Decisions


Knox looked down at the bottom on the note and stared at the writer. Mia? he thought. Why did she send me this letter. He quickly bounced his eyes to the top of the page and started to read.



‘Dear whomever cares,’



‘This letter has been sent to you for a reason that, by now, I’m sure you know off. Earlier this week, you may have come across a special invitation to take the psychic exam, being held on June 27th. This letter is a reminder that you must come and at least try the exam. The MCG is very serious about our business, and we are willing to do ANYTHING to ANYONE to get the job done. You might want to think about that.








Sincerely,









Mia Rose



Knox sighed. “Talk about being desperate,” he mumbled. “I swear, this woman can’t get over the fact that I said no.” Knox sat down on the wooden chair and leaned back. He sat at the table, spacing off out of the window as he thought about Celia and where she could’ve gone. It wasn’t like her to run off so early in the morning. It was too early for her to go to school, which she hated, so that must’ve been out of the question. She also had her share fair of friends, but she always asked for permission from Knox before she went out with them. Something doesn’t add up, he thought. Where could she have gone?

Knox slowly turned his head and looked down at the letter. It still sat there, with evident crease marks. The only thing that stood out to Knox was the one sentence, ‘We are willing to do ANYTHING to ANYONE to get the job done.’ Anything to anyone, anything to anyone. Knox repeated those words several time in his head before he felt his heart drop to his stomach. Sweat started bursting out of his forehead as he picked up the letter, which crumpled from his unsteady grip. It finally made sense to him, but it was the last thing Knox wanted to hear.

“They…took her.” whispered Knox. “Those bastards actually took her…” Knox stood in silence for a moment, standing completely still. He didn’t know how to react at first, but in the depths of his mind, he could hear his conscious telling him what to do. “Make them pay,” it said.

“Damn it!” yelled Knox as he kicked the wooden table at full force, shattering it into a dozen pieces. He turned around and slammed his fist into the sheet metal wall, making his knuckles bust open into streams of blood. Knox started to breathe heavy. He was about to tear his entire house down in anger, but he resisted. It took him a minute, but he started to calm down.

At this point, confusion came in. He was stuck with two hard choices. “Let me think,” he said to himself. “It’s either ignore the situation and hope they don’t harm Celia, or take the exam to get her back.” Knox looked up at his ceiling, taking his time to think about the two choices. “Of course, if I take the exam, I’ll have to pass for sure, but that isn’t the real problem. If I do pass, I’ll be forced to work for the MCG, or else they might do something worst to Celia if I drop out.” He closed his eyes and felt a sense of defeat overcome him. “I wish you were here, dad. You always knew what to do.”

Immediately after he said that, a voice rumbled in his ear. Knox turned around in every direction looking for it, but no one was around him. The voice became more vivid, and with time, he could hear it. It was his dad, and it was so clear that he could’ve sworn that he was in the room with him. It wasn’t a new message, though. It was a flashback, and the same words that Knox heard the day his dad departed. ‘You two, look out for each other always. No matter what situation you’re in, stay strong and keep your bonds.’

It was so obvious now. There was no second thoughts or regrets, it was just something Knox knew that he had to do. He knew his sister needed help, and even if he ends up working for MCG for the rest of his life, his sister will be alright, and that’s all that mattered to him. Knox raised from his seat and busted out of his house. He looked up at the rising sun and said, “I’m coming for you, Celia. I’m taking the exam!”


Far from Mercury City, in the a cave near the peak of a mountain range, there is a lair. It’s no normal lair, however. The entrance is blocked off, so no one can exit and enter as they please, and only 3 people sit there, with their only source of light being a dimly lit candle. Near the edge of the small room, the same man who killed Momo lay, with his head resting peacefully against the bumpy walls of the cave. On the other sides, two other men sit. One of them is a sparkling purple suit, with an orange bowtie and pants that are zebra colored. A top of his head lays a top hat, which covers most of his hair except for a few strands. “So,” asked the man in the purple suit. “Have you heard, Rain?”

Rain, the terrorist of only a few days ago, glanced over curiously. “No, I haven’t left this place since we last attacked. Continue, Magi.”

“Well, the MCG have come up with an interesting plan to hunt us down. An exam, from what I hear.”

Rain chuckled lightly. “No exam is gonna save their asses from what we have planned later on. That idiot Vauhan never learns his lesson. Why won’t he just give up already?”

“You don’t understand, Rain,” continued Magi. “This isn’t some ordinary exam, this is specifically for psychics! Snow told me about it a few hours ago. They gather as many psychics as possible from all over the city and make them take different tests. The ones who pass all of the tests get to help them search for us.”

