WAYNE HARROWS
One day. One day was all it took for things to fall into disarray. Of course, Wayne had anticipated that he’d come across some hardships. The task of adjusting to a new job was sure to bring along with it all sorts of trials and tribulations, but for things to go so badly on the first day? It felt like the universe itself was against him. Mocking him for even daring to think that he had everything under control. No point in lamenting now; he had already driven to his destination. The Spirit Hunter Association’s Institution of Science. It was a white monolith of a building that stood tall in the centre of the city. Sleek, modern, and completely spotless. It almost looked out of place, surrounded by every other regular old office building in its vicinity.
Wayne was driving through the car park, looking around for a place to leave his car and his phone started to ring as he did. The call came through on his car’s interface, so he just pressed the answer button without looking to see who was on the other line. “Just wanted you to know that you look really silly right now,” said a familiar voice.
“Priscilla. Do you want to carry on being annoying or am I gonna get some help here?”
His old friend laughed, responding, “Turn around. There’s an empty spot right here.”
He did just that, turning his car around and finally spotting Priscilla next to the parking spot she was saving for him. The two shared a warm embrace once Wayne got out of his car. He hadn’t seen her in a while, but she hadn’t changed at all. The same piercing green eyes, The same blonde highlights in her short brown hair, and the same bubbly personality from when they were younger. She laughed a little as she let go of him.
“What?” he asked her, as they walked over to tap their ID cards.
“Just thinking,” she said, “I can’t believe you actually went and became a teacher.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he sighed, “Everything’s already going wrong, though. Maybe I’m not cut out for this type of work.”
“You'll figure it out, Wayne. I’ve never known you to be a quitter.”
They walked in silence through the institution’s spotless empty hallways. Through the windows in the doors, scientists in lab coats meticulously observed their various experiments and studies, finetuning everything to an absurd level of perfection. The air had a lovely, clean smell, even with the amount of potent chemicals being handled everywhere.
“I want to make sure all of those kids feel like they're worth something,” Wayne said, “But as much as I'm teaching for the sake of the younger generation, it's also meant to be for myself. Kinda like... Doing something I wasn't able to in the past..."
Priscilla stopped in her tracks, and Wayne turned back to look at her. He’d never seen her make a face like this before. It was scary, almost. Her eyes had widened as soon as he had neared the end of his sentence, staring right through to the true meaning of his words. "Wayne. I've already told you before. You have nothing you need to atone for. Don’t ever say things like that again. Please.” He didn’t say anything in response, instead shaking his head and turning back around to walk to their destination. Priscilla quickly caught up to him to continue talking. “It's not the glamorous job we thought it’d be when we were fourteen. I know that… I always find myself wishing we could turn back time and change things, but-”
“We can’t.” he managed to muster a smile towards her.
“Right. And those kids are gonna keep making mistakes, so somebody’s gotta be there to keep them in check, right? You can’t ever doubt yourself, buddy. They’ll be able to see right through you.”
“Yeah... Yeah, you’re right.”
They were nearing the room that Wayne had booked for their meeting. Lab A148. Opening the door, they were greeted by two of the other people Wayne had invited to the meeting - Shima Laang, the quirky, afro-haired scientist in charge of the room, and an old friend of Priscilla's. She was sitting backwards on a swivel chair as it slowly spun around. The other person was Nicholas Dyer, a spirit hunter contracted with the Ambers family, with a 'super serious, no nonsense' reputation. Those rumours were a just a little blown out of proportion, however. There was someone else there who wasn’t invited, however. A female student with curly brown hair, aloofly leaning against the desk in the centre of the lab, swiping away at her phone. Wayne thought she looked familiar, but before he could put his finger on it, Nicholas began talking to clear the confusion.
“She’s a second year student. Isabelle’s older sister, Jessie Ambers,” He said, adjusting the glasses on his face, “I’m due to take her on a mission soon, but the family head requested I come over here first to find out what’s going on with Isabelle as soon as possible.”
“Ah, no problem,” Wayne replied, “Oh, and thank you for forwarding Isabelle’s text message to me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to those three in time.”
