Chapter 99: arthurs past

The morning sun rays shone into the room, illuminating it with a golden tint. The leaves outside swayed, dancing to the rhythm of the morning breeze carefreely. As nature gradually reared its head, a pair of eyes snapped open, as the boy squinted his eyes to adjust to the light intensity.

His brain gradually cleared up, as he rubbed his eyes with his hand to clean them. He finally sat up, as he took in his surroundings. Something quickly caught his eyes, bringing a broad smile to his youthful face, his sleeping sister. He could not help but smile broader, as he recalled that today is her 15th birthday.

The small and shabby-looking room did not take away his excitement, he was already used to seeing it. And, it’s not like their room was the shabbiest either. He was sure that others were living in a poorer condition, so he had more of a reason to thank God.

He was 17 this year. As an orphan, he was the one who provided for himself and his sister. When their parents died together from a terrorist bomb blast 2 years ago, their life quickly fell from grass to grace.

Being only 15 years old then, he was afraid, confused, and clueless about what to do. Their relatives refused to help them, as his uncle even went as far as claiming his father’s house. Well, there was nothing he could do, so they could only live their life the way they saw it.

He was terrified, but because of his younger sister, he manned up and decided to do something. Even if it is just to help his sister survive, he had to do something.

So, it started, his life as a manual work seeker. He specializes in doing unconventional works for people, like stealing and a lot of others. His area of specialization was not one, it was very versatile so he always had jobs.

After a year of mastering his craft, the local gangs started recognizing him as they recruited him. That was when he finally started making ends meet, as he used the money, he got there to improve their living standards.

He has been saving money for the past 2 years to get his sister an implant. Due to financial constraints, his parents were able to get an implant for only him. This has been a bother to him for a long time, but some months ago he finally gathered the required money.

He kept it, as he prepared to use it as a surprise to his beautiful sister today. He quickly, but quietly stood up to avoid startling her, as he went outside to get his bath in the public bathroom.

He was fast as the public bathroom was still constructed in an era of prosperity like this. The name given to it was public, but its construction is top-notch if placed in the 21st century. He finally came back, only to see his sister already awake.

“Arthur, you woke up already. Why didn’t you wake me up?” She complained naggingly.

“Ah…,” this question stumped him, as he quickly searched his brain for an appropriate answer.

“Chloe, happy birthday!!” He cleverly used this to take her attention, after searching but not finding an appropriate response. He rushed forward to embrace her in a hug. This gesture forced all her doubts back, as she embraced her brother back with a smile.

After leaving her embrace, he complimented it with a birthday song. Though his monotonous voice destroyed the melody, it still felt good to her. But this didn’t take her attention forever, as she asked worriedly.

“Arthur, did your boss allow you to stay at home? Please, go to your gang, I don’t want your boss to punish you. Don’t worry, I can enjoy my birthday alone until you’re back”.

“Oh, about that. Don’t worry, I already took permission. Do you think I’m a nobody? I’m now occupying a significant position in the gang. Give me some respect girl,” he answered sarcastically.

“Quickly go and bath, I have a surprise for you”.

She finally heaved a sigh of relief on hearing this, as she went out to bath with a smile. Though her brother’s sarcasm forced her to roll her eyes at him, it still made her smile.

…

Minutes later, she finally came back as she quickly got dressed up on the dress her brother prepared for her.

“Jesus, Arthur you got this dress for me? Thank you, it’s so beautiful”.

He smiled involuntarily as he listened to her, he could not help but admire her. She looked extremely beautiful on the white custom-made dress, he got for her. Forget that she was 15, she looked far matured than her age.

“I feel envious of the man that will marry you. He better behaves, or I’ll skin him if he mistreats you.”

This comment made her blush a little, as she hit him on his shoulder which earned a burst of laughter from him. She quickly got ready to leave.

Today, her brother kept on hitting her with waves of surprises, as he finally told her that he’ll get her an implant today. After getting dressed in his first-ever suit, Arthur led his sister out, as they took a taxi to the implant operation station close to them.

…

2 hours later, Chloe finally came out of the operation theater with a smile planted on her face. The implant operation was a success. Arthur felt a strong urge to cry, as his mind felt at peace on seeing the blissful expression on his sister’s face.

He didn’t have more money, but he decided to take a loan from his boss to take her out. That’s exactly what he did, as he took her to one of the famous restaurants in their district.

