“Hello…Sam, how did you get here?” I ask the strange teen while keeping an eye on Charlotte to try and determine their intentions through her sense of danger.
“Um, a lot of luck and running around?” He answers as if unsure of himself as he steals glances at our SA80 assault rifles, while the larger shield-holding teen shifts uncomfortably. Noticing this I store away my rifle in my inventory and slowly approach them before stopping at the larger teen’s glare.
“I am Captain Alexander, I am in charge of the university safe zone a few miles from here. Behind me is Private Charlotte,” I gestured to the short brunette in her early twenties, “ and Corporal Jamie” The tall dark haired man of thirty gave a wave. “We also have civilians travelling with us, we are looking after them and trying to complete the challenges while looking for others from the university, have you seen anyone else down here?” I ask, trying to appear approachable ‘They look more useful than the other civilians, if they join us I can make use of them. I don't recognize them from the university though.’
“Hello, nice to meet you all, we heard of the university from the broadcasts but decided to wait and see what the events were first, before checking it out. We didn't know if they would pit us against each other or something.” He says, his voice still laced with suspicion. “We haven't seen anyone claiming to be from the Uni, but we did come across a green skinned man if that rings a bell?” He questions, looking me in the eyes as if searching for something.
‘He's fishing for something.’
“A shame, I can't say I've met a green person yet, they sound like a mutant though. What happened to them?” I ask, not bothering to keep the disdain from my voice at the mention of the non-humans.
“They called out for help but when we got there they tried to ambush us with undead, and then they ran away. We…we think they were eating people.” He stutters out the disturbing theory as his eyes drop from my own as if ashamed to make such a statement.
I narrow my eyes and think for a moment before responding. “What makes you say that Sam?”.
“Not…not all the corpses there were undead and they showed signs of being…being butchered. Cut up arms and legs with bits missing like they were cut off, heads removed and in pools of their own blood staring off into the distance with empty eyes. We went to try and help, but they were monsters…” He stutters and talks with a shaking voice, the incident still fresh within his mind, and by the look of his companions, they weren't fairing much better. ‘interesting’
“Hey kid, it's alright, they aren't here now and they can't hurt you…” I mentally prepared myself to comfort the teens and dig for more information when suddenly my attention was drawn to something I temporarily forgot about. The pool of dark water burst with activity as yet another teen broke through the surface, wrestling a giant eel-like creature the width of his, admittedly skinny, torso before submerging back into the watery depths.
Cries of Jacob, presumably the young man's name, fill the air as the previous quiet group of teens rush towards the water to look down into the pool to try and catch a glimpse of the struggling teen.
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Charlotte POV
Something was off about these kids. They had battered armour but no wounds and they looked healthy, clean and well fed despite the world ending over a week ago. Each of them had at least one weapon in hand and another strapped somewhere on their person. And then there was my aura reading I use as a method to sense danger and hostility. It was all over the place, they clearly knew we were coming but the feeling didn't change even after they saw our guns.
As far as I knew the danger sense the wheel gave me was based upon the physiological and physical damage the person or creature was capable and/or willing to inflict upon my person. Except for Sam, each of these kids was willing or capable of causing us harm if we crossed a line, and with the abilities and powers given out by the wheel, I didn't doubt that people could harm us even with our rifles.
But they didn't appear to be a threat for the moment, more of a capability rather than planning to attack. Or at least that's what my gut told me, learning to deal with a whole new way of thinking based on the supernatural was difficult, and that was without the headache it brought on.
Regardless, these kids were prepared and seemingly adapted to our new reality reasonably well, and Alexander was being, well, Alexander, trying to get useful people under him so he could strengthen his own and the university's position.
And then there was the wet teen crawling his way out of the water with the help of his friends, and looking around with a strange glint in his cold blue eyes. He was soaking wet with long hair plastered to his scalp, framing his average face and deep bags under his eyes that looked around rapidly before opening his mouth to reveal unnaturally perfectly straight teeth stained red with blood. I heard Billie mutter something about a possible consumption ability but I was mainly focusing on the chaotic fluctuation my danger sense was sending out from the damp teen.
As if sensing my thoughts Alexander tenses as one of the young women helps the newcomer to his feet as he opens his mouth to talk. “So are these guys new friends or do we need to run away super fast?” He said in a joyous tone but the caution I sensed from him was anything but.
His potential threat radiated off him in a visible aura of fluctuating colours that I didn't understand only to be practically non-existent the next. I got the sense he was not much stronger than those around him but he was more than willing and capable to try and bring us the most amount of pain he possibly could if we gave him the chance. And yet he did nothing, standing next to the blonde-haired woman who spoke to him in a soft voice as he nodded along as his aura shifted and danced almost hypnotically.
