~~(Caleb)~~
“Rivers! Hansen!” An instructor calls once he's in the quarters. “First training mission! Report to Squadroom Eight at 0800!”
“Yes, sir!” Flame and I respond, and the instructor leaves.
“I wonder what the first training mission is,” Flame frowns.
“You were already told,” Jared groans from his bed, where he's still trying to wake up after the call. “Everyone goes through the same thing. We're taken to the edge of a cliff, where we are told to go into the forest below, make it to a small shrine, take one of the twenty figurines from it, and then return to the cliff. E-Rank creatures might be encountered, D-Rank possible, but rare. It's to help determine how we use our Abilities, and the method is something usually kept secret from people who haven't done it yet, just so it's a little bit of a surprise when they announce it.
“I just got back,” he's now glaring at Flame. “From the dump-them-in-the-middle-of-the-woods test mission a few hours ago, and am trying to get some sleep, since I have today off as a result. You'll go through that one later in your testing, it always happens in the first year.”
They test everyone in batches of twenty, with two or three groups doing the longer ones at the same time, and running the shorter ones one after another. My testing group runs this one today, then in three days, we'll head off on the longer one that Jared just returned from. It took his group three weeks to return to the meeting point.
I plan on returning sooner. Much, much sooner.
Flame and I finish dressing, then we make our way to the mess hall for breakfast. Here, there are no rations, so we just grab the food we want to eat and eat it. I pile my plate high with pancakes, sausage, and eggs, cover them in syrup, then eat. Flame sticks to a couple of pancakes, bacon, and some fruit.
When Jared makes his way down here for breakfast on days he's awake early enough for it, he gets biscuits and gravy, along with sausage links and some fruit. Same thing every single day for him.
As soon as I finish breakfast, I make my way to the squadroom, where eighteen other cadets are already waiting. Flame arrives last, almost right at reporting time.
At exactly 0800, an instructor enters the squadroom, and we all stand and salute.
“At ease!” He commands, stepping to the podium at the front of the room. “You may all be seated.”
We sit down.
“As you're well aware,” he begins. “You will all be taken to this cliff,” an image pops up on the screen behind him of a cliff. “Where you will begin your run from there to a small shrine with figurines standing on pedestals. Grab one that matches your style, then return to the cliff here.
“This is not a race,” he emphasizes, and his mind tells me that people always think it is anyway. “So don't try to best other students. You may encounter E-Rank monsters, with an occasional D-Rank. You shouldn't encounter anything stronger than that. If you come across something stronger than you can handle, then set off one of the flares you are given – an instructor will promptly make their way to your location. Don't just set it off, though – evade. Yes, Hansen?”
“What if there are no monsters stronger than you?” Flame asks.
“Then don't set off the flare!” The instructor glares at him.
“But what if you come across a monster stronger than you,” Flame asks. “And there's a cadet who can take it on? If he sees the flare, can he go after the monsters?”
“It's best to leave it to the instructors,” the instructor responds. “As you never know how powerful a Monster might actually be.”
“So the most powerful person in the training facility isn't allowed to help?” Flame asks, and I slam my face into the desk in front of me. “What? It's a valid question.”
“I don't care much for your inside jokes,” the instructor tells Flame. “Yes, Quill?”
“He's referring to face-desk,” Abigail informs him. “That's Caleb Rivers.”
“Yes, I'm aware of that.”
“But not his Ability, apparently,” she laughs. “You heard about the infamous batch of the Alzir Youth Training Branch, right? The group that decimated all seven of the other units, then later passed the BT final during the final by defeating all four instructors and claiming their amulets due to one member having a godly Ability? That's Rivers.”
“He also likes to make golems with his magic,” one of the other recruits adds in. “One of those suckers punched me hard enough I blacked out, but before I got warped out of the field, I apparently got thrown through three buildings by that punch. Jeez did that hurt like hell.”
“That's about the sum of the briefing,” the instructor sighs. “Let's all head to the bus.”
The twenty of us line up and follow him out of the building, then to the parking yard, where we board a bus. The ride to the cliff takes roughly an hour, and when we arrive, the instructor has us line up. The cliff is high above the ground, easily spotted from below by climbing a tree or making it into a clearing.
