Chapter 2

Noah stood by the side of the couch. He wanted to be certain that it was his door that had that heavy bang and he wasn't wrong. It came yet again, each one louder than the former. His eyes squinted as he tried to make sense of what was going on. Could it be the neighborhood thugs? He doubted because he knew that he never caused any trouble for anyone. Could it be his landlord? That was the only reasonable assumption he had but then it wasn't possible because he had just paid his rent. He hated the embarrassments that came with asking for rents and so he made sure to pay the man before his rent's expiry date.

"Who's there?" He asked, inclining his ear to get a response from the person standing at the other side. But there came no response and he became instantly suspicious. "I said who's there?" He asked again and still there was no response.

For his safety's sake, the next thing he did was to go into the kitchen and take out a knife. He wasn't planning to do anything with it but he just thought that it would be appropriate for him to hold it just in case he meets with danger from the other side.

His forehead creased as he hesitantly and cautiously went towards the door, the knife clutched tightly on one hand. He bent down and peeped through the gaping hole on the door but he could only see half of the person's body with the faint light that shone through the opposite side outside.

He opened the door and he met a manly figure standing with his back turned towards him. He was putting on a black hooded sweater and his hands were stuffed inside his pocket.

Noah studied the figure carefully by staring at him from head to toe before he decided to inquire of him. "Who are you?" Noah asked again, his knife still held at the back waiting for the right opportunity to strike if need be.

"Stop panicking, Noah. It is me," the person turned to look at him and behold it was none other than his cousin, Lucas Reed who he last saw a few years back after he was sentenced to prison for stealing a car. 

Was he out of prison already? That would be impossible considering that he had only been sentenced just 2 years ago. He should have about 5 years or so ahead of him and there was no way that he would be out this soon.

"Lucas?!"

"Why? You must be sullen to see me here so sudden. Do you have a drink here or something? My throat calleth out to the ocean..." Yeah, that was the typical way Lucas behaved -- carefree and nonchalant. Though he was tough looking on the outside, he had a pure heart on the inside.

2 years ago when Noah heard that Lucas had been arrested for theft, he felt sad about the situation. Even without hearing Lucas's own side of the story, he knew Lucas and knew what he was capable of doing and why he did it. Lucas would never hurt anybody - especially if they were innocent. He never stole from the poor and the less privileged and yes, he was right in his conclusion. Lucas had stolen from one of the rich business gurus in the city, a man that constantly brought havoc and pain to the people living in the rural areas by trying to take their lands and properties away from them. Those were the kind of people that Lucas stole from but it was so unfortunate that he was caught and sentenced to prison.

Right now, Noah didn't know whether he should be excited about his presence or not. He had a mix up of emotion twirling inside him like a whirlpool -- one that was surprised at his cousin's appearance and the other that had tons and tons of questions to ask.

"I don't understand. How are you here?" Noah dropped his knife on the table and continued to stare at Lucas. "You should be in prison, Lucas. I don't understand how you are here. Did you... Lucas did you--''

"Yes I did," Lucas cut in. "You guessed it right. I escaped from prison but it didn't come without a price," Lucas brought down his hoodie and revealed the side of his face that was scraped roughly. Even his left ear was barely visible and Noah wondered what must have happened. Aside from that was his bald head, his mustache and beards all gone. 

Noah could remember what he looked like before. How can he forget his signature blonde hair, blonde mustache and blonde beard which he dyed regularly before he was arrested. There was just too much for Noah to take in now that he was looking at him and he didn't know where to start from questioning him.

Lucas was the dramatic one and so he could understand the heavy banging on the door that almost made his heart jump out of his chest but his sudden appearance and the weird look and everything, he couldn't understand.

Lucas tilted his head to the side to look at Noah before he propelled it forward without warning, causing Noah to flinch.

"Jesus Christ, Lucas, what is wrong with you?" Noah slapped his hand on his forehead as he wondered what was wrong with him.

"You look like you have many questions to ask me but trust me I don't even have all the time in the world to answer them. But then, you are my brother and you deserve to know what I have been up to. For starters, I escaped from prison. It was a plan that I thought of after a year of staying in prison. I and four other friends that I made there planned it and gradually, we executed it. Everything was going rather smoothly until they found out mid way that we were trying to escape. My friends were killed and I... Well as you can see, I made it out. As you can see on my face, that is the price that I had to pay to make it out cos I knew that if I allowed them to drag me back into the cell, then it would be over," Lucas answered.

Lucas was never the type to give long explanations about things and Noah found himself having an internal emotional breakdown for him. There he was thinking that life was unfair to him when there was someone like Lucas who went to prison and lost a part of his face because he was trying to escape.

"Life in prison isn't a child's play, Noah. It is tougher than anything you can ever imagine. It is tougher than the streets. At least, you get to be free in the streets but there is nothing like freedom in there. I hate it there, Noah. I can't go back there," his voice was deep and hoarse but Noah could hear the pain in it. 

Lucas sat down on the couch, letting out a long exhale as he settled down while Noah looked around him for anything that looked like a bottle of beer -- of course he didn't forget that Lucas asked for something like that and there, he saw one standing by the side of the couch. He had saved it for tonight so that he would drink it and fall asleep on time but there was no need for that -- at least he had something to offer Lucas. 

Noah picked up the bottle and handed it over to him and Lucas received it gratefully. 

Lucas opened the cap with his teeth and gulped down the content in one go. Noah had to remind himself how much of a drinker Lucas was.

"I have but a few minutes to be here," Lucas started. "I am aware that you are just returning from work and you need your rest. Now here is the thing. There is a revolution that is going to occur sooner than later. It is one that surpasses the depths of our human understanding. It is one that we have to get ready for no matter what it would take. It is one that will change our lives for the better or for the worse. But... This revolution is not for everyone. I heard that there are specific people chosen for this revolution. They call them the awakened."

Noah knew Lucas as the type that loved to speak in parables and in hidden words but right now, he didn't seem to make any sense but then Lucas isn't the type to bluff. He always meant business.

"What are you talking about, Lucas? Are you even listening to yourself? You are not making any sense right now! Prison must have taken some of your brain cells," Noah mocked him as he sat on the single chair opposite him.

"I am not bluffing, Noah. You must listen to the things I have to say in case the system points you out."

Noah scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment as he thought that his cousin had run mad. "You really suffered in Prison, Lucas. I can tell. System? What the hell are you talking about?" Without waiting to hear his response, Noah stood up and went into the kitchen. Right now, all he could think of was how to get a meal for himself rather than listening to some mumbo jumbo about Systems and revolution.

He searched through his cup board and picked a few things from there. He could only find a pasta pack and some ingredients that could aid him in preparing it.

"I have pasta here, are you interested?" Noah asked but there was no response. It wasn't like he was expecting one anyway. He then started to prepare the meal, he got distracted by the whooshing sound from the frying pan and as he settled everything concerning it. He couldn't help but wonder what Lucas was up to in the sitting room. "Lucas?" He called out from the kitchen and again, there was no response. 

Noah turned down the stove, wiping his hands on the small towel that he kept by the side and left the kitchen for the sitting room only to see that Lucas was no longer there.