said. The woman laughed.

"Michael, don't worry, he won't die that fast. Remember our days as adventurers?", she asked. Michael nodded his head. "Yeah, those were good times, Emma. Those were good times indeed", he said, as he reminisced.

Emma was a woman in her forties. She had a slender body and a delicate face. There were slight wrinkles and her hair was silver-white, making her look radiant. There were strands of jet black in between them. She smiled at the man in front of her, whom she loved with all her heart.

Michael was a tall man. He had built muscles and was a workaholic. If not for Emma, he would eat and sleep in the office. He had the same silver hair as her, but there were streaks of deep green between them. He was handsome despite his old age, and his physique was well built. He got up and embraced the woman in front of him.

They were both in each other's embrace when she heard Michael whisper in her ears. "I love you", he whispered. A slight shade of pink appeared on her cheeks, making her look like a blossoming rose. "You cheeky bastard. I can rip your tongue out, but I like it when you do that. And yes, I love you too", she said.. They both held hands and walked towards the French window in their office, overlooking the city.