"Is this a cult or something? Are we supposed to believe you're from a different world than us or some shit?" The man asked suspiciously—he looked younger but he definitely knew how to talk to older folks better than his female companion did.

Lance shook his head. "No, I'm from Earth," he said as calmly as possible. Who the hell had this guy run into, if he was asking if Lance was from another world?

"Then you're not one of the System guide freaks?"

Lance nodded slowly, unsure what else he could say at this point. They seemed like normal, everyday people who just happened to be caught up in all of this, despite their age. That meant they were probably one of the only sane ones left, aside from himself and Sophie, which was why it was so important to try and get them to listen to what he had to say. He wanted to ask them questions too; they might know something useful that could help him escape from this damned city or find more friends and allies.

He needed to read carefully. If these two attacked him now, then they'd likely all die—and that would mean Sophie losing her chance to fight for freedom later on.

The girl with the blond hair spoke again before she had a chance to put words into action—she sounded desperate. "Please don't hurt us."

Her voice trembled a little as well—her fear was starting to show through even though she tried hiding it as much as possible. Lance took his hand off his gun but didn't let go of it entirely; he hoped like hell that if he did have to shoot them both dead it wouldn't come down to killing someone who was still willing to listen first.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

he thought.

[Skill acquired: Diplomacy (D)!]

"Can you tell me your names?" he asked softly; he lowered the pistol back slightly and looked at them with hopeful eyes. He wanted these two to help him escape from the city and maybe find more allies too, rather than just letting him die in a hopeless battle against these people and their Special Abilities.

The girl nodded quickly and stepped forward—she appeared less fearful now than she had been earlier, like she had accepted her fate with resignation instead. "My name is Grace," she said with a trembling voice; she gave a small smile as she held out a hand towards Lance and extended a few fingers as a sign of friendship. "This is my boyfriend, Jacob."

Jacob reached out as well, holding his hand out in a similar gesture but his expression was harder—he stared right through Lance as though he was looking into someone's soul or something like that, even though he couldn't possibly be able to do so… unless that was his Special Ability.

"Hi," he muttered quietly as he shook Lance's hand gently before stepping back behind his girlfriend again. "I'm glad you're not a monster after all, man. We've been holed up here for the past day since the rest of the city turned insane: we tried going outside yesterday but the people started attacking us within seconds whenever we got close enough to talk to them."

"Glad to see another sane soul," Lance said. "Come on. Let's introduce you to Sophie."