"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
Evelyn XIIIThe nurse at my bedside looked over at the invisible screen. It appeared like she was touching air, but it seemed like someone took my linker off, because I couldn't see anything.Director Miyuki looked at the nurse. It was the first time she looked away from me since I got to the infirmary. Hawkendale and Nori stood quietly in the corner, staring at Miyuki with open lust and open fear. Hawkendale was the former."Well?" the acting director asked in her soft, quiet voice.The nurse nodded. "Her brain patterns have stabilized. They were fluctuating when she arrived, but they are stable. If I had to guess, I'd say that whatever effect drove her into vision is over."The nurse knew about my vision? I hadn't told anyone."What vision?" Miyuki asked."I don't know, but the way her brain patterns were acting, she wasn't unconscious. It matched similar patterns from hunters who were subjected to mental attacks by titans."Miyuki turned to me. "What was this vision?"I didn't want
Evelyn XIXThere was supposed to be a clue in that vision. Alice had ordered the titan to put me in that prison for a reason, but the more I combed over those memories, the more they didn't make sense. The visions felt real. They didn't feel like an illusion or memories, but-"HEY!" Hawkendale's scream came from the other room. "Don't throw away the vegetables! Farms worked hard to grow them!""Vegetables are gross! I won't eat them," Norima yelled.What the hell was going on? I brought those two in and cooked them a meal and now they're screaming at each other about vegetables? I walked into a scene of what could only be called a food fight. I hadn't been in this apartment for a whole day yet and my kitchen was destroyed. Food was flung everywhere on the walls. The soup I made was now on the floor, soaking into the wooden legs of the table.I was going to eat the rest of that soup later. "Are you kidding me?!" I snapped at them.Hawkendale pointed to Norima. "She did it!"Norima roun
Evelyn XV"I thought we were going to patrol," Norima groaned. "I want to go see the city! I've never been to Pluto before!""I want to go eat sushi!" Hawkendale declared. "I want to see a sushi train! I've heard this city has sushi trains!"These two thought with their stomachs. Not that I could blame them. They were raised in a lab and I knew from personal experience that lab food wasn't very good.Still, I didn't want to stay here and listen to this. I had a message to analyze. My brother's murder had declared war. That was more pressing than parenting these two children.I was even starting to miss Johana. She had a mouth on her, but at least she could prioritize her work.These two didn't need to be Sword Hunters. They needed to be put in special classes to reintroduce them to society. They weren't complete lost causes, but they needed a push here and there."If you pass my test, we'll go on patrol tomorrow," I said to placate them. God knows I'd have to beat them to make them li
Interlude: The Guinea PigWhen HE woke up, his head was pounding. There was a ringing in his ears so loud that it drowned out everything else. HE felt sick like he was about ready to throw up. His whole body was aching and the only thing HE wanted to do right then was go back to sleep.What the hell had happened to him? HE had been in Kingsland for a business trip, that much he remembered. HE had spent a few weeks attending boring meeting after boring meeting, only the pub offering some relief. Last night was his last night in the province. He was supposed to fly to Victoria and then onto Jupiter.That was the plan. So why the hell did HE feel so bad? HE should still be on the plane, and unless HE had a few hard ones he couldn't remember, HE shouldn't be feeling so bad. HE always hated sleeping on planes, so maybe that was it?The ringing in his ears started to quiet, and HE could hear voices around him. HE tried to sit up, but HE couldn't move his upper body. He had sensations in his
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.