《Apocalypse Now: Under Contract》 ANUC ONE: Enter The System *AN: (EDIT: Got the go ahead from Wiz, all systems ready to fire, let''s do this!) Find the original fiction, Apocalypse Now, here: http://royalroadl.com/fiction/3753 Simon was lounging on a bench in Central Park, going over his new case. It wasn¡¯t anything too interesting, a claim of fraud between two small businesses, Paul Sen Co. and Telecen Enterprises. P.S. Co. claimed Telecen fabricated one of the documents involved in a deal between them in order to gain a larger stake in the deal. Of course, this is illegal, so P.S. Co. Turned to the law, and specifically, Simon. Simon was a lawyer specializing in contract agreements and fraudulent behavior between and within corporations, and was, in fact, one of the top agents of his firm, Buck Logan Legal Counsels. Considering his accomplishments, he was the natural choice for this particular case. Unfortunately, he would never get to finish it. He was reading the supposed fabricated document when it happened. An oddly sibilant voice started talking, seemingly into his very mind. ¡°Salutations. Welcome, Planet Earth, Dimension Fire692, to the System. In a few moments, this universe will finish updating, and will officially adopt the System as its own. The ¡®read me¡¯ option on screen will inform you of any other info you may need. That is all.¡± The voice faded away, and as it did, a transparent screen appeared before him, and from the way they all stopped and stared into space, everyone else in the park as well.
Name:Simon Belfonse
Points:7224Lottery Slots:2
Shop
AbilitiesPhysical ModificationsSuppliesWeapons
Armor
*AN: I tried my best to turn it into a table, the number of shops caused a few problems, as you can see. Simon tried to touch the screen, but, as if it was never there in the first place, his hand simply passed right through it. ¡®What the hell... Physical modifications? Points? What is this, a video game? The hell is even going on?!¡¯, Simon thought, thoroughly confused at this point. Experimentally, he pressed his finger against the ¡®Abilities¡¯ button, and, surprisingly, he felt something solid. A several page long list appeared before him, with each option seemingly costing an amount of points. [tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr]
Acting90 Points(2/66000)Adrenaline Boost200 Points(1/36000)Aeromancy (Beginner)360 Points(9/200000)Aeromancy (Intermediate)1000 Points(1/95000)Aeromancy (Master)2200 Points(0/42000)Aeromancy (Grandmaster)4400 Points(0/2400)Agility Boost280 Points(0/Inf.)All Element Control5800 Points(0/160)(Pg 1/29)
¡®So, what, I can purchase one of these things and I¡¯ll be able to use the ability? This seems kind of far-fetched, but, well, I¡¯ve never seen anything like these blue screens before. It looks like I have a lot of points, considering the prices of these abilities, so maybe I can buy a good one?¡¯, Simon pondered. He browsed for a minute, flipping pages, before he stopped at page 4 as and ability name caught his attention. [tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr][tr]
Clairvoyance3900 Points(0/23000)Complete Physical Control2400 Points(0/80000)Contract Creation6800 Points(0/7)Destruction/Creation9980 Points(0/1)Domain Control4100 Points(0/6000)Dominion3400 Points(0/15000)Door of Dimensions7900 Points(0/5)Eden Creation1400 Points(2/45000)(Pg 4/29)
Contract Creation. As a lawyer, Simon has had a lot of experience with contracts, including writing them up, which the name of the ability seemed to imply. Considering the cost of the ability, Simon figured it was a little more complicated than simply creating a contract. In an attempt to access more information about the ability, Simon pressed on the points cost. In hindsight, this was a terribly stupid move. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Thank you for your purchase. Applying Ability now.
¡°W-wait, what?! No, no no! I didn¡¯t want to buy it!¡±, Simon exclaimed aloud. It must be known that Simon was /not/ a gambler. In fact, Simon was the type to research an important decision for days, if not months, before deciding. For him, this type of mistake was extremely embarrassing. Normally, he would¡¯ve gone over every page several times before making a decision, if at all. *Brrrt* A vibration sound came from the screen.
Application successful. Contract Creation (1/7) applied. Points remaining: 424. To open the status screen again, simply think ¡°Status¡±.
Simon blinked. He didn¡¯t feel like he had gained a new ability. Suddenly, a searingly bright white flash filled his mind, and he collapsed, sinking into unconsciousness. Simon awoke an hour later. As his groggy mind recovered, he managed to open his eyes slowly. It felt as if he¡¯d had a few to many drinks the night before. After checking his watch, he looked around curiously. Not much had changed in the quiet Central Park. Well, if you consider people flying, tossing fireballs, or lifting benches with one hand an everyday occurrence. Simon sat in awe at the sights before him for a minute, before the ringing of his cell-phone snapped him out of it. ¡°S-Simon Belfonse speaking.¡±, he said into the phone. ¡°Simon!¡±, said the voice on the other end. It was his boss, Jeremy. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to call you for an hour! Do you see this shit going on around here?!¡±, he shouted. This sounded serious. His boss never swore. ¡°Yeah, sorry. I tried buying one of those Ability things from the screen. It knocked me out.¡± replied Simon. ¡°No shit?! Well, I¡¯m gonna need you down here stat, we¡¯re getting more calls than we can handle. You need to-¡± *BOOOOOMMM* A loud explosion cut Jeremy off, leaving a low buzzing coming from the phone. In the distance, the general direction of his firm headquarters, Simon could see a large mushroom cloud rising through the gaps in the buildings. Simon shot to his feet, alarmed. Of course something like this would happen! He felt so stupid! What happens if everyone, no matter their background, is given supernatural powers indiscriminately? Some would abuse it, of course. As a lawyer, Simon was intimately connected to this fact. He should have known. He had gotten distracted, and now his boss had payed for it Of course, he could still be alive, but Simon really wasn¡¯t the fighting type, and he wasn¡¯t that close to his boss anyways. So, he immediately sprinted in the opposite direction. Most of the people in the park were still shocked. At first, there were surprised screams and yelling, but now everyone was just frozen in awe of the remnants of the explosion. Fortunately, Simon was able to take advantage of the distraction to get away from the commotion, making his way deeper into the park. On the way, he furiously dialed his phone. *rrrrrring* *rrrrrring* *rrrrring* ¡°The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.¡± Simon tried each of his contacts, but not a single one picked up. In the distance, he could hear more explosions, increasing in frequency every moment. Breathing heavily, Simon managed to reach the center of the park. He figured there wasn¡¯t much to blow up in an area filled with trees. Speaking of trees, Simon picked one at random and started climbing. Despite being a lawyer, a profession infamous for the laziness of its practitioners, Simon worked out regularly, and was a regular visitor to the rock climbing gym. Soon he reached the top, but what he saw stopped him in his tracks. It was anarchy. There was smoke everywhere, casting a dark haze over the whole city. Flickers of orange light flashed within the smoke, signs of out of control fires in every direction. It was a rare sight to find a building not damaged in some way. Like little ants, Simon could see figures flying here and there, some with wings, a few glowing mysteriously, and more still simply jumping around the place. Flashes of light came from them as fireballs appeared out of thin air, and various energies clashed together. One hour. It only took one hour for the whole city to fall into complete chaos. *BRRRRRING* *BRRRRING* Hastily, Simon reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, noticing the caller ID named the caller as his brother. He put it to his ear quickly. ¡±Hello?¡± ¡°SIMON! Thank god, man! We thought you went boom like the rest of the city! Where are you, bro, I¡¯ll come pick you up right away!¡±, his brother, Thomas, sounded hysterical, and at the same time excited. So very like him. ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of Central Park. Wait, how are you going to pick me up? The whole city¡¯s gone insane.¡± ¡°Heh, don¡¯t you worry about that. Central Park, huh? Alright, so just like this and... Woah!-¡± ¡°Thomas? What happened?¡± ¡°Don- *Bshh* worry, I¡¯ve- *Bshhhhhh* be- *Bshhh* soon br-*Bshhhh*¡±, the phone started breaking up, as if his brother had entered a tunnel, before eventually cutting off altogether. Simon looked at his cellphone dejectedly. A small ¡®call dropped¡¯ symbol flashed on the screen. He sighed, wondering what would become of him, and looked up at the sky. It was filled with fire and lightning, despite the absence of clouds. ANUC TWO: A Useless Power AN: Hey, I''ve returned. School''s out, and I''ve graduated high school, so you can expect a lot more updates for most of my novels, especially this and Technomage. I''ll probably drop Doc, I''m really not getting into the xianxia theme. Anyways, there''s some action in this chap, hope you enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Hup!¡± With a grunt, Simon landed back on solid ground. He stood up straight and brushed himself off. He was wearing a black Calvin Kleen suit, his normal apparrel, and he didn¡¯t want it to get too dirty. It doesn¡¯t pay to look like a bum while you¡¯re conducting business, after all. Simon sighed to himself and listened to the sounds of chaos in the city. Explosions, screams, rumbling. Wait, was that rumbling sound coming closer? Now definitely alarmed, Simon looked around for a weapon. He had no illusions he would be able to fend off anything that was looking to harm him, but it didn¡¯t hurt to have something for intimidation. He found a relatively large stick on the ground and lifted it defensively, facing the direction of the increasingly large rumbling. It was close now, Simon could feel the earth tremble, and soon start to shake alarmingly. When the shaking was almost enough to knock him off his feet, it stopped. Suddenly, the ground a few meters in front of him started to rise up and split apart, and a fountain of dirt started pouring out, forming a large mound. Simon was enraptured. What was this? Magic? After a few seconds, the dirt stopped moving, then burst outwards all at once. Fortunately, Simon was far enough away that he didn¡¯t get any dirt on his suit. Standing where the dirt mound previously was, standing proud with a massive grin on his face, was his brother. ¡°Damn, that was awesome! I love magic!¡±, Thomas shouted into the air. He looked around for a moment before spotting Simon. ¡°Hey! Simon! How¡¯s that for a speedy arrival? I betcha I¡¯m faster than a taxi! Thomas Taxi Service, howzat?!¡±, he shouted over at Simon. ¡°You can tunnel under the earth faster than a car and you can only think of becomming a human taxi? What is that, anyway, magic?¡±, Simon replied. ¡°Hell, yeah, it¡¯s magic! Master Terramancy, 2200 points!¡±, Thomas puffed up his chest and held his chin up with pride. His shoulder length brown hair and rebel styled clothes made him look like a rockstar in a spotlight. ¡°Right... I¡¯ve got Contract Creation, 6800 points. I don¡¯t know what it does yet, though.¡± Simon was not impressed. Thomas¡¯ eyebrows rose, as if surprised. ¡°Dude, 6800 points?! That¡¯s like, four times as much as what I started with! Also, have you not opened your status yet? Just click on your class thing and you¡¯ll know how to use it. It¡¯s super easy! If only college was like that!¡±, he explained. Simon nodded, and said, ¡°Status.¡±, prompting a new screen to appear in front of him.
