“The main library? Interesting choice,” Angela said as she curiously looked at Jay. The library wasn’t the first place she thought of when Jay said he wanted to move somewhere safer. It was an old-style building, one of the few on the campus, and it was far from having the best security measures. It wasn’t the first place she’d go to find supplies, either. She couldn't understand why he would make such a choice when the library didn’t fit his initial requirements.

“I can see why you are confused. However, the library is our best choice now. " Jay started when he saw how confused everyone was when he shared his goal. “Honestly, the arena is the go-to place in situations like ours. Unfortunately, things are the way they are, and now it is probably the worst place to be. I would have settled for the eatery if it wasn’t lunchtime. Alas, it is, and the place is crowded too. As for our training center, it is too close to the stadium,” Jay explained, quickly going over the other options they had. And it was clear that none of them would do the trick.

“I chose the library because it is neither far nor too close. Plus, we can reach it through Waylon Park, thus avoiding most of the danger we could face by going through another place. Third, for obvious reasons, it shouldn’t be too crowded. Lastly, it is safer than you think. They had built it to keep the books inside safe in case of a disaster. Therefore, we should be safe if we stay there.” Jay continued, explaining why he considered the library a good option. What he did not say, however, was that it was one of his hideouts, and his main goal was to retrieve the weapons he had hidden there. Anyway, they had no use knowing this kind of detail, not at the moment.

As they heard him, most of the group understood his intentions. It was clear how much thought he had put in before making his decision. However, their uncertain expressions showed that his arguments couldn’t ease all their concerns.

“I understand that most of you aren’t completely convinced. However, I won’t change my mind. Even if my fears never come true, I won’t stay here,” Jay stated, unwilling to change his stance despite the reluctance of his companions. “Still, there is no need to worry. I never intended for the entire group to go out immediately. The plan is to send a small party outside and scout the situation first. If it is favorable, we go through with my plan. Otherwise, we can think of another way.”

“Who is going to be part of that party then?" Carlos asked.

“Our goal is to scout the situation outside. I think Alex and I are enough,” Jay said. His statement caused some dissatisfaction, especially from Angela and Lexie. Despite her dissatisfaction, Lexie stayed silent as they had already talked about it, and someone needed to stay back.

However, this wasn’t the case with Angela, who immediately raised her concerns. “Isn’t it better to take more people with you?” she asked.

“No. As I said, it is a recon. So, the fewer people there are, the better it is,” Jay rejected. He had observed how they fought earlier, and honestly, calling them amateurs would be considered polite. Besides, if a situation Alex and he couldn’t deal with were to come up, then no one would be able to change anything about it. On the contrary, they could make it worse.

“Look, we can't let you carry all the burden for us. Let us help you,” Angela said. Her words seemed to express everyone's thoughts. “What do you think?” Faced with Angela’s insistence, Jay didn’t immediately reject her. Instead, he turned toward Alex and asked his opinion on the matter.

“There’s no need to make such a fuss. It’s just a recon, and the two of us are enough,” Alex responded.

As he heard him, Jay nodded and turned to look at Angela. The latter looked disappointed, as she understood there was little she could do to change Jay and Alex’s minds.

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine,” Jay said to comfort the older woman. "Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said. Now, go and start getting ready. If everything goes right, we will leave as soon as Alex and I come back,” Jay said as he concluded their little gathering.

A few moments later, everyone was gone. A heavy silence settled upon the locker room as Jay and Alex went through the supplies they had gathered to prepare themselves.

Meanwhile, Lexie watched them from the side. She was worried and pissed that they were going on such a dangerous venture by themselves. She really wanted to follow them. It’d be safer that way. She knew it, and they knew it too. While they had already talked about it, she still tried to make them change their minds. “Do I really have to stay behind? You need me more than they do,” she said sullenly. “I don’t need to babysit them.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Let’s not do this now, Lexie,” Jay said as he finished putting on a black tracksuit. He didn’t want to waste more time arguing about this.

“You two know I don’t need to be protected, right?” she said and sighed. Even though they tried to hide it, she understood they were making her stay behind because they wanted to protect her.

“Don’t worry, Alexandra. Just trust us,” Alex said as he hugged her.

“Hum, we know what we are doing,” Jay added as he looked at the twins with envy. He wished Jess and Sam would have been here with him.

