《Gate》


 The Next Generation

    As far as story beginnings go, starting with some characters boarding a train is usually a surefire way to bore the reader. Trains aren¡¯t interesting. Neither is standing on one whilst gently jostling against the strangers around you. The reader, completely lacking context for why the train is necessary, might rapidly come to the conclusion that the train is a rather ham-fisted metaphor for the story itself, both in the telling of character¡¯s travel through a portion of their life, and the relative level of ¡®entertainment'' to be expected as the story progresses.


    Nevertheless, Nathaniel Lione boarded the train surely expecting the start to one such tale of mundanity. He was, after all, boarding with his parents who were essentially dropping him off to begin college. His entire life up to this point could have been summarized by such mundane stories. After all, the world only ends once. After that, it¡¯s mostly back to work, interrupted by an occasional grocery shopping errand in one of the few holdouts for humanity left on earth.


    As the train lurched on the tracks yet again, jostling Nathaniel into sweaty stranger number 6, he inwardly sighed. The windows on the train, when he caught glimpses of them through the throngs of people, showed devastated terrain. Black ash still fell from the sky as if God one day decided to just color invert snow on a whim. In the rare holes not covered by gray and black clouds, a crimson sky peeked through, casting a blood-red light on the landscape.


    Nate¡¯s lavender eyes glanced upward toward a half-torn poster on the train, just high enough to see above the crowd. Bastion¡¯s heroic countenance adorned the poster, or at least what was left of it. Bold letters under the half-profile read ¡®When the world is (the tear cut off the rest before going to the next line) Be (again, the tear in the poster cut out the rest of the phrase)¡¯. Not that Nate needed to read the whole phrase to be familiar enough to fill in the blanks. Bastion stood as one of humanity¡¯s brightest beacons of hope. The Hero that never quits. An unassailable walking fortress of a man who has single-handedly cleared more Gates than the bottom half of all the Guilds put together. And his favorite catch-phrase: ¡®When the world is darkest, be ever brighter¡¯.


    Sweaty stranger number 3 caught Nate¡¯s gaze up to the Hero¡¯s poster and made a show of pointing at it to reference. ¡°The NGA thinks we might have a good chance to finally claim some land back. Mostly thanks to him. You off to Gate U?¡±


    Nate never broke his gaze from the tattered piece of paper, simply nodding in assent. ¡°First year.¡±


    The stranger grunted. ¡°Couple more Heroes of the next generation turn out like him, we might even get to rebuild a city. I¡¯m hoping for New York.¡±


    ¡°Manhattan¡¯s overrun,¡± Nate shook his head. ¡°Three Tier V Gate breaks. Stepping foot onto that island would be suicide. Even for Bastion.¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°If he had all of Lighthouse backing him up, he could do it.¡±


    Nate heard his father laugh aloud behind him at that. ¡°Right. And what happens to the rest of us while the number one Hero and his Guild leave the frontlines to take back a tiny island? We become demon chow. That¡¯s what happens.¡±


    The train lurched over the tracks again, this time sending Nate stumbling backward into his father. Like Peter Lione, Nathaniel had inherited his wide frame, tanned skin, and just-over-six-foot height. Unlike Peter, Nathaniel had inherited none of his father¡¯s Traits that would put his size to good use. His dad was a Vanguard II. The man could toss a train wheel like a frisbee. Nathaniel, on the other hand, inherited both his eye color and Trait from his mother, Nancy. Where Peter was a large and bulky brute, Nancy was a slender and feminine Reader III. Not of the useful mind variety, of course. Though her Trait combined with her keen insight often kept Nate wondering if she could in fact read minds. Officially though, she Reads objects. Histories, uses, significance. Great for solving crimes, less so for killing hordes of demons.


    Nancy gave her husband a look. ¡°You don¡¯t need to try and scare every stranger you come across, you know.¡±


    Peter flashed a grin. ¡°What¡¯s the point of all this muscle if I can¡¯t bully the occasional stranger every now and then?¡±


    Nancy rolled her lilac eyes and tried not to chuckle at her husband¡¯s sense of humor. ¡°You know the Bureau originally assigned you as my partner to stop fights from breaking out around me, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter playfully tapped his chin. ¡°The way I see it, violence is better prevented than responded to.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, you weren¡¯t picking all those fights, you were just stopping them from ever happening,¡± she teased.


    Nate did his best to turn his attention away from his parents and their flirting when another lurch of the train sent him yet again stumbling backwards. Normally, he would have been caught by his dad. Peter, however, had turned his very wide and muscular frame to face his wife, causing Nate to stumble backwards into empty air instead of solid father. As he picked himself up off the floor, Peter gave an apologetic look. ¡°You could just grab the overhead rail like everyone else,¡± he offered.


    ¡°Ew,¡± both he and his mother immediately cringed at the thought of what kind of history their Reader Traits might make known.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad,¡± Peter chuckled.


    Nancy forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s public transport, dear. If I told you half of what that poor handrail has seen, you wouldn¡¯t want to wash that hand off- you¡¯d want to burn it off.¡±


    Peter gave the handrail a tentative second glance, unsure if he should continue touching the questionable surface. Finally, he decided to spit in his hand before grabbing the rail firmly again. ¡°There,¡± he nodded in apparent approval of his own actions.


    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± Nancy gawked.


    ¡°Yes, but now it¡¯s my disgusting,¡± Peter countered. ¡°I can deal with that.¡±


    ¡°That makes one of us.¡±


    ¡°Anyway. Nate,¡± his dad beamed brightly at Nathaniel, ¡°Gate University. Off to learn to be a Hero.¡±


    ¡°Not that I had a choice,¡± Nate shrugged.


    ¡°Humanity doesn¡¯t have the luxury of sitting on our laurels,¡± his mother chimed in. ¡°If you can be of help-¡±


    ¡°-then it¡¯s our duty to help,¡± Nate finished with a nod. ¡°I know. I understand, too. It¡¯s a good opportunity for me, even if I fail out of the Hero program like you guys did.¡±


    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s not failing out,¡± his mother corrected. ¡°So don¡¯t think of it that way. They¡¯re looking for the best of the best to continue through those Hero courses. Gates are deadly affairs, even before they break open. If you can¡¯t survive a Gate, then you¡¯re just better suited to a different career path.¡±


    Nate looked to his dad, who chuckled. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look at me, I¡¯m a Vanguard. I legitimately failed out of the coursework. Not that I regret it for a single moment,¡± he added, smiling wanly at Nancy.


