The doors to the elevator opened to the fourth floor. Jake peeked out looking both ways up and down the hall. There were no enemies present. Quietly, they entered the stairwell on the farther side of the building from Apartment 305. They spotted a couple monsters walking down to the first floor, but didn’t end up getting spotted in turn. Hugging the walls and staying close to the ground, they snuck up to the roof.

“Well done,” the hooded woman said as they softly closed the stairwell doors behind them. They looked up and there she was, standing on top of the rooftop entryway. Besides her and the two entrances on opposite sides of the roof, the rooftop was mostly flat and unremarkable.

The two of them eyed her well. If it weren’t for the distinct hood and cloak, it would have felt as if they were looking at a complete stranger. It didn’t make any sense. Not naturally at least. Evelynn had an affinity for light-based powers so maybe the hooded woman had an affinity for powers that warped perception.

“No affinity, no gun, but you still made it all the way up here,” the hooded woman told Jake and Jake alone. “Very impressive.”

“Thanks,” he replied. “Where’s the exit?”

She rejected his rushing. “Don’t be in such a hurry. This version of me knows where the exit is, but it isn’t up here. And besides that, there’s still the information I promised to give you.”

Jake shrugged. “Say what you have to say.”

The hooded woman didn’t seem all too eager. “Rest while you still can. You might not get another chance after this.”

Evelynn put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Let’s take a break.”

“Fine.” They were in a rush for her sake to begin with, after all and he did prefer having the girl with superpowers ready to fight rather than trying to catch her breath.

“I left you something to drink.” The hooded woman pointed behind them. They spotted a large sports drink sitting in the middle of the roof. “Just call me when you’re ready.”

With a heavy breath out, Evelynn started towards the short wall that ran along the edge of the roof. Jake went over and picked up the sports drink before following her. “Want some?” he asked. The two of them ended up sharing more than half of it.

“What do you think comes next?” Evelynn asked. She didn’t appear to think that the hooded woman would make leaving easy for them. Neither did Jake.

“She’s going to give me a sword and tell me that I’m the chosen one,” he joked.

Evelynn looked amused.

They watched the monsters moving about down below. Though they were monsters, they appeared to behave like humans when they weren’t controlled by bloodlust. A few of them had gathered in front of the building’s entrance. No doubt, these bystanders were gawking at the corpse they had left in the lobby.

“How’s it feel having powers?” Jake asked as they watched.

“Fantastic.”

He let out an amused breath. “Short and simple.”

“It’s got to be fantastic if it’s going to ruin my life,” Evelynn joked. A small light, like a star painted on the night sky formed over the tip of her finger. The light rose and fell in an unsteady manner as she directed it towards Jake. It faded away upon reaching him.

“It feels like I’m one step closer to making my dreams come true,” she said. “It’s like I’m turning them into reality.”

“You’re making it harder for me to say no to the powers.”

She smiled. “Don’t ask for something you don’t want.”

“I mean I do want the powers, but…”

“You don’t want to mess up your life for them?”

“Already messed that up,” he said, “but I’ve got my grandma to look out for.”

Evelynn gestured towards the hooded woman. “What are you going to do if the world gets subjugated like she said?”

Jake smirked. “The two of you will have saved the world by then right?”

That got a chuckle. “The two of us?”

“You’re not planning to join up with the freedom fighters?”

“How am I supposed to join up when she can’t even tell that I’m here?”

Indeed, that was a problem. Jake wondered how the projections could tell that he was her while completely ignoring her. Maybe it was malfunctioning. Which would explain the projection mistaking him for the person the hooded woman intended to be here as well. “I could talk to her for you,” Jake suggested.

Evelynn shook her head. “I’m not interested in saving the world if it means I have to fight for my life.”

“So what are you planning to do then?”

She smirked, starting to play with the lights on her fingers again. “Maybe I’ll become a magician.”

“Glad to see you’re taking this seriously,” Jake said.

“I really do like working with light,” she gently protested. “If I had actually gotten the chance when I was younger, I would have probably ended up working behind-the-scenes for movies or performances.”

Working in real estate when she actually wanted to work in movie production. “That’s pretty far off from where you ended up.”

Evelynn agreed.

“What stopped you from doing it?” Jake asked.

“My parents died back when I was a teenager so I had to start thinking of how I was going to take care of myself.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“It's fine.”

Jake continued. “I’m sorry you’re even here in the first place.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. I knew the black box was there before we got there. I knew something was up. But I didn’t say anything and now you’re stuck in this with me.”

“What would have happened if Mr. Singleton showed up and we hadn’t started messing around with the box already?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. It could have gone either way if Mr. Singleton was that dedicated to staying hidden and looking at it that way, he was very happy that he decided to go through with this.

“Even if he didn’t show up, I would have ended up using the box whether you said something or not. It’s not your fault.”

Jake couldn’t tell if she was actually that curious or if she was just trying her best to make him feel less guilty. Either way, the sound of approaching sirens drew their attention away from the subject. Half a minute passed and two ambulances showed up accompanied by a firetruck. No doubt they were responding to the mess the two of them had left downstairs for them.

