Evelyn XI The cell had been cleaned, despite our request. Our escort claimed it had been cleaned before the prison received the warrant, but that meant fuck all to me. They should have known that Sword would conduct an investigation. They shouldn't have disturbed the crime scene, but Ukinoma Prison didn't seem to care in the slightest. Maybe I would write Director Shiratori and see if I could get an order for the warden to come to Sabre Tower. Get her to step through the DNA scanner. She might have said otherwise, but cleaning the crime scene would only serve to protect the strix who killed the inmate. Maybe the warden was that strix. Maybe she was using her influence to cover up disappearances in this prison. Having her coroner write false death certificates. I activated the team com: "Glen." "Yes, captain?" "When you're finished over there, I want you
The mouse watched as the hunter collapsed on the floor. It warched from the security room, silently turning off the alarm before the rest of the hunters could be alerted.Before Miyuki could be alerted. Alice had paid him to make sure she wouldn't know until the message had been delivered. If anyone could break the illusion, it would be that witch.His watch started beeping. It was time to go, but not before he uploaded the virus. That should keep them busy for the time being.The mouse put his cap back on and adjusted his suit. No one looked at him twice as he walked out.
Evelyn XIIThe warden bid us goodbye with tangible relief. We might have caused her a big headache, and for that I was sorry, but it had to be done. I don't know what Alice and whatever monstrosity she created was here for, but it's better in the long run for Ukinoma Prison that they were exposed and removed.The prison had excellent PR, so I'm sure it'll recover. The Autonomous Cities in general had excellent PR.As the ship left the port, I leaned back in my chair. The seats were comfortable. It was a lot more comfortable than I remembered. I was able to catch thirty minutes of sleep before we docked in Neptune's Port.Director Shiratori himself came out to meet us. There were two vans emblazoned with the Sword logo. Inspector Sparks stood by one, smoking a cigarette. It was a familiar and comfortable sight."I'm going to ride with Evelyn alone," the director announced. "There is a pressing issue I must speak with her about."The rest of my team rode with Inspector Sparks in the oth
Interlude: Jac"I can't do this anymore, Jac. I wish you the best in life. -Lloyd, your father," the note ended.Even though my father left, I couldn't condemn him as a bad or absent father. He visited for two weeks every summer and we spent a week with each set of his parents. He didn't contest my mother having full custody, but asked for a couple of weeks of visitation. He even offered to pay child support, something my mother vehemently refused. She made enough money to support us and she wasn't looking for handouts. Though she didn't mind my father spending money on me.For six years, Loyd had been a constant part of my life. He was my father and my friend. Then one day, he wasn't there. t felt like he left us for a new family."I guess need to update my Citizen Identification Number." That was going to be a pain.The CIN was the single most important internal identification information. In many ways, it was the only one that mattered. A Citizen Identification Number was attached
Interlude: The HunterHe was a hunter and not in the ways the humans of Sword claimed to be. No, he was a real hunter: an animal, a beast, a monster of the highest order. He was a wolf in the truest sense of the word.Not a lycan, like the humans insisted they be called. It didn't matter to him if the rest of his kind chose to adopt the human name for them, he would always be a wolf. If Enrico could see what they had become, the first wolf would roll over in his grave. If their kind buried their dead.And he was at Venus Academy, a freaking prep school. Maybe not so much a prep school, but it was the best school in Neptune. It ranked third nationally and was filled to the brim with children of the most important families in the city.It would only fit a progenitor would take refuge in a place like this. The luxury of this simple school made his skin itch. The hunter wanted to rip a couple of faces off, but he controlled the impulse. Though it was people like the children at this schoo
"Wow. I didn't know we got to go to the top of the buildings," I said as we climbed the stairs."Didn't you used to be a Japanese anime fan? Didn't kids in those anime always go to the top of their schools?""In the anime, yeah, but I watched a YouTube video about it. That wasn't a thing they let students do.""Well, you can go to the top of any of the buildings here. During lunch or after school for two hours. At five, the school grounds close." She slide her key into the door and pushed it open.The top of the building had a green fence all the way around it. It was tall enough that no student would be able to jump over it and if some kid was stupid enough to climb it, the top curved back inward, making it harder to get over.There was a small basketball and a tennis court on the roof, divided into two sides. There was a space for people to sit down at the far end of the court, where I imagined people would eat lunch. This place looked like a cool place to eat. Why was I bothering t
Alaric XIVThe driver was a striges. A zombie in all but name, controlled by whatever knight or progenitor killed the poor bastard. Someone at this school wanted me and my knights forced out.I didn't know if I believed that story about a sole survivor, but if the rumors of another strain had lured more strixes here, then there was probably more to the rumors than meets the eye... Or meets the ear, I suppose.Some rumor had it that some student in this school was the next strain and strix were here to collect. Maybe even more than just strix. I was involved in a group with two lycans and a titan. If others-"Yo!" Bianca yelled, cutting off my train of thought. I looked over at her right as the wind hit and I caught the scent of dog on the breeze."Hey." I waxed back."You alright? I heard you almost got hit by a car."News traveled very fast around school it seemed. I thought that only happened in small towns. "Yeah... It was a close call. They swerved at the last moment.""They must
Alaric XVThe first thing I noticed was the blaring sounds of the base mixing with the higher notes. Lights of every color, even the two I had no name for, flashed across the room in every direction like a strobe light. The music was so loud that I doubted any human could hear anything.I couldn't even hear Bianca at first, though her lips were moving. I had to focus and then I could just make out the words she was saying: "That's Pointblink, my favorite band!"Pointblink? That was a familiar name. I wasn't surprised to see Yayoi on the stage, rocking with her guitar. She was singing in Japanese about a lover lost in space and how his wife spent the rest of her life looking for him.Was Yayoi here to keep an eye on me? This gig didn't seem like something that had been planned hours ago. This had to be planned in advance. So was Yayoi always going to play here? Or was this just so she could keep an eye on me?I guess Kaya wasn't able to convince Mireille to change her mind. Mireille se
Interlude: The TitanShe watched the proceedings with a careful eye. It had taken some effort to overcome the girl's resistance, and at last, it had paid off. She had lured the strix out into a place that every Sword would take some time to respond, and it was all thanks to her puppet.The Titan turned her head to the factory window, watching as the lights flashed, the music boomed, and no one inside was any the wiser. The Titan eyed through the crowd, searching for her puppet. She found the mutt over with the rest of The Titian's puppets, drinking away. Though they were all under her sway, she only needed one of them for today.Unlike the males, her puppet was a beast. One of the lesser strains. She might become aware that she had been manipulated. It might be prudent to watch her in the future. Or not use her at all.It didn't matter either way. If that boy was the progenitor, The Titan would know. If he was merely a strigo, then he would be dead.The Titan's watch began to chime. I
In the fullness of time, we would come to find that the bandits were the foolish ones. No one in their right mind would call that place home.There was something worse than bandits in those mountains and we were front and center to see it.We had just gotten near the bottom of the mountains after a week of walking. All around the mountain was what looked like an African savanna. There was one long dirt road that ran straight through the tall grass and scattered trees. I imagined a lion laying in wait for us in that tall grass. Yep, we would be taking the dirt path.Euphy was groaning about lunch, and Gwen was all smiles."How about we make camp here? We can cook those rabbits."I'm glad we had Gwen with us. She wasn't just a top-class magician, she could create magic traps. Traps designed for catching something to eat.I looked at the sky. The sun was still high. "I think we should keep moving. We want to find civilization, don't we.""We already have," Euphy reminded me."Civilization
The Girl with Auburn HairIn the early morning light, the valley was beautiful. As the sun got higher in the sky, mist rose from the trees and covered the mountains. It wasn't the color-changing fog of Attea's creation, but a common, white mist. As the sun climber further into the sky, the mist burned away. The lake shimmered in the sunlight as a breeze gently rocked through the valley.There was something ethereal about this place. It felt out of an anime or fantasy book, untouched by human hands. I lived my whole life in San Francisco. When I was younger, my parents took me to see the Redwoods, but that was the only time I left the city. It was a very long time ago. To me, the world had become a concrete jungle.Wind Port was a lot better to look at, but it was still a city. Where ever we were, there wasn't a single sign of civilization. And it was beautiful. This place looked like it was out of a dream.I couldn't get the boar out of my head. Through the night, it haunted me. A dum
When the wolves began to surround her, the Knight expected attack. Instead the wolves turned tail and sprinted up the stairs.In the direction of one of the evacuations. The Knight had started to regard the wolves as young. Gifted, talented, but young. Head strong. Not the kind of beasts that she would have to worry about being clever. At least, not yet. The Knight didn't have any intention of letting them live that long.She underestimated them. She she flew up the stairs after them, desperate to make sure the evacuation wasn't interrupted.The wolve nearest her, the male, turned on her like a dime. He jumped off the wall and tackled her, it's mouth ripping into her shoulder.He tour a chunk out of her skin.
