Everyone made it down to the first floor. Their clunky armor and strange outfit drew in crowds with curiosity. Many people couldn’t help but step away at the oddity of the situation that they stepped further away than they would like. Whispers of voices could be heard, making them feel completely out of place. Snow was able to change out and was into her more normal clothes.
The police burst through the front door in hurried steps, heading straight towards the elevator.
“Have anyone seen anyone come from the helicopter that just landed?” One of the police officers called out, stopping a few around them.
When they saw Snow’s group, they stopped them.
Snow had a bad feeling about this. She didn’t want to go to jail the moment they arrived.
Mr. Rogers stepped forward, and in his gentlemanly expression and words, he replied, “Yes, I have seen someone.”
Snow froze. Was Mr. Rogers going to rat them out?
“Who?” The police officer asked.
“A tall man with a red shirt and blue jeans. He looked to be around his late thirties, but by the way, the shirt tightly hugged his chest, I’m assuming he’s a big guy.” Mr. Rogers rambled; he then snapped his fingers, realizing something. “I saw him on the last floor heading towards the embassy swimming pool.”
“Thanks.” The police turned around, allowing her and her friends to breathe in relief. Even though they didn’t do anything wrong, their peculiar landing and appearance were eye-catching.
Eventually, the group of police rushed past them in a hurry.
Mr. Roger brilliantly smiled. The amount of stares increased, swayed by his charm.
The only one unaffected by their stares was Mr. Rogers, who seemed to glow even more brilliantly than before. Some of the girls swooned because of his presence, and Snow couldn’t help but shake her head at him. He was a natural.
“That was too close for comfort,” Red spoke in a whisper.
The others nodded, understanding how close they were to going to jail.
“What do you think the dungeon is going to throw at us? No, better yet, where do you think we need to go to find the dungeon core?” Mike spoke out loud, just enough for the group to hear.
“I don’t know, but this place is too weird and too normal,” Red said with concern. “I would rather be thrown into a jungle fighting monsters than be in a crowd of Sleepers.”
It has been a while since Snow heard the word Sleepers. Mostly because everyone back at home was now an Awakened.
They exited the building, looking around as the crowds were heavy with people as if there was some form of festivity happening.
Rows of numerous large floats passed by as bands marched behind. Confetti was thrown in the air, while candies were thrown or handed to children.
A group of girls came straight over towards Mr. Rogers.
“Are you guys from the group that does the famous troupe Silverlight?” One of the girls asked. “Can we take a picture with you?”
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Before anyone could refute, Mr. Rogers slinked forward. He gave her a dazzling smile that made the girl blush red. She had a hard time staring at him because he would coyly wink at her.
“For sure, it doesn’t hurt to have a few pictures.” Mr. Rogers said, gently bringing her close to his shoulder. The other girls that she was with squealed and rushed over. They were bickering with one another on who could get his other arm. “Now, Now. We have the others as well.”
Mr. Rogers was talking to the others to step forward.
Snow twitched, unsure if she even wanted to join in.
On the other hand, Mike stepped forward with a jolly expression, while both Rodney and Dairen didn’t seem too thrilled. Even still, they all came as the girls squealed even louder than before—each hanging off their arms.
Red just stood back, shaking her head. She rolled her eyes, crossing her hand. She didn’t want to take part.
One of the girls handed Snow the phone. Without a second thought, she took the phone as she didn’t want to be part of this picture. All four of them were quite handsome, each with their own flares. If they didn’t know any better, one would have thought they were part of a famous band group.
All of the girls were excited at the prospect of holding onto one of the four guy’s arms, with Mr. Rogers having two.
Snow couldn’t help but frown when she saw a girl boldly slicking her arm around Dairen’s. She even dared to wrap her fingers around his, making them look like a couple.
Dairen didn’t move, simmering dark energy poured out of him. The girl paled, letting go.
A few snaps of the picture were taken, and Snow handed it back with a wild throw. Dairen pulled away abruptly, while the girl looked at him.
“My little chicklings.” Mr. Rogers said with a hint of amusement, “we need to go.”
