“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice hoarse..

“Uh, n-n-nothing,” Zion stuttered, standing up to his feet, and edging towards the door.

Quickly I sprang up from my bed, towering over his small frame, and gripped him by the throat, holding him against the wall.

I squeezed his throat tightly in anger.

“Tell me what you were doing right now,” I growled.

Zion’s face began to turn red. He clawed at my hands, trying to loosen my grip. “Okay, okay,” he wheezed, “I was…looking into your dreams.”

With a fitful of anger, I released him with a hard shove and sent him tumbling to the floor. “You’ve got some nerve!” I said with a snarl. “Prying on my affairs like that! You had no right!”

Zion scrambled to his feet, his innocent eyes locked with my furious gaze. He took a step back, “I’m sorry, OK? I’m sorry, but I just wanted answers to this whole mystery! Please, I just need to know!”

I turned to get my bag. “You know what, I’m out of here”.

Zion moved towards the door and blocked me from exiting, his arms spread out.

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me everything,” he spoke firmly.

A crackling sound could be heard as I bawled my fists. This boy was testing my patience.

“Move out of the way, or…” I growled. Zion cut me off mid-sentence. “Either you tell me who you’re running away from, or I’ll enter your dreamverse and find out for myself. You know damn well that I’m capable of doing that!”

He must be bluffing, I thought. There’s no way he’d try that. I grabbed one of his hands and pulled him away from the door. He tried to resist me, but he was no match for my brawn. He was outmatched.

As I exited, I was welcomed by an unexpected sight. A group of masked men, brandishing guns, were advancing towards me. Zion’s mother and father were tied up and gagged in a corner.

“Put your hands on your head”, shouted one of the men, who began to close in on me. Their guns were pointed straight at me. I raised my fists in defiance. They weren’t going to take me without a fight. I couldn’t care less if they had guns. I could still take them.

One of the guys grabbed my hand from behind. I immediately twisted around, and slugged him in the gut, forcing him to clutch at his belly in pain. I landed another punch at his chin, which sent him falling on the tiled floor.

Suddenly, all the men came in all at once. I was swinging my fists, landing punches at them, and yet, I was overwhelmed. I was outnumbered. The men pinned me down, being handcuffed by them. I struggled to break free. Some of them went into Zion’s room and brought out Zion, in handcuffs.

Footsteps clicked on the tiled floor, coming towards me. I looked up, and all I could do was grit my teeth.

For, in front of me, stood the one reason why I was on the run. Dr. Ashura of Ashura Corp.

*******

There I was, in the center of the ring, gasping for air. Sweat poured from my body, mixing with the blood that stained his swollen eye. I had just won my most influential match. One that would catapult my career to the next level.

The crowd erupted with cheers as I stepped down from the arena, walking to my locker room.

As I entered, I gazed upon a tall man in a sharp suit, with silver streaks of hair. He stood there, looking at me intently. His piercing blue eyes and confident stance seemed to command attention. Rugal is a tall and imposing figure.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Me? Consider me as a…talent scout. You can call me Ashura.”