《Beyond the Thorns: A Novel》 1: Jryasck Yoliho I look at myself in the foggy mirror, steam clinging to it because of the previously ended shower. What the hell happened? I could have ruined a night¡¯s worth of work for everyone¡­ My mind reviews recent events. ¡°Oh, gather ''round, good folk, and hear, a tale of the wild frontier. Where dragons soar and rivers bend,¡± I sang casually as I strummed the respected music. People¡¯s ears perked up in interest as the lively tune started. ¡°Raise your mugs and sing along, for in this inn, we all belong. With every note, we share our tales, in every chord, our spirit sails.¡± I continue to sing as some of the patrons tap to the beat, young couples get up and move to start dancing. I have that effect on people, that way of getting everyone so energetic. As I think that my pride swells inside my chest. ¡°Raise your mugs and sing along, for in this inn, we all belong.¡± I belt out with a bright smile towards some of the house, my hair swishing with the movement. ¡°In laughter, tears, and songs anew, together, there''s nothing we can''t do!¡± I close my eyes and shout out the words, I feel a rush of air brush outward. I lower and raise my head quickly before looking out at the audience, the couples are now askew on the ground, all looking injured in some foreign way, faces looking towards me. But not of curiosity and pleasure, faces of fear and concern. I glance towards the bartender and he clears his throat, signaling through his eyes to wrap it up. I quickly wave the guest bard on stage and hand him the lute with a pat, he awkwardly accepts it as I leave. ¡°... For in this inn, we all belong- come on!¡± The bard livens the house as I meet up with Eldric, the innkeeper. ¡°Hey Pops, can you tell me what happened? I don¡¯t think those dancing couples were getting that down with the music.¡± I ask in a low whisper. ¡°Uhm,¡± he coughs, ¡° well Jyra*¡­ When you finished that bridge there, a ring of- Adonas** knows what came offa¡¯ ya¡¯ and knocked some to the floor and others into a fit of fear. I mean, I didn¡¯t expect to see a young child alive in the Belduar Wastes, let alone from the Labs area, but ya¡¯ never told me about if you had an abnormality like what the Labs research.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡®cause I thought I didn¡¯t have an ¡®abnormality¡¯, I mean¡­ why else would the Labs discard an infant like that, unless they assumed I was dead.¡± I look down shamefully, how did that even happen? Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I collect myself as the fog on the mirror was clear enough to only slightly blur my bare chest, what if that happened again? And the people weren¡¯t so lucky. What if I killed someone next time? I could ruin the Inn¡¯s entire career¡­ I fret constantly as I slip on the fresh outfit that compliments my purple-ish maroon hair nicely. At least that¡¯s what a patron said once, I tie my large mass of hair into a low ponytail as per my usual look. I sigh and slip into the back of the bar to work for the rest of the night. Ò»¨‘Ò» I awake from a dream that slips away from me the more I wake up. Remembering the previous night hit me like a sack of potatoes. The question is, how do I fix this problem. My mind swirls as I walk down to behind the bar once more to work in the kitchen, wondering if I should take my usual place on stage or not. ¡°Oh, hey Eld. ¡®You trying to sneak some mead again?¡± I click my tongue twice, ¡°tsk, tsk. To think the owner of our establishment is trying to bankrupt us, quite astonishing.¡± I joke, waving a chiding finger about. ¡°Now, now, I would never do such a thing and you know it.¡± -I roll my eyes at the statement as he looks up-, ¡°I actually would like to speak with you about last night if that¡¯s okay.¡± Eldric looks at me with slightly worried eyes. ¡°Yeah, I was thinking about that and I believe that I should go off on my own until I either find a ¡®supernatural ability suppressor¡¯ or learn how to control this new ability of mine. Plus I don¡¯t want you to lose Yoliho because you were ¡®housing a dangerous person¡¯ or something like that.¡± I essentially blurt without a thought. ¡°No need to do that now is there? I don¡¯t want you going off all alone just because of a strange new ability. Maybe you could use it for your performances once you get it in control. What I was saying was you should practice controlling it out in the wastes or something and we can get a part-timer to work your part in the meantime-¡± Eldric starts ranting. ¡°And what if it suddenly bursts out like that again and the people around aren¡¯t so lucky. What if I kill someone? Then I will definitely get sent to a Lab and only Adonas has an idea of what goes on in there. Either that or the last thing I see is the bars of my cell. So realistically speaking, it¡¯s only rational for me to just leave until I get this new thing figured out.¡± I cut off his ranting to start a rant of my own. Eldric sighs, ¡°You have me at a loss kid, fine. Never thought of you as the intellectual type¡­¡± He mutters the last part. ¡°Thought of me as what?¡± I ask with a jab. ¡°Nothing of importance, don¡¯t you need to serve up the orders?¡± Eldric counters. ¡°Thought of me as nothing of importance?!¡± I gasp overdramatically, ¡°me, your bestselling bard is nothing of importance to you? I¡¯m offended!¡± I overdramatize my statement further with my motions. ¡°I never said that Jyra,¡± he shakes his head with a slowly growing grin, his salt-and-pepper beard helping simulate what I failed to see. ¡°Now go on and serve our patrons and I might give you a bonus for today,¡± Eldric signaled for me to go on. As a little kid hurries to finish chores for a treat, I bound over to the bartender to serve up dishes. 2: Unkno A gasp of pain escaped my lungs, tears slowly making paths down my screwed up face. They always do this, why am I not used to it yet? The Curio always cleaves something of mine open, my chest, my leg, my head, this time my arm. I mean, what other way to study a creature than to dissect one that won¡¯t die from the dissection? Sure it¡¯s painful, but pain means you¡¯re not dead yet, at least the other Tested won¡¯t have to be killed for research, only I have to be dissected without dying from it. They say it¡¯s because of my "abnormality" but could they at least use something to knock me unconscious while they grate through multiple inches of my muscle and flesh. One of the Curio over me pulls his pen from the clipboard he holds and waves to the one with the cleaver in hand to stop, they wrap my arm in a large amount of gauze and send me off to the Yard. The Yard. It¡¯s said to simulate the real world but it¡¯s simply a large room with a mural of blue with a white dot on the ceiling. I walk up to a bench and sit down, some of the Tested walk up to me and start to bombard me with questions. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°How deep did they open your arm?¡± ¡°It came off like this,¡± I motion with my two hands the way the severed flesh fell away from each other, though I left out how much blood there was all over. ¡°Eew¡­!¡± some of the girls said in almost-unison. Tshh¡­The door out of the Yard opened, causing everyone to go silent. Three Curio entered and looked around with crazed eyes, their eyes resting on someone in my area. Some started to shuffle nervously. A Curio pointed towards the left of me, everyone turned to see who the Curio wanted. A girl whose hair almost perfectly matched the sterile white Tested uniform except for the ever thickening streaks of black that formed in horizontal stripes, her stature stiffening slightly. ¡°Number 517, come this way.¡± Another Curio said, their voice rather cold for someone who looked like a perky little kid teacher. The girl nodded and went to the Curios silently, though I saw nothing of her face, I could tell she lacked any emotion as she exited the Yard. ¡°Who was that?¡± I ask after a pregnant silence. ¡°She¡¯s Mist,¡± a younger boy replies, ¡°apparently all they do to her is give her shots and let her sleep.¡± ¡°Lucky!¡± Another boy whines, ¡°I wish they¡¯d just give me shots. But the shots are always some poison or something. It hurts just thinking about it,¡± he shudders. ¡°But didn¡¯t you see the huge scar on her face? There¡¯s gotta be more than just shots and sleep going on in there!¡± A girl said, starting a spiral of conversation. ¡°Why is she called ¡®Mist¡¯?¡± I ask. ¡°It¡¯s because of her eyes, she always looks so¡­ distant it¡¯s creepy! Plus she never talks to the other Tested.¡± Another girl answered. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Hm¡­ interesting, maybe she just needs someone else to initiate the conversation first! ?????? A loong time passes until Mist returns, this time I see her cold, mint-green eyes that had barely noticeable pupils housed inside them along with a large scar that spanned just under the left eye (my right), across the nose, and ended at the upper right cheek. As per the others¡¯ descriptions, her eyes were cold and distant. Like she was only physically present. I wave her down and swear I saw her come to Earth for a millisecond as she realized I was signing to her. She walked over, ¡°do you need me?¡± Her voice as cold and distant as was predicted. ¡°Not really, I just wanted to hang out with ya¡¯,¡± I reply with a bright smile. ¡°Okay,¡± Mist sits beside me on the bench, her mind seemingly leaving this plane once more. ¡°How did you get here? The Lab I mean,¡± I ask. ¡°I dunno, I¡¯ve been here as long as I can remember. But my ¡®abnormality¡¯ as the Curio call it seems to be of great importance to them. They never explained though,¡± the girl answered and I blink, my eyes tricking me with her hair flicking unconsciously. Like a animal¡¯s ears. ¡°Really? Normally people have at least some memories of their family. Not to offend you-¡± I say without a thought before catching myself. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I believe my parents died soon after I was born and the government took custody of me. The rest is history I guess,¡± Mist replies with a sheer lack of emotion. Hard customer, sheesh. ¡°Kind of funny, I dunno what happened to my parents either, not even a name nor keepsake. I guess we¡¯re one and the same in that way,¡± I smile in a slightly melancholy way. ¡°Mm,¡± she nods in agreement. ¡°Let¡¯s stick together, I have a feeling something is coming. Something that¡¯ll change everything for us in here.¡± Mist gazes into my eyes, a sharp determination piercing through the fog of her eyes. ¡°Like what?¡± I ask, curiosity rushing through my veins. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I saw a vision of the Lab, gone. And everyone was out in the real world,¡± she looks up at the painted ceiling, ¡°with real sky.¡± ¡°But how do you know it¡¯s a vision? What if it¡¯s just a fantasy?¡± I say, my mind refusing to believe I could even think about getting out of the Lab. ¡°It¡¯s my ability, I can see a future in my dreams or another place in the present.¡± Mist explains. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s nice. I can¡¯t do anything like that! All I can do is not die from extreme bodily damage.¡± I say, awe lacing my voice, ¡±we should keep everyone together. Maybe everyone could escape.¡± ¡°Heh,¡± she exhaled, ¡°I dunno if that future will even occur. We might live here until they kill us and dump us in a compost bin.¡± ¡°But it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try and make that future a reality, right?¡± ¡°We can try, if you want to get you and most in here punished for it,¡± Mist spat. ¡°Well everyone here has an inhuman ability, we can all use them to place us on the high-ground. Plus, it has to at least be worth a shot,¡± I think aloud. ¡°True, a couple of my minor visions have come true before. You¡¯re right, it¡¯s at least worth a try. And maybe we can see the real world,¡± Mist offers her hand out to me. ¡°All we can do is try,¡± I take her hand and shake it firmly. We both nod, determination sharpening our gazes, ¡°so what can I call you?¡± 3: Ross Smitt I sigh deeply, my body emphasizing the action. Just a short while longer until I reach Yalev, the town of journey¡¯s end. I clutch my notebook in one arm as my horse trots mindlessly over the hill, excitement lighting my eyes as we crest said hill. The town spans out before me, as the sun reaches its peak in the sky, the townspeople walk to and from the shops, running errands or other trivial work. Just at the entrance of Yalev was a stable, I pat my horse and descend the hill. As I do I see a building farther off from the rest of town, a Lab, I piece together. I finally reach the stable and ask the stablehand about the Lab. ¡°That piece of junk? Yeah it¡¯s been ¡®ere for about five or so generations. I think the officials like to call it the Parol Laboratory or somethin¡¯ of the sort.¡± He replies bitterly as he guides my rented horse into an empty stall. ¡°Why, are ya¡¯ interested in the crap they got going over there?¡± ¡°N-no not really, I¡¯ve just never seen one before now.¡± I answer politely. ¡°I heard that if you go just a quarter-mile West o¡¯ the place, you¡¯ll find a ditch of corpses. All with white uniforms on, but you didn¡¯t hear that from me alright?¡± He stage whispers, sending a shudder of displeasure down my spine. Out of all things to tell a newcomer to the town¡­ why that? Granted my asking about it did start the whole conversation, but that isn¡¯t as welcoming as expected. I collect my thoughts quickly, ¡°Mhm, I was told by a little bluebird, got it. Yup,¡± I turn on my heel and walk off to the main sector of Yalev. Wow, people were everywhere. I mentally decide to explore at a later date and start to maneuver towards the more residential side of town until I came to at the entrance of a park. Curious, I walk in and settle on an empty bench, pulling out my notebook and a pen from my pants pocket. I start to write the types of plants I see thriving and the others not-so much thriving. Once I get to writing down the cinnamon ferns¡¯ scientific name (Osmunda cinnamomea), my eyes get caught on a dirtied building. It looked extremely old, probably from the late AD. Before the Amissal, that is. The Amissal always intrigued me. They say before it happened, the Labs didn¡¯t exist, nor did the abnormalities they study. And society had this thing called electricity, where they could just flick a tiny lever and the entire room would light up without being burnt to the ground. I collected myself before I started thinking too deeply and got up. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I walk over and see the sign hanging above the door read ¡®Artisans of Adonas¡¯ in the Universal language of Earth. ¡°Hm¡­¡± I look down at my notebook and made a poor sketch of the place, writing the name and to look into it later beside it. Then I proceed to walk off, allowing my internal people monitor to guide me to the least populated place. I seat myself in the least dirty and bug-infested part of the brush and look up to see my guide placed me right by the Lab. I sigh, why do I always do this to myself? A snapping of twigs startled me. ¡°Who¡¯re you? Everyone knows not to go by the Lab unless specifically instructed,¡± A voice called out. I stiffen as I compare it to a stereotypical government officer. ¡°Sorry sir, I¡¯m new here sir, I-I didn¡¯t know sir.¡± I sputter as I shoot up off the ground. He chuckles, ¡°must be new if I startled ya¡¯ that badly.¡± The officer looked in his early forties, the hint of smile wrinkles below his eyes signaled his niceties. ¡°Now let¡¯s get you back to the main part of town.¡± ??? ¡°I understand Mr. Darwood, sir.¡± I nod, ¡°I won¡¯t get too close to the Lab again, I promise sir.¡± I repeat his warning as a vow. He chuckles once more, ¡°no need to add the ¡®sir¡¯ onto everything kid. Just try not to get too close to the Lab again, okay?¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± I reply, ¡°I- sorry, okay.¡± He smiled kindly, ¡°Colton, we need you on duty.¡± Another officer called and he waved me off. Once he leaves my view, my brain rolls on its side. It wouldn''t hurt to go back¡­ right? One voice asks. Unless you wanna risk getting hurt, be my guest. Another voice spits. Let¡¯s just go, we should probably search for a good place to stay. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re on a business trip. I spin around, yeah. Let¡¯s find a place to sleep before my only choice is under a bridge like a troll. 4: Mist I¡¯m walking away from someplace. The Lab. Or what was once the Lab, and what¡¯s now ruins. Almost like a supernatural being dipped the broken walls in tar and placed them in an abstract sculpture after setting a large fire onto the foundation. Someone beside me pointed upward, I looked and saw a mural. Like the one in the Yard. But this one was different, I didn¡¯t see any walls. Or an end to it. Is this the real sky? I inhaled a lungful of the air, it was stale. Like the Lab. I felt a falling sensation that signaled my awakening to reality. I wake up on a hard platform, I hear one of the Curio click their pen in. ¡°Jess- not now,¡± one of them hisses underneath their breath. I sit up and blink, the Curio with a pen started to ask me questions. The usual, "did I dream?", "What did you witness in your dream?", and intense jotting down of notes. I answer them with a fake dream, one about a raccoon holding a teddy bear and other raccoons fighting it for the teddy bear. Abstract and confusing, perfect for their hyperactive imagination and brains. They send me back to the Yard and left, minds highly focused on the dream I ¡®dreamt¡¯. I look around, wondering where to sit and process the vision. Before I decide, a Tested my age waves towards me. The girl that goes by Unkno, I remember. I silently walk over to where she sat, her left arm (my right) was bandaged up in at least three centimeters of gause. Their tests on her must be bloody. ¡°Do you need me?¡± I ask. ¡°Nope, just wanted to hang out with ya¡¯,¡± she beamed. ¡°Okay,¡± I sit down beside her on the bench, I guess this could work for zoning out. ¡°How did you get here? The Lab I mean,¡± Unkno asks. I answer honestly. ¡°Really? Normally people have at least some memories of their family. Not to offend you-¡± she deadpans. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I believe my parents died soon after I was born and the government took custody of me. The rest is history I guess,¡± I explain. Gosh, why is she so talkative? ¡°Kind of funny, I dunno what happened to my parents either, not even a name nor keepsake. I guess we¡¯re one and the same in that way,¡± Unkno smiles, looking down at the tile floor. ¡°Mm,¡± I respond. My brain clicked, ¡°let¡¯s stick together, I have a feeling something is coming. Something that¡¯ll change everything for us in here.¡± I lock eyes with her, hoping Unkno understands. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Like what?¡± She asks, curiosity flooding her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I saw a vision of the Lab, gone. And everyone was out in the real world,¡± I glance up, the mural seems even more unrealistic, ¡°with real sky.¡± She doubts my power. I¡¯m not surprised. ¡°It¡¯s my ability, I can see a future in my dreams or another place in the present.¡± I describe the abnormality with a monotonous tone, as I do every time. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s nice. I can¡¯t do anything like that! All I can do is not die from extremely painful stuff.¡± She responds with amazement. I don¡¯t understand why everyone does, ¡±we should keep everyone together. Maybe then all of us could escape.¡± ¡°Heh,¡± I huff, ¡°I dunno if that future will even happen. We might live here until they kill us and dump us out who knows where.¡± ¡°But it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try and make that future a reality, right?¡± Unkno asks. ¡°We can try, if you want to get you and most in here punished for it.¡± She starts to yap about the advantages we have over the Curio. I hesitate, ¡°you¡¯re right, it¡¯s at least worth a try. And then maybe we can see the real world,¡± I offer out my hand. Hoping I didn¡¯t make the situation more weird. We did just start talking to one another. ¡°All we can do is try,¡± Unkno took my hand and firmly shook it once. I mentally congratulate myself as we nod in sync, (which felt satisfying in the oddest way). ¡°So what can I call you?¡± Unkno asks, a dumb smile branching across her face. ¡°Everyone calls me Mist, but I don¡¯t really have a name besides the number the Curio branded me with.¡± I say after an awkward pause. ¡°I like it! It¡¯s better than ¡®Unkno¡¯ that¡¯s for sure. But call me Cana, I like that much more than a shortened version of unknown.¡± She tells me animatedly as we release one another¡¯s hands. ¡°Cana and Mist! The Saviors of Salvation!¡± She spans her arms out like she was unveiling a title, though it was a little awkward with her bandaged arm. ¡°That¡¯s a little powerful, it makes us feel like gods or something,¡± I criticize. ¡°What about¡­ The Destruction Duo,¡± Unkno- er Cana says in a stage-whisper, repeating the action with her arms. ¡°That makes us sound like we¡¯re a part of ¡®The Cruelest Villains of All Time¡¯,¡± I copy her arm motion. She makes a pout of disapproval at the mimicry, before quickly stiffening and facing the door to the Yard that just previously opened. ¡°Yer curvew¡¯ ¡®as star''ed. Get to yer beds,¡± A Curio with a think accent commanded as everyone dropped what they were doing and made their way out of the Yard. We all mindlessly walked to our assigned bunk-esque beds and placed the single sheet over our bodies, resting out heads on the thin pillow and closing our eyes. If we don¡¯t, who knows what they¡¯ll do to us. 5: Jryasck Yoliho ¡°Are you sure Jyra?¡± Eldric asks. ¡°Really?¡± Our aloof bartender looks up from his glass. ¡°Yoliho won¡¯t be the same without you,¡± the chief waitress looks down, thumbing her pen. ¡°Yes I¡¯m sure, plus I¡¯ll just be in the next town over if you truly need my assistance at the inn.¡± I sigh, a grin plastered to my face, ¡°... or if Pops can¡¯t stop bawling his eyes out once I¡¯m gone.¡± ¡°I will not cry, many staff members leave and I never let myself get torn up about it.¡± Eldric huffs. ¡°Except for when that once dancer left,¡± I quipped. ¡°What was her name¡­ Lil-¡± ¡°We don¡¯t talk about that Jyrasck and you know it,¡± Eldric retorted before I could finish. I laugh, ¡°yeah okay. Well, I¡¯ll be seeing you,¡± I beam. ¡°Make sure to send letters as much as possible!¡± Pops shouted as I turned about, bag (and hair) flying with my action. ¡°Whatever ya¡¯ say chief,¡± I flick my hand to the side in a wave as I hear him start to weep. Goofy old-timer. I make my way to the South entrance of Belduar and exchange some silver for a rental horse. Ò»¨‘Ò» ¡°. . . Say, horse?¡± I look down at the trotting beast¡¯s mane, ¡°how far is it to Yalev?¡± Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, the sounds of the horse¡¯s hooves were my only answer. ¡°I wonder what it¡¯s like there, since I¡¯ve never left Belduar and all. Maybe they¡¯ll have a nice inn I could part-time at, at least then I¡¯ll have a source of money.¡± I think aloud, pretending that the horse I was riding was sentient. ¡°Mmm, are you a new one on these trails?¡± A male voice spooks me, sending a jet of released energy towards the voice. Fortunately, it dissipated before it injured anyone, unfortunately, I was now slipping off the horse. The man laughs,¡° need some help mm?¡± He grasps my arm and lugs me back on the horse correctly. He was a well built man, with dusty, light ginger hair and the air of the middle school popular kid. ¡°Thanks, uhm¡­¡± ¡°Elliot, Elliot Stanford, the expert and world record holder of fast travel mhm,¡± he jams his thumb at his chest eccentrically. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Fast travel? Across what?¡± I ask, skeptical. ¡°Across every and all trails! What else, mmm?¡± Elliot raises his hands to the sky, his horse slightly speeding up as he did so before returning to a matched pace of my horse. ¡°How can someone even get a world record for traveling?¡± I mutter, slightly taken aback. ¡°By memorizing all the long and short routes to and from everywhere! How else would I do it mm?¡± Elliot presses towards me, that speech tick, or whatever it is, was getting annoying. ¡°Must be nice to have such a talent,¡± I slightly speed up, this kid is tiring. ¡°It is! The only problem is my other companions will often not listen to me and make us take longer to get where we want, mhm.¡± ¡°Your companions¡­?¡± I ask, looking behind us. Nobody in sight. ¡°Mmm, yes such a bothersome bunch. Cedri- Cedrick?¡± His horse halts abruptly, Elliot clicks his tongue, ¡°tsk, I have to go find them. See you later mm?¡± he waves me off and starts cantering back to where he came. ¡°Adonas smiles upon me,¡± I sigh, glad I managed long enough with that man¡¯s speech tick. Ò»¨‘Ò» I reach the Northern entrance of Yalev, a little jittery after the chance encounter with the dusty ginger. ¡°Is there a good inn somewhere around here?