    ¡°Yes, and the world is a happier place because of it,¡± she tried and immediately failed to stop herself from grinning. ¡°My point is: do your best and make your time there something you can be proud of no matter what the future holds for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ a lot of pressure,¡± Nate sighed. ¡°And even as a Support class, Reading isn¡¯t all that useful for Gate delving.¡±


    ¡°You have a good shot at scouting,¡± his mom smiled up at him. ¡°I think if I tried that pathway instead of item appraisal, I might have gone further as a Hero.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of item appraisal branch-off jobs civilian side though. If I try to make it as a scout and still fail¡­ what then? Will I be shoed into some sort of city patrol job for the rest of my life?¡±


    Peter laid a hand on Nate¡¯s shoulder (thankfully not the one he had just spat into). ¡°If you see your future leading you down a bad path, just build a new road forward. You¡¯re a smart guy. Go for what you want to go for, and I¡¯m sure you can make it work out. Somehow.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t exactly the direct guidance he¡¯d been hoping for from his parents, but upon reflection, Nate inwardly admitted that had his parents told him exactly what to do, he¡¯d probably label them as too controlling and disregard their advice anyway. Being on the blooming cusp of adulthood kind of sucked in a lot of ways. He took in a deep breath, and let it go. Build a new road. How do you even do that?


    ¡°You, uhh, dropped this,¡± a man held Nate¡¯s wallet out as if he were returning a used snot rag, wearing a matching facial expression. His eyes darted back to Peter several times, his face deepening with disgust after every glance.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nate frowned, taking his wallet back much to the stranger¡¯s apparent relief. Nate gave his distracted father a questioning look before turning back to the man. ¡°Did you two know each other or something?¡±


    ¡°Him? You¡¯re his son, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Nate shrugged. ¡°What of it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you also spit on things to claim them as yours?¡± the stranger grimaced.


    ¡°Wha- oh. Uh, no. I guess I take more after my mom,¡± Nathaniel forced a laugh, hoping to ease the stranger¡¯s nerves. It didn¡¯t work. Maybe small talk would better alleviate the awkwardness. ¡°So¡­ bank teller?¡±


    The stranger narrowed his eyes in suspicion, and while markedly better than utter repulsion, being on the receiving end of either look gave Nate the impression he should end the conversation sooner rather than later. ¡°Should I¡­ know you?¡±


    ¡°Not¡­ particularly? I¡¯m a Reader. You touched my wallet, so I got some impressions of someone who frequently handles money, but is more bored than overjoyed. Then came the secondary layers of someone with fiscal knowledge and who holds themselves with a small amount of authority.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a Reader?¡± the man stared blankly at Nate before looking him up and down. ¡°You¡¯re built like a brick.¡±


    ¡°Dad¡¯s a Vanguard,¡± Nate forced a quick polite smile, directing the stranger¡¯s attention to Peter once more.


    ¡°Oh, is this who all this fuss has been about?¡± a woman pushed her way through the crowd and into the conversation, dragging along a young woman who must have been her daughter. While the mother was all pleasantry and smiles, her daughter was looking at Nate as if she were a deer about to be run over.


    ¡°No sort of fuss here, Skye. The young man dropped his wallet when he fell. I was simply returning it,¡± the stranger answered his wife completely nonplussed. ¡°I surmise he¡¯s a first-year Reader. Likely not to complete the Hero program.¡±


    Skye swatted her husband¡¯s arm with a scolding exclamation of, ¡°Harold! Be nice.¡±


    ¡°I am being nice, Skye,¡± Harold spoke matter-of-factly as he adjusted the thin pair of glasses on his nose. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong or shameful with dropping out of the Hero program. This young man should be forearmed with an alternative plan.¡±


    Their daughter continued to stare silently at Nate as if he were slowly approaching her with a brandished knife in a dark back alley.


    Skye sighed and gave Nate a long-suffering smile. ¡°Don¡¯t pay my Harold any mind. He means well. Our Jenna here,¡± she pointed to their daughter, still unblinkingly staring at Nate, though the fear-sweat beginning to bead on her forehead was new, ¡°is the first in our family with an actual Trait. It¡¯s probably not going to cut it for the Hero program at Gate U, so Harold has been drilling her with viable alternative options and how to pursue a career path.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and who is this?¡± Nate¡¯s mom cut off from Peter and came over. ¡°I¡¯m Nancy Lione, pleasure to meet you.¡± She shook both of the parents¡¯ hands with a smile. ¡°Oh, a bank teller and hotel manager. Sorry, I¡¯m a Reader. Bad habit. Anyway, you seem to have already met my son Nathaniel, so that leaves-¡±


    ¡°The expectorator,¡± Harold answered flatly.


    Nancy¡¯s smile flattened in an instant. ¡°My husband, Peter. He has¡­ an odd sense of humor. Not everybody gets him.¡±


    ¡°I have a hunch that sometimes you get him even less than everyone else,¡± Skye smiled teasingly.


    ¡°Yes, well, comes with the territory of spending so much time around someone,¡± Nancy smiled back. ¡°So who¡¯s your daughter?¡±


    Skye finally turned her attention to the girl staring at Nate as if he were about to pluck out her eyeballs one at a time so he could make her watch as he squeezed the juices into his mouth and grabbed her daughter¡¯s attention with an elbow jab to the arm. ¡°Jenna, say hello at least.¡±


    Apparently, it was somehow possible for Jenna¡¯s eyes to widen even further, as they did so. She let out a squeak and took a step backward.


