…Jaiiil-break… Had more than I can take. Jaiiil-break… yeah…

It ended up taking a couple of days to prepare everything. Kurt’s plan was spot on, he sure was a crafty one. We had the hour of the nightly delivery, a hand-made sketch of the inner walls we’d hug and the times of rotation for the guards. We both had had to glue our ears to the window long after midnight to hear the truck’s engine, and the guards roster had taken a similar late-night exercise the next day. Kurt wasn’t pleased, ‘A man needs his sleep cycle’ he repeatedly said to me. For which I would taunt him, scoffing at his lack of manly vehemence. But I must admit, he possessed quite a detailed idea of what he wanted. He seemed to have conceived this project for a while as he had already drawn the plan before we met.

Meanwhile, I met again with Clavic’s men. A broken nose here, a scared little girl there, meh, nothing serious. Maybe talking to him might have solved the issue, or maybe it would have just aggravated it. My Fluency was still at zero, having picked up a point thanks to talking so much these last few days – like three full conversations ! – while the bonuses SPs were better put elsewhere. It was still another incentive to get out of dodge.

So, on the afternoon of my sixth day of jail, a scorching hot Thursday in the summer of the year 2015, I went to the woodworking shop. Near the back, in a chute for all the chips and sawdust, was a miniature blue crystal, hidden behind the inward latch. I wondered for a time why the supplies were coming at night, because it sure seemed convenient for any wannabe escapee. It didn’t matter much in the end, at that point I could just cut a hole through the walls, run to the next town and be on my merry way without anyone being the wiser. But it wouldn’t be cool, know what I mean ? Reaching the outside by sheer power is all fine and dandy, but beating the odds and accomplishing an actual sneaky jailbreak was just my type of fun. I again realized my psyche had changed in perceptible ways, as I wasn’t that adventurous before. Having nothing to lose will do that to you.

I checked my surroundings, and as everyone seemed focused on their work, I grabbed the glowing stone.

It didn’t last very long, but I caught a glimpse of a black flash, if it makes any sense. The transition was nauseating, pulling at my stomach in every direction in the span of a half second. Then I appeared with a ‘Pop’ in a white hall, still holding onto the crystal but not for very long, as it was fixed mid-air three full meters high.

“You sure stuck the landing, Neat.” Kurt congratulated me.

My ass hurt, I flipped him off.

Pleased with himself, he continued. “Didn’t think you had actually never entered a Vault. Well, one trust point to you I guess. Follow me.”

He had been the first to go in, he didn’t want to be stuck in his cell while every guard was looking for me would they realize one of us was missing. We were now walking at a brisk pace in a similarly white corridor. It was long and curved a little to the left, plus the whiteness of it all, so much so that when we arrived in front of – guess what ? – a white door, he almost bumped into it if not for my sniggering in his back.

“Ok, a door. Thanks for the warning, jackass. Now what ? I don’t see any handle…” He searched near the faint outline that indicated the presence of said door.

“There might be a button somewhere… Or I could just bust it open.”

“Pff. If it’s made of the same material as the walls, good luck on that. Last time, I tried shooting at it with a gun, almost lost a foot.” Dismissing my idea, he went back to observing the gate.

“You big softie… Watch me.”

I had read somewhere that the safest way to bring a locked door down was to kick it near the handle, one of the piece of trivia I had left. Problem, no handle. Solution, kick it wherever. And it worked ! After two or three attempts, and the same number of snarky remarks from Kurt, but it worked ! The door was blown sideway, a giant dent in its side.

“Blow me an Amish doll and tell me it’s Lent time.” Hadn’t expected that from him, but… okay.

“Well then, after you, my dear.”

I followed him into the room, excited to see the next part of our adventure. Which amounted to… nothing. The plan was to find the red crystal in the Vault, and wait near it for the night to fall on the outside world. And in the middle of the room, floating a couple centimeters above a pedestal of what seemed like translucid glass, was the crystal in question. Kurt sat down, back against the podium, and looked at his watch.

“Six hours to wait. I hope you don’t get too jittery when bored.”

Walking around the room, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary, which in this case meant any other color than pure blinding white, I answered him. “Just a little. You might hear me speak to myself but don’t worry, as long as I don’t talk about Santa you’re all good.”

“You’re a real piece of work, you know ? And what the fuck did you do to this door ?”

“I kicked it. You should consult someone if you can’t remember that.” Said the one who couldn’t recall his name not a week ago.

“I’ll go consult someone anyway after having spent six hours with you. God help me…”

“Call me Neant, please.” Cheshire grin, eyebrows bobbing up and down, little dance with the hips, I played the whole ‘I’m the funny guy’ part to the perfection.

“Just… Shut up…” Tough crowd.

And so, we waited. Me, trying to engage a conversation about food, or his family, or the state of our country, or what he was going to do once he got outside, or something… And him, ignoring me, or answering with ‘Hmm’ and ‘Mhm’. Note the difference, because it took me hours to get it. After some time, I just gave up, and sat on the busted gate. What would happen next ? A lot. A lot was about to go wrong.