“Humph, the last time you said that, you went on to fight a 20-man spec ops team by yourself,” Lexie retorted with a glare.

“Haha, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Jay said, feigning ignorance. There was just no way he would admit doing such a thing now.

“Alright, it’s time,” Alex said as he left the locker room.

“Just look after them and make sure everyone is ready to evac when we come back,” Jay added as he followed after Alex.

“One hour! If you aren’t back in one hour, I will come looking for you,” Lexie said as she watched them leave.

“Yes, ma’am.”

****

“Ready?” Jay asked as they walked through the parking lot. They had gone through most of the distance and would get out soon.

“I guess I am,” Alex said as he swung the pipe wrench in his hands a few times. “What about you?”

“I’m good to go,” Jay answered. Honestly, he was a little stressed. However, that was all. Jay was sure the situation they would face outside wouldn’t be more complicated than the situation they had to face while escaping the arena. And even if it did, they were more prepared and wouldn’t be caught off guard like before.

Still, a few moments later, when he finally saw what was outside, he couldn't help but reconsider his thoughts. “I should have expected that much,” he grumbled as he glanced at the giant trees that seemed to have popped out of nowhere. Those were definitely not the common birch and the silver lime that should be there. None of those trees were supposed to grow three stories tall or need almost five grown men to circle them. The trees he was looking at now were the kinds you’d expect to find in a forest, not in a college’s park.

Still, despite their unusual size, the trees were the least of their problems. Indeed, there was something more troublesome above their heads. In the middle of the sky, which was now an unsettling silver blue and way higher than it was supposed to be, he saw a white-blue sun burning fiercely. It was massive. Jay reckoned that it was at least three times bigger than their good old sun and way hotter based on its color. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he could see not one but two moons besides the sun. One was smaller, and it was the one he remembered always being there. The other was bigger and was obviously a newcomer.

As he should have, when he saw that completely alien sky, he was shocked. Extremely shocked. However, after going over that initial shock, he couldn’t help but find the whole thing bizarre. While the visuals were striking, it all felt empty. For starters, if the skyline went up, that probably meant the world was bigger, and he would have expected the gravity to be somehow stronger. Then the big ass sun should have affected the climate way more than it was doing. He would have expected an increase in temperature and radiation levels. And those were just the things he could think of with his limited knowledge.

Instead, everything felt damn normal to him, and he could hardly tell any differences compared with old Terra. The only anomaly he noticed was that the air had a refreshing and invigorating quality he would have never expected to experience in the middle of a city.

“Either I am tripping, or this could be related to the difference I felt when I woke up,” Jay theorized after thinking for a few moments. A possible situation was that their bodies were strengthened while they were out cold. Thus, they were able to adapt to the conditions in the new world. But even then, it was dubious, as that wouldn’t explain why everything else was intact. He didn’t think whatever was messing with them was kind enough to ensure their clothes wouldn’t burn under the sun. “Or the changes aren’t as extreme, and I am overthinking this whole thing. Or I am in a book, and the writer was pretty bad with worldbuilding.”

“Hey, do you think we are still on Terra?” Alex asked a more fundamental question. Were they on Terra or not? Honestly, this possibility was quite scary. The thought that they could have been sent to another world, and if they were an isolated case, they may never see their loved one again, was one he wasn’t really willing to entertain. And one he didn’t think was likely to be true.

“We should be. Still, this isn’t the Terra we knew. It is a completely different world... no realm,” Jay said with a smile. No matter what was true, this world wasn’t the one they grew up in. They were well and truly under a different sky. And as he thought of all the possibilities that awaited for them—all they could experience—he couldn’t suppress a small surge of excitement.

“You are grinning,” Alex commented with a chuckle. Knowing Jay, it was easy for him to guess what he was thinking, and frankly, he could share his excitement.

“Yeah, this is getting interesting,” Jay replied. All worries put aside, it was hard not to feel excited when life took such an interesting turn.

“Alright, so what is the next step? We continue as planned, right?” Alex asked.

“Yes, we proceed as planned. But it wouldn’t hurt to be a tad bit more cautious,” Jay answered. There was no need to give up on their plans because of the unforeseen circumstances. They knew it wasn’t going to be simple from the beginning.

“Let’s do it then.”