    Nate rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of something, anything, that might make the situation less horrifyingly awkward. Just then, the train once again lurched on the tracks. Nate stumbled forward, this time crashing into someone much softer and far less sturdy than his father. They went down in a tangle of limbs, Nate trying to turn to take the brunt of the fall and Jenna fighting to disentangle herself the whole way down. In the end the small girl completely knocked the wind out of him by landing on his diaphragm- elbow first. Nate wheezed in pain, desperately trying with every ounce of will he could muster to keep the groan and reflexive tears from escaping.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Jenna rolled off and sprung to her feet like a cat before bolting away. Or, she would have bolted away had she not been on a fairly crowded train. Instead, she bolted into the back of sweaty stranger number 3, who Nate had classified as the most unpleasant of all 6 sweaty strangers to jostle into as number 3 had a particularly pungent odor accompanying his sweat, before she careened downward to the ground again. While most others would find this situation more comedic had Jenna once more landed on Nate who was still laid out on the ground, Nate found himself unendingly grateful that she managed to fall elsewhere this time around.


    ¡°Well,¡± Skye blinked in disbelief at the situation that played out before her, ¡°how¡¯s that for an introduction?¡±


    Jenna shot her mother a withering glare as she stood up from apparently having fallen on her tailbone. Reflexive tears welled in her eyes as she tried to keep her hand away from rubbing the aforementioned area of injury.


    ¡°Would you just hold onto the damn rails already,¡± Peter shook his head at his son in dismay. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing yourself at this point.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Dad,¡± Nate managed to wheeze out, sticking a thumbs up in the air. His lungs wanted to cough, but there wasn¡¯t a breath of air left in them.


    Nancy chuckled and shook her head. ¡°Well if you two happen to bump into each other again at college, try to make it somewhat less dramatic?¡±


    Little gasps of air slowly began to fill Nate¡¯s lungs again as his body started remembering how to breathe.


    ¡°Typical Lione. Falling all over himself for a girl he just met,¡± Peter gave Nancy a wink and sly grin.


    Nancy returned an appalled look, her eyebrows arched higher than Nate had thought possible. ¡°Hopefully a habit that has since ceased to exist.¡±


    ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Peter chuckled easily. ¡°Though-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it,¡± Nancy cut across him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare-.¡±


    ¡°Lions do have their Pride,¡± Peter waggled his eyebrows at his wife.


    She answered by laughing and playfully beating her fists against his arms and chest with exclamations of ¡®ew¡¯ and ¡®you¡¯re disgusting¡¯.


    ¡°You¡¯re both being gross,¡± came Nate¡¯s voice weakly from the floor.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Harold adjusted his glasses once again. ¡°Well it was¡­ certainly something meeting you lot. Perhaps we should take our leave before more catastrophe strikes.¡± He gathered his family and herded them away.


    ¡°Too much?¡± Nancy gave her husband a guilty grin.


    ¡°Catastrophe,¡± Peter mimed pushing glasses up his nose as he threw his voice to mock Harold¡¯s, ¡°or far worse: public displays of affection.¡±


    Nancy clicked her tongue and swatted at her husband. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m fine,¡± Nate finally managed to cough air back into his lungs. His chest ached.


    ¡°Our son doesn¡¯t make the best first impressions with women, does he?¡± Peter turned to his wife.


    ¡°He¡¯ll never get a girlfriend if he keeps this up,¡± his mother answered quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯d swear sometimes he acts as if he¡¯s never even seen another girl, let alone talked to one.¡±


    ¡°And all those ballroom dance lessons we put him through haven''t appeared to help his coordination in the slightest,¡± Nancy nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± Nate hacked and coughed. ¡°Could you not talk about me like I¡¯m a complete embarrassment?¡±


    ¡°Well do you want us to worry over you or not?¡± his mother cracked across him sharply, a teasing grin fitting easily across her features.


    Nate frowned at his parents as he thought of a reply. ¡°I can¡¯t win here, can I?¡±


    ¡°No points for grace and decorum today, so¡­ no. I really don¡¯t think you can,¡± Peter chuckled at his son.


    ¡°I¡¯m just grateful that as bad as I was, you guys were even more embarrassing. Hopefully we¡¯ll just forget each other¡¯s faces and move on. Lots of people attend Gate U. Pretty good odds of not seeing her any time soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sad,¡± his mother mused airily. ¡°She was kinda cute. And to think you put all that effort into your introduction just to waste it like this.¡±


    Nate gave a long-suffering sigh. ¡°I think I¡¯ll excuse myself too.¡± Slowly, he stood himself upright again, fully trusting neither his core muscles for support nor the train to stay steady. After he got his feet under himself once again, he slowly pushed his way toward a new train compartment. Hopefully, Jenna and her family had fled toward the other end of the train. He pushed through the doors separating compartments and kept moving. He needed space to sort out what just happened. Normally being in the midst of a packed crowd didn¡¯t exactly help with the whole ¡®alone¡¯ concept, but Nate frequently found himself feeling isolated in large groups of people. He could make due with being away from anyone he knew.


    His mind attacked his memories head-on, confronting him with the utter shame of embarrassment. He took a breath. I messed up, but it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a failure. Air escaped his mouth with a barely audible whisper. I don¡¯t know them, they don¡¯t know me. I¡¯m only human. Mistakes are okay. The knot in his chest loosened slightly as he confronted his emotions. His hand reflexively rubbed at his still-sore diaphragm. My past can only hurt me as much as I let it. He grimaced as his fingers pressed into the soreness. And bruises. Bruises hurt too. Again, he broke out into reflexive coughing causing the people around him to take a tentative step away from him.


    ¡°Listen, we¡¯re here to help you,¡± a male voice came from somewhere back further in the new train car. His voice projected over the relative silence of the crowd, easily overheard by anyone nearby. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you can pay me 500 credits for a stairwell pass now, or get to Gate U and pay the full 1000. Last year, I didn¡¯t believe the Gate U Sophomore¡¯s either. Had to pay the full price out of pocket. I truly wish I had paid the guys on the train.¡±


    ¡°You can take your stair pass and shove it,¡± a resolute voice responded.


