A Wanderer's Lies

"Section Z? Have you ever heard of that?" Oliver asked, turning to Isaac, to which Isaac shook his head.

'Even Oliver doesn't know what it is."

"Section Z. It's a restricted area within the school. It's where the students who have the bad luck of inheriting cannibalists, monsters, or anything else that would be a danger to others are sent. It's also where I spent my first few weeks in Spawn."

'A place like that exists? Is that where I would be sent if someone found out about my Zobae Disease?'

Isaac guessed that if others knew he wasn't exactly human, they'd treat him like a monster.

It was no secret that humans shunned those who were different. Isaac knew that all too well.

It was probably one of the reasons Spawn segregated themselves from the rest of the world.

"It was…hell."

Zach's low voice brought back Isaac from his trance.

"Blood curdling screams all through the night, rooms with no windows and those teachers who tortured us, saying it was for our own benefit. I-I barely escaped after a sudden riot."

"Then why did you come back? I get that it isn't easy for just anyone to leave Spawn, especially someone on the run, but why did you come back to Aurelius?" Oliver asked.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go. I knew that if I kept running, I'd eventually be caught. So I decided to hide in plain sight."

"But, the most important reason…is that I wanted to find a way to turn back into a human."

Silence enveloped the room as Isaac and Oliver stared at Zach.

"I'm assuming that's a disguise. And your name really isn't Zachary Bloom." Isaac broke the silence, to which Zach gave a nervous chuckle.

"No, my real name is Logan." Zach gave a short reply.

"How were you able to get a new face? I mean, there are Black Market deals that can accomplish that, but you didn't have any money. And didn't anyone suspect you since you were an Outsider who suddenly appeared in Spawn?"

Oliver bombarded Zach with a flurry of questions as Zach smiled, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"How did you pass the tests Spawn conducts after someone completes their scenario?" Isaac asked.

In truth, there were many steps that Spawn took before and after an Inheritor's Scenario to ensure nothing went wrong.

The truth was, cases like Isaac's and Zach's would be vastly more common if they didn't.

People lying about their scenarios, rewards, and completion rates. 

Inheritors were forced to undergo tests that would differentiate the imposters from the others.

'This was usually when they determined who would be sent to Section Z.'

Isaac was fortunate he stumbled across Orion. It was probably because Orion was helping Isaac hide his secret that Jasmine didn't make Isaac take the tests. 

If he did, he'd have never made it this far, and his shallow lies would be futile.

"It's because of a teacher. Alexander Hall."

Isaac widened his eyes in shock upon hearing the name.

"The blind Nen instructor?" He asked, to which Zach nodded.

"He was one of the agents who found me in the real world and brought me to Spawn. He also helped me get a new identity and join Aurelius as a regular student." 

'An instructor helped him? If he had an instructor on his side, he probably could have escaped Spawn all together. But I guess that wouldn't solve his problem. They'd probably still be able to find him.'

"I know I have no right to ask you both for this…"

Zach gave a deep bow as his voice broke a little.

"Please…I don't want to go back. Please keep my secret. I'm begging you." Tears streamed from Zach's eyes.

Oliver wanted to help Zach up, but the simple truth was, he wasn't sure it was a good idea.

After what happened today, Oliver couldn't help but feel wary. What if something like that happened again?

They were able to survive today, but he couldn't say the same for the next time or the time after that.

"I'll be honest. My ears have been feeling quite poor lately. I haven't been hearing well. Can you repeat everything you just said, starting from when we were playfully wrestling a while ago."

Both Zach and Oliver stared at Isaac, confused and speechless.

"What? Like I said, Zachary Bloom, my ears aren't very good." Isaac gave Zach a thumbs up and smile.

It wasn't because of some noble reason or a code of silence Isaac had learnt on the streets that made him want to keep this secret.

But it was because there were no negatives to keeping this secret. If Isaac had to put himself in harms way, he might rethink the decision.

But even if Zach was caught, there would be no backlash to him or Oliver.

It was a small price to pay, knowing that a powerful Revolver now owed Isaac.

"Me too."

Isaac and Zach turned their heads to Oliver as the boy spoke in an enthusiastic tone.

"Like my eyes, my ears aren't the best. Ghoul? PSHAW! I don't even know what a Ghoul is. Revolver? I think we have yet to cover that topic in class. Tokyo Ghoul? Is that even a real verse…"

"Okay, now you're doing too much."

Isaac put a stop to Oliver's nonsense as the lies became more and more absurd.

"I'm sorry. I'm not a very good liar." Oliver let out a nervous chuckle.

"Just keep the lies simple. Don't overcomplicate it." 

Oliver gave a nod.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Zach continued to cry. At this point, he exhausted his tear ducts so much that the small amount of tears hovered over his lower eye lid, never rolling down his face.

"What are friends for." Oliver chuckled.

'Friends?'