“We don't mean any of you any harm,” Reassuringly stated Alexander as he started his sales pitch to kids once again in an effort to acquire useful assets. His manipulations were good and most of the danger from the young adults was reduced slightly as he talked to Sam about his vision for the university and how the army was offering protection. Despite this, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Jacobs' aura as it twitched in what I believed to be annoyance the more the Captain spoke and the sense of danger only increased the more the Captain tried to convince them to join us.
At first, he seemed happy for Sam to talk for the young adults and even zoned out but after a few minutes he turned towards a dark haired woman and whispered something into her ear before waiting for her to give a brief response. With a false grin on his lips and a bounce to his step, he walks forward towards Alexander and passes him until he stands before Leo.
I sensed no danger from the young man but that didn't mean much for the unstable youth so I tightened my grip on my rifle and moved myself into a favourable position in preparation for an attack. Alexander for his part stopped talking and turned to stare at the unusual man while Sam just looked on quizzically.
“So unnamed civilian number 2…” Jacob trails off as he whips out a small notebook and pen from somewhere as if he is taking an interview, which given how he addressed Leo it appeared he was.
“My name is Leo” The four-armed humanoid/human answered in a soft timid voice.
“He has more limbs but we haven't seen him eat anyone so you don't need to worry about him, now as I was saying this allows us to store more food… Alexander says in an effort to redirect the conversion away from the strange teens' actions.
“Fascinating, do they have to be human arms, Leo? Or Ams in general? Could you alter their shape or size? Where are you named after a turtle?” Jacob asks in rapid fire as he taps his pen against his notebook in an erratic fashion and tilts his head to the side like a curious dog.
“Um I,” Leo glasses at me and then at Alexander, something Jacob clearly makes note of. “I don't know? I don't think I was named after a turtle? Why would I be?” Leo stutters out in clear confusion.
“I don't think…” Alexander tries again to rein in the conversation but Jacob either doesn't notice or doesn't care as he starts another line of questions.
“So no turtle heritage to your knowledge noted. Next, have you fought against a cave crawler yet? Do you have a dominant hand? An increase in your sense of touch? Enhanced strength?” Jacob asks.
“I haven't had to fight anything, I just help with the washing up and bed making,” Leo says in a confused tone.
“Look, Jacob was it? I understand you are interested in the new world but you shouldn't interrupt our conversation and ask irrelevant questions to poor Leo. Now would you please let us carry on?” Alexander interrupts again with an authoritative tone, Causing Jacobs's grin to widen and reveal his bloody teeth.
“You want us to join your band but don't want us to talk to your members, who you have doing simplistic tasks instead of developing their abilities. You use guns instead of adapting yourselves and only talk about restoring what was lost, not utilising what was gained.” He states with confidence before the Blonde woman yells his name causing him to look sheepish. “Sorry, I’m sure you are trying your best.” He quickly backtracks and rubs the back of his head as his aura fluctuates.
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“We are trying our best,” Alexander says through gritted teeth in annoyance. “Most civilians don't want to defend themselves and returning things to how they used to be offers stability. besides what would a consumption ability user know about using powers in combat?” The captain attempts to taunt the young man with the knowledge he overheard from Billie as a gamble to get under the unstable teen's skin.
I expected the danger to spike but instead, it lessened as if he finally managed to calm down after the captain attempted to insult him. He just grinned and nodded his head as if understanding something that was bugging him for a while. “So it's some type of proximity-based intelligence gathering thingy then.” He mutters just loud enough that I could hear him.
“What?” I ask in confusion, finally adding to the conversation. ‘Had he figured out Billie's ability from her muttering and our limited information?’
At the sound of my voice, he looks towards me with his pale blue eyes locking onto my own as he stares at me intently. “Not mind reading then, some kind perception-based ability based around emotions? Intent or maybe just good old-fashioned danger sense? You only flinched when I thought about attacking after all. What do you see? Can you manipulate it?” His statement and questions caused my eyes to widen and my grip on my rifle to tighten.
“Jacob! For fuck sake stop annoying the military you specrum surfacing liability!” Calls out the dark haired woman he previously shared a whispered conversation with.
“Ah, was I being weird again?” He asks innocently before half skipping back to the woman. ‘What was that? How did he know? Was that planned? Did he want to throw the captain off his sales pitch and find out what our powers were? Was the woman's signal a call that he was crossing a line or an excuse not to be in the middle of us after he caused a disruption?’ The more I thought about it the more confused I became at the anomaly that was Jacob and the group of older teens.
“I apologise for Jacob, he's…” Sam seemed to struggle to find the right words for a moment before continuing, “A bit of a wild card, the wheels may have fixed his body but it left his mind as it was.” Sam finished, alluding to past issues with the so-called wild card.
“Heyyyyy, that's, kind of accurate. Never mind.” I faintly hear Jacob mutter.
