Chapter 3: The Masked Man
After holding the book in front of his face for a while, the young man started to notice changes. First of all, the cover changed from 5 silhouettes holding up a world… to only 1. The silhouette had its face covered by a dark fog along with both hands under the world from behind facing toward the reader. The backdrop also changed from being mostly black to that of one filled with color. There were galaxies and strings of different colors flowing around the silhouette which made it easier to see.
'That's weird, I don't remember the book ever having a title on it. 'The Novels Anomaly'… sounds like something I would read in my free time.' Thought the boy.
After Opening the novel to the first page, he found the second change. The last time he opened to the first page there was only the start of the novel… now there laid a table of contents that had been left blank. All the page had was 'Table of Contents' printed in the top left corner.
'Again! The last time I opened this stupid book it didn't have something like this. Why even add it in the first place if you're just going to keep it blank? Lazy author probably forgot to even think of chapter names.' The boy thought smugly.
After cursing the Author out yet again, the young man started to flip through the pages as fast as possible. Unfortunately, he was met with the third change… not a single word was in the novel. Not even the story he read the last time he opened the book.
"Damn it, I swear if I ever meet this 'Time' guy imma kill him!! *sigh* Seems I found myself in the same position as last time." The young man said after he threw the book onto the ground.
When he went to pick it up he noticed the fourth and final change of the novel. The words he once read on the first page had been shrunken and thrown on the back of the novel as a summary. The only thing that remained was the name 'Time' in small print at the bottom which was next to a small hourglass.
'Man, even the spine changed. Adding an infinity symbol as the volume number and putting 'The Present' under it is pretty cool in all honesty.' The young man thought.
"What's up with this book though? How did it follow me here?" He said out loud.
As the boy thought of many questions he eventually stuffed the book into his waistband and covered it with his shirt. He then washed his dirty hands and walked out of the bathroom towards the front counter.
"Sir, are you ok? You were in the bathroom for a very long time." The chef asked kindly.
"Yup, in fact, I've never been better… now where's that food you were talking about?" The young man said without shame.
"Haha, first off, how about I get you seated and give you a menu? After all… our menu is quite long." The chef said scratching his neck.
"Works for me, but I do have one question before I order. Am I allowed to order anything off the menu or am I limited?" The young man said with a smirk.
Although he thought the question would derail the chef's attitude towards him… he ended up being shocked.
"Absolutely, order anything you want, it's all on me after all." The chef said with a bright smile.
'Damn his innocence, I was going to take advantage of him… now how am I supposed to do that.' The young man thought.
" *sigh* Please take me to my seat."
"Right away!" The chef responded happily.
After being seated and given both a bowl of bread and a free drink, the young man looked at the menu that was just handed to him.
"Hey kid, what's your name?" The young man asked.
"Kid? Oh, you mean me, uhhhh my name is Isaac." The chef responded politely.
'Oops, forgot I was a kid myself now.' Thought the young man.
"Nice to meet you, Issac, my name is Evan. I just wanted to say thank you for treating me to food… it means a lot to me." Evan said while bowing his head.
"No need sir, I just can't allow you to walk away while looking like that… especially if you have no money. If all I have to do is pay a couple hundred credits to save a life then that's what I'll do." Issac said while smiling.
'Credits!?! I guess I truly am in a futuristic era.' Thought Evan.
After that, Issac walked away and gave Evan some time to think about his order.
'I feel bad for the kid I really do, but if I don't eat I'll most likely die by tomorrow. I'll find a way to pay him back later once I start to make some money.' Thought Evan.
As Evan looked through the menu he turned his attention towards a floating T.V. that was passing by his table. When he looked over at the T.V. it stopped in place and floated in front of him. Evan was so shocked his mouth dropped to the floor along with the piece of bread he was about to eat, but he soon collected himself when he noticed the news station from before was on.
"This is a message to all the colonies within the 4th district. Mr. Aros of Breryn colony located in the 2nd district requests aid in the search for his son, Lloyd Aros. As you can see in this picture Lloyd has black hair, dark blue eyes, and a tiny scar on his left eyebrow. He is also only 15 years of age and is around 5 foot 7 inches. If you see this young child report it to the authorities immediately and to the one who finds him, Mr. Aros has said they will get compensated extremely well. *sigh* I hope they find that poor boy soon, back to you…" The beautiful lady from before spoke about the young boy with grief in her heart.
'Hey, that picture sort of looks like me. I mean that kid is definitely healthier than me and his black hair is more neat and shorter, but I swear I have the same scar.' Evan said while reaching for his left eyebrow.
Before he reached his eyebrow though, Issac stepped in front of the T.V. while asking if he had made up his mind yet. Unfortunately, the chef's appearance made Evan focus on something other than his scar and he soon forgot what he was about to check. After all, it's not like he was used to picturing the body he was currently in.
After a short look at the menu, Evan decided to let Issac pick his meal since he had never seen the cuisine they served. Issac was ecstatic to choose and left in a hurry back towards the kitchen.
'Now that he's gone let's figure out if this book has any more secrets.' Evan thought to himself.
When he took the book out from his waste band he opened to the second page and instead of it being blank it held the words 'Banished member ******** is on a killing spree near Eco street.'
'Eco street? Isn't that the name I heard on the news when I first woke up? How does this book know what's happening right now?' Evan said while focusing on the book and it's only writing.
What Evan didn't know was that his consciousness was slowly fading away. Eventually, he laid his head down on the table in front of him and he 'blacked out.'
'Where am I? Did I teleport to a completely different place after passing out again?' Evan said while staring at the unfamiliar scenery.
Evan was currently in the middle of a street and even though it was broad daylight not a single person was in sight. At least that's what he thought until a cop car drove right through him.
"What the! How come I didn't go flying? Did I die and become a ghost after starving for real this time?!?" Evan spoke out loud while touching his body.
As time passed more and more cop cars drove through him. Even the cops that were running towards their destination didn't spare Evan any glances. He grew further confused about what was going on with his body at the moment.
Even while confused Evan still built enough courage to move forward, toward where the cops were heading.
As he drew closer he started to hear gunshots and loud explosions. When he turned a corner he looked up and saw a street sign that read 'Eco St.'
'Wait, isn't this the street that the killer was supposedly killing people on!? How'd I possibly end up in a shitty situation alre-. That book… it was that book that sent me here wasn't it!' Evan thought while starting to put the pieces together.
When Evan looked up he saw thousands of armed cops, and they were all shooting down a single alleyway. The target of their Bullets was a lone man wearing a camouflage shirt and pants. Along with black boots, 2 black leather gloves with spikes on the back, and a black balaclava mask that had a red 'B' on its forehead.
He was a member of a villain group called 'The Banished', and was currently walking through thousands of bullets… like they weren't even there.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FWK
FWK I can’t wait to write the next chapter!!!!
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