Evelynn got up from where she was leaning on the edge wall. “Let’s get out of here before something bad ends up happening.”

Jake nodded and the two of them approached the hooded woman sitting atop the entryway they had used. “I’m ready,” Jake said. “Let’s do this.”

The hooded woman raised a finger. “The first thing you should know is that I had you come up here for another reason besides testing your resolve.”

“That reason being?”

The hooded woman pointed beyond them. They looked back and found a closed container now sitting in the middle of the roof. “That box contains almost everything I can tell you without causing the invaders to hunt you down,” she said. “With the assumption you’d keep your mouth shut, of course. Read what’s inside and I’ll tell you how to get out of here.”

Jake and Evelynn approached the box and as they did so, the hooded woman leapt from where she sat upon the entryway, floating down beside them as they arrived in front of the box. Within the box, the duo found a binder inside. Jake opened the binder to its first page and found a table of contents. Each section listed within had a dancing arrow next to it.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What’s wrong?” Evelynn asked him.

“Huh?”

“How come you're not turning the page?”

He gave her an odd look. “I’m still reading it.”

“You’re reading a blank page?” she said.

Now he was looking even more confused. “You can’t see what’s written on here?”

She shook her head. “Here.” She pulled out her phone and turned on the camera app. Sure enough, he couldn’t see what was written when looking through the phone screen.

Jake turned to the hooded woman. “If I bring this to someone else would they be able to read it?”

“Would you consider that a good idea?” she asked.

“I’m just wondering.”

“Hmm…” She seemed suspicious, but didn’t ask any further questions. “Besides me, you’re the only one who can see what’s printed on that page. I didn’t think I had to tell you, but letting that information slip is a good way to get yourself killed so I’d advise keeping your mouth shut when it comes to anything you’ve seen today. Especially if you end up deciding that you don’t want to continue down this path.”

Jake nodded. “I’ll read it out loud,” he told Evelynn.

“Reading it out loud is fine while we’re still here,” the hooded woman replied as if he had spoken to her.

“Thanks,” Evelynn said.

Table of Contents

Map Collected From Department 10

Profiles Collected From Department 10

General Map

Related Profiles for General Maps

“There’s a table of contents with entries for a map and profiles collected from department 10 and a map and profiles from the invaders in general, I think,” Jake said. “Each entry has an arrow next to it.”

“Tap on the arrow for the general map.” The hooded woman said, pointing.

He did. The binder’s page slipped from under his finger and the pages that followed began to turn rapidly until they reached about the halfway point of the binder.

“What do you see?” Evelynn asked once the pages came to rest.

“It’s a Map of Golding,” Jake replied. It covered the entire city, the rivers and streams flowing through it, the suburbs within and around it, and the forests to the east. Tiny dots for what looked like marked locations were grouped in clusters over the map. “What are these dots for?”

“Glide your finger over a few of them,” the hooded woman instructed. For each dot his finger touched a picture of a person along with a miniature profile appeared hovering over the map. Most of the profiles he saw were for the elderly but there were a few profiles for young people mixed in as well. “I’m sure you recognize some of them from your research. Right.”

“Yeah,” Jake replied. It took him a second to get that lie out. He was legitimately disturbed by what he was seeing. The truth was he actually did recognize a few of the people pictured. They were the ones whose homes and apartments Ernie and him had emptied out over the last few months. The pictures of them he’d thrown out with the rest of their belongings still lingered in his mind.

“This is a nearly up-to-date casualty map the invaders recorded,” the hooded woman said. “All of these people have died as a consequence of the invasion.”

Jake felt his hands grow cold. No, it was a full body chill. “They’re killing them?” he asked.

“Most of them indirectly for now,” she clarified. “They prefer to use them to complete tasks similar to what you’ve just experienced.”

So that was the other reason she had him fight his way to the roof. “You put me through this place so I could understand what they were going through.”

The hooded woman nodded. “Considering the dangers you’ve experienced, I’m sure you can imagine the mortality rate for the elderly experiencing this would be quite high.”

“Why are they using the elderly in particular?” Jake asked.

“That’s information you’ll have to give up your life for. It’s not something I’ll be telling you until you fully commit to this.”

Then it was something he wouldn’t learn. The truth wasn’t worth it for him in this case. That said…

A building dread welled up within him. “There’s someone in particular that I’d like to look up.”

“The full profiles are listed by last name in alphabetical order,” she said.

Jake tapped on one of the short profiles that he had opened over the map. The pages rapidly flipped, arriving at a page containing a much more detailed version of the profile.

“I’ve excluded the information relating to the invasion and the causes of their deaths,” the hooded woman added.

Jake could assume that excluded information was part of the truth that would get him killed. He flipped through the binder until he reached the point where his grandmother should have been listed. “She’s not here,” he said, more surprised than he was relieved.

“Then whoever you’re talking about hadn’t been confirmed dead by the time I took this data from the invaders.”

A renewed hope and determination filled Jake’s mind. If that was the case then there was a good chance she was still out there somewhere, alive. His grandmother was missing, but he’d be the one who found her.