“Well, I was attending to a matter with their father when Jessie forwarded the message to me first. It's her you should be thanking, really.”
Wayne stuttered on his next words for a second. Isabelle’s message had been forwarded twice before somebody actually went out there to help her? Why?
Jessie could be excused from any blame. With a second year ID card, she was allowed to act without adult permission in times like these, but handing the mission off to someone with more experience was the right call. Nick was with their father when the message came through, so the only one who could have stopped him from leaving was him; the head of the Ambers family. What was going on?
“Don’t think on it too hard, man,” Jessie said.
Wayne fixed his facial expression, realising it was making him nothing but an open book. “Well, You should still go visit her,” He said in a friendlier tone, "I’m sure she’d appreciate the company of a family member.”
“Is she dying?” she asked, folding her arms.
“No, she'll be fine in a few days maximum.”
“Then I won’t.”
Wayne felt his hand twitch. "...You’re talking about your sister-”
She stood up taller, injecting more vitriol into her voice. “It’s family stuff, man. I told you not to think about it.”
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“Jessie,” Nicholas said, “Let me remind you that you don't have to be here.”
The girl covered her ears and closed her eyes, as if everyone couldn't see her if she couldn't see them. Wayne squinted his eyes, unimpressed, but as long as she didn't cause any other disturbances, he didn't mind her being present.
“Can we get started?” Asked Shima, tapping her finger on the desk next to her, “I've been waiting for something good like this for a while. Tell me more about that rogue, Wayne.”
“Right," he sighed, "No specific abilities to speak of. It was using manipulation to turn parts of its body into more suitable forms for combat. I'm honestly not sure I could've beaten it even if the kids weren’t there. Even still, I had to prioritise their safety above all.”
“Hmm." The scientist's curious gaze drifted off into the room's corner, "...It may, or may not, still be growing. If you come across it again, I suggest you act with caution.”
“Of course,” Wayne responded, “Now, as for the cluster…”
“That’s actually what piqued my interest the most.” She reached into a drawer and pulled out a thin clipboard containing a few different pages. “These reports all date back several years ago. From what we know, rogues aren't even known to act differently around clusters, let alone be so protective over them. There's not enough prior data to make any educated guesses here.”
Nicholas lifted his hand intending to say something. "May I say, it is astonishing that those kids are still with us. Of course, in cases where the cluster may become a more significant threat, us professionals should be the ones to deal with it, but the potential of those students can’t be understated.”
“There’s a scientific reason for that potential, Y’know?” said Shima. She kicked the ground and her chair slid off to the back of the lab, allowing her to rummage through even more drawers until she found what she was looking for. A thick red folder coated in an even thicker layer of dust. Wayne had to step back to avoid it when she blew it away. “The spirit evolution theory,” she said, flipping to one of the files, “Well, it’s less of a theory and more of a phenomenon now. You guys are familiar, yes?”
“Yeah,” said Wayne. A small lump was beginning to form in his throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Priscilla giving him a concerned look, too. “...It was my father who made the very first report discussing it, back when it was still just a theory. Every year, the average amount of spirit energy that a child’s been born with has been increasing.”
“How does this generation fare against past ones?” asked Priscilla.
“Put it like this," Shima said, spinning her chair again, "All of those kids still had plenty spirit energy to spare after encountering a rogue that strong. That alone says a lot, no? Of course it'll still be a while before their bodies are strong enough for them to use it all at once, but, judging purely from what Wayne told me, its not outlandish to say that they might be able to match up to the current second years pretty quickly."
Only the humming of the ceiling fans could be heard, as everyone began to ponder. A scary thought was brewing in the back of Wayne’s mind. He didn’t want to say it, but he was sure that at least one other person there must have been thinking it as well.