Name: Simon BelfonsePoints: 424Race: HumanLottery Slots: 2
Class:Contract Creator
Abilities:Create Contract, Destroy Contract, Edit Contract
Simon pressed his class, ¡®Contract Creator¡¯, and immediately a flood of information flooded his mind. Contract Creation does just what it says. Simon can create one contract per day with another being, which will compel them to follow the terms of the contract. Simon, or anyone else with the same power, can dispel, or even change the contract terms at any time, unless specified within the contract itself. For example, Simon creates a contract with someone to make them follow him for the rest of their life. Simon can later change the time of service to only a few years if he wishes. After sorting through his newfound knowledge, Simon noticed the explanation on the terms he could set were extremely vague. He had no idea what the limits were, so he decided to experiment on his brother once he got to a safer area. A large explosion somewhere in the park broke him out of his thoughts. A series of smaller explosions followed immediately after, getting progressively closer. ¡°Time to go!¡±, yelled Thomas. ¡°Quick, grab my waist, we¡¯re goin¡¯ underground!¡± Simon hurried over to him and wrapped his arms around his brother¡¯s waist. ¡°Hold on tight, it¡¯s just like a rollercoaster!¡±, Thomas shouted over the explosions, which were by now very close. Simon nodded, and spotted a fireball rising over the treetops momentarily, before there was a rush of wind and a falling feeling in his gut. Everything went dark, but Simon could feel the air rippling around him, and hear the crunching of dirt and rock from every direction. His feet were on solid ground, but he got the impression they were going very, very fast. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. They were only travelling for a few seconds when Simon felt his brother tense up. ¡°The fuck?!¡±, he shouted over the noise, and suddenly Simon felt their platform swerve to the right, before steadily slowing down. When they had stopped, Thomas said in the darkness, ¡°The ground ahead of us is completely soaked, and my ability doesn¡¯t work well with mud. We¡¯re gonna have to- oh shit! Going up!¡±, and the ground rose up like an elevator. Simon thought he could feel his shoes getting a little wet before the ceiling above them split apart, letting in the light. Simon blinked a few times, getting used to the brightness. He looked around and noticed they had surfaced in an alleyway in the city. The explosions were much louder now, the anarchy still going strong. Simon noticed a large amount of glass and concrete on the ground around them, and looked up, noticing a large hole in the side of the skyscraper next to them. ¡°I think there¡¯s a water dude around here somewhere. He soaked the ground to try to trap us in the mud.¡±, said Thomas. ¡°What should we do? I don¡¯t have anything to fight with...¡±, Simon said, worried. Thomas turned to him and smiled a toothy grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry bro, I got all the muscle we need.¡±, and flexed a bicep, before ripping a chunk of asphalt out of the ground larger than he was. Simon¡¯s eyes went wide. Noticing this, Thomas said, ¡°What, do you think I could only travel around underground?¡±. Simon shook his head in disbelief, and said, ¡°Put that thing down before one of us gets hurt. And by one of us I mean me. We need to get out of here before this ¡®water dude¡¯ figures out where we are. Can you make a hole through this wall? We¡¯ll go through the buildings.¡± Thomas shugged and dropped the piece of rock, which made a large crash that Simon winced at, and waved his hand at the wall. It promptly burst into the building, leaving them a convenient entrance. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±, Simon said shortly, and jumped through the hole in the wall. Looking around, they seemed to be in some sort of hotel reception area, with big windows towards the street and a large desk against the opposite wall, with various seats filling the rest of the space. Simon only looked around for a moment, then began briskly walking towards the other wall, Thomas following closely behind. The only made it halfway before the glass windows burst inwards, letting in a flood of water. ¡°Shit!¡±, Thomas exclaimed, hurriedly making a wall of earth rise up, blocking the rest of the room from the flood. ¡°Quick, let¡¯s go!¡±, he shouted. Simon didn¡¯t wait to see if the wall would hold up, and started running towards the wall. They didn¡¯t make it far before thin jets of water smashed through the wall randomly like bullets. They were fairly dispersed, so Simon and Thomas were able to avoid being his by ducking down and running while crouched. They reached the other wall which Thomas smashed open like before, sending chunks of stone into the alleyway along with a cloud of dust. Simon sprinted through the hole, coughing from the particles of dirt in the air. They stood there for a moment, letting the dust clear so they could see. When it was all gone, Simon was about to tell Thomas to keep making holes through the buildings, but was interrupted by a female voice. ¡°Which one of you is the terramancer? The boss told me to gather any promising supers, and you¡¯re pretty good, so I guess I¡¯ll let you live.¡± Simon whipped his head towards the voice, and saw a young woman standing atop a huge geyser of water. She was dressed like a punk, pink hair, studded black jacket with jeans, and numerous piercings. She had her arms crossed and was smiling confidently, like she felt she could take on the world. Thomas lifted his hand in greeting, and said, ¡°Sup, think you could just let us pass? We kinda just wanna get outta here, y¡¯know?¡± The girl¡¯s eye twiched and she sneered at them. ¡°Huuuuh?! Don¡¯t you idiots know yet? This city belongs to the Blue Blood gang! You¡¯re either with us or against us! So which one are ya, huh?!¡± Simon heard Thomas audibly gulp, before starting to say, ¡°Yeah, well, y¡¯know... We kinda just wanted to-¡±, before he could finish, he whipped a chunk of asphalt straight at her face. Simon caught a glimpse of shock on the girl¡¯s face before Thomas grabbed him and pulled him through a newly formed hole in the wall next to them. They sprinted through another reception area, and remembering what happened last tim, Simon pulled Thomas to the right, past a desk and into an elevator landing. ¡°Just go right through the wall and then take us into the ground! We¡¯ll go around her!¡±, Simon shouted. They ran through several walls until they reached the street on the other side. Looking back, Simon could see a great wall of water smashing throughout the building they had been in previously. He grabbed back onto Thomas and they were speeding around underground again. Simon sighed as he felt the air ripple around him once again. He was utterly useless in that fight. If he wanted to be any help, he¡¯d have to learn how to use his power to fight, and fast. ANUC THREE: Refugee Wait wait wait, don''t stick me just yet! I can explain! Right after I posted the last chapter, I got super sick. Still am, though it''s a little better. I might have pneumonia, so I''m going to the doctor tomorrow. There should be more chapters now that I''ve got it a little under control, but if it comes back, I might have to take some more time off, don''t hate me! On a side note, big new project with AaronDragon coming soon ;) ------------------ The next few minutes were spent in relative silence. Not that they could chat while the ground was smashing apart around them. It gave Simon time to think. This new world was dangerous. He knew that now. He had an idea of it before, but now he was certain. He would need to get stronger, need to learn how to use his power, before he was no longer able. If gangs like the Blue Bloods were given power enough to take over entire sections of the city without worry, then Simon dreaded to think of the kind of things a real terrorist organization might try. If people, regular people like him, were given power enough to topple police forces, militaries wouldn¡¯t be much use, unless they were powered as well. The world was changing, and Simon knew it well. Soon the ones making the decisions would no longer be democratic leaders or large countries, it would be whoever held the stronger power. The stronger power and the greater number of people with powers. If he wanted to live, if he wanted his family to live, Simon needed an army. And he had a few ideas on how to use his power to get one. Simon made a decision, then. Deep underground, traveling at god knows how mant miles per hour. Simon knew, then, that he would be a leader. At that moment, his future looked clear. He knew what he had to do, and how to do it. All that was left was the action itself. Simon closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were filled with determination. Hundreds of feet underground, in pitch blackness, a new world power was born. -------------------------------------------- The surface broke, allowing sunlight to spill onto the steadily rising figures of Simon and Thomas. Simon covered his eyes, reminded that despite all that had happened, only a few hours had passed since the start of it. He looked around, and noticed they had come up in a mall parking lot of sorts, except all the cars were either on fire, flipped, or smashed in some manner. Simon didn¡¯t recognize the shopping mall in front of them, and from their surroundings he assumed they were a little ways out of the city. The windows of the mall were covered in metal shutters, though Simon could see a few places where the metal was smashed through and improvised barricades blocked the way instead. His brother stretched in the sun, making awkward moans and grunts whle Simon checked out the surroundings. ¡°Phew, man, being a human subway is hard work. Ahem. You have now arrived at your destination. Please follow instructions on leaving the train.¡±, he said the last part in a robotic voice. ¡°Thomas, where are we?¡±, Simon asked him, ignoring his attempt at humour. Thomas looked dejected for a moment before answering, ¡°This is where I came from, some cool guy named Elliot drove off the looters and set up the mall as a safe zone. Mom¡¯s here too.¡± Simon frowned at the mention of the guy getting rid of looters. ¡°He¡¯s powered, isn¡¯t he? What does he have?¡±, Simon asked. ¡°Something to do with magnets or something, I think. I didn¡¯t ask, but I heard some guys talking about it.¡±, Thomas told him, before beginning to walk towards the mall. Simon sighed. After what he¡¯d seen on the way over, he wasn¡¯t entirely confortable with super powered gang leaders. Reluctantly, he followed his brother over to one of the ¡°entrances¡±, basically just a few chairs piled into an opening in the metal shutters. Simon noticed the metal looked as if it had been peeled apart like a banana. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Thomas cleared his throat loudly, and took a deep breath, before shouting at the top of his voice, ¡°I FUCKING LOVE TEA¡±. Simon heard someone swear and a loud crash came from inside. One of the chairs near the top and he saw the face of an older man with a white beard peer out. ¡°Fock, did ya ¡®ave tuh shout it so damn loud?!¡±, he said angrily at Thomas. He spoke in a thick British accent. Thomas smiled widely, as if to mock him, and said, ¡°Jerry! My pal! I¡¯d like you to meet my good brother, Simon! He¡¯s the brains of the family if you can¡¯t tell by the fancy dress.