“It's ok, there's always one who makes a ruckus. It just helps make things more…interesting,” Alexander tried to play off even if I could tell he was still annoyed at the interruption and Jacob as a whole.
Yet despite his interruption and intrusive questions, I couldn't fully dispute his claims about not utilising what was gained. Regardless I watched on as The captain and Sam talked with some of the other teens occasionally adding something or asking questions, I still kept stealing glances at Jacob to see his still chaotic aura but it was noticeably less harsh. After a few more minutes of discussion, the teens backed off slightly to discuss amongst themselves if they wanted to join us or trade anything.
“So what do you think?” Asks Alexander, referring to the teens.
“That Jacob kid seems annoying but I couldn't tell if it was an act to see how we would react. His friends only called him off after he got a reaction and proved a point.” Jamie says, glancing at the teen in question. “Other than that they made it this far without visible guns and saw a mutant so they can at least handle themselves.”
“He is less than stable. At least his aura is. It's all over the place and he didn't appear to be paying attention for most of the conversation. He just drew in his notebook like a kid, I think I saw a turtle surrounded by question marks when he walked back so who knows what was going through his head.” I give my thoughts on the teen before moving on to the group as a whole.
“They appear to be close friends with the easy insults without offence and their physical proximity, their amour is battered but they all appear to be clean and healthy without injury and they all give off a sense of danger showing they can handle themselves.” I finish off my assessment and turn towards Billie as the captain asks her what abilities she thinks they have.
“Um, warped metal on the shield would mean some kind of crafting ability, there was a guy who could glue things together at the Uni, the guy holding the shield appeared to be stronger than average with how he handles it. The, ah, the Consumer had a large hole in his armour on his shoulder but the wound looked old so maybe they have a doctor kind of ability to treat and fix wounds?” She rambles, playing with her hair as she tries to process the large amount of information she absorbed in the short time she's had the ability.
“How rare are healing abilities?” Asks the Captain, looking thoughtful.
“I only saw one at the uni, but they had to take life force from somewhere to make some kind of healing goop,” Billi answers the question in a timid voice as she looks at her shoes.
‘So we only have two known healers for the entire university, Emily and some goop person. If the teens have one…’
“So decent fighters and a potential healer, if we can separate the undesirables once we have things more under control we could have a respectable force,” Alexander states, causing Leo to frown at the mention of the undesirables but he kept quiet. “If they don't join us then I want Tommy to track them so we can decide what to do about them at a later date and find out if they are worth the trouble.” Alexander finishes.
“I would still need to touch them or something they own though, um Captain sir,” Tommy says, sounding unsure.
“What if we gave them a gift that you could track?” Jamie asks Tommy, causing him to frown in thought.
“It might work, I don't know if I can track things in inventories or for how long though,” Tommy says revealing how little he has actually practised with his ability.
‘We really haven't adapted have we?’ I think to myself as I watch Jamie retrieve a Tactical Bowie knife from his inventory for Tommy to place his tracking mark onto in the hopes that Jacob would wear it on his person like he does the other knives. He also placed two onto some of the Gems that we were told could be used as currency in the future just in case.
We waited a few minutes for the teens to turn back to us and walk the short distance to be able to see our faces in the dark. Sam had a complicated look on his face as if he wasn't completely sure about the decision they made but nevertheless, he once again stepped forward as the representative of his group before telling us their decision.
“We are sorry but we won't be joining you in the tunnels or at the university at this time. We feel the need to adapt and grow by ourselves until we have more confidence in our new environment. We are however willing to trade, We have the monster gems, some makeshift weapons and some spare healing tonic to offer you.” He says in an overly formal and sober tone like he was outvoted in the decision.
“I am sorry to hear that Sam, regardless, the offer is still there if any of you change your mind in the future. We would be happy to exchange a few bits and pieces, what can you tell us about this healing tonic?” Our Captain says with mild disappointment.
Instead of Sam answering immediately he was just confused for a moment. “ The Healing liquid from the glowing pools? You haven't come across any?”
“I can't say that we have…Where would we find these pools?” Alexander asks in a hopeful voice, excited about a potential source of healing.
“Mostly in the underwater tunnels but now that I say that out loud I realise that not everyone can actually get to them. Jacob has to swim for a few minutes in infested water to get them. Pretty good at healing though and we haven't noticed any negatives so far.” Sam explains.
“I see…” Alexander starts before trailing off in thought.
“Do you need proof?” Jacob suddenly asks from the back of the group. “Our mythical snake oil that you can't get to is a hard sell.” Without waiting for a response he walks closer, taking off one of his fingerless gloves and pulls out one of his many blades before slashing his palm with only a slight flinch, leaving a deep cut that oozes out blood that dripped onto the floor.