*

*    *

    … Always, I wanna be with you. And make believe with you. And live in harmony, harmony, oh love ! …

“Stop humming that fucking song !”

“You don’t want me to sing it, you don’t want me to dance it, you don’t want me to hum it…” Dejected, I counted his orders on my fingers then smiled at him, having thought of a new way to annoy him. “Maybe you want me to mime it ?”

“I got to get out of here…” He checked his watch for the umpteenth time. “Ok, we’re twenty minutes early but it’s gotta do. Otherwise I’m gonna strangle you. Let’s just grab the damn ruby and go back to the lapis.”

I was both surprised of his knowledge of precious stones and the time it took to drive him crazy. This guy was a keeper.

Alas, things didn’t go as expected. As he picked up the stone, the lighting in the room shifted to the same red as said stone. I heard the mechanism of the broken door whine and, abruptly, a dozen giant rats came out of sliding openings in the walls. They were standing upright, a menacing look in their beady eyes and their paws had claws a good five centimeters long… I didn’t want to be eviscerated by that, even if somewhere in my mind I knew my Stats would prevent it. This was all textbook trap, the main gate closing – thanks to me it didn’t - while an ambush was revealed. So, I did the logical thing. I started crushing their head into themselves. This apparently gave the rest of them the signal to attack.

Whoops.

To his credit, Kurt didn’t falter. He brought out a long and pointy piece of metal and defended himself pretty well against two of them, meaning he got small cuts to his forearms and lost his shiv in the eye of a rat, which quickly stumbled to the ground. When the other one tried to leverage this opportunity, he got a chunk of his head melted with plasma. Only three were left when they finally got to me. The first was ejected toward the pedestal, breaking some bones by the sound of it. The second received a lucky knife-hand to the side of his neck, breaking its spine. It happened more by chance than anything as I had tried to grab his throat. The last one was a bit of a pain in the ass, jumping around me and taking jabs at my face. Nearly lost an eye there. It actually took me some time to end him, with a combination of a plasma shot plus a grav-wave to force him onto its path. My inexperience fighting closeup showed itself. I could use my Skills at medium distance well enough, but in melee, I was shit. They weren’t that great either, which probably saved me the pain of having to die again.

I took a breather and scrutinized the one still squirming at the feet of the podium. And it took a while. I haven’t said it before, but even out of the void, I was still getting those interferences with my access to the System. I had to focus for a good three seconds to get a result, which, you know, makes things difficult while in a pinch.

Name : Fucko

Race : Giant Rat - Bipedal

Age : ???

Attitude : Hostile - Mindless

Power : Inferior - Remarkable speed

Did I name it that ? Really, me ? You gotta do better than that.

These creatures were as tall as my torso, with dark furs and rats’ heads and limbs. Lean, but still following the proportions of an actual rat. In a word, beautiful. Like little pet hamsters, just bigger. I wanted to caress their soft coat, relish in the silkiness. What a shame I had to kill them.

At that moment, I could hear skittering coming from the black openings. More were on their way.

“We gotta get to-“

“Get to the chopper !” I reenacted in my deepest tone.

I could have stayed and fought them, but Kurt certainly wouldn’t enjoy the experience. So, again, I did the logical thing. I picked him up in a princess carry and ran, monsters high on my tail. One or two times I could feel something brush my rear, like those things you use to scratch an itch on your back. At some point we finally got back to the blue crystal and it was down to eye level. Luckily for Kurt, as I didn’t have to throw him in the air to catch it.

At last, when he grabbed it we instantly got transported back to the woodworking area. No more rats chasing us, no more emergency… No more emergency ? Ah ! An alarm was singing a high-pitched noise while – again – red lights illuminated our surroundings, as otherwise night had covered the jail. Out of the frying pan and into a fucking disaster. God, I love plans going wrong.

For completing the fifth task of the beginner’s quest, you have unlocked the Path [Delver of the Depths]

Congratulations on completing the beginner’s quest ! You will now leave the Tutorial in [ERROR]:[ERROR]

Well, I didn’t explode, I didn’t fall apart, everything seemed A-Okay. And I’ll look into the Path another time.

“You can drop me now.” Kurt said, his voice empty, as if he didn’t know how to act anymore.

I did as he asked, and got reprimanded in return. “Not drop me like that, you buffoon !” At least that got a reaction.

“What do you think is happening ? I can hear screams and fights breaking out all over the prison.”

“No idea. The Vault I went into last time wasn’t like that at all… Let’s just get out.” Good, he had come around finally.

We dashed through corridors and doors, avoiding altercations at the guards’ stations. Rushing in the open and dashing behind covers, we made It out into the entry court. It was Hell, every inmate had got out of their cells and toward the sole access out of the prison, where a lone sentry had tried to fend them off. Well, he still had had his colleagues in the watchtowers, but they had been blind in effect to what had happened on the ground, the only light being the emergency lamps which didn’t really give any precise idea of who was who.

