The boy without a system

CHAPTER 4 — THE FOLLOWER

Evan didn't respond immediately.

He just stood there, staring at Chen, trying to wrap his head around what he’d just heard. His son knew. He saw the future. And he told Chen to watch for me.

"How?" Evan finally asked, his voice low. "How could his son possibly know?"

Chen shook his head slowly. "I have no idea. He never gave me details. He just insisted he’d seen things things that hadn't happened yet. I honestly thought he was sick, losing his grip on reality." He paused, a shadow crossing his face. "Then he died. And suddenly, I started wondering if he was right."

"Did he say anything else? Anything specific?"

"He said the person who arrived would be young. Younger than they were supposed to be. He said they would possess knowledge they had no right to have. And he said they would be alone." Chen looked Evan dead in the eye. "Are you alone?"

Evan stayed silent.

"That’s what I thought." Chen turned away and walked toward the punching bag. "We start tomorrow. Six in the morning. Don't be late."

Evan left the dojo at seven, his mind racing.

Chen's son knew about the future. He knew about the System. He knew about me. How is that even possible?

He walked home at a snail's pace, lost in thought. Maybe he was reborn, just like me. Like Sarah said she was. But he died before the Awakening ever happened. Before he could do anything with that knowledge.

Or maybe he was something else entirely. Something tied directly to the System.

He stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal to change.

I have to find out more. But Chen is tapped out; he only knows what his son told him.

The light turned green. He stepped off the curb.

Tomorrow. Training first. Then I figure out the rest.

He walked through his front door at seven-thirty.

Lily was sitting at the kitchen table, buried in her homework. She looked up the moment he entered.

"You're late again," she noted.

"I know. Sorry."

She watched him sink into a chair. "Where were you?"

"Training."

"Training?" She arched an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Just... trying to get in shape."

He could see the skepticism in her eyes. She didn't buy it for a second.

"You've never cared about fitness in your life," she said.

"People change, Lily."

She snapped her book shut. "Evan. I'm your sister. You can actually talk to me."

I can't. If I tell you, you're a target. If I tell you, you'll think I've lost my mind. If I tell you, you'll try to help—and helping is exactly how you end up dead.

"I know," he said softly. "There’s really nothing to tell."

She held his gaze for a long beat, searching his face, before finally standing up.

"Fine. Whatever. Dinner's in the fridge."

She headed upstairs without another word. Evan sat in the silence of the kitchen.

Three weeks. I only have three weeks.

The next morning, Evan was at the dojo by five-fifty.

Without a word of greeting, Chen unlocked the door and handed him a jump rope. "Two hundred skips. Then we get to work."

Evan barely made it to ninety before his calves began to scream.

"Don't stop," Chen commanded.

He pushed through until he finished, gasping for air.

The session was relentless. They moved from the heavy bag to footwork drills, then to a low wooden dummy with padded arms. By seven, Evan’s legs felt like jelly. He slumped onto a bench, draining a water bottle.

Chen sat down beside him. "You're pushing yourself too hard."

"I have to."

"You have to be alive in three weeks," Chen countered, capping his own bottle. "That means eating, sleeping, and actually recovering. If you train like this every single day, you'll break your body before the first monster even shows up."

Evan just nodded, unable to argue.

"Tomorrow. Same time."

Evan grabbed his gear and headed out.

He was halfway home when he felt it that prickle on the back of his neck.

Footsteps. Light, steady, and rhythmic, about twenty feet behind him.

He didn't turn around. He didn't even glance back. He just kept walking, his heart beginning to drum against his ribs. Someone is following me.

He rounded a corner and abruptly stopped, pressing his back against a brick wall.

The footsteps drew closer. Closer.

Then, they stopped.

Evan waited. He counted to three. Then five. Finally, he stepped out from the shadows.

A girl was standing there. She looked to be about his age, with dark hair and dark, observant eyes. She didn't look startled to see him.

"Hi," she said simply.

"Who are you?"

A small smile played on her lips. "Someone who knows exactly what you are."

Evan’s hand instinctively drifted toward the knife in his pocket. "What are you talking about?"

"You aren't like the others." She took a step toward him. "You're different. I can feel it."

"Stay back."

"I'm not here to hurt you," she said, raising her hands in a peace gesture. "I'm here because I need your help."

"With what?"

"The same thing you're preparing for." She looked him straight in the eye. "The end of the world."

Evan froze. Who is this? How does she know?

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." She tilted her head slightly. "You've seen it. The Systems. The monsters. The Administrator."

Evan felt his heart skip a beat. She knows about the Administrator.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice turning cold and sharp.

"My name is Sarah." She stepped closer, her expression serious. "And I've been looking for you for a long time."