Julian and his party arrived outside Monty’s room as Dr. Winslow was stepping out into the hallway. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she looked ready to collapse from exhaustion. Despite that, she was smiling as she looked up towards Julian and the others.
“He needs rest, so don’t keep him up long, and no interrogations. Not yet, anyway,” she said, pointing a finger at them.
“Yes, ma’am,” Julian said, nodding as he turned the door handle to the room.
The others followed suit, peeking in around Julian.
Monty was sitting up in his bed, his nose in his bracer as he tapped away at the screen. Though still bandaged up, he looked better than he had the day before.
“I thought the doctor said you needed rest?” Julian teased.
Monty looked up to see his visitors. He smiled, but Julian noticed it didn’t reach his eyes. “Please, come on in.”
“Monty? You okay?” Julian asked, taking a seat at the desk beside Monty’s bed.
Monty shook his head. “No, Julian, I’m not, but I will be in time. I heard about what you guys did for me. Thank you.”
Maria stepped forward, touching Monty’s blanket-covered foot. “It’s what friends do, Monty. We got your back.” She smiled at him.
“Yeah,” Monty mumbled, turning his head to face her. His eyes ducked hers as he shifted uncomfortably.
Julian folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “Monty, enough. Are you going to tell us what’s going on or not?”
Monty jumped at Julian’s tone, groaning a bit before wrapping his arms around his torso, holding his wounds.
The room got quiet as they waited for Monty to settle in.
Finally, he looked to Julian. “Artino sent men to USF yesterday. They were checking each safe zone, making sure Dr. Miura wasn’t hiding out anywhere. Somehow, they could get a roster of the residence in the zone through their bracers. They noticed Maria’s name, and Andre Taylor, which I assume is you.” He nodded in Andre’s direction.
“What happened?” Kiyoka asked, stepping up to the bed.
Monty took a deep breath. “I told them Maria was a student here, but I didn’t know who Andre was. They demanded that I hand them over. When I told them you were currently unaccounted for, they didn’t like that. They summoned monsters and threatened me, hoping it would change my mind.”
Julian sat silently, listening as Maria sat on the bed beside him.
“Oh, Monty, I’m so sorry,” Maria dotted on him.
Monty looked away.
Julian sighed as realization hit him like a punch to the gut. “That’s why the guards knew you had administrative control over the safe zone,” Julian said softly.
“Huh?” Maria asked, looking to Julian.
“Control of safe zones is a recent class ability, but the tutorial had provisions in place to make sure people and Eidos were safe. That said, the safe zone appeared from the system first. There was no need for administrative control.” Julian stood from his seat and approached Monty. “Artino gave it to you.”
Maria stood up from the bed. “You didn’t make a deal with him-”
“I had no choice,” Monty whispered. “Administrative control to secure the zone and he could put guards in place. Talia was his plant. They used one survivor from the bank to identify you.”
“Why, Monty?” Maria asked, her eyes filling with tears.
“To secure this place for our future. Artino said if we cooperated, he would ensure supplies for USF. In return, we hand over every former employee of his and any accomplices they had.”
Julian looked away from Monty and out the busted window. He could see a bonfire in place, and music was playing softly outside as a live band played together. He saw stacks of crates being opened, with goods and supplies being separated into piles.
Julian scoffed. “Looks like Artino made his first delivery, but there’s something I don’t understand.” He looked back to Monty. “If you turned us in, why were you attacked?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Monty shook his head. “I don’t know. To cover his tracks, maybe? All I know is that the monster his first in command uses is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s more mythical than monster.”
“Do you have a name of this first in command?” Kiyoka asked.
“No first name, but I heard one guard refer to her as Miss Artino.”
Andre and Kiyoka exchanged a glance before Kiyoka stepped forward. “Monty, I’m sorry our presence here has caused so much stress and danger. We will leave USF in the morning. Just give us asylum for the night. You owe us that much for saving your life.”
Monty’s gaze went back down to his bed. “Of course, one night is nothing. I’m so sorry I can’t do more.”
Julian stepped away from the bed. “Me, too, Monty.” With that, he left the room and Monty behind.
Maria and the others followed him out, with Maria jogging to catch up with him. “What do we do now?”
Julian didn’t answer. His anger was in control for the moment, and he didn’t want to lash out. Instead, he walked out of the dorm and into the evening air.
The bonfire was bright and hot as the empty Artino crates burned. The music was loud as musicians played the night away, and survivors who now called this place home ate, drank, and danced to celebrate the return of safety.
Julian couldn’t get over the irony.
Maria grabbed his arm gently. “Julian, talk to us,” Maria said softly.
Julian sighed, his anger calming by only a fraction. “We need to get out of here. We are defenseless without our Eidos, and Monty could turn us in at any moment.”