“Everyone know their mission?” The instructor asks, and Jennifer raises her hand. “Speak!”
“How are we supposed to get down and back up?” Jennifer asks.
“Part of the test!” He responds. “Go!”
I run to the edge of the cliff and jump off, weaving together the flight spell. It's not extremely fast yet, but it does the job.
They never said I can't use magic, and this is supposed to be a test of us overall. I'll probably get points for thinking outside the box.
Flame follows close behind me, using his fire to propel himself through the air, and I slow down a little so he can catch up with me.
“Hi!” He grins at me, fire bursting from his hands and feet when he starts to drop off. “I can fly, too!”
“You're propelling yourself,” I tell him. “I'm actually flying.”
“Your Ability?”
“Magic.”
“Cool!” He does a little spin. “That's so cool! I wish I knew magic, too! I was told that Superhumans can't learn magic, though!”
“We can,” I tell him. “I did. Most people just find it simpler and easier to learn either their Ability or magic so they can train properly in one. It really isn't that hard to train in both.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Sure,” I answer. “If I have free time that lines up with yours.”
“So where's the shrine at?” Flame asks, and I groan. “What? I was only half paying attention.”
As usual.
Instead of responding, I keep flying until we arrive at the shrine, touching down gently as Flame slams into the ground and rolls for a few moments before managing to scramble to his feet, grinning at me while covered in dust.
What a weirdo.
Each of the twenty pedestals has four figurines on it: one for attack, one for defense, one for support, and one for balanced. The attack figurine has a sword and gun, the defense has a shield in one hand, and the support wields a staff with a ring around the rest of the figurine. Balanced has a sword and shield wielded, with a staff strapped across its back.
“Attack!” Flame grabs one off a pedestal, and the other three vanish. “Whoa!”
I have a godly Ability that would make me considered balanced, but we're supposed to select the figurine that matches our style – mine is support. In both fights, I didn't fight, but supported my teams. Selecting that one, I use my flight spell again as Flame boosts himself into the air with five rapid bursts of fire.
Just as we leave the clearing behind, a Superhuman with speed Enhancement arrives in the clearing. I wave to them, then soar back to the cliff, landing in front of the instructor.
Flame rolls on the ground. He really needs to work on his landing.
“How often do you fly with your fire?” The instructor asks Flame.
“That's my first time!” Flame exclaims. “I saw Caleb flying, and decided to try! It was so much fun!”
A few minutes later, the speed Enhancer finishes scaling the cliff. He picked attack.
“I can already see,” the instructor comments. “Why they said that this batch of recruits is the most interesting. When I ran it with some of the other cadets, I had quick returns as well. You two actually beat their times, and they set records.”
“Jared and Owen?” I ask.
“How did you know?”
“They came from my training unit,” I answer. “They combined their Abilities into a Unison Strike, right? Used that to move fast? They're becoming experts on using a Unison Strike.”
I sit down and pull a book out of my ring and begin reading as we wait for the other cadets to return. When the last one finally returns – just before sunset – the instructor drives us back to the training grounds, telling us we have free time the rest of the day.
“So can you teach me magic?” Flame asks me when we arrive. “Since we have a few hours of free time?”
“I'm getting dinner,” I tell him. “Since we missed lunch while we were out.”
Flame follows me to the mess hall, bugging me all through dinner about teaching him magic. After we eat, I leave, and he follows me still, only stopping his pestering once I stop in a clearing in the woods on the property.
“So what are we doing here?” Flame looks around in confusion.
“Sit down and shut up,” I tell him, and he obeys. “I'm going to teach you a basic spell, but it requires you calming your thoughts for once. Magic isn't a simple thing that a simple mind can understand.
“This spell,” I create a small rock with my magic and set it down in front of him. “Is to move an object. It's a sort of force spell. At the start, you'll need to push outward with your hand. Your goal is to move the rock. Other than having been created through magic, this rock is ordinary in every way, being just a rock.
“Magic,” I continue. “Is just a projection of your imagination. Most magicians focus on incantations and runes and such, but they aren't needed, and unless you have a decent understanding of them, you'll end up limiting yourself in the spells you can do.