She knew that her brother was out of cash, but she didn’t want to spoil the mood, so she just agreed to all his orders. She enjoyed herself fully, it was a feeling she never felt since her birth.

“Hey girl…, what’s up?” As she ate, a boy suddenly came to her side startling her.

Arthur frowned on seeing this, as he stood up to confront the drunk boy. “Hey, can’t you see me here. Get out of here before I beat the crap out of you”.

Out of nowhere, this phrase, “beat the crap out of you” succeeded in enraging the boy as he lunged forward for a brawl. Arthur dodged his lunge, as he grabbed his back and pulled him down with force.

Chloe quickly stood up, as she tried to placate her already furious brother. This move finally cleared this strange boy’s eyes, as he stood up with anger printed all over his face. He quickly pressed a button on his wristwatch, as soldiers started rushing into the restaurant.

“Beat up this boy immediately, he dared to attack me”. This casual encounter became Arthur’s most traumatic experience, as he was beaten up fiercely by the soldiers. The area became chaotic as all the customers rushed out of the restaurant in a panic.

The Wonderland policemen arrived, but they didn’t intervene as they just watched from the side.

After sustaining a lot of injuries, the boy finally felt satisfied as he revealed his identity. He was from Oakland; he was a citizen of one of the big 5 organizations. And he had a fairly huge background there also.

After beating him to a near-death state, the boy was still not placated. He decided to make a decision that completely shattered Arthur’s will to live in the world. The boy decided to take his sister, his one and only friend and relative remaining in this cruel world.

This completely enraged him, as he tried to fight back. This only brought him more pain, as he could only watch helplessly as his sister was taken away.

Later in the day, he was able to drag his bloody body to the gang. But reality hit him in the face again, as his boss, the one he thought he could rely on abandoned him without hesitation.

This was the last straw that broke his little hope for the world, as depression overtook him. All it took was a boy with a huge background, to bring him from his little place to the bottomless pits of hell. This was the typical life of a lowlife in this era, where only the strong reign supreme.

“Why did it have to be my sister? God, why me? WHY ME!!?” As he screamed, he suddenly woke up from his bed.

“Another dream,” he muttered to himself in a depressed tone, as he cuddled himself up. His whole body was soaked with sweat. He slowly clenched his fists as he tried to give himself courage.

His headstrong behavior was a result of his traumatic life experiences. No matter how the world opposed him, he always tried to stand up against it with confidence. That was the antidote to his depression. He was determined to fight against all odds and get his sister back one day.

…

For that day, the team trained like usual but their conversation with each other was very subdued. No one said anything, but they all knew what happened to Arthur that night.

He shared the same room with Mark, so they already knew about his dream. Mark did not feel any need of keeping it a secret, so he just told them.

After Clark heard about it, he alone gathered the missing pieces together and faintly got the contents of the dream. They already knew that Arthur had a sister, but he never bothered telling them extensively about her.

Clark didn’t know exactly what happened, but he knew from the little details that it was a work of oppression from a citizen of the big 5 again. As he thought of this, he could not help but get angry.

As Mark noticed the laid back and awkward manner in which the team trained today, he finally made a suggestion.

“Guys, let’s use today to go out. I’m tired of staying indoors practicing every day, let’s go out to let out some steam”. He already integrated into his role as team captain, he could now judge the right decision to take at various instances.

Everybody agreed, as they quickly started contemplating on where to go. They all deliberately tried to cheer Arthur up, as they asked him to choose where they should go.

He was not dumb, on seeing their behaviors he knew that the sneaky old bastard Mark sold him out. “Pretending to be asleep, so shameless,” he could not help but curse inwardly.

Calling Mark old was not necessarily wrong, as he was the oldest among them. He was the only one who already crossed the 30-age mark. This year he’ll be going 31, unlike the youngest Clark who was only 21 this year.

Arthur himself was just 23 this year, Emily was 22, while Aurora was 25. After seeing his teammate's relentless persuasion, Arthur finally agreed to choose their outing destination.

The problem was that he was clueless. He didn’t remember going for any outings for years, which brought him a huge dilemma. He finally decided to say something, as he could not just leave everyone waiting for him.

“Hmmm, let’s just drive. I’ll decide on the way”. His teammates agreed without hesitation as they all went to take their bath and get dressed.

[Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it. If you love this book, please leave your power stones behind to support it. This chapter is very essential, as Arthur will be an integral part of a future main arc.]