The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 100

Chapter 100: The Birth of Red Eyed Reid
Nightfall came quickly, and the team returned to the tower.

The walk back was quiet, each member lost in their thoughts. By the time they reached their respective rooms, exhaustion had begun to settle in, but for Reid, sleep wouldn’t come so easily.

Lying on his bed, he let his Forged-Beasts roam freely, giving them time to adjust to the newest member of their family.

Evo’s voice echoed in his mind. [You know, you could have just ignored the boy rather than accept his challenge.]

Reid exhaled, staring at the ceiling. “Maybe. But my instinct keeps telling me there’s more to this challenge.”

[You think it’s more than a petty grudge?]

“I don’t know.” He paused, thinking. “It just feels like he’s been put up to this.”

Evo went silent for a moment before responding. [That’s certainly possible. But by who? And for what reason?]

“That’s what I intend to find out,” Reid muttered.

A heavy silence settled over the room after that.

His forged beasts approached the bed, with Nyx, Beel and Rusty choosing to lay protectively by his sides, while Axie settled on his head and the tiger, on his chest.

Slowly, exhaustion washed over Reid and the sweet embrace of slumber welcomed him.

__________

Reid opened his eyes in his dreams again, but this time instead of a forest or his dark room, he was in what looked like an office.

The office was neatly arranged, with books arranged on a shelf that was on the far end of the office, just after it, a generic office table and chair stood.

On the other end was two sofas, one meant to seat two people, the other— just one.

Reid saw his younger self on the two seater, with his mom by his side. On the other sofa sat a man whose face held a gentle smile as he kept an eye on young Reid while asking some questions.

Reid remembered exactly what this moment was about. His nightmares had gotten worse and he had become semi-crazy due to lack of sleep.

Young Reid would jump at every sudden movement and be startled by almost everything. He had also started hallucinating, which caused him to see Line at every turn.

His mom, seeing how much young Reid was suffering, decided to bring him here. The man on the opposite chair was a therapist/ hypnosis master and Reid’s mom had hoped he would be able to help make Reid forget about Line’s death.

Present day Reid watched as the man nodded and summoned a cat like forged beast before saying,

“Alright, Reid, let’s try something,” the therapist said, his voice calm and reassuring. He gestured to the cat-like Forged-Beast resting beside him.

“This is Serenity,” he continued. “She has a unique ability—she can help soothe the mind, guide people through their memories and even make you forget things you want to. I want you to trust her, okay?”

Young Reid hesitated, gripping his mother’s sleeve tightly. His small hands trembled, and his eyes darting nervously as if expecting Line to jump out of the shadows at any moment.

Vivian placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, sweetie. Just try, for me?”

Reluctantly, Young Reid nodded. The therapist smiled and signaled Serenity. The cat-like creature stretched before leaping onto the table, its golden eyes locking onto Reid’s blue ones.

The therapist’s calm and soothing voice came again “Just relax, Reid. Focus on my voice.”

The cat’s golden eyes started emitting a glow, making it almost impossible for young Reid to look away, and before he knew it his eyelids started feeling heavier.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” the therapist continued. “So very tired of the nightmares, the pain. You don’t have to remember them anymore. Just let go.”

The glow in the cat’s eyes intensified, and young Reid felt his eyelids grow heavier, almost forcing him to sleep.

His vision blurred as a strange pressure settled in his mind. He welcomed it. Anything to make the nightmares stop.

But something went wrong.

Instead of the memories fading away, something inside Reid snapped. The cumulation emotions he had been feeling these past days—rage, fear, resign—all twisted and condensed into something else entirely.

And then, the pressure lifted.

Young Reid’s eyes shot open, but they weren’t the same.

Instead of their normal blue, they gleamed red.

A slow grin spread across his face, but it wasn’t the usual happy or exited kid grin. It was cold. Detached.

The therapist’s brows furrowed. “Reid?”

Young Reid tilted his head. “Huh. That’s weird.” His voice had changed—calm, almost amused.

Vivian’s eyes narrowed as she studied her son. “Reid?”

He turned to her, and for a split second, something softened in his expression. “Don’t worry, Mom. I feel fine now.”

“Do you mind if I take a scan of your brain waves” the therapist said but was met with a glare from Reid which caused him to unconsciously reel back in fear.

“Reid?” Vivian called out to him again, causing him to drop the glare and reluctantly nod.