Kurt and me stuck close to each other as we passed the checkpoint, the experience exhilarating for me, nightmare fueling for him. The guard had been cut and pierced in numerous place, an angel smile drawn on his face, his ear lobes stuffed in his empty eye sockets and his gut displayed for all to see. There really were some fucked up people in there. At least prop him up on a high place if you want to make a show out of it, jeez.

When we got on the other side, we were finally out of the jail, but not out of difficult situations.

“There you are.” And here comes Clavic with a seriously buffed up guy. I mean, Bronson level, with crazy eyes and a massive torso, the whole shebang.

“I’m sorry, have we met yet ?” Taunting is a little joy of mine, I’m sure you’ve noticed.

“Never, ever, has anybody disrespected me as you did !” His voice shook with anger, his face ready to burst in full rage. “You will learn respect at the hands of my friend here ! And this will be the last thing-“

I shot the other guy in the head. Sorry, but not sorry, I didn’t have time for any of this.

Surprisingly, the big dude responded with quite the speed. Instead of getting clipped in the face, he received it in the jaw and along the neck. We watched as he screamed and contorted in pain on the ground. I had intended to wait till he had died to launch a snarky comment to Clavic then finish this whole ordeal, but Bronson was taking a long ass time to check out. So, I shot him again, and for good measure crushed his head. Clavic was next, but he had disappeared. Now I knew how people did that in the movies. You just have to wait for the other bastard to look away and jump onto a magical unicorn. Yeah, that must be right…

Anyhow, after this… thing, we got going. To where, only Kurt knew, and I followed. Frankly, I liked the guy. He was at least reasonably honest and an all-round sane person, what more to ask in a friend ? Sirens blared into the night, some spotlights here and there illuminated the clouds, and there was a certain ambiance of mayhem to it all. Whatever had caused this was pretty darn big. But hey, I was out, right ?

*

*    *

    ...There's somebody set to grab me, anywhere that I might be. So, wherever you might look tonight, you might get a glimpse of me…

After having stolen some clothes, shoes, backpacks and some other things that might be useful for a long trek in a general store, we marched for days, stopping only to refill on water and food. At every town we took a break at we saw global destruction and haggard people, caused by what we didn’t know. Not wanting to alert anyone as to our passage through those places we didn’t show our faces to anyone, stealing what we needed from already looted grocery stores during the nights. I learned a great deal about Kurt during this time. He’s actually from another small town in the area, and that’s where we were headed. He drums like a god on any resonant surface he can find and he dislikes – hates – fishes. Especially if they wriggle between his legs while he fills up his canteen. He can’t make a fire for shit though. Okay, I might be advantaged here… But hey, even I knew that you need to light a piece of paper or dry leaves first.

Oh, by the way, I had received some good news once I was able to take my time and put some points into the last Path I got.

[Delver of the Depths] 8/8 : For the price of your life, you will get infinite power.

    Traveler can now use Crystals to empower himself.

I had asked Kurt if I could take the stone, and he agreed promptly. I should save lives more often. Anyway, when he handed it to me, nothing happened, only when I actually tried to sense it through the System did it offer me the choice to absorb it. I asked Kurt what it would do and he just answered a ‘Traits Points’ while looking at his feet. Ah, Traits. Another thing I had that was erroring. When I tried to use the Crystal, it kinda broke into pieces, and I received only white noise through the System. Well, no luck there. Another problem for another time.

We had followed the county road for a while, not directly on it, but close enough to see it and far enough to hide behind the trees when a car passed through. We saw a military convoy once, but they had no hard rock playing though. I could feel him tense up gradually as we passed villages he probably knew and neared our destination. He was also still warming up to me, and me refusing to disclose how I got my ‘Carrie-style superpowers’, as he said, didn’t rub him up the right way. I was actually pondering telling him what had happened to me when he suddenly picked up the speed.

We had arrived. A town of I’d say of a million souls devolved beneath us. Relatively flat, it reached the horizon. We weren’t on a very high hill, so it doesn’t say much… I don’t know, I’m bad at evaluating city sizes. It’s a very specific default but highly concerning to me, we shall not speak about it. We found a way down and started walking again.

“It looks like you reached your destination there.”

Yep. How do you think it’s gonna go ?

“As long as you keep your Skills in check, this whole enterprise shall go without any catastrophe.” That’s reassuring.

I had been speaking with Adalfaro from time to time, it felt good to entertain a relation not based on grunts. He was enjoying the fresh air as much as I did and regretted having to go back into a polluted city. I had also picked up some of his quirks, like his slip up in his language when he was thoroughly excited about something happening. I had found out about that when he saw a river for the first time. The expletives he used were quite colorful, let’s leave it at that.

It’s funny, remembering all that, I realize it’s actually the best days I have lived since the start of it all. Not to say that the rest was bad by any mean, but it felt… good. Yeah, yeah, good and bad are words for simpletons, I know… But it was just that, simple. Walk, eat, sleep. Look at the forest and the sky, listen to our footsteps and Kurt’s occasional drumming, speak with Adalfaro about innocent things and exchange groans with Kurt… Good is the right word. And now it had to end.