¡±, and put his arm around Simon. Simon shrugged his arm off and nodded at the man behind the chairs. ¡°Nice to meet you sir.¡±, he said confidently. The man gave him a once over and grunted, before saying, ¡°Roight, get it in ¡®ere then, be¡¯ore some-un sees.¡±, and began pulling away chairs. It didn¡¯t seem to be a very effective barricade, since it was pulled away easily in a few seconds, but Simon supposed it was the appearance that mattered most. Now that he was inside, he could see the old man guarding the door in full. He was a tall man, but with a deep slouch, making him appear shorter than he was. As it was, he was almost Simon¡¯s height, 5¡¯11¡±. He wore a security guard¡¯s uniform, and Simon assumed he was mall security before the riots. After they had replaced the flimsy chair barricade, old man Jerry turned to them. ¡°Hm. Elliot¡¯s up¡¯n the first floor, in th¡¯ Walllmart. You¡¯d be wantin¡¯ ta see ¡®im, he wants tah meet all th¡¯ new arrivals.¡±, he said dismissively. ¡°Thanks for your help, sir. I¡¯ll be seeing you around I suppose.¡±, Simon said to him. His only reply was a grunt as he went back to a seat near the entrance. ¡°Yo Jer, I¡¯ll see ya later, man.¡±, Thomas said to him. He was ignored, and Simon just sighed and started walking away. As they made their way deeper inside, Simon was shocked at the sheer number of people in the mall. There had to be thousands, at least. People lined the walls, and when there was no space against them, they sat on the floor. There were families huddled together, people curled up in sleeping bags, even a few tents scattered around here and there. The place looked like a refugee camp, though the people seemed relatively positive, happy they were at least safe. There wasn¡¯t a lot of chatter, though a low drone of talk drifted throughout the place. Thomas greeted a few people here and there, typical of his friendly nature, as they walked through the mall. They made their way up the non-functional escalator, and found there way to the Walllmart, at the other end of the mall. Simon was surprised to find himself not greeted by cheap clothing and discount cereal, but a command center like something out of a war movie. There were serious people rushing here and there, dodging groups of people huddled around various different tables. A few had maps of the area, but most were filled with an ungodly amount of paperwork. Thomas stepped forward and raised his hand in greeting, shouting over the din, ¡°Yo Elliot! I made it back, and I¡¯ve got my bro!¡±. A few people looked at them tiredly, apparently used to Thomas¡¯ shenanigans, but on man in the middle, who was previously peering over a large map table, turned completely and gave them a charismatic smile. He was tall, even more so than Jerry, should he have stood up. Simon figured he was around 6¡¯5¡±, or something similar. He had long blond hair, flowing down past his shoulders, and wore a tight t-shirt and skinny jeans, showing off his body. He was muscled, but not overly, just enough to know he worked out regularly. ¡°Welcome, and welcome back!¡±, he said in a confident voice. ¡°Please, come with me. If Jerry sent you here, you must have a power of some sort. Let us talk about it.¡± Simon blinked. ANUC FOUR: Deception Well, I went to see the doctor. Turns out it''s just a really persistent virus, it should be gone in a few days, thankfully. On another note, I''ll be getting (and building) a new computer tomorrow, so I''ll finally be able to play new games :D On a second note, the project with AaronDragon is starting up, here''s the fiction page! http://royalroadl.com/fiction/7286 On a third note, I''m going to be rewriting the first two chapters of Technomage soon, so watch for the third chapter, and re-read the first ones when you see it! :D -------------------------------------------------------- Elliot pursed his lips thoughtfully, stroking his chin. He leaned back, and the wooden chair he sat upon creaked ruefully. ¡°I see...¡±, he said under his breath. ¡°So, it¡¯s definitely not a power that¡¯s particularly useful in combat, but I can see how valuable it could be for use in business dealings. Still, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some use we can get out of it around here.¡±. Elliot remained in this position for a few seconds, staring up at the ceiling. After a moment, he looked back at Simon, who sat straight at the other side of the table. ¡°You can only create and destroy contracts with the permission of both parties, correct? I guess that really does rule out combat use completely. Well, if nothing else, you can help with physical labour, I suppose.¡±, he continued. Simon nodded his head, looking over his power screen.
Name: Simon BelfonsePoints: 424Race: HumanLottery Slots: 2
Class:Contract Creator
Abilities:Create Contract, Destroy Contract, Edit Contract
Create Contract
Create a contract between two consenting living beings. Each party will follow all terms set by the creator of the contract. Failure to comply will result in punishment as detailed by contract parameters. In the case of contract being between the user and another being, only the consent of the user is required.
Destroy Contract
Destroy a contract created through the use of ¡®Create Contract¡¯, regardless of other party¡¯s wishes or defences in place.
Edit Contract
Change the contents of a contract created through ¡®Create Contract¡¯.
Of course, the fact that Simon absolutely needed the permission of both parties to create a contract was a lie. Simon did not trust Elliot, especially not with his recent experience with powered people. He knew the power the information could have, especially misinformation. Until Simon knew he could trust Elliot, he would believe Contract Creation to be a useless power. Fortunately, Thomas was not in the room. Simon knew his brother had a bad history of trusting the wrong people, and was sure he would¡¯ve made a commotion if he had tried this with him in the room. He would have to be told later, to prevent any suspicion, but Simon figured he could do that in an environment that wouldn¡¯t mess with any of his plans. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Elliot cleared his throat and stood up from the creaky wood chair, holding his hand out to shake. ¡°Well, regardless, I look forward to working with you to keep this place safe. Until the government recovers from the chaos, we¡¯ll be holed up here.¡±, he said. Simon got up and shook his hand firmly. ¡°And I hope that time comes soon. I¡¯ll do what I can to help the people here.¡±, he replied. Elliot smiled ruefully and said, ¡°I suppose that¡¯s all you can do for now. If you ever decide to help with defence, just let me know. Your brother is part of the scouting team, you know. He¡¯s been especially helpful with rescuing citizens.¡± Simon frowned at that. ¡°The scouting team, huh. I trust you¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s safe?¡±, he said. Elliot smiled widely. ¡°Of course! The safety of all members of this base is my highest priority.¡±, he said confidently. Simon said nothing, but nodded and made his way to the door. After he left, Elliot was left standing alone in the dim room away from prying eyes and ears. He combed a hand through his long hair, and muttered, ¡°Hmph. Useless. Distrusting too, he may be a problem. His brother though....¡± A malicious smile spread across his lips. -----Later----- ¡°Simon!¡±, a female voice rang through the cafeteria. Simon felt a weight slam into him, and found himself being hugged tightly by a heavyset woman with long hair. ¡°Oh, Simon! I was so worried about you! You¡¯re alright aren¡¯t you?! Not hurt or anything?¡±, the woman said worriedly, looking up at him. ¡°I¡¯m fine, mom. You¡¯re okay, though, right? Did Thomas bring you here?¡±, Simon said, hugging her back. A few people around the cafeteria looked at the scene with warm eyes, happy for the family. Others looked on enviously, and continued watching the doors. ¡°Oh, no, we were already here when that dreadful sign popped up. Elliot calmed everyone down and drove off some rude people. Oh, have you met him? Such a nice, respectable man! I¡¯m glad your brother decided to help him, maybe he can learn some manners for once!¡±, said Mrs. Belfonse rapidly. ¡°Yes, mom, I met him. Where is our spot?¡±, Simon asked her. ¡°Oh, good! Well, since Thomas has joined the defence, we¡¯ve been given a nice little room to keep our stuff. We¡¯re posted up in the Bell¡¯s Tacos over here. Are you hungry? The woman with us, Tiffany, can make such delicious meals, I¡¯m sure we can sort you out real quick!¡±, she said, finally letting him go and pointing to a Bell¡¯s Tacos against the wall. Simon sighed, reminded of the reason he moved out at 18. ¡°No mom, I¡¯m fine. I just wanted to know you were okay. Do you know where Thomas is? I need to speak with him.¡±, Simon told her. ¡°Oh, dear, Thomas just left on one of their fancy missions. Something about an ¡°advance position¡± or some mumbo jumbo. I don¡¯t follow all that military garbage, but my little Tommy says he¡¯s saving lives, so I¡¯m proud of him!¡±, she said, puffing her chest up in pride. ¡®Advance position?¡¯, Simon thought, confused. ¡®Are they trying to move into another area? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ That didn¡¯t sound like something a group with ¡®safety as their number one priority¡¯ would do, but Simon had had a bad feeling about Elliot ever since he first met him. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he knew he couldn¡¯t put it past him to try and profit somehow from the confusion. There was another thing, too, that his mother had mentioned, almost in passing. The defenders and their families were getting better living conditions than those who weren¡¯t. That¡¯s a pretty major incentive to get people to join the defence. It may sound like a good thing, but if Elliot was using them as some sort of militia... Simon was getting more suspicious about this place the longer he was here. ANUC FIVE: Discovery and Dispute Sorry this chapter''s so late, procrastination struck hard the last few days. It''s a pretty shitty feeling to know you''ve been wasting your time, so I''ve decided on a new schedule of sorts. For as long as I don''t have a job, I''ll be doing something productive, whether that be writing, or something else, for at least six hours per day. Thus, you might see another chapter of this before today ends. They only take me a little over an hour after all :) I''ll be taking a short break from writing this after the next chapter, where we''ll learn what exactly his power can do. This is because I''ll be focusing on planning, rewriting, and editing The Technomage. Somebody gave me half a star for some reason :''( Happy reading! -----------------------------------------------------
Contract
Between Potted Rose of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY And Simon Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY
Both parties agree to keep, perform and fulfill the promises set out in this Agreement: 1. Potted Rose promises to never harm Simon Belfonse, whether purposefully or not. 2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if Potted Rose defaults in the performance of any obligation under this Agreement, then Potted Rose will never harm Simon Belfonse, whether purposefully or not.