¡± I ask, hoping I could get some coins from here. ¡°Yes actually, it¡¯s just a block down. Real flashy, ya¡¯ can¡¯t miss it,¡± the sour looking male replies. I hand him a gold piece and make my way as instructed, I walk casually before I abruptly stop whistling mid-step when I almost pass a flashy (and rich) looking building. The words, ¡°Garrett''s Gambling Hall and Inn¡± above the door with old neon rods that were painted over in glow-in-the-dark paints. Antique¡­ interesting choice¡­ I turn 90¡ã on my heel and walk in. When I do, I mutter an expression of surprise as my eyes adjust to the stark contrast of lighting. The clicking and shuffling of gambling was upscaled versus the occasional poker nights at Yoliho. But this is probably not even in full swing yet, as it will be at night. ¡°Ah, you look like ya¡¯d know a thing or two, wanna take a shot at some Black Jack?¡± A slightly intoxicated man walked up to me. ¡°N-no, I''d rather not¡­¡± I politely deny. ¡°Come on, just one game won¡¯t ¡®urt ya¡¯,¡± he drawls. ¡°If I play one, I¡¯ll play them all, plus I don¡¯t want to upset your regulars,¡± I half-lie. ¡°Why else would ya¡¯ be ¡®ere if not to try ya¡¯ luck?¡± The man asks, confusion coming through the fog of his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to get some coin ¡®cause I¡¯m new around here and all.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ shoulda¡¯ said so! I¡¯ll get ya¡¯ to Garrett,¡± he pats my back and hobbles off. As he walks further away, I shift off and on my heels uncomfortably for a minute as the scent of marijuana struck my nose. By the time the man comes back, I¡¯m holding back my urge to gag in disgust. ¡°Right this way,¡± he grumbled, seemingly having sobered up to some extent. He led me up some stairs and through double doors. Behind those was a young-looking woman seated on a rather old, but well kept, sofa. Seems like someone has a thing for antiques. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± She asks, lust flooding her tone. ¡°My name¡¯s Jyrasck, but I¡¯m called Jyra,¡± I answer. ¡°I like it, foreign, memorable,¡± she smiles almost seductively. ¡°Any talents or things of note?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just wanting a part-time job ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°As a bard I assume, correct?¡± ¡°No, just a behind-the-scenes type deal.¡± ¡°Talk with Lucas,¡± her face becomes bored. ¡°You¡¯re hired.¡± ¡°...Eh? B-but Miss Garrett-¡± The escort stammers. ¡°Did I stutter? Get his times settled or no raise for the next year,¡± she threatens, causing Lucas to click his tongue bitterly before leading me downstairs once more to settle my schedule. 6: Mist I yawn, drooping my features into a slight frown as the unnaturally hued blonde continued to ramble about random things. Her arm was fully healed now, though it''s been less than a day. It shouldn¡¯t be surprising after what she told me the previous day, but it still is slightly off-putting. ¡°Oh yeah, how about ¡®The Fates¡¯ for our name?¡± She spans her arms out dramatically. ¡°Aren¡¯t those a trio? There¡¯s only two of us,¡± I comment. ¡°Until we get another ally,¡± Cana grins. ¡°And who will that be? A Curio?¡± I quip sarcastically. ¡°No- wait, that''s actually a good idea¡­¡± she strokes her chin to emphasize her thoughts. ¡°I was joke- that¡¯ll never happen,¡± I hiss sternly. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What if¡­¡± ¡°Even a Curio¡¯s child wouldn¡¯t, if they have children¡­¡± She sighs, ¡°okay, but hear me out, if a kid of a Curio came to ¡®visit¡¯ their parent and we befriended them¡­ they could help us escape!¡± ¡°Great plan,¡± I drawl, ¡°if that happened, the kid would want to work as a Curio, not to help Tested escape.¡± ¡°Ah, fair point, maybe I can look into the other Tested and find another ally,¡± Cana offers. ¡°Smarter than your other ideas.¡± ¡°Hey! I have smart thoughts!¡± ¡°Mkay, just go find a new friend,¡± I wave her off jokingly. ¡°I will,¡± she huffs, crossing her arms before spinning around. She stalks away and walks up to another group, me zoning out as she does so. If she does find another person that can help and is willing to do so, will their ability actually be helpful? If it is, how can we use it to the fullest? If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I blink, causing a vision. It was late at night, the noises of partying came loud to my ears, a headache hit my brain like a brick. The clambering of unknown people most likely woke me up, I mutter a complaint under my breath and attempt to fall asleep again. My sight comes back to the cold, sterile white walls of the monochrome Laboratory of my everyday life. A slight droop in my chest with the indescribable feeling of "what is the point" washed over me. If we do escape, the Curio will just hunt us down and do who-knows-what with us. It makes our hope feel useless thinking about it. No, thinking about the negative won¡¯t help anyone. I need to focus on planning the escape. I blink out for a second and analyze my current situation, grounding myself doing so. I see Cana in a small group of three boys and four girls, she was talking to one with dark skin and darker hair. Is that who she wants to ally with- a talkative male? Sure that¡¯s a rational idea to get everyone on board with escaping, but what else can he do besides that? Could he do anything about the doors- or even better, a map of the Lab? I start to daze off until a loud alarm echoed, I get up and walk to the Yard, as the signal suggested. I fell behind most of the Tested, though I clung carefully behind the people before me. Nobody wants to stray from the group during location transfers, it could -if not did- lead to immense pain or the occasional death. A large crack of a whip was heard beside me, where two girls were conversing jolt in fear. One of them getting a large gash in their back, though she doesn¡¯t respond at all, no cries of pain, only a faltering of the step and silent weeping. ¡°No talking!¡± A low, violent voice growls out from the whip¡¯s holder. I cringe at the now-bleeding incision on her back, the white uniform stained and torn from the inflicted wound. The girl, who was now leaning on her friend, cried silently. Not a noise exited her lips as her tears made their way to the floor. Though no one else acted in sympathy towards the sudden violence, they simply kept walking. Silent, straight, and mindless. Though it¡¯s to be expected, if they didn¡¯t they¡¯d end up like the girl. Or that¡¯s what anyone in their right mind here would assume. I think back to my vision, the one of open fields and real sky. I remember the ruins of the Laboratory, but not as I envisioned them before, it was fully upright, the door hanging wide as Curio quickly processed what occurred and started chasing after us. A Tested boy ran down to face the Curio. He looked back with bright blue eyes, smiling as he essentially sacrificed himself for everyone. We all ran, dispersing into a dark forest, I rested in some foliage as Curio and other unknown people scoured the place for my location. A chill of something unknown crawled up my body. Was that another vision? This is strange¡­ I¡¯ve never seen two visions that come off of one another. But it seemed so realistic, almost like it¡¯s what¡¯s bound to happen. ¡°Mist! Look! I told you!¡± Cana¡¯s hyper voice startles me out of thought. 7: Allies ¡°Meanie Mist,¡± I grumble as I walk over to a group of conversing kids. ¡°And then he was all, ¡®I am your father¡¯- like no duh.¡± A relaxed boy says, leaning back casually. His dark features contrast with his blue-gray eyes. Which lit up as a cup of water darted to his hand, turning a beautiful aquamarine as he bore them into the cup. ¡°Wow, you have such a cool power!¡± A blushy tween girl says in awe. ¡°Not really. If I could do it without making eye contact though it¡¯d be amazing,¡± he chuckles lightly. ¡°No really! I wish I could have something that practical,¡± I join in. ¡°Yeah it¡¯s nice and all, but the Curio refuse to believe I can pick up anything nonliving,¡± he sighs exaggeratedly. The mini-harem giggling and flushing in response. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s nicer than my testing. I¡¯m so jealous,¡± I humor the charismatic male, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. ¡°Heheh, yeah¡­ I guess I¡¯m kinda lucky ¡®cause of it,¡± he replies awkwardly. BRRT- a large sound resonated through the hall, signaling everyone to enter the Yard. Everyone stopped what they were doing or saying and mindlessly started to walk off. The blue-eyed boy fell in beside me and whispered in my ear, ¡°my name¡¯s Luke by the way.¡± I subtly nod, ¡°I¡¯m Cana, we want your help with-¡± THWAK- a large whip crashed down somewhere in the crowd, making some nearby flinch in fear. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°No talking!¡± A deep voice rumbled, sending further fear into the fellow Tested. We walk in silence until we reach the Yard and the Curio leave us. ¡°So what do you want my help with¡­?¡± Luke blinks after a pregnant pause. ¡°We want you to help with breaking outta¡¯ here,¡± I stare at him dead in his lightly colored eyes. ¡°Who is ¡®we¡¯?¡± He tilts his head endearingly. ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± I smirk, pulling his wrist and running off to find Mist.
What just happened? I jolt as Cana grabs my hand and darts, me fumbling behind. ¡°Mist look! I told you so!¡± She releases me once she stops before another girl. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ shocking¡­¡± the said girl blinked, foggy eyes clearing up for a second. ¡°Don¡¯t act so surprised!¡± Cana whines almost dog-like, ¡°anyway, this is Luke! He can totally help us!¡± ¡°Did you force him over here?¡± The so-called Mist asked skeptically. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± The blonde looks down at her feet guiltily. ¡°I¡¯m interested though, what¡¯s this ¡®escape¡¯ thing about?¡± I ask animatedly. ¡°Mist can see the future and she saw us escaping and she told me and-¡± ¡°I saw something that can- if we trigger the right timeline- result in our freedom,¡± Mist explains, cutting off a now pouting Cana. ¡°That¡¯s cool but how could that even happen, escaping I mean,¡± I blink. ¡°We don¡¯t know, but I have an idea for doing so,¡± Mist replies. ¡°That is¡­?¡± ¡°We find someone with a spatial ability to map out the Lab fully so we can know our planned route of escape. Then we have to find the time of least non-Tested in the building and during that time, a telekinetic can undo all the locks in our way and we¡¯re free.¡± I blink, confused as a bird hitting glass, ¡°wha¡­?¡± I say in unison with Cana. Her features frowned as if calling us dumb with her bleary eyes, "if we get a schedule from the Curio, a layout of the Lab, and someone who can manipulate locks, we can escape.¡± Mist reiterates. ¡°Wow, Mist! You¡¯re a genius!¡± Cana praises the girl cheerfully, I nod in agreement, but say nothing. Seems cool, like me. 8: Ross Smitt I look up at the sign ¡°Artisans of Adonas¡±, maybe this is my chance to look into the adventurer¡¯s needs and stuff. I open up the door ever so slightly before hearing some dialogue between two guild members. ¡°Now how do you think a hunka glass is about ta¡¯ defend people during a battle?¡± A male voice spat. ¡°At least I don¡¯t put phony runes in my work for the fun of it!¡± A female retorted. ¡°Now now Lysa, Thane, unlike you two, some of us need peace of mind to make our works,¡± another more passive aggressive voice quipped. ¡°Sara, don¡¯t tick them off further. We all know they can¡¯t help themselves,¡± a third feminine voice lightly laughed. A second male voice chuckled, ¡°that¡¯s true. But can¡¯t you see the new arrival? Come on in child, how may we help you?¡± My spine turned rigid as I opened the door enough to pass, ¡°I-I was just curious, I was hoping I could have a career in inventing, but I haven¡¯t found a good place to work yet¡­¡± The previously speaking male answered, ¡°welcome then. I¡¯ll go retrieve the guild leader.¡± The rather calm male walked off. Leaving me with three bickering artisans. A lean, and very pretty woman walked up to me as the other three quarreled. ¡°So what do you work in? Sculpting? Jewelry?¡± She questions. ¡°I work on gadgets for adventurers, or at least designs of gadgets,¡± I reply fidgety. ¡°Nice, I¡¯m Elyra by the way. Botanist and painter,¡± she turns towards the squabbling trio. ¡°The man is Thane, he does metalwork. Lysa works in glass, and Sara does tapestries.¡± Elyra introduces them, pointing to the designated person. ¡°Say, whadda¡¯ you think? Is glass or metal better?¡± The shorter than average (but still taller than me) man jabs at me with a stubby finger. ¡°Uhm¡­ it depends on its use,¡± I point out. ¡°If it¡¯s fighting, metal would provide a good weapon, but glass would help with helmets, traps and other things of the sort. To put it simply, they¡¯re on equal footing.¡± ¡°See? Glass is more versatile, the kid said it himself,¡± the large, black haired Lysa quipped proudly. ¡°No, I said glass can provide ideal traps for the enemy along with protection, but so can metal. They both can achieve the same goals,¡± I explained before Thane could retort. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Gotta smart mouth on ¡®im,¡± Sara, the smaller, more daintily featured woman commented. ¡°But how about the arts? Which is better then?¡± ¡°Glass can give more variety in colors, but they can¡¯t achieve the same nature towards the art. For example, metal has a more clean, strong look unlike glass, which is more soft and quaint. So it all depends on the person you ask,¡± I answer. ¡°What¡¯s your name kid?¡± Thane asks, forgery tools jangling at his sides. ¡°R-ross, Ross Smitt.¡± ¡°How can an infant such as yourself criticize my art eh?¡± He advances, slowly speeding up until he is about to reach me. ¡°Thane! You know better than to scare the poor child-¡± Elyra hisses, jutting an arm out between the angry blacksmith and me. The metalworker¡¯s eyes faltered before he started to laugh. ¡°You have to test their confidence somehow!¡± He turns to me, ¡°pleasure to meet you sport.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± A panicked voice bursts through a door, the calm male from before behind. ¡°Ah, Liora, you¡¯re here,¡± Thane turns to the newcomer. She had long, dirty blonde hair that was tied loosely in a crisp white cloth that enhanced the brightness of her waves. ¡°Yup, I heard y¡¯all were fighting again so I- ooh a new person!¡± So-called Liora answers. ¡°Yes, this one wants to join the guild,¡± Elyra blurts. I open my mouth to retaliate but jam it shut as Liora speaks up. ¡°Ah okay!¡± She whips out a small notepad, ¡°name?¡± ¡°Ross Smitt.¡± ¡°Age?¡± ¡°Twenty-one.¡± ¡°Talent?¡± ¡°Social anxiety- er designing gadgets.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we all,¡± Liora chuckles, ¡°can I see a design?¡± I show her my idea for my cartridge-handled dagger. ¡°Alrighty, now are you willing to fight for your work?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d sacrifice my soul for them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Liora, the guild leader and this is Milo, my co-leader. Welcome to the Artisans of Adonas!¡± Liora waves her hands into the sky. ¡°So what do you need for creating your trinkets?¡± ¡°For designing? Uhm, just a place to sit I guess,¡± I rub the back of my neck timidly. ¡°No no, for creating your designs. You should be able to at least fashion your trinkets if you want to, right?¡± She asks, turning to me. ¡°I guess¡­ I¡¯ve never really made them before¡­¡± ¡°Are you- kidding me?! You haven¡¯t made a single design come off that paper of yours?¡± Liora gapes, astonished. She ushers me to a desk and has me sit in it, after a minute, she plops a bunch of scrap metals, woods, and leathers before me with a tool kit. ¡°Start with these, try and make that dagger. Tell me how it goes,¡± Liora pats my shoulder and leaves. Wha-? Okay..? 9: Jyrasck Yoliho A week passes boringly. Simply wake up, go to work, toy practice with my newfound ability, go home, repeat. Sure, I¡¯m now able to let loose my ability at will, but it¡¯s like projectile vomiting, all or nothing. That sounds weird and disgusting but it¡¯s true. Out of my boredom, I stroll about town, looking for something to entertain me for the time being. As I do, a young woman yelped before crying, ¡°help! Thief!¡± My ego erupts from my chest as I look around to see two young children running off with the woman¡¯s purse. No, they didn¡¯t- I bolt after the goofs. ¡°That¡¯s enough you little gremlins,¡± I snatch the purse out of the little boy¡¯s hands. His little eyes widen in shock. ¡°Boots, retreat!¡± He shouts and the two run off and out of sight. I hand the woman her purse back. ¡°Sorry for all the trouble, those goofball kids know no bounds.¡± She sighs. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve been needing something to entertain myself with anyways,¡± I chuckle. ¡°Who are those kids anyways?¡± ¡°They call themselves the Dynamos, but they just have some¡­ active imaginations,¡± she replies. ¡°Mhm¡­ well I¡¯ll see you later,¡± I wave her off, curious about the occurrence. Ò»¨‘Ò» It took until the afternoon for the ¡°Dynamos¡± to return. I was lazing around when the gap-toothed little boy from before ran up to me. ¡°You! Purple Titan! We, the Dynamozs, challenge you!¡± He shouts, as I pick up his childish lisp. When he says that, he dives into the bushes and three other kids burst out and grab onto my two legs, one of them being the little girl from before. I pretend to falter, though it is hard to keep from toppling over. I plant my foot on the ground, with some of my strength. But instead, I projectile vomit my energy, the little gremlins fly a foot off of me. They all gasp and run off once more. I laugh, ¡°you challenge me? The Purple Titan God, Jyra? Ha! You couldn¡¯t even make me fall over and you expect to defeat me?¡± I shout out for the adventurous kids to overhear. This is fun. I hear the kids whisper amongst themselves in the bushes before I hear a ¡°What?!¡± in unison before multiple shushes. I start smiling dorkily, ahh the memories. The little boy popped out of the brush, ¡°Haha! We were actually tethting you! It¡¯th time for you to join the Dynamo! We need your help with a perilouth journey,¡± he says proudly. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°And that would be what exactly?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°You mutht work ath a thpy for uth to find out more about the queen, Emma! We believe thhe hath been potheththed by the evil Fizzlebang!¡± The boy says, struggling with "possessed". ¡°That is bad!¡± I gasp theatrically, ¡°we must save the queen!¡± ¡°Zo you¡¯ll do it?¡± Gap-tooth asks, eyes glittering. ¡°We titans honor royalty to great extremes, of course I will,¡± I put my fist to my breast with a satisfying wack. I hear cheering before I get bombarded with four small bodies, toppling me over onto my backside. Oh Adonas, what have I gotten myself into? Ò»¨‘Ò» ¡°See her?¡± Liam the Lisped stage whispers. ¡°Yessir,¡± Ethan the Mediator replies. ¡°Affirmative,¡± Sophie the Smart pushes up her glasses. ¡°Yupper do,¡± Zara the Booted grins mischievously. Emma, the woman from before was walking downtown, towards an unidentified shop. Liam looked up at me, straining his neck as he did, ¡°Purple Titan, go!¡± He points to add flair as he stage-whispers. I watch Ethan get into position after kicking a soccer ball out into the road, as he is about to enter the street I rush out. ¡°Woah kiddo, it¡¯s dangerous to go out on the road.¡± I stop him, as rehearsed, then go get the ball. A couple bikers were talking as they almost clipped me, but I get the ball and return it to Ethan. Who which runs off. I continue walking casually before pretending to realize Emma was watching me. ¡°Oh hey, what a coincidence.¡± I walk up, ¡°how are you?¡± ¡°Good,¡± she answers. ¡°Do you know that kid?¡± ¡°Nope, just saw him being reckless and acted. Don¡¯t want the new generation to become another ¡®Chained Generation¡¯** y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Yeah, I get that. Since I work the nearby school, I have the urge to protect and provide for them almost every day. But it¡¯s hard dealing with innocent, little, migraine-inducing children on the daily.¡± I nod in agreement. Sometimes they never get out of the stage. ¡°Mmm, that must be hard dealing with ones like that every day. Some people at my old tavern acted so much like children we¡¯d nickname them Ankle-biter, Tot, all the things,¡± this made her chuckle. ¡°The kids at that school that love me the most have to be the Dynamos. Those idiots,¡±-I slightly cringe, knowing they¡¯re nearby- ¡°saw my irritable side a couple times and have been distant since.¡± She laughs in more of a huff, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they thought I was possessed by the ghost of a witch or something.¡± That was almost accurate, I¡¯m impressed. ¡°As kids do, it honestly brings me back to my school days. I was¡­ definitely not the teacher''s favorite.¡± She laughed at that. ¡°I¡¯ve told you all this but not even my name, I¡¯m Emma by the way,¡± She smiles softly. ¡°I¡¯m Jryasck, but everyone calls me Jyra,¡± I smile back. ¡°Quite the name, I won¡¯t be forgetting it anytime soon that¡¯s for sure.¡± Emma waves me off and enters a coffee shop. Befitting of a teacher, I nod to myself and leave. The Dynamos soon found me and asked about the intel I gathered. I told them that to "exorcise" the evil Fizzlebang, they had to bring him tribute and say the magic words (¡°we¡¯re sorry for causing you trouble Ms. Emma¡±). They were hesitant but accepted the task. And later that very day, I saw them walking out of a store carrying a doodled-on coffee mug. 10: Run and Hide The entirety of the Tested formed around me as we walked to the beds. I climbed to my bed, for the last time. We¡¯re breaking out. Tonight. I lay down, pretending to fall asleep, as was everyone else. We waited, and waited, and waited. The Curio had shut and lock the doors, a loud sigh was heard from below me. The Curio are gone. Me and Iris kicked our blankets over the one-sided mirror, as did two other Tested did with the other side of the room. The four of us silently descend, Iris opened the bottom half of her white polo shirt, a map of the Lab was jotted on her stomach with pen and marker. I narrow my eyes to see it before making my way to the correct door, I stare at it intensely as it made a muffled click. Someone rolled over, signaling to the others to get up. They silently make their ways down and around. Sam walked forward and camouflaged himself, he silently walked out as Sonia watched him via. her heat vision. After a second she glided out, followed by Knives, Micheal, and Ty. Then Joanna, Louis, Missy, and George. Then the rest of us. We speedwalk (thanks to Ghost¡¯s abnormality), pause in some areas, and speedwalk again until reaching the intersection right in front of the final door. The door to freedom. I stare at it with daggers as the keypad on it goes green, as it does, Sam darts and exits. Sonia waves up Ray and they look to each side, signaling one at a time to leave as I unlock it. Lemon. Harper. Daniel. Iris. Mary. Annabelle. Slate. Mosa. Antadon. Most everyone has left, Honeycomb was about to go when Ray scrambled behind the wall. Someone is coming. Everyone froze, Flit pressed his hand into the wall as we were enveloped by a spectral sense. All except for Honeycomb. Knives stepped forward, the always angry expression he wore faltered. Until rage ensued. His flesh contorted in his arms as sharp bones began to carve their way out of his skin. When they breached they were stained with the red of his blood, they floated in the air beside him as he aligned them telepathically towards the hall Ray was keeping watch off. He was out to kill. He stepped forward, the rage reddening his face. Coil quickly took to action, her fingers becoming thick, flesh-colored cords that enveloped the raging Knives. She pulled him back as Honeycomb¡¯s skin began to look encased in a thick fluid, her figure warping underneath until she looked like nothing but a part of the floor. A Curio walked right on top of where Honeycomb once was, thinking nothing of it as he walked out the door. And left. I hope and pray for the others outside to already be far, far away. Until the walls are lit red. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Run,¡± I hiss. ¡°Run. Run!¡± I push everyone ahead of me aggressively. They found us out.
I froze in fear. Luke shoved me off of balance, ¡°run! Hurry! Get outta¡¯ here! We have to run!¡± He shouts, panic encouraging every action he does. I spin around and help him rush people out as a loud crunch causes the door before us to fly away, wind rushing towards us. Real wind. I pause again before shoving Flit towards the door. Luke, again, shoves my forward, ¡°what are you doing? Go, Cana! Go run away and hide before they find you!¡± ¡°But what about you?¡± I pause. ¡°No buts- who knows what they will do to everyone after this. You have to run. Now.¡± I feel someone grab my wrist. It was Mist. ¡°Do you want to die here? This is our only chance. Did you believe in me for nothing?¡± Her eyes were clear. Cold. Scared. ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°Luke will be fine, but you won¡¯t if we don¡¯t run and hide.¡± She yanks me out the door and runs. I grab onto Luke and bring him along. I don¡¯t want anyone to die. He pries his hand away and pushes me away. His eyes melancholy, he knows. He knows this is his end. I falter but Mist yanks me up again. We barrel over and roll. Roll, roll, roll until we crash into a wall. Or so I thought. Was that a pole? I didn¡¯t have enough time before Mist drags me into a ditch of wetness. What is that? Where am I? That¡¯s right. I¡¯m out of the Lab. I¡¯m free.