    ¡°Ha,¡± came the first voice jovially. ¡°Do you see this yellow armband? Do you know what that means? No, of course not. How could you? You haven¡¯t even spent a full day at University yet. I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret. These yellow armbands mean I¡¯m what¡¯s called ¡®elite¡¯ in status. My potential for my Traits are tier IV or higher. That means a lot to Gate U. They¡¯re training me to be a leader. And a powerhouse. I¡¯m nearly guaranteed to make it through the full Hero course. So how about you just hand over 500 credits and I¡¯ll forget your little insult, yeah?¡±


    Nate¡¯s feet took him toward where the voices were coming from. A ring of toughs circled a short young man with bright green eyes and light brown hair. The other speaker was also easy to identify as the previously mentioned yellow armband adorned only one sleeve. This guy was a monster of a human, taller than even Nate and looked like he could thrash Peter in an arm-wrestling competition.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn who you are or what you mean to the University. Piss off,¡± the short man waved a dismissive hand, not breaking eye contact.


    That¡¯s when one of the goons connected his fist to the back of the short man¡¯s head. His green eyes glassed and rolled upward right before he collapsed helplessly to the ground. The gang moved like a pack of hyenas going in for the kill as they rushed forward to get their kicks in while they could. Nate began rushing forward, but didn¡¯t get more than a few steps before someone else made it to the scene. A dark hand yanked a goon out of the body pile, throwing him like a ragdoll into the wall before seeking its next target.


    The newcomer stood maybe an inch shorter than Nate, his dark brown skin standing out against the dull cream of the train¡¯s interior. ¡°Back away. Now,¡± he warned before throwing yet another goon clear across the train like a discarded napkin.


    ¡°Ohh, someone thinks they¡¯re tough stuff,¡± Yellow Armband goaded the dark skinned newcomer. ¡°Tell you what, why don¡¯t you pay 500 credits for yourself, another 500 for him and another 500 for¡­ damages,¡± he glanced over at his unconscious goons. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll let you off after that. If I¡¯m feeling generous.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± came the quick reply.


    Yellow armband scoffed a theatrical laugh. ¡°Do my ears deceive me? Did you say ¡®no¡¯?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the dark skinned man repeated, taking deliberate steps toward the offender.


    ¡°I¡¯m not big on giving out second chances, but I think you ought to get one. Last chance. You surely know what the ¡®elite¡¯ status at Gate U means. I¡¯m it. Hand over the credits. Now.¡±


    As much as Yellow Armband proclaimed not to be about giving second chances, the newcomer seemed to live by that idea. His hand hurtled through the air at tremendous speed, slapping Yellow Armband across the face. Yellow went down hard. Metal groaned and bent as the young man crashed face first into the floor. Silence filled the train for a heartbeat. Two. The goons hesitated collapsing on the newcomer given how easily he had dispatched their leader.


    ¡°Leave. Now,¡± the newcomer commanded. The goons obeyed, shuffling away with their metaphorical tails tucked between their legs. Or actual tail tucked between his legs, Nate idly noted of a retreating Shifter.


    The newcomer looked down at the short man on the ground, just beginning to stir back into consciousness. ¡°If you¡¯re going to have a strong will, you¡¯re going to need to learn how to fight to keep it.¡±


    ¡°Losing hasn¡¯t stopped me yet,¡± the short guy muttered. ¡°Thanks for the help nonetheless. I¡¯m Huck.¡±


    The newcomer turned his gaze toward Nate. ¡°And you cannot expect to be a hero by standing around and watching others get hurt.¡±


    Nate frowned at the accusation before reigning in his thoughts. I don¡¯t even want to be a hero. No need to take offense. ¡°Yeah, you seemed to have the situation pretty well handled,¡± Nate shrugged.


    ¡°This time I was around. Next time I might not be,¡± the dark skinned newcomer warned in his thick accent. Without another word, he left.


    Huck pursed his lips after standing up, looking put off that the guy had blatantly ignored his introduction. With a disappointed cluck of his tongue, he turned to Nate. ¡°I¡¯m Huck,¡± he tried again, extending his hand.


    Nate shook it out of habit. ¡°Nathaniel,¡± he introduced himself automatically.


    ¡°Damn, was that so hard?¡± Huck shook his head. ¡°Pretending like I didn¡¯t say anything to him,¡± Huck scoffed.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re a first-year at Gate U too?¡± Nate offered.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Huck brushed off his shoulder. ¡°I have a minor healing trait. Don¡¯t know what Tier yet, but damage doesn¡¯t seem to stick around near me. You?¡±


    ¡°Reader. From my mom. Probably mid Tier,¡± Nate answered, trying not to sound braggadocious. ¡°Where are you from?¡±


    ¡°Philly,¡± Huck grinned. ¡°As East as Humanity goes. You?¡±


    ¡°Columbus,¡± Nate nodded.


    Huck let out a low whistle. ¡°Heard the city¡¯s doing pretty well now with the new low tier Gates that popped up.¡±


    Nate nodded. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s a stable one. Either way, the mayor¡¯s expecting a pretty big industrial boom. What¡¯s Philadelphia like?¡±


    ¡°Ah, not much different from the stories you¡¯ve probably heard. It¡¯s right on the edge of desolation. The Delaware is blood red in some spots. Just on the other side, the ground goes on for miles, flat and barren. We can actually see herds of demons wandering around and when they approach. Every once in a while a Tier V from one of the Manhattan breaks makes its way across and tries its luck against our shields. Takes a day and a night for a raid to kill one. High-grade materials if you have the ability to refine them, though. Keeps us afloat financially and the shield generator running. The great Heroes strike it rich. The good Heroes die. Life¡¯s tough out there, but we¡¯re made of tougher stuff.¡± Huck paused. ¡°You know anything about Chicago?¡±


    Nate frowned for a moment as his memory tried to feed him any sort of new knowledge. After a minute, he shrugged. ¡°Just what everyone else does. Five stable Tier I Gates. One intermittent Tier II. Three Tier IIIs in flux. Bastion¡¯s hometown, which is pretty much the sole reason it¡¯s the ¡®City That Can¡¯t Be Beat¡¯ instead of another St. Louis. Hear it gets pretty windy at times. And of course Gate U¡¯s there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much what I¡¯ve heard, too.¡±


    ¡°Attention passengers: We¡¯ll be arriving in Chicago¡¯s Great Hall at the Western Union Station in approximately 10 minutes. Please make your way back to your party members to depart. Thank you,¡± an automated female voice rang out over the intercoms.