“For this spell,” I flick my wrist, and the rock rolls forward, stopping a foot in front of Flame. “Just push forward with your hand, visualizing the rock moving when you do. Um...here. Visualize the rock rolling forward, and then when you push your hand forward, will that visualization onto the rock. Do you understand?”
“I think so!” Flame nods, then pushes his hand forward. “Nothing happened!”
“Do you remember the first time you shot a gun?” I ask, and he immediately thinks of basic, when they first handed everyone a gun. “Did you hit the target the first time?”
“Nope!” He answers. “Or the second time!”
“Practice,” I sit down across from him. “That's the only way to yield results. I'll help you when needed.”
----------------------------------------
~~(Brooks)~~
“Hey, Jared,” I greet Jared when my brothers and I enter his dorm. “Have you seen my brother? I've been looking for him since his group came back.”
“They went to the cafeteria when they returned,” Jared answers. “Then he and Caleb left. Kieran's out watching them do whatever it is they're doing. He's probably just shipping them.”
“Shipping them?”
“Kieran likes making up relationships between people,” Jared rolls his eyes. “No one can figure out why. For most of the cases that are known, those people have actually ended up getting together.”
“Alright,” I look at my brothers. “Strange. You'd think Flame would be more noticeable than this. What in the hell is he doing?”
“No clue,” Cliff shrugs. “Let's go hunt him down.”
We try our hardest to, and no one seems to have a clue. Eventually, we find someone who tells us that he and Caleb went off into the woods on a trail. Cliff takes the lead then, using his Ability to sense people near the trail as we search it.
Half an hour of searching later, and Cliff says he can sense two people, both sitting, and one of them feels like Flame's fiery energy. We approach carefully, just in case he's found a guy who likes him and they're wanting some private time to make out or something, and when I realize it's quiet, I know something has to be up.
Finally approaching them, I see Caleb first. He's sitting cross-legged, watching as Flame thrusts his hands forward, face scrunched up in concentration.
“I've wrapped you in a perception filter,” a voice says from behind, startling all three of us, and we turn to face Kieran. “Flame won't notice you, so you won't break his concentration.”
“What is he doing?” Cliff asks.
“Flame?” Kieran asks, and Cliff nods. “Caleb's teaching him a basic spell. It took me a week and a half to manage it. And Caleb's not even paying attention to your brother. He zoned out an hour ago – I think he's thinking about the moon. He does that a lot lately.”
“The moon?” I ask.
“Long story.”
“I have a sort of connection to the moon,” I inform him. “Most water Elementals do, since it affects the tide.”
The moon is a Domain Deity. I've heard his voice only once, when I was little. He was friendly, and helped me cross the barrier from C-Rank to B-Rank with my Ability. I haven't managed to reach A-Rank since then, though. Flame's unusual, in the sense that he could cross to it easily. If he applies himself, he could probably reach S-Rank without an issue as well. A natural, a prodigy, and unable to focus for too long on anything.
Which makes Flame's focus on obtaining this spell unusual – just more proof that he has it bad for the quiet soldier sitting across from him.
“It moved!” Flame exclaims.
“I got bored,” Caleb sounds bored.
“You moved it,” Flame droops his head, then pauses frowning as he looks back at Caleb. “You didn't move or anything.”
“Motionless casting,” Caleb explains. “It'll be awhile before you reach that stage of it. We have company, and they won't shut up.”
Caleb then turns and looks directly at us.
“I thought you said they wouldn't notice us?” Cliff asks.
“I said Flame wouldn't,” Kieran says. “Caleb has a passive Territory, and can see all within it. That overrides my perception filter.”
Oh.
The four of us walk into the clearing and join them.
“I lost my connection to the ground around us,” Cliff comments.
“Caleb can disconnect Gifts,” Kieran states. “Not permanently, just temporarily. He probably did it because of your Gift.”
“You wanted to try magic,” Caleb states. “Simple force magic – just visualize the rock moving, and when you thrust your hand forward, will your visualization to happen.”
“That's not the basis of any magic I've heard of,” Jared says, and I look over to see him standing by a tree. “What? You can't have expected me to let you wander off in search of Caleb on your own, could you? He is my teammate, after all.”