The therapist walked to his work desk and retrieved a small, handheld scanner, his movements careful.

He could still feel the remnants of the glare Reid had given him—there was something deeply unsettling about it.

As he powered up the device, Serenity, his Forged-Beast, remained still. The cat’s ears twitched, and her golden eyes never left the boy, as if sensing something she couldn’t quite understand.

“Alright, Reid,” the therapist said, forcing his voice to remain steady. “This won’t take long. Just sit still.”

Young Reid gave him a lazy shrug, leaning back against the couch as if completely at ease.

His mother, however, kept her hand on his, her own instincts telling her that something had changed— whether the change was good or not, was unknown for now.

The scanner hummed softly as the therapist ran it over Reid’s head, analyzing his neural activity. The moment the readings came through, his eyes widened.

“What…?” he muttered under his breath.

Vivian’s gaze snapped to him immediately. “What is it?”

The therapist hesitated, but then he turned the scanner around so she could see for herself.

The readings displayed two distinct patterns—two sets of brain waves instead of one.

“It’s like…” the therapist started, trying to find the right words. “There are two of him.”

Vivian’s grip on her son’s hand tightened slightly. “What do you mean?”

The therapist swallowed. “The hypnosis was meant to suppress his trauma, possibly even erase it, but instead, it seems like his mind… split. His subconscious must have resisted, creating a separate personality to protect itself.”

He turned back to Reid, who was still watching him with an expression that was both relaxed and unreadable. “Reid, do you feel any different?”

Young Reid smirked. “I feel great, doc. No nightmares, no fear, no nothing.” He leaned forward slightly, his red eyes gleaming. “Isn’t that what we wanted?”

The therapist felt a cold sweat forming on his back. “You don’t feel… off? Like something’s missing?”

Reid tapped his chin, then shook his head. “Nope. I feel better than ever.”

Vivian, though concerned, was also relieved. Her son, who had been suffering so much, was finally free from his nightmares.

But she wasn’t naive—something about the way he spoke, the way he spoke was different.

She knelt in front of him, holding his hands. “Reid, you really don’t feel scared anymore?”

The boy’s expression softened at her touch, but his answer was immediate. “No, Mom. Not even a little.”

That should have been comforting, but it wasn’t.

The therapist set the scanner down, exhaling. “This… isn’t something I’ve seen before. But as long as he’s stable and not experiencing distress, it might be best not to interfere further.”

Vivian nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but if this was what allowed her son to live without fear, she would accept it.

“Alright,” she finally said. “If he’s okay, we’ll leave it.”

While Vivian was talking to the therapist, young Reid slowly turned towards a seemingly empty corner of the office.

Present day Reid’s eyes widened as young Reid’s eyes locked with his. He moved a bit to the side, only to find the eyes still tracking him.

It was clear that his younger self was currently aware of his presence which should be impossible since this was a dream…. Right?

Young Reid gave his older self a wide grin and a subtle wave before turning back to his mom and the therapist.

Present-day Reid felt a shiver crawl up his spine. That wasn’t normal.

This was just a dream, a memory—his younger self shouldn’t be able to perceive him. Yet, those red eyes had locked onto him as if they knew exactly what he was.

What the hell is going on?

He took a cautious step forward, but the dream continued as if nothing had happened.

Young Reid turned back to the therapist and his mother, his expression shifting back to something more neutral—calm, collected, and eerily mature for a child.

“Thanks for the help, doc,” he said smoothly, swinging his legs off the couch. “I think I’ll be just fine now.”

The therapist hesitated before nodding. “If anything changes, you let us know, alright?”

Young Reid grinned. “Sure thing.”

Vivian’s instinct told her something was wrong with her son, but she would rather have this version of him than the broken, terrified one from before.

“Let’s go home, sweetheart,” she finally said.

Young Reid took her hand, but just before they left, he shot one last glance at his present-day self, giving him a smirk and a wave.

Reid immediately felt something pulling at him, dragging him away from the scene and before he could reach where he was going, he jolted awake, sweat covering his face and his forged beasts worriedly looking at him.

“Squeak?” Rusty asked.

“I’m fine Rusty, just had a bad dream” he answered as he passed a hand through his hair.

But his mind couldn’t help but recall how his younger self looked him directly in the eye and grinned, there was definitely something weird going on with his dreams.