Dammit Cana- it¡¯s do or die and you plan to let them capture you. After all this? Are you insane? I grab her and pull her over the hill, which results in us tumbling and tumbling until we hit a rusty pole. I hear a sickening crack from one of us as we crash into it, before we could think I drag her into a ditch of brown water. I pull her towards me, if one of us gets caught we¡¯re both dead. I flatten my hair and ears and close my eyes. Under my eyelids I see Luke. He¡¯s running off to the right of the Laboratory. That is until a Curio tackles him. Strangles him. After a little while I jolt back to the wet ditch. My face slightly sticky as I return, I slowly reach my hands to my face. It was wet. Like water coming from my eyes. Tears. Am I¡­ crying? Cana nudges me, ¡°are you okay? What happened? Was it a vision..? Was it Luke? Is he okay?¡± I look at my hands, they are shaking. Shaking. What is happening to me? I feel Cana start to tremble beside me. She knew. Luke is dead. Because of the Curio, he is dead. Crunch-. Someone is coming. I smack my arm across Cana¡¯s torso, making her go into the brown water fully as I hold my breath and do the same. Water rushes into my ears and nostrils as I sink. I see a small light, a lantern being held by a yellow-beige blob. A Curio. Anger rises in my throat as I draw into darkness. They will pay. 11: Welcome to the World, Mist Sun is just cresting the hills, I¡¯m tinkering with metal and plastic scraps, attempting to make a cartridge for the Jekyll dagger (name is being workshopped). ¡°Oh Ross, you¡¯re still up?¡± The sugary voice of Elyra asks. ¡°I took a nap a while back but got up again. Y¡¯know, 3am inspiration type stuff,¡± I reply. ¡°Ah, I was wondering if you wouldn¡¯t mind coming with me to gather some herbs in the forest,¡± Elyra fidgeted with her shirt hem. ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind,¡± I shrug and get up, Hooking my many small lenses to the arms of my glasses. She adjusts her satchel on her shoulder and retrieves a basket from her art area. She hands it to me and we leave. ??? I followed her until we reached the nearby forest which I recognized quickly. ¡°Aren¡¯t we not allowed to go near the Lab?¡± I ask hesitantly. ¡°Guilds have benefits,¡± Elyra answers. ¡°Noted,¡± I comment. She teaches me about which herbs she needed, wanted, and were the most important. She told me to grab comfrey (or Symphytum officinale). I bend down, slightly cringing at the squelching of the mud and inspect the muck for it. I find some and pick out a few stems before hearing a scream. I get scared half to death and run over to where Elyra was. She was down in the mud, pointing a shaking hand at the stream before her. I look to see a girl a little younger than myself that was unconscious, her white uniform stained and caked in the mud. The first thing that came to mind was that she was dead. I slowly approach the body and see two, fuzzy triangles coming from the top of her head. I slowly lift my hand to them before jumping back, are those ears?! Who has animal ears and are human? And they aren¡¯t fake either! I shake my head, snapping out of it. Focus, there is an unconscious girl right in front of you with a dirty white uniform and cat ears. I turn to Elyra, ¡°do you know CPR?¡± ¡°No, but I do have something¡­¡± she shuffles through her satchel and pulls out a small plant (lobelia to be exact). She walks over to the girl, parts the girl¡¯s lips, and places the crushed plant on her tongue. She pulls me away from inspecting the girl just in time as the girl jolted upright, spitting out water. I, again, cringe slightly at the scene. I quickly look for my notebook, and clutch it in my hands. Who is this? What is the purpose of her cat-ears? Where is she from? I continue to analyze from a distance as Elyra took over. ¡°Are you okay? We found you lying in that stream and got worried,¡± Elyra says, reminding me of that one friend¡¯s mother as she does. ¡°Cana¡­Where¡¯s Cana?,¡± The girl looks upstream, fear enveloping her features. ¡°I dunno, we only found you down here,¡± Elyra says calmly. Fear struck the white-and-black haired girl¡¯s eyes, making them almost clear as she processed unidentified thoughts. ¡°Look. You¡¯re wet, dirty, confused, and most likely lost. Let¡¯s look for this ¡®Cana¡¯ character once you¡¯re more cleaned up.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°You would likely grab the attention of government officials in those,¡± Elyra says in warning. The girl hesitated before complying. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Who are these people? Curio? But they don¡¯t look like Curio¡­ What are they? I stare intensely at the woman and man. The man looked my age, maybe Cana¡¯s age and the woman sounds so nice. Untrustworthy nice. And he looks too much like he could be a Curio. Miss Lady walks up to the dude before coming up to me. ¡°We can take you to the guild house to get you washed up, is that okay?¡± She asks. I nod in response, knowing I have little options. We walk a while, Glasses keeps on trying to walk beside me but I hide behind Ms. Lady every time. He gives Ms. Lady a dejected look each time, making her chuckle. We arrive at a large building with a bunch of weird symbols above the door. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I ask, squinting up at the symbols. ¡°Whuz wha?¡± Miss Lady looks around. ¡°That¡¯s a sign, it says ¡®Artisans of Adonas¡¯,¡± Mr. Book answers. ¡°Is this Adonas?¡± ¡°No, Adonas is our savior, our religion,¡± Mrs. Lady says with a distant twinkle in her eyes. ¡°Who are you anyway?¡± I ask bluntly. ¡°My name¡¯s Elyra, he¡¯s Ross,¡± Ms. Lady points to the respective people as she does so. We enter the building and Elyra starts going through her bag as Ross goes off somewhere else. He returns with a rag and towl and gives them to Elyra, who takes me to a washroom before asking permission to assist my bathing. I was uncomfortable, but allowed it. I mean, the only reason we could¡¯ve escaped was because Iris could write the map on her stomach. ¡°So what¡¯s your style? Dresses? Denim?¡± Elyra asks me. ¡°What are those..?¡± I ask curiously. ¡°Wow, where did you come from where there¡¯s no dresses?¡± I don¡¯t respond to that, she¡¯d probably find a Curio to take me back if I¡¯d answered it. After a while, she leaves me to clean myself, which I did efficiently. I finish in the average time required at the Lab and hear a knock on the door. Elyra claims to be the only one behind it so I allow her entry. She places a bunch of uniforms before me and tells me to choose one. I try to find one like my old one before looking up at her, ¡°there isn¡¯t any.¡± ¡°Really? I swore I got everything the size of the uniform,¡± she processed aloud. ¡°Where are the others then?¡± I ask, slightly concerned why someone wouldn¡¯t have the right uniform. ¡°Uniforms? We don¡¯t have anything like that¡­¡± I go through the assortment again. I pull out a pair of blue pants that were roughly cut halfway down. ¡°Are these jeans..?¡± I inquire once more. ¡°Those are Jorts,¡± Elyra explains. ¡°I heard about these from a friend, and about jackets made of the same material to help you stay warm,¡± I say aloud. ¡°Yup, but since it¡¯s summer, we don¡¯t need jackets except for in cold places,¡± Elyra briefs me on articles as I go through the pile again. I pick out what Elyra calls a graphic tee that apparently said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the future and I¡¯m right in every one¡±, which humors me, and the Jorts from before, which crawls up my legs every time I sit. We exit the washroom and I hear the sounds of yelling. I pause, are they testing on someone? Are they going to test on me? I shrink away from Elyra and glue myself to the washroom door, did I escape one Lab to wind up in another? Elyra continues walking and I wait and listen. ¡°Thane Blackthorn! I told you to save arguing with Lysa until we get an isolated wreck room,¡± Elyra berates someone around the corner. A deep, scary voice replies, ¡°you didn¡¯t say anything though!¡± ¡°It really doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯ll fight either way,¡± a second, more relaxed voice spat. ¡°You scared the poor girl,¡± Elyra started around the corner to chide the other voices. After a while, Ross walked into view, causing me to tense up and flatten myself more on the door. ¡°What do you want? To test me?¡± I growl. ¡°No! No, why-how could we? I just wanted to talk,¡± Ross animates his words with waving of his hands. ¡°About what?¡± I spit, were those motions a part of a signal? ¡°I think I know why you¡¯re so defensive. I understand,¡± the ice-blue eyed male sighs. ¡°Understand what?¡± I falter a second before standing rigid again. ¡°You were either insanely sheltered by your parents or are a Lab escapee right?¡± I pause, mentally calculating how he could have picked that up, ¡°you don¡¯t have to answer that. But nobody outside of the Labs are going to strap you to a survey table and dissect you if you¡¯re wondering.¡± Ross says, making me ease up slightly. They do seem nicer than most other Non-Tested. Then again, I guess I¡¯m now a Non-Tested too. 12: Cana I wake up, coughing and throwing up brown, watery liquid. I rolled over on my side before getting up again because of the cold, squishy, stuff I was on. That doesn¡¯t feel like a bed- where am I? Oh, I¡¯m on dirt. Real dirt. Not the thinly lined mattress of the Lab. I get up and wipe some of the muck off my uniform. My uniform that is dirty enough to be put off as brown pants and an artistically designed white to brown gradient. I hop up, balance myself on the squishy dirt, and start walking off. Across the water, and to (according to Luke) a town. I walk up to a clear wall and look into it. There was a bunch of books (again, something I learned from other Tested), lined up atop one another with gaps between. I curiously gaze through the gaps before seeing another pair of smokey eyes looking at me from the other side. I jump back, peering in again after a while. This time I see the back of someone walking by the shelves. A light, pleasant ring of something was heard soon afterward. ¡°You like books?¡± A kind, charming male voice asks me. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t read one before,¡± I chirp nonchalantly. ¡°Really? Never? Sure they are kinda¡¯ boring, but most people have at least read one book,¡± he replies. ¡°How old are you anyway?¡± ¡°The adults never let us see the time so I dunno,¡± I answer. ¡°You look about eighteen or so. Old enough to be called adult but not old enough to sip wine, but so you have any place to stay? Any relatives nearby?¡± ¡°Dunno, been in the La- that place all my life, and nobody came to visit or anything so¡­¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°That¡¯s sad. Maybe you could chill with me for the day, until you find a place to stay that is,¡± he offers. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m Cana by the way,¡± I beam. ¡°Jyrasck, I go by Jyra though,¡± he repeats the motion. We walk off before another shop (again, Tested) catches my interest. And another shop. And another. We keep visiting shop after shop until late in the day (which it already was after noon as Jyrasck said). He stops at a large, sparklier building than the rest with symbols on the top of it. ¡°This is where I gotta be so¡­ um¡­¡± Jyra pauses. ¡°What does that say?¡± I point to the symbols. Luke said those are called words and showed me what L,U,K, and E look like. But not the other letters so I just see ¡°????E??¡¯? ????L??? ??LL ??? ???¡± ¡°That says Garrett¡¯s Gambling Hall and Inn,¡± Jyrasck explains. ¡°Cool! I can¡¯t read so I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± I smile. ¡°Wow,¡± he falters, ¡°wait. I know the perfect person,¡± he smacks his fist into his open palm. ¡°Wait here for a sec¡¯.¡± ¡°Okie!¡± I nod, and wait outside the building for a while until Jyrasck returns with a lady. They were talking but I couldn¡¯t hear them. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Emma. I heard you can¡¯t read,¡± the lady introduces herself. She seems nice. ¡°Yup, I only know how to spell ¡®Luke¡¯,¡± I answer. ¡°Wow,¡± Emma says, exasperatedly, ¡°and how old are you?¡± ¡°About eighteen,¡± I chirp proudly. ¡°Double wow, okay. How about I teach you the alphabet while Jyra is gone on work? Sounds good?¡± She says sweetly. ¡°Yup! Can I learn how to spell my name first?¡± I ask excitedly. ¡°Sure, what¡¯s your name then?¡± Emma asks as she pulls out some paper (we had some for drawing in the Lab) and a pencil. ¡°Cana! But people also called me Unkno back at the place,¡± I say. She writes some symbols and tells them which is which and stuffs as Jyrasck departs into the gambling hall and inn. ¡­ What is gambling anyways? 13: Ross Smitt ¡°Ross, the kid needs you,¡± Thane groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. ¡°She said her name was Mist, not ¡®the kid¡¯,¡± I smirked before finishing off my coffee and walking to where she was staying. ¡°You need me?¡± I ask after entering the room, which had its door wide open. ¡°Yes,¡± Mist pops up beside me, one of Elyra¡¯s satchels messily put on, as if she doesn¡¯t know how to wear them. ¡°You seem to know about this town, so I need you to help me find Cana before she causes trouble and gets caught.¡± ¡°Eh? Why can¡¯t you ask Elyra, or Milo?¡± I fidget, sure I¡¯ve been here for a week or so. But I only know the path to and from this place and the marketplace, so I''m not the ideal option. ¡°Because, you understand the importance of this endeavor,¡± she states bluntly. ¡°...Fair, I did say I understood¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll help,¡± I itch my neck thoughtfully. ¡°Good, then I have no need for force,¡± Mist chirps. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I mentally question my choices before following her out. She pauses for a minute and walks towards the forest, we climb up the hill for a while before pausing once more. Mist squats down, all the mud had mostly dried by the time we returned. She studied the mud before hopping up and pointing back to the town, ¡°that way.¡± ¡°That way we go,¡± I say in response. We walk for a while until we reach a caf¨¦, Mist pauses here once more to analyze internally. ¡°Hey! You shtole a book! Dynamozs, attack!!¡± A young boy''s voice shouts, making me jump as three kids grapple me. I quickly take my notebook into a football carry. Nobody is allowed to touch my research without permission, kids are no exception. They try to steal my work continually for what felt like ten minutes until a female voice shouts, ¡°you goofball kids- stop bothering every adult you meet!¡± A young woman around my age darts around the corner. ¡°Queen Emma!¡± They all cease and bow before the woman, who must be their teacher or something, ¡°how is the princess?¡± ¡°Wha-?¡± The woman pauses before realizing something, ¡°ah, she¡¯s actually with me-¡± ¡°Oh- they¡¯re talking about me?¡± An unnaturally-hued blonde girl chirps as she pops into view. Mist turns immediately to the voice. ¡°Unkno, you didn¡¯t get caught!¡± Her cat-ears perked up excitedly. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You missed me? Aww, I¡¯m honored, and I told you to not call me that,¡± who I assume to be another Lab escapee emphasizes her words with her motions. ¡°I was hoping you didn¡¯t cause any trouble, and my prayers have been answered,¡± Mist gibes. ¡°Hey¡­¡± The girl whines. ¡°Please excuse the kids, they have the world¡¯s most active imaginations that I sometimes wonder if they¡¯ll return from their fantasy dimensions or not,¡± ¡°Queen¡± Emma smiles. ¡°Oh it¡¯s fine, it seems like the one we found knows your oldest,¡± I point out, changing subjects. ¡°Uh, yeah. My friend found that one as well, no idea where she came from that didn¡¯t teach her to read,¡± She sighs as we turn to awkwardly observe the children. ¡°Fascinating,¡± I say as I mentally note the resemblance. ¡°Mist, do you want to stay with them for a while?¡± Mist glares in response, ¡°you must accompany on the quest. That is an order.¡± I sigh, a strained smile on my features as Emma chuckles at the exchange, ¡°you must have your hands full.¡± ¡°Emma, there you are! You weren¡¯t at the Inn so I got concerned,¡± a male voice chirps cheerfully, making me jump. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, Cana and I just had to wrangle up the Dynamos before we came. But it looks like she found an old friend,¡± Emma explains as I note the man¡¯s features. Really tall, long violet-red hair, and well built to boot. I look to myself enviously. My short, blind-without-glasses, nerdy-as-heck self. But then again, I don¡¯t have to duct into door frames as he probably has to. ¡°I¡¯m hoping she¡¯s enjoying herself with you,¡± he smiles at Emma with an unnatural charm. ¡°She is, so far Cana knows most of the alphabet and helps with these ones more than I could,¡± Emma responds, signaling to the five single-digit year olds. The boy who launched the attack on me swiftly turns to the newcomer, ¡°the Purple Titan has returned!¡± At once, the five kids salute in unison. ¡°The Purple Titan¡± laughs, ¡°yes, yes. I, the god of titans, accept your tribute.¡± ¡°You have way too much fun with them, Jyra,¡± Emma chuckles. ¡°I gotta take as much fun out of life as possible. It¡¯s only natural,¡± Jyra grins in response. ¡°Who¡¯re they? Did they catch you and plan on taking you back? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll send one of the artisans on them so we can escape,¡± I hear Mist talking as I zone out. ¡°Those people are fine. And I was thinking about¡­¡± Cana¡¯s answer delves into a low, inaudible whisper. ¡°Where¡¯d you find that other girl anyway?¡± Jyra asks, making me jolt. ¡°Uh yeah, me and a friend found her unconscious in the woods. We¡¯ve had her rest at the guild building since. ¡®Artisans of Adonas¡¯ and stuff,¡± I reply. ¡°So you¡¯re in a guild? How long have you been here?¡± Jyra continues. ¡°I just go there to tinker and test my designs, I¡¯m not a member though.¡± I quickly say before he internalizes it, ¡°and I¡¯ve only been in Yalev for a little while.¡± ¡°Oh same! How ironic that we¡¯d only see each other now?¡± Jyra laughs and starts talking with me like an old friend. The Dynamos are horsing around in the background as I gather information from Jyra. Apparently his full name is Jyrasck Yoliho and he was the best-selling bard at an Inn in Belduar but left on hiatus for a while. Though I have a feeling it¡¯s something more than just a break. I talk with him casually until Mist walks up and says we¡¯re going and taking Cana with. ¡°Okay, I need to be briefed before you go making decisions. What will the others think when you bring another home, and is there even enough space for another person?¡± I pause, this cat-girl is most likely younger than me and she assumes superiority. Where did she get that from? 14: Jryasck Yoilho Talk about saucy teens, I think as I watch Ross talk to a teenage cat girl with unnaturally done hair. ¡°Okay, I need to be told before you go making choices. What will the others think when I bring a second kid with an unknown origin into the place, plus is there even enough room for another?¡± ¡°She can sleep with me. Let¡¯s just get back, we need to discuss this elsewhere.¡± A cat-ear flicks sharply. ¡°But what about her friends she¡¯s been staying with?¡± Ross says, attempting to keep composure. ¡°Who said they were her friends?¡± She jibes, I see the tick mark on Ross¡¯ forehead as she does. ¡°Are you Cana? Surely you can¡¯t read minds,¡± Ross snaps before turning to Cana. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to go unless she truly wants to.¡± ¡°I kinda wanted you to stay with me instead,¡± Cana chirps, ignoring the previous fight, that of course having me toss myself into the conversation. ¡°I mean she can, but the only place is on the floor or in the closet.¡± I say quickly. ¡°We can just reuse the couch, it¡¯ll be fine,¡± Cana smiles. ¡°I don¡¯t have a couch though,¡± I say. ¡°Oh right! Uh¡­. we could make a floor bed,¡± she replies, stroking her chin. ¡°But my pillows¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better than my place, I don¡¯t mind,¡± the other girl shrugs. ¡°You have- uh-¡­¡± Ross lets out a groan that was more ¡°mmm¡­¡± than a groan. ¡°I¡¯ll be praying for you Jyra,¡± he pats my shoulder before walking off and away. Cana cheered, ¡°I think they call this a sleepover or something, this¡¯ll be fun!¡± ¡°Then weren¡¯t we doing that everyday back there?¡± ¡°Whatever Mist, it feels different when you¡¯re not forced to sleep on a thin brick-like thing.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Ò»¨‘Ò» I yawn, ¡°y¡¯all ready to go to bed yet?¡± ¡°Nope! We¡¯re still discussing,¡± Cana chirps happily. ¡°It¡¯s fetching late, are you sure?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± I groan, ¡°well Imma go get a drink from downstairs.¡± I say, getting up all slouchy and drowsy. I walk over to the door and open it to find two officers, oh bull-poopercracker. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Are you Jyrasck Yoliho?¡± One of them asks, struggling with my first name. ¡°Yes¡­?¡± I ask, realizing how I look in a tank top and shorts (plus with my hair messy and knotted). ¡°We¡¯d like to ask you a few questions if that¡¯s okay,¡± the other says. ¡°Alright, where¡¯d you like to sit and chat then?¡± I step out and close the door behind me slowly. ¡°Right here¡¯s fine,¡± another person steps out, pushing one of the officers aside. This one has a yellowish-beige outfit and cold eyes. ¡°So what¡¯s up?¡± I ask, fiddling with my fingers a little. ¡°I was curious, we have reports of abnormal activity occurring near your vicinity on multiple occasions. Because of that, we¡¯d like you to come with me,¡± the cold-eyed individual answers stoically. ¡°Uhm¡­ can I get some things done beforehand? I don¡¯t want to come back and be smacked with debt that will take the rest of my life to pay off.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get one of my co-workers to settle that for you. Right this way,¡± he pushes. I pretend to muse over the offers as I look around. I spot Emma coming upstairs with a lean and calm woman. Perfect. Emma leaves though, I guess the other girl is here to pick up Mist (I overheard Cana calling her that). ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t wait a little? I just need to grab some things,¡± I say, rubbing the back of my neck. ¡°Oh, there you are. Thane needs your mist maker for something,¡± the woman says, emphasizing mist. Definitely here for her then. ¡°Right, the mist maker. Lemme go get it,¡± I turn before the yellow-beige wearing male grabs my forearm. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it for you,¡± he says, making my back instinctively go rigid. ¡°Um, what division are you sir? I don¡¯t recognize your outfit,¡± she cuts in, gripping tightly to her satchel bag. ¡°My division comes on odd cases. Please don¡¯t intervene ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious, what odd things do you see then?¡± This perks the man¡¯s attention. ¡°Well, I have experienced quite the strange phenomena,¡± he turns and walks over to the lady, who signals for me to go. She grabs the officers¡¯ attention as well once I start turning the doorknob behind my back. I hold my breath, pretending to be invisible as I slide through the semi-open door, shutting it quietly as I cringe in the anticipation of getting caught. I quickly speed walk over to the girls, ¡°can one of you make everyone invisible?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± Cana chirps before I shush her for the loudness. ¡°We gotta go to Ross¡¯ for the night.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For everyone¡¯s good. There are officers and they¡¯re trying to take me somewhere and if they do they¡¯ll find y¡¯all and put you in jail or somethin¡¯. We just gotta go. Now.¡± Cana¡¯s brain attempts to load until Mist puts her hand on her shoulder, ¡°they found us and plan on taking him with.¡± Her eyes widen in fear, ¡°how do we escape?¡± I look around before kicking the rug aside to reveal a flattened, and most likely useless trapdoor. I walk over to the locked door leading to a quick wine delivery chute and order them to file in. Mist gives me a suspicious look before complying. The two slide down swiftly and I double check everything. I dart to kick up the girls¡¯ blanket bed to make it look like an average 20-something year old¡¯s messy apartment before retreating down the chute. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Cana asks after I struggle free of the tight confounds of the chute. ¡°Three officers asked me about ¡®strange phenomena occurring in my locations¡¯ and one with a yellow-ish outfit, which didn¡¯t really suit in my opinion, tried to pull me somewhere else.¡± ¡°Where¡­?¡± Mist pauses. ¡°Dunno, but it seemed long-term.¡± The two glance at each other anxiously. ¡°Do you have an abnormality?¡± 15: Complications ¡°Let¡¯s get to the others before we discuss that,¡± Jyrasck says ineptly. Which I respond with a silent glare, he¡¯s trying to hide it. What, did he escape from a Lab a long time ago? Did he escape with others? Can we free all the Tested? ¡°Are you coming? You¡¯re the only one who knows where we¡¯re going Mist,¡± Cana calls. I follow after a second and we leave without much of a fuss or commotion. Jyrasck was stopped a little, but quickly denied conversation, I felt slightly surprised every time he did so. He seems to be the type to talk for an hour to a random sitty person*. We walk quickly and casually, as if we have somewhere important to be. I catch the glimpse of movement in the dark betweens of buildings and the crystal-like blue of two eyes. I pause, Luke..? No he¡¯s dead. Right? I start to process before Cana pulls me forward, making me remember my position as guide. We walk quickly until we reach the dirt and metal smelling building of the artisans. I rap on the door before opening it, I hear Lysa and Thane arguing for the manyth time. I let myself in, the others doing the same while I look for Ross. I catch him as he leaves the washroom, ¡°Ross.¡± He makes a startled noise before I continue. ¡°Jyra and Cana are gonna¡¯ stay here for the night. But we gotta leave in the morning,¡± I inform. ¡°Eh- wha? I- more details¡­ please?¡± He stutters a lot, I thought someone my age would be more confident in their manner. ¡°In my room, with everyone else.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± ¡°Jyra and Cana yes.¡± I say before leading Jyra and Cana to my room like a pair of blind sheep. We all sit down, ¡°soo,¡± I start. ¡°We have a problem.¡± ¡°Yeah, mind telling me about it?¡± Ross snips. I explain everything before turning to Jyra, ¡°and we are wondering if we have another Tested on our hands.¡± ¡°Tested? Another?? Wha?¡± Jyra looks around, confused. I sigh, ¡°the Lab near here tests people our age on supernatural abilities. There, Cana and I were tested on,¡± I point to my scar. ¡°And I received a vision, one of escaping. We allied with every other Tested there and broke out, not without sacrifice though. But either way, I want to get revenge on the Curio for what they were doing and what others are doing.¡± The talented don¡¯t deserve to be outcasted. ¡°A vision? Wait- you- wha? Do you have Cassandra¡¯s Tears or something?¡± Jyra says. My eyes droop, ¡°I have an abnormality called Clairvoyance. It allows me to see a possible future or another place in the present. It happens randomly.¡± ¡°Do all of y¡¯all have abnormalities?¡± Jyra says sheepishly. ¡°No I don¡¯t,¡± Ross informs. ¡°I can heal myself su-uper fast,¡± Cana chirps as I pull out a pocket knife Elyra left in the pouch and offer it to her. ¡°Lemme show you,¡± she takes it and stabs herself in the shoulder, blood splashing on her hand slightly. I hear Ross yelp in shock as she does, a mischievous grin creeping up to my face.