    ¡°Better get back to my parents,¡± Nate gave a polite smile.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see each other again soon,¡± Huck nodded confidently. ¡°Thanks for¡­ well¡­ not exactly helping, but¡­ whatever.¡±


    ¡°Anytime,¡± Nate chuckled, ¡°I think.¡± And with that done, he turned away to head back to his proper train car. He had to fight movement from passengers all trying to get to their groups, but eventually made it back to his mom and dad.


    ¡°There you are,¡± Nancy smiled warmly at her son. ¡°Harold actually came back and wanted to apologize for treating you the way he did. Apparently his daughter wouldn¡¯t let the issue drop.¡±


    ¡°You can stop trying to set me up on a date at any point in time,¡± Nate gave a forced grin. ¡°Really. It was old 6 years ago.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stop trying to set you up with a girl when you settle down with one,¡± Nancy answered matter-of-factly. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t complain if you settled down with two or three either.¡±


    ¡°Nancy,¡± Peter shot. ¡°I¡¯m trying to raise a responsible young man who respects women, and look at you- being a bad influence.¡±


    ¡°What happened to that Lion¡¯s Pride?¡± she teased right back.


    ¡°Pride as in honor. You know it¡¯s talking about honor,¡± Peter rolled his eyes.


    ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t have come back,¡± Nate sighed.


    The train pulled into the more grandiose station than Nathaniel could ever hope to dream up. White marble and domed skylights acted together to give the entire hall an other-worldly feel. He couldn¡¯t help but brush his fingertips against a column as he passed. History. A world without Gates or Demons. Men rushed past, dressed in elaborate old-fashioned suits. Always coming and going, never staying. Always moving. Progress. Work. Flow. Ingress and egress. The lifeblood of the city. From mob bosses to the common man to the President of the United States of America. This building was about moving people efficiently and on time. Images flashed by of crowds of people moving through the ages. Reconstructions and restorations and additions and daily commutes. It¡¯s a building that had seen the worst of the Great Depression and the best of the Post World Wars boom. It had withstood the Worldwide Break and kept this city alive.


    Nate slowly exhaled from the sheer intensity of his Read, his mind swimming with more information than he knew what to do with. And it all came with such intensity. He could spend weeks sitting here and Reading this Hall, trying to parse through just the basics.


    ¡°Watch out,¡± his mother warned him with a knowing smirk, ¡°this place has history.¡±


    ¡°You could have warned me,¡± Nate swallowed hard, just now feeling how quickly his heart had been pounding in his chest.


    His mother gave him the side-eye, ¡°Like that would have stopped you.¡±


    Nate let the argument drop, acknowledging his mother¡¯s point. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you did the same exact thing when you first arrived?¡±


    His mother laughed, her lilac-colored eyes lighting up, ¡°Absolutely. Nearly fell flat on my ass in front of a huge crowd just like this.¡±


    Just then, Nate¡¯s father came up to their group, pointing to an overhanging sign. ¡°Look, their Guild Hall is actually attached to the West Wing of this train station.¡±


    ¡°We know,¡± both Nate and Nancy answered with a small smile, reminding the Vanguard that Readers couldn¡¯t ever truly get turned around or lost inside any structure utilized by intelligent beings.


    ¡°Right,¡± Peter scoffed a laugh to himself. ¡°Well, I thought it was neat. Having the Guild Halls here-¡±


    ¡°Helps with battling Gates across the nation,¡± Nate finished. ¡°Yeah, we got that, too. Lighthouse has its own train. Actually, most of the top Guilds do. They basically serve as a mobile headquarters whenever they get called across the country to defend against a Gate break.¡±


    Nancy gave her husband an apologetic smile.


    ¡°Must be nice to have all the answers at your fingertips,¡± Peter shook his head with a grin.


    ¡°A little overwhelming at times, honestly,¡± Nancy conceded. ¡°The sign says follow the corridor ahead of us. We have three alternate routes available to skip the foot traffic and get out ahead of the crowds. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±

 Gate-U

    The university was enormous. Acres of campus littered with green fields and half-skyscrapers. Glass and stone cathedral-like buildings demonstrated variety and architectural genius in equal measure. The family followed the signs and pathways devoid of fellow pilgrims to the main hall auditorium, where they could have their choice of seating and wait for the other families to arrive. Having successfully skipped ahead of the literal hordes of people exiting from trains across the nation, they found themselves a full hour ahead of when the orientation welcome speech would actually begin. They spent that time meandering around the campus, Nancy and Peter pointing out specific buildings or landmarks with anecdotal memories.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the tree you were conceived under,¡± father took his mother¡¯s hand and grinned broadly as they stood in front of a large Willow tree by a riverbank.


    Nancy playfully slapped her husband¡¯s chest. ¡°We never even met at University.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but when I came through, that tree was called Maidenhead because of all¡­ well. Point is, don¡¯t get any ideas about coming here at night in Spring with a special someone or you¡¯ll start to think about your parents getting it on.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Dad.¡±


    ¡°It really is quite beautiful at night,¡± a hint of a smile played on his mother¡¯s lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever touch the tree.¡±


    ¡°Best if you don¡¯t,¡± the smile completely faded from Nancy¡¯s face in less than the blink of an eye, immediately replaced by a haunted look. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people who gather here for¡­ romantic entanglements. And I do mean ¡®entanglement¡¯.¡±


    Peter put a hand to his chin, ¡°Well on that note, I think our tour is all¡­ tied up. We should probably head back to the auditorium.¡±


    Nancy again tried to suppress her laughter and failed as puffs of air snorted through her nose from every convulsion of her chest.


    ¡°Do you think we can get some food first?¡± Nate asked. ¡°The train ride was a bit long.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± his dad answered with a questionably malicious grin plastered to his face. For a moment, Nate feared where his father¡¯s devious mind had taken him, but his questions were answered with his father¡¯s second-half of a response. ¡°We¡¯re bound to find someplace that sells food soon.¡±


    Nancy¡¯s shoulders shook up and down violently as she continued her attempt at laughter suppression and continued failing. Her mouth twitched chaotically as she put forth the entirety of her willpower into mastering herself.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not that funny,¡± Nate shook his head.