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Unofficially.
Caleb creates five small rocks and tells us to try it, then resumes watching Flame, who quickly forgot about us in his attempt to move the rock until the small prompt from Caleb.
Jeez. That boy really has an effect on my brother. This is unhealthy, and it concerns me.
For now, though, I decide to try the spells. Kieran said it took him a couple of weeks, so I'm sure it's not easy to learn. As I start thrusting my hand forward the way Flame was, willing the rock to move, Jared contests the method, again.
“You learned of the incantation way,” Caleb tells Jared. “The visualizing and willing way is the true way to learn magic. If you're not going to contribute to learning, then please leave.”
Caleb then returns to watching Flame try the spell.
----------------------------------------
~~(Flame)~~
This is hard! And I'm pretty sure Caleb didn't tell us everything on how to do this spell – probably a test of some sort! All the more reason for me to try to figure it out and pass.
He gave me false hope when he moved it before, but he was probably just looking for a reason to reveal that my brothers and them were watching.
As I push with my hand, I stop visualizing just the rock moving, but a force extending from my hand outward, pushing into the rock. It seems like that would be what would happen when trying to use force on something.
The sixth time I try it that way, the stone shifts. Caleb stopped watching me awhile go, going back to whatever he was thinking about. He might have done that, but I don't think he's faking. I try it again, and the rock shifts again. Just a slight wiggle, as if something tapped it. Rocking slightly backward, then back to its original resting position.
I keep doing it, feeling myself growing a little bit weaker each time I do. It feels like there's a muscle in me that I've never used before that I'm only now discovering, that I'm only now flexing. Every time I wiggle the rock, I'm just flexing the muscle.
“Ow!” I exclaim, a rock smacking me in the cheek.
Someone giggles, and I look at Kieran, who quickly blushes. That was definitely Cliff's giggle, but Kieran's rock.
“Huh?” Caleb looks at me, then frowns at Kieran's rock, which then flies back and smacks Kieran in the chest. “Stop that, you know better.”
“Had to get your attention somehow,” Jared rolls his eyes, and Caleb looks at him. “Flame managed it.”
“I know,” Caleb says. “I was watching him. Flame – no sharing.”
So it is a test!
I'm hungry.
“Let's stop for today,” Caleb yawns, standing. “I'm hungry.”
We return to the mess hall and buy a little to eat. Well, my brothers, Jared, Kieran, and I buy a little, while Caleb buys a lot.
After that, we return to our quarters to work on the lessons we missed during the mission today. We have an extra day to make it up, but there's not really anything else to do.
“Mail call!” Owen, another Private from Caleb's BT batch, enters the dorm with a cart. He's the one who usually brings mail to us. “Got another care package, Caleb.”
Caleb slides off his bunk and walks over to the cart, picking up the package, along with the eight letters he also received. I grab my one and climb back onto my bunk as Jared makes small talk with Owen as the other cadets in our dorm collect their mail.
Watching Caleb, I observe him reading his mail with a blank expression, burning each one after with a fire that burns hot and fast and leaves no trace behind. I'm more interested in his care package – everyone is.
Caleb finally reaches the box, carefully unwrapping it and incinerating the paper. The first item he pulls out is a jar of chocolate nut butter. Damn. Why does he always have to do that first? He always receives that in the care package, always pulls it out first, always leaves it sitting by him, making the rest of us hungry.
The second item he pulls out, as always, are the crackers to put the chocolate nut butter on, following that up with a pair of wool socks. I snatch the letter that came with the care package, which he just glanced at before setting down.