Simon took a deep breath, and pressed his thumb aggressively against a thorn on the rose¡¯s stem. To his mild surprise, and satisfaction, he only felt a mild pressure. When he pulled his thumb away, he found his thumb completely unmarred. Simon was currently in a small botany store he had found while wandering the mall. It had taken some time to free himself from his mother¡¯s clutches, but it had definitely been worth it, as now he had the fruit of his labour in his hands. At first, Simon was reluctant to experiment with his power on other humans, so he had tried to form contracts with inanimate objects as he wandered around. There was no reaction, however so he tried to find some sort of plant or small animal. He was in luck, as he found ¡°The Urban Garden¡± near one of the blocked mall entrances. He had grabbed a small potted rose and sat down on a nearby bench, leading to where he was now. Creating a contract was a bit like putting on a necklace, Simon found. There was a definite mental weight to it, but after awhile, he was able to ignore it. For awhile now, Simon had worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to make use of his ability in combat situations, but this recent finding changed things drastically. Simon could simply make a contract with someone that would make them unable to hurt him. With just that, Simon thought it was almost worth the 6800 points he had paid for it, but Simon knew this was just the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot more to his power than he was aware of. For another hour, Simon experimented with various plants in the store, and made several findings. First, he is unable to grant the plants abilities that he does not have himself. For example, if he wanted to make the plant fly, he would be unable to do so. However, when Simon tested it, he found he could give the plants greatly increased mobility, allowing them to wander around the store floor walking on their roots. It was quite the surreal sight. Second, Simon can take some physical characteristics of the plants, providing they don¡¯t interfere with his body¡¯s workings. Simon tried having the rose give him flowers growing out of his hand. It worked, and he was left with a small red rose growing out of the tip of his finger. When he dispelled the contract, the rose crumbled into dust, leaving his finger rose free, and just as he had it before. Third, Simon is able to affect a person¡¯s mind with his power. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how it was able to affect plants with their lack of brains, but it did, somehow. He tried making the walking plants confused, and they began stumbling around as if they were drunk, waving roots and vines in the air. Simon was well aware of the more sinister posibilities of this, and decided to do his best to never use his power as such though he wasn¡¯t against doing so in an emergency. Finally, Simon needs a direct line of sight, and be within 5 meters of his target for his power to work. This was a major discovery, and severely reduced combat potential. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Rising from his bench, Simon dusted his hands off and began making his way back to the Bell¡¯s Taco where his family was posted. It was almost six thirty, and his stomach was beginning to complain. On his way back, Simon was passing the hallway leading to the main ¡°entrance¡± when he heard a commotion and stopped. A small group of people armed with a variety of improvised weapons and small firearms had just entered the mall. With them was his brother, Thomas, carrying a long improvised spear made of a broom handle and kitchen knife. Thomas spotted him at the same time. ¡°Simon!¡±, he shouted, smiling. He jogged ahead of his group over to Simon. ¡°Hey, man, I just got back from a scouting mission. What did Elliot say?¡±, he asked brightly. ¡°Scouting.¡±, Simon said dryly. ¡°Yeah?¡±, Thomas said, confused. Simon stared at him from a moment, then said, ¡°We need to talk. Come with me¡±. Simon grabbed his arm and led him down a hallway. They entered a janitorial closet, and Simon stood in front of Thomas, arms crossed. ¡°I¡¯m going to say this plainly, and hope you understand. I don¡¯t trust Elliot. He¡¯s up to something, and I don¡¯t want you dragged into it. You¡¯ve got to quit whatever you¡¯re doing for him.¡±, Simon said sternly. Thomas looked shocked, but his face rapidly scrunched up in anger. ¡°What?! Elliot¡¯s done nothing but care for us since this started! He¡¯s a really cool guy, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d do something to hurt us. This... This is the first thing I¡¯ve really believed in. I¡¯m saving lives, HELPING people out there, and you want me to quit?!¡±, he said, voice rising in anger. Simon ground his teeth as he listened. ¡°He¡¯s USING you, Thomas. You think he¡¯s building this militia just to help people?! All he¡¯s doing is amassing people to serve in his little army! He¡¯s going to do something big, I know it, and I don¡¯t want you, or mom anywhere near it!¡±, he seethed back. Thomas snorted. ¡°Oh, sure. I bet he¡¯s going to try to take over the world. Where the hell did you get this from anyway?! Where¡¯s your proof? I thought you were a lawyer!¡± Simon looked taken aback, then clenched his jaw and stared at him angrily. ¡°It¡¯s obvious! Just look around, those people out there in the hallways are only there because they¡¯re not part of Elliot¡¯s military! It¡¯s basically a class system in here, Thomas, he¡¯s trying to get as many people under him as he can.¡± ¡°They¡¯re only there because they¡¯re not doing anything to help! You don¡¯t work, you don¡¯t eat. We all have to do something to help, if all you do is laze around, you¡¯re not going to get anything in return!¡± ¡°What, so you¡¯d rather trust Elliot, a complete stranger, over me, your own brother?!¡±, Simon yelled at him. ¡°Trust you?! Oh yeah, sure. I trusted you when you said you would always be there for me, remember that? And remember the time I got locked up for possession. I was there for two months. TWO MONTHS! And how many times did you come visit me? Not a single goddamn time. Not once did my big brother come to me in my time of need. And now, you want me to trust you again? Fuck you. FUCK you! Elliot¡¯s done more for me this last day than you have for my entire life!¡±. Thomas was breathing hard. When Simon didn¡¯t reply, Thomas sniffed indignantly and turned to leave. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell this to all the people we¡¯ve saved. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be ecstatic to join your side.¡±, he said over his shoulder as he left. Simon stood there for a minute. His fists clenched and unclenched, his teeth grinding together. ¡°FUCK!¡±, he yelled suddenly, and kicked over a nearby bucket. ¡°DAMNIT! THAT IDIOT!¡± Simon recovered from his outburst, and took a few deep breaths. The annoying thing was, everything he said was true. Biased, sure, but within an acceptable margin. Simon knew he hadn¡¯t really been there for his brother, certainly not when he started hanging out with the wrong crowd. They had both coped with the death of their father differently. Simon had thrown himself into his studies, and Thomas had thrown himself into parties and cheap drugs. While Simon was certain that Elliot was up to something, it was true he didn¡¯t have any proof of it. ¡®So.¡¯, Simon thought to himself. ¡®I guess I¡¯ve got to find some, then.¡¯ But first, as his stomach rumbled strongly, he needed to find some food. ANUC SIX: Learning Woo, we finally find out what Simon''s power can really do! So, I''ll be taking a short break from writing this as I work on The Technomage and Throne of All/Tournament of Gods (http://royalroadl.com/fiction/7286). Note: I''ll figure out how to do Simon''s signature in a little bit. ------------------------------ Simon entered the Bell¡¯s Tacos to the sound and smell of something delicious frying. Hard at work at one of the stoves in the kitchen area, was a young woman. She had long brown hair in a ponytail, a sharp looking face, and an hourglass figure. Simon thought she was probably hispanic. As she noticed him walk in, she made an ¡®oh¡¯ face, and quickly wiped her hands on her apron. ¡°Hello! You must be Simon, I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from your mother.¡±, she said with a smile. Simon smiled back and said, ¡°Too much, I¡¯m sure. Tiffany, I presume?¡± Tiffany nodded, and said, ¡°Yep, Tiffany Oliveira. I immigrated here from Brazil a few years back. Before all this, I was a sous chef at a Denny¡¯s around the corner, but now I cook for the posted families while we wait for this to all blow over.¡± ¡°Posted families?¡±, Simon asked, confused. ¡°Mmm.¡±, she hummed affirmatively. ¡°They¡¯re the families of the people who work under Elliot. The ones who live in the stores.¡± Simon was amazed. This miniature class society had been established so deeply already, and people were already sort of accepting it. It hadn¡¯t even been a full day since the start of this mess. ¡°You¡¯ll be eating with us, right? I¡¯m not sure where your mom¡¯s wandered off, but I¡¯ve made enough for everyone.¡±, she said. ¡°Yes please, I¡¯m starving.¡±, Simon replied, smiling thankfully at her. He sat down at a nearby table outside the kitchen, and watched her work over the counter. Soon, whatever she was making was finished, and she brought over two paper plates, each carrying a huge burrito. She set one down on either side of the table and sat down herself, tossing her apron over the back of the chair. ¡°There¡¯s one more wrapped up in tin foil in the back, in case your mother decides to wander back here.¡±, she said. Simon nodded at her. ¡°Thanks.¡± As he looked at the pristine burrito, his mouth began watering, and the emptiness in his stomach made itself painfully known to him. Taking a deep breath, he took a large bite out of the burrito. His eyes widened, nostrils flared, as the enticing flavour spread about his mouth, warming him to the core. Slowly, he chewed, savouring the bite, before swallowing and sighing contentedly. Soon, the entire burrito, which at first he had thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish, was completely gone. Simon leaned back in his chair, and gave a satisfied sigh. ¡°That was freaking amazing! I think that was the best meal I¡¯ve had in my entire life!¡±, he exclaimed happily. Tiffany smiled abashedly around a bite of her own burrito. ¡°Well, it¡¯s mostly due to my power, Royal Chef. It increases the quality of any food I make greatly. It¡¯s like I know exactly how much, when, and what ingredients to add to make a meal delicious.¡± ¡°Ah.¡±, Simon said, understanding. Simon waited a few minutes for her to finish eating, before he began to speak again. ¡°I¡¯ve got a power myself, actually. But I¡¯ve been having trouble understanding what exactly it can do. The name of it is Contract Creator, and it essentially allows me to create contracts between two beings. Would you mind helping me test it out?¡±, Simon asked her. ¡°Contract Creator?¡±, she repeated thoughtfully. ¡°Well... I suppose so. As long as you don¡¯t, y¡¯know, make me do anything I don¡¯t want to.¡± Simon put his hand over his heart and swore, ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t do such a thing.¡± Tiffany giggled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so serious. You don¡¯t seem like the kind of guy to do something like that. So how does this work?¡± Simon smiled, glad that he finally had a test subject. ¡°You can just leave it to me. The one thing I really need to test is related to powers. I¡¯m going to be trying to take your power for one minute, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡± Tiffany crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back. ¡°Well, as long as you can return it, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± Simon nodded, and began drawing up a contract.