    His dad gave him a hurt look. ¡°You¡¯re giving me a bad wrap.¡±


    A moment of silence passed before anyone caught his third rope pun. Nate slapped his palm into his forehead, while Nancy rubbed something wet from the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Just¡­ I am so grateful there¡¯s no one around right now,¡± Nathaniel sighed aloud. ¡°You guys are the worst,¡± he chuckled, shaking his head.


    On their way back to the auditorium, they did end up passing by a small street taco food vendor, grabbing a quick bite to eat as they made their way back. The food was good, cheap, and conveniently accessible as every other family seemed to have been waiting around inside the building where they were supposed to be instead of wandering around aimlessly like the Liones had. A warm breeze blew by as the family teased each other, the last vestiges of summer still hanging heavily in the blue sky. Looking up at the peaceful white clouds, Nathaniel could almost trick himself into believing life was all so normal- that the world wasn¡¯t broken and invaded. Like he could walk about and just attend a college where his biggest fear was having embarrassing parents. Despite the world ending, today was¡­ peaceful. It was a feeling he never had back in Columbus. There had always been that sliver of fear in the whole city¡¯s mind that today might be the day Columbus falls. Today might be the day where a Tier V gate fluxes in and countless people die. Even looking up, Columbus had a blue sky too, but there was always a thick finger of red just on the horizon. But here, Chicago? The hometown of Bastion himself? No hint of the sky shattering.


    The difference one Hero could make. If we can be of help, then it¡¯s our duty to help. Or as Bastion coined: When the world is darkest, be ever brighter. Not exactly the same idea, but the sentiments were certainly holding hands and skipping down the sidewalk together, Nate mentally shrugged to himself. He gathered himself, standing straighter with the idea of helping humanity however he could, and walked forward purposefully.


    Murmurs of ambient conversations flooded the auditorium, buzzing loud enough that absolutely no words could be understood outside of a three foot radius. The Liones pushed their way through the crowds of people who had no seats to claim and finally made their way to the back to the front rows.


    ¡°Glad we got here early,¡± Nancy gave a triumphant grin. ¡°Probably half of these people will have to stand through the long, boring introductions.¡±


    Sitting down, Nathaniel took a look behind him to realize the truth in his mother¡¯s words. This auditorium was packed. Every seat was taken, every aisle as filled as the ushers would allow, every square inch of space that could cram in another body was occupied.


    ¡°Huh,¡± came his dad¡¯s voice from his left. Nathaniel looked at his father, who continued to speak, ¡°Looks like there is such a thing as second chances.¡±


    Nathaniel followed his father¡¯s gaze to the occupant of the chair to his immediate right. A familiar girl sat staring straight forward, her curly brown hair acting well as a curtain for the expression on her face.


    Well ignoring her now would just be awkward. ¡°Uh, hi, I¡¯m Nathaniel. You throw a pretty good elbow.¡± He extended a hand toward Jenna, whose whole body tensed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned her face to meet Nathaniel¡¯s, her deep pink eyes wide with¡­ not exactly fear? Trepidation? Anxiety?


    He watched her throat gulp down dread just before her mouth opened. ¡°Hi,¡± her voice was rendered completely inaudible by the drone of thousands of bodies in animated conversation, but Nathaniel could read lips well enough to know the steps to the basic dance of greetings. ¡°Jenna,¡± she said, gaining just a hair of conviction. ¡°Sorry about-¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± a voice boomed over the auditorium as a man suddenly stood upon the central stage with a microphone. ¡°Everybody here? Raise your hand if you¡¯re not.¡± He paused, then chuckled to himself before continuing, ¡°Great. Glad to see you¡¯re all safe. Parents: good job. Now scram.¡± Again, he paused, waiting for a response. ¡°Seriously. Go. Get out of here. I¡¯m the Dean of the Heroics Program for Gate Delving, your children are in good hands, and as you¡¯ve no doubt noticed, there isn¡¯t exactly room to spare in here.¡± Again, he waited for movement. Slowly, hesitantly, parents stood up one by one and left the building again. ¡°Yes, yes, good, good. Keep on moving, yes.¡± After about ten minutes of the dean encouraging exodus, he addressed the room once more. ¡°Okay, that should hopefully free up enough seats that no one is left standing. Everyone who is already seated, move forward. No empty chairs, come on now. If there¡¯s an empty chair in front of you, you¡¯re already failing my program. Let¡¯s get a move on. Yes, good. Good.¡±


    Nathaniel and Jenna did not move, being already in the front row. Much to Nathan¡¯s surprise, another familiar face plopped into the vacant seat his father had just left- Huck. He grinned to himself and shook his head, giving Huck¡¯s shoulder a friendly push to grab his attention. Huck recognized the face and nodded back.


    ¡°Excellent, excellent. There¡¯s a chair for every admittance this year, so if you find yourself still standing in the back, you obviously don¡¯t belong here. Please leave now. Yes, seriously, go. Okay. Finally,¡± the dean huffed a sigh of contentment. ¡°Only half an hour of our time wasted. You might come to rue the slow and confused procession of people. Let this be your first lesson: time wasted from not heeding orders is time lost. Anyway, welcome to Gate University. And for most of you, welcome to the City that Can¡¯t be Beat: Chicago. I¡¯m Dean Anderson of the Heroic Program for Gate Delving, and as the incoming Freshman class, you will all start off in that major. As you are deemed unworthy throughout the coming years, you may drop out of university entirely, or choose a new field of study as you see fit. But until humanity has gained a foothold back into this world instead of a handful of holdouts, we must take drastic action. Due to recent political changes, our main program has no limits on class size. If your class graduates with 1,000 new Heroes, then a thousand new Heroes enter the world. The same goes for if only ten of you are deemed worthy.¡± He let the weight of those words land on the audience as he prolonged his dramatic pause.


