YM778.TV Chapter 13 Tight Grip
Harker clenched his fist.
He was the type who doesn\'t look for trouble. He was the type that would rather live a simple and peaceful life. But what he hates the most….
Was the strong preying on the weak, the rich preying on the poor.
The pictures of the missing boys went on and on as Roland searched more about them. Harker kept in mind every single one of them. But what stayed in the recesses of his mind…
Were the words of the families looking for them.
"If anyone sees our son, please bring him back home to us. We don\'t have much, but we\'re willing to pay anything!" An interview with the mother of a black victim said.
An Indian father lamented. "He\'s the only one we can rely on these days. We were just delivering mail as usual, and I\'m teaching him how to drive….. Who knew that would be the last time we saw him?"
All these accounts…. It stuck with Harker, repeating in his mind over and over.
When he got back home, he was spacing out and staring at the floor. Soon, he heard the lively voices of his two brothers.
"Why\'d you get 10 dollars and 13 cents, while I only get 10 dollars and 12!? It\'s not fair!" Samson argued.
Samuel scoffed. "It\'s because we\'re dividing 20 dollars and 25 cents here! Of course it won\'t be equal! Use your brain!"
"Then why\'d I got the shorter end of the stick!? I was the one deliverin\' the newspapers to the doorsteps \'coz you\'re too shy!"
"But I\'m the one who remembered all the routes Chloe gave us! We wouldn\'t even have earned this much if we just relied on your short-term memory. So I deserve the extra penny."
Samson growled, curling his fist and ready to throw hands at his twin. "You nerdy four-eyed punk—"
Harker easily picked them up by the collar with a tired expression.
"Aight, aight. Nuff yappin\' about one penny. You guys plan on putting it in your coin banks and then giving it to Dad anyway, right?"
The twins panicked. Samson clamped his mouth with his tiny hand. "Shhh! Don\'t let him hear ya!"
"It\'s a surprise, Harker!" Samuel also nervously looked around if their dad\'s nearby.
Harker took Samson\'s hand away. "Right, right. So why bother fighting about it?"
"Well, it\'s just unfair. He might fill up the coin bank faster than me." Samson argued.
"That depends on the size of the coins too, knucklehead." Samuel stuck out his tongue. "A penny won\'t change anything."
"You guys…. Who gets to fill it up faster doesn\'t matter. Y\'all after the same cause." Harker told them. "We\'re on the same side here."
The boys realized this and stopped arguing.
But Samson was still pouting. "I still don\'t like how Sammy gets more, though…. He always calls me a dummy and a knucklehead just \'cause he\'s smarter than me."
Harker nodded. "I get it. We all don\'t like being the loser. So how \'bout this? I\'ll take the extra cent from Sammy so you\'ll be equal."
Samuel frowned, but still handed it to Harker. "Fine. It\'s just a stupid penny anyway."
"Well it\'s no longer just a penny. It\'s a piece to determine equality, y\'know?" Harker chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Right, Sam?"
"Mn!" Samson nodded. "It\'s about justice!"
"Hahaha! It really is." Harker smiled.
Justice….
These missing boys…. He sees his own younger brothers in them. They would eventually grow up to be under this same sector that was targeted. Easy to get rid of, easy to get away with injustices and discrimination.
Even he himself used to be that boy. There was no doubt that the reason why the age group was 13-18 was because most boys were still virgins at that age. He was just an outlier that happened to be a virgin at 22. Had he lived in Nassau County 5 years ago, he would have been a name in the headlines too.
No, he really almost became one of those missing boys if not for Yan and the Shapeshifting System.
His father could have been the one begging people on the news to look for him, and they would never know that he was now in the belly of a demon. No one else besides his family and friends would really care.
The world would move along with one more or one less human.
However, it\'s not the worth of that missing human that\'s only at stake here. It\'s the sake of justice for every life taken away unfairly.
And so….
Harker starts to reconsider his real purpose of visiting Lady Aixiang\'s house on the weekends. It\'s no longer just about the Shard.
Those missing boys need justice.
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"Your sunflowers and daffodils are growing so well, Missus!" A jovial plump woman passed by her neighbor.
The one who was gardening the flowers was wearing a lovely straw hat. She was humming a tune as she worked, and she only stopped when someone called her \'Missus\'.
Still, she smiled. "Why, thank you. Did you folks just move next door?"
"Yes, we did just now. I\'m Gloria, by the way." The woman extended her hand.
The hand that shook it back was very thin and delicate compared to hers. It was as smooth as a young girl\'s.
"You can call me Lovette." She smiled.
"Oh, what a pretty name! Lovette. I would also like my own garden once we settle down in Brookville." Gloria said. "Do you work for them all by yourself? No helpers?"
"Sometimes my boys help out." Lovette replied.
"Oh, you have children! Perfect, I came here to bring some cookies!" She showed a lovely tin box full of cookies.
"Why, thank you." Lovette took them. "The boys will love them."
"I\'m sure they will! There\'s all sorts like chocolate chips and gluten-free ones so it would suit everyone." Gloria smiled. "How do you grow your flowers so well?"
Lovette picked one of her daffodils and smiled at it.
"Well, I treat them like my boys. I make sure they get all the love and care I could give until they grow big and strong. Once they grew enough…."
She picked a petal off the delicate flower and crushed it between her fingers.
"Then they\'ll be ready to be harvested. I\'d grind them up and churn them into paste to keep me looking young and fresh."
Gloria clapped. "Oh, so that\'s your secret! Well, it was really nice talking to you, Lovette! My Timmy and I have to unpack our things now. Let\'s chat again sometime and tell me about this flower paste you\'re using!"
She went on her way, since \'next door\' was actually about a 50 meter walk away due to the rich houses in Brookville, Nassau County being so far apart.
Ms. Lovette wore a cherry-red smile as she waved at her.
"Sure! You\'ll love it!"
She turned, her braided red hair swaying as she went back to her house to bring the cookies to \'her boys\'. She hummed while crushing the tiny daffodil completely on her tight grip.