“From what we know, it takes about two to three weeks for a cluster to hatch,” Priscilla said, “That’s awfully close to the time of the festival…”
“Yes,” Nicholas groaned, “And on top of that, the number of spirit hunters in the city at the moment is quite low. A lot of us are out for various missions. The percentage of the population that become spirit hunters to begin with is already low. Even if those two factors weren't true, a considerable amount of our numbers are second and third years with mentors like Jessie here." He paused for a moment to adjust his suit jacket and glasses. "Well, that number is still less than half... In my opinion, we have two options.” Wayne perked his head up and listened close, knowing that whatever the options would be, both of them would be problematic to somebody. “We can either assemble a small team to search for, and neutralise the cluster before the festival, or…We make a request of the head to talk with the city's politicians and get the festival cancelled outright.”
“...Nicholas, that small team,” Wayne said, furrowing his eyebrows, “You’re not thinking of suggesting any of the first years are you?”
“I’m merely suggesting…that we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of using them for smaller roles. By no means do I want any of them out on the front lines.”
Wayne sighed and dropped his head down in disbelief. Still, he knew exactly where Nick was coming from. The head of the association was stubborn. Negotiations with him had, at minimum, a ninety percent chance of failure. Any team that wasn’t composed of the first years with the most potential, would have to be made up of spirit hunters that were currently making preparations towards the festival. Everybody here already had jobs to do elsewhere, so it wasn’t like any of them could step up and investigate to any useful degree either. With that, their backs were officially up against the wall.
“Yo, um, Wayne, was it?” asked Jessie. He’d almost forgotten that she was there to begin with, and was even more surprised that she hadn’t caused any problems so far. “You’ve seen Belle’s injuries, right? How’s she holding up? Like, in detail.”
“Ah, like I said, she’s completely fine. No broken bones. Just a few bruises.”
“Hmm, well lemme suggest something then. Everyone knows that the head is a weirdo. The way I see it, using the first years for some kind of small job is gonna happen eventually. If you’re gonna use any of ‘em though? Use the three of 'em that already proved themselves. They got a little bit of experience with a tough enemy, so you can’t let all that go to waste and put ‘em on the bench just yet. The fact that they’re not dead means they're some real prodigies, right? So, maybe, start giving them a taste of some real work so they can hone their skills more, or whatever.”
A semi-reasonable suggestion from the most unexpected place. No matter how much Wayne wanted to refute it, he just couldn’t bring himself to say a single word. Nobody could. Jessie looked around the room, as everyone kept their surprised gazes on her. “Hey, what the heck do I know, though?” she said, putting her hands up, “I’m just the second year girl tagging along with Nick, right?”
“Nobody called you that,” Said Shima, “I have another appointment coming up, so we should be wrapping this up soon.”
“Likewise,” Said Nicholas, tucking in his stool, “There is just one final thing I’d like to mention, however… Fifty-five years ago...”
Everyone had a general idea of what was coming next. Wayne had jerked his head up the second those words left Nick's mouth.
“...Not to propagate rumours, but it is widely believed that the events that took place during those three days were the result of some sort of mutation within a cluster...” He cleared his throat and adjusted his spectacles again. "If an event on that scale is to happen again, absolutely no children should be involved.” He looked Wayne deep in his eyes as he spoke, and he mirrored the exact same gaze.
“They’re my responsibility. I wouldn’t allow them to fight if that were the case, Nick.”
“Alright. That’s good,” he responded with a smile; the first smile Wayne had seen from him in a long while. The fact that Nick was putting his trust in him made him glad, but he was still troubled by Jessie’s words long after the two of them left for their mission. Her suggestion was probably her backwards way of looking out for her sister without actually looking out for her, but to him it had created a deadly ultimatum.
A long sigh filled and left his lungs as he leaned against the table. What was he meant to do? Allow the kids to fight and grow stronger at the risk of their safety, or keep them sheltered, and risk them not being ready for any sudden situations which could arise outside of their control?
“You can make any decision you want,” Priscilla said, resting her hand on his back, “But, at the end of the day, It should be the kids’ decisions as to whether or not they want to do anything.”
“That’s the problem,” Wayne responded, “I saw with my own eyes how far they went during that fight. I have a feeling they might be crazy enough to do anything.”
"Well... Let's figure it out together then."