Chapter 58: The Forsaken Truth
The roar of the V8 engine filled the silence of the car, but the tension inside was far louder. Kimo gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.
"Do you even realize the gravity of what you've done?" Kimo's voice was like grinding stone. "Because of your stunt at the school, your life—and mine—are on the line. You are already a walking anomaly, half-feral and half-human. The Higher-ups were already watching you. And now this? My only question is... Why? Why did you risk everything for a common teacher?"
Ren stared out the window, his reflection in the glass looking ghostly. "That teacher slapped my sister. No one touches my family and walks away."
"So, if someone slaps your sister, you decide to become a murderer?" Kimo snapped.
"She is still alive," Ren replied coldly.
"I know she is! That's the only reason you aren't in a high-security hole right now," Kimo growled. "But the Higher-ups will come for me, not you. They'll want answers I don't have." He glanced at Ren through the rearview mirror. "Aren't you going to ask where we are going?"
"To jail?" Ren asked, his voice devoid of hope.
"No," Kimo said, his voice softening just a fraction. "To your home. To see your sister."
Ren looked at him, confused. "But why?"
"The girl you saved from those thugs... she was my daughter, Mina," Kimo revealed.
Ren's eyes widened in genuine shock. He leaned back against the leather seat, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place. "So... since I saved your daughter's life, will you forgive me for what I did at the school?"
Kimo's face remained a mask. "I don't have the answers to your questions, Ren. But remember this: never let something like this happen again. Don't let your emotions turn you into a monster."
Ren let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "What if I told you I was already a monster? What if I told you I am a Forsaken?"
The car swerved for a split second as Kimo's heart skipped a beat. "What did you say?"
"It's true," Ren continued, his voice steady. "I am a Forsaken. My Elite Vane Card? It's a fake. I only came to this Sector and joined the Academy to find a cure for my sister's infection. Everything about me is a lie."
FLASHBACK: 20 Years Ago
The world inside Kimo's mind shifted to a dark, rainy night. A three-year-old Kimo was huddled in the back of a wagon. His family had taken a wrong turn and ended up in a Forsaken settlement.
He remembered the screams. He remembered the cold, distorted faces of the Forsaken warriors as they descended upon them. He saw his younger brother dragged away. He saw his mother and father fall, their lives extinguished in a senseless act of violence.
Kimo had survived only by crawling through the mud and hiding under the floorboards of a rotted hut, his small body covered in his own blood. From that day on, a burning, jagged hatred for every "Forsaken" had been etched into his very soul.
PRESENT DAY
Kimo's breathing became heavy and erratic. The veins in his neck pulsed with fury. The gratitude he felt for Ren saving Mina was being drowned out by a tidal wave of trauma and hatred.
"A Forsaken..." Kimo hissed, his voice trembling with a murderous intent.
He didn't stop the car. He didn't look at Ren. But the temperature inside the vehicle seemed to drop ten degrees. Ren had no idea he had just confessed his secret to the one man who hated his kind more than anyone else in the world.