As Reed looked at the training site set up by his father, the past flashed back in his mind.

Seven years ago, eleven-year-old Reed was standing in front of his mother. His face was black and blue, with some swelling. His mother's name was Ruth.

Ruth was forty years old and had blond hair. She was quite tall and had a slim body.

"Look at your face! Why did you look for trouble yourself?!" said Ruth, but her husband Dylan laughed, causing her to feel annoyed."Why are you laughing?! Your son's face is black and blue because he fought with five kids! Someone saw him rushing into them and starting the fight!"

Dylan chuckled while he was sitting on a chair with the six-year-old Wenston. He seemed calm as the television kept playing a show. His brown hair was quite long. He was tall and had a strong and fit body.

"Hey boy, good job," said Dylan as he put a thumbs up, causing Reed to smile.

"Why the hell are you encouraging your kid to fight?!"

"What's up with that? They insulted Wenston, so he has just reason to fight."

Ruth's anger flared up."He started the fight with five kids and fought them alone! He is putting himself in danger!"

"He is a kid, so how could he think with his head at times like that? It will not be a problem later," said Dylan as he ate a peanut and watched TV.

Ruth was breathing deeply as her anger kept rising at her nonchalant husband. She stared at Dylan, who was laughing while watching TV. She snapped and held a porcelain plate that was on top of a small cabinet.

Reed's mouth was wide open as his eyes followed the plate that was moving in the air.

Thump! Dylan's two fingers caught the plate in the air."Hey, that's dangerous. Why will you suddenly throw a plate?"

Ruth stared at her husband."You seem to have a plan in mind."

"Yes, it's just a little earlier than I planned," said Dylan with a smile as he put the plate on the table. The husband and wife looked each other in the eyes.

"Let him rest and recover some of his injuries first," said Ruth, and then she walked away.

Reed rushed to Dylan's side."Woah, dad! That was so cool! How did you do it?! You are a former special forces member, right? Can all the members do it?!"

Dylan chuckled."You will find out in a few days."

A few days later, Reed and Dylan were facing each other in the forest. They were standing on a field that had a lot of grass.

"Come on, boy, show me what you got," said Dylan while crossing his arms.

Reed's face turned serious. He screamed and rushed to Dylan.

Dylan turned around. His foot tripped Reed, causing the kid to stumble, and then he kicked the boy's back with his right foot.

"Oh sh*t!" Reed's face almost touched a deer's poo on the ground. He turned around his head and looked at his chuckling father. He grabbed a poo and threw it to Dylan.

Dylan dodged with a smile."That was not a good move, kid."

Reed stood up. He opened his left palm that had poo, then rubbed his palms.

"Damn kid! What are you doing?!"

"Hahahaha, you did not teach me how to fight, but told me to show what I got. Here's what I got, hahahaha!"

Reed was laughing as he tried to put his smelly hands on his father.

In the following days, Dylan trained Reed's body.

Every morning, Reed had to run in the forest. There was uneven ground and obstacles, which made the track difficult to run.

"Ahhh!" He was tripped by a root, then crashed to the ground. He turned around his body and lay on his back. He was breathing heavily as he looked up. After running, he still had to endure the difficult exercises from his father. He was asking himself if it was worth it to endure the hard training, and then he remembered the conversation that he had with his father.

A few days earlier, Reed and his father were sitting on chairs while fishing in a lake. The lake was surrounded by trees and light green grass. There were silhouettes of mountains on the northeastern side of the lake.

"Kid, your brother is lacking. He doesn't talk much, but you don't need words to understand what he feels," said Dylan while staring at the lake.

Reed looked behind him. His mother, Ruth, was preparing their food. Wenston divided his sandwich and put the other half on his brother's plate, which already had a sandwich.

Ruth smiled and rubbed Wenston's head, then she looked at the boys fishing on the lake."Stop fishing and take a break first!"

Dylan looked at Reed."Do you understand what you need to do?"

Reed smiled."Yes, dad."

Dylan also smiled and rubbed the kid's head."Let's go."

***

Reed's eyes were getting firmer. He stood up from the ground and continued running.

Dylan came out from behind a tree. He had a smile on his face as he looked at his kid's back.

Meanwhile, Ava went to Maxwell's house while riding her bike."Reed?! Are you there?!"

Ava's house was not too far. Their family has been friends with Maxwell. Her mother's name was Lora, and her younger sister, Macy, was the same age as Wenston. Her father passed away when she was younger.

Ruth came out of the house and smiled at Ava.

"Hi, aunt Ruth. Where is Reed?"