“'One of your favorite snacks',” I read off of it. “'Here are some wool socks for you to wear, if you go on a mission somewhere cold',” he pulls out a small journal. “'A journal for you to record the lessons you learn on your training missions on, for when the other one I sent you is full',” he pulls out a small first-aid kid. “'You can never have too many first-aid kits, even for a magician who can heal his own wounds',” Caleb can do that? All the magicians I know say that magicians can't heal themselves. “'Since you never know when you won't have the magical energy to heal yourself or someone you're with',” out comes a small, white container. “'Next up is some of that vitamin water you like. I know it's a little expensive, this is a gift from the rest of the home. It's in powdered form, and there's a scoop inside. All you need to do is mix a scoop of it with twenty-four ounces of water, and you've got it. Figured it'd last longer than if we sent you the factory-made bottles',” two boxes of nutrient bars are pulled out next. “'Strawberry-flavored, just like you like. Another gift from the kids – the boys worked together to save up for these. Actually, I think they're planning on sending you just a boxed filled with these, which, as you know, is just like them. These are for those missions where it's hard to take a break and eat, even if they won't sustain you forever. A full meal packed into one of these bars',” Caleb pulls out a whistle. “'And the promised whistle, just in case you need one. Hope you can find good use for all of this, Caleb. Love, Jennifer and the kids.'”
I fold the letter into an airplane and throw it to Caleb. Before ever reaching him, the plane vanishes in a puff of flames.
Caleb destroys the box as well, then shoves everything but the crackers and chocolate nut butter into his storage above the bed. Then he returns to the homework, eating his snack as he does.
He's not in a sharing mood today, it looks like.
All of his edibles, combined, was probably over a thousand credits or so. More so the vitamin water and nutrient bars – it's far cheaper just to buy food than to buy those. And powdered vitamin water? Wow. That was probably four or five hundred credits just for the thirty-serving container he received.
The kids at his home must really care about him, to work their butts off to get those for him.
My homework finished, I settle down to sleep, waking at 0700 with the rest of the cadets for breakfast before lessons and training.
I arrive in the mess hall at 0715 sharp and settle for biscuits and gravy, bacon, a banana, and chocolate milk. Caleb orders a serving of almost everything they have, so he probably went off in the middle of the night to use magic or something.
At 0740, just as I'm finishing breakfast, another cadet, this one nearing the end of his training, approaches me.
“Private Hanson!” He says, and I dump my trash into the bin before looking at him. He holds out a slip of paper. “Mission orders!”
“Thank you,” I accept the paper, and he leaves.
“Another mission?” Brooks asks. “Didn't you just do one yesterday? They don't normally do them back-to-back.”
“Guess I'll see you when I see you,” I tell him, looking around to let Caleb know I'll be doing another training mission, only to find him and Kieran already gone. “He's a ninja...”
“Sometimes!” Jared laughs. “He tends to dislike crowds. I'm surprised you haven't commented about it before.”
I shrug, then make my way to the squadroom listed.
“Private Hanson!” A soldier inside greets me when I arrive. “You'll be doing patrol duty with me the next few days! Shadow me and watch how I do things, and at the end, you'll lead the patrol. I have the equipment necessary here, I'm sure you know how to equip it.”
“Yes, sir!” I salute, and he relieves me, then orders me to put it on.
I pull on the black protective vest first, which has “GSDF” in white across the chest and back. Next, I clip on the two handguns, attach the cuffs to my belt, the walkie to my vest, the knife to my belt, and then strap on the final gun, the latest in security defense models. Each gun is checked and ready to use, if needed. After clearing the knife, I look at the soldier.
“Ready to go!”
“From your report,” he smiles. “I was under the impression that you're a bundle of energy no one can contain. I can see the energy in your eyes, but you're pretty tame.”
“I'm on a mission,” I tell him. “This is a different me you're dealing with. I am going to do my best to hold my energy in. I want to be on Caleb's team, when we graduate, and don't want to ruin it by disappointing him.”
“You don't get to pick your teams,” the soldier tells me.
“Pretty sure Caleb will,” I tell him. “He's already got two members on it. I plan on being the fourth. One more for a full set, but I'm sure we could make it work with the others.”
“You'll be staying with me,” the soldier says. “For the duration of your time doing patrol duty. We'll be waking early each day, just starting late today, it being Monday, my duty doesn't start until 0830. Let's get going, so we can check in on time.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldier and I leave, climbing into his truck and leaving the training facility. At 0826, we arrive at the base and check in with his commander, then leave and make our way to his patrol area, parking in the lot for his apartment and beginning the patrol on foot.
“For the most part,” he says as we walk. “We just walk around the location we're set in, making sure to pay a little bit of extra attention to the trouble areas, but never sticking to one for too long, unless we sense a threat. Always walk side-by-side as well.”