    ¡°I sincerely hope to produce more Heroes than fewer, but that will be more up to you than me. Each year has a threshold for success and failure- a standard. Fail to surpass the standard, and you are no longer in the Heroic program. End of story. No more cutting numbers down to size, no more class restrictions, and no more curving grades. I know many of you see your enrollment here as a sort of draft, but let me assure you- you aren¡¯t wrong. Humanity is at war. It¡¯s a war we¡¯re losing; a war we¡¯ve been losing since it started. Gates open and humans die. We have no way to strike back, or shift the battlefield. We have no way of knowing where the demons come from, and no way to negotiate. All we can hope to do is keep human deaths to a minimum and hope we have enough numbers to survive and make it to the next generation. My greatest aspiration is that in a few decades, one of you will be able to stand where I am standing, speaking what I have spoken to a new generation- a new hope for humanity, just as you all are the hope of my generation.¡± Dean Anderson paused dramatically once again, letting his words settle on the ears of his audience.


    ¡°Behind me are rows of testing pods,¡± the Dean looked out over the auditorium again. ¡°You might be wondering why there are so many of you and so few pods. The answer is: they¡¯re really expensive. Today is going to be a long, but necessary day for you all. These testing pods will measure your Trait Potential. It¡¯s not a measure of who you are today, but of who you might become. I¡¯m sure many of you have questions pertaining to how, but the answer is rather complicated. For the truly curious, pay attention in your upcoming classes. You might glean enough information to put the pieces of the puzzle together well enough to get the theory behind how these instruments work. We¡¯re going to go around the auditorium by sections, and then rows. Yes, I realize this is going to take a long time, and yes, while your section is not active, you may leave the auditorium to go and eat and meet up with your parents. If you leave, you will need to sign out, and when you sign out, there is a mandatory check-in every two hours. Miss that, and your grades will plummet. Fail out now and¡­ well, good luck finding a job anywhere. Due to the vast quantities of you all, you will be assigned temporary dormitories, again by section, row, and seat. You¡¯ll be dismissed to your dormitories by 9 PM tonight, and testing will resume at 6 AM tomorrow. From 9 PM to 6 AM, you will not need to check in every two hours. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t include that statement as I thought it was rather obvious, but last year¡¯s jokers proved me wrong on that front. They somehow got ahold of my personal number and convinced their class to continue checking in every two hours. The next day, I made sure they felt every bit as miserable as I did. You don¡¯t want to follow in their footsteps. Oh, and just to be blue-sky clear: once you¡¯ve been tested, you also won¡¯t be subject to the two-hour check-in anymore. We¡¯ll start with section A row 1 and go around from there. Row 1, come on up and step into a pod.¡± Dean Anderson put his microphone back in its stand and guided the students upward to the stage, and then into their pods.


    ¡°Nate, you know what section we¡¯re in?¡± Huck leaned over to ask his question, not daring to take his eyes off of the mysterious pods that now housed students. Something like steam puffed upward at the base as they activated and the entire auditorium gasped as one.


    ¡°D,¡± Jenna answered from Nate¡¯s other side.


    So she can speak.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be in there for about five minutes,¡± Dean Anderson addressed the crowd once again, grabbing the microphone in its stand. ¡°And despite all appearances otherwise, I promise you, I¡¯m not pressure-cooking anyone. They, and by extension you, will be perfectly fine throughout this ordeal. Stay and watch if you must, but I would suggest getting lunch with your parents. They should all remember how long this part takes, and are free to travel back home at their own convenience. No, we do not have housing for them. Thank you for your attention.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ five minutes per row with about¡­ 30 rows per section,¡± Nate quickly counted and multiplied. ¡°150 minutes per section if everyone moves really efficiently. Probably closer to 3 hours per section.¡± His eyes widened as realization struck. ¡°We won¡¯t even get tested today.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Huck asked doubtfully. ¡°That seems wrong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about noon now. Noon to three is the end of the first section. Section B will be three to six, and section C will be six to nine.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re section D,¡± Huck nodded to Jenna. ¡°So what, just wander around for the rest of the day?¡±


    Nathaniel shrugged. ¡°I already got something to eat with my parents. Pretty good street tacos not too far from here. While everyone¡¯s still enthralled with what¡¯s going on, we should be able to beat the crowds.¡±


    Jenna turned to face the two other boys, her face serious. ¡°Just remember, our temporary dorms are also our seat numbers.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Huck snapped his fingers before checking his seat number. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m eight, so you guys would be seven and six.¡±


    ¡°So the row would probably be which floor you¡¯re staying at in building D,¡± Nate nodded.


    Jenna nodded her head once in affirmation. ¡°We should eat, check back in, then head out to look at our rooms.¡±


    The first to stand up in the entire auditorium, they signed out and left to hunt down a decent lunch. Nathaniel¡¯s parents were outside, waiting in the throngs of people and waved him down. ¡°Nathaniel! Oh wow, we didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be out for another couple hours at least. Oh, and Jenna, was it?¡± Nancy greeted.


    ¡°Glad to see you two bumping into each other again so soon,¡± Peter couldn¡¯t hide the sly grin from his face.


    Nate took in a deep breath. ¡°Yes, ha ha. I¡¯m taking these guys to that taco stand for lunch. We can all go, if they decide to flag down their parents too.¡±


    ¡°Mine left,¡± Jenna shrugged. ¡°I told them we¡¯d not even be tested today and we already said our goodbyes.¡±


    Nate frowned as something about what she had just said tickled the back of his mind.


    ¡°My parents couldn¡¯t make it,¡± Huck folded his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well in that case,¡± Nancy smiled to the group, ¡°lunch is on us. So long as the young man here introduces himself?¡±


    Huck actually blushed at his social misstep. ¡°Ah. Sorry. I¡¯m Huxley. Everyone calls me Huck.¡±


    ¡°Huck. It¡¯s wonderful to meet you,¡± Nancy smiled. ¡°And we¡¯d be happy to play the part of your surrogate parents for now,¡± she chuckled.


    Nate rose an eyebrow at his mother.


    ¡°But of course we won¡¯t be sticking around,¡± she quickly amended. ¡°Not long after lunch.¡±


    So it was that the five of them enjoyed a pleasant walk around the beautiful campus as the white clouds peacefully drifted up above them.


