"I'm not sorry to inform you, but I can't let you pass unless you open those doors and let me check whatever you have there," the patrol fed announced after having a futile and forced chit-chat with 24-Savage.
The man hit the side of the vehicle a few times, urging the driver to come out and get the inspection started. 24, however, was being adamant. The patrol fed, sensing a bit of foul play here, threatened to bring forth his gun should 24 wait another second in the van.
Stevo continued murmuring furiously, disappointed with 24's lack of plans even though he had promised he had everything under control. "I knew I shouldn't have signed up for this shit."
"Out now!" Still no response. "Okay then, you leave me no choice!"
The other feds in the area were beginning to close in also after realizing that the van was staying too long and their colleague seemed to be infuriated. The man brought out his small guard and immediately pointed it at 24-Savage's head. "You have till the count of three."
Just then, Eric poked his head out through the driver's window to address the patrol fed.
"Hello fed. But the back door has been opened a while now."
The man threw a quick glance towards the back and, sure enough, the doors had been swung open. After throwing a lasting mean look at 24, before grabbing the van's keys and strolling to the back doors confidently, Eric got a share of the threatening look from 24 also.
"Hey kid, get over here. I got questions for ya," said the patrol fed.
"I'm not a kid. I'm 15. I can handle a katana and even couple back a dismantled—"
"Right. Just get over here," the man commanded. "Do you know these guys?"
"We are family," replied Eric confidently, to the utter shock of 24-Savage and the rest.
"Including this one?" Fed asked, eyeing Phil suspiciously.
"Beast Phil? He's the best."
"Can you give me their names then? You gotta know their names if they're family, right?"
"Oh, easy. The grumpy driver is 24-Savage, the next, G-Lock. The grim looking one is Stevo. The beast right here is Phil, and I'm Eric," he replied sweetly.
"And the girl? You left her out," the fed voiced his suspicion.
The girl still folded herself up beside the boxes, shivering and looking very pale. Eric had brought himself out of the box and immediately helped the girl out also, as soon as he heard that the patrol fed was going to search the vehicle. He had shifted the boxes to a corner also, making it look very less unlikely to be a kidnapping vehicle.
"Hey, I asked, what her name is!"
"Uh..." Eric didn't have many ideas about female names, as they weren't allowed to interact with the opposite gender back in the colony. Each gender undergoes different training at different institutions in the colony, and they also live at completely different residential areas.
As funny as it sounds, he had never known the name of a girl, so he thought of the only name that his brain could allow now.
"Erica! She's Erica!"
"Huh?" The fed was visibly not satisfied. "You're Eric, and she's Erica?"
"They are twins!" G-Lock yelled out a terrible reply from the front seat, bailing Eric out with a backup lie.
"Is that true?" The fed turned to the girl. "Are you a twin? Is your name really Erica? Do you feel threatened? Are you kidnapped? I can help you."
The girl shifted away from the fed's reach and shriveled more into the corner, shaking her head vigorously as if the fed was the threat himself.
"She's really sick at the moment. So I don't think she can reply you," said Eric.
"Okay. In that case, I have nothing to do with you scums. Get your smelly vehicle out of here."
"Bye, patrol fed man," Eric called. "Just so you know, one of your chest buttons is loose and I can see your left nipple."
24-Savage instantly started the engine after getting the keys while Phil howled, full of laughter at Eric's innocent banter. Even the three kidnappers couldn't quite hide their amusement.
"Why did he switch on us just like that? Why did he call us scum?" Eric asked.
"Oh, you poor thing. You shouldn't be this innocent. He did that 'cause he's a tier or two above us," replied Phil.
"It's beyond my understanding..."
24-Savage spoke. "Get back in that box, you and your twin sister."
"What does twins mean, comrade G-lock?" Eric continued with his bout of innocence.
"Eric and Erica, that's what twins are. Now get your butt down," replied G-Lock with a laugh.
Stevo turned back to take a closer look at Eric, squinting his eyes in suspicion. Nothing about the kid seemed right with him.
"Why did you lie to the fed?" Stevo asked.