“Yes, sir!” I move to his side.
We walk for a bit, making small talk. His name is James, and he seems pretty nice. He's another fire Elemental, A-Rank, and enjoys his patrol duty. The route is typically quiet with little trouble, and he enjoys small talk with some of the people who frequent or live in the area.
The shift is long and pretty boring, and by the end of it, I'm exhausted. Our relief is late, and once they're here, we make our way back to James' apartment.
Inside, we strip off our gear, and he puts on a pot of water.
“What are your thoughts on your first day of patrol?” He asks.
“Long,” I sit on the couch. It's a two-room apartment, plus bathroom. In other words, the family room/kitchen, the bedroom, and the bathroom are all it contains. I wonder where I'm sleeping. He's not my type, so he better not even consider his bed. “Are patrols always like that?”
“In this area?” He asks. “That's typical. I live in this part of the town, too. Most who just do patrol duty and nothing else don't live on base, but in civilian quarters. Sure, it costs a little bit more than base housing, but the connection with the locals is better, and you tend to learn what's normal and what's not easier. So long as we show up on time to relieve the last shift, we're pretty much left alone. I only had to check in this morning to show I'd picked you up. And yes, my shift usually is twelve hours. I work six days a week as well, taking the seventh off. My patrol partner got reassigned at the last minute, and I'll be cycling through cadets until a new one shows up. I'll have you for a week, if a replacement isn't here by then.”
“Alright,” I say.
“The couch pulls out,” he informs me. “There are sheets and pillows in the closet. I'm sure you're exhausted – it's an entirely different kind of it than you're used to from training. I'm making some pasta for dinner.”
Instead of pulling out the couch, I just lie down on it, closing my eyes to get some rest, but forcing myself to stay awake. Half an hour later, the noodles are done. He made them with some vegetables and small slices of grilled chicken. It's delicious, and not long after I eat it am I fast asleep on the couch.
“Time to wake,” James shakes me awake. “Ready for another long day on patrol?”
“Yup!” I get off the couch feeling refreshed. “Though I'm not sure how long I can stay sane just walking around all day and making small talk.”
“I did all of the talking!” He laughs.
We pull on our gear and meet up with the duo we're relieving.
“Quiet night?” James asks.
“Same as always,” Sara, the female we're relieving, responds. “With one small hiccup, a little mugging that happened as we were passing an alley. If you're going to mug someone, please, for the love of all that is calm, don't do it in a town where soldiers patrols heavily. It's just not worth it. The night world is getting tense, though.”
“Think it's one of the gangs?” James asks.
“Probably,” she answers. “It's been awhile since the last turf war broke out, so one will probably break out in the next few weeks.”
“We'll keep an eye out,” James tells her. “You two get some rest.”
“Is it wise,” Eric, the guy we're relieving, looks at Sara. “To leave two fire Elementals by themselves? What if they burn down half the city?”
“It was half a block,” James says. “And we were cleared of all fault.”
“You burned down half a block?” I ask.
“Accidentally,” Sara laughs. “A couple of years ago. We got word over the walkies that some gangs had gotten into it, and by the time we arrived, James and his current temp partner, another fire Elemental, had apprehended them and set fire to the block. Ever since then, they try to pair fires with waters, just in case. I'm surprised they gave you another fire, James.”
“What happens happens,” James shrugs. “Have a good day.”
“You, too,” Sara says, then they leave and James and I begin our patrol.
Patrol starts in silence, but I make it all of a minute before needing to ask him what happened.
“I knew you wouldn't last long!” James laughs. “Come on – this place around the corner sells these amazing funnel cakes that are great for breakfast on the go. I'm sure you could use one, but not coffee.”
“So what happened?” I ask as we turn the corner. “You burned down half a block – that can't be small news.”
“I was assigned a fire Elemental as my patrol partner,” he says. “It became a temporary thing after some gangs clashed as we were passing by. The two of us stepped in to stop them, the gangs got violent with us, and we reacted with our Abilities when it became clear they had a few Superhumans who could pack more than a small punch. The block fire was a side effect of that, and mostly resulted from one of their Superhumans using his Elemental Ability over air to disperse our fire. A bullet in his leg put a stop to that when I figured out who was doing it. After that, they started looking for a water Elemental to pair with me, putting in a new rule, at least here, that all fire Elementals should be accompanied by a water Elemental, in case something like that happens again.”
