ARC1/C12 – Sides

[New Merger with the Seracian Kingdom will commence in 4 days 6 hours 34 mins]

It wasn’t what they had expected. The City was a burnt-out wasteland, with a small contingent of soldiers patrolling the city and several checkpoints around the city limits.

It was still early morning, and the sun shone down, already making it quite hot. The initial explosions here must have been far more significant as, in many places; there were great rifts where the ground had collapsed. Should they hit the next city instead?

Nearby they heard the sound of gunfire and went to assist. It was a lone soldier surrounded by two wolf-like beasts. Sam enveloped the beast as soon as he was in range, finding it far quicker now to absorb the environmental energies. Or was it something else?

Now he had placed tendrils of energy around the beast’s legs to hold it in place. The beast shook uncontrollably like it was having a seizure. With Sam’s enhanced sight, he could see hazy drifts of energy coming off the beast’s body and drifting into his created tendrils, feeding them.

His [Psionic Drain] was draining the beast! The soldier just lay looking thankful; he had almost died, his walki-walki strewn on the ground beside him.

They helped the soldier up, who just seemed to be a bit shaken, and he gave them directions as if they needed them to the main checkpoint and mirrored up ahead. Where they were told they could get the most up-to-date information on what was going on. But what was clear was that this particular city was being abandoned, and soldiers were moving on out.

At the main base, they were greeted hurriedly by an officer who clearly had his hands full. There was certainly no one who had any information or even clue about who or what the Seracian Kingdom was, only that they were an imminent threat to all.

Bryce wanted to join the troops moving out, but Maria and Sarah still wanted to stick together with Sam, so they waited for his thoughts.

It looked like it was most sensible for them to go back to Albathe, after all, rather than find another burnt-out shell of a city. They decided that entering with the convoy of troops would be better cover than arriving and having to possibly explain their absence.

Sam and Sarah had talked on their trip to the new City about what Sarah had been trying to do with her abilities, but Sam had been tight-lipped about his own discoveries. The simple truth was he did not trust that Bryce guy, though he explained it away by saying he couldn’t do anything while floating them across the cityscape.

Now, however, the three of them were alone. They sat eating some rations provided by the military, which they had a right to as personnel. They felt a bit bad as they had jumped the queue of locals from the city but whatever.

Sitting, Sam asked Sarah if she could try doing the thing again, where she tried to sense inside herself for the trigger of her ability without burning anyone to a crisp. Sam looked on with all his senses extended.

He could make out fluctuations in her energy, but that was about it. It wasn’t like doing testing in the mirror realm, where he had hours to mess about and try things out. Also, he acted with a certain amount of trepidation; he did not want his [Psionic Drain] to get out of control and drain his sister.

This stuff was way too complicated. What he needed was a handbook or a teacher. But that was so laughable. They had been at a total disadvantage knowledge-wise from the get-go.

***

Bartholomew had scoured the City using his [Energy Detection] ability, which allowed him to detect any Psion’s presence if they were of a lower level than him. He hoped the guy just wasn’t here as he had already considered the fate that had befallen Hans to a potentially more powerful Psion.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

He met up back with Drake and Lopez, who were training potential candidates from their previous list in a small sporting arena. There wasn’t much they could do with such a large bank of people except give them very basic techniques to train their abilities. So they just trained one group until they used up their SP and moved on to the next.

The others in their group were taking the more promising candidates for some live training by tracking down mobs that had recently entered the city. They had long since given up any qualms about using their own as fodder; such things had lost all meaning long ago. It was all about survival, not of the few but of their race.

They had heard that a new load of human troops had just come through the final checkpoint, and as Bartholomew got there, they had just started being unloaded from their vehicles.

It was like looking at a fire; the energy coming off the person was so intense. It was like the person was permanently burning SP without stopping, and not just a little, but a whole lot. Who or what was this guy?

Bartholomew approached the group of three humans as they were talking with an officer from the compound.

“Hello there, if you would please follow me to the training area.” Said Bartholomew as he nodded at the officer he had already met earlier that day.

“Training that sounds good,” said the first human female, having no detectable PSI, disappointing.

“If somebody knows how to help me with my training, I swear to god I will jump up and kiss them,” said the other, a sharp-eyed woman, giving off a faint PSI aura, maybe a Pyrokinetic, he wasn’t sure.

Bartholomew noted how his target was standing aloof but no doubt was connected to the other two. He would use that to his full advantage.

“Ok. My name is Bartholomew. Step right this way for training 101.”

***

Sam did not like this at all. Who was this guy? Previously there had been no training of personnel apart from the glib advice for non-awakened that they would ‘know it when it happened.’

He actually felt it was more than worth the risk if he could find out anything of use from whoever this was. The guy was too calm, though, reminding Sam of that guy Greg. And with his enhanced sight, Sam could see he was a capable PSI.

They were taken to an old baseball arena nearby. Looking around, Sam saw about fifty people sitting around while a small group was being given some kind of instruction.

One of the instructors surreptitiously looked back away after definitely spotting Sam, making him tense. Had he been spotted? Were they going to cuff him? Or just straight-up try to kill him.

Sam was shocked to see they were using illusion abilities. Who the hell were these people?

Skipping all pretence Sam turned to the guy Bartholomew.

“Can I have a word in private?”

“Why, of course, Mr Slait. Let’s talk over here while your friends are filling out their paperwork.”

The bastard knew his name. Everything Sam had convinced himself was paranoia had just happened.

***

“You’re Therulian, right? Any chance you could be straight with me? Your last partner was far from obliging,” said Sam.

Seeing his cover was also a blow. Bartholomew had decided confrontation might be inevitable, but there was still a chance.

“Well, the situation has changed slightly since then, Mr Slait. As you no doubt heard, along with the rest of the population, we are no more. Our world was destroyed by the invading Seracian forces. Now as last hope for survival is people like you.”

Was this a ruse? No, he didn’t think the system could lie, and if it could, they were at its complete mercy anyway. This was his first chance to actually talk with someone or something that knew what the hell was going on in this messed up multi-verse.

Initially, Sam had nothing but hatred for the Therulians. They had invaded their world and were such abominations that they ate they ate the human dead. But as the days passed, they seemed less and less like a barbaric race and more and more like a cold and calculating race. And yet they had been completely annihilated. What hope did that leave for Earth? If they were to stand any chance, they needed to take any resource they could use.

Sam went with his gut feeling and shot out his hand, startling the previously unflappable Bartholomew.

“Call me Sam,” said Sam waiting for a handshake in return.

***

Bartholomew was naturally relieved, not least for the reprimand from Drake if things went, as the earthlings said, south. He held the guy Sam’s hand in a firm grip, trying to size him up.

Then doubling down on his luck so far that day said. “We battled the Seracian Kingdom for two years. Admittedly we were duped and played all the way, but I think that can help your world a lot. Hopefully not fall into every pitful we did.”

“But I have to admit. I don’t think the Seracians can be beaten, at least not playing by their rules.”

“Come meet my commanding officer. I think it’s best if you talk to him.” Said Bartholomew.

He could tell him a lot of stuff but would be able to give him no assurances; it was best if Drake did that.