"What part of the lie?"
"What part was not a lie? The whole family and twin part, kiddo. Why?"
"Well, I feel warm in that box. I could use a few more minutes."
"You can't be that dumb, nah. D'you know what's 'boutta happen to you?"
"I'm 'boutta get sold, ain't it?" he replied, adopting a copied version of the gang's language.
"Anyway, this is the truth. I overheard your conversation after I was captured at the dump yard. You were going to sell me and the girl to an underworld lord who buys special kids and uses them for money. Since I don't know anyone here, I might as well go meet this underworld lord. Plus, I get to have a bit of adventure with them than with you guys here. You three are a boring bunch. You don't even do kidnapping right. Everyone here is weak except beast Phil."
"Man, someone gag this prattling kid," 24-Savage was again frustrated.
"I have a question. Who is this girl?" asked Eric.
"Is she not with you?" G-Lock replied. "We found you both together."
"Uhh... I don't think I know her. Anyway, she looks weak, so I'm not interested."
[Mana sources detected. Consume]
"System? You're back, I see."
[Mana sources detected. Consume]
"All you ever think about it is mana. Of course, mana sources are everywhere as long as I'm among humans, you greedy system. Plus, I'm not hungry, and I won't be in a very long time."
"I have a question though. Have any idea who this girl is?"
"Are you still asking?!" yelled 24-Savage. "You want a fist to your face?"
"No please," Eric replied, unfazed. "I was talking to this blood-loving system that's in my head. You aura are all so weak that I forgot you were here to listen."
"I'm whooping this kid once we land, on my life," 24 mumbled.
[She transmigrated with you. She is extremely weak at the moment because the sudden change in world used up a lot of her energy. It's a miracle she's still alive.]
"Okay... What? She transmigrated with me? How did we meet? What world does she come from?"
[Your world, host. You foolishly blocked the bullet that was meant for her and at the last second, you touched her. So she's found herself here with you.]
"Huh? She's that woman from the colony? But... I thought she was older."
[You may have thought wrong. Transmigration does not alter one's appearance whatsoever except when it's a shift from a body to another. So, she's the same woman.]
Eric rushed over to the pale girl. "Hey," he touched her lightly on the shoulder.
"Oh, you," staring deep into her being. "Is it really you? From the colony?"
The girl looked up with long black hair flowing down and masking almost the whole of her face. Slowly, she nodded a response. She continued shivering uncontrollably.
That might be true. I probably didn't recognize her because her face was covered with blood from the massacre during the Purge. I thought she was an older woman from the way she spoke.
The girl shifted her face slightly to the side and her curtain parted to reveal her actual face. Nothing prepared Eric for what he saw.
Why... Her face was extremely pale, more white than he had thought. Eric dismissed it as part of her loss of strength currently and possibly how cold the weather is in this world.
"What..." Eric looked closely, interested, until she finally raised her eyes to look back at him.
I'll be damned...
BA-DUMP!
Those green eyes... and that was all Eric could think of right now because his heart wouldn't stop racing.
BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!
"Uhh... System? What do you think is happening to my me?"
[Remember the information about blood bonding...]
["You will feel the natural bond with such an individual when you see one."]
[First mana slave candidate detected.]
[Advised to start blood-bonding processes.]
"No. No. I don't think that's the situation here, System."
[It is. One of such bonding feelings is rapid heartbeats.]
"For the very first time, I think you're completely off track here."
[I am never wrong, Host.]
Then you've broken your record then. Why didn't I feel the bond heartbeat until I saw her green eyes?
[...]
There
[Rapid heartbeats, gut feelings, biting hunger even when you're full, supremacy urge, and many others are what you feel when you come across potential mana slaves.]
[Blood bond with the woman?]
You can't coerce me this time. Do I get to experience rapid heartbeats if the potential mana slave is a man?
[Any symptom for any individual.]
Well that's queer. I don't like that.
[Blood bond with detected mana slave candidate?]
"I said hell no!"
"I'm really done with this psycho kid!" yelled 24-Savage.