I cringe. Oww¡­ I feel the pain numb until it¡¯s nothing after a while before pulling the knife out, which hurt some more before I went to show them the wound. ¡°No- nononono, I don¡¯t need to see that- I get the message.¡± Jyrasck quickly turns, thoroughly grossed out. ¡°So¡­?¡± I turn suggestively. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°So? Oh right- yeah uhm¡­¡± he makes his hands into odd positions before clasping them together like he¡¯s holding something and looks like he¡¯s concentrating for a second. He releases his hands to reveal a swirling, floating, green mass that has a slight glow. ¡°I absorb the energy around me and use it for whatever. But I don¡¯t have full control over it yet,¡± he explains. ¡°Wow, cool!¡± I say rubbing the itching wound. Ross smiles, ¡°talk about feeling like an oddball.¡± ¡°How do you not have something you¡¯ve had all your life?¡± Mist comments. The green mass disperses, sending a rush of wind in every direction, ¡°I only got the ability recently. Less than a month ago while I was performing.¡± ¡°Performing?¡± Mist inquires. ¡°Yeah, while I worked in an inn, I was a bard there but left because,¡± he did a show of hands, ¡°y¡¯know.¡± Ross makes his lips into a fine line, ¡°so where do we go now? We can¡¯t stay here any longer since y¡¯all got some Curio after you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re coming?¡± Mist chirps. ¡°I mean, I come or get interrogated by government officers,¡± Ross shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m in too deep to turn back now.¡± As he says that, he gets up and goes through his stuff before going through Mist¡¯s, then leaving the room all together, telling us to wait a second. It was while before he returns with a paper with a bunch of green and little black dots that were labeled. I notice Mist looked confused but brush it off. Emma probably didn¡¯t get to her yet I guess. I squint at the paper, trying to read each and every dot.
¡°We¡¯re closest to the western stables so let¡¯s go¡­.¡± Jyrasck skims his finger right of the Yalev, landing on Lirav ¡°that¡¯ll take to long¡­¡± he mutters. Moving his finger left and down until he taps it twice on a dot, ¡° we¡¯re going to Little D¡¯melio.¡± I cringe at the name. ¡°Ho-¡± I start. ¡°Sounds good,¡± Mist nods. ¡°Le-¡± ¡°Little D¡¯melio here we come,¡± Cana beams as I groan to myself. ¡°It¡¯s around eleven o¡¯ clock now, when should we get going?¡± I ask, looking up to the sky. ¡°I say around 12:45, one-ish,¡± Jyrasck says, the girls complying. ¡°What¡¯s our finances?¡± I ask, trying to get everything settled out. ¡°I have a couple of ivory and gold on me,¡± Jyrasck answers as the girls look in confusion. ¡°Money?¡± They blink in unison. ¡°You trade it for desired items and services,¡± I explain. ¡°I got enough for the horses, we won¡¯t last long without a passive source of income though.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Can you two even ride a horse?¡± Jyrasck turns to the girls. ¡°Are those the huge clicky things I saw once?¡± Mist asks, tilting her head slightly. I nod, ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no, so one of you will ride with one of us until we fix that.¡± ¡°Okie!¡± Cana chirps as Mist does a barely audible groan. I look up to the sky, noticing the moon¡¯s location three quarters through the night airspace. ¡°We better get going now,¡± I say, getting up. And get going we did.
I take Cana as she sits backwards on the horse. I mean, it works I guess. Mist is doing the same with Ross so imma leave that alone. We made it through the trail, Mist keeping watch as she wasn¡¯t controlling a horse or conversing consistently. We arrive at Little D¡¯melio¡¯s northern stables without trouble. I go to pay off the stablehand before Ross swoops in to pay instead. Right, I¡¯m poor. I smiled awkwardly previous to asking about an ideal inn. ¡°Right that way is a building called ¡®Login¡¯, it¡¯s based on the AD timeline, but it¡¯s really nice.¡± She points while petting Ross¡¯ attention-seeking horse. ¡°Thanks,¡± I nod. ¡°This way,¡± I guide the group to the inn relatively quickly. The inn looked a lot like Yoliho. Small, but smartly designed. Instead of bioluminescent paint, they had fireflies inside hollow, colored tubes to light up ¡°LOGIN¡± in green, block-like writing. ¡°Log in¡­ Cool!¡± Cana bounces, reading the sign aloud before turning to Mist. ¡°That says ¡®Log in¡¯ by the way,¡± she quips smugly. ¡°Stop acting superior,¡± Mist grumbles before we enter. The place was large on the inside, with a stage that was attempting to be ¡®techy¡¯ and everyone working there had suits on some men and some women, floral outfits on both, and bright sequin shirts and sparkle skirts on the occasional female. On the bar, it had ¡°Slay the day away¡± and other weird quotes hanging above the exhausted workers. I quickly asked a bartender for two rooms and paid him a few gold and walked up to each room, giving Mist the girls¡¯ key and handing Ross our own. We claim our spots and fall quickly asleep as there was little moonlight left of the night. 16: The More You Know ? I wake up like I¡¯m not in the town of my bad memories and stretch casually. That last night was confusing and tiring, I think as the sunlight in the windows signals the current time. Sounds of light snoring had me turn to a knocked out Jyrasck with his limbs sprawled out, mouth open, and beige T-shirt flashing his lower torso (which would most likely have girls blush all over him). I contemplate whether or not to arouse him before I go get ready for the day. I splash some sink water on my face to wake myself up and by the time I got to touching up, I hear a grumble come from the other room. ¡°¡®Morning Jyra,¡± I say in greeting. ¡°¡®Morning¡­¡± I hear in response. Then, ¡°last night was exhausting,¡± after some rustling. ¡°Mm, so what¡¯s the plan now?¡± I ask, looking up to the large bathroom mirror, where a beheaded Jyrasck now was seen in the mirror. ¡°Lie low and find a way to prevent having Curio chase us down without leaving the country,¡± Jyra answers, finding a brush and starting on his hair, hissing to himself on the occasional snag. It takes a good while longer for Jyrasck to finish up and stretch out some of my clothes to fit himself before we set out down the hall. ¡°How long does it take for Non-Tested to get ready?¡± Mist squints her eyes at us as we walk up. ¡°Hello to you too,¡± I smirk tiredly in response. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­ I wanna go get food already,¡± Cana whines in her Cana fashion. ¡°Yeah, you two stop bickering and let¡¯s go eat something.¡± Jyrasck pops me in the shoulder and walks down the stairwell, which we all end up following afterward. Mist consistently shot me rebellious teenager glances as we pursued Jyrasck and Cana to an empty table after collecting our desired foods. The girls consume their food in a quiet and oddly focused manner (which made me concerned) as Jyrasck, noticing the same, starts picking small talk at me. ¡°I wonder what they have here,¡± Cana chirrups soon after finishing. I hypothesize the eating habits are something from the Lab before answering ¡°Little D¡¯melio is an under-the-radar type town. There isn¡¯t much out of the ordinary around. The ideal place to lay low for a while.¡± ¡°Thanks a bunch, Q and A book,¡± Cana charms. ¡°How come you know so much?¡± ¡°¡®Cause he was raised here,¡± a familiar voice says from behind, scaring me. ¡°Cool! Thanks Ms. Lady,¡± Cana smiles then quickly gains a stoic face as she thinks about the answer. ¡°Oh- hey Kylee,¡± I nod politely to the ex-classmate. Kylee beams in response, ¡°been a while since you last got teased by Carson eh?¡± ¡°Was it bullying or making the facts seem worse than they are?¡± I say, poking at a pitiful egg scrap. ¡°Touch¨¦, but y¡¯all had probably get goin¡¯ before he comes outta¡¯ his room.¡± ¡°Fair point,¡± I get up and pat her shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s get over to the library or somethin¡¯.¡± ¡°Oh heyy Ross,¡± a second voice from childhood made me cringe. ¡°Speak o¡¯ the devil,¡± Kylee runs a hand through her dark, fluffy hair. ¡°Hey! The devil is this killer hangover, not me.¡± Carson rubs his head tiredly, "had fun at the Lab, Curio-spawn?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t go to Yalev for the Laboratory nor did I even enter said Lab,¡± I retaliated.
Curio-spawn..? I think. Curio¡­. Spawn..? Curio?! Ross is a Curio?! I pause at the thought, toast in my mouth as I continue to think. No way, he¡¯s too nice. And would never dissect someone.. Right? ¡°I knew he looked like a Curio!¡± Mist hisses into my ear as I look at the two other people. ¡°They look like Luke, don¡¯t you think?¡± I point to Mr. Man and Ms. Lady Kylee, whispering as the dark-skinned male walked off. ¡°I mean, same skin, same-ish face, and odd looky hair.¡± Did Luke have a family? Do I have a family? I pop the toast back into my mouth and chew a little. Wait- that¡¯d be so cool! A sister, a brother, a twin! But what do we tell them, ¡®Oh hey your brother died. Or someone that looks like you. Is Ross a Curio?¡¯ The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Is Ross a Curio? Everyone finishes up and goes to walk around Little D¡¯melio. It looks like Yalev, but taller. Bigg buildings, everywhere! I wanna go to every single one! I dart over to a window filled with weird people*. They were all pasty and faceless and didn¡¯t move when I waved to them. Creepy¡­. ¡°Woo-¡± Jyrasck barks behind me, jumpscaring me. I squint back at him playfully and whack him in the shoulder ¡®cause I can¡¯t reach his head. Why did the world bless him with such tall? We all continue to walk around town, Ross leading the way to a big building with lots of books. My eyes light up, I wanna read all of them! I follow Ross and everyone over to a table, ha tells us to wait, but I get up and explore. I wanna look at the books!
Where¡¯s Cana going? Meh, she¡¯ll be fine. I shrug as the blonde walks off, leaving me with Jyrasck. I start to focus on the noise in the building, oddly silent. Comforting and superr unnatural. I could hear Ross returning and Cana talking to herself, but only barely. I get up and walk over to the returning Ross. I assume he sensed my presence as he then stopped, a bunch of books covering his eyesight. I get up on the tips of my feet and take some of the books. I hear a quiet "oh thanks" from Ross as I do. When we set them down, the ice-blue eyes of Ross look around. ¡°Where¡¯s Cana?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get her. She¡¯s on the other side,¡± I nod off to the direction and retrieve her. When returning I overhear Jyrasck asking about the books. ¡°What¡¯re these for?¡± ¡°To research the Labs. Maybe there¡¯s a ¡®Diary of Anne Frank'' for the Laboratories or something. It¡¯ll be smart to know what we¡¯re dealing with.¡± ¡°¡®You mean their behavior or how to stop the Labs altogether?¡± ¡°If we figure out why, and how they operate the Labs and what causes abnormalities, we can maybe shut them down. Then instead of Curio, we have doctors that specialize in idiosyncrasy and specified- er, I mean we can maybe start up one of those political debates or something.¡± ¡°Oki!¡± Cana chirps, making the boys jump, ¡°but Mist can¡¯t read. So we can split the books up into three.¡± ¡°Okay, Jyrasck and I will narrow off the stack while you school Mist a little,¡± Ross replies without eye-contact, Cana smiles smugly towards me. I give her a dejected groan in response. It felt like eternity before Ross grabbed us up from a section with weird seats, short bookshelves, and lots of Cana distractions. Thank god for those. We arrive at a sheerly exhausted Jyrasck nodding off on a pile of messed up books. I hold back a laugh at the scene when he looks up dully. ¡°I have something to do, can y¡¯all head back to the inn and analyze these?¡± Ross asks, patting a stack of neatly placed books. ¡°Sure¡­¡± Jyrasck says weakly. ¡°Okie!¡± Cana grins. ¡°What¡¯s the ¡®something¡¯?¡± I ask. ¡°Just a walk to clear my head, I¡¯ll be back before morning,¡± Ross answers, tucking his notebook nicely in his underarm. ¡°Which way is it again?¡± Jyracsk inquires. ¡°Down the street and a while left.¡± ¡°Mkay, Cana, Mist, help me with the books will you?¡± I huff in defiance and Cana picks up some tomes. Ross is acting weird. I don¡¯t like that.
I walk the opposing direction of the others, I look up at the sky. It¡¯d be about six in the afternoon. Man did we stay there long. The flea market was taking its final customers as the sky was changing to a burnt orange hue. I inhale the familiar scent of Old Man Terise¡¯s butcher shop and hold back the urge to go in and buy what I did as a kid. ¡®Cause my stupid ass father thought he¡¯d die if he left his stupid house. I click my tongue sourly and clutch my notebook tighter. I continue to traverse the town until I arrive at a fence reading: Uine Rakin Cemetery I sigh deeply and enter, a chill of eerie comfort settles into me as I walk up three rows, I turn to go right when I see a young boy, just a lil¡¯ younger than me, squatting near a grave. Who the hell¡¯s this kid? I stalk up, off put by the other male¡¯s presence. ¡°Sorry Mr.Tanner isn¡¯t here to give these instead..¡± I heard the boy finish, jumping once he noticed me beside him. ¡°Did you know her?¡± I ask, squatting down beside him. ¡°Uh-uhm no, my mentor just tells me to put flowers on the grave weekly,¡± he says nervously. ¡°And who¡¯s your mentor?¡± I feel the growl in my voice but keep a polite tone (I hope). ¡°M-Mr. Tanner, he¡¯s the blacksmith in town though he isn¡¯t..¡± Even after eight years, the damned man still doesn¡¯t visit his dead child huh? ¡°Sick.¡± I glare down, muttering beneath my breath. ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Uh, Archie,¡± he fidgets. ¡°Well, pleasure to meet you Archie,¡± I pat his back, resisting the urge to five-star him. He fiddles up and scurries away meekly. I sigh, the grin of joy soon wiping away from my face once I look at the grave. Lillian Althea Smitt Beloved Daughter & Sister 741-759 I look down at my notebook and brush my thumb against the cover. ¡°Hey Lillian,¡± I start awkwardly. ¡°I think I made some friends,¡± I smile subtly, imagining her response. ¡°I wish you could meet them. Though you¡¯d probably fall for Jyra. He¡¯s very tall and definitely a ladies man. And you¡¯d try to hook me up with Mist or Cana¡­¡± I continue on and on. ¡°Oh,¡± I shuffle through my bag. ¡°You¡¯ll probably hate me for this,¡± I say as I dig a shallow hole and place a hunk of gold in it and cover it up. ¡°Hopefully you can buy something nice in the afterlife,¡± I smile gently and get up. ¡°¡®Should probably get back..¡± I mutter and walk off, back to the Login inn where everyone was asleep. I lay down on the empty bed and raise my notebook above me and feel over the cursive writing of my name Lillian did so long ago. 17: Jyrasck Yoliho I yawn, glancing over to see Ross still knocked out from last night¡¯s research. It¡¯s been a couple of days since Ross¡¯ late night walk and Mist continues to pry about it. But Ross willn¡¯t give anything about it. Stretching, I get up to notice his movements. Is he having a nightmare or something? ¡°Hey buddy¡­¡± I shake his shoulder a little to no response. I mutter a bit beneath my breath and go to brush my long, sheddy, matt-filled hair. Should I cut some of it off? I think before hearing a sharp gasp from out of view. ¡°¡®You good?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I hear him grumble. ¡°Just a bad dream is all,¡± he says as I step around to put Ross into view. ¡°You¡¯ve been having bad dreams since yesterday, ¡®you sure everything¡¯s good?¡± ¡°Mm, just remembering things,¡± he dismisses my worry. ¡°¡®Must be some nasty things,¡± I comment. Ross does a little smirking huff, ¡°heh, yeah. Life could go a little easy on me.¡± ¡°If you get some mercy I¡¯d need a share,¡± I laugh, tying up my hair. He laughs, ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Ross looks up with his piercing eyes, though for ice-blue eyes, they¡¯re more kind than cold. He¡¯d be a good bard with the right charisma count. I think as we go to meet up with the girls. We all eat and talk, the girls seemingly less influenced by their old habits. Ross sighs ¡°I wish we could of gotten more information from those texts.¡± ¡°I guess y¡¯all are gonna be writing the ¡®Diary of Anne Frank¡¯ of the Labs instead,¡± I say, lifting my orange juice to the girls. ¡°What¡¯s the ¡®Diary of an Frank¡¯?¡± Cana deadpans. ¡° ¡®Diary of Anne Frank¡¯ or ¡®The Diary of a Young Girl¡¯ is a novel about a girl who was born in a bad time of the AD period. She documented all her struggles and made them into a book. Most schools use it as class reading in secondary or tertiary level schools.¡± I see Mist and Cana¡¯s visible confusion as Ross got to ¡®a novel¡¯. ¡°Whazzat?¡± Cana asks again. ¡°A book about some girl¡¯s life a long time ago where she had lots of problems,¡± I say. ¡°Ohh,¡± the two girls say in unison with slightly opened mouths. ¡°I guess I have to since I¡¯m the only one who can read,¡± Cana grins smugly at Mist who glares back. Ross drums lightly on the table before stamping his digits down. ¡°How many other Tested escaped with you?¡± Cana fidgets with her fingers, ¡°about twelve¡­¡± ¡°But some may have gotten caught,¡± Mist intervenes. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance to find more Tested, we can round them up and help them understand the real world along with get more information on the Labs. We can then use that information to back up our thought of shutting down the Labs,¡± Ross whips out his notebook. ¡°What are the other¡¯s names?¡± ¡°Iris, Sam, Missy, Antadon,¡± Cana rattles off names with hand motions to herself. I lost track of how many she said. ¡°Flit and Luke¡­¡± she casts her eyes down for a moment after saying ¡®Luke¡¯. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Any surnames?¡± ¡°Surnames?¡± ¡°Last names I mean.¡± ¡°Sam¡¯s was Samuel Johnson, Iris Wels,¡± she continues listing, this one only shorter. ¡°And Luke Grayhart.¡± ¡°H-E-A-R-T or H-A-R-T? And Wells with two Ls?¡± ¡°He always joked about Gray-hurt with an A, and I dunno.¡± A bit of scribbling was done before Ross continued. ¡°Alright, find the Tested, save the Tested. Sounds good?¡± Operation: Find those Tested is a go. ¡°Just don¡¯t talk about Tested so openly,¡± Ross smiles sheepishly. ¡°Why?¡± Cana yips. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Lab- most people hate anything talked of or related to the Labs. It¡¯s just a-¡± ¡°Ross, the smithy wants to talk with-¡± ¡°Not now Kylee,¡± Ross quickly cuts the coily-haired female off. ¡°It¡¯s just an unspoken rule in the real world, I recommend getting used to it.¡± ¡°Wow, feisty today,¡± Mist comments saucily. ¡°Talk about it,¡± Kylee says sarcastically. ¡°When did y¡¯all get so chummy?¡± Carson returns with a similar grin to Kylee¡¯s. ¡°Just now actually,¡± Kylee jokes. ¡°But Ross, the-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Wh-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Either you come to him or he comes to you-¡± ¡°Like he can get his lazy ass off the property without shriveling up like the Wicked Witch of the West.¡± Ross barks, making Kylee start to say something, only to groan. ¡°You know he¡¯ll keep on trying¡­¡± ¡°And I¡¯m gonna keep on declining.¡± It turns silent for a second, which became a couple minutes. ¡°. . . just a precaution, Ross.¡± Kylee says awkwardly before walking off. What was that about? More importantly, is Ross alright?
