Chapter: Actual Help
I woke up to being prodded by scientists in white lab coats while I was on a table and bright glaring lights shined down on me. The rest of the giant room was totally dark.
"Aaah! Who are you?!" I demanded.
A man in an expensive suit pushed through the crowd of scientists and stayed just beyond the corona of light. I grabbed ahold the beams of light and contorted them so I could see the man's face better. The scientists stepped back and sighed in awe of my power.
The man looked deceivingly average except for the large wrinkles on his forehead. "I am from the government, Savanna Stephenson. We were advised by a tip-off that a light-controller had entered Beijing without proper government authorization."
"I wasn't aware light-controllers were a high-risk people group, sir." I clenched my fist and the lights grew harsher. These people were making my mission harder. I needed to find that shadowhider!
He smiled. "Your American government herds light-controllers and shadow-controllers into desolated cities for a reason. Now why are you really here, for we really do no believe it is for 'pleasure' as you filled out on your entrance form into our country."
"I'm tracking down a shadow-controller that escaped to here. He could be anywhere in all of China now, because you've brought me to wherever the heck we are!" I exclaimed.
He laughed. "We found you lying in the middle of the street at night. Its not like you've done a very good job of tracking him."
"Not like you'd help." I shot.
He shook his head. "On the contrary, of course we're going to help. A shadow-controller is serious business. Plus, upon capturing and/or disposing him, you will leave our fair country, and we can be rid of petty light-controller-and-shadow-controller business. Three assistants will be sent with you, each with a morph, and they are all related to you, little girl."
"How?" I was puzzled. Related to me?
He sighed. "We traced your ancestry to a family living in Zhengzhou. You're of Asian ancestry, surely?"
"I know. I just didn't really realize it meant I had family over here." I said.
The man brought three twenty-year-old guys toward me. They were kinda cute, but they were family, so any interest would be incest, and therefore, very bad. Besides, I'm a teenager, and all the guys in my life either died, tried to kill me, or I didn't really know that well. So excuse me for not being particularly guy-crazy.
The man introduced us. "They're all cousins. Their names are Li Cheng, Li Jie, and Li Qiang."
"Why do their names all start with 'Li?'" I asked.
The government man gave me a dirty look. "'Li' is theirs and YOUR family name. You Americans call it a 'last name,' but here, the family name comes first. And before you ask, we don't have middle names here."
"Then what do I go by here? 'Li Savanna?!'" All these different name rules were starting to drive me insane.
The man was thoroughly exasperated with me. Sweat practically poured down his face. I dimmed the lights a little bit. One scientist off to the side held a Geiger counter at me, which ticked pretty steadily. I swept it away with a light hand, or hand-shaped creation made out of light. These people were extremely irritating.
The government man tried to keep his voice under control. "Use whatever name for yourself here that you see fit. Cheng, Jie, Qiang, please get here started on her mission already! Go, go, GO!!!"
My cousins blindfolded me and walked me slowly away from the strange government workers. I didn't resist. We were on our way to stop Xiao Cao Zhu and that's what I came here for.
YOU ARE READING
Light's Fright (formerly Lightwielder in China)
FantasySavanna's lost her home and everyone she's grown up with to shadowhiders (shadow/darkness-controllers). Her only consolation was finding her older sister Carrolee; who brought down the shadowhider organization with her. But Carrolee IS a shadowhider...