“Cool!” I grin at him. “So why did they give you a fire?”
“Temps are exempt from that rule,” he answers. “Mostly because temps, like you, are still trainees, and it's good for a trainee to work with someone of their own Ability Type and class.”
“Ah, okay.”
We arrive at the food truck and are greeted by the worker. James seems to be a regular, from the brief conversation they have. He orders a funnel cake with powdered sugar as well as a coffee, and I order a funnel cake with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce on it, as well as a hot chocolate.
We stand by the truck and eat, watching the street.
“Do you normally stop for breakfast here?” I ask.
“Yup,” he answers. “It's one of the few times I take a break on patrol. Let's finish up – it may be quiet, but we do need to keep an eye out.”
I scarf down my funnel cake, drain the hot cocoa, then drop my trash in the nearest bin and look at James.
“Hurry up, slowpoke!”
He laughs, finishing his food and throwing his trash in the bin. We begin walking, and just like yesterday, the day is pretty calm.
James informs me as we head to his apartment that tomorrow is his day off, and he usually gets his shopping done.
“But we still wear our gear,” he says. “Not sure if you've ever been in a big city like this, but soldiers can be pretty decent targets for certain crime rings, and it's better to be prepared than not to be.”
“Does this have to do with the threat Sara mentioned?” I ask. “How the night is getting more and more uneasy?”
“Partly,” he nods as we turn onto his street. “But it's standard protocol for all soldiers who are frequently in public eye. Better to have the vest on and have no one attack you than to not wear it and have everyone attack you.”
We arrive at the apartment building and head upstairs. Tonight's dinner consists of burgers and fries, and is pretty damn delicious.
The next few days are pretty quiet, and I fall into the routine of just walking around town, but it's hard to contain my energy. We do play a pickup game of ball with some of the kids on the street, but other than that, it's just walk, walk, walk.
Today's now my last day on patrol duty with him, and I've had a weird feeling the entire time, as if we're being watched.
“Are you sure?” James stops walking when I tell him.
“Yes.”
“How sure?” He asks.
“I've sensed the same fire for the last hour,” I answer. “At varying distances, but it's there.”
“Sense the flame?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “Can't you? The flames inside of people? Yours is calm and steady, sort of like you.”
“You can sense a fire within people?” He asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “I just told you that. Can't all fire Elementals?”
“I've never heard of it before,” he shakes his head. “You're absolutely sure we're being followed, then?”
“Unless there's another patrol mimicking us,” I nod. “They stopped moving when we did.”
“Can you give me a general location of where they are?” He steps in front of me and faces me, probably so he can see them.
“They're by the fountain,” I respond. “Dark brown hair, blue eyes, average build, wearing a dark green jacket over a black tee, gun concealed under the jacket, black pants, combat boots, two rings on the right hand, and carrying a cup of coffee. Currently reading a book.”
“Your back is to him,” he says. “How do you-”
“I've spotted him a few times,” I interrupt. “Anytime we stop moving, he stops somewhere and starts reading the book. His flame is really weird, it's like it's not even real.”
“Let's head back that way,” James says. “See what he does.”
“Hey!” Someone yells from behind him. “Get your hands off of my son!”
James and I both look that way to find a pair of men with masks on dragging a boy around nine or ten toward a van. They've already gagged the boy, and he's struggling against them, but they're to big. There are at least three others in the van.
“GSDF!” James shouts, sprinting toward them. “Release him!”
One of the men in the truck shoots at James as another jumps out, raising up two small sticks, an aura field surrounding the kidnappers. James fires back, but his bullets bounce off of the aura barrier.
“Grip of the dragon,” I mutter as I lift my hands up, and the man with the barrier sticks begins to struggle for air as I grip the air with my hands.
