Julian sat quietly as the nurse finished bandaging his torso. The claw marks from Omen hadn’t been too deep, and his bracer had absorbed most of the bite. However, he dislocated his shoulder in the tussle with Omen. Once the school physicians had gotten it back into place, everything else was bumps, bruises, and scrapes. The sling for his arm was frustrating, but he would wear it for now.
The campus courtyard now served as a makeshift infirmary, while the worst of the patients were taken into the dorm halls. Groans of pain were muffled across the yard, and Julian couldn’t wait to get out of there. He felt bad for them. A lot of them had gotten it a lot worse than him, and he didn’t want to take any attention away from those who, in his opinion, needed it more.
The nurse patted him on his good shoulder. “All done.”
Julian stood, grabbing his torn shirt and hoodie. “Thank you for the help, and again, I’m sorry about all this.”
The nurse nodded. “You’re most welcome, dear. Please be safe out there. I don’t want to make this a habit.” She smiled at him, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Julian turned to face her, making eye contact.
The nurse was already so tired.
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
Leaving the wounded behind, he walked across the courtyard towards the gymnasium. Along the way, he saw people lying in the grass fiddling around with the bracers on their forearms as they mumbled and whispered together. Julian looked down at his own, currently held up in the sling.
[Time Remaining: 43:09:21]
He watched it tick by as he walked. What would happen when the timer reached zero?
That seemed to be the main concern with the other people here as well.
“Julian!”
He turned around as a young man jogging up to him.
He was short, thin, and lanky, wearing tight jeans and a USF dorm staff shirt with a large “RD” emblazoned on the front. His smooth, hairless face made him look like a teenager, but Julian knew he was older than him. On his left arm was a shiny new bracer.
Julian smiled at the man’s approach. “Monty! It’s good to see you, bro!”
Monty and Julian embraced in a brotherly hug, which caused Julian to groan from his injuries.
Monty jumped at Julian’s groaning, releasing the hug. “I’m sorry, my guy. You look horrible! I was just happy to see you walking around.”
Julian chuckled as he readjusted his sling. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re okay, too. How are things in the dorms?”
Monty shuffled his feet a bit. “It’s a nightmare. Somehow, most of the dorms are under the protective bubble, but most of the actual school facilities are outside it. Students will bunk up, and our largest hall currently serves as a hospital.”
Julian and Monty walked together towards the gym.
“At least you have some resources safely available,” Julian said. As he watched his former RD, he could see the man was still a bundle of anxiety. Even more so with everything going on.
“But what about you?” Monty turned to him. “Are you okay? What happened out there?”
Julian shrugged, wincing a bit. “I’ll be fine. Mostly bruises and scratches anyway. It’s scary out there, Monty. The monsters were ferocious, and the people fighting back were just as fierce. It was madness, dude.”
Monty’s face turned pale. “What happens if that comes onto the campus?”
Julian looked confused. “I thought the barrier was keeping the monsters out?”
“It is.” Monty stopped walking, causing Julian to stop and turn to him. “I’m talking about the people.”
Julian went silent, his thoughts racing.
Monty continued. “Sorry, Psych major here. We both know panicked people can be just as deadly when threatened and when social structure crumbles, it turns to people proving they are the strongest, taking control of what they can by any means necessary.”
Julian nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. “Then, we better make the necessary leadership strong, Monty. Plus, there is no telling if that barrier is going to remain or not. We’re already on a timer.”
Monty nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re right. Thanks, Julian.”
“No problem. I’ll do what I can to help.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Julian turned to head to the gym.
“Julian!” Monty called after him
He turned around.
“I was sorry to hear about your expulsion. I even submitted a letter on your behalf.”
Julian chuckled, smiling at Monty. “I appreciate that, Monty. Really.”
Monty nodded before turning away and walked back towards the dorms.
Julian sighed, turning back towards the gym. His thoughts lingered on Monty’s words, though. What was going to happen? There were too many unknowns, but one thing was certain. As social structure crumbles, there will need to be another one to take its place. Hopefully, one that doesn’t do more harm than good.
As Julian approached the gymnasium, he could smell lunch. Hints of roast beef, vegetables, and spices grew stronger as he entered the gym. His stomach grumbled in response. He hadn’t eaten breakfast, and now it was after 3 pm.
Across the room, Maria was sitting down with Andre, their empty bowls pushed out of their way. He joined the small line across the room, receiving a small portion of stew for himself, and made his way over to join them.
They were nose-deep into their bracers and didn’t hear Julian approach until he slumped down beside Maria.
“Dude, don’t do that,” Maria grumbled, slapping Julian on his sore arm. She earned a wince out of him for that one.
“What are you doing, anyway?” He asked.
Maria nodded over to Andre. “While you were getting bandaged up, Andre showed me some features of this thing.”
Andre nodded back. “The tech is like what we use at the research lab.”
Julian looked from Maria to Andre. “Wait, so the tech is Artino?”
Maria shook her head at that. “Hardware, no. Software and operating system? If it’s not, then it’s a damn good copy.” She kept pressing a few buttons on the display screen.
Julian thought for a moment. “Well, software is your specialty, right? Isn’t that what you worked on at the tower?”