When we reached the suburbs of the city, we saw some looting had happened to the supermarkets, but nothing too awful, a couple broken windows, some cars tagged with ‘THE END IS NEAR ‘ and such things, plus a few spilled bins lying around. The people were queuing at some of the more robust or luckier stores, surely waiting for their chance to buy some supplies. There was a pool of dried blood in front of one of them. This place had also been hit by a panic wave but had managed, by the looks of it.

We walked further into the city itself. At the boundary between the outskirts and the inner districts there was a military checkpoint. Not great for us, but it meant a smidge of law and order at least. I believe I‘ve seen hope resurface in Kurt’s eyes for his family at this point. He had been bleak after the last pillaged town. But now, we had to find a way inside without alienating the soldiers. Kurt proposed to simply walk up to them and pretend we had been robbed of our IDs during our travel, but I had a better idea.

Stolen story; please report.

“It’s Spiderman time !”

“No. No. Just, no. We’re gonna do it my way, end of the line.” Adamant, he spoke while striking his index in my shoulder.

“Yes sir !” I saluted him, my dirty sweater and disheveled hair aiding to get the right picture.

“You don’t say a word, understood ? Nothing, nada, niet !”

“Don’t you mean ‘nichevo’ ?” I said, still saluting.

“What ?” Of course, he didn’t know the right word. Wait, how did I know the right word ? Was it really the right word ?

“What, what ?” I now had Jane’s laugh playing on repeat in my head.

“What are you on about ?”

I answered the most logical thing. “Nichevo.” I’m a very logical person.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake !” He pinched his nose, the signal not to press further.

After a moment to let him refocus himself, we went toward the checkpoint. The ones on guard duty watched us get near, then when we were at a reasonable distance, they hailed us to stop.

“State your business !”

“We just want to go meet our families inside the city !” Kurt answered, not really shouting, more like talking really loud.

“Come closer.”

Once we were in a more comfortable distance to speak, he asked for our IDs, just as planned. What could go wrong ?

“Sir, we can’t show you any IDs, we’ve been robbed on the way here…”

“What’s your name then ? We’ll check in the database.” And there we go.

“Quincey Wolf. And this here is Vance Bullock.”

“Ok, give me a minute.” 60 seconds it is. 59… 58…

12… 11… “All clear !” Damnit ! “You’re good to go. Good luck finding your families.” He did look worried for us. It didn’t augur anything good for Kurt’s people.

“Thank you, sir. Let’s go Vance.” Kurt grabbed me by the arm, rather forcefully I might say.

We actually did end up on the other side without any issue. I admit, I was shocked and a bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad to be on the safe side of things, but a plan is supposed to go wrong at some point. This could only mean that it was borrowed luck and something even bigger would hit us on the head next. It really didn’t augur anything good.

“Why was I the Bullock one and you got the cool name ?” I asked the important question to Kurt once we were at a safe distance to talk.

“Because you deserve it that’s why, you nutjob.” Had I seen a smile ? Yes ! An honest to god smile ! “By the way, did you know you can get Skills by ‘performing special actions’ ?” I looked at him for a second, staring dumbly into his eyes. “ Right, stupid question. It’s just… I got a Skill while speaking to that guy. It’s called ‘Trumpery’, supposed to help me cheat my way out of sticky situations or something.”

“That’s great news ! From now on, you’ll be my PR guy !” It was a really good idea that came to me on the spot.

“God, why do I keep talking with you ?”

*

*    *

    … I think it’s time we stop, what’s that sound ? Everybody look what’s going down…

We walked for a bit, meandering through the city. Kurt knew this place, he led us across small alleys and main streets toward a block of flats built in a 90’s fashion. A central fountain surrounded by buildings painted in bright colors, with rounded balconies and diverse forms of depression in the inner sides. This felt like a small town inside the city, with boutiques and delis at the feet of the tall buildings. We went up the number 13, to the 7th floor. Kurt, even more mute than before, knocked on a door with the name ‘Maxis’ on it. Nothing. He knocked again. And again. And each time with more force, fueled by desperation.

“Kurt ?” Another door down the hallway opened and the head of a shriveled man popped out. “Oh Jesus… I thought you were still locked in ? Ah… It doesn’t matter now…”

“Mr. Abernathy ! Do you know where they are ?” Kurt exclaimed.

“Quiet, young man. This is not the time nor the place to tempt fate… Come.”

He funneled us into his home, wary of any onlookers. Once we were all inside, he whispered to Kurt.

“You have to be very discreet. Something bad happened Kurt…” He looked him in the eyes, not sure how to proceed. “During the blackout... your mom did everything in her power to help us, the elderly. We couldn’t… We couldn’t manage by ourselves, see ? But she got angry. Against the senator and his clique, I mean. They were twiddling their thumbs while people died, and looting was getting worse by the hour.” He took a breath, reliving the horror that night must have been. “Luckily, the army got involved in the morning. They hadn’t before because the city had been declared a ‘demilitarized zone’... While martial law was enacted, can you believe it ? That damn peacock always thought he was better than everyone, capable of keeping his city under wrap with his goons...” I could hear the bile in his words. He sat down on an antiquated armchair.

