Juan and Retri: Finding Hope in the Future

The sun was setting in the distance, casting a deep orange glow across the sky. It was red, bloody, and angry; a reminder of the day's events. In the town square, two figures stood out in front of a small crowd. A young man with short brown hair facing down a tall, stocky man with long matted hair and a face full of scars.

"You don't know what you're talking about, old man," Juan said aggressively, "I've seen things that can't be explained by magic or science."

"Look at me, boy," the old man replied, "I know more than you will ever know. And I'm not an old man. Not yet."

The two men stared each other down as the crowd watched in anticipation. The old man gave off an air of danger and mystery. He wore baggy clothing that looked like they hadn't been washed in years, and carried with him an air of superiority that made it seem like he was looking down on everyone around him. The young man, on the other hand, had all the confidence in the world. He walked right up to the old man and didn't back down when faced with his intimidating stare.

As Juan put his hand to his waist and took a step closer to Retri, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. There was something about that look...he knew he'd seen it before...and then it hit him hard like a ton of bricks: it was Mr. De Vore's face! But how? He thought he'd buried those memories deep in his mind after what happened to his family...but there it was again! That same look in someone else's eyes! Juan quickly turned around to see if anyone else noticed this but no one else seemed to care about the two men arguing in front of them. Juan took another look at Retri and realized that he must have imagined it: he had seen that look so many times back then that he couldn't help but make comparisons...but there was no way this could be related to his past! That had happened so long ago that nothing could possibly have any connection to him anymore...right?

"Listen kid," the old man said trying to break up Juan's thoughts," I'm just trying to do you a favor here...let him go!"

"What are you talking about?" Juan asked confusedly as he tried to shake off these strange feelings inside him.

"That device behind you is dangerous," Retri said as he pointed towards Juan's leg," It's going to ruin everything."

Juan nervously looked over his shoulder at a large device strapped tightly to his leg. It was glowing bright white and humming loudly like it was getting ready for something big. This wasn't supposed to happen until later this week but for some reason it started acting up earlier today when it got close to Retri for some reason despite being miles away from each other just moments ago! The whole situation was confusing but thankfully nothing bad had happened yet! If anything went wrong now though then everyone might get hurt...including himself! "This thing is perfectly safe!" Juan said confidently as he shot both men an angry glare! "There's no way you could possibly understand how it works!" The whole crowd gasped at hearing his words as they hung onto every word being exchanged between these three very different men. No one dared say a word until Juan added on,"When we finally reach our destination nothing will stop us from succeeding!"