“But-”
Mr. Rogers raised up his finger, stopping the girl from speaking. “Another time.”
Snow understood Mr. Rogers cue; he broke away from the group, which allowed them all to scurry away.
“You’re quite famous, Mr. Rogers.” Snow couldn’t help but reply. The number of girls that were coming up to him was boundless. Everywhere they turned, someone would try to come up to them in the hopes of either getting his number, picture, or a kiss. Luckily, Mr. Rogers turned many of them down as their progress would be slowed, and lingering out in the open for long periods brought unwanted attention.
Mr. Rogers tilted his head and replied, while walking, “are you jealous?”
“Absolutely not.” Snow bluntly replied. She was glad that people didn’t throw themselves at her. It looked way too tiring to deal with. “I am good with it.”
“It is not a bad feeling,” Mr. Rogers said with indifference, “Food must be brought to me one way or another.”
The way Mr. Rogers said it snapped everyone to attention. Red took a step back and gulped, getting closer to Snow. While the others tensed, silently watching Mr. Rogers smile his usual dazzling smile.
“Don’t get so butthurt over my words. I drink from store blood banks that people are willing to give up for free.” Mr. Rogers' words lessen the mood around the group, but they were still a bit on guard. “If any of you guys would like to donate, I don’t mind.”
Mr. Rogers' eyes glistened with a hint of anticipation. His gaze rested on Snow, which brought an unusual chill. But just as quickly as his predatory gaze came, it was washed away.
“We might have to split up to find anything around here,” said Dairen. “Usually, coming to a new world takes a bit of time to collect information. For me, it took a bit of time to find anything.”
“Well, that was you. I got my first and second quest when I just arrived.” Mike said, shrugging his shoulder at Dairen.
“Still, we got nothing in this dungeon. If we could map out something or find a map, we could better understand our situation. And from the looks of this city, finding a map shouldn’t be too hard. Right?”
“A few convenience stores have something on file.” Red perked up, dropping her opinion. “Also, hotels are a great place to get the latest maps for attractions as well.”
“Then how about….” Dairen glanced around. He saw Hotel Luminar standing across the street from them. “We meet up there in an hour. The time is 3:15 pm, so 4:15.”
The others nodded.
“Ah, this.” Snow handed each and every one of them an earring. “Audrey gave us communication devices. It should work both ways inside and outside the dungeon.” She handed each one of them one, which everyone gladly took.
Snow had put one on for herself. “We can use this to communicate with each other. Plus, it's inconspicuous, so people don’t know you are talking with anyone.”
Everyone took one for themselves and clipped on their ear.
“I’ll head towards the hotel, get some information there,” Dairen said, pointing towards the direction that he would go. “Wego in pairs, so we can watch each other’s back.”
“I’ll go with Mike,” Red raised up her hand, waving it over her head. Before anyone could state no.
“You sure?” Mike wondered why Red wanted to follow him.
Red bobbed up and down. “Yea, I know you’re hungry, and I’m starving too.”
“Wait, how did you know I was hungry?”
“You were staring at the grocery intensely for the last minute.” Red smirked, “I want to grab a few snacks.”
“I’ll go with Dairen,” Rodney spoke up. He didn’t get the cue that Dairen wanted to go with Snow.
Mr. Rogers reached over and grabbed Snow’s shoulder. “I’ll go with Snow then.” He glistened.
“Any problems?”
Nobody refuted. Even though Dairen was giving angry stares at Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers didn’t seem to care. They split ways.
Snow glared at Mr. Roger’s hand, which rested on her shoulder. Mr. Rogers dragged Snow along, which kept most girls away from approaching.
They walked for a couple minutes until finally, Snow spoke up.
“Are you going to let go of my shoulders?” Snow asked. Being so close to him made her nose tickle from the sweet cologne that he wore.
“Snow, I would appreciate it if you would help me keep these flies off of me. You are a great deterrent.”
“Is this a favor?” Snow asked.
Mr. Rogers smirked. “Not at all.”