"What are you planning to do if you find a way to return back into a human?" Oliver asked, drawing back Isaac's attention.

"I'll return to the real world. Back to my Grandma. She's the only relative I have left." Zach answered with a smile.

"What about you, Isaac. What's your goal?" Oliver turned his head.

"Me? It's pretty simple, I just want to live in peace." Oliver raised an eyebrow as Zach stared.

"What does that entail?" 

"You know, just doing whatever I want, whenever I want. Living my life with as much freedom as possible, with the strength for no one to tell me otherwise."

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he tried to understand. It didn't make very much sense to him.

"I get it. Freedom. It's a great goal." Zach added.

"Yeah. What about you, Oliver. After completing your scenarios and graduating. What, then?" Oliver lowered his head with a difficult smile, pausing for a few seconds.

"I want to become an instructor in Aurelius." 

Isaac stayed quiet as he stared.

'It won't be easy.'

"Is that a bad thing?" Zach asked, noticing Oliver's peculiar behaviour.

"Kind of. You see, my father…he's the Chairman of the S.A."

Zach widened his eyes as Oliver finished. Isaac tried his best to look suprised, however, he already knew.

He was quick to discover what all the commotion was about after their first class, and it was quite easy to make the discovery, seeing as how every single person in Spawn knew the name 'Clover'.

"I don't like to tell people because they usually treat me differently when I do."

The behaviour, the atmosphere, and the look they gave Oliver…he always hated it.

It was like a default mode everyone switched to. Fake words with other intentions hidden within it.

People who acted kind, but only because of your name. And those who showed kind gestures, expecting some sort of payback in the future.

Who wouldn't want the richest, most famous, and all-powerful Prince of Spawn to owe them one?

"My dad wants me to join the S.A. when I grow older, but that's never been my goal." 

Silence enveloped the room as no one spoke a word.

Isaac and Zach wanted to help, but they didn't know how. They didn't exactly have any experience with controlling fathers.

'Hell, we don't even have fathers.'

Isaac thought inwardly.

"It seems we've all got pretty tough goals, huh?" Zach broke the silence.

Suddenly, he extended his hand in the middle of the three.

"Let's make a promise. Although the world sees us as weaklings now, we'll all accomplish our goals. We have to."

Isaac and Oliver stared at the hand for a few seconds, soon grinning.

"Fine, but not we might as well make this official." As Oliver said this, a vase and three cups appeared in his hands, seemingly appearing from thin air.

But apparently, that wasn't what surprised Zach.

"Is that Aurora Hops?" Zach asked.

"Yes. I bought it but never had a chance to try it."

"What's Aurora Hops?" Isaac asked.

"It's alcohol. I see Mr. Hall drinking it all the time." Zach answered.

"I've never tried it, but it's usually how my father makes unofficial deal with his partners. They take a shot."

Oliver poured the bright yellow liquid in the three shot glasses.

"Don't worry, Zach. You can drink this." Oliver clarified as Zach nodded.

As each of them took one, Isaac couldn't help but appreciate the sweet aroma that wafted under his nostrils.

"Losers today, but winners tomorrow!" Oliver yelled as the three of them lightly tapped glasses.

As they gulped the liquid, Isaac noticed the sweet and slightly bitter taste on his tongue, and as he swallowed, a burning sensation followed.

"Ugh." Zach contorted his face in an unpleasant manner.

Oliver coughed as he struggled with the burning sensation.

"That's disgusting. I can't believe I wasted my money on that." Oliver finally let out.

"I didn't think it was that bad." Isaac spoke, prompting the two to glance at him.

Isaac thought it tasted like spicy black coffee. By no means did he enjoy it, but he wouldn't go so far as to call it disgusting.

Without saying anything, Zach and Oliver chuckled upon seeing Isaac's nonchalant demeanour.

After a few seconds, Isaac joined in.

***

"I'm going to take a quick shower. All the blood, sweat, and tears are starting to smell." 

Zach chuckled, getting a nod from the two boys.

"Make it quick, I wanna go next."

"No, I wanted to go next."

"Beat it, four eyes. I called dibs."

Zach grinned as he entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

As he did, the smile he had on his face instantly disappeared, replaced with a cold expression with dead eyes, vacant of any glimmer.

Walking to the sink, he stared at himself in the mirror for a few seconds.

Bending over, he turned the faucet as water gushed out of the tap. Splashing a handful of water on his face, Zach ran his wet fingers through his blonde hair, standing up straight as he did.

Taking a second look at the mirror, he noticed the colour in the area he'd wiped his hands as faded.

The blonde had disappeared, as if it didn't belong on his scalp in the first place, revealing the colour on his hair underneath. 

Chalk white hair peeked out from within the blonde as Zach stared at it for a few seconds, turning his head and stepping into the shower, removing his clothes as he did.

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New week, new stones, and new goal. Let's see if we can make it further on the leader board this week.

Next chapter title: Targeting Ava Longfield [1]

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