Chapter 2: Chapter 2
**Pitter-patter**
Drops of rain fell against the sides of the iron giants that towered above me. For a country kid like me, that's only lived on the outskirts, the city inner-dwellings always made me feel so small. Not like my lack of hyper-ability didn't make me feel like that already. The rain now pounded harder against my jumper, drenching it. If I knew it was going to rain, I would have worn something more appropriate, but such is life when you're the world's unluckiest person. However, I wasn't too upset. Instead, I felt somewhat nostalgic. Maybe because it rained like this on that fateful day too.
I looked down at my smartphone as a notification popped up telling me I had reached my destination. In front of me stood a relatively small building compared to the surrounding behemoths.
"This must be it." Relieved to have finally found an entrance after pacing around the perimeter for a good 5 minutes. In the small gap between the adjacent buildings, barely wide enough to put your arms out to each side, stood a white and a black door. Which door was the right one? I looked around to see if I could ask someone, before picking the white door and descending a long, spiralling stairwell. My thinking behind this was that if I unluckily picked the wrong one, I could always return and go through the other door. However, there was no need for my mental calculations as I soon realised the redundant nature of the building's architecture. Both doors led to the same place.
The stairwell merged into a corridor that joined another stairwell, and after navigating through a maze of empty rooms, I felt like I would never get there. "I thought he said I couldn't miss it," clearly another twisted truth, fitting for the developer of the Random Angel Generator. In the corner of my eye, one room caught my attention. The equipment in this one was a cut above the others, and half-eaten food was left all over the desks. The cold hit me first, then it was the usual air of mystery. I walked around investigating every desktop, not knowing what I might find.
Suddenly, one screen turned on, lighting up the gloomy environment. I inched closer, making no sudden movements. For some reason, I was on edge ever since I stepped into the room. A small animated image of a duck waddling and stumbling replayed repeatedly on the monitor. Under it, read '40 Winks Entertainment'. I instantly recognised the name, which matched the one on the credits page of the app. How long has it been now since I received that mysterious email?
- Three months ago: the day of graduation -
"Can't believe they'll let a disabled like you graduate, it's embarrassing." I didn't respond, my mind too focused on the pain in my upper abdomen. Swiped from behind, spat on and beaten to a pulp and the entire time not even knowing who my attacker was. I thought I had taken extra precautions to avoid Aza and his group of friends today, believing they would be playing football out on the field behind the school. The laughter and footsteps eventually got quieter and, just like how everything else in my life ended up, I was alone once more.
I just stayed there; I didn't move a muscle. Afraid that even breathing would somehow jinx me and worsen my situation. "What is the point of someone like me existing?"
I finally reached for the wall beside me, peeling myself off the ground. The rain masked my tears as they fell, mixing with the dirt and gravel beneath me. My graduation suit that my mum worked extra shifts to afford, was now stained brown and red. I couldn't go up on stage to receive my certificate like this, I should've just stayed home. The thought was so clear to me now that I couldn't help but hate myself for not doing so. That's why I ran and ran and never turned back.
(Bzzt-bzzt)
A notification popped up on my phone. It was an email. A strange one, addressed by a company named '40 Winks Entertainment'. The bright light from my phone created various shapes and shadows with the rustic, outdated furniture around me. I felt safe here in this abandoned house, that was once the magnificent town hall. It slightly reminded me of how things used to be before I turned 16 and when kids were less worried about who had the strongest ability or what agency they were going to sign to.
'Random Angel Generator™: It's About Time - Available To Download Now!'
I did not know what to think. The email was riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Then, once you could manoeuvre through the sketchy mess of words and emojis, you were greeted with an even dodgier hyperlink.
'Click Here To Buy Now And Never Fight Alone Again!"
It was most likely a scam, it just had to be. I could almost imagine the people behind this email laughing at any fool dumb enough to be ensnared by such an obvious trap. But one thing did interest me. A certain promise that lured me in as soon as I uttered the words, "... and never fight alone again." That does sound nice.
Almost accidentally I clicked the link and before the download bar could even reach 100%, my phone was bombarded with pop-up ads and warning signs. I reacted quickly, fumbling to turn off my phone before the scammers could get their hands on any valuable information. My heart started beating harder. Was I already too late? I gulped and turned on my phone again. Hearing the start-up jingle brought some relief, but it wasn't over yet. I entered my password and swiped up like I had done so many times before. So far, so good. There weren't any traces left of those pesky viruses that infected my phone before I had turned it off. I sighed, but just to make sure I downloaded an antivirus application and ran a system cleanse. That was when I first noticed 'it'.
An app that was previously not on my phone before I had pressed the link or turned it off. The icon was a woman with cat ears throwing a peace sign and read 'R.A.G.' which I figured was probably an acronym for Random Angel Generator. After failing to delete it multiple times, my curiosity led me to open the app. It had the same inferior quality as the related email. Beneath all the unclickable buttons and misaligned texts seemed to be a basic gacha-type collector's game.
[(｡◕‿◕｡): Welcome to Random Angel Generator]
I hastily accepted the terms and conditions and messed around with all the working functions, finally getting to what looked like the primary purpose of the game. My thumb hovered over a big red button in the middle of the screen which resembled a crank on one of those Japanese toy machines that pops out a plastic egg containing a collectable in exchange for money. From what I read in the description, this app worked in the same way, but instead of money, I would trade an in-game currency called 'BaeBucks' and instead of a toy I would collect a digitally created, randomised avatar. Another thing I noticed was that the avatars of this game were all overly sexualised, to the extent that made me want to turn the brightness all the way down. Who was the target audience, children or adults? The app developers clearly didn't know either. This did not seem like a game that I would particularly enjoy. But knowing I had nothing else to do, I decided to give it a try anyway.
[ಠ_ಠ: -15 BaeBucks]
[¯\_(ツ)_/¯: New Angel Acquired]
The screen on my phone flickered off and on. Smoke seeped out as quickly as it had disappeared. It became too hot to hold, dropping it on the ground before picking it up again to check if the screen was cracked. Yet, there was no collectable avatar that I had apparently 'acquired' and no sign that I had even attempted to generate one except for the deduction of 15 BaeBucks and a prompt asking me to enter a name. A trashy app through and through. I only had myself to blame for wasting any of my time on this sorry excuse of a game. I got up, grabbed my bag and headed home, not knowing what I had just done.
"Who's that beautiful lady you've brought home, Seven? You never told me you had a girlfriend." My mum wooed as she opened the door, repeatedly pointing at my shoes to remind me to take them off before coming inside. I stared bewildered, not knowing how to respond to what had to be a joke.
"Huh?, I thought you stopped going to those terrible comedy classes held for single mums," distinctly remembering that she had once ironically said that true comedy was something that couldn't be taught. Personally, I think she stopped going because they kicked her out for making excessive chicken imitations whenever she couldn't think of a good punchline. In her own words, the Mr Chicken gag has never failed her yet.
Not giving my mum's silly antics a second thought, I ran upstairs into my messy bedroom and jumped under the covers. I could appreciate having your own space to yourself, where all your worries and fears could be left at the door. My shoulders lowered and my back slouched as the stress evaporated from every pore of my body. There was no one around to disturb my...
"So, aren't you going to give me a name or what?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Quaye
Quaye Hope you enjoy the chapter. Still getting used to regularly uploading chapters. A comment or review would be much appreciated.
(ᵔᴥᵔ)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone