Free Web NovelChapter 60: The Elderion Beam.
It was midnight when Luca’s eyes snapped open and his body shot up from his bed.
He blinked groggily as he looked around.
Then slowly, his thoughts aligned.
’It’s her.’
He jumped off his bed and headed out the door.
’It was a bargain, but I was right... at least this time.’
There was every possibility that the storage girl would disappear especially since her location had been compromised.
’But from what I’m feeling now... she’s here... though.’
Luca glanced in the direction of the storage room where he had initially found her.
He narrowed his gaze at it, before flipping his head and walking down the stairs.
’Not on this floor.’
He descended to the third floor and turned in the direction of the storage unit on this particular floor.
Soon, he found it and pushed the door open.
Greeting him was a familiar sight, though, without the stern expression.
The storage girl looked exactly like he saw her the first time, but Luca could swear she had gotten more beautiful.
Her lips were curled in a tight frown while she held one bun in her hand.
"Do you have a detector or something?"
She asked with a harsh tone.
"Go back to your room. You’re not welcome here."
Luca smiled sheepishly before pulling out his storage ring and materialising the satchel of baked buns he had obtained the day prior.
The storage girl’s eyes widened, then narrowed.
And for a second, her greed got the better of her.
"What is that?"
"A bribe." His smile widened.
Silence hung between the two like a thread threatening to break.
The storage girl held his gaze for a second, but her eyes kept drawing to the neat nylon in his hands and the different shades of baked buns within the transparent packaging.
She gulped. Then looked away.
Luca didn’t need to think twice before he fully entered and locked the door behind him.
He attempted to walk forward, but her sharp glare stopped him in his tracks.
"I won’t bite." He said with a sigh and held out the satchel. "We didn’t finish our conversation the previous night. I thought I would come and make amends... if I did something wrong."
The Storage girl stared at him suspiciously.
"It wasn’t a conversation. It was a bargain for your life."
Luca shrugged. "Still counts when you put in that much effort in protecting me from yourself."
She clenched her jaws.
"What do you mean?"
The atmosphere began to plummet by a few degrees and Luca shivered slightly under her gaze.
He sat on the floor and crossed his legs.
"You’re still acting that way."
"I can always kill you." She paused. "It’s not an act."
"... you must have changed locations thinking it must have been a fluke. It means I must have left enough of an impression to make you worried... and also, you’re not really interested in killing me."
The silence lengthened. And so did the tension.
Luca felt sweat forming on his forehead, but his expression was a mask that hid his worries.
Everything had been a bargain. Even this gift.
If he weren’t so certain, he might have already reported this matter to the Instructors.
’I’m in too deep anyway...’ his gaze lingered on her face. And a heat rose in his chest.
’And I simply don’t want to.’
What was this feeling that kept gnawing at him? Luca wasn’t sure and he didn’t know if he ever would be.
"You’re smart, I’ll give you that." She turned away with a sigh. "And extremely stupid. From my calculations, you’re a Cadet... and Cadets from any Stronghold would always seek the recognition of their superiors."
’Any Strongholds?’ Luca arched his brow. ’Is she from another one?’
"But I don’t understand why you didn’t do that... worse off, you’re trying to befriend me."
She munched on her buns.
"We call people like that fools."
A wry smile formed on Lucas’ face.
"I agree."
She tilted her head. Clearly confused by his actions and even responses.
But her attention was drawn, once more to the buns that Luca shook.
"Take it."
She sharpened her gaze.
But then pulled her arm and a thread yanked the bag from Luca’s grasp.
"Message received. You can leave."
Luca stood immediately, startling even the girl.
"Yo– You’re leaving?"
"Yup, my work here is done. I got to give you what I wanted... and I believe we’re in a slightly better stance than we were before."
She looked at the buns, then at Luca.
"Poison doesn’t work on me."
"I wouldn’t dare." He chuckled. "Enjoy the rest of your evening storage girl."
He walked out immediately, leaving the storage girl slightly confused and burning with something else. Curiosity.
’What a strange boy.’
She opened the satchel, picked up a bun and ate it.
Her cheeks puffed out and her eyes nearly rolled up the sockets.
A brief moan escaped her lips.
’Perfect.’
*
*
*
Luca was awoken by the sudden, sharp and loud bang of the wake-up gong once more.
He lifted his body slightly from his bed.
A yawn escaped his lips as he prepared to take off a shirt and head for the morning assembly.
But as he approached the door, the Instructor’s voice reached his ears and many others in the Hostel.
"All Cadets must take their equipment and dress in their uniforms.
You have ten minutes to align at Bunker A-2!
I repeat, all Cadets should prepare their equipment and uniform!
You have ten minutes to align at Bunker A-2!"
Head to Bunker A-2 immediately!"
Luca froze on the spot.
’Bunkers?’
The Bunkers were another part of the Institution that was shown only in name.
It was located behind the Hostels. A good distance too, since it represented one of the most important locations of any Stronghold.
They were the houses– technologically advanced metals of anti-ego components where the Elderion Beams were trapped.
’Shit, are we going now?’
He quickly rushed to the bathroom, took his bath, brushed his teeth, hurried out, prepared his uniform and headed out the door.
His equipment was either in his storage ring or his storage interface, so he found no reason to prepare it.
It took seven minutes for Luca to round up his preparations and as he rushed down the stairs, he was met with the same panicky Cadets that headed in the same direction.
There was even a bump with Milek and even Fernad, but nobody seemed to notice the other.
They were all stuck in their heads with the implications of that announcement.
Moments later, cadets rushed off beyond the streets under the slightly dark clouds of early morning.
The moon had begun to set and the sun’s rays began to trail along the lines of the sky.
A soft amber with a cool breeze that Luca appreciated.
He couldn’t count the number of Cadets he was surrounded by, and for the first time, he couldn’t spot a single one having a conversation.
Not even the light one.
Everyone carried an expression that bordered between extreme fear, excitement, confusion and stoic faces.
It was like students going to write their major exam, which determines the rest of their lives. Only this one had a death penalty.
’The Abyss, huh.’ Lucas’ chest rose and fell with the beating of his heart.
He could feel bile climb up his throat and even his stomach churned.
’Shit, if I knew this was going to happen, perhaps I would have done more rounds at the gym yesterday.’
Luca had not missed a day and went as soon as Taren had eaten to his fill.
They spent 6 Staric Bronze just trying to cheer him up.
’At least he was less upset.’
It didn’t take long before they arrived at the Bunker.
A warehouse-like building with metallic constructs that glistened with a sharp sheen.
It reflected the sunlight rays with a futuristic hue that couldn’t be counterfeited anywhere.
Surrounding the building was a lush field and a raised landmass which connected to a garden of large trees, short trees and shrubs.
Beyond that were the hostels, and even further was the busy city area.
The Cadets were gathered inside the Bunker, led by three Instructors. Raziel, the man who had first brought them to the Hostels– Orlon and one other Luca couldn’t remember.
He also noted that only the male Cadets were located in this particular Bunker.
’The girls must have gone to another.’
The silence in the air was life-draining and the tension was worse.
Raziel grinned from ear to ear as he walked towards a raised, cubicle-like construct.
It was made out of layers of Ego-reinforced metals and Anti-Null Ores.
It was built like a hexagonal pod and had the weight and height of a small shed house.
He tapped a bright red button and the device hummed. Something reverberated within it and the air was filled with the mechanical clicking of metals and snapping of bone-like alloys.
Steam seethed out of the bottom as the top opened up like a cracked egg... and immediately, what it withheld was released.
A bright, dark, black, ominous beam, at least five times the size of a pillar, shot into the air like a missile.
.
The sound of a sonic boom ensued and the pillar blasted through the Bunker straight into the skies and beyond.
The air rattled with a pressure the kids couldn’t comprehend
Many fell on their knees while a few more groaned as they bent over.
The pressure within the room climbed even further until finally... it snapped.
Cadets collapsed completely and some groaned. Unable to stand completely for a few seconds.
The metal cubicle continued to shift until the bottom of the Beam came into view and a series of steps descended from the machine.
Raziel nodded in satisfaction.
"Come in order of your names."
He turned around to face the Cadets.
"The Abyss awaits you."
_______
AUTHOR’S NOTES;
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