The day passes without mention of the morning, we end the hours of library researching once more and we start settling down for the night¡¯s rest. Ross and I are fixing for sleep when I ask about the morning¡¯s events. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing you have ta¡¯ worry about,¡± Ross says, not looking up from his notebook. ¡°¡®You sure? I mean, why hide junk if it¡¯s just weighin¡¯ you down and ya¡¯ have someone offering to help with your load?¡± I respond, trying to pull my T-shirt off without my undershirt going with. ¡°There¡¯s not a likely chance you can help out with it,¡± Ross fiddles with his pen a little. ¡°It¡¯s better to tell someone than waste away somewhere filled with regrets,¡± I plop down on the ground beside him, crossing my legs. He sighs, ¡°Jyra. I know you¡¯re a bard n¡¯ all but a song n¡¯ dance won¡¯t fix everything.¡± ¡°Will it convince you to tell me what¡¯s up?¡± I quirk my eyebrow quizzically. Ross smirks, ¡°if I did tell you, you seem the type to use that ¡®junk¡¯ against me.¡± ¡°Oh, like a gossip girl?¡± I ask before impersonating one until Ross starts laughing. He dies down before answering, ¡°fine. I¡¯ll tell you as long as you keep it quiet.¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± I flop onto my back. Ross hesitates before explaining, ¡°my father never left his ¡®post¡¯, which was work as we lived where he worked. I rarely saw my mother because she works for the Lab and income wasn¡¯t steady so my sister, Lillian, decided to take on jobs on jobs to help provide. She worked along and took time to entertain me. I guess it was the overexertion that made her fall ill a few years back. But since I was a little too young and my dad would never leave the house if it killed ¡®im, it took a long time to get a doctor. When we finally managed to get one, they told us it was terminal.¡± Ross starts to well up, clutching his notebook tightly. ¡°Oh I¡¯m so-¡± ¡°¡®Sorry¡¯ is just something people say, most of the time it doesn¡¯t amount to anything.¡± He turns, ice-blue eyes coldly sharpening their gazes before continuing. ¡°My father didn¡¯t even show up to her funeral,¡± he growls the spiteful comment. ¡°Afterward, I took up school and worked jobs to get the money to leave for a different city. As soon as humanly possible, that¡¯s how I got to Yalev.¡± I pause, ¡°... whell. Wow, that seems like an eventful childhood. I can understand why someone¡¯d not want to experience someone who did things like that. Even if he¡¯s your dad, you can forgive without forgetting.¡± ¡°Fair. I guess I should sleep on it,¡± Ross replies thoughtfully, laying down to bed. With that, I and Ross get set in our separate futons and close our eyes for sleep. 18: Forgive A?n?d? ?F?o?r?g?e?t Why did I say yes..? I pout slightly, following Archie up the memory-filled, chemical-scented home of ¡°Mr. Tanner¡±. ¡°He¡¯s probably waiting for me in the work area,¡± Archie pipes up slightly. I follow him there, trying to keep pace behind the awkward child. We arrive at the garage-made-forge, my old man lazing about in a foldable lawn chair he ¡®bought¡¯ assumably a while back. ¡°Mr. Tanner sir, I¡¯ve brought Mr. Ross as you asked..¡± Archie fiddles with his fingers timidly. The self-isolating male looks up, an irritatingly kind expression on his face. ¡°Ah, Archie, go on ahead and prep the place for your trainin¡¯ okay?¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Archie¡¯s posture stiffens as he salutes, making the old codger chuckle. ¡°Good lad. Now Ross, come with me please,¡± he gently says, making my blood boil a little. He leads me through an all too familiar kitchen into the living room where Lillian would be found when she wasn¡¯t working or making food for the rest of us. He offers me a seat before I sit down and fold my legs right on the spot I¡¯d watch my sister knit for one of her many jobs. ¡°Do you need me for something?¡± I ask after a slight silence. ¡°I just wanted to see how you¡¯re doing, you never send letters so one would-¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s not like anyone here would care if I told you what happened in the week¡¯s time I¡¯ve been gone.¡± ¡°Your family doesn¡¯t apply to ¡®everyone¡¯ then?¡± My mind starts racing about in irritation. ¡°Oh, the mother who sends care gifts once every few months? The eight year dead sister? Or you, the dad who forces his apprentice to send the letter and retrieve it every time he gets any,¡± I words race before I exhale to control my temper, ¡°it just appears unreasonable.¡± ¡°Now you know that I stay at my station for a good reason.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s a good reason to get your bedridden child a doctor to diagnose her-¡± I blurt before cutting myself off and looking away. Don¡¯t want to leer out at the dinosaur. Might make it go extinct from a heart attack. ¡°Ross,¡± he looks at me sternly. ¡°Listen, I regret those choices more than anything. But I made a vow to never leave my workspace in case of anyone needing my expertise. Only and if only an emergency were to oc-¡± ¡°It was an emergency! Lillian¡¯s life coming to an end isn¡¯t an emergency to you? Your firstborn¡¯s life could simply end for the name of you beating up hunks of metal? ¡°That¡¯s not-¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you still ended up doing. Even if it wasn¡¯t intentional, please try to realize that one truth.¡± I get up and turn to leave, suppressing the other emotions of anxiety and regret. I walk out, clutching my notebook in an effort to comfort myself the entire way back to the Login Inn. I overhear the all too memorable voice of Carson as I make my way over to the group¡¯s table, where he was sitting. ¡°Yeah bu-¡± ¡°Carson, or whatever your name is, we honestly don¡¯t care if he was the son of an insane murderer. He¡¯s nice and we accept him for what he is. Clearly that¡¯s new to you.¡± Cana glares coldly at the coily-haired male. ¡°Just wanted your thoughts, damn.¡± Carson gets up, hands in the air for a moment before walking off. He makes direct eye-contact with me, signaling with his eyes his opinion of my comrades. I walk slowly up to decrease suspicion of my overhearing. "So where''ve you been, Rossy-bossy?" "The what did you just say?"
¡°Where did Ross run off to?¡± Cana chirrups once noticing only one male join the girls. ¡°He¡¯s gonna meet us at the library or something?¡± Mist quips curiously. ¡°Dunno. He was talking about a restaurant or something while we were getting ready. Maybe he wants to surprise us with something Little D¡¯melio has to offer,¡± I lie. As clueless as the girls who I just talked to. We walk to an open table after collecting the desired food. ¡°Yo, your Ross¡¯ friends right?¡± The consistently at-the-inn male struts up with a light smile. ¡°Yeah, whazzup?¡± Cana looks up, holding a previously full fork with her teeth. ¡°What¡¯s your thought on Ross? I mean, he¡¯s a Curio¡¯s kid n¡¯ all. Don¡¯t you think that makes him a little..¡± Carson draws off, motioning further with his hands. ¡°Little what?¡± Mist asks. ¡°Y¡¯know..¡± Carson motions a little more. ¡°No I don¡¯t actually, tell me.¡± Mist looks at the male coldly. ¡°You don¡¯t think he¡¯s a little crazy as well? I mean-¡± Carson starts. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Just because he¡¯s a Curio doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯ll become one,¡± MIst glares down at her food, dissociating from the conversation. ¡°But think about it, he was born and raised of Curio descent, shouldn¡¯t that be a little alarming?¡± I look at him with a straight, emotionless expression, ¡°just ¡®cause you¡¯re a kid of an innkeeper doesn¡¯t make you an automatic people pleaser. It isn¡¯t any different with teachers¡¯ kids, politicians¡¯ kids, or any kind of child for that matter. C¡¯mon, all being a Curio¡¯s kid probably did to Ross was make him more passionate for his interests than anything.¡± ¡°Yeah bu-¡± ¡°Colton or whatever your name is,¡± Cana cuts the male off a second time. ¡°We honestly do not care if he was the son of an insane murderer. He¡¯s nice and we accept him for what he is. Clearly that¡¯s new to you.¡± ¡°Just wanted your thoughts damn. Chill.¡± Carson gets up, hands in the air for a moment before walking off. A few minutes afterward, Ross returns with a light grin on his face. ¡°So where¡¯ve you been, Rossy-bossy?¡± Cana quirks an eyebrow jokingly. ¡°What the hell did you just say?¡± Ross quickly stops mid-walk once hearing the nickname. I consequently choke on my water a little before busting out laughing. ¡°Do you mean Ross the Rat?¡± Mist asks, a cat ear flicking with pleasure. ¡°Now what in all the things I¡¯ve done, makes me a ¡®rat¡¯?¡± Ross spins to face Mist in a singular motion, making me tremble in laughter once more. After a few minutes of laughter and chaos, Ross sighs. ¡°I just was going to pose an idea and this is what happens huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the idea?¡± Cana immediately stops goofing about. ¡°Having some fun on the town, everyone chooses where or what they wanna do so we all end up doing what we want to do in Little D¡¯melio.¡± The girls jump in unison, ¡°let¡¯s go then.¡± I chuckle before getting up and following the two. ¡°So who¡¯s first?¡± ¡°I have a good play that I wanna watch in mind,¡± Ross answers. I start briefing the girls about play-watching etiquette. That¡¯s how I learn that they don¡¯t really care for rules. It was like the entire theater was watching us¡­
Why does Jyrasck look so tired? I shrug it off and ask Ross who¡¯s next. He says it¡¯s Jyrasck¡¯s turn, making the long haired male snap away from his exhaustion. ¡°Could we get a tour of the city?¡± He looks down at Ross, making eye-contact. Ross awkwardly answers, ¡°sure. This is the main street where all the vendors set up daily, like a neverending flea market.¡± He points to a shop with meat hanging in the window and a sign with a creature¡¯s head, ¡°that¡¯s Terise¡¯s Butcher Shop. Everyone comes to him for poultry and deli.¡± ¡°Is that the shop¡¯s name or what the people call it?¡± Jyrasck asks. ¡°Both, most people just call it Terise¡¯s or the butcher¡¯s.¡± ¡°Do you know him?¡± ¡°I remember it got to the point of him just asking if it was my usual or not.¡± ¡°Nice, I had some patrons back at the inn like that. I knew them like the back of my hand.¡± ¡°Was it ever like a saloon shoot-out?¡± Ross joked. ¡°Thankfully it¡¯s mainly just the Old Man¡¯s friends from ¡®back in the day¡¯ teasing each other.¡± ¡°The Misadventures of Jrya¡¯s Inn, seems like an interesting book idea.¡± I span out my hands as if unveiling the name, just wanting to join in on the conversation. ¡°Ross?¡± Cana chirps, downcast. ¡°Yeah?¡± Ross turns to the blonde. ¡°Do you have a family.?¡± We all go silent from the sudden question. ¡°A borderline nonexistent mother, a self-isolating father, and a deceased sister. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Do you think Tested have families..? Could I meet mine someday?¡± Cana fidgets with her fingers, staring at them. Ross huffs, ¡°Tested indefinitely have parents who conceived them. And thinking about it, depending on the time the child was brought to the Labs, the parents either gave it willingly or the government forced it. So you could see your parents and find them via. a DNA diagnostic.¡± ¡°So how do I get DNA?¡± Cana looks up from the ground hopefully, the sentence making Jyrasck snort slightly. ¡°Follow me,¡± Ross U-turns and walks up to a male like himself, only more unappealing and annoying sounding. ¡°Would you like to buy a-¡± ¡°Titus, hello.¡± ¡°Oh! Is that you Ross? How great it is to see you! Would-¡± ¡°Do you have DNA testing equipment?¡± ¡°To find out one¡¯s heritage? Yes of course!¡± ¡°Great, sign my friend up for it,¡± Ross yanks Cana forward, Titus stabs an object into Cana¡¯s face and pulls it away and puts it in a clear container. ¡°Alright! That¡¯ll be all, five ivory for my services. Now how soon will you need results?¡± ¡°Soon as possible.¡± ¡°Right-O!¡± Titus flips around and catches sight of a young couple, darting over to advertise his wares. ¡°Ow¡­ What¡¯d you do that for..¡± Cana cradles her nose and mouth in pain. ¡°Titus is the most reliable person to do that nearby. You just have to trust the process.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust him though,¡± I watch as Titus darts about, everyone he attempts to buy from him walks off nervously. ¡°Nobody does, he¡¯s¡­ special. Notice how he even forgot about the ivory?¡± Ross shows his palm to the group, all five ivory pieces still rested in his hand. He smiles weakly before pocketing it. ¡°What¡¯s next? We can tour and walk around town at the same time.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the comfiest, least peoplated place around here?¡± ¡°Least peoplated place?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Depends on the day. But overall would be the ¡®abandoned¡¯ Kindred Coin by the big supermarket. Kids like to mess around in it and some seniors even host their workouts there. The government never puts any thought into demolishing it though.¡± ¡°Oooh! A postt offfice.. What¡¯s that?¡± Cana drags attention towards herself, pointing to the building she just read the sign off of. ¡°Post offices send letters to people across their designated cities, states, sectors, or entire regions,¡± Jyrasck pops into the discussion. ¡°But doesn¡¯t everyone already know the ABCs?¡± Cana tilts her head, confused. Ross laughs a little, ¡°no. Letters as in writing about yourself for someone out of your immediate company.¡± ¡°Can I letters?¡± Cana blinks. ¡°To who?¡± ¡°... Dunno.¡± The blonde shrugs. I hear Jyrasck mutter something about an old man as Ross looks up at the sky. ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to eat, it¡¯s around that time.¡± ¡°Lead the way Mr. Tour Guide sir,¡± Jyrasck grins brightly. 19: Postige and Tested ¡°Cana, do you wanna check out the post office we saw earlier?¡± I whisper to the blonde as we eat. Her eyes light up and she nods quickly, I grin and get up. ¡°I gotta take a trip somewhere, everyone okay with that?¡± I ask. ¡°Yeah, go on ahead and do whatever, just don¡¯t stay out after morning or I¡¯ll be filing a missing persons report when you come back.¡± Ross half-jokes. I laugh, ¡°I¡¯ll just be gone for a little bit. Is it okay for Cana to come too?¡± Mist quirks an eyebrow at me, ¡°for what reason?¡± ¡°She just wants to check out the place I¡¯m going so why not,¡± I shrug and walk out with Cana in tow. We¡¯re walking for a little before Cana pipes up curiously. ¡°Are you sending letters?¡± ¡°To my old man and the inn, yeah. I just need paper and some time to write.¡± I reply as we turn a corner to said post office. Oddly closer than anticipated. We walk in and up to the front, ¡°is there any spare paper for writing?¡± A scrawny male nods, handing me two pieces and a crappy pen from the cup of writing utensils. I tell him thanks, which he huffs a ¡®your welcome¡¯ in response before I sit at a table, Cana deciding to loom over my shoulder as I do. August 18, Old Man and Co., I met some new people. Ross, Cana, and Mist, all while I was out. They¡¯re now my travel companions. I¡¯m visiting Little D¡¯melio right now, it¡¯s a little town West of Yalev because a couple Curio caught onto my training. But now I can control my output (somewhat). Stop crying already, I¡¯ll come back soon, Jyra With satisfaction, I get up and retrieve an envelope. I come back to see Cana scribbling something on the bottom. ¡°Talk about vandalism,¡± I joke, startling the criminal. ¡°It¡¯s not vandilism, it¡¯s saying hi,¡± Cana pouts. I look over and that¡¯s exactly what she did. Cana says hi ?? I add a ¡®P.S.¡¯ and fold it up to deliver. ¡°There we go, let¡¯s head back then.¡± I chirrup and we walk out. ¡°How is it dark already?!¡±
¡°Took you long enough, Cana. How long does a trip to a building take for talkative people?¡± Mist grumbles at my return. ¡°Not long¡­¡± I accentuate the ¡®long¡¯, ¡°we just went to the post office.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± She makes a questioning look towards my forehead. ¡°Yep, these are postige stamps,¡± I point a thumb to my forehead, where I stuck a stamp of an orange fruit onto. ¡°Want one?¡± I go rifling through my pockets. ¡°What were you doing at the postige office then?¡± I plop on to the bed, ¡°Jyra was writing a letter there an¡¯ stuffs.¡± ¡°What did it say?¡± ¡°Old Man and co, I met some new people. Now he can control his output somewhat, stop crying already.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Auggie-something one-eight at the top, why?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°We don¡¯t know what day it is, don¡¯t you remember that?¡± ¡°We can just ask Jyra or Ross for that stuff,¡± I say, bluntly showing my confusion. ¡°Fair,¡± Mist pauses before snatching up the strip of postige stamps I finally found. ¡°Hey!¡± I yelp, attempting to snatch them back to be met with air as she pulled it away. ¡°Wow, rude,¡± I huff as she casts another unreadable look towards me. She sticks her tongue out for a milimoment with a snarky grin before flipping the stamps back towards me. We settle down for sleep, resting our heads on the opposite sides of the bed. The big, Jyra-sized bed. ¡°Do you think we can find other Tested before they get caught?¡± Mist asks after a pause. ¡°I mean, Sam can go invisible, Honeycomb can camouflage with her liquid, and Flit and Ghost help as well. Plus all you need is Knives to even out the quiet people.¡± I smile, ¡°they¡¯ll be fine. ¡°Let¡¯s hope I get some information tonight,¡± Mist sighs solemnly. ¡°Let¡¯s hope.¡±
I wake up and arise slightly. It¡¯s night and I¡¯m surrounded by dirting clothing. White dirty clothing. I hear slight weeping accompanied by twitching beside me. ¡°N-no! I- Honeyco-¡± then a sharp inhale. I recognise the voice from the Lab¡¯s Tested. On my other side, I feel the unnatural churning of skin. Knives, I instantly recognize. The twitchy body stops and squeezes my arm. ¡°Sam¡­ are you awake still..?¡± I feel a sudden arousal as I come to on the messy bed of Cana and I¡¯s room. ¡°Mist! Miist.. Mist! Get up!¡± ¡°You¡¯re making me want to choose violence,¡± I growl. ¡°Did you see anything? Any Tested? Anything?¡± Cana asks. ¡°I found Knives, Sam, and a couple others.¡± ¡°Really? Where? Are they close by?¡± The blonde looks into my eyes hopefully. ¡°Near¡­ over that way a while and we should find the relative area they¡¯re in. They¡¯re probably following the ditch we hid in up that way.¡± ¡°We should tell the guys! This is great!¡± Cana laughs, hopping around happily. ¡°Yeah okay,¡± I shrug and walk out the door. . . . ¡°You found where your friends are? Nice,¡± Jyrasck comments casually as Ross goes deep into thought. ¡°Mmhm, and they were going that way,¡± Cana points to the inn-door. I grab her wrist and point her hand in the correct direction. ¡°I think I might know a good route that way..¡± Jyrasck muses as he chews a sausage link. Ross¡¯ eyes follow Cana¡¯s finger, ¡° if it¡¯s in that direction¡­ Were they in a city?¡± ¡°Dunno, it was cold though.¡± ¡°Cold¡­¡± Ross fiddles with his pen thoughtfully. ¡°So that indicates a drafty area where wind can reach the spectated being..¡± ¡°Either an abandoned building on the outskirts of a nearby town or in a ditch somewhere,¡± Jyrasck finishes Ross¡¯ sentence. ¡°So what did the ground look like?¡± Ross asks, a mix of determination and something unknown in his gaze. ¡°It felt cold and dirty,¡± I restate more monotonously. Ross starts writing a bunch in his notebook before looking back up. ¡°If we find more information about where they¡¯re going and for what reason, we can convince them to help our cause,¡± Ross states before asking me further questions. ¡°Who did you see?¡± ¡°Knives, Sam, a girl and I think another person.¡± ¡°Samuel Johnson?¡± He glances up, hand holding multiple pages open. ¡°I guess, Cana knows more about that than I do.¡± ¡°Unless there¡¯s another Sam that knows Knives that well, yes,¡± Cana shrugs lightly at her answer. ¡°Alright, if we can keep eyes on them and their location, we can get the ideal equipment on hand before we head out,¡± Ross explains with a click of his pen and swift closing of his notes. ¡°So how and what is this ¡®ideal equipment¡¯ going to become on hand?¡± Jyrasck questions with a slightly doubting tone, immediately turning Ross into lecture mode. I tune out after it got to the third sentence. ¡°. . . It should take two-three days of preparation before we set out to the town in that direction.¡± ¡°Okay, three days of downtime before we set out. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to do some work for some group allowance.¡± Jyrasck grabs up the emptied plates from the table, ¡°any place to do that?¡± ¡°The butcher¡¯s is always up for some labor,¡± Ross replies. ¡°I¡¯ll do that with Jyra,¡± Cana chirps. ¡°I guess I can work on keeping tabs on the group of Tested via. Aberra.¡± ¡°Alright, so we should get to work on that,¡± Ross pops up from his seat with a smile of satisfaction. 20: Poignant Return ¡°To Terise¡¯s we go, to Terise¡¯s we go,¡± I hear Jyrasck hum an easily replicable tune as we walk to the butcher shop we stopped at a couple days back. After memorizing Jyrasck¡¯s simple tune, I start humming it as well. ¡°Hi-ho a Cheerio, Terise¡¯s place we go.¡± When we finally arrive at the store, we¡¯re harmonizing and singing in sync. Jyrasck enters first, I feel the smell of raw meat hit my nose like a rock. ¡°Hello?¡± Jyrasck calls out, seeing nobody behind the store¡¯s counter. Slk, slk, sl-k. I hear the sounds of some unknown activity slowing to a stop. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll be right with you,¡± an elderly voice calls out from out of sight. I attempt to look through the door where the voice could only come from while still in front of the counter. A whiskery-haired old man walks out of the door, ¡°hello. I¡¯m Terise and this is my butcher shop. How may I help you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to be in town for a couple days and want to get some pocket change before we head up to Belduar.¡± ¡°Belduar is the place where you need all the money you can get, come to the back and I¡¯ll show you the ropes.¡± He opens up the counter and motions us in. We walk into the door to see lots of dead animals strewn as they were suspended above a table by string. On the table is a half-cut piece of light pink meat and a large knife sitting beside it. Old Man Terise explains the jobs he needs done. Skinning creatures, cutting up creatures, boxing creatures, putting them up on display, or customer service. Seeing as my stomach couldn¡¯t handle the cutting and skinning parts, plus the boxing felt icky, so I settled with the stocking shelves. Really nice ladies came by consistently throughout the day, Jyrasck even befriended some while he did customer service. Though when I asked about it he shuddered and moved on. I wonder why that was the next couple of days we did that. Apparently the total was twenty or something, and according to Ross¡¯ expression when Jyrasck showed him, that is a lot of money. When I wake up on the last D¡¯melio day. Mist was already gathering up her stuff. ¡°So the others are in Belduar and soon will we,¡± I smile groggily. ¡°What¡¯ve they been doing anyways?¡± Mist pauses for a second, ¡°last time I checked, Knives overheard something about Curio and there was a lot of rage.¡± ¡°I wonder where that could¡¯ve been,¡± I muse, getting up to join the cat-eared girl¡¯s packing. Soon after we finish (and decide whether or not to bring the soaps with us), we meet up with Jyrasck and Ross. ¡°Where¡¯s your stuff?¡± I ask, noticing a lack of luggage. ¡°We¡¯re not going at the actual crack of dawn. That¡¯s just a saying,¡± Ross stifles a laugh. ¡°. . . Wha . . ?¡± I hang my mouth open a little, contemplating what just occurred. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ross mocks me. ¡°Did you forget about Titus¡¯s analysis?¡± ¡°Oh yeah. When will I get that anyways?¡± ¡°We have to see Titus to do that,¡± Ross explains. ¡°I can do that while Jyra can help with your lack of riding experience. I plan on heading out in the afternoon-evening time so take note. Horseback is essential in the real world.¡± Jyrasck jumps at his name before nodding with affirmation. After finishing up the long-winded explanation, Ross wanders off to take care of some things. Mist and I turn to Jyrasck expectantly, which he grins a sheepish, ¡°I wasn¡¯t actually listening¡± grin. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Mist sighs before dryly explaining to Jyrasck what Ross just said. ¡°Ohh, yeah, we can go do that. I can teach the basics,¡± Jyrasck shrugs and we walk to the stable.
