Chapter 597: Keng’s Meeting With The Numbers
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
The elevator dinged, opening. Scarlet and Alex stepped out first with Keng in tow. The top view looked the same as always. It was a far drop and Keng found himself admiring the view.
"C'mon, Lee Seng. Let's go." Carter patted Keng's back. He smiled at him as he walked with Keng into the room. It was exactly like Keng had remembered. The room was in wonderful condition.
'Number 1's tantrum storm's gone just like that.' Keng thought. Even though it had been awhile since that day, he still remembered these things. The room wasn't filled with all of the Numbers. Only a couple of them had showed up besides Carter, Scarlet and Alex. Number 1, 5 and… 9 were there!
"Oh! Lee!" Akali waved at him.
'Shit.' Keng thought. Akali moved over to him and Keng put up a smile.
"How're you doing? I heard you got into a huge accident. Are you all better?" Akali asked.
"That was months ago, Akali." Carter answered. Akali turned and looked at Carter, who was standing and looking at them. "He just got back from being MIA for two months."
"Oh, time does go by fast." Akali sighed. "Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Keng gave her an odd stare. He didn't know how to act with her around. Keng knew the way Lee Seng acted around his 'older siblings' but he didn't have that… that… That odd feeling in his chest. She studied Keng, her worry apparent in her eyes.
"I-I'm fine… Tired. Wanna go home and die." Keng answered.
"Too much catch up?" Akali asked.
"Yeah." She wrapped her arm around him and the two moved over to her and Akio's seat. "Sit." She pushed him into the chair next to her as she took her spot. Number 1 turned around, looking up.
"We're all here." Nicole stated, slipping her phone into her pocket. She moved her seat backwards as she sat into it. Her eyes moved over to Keng, a strange mental presence coming over him.
'How does he… Argh…' Keng closed his eyes and tilted it as he put two fingers on the side of his temple. Keng opened them back up just as fast as it came. Nothing was lit up in the conference room except the lights. They all sat quietly as Nicole put her attention elsewhere.
"Let's just get right into it." Nicole motioned. Scarlet stood up on cue and turned to Keng.
"We should probably address this part as Lee Seng has informed Alex and I about it." Scarlet started, turning to address the rest of the group. "Lee Seng told us that he never got notified that he was meeting with us today when we went to pick him up. He said the message never got to him thus he thought yesterday was when the Creator reached out to him."
"What do you mean by this?" Nicole asked.
"Lee Seng," Scarlet motioned at him. "Tell them what you told us." Keng gulped and stood up.
"There was this New Yorker-type woman who came and got me yesterday with a bunch of the Creator's guards. She introduced herself as Eliza Queenie. Had a very… Bubbly personality."
"Eliza Queenie?"
"She said she was a new bodyguard under the Creator and one of the bodyguards said hi to Manny, too. I went with them because I thought you guys would get someone to get me. We went to this hospital out in the middle of nowh—"
"A hospital out in the middle of nowhere?" Nicole perked up. Her half-interest had suddenly taken a U-turn. She leaned forward as Keng nodded.
"Yeah, why?" Keng asked. The others looked at her before Nicole quickly grew disinterested.
'She's faking that.' Keng called out.
"Nothing. Just interesting she didn't take you to the lab. That's where you would've gone if you weren't going to come here." Nicole made an excuse that sounded like the truth. "Anything else?"
"Mmm…" Keng's mind flashed to Queenie trying to kill him.
"You are not the real Lee Seng. The real one was already found… By my men." Queenie's voice echoed in his head. Keng shook his head.
"No. That's it." He sat down as Nicole motioned at Scarlet. Scarlet began to talk about the stranger with their men. She and the Doctor theorized if there was some kind of miscommunication between them and the Creator. Keng could barely hear it. He was too busy thinking about almost dying.
"Lee." Akali elbowed him. Keng didn't seem to answer to her elbow and call, so she elbowed him more, digging a bit deeper until it snapped him out of thought.
"Hm?" Keng looked at her. A loud sigh drew his attention away from Akali and onto Nicole. She looked peeved, but Keng honestly thought that was the only look she could manage.
"Not paying attention? I guess we'll have to say that all over again." Nicole sighed. She stood up and slowly paced behind her chair. "What was done to you? Anything worth mentioning?"
"I guess a physical?" Keng answered with a question. Could he really call it that?
"A physical?" Dr. Valentin repeated. Keng nodded, slightly.
"If you could call it that. It was a quick check up. They didn't' see anything unusual so they let me go." Keng lied. Nicole turned as if she had picked up on his lie, but simply shrugged.
