Strolling through the monochrome corridors I made my way through the empty building

"Its pretty empty today. not a single soul in sight"

It was too quite so I decided to talk to myself to brighten up the cold atmosphere even just a little bit

After lightly strolling for a few minutes I found myself at my room

It was an empty three by three stone box only filled with a bed, a pile of items in one of the corners and a large burlap sack sitting close to the bed

Walking into my room I started putting my loot away, stashing parts in the sack and hiding anything important that I had brought back

'All done. now what should I do?'

I stood there lost on what I should do to pass the time

"Lucas!"

'I know that voice!'

Turning towards the doorway I found charlotte standing there with a wide smile on her face and slightly out of breath

"Charlotte, why are you back already?"

"That's what I should be asking you. you've never been back so early before"

"Its not my fault, those rat are sooooo persistent"

"Haha, then why do you even go to that area idiot?"

"That's the safest place in the city though, where else am I supposed to scavenge?"

"Come out scavenging for stuff with me idiot, I'll protect you no matter what!"

"Hahaha, you can't really protect me. You don't have a combat mutation"

"Humph. I'm still stronger than you idiot"

After a moment of seriousness we both broke out into laughter

"Is everyone else still out scavenging like always?"

"Not everyone, guess who's out there being an idiot"

"Joshua?"

"Joshua"

"Of course that block head would be out there fighting monsters. he's so obsessed with getting stronger and fighting stronger opponents"

We both left my room and started walking towards the cafeteria

"Where's Emma at?"

Her face slightly change, anyone would notice the dissatisfied expression if they looked close but Lucas was looking around trying to find someone else apart from them in the corridors

"I think she's on guard duty if I'm not wrong"

"oh? Does that mean that she joined the guard? I didn't think she would want to stay locked up in the base"

"Right? You can't guess how shocked everyone was when she told everyone, some even thought she was joking"

"I can't believe I'm only just hearing about it, I wish I saw the looks on their

faces, hahaha"

Before we knew it we walked into the cafeteria, the space was wide open and the tables were carefully lined up with all kinds of chairs in use

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Finally, some people"

The cafeteria was bustling with hundreds of people, they were either lined up waiting to grab their rations or they were sitting down at a table eating with their group of friends chatting away"

"What are we eating today?"

Charlotte thought for a few moments before finally remembering

"Since today is a Thursday we should be getting a... Steak?"

"Really? That's great, I'm feeling extra hungry lately cause of those shitty rats"

"Haha, you better hope you get a big steak than"

Standing in line we patiently waited for a few minutes until the line finally dwindled away leaving us at the front of the line and the next to be served

"Hey Debbie, how have you been?"

Standing on the other side of the counter was a middle aged woman with curly brown hair and blue eyes, she was a mother but like all mutants she looked younger almost like a thirty year old, although she wasn't stunning she was still fairly good looking for a woman of her age

"Oh hey you two. Its been a pretty good time, definitely hard cooking all these portions but at least it's safe right?"

"Definitely"

Charlotte responded with a warm smile as she picked up her plastic tray of food, on the tray was a medium sized steak of reddish color, a handful of vegetables complimented with mash potato and roasted potatoes

As I started walking off Debby turned towards charlotte and nudged her

"When are you gonna confess to him? everyone's waiting for it"

The other twenty women in the cafeteria all turned to them and gave Charlotte a knowing look

"S-stop it!"

Charlottes face quickly flushed bright red as she tried to deny it

"Anyway. Lucas likes Emma, I know I'll get rejected but it's fine as long as he's happy, that's all I need"

She showed a smile that made Debbie's heart ache

Charlotte quickly walked off after Lucas before Debby could say anything to help her or comfort her own hurt heart

"Lucas, wait for me!"

After finding an empty table I sat down across from Charlotte as I began eating the rations that were provided, we didn't talk much as we were waiting for the others to come back while also filling our stomachs

After finishing my meal I sat there in silence as Charlotte was still enjoying a big meal, the reason her meal was so big was because she was a mutant and they needed a lot more food than normal people as their bodies were constantly consuming calories so as to maintain themselves and to utilize their powers properly

If they didn't have enough energy their abilities would diminish and they would become weaker as their connection to the fourth dimension would start eating away at them instead so as to maintain the connection

"Lucas! Charlotte!"

A loud scream echoed throughout the entire cafeteria causing silence to quickly ensue

The source of the voice was a dark brown skinned muscular teenager, he had piercing brown eyes and shoulder length grey hair that was tied into a bun behind his head, he wore a loose stitched together top while having scars all across his dark brown arms

"Oh John, when did you get here?"

Rushing over to our table with a tray and a large pile of food John energetically sat down next to me

"What're you guys doing here? You don't usually come for lunch, you normally scavenge for stuff until five-ish. then you come back so you can have dinner"

"The shitty rats are just getting more and more persistent, I was chased all the way to the industrial zone this time"

"The industrial zone!? You practically ran a kilometer even though you haven't mutated yet? that's impressive Lucas"

John genuinely complimented me impressed with how athletic I was even though I still only had an ordinary physique

"How about you John, shouldn't you be out hunting down a strong tier 1 monster somewhere in the middle district and getting stronger?"

Charlotte asked curious about how his day had been

"You won't believe this. So I was in an intense battle with a tier 1 mantis and I was close to winning, that's when a tier 2 monster came out of nowhere and ripped it to shreds, I had to quickly escape or I would've been killed as well!"

"A tier 2 monster? tier 2 and 3 monsters don't usually leave the center of the city, where were you fighting?"

"I wasn't that far into the city though! I was only in the fifth ring"

The city was divided into ten different rings, the first ring was the very center and most dangerous part of the city while the tenth ring was the very edge of the city and was the safest area. the area most people scavenged in was the fourth and sixth circle where only tier 1 mutants can be found

"Really? That's completely unheard of"

I was completely confused

'I hadn't ever seen a tier 2 monster leave the fourth ring, they barely even venture out of the third ring'

While I was lost in thought Charlotte was almost done while John had already eaten over half of his tray in barely even a minute, his apatite was horrifying

We sat there silently only listening to the loud sounds of John eating with his mouth wide open and devouring everything on his tray as fast as he possibly could

"John. You aren't trying to do what I think you are, right?"

I asked skeptically as I noticed how fast he was trying to eat everything in front of him

"Yep. I wanna go challenge. that monster as soon as I can"

He spoke with his mouth completely stuffed full of food completely devoid of any class or kindness as food flew across the table and some landed on my face

"Your not gonna challenge that tier 2 monster though, right?"

I asked as I wiped my hand down my face swiping off all of the food particles

"How have you not died yet?"

"It because of how strong I am. You can even thank all those monsters I've beaten for that"