Sterling Youth Chapter 2

After what felt like an hour of grieving Ken dragged himself home. There, his mother saw his condition and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Kenneth, what happened? Did the date go well?" She tried sounding motherly but Ken still didn't seem okay.

Tears in his eyes, the teenager managed to sputter, "P-Patricia... S-she's gone..."

Suddenly, his mother seemed shocked - complete disbelief.

They were now sitting near the fireplace, his mother with a cup of tea in hand.

"Look, how did the 'thugs' that kidnapped her appear? This can't be..." She stated, still in shock.

"I told you, Mom; they had on ski masks that's all I know." Ken seemed to re-iterate over and over again.

Ken's mother put down her cup, and got very serious suddenly.

"Those kidnappers were part of a threat to our society. You are part of our only hope in order to stop them in their tracks." She frowned and muttered to herself, "My poor boy."

"All you will need is this map. Now I would like you to search for someone who is also an abnormality, don't come back until you do. Arrange to get together with them while you're at it." She gave Ken a sheet of paper with a holographic map on it of the land around them along with a pinpoint to Ken's current location.

"But Mom, how will I find them?" Ken complained.

"Trust me, you'll know when you see them. Now go on, I hope for the best of you. Good luck!" His mother motioned Ken out the door and waved goodbye. When Ken was out of sight, a single tear ran down the woman's cheek.

In the outskirts of town, a girl with long, flowing blonde hair was awaiting Ken's arrival. As he made it to her, she calmly asked him in a very soothing voice, "Ah, hello; are you Ken Hercule?"

"Uhm... yes," Ken stated, "Why do you ask?"

"I need you," the girl seemed a sliver less calm as she tried to speak quietly enough to him so others wouldn't hear, "I am also gifted with a power."

That statement seemed to comfort Ken, on top of the girl's sweet tone.

"Well that's good to hear." The teenage boy seemed to smile a bit, showing his relief to the blonde.

"We shall meet tomorrow, after twelve o'clock in the town's forest." She motioned her arm over to the dense area. "Over yonder, you shall meet one more. We will all embark on a small journey so pack as much food and clothes as possible, understood?" The girl awaited confirmation.

Ken nodded; he was ready for anything so it seemed at the moment.

"Good," the girl replied, holding out her hand, ready to shake, "Oh, I am Summer Hayes; I shall also show you some of my abilities tomorrow."

"Well, you know my name it appears." He shook her hand firmly, but still trying to be gentle; he would've hated to see this beautiful girl get her hand crushed.

The next day, he did as was promised; he began to pack his bag and head towards the forest near the outskirts of town. There, he kept walking until he saw the blonde again.

"There you are, where were you?" Summer asked.

"Sorry, it took me a while to get packed. Heh, my room's such a mess." Ken replied.

"Totally understandable. Now, welcome to the Sterling Youth." Summer replied.

"Sterling... Youth...?" Ken quickly moved his foot as a bullet whizzed by him and hit the ground. Panicking, he looked up to see a very young girl, almost seemed like a boy, in a treebranch.

She had very short, charcoal-colored hair and wore a fur coat along with some pants that appeared to very baggy and rugged. She shot daggers at Ken as she spat onto the ground.

"What the hell's scum like you doin' in this private area? Y'all should take one to the knee." The tomboy aimed her magnum, ready to squeeze the trigger.

"Wait! He's the other one the-- he's the other gifted being!" Summer stammered a bit, her skin looking rather pasty but returned back to its decent tan. Looking back to Ken, she talked in her calm voice again. "I am sorry, she didn't mean it. You're fine." Looking back to Archer, "Hey, please put your gun down."

"I-it's alright, it truly is. Look, that gang took my girl; I need to get her back somehow. But how will I do it?" Ken stated, trying to get answers.

"Can't get to Inferno base just yet, gotta train if we ever wanna do that crap. There's no way no how we are making it there alive without doing so. By the way, Archer's the name." The tomboy spat again after finishing her sentence.

"Well, looks like I have no choice." Ken stated. "Let's do it."