"And was there, uh, anything abnormal?" Dr. Valentin asked.
"Mmmm…"
"You gained more weight while you were being tortured?" The doctor's voice popped up in his head. The question about his energy levels appeared and he sighed.
"Weight gain and energy levels, I guess?" Keng answered truthfully.
"Weight gain and energy levels…" Dr. Valentin quietly repeated.
"You gained weight while… On the run?" Akali asked.
"Yeah?" Keng answered with a nod. "They thought it was weird, too. Even questioned why my energy levels were higher than what they were two months ago."
"Usually you'd lose weight while being on the run." Alex commented. "But there's been some stories of runaw— Victims growing in their power and energy thus gaining weight because they can safely protect them self while being on the run."
"You'd be fighting against paranoia and nature itself." Scarlet added. Alex nodded, pointing at her. Nicole looked at the doctor who nodded along.
"So it's rare but not insane." Nicole summarized.
"Some of us should know how that is." Akali commented. "Some of us came back stronger and with more muscle."
"While the rest of us suffered." Dr. Valentin added. They all nodded like they all understood very well what Keng "went" through.
"Well, Doctor, what can we do about those results?" Nicole looked at him.
"I'll contact them and see if we can get it." Dr. Valentin answered.
"Good." Nicole nodded. She looked over at Keng and motioned at him. "I assume you know how much shit you're in?" The others seemed to look at her like she was crazy for saying that aloud, but Keng nodded.
"Yeah." Keng stood up. "Are we done? I got a lot of 'shit' to do. Not to mention, I'll probably be starting some jobs with the team to go towards my training." Nicole's tongue clicked. She didn't answer him right away, eventually nodding.
"You may go. Don't try to run away this time." Nicole warned him.
"Don't plan on it." Keng turned and waved at the others before leaving.
"Is that all for today, One?" Akali asked, standing up.
p "Yes. I'll contact you about that other thing in a couple of days. You and your brother should rest during this time. You've been on the job for awhile." Nicole replied.
"Yes, ma'am." Akali nodded before jogging after Keng.
Keng popped out of the conference room, letting out a sigh. His heart was thumping so hard, he felt like it was going to come out of his throat. He clutched it as he slowed to a stop.
"Lee!" Akali called out. He turned to hear the door close behind her as she jogged over to him. She came to a stop as he turned halfway to meet her. She looked a bit more like a worried older sister now. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Keng replied, turning. He started to walk down the hall with Akali in tow.
"Shouldn't you do nothing for awhile? I know school's school, but you should really do bare minimum for awhile. Things have been hectic for awhile. These things may not feel like much but it could snap you in half if you aren't careful."
Akali's worry was something Keng really didn't know much about. She did seem worried for him, but he didn't know if it was because of him. All the memories he had gone through from Lee Seng, didn't really show this side of Akali often.
"What' wrong?" Keng asked, tilting his head. He came to a stop in front of the elevator and turned to her. Akali's eyes shimmered for a moment, suddenly trying to hide whatever she had released unintentionally.
"I'm just worried about you, that's all." Akali answered.
"C'mon, you never do this to me. Akio's usually the one who does this." Keng answered.
'It's what Lee Seng would've said.' Keng thought, watching Akali closer now.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
The elevator dinged, opening. Scarlet and Alex stepped out first with Keng in tow. The top view looked the same as always. It was a far drop and Keng found himself admiring the view.
"C'mon, Lee Seng. Let's go." Carter patted Keng's back. He smiled at him as he walked with Keng into the room. It was exactly like Keng had remembered. The room was in wonderful condition.
'Number 1's tantrum storm's gone just like that.' Keng thought. Even though it had been awhile since that day, he still remembered these things. The room wasn't filled with all of the Numbers. Only a couple of them had showed up besides Carter, Scarlet and Alex. Number 1, 5 and… 9 were there!
"Oh! Lee!" Akali waved at him.
'Shit.' Keng thought. Akali moved over to him and Keng put up a smile.
"How're you doing? I heard you got into a huge accident. Are you all better?" Akali asked.
"That was months ago, Akali." Carter answered. Akali turned and looked at Carter, who was standing and looking at them. "He just got back from being MIA for two months."
"Oh, time does go by fast." Akali sighed. "Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Keng gave her an odd stare. He didn't know how to act with her around. Keng knew the way Lee Seng acted around his 'older siblings' but he didn't have that… that… That odd feeling in his chest. She studied Keng, her worry apparent in her eyes.
"I-I'm fine… Tired. Wanna go home and die." Keng answered.
"Too much catch up?" Akali asked.