Maria’s eyes went wide. “You really think he would?”
“Julian’s right,” Andre said, folding his arms. “We can’t afford to risk it. If Dr. Artino knows we busted Kiyoka out of the guard’s warehouse, then everyone in this safe zone is at risk.”
Kiyoka was silent, but there was an aura of anger radiating from her that filled the space around the party.
“That said,” Julian gently removed Maria’s hand from his arm, “we need supplies and a place to lie low. I say we take advantage of our victory and gather what we can from here. If Monty has given this safe zone over to Artino, more supplies will be on the way. They can spare a few.”
Everyone exchanged glances before Andre spoke up. “Fair enough, let’s get to it. Meet at the front gate in an hour?”
Julian felt his bracer pulse, causing him to look it over.
[New Message: 1]
[From: Emma Koste]
Julian gasped in surprise and tapped the message notification.
Julian,
Please be safe. Call soon.
Love, Mom.
“Make it two, Andre. I’ve got something I have to do,” Julian said as he stepped away.
Andre nodded. “Sounds good. See you guys at the gate.”
Maria watched Julian step away before turning back to Andre and Kiyoka. “Supplies, got it.”
Julian returned to the dorm, making his way back up the steps and onto the roof. Looking over the campus at night was a new experience after the Final Seeding. From the light of the bonfire, Julian could just make out his friends as they went around collecting supplies.
He tapped his bracer, finding his mom’s message. He tapped his mother’s name and called her.
“Julian? Is that you?” Her familiar voice came through clearly.
“Hey, Mom.”
Julian smiled as the flood of questions hit him from the other side of the bracer. His mother’s voice calmed his anger as he listened in, talking with her. The stress of not knowing how things back him diminished, but not completely. He would feel better once he got back home.
Julian shook his head. Just three days ago, he hated the idea of going home. How things change.
After an hour and a half of answering questions and seeing how things were back home, Julian was ready for action.
“Mom, we haven’t decided yet, but it looks like we’re going to make our way east.”
“Are you sure that’s safe? Are things that bad there?”
“They are. We have to get out of the city.”
“Julian, I don’t expect you to call me every night, not with how dangerous it is. Just message when you can. I’ll make sure Juan knows how to use his bracer to message Maria. Keep in touch and be safe. You hear me?”
“I hear you, Mom. We’ll do our best. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon.”
“Be safe. Love you.”
“Love you, Mom.” Julian smiled at his bracer as he ended the call. He took a moment to enjoy the silence. The night was peaceful, despite what was awaiting him. Finally, he took a deep breath and stood to his feet, making his way back to the stairwell and downstairs to the campus yard.
Across the yard, Maria and the others were going over a pile of supplies that extended well over their heads.
“Wow, think we got enough there?” Julian said as he approached.
“Hey, there’s the slacker,” Maria teased, reaching over a table and grabbing a dull rectangular capsule. “We are just breaking everything down to store them in these.”
Julian reached out and took hold of the capsule, feeling his bracer pulse.
[Storage Capsule: (Rare]
[A device that uses the same technology as Eidos capsules to store a large quantity of items.]
“How-” Julian began, only to watch Maria smirk as she bent down to a large, metal chest and pressed the button on the lid. The chest started glowing red before shrinking down and taking the form of the same capsule Julian held in his hand.
“That’s wild. So it uses physical affinity?” Julian asked.
“Very good!” Maria dotted, plucking the empty capsule from Julian’s hand.
“Oh yeah. Your dad said hello. I just got off the phone with Mom.”
Maria dropped the capsule and jumped at Julian. “Why didn’t you tell me that was what you were doing?”
“Because somebody needed to get supplies together,” Julian said, chuckling as he turned to the others.
Kiyoka and Andre were both stacking filled capsuled away in a carrying container as they labeled them.
“Have you guys heard anything from your families?” Julian asked.
Andre spoke up. “We haven’t heard from Kiyoka’s dad, but my parents sent me a message right after the Final Seeding. They are safe for now.”
The air grew quiet between them as they finished packing away their supplies.
Finally, with the last of the storage capsules stowed away, they walked towards the front gate together.
As they approached, new guards were standing at the front gate. “Heading out?” One guard asked. Julian recognized her as a student here.
“Yeah, got some work to do.” Julian said, looking over at the other guard who he recognized as a student as well.
As soon as they were across the threshold of the safe zone, each of them tapped their bandoliers, summoning their Eidos.
“Stay safe out there! This safe zone needs people like you!” she cheered, waving them on.
Julian waved back, climbing up on Oryx behind Andre and Kiyoka as Maria mounted Penelope.
“Will do!” Maria answered for them, waving the guard away as they took off into the night.