The disruption is enough for James to break through the aura barrier, and I release my grip on the man as he falls unconscious. That done, I pull out my sidearm, raise it up and fire off four blazing red shots of aura, my aim holding true. The two kidnappers holding the boy drop to the ground, the one in the front seat collapses, and the one standing in the back of the van falls out of it.
No blood sprays from the kidnappers, my aura bullets cauterizing the wounds immediately, just another weird thing about my aura.
James pauses, turning and looking at me as I return my sidearm to its holster and walk over.
“I ranked first in terms of accuracy,” I tell him. “They trained me a fair bit with as a sniper, too.”
“I've never seen aura like that before,” he says.
“Nor has anyone else I've spoken to,” I tell him.
“What did you do to the first one?” He gestures to the unconscious one I took out first. “That was you, right?”
“I call it the grip of the dragon,” I shrug. “I've always been able to take over the fire in people. I just grabbed his and squeezed it until he fell unconscious. I could have killed him instantly, but figured we need someone to explain what they were going to do with that boy.”
I snap my fingers, and a small burst of fire leaps out, instantly incinerating the gag without harming the boy. He then runs up to his mother, wrapping his arms around her and sobbing.
“Can your brothers do that?” A voice asks from behind me, and I turn around to find Caleb standing there with a turtle on his head. Why did he put the turtle on his head? “He wanted to go for a walk.”
“Get out of my head.”
“I can't help it.”
“No,” I shake my head. “My brothers can't touch the flames in people.”
“I meant your aura,” Caleb shakes his head, the turtle remaining perfectly in place as he does. “Can they imbue theirs with their element, too?”
“I don't imbue it with my element,” I shake my head. “It just has it in it. Always has.”
“Really?” Caleb looks surprised. “Kieran and I can both merge it with our Abilities. Kieran can do three different effects: light, shadow, and perception. The latter can't be noticed at all. By most people. I can see them just fine.”
“Jeremy wanted to go for a walk,” I say. “So you put him on your head and took him for one?”
“Jeremy?” Caleb looks confused. “This is Fredrick. He doesn't even look like Jeremy.”
“You have two turtles?”
“Two hundred, ninety-four.”
“Where are you keeping all of them?” I shout in surprise.
“On an island I separated from the rest of the world using magic,” Caleb answers. “I constructed a powerful barrier surrounding it a few years ago with Teacher's help. He didn't take part in it. The barrier is sustained using the natural magics surrounding it in the air and water without affecting the natural flow of things. Anytime I find a turtle or tortoise, I send it there. They made lots of babies. I can use my ring to open a doorway there.”
“Shouldn't you be in class?” I ask. “It's the middle of the day, and you have lessons.”
“It's Ability Training,” Caleb looks at me like I'm an idiot. “Do you really think they can teach me how to use my Ability?”
“It's kind of important,” James frowns. “You're a magician in addition to Superhuman? And why would you choose not to attend Ability Training? The facility has some of the best instructors for them in the world – I'd recommend attending.”
“James,” I put a hand on his shoulder and let out a breath. “The thing about Caleb, is that he's an S-S-S-S Superhuman. He is literally one of the most powerful Superhumans in the world. And there isn't an instructor there who can actually teach him, since none have or have encountered his Ability before. You could still just train it on your own, Caleb.”
“I don't use my Ability unless it's necessary,” Caleb states. “I'm only now starting to get past thinking it's the reason my family died.”
“Your Ability killed your family?” I ask. “I thought you were an orphan.”
“I had something like four hundred brothers and sisters,” Caleb states. “I was an orphan at a school for orphans. They were all killed. Kieran and I were the only survivors.”
“Really?” James asks. “Where did you two live? I never heard of a massacre like that.”
“You have,” Caleb looks upwards without moving his head. “Fredrick wants to go home. Bye.”
Caleb twists his ring and vanishes.
“No, I haven't,” James frowns, then looks at me and gestures to the bodies. “We should get this taken care of, I guess.”
There's only one massacre I know of that someone can confidently say a soldier of the GSDF has heard of. Most of the world has heard of that massacre, and if there was a school with four hundred orphans living there massacred, it would have been in that massacre.
The Alkran City Massacre.
No wonder his resident history is classified – no one would believe he's a survivor of that.
Caleb just gets cooler by the day.