"Yeah." She wrapped her arm around him and the two moved over to her and Akio's seat. "Sit." She pushed him into the chair next to her as she took her spot. Number 1 turned around, looking up.
"We're all here." Nicole stated, slipping her phone into her pocket. She moved her seat backwards as she sat into it. Her eyes moved over to Keng, a strange mental presence coming over him.
'How does he… Argh…' Keng closed his eyes and tilted it as he put two fingers on the side of his temple. Keng opened them back up just as fast as it came. Nothing was lit up in the conference room except the lights. They all sat quietly as Nicole put her attention elsewhere.
"Let's just get right into it." Nicole motioned. Scarlet stood up on cue and turned to Keng.
"We should probably address this part as Lee Seng has informed Alex and I about it." Scarlet started, turning to address the rest of the group. "Lee Seng told us that he never got notified that he was meeting with us today when we went to pick him up. He said the message never got to him thus he thought yesterday was when the Creator reached out to him."
"What do you mean by this?" Nicole asked.
"Lee Seng," Scarlet motioned at him. "Tell them what you told us." Keng gulped and stood up.
"There was this New Yorker-type woman who came and got me yesterday with a bunch of the Creator's guards. She introduced herself as Eliza Queenie. Had a very… Bubbly personality."
"Eliza Queenie?"
"She said she was a new bodyguard under the Creator and one of the bodyguards said hi to Manny, too. I went with them because I thought you guys would get someone to get me. We went to this hospital out in the middle of nowh—"
"A hospital out in the middle of nowhere?" Nicole perked up. Her half-interest had suddenly taken a U-turn. She leaned forward as Keng nodded.
"Yeah, why?" Keng asked. The others looked at her before Nicole quickly grew disinterested.
'She's faking that.' Keng called out.
"Nothing. Just interesting she didn't take you to the lab. That's where you would've gone if you weren't going to come here." Nicole made an excuse that sounded like the truth. "Anything else?"
"Mmm…" Keng's mind flashed to Queenie trying to kill him.
"You are not the real Lee Seng. The real one was already found… By my men." Queenie's voice echoed in his head. Keng shook his head.
"No. That's it." He sat down as Nicole motioned at Scarlet. Scarlet began to talk about the stranger with their men. She and the Doctor theorized if there was some kind of miscommunication between them and the Creator. Keng could barely hear it. He was too busy thinking about almost dying.
"Lee." Akali elbowed him. Keng didn't seem to answer to her elbow and call, so she elbowed him more, digging a bit deeper until it snapped him out of thought.
"Hm?" Keng looked at her. A loud sigh drew his attention away from Akali and onto Nicole. She looked peeved, but Keng honestly thought that was the only look she could manage.
"Not paying attention? I guess we'll have to say that all over again." Nicole sighed. She stood up and slowly paced behind her chair. "What was done to you? Anything worth mentioning?"
"I guess a physical?" Keng answered with a question. Could he really call it that?
"A physical?" Dr. Valentin repeated. Keng nodded, slightly.
"If you could call it that. It was a quick check up. They didn't' see anything unusual so they let me go." Keng lied. Nicole turned as if she had picked up on his lie, but simply shrugged.
"And was there, uh, anything abnormal?" Dr. Valentin asked.
"Mmmm…"
"You gained more weight while you were being tortured?" The doctor's voice popped up in his head. The question about his energy levels appeared and he sighed.
"Weight gain and energy levels, I guess?" Keng answered truthfully.
"Weight gain and energy levels…" Dr. Valentin quietly repeated.
"You gained weight while… On the run?" Akali asked.
"Yeah?" Keng answered with a nod. "They thought it was weird, too. Even questioned why my energy levels were higher than what they were two months ago."
"Usually you'd lose weight while being on the run." Alex commented. "But there's been some stories of runaw— Victims growing in their power and energy thus gaining weight because they can safely protect them self while being on the run."
"You'd be fighting against paranoia and nature itself." Scarlet added. Alex nodded, pointing at her. Nicole looked at the doctor who nodded along.
"So it's rare but not insane." Nicole summarized.
"Some of us should know how that is." Akali commented. "Some of us came back stronger and with more muscle."
"While the rest of us suffered." Dr. Valentin added. They all nodded like they all understood very well what Keng "went" through.
"Well, Doctor, what can we do about those results?" Nicole looked at him.
"I'll contact them and see if we can get it." Dr. Valentin answered.
"Good." Nicole nodded. She looked over at Keng and motioned at him. "I assume you know how much shit you're in?" The others seemed to look at her like she was crazy for saying that aloud, but Keng nodded.