“She wanted to go and expose to Knowles his faults at his villa… Your brother tried to stop her, but you know your mother, once she has an idea in that damn head of hers, nothing can hold her back.” His face got somber as the words flowed. “In the end, they both went. I don’t know what happened there, but… Kurt…” I could see my friend’s face cramp up in preparation. “Your brother got shot, Kurt. He’s dead.”

“No…” Only I heard his whisper, more like a sigh he had let go of without knowing. I caught him as his knees shook violently. “No !” I could feel my shirt dampen, the sobs now clear against my ear. “No… No… No…” He repeated I don’t know how many times. As many as he needed, I thought to myself.

After a while, his tears stopped flowing. “Let go of me.” His voice was now ice-cold. “Where’s my mom ?”

“She’s in detention at the Whitewood station. We heard about it just yesterday… The cops claim she resisted arrest, but that’s just a plain lie… Kurt, I’m so sorry.” He didn’t know what to do with himself anymore, muttering excuses for what wasn’t his failing.

Kurt got out of the flat in a dash. I found him two floors below, kicking a door, eyes fixed on the peephole, screaming for anybody who would listen. I let him vent his pain away at a distance, leaving him a moment to deal with what we had heard.

“Let’s go get her out, yeah ?” I said after the rhythm of punting slowed down. “We can go to Knowles after that.”

He blinked at me, realizing I was still there. He then nodded, and left without a look back.

We rushed to the other end of the city, passing another checkpoint, and reached a cushy neighborhood. Every house was encased in three meters high perimeter walls. When we finally arrived, Kurt was running on fumes but he still headed straight for the police station.

I grabbed his shoulder, turning him around so he would look at me. “Take five. We’re here to get her out, not cause a scene.” His teeth clenched, grinding away a festering fury. “Well, nod if that’s what you want. But you need to be sure about it. Those cops might be in on this, but maybe not.”

I could feel him tense up beneath my hand, ready to storm in and assault the place, but reason prevailed. He stood there, waiting to catch his breath.

“I’m good. Let’s go.”

When we passed through the front gate, something became immediately clear. We were not welcome here. Every pair of eyes in the lobby flicked to us, staring at our impromptu appearance. We obviously weren’t the usual customers after all, dressed as we were. Kurt didn’t care one bit on the other hand. He promptly went to the receptionist and asked without any sort of preamble.

“Where is Alyssa Maxis ?”

The clerk asked for his name first then professionally answered him that his mother was being detained on the charges of misconduct in a public area and assault on an officer, and that if he had any inquiry, to direct them to some detective named Fletcher. Kurt was about to demand to be led to that person’s desk when the man in question called my friend from the catwalk up above.

“I’m Fletcher. You’re the brother, right ?” Then, addressing the other policeman. “Let him come in my office, we have a lot to discuss.” Back to us. “Third floor, first door on the right.”

We went up the stairs, three steps at a time, and reached the appointed door which had been left open. The room was small and messy, papers strewn about with a delicate sense of purpose. There were remnants of a Chinese takeout box on the desk, next to a computer brand new, but already chipped on a corner. The man was in his late forties, his hair already sparse, and sported an impressive mustache. He wore a long-sleeved grey shirt a little too wide with an unassuming watch on the inner part of his left wrist. My guess was ex-military, and still combat effective judging by the hidden muscles. Probably wounded in combat in the left leg, as I saw a faint limp when he came to greet us. Had got the most similar job he could, and swiftly got jaded when he got stationed in this neighborhood, proved by the wrinkles already etched around his eyes.

“You must be Kurt. And you are ?”

“Neant. I would be pleased to meet you if in any other circumstances.” I got an odd stare and so added hastily. “I’m a foreigner. Sorry if I seem a bit eccentric.” Add in a muted smile and the disguise is complete.

He looked me up and down, analyzing me as best he could, and dismissed me as unimportant just as quickly.

“Mister Maxis, please sit down. You-” He then pointed at me. “-can wait outside.”

So, I did. It didn’t matter much anyway, I could hear just fine from the hallway. I just had to filter out whatever else I could hear, which wasn’t that different from a regular conversation. They didn’t beat around the bush, Kurt’s first word once I had closed the door was his mother’s name.

“She’s downstairs. Don’t worry, she’s alright and out of any danger... for now. Kid, I know you’re supposed to be in jail right now, and the man at the entrance will soon too, so listen to me very closely. She angered the wrong kind of people. You saw how there are still cops playing their role around here, me included. That’s because of Knowles. He owns this territory and all that’s in it, you don’t anger him without issues, and he likes his neighborhood with blue on the street, especially if they are on his payroll.

“His men killed your brother, Kurt, just because your mom wouldn’t stop shouting obscenities in front of his house. He doesn’t fear anything now… When the blackout happened, every electronic device active at the time was fried. There’s no centralized government anymore, nor any media or internet. So right now, he is only accountable to himself. The military got an ancient infrastructure up and running, but it’s only used to check the identities of those going in and out of the city, and some other minor things. Their fancy new-tech weaponry doesn’t even turn on anymore ! They can’t even begin to compare with what he’s got under that villa of his.