“You already know I can eat and breathe stuff so I don't have magic self-healing.” He waves his bleeding palm at us causing droplets of blood to fly into the air like a grotesque garden sprinkler. “But the healing tonic makes that a mute point.” He revives a bottle from his inventory, cups his bleeding palm and pours a small amount of the glowing liquid onto his hand. He holds it like that for a few moments before pouring the bloody water on the cave floor showing us the angry red line marked upon his palm. “It's not perfect but it does the job fairly well, enough for say 15 monster gems for a litre bottle?” Jacob finishes off with a wide smile.
“Ignore that last part, we will happily take 10.” The dark haired woman that yelled at Jacob beforehand interjects. “It's annoying to get but it's not that bad.”
“You suck at negotiations, Eve.” The newly named Eve just slaps her hand to her forehead in annoyance at Jacobs's antics before Alexander interjects.
“The healing tonic appears to work quite well but you are still injured from your cut, we can offer you 5 gems.” He says with confidence as he tries to negotiate the price.
At this, Jacob squints his eyes at the Captain before saying “14 Gems and a gun.”
“We aren't giving untrained civilians guns,” I say from the side, making note of the fluctuating danger aura around the young man that increased whenever he spoke. ‘Why does his talking register as dangerous? Is he lying? Does he have another ability?’
“13 Gems and…” Jacob starts before Eve yells at him to focus and stop wasting time so they can work towards the second challenge. This finally shut him up and we eventually managed to settle on exchanging our tracked knife and 20 Gems for the healing tonic, a mace, two spears and a lightweight shield for the civilians to learn to use.
They placed their exchanged goods on the ground, not wanting to come within touching distance of us, and backed away as Jamie threw over our Gems in a plastic bag before placing the knife on the same spot as the kid's gear as he collected it.
After both groups exchanged goods and a few words of farewell we finally headed off into separate forks in the tunnel to find more of our people and to complete the challenge.
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POV Ella
We went down the tunnel 200 metres or so before stopping for me to check up on Jacob after his water adventure and to give him time to fix his armour.
“Do you think they brought it?” Ava asks us as we sit around for a moment as Mia checks what the other group is talking about through one of her animals. Meanwhile, I placed my hand upon Jacobs's still damp head as he took off his armour and shirt to reveal his lean pale body riddled with an ever growing number of bruises and scars.
“Hmm, well Tommy says he can still track us so putting it in the inventories didn't affect his marks. Jammie is the one with the enhanced inventory they let slip earlier by the way. Um, Charlotte says her danger sense flared while you were talking to Jacob so maybe she picked up on the lies and confusion you were trying to weave.” Mai says in reference to Jacob using fake names and attempting to distract them from thinking too hard about the lack of underwater tunnels.
I sent my healing power through Jacob and into his battered body, revealing every aspect of his flesh and blood, granted there was a lack of detail as I tried to locate what was wrong with him this time but it also didn't leave much to the imagination.
“Interesting, I wonder if she can manipulate the fear other people feel or interact with these auras,” Jacob mutters as I move my hand to his severely damaged shoulder. While it is better than described in his fight with the large frog, it still needs fixing.
Meanwhile Same laid out the knife and gems we gathered as he tried to pick up on any so-called mark the tracker put down as Noah killed another Cave crawler that came to investigate.
“I can't keep eavesdropping for long, did you find the mark?” Mai asks but Sam just shakes his head and hands the knife to Jacob for him to liquify to see if it has any effect. After a few moments, Mai informs us that Tommy called out in confusion and that the group stopped.
“Are they coming back?” Ava asks Mia.
“They are discussing, Billi seems to think one of us has advanced hearing from the fact we knew they were coming and about the marks,” Mia answers.
At this point, I had just finished Jacobs's shoulder and moved on to the scrapped bone of his ankle when Sam asked Jacob if his plan would work.
“Honestly no clue, we could seal the cave behind us or I can eat the gems to see if it does anything and destroy the tracking mark. I would give out 12 of my own Gems for everyone to split amongst yourselves.” Jacob mutters as he fixes the patches on his armour with parts from his previously destroyed set.
“You cheap bastard.” Noah jokes by the side.
“Hey, when you make the weapons, and shields and risk your life for magic healing juice then you can set the prices,” Jacob responds as he patches the last hole.
“I always know you were a filthy capitalist pig at heart, although I think you should eat them sooner than later so we can head off without being followed, they are still debating on what to do. They think your aura and us hearing them means we are up to something.” Mia says.
“Not our fault, authoritative figures suck and the guy clearly looked down on civilians and people who didn't look what he considered normal,” Noah mutters, still on the lookout for more threats.
“Bet the danger sense woman takes over the uni in a few weeks when trying to hold onto the old ways doesn't work?” Jacob asks in a joking tone before looking up at me and asking if I was ready to monitor his body as he eats the potentially volatile substance.
I just give him a nod as I squeeze his ankle before he pops a gem into his mouth and begins to chew before his whole body seizes up as it's flooded with a strange energy.