Contract
This Contract dated 3rd of July, 2016 Between If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Tiffany Oliveira of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Lender) And Simon Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Borrower)
In consideration of the Lender loaning certain powers (the ¡°Loan¡±) to the Borrower, and the Borrower repaying the Loan to the Lender, both parties agree to keep, perform and fulfill the promises set out in this Agreement. 1. The Lender promises to loan the power, ¡°Royal Chef¡± to the Borrower, and the Borrower promises to repay this power to the Lender. 2. This Loan will be repaid in full on July 3rd, 2016, at 7:32PM. 3. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if the Borrower defaults in the performance of any obligation under this Agreement, then the Borrower will be unable to stand for exactly 23 seconds. 4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if the Lender defaults in the performance of any obligation under this Agreement, then the Lender will be unable to stand for exactly 23 seconds, and the Loan will be forcibly returned. Signed, ________________ Simon Belfonse July 3rd, 2016
He read it back to her, and she nodded, approving of it. Simon decided to try adding consequences for defaulting this time, since they had a way of testing it. Simon activated the contract, and felt the familiar weight settle in his mind, as well as something flowing into him. Tiffany gasped. ¡°You just took my power, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Status¡±, Simon called out.
Name: Simon BelfonsePoints: 424Race: HumanLottery Slots: 2
Class:Contract Creator, Royal Chef*
Abilities:Create Contract, Destroy Contract, Edit Contract, Godly Cooking*
*: Does not count towards maximum ability count.
Simon grinned happily. ¡°Yep, it worked! I¡¯ve got your power. It should automatically go back to you in about... 30 seconds. Sure enough, 30 seconds later, Simon felt the weight of the contract life, and the power flowing out of him. ¡°Okay, now that we¡¯ve learned that works, I¡¯d like to try something a little different.¡±, Simon said. Quickly grabbing all the cushions he could find and laying them on the floor, he turned to a thoroughly confused Tiffany. ¡°Alright, I want you to stand in the middle of those cushions, and try to focus your hardest on not letting me take your power.¡±, Simon explained to her. ¡°If it works, you¡¯ll keep your power, but you¡¯ll collapse onto the cushions.¡± ¡°Alright...¡±, she said hesitantly, and moved onto the bed of cushions. She scrunched her face in concentration, and Simon activated the contract again. At once, she flopped onto the cushions, letting out a squeak of indignation. ¡°Ugh... I can¡¯t get up. How long did you say this lasts?¡±, She asked on her back. ¡°Only about thirty seconds, don¡¯t worry.¡±, Simon replied. Next, they tried it with Simon. Having given him her power, and him trying his hardest not to give it back, the power flowed back anyway, but Simon was left unable to stand. After regaining his ability to stand, Simon stood up, grinning, and pumped his fist in success. ¡°Yes!¡± Tiffany looked on, amused, and asked, ¡°Is there anything else you want me to help you test, Mr. Contract Creator?¡± Simon got back under control, and replied seriously, ¡°Ahem, no, not right now. There¡¯s some weirder stuff I could try, but I don¡¯t want us to be left with, say, four arms, or something like that.¡± Tiffany looked at him strangely and said, ¡°Right... Well, if you¡¯re looking for someone to help, I¡¯m usually around the cafeteria somewhere. By the way, your mother still isn¡¯t back. I hope she didn¡¯t get caught up in anything.¡± Simon froze, remembering. It was odd, certainly. His mother was definitely not the wandering type, preferring instead to stay home and watch soap operas or chat over the telephone. It was worrying. He needed to go find her. ANUC SEVEN: A Declaration of War Sorry this is so late, I''ve been in a motivational slump lately... Well, that''s why I''m going to be writing on a schedule now. Hopefully that will fix my motivation issues. Monday-Nothing Tuesday-Tournament of the Gods Wednesday-ANUC Thursday-Nothing Friday-Some other project. (For now, this will be another chapter of TotG.) Saturday-ANUC Sunday-ANUC This counts as Saturday''s chapter, despite it being 1:30 AM for me at the time of posting. As you might have noticed, The Technomage does not appear anywhere on there. This is because I have decided to drop it. I''ve been going over my plans for it over the past week, as well as what I''ve written so far, and decided I wasn''t happy with it at all. The mechanics I had planned for it were completely unbalanced, the characters flat, the plot - well, the plot was alright, but kind of boring. So, I''ve decided to drop it, and start work on something new, whatever I decide that to be. Btw, check out ''Throne of All: Tournament of the Gods'', a joint project written by me and five other authors! --------------------------------------------------------- Simon ran down the wide hallway, frantically dodging or even jumping over the various people lazing about. He scanned the shops on either side as he went by, searching for his missing mother. He managed to clear about a fifth of the mall this way before he finally found her. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t in mortal danger as he had suspected in his paranoia, but was simply speaking with Thomas in the middle of the hall. ¡°Mom!¡±, Simon shouted breathlessly, jogging over to them. ¡°I was looking all over for you! How come you¡¯re out here in the middle of the hallway?¡±, he asked. She looked startled at his disgruntled appearance. Out of the corner of his eye, Simon noticed Thomas glaring at him angrily. ¡°Oh dear, no need to get so worked up. I had heard little Tommy had come back from his job so I came out here to meet him.¡±, she said, smiling at Thomas. Thomas glanced away, embarrassed. ¡°I thought I told you to stop calling me that...¡±, he muttered. Simon sighed, relieved she was safe. ¡°Tiffany made dinner, you should probably head back before it gets any colder.¡±, he told her. Mrs. Belfonse¡¯ eyes lit up excitedly at the mention of Tiffany¡¯s cooking. It seemed the woman¡¯s godly culinary skill was universally revered. ¡°Oh, wonderful! My that woman can cook up a storm. Have you tried it yet, Simon? Oh dear, I¡¯d better get over there quick before I miss out. Good bye, you two, try not to be at each other¡¯s throats for too long now.¡±, she chattered excitedly, before rushing off at a high speed. Simon rolled his eyes, not surprised in the slightest at his mother¡¯s intuition. He turned to Thomas, who had gone back to glaring at him. They stood there for a few moments, staring at each other. ¡°You better not drag her into anything dangerous.¡±, Simon warned. Thomas snorted. ¡°Likewise. I don¡¯t want to see you dragging her into any of your delusions.¡± Simon¡¯s eyelid twitched at the provocation, but chose not to reply, perhaps wisely. For another few tense moments, they sized each other up, before eventually, Thomas turned away, disinterested. ¡°Elliot¡¯s calling all the powereds up to the command room. That means you too, so don¡¯t get any bright ideas about skipping.¡±, he said warningly. Simon harumphed, but replied, ¡°If you can call a decked out Wallmart a ¡°control room¡±. Whatever. I¡¯ll go up and see what he wants, at least.¡± Simon followed Thomas reluctantly down the hall and up the stairs to the bustling Wallmart. Inside, Simon counted about eighteen people crowded around one of the checkout counters. Elliot stood atop it with the aura of a king observing his kingdom. Spotting the two brothers, Elliot gave a wide smile and spoke. ¡°It seems everyone has arrived. Now we can finally begin.¡± Thomas moved to mingle with a few people in the crowd. Simon recognized them as the people he had gone scouting with. On the other side of the throng, Simon noticed Tiffany standing about, looking bored. Simon took a spot a little away from the edge of the crowd himself. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Elliot took a deep breath and adopted a serious expression. ¡°As of eight hours ago, the world has fallen.¡±, he began. Simon almost snorted. While he had seen the chaos for himself, it was certainly a little dramatic. ¡°Countries fell, governments toppled, and chaos ruled the streets.¡± People were nodding, solemnly agreeing with him. ¡°We are all that¡¯s left of the order we once had. Us few are the only thing that stands between our loved ones and death. By your valiant efforts, we have saved countless lives, rescued families, and gained a semblance of the life we once had.¡± He paused, taking another deep breath. ¡°But it¡¯s not enough!¡±, he said passionately. ¡°Through the city, fighting and war run rampant! Innocent people suffer from the whims of violent forces like the Blue Bloods or the Reapers! These people are in desperate need of help. They call out, hoping for somebody, anybody to save them.¡± He paused again, letting it sink in to his audience. Many of them were nodding and staring up at him almost religiously. ¡°But no one will. No one but us, but you. You valiant heroes who have proven time and time again that you will not let evil run its course. If you need prove, simply walk out that door. Walk out and witness the countless faces bearing gratitude and praise at your benevolence. The police are outmatched. The military outgunned. It is left to you strong men and women to protect the people.¡± Many of the people in the crowd were whispering, saying things like, ¡°Yes!¡±, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±, or ¡°A hero... I¡¯m a hero...¡±. Simon even witnessed a few of them crying tears of joy. ¡°We must take back the city! There are countless innocent people out there just waiting for someone to come save them! For you to save them! On the morrow, I will begin an assault to take back our homes. Who here will stand with me?!¡±, Elliot shouted fervidly. A chorus of ¡°I will!¡±s and ¡°Aye!¡±s met his words, and the crowd clamored in excitement. Unwilling to be singled out, Simon pumped his fist in the air, mimicking the others. ¡®What the hell...¡¯, he thought darkly. ¡®He¡¯s like a goddamn general. My god, he¡¯s trying to take over the city!¡¯ Simon was appalled, though he didn¡¯t let it show on his face. It was like he was seeing the start of a crusade. Elliot wiped a tear from his face, and started to speak. The clamour died down instantly as people strained to hear his words. ¡°I thank you my friends. I pray you all get a good rest. Tomorrow we will take down our homes!¡± The crowd cheered again, and at a wave of his hand, everyone dispersed, chattering excitedly. Simon noticed Tiffany waving at him, and jogging over, a huge smile on her face. He gulped nervously. ¡®Oh god, I hope she didn¡¯t buy into that crap¡¯ Despite his inner thoughts, he greeted her with a smile of his own. When she reached him, she looked around, and noticing they were alone, she dropped her smile and looked at him seriously. ¡°Que o homen e porra louca! He¡¯s fucking crazy, I can¡¯t believe people were cheering for that shit.¡±, she said. Simon sighed, relieved. ¡°I agree.¡±, he said. ¡°We need to get the hell out of here before that bastard starts his little war.¡± Tiffany nodded in agreement, but seemed to realize something. ¡°What about your brother? Isn¡¯t he in on it too?¡±, she asked. Simon sighed, and muttered darkly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±
In this episode of ANUC: Simon witnesses the creation of a cult worshipping flowing long hair, and sighs a lot. What happens next? Find out next time on A N U C! ANUC EIGHT: Escape Another one for the list! The new schedule seems to be working so far, it got me off my ass to write this at least. Now I''ve just got to focus on starting Tuesday''s chapter tomorrow. I hope I don''t procrastinate and try to do the whole thing on Tuesday. Almonds and iced tea Food for writing do they be Happy reading! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simon stared up at the ceiling of the Bell¡¯s Tacos sleeplessly. A screen glowed to his right brightly, yet it casted no shadows. He had made his preparations, now all that was left was to wait. Wait and think. He had spent the last few hours wondering, deliberating on whether or not he should, or even could go through with this. For a time, he had considered simply leaving Thomas behind, but it was a short lived thought. He was family, and Simon needed to at least make sure he survived long enough to be stupid once more. The problem was, Simon¡¯s plan consisted of taking away somebody¡¯s free will, and it was practically slavery, even if was for their own good. Simon had become a lawyer because he wanted to help people be free of debts and burdens, not trap them even further. Simon sighed, and shifted on his makeshift bed. Nobody had wanted to sleep on the filthy floor, so blankets and cushions were piled onto counters and tables. There was a risk of falling, but everyone seemed to consider it better than sleeping in the dirt. Despite what they might want you to think, restaurant kitchen floors are not the cleanest of surfaces. From his position on his countertop bed, he could see the gentle rise and fall of his mother¡¯s shoulders as she slept peacefully on the other side of the room. Simon¡¯s eyes softened. Despite how annoying she could be at times, Simon was really grateful for everything she had done, trying to raise two boys on her own couldn¡¯t have been easy, especially not with one like Thomas. A light tap on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts. Simon turned to find Tiffany¡¯s face looking down on him. ¡°It¡¯s 1:30. Prime time for some secret spy stuff!¡±, she whispered with a grin. Simon nodded and got up quietly, moving over to his mother¡¯s sleeping form. He brushed some hair out of her sleeping face solemnly, and said, ¡°Sorry, mom, you¡¯ll have to sleep a little longer, just let us take care of everything.¡± He activated the contract.
Contract
This Contract dated 4th of July, 2016 Between Marie Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Contractee) And Simon Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Contracter)
In consideration of the Contractee following certain orders that the Contractor sets, and the Contractor promising to give no orders that could harm the Contractee, both parties agree to keep, perform and fulfill the promises set out in this Agreement. 1. The Contractee will remain sleeping for as long as physical contact is made between either the Contractee and the Contractor, or the Contractee and Miss. Tiffany Oliveira. 2. The Contractee will follow the person in contact with the Contractee for as long as the first condition is met. Signed, Simon Belfonse July 4th, 2016
Simon blinked as he noticed the date for the first time, and gave a low chuckle. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, yet the nation was in chaos. He made sure not to move his hand from his mother¡¯s forehead before Tiffany took firm hold of her hand. Gently, Tiffany pulled her up, and his mother, still sleeping, stood up steadily. Simon let out a relieved breath at the sight. He was still not certain of the limits of his powers. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll meet you at the west washrooms.¡±, Simon said, no longer needing to remain quiet. Tiffany nodded and smiled reassuringly at him. ¡°Good luck. Go get that idiot brother of yours.¡± Simon nodded, and headed out into the dark hallways. Many people had managed to find candles or flashlights, and the lights cast long shadows on the walls. The walls were covered with people slumped around, wrapped in blankets or just hugging their family members. A few people sobbed quietly, no doubt mourning their missing friends or family. It was a sombre sight, and Simon moved quickly through the throng of refugees, eager to be out of the hole he had found himself in. Soon he had reached the Wallmart. For his ¡°valiant contributions¡±, Thomas had been offered sleeping quarters in the clothing section. Simon stepped through the wide open entrance carefully, making sure not to make any noise. He was fortunate that Elliot was not paranoid enough to post guards at the entrance to his castle. At the thought of the man, Simon¡¯s eyes drifted towards the other end of the store, where the door to the employees lounge, Elliot¡¯s quarters, was located. For a short time, he had considered ending the whole thing by going after the head man himself, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He was no murderer, and as much as he hated to admit it, despite his ambition, Elliot was doing some amount of good here. Simon certainly wouldn¡¯t let him use his family members, though. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Simon crept through the store, making sure to watch for any lights or people getting up for a late night snack. There weren¡¯t too many people allowed to sleep or live in the store, and the few that did mostly slept in the clothing section, where they were reasonable insulated, and had plenty of bedding materials. Soon the sounds of snoring came into earshot as Simon made his way closer. He pushed his way through a few hanging jackets, and found himself among 3-4 sleeping figures. He spotted Thomas¡¯ face directly to his right, and stepped gingerly over a bearded man towards him. Simon crouched next to his brother and brought up his power screen. His finger hesitated over the button, and Simon took a last look at Thomas¡¯ face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry brother.¡±, Simon whispered, and activated the contract.
Contract
This Contract dated 4th of July, 2016 Between Thomas Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Contractee) And Simon Belfonse of -adress indeterminate-, NYC, NY (Contracter)
In consideration of the Contractee following certain orders that the Contractor sets, and the Contractor promising to give no orders that could harm the Contractee, both parties agree to keep, perform and fulfill the promises set out in this Agreement. 1. The Contractee will be unable to speak for the duration of the Contract¡¯s existence. 2. The Contractee will follow all verbal orders of the Contractor. 3. The Contractee will not use their powers for the duration of the Contract¡¯s existence. Signed, Simon Belfonse July 4th, 2016
Thomas opened his eyes sleepily, apparently roused by his brother¡¯s words. ¡®Huh?¡¯, he mouthed, confused, but no sound came out. As Simon¡¯s face registered, his eyes snapped open, and he tried to say something, but the words were unsaid. Reacting fast, Simon ordered him quietly, ¡°Do not wake anyone, or try to attack me. Get up quietly, and follow me without making any noise. This is for your own good.¡± Thomas¡¯ eyes widened in confusion as his body moved without his consent, then a look of understanding came over him as he realized what happened. Quickly, his face turned to pure rage, and he glared hatefully at Simon. Simon grimaced, and muttered again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± As quickly as he could without waking anyone else, he led his brother out of the Wallmart and into the hallway. They made their way without incident to the western bathrooms, where Tiffany stood waiting with his mother, who slept on blissfully. Tiffany nodded to him, and they made their way to the exit. Simon checked the hallway, but didn¡¯t notice anyone around. Quickly, they walked over to it, and began clearing the makeshift barricade. Suddenly, the sound of somebody¡¯s throat clearing sounded behind them, and Simon whirled. Leaning on a cane with an apathetic expression, was old man Jerry. Simon froze, recognizing him, then relaxed. Jerry had a power, but it was non combative. All he could do was see what a person¡¯s power was. ¡°Ah kinda ¡®spected yah t¡¯do this eventually.¡±, Jerry said in a low tone. ¡°I ain¡¯t gonna stop yah, but I gotta ask, why all th¡¯ secrecy? Ahm sure if ya just asked Elliot, he¡¯d let ya out no problem.¡± Simon snorted, but stayed on guard. ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know Elliot very well. He¡¯s trying to go to war, you know. He¡¯s not going to let potential soldiers just leave, and I¡¯m definitely not leaving my only brother here to die.¡±, he said. Thomas looked at him hard, as if challenging the fact that Simon was trying to help him. Jerry was silent for a long moment, then sighed deeply. ¡°Aye, it¡¯s a foolish move. Right then, off with ye lot. I¡¯ll put the barricade back up when ya leave, and I ain¡¯t gonna tell Elliot nothin¡¯ in the mornin¡¯ neither.¡± Simon smiled gratefully. ¡°Thank you, Jerry. Are you sure you don¡¯t wanna come with us?¡± ¡°Hmph, naw. I got kids ah me own in here, ¡®n¡¯ ah can¡¯t protect ¡®em all by meself. I¡¯m gettin¡¯ old y¡¯know.¡±, Jerry said, waving him off. Simon nodded, and tore down the rest of the barricade, leading his small group out of the mall and into the night. He looked back from the parking lot, and waved goodbye to Jerry, who was putting things back. Simon barely caught him nodding back in acknowledgement. Simon turned back to the dark ahead of them. They were free from one known danger, but now they had to survive the unknown.