"Yeah." Keng stood up. "Are we done? I got a lot of 'shit' to do. Not to mention, I'll probably be starting some jobs with the team to go towards my training." Nicole's tongue clicked. She didn't answer him right away, eventually nodding.
"You may go. Don't try to run away this time." Nicole warned him.
"Don't plan on it." Keng turned and waved at the others before leaving.
"Is that all for today, One?" Akali asked, standing up.
p "Yes. I'll contact you about that other thing in a couple of days. You and your brother should rest during this time. You've been on the job for awhile." Nicole replied.
"Yes, ma'am." Akali nodded before jogging after Keng.
Keng popped out of the conference room, letting out a sigh. His heart was thumping so hard, he felt like it was going to come out of his throat. He clutched it as he slowed to a stop.
"Lee!" Akali called out. He turned to hear the door close behind her as she jogged over to him. She came to a stop as he turned halfway to meet her. She looked a bit more like a worried older sister now. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Keng replied, turning. He started to walk down the hall with Akali in tow.
"Shouldn't you do nothing for awhile? I know school's school, but you should really do bare minimum for awhile. Things have been hectic for awhile. These things may not feel like much but it could snap you in half if you aren't careful."
Akali's worry was something Keng really didn't know much about. She did seem worried for him, but he didn't know if it was because of him. All the memories he had gone through from Lee Seng, didn't really show this side of Akali often.
"What' wrong?" Keng asked, tilting his head. He came to a stop in front of the elevator and turned to her. Akali's eyes shimmered for a moment, suddenly trying to hide whatever she had released unintentionally.
"I'm just worried about you, that's all." Akali answered.
"C'mon, you never do this to me. Akio's usually the one who does this." Keng answered.
'It's what Lee Seng would've said.' Keng thought, watching Akali closer now.
The elevator dinged, opening. Scarlet and Alex stepped out first with Keng in tow. The top view looked the same as always. It was a far drop and Keng found himself admiring the view."C'mon, Lee Seng. Let's go." Carter patted Keng's back. He smiled at him as he walked with Keng into the room. It was exactly like Keng had remembered. The room was in wonderful condition.'Number 1's tantrum storm's gone just like that.' Keng thought. Even though it had been awhile since that day, he still remembered these things. The room wasn't filled with all of the Numbers. Only a couple of them had showed up besides Carter, Scarlet and Alex. Number 1, 5 and 9 were there!"Oh! Lee!" Akali waved at him.'Shit.' Keng thought. Akali moved over to him and Keng put up a smile."How're you doing? I heard you got into a huge accident. Are you all better?" Akali asked."That was months ago, Akali." Carter answered. Akali turned and looked at Carter, who was standing and looking at them. "He just got back from being MIA for two months.""Oh, time does go by fast." Akali sighed. "Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Keng gave her an odd stare. He didn't know how to act with her around. Keng knew the way Lee Seng acted around his 'older siblings' but he didn't have that that That odd feeling in his chest. She studied Keng, her worry apparent in her eyes."I-I'm fine Tired. Wanna go home and die." Keng answered."Too much catch up?" Akali asked."Yeah." She wrapped her arm around him and the two moved over to her and Akio's seat. "Sit." She pushed him into the chair next to her as she took her spot. Number 1 turned around, looking up."We're all here." Nicole stated, slipping her phone into her pocket. She moved her seat backwards as she sat into it. Her eyes moved over to Keng, a strange mental presence coming over him.'How does he Argh' Keng closed his eyes and tilted it as he put two fingers on the side of his temple. Keng opened them back up just as fast as it came. Nothing was lit up in the conference room except the lights. They all sat quietly as Nicole put her attention elsewhere."Let's just get right into it." Nicole motioned. Scarlet stood up on cue and turned to Keng."We should probably address this part as Lee Seng has informed Alex and I about it." Scarlet started, turning to address the rest of the group. "Lee Seng told us that he never got notified that he was meeting with us today when we went to pick him up. He said the message never got to him thus he thought yesterday was when the Creator reached out to him.""What do you mean by this?" Nicole asked."Lee Seng," Scarlet motioned at him. "Tell them what you told us." Keng gulped and stood up."There was this New Yorker-type woman who came and got me yesterday with a bunch of the Creator's guards. She introduced herself as Eliza Queenie. Had a very Bubbly personality.""Eliza Queenie?""She said she was a new bodyguard under the Creator and one of the bodyguards said hi to Manny, too. I went with them because I thought you guys would get someone to get me. We went to this hospital out in the middle of nowh" "A hospital out in the middle of nowhere?" Nicole perked up. Her half-interest had suddenly taken a U-turn. She