“Sounds interesting. Maybe those retards actually got a good plan this time.” Rain shifted his eyes towards the other man, who was wearing a set of ragged clothing from South Mercury City. He looked calm and easy going, despite the blazing heat that circled around the enclosed room. His eyes were abnormally big, and they glowed a bright yellow. “And you, Kaden?” asked Rain.

“I suppose time will tell, master.” Rain wasn’t too fond of being called master, at least not until his plan was a total success, but for right now, Kaden was one of his most important allies.

“I guess, as long as those other idiots don’t screw up,” responded Rain. “You should get them back here soon, Kaden. It’s not safe to have any of our allies out in public right now.”

“Master, the exam.” said Kaden. “Don’t you want to do anything about it?”

“Pfft, I could care less about that. We’re already stronger than those fools already. After we kill them, it’ll just be another example of Vauhan’s failure.” Kaden wanted to speak up, but he stopped at the last second.


3 days flew by in no time for Knox, and he wasted not one second of it. Every second he wasn’t sleeping or eating, he was doing some type of physical training. From pushups and curl ups to lifting weights, he made sure that he was prepared for anything. He wasn’t going to risk losing his sister to the MCG.

It was almost time, with 1 hour until the opening speech that started off the exam. He felt more nervous than he expected as he walked out the door and departed for the Mercury Pillar. I can only imagine what they have in store for us, he thought. The MCG has been known to be crazy, but this is the most important thing to happen in years! They might even be prepared to do deadly challenges. Knox took a deep breath and released all of the tension that squeezed his bones. All I have to do is be determined, that’s all.

It wasn’t long before Knox arrived near the pillar, which looked a hell of a lot bigger up close than he thought it would. It was the first time Knox has ever left South Mercury, and being surrounded by well crafted buildings and people that aren’t peasants felt off, but in a good way. He found himself in line, with people of all types in a messy line that lead to a booth that was giving out the applicants tickets. The line was flooded with people of all types, from tall to small, fat to slim, buff to weak. Knox found himself looking a bit intimidated by some of the really buff guys, but on the outside he stayed relaxed. He pushed himself into the line and waited patiently to advance.

Soon enough, after a good half hour, he got to the applicant booth, showed off his power by summoning the red aura, and put on a sticker that said ‘184’. Already, almost 200 people have applied, and the line is still running. He checked the sun, which was still slightly tilted to east, indicating that it was close to 11 in the morning. A huge crowd, mixed with the psychics taking the exam, who were up front, the soldiers, who outlined the crowd in an orderly fashion, and then the normal citizens, who came just for the hell of it.

Up on the huge stage, and to the right of the podium, stood Mia, who was being glared at by Knox. She was well aware of him and the anger that resided with him, but she only replied with a devious smirk. After a few moments, mayor Vauhan walked onto the stage, receiving cheers from the crowd that could be heard from at least a hundred yards away. He waved back at the crowd just to please them, tapped the microphone, and started to speak.

“Hello there, residents of Mercury City and today’s examinees. I’m very pleased to be here with you today! As you know, today will be the start of the Psychic Exam, which is being held in the memory of my daughter, Momo, who was slain by an unnamed terrorist.” Knox could hear Vauhan holding back the agony in the back of his throat. “I’ve never been a huge fan of psychics, and after that incident, my hatred for them grew deeply!” The citizens in the back of the crowd started to gossip some trash talk about psychics that could easily be heard from the front, where the psychics stood. Knox noticed that some of the guys standing near him were getting pissed off. Their expression said everything. “Today, though, is a new day, and in the course of a day, something can be changed entirely. That is why I’ve decided to try and trust these psychics. I didn’t like the idea of it at first, but after some convincing, I realized that it was my only choice. Right now, I want to thank all of you psychics for applying yourself to this test. We finally have hope now!”

The back part of the crowd exploding with applause, but the psychics were another story. Some of them clapped, but a majority of them just chuckled to themselves. “What an idiot,” said a slim woman to the left of Knox. “We’re only doing this so we can live in the Blessed House. Who cares what happened to his stupid daughter.”

“Tell me about it,” responded the man who stood in front of the woman. “I just want to be able to live it good at the top of the pillar.” Knox had the urge to yell at them for being so greedy, but he came here for his own needs as well, so he was well aware that he would have been hypocritical. He shrugged it off and listened to the rest of the speech.

“Once again, thank you to all of the psychics who are using their own time and effort to assist the MCG. I also want to thank my first in command for our military force, Mia Rose, to my left.” Knox cringed every time he heard her name. He had to resist himself terribly from going up there and beating the crap out of her. “Now, it’s my honor to kick it off. Let the Psychic Exam begin!”