“Would you like to know what they’ve been promising the elderly of Golding?” the hooded woman asked.

“What do they promise them?” he asked more out of felt obligation than genuine curiosity.

“That they can restore their youth,” she said.

That caught his interest. “They’re not lying?”

The hooded woman nodded. “It’s something they are capable of.”

Of course they were. Considering what kind of powers these invaders had it was already within reason.

“What else can they do?” Evelynn asked and Jake repeated.

The hooded woman seemed to believe he was being tempted. “What they can give you, you can achieve on your own.” You should move onto the next map once you’re done looking through these profiles.”

Jake didn’t need to be told twice. Evelynn didn’t bother asking anything about the casualty map as he flipped back through to the table of contents. She had looked disturbed enough just hearing their back-and-forth.

He tapped the entry for Department 10s map. This time, only a couple of pages needed to be turned. It was another map of Golding. Thankfully, this one had far fewer marks.

“This is a map of the current and potential assets for the invaders tenth department,” the hooded woman said.

“Human assets?”

“Yes.”

There were still a few dots in the forests to the east and a decent spread throughout the city. Before he touched any of them, his eyes locked one particular point.

It was the place where he lived.

Jake immediately tapped the marker sitting atop his suburb. A short profile for his grandmother popped up in front of him..

[Status] Current Asset

“What’s wrong?” Evelynn asked, noticing his change in demeanor.

“They’ve got my grandma listed.”

“That’s unfortunate,” said the hooded woman. It came out more as if she thought it was appropriate to say rather than sounded as if she actually cared.

Jake noticed another mark placed beneath the one for his grandmother. The mark hadn’t been visible before he had tapped on hers. He gave the mark a tap and of course, the profile that popped up was his.

[Status] Potential Asset

The name of the person who’d targeted him caught his eye.

[Marked By] 10-Epsilon

He flipped back to his grandmother’s profile to check.

[Assigned To] 10-Epsilon

His hand flew over the map as he opened most of the entries. He found Ernie and a couple more of their co-workers. Until now, he hadn’t known where any of them lived. He found an old friend too. He found Evelynn.

“They’ve got us listed,” he said, turning to her. “You, me, Ernie.”

“They have me listed?” the hooded woman asked. Her tone was a doubting one.

Jake corrected himself. “No, I was thinking out loud.”

The hooded woman refrained from responding.

“What do the listings say?” Evelynn asked.

“Hold on,” Jake said. Even without opening the full individual profiles, Jake could spot a pattern in the information shown. His grandmother being one of the exceptions, most of the people being targeted were blue collar workers of a particular type. They were plumbers, electricians, carpenters, movers, and junk haulers like him. To state the relation, this was a group of professionals who consistently changed locations within the city, but could reasonably spend multiple hours at each stop. That classification applied to the few white collar workers—investigative reporters, real estate agents—as well.

Still that wasn’t enough to explain all their choices. Ernie and a couple more junk haulers he knew at the job had been marked, but it wasn’t everybody. That begged the question, why them in particular?

Jake tapped his profile and the binder flipped pages, landing on his in less than a second. He didn’t like what he saw. It was their reasons for picking him.

Lower Sensitivity to Topics Relating to Death, Connections to Multiple Potential Candidates, Job Synergy, Ideal Residence Location, Private Life

Then came the worst one.

Vulnerable Family Member

Jake opened the profile placed over the apartment building they had crossed over from. It was Mr. Singleton’s profile.

[Status] Current Asset

There was that name again.

[Assigned To] 10-Epsilon

“The potential assets—” Jake began.

“The information is out-of-date,” the hooded woman said. “I placed it here when I helped Mr. Singleton escape. The invaders could already be making moves on anyone you see here. As for you, though, we should already have everything decided before they choose to move forward.”

That would have been somewhat reassuring if he had actually been the person she was meant to be talking to. “What about the rest of the people being targeted?” Jake asked. “Is there any way to keep them from picking someone?”

“Make them disappear.”

Just like his grandmother? “Anything else?”

“No. Unless the reasons they’re being targeted change, the invaders will have them if they want them.”

“There’s nothing you can do?”

“There’s nothing I will do,” the hooded woman corrected.

He pressed her with his words. “I thought your goal was supposed to be stopping the invasion. We’re just going to sit aside and let them ruin people’s lives?”

The hooded woman was resolute. “They’re coming for everyone. If you want to save an individual, save them yourself.”

Before anymore could be said, something revealed itself. Far worse than a chill, Jake felt a wave of terror pass over him. The feeling was akin to being engulfed by a man-eating mist. Whatever caused this wanted to consume him.

The phenomenon lasted only a couple seconds, but it was enough to cause Jake to break out into a cold sweat. Evelynn grabbed his shoulder. “Jake, look.” She pointed towards the night sky. The stars and their dark tapestry were swiftly fading away, replaced by a crimson veil.

“What’s happening?” Jake asked, turning to the hooded woman. She was already looking towards the crimson sky herself.

“There’s an intruder,” she said.