Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:59:13 +0800
From: YoDawgs Bl.net <yodawgs.blnet@gmail.com>
Subject: The Search For Conscience 1

Cody stepped out of the dreary complex into the pouring London rain, which
only helped increase the sense of dullness of the day. Eleven years old, a
fairly short blonde boy with blue eyes, he rarely enjoyed school.
Especially because of the bullying that took place inside the very
surroundings of the educative environment. Pangs of pain still racked his
stomach and ribs, where he had been repeatedly kicked and punched, but
emerged healthy nonetheless. And it didn't help when he started having a
stomach upset after lunch, regretting that he had eaten that somehow
suspicious-looking Green Egg, which was the only remainder of the tray.

It never really was this way, actually. Mom usually packed his lunch at
home before sending him off to school. "Why waste money on food when food
is at hand?" was her favourite quote. He smiled inwardly as the sense of
nostalgia crept over him. This was soon replaced by a crushing feeling of
grief. Three months ago, both his parents died from a car crash, returning
from a charity event in West London. He never forgot the great sense of
foreboding when one of his parent's friends drove him over to the London
Hospital to identify the bodies. As soon as he heard the paramedic in
charge say "I'm afraid I have grave news for you", he knew it was all over,
and that his journey of suffering had begun that very instant. He was
immediately put into foster care, and had since been switched three
times. It wasn't the families, but it wasn't him either. No one knew why,
but each family had continuously shunted him side by side, back to the
foster centre.

He was lonely, and as you know, exceeding amounts of loneliness could lead
to depression. He was an only child, so he got a substantial amount of
attention from both parents. It really was too bad that they were gone
now. They hadn't signed a will yet, but lawfully he was supposed to receive
all his parents had, with Inheritance Tax to pay. The British government
had NOT given him all the assets, because he was underage. They were to go
to government funds for the time being, till the day he turned seventeen.

Of course, he was curious about all those "funds" his father was discussing
with his mother, but circumstances prevented him from getting suspicious
about it. The hospital had someone talk to him about all the inheritance
and to reassure him that it would "all go to the public good of the
country". Being vaguely aware of his surroundings at that time, he
haphazardly nodded his head, mulling his parents' faces in his head. The
white hospital lights, the stretchers containing the bodies of his parents,
all seemed extremely clear to him, comparing the other events of the
day. He didn't get to tell them that he loved them before they were stolen
from the world. All he did was lightly kiss them on their foreheads before
they were covered up and whisper "I love you" to them, before retreating
backwards slowly in shock. He didn't grieve for the first night, but he
went and found a good spot to cry his eyes out the next day, in the
Audio-Visual room, at school. A few concerned teachers paused to inquire,
and were extremely shocked to find him at school after the incident. They
were very helpful. A pity though, that Cody got transferred to different
schools with each move. As typical British behaviour, and being a newcomer
in the schools, Cody got bullied a lot by people who thought themselves
high and mighty in the respective schools. Even though he was a fully
accomplished Black Belt Karate practitioner and a student of Wing Chun, a
Chinese Martial art, he never fought back. Remembering the advice of his
father, "If you pick a fight, you no worse than street vermin. If you
accept a fight, you're no higher than the pricks who asked for it," he
never blocked an easily placed punch, or an out of balance kick. Instead,
he endured it, and felt good after that, for not sinking down to their
level. So, it was entirely plausible to say that Cody's life wasn't a very
nice one at the moment.

Cody paced the school yard a few times, waiting for his new foster parent
to pick him up. This would be the first time that he would be picked up
from his new school by his new mom, yet again. At the foster home, he only
met his future foster father, and no one else. Therefore he had no idea of
the physical appearance of his foster mother. All he had was information to
look out for a Black BMW 5-series, with the number K-4 on its plate. Based
on this information, Cody concluded that this family might be quite a
wealthy one. Any further speculations on the family's income were deterred
when the car itself pulled up on the pavement beside him.

"Hey, Cody, hop on in!"

The voice was like honey on bread; smooth and silky. Cody didn't need to
look to know that this woman was an exceptionally gorgeous one. And indeed,
she was. A brunette with angular facial features, along with stunning green
eyes and lips, which seemed to have taken an exceptionally long time
buffing up, Regina Williams was one woman that would certainly appeal to
males in the world, regardless of preference. Cody climbed into the back
seat of the car, taking care not to tread on the slimy moss on the side of
the pavement.

He was immediately welcomed by the pleasant smell of leather, and the smell
of the pine cone air freshener that was located exactly in front of the air
conditioner.

"John's told me all about you. I'm really pleased to meet you! Meet my son,
his name's Merk, because he's a real fighter, like you! Like a mercenary,
you see?"

She waved her hands enthusiastically into the air, an action taken into
account by the vigilant Cody.

"But his real name is Sean. SEAN, say hi to Cody!"

Cody nodded, entranced by her brilliant eyes. He noticed that the car had
blue tinted windows, and a wooden beverage holder. He also realised that
there was another person of the same stature, seated beside him, staring at
him with no impunity.

"Hi, I'm Sean, but call me Merk, please. I like that name because it brings
out who I am. I've just turned twelve two days ago, and mom said that she'd
surprise me with another present. I didn't know that it would be this."

Cody didn't know how to answer, so he stared at his knees. The boy beside
him leant over and squeezed him on the shoulder.

"This is absolutely wonderful! I've always wanted a brother for as long as
I can remember. Finally, I get what I truly want! No more lonely nights in
my own room anymore! I get to share my toys and play with someone! This is
wonderful!" the boy repeated again, before leaning over and cuddling Cody.

Surprised, but relieved at the sudden change of atmosphere, Cody accepted
the kindly gesture from the older boy and pushed up against the boy's
chest, taking in the warmth and love. For a moment, both of them just sat
there, enjoying each other's company. Regina's clear silky voice penetrated
the silence.

"Well, I'm about to drive now, so put on your seatbelts please. Don't want
any accidents to occur" she added, before flashing an on/off smile at
Cody. This first impression gave Cody an assuring thought that this might
be the family that he belonged to. He comforted himself throughout the
remainder of the trip with thoughts about his future with this family, and
enjoying the warm leather of the car accompanied by refreshing pine gusts
of air.

He must have fallen asleep, because he found himself in the arms of a man,
pretty big in size, judging by the ease of his step. An immediate thought
sprung into Cody's mind. "This must be that man I met the other day".

His foster father carried him into the house and dumped him onto a black
leather sofa. "Geez, these people must like leather a lot, even their
chairs are leather" Cody observed. At this point, he spotted Merk's
sidelong glances at him, so he quickly made like he was in dreamland. Turns
out, he actually did fall asleep on the comfortable couch. The rest of the
afternoon was spent in a different world, with his parents, and a stranger
he didn't know.