“Shh!” Maria looked around the room, making sure the groups close by weren’t listening in. “Yes, I did, and if you can keep your voice down about that, I would appreciate it. Artino Industries isn’t necessarily on good terms with anyone right now.”
Julian looked around the room. Now he knew why Maria and Andre were sitting so far away from everyone else.
She continued, “We worked on software, but nothing like this. From what I can see, there are options for GPS, real-time mapping, global tracking…Hell, there are even communications networks built in from emergency SOS, global reporting, audio and video calling, messaging, an app platform-”
Julian squinted at her, dropping his spoon into his bowl. “So, it’s a cell phone?”
Mariah chuckled. “If only. Look, I’ve been through this thing inside and out. There are a lot of features not activated yet. If I had to guess, they’ll become available as we make it through this tutorial, or whatever.”
Julian looked at Andre. “You were already familiar with your bracer, though.”
Andre shrugged. “The ones we used in the lab were more hand-held, and they weren’t this sophisticated. All they could do was interact with energy. I only know how to do the minimum, capturing and summoning.”
“About that,” Maria interrupted them, “why do you know how to do those things, anyway?”
Andre looked around the room before leaning in closer. “I’m a research assistant, and our research dealt with the foundational formations of life. These monsters, Eidos, we call them, were a side effect of this study.”
Maria scoffed. “So what, you were just creating monsters and no one in the world knew about it?”
“It’s not that simple.” Andre started but was interrupted by his bracer vibrating.
Soon, every bracer in the room had gotten everyone’s attention as the screens on them lit up.
[Time Remaining: 43:00:00]
[Communications Network: Activated]
[Receive Broadcast?]
[Yes] [No]
After pressing yes, the screens suddenly shifted, revealing a bald man sitting at a desk wearing a white lab coat over a suit. Behind him, emblazoned on the wall, was a large Artino Industries logo.
“Greetings. I hope everyone can hear me well enough out there. My name is Dr. Victor Artino. I’m the founder and head of Artino Industries.”
Mumbling started up across the gym, followed by sounds of shushing.
“These past few hours have been a trial unlike anything humanity has ever faced. Monsters have been unleashed on our world, and I’m sure you have questions. Rest assured that Artino Industries is here for you. Our bracers are gifts to humanity, designed to be implemented in a worst-case scenario. Around us, technology is failing because of the interference of the energy wave that is being released. Everything from communications to surveillance is down across the globe. Medical facilities are suffering because of the lack of technological help. Our automobiles are turning into lumps of metal, and cell phones are nothing more than bricks to build with. Our power grid is in shambles. This is a worst-case scenario. The monsters that have been unleashed on Earth have already claimed thousands of lives, and are spreading out further to claim territories and take over the wilds. The world we used to know no longer exists.”
Julian looked over at Maria and Andre, who were listening intently. Andre had a look of confusion on his face.
“Today was supposed to be a day of progress and great scientific achievement. However, thanks to the interference of a few, our work has been used as a weapon to weaken our unity and send the world toward anarchy. World leaders have now reconnected thanks to our bracers, and soon, order will be restored.”
Snorts of disbelief filled the gym. “Yeah, right.”
“We have reason to believe that the leader of this attack is on the loose.” Dr. Artino looked away from the camera. “I’m ashamed to say he was a dear friend and colleague, but after today, he will be pursued by the world. For his crimes against humanity, he must be apprehended.”
The screen shifted, revealing an image of a man of Asian heritage wearing a lab coat and glasses.
“What?” Andre whispered.
Dr. Artino continued, “Dr. Haruki Miura has risen to the top of the world's most wanted list for his actions today. By releasing this energy into our atmosphere, he has single-handedly caused the death of thousands and set humanity on a course for conflict. This will not stand.”
Andre’s face paled, his fist clenching, and white-knuckled on the table.
“I now address Dr. Miura directly. You were given access to technologies and science designed to bring humanity closer to the stars. You, yourself, led the charge to the unknown. You were given trust and friendship, and today, you used these gifts and Artino Industries to destroy not only the world, but our legacy, and for that, I will hunt you down and bring you to justice. The world will be stronger for this trial, and your destructive intentions will be all that is remembered of you. Artino Industries will live on as a beacon of hope. But today, we are a sword. We will find you. Mark my words.”
Dr. Artino took a deep breath, glaring into the camera. “Humanity, stay strong. Together, we will make it through.” With that, the broadcast ended.
[Global Positioning System: Active]
[Messaging: Active]
[Audio and Video Calling: Active]
The screen shifted, revealing a map of the area and Julian’s current location. Across San Francisco, Julian could see multiple safe zones established, including population numbers.
Inside the safe zone at USF, 15,216 people were scattered across the acreage.
Beacons lit up across the map, blaring SOS symbols flashing across different locations in the city. There were people hunkered down in places outside the safe zones.
At the center of the map was the Artino Research Tower, outlined on the map in a strange pulsing fashion. Julian clicked it, bringing up a screen.
[Possible Eidos Den detected]
[Investigate To Confirm]
[Rewards: ???]
Julian sighed, standing from the table and easing his arm out of the sling.
“Where are you going?” Maria called after him, jumping to her feet to follow.
Andre didn’t move.
Julian eased his arm around gently, groaning a bit. “To get a steroid shot and some pain meds. There's work to be done.” He turned to find Andre still sitting at the table.
“Andre, you in?”