Ugh, that 3 stars is so ugly. Why do people give random 0.5 stars :''( ANUC NINE: Temporary Safety Hveth here. I almost didn''t manage to write this chapter, I was so unmotivated. After a while, though, I realized that I would be letting people down if I didn''t. So I got off my ass and did it. Hurray! This is a relatively short chapter, but I feel like everything that I wanted to happen in it, happened. P.S. Released another chapter of Throne yesterday. Go check it out! <3 Happy reading! ----------------------------------------------- Simon shook his mother gently. With little effort, she regained consciousness and opened her eyes. ¡°Si... Mon? What... Where are we?¡±, she said confused. ¡°Somewhere safe, mom. Don¡¯t worry.¡±, Simon told her reassuringly. After they had left the mall, Simon had led the small group to a local police station in the hopes of finding some help. Unfortunately, the place was deserted. Something had taken a large chunk out of the west side of the building. After clearing the building, they made camp in one of the offices deep inside. Simon had placed his mother in one of the office chairs and dispelled the contract. Ms. Belfonse looked around the room, spotting Tiffany and Thomas, who was still glaring at Simon hatefully. ¡°Simon, what¡¯s going on? Why did you take me here?¡±, she asked him. Simon sighed. ¡°You know that super nice and friendly guy Elliot, who offered to shelter and protect us for free?¡± She nodded. ¡°Well, he¡¯s rounded up a militia and is going to try to take over the city. He enlisted Thomas, and every other power user under him to go to war.¡±, he paused. Her eyes widened in shock. ¡°Tiffany and I disagreed with his ambitions, so I placed Thomas under a contract that makes him follow me, and we escaped.¡± ¡°No, no, you must be mistaken. Elliot wouldn''t try to do that, he¡¯s a nice boy, I¡¯m sure of it! Sure of it...¡±, despite her words, she appeared quite uncertain of the fact. ¡°¡±We must take back the city!¡±, was one of the things he said, I believe. Is that right, Tiff?¡±, Simon turned to Tiffany, who nodded affirmatively. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. He called all the powered people up the the ¡®mart, and gave this crazy speech about taking back our homes. He¡¯s dangerous, Mrs. Belfonse. That¡¯s why we left.¡±, she explained. She turned to Thomas, as if to ask for his perspective. Thomas looked pointedly at Simon, who sighed and said, ¡°Alright, you can speak.¡± ¡°Fucking finally!¡±, Thomas exclaimed. Mrs. Belfonse normally would have admonished him for such crude language, but she was quite shaken up, and didn¡¯t seem to even notice. ¡°Elliot¡¯s not the crazy one, you are!¡±, Thomas said, glaring at Simon. ¡°He only wants to help people! If he¡¯s willing to fight for that, then so am I.¡± ¡°Thomas...¡±, his mother said quietly. Thomas glanced at her, and a guilty expression flashed on his face when he saw the grief on his mother¡¯s Stolen story; please report. ¡°You were going to try and fight those people out there... You might have gotten hurt, or even killed, and you didn¡¯t even tell me?¡±, she asked him tearfully. ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s to help people. I was saving lives...¡±, he muttered, refusing to look her in the face. ¡°Bah, you idiot!¡±, Tiffany exclaimed. ¡°You can¡¯t do anyone any favours when you are dead! I can¡¯t believe you bought into that bastard¡¯s fancy speech anyway. It¡¯s clear all he wants is control of the city. He¡¯s like a freaking Hitler wannabe. ¡°Kill the people who have wronged us and take back the land that is rightfully ours¡±, isn¡¯t that what he was saying?¡± ¡°N-no... I... He...¡±, Thomas tried to say, looking like he was about to cry. Simon sighed, and said ¡°Alright, enough. We¡¯re away, we¡¯re safe. It¡¯s no use pointing blame without enough proof of it. For all we know Elliot might want to take the city so he could hand it over to the government after, however unlikely that is. Let¡¯s just rest for now, we¡¯ll be able to think better in the morning. Thomas, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll be taking your power for now. I can¡¯t trust you to use it at the moment, and we need someone to be able to defend in case of an emergency.¡± Thomas just grunted, looking quite conflicted. Simon pulled up his contract screen and made a few changes. He wrote that Thomas would give him his power, and Simon would return it when he saw fit. When he tried to activate it, however, a low beep sounded, and a new message appeared in front of him.
***WARNING***
This contract is structured to give too much advantage to one side. Please make changes so that an equivalent exchange is made. Failure to adhere to this message may result in irreparable mental damage. Unless an edit is made, you will only have one more warning.
¡°Oh. Damn.¡±, Simon muttered, frowning. This changed things. If he was unable to create a contract that held him at an advantage, he would not be able to use his ability in combat. As a test, Simon added that he would protect Thomas to the best of his ability, and tried to send it through. It worked, and Simon felt Thomas¡¯ ability moving into him. Thomas, who had sat himself down in a corner, only made a low whimper. ¡°Alright!¡±, Simon said to himself quietly. He noticed that everyone else had made themselves makeshift beds, and moved to do so himself. When his was completed, he laid down, and pressed his temporary new ability, Terramancer (Master). When he did so, a pressure assaulted his brain, and everything went black.
Oh crap, just realized I wrote David instead of Simon for most of the chapter. Whoops, guess I''ve got Throne on the mind. Fixed now. ANUC TEN: Good Morning World Hveth here. Erm... Well... I kind of thought today was Saturday. Don''t worry, I''ll be posting a second chapter in a bit to make up for it, as well as a possible chapter tomorrow as an apology. In this chapter we get to see a little hint of Tiffany''s past :) Happy reading! --------------------------------------- When Simon woke up, the pale light of the morning sun was shining through the barred windows. He sat up and yawned, looking around the room. He noticed the defined lump in a pile of blankets that was his mother, and his brother slumped against the far wall, but couldn¡¯t spot Tiffany anywhere. Unhurried, he got up and wandered off in search of the woman. He found her in the next room sitting at a windowside table sipping from a mug, staring out at the street. She noticed him and smiled. ¡°Want some coffee?¡±, she offered, lifting her own mug. Simon smiled back tiredly and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯d love that.¡± She poured him a mug, and they sat down together at the table. For a few minutes, they enjoyed the hot beverage and the morning air. ¡°Will your brother be alright? He looked pretty beaten last night.¡±, Tiffany asked him after awhile. Simon sighed, and looked deeply into his mug. ¡°Yeah... He¡¯ll be fine. I just hope he doesn¡¯t do anything dumb before we get to somewhere safe.¡±, he told her. Tiffany stared at him for a moment. ¡°You worry about him.¡±, she stated. He gave a wry smile, and said, ¡°How could I not? He¡¯s my little brother. I¡¯ve got to look out for him.¡± Tiffany nodded, and leaned back, sipping her coffee delicately. ¡°I know the feeling.¡±, she began. ¡°I have a little sister back in Brazil. I¡¯ve been trying to save up money the past few years to bring them up here, but... I only recently got a decent job. She¡¯s a good kid, a real good kid, she deserves to be up here.¡± Tiffany swallowed hard. ¡°I just... I just hope she¡¯s okay.¡±, she whispered. ¡°There¡¯s a lot more bad people in Brazil than here. People who would abuse their power, and this opportunity.¡± Simon put down his mug and put his hands on hers reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s okay. You¡¯ll go down there, and everyone will be fine. You just have to believe that.¡±, Simon told her. She clenched her jaw, and whispered barely audibly, ¡°I hope so...¡± Simon smiled sadly at her, and pulled his hands back. When he moved to pick up his mug, his hand was scalded, as the hot liquid was spilled from the rumblings of an explosion. ¡°Damn!¡±, he exclaimed, and snatched his hand back, holding it against his chest. A shattering of glass was heard as Tiffany¡¯s mug smashed against the ground. ¡°That was really close!¡±, she said fearfully. ¡°C''mon, we¡¯ve got to get somewhere safer.¡±, he said, and grabbed her arm, leading her out of the room. The sprinted down the hall and blasted through the door into the room they had slept in. Thomas was up, staring out the window, while Ms. Belfonse was sitting up rubbing her eyes sleepily. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±, she asked them. ¡°We don¡¯t know yet mom.¡±, Simon told her. ¡°Thomas, do you see anything?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Thomas shook his head just as the window was obscured by a cloud of dust, casting the room into a dark gloom. Simon turned to Tiffany. ¡°Do you know if there¡¯s a basement or crawlspace in the building?¡±, he asked her seriously. She seemed to think hard for a moment, then shook her head. ¡°The closest thing would probably be the contraband vault, but it¡¯s locked and I couldn¡¯t find the key.¡±, she told him. Simon stroked his chin and paced around the room for a moment. ¡°Alright. There¡¯s manhole right outside, right? We¡¯ll have to escape through the sewers. I¡¯ll make sure the roof doesn¡¯t fall on us with Terramancy.¡±, he said finally. There were nods and fearful looks all around. After the announcement, they started frantically packing up the things they thought they would need to take with them. While david was rolling up blankets, Thomas came up to him. ¡°Give me back my power. I can use it better, it¡¯s practically instinct to me now, and I doubt you can do much in combat even with my power. You haven¡¯t thrown a single punch in your life.¡±, he told him flatly. Simon hesitated. ¡°Can I trust you?¡±, he asked after a second. Thomas nodded seriously. ¡°There¡¯s no way I would put mom in danger. You know that.¡± Simon sighed. No matter his shortcomings, Simon knew that Thomas would never let anything hurt mom. And despite their recent falling out, Simon knew he could entrust his own life to him as well. ¡°Alright. Get us out of here.¡±, he said, and edited the contract. Thomas still had to follow his orders, but he could use his power freely now. Thomas smiled slightly and nodded thankfully at him. Soon they were ready to go, and Simon peeked out the front door carefully. He couldn¡¯t see anything on the street, so he ordered everyone to file out. With a flick of his hand, Thomas made the manhole cover pop out and fall onto the asphalt, leaving a dark hole in the street. ¡°Let¡¯s go, you first, mom.¡±, Simon waved her over, and she began climbing down the metal rungs carefully. Next was Tiffany. As Simon was about to crawl in, a huge explosion came from behind the police station, kicking up a cloud of dust. Another one came immediately after, and Simon saw a figure clad in blue fire go flying off into the sky about twenty feet. Simon smacked Thomas¡¯ leg, and yelled, ¡°Time to go!¡±. He jumped into the sewer, not bothering with the rungs. As soon as he felt his feet touch solid ground, he rolled out of the way, and soon heard Thomas land as well. There was a short silence, and then a click as Tiffany turned on the flashlight they had found. There were a few more explosions, and dust floated down from the ceiling, but it didn¡¯t collapse on them immediately. ¡°Thomas,¡±, Simon said, nudging his brother. ¡°Keep the roof from falling on us. Let¡¯s go.