“Sure, they got the number, but they’re too spread out, trying to oversee all the districts by themselves. Add to that the local gangs running amok with super-strength and you’ve got a city on the verge of civil war, son… Don’t look at me like that, I ain’t lying to you. Hang around for a bit and you’ll understand. This powder keg is gonna hurt a lot of people if it blows up. Which brings me to your momma. You know what will happen if I let her out ? She’s gonna go straight to her dear friend mister soldier and blabber all about mister Knowles and how awful he is. If not worse. The senator might get to her first. I was lucky enough as it is to have heard her screams to act in time, but I’m not her guardian angel, I won’t follow her everywhere.

“Now, go back, find someplace to hide, and pray nothing bad is coming our way.”

Civil war between corrupt officials, confused soldiers and evil thugs ? Bingo !

I heard Kurt walk to the door, not a word escaping his mouth. When he got out our eyes met, and I knew. We had the same idea. Was it an actual bromance forming between us ? I so hoped it was.

“Kurt ! Don’t do something stupid, she already lost one son.” Fletcher pleaded.

“It won’t be stupid, I promise you.” That’s my man.

Once out of the precinct, I nodded at a classy black car with tinted windows we had seen on the way in. We went around the block and approached it by the rear. I had arranged for the light around us to dim slightly and the driver couldn’t have been more surprised when Kurt opened his door in a swoop. He grabbed his neck and threw him on the ground, quite violently I might say. A shame for such a nice suit. The man grunted, tried to get up but got stopped by a foot on his head.

“Where is Knowles ?” Kurt barked at him.

“You have no idea what you’re doing. This-” His nose slammed into the pavement.

“Where. Is. Knowles ?” Ooh, He almost scared even me right there.

“I’ll enjoy hearing you scr-” And out went his lights.

Luckily, the car had an onboard GPS with a list of recent stops – a mystery how this one had resisted the global black out, Knowles sure seemed to have some nice toys. One address came back repeatedly, and we assumed it was the right place.

Kurt then paused for a moment. Turning to me, he asked me a question I hadn’t conceived myself. “Why are you still here ? I mean, we’re going to face a lot of shit there, and… God am I really saying this ? … I can’t do it without you, ok ?”

YES !

“It’s ok Kurt, I understand.” I said in a relaxed voice.

“Right…” He looked at me suspiciously. “What I’m trying to say is… What do you want ? What do you expect from all of this ?”

My answer came without delay. “A friend. That’s all I want.”

I think he saw something on my face then, as he became quite stunned afterward. I had been honest, a buddy, a partner, was all I longed for at that point. I didn’t have any other goal in mind. My family was a farce, my girlfriend a banshee, and my supposed friends were probably just as much of a lie I had told myself when still in their hands. The country was in shambles, people were going crazy left and right, I had obtained superpowers after having suffered a crippling amount of pain, and nothing mattered to me anymore. Except for Jane and this guy. They were the only ones still binding me to this world. I knew not every person were bad or inherently evil, but try rationalizing your emotions, it doesn’t work all that well, right ?

We ended up driving pass the back entrance of a humongous wall even taller than the ones we had seen before. There were two guards in black costumes, one in a security post, facing a computer, and the other one at the opposite end of the gate, looking at us while we drove away. It might be obvious to you now, but for some reason, we didn’t think of it at the time. We were in one of their cars. With the guy that was supposed to be in it leaking blood from his face somewhere in a bush. Yeah… Not the brightest shed in… Ah whatever.

“What’s our plan ?” Kurt asked me, uncertainty clear on his face. “Do we try to climb the wall ? Or ‘Spiderman’ it, rather ? Or rush through-”

“No plan. I actually want this to work.” Perfect logic.

“-one of the… Wait what ?”

“It’s a holistique thing.”

“You gonna hit them with that holy stick of yours ?” Ah, sarcasm, my old friend.

“No, it’s gonna hit itself on them.” And on these cryptic words, I got out of the car. I just forgot it was still cruising, at a small pace, yes, but it made me miss my step. As punchlines go, my delivery wasn’t really on point. Oh well, nothing broken, nothing lost, life was good.

We were fifty meters from the front entrance, lucky me, so the guards, three this time, had seen me fall off of the vehicle. To their credit, they didn’t laugh. They wanted to, but they didn’t. No, rather, they got their guns out. No warning, no hailing, nothing. Just bullets.

Bullets are a funny thing. I could vaguely remember being afraid of them before. Now, it was just plainly annoying. Little holes etched themselves into my sweater and my shirt, followed by the detonations reaching my ears. I raised my hands and formed the idea of two grains of rice made out of plasma in my head. Creating two defined mental constructs at the same time was an arduous but rewarding endeavor. Two of the men went down in a purple flash, the last one run over by Kurt.

“Open the gate ! Storm the castle ! Kill the king !” I bellowed at full force.