    ¡°So do any of you know your Traits yet, or are you waiting on the testing pods?¡± Peter asked the group between bites of another taco.


    ¡°Some level of healing,¡± Huck shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°Hopefully good enough to get me into a Delving team.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve noticed your Trait already, you¡¯ll probably do just that,¡± Peter nodded. ¡°Trait potential is everything at this place. It¡¯s the limit to how far you can grow, and that¡¯s what really matters while you¡¯re training and learning.¡±


    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Huck turned to Nate and Jenna. ¡°Well, I¡¯m guessing Vanguard with you,¡± he waved dismissively to Nate.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m a Reader,¡± Nate corrected.


    Huck¡¯s face dropped.


    ¡°And I¡¯d rather wait until I¡¯m confirmed,¡± Jenna grimaced. ¡°First manifested Trait in my family. Maybe.¡±


    Huck¡¯s face dropped further. ¡°So¡­ neither of you will be staying on the Delving track?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Jenna frowned, fishing for the right words to say, ¡°a lot could happen, and too much of the future is unknown right now. A lot of it depends on if my Trait has the correct potential.¡± She grit her teeth as a flash of anxiety passed over her face and vanished.


    ¡°Wow. You¡¯re really nervous about this pod testing thing, aren¡¯t you?¡± Huck inquired.


    ¡°Like I said, there¡¯s a lot that depends on these results,¡± she tried to chuckle, but her nerves made the laugh too strained.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Peter commented. ¡°Well, the only thing to do is put your best foot forward.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Mr. Lione,¡± Jenna sighed, still fidgeting with her hands.


    Nathaniel¡¯s father smiled and nodded as if he had just imparted ancient wisdom and fixed everything by doing so. Nancy smiled at her husband and shook her head before speaking gently with Jenna. ¡°What my husband probably means to say is we like to worry so much about the future that we forget about where we are now. Even if things don¡¯t go the way you¡¯re thinking or hoping, you can¡¯t stop moving forward.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Jenna¡¯s gaze went beyond Nathaniel¡¯s parents into vacant nothingness. ¡°I¡¯m just a little nervous. It¡¯s just that a lot of my life is based on a hunch right now and early tomorrow will put that hunch to the test so it¡¯s sort of like validating or invalidating everything I believe and hope to be true about myself. So yeah. Kinda nervous.¡±


    ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I hope you stay in the Delving program here,¡± Huck offered. ¡°All of us, I mean. Being alone sucks.¡±


    Nate took in a long breath and let it out slowly. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough moping. Huck, even if I don¡¯t make it through the program, I¡¯ll still stick around, okay? Same goes for you, Jenna. Even if things don¡¯t pan out for you having a Trait or whatever it isn''t what you¡¯re actually worried about,¡± he gave her a nasty side-eye, letting her know that he knew that she wasn¡¯t giving the whole story, ¡°that¡¯s not a reason to get so bummed out on hour 1 of day 1 of university. Whatever the future holds for us. We can still choose to face it together.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Huck spoke without admitting Nate¡¯s words beyond his ears.


    ¡°If you say so,¡± Jenna shrugged, doing much the same. ¡°You¡¯re right about not moping around, though. We should start heading back for check-ins.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been that long already?¡± Nate whistled.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Not yet, thankfully,¡± Jenna answered swiftly. ¡°But by the time we get back? I¡¯d rather not be made an example of.¡±


    Slowly, Nathaniel stood up and turned to face his parents. This is goodbye. Time seemed to linger on each second as he took in their faces. He knew he¡¯d see them again, and more likely sooner than later, but something in his heart hit a wall of realization he¡¯d be gone from home for longer than he¡¯d ever been before. They smiled back at him, and under that blue sky with the sound of actual birds chirping, he somehow could tell that they knew exactly what he was currently going through. And it would all be okay, in the end. His father placed a meaty hand roughly on his shoulder, holding his gaze that said a million well-practiced speeches all thrown out the window for a simple, improvised gesture of connection and love. His mother¡¯s face flickered through a roulette of emotions before eventually landing on ¡®pained goodbye¡¯. His heart felt nearly as jumbled. Time turned surreal for Nathaniel with a realization that the past, the present, and the future were all bound up in this single moment- in this final goodbye. In these next words, this next action, he¡¯d no longer be theirs- not that he¡¯d stop being their son, but he¡¯d no longer be a child. In this moment, much like when he was only a year old, his parents would once again watch him take his first steps- this time, as his own man.


    ¡°Mom, Dad,¡± Nathaniel had to pause, swallowing a hard lump in his throat, ¡°...¡± He tried to formulate words, his mouth opening to speak before his brain could think of the right thing to say.


    Peter drew his son into a hug, barely squeezing but still putting out enough force to make Nathaniel wonder if his ribs would crack. ¡°Goodbye, Nate. You¡¯ll always be welcomed back.¡±


    ¡°Especially if you come back with a beautiful young woman on your arm,¡± his mother whispered. ¡°No pressure. Just saying.¡± She moved into the family hug.


    ¡°Bye,¡± the word felt ephemeral and all too heavy at once. ¡°I love you both. Stay out of trouble.¡±


    Nancy leaned back and rose an eyebrow with a smirk. ¡°I think that¡¯s our line.¡±


    ¡°It is. And I will,¡± Nate smirked back.


    ¡°He¡¯ll try, at least,¡± Jenna offered casually, causing a few heads to turn inquisitively to the diminutive woman. She had the grace to blush and look away, adding, ¡°Check-in. We should get going now. Or we¡¯ll all get in trouble.¡±


    Nancy gazed levelly at Jenna, leaning close to impart a barely audible whisper in Nate¡¯s ear, ¡°I have a funny feeling about her. Try and stick around for as long as you can tolerate her.¡±


    Nate chuckled as he broke out of the hug, not daring to entirely dismiss his mother¡¯s words even as he shook his head and scoffed softly. He turned to head back to the main auditorium, his heart growing heavier with each trudging step until, like a rubber band snapping, the weight vanished. His heart still held a chasm of love for his parents, but it seemed more a soft ache than a heaviness that would drag him down. A shift of his shoulders straightened his back, and his stride elongated.


    ¡°Hold