The Knight was starting to feel a little bad about it. It was like taking candy fro. a baby. These wolves were the babies and she was the mean and she was the frightening old hag in this children's story. It wasn't that the wolves were bad. In fact, for being so young (and they were young, if their scents told her anything), they fought extremely well. They had trained to fight as a pack anf there was nothing to critique.It was just a shame they ran into her, a monster so old. One who had feed on so much blood it might as well fill an ocean.Still, she wouldn't underestimate them. As the three wolves positioned themselves around her, she prepared to end their lives.
Her office was in ruins and now she was pissed. She shouldn't be. She would have to abandon the office regardless, because the wolves decided to come.It all looped back again to the wolves. The Knight was going to have to destroy her office before Sword got here, so she was going to take her agression out on the mutts that caused all of this.The two wolves divided, coming at her from different sides. The Knight kept her eyes on the female, listening intently to the male behind her.When he moved, she heard it and he jumped over the charging beast.The Knight raked her claws across its back, drawing blood.
The office was a clean and polished white. It looked even more professional than than the government offices she used to work in. From the office, you had a great view of the arra called the quad. There was a creepy bronze statue of Nathaniel Gilbert, the founder of the city. The Gilbert family were apparently rich as all hell and still contributed so much to the school. And now her office was in pieces. Granted, she was the one who propelled the wolf through, but she wasn't about to admit that.At least she heard a resounding CRACK!The other two hesitated. "Well? Come at me, mutts."
When she saw the woman on the stairs, Bianca growled. The scene of the dead radiated off of her. Not the blood of her victims, no. The deep, decaying scent of death that a rotting body produces.There were only two thinga that made that scent: the aforementioned rotting bodies and the strix.Not a strigo ot a striges, but a true creature of the night. Either a knight or a progenitor. The woman smirked as her fingernails extended into claws. She leaped down the stairs and attacked them head on, despite being out numbered.Bianca barked, the sign to scatter, but it was too late. The strix jump tackled her.
"Where are the wolves?" she asked."They have entered the tunnels, commander," one of her officers replied."When will they breach the lower levels?""Less than five minutes.""Very well. It's been a long time since I've skinned a mutt. Maybe I'll make a pelt. Continue the evacuation. I want everything out by lunch time.""You think the mutts will make it down here?""I'm not worried about the animals, but Sword is coming. For us and the mutts. This facility is compromised. We're leaving.""Understood, commander.""Alert security. I don't want any of them up there with us. Have them on guard while we evacuate."
It came to an end when The Guard was cornered by one of the wolf mutts. In that moment, he thought his life was over.He had chased the female to one of the old board rooms the humans used. The room was small and he was sure it would restrict her movements. With his strength and the pistol, he'd be able to overpower her.That was his original plan. And it semed to work, for a second. He ran straight in after the female bitch in the leg.The only problem was how close to the door she was. She rammed him through the room. She sank her teeth in his skin and ripped off his arm. She would have taken his head off if he hadn't fallen through a window.