leaned forward as Keng nodded."Yeah, why?" Keng asked. The others looked at her before Nicole quickly grew disinterested.'She's faking that.' Keng called out."Nothing. Just interesting she didn't take you to the lab. That's where you would've gone if you weren't going to come here." Nicole made an excuse that sounded like the truth. "Anything else?""Mmm" Keng's mind flashed to Queenie trying to kill him."You are not the real Lee Seng. The real one was already found By my men." Queenie's voice echoed in his head. Keng shook his head."No. That's it." He sat down as Nicole motioned at Scarlet. Scarlet began to talk about the stranger with their men. She and the Doctor theorized if there was some kind of miscommunication between them and the Creator. Keng could barely hear it. He was too busy thinking about almost dying."Lee." Akali elbowed him. Keng didn't seem to answer to her elbow and call, so she elbowed him more, digging a bit deeper until it snapped him out of thought."Hm?" Keng looked at her. A loud sigh drew his attention away from Akali and onto Nicole. She looked peeved, but Keng honestly thought that was the only look she could manage."Not paying attention? I guess we'll have to say that all over again." Nicole sighed. She stood up and slowly paced behind her chair. "What was done to you? Anything worth mentioning?""I guess a physical?" Keng answered with a question. Could he really call it that?"A physical?" Dr. Valentin repeated. Keng nodded, slightly. "If you could call it that. It was a quick check up. They didn't' see anything unusual so they let me go." Keng lied. Nicole turned as if she had picked up on his lie, but simply shrugged."And was there, uh, anything abnormal?" Dr. Valentin asked."Mmmm""You gained more weight while you were being tortured?" The doctor's voice popped up in his head. The question about his energy levels appeared and he sighed."Weight gain and energy levels, I guess?" Keng answered truthfully."Weight gain and energy levels" Dr. Valentin quietly repeated."You gained weight while On the run?" Akali asked."Yeah?" Keng answered with a nod. "They thought it was weird, too. Even questioned why my energy levels were higher than what they were two months ago.""Usually you'd lose weight while being on the run." Alex commented. "But there's been some stories of runaw Victims growing in their power and energy thus gaining weight because they can safely protect them self while being on the run.""You'd be fighting against paranoia and nature itself." Scarlet added. Alex nodded, pointing at her. Nicole looked at the doctor who nodded along."So it's rare but not insane." Nicole summarized."Some of us should know how that is." Akali commented. "Some of us came back stronger and with more muscle.""While the rest of us suffered." Dr. Valentin added. They all nodded like they all understood very well what Keng "went" through."Well, Doctor, what can we do about those results?" Nicole looked at him."I'll contact them and see if we can get it." Dr. Valentin answered."Good." Nicole nodded. She looked over at Keng and motioned at him. "I assume you know how much shit you're in?" The others seemed to look at her like she was crazy for saying that aloud, but Keng nodded."Yeah." Keng stood up. "Are we done? I got a lot of 'shit' to do. Not to mention, I'll probably be starting some jobs with the team to go towards my training." Nicole's tongue clicked. She didn't answer him right away, eventually nodding."You may go. Don't try to run away this time." Nicole warned him."Don't plan on it." Keng turned and waved at the others before leaving."Is that all for today, One?" Akali asked, standing up.p "Yes. I'll contact you about that other thing in a couple of days. You and your brother should rest during this time. You've been on the job for awhile." Nicole replied. "Yes, ma'am." Akali nodded before jogging after Keng.Keng popped out of the conference room, letting out a sigh. His heart was thumping so hard, he felt like it was going to come out of his throat. He clutched it as he slowed to a stop."Lee!" Akali called out. He turned to hear the door close behind her as she jogged over to him. She came to a stop as he turned halfway to meet her. She looked a bit more like a worried older sister now. "Are you okay?""I'm fine." Keng replied, turning. He started to walk down the hall with Akali in tow."Shouldn't you do nothing for awhile? I know school's school, but you should really do bare minimum for awhile. Things have been hectic for awhile. These things may not feel like much but it could snap you in half if you aren't careful."Akali's worry was something Keng really didn't know much about. She did seem worried for him, but he didn't know if it was because of him. All the memories he had gone through from Lee Seng, didn't really show this side of Akali often."What' wrong?" Keng asked, tilting his head. He came to a stop in front of the elevator and turned to her. Akali's eyes shimmered for a moment, suddenly trying to hide whatever she had released unintentionally."I'm just worried about you, that's all." Akali answered."C'mon, you never do this to me. Akio's usually the one who does this." Keng answered.'It's what Lee Seng would've said.' Keng thought, watching Akali closer now.