¡± They headed off into the dark sewer, only the light of a single flashlight keeping the darkness at bay. Only the efforts of a single man keeping the roof from collapsing atop them. ANUC ELEVEN: Safe At Last Hveth here. Phew, got it done. Sorry about that, guys. So, I should let you all know what''s going to happen from now on. I''ve got an idea for a new big story that I''ll be writing on here, as well as one that I''m starting to flesh out to be a full novel, my first one. I know that a few people are disappointed that I''ve dropped Technomage, so let me clear that up. Technomage, as well as everything else I''ve written on here so far, has been practice. Well, practice and fun. See, I''m aiming to become a full fledged author at some point, and this new novel that I''m going to write will be my first step towards that. Everything that I''ve written prior to this has been me trying to get my writing skills up to an acceptable point, and if you compare Monstrous to Throne, it''s pretty easy to see I''ve improved. Now, this new novel will not be on RRL. I will publish it as an e-book, but I won''t be posting free chapters. If people are interested, I''ll put the prologue and synopsis up on here when I have finished them. Otherwise, no cigar. For the other idea, it''s going to be something like The Technomage. I''m going to plan the whole thing out first, half write most of the chapters, and post the finished ones on here. At some point, I hope to put up a Patreon and donation button for anyone who might want to donate to me. Chapters of this new story will come out every Friday, in place of the current Throne chapters. The other novel will not get in the way of my current RRL writing schedule. Alright, that seems to be everything I wanted to address. Anyway, happy reading, folks! ------------------------------------------------------ ¡°Alright, this is far enough.¡±, Simon said quietly, stopping the group. They had been walking for about an hour, and he felt it was enough to get out of the battle zone. They had stopped beneath a manhole, and Simon decided to be the first one up. He had Thomas blast the cover off, which let bright sunlight in, blinding their eyes, and climbed up the rungs. He stuck his head out of the hole and blinked a few time to get used to the sunlight. When his eyes adjusted, his swiveled his head around. And found the barrel of a gun pointed at his face. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±, demanded a commanding masculine voice. Simon complied, swallowing nervously. ¡°State your name and affiliation.¡±, the man asked. ¡°Simon Belfonse, I was a lawyer in the city.¡±, he replied. There was a faint voice from below him as Thomas called up, wondering what was taking so long. ¡°How many of you are down there? Are you armed?¡± ¡°Four. None of us are armed.¡±, Simon answered. The gun was removed from his face, and Simon was treated to the sight of a man in urban camouflage military gear. Behind him, four men dressed similarly stood guard, watching either Simon or their surroundings. ¡°We¡¯re with the U.S. Army. Please exit the sewer, and we¡¯ll take your group to our current F.O.B.¡±, the soldier told him. Simon sighed in relief. The military had finally come to rescue them. He poked his head back down, a tired grin on his face, and told the others, ¡°It¡¯s the army. They¡¯re going to take us to their base.¡± Their relieved expressions melted away into surprise and relief. Thomas looked shocked, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. ¡®What?¡¯, he mouthed to himself. Simon climbed out onto the street under the watchful gaze of the soldiers, and the others followed him up. When they were all on the surface, the soldier who had addressed him, J. Hopkins as his nametag read, turned to him. ¡°Are any of you injured?¡± Simon shook his head. ¡°A little hungry, but that¡¯s it.¡±, he replied. Hopkins nodded and spoke into his radio. ¡°This is Scout 3, we have four civilians en route to the base, no injured, over.¡± *Cshhh* ¡°Acknowledged. Carry on, Scout 3, over.¡±, came the reply from the radio. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get moving. The base is about a mile west of here, you¡¯ll be taken care of there.¡±, he told the group. They began moving west, the five soldiers keeping a tight watch for anything suspicious. Soon, they turned a street, and were met with a heavily fortified roadblock. Large orange barricades blocked the street, while armed soldiers kept a careful watch. A large mounted machine gun manned by a soldier looked over the street from a rooftop. ¡°Stop!¡±, a voice called out from the road block. ¡°State your identity!¡± ¡°Lieutenant James Hopkins of Scout 3, returning from patrol with four civilians!¡±, Hopkins called back. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. There was a short pause, and the voice called back, ¡°Continue walking forward. Keep your weapons aimed at the ground!¡± They did so, and when they were a few feet away, a group of soldiers came out of the barricade and escorted them through. After a short talk, they continued on their way down the road. Soon they were greeted with the sight of a large village of green tents set up in a fenced soccer field. Soldiers and civilians alike wandered throughout. They reached the gate, and man in an officer¡¯s uniform greeted them. ¡°Hello, my name is Corporal Lance King. I understand you might be tired, but you¡¯ll need to follow me to processing before we can get you settled in.¡±, he told them. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±, Simon told him, as the others nodded. Lance led them to a large tent directly to the left of the gate. Inside, several rooms were created by using flaps of cloth as walls. The hum of chatter made the building seem lively. The corporal directed each of them into different rooms, stating that they needed to register separately, and after agreeing to meet up right outside the tent, they followed his directions. An older woman with dark bags under her eyes greeted Simon as he stepped into one of the rooms. ¡°Name, age and profession?¡±, she asked him bluntly. ¡°Simon belfonse, twenty seven. Lawyer.¡±, he replied. She scribbled onto a clipboard, then continued. ¡°Have you purchased anything through the ¡®System¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes.¡±, Simon said. He saw no reason to lie to his own country¡¯s military. Besides, he had spotted a power called, ¡®Information Gatherer¡¯ while scrolling through the powers, and was sure the government had a few working for them by now. ¡°I purchased a power called Contract Creator. It was 6800 points.¡± The woman looked at him in interest. ¡°And what does this power do?¡± ¡°I can create a contract between two parties that they must follow absolutely. The terms must be equal between the parties.¡± The woman scribbled furiously on her clipboard, then put it down on her lap and looked at him intently. ¡°Son, I hate doing this, but we need more people like you. Have you ever considered enlisting?¡± Simon smiled apologetically, then said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but no.¡± The woman sighed, nodded, and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it. You can go now. Someone will collect you at the front to bring you to your new quarters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±, Simon asked, somewhat surprised. The woman nodded, and shooed him away. He walked out of the tent to find his mother and Thomas waiting for him, both of whom looked dead tired. He waited with them, and shortly after, Tiffany came out, smiling happily. ¡°They hired me as a chef.¡±, she told them. ¡°They were pretty eager to have me on board when they heard about my ability, I guess the food here isn¡¯t all that great¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little early to be getting a job? We haven¡¯t even gotten settled in yet.¡±, Simon asked her, grinning at her joy. ¡°Hey, if I¡¯ve learned anything from the years I¡¯ve been here, it¡¯s that you ALWAYS take a job when it¡¯s offered!¡±, she said, chuckling. They all had a small laugh. The humour, even if it was a bad, was like having a weight lifted from their shoulders after all the stress they¡¯d faced in the last 24 hours. ¡°Excuse me?¡±, a female voice called. They turned, and found a young woman smiling at them. ¡°I¡¯m here to lead you to your tents. Are you four together?¡±, she asked them. ¡°Yep.¡±, Simon told her. ¡°If you could put us in the same tent, or nearby ones, that would be great.¡± ¡°Alright. We have a few of the larger family tents still open. You might have to share with a few others later, though.¡±, she said with a smile. Simon nodded. ¡°That will be fine.¡± She led them through the maze of tents. On the way, they saw people doing all sorts of jobs. There was food to be cooked, things to clean, and papers to sort everywhere. Nobody went without a job. Soon they stood before a relatively large green tent. ¡°This will be your new home for now, tent TF-49. Meals are held in three different cafeterias. As part of the 30-50 tent group, you will be eating in cafeteria 2, which is a little ways up that way¡±, she pointed to their left. ¡°Breakfast is at 7:00, lunch at 12:00, and dinner at 6:00. If you have any questions or concerns, the help tent is located in the north-western quarter, labeled with a large question mark sign.¡± They thanked her, and entered their new home. Simon sighed. They were finally safe. Update So, you''re all probably wondering where I''ve been. For the last week and a half, I''ve been vacationing in Penticton, a quiet little vacation town chock full of old rich white dudes. It was alright. I didn''t have very much internet access, and my writing time got cut by a lot because I was always doing something. During the little time that I was trying to write, I realized something about this fic. I''ve hit a limit. It''s not really writer''s block, but something similar I suppose. Thus far, I''ve been writing this with little to no planning ahead. I sit down in an afternoon, think about what I want to happen, and write it down. Obviously, this has some issues. Plot holes, poor character development, etc. At this moment, I don''t really see much point in continuing this, especially since it was mostly meant to be a practice fiction (as were all my other ones...) Thus, I''m here to update my schedule and get those of you who follow me (yeah right, who?!) up to speed on what''s going on. After the last year or so of somewhat half-heartedly practicing writing, I finally feel that I''m good enough to start writing an actual web novel. I''ve got two and a half projects in mind. First, I''m starting a new web novel that will be fully planned out and half written at least a volume in advance. This means that before I even start posting anything on here or elsewhere, I''ll have a volume of it almost written already. This will make updates come faster, keep the story more cohesive, and generally make a better reading experience (obviously). I might be creating a wordpress or something and post chapters a day later on here. As for details, well, I won''t be giving out too much info but... Think Re:Zero sort of concept, except the MC isn''t a whiny little bitch. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Second, I''m going to be writing an actual novel alongside the web novel. This novel will not be released online until it''s finished, and then I will only be releasing it on amazon or something. Sorry freeloaders. Second and a half, I''m rewriting Monstrous. I''ve been meaning to get around to it for awhile now, but didn''t end up getting started on it until now. I''ll bulk release the first four chapters at some point and then write more slowly. I''m going to halfway plan it out as well, so releases might not come for awhile. The reason I''m doing Monstrous and not one of the others is for a few reasons. It was my first fiction, and kind of holds sentimental value for me, and it kind of almost went viral (800 avg views in 4 chapters? Dang dude, it wasn''t even that good!). I attribute the last bit to the kickass name and synopsis. Not sure how I even wrote those back then. Anywho, due to those reasons, I''ll be disappearing for a bit. See ya.