I hope he found someone like her uncle or something. I think to myself. It would suck to go through all that pain and misery just to have nothing to go back to. I scour the market for the fanatical Titus. He¡¯s the type of person who wouldn¡¯t change after the mantle shift of 10 AE., so knowing that¡­ I catch sight of a black trench coat with a sparkly interior. Titus. I bob and weave through the people and catch the curly-bush-haired male. Titus yelps,¡±Oh! Ross, are you here for the results?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± ¡°Okie, right this way!¡± I follow, mimicking his weaving motions until we arrive at his gadget-filled tent. ¡°I think it¡¯s right¡­¡± he starts to sift through his junky space, I keep on alert, jumping away from barometers, odometers, and other items until I hear a little ¡°aha!¡± before he puts some paperwork in my hands. ¡°Here we are, this is the miss¡¯s ancestry and her currently living relatives with their respective ids,¡± Titus explains and gives me a little flask which I assume is filled with the analyzed material. ¡°Alright, thanks,¡± I sweatdrop at the material. Sure there wasn¡¯t that much paperwork, but trying to make minimal contact with the flask is harder than thought. ¡°No problem,¡± he beams before darting off once more. I quickly grab my satchel bag and neatly pack the items up in it. I start walking back to then remember Lillian. She¡¯d like it if I tell her I¡¯m leaving, so I go over to the graveyard and tell her I¡¯m leaving for Belduar and to wish me luck in the place. I know she wouldn¡¯t want me to go, because of all the rumors from the elderly ladies in town. Once I finish, I remember Jyrasck visited the post office one night. I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to see if there¡¯s any letters for him. I walk over to the place, promising myself it will be the last stop as I enter. ¡°Hello,¡± I walk up to a staff member. ¡°Is there any mail for a Jyrasck?¡± The staff member muses for a moment before walking into the back, it takes a couple minutes before she returns. ¡°I have one for a ¡®Jyrasck Yoliho¡¯, is that who you''re looking for?¡± She flaps a letter lightly and slides it towards me. ¡°Yeah, I think so. Thanks,¡± I smile sheepishly and pocket the letter. ¡°Pleasure meeting you, sir.¡± ¡°You too, ma¡¯am.¡± And I leave for the stable where Jyrasck and the others are to be. . . . When I arrive, Jyrasck is finishing up the basics he could teach before we set out. I paid for three horses (since Mist wasn¡¯t comfortable with them yet) and we set out. The trip was time for everyone to gather their thoughts. ¡°Oh, Jyra.¡± I remember the letter, ¡°I have something from the post office addressed to you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to see it, since we¡¯re gonna see them soon in Belduar,¡± he shrugs. ¡°We can stay at my inn for free since I work there and my old man¡¯s the owner.¡± ¡°Nice, and I also went through Titus¡¯s data. Apparently you,¡± I nod to Cana, ¡±have a relative on the outskirts of Belduar.¡± Cana¡¯s liquid brown eyes light up, ¡°really? Who is it? My parents? Grandparents?¡± ¡°According to the match-up, it¡¯s a close relative. Uncle, Mom, Aunt, I dunno.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up then! I wanna meet them!¡± Cana flicks her reins, though it does nothing. We arrive at Belduar early in the morning, Jyrasck excitedly orders us to follow suit to a tavern with a nice, white-backed sign saying, ¡°Yoliho Inn¡± and below it, ¡°family-owned, well-known¡±. Jyrasck bounds in, and struts up to the bar, ¡°hey Fareed. I¡¯ve returned with companions, stories, and a new handkerchief for the bawling old man!¡± The bartender looks up, blinks, and smiles. ¡°Welcome back, bestselling bard. Did you read the letter before you came?¡± ¡°Nope, I just thought it was unneeded since I was already coming back and all. Why?¡± Fareed chews his lip a little, ¡°some¡­ things happened after you left.¡± ¡°Like what? 21: Mist I stare at the bartender, Fareed, who seems hesitant to speak. ¡°. . . I¡¯d rather Elena explain. Though she might not be willing to revisit the memories.¡± ¡°Memories of what? Just tell me what¡¯s up already,¡± Jyrasck starts tensing irritably/ Ross walks up steadily, ¡°hey. Jyra, let¡¯s focus on other things right now. It¡¯s clearly a touchy subject-¡± ¡°Oh!¡± A female voice jumps before a nicely dressed woman comes in shakily for a hug with Jyrasck. ¡°Thank Adonas you¡¯re alright! I was so worried after- after Elri- did Fareed tell you?¡± The woman looks up, sobbing a little into a handkerchief. ¡°No..?¡± The girl goes silent for a moment, ¡°A-a couple of nights ago¡­ Eldric got attacked.¡± The lady chokes on her words. ¡°By who? Is he okay?¡± Jyrasck suddenly looks worried. Fareed raises his hand, ¡°we don¡¯t know who, Elena can tell you more later. But we need to get prepped for the morning rush. Not like it¡¯s much of a rush anymore.¡± Cana, Ross and I awkwardly exchange glances until Fareed takes notice of us, ¡°oh yeah. We have rooms on the second floor, nobody¡¯s up there so take your pick.¡± Ross nods to the bartender as he points to the direction of the stairs before going back to cleaning up the bar. We go up and decide to do rooms side-by-side while me and Cana share a room. I unpack while Cana chooses what bed to take. ¡°What if I take this bed?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll sleep in the other.¡± ¡°What if I sleep on that bed?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sleep in the bed you don¡¯t sleep in, I have no preference.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°. . . You sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m positive. The only difference is the bed¡¯s location on the floor, I honestly don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°... You positive¡­?¡± I glare at her, ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Care.¡± A moment of silence occurs, ¡°okie! I¡¯ll take this one,¡± she flops on a bed joyfully. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the other.¡± ¡°I wanna see my files! See-ya!¡± Cana darts away and out of the room to bother Ross. I sigh, this feels oddly¡­ relaxing. I hook up my satchel bag on a lamp and fix up my bed neatly. I hop a little before jumping into Cana¡¯s bed, I roll over and start to think. Knives, anger, Curio, Jyrasck, Eldric, how do they align? I start to think about Knives and what may have happened to this character. My thoughts almost file themselves away as I close my eyes, I feel the weight of exhaustion as I wake. ¡°Sir! Sir!¡± a male voice comes to my ears. ¡°We¡¯ve received the autopsy report.¡± ¡°For what again?¡± I ask, the voice distorted between the spectated and my own. ¡°For the innkeeper. It looks like we have a terrorist group on our hands,¡± the officer gives me papers saying ¡®Eldric Yoliho¡¯ with the image of an old, salt-and-pepper haired man. I flip through the pages. ¡°¡®Cause of death seems to be loss of blood and internal organ damage from bones not his own¡¯? What is this? How can someone die from another person¡¯s bones?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, and from the analysis of the material makes me think it isn¡¯t even bone.¡± I read more of it, ¡°¡®¡°Bones¡± were faintly yellowed indicating they were directly extracted and used as a murder weapon, when analyzed further, no identifiable DNA shows up¡¯? And the words near the body were ¡°Kill the Curio, Save the Pure¡±? This man has no relations to Curio of the Laboratories in any way! What sorta bullshi¡ª¡± And I fade back to Cana¡¯s bed. It¡¯s Knives, I know that for a fact, but Jyrasck seems tied to this ¡°Eldric¡± character somehow. Telling this to them will probably cause distrust and a higher chance of betrayal. Should I even tell Cana about it? I mean, she¡¯s likely to tell one of them, I muse over that. ¡°Maybe this isn¡¯t the end of them, but the end of tolerance.¡± I jump up, that didn¡¯t feel right. It felt like a vision, but not one of the present. But it feels too odd to be a future premonition. More on edge, I brush off the line as a stray thought and continue to plan until Cana returns and forces me off her bed. 22: Reunion I look at Elena in disbelief, ¡°i-is this RTU thing new or. .¡± ¡°I dunno, but apparently they¡¯re after Curio and people associated with them.¡± Elena explains solemnly as she fiddles with her wavy, black hair. ¡°But the old man never got involved with the Labs,¡± I relapse my memories of the father figure. ¡°Maybe a goonie heard him being worried about your safety and thought it was something else, I honestly have no clue.¡± Elena shrugs, her normal, hospitable mannerisms seeming to be cast aside. ¡°Well, is he alive at least?¡± I ask, Fareed avoided the question like wildfire but I need to know. He may not be my biological dad, but he still cared for me without minding the consequences. Elena¡¯s eyes begin to water before she silently rises and insists I follow. We walk out of the inn, silently making our way towards an unlabelled building. She opens the door and walks into the place, where there were rows and rows of bodies. On the first row, a slightly wrinkled faced corpse caught my eye. Though only the shoulders and above were seen, I recognize it as Eldric. I walk over, feeling my throat constrict and my lip quiver slightly as I look down on his unnaturally peaceful face. Silence fell on the room for a few moments. ¡°So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t tell me,¡± a single, silent tear falls.
¡°Okay, we have a general location and address,¡± I explain to the fellow members of this ragtag quartet. ¡°We could either skim through the outskirts of town to try and pick out any suspicious notions, or go to the address of Cana¡¯s relative near the older parts of town and ask them about it. Since their house is right up close to the outskirts.¡± Cana¡¯s hand springs up, ¡°I vote relative! I wanna meet my born family sooner than later.¡± Jyrasck sets his elbow up onto the table, ¡°I second the motion.¡± Mist, who¡¯s mind just resurfaced from her fantasy world, simply shrugs in agreement. ¡°Okay, Cana, you can go scheme up your entrance while I put a comb through the details,¡± I smile weakly. This relative, according to Titus¡¯ analysis, is probably Cana¡¯s mother. And randomly finding out your child has reunited with you after at least thirteen years or so would shock the tar out of me (if I was in her shoes). The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I sweep over to my room, door open in case of emergencies ¡ª or anyone needing me ¡ª and start going through the marked files of ¡°Amara Soliel¡±. After a while, I came to the additional notes that Titus ¡ª somehow ¡ª got of her background. I sift through them curiously. Nineteen years ago, Brady Soliel, Amara¡¯s spouse, was jailed for domestic violence and alcohol abuse. The child was an infant, under a year old, when officers detained Brady and questioned his wife. The same day, the child went ¡°missing¡± and was never found. I click my tongue, ¡°missing¡± my ass. How concerning are the Lab¡¯s methods that the ones who made and funded them have to lie in official street officer reports? Going through it further, there are no other incidents or problems from then on. She attends nearly none of the events in town and never leaves home at any sight of Curio. I glance over to the window of my room to see the setting sun cast orange and purple hues across the sky. Alright, let¡¯s schedule a visit tomorrow then, I think to myself as I fix up the files and tuck them into a desk drawer before crashing onto the cool bed.
¡°I¡¯m so excited!¡± I¡¯m practically jumping with joy as we walk. Imma meet my family! And soon! Jyrasck quickly grabs my shirt and pulls me back in the right direction for the fourth time. Ross has his nose stuck in his notebook, looking up now and then to point in the correct direction or glance around. ¡°This was a little further¡­¡± Mist is walking curtly behind Ross, hands tucked somewhat into her jean short pockets and cat-ears flattened down to her hair with ¡°bobbie pins¡±. After Jyrasck alters my trajectory for the fifth time this trip, he bats my hair playfully and tucks his hands into his jean jacket (though I don¡¯t understand why he has a jacket, it¡¯s not that cold!) Ross stops and does a triple take before nodding, ¡°okay. This is the place so¡ª¡± I dart up to the door and rap on it, knok, kn-knok knok, ¡°hello? Is anyone home..?¡± Jyrasck yanks me back quickly, ¡°give it a minute you goof!¡± He laughs. Some movement occurred in the window before the door cracked open somewhat, ¡°what do you need for me?¡± Ross walks up, glancing to and from his notebook, ¡°are you Amara Soliel by chance?¡± ¡°So what if I am?¡± ¡°We have something you¡¯d might like to see¡ª¡± ¡°What? By hell, what?¡± ¡°Could we talk inside?¡± ¡°Not unless you explain, sir!¡± Ross goes silent for a moment, ¡°it¡¯s about the recent Parol Inciden¡ª no wai¡ª and she¡¯s gone okay¡­¡± Jyrasck raps on the door once again, ¡°this is also about an incident a decade or two ago-¡± The door opens a second time, ¡°what do you know of nineteen years ago?¡± ¡°We have hope in its finest form, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Whadda¡¯ you mean?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t show you here miss, it¡¯ll cause trouble with the¡­ Curi-os agai¡ª¡± The door quickly shuts before swinging open. ¡°Get inside.¡± 23: Cana Soleil Jyrasck quickly drags me in behind Mist and Ross. ¡°Nineteen years ago your husband got lugged off to prison, domestic violence right?¡± Ross starts. ¡°Yeah, and my child is ¡®Missing¡¯ what of it?¡± The silvery-blonde female glances suspiciously towards the four of us. ¡°Do you remember why your child went quote-on-quote ¡®Missing¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes, sh¨C why do you want to know all this? Are you some cultist group?¡± Ross immediately jumps up, ¡°No! No, not at all¡ª¡± The cocoa-haired male starts to ramble about not being a cult while Mist nudges me and hands me a knife. I to her, she nods with a barely suppressed grin. I walk up to the lady¡ªor should I say my mom¡ª, she looks at me skeptically, now that Ross went quiet, and I stab myself in my shoulder with the given blade. Her eyes widen in shock, I see the ends of her lips slowly form into, what was a gasp of terror, into a teary-eyed grin. I can barely make out the words she says besides ¡°oh my baby¡± as she pulls me into a tight embrace. I squeeze her happily back, I HAVE PARENTS! ¡°H-here, come sit,¡± she (Mom?) wipes her eyes and nose. ¡°I¡¯ll go make tea,¡± she offers us seats in the wide room with multiple lounging areas and walks away quickly. She soon after returns with a mug for each of us, ¡°is black tea okay? I have cream and sugar if you¡¯d like any.¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s fine Miss,¡± Jyrasck smiles politely. ¡°Alright, um¡­¡± she turns to me gingerly, ¡°do you remember anything from before the Laboratory?¡± ¡°No¡¯m.¡± She sighs, ¡°then I have some explaining to do, huh?¡± (Mom?) smiles weakly before continuing. ¡°Your father would get drunk a lot after our marriage, a few days after you were born, he crashed into the house drunk as a skunk and started throwing his hands about. H-he hurt you close to death and myself right here,¡± she rolls up her sleeve to show me a large, ring-ish shaped scar on her outer arm. ¡°Street officers arrested him and put you into ¡®custody¡¯ which, clearly, was the Labs. But I would¡¯ve never sent you on my own accord, if you need anything just ask me.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s my actual name? They just called me 517 and Unkno back at the Labs.¡± ¡°We never got to giving you a first name, but our family name is Soleil. Did you name yourself at the Labs? I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t decide on a name before you¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, I call myself Cana ¡®cause Unkno is a bleck name. Everyone at the Labs called me Unkno though.¡± ¡°Are you all friends from the Labs?¡± She asks the group. ¡°Only me ma¡¯am,¡± Mist looks up from a ¡®Sarcastic Comment Loading¡¯ mug. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Mist.¡± ¡°And you two, how do you know Cana?¡± she points to the boys. ¡°Met up in town one day,¡± they say in unison. ¡°What¡¯s your names?¡± She pries more. ¡°I¡¯m Jyrasck, he¡¯s Ross.¡± ¡°Any other questions?¡± She asks, I wonder if she was talking to herself. Ross pops up, ¡°yeah. Was there any suspicious activities going around here?¡± ¡°Suspicious? How so?¡± ¡°Supernatural, maybe almost magick-y.¡± ¡°Supernatural¡­¡± she taps her chin for a second before holding up a finger and walking over to a door and opening it. ¡°I met a couple ¡®supernatural¡¯ people recently,¡± she says motioning something unknown before four, memorable friends. One with short, bone-white hair, one with jet black curls, one with burgundy hair, and Iris. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I gasp, ¡°Iris! Sam!¡± Their adjusting eyes go from confused to excited and jump for a hug. ¡°Unkno!¡± ¡°Knives, Antadon, how¡¯ve you been? Did anything curious happen..?¡± I emphasize ¡®curious¡¯ to signal Curio. Iris smiles in return, ¡°we were almost caught a few times but we made it!¡± ¡°Great! Is this everyone who escaped?¡± ¡°Dunno, some went in different directions,¡± Iris shrugs meekly. ¡°Sit, sit! We have lots to discuss,¡± I offer seats to Iris and the rest. ¡°First off,¡± I hear a deep voiced growl. ¡°Who¡¯re these people?¡± Knives snarls in his average, low, ¡°I hate everyone¡± voice as he points his nose towards Jyrasck and Ross. ¡°They¡¯re allies who also hate the Curio-Lab stuff,¡± Mist pipes up, chewing a tea-cookie my mother brought in. ¡°How will they help get everyone back?¡± Sam raises his hand and sets it down once finishing. ¡°Whell¡­¡± My face turns into a smug grin, ¡°this mans over here is like us! He has abilities too.¡± I splay my arms out to Jyrasck, who nods proudly. Iris¡¯s eyes light up, Knives still discontent as ever. ¡°And that one?¡± He huffs towards Ross. ¡°He¡¯s su-uper smart and can help find the others and create cool items to help,¡± I jab a thumb in Ross¡¯ direction. Sam¡¯s eyes glitter with fascination at the words ¡°cool items¡±. Knives clicks his tongue, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we can¡¯t do this ourselves.¡± ¡°¡®Cause you can¡¯t kill everything besides Honeycomb,¡± Iris snips at the large boy. ¡°Shuddap or you¡¯re the next victim.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris sarcastically mumbles, ¡°how are you planning to do this then?¡± ¡°Great question for the masterminds,¡± I turn to Mist and Ross. They start staring at Mist, who quickly turns to Ross. ¡°Uh¡­¡± he fidgets a little before popping open his notebook. ¡°Well for starters, we rally up all the escapee Tested or Tested relatives such as Jyra and Mrs. Soliel to get somewhat of a movement going on. With that it can spread all around America as an underground rebellion or maybe like the movements in AD before we work our way into the system of government. It¡¯ll take a while, but it¡¯s our best shot so far.¡± ¡°Ah, so we expand our population, like the political parties before braving the storm of political chaos,¡± Mother paraphrases. ¡°Seems smart to me. And we have a good population start off right here,¡± she beams with a warm smile. ¡°Yes,¡± Ross replies. ¡°But we need to become the ideal option, with the ideal politician. And you know how they work with deceit and framing,¡± he sighs somewhat bitterly. Mother (Mom?) nods, ¡°fair. And the debates can change the tides in moments.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± They nod in either thought or agreement, I honestly don¡¯t know what the heck they¡¯re talking about. Politicians? Debates?? Framing? Ah whatever. I don¡¯t speak Ross-ian. I yawn, I¡¯ll probably learn about that later maybe. Tuning out, I strike conversation with Antadon, Iris, and Sam. ¡°When did y¡¯all get here?¡± ¡°A couple days ago,¡± Iris replies. ¡°Is it just you four?¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t find anyone else on the trip here,¡± Sam answers, holding a warm mug in his oversized sleeves. ¡°How about you? Did you see anyone?¡± Iris asks as Sam drains the mug. ¡°Nope, but maybe we can find them ¡®cause of Mist¡¯s aberra.¡± A slight silence falls before the three speak in pure unison, ¡°aberra?¡± ¡°It¡¯za better way to say abnormality that we made up, makes it feel less ¡®you belong in a Laboratory¡¯.¡± Sam lights up, ¡°ooh. I like it, ¡®aberra¡¯,¡± he smiles, going around and saying it in different ways. ¡°How did you manage to start living here?¡± I ask, the thought tugging on the back of my brain. ¡°Sam went searching for a place to rest, like an abandoned church or something but Antadon took a more forward approach. He found the place and walked in, we scared the living lights outta¡¯ Mrs. Soleil once she found out.¡± Iris laughs a little at the end. ¡°Yeah, after we escaped I found a town and met Jyra over there while Mist was found by Ross. We were almost caught by Curio so we traveled down that way before finding out where my mom is.¡± Iris jumps a little after hearing ¡°Curio¡±. ¡°Oh, yeah, about the Curio¡­ How should we go around them? If we¡¯re gonna free everyone, we¡¯ll need to get past them and stuff¡­¡± I think through the question, ¡°true. And we also don¡¯t know the other locations for the Labs¡­ but that¡¯s where you come in right?¡± Iris shakes her head, ¡°I can only do it in a building or a few streets¡¯ radius if I¡¯m outside.¡± ¡°Oooh¡­¡± I groan, ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask Ross then.¡± Sam pipes up before I continue, ¡°did you see¡­¡± he mutters something unidentifiable. ¡°See wha?¡± ¡°Have you seen¡­ hon I comb?¡± Sam repeats as if he has a bad taste in his mouth. Hon¡­I¡­comb¡­ Hon-EE-comb¡ª Honeycomb! ¡°Oh! Nope, but maybe she went in a different direction when we were running,¡± Sam grimaces as I explain. ¡°What about Mist? Any visions?¡± ¡°Nope, sorry,¡± I shrug. 24: Mist Before anyone knows it, afternoon fades to night as candlelit lamps are left to illuminate the rooms. ¡°You probably have an inn you¡¯re paying for,¡± Cana¡¯s newfound mother says. ¡°Fair,¡± Ross comments. ¡°Coul¨C¡± Jyrasck cuts off the other male, ¡°oh it¡¯s fine. We can stay here tonight if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to get your money¡¯s worth at the inn?¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I mean¨C¡± ¡°We are okay with staying here if you don¡¯t mind us doing so.¡± Ms. Soleil (or Amara according to Ross), chews her lip for a moment before continuing. ¡°I only have futons and sleeping bags if that¡¯s okay.¡± Sam lights up, ¡°I can help them get situated, Ms. Soleil.¡± He jumps up and we follow him to a large room with a big bed. He tells Cana and myself to not sleep in the big bed, only to put a futon on top of it or sleep on the ground. Eventually, everyone (Iris and Antadon) else filed in. Except for Knives, Cana asks about him. ¡°Oh, he just goes around town to get his thoughts sorted out before he falls asleep,¡± Antadon quickly replies and we all fall into a silent slumber. Crnch, crnch, crnch, I slump onto a wall with a lit window beside me. My panting quickly turns into a huffing grin as I look at the papers in my hands. I did it, the more details I have on these demented ¡°scientists¡±, the more I can prove we¡¯re not to be locked up and stared at from behind a screen. I sit underneath the lit window, flipping through the files I snagged minutes before. I¡¯m taking in the image of a sandy-blonde haired male when a noise jolts me out of my senses. ¡°I know you have school work but it¡¯s still late, Lorelai,¡± a voice like Ms. Soleil¡¯s sounds as I realize the window was cracked open. ¡°But Mom, if I don¡¯t do it now, I won¡¯t get i¨C¡± ¡°Lorelai¡ª¡± the sound of the woman¡¯s voice becomes incomprehensible as I hear the window close swiftly. I slowly come to terms with my groggy, barely awake state as I hear a slow shutting sound and turning of a door. Knives is back from his ¡°rounds¡±, I piece together.. I feel the dream in the back of my mind as I come to the conclusion that Knives was the host of the vision. I go through the idea of whether or not to tell anyone and who else knows as I fall into a dreamless sleep. I wake up with a foot stabbing into my stomach, in response I jab my leg back and roll over with a huff. A grumble was heard behind me before the door swung open, causing everyone to jolt up quickly and face the door. ¡°Woah, I just wanted to say Ms. Soleil¡¯s making bacon n¡¯ eggs,¡± Jyrasck holds up his hands like Carson did back at Login. The back and sides of his head were ruffled up from sleeping on the couch. ¡°Oh, sorry, it¡¯s a habit,¡± Iris replies, curling her legs underneath her and rubbing her eyes before getting up. Everyone else eventually did the same, Knives being last after I nudge Cana awake with a foot. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! We all get to the living room to find Ross and Cana¡¯s mom talking about the night before. ¡°How come they don¡¯t have more protection over their records? It¡¯s the government for the Council¡¯s* sake,¡± Ms. Soleil gossips as she places slices of bacon on plates. ¡°We don¡¯t have all the methods we used to, twenty-four seven surveillance cameras, digital storage, I could go on and on.¡± Ross replies with a fatherly sigh as he sips on a glass of orange juice. ¡°Also true. I wonder what it was like back then, with electricity and what-not. Some scientists say that we could get it back in a few years¡¯ time,¡± she points out as she stirs some eggs. ¡°They say that all the time, like the Doomsday Clock Incident**,¡± Ross starts rattling off times when scientists did certain things. I don''t understand most of it so I weave through the chatting duo and snatch up a plate of fresh bacon and eggs. ¡°What¡¯re they talking about? Security?¡± I ask Jyrasck, who¡¯s cheek was puffed up from a large piece of egg. He quickly covers his mouth, ¡°apparently someone broke into a street officer station nearby and stole some criminal records. It was in the newspaper this morning.¡± I resist the urge to look at Knives¡¯s expression as he explains. ¡°I wonder why¡¯d they steal criminal records though,¡± Jyrasck ends after swallowing. I suppress the second thought to quirk an expression at Knives as I nod. ¡°Dunno, maybe they weren¡¯t actually looking for criminal records and didn¡¯t know where what was.¡± I shrug, humoring the male¡¯s conversation starter. We stay a little longer after breakfast before heading back to Jyrasck¡¯s Inn. ¡°Jyra! Thank Adonas you¡¯re safe! I was scared you¡¯d gone and got offed someplace,¡± Elena greets us back with the second teary hug-tackle of our time here. Jyrasck makes a soft, ¡°wuf¡± noise upon hug impact, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go in the middle of a gang fight after just coming back to the inn.¡± He smiles an almost fake-feeling smile, ¡°plus I¡¯d wipe them out in an instant with my rapier wit.¡± Jyrasck jokes, feeling (maybe) weaker than his normal snapbacks. Fareed, who was behind the bar as always, chirrups at his return. ¡°Well good, because we just ran outta newbie bards and bands willing to play.¡± Jyrasck snaps to attention, ¡°really? Even Hot Tup?¡± ¡°Yeah, they broke apart after one of them took their girlfriend out on a gig night.¡± ¡°I bet it was Will,¡± Jyrasck chuckles a little. ¡°I guess I could brush up on my guitar.¡± ¡°Whazzat?¡± Cana asks, the maroon haired male turns swiftly around in response, mouth theatrically agape. ¡°You don¡¯t know guitars, you don¡¯t know music, dahling. Come come! You too, Mist dearest,¡± he puts a hand on either one of our shoulders, quickly leading us to what could only be his bedroom with collapsible furniture (desks) sticking out from underneath a large bed and a weirdly textured board with pins and pictures riddling it. Jyrasck walks quickly into the corner with papers and an oddly shaped piece of wood. He sits on a stool and starts rattling off things about the wood, Cana hanging on every word. Disinterested, I observe the weird texture-y board and its images. I see a lot of mainly ideas, notes-to-self, and what-not on the board. Soon after, I quickly lock onto a framed, black and white image of a dark haired man with a large, toothy smile. Below him, a waddling, chubby child is looking at his feet whilst being held up by his hands. The child wore a little hat, a glimpse of lighter hair underneath. It takes me a minute to realize that it was of Jyrasck and the ¡°Eldric¡± person. Curiosity takes over and I ask about the framed picture. ¡°Oh, that old thing was when the inn was first being renovated, He had the same thing up in his room, before he¡­ y¡¯know.¡± Jyrasck¡¯s face turns grieving and downcast for the slightest moment before he goes back to his beaming smile and explanation of musical tools. 25: Jyrasck Yoliho After a long time of bedroom discussion, the three of us reunite with Ross, this time with my guitar, box drum, and songbook. Cana and I step on the stage while Mist carries the book. ¡°Cana¡¯s playing with?¡± Ross asks. ¡°Yes,¡± Mist cuts in. ¡°She insisted while Jyra was teaching.¡± I chuckle, ¡°you can sing or dance if you want to.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather watch Ross stare at his notebook than do that.¡± ¡°Ow,¡± Ross jokes. ¡°Right in the don¡¯t care bone. Will it just be you two on stage?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Fareed answers. ¡°Some of the waitresses will be up there as back-up singers n¡¯ dancing.¡± ¡°Wow, won¡¯t you need wait staff? Some are dancing and the whole nose-dive in business would leave you with less willing workers.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not onstage you could be a waiter for the night,¡± I offer. ¡°I could, I¡¯d just be a really bad one,¡± Ross chirps back. ¡°C¡¯mon, all you need to do is put on the customer service smile,¡± I laugh. ¡°Fareed and Elena can show you the ropes of the wait staff subtle flirt.¡± He gives me a blank stare, ¡°flirting is the worst thing I could do.¡± Fareed startles Ross by sliding a shot of cider right to his hand, ¡°think of it more like acting.¡± Elena, who was setting up tables, flicks a menu on the final table, ¡°it¡¯s a simple skill to learn really.¡± Ross looks at me, I shrug with a smile. Whelp, I hope he learns some Extrovert 101. ¡°Mist, lemme see the book real quick,¡± I hold my hand out towards the cat-girl. She hands me the songbook, I read the song swiftly before nodding for Cana to sit on the box drum. ¡°Okay, I want you to hit the drum to the song this first time then we¡¯ll go from there .¡± ¡°Okie, the top is snare right?¡± ¡°If you hit the top edge it is a snare, yes.¡± ¡°Okay, continue.¡± I play the song lightly and without lyrics, only breathlessly humming them. I finish, critique Cana, and repeat until the blonde is drumming almost mindlessly. I look about for a minute, setting my guitar back on its stand. Sooner or later, old patrons and one-time customers start filing in, not as much as during Eldric¡¯s reign, but still some. I nod to the girls, Cana nods back while Mist slides out of view. I turn my attention away as I hear the elderly voice of one of my favorite patrons. ¡°Jyra, back from your trip I see.¡± ¡°That indeed, Mama Lonnie,¡± I smile. ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready for my newest masterpiece.¡± The old woman laughs, ¡°even after I retired you still call me that. Who¡¯re those young ladies? I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve seen them before.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I met them on my trip back, and no, I don¡¯t think of them like that.¡± Lonnie laughs again, ¡°you know me too well.¡± ¡°That I do, how¡¯s your sisters?¡± I ask, causing her to rant about the past few weeks until her son and other relatives arrive. I take their order and head to the back, where Fareed just finished up with Ross. I give him the order and walk out again, after a while of taking orders, it finally comes time for the music. I stall in the back of the bar with Cana until I sense a stillness. We walk out, Cana to her drum and myself to my guitar. I clear my throat and play our classic inn theme, Cana playing the beat with a spin of her own. I draw out a small guitar solo before finishing it off. ¡°If you¡¯ve been here recently, you should know that our old innkeeper, Eldric, died last week. I, as his claimed son, am his heir as innkeeper. But besides the point, it¡¯s only natural to play a song for his passing.¡± I announce and glance at Cana, she takes the signal and I start strumming. ¡°Weak with exhaustion I pray, Why did He take part of me away? Energy has gone, fatigue is here to stay. Until I see your light, Weariness takes flight. As I realize, Your love for me was right. You¡¯re here for me, Now I can see. You¡¯re here for me, But from four to three We¡¯ll never be again. Blood nor bone May share your home, But you¡¯ll never be alone. ¡®Cause life¡¯s to large, Not to see your heart Longing for another in your arms. You¡¯re here for me, Now I can see. You¡¯re here for me, But from four to three We¡¯ll never be again. Maybe I¡¯d gone too far, Beyond my callings. But before too long, I¡¯ll see your face again. I hope you find my song, Along upon the stars. Until we meet again.¡± Silence falls as I exhale the last words, I chant internally, don¡¯t cry, don''t cry, don''t cry as I look up. Mama Lonnie and every old patron was left astonished, weeping, or close to it. I wallow in the silence for a moment, Lonnie starts slowly clapping, followed by the rest of the patrons before everyone in the inn was clapping. I feel my chest throb and eyes well up, in a quick motion I lower my head, wipe my tears, and raise a weak smile. ¡°Any requests?¡± I finish off the last chord of Dirt Man and bow offstage with Cana on my heels. I tell her to be in the back for the meantime and signal Fareed and Elena to an out-of-the-way corner. ¡°That song was beautiful, it¡¯s okay if you need to rest,¡± Elena starts. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just think I should move myself into Eld¡¯s old space. Since I assume his death n¡¯ all makes me the new innkeep.¡± ¡°Do you want me to help you move in?¡± Fareed asks. ¡°Nah. I¡¯ll do it in the morning. Could you two man the place and tell the others they¡¯re okay to head to bed? I¡¯ll just be in my room.¡± The two nod and return to their posts. I start walking and end running to my room. I pause just before I spring onto my bed, cautiously, I observe the white envelope with ¡°JYRASCK YOLIHO¡± in stiff ink letters. I pick it up, turning it around in my hands, the other side reads in smaller letters ¡°YOLIHO INN¡±. Is this the letter they were talking about when we first came back? My lip quivers slightly as I rub my finger across the stamp, contemplating whether or not to open it. I hold it out in front of me, where did it even come from? I sigh, placid git down on my nightstand. Maybe later. 26: Rest and Roasting I hope that was the right move¡­ I think, snatching up a newspaper from this morning, remembering how I gave Jyrasck his letter yesterday. Fareed was brewing coffee with a zombie-like exhaustion. Mist was slumped across a booth table while Cana was complaining about when her pancakes would be ready. ¡°I¡¯m hungryy¡­¡± she whines. ¡°And I¡¯m tired, give me a minute kid,¡± Fareed quips. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°But give me a damned minute,¡± the bartender growls in a ¡°I need coffee to stay sane¡± way. Which I can understand clear as day. ¡°Stand down, Fareed the Feral,¡± I hear Jyrasck say upon entry. To which Fareed starts knives into the maroon-haired male. Jyrasck holds his hands up in a theatrical fashion, ¡°woah. Calm down and drink your coffee, mkay?¡± Fareed clicks his tongue sourly in response, snagging a mug and jabbing it down on the counter with a huff. Jyrasck sighs as he sits down, ¡°nice ring. Where¡¯d it come from?¡± I ask. ¡°I found it.¡± His response was quick with even faster closure. ¡°Nice,¡± I answer, turning the page of my newspaper before groaning in displeasure. ¡°What happened?¡± Cana chirps. ¡°Another murder, woof.¡± I lean back a little to allow her to see, Jyrasck looks as well. ¡°And it¡¯s near here too¡­¡± Jyrasck adds. ¡°Poor Jake Ta-hompson,¡± Cana sighs. ¡°Fareeed¡ª¡± ¡°Patience, it¡¯s almost ready.¡± Fareed snaps with another swig of coffee. Jyrasck snatches up the paper, reading intently on the article of Jake Thompson before casting it aside in my direction with an irritable ¡°tsk¡±. Fareed places a plate of pancakes in front of Cana and slides me a mug of coffee, ¡°what do you four plan on doing today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested in these weird reports, but Imma sit on it,¡± Jyrasck says, tapping his nails on the counter. He looks at his hands for a moment, staring at his new accessory. ¡°I also want to buy some things.¡± Mist, who is now at the bar area with us, perks up. ¡°I¡¯m interested as well. If you¡¯re going to do that I wanna come.¡± ¡°I feel like visiting my mom again, maybe I can teach the others how¡¯ta read,¡± Cana pipes up as she carries a piece of pancake closer to her maw. ¡°I guess I¡¯d go with her then.¡± I shrug, placing my now drained mug of coffee down. ¡°It¡¯s starting to concern me, just what is he doing so late at night?¡± Amara runs a hand through her pale blonde hair. ¡°If he wasn¡¯t built like a tank I¡¯d tell you to just not allow outings past nightfall,¡± I motion with my pen in hand. She sighs, ¡°at least they aren¡¯t trying anything too crazy. And I¡¯m glad you and CAna dropped by. Now I don¡¯t have to sit in an awkward silence,¡± Amara chuckles. ¡°She wanted to come teach the others how to read and whatnot, I didn¡¯t want to risk her getting lost.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± she nods. ¡°When I first realized that¡­ y¡¯know, Cana¡¯s my kid, I was worried she¡¯d hate me for allowing her to be forced into the Lab System.¡± ¡°In the five-six weeks I¡¯ve known Cana, she¡¯s never hated much of anything,¡± I reply in a (hopefully) comforting way. ¡°Wow, your group has been together for a while then. Is it like a constant double date wherever you¡ª¡± ¡°Double date? No, definitely not. Plus I don¡¯t think anyone thinks of each other above family.¡± Amara quirks an eyebrow before the curly haired Tested kid walks up, ¡°what¡¯re we gonna have for lunch?¡± ¡°Either grilled cheese or fend for yourselves,¡± the pale blonde puts her hands on the counter, using them to rise from her seat. The boy pouts, ¡°we had that yesterday¡­¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°I could put some ham or something in it as well, Sam,¡± Amara ruffles his hair as his pout turns into a smile. ¡°Can I help make them?¡± ¡°Sure, bud.¡± I walk over to Cana¡¯s classroom, spectating as she explains why ¡®th¡¯ sounds like so. ¡°BL, CH, TH, CK, they just sound like that when combined. I dunno why though.¡± ¡°I dunno either and I learned to read sixteen years ago,¡± I comment. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re old,¡± the burgundy haired male says bluntly. ¡°Correction: I¡¯m experienced, and ¡®old¡¯ identifies sixty-five year olds and above. I am twenty-one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still old.¡± He jibes. ¡°Antadon, detention!¡± Cana jabs a finger toward the male. Antadon groans, how do they know that detention is? Knives was looking at words on a sheet of paper, Cana quickly snatches it up. ¡°Imma teach you your names now.¡± She scribbles ¡°N¡± before turning to me, I sigh and lean down to write their names. After doing so, Cana proudly grins and turns the paper towards the boys. ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Antadon¡¯ and ¡®Knives¡¯ ¡ª you have good handwriting Ross.¡± She chirrups. ¡°It¡¯d be nicer if I tried harder,¡± I shrug and wave for them to continue before Sam calls for lunch. The three (mainly Antadon) spring up and go to eat while I walk gingerly behind. After eating, Cana dismisses her class and we head back to the Yoliho Inn. ¡°Being the smart person is hard¡­¡± she grumbles. ¡°How do you think I feel?¡± I say sarcastically. Cana glances at me for a moment, ¡°I dunno. Tired?¡± ¡°The short answer is yes, the long answer is a rant until we¡¯re back at the Yoliho Inn.¡± ¡°Could I always get the short answers?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±
¡°Could I get that chain?¡± I point to a necklace with a teardrop shaped gem that shifted independently of the small link necklace. ¡°That¡¯ll be ten gold,¡± the vendor orders. ¡°Drop it to five,¡± I command. ¡°Nine gold.¡± ¡°No way in hell this is worth ten gold.¡± Mist spat, looking at the necklace. ¡°IT is chain link, that means someone took their time and effort into crafting each and every single tiny link by hand.¡± The vendor explains, ¡°nine gold.¡± ¡°None of this looks relatively ¡®by hand.¡¯ If it was, each link wouldn¡¯t be identical to one another.¡± ¡°Maybe the forger was an expert, now as I was¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s molded. And even the gem holster was molded. If anything, it might be four or three.¡± I see the vendor¡¯s skin start to glitter with sweat slightly, ¡°even if, the gem is a pure, hand-cut¡ª-¡± ¡°Hand-painted is more like it, if you want to get at least something out of it, you¡¯ll sell it for three gold.¡± Mist locks eyes with the vendor, who was now sweating profusely. ¡°F-fine, three gold.¡± I hand him just that and lift the necklace carefully off the table. We walk for a while after that, ¡°. . . is it actually fake?¡± ¡°All except the gem.¡± ¡°... Are you sure you don¡¯t want anything for yourself?¡± I question. Mist, who started staring into the distance, replies, ¡°no.¡± I quizzically raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m positive.¡± We keep walking down the store front, I start to keep a close eye on whatever Mist is looking at. No way a kid this age doesn¡¯t want a little something for themselves while out shopping. I start fidgeting with the necklace, trying to take the gem off. A loud clearing of the throat causes the gem to slip free of both the chain and my sight. ¡°Uhm, sir? Did you and your girlfriend dye your hair just to be a distraction?¡± I cringe, Cana might have liked the gem. Dang it. That and a karen had just appeared. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am, would you like us and all the uniquely haired people to be scalped before you?¡± ¡°No! Why would you suggest such violent actions?¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like I could ¡®bibbity bobbity boo¡¯ my hair a different color. ¡° I motion waving a wand around goofily. Mist glowers at the lady, ¡°your choice of clothing is more distracting than anything else here.¡± The lady gasps, ¡° I will bring my husband into this!¡± Mist¡¯s glare turns into a wicked smirk, ¡°oh my bad. It¡¯s your pregnancy hormones acting up. Congrats I guess.¡± How does she know about pregnancy? Or hormones? Anyways, it got the job done as the woman was left speechless and we walk off. After another few minutes of walking, Mist locks eyes with a colorful brooch as we stroll. I stop and walk over to the seller, ¡°how much is that?¡± ¡°I thought you only wanted a chain,¡± Mist comments. ¡°But I also wanna get you something if you so desire it.¡± ¡°It is not so desired,¡± she snips, eyes still on the brooch. ¡°Correct, it is longed for,¡± I stretch out ¡°longed¡±. ¡°That ol¡¯ thing?¡± The vendor points to the brooch. ¡°You can have it for a couple ivory.¡± Mist opens her mouth, but it¡¯s left hanging as I slap the ivory down and pick up the brooch. She goes to say something a second time before I hand her the accessory. She holds it daintily, staring at the gem. I wait for a snarky remark, or maybe a sassy ¡°thanks¡±. ¡°How do I wear this?¡± 27: Ross Smitt ¡°Hey, Ross?¡± I hear after a rapping on my door. ¡°Come in,¡± I call. ¡°Door¡¯s open.¡± In enters the maroon-haired innkeeper, ¡°do you have a minute?¡± ¡°Depends on what you need it for,¡± I turn around and away from my newest design. ¡°How did you study or .. research back in school?¡± He asks, body language showing slight nervousness. ¡°I just sat in my room and either read my notes a billion times or did exercises. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to¡­ research, something with little information. But I was never the smart one in class.¡± ¡°Can I know what this ¡®research¡¯ is? Different methods are used for different subjects.¡± Jyrasck chews his lip for a moment, ¡°I guess it could be called history.¡± He shrugs a little, I analyze his motions as he does so, catching onto the wandering eye he now possesses as he refuses to make eye-contact. ¡°Little information¡­ history¡­ are you referring to the World Wars? The first and second records were somewhat lost to time, but the third wa¡ª¡± ¡°N-no. Not the World Wars. I-it¡¯s tough to explain.¡± ¡°I could help if you want it, but the more details you provide, the more likely I could assist.¡± Jyrasck, now fidgeting with his thin, silver necklace, ¡°promise me you won¡¯t tell the girls? They¡¯d want in on it, indefinitely.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t say a word.¡± He starts explaining in great detail how he wants to find the old innkeeper¡¯s killer. How there¡¯s no autopsy released for him, and the Jake Thompson from the news this morning might have also been a victim. I tell him to come back with all the articles and what-not he has so far. He returns with a newspaper and pieces of writing he did. Going through it all, I find nothing linking this ¡°Jake¡± to ¡°Eldric¡±, the old innkeeper. Maybe nobody¡¯s talking about it or sending news out on it because it¡¯s only two deaths. Serial killers are only called so after the third victim. And Jyrasck¡¯s notes say it was maybe an organization called ¡°RTU¡± with ¡°Kill the Curio save the pure¡± as their slogan or something. But I can¡¯t go saying to just wait until a third life is lost to Jyrasck, but what else could I say? I think over my options, ¡°this isn¡¯t much. If we had information on the witness of this Jake dude, that¡¯d be nice. What we really need is what and who RTU is. Did they just pop up outta nowhere?¡± Jyrasck nods, ¡°that¡¯s what I was thinking. But how can we get that intel?¡± He asks before his eyes light up like a lantern. ¡°Or should I say who we get the information from?¡± ¡°Wha¨C?¡±
¡°Who do you want me to look into?¡± Mist asks, staring at the taller male blankly. ¡°Can you check if anyone had ¡®Jake Thompson¡¯ on their minds?¡± Jyrasck inquires back. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Mist turns back to her breakfast, ¡°wasn¡¯t that the guy from yesterday¡¯s paper?¡± ¡°Yeah, could you try to find one of his relatives or something?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We¡¯re tryna find my old man¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jyrasck and I exchange glances. That was quick, for Mist at least. ¡°Jake Thompson, whaddid¡¯ he look like?¡± She asks, cat ears rotating towards the long haired man. ¡°Sandy blonde hair with hazel eyes and a tattoo on the outer wrist,¡± I recite from the article. ¡°Didn¡¯t ask you,¡± Mist snips. ¡°I¡¯ll work on that when I get the chance.¡± I go to retaliate before getting cut off by Jyrasck¡¯s thanks. He glances at myself as if to tell me to not start anything. I huff, snatching up a newspaper slightly more aggressive than normal. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she¡¯s so¡­ irritable all the time, thinking she¡¯s better than someone six years older than her. And I have a proper education as well, I m¨C¡± ¡°Calm down Mr. Acting-like-a-mom-who-doesn¡¯t-know-how-to-respond-to-their-child¡¯s-teenage-behavior.¡± Jyrasck jokes. ¡°I¡¯m not acting like a¡ª holy crap I¡¯m acting like a mom.¡± My brain clicks mid-sentence. I look to see Jyrasck holding back a fit of laughter and lower my eyes to a glare. ¡°One sentence is all it took, a single sentence,¡± I mutter to myself. We investigate the newspaper carefully, coming across a few minor headlines about crime in Belduar. Nothing relating to the two deceased men. Jyrasck huffs, ¡°well butt. I hate to say it, but I guess we have to wait to find this RTU organization until the officials give out more details.¡± He leans back from the paper with a discontent sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna wait for another person to get offed, but it looks like our only option.¡± I hold back a cheerful hand-pump, ¡°yeah. Well it looks like it¡¯s a week-by-week killing so we don¡¯t have to wait nine months or something.¡± He nods, ¡°that¡¯s what it looks like. I guess we¨C¡± A jingle of bells rings and cuts Jyrasck off, we both look up to see a couple enter the inn. Elena scrambles out from the back of the bar to seat them. Customers? Was last night bringing in more people? I see Jyrasck¡¯s eyes contemplating the same thing. His slight huff of getting interrupted turns slowly into an exasperated grin. He hops up out of his seat to cater to the newcomers. ¡°Welcome to the Yoliho Inn, the pleasant hole-in-the-wall that¡¯ll suit all of your needs, may I take your order?¡±