"He is in the woods. Dylan is training him."

"Training?"

"Yeah. Didn't you hear what happened to him? His father is training him so he can protect himself and Wenston."

Ava looked at the woods. She had a look of hesitation on her face. She scratched her head and looked at Ruth."Aunt, tell Reed I will see him in school later."

Ruth smiled and nodded. She went back to their house and looked at the TV.

There was an interview with a biologist named Dr. Gideon.

"There are some people in the world that have special genes. We call those genes Starl, a divine gift that is said to have come from the cosmos. We call the humans with Starl genes as Argans. The gene seems to be locked. If the gene is unlocked, we believe it will make Argans more extraordinary than ordinary humans."

"You mean extraordinary because they have a different gene or extraordinary because they can breathe fire?" asked the host with a laugh. The audience also laughed. In their minds, there was no such magical thing.

Dr. Gideon had a mysterious smile on his face, then he looked at the camera."The world might find the answer for that later."

Ruth's face looked serious. She thought,"It was just an open secret to higher-ups, but now it is being slowly introduced to the world. Is this part of that man's plan? The workload on our job has decreased a lot, so I was even allowed to take a long break. Is he shifting our job to biologists he can totally control in another place? Once he finds out that the project slowed down a lot without us, I will probably be recalled."

After a few days, Reed's body reached the standard, and then Dylan began teaching him martial arts.

After their training in the morning, they went back to their house.

"Change your clothes and come back here; it's time for your medicine," said Ruth while holding a small gray cylinder filled with blue liquid.

"What really is that? You've been injecting it into me for a few years. It looks suspicious."

Dylan slapped Reed's head, causing the kid to scratch his head."Your mother is a genetic expert. Will she inject something harmful to you? Can't you remember feeling weak and painful when you were eight years old? That medicine saved you."

"Am I still not healed?"

Ruth smiled."Next year, you might no longer need it."

After a few days, the father and son were facing each other again in the woods.

"Dad, let's do it again," said Reed as he gripped his right fist with his palm.

"Stupid kid, you only learn martial arts for a few days."

"I'd like to know my improvement."

Dylan chuckled and crossed his arms."You are asking for a beating, kid."

Reed raised his arms and took a fighting stance. He dashed toward Dylan, then a right foot stopped him from moving forward. He moved his head down and looked at his father's foot on his body.

"Ahh!" screamed Reed. He was kicked, then fell to the ground. He stood up and rushed again. He raised his arms and tried to block the foot that was moving toward his face, but the impact that he was expecting did not appear.

"Ahh!" He was kicked on the body and fell again to the ground. He looked at his father, who was still crossing his arms, and did not move from the spot where he was standing."That is not fair! Your reach is a lot longer!"

Dylan laughed."Then use your head to fight."

Reed gritted his teeth and continued the fight.

***

 

After the sparring, Dylan was sitting cross-legged on top of a huge rock while closing his eyes. The rock was on the side of a river, along with other big rocks, plants, and trees. There were birds singing, and a family of deer was walking on the opposite side of the river.

Reed climbed to the top of the rock and sat beside his father. He already changed his clothes that got dirty from the sparring, then he jokingly asked his father,"Dad, is this the secret why you are so powerful?"

Dylan smiled and opened his eyes."You are half right. Relaxation must accompany training. The state of focus I will teach you is quite special. It's called Link. If you achieve a particular state, it will make your senses stronger. But a stronger sense will not make you reach my level. A stronger sense is useless if you don't know how to use it."

"Is there really something magical like that?"asked Reed with awe.

Dylan looked up at the sky with a reminiscent look on his face. He remembered his younger days."There are many magical things in the world hidden from most people's eyes." Then he looked at Reed and said,"Link is a secret that you can't just share with anyone."

 

Reed had a look of hesitation on his face."Can't it be shared with mom and Wenston?"

 

"It will not be effective to your mother. With your brother's state, he won't be able to learn it, and he might accidentally divulge it leading to unpredictable consequences."

 

Reed looked confused.

 

Dylan smiled."You will understand when the right time comes. Now, close your eyes and follow my direction."

Reed closed his eyes and sat in meditation, then followed his father's direction. The sound of the flowing river and the singing of birds became more clear in his ears. The sound of nature helped calm his mind.

"Hear nature with your heart as you breathe. The sound will become stronger, but let it be, let it disappear."

Reed seemed very calm as he meditated, then his body tilted to the side, but a hand grabbed his clothes and prevented him from falling.

Dylan chuckled as he looked at the sleeping boy."Stupid kid."