I could feel some light bruises disappearing right as they formed on my torso, Might having stopped the bullets and my Constitution making me wonder if I could regrow a leg. The pain accompanying the impacts had been dismissible, to say the least. I could sense a notification popping up in the background, but I had other fishes to melt. It was time to get serious. I kicked the gate, bending it inward. It reminded me surreptitiously of the Vault.

And now, the piece de resistance !

Alarms were starting to turn up and I could hear over them in the distance people gearing up and roaring orders.

“Kurt ! Grab a gun and stay behind !”

This was going to be fun.

I kicked the door again, this time unhinging it for good. The runway went up to a central plaza surrounded by a garage and other buildings. The white gravel contrasted sublimely with the grey stones used for the constructions. Balconies littered the highest one and the parapets were formed by a mix of white granite, carved with slight flourishes, and dark toned steel embracing the whole thing. The rest of the outer walls were decorated in the same fashion, bringing it all together to constitute a magnificent architecture. But it was all brought down by the many men in combat outfit running around, finding covers behind sandbags walls and military grade trucks.

You sons of bitches, ruining such a perfect scenery. Disappear !

They didn’t stop to exist at that instant, but they wished they’d have. A vortex appeared in the middle of them, sucking in almost every little play-soldier into a sanguine ball of limbs. Of course, they shot me a few times, and, not wanting to risk Kurt’s life, I tried to stop the rounds in front of me. One hand extended, every bullet slowed down and dropped on the ground.

Becoming the chosen one, check.

This was a little too easy, I thought. And of course, I received a round in the back of the head at the same moment. A fast-enough shot that it pierced my skull, went straight through my brain and resurfaced right above the left eyebrow. And I actually remember this. I mean, every time I had died in the void, I couldn’t recall my last moment. Now that I had ended the Tutorial, things seemed to follow a different set of rules. I kept control of my left side while falling onto my right. My left eye having popped out of its socket, I quickly put it back in. Pain wasn’t a problem, it felt distant and muted, surely a side effect of adrenaline. Or maybe of getting shot in the head. Anyhow, after an instant, my cranium started putting itself back together, regenerating bone and tissue, and soon after I regained feelings in my right side.

I turned around and spotted the sniper on a roof behind me sending another round my way. This one just flopped on my leg, decelerated as it was by my hastily put together grav-wall. I prepared a counter-projectile but the silhouette promptly disappeared. Instead, I sent it into one of the vehicles’ reservoir… Not gonna lie, I like fireworks. And that one was quite charming, if one disregards the screams of the many wounded, crushed or burned men. I then mashed the brains of the last remnants of the force assembled here, returning to a proven tactic. In the end, there was only one of them left. An Asian-typed man, looking worn and shell-shocked. He looked back at me, mechanically pointed his gun toward my face, and died, a smoking hole in his head.

I don’t know what went by in his mind - no, I’m not making that joke - but I think I felt something then, watching the life drain out of his fixed eyes. He could have surrendered, he could have kept his life. He didn’t. Does that mean I reevaluated my choices leading to this point ? Not really. It just meant that I appreciated my actions in a different color. I was really turning into an inhuman monster, and I was fine with that. I still had some boundaries to what I’d do, but they were more excuses to letting my rage run rampant than anything.

Kurt was crouched behind the gate, a gun in his left hand, looking at me as if he had seen the devil.

“Get yourself back together, those guys were literally prepared for war. It’s far from finished.”

Right on cue, I received yet another bullet in my torso, this one coming from the sniper and doing a lot more damage than the ones fired from those pistols these other guys had used. My lungs got torn out of my ribcage, my heart blown up and my blood was everywhere I looked. But, as soon as the wound opened, it closed by itself, weaving into a clean scar. At last, I had the time to shoot the offender down. A tricky one to aim, but accurate enough to clip him in the shoulder.

With this issue solved, I headed for the main entrance of the central building. I could hear Kurt’s footsteps crunching on the gravel behind me. Good, he hadn’t lost his will. We finally reached the double mahogany doors and it was locked. Well, not for long in any case. Again, I started roaring.

“Who might have come to this palace of all places ? Who dares step into your lair ? It is I, no other than Door-Kicker !”

But no one was there to witness my grandeur. A massive wooden staircase rounded itself in front and above me, two hallways went to my left and right… Every little detail seemed made to cause awe to the trespasser. Which worked on me just fine. Kurt brought me out of my reverie by a tap my shoulder.

“Let’s see if we can find the basement, ok ?”

I agreed and we set out to look through the house. Which took a fair amount of time. Damn was it big ! In the end, we faced a large bookshelf. I had stopped in front of it while scanning the ground for worn parquet. Always look down when looking for something below you, first rule of ‘Searching Cellars’ by yours truly. I pushed the bookcase aside, breaking some kind of mechanism in the way and revealing a hidden metal door. My reflection watched me quizzically as I prepared kicking down that door as well.

“Wait ! Try the handle first.” That seemed like a good idea, until I actually tried it and received a minor electrical buzz for my effort. Or what felt like a small shock to me at least.

“Great idea Kurt. Care for a try yourself ?”