The day passes, the inn relatively more filled than the days before. Though we¡¯ve only been here for four days. By three or so in the afternoon, there were a couple people using the place like a caf¨¦ while I loiter behind the bar. Chi-ling¡ª! The bell announces as a girl my age walks in with a swift, quiet motion. She quickly glances around, skeptically looking towards the bar. A moment passes before she takes place near the end of the counter, quietly opening a small crossword puzzle book. I recognize it to be the Great Discoveries and Inventions of All Time 758 Edition. That¡¯s the one I gave up on a ways through¡­ I think. Curiously, I walk over, ¡°anything to drink?¡± ¡°Do you have tea?¡± She replies, jolting up from the book. ¡°Herbal or black?¡± I answer back, spinning around. ¡°Do you have earl gray?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re willing to wait.¡± The chestnut haired girl looks distant for a moment, as if thinking of what to say next before simply glancing back down and fiddling with her pencil again. I¡¯m leaning on the counter just beside the woman and subtly observing the page she¡¯s on. 2: Council of Pioneers used these to light meeting rooms I read internally, that¡¯s gotta be cover torches right? I glance at the actual puzzle, seeing the slots were enough and empty. How do I interact without seeming weird or creepy? Isn¡¯t this position already off-putting though? Should I just start talking? No, I need a reason or else I have a higher chance of just starting an awkward silence. Oh, right, the tea! I jolt up quickly and remove the tea bag from the glass cup, sliding it before the curly haired peer. ¡°Do you want any help with that crossword?¡± I ask, resisting the urge to add on to the sentence. She sets the glass beside herself, ¡°if you are of any.¡± I lean down from across the bar, ¡°that one¡¯s probably cover torches.¡± ¡°Oh, nice catch.¡± We talk and talk, filling in the words as time passes. Soon, an hour goes by and she leaves the inn as the dinner rush enters. I switch with Fareed and go up to my inn room. I look out the window, which has an indecent view of an alleyway beside the inn. Dinner rush goes on throughout the hours until nightfall (around six-fifteen or so), then comes gambling games and thirty-year-olds and older unwinding from a long day. Either that or rebellious teens staying out for long enough to make me wonder if their parents are out on the town too. I hear them clatter about beneath my room along with the chirp of laughter. Kinda like that inn back at Yalev now that I think about it. I take off my glasses, observing my craftsmanship before placing it on my desk and shuffling into the large single bed, shutting my eyes to think myself to sleep. I just hope this RTU killer person doesn¡¯t take too long¡­ 28. Mist So those were the wrong files¡­ dammit. I guess I could surf through them while I got time. Maybe there might be some Curio relations in the wrong files. Thank Cana I can read, I guess. Most of them say ¡°Minor Crime Do Not Pursue¡± while the rest say ¡°Contained¡±, though one of them is gone now. Should I rip it up, cross out his face for good measure? I remember the vision as I look at the newspaper. I take it and stare at the girl on the front page, another victim of Knives I assume. It¡¯s her picture along with the light-haired man from the other day and Jyrasck¡¯s dad. I didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d strike again so soon. TRU waits for no one I guess. I wonder how the guys¡¯ll react. I creen my neck once hearing Jyrasck the Giant¡¯s footsteps with Ross the Mediocre¡¯s following soon after. ¡°Did you find anything last night?¡± Jyrasck asks. ¡°Nope, but your killer did,¡± I tap a finger on the newspaper. Jyrasck snaps up the paper, reading the front article as Ross comes to over, leaning over Jyrasck¡¯s arm to see. ¡°That was quick,¡± Ross exhales. ¡°¡®These recent murders are now claimed as the RTU killings, if you have any information, please inform your local police station.¡¯ We¡¯re the ones needing information, dang it.¡± Jyrasck huffs. I distance myself for a moment, focusing on the wall behind the boys. Ross glances at me, observing as I feel my vision blur. I must be a good actress, pretending to have a vision is working. I twitch slightly while I act to sell it before ¡°returning from space¡± as Ross once called it. ¡°I¡­ saw a bunch of files with lots of hate and rage,¡± I blink, looking up towards the two. ¡°Just now?¡± Jyrasck asks. ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°No other information? Like a name o-or a place?¡± Ross chirps. I pause for a moment. Should I say Honeycomb? Or maybe just Honey. Some people called her Honey. ¡°It was like ¡®oh, Honey¡¯.¡± ¡°Honey? That doesn¡¯t give us much¡­¡± Ross sighs. ¡°The nickname honey? Like ¡®Honey, I¡¯m home from work¡¯ type honey?¡± Jyrasck chirrups. How did they figure out it wasn¡¯t her actual name already? I shrug in response. Should I even be giving them this information? Knives is a former Tested like I am. The others don¡¯t kill though, and they knew Honeycomb. The whole reason we¡¯re here is to shut down the Labs because the Curio were killing us off. ¡­ Meh, I didn¡¯t really like him anyway. ¡°I assume this killer is tied to the Honey person, if they aren¡¯t the Honeyman themselves.¡± Jyrasck¡¯s eyes light up hopefully, ¡°keep track of them then. If we get names and faces, we¡¯ll eventually get the killer¡¯s.¡± Ross nibbs his lip, ¡°we can¡¯t let whoever¡¯s doing all this get to us. It might be a traumatized Lab-dweller for all we know. I feel like we should promise each other that.¡± He turns to his fellow male. ¡°You¡¯re a good mediator, y¡¯know that?¡± Jyrasck pats Ross¡¯s head. ¡°I don¡¯t need compliments, I need yes sirs.¡± ¡°What are you, a teacher?¡± I joke, refusing to say ¡°yes sir¡± to him. ¡°No, but I¡¯m the one with no ability and can ditch you three in seconds without problem. I¡¯m risking my life for you idiots and I don¡¯t want anyone else to be doing the same.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Yes sir!¡± Cana startles everyone with a flat hand in front of her forehead. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saluting, it¡¯s common for people to do it, I think,¡± Cana replies in a proud-ish manner. I roll my eyes as Jyrasck turns to Ross, nodding with a smile, ¡°don¡¯t worry about us. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ross squints at him before succumbing to Jyrasck¡¯s line. ¡°Okay, but when did Cana learn about this whole thing?¡± ¡°Approximately yesterday,¡± Cana chirps. ¡°Okay.. If we find Honeyman, your job is to either befriend or spy on them to confirm they¡¯re the ones killing.¡± Ross pats Cana¡¯s shoulder. ¡°They might already know we¡¯re onto them.¡± Jyrasck says, ¡°the first two were a week apart, this new one was two-three days afterward.¡± Ross nods, ¡°you¡¯re right. They might keep with this new schedule to bring more attention to themselves. I guess they¡¯re as mad as we are about the government cover-ups.¡± ¡°It just makes it all the more urgent,¡± I deadpan, ¡°¡®maybe¡¯s aren¡¯t gonna cut it, a killer¡¯s loose and we will put them out.¡± They all nod in agreement before myself and Cana set out to Mrs. Soleil''s. ?????? ¡°Can¡¯t we just learn the alphabet and be done?¡± Antadon whines. ¡°Because grammar is important, and so is roots,¡± Cana chides. I roll my eyes, ¡°¡®so is roots¡¯? The irony.¡± Cana pouts, ¡°you know what I mean.¡± She turns to Knives and Antadon, ¡°if you wanna write, you¡¯ll need to learn this as well.¡± ¡°All we really need is our names, we won¡¯t use anything else. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re gonna write apology letters to the Curio ¡®cause Gordon took down their door.¡± ¡°That was Gordon? I thought it was Auzzy!¡± ¡°Nope, Gordon was the one. Remember when he pitched the ball in the Yard that one time?¡± Cana laughs, ¡°didn¡¯t the Curio get super mad ¡®cause it left a huge hole in the wall?¡± They chuckle, sharing tales that feel like a dream you have to think really hard to remember. Are they even memories? I guess I was being tested on or too zoned out to notice a crater being formed and covered in the wall along with prank wars and further drama. Thinking about it all, all these stories of the time in the Laboratory, now the past, they all feel so surreal. ¡°Oh yeah..! Like that one time when Honeycomb gave Sam her drawing and Knives got so jealous he didn¡¯t talk to the both of them¡ª¡± ¡°Shaddup or you¡¯re gonna get more than a beating, poison boy,¡± Knives threatens. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll stop talking about your thing with Honey¡ª okay okay! I got the message. I got the message!¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, everyone knows. You don¡¯t have to threaten people to be all hush-hush about it,¡± Cana pokes playfully, receiving a glare of hatred and murderous intent. He has a thing for Honeycomb? I guess I¡¯m not a part of ¡°everyone¡± then. I assume ¡°a thing¡± is referring to romance, as it does most of the time relating to girls. And I just thought it was the first person he thought of when reasoning his serial killing. The three converse as I stray away, walking over to where Sam and Iris were. The two were sitting in silence, Sam hovering over the girl¡¯s shoulder while she read a book, I slide past them to the opposing side of the couch. I sit and quickly find my eyes locking onto the wooden table, mainly the way the grain of the wood weaved through the rounded table¡¯s shape. As the air swirled in the dome-shaped area, two people formed, though only their top halves as they were laid on their stomachs. One was female with a silvery earring and brown-rooted, blonde hair. The other was a muscular male with dark brown hair that kicked out in the back with a small lock of hair that was sticking up more than the rest of it. The two faced each other, but didn¡¯t make eye-contact, staring at faintly glowing slabs or holding said slab up to their ear. The girl swirled a blurry glass cup that she handled with little care. ¡°I miss you so much, Ari,¡± the man smiled at his slab, his folded arms balancing his tired head. ¡°I miss you too, ¡®night Jace,¡± the lady cooed before the two wisped away like mist. I smile ridiculously, AD times were probably just like that, just short of paradise! I giggle, squirming about on my bed and squeezing my pillow. ¡°DJ..? Are you okay in there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Mom! Just fantasizing!¡± I jolt, a Tested? No, that was a house, and she said ¡°Mom¡±. A non-Tested with an ability only Tested could have? Then Curio are coming for her right? How close was she? Could I find her before the Curio can..? 29. Plans, Plans, Plans and... Death? Mist and I are walking back from Mom¡¯s house, teaching Antadon took a lot out of me. But it kinda felt worth it, too. Maybe I should start teaching the Dynamos so Emma can teach other kids! That¡¯d be fun once I come back to Yalev, but we gotta trap the killer before any of that happens. I hope they don¡¯t figure out that Ross is a plausible target too. ¡°Mist!¡± I call, causing her to jump, ¡°whadda ¡®bout Ross? He could be blegh-ed next!¡± ¡°What? Enunciate,¡± Mist¡¯s ear twitches under the bobby pin that holds it down. ¡°Ross is a ¡®Curio-spawn¡¯, whatever that means. He¡¯s called something with ¡®Curio¡¯, sp if the killer overhears anything like that, Ross¡¯ll be next!¡± ¡°Then we could use him as bait for the killer! You¡¯re a genius Cana!¡± Mist cheers, now speeding into a jog towards the Yoliho Inn.
¡°Hold on, when I said I was the one risking their life the most, I didn¡¯t mean to endanger me more!¡± Ross cries. ¡°But they do have a point,¡± Jyrasck comments, stroking his chin philosophically. ¡°If we¡¯re gonna take this into our own hands, you¡¯re the only reliable bait.¡± ¡°How do we get the killer to target him tho¡ª¡± ¡°Leave that part to me,¡± Mist huffs confidently. ¡°Are we doing this tonight?¡± Ross chirps, a jittery finger tapping on his notebook. ¡°Tonight and the next until we get a bite,¡± Mist grins deviously. After a minute of brainstorming and discussion, we come up with a plan. First, we start spreading the word to people we know, Mist being the one to tell us who to inform. We do that the entire next day. Afterward, me and Jyrasck are stationed secretively around Ross¡¯s room in search for suspicious people. Though the first few days were bust. After the fifth day of this routine, once Jyrasck finishes up the music-y part of the night, Mist rounds everyone up. She held the paper we recorded suspects on. ¡°We have three today, Knives, Antadon, and Ms. Soleil. Ross, I want this time to be¡ª¡± ¡°Are we sure this RTU person is even here anymore? We should call it off,¡± Ross offers. ¡°You just¡¯re scared.¡± Mist jibes, notes of seriousness in underlying her voice. ¡°I feel like this is our last chance with true bait.¡± ¡°Last chance? Great, Imma get killed tonight. R. I. P. the sane person I guess,¡± Ross fidgets more. ¡°You have to take risks for the good of making your lore sick,¡± Jyrasck rhymes. ¡°My old man did my time for me.¡± ¡°Yeah right, just get in there and act like you¡¯re unaware,¡± Mist rolls her eyes at the conflicted male. ¡°Y¡¯all go, get in position. Killers wait for nobody,¡± she shoos us both and I head to the alleyway. It was late, darkness swamping the majority of my vision. The crisp wind becomes colder as I keep sight on the lit window above my head. Jyrasck is up on the second floor, hiding in Ross¡¯s room. When it comes to whose spot is more dangerous, I think mine takes the prize. I jolt over and over again, hearing every movement, my eyes feeling as wide as an owl¡¯s but not catching anything. Stolen story; please report. Until a rustle catches my attention, my head swivels to the sound. I see a large blur edge ever closer, and amber eyes that stare deep into my own. ¡°Knives?¡± ¡°Move aside.¡±
I loiter in Ross¡¯ closet, waiting for the door to sound open and a killer¡¯s voice to do some twisted monologue. I may not have full control over my aberra, but hopefully enough to capture another being. One minute, two, three, a long time passes with little noise besides the shuffling and scribbling of Ross¡¯ ¡°unaware¡± act. Eventually, the shuffling ceases and alters to footsteps, coming closer to the closet. I tense up quickly, getting ready to charge is kinda difficult being decently over six feet. Fwak, the door opens and I stumble out. ¡°I think the killer moved on. There¡¯s no need to do this plan anymore, or hide in my closet,¡± Ross huffs. ¡°I get that, but tell Mist, not me.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll call me a good-for-nothing wuss or something,¡± Ross fall-sits onto his bed. FWAK! The door to the room flies open, I quickly jump into a battle stance while Ross jumps a couple inches off his bed. Mist sighs, ¡°Mission¡¯s off. Honeyman didn¡¯t come.¡± ¡°You saw Honeyman?¡± ¡°Gotta vision, doesn¡¯t plan on coming.¡± Ross releases a sigh of relief with a weary smile, I go to the doorway. ¡°Imma call Cana off-duty then.¡± Mist nods for me to go and I do. Rushing downstairs before casually searching through the bar and snatching up the master key ring. I mean, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s dying to get off work. At one point she said it was fun. I fidget through the key ring a couple minutes more as I walk up to the door. (That was a nice rhyme), I find the key, unlock the door, and head out into the alley. I feel a faint heat as I slip into the darkness. My eyes quickly adjust as I walk down. I gaze through the alleyway. ¡°Cana, If you¡¯re tryna prank me¡­¡± I smirk, waiting anxiously for a snickering laugh or some other answer. There was only silence. ¡°Cana¡­¡± I search, now with a sense of urgency, my eyes quickly lock onto a slumped up on the inn¡¯s wall. Advancing slowly, I come to recognize a bob-like, blonde head. Cana?! I gasp, starting to shake. Is she dead? She didn¡¯t respond to my calls¡­ but she can heal really fast. She¡¯ll be fine¡­ right? I quickly analyze her condition. Dirt, dirt, dirt, stained clothes¡ª Blood?! I stumble even further, afraid if I go to carry her in, she¡¯d be dead. But she can¡¯t die of physical wounds, she harps on and on about it. JUST GET HER INSIDE!! I hear a voice screech in my mind, weaving my hands under her back and knees before lifting her body. Sprinting in little spurts to get closer to the inn-door, I quickly bang the door open and go to set her down. I need more light. And the others. Fast. ¡°Ross, Mist, Get down here quick,¡± I snap to the sky.
And I thought we were done with the murder mystery junk, ¡°what did you yell for..?¡± I grumble, Mist at my heels. Jyrasck set a candle beside¡­ Cana? ¡°I-I don¡¯t think she¡¯s asleep and she doesn¡¯t feel d..dead and I¡ª¡± he sputters, containing his worried whimper with as much effort possible. I trudge towards the candlelight, she looks fine (besides the no response and dried blood factors). I press around the stained area to find, in the lung area, a lump of¡­ bone? that seems to have pierced her and lodged itself into her lung. ¡°I think she was impaled.¡± ¡°Impaled? Did they bayonet-style shank her or¨C how did you find that out?¡± Jyrasck spins off question after question, rambling to himself. ¡°Feel right here, the spike thingy wasn¡¯t removed.¡± ¡°Can we take it out?¡± Mist asks, pressing the spot with no response from Cana. ¡°You tell me, ¡° I shrug. Mist soon after orders Jyrasck and myself around¡­ preparing for a makeshift surgery. 30. Cana Soliel BRRT¡ª the alarm sounds and the testing room door swings open, a yellow-outfitted person walks in and straight up to me. ¡°Welcome back, mischievous 487. Do you understand why you¡¯re back here?¡± They turn a knife out of their pocket, a wicked grin on the Curio¡¯s face. ¡°Tested don¡¯t escape, if they try, they get hurt.¡± He clutches the weapon and stabs me in my chest. The shock of it quickly snaps my eyes wide open as I gasp for breath. Wow, dreams suck. Makes me glad I don¡¯t have Mist¡¯s power. Then it¡¯d suck even more. ¡°Finally, you¡¯re awake,¡± Mist¡¯s voice grumbles from beside me. ¡°I thought I was¡­ oh¡­¡± last night hit me like a rock. ¡°Move Aside.¡± The growling voice of Knives demands. ¡°What¡¯re you doing out here? Shouldn¡¯t you be with me mom?¡± I ask. Is Knives the killer? No way, he¡¯s a Tested. Like me, he wouldn¡¯t kill another Tested¡¯s friend, right? ¡°I¡¯ll go back once I do something. Now move.¡± ¡°N-no. If you¡¯re here for Ross, you can¡¯t¡ª¡± I shift to a defensive position. Or at least try to before he lunges, slamming a hand into my torso. I feel a sharp, growing pain in my side as he does. I feel the wind knock clear out of my lungs as I get thrown onto the inn wall. ¡°I will, but I don¡¯t want to harm another pure in the process,¡± he replies, jerking the palm of his hand with a sickening snap, his answer a chilled rumble before I blacked out. ¡°Oh¡­¡± I repeat, coming to terms with the memory. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mist mocks slightly. ¡°So I assume you know the killer now,¡± she huffs. ¡°You knew already?!¡± ¡°Did you forget the reason I was at the Labs?¡± I go quiet, ¡°... how long did you know?¡± ¡°Not relevant, what is is a plan of how to stop him from doing so. We could corner him in some abandoned warehouse, or¡ª¡± ¡°Does Jyra know?¡± I stare. ¡°What?¡± Mist stares back. ¡°Does Jyra know?¡± I repeat, only slower. ¡°The boys have no clue. Though I¡¯m worried telling them will remove all trust gained over the past days,¡± Mist answers bluntly. I go to argue but.. That¡¯s valid. Knives did kill Jyrasck¡¯s dad and is tryna kill Ross. We sit in a small silence, ¡°do they know I¡¯m awake?¡± ¡°No¡­ and we¡¯re not gonna prank them either. Ross is jittery as is.¡± I pout, ¡°boo. Should we tell Ross? Then we could act like we never kne¨C¡± ¡°No acting, you¡¯re horrible at it.¡± ¡°How would you know? You haven¡¯t seen my skills!¡± ¡°And I can assume those ¡®skills¡¯ are bad.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Wow, mean. But still, we should tell Ross.¡± ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t tell Jyra,¡± Mist sighs, getting up. ¡°I¡¯ll go get him,¡± she walks out, only for Ross to enter a few moments later. ¡°Good afternoon,¡± he studders awkwardly as he sits down. ¡°Good after noon,¡± I repeat. ¡°Did Mist tell you anything?¡± ¡°Just that it was my shift, like some factory worker.¡± He answers, ¡°why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just wondering¡­ If a Tested were to go rogue, would you still try and save the rest?¡± He blinks, ¡°um¡­ I would just be more aware..? Could you define ¡®rogue¡¯?¡± I bite the inside of my cheek, ¡°like go crazy.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d just be more aware of their behavior. Shielding my past and avoiding getting them activated.¡± Ross shrugs, ¡°is something up with Mist or something?¡± ¡°No, not Mist. One of the people at my mom¡¯s.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°... Knives¡­¡± Ross makes a confused face, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What¡¯s your point?¡± I nip my cheek some more, ¡°... you gotta promise me you won¡¯t tell Jyra.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°The killer, it¡¯s Knives.¡± His eyebrows raise a little, ¡°that¡¯s great. But if Jyra finds out, and he definitely will, would he trust you two anymore? Plus the other¡¯s at Amara¡¯s, are they in on it?¡± ¡°Mist doesn¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Fun, fun,¡± he says sarcastically. ¡°So how do we go about capturing Mr. Killer? Catch him by a river near here? What abilities does he have anyway?¡± ¡°He can grow his bones out from his body and use them as weapons.¡± Ross pauses, ¡°no disarming him then. Should we get the police involved? No, they¡¯d capture you all too¡­¡± he starts muttering to himself. ¡°If we could find an out-of-the-way place, we can lure him there while someone lures the police there.¡± I chirp, moving to dangle my feet off the side of the bed. He snaps his fingers, ¡°yes! And how do we lure him there?¡± I stare at him. He stares at me, discontent, ¡°...really?¡± I shrug, ¡°you¡¯re the only one he¡¯d go for in a long-enough lasting pursuit.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m too young to be writing my will..¡± ?????? ¡°Okay, Ross lures the K to a secluded area, Cana and Jyra tie him up, and I lure the police to K¡¯s location,¡± Mist summarizes, pointing to each one of us as she does. ¡°But where¡¯s this ¡®secluded area¡¯? Do we have one in mind?¡± Ross chirps. ¡°Oh I think I know one. Behind the inn is an old stable, we could trap it and lure the killer into there,¡± Jyrasck offers. ¡°Shh! The codename is K, remember?¡± I chide softly, to which he rolls his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we need codenames anyway,¡± he fusses. ¡°Why, don¡¯t they fit? Ice for Mist, Ivory for Ross, Smokes for you, and Fire for me,¡± I point respectively with a proud smile. ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Jyrasck shrugs dismissively. ¡°Ross and I can go set traps while you two shake out the plan su¡¯more.¡± He gets up, followed by Ross. ¡°...¡± ¡°Follow?¡± ¡°Follow.¡± We rise from our seats and sneak out behind the boys. Sneaking through the alleyway a short sprint behind them, we follow swiftly and quickly. Mist¡¯s ears atop her head rotate the more we advance. I assume she¡¯s listening into the boy¡¯s conversation as occasionally she freezes in place. They go through a tall grassed pass before we all arrive at an unappealing looking stable (which takes me a minute to realize what it actually is since there¡¯s no stablehand). The grass was climbing up the walls of it, enveloping the majority of it. Mist¡¯s ears stand at attention, pointing towards both males. ¡°Anything interesting?¡± I ask. ¡°If ¡®interesting¡¯ is Ross-y talk,¡± she whispers back. ¡°Is Jyra Ross-y talking too?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yup, he¡¯s nodding to it too.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought he was just startling flies.¡± ¡°Nope, he¡¯s nodding to a Ross-y talk ramble.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised so many people understand Ross-y talk.¡± ¡°Same.¡± ¡°Even my mom understood it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember that.¡± ¡°Boy talk is so weird.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡±