My Predator System

Chapter 5: First Quest(s)

"Victor!"

Victor gasped as the vision faded with yellow magic dust. He stepped back as the image of his father coming disappeared. He nearly got in trouble for Maks' transformation.

"Dad?"

His eyes changed from a glowing yellow to a regular brown. He covered his eyes. He raised his hand to trace the particles of dust in the air and his mouth fell open.

"What? This isn't real?"

He could feel a great deal of qi in his forearms and the light particles went out.

[Prevent what you see from happening]

The yellow panel was in form of a yellow magic mirror turning and the words appeared.

It was preconceived ahead of time. He panicked when Irma arrived charging toward him in the same clothes.

"Wait now?!" He shrieked.

Maks grimaced at him "You've been standing there looking at nothing for hours."

"Huh?"

"Happy?_how do you expect me to be_"

He shoved Maks running.

"What the hell_"

"Quick, hide! Before she sees you" He instructed and gasped when the drag of pulling Maks reduced at an extraordinary rate.

[Ow ow ow!]

He stopped at the critter writhing in between his fingers. "Maks?" He pulled down his glasses at him. Then he looked up at the blurry image of Irma coming.

"Sorry, brother." He shoved him into his cargo pocket standing up tall.

[Not this again!] Maks curled in the dark hole of Victor's pocket. He slithered around then used the lobe on his mouth to sense his surroundings and shrunk when his system switched on.

Irma brought out her phone wearing the same clothes, and she frowned.

"I got your message. What the fuck?"

He shook his head "No, I didn't, it was a... prank...yes!" He nodded and his black hair bobbed. Apprehensive, his heart was pulsing fast.

"Oh uh good, I need a shoulder to cry on, uh...we broke up."

"What?"

[Victor!] Maks groaned wiggling up to the crack with light coming through to the edge of his pocket. He screeched at the shock from Victor moving and he fell back.

[Maybe I'll stay down here] He glanced at the pile of dust, his appetite stirred, mouthing at the pile. He could sense the pile was blustering with bacteria.

[No, no, resist the temptation...] He cringed.

"The band" Her buck teeth showed "Our band, the older girls are quitting so they're going to college."

Irma Barnsley was a lead guitarist in the metal band, they generally performed indie rock or freestyled at gigs, to get money.

Victor was nervous mostly about the vision and hoped Maks was holding up.

"Gum, you want gum?" He raised a question when she was quiet and then she raised an eyebrow.

"Sure," She said holding out her hand.

He reached down.

Maks looked around then gasped at the big hand burrowing into the pocket worming away to the edge.

[No, Victor!] He screeched leaning backwards when his finger fished him out to show her.

He spat out lint [Put me down!]

"A gummy worm?" She pointed at it bobbing.

[Gummy worm? How dare you?!]

"That looks real." She paled.

Victor winced getting the bar in his other pocket and passed it over. "Here it is"

"Don't tell me you're gonna eat that" She smirked feeling a little better.

Looking a bit surprised. "No, of course not, it's my...test subject."

[The hell I am!] Mak said angrily as he swung in his hand like a pendulum and gruffed when Victor set him down on a napkin.

She giggled and then softened when she noticed his expression. He shook his head.

"It was just a joke."

"I know."

"Victor!" His father called in distress from the stables. His throat clogged going down on one knee.

Maks turned on the soft napkin while he dropped him on the grass.

Marshall waved. "Come over here and help me." He said.

"Alright, dad."

"I might help" She suggested, eager.

[No, don't leave me, bah! he's leaving.]

Victor rushed over to the stables with her and Marshall's head turned.

"Good, help." He said as his foot got stuck on the horse's buckle. It neighed moving unsteadily back and forth until it dragged him down.

"Whoa," He said and dragged on the dust.

"I'll pull, you push," Victor said to her and Irma rushed over to the other side of the horse and unlatched the saddle, the buckle whizzed and flew off, and Marshall groaned as he fell on the floor.

He huffed dusting himself. "Thank you, where is Maks?"

"He went for a walk," Victor said glad that he did not notice any slight difference.

Marshall squinted his eyes at the sunny place, the grass made for an even harder place to look at. "In this weather? Good for him."

He was lean and he had precisely the Asian look, black hair, small eyes, and a small nose and he was fit from working in the ranch.

Victor's dad lived a very bitter life since he moved to the US.

It was conceived that Marshall only treated animals just so he could eat them (given his background) and his practice which was barely a business did not flourish.

Until a desperate pet owner from Florida brought a star roan who had a terminal infection. Marshall cured it in months.

Word spread and he got calls to help and he started to employ interns to work with him, he built farmsteads across three states to continue his work just in case he travelled out of the country. He even christened himself as 'Marshall'.

He not only thrived but he made other Vets look like novices.

"I was attempting to take Star here for a ride." He patted the purebred horse and she neighed moving aside nudging Irma and then he laughed.

"Good vets do not make for good riders" His English was flawless, unlike Victor who talked like a small child hacking.

Irma looked down at the horse's prosthetic leg.

"What happened to her?"

"She can't run. I'll be shipping her down to her owner's ranch, she can go through the therapy there to be able to run faster again."

"Who is he?" Irma asked brushing her hair.

"Jacqui Bates. The fastest racer in the west."

"Oh, I know him," Irma said hanging on to Star's reins. They moved outside the shade too. the blistering sun.

"Hop on" Marshall instructed quickly and held up his hands and she climbed on holding the reins.

Victor sighed at Irma. Then he looked around the meadow.

"Maks?"

...

Maks curled inside the burrow he made two feet away from the napkin. He quivered at the swallow looking around and hopping. Then it dragged the napkin wiggling it and looking for him.

He'd been spotted by the stupid bird and now he was prey.

[Survive as an earthworm or die]