“… Just kick the damn door.”

Once downstairs, we couldn’t see a thing. Pitch black everywhere we looked. Luckily, I’m a man of many resources. Kurt watched me with incredulity as my eyes became literal flashlights. I also started looking in two different directions, one with each eye, just to freak him out a bit more. And because I could. We trudged along the corridor, searching every room we passed, and finding nothing worth the trouble. Pieces of hardware, military gear, or some desks and electronic boards. Tension was at its paroxysm. Lastly, I came to a stop in front of the only door we hadn’t opened. It was sealed tight and no light was coming from under it. Moved by force of custom, I kicked it down in one strike. Then I saw them.

One woman and three children. All scared senseless. She was wrapping her arms around their heads, protecting them from the view of the big bad wolf. Her eyes were trained on me, daring me to take a step forward. I could tell Knowles was also there, hidden behind the closet on the side to surprise me when I’d get in.

“Knowles, get out.” Then, adding in a sing-song tone. “I can see you.”

He hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, his hand holding a gun found its way around the cabinet toward me. I flicked the weapon away with a short tap of my finger. As the sound of it clattering against the floor resounded, I asked him again to get out.

“Fine. Just don’t harm my family, ok ?” He said as his head peeked from the corner of the cupboard.

Kurt perked up at that. From where he was he couldn’t see inside, the hallway too slim at this point for him to stand behind me. I nodded at Knowles to go meet my friend. Once he got out of the room, I rested my eyes on the woman, still holding firmly her offspring.

“Knowles...” I could hear Kurt outside growl at him, garnering his anger back.

“Do we know each other ?” His voice didn’t quaver. I didn’t like this guy.

“Your men killed my brother !”

“You must be talking about that incident a few days ago. I am deeply sorry to hear that, but I’m afraid they did so in just cause. If he hadn’t reached for a gun we-“ More justifications, more excuses.

“In just cause ? A gun ? My brother was a pacifist ! He never even touched something resembling a weapon !” I could feel the fury building inside of him. “He was murdered ! You killed him !”

“The unstable woman accompanying him caused all this, she-“ He actually sounded collected and firm, in a situation like this ! As if trying to negotiate a contract…

“Stop ! Just stop ! You’re not getting out of this. It’s over Knowles.”

I heard the click of a hammer being cocked, then Knowles said something filled with incredible intent, almost unrecognizable from a human voice, coming from a place that didn’t have the right to exist.

“Attack !”

All hell broke loose. The family all turned their heads toward me in a swooping motion, eyes alit with pure rage. Even the kids looked ready to tear my throat apart. And they attempted to. By reflex I pushed them away.

    Luckily, they all just fell to the ground when a bang resounded in the corridor.

I stepped out, looking for my friend, observing the pool of blood slowly ebbing across the concrete floor. He had shot him in the head at point blank range. My friend stared back at me, his eyes filled with something akin to sorrow. Sorrow for his brother ? Sorrow for the man he had just killed ? Sorrow for this part of him he will never get back ? I didn’t know, and this wasn’t the time to delve into it. Later, when we would be able to take a break in a safe location, maybe we would speak about it.

For now, I lightly pushed him away from the body, dragging him toward the exit. When we reached fresh air, I was able to truly discover the mess I had made of the place. A building partially collapsed under the weight of a truck, which had his tank exploded thoroughly, a dozen corpses with blood marring around their crumpled heads, a… ball of body parts, and a man with a dark hole in his forehead. The Asian guy who stared at me while dying. It had been brief, but I had seen it, the same look the woman and her children had had. They had all been indoctrinated by Knowles in some way. Maybe a Skill of his was at fault. The same thing that allowed me to butcher all these people.

With those somber thoughts, I walked across the grit of the runway. Making sure Kurt was following, I watched him as he stumbled his way through bits and pieces of human bodies. Later, I again said to myself. Later.

The void had chewed me up and spat me out, but this was no reason to let my mind linger in it anymore. I had to do better. I had to be better.

“I am sorry to interrupt, and you’ll excuse my language, but what in all Hell, was that ?”

Adalfaro… Not a good time to talk right now… I really didn’t want to speak with him at that point.

But sadly, he pressed on. “I won’t judge, I promise, but your present feats are… disconcerting to say the least.”

Not. Now.

“I know that seconds do not possess the same weight in those kind of situation, that your brain can only process so much before shorting out, yet I can only wonder, was it really unavoidable to kill them ?”

They were shooting at me ! What the fuck was I supposed to do ? Ask them to stop ? Now I was pissed off. He really should have listened to me when I told him to stop.

“What are you talking about ? First Anna, then…“

Shut the fuck up ! Anna doesn’t have anything to do with any of this ! I’ll send you back where you come from if I hear another word from you !

And at this threat, he stopped bothering me. Finally. It might be a hollow one, I had no idea if I was in fact able to send someone into the void, even less if the one in question didn’t have any physical part to target, but it worked. Usually he wasn’t so annoying, yet this day he sure didn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t in a talkative mood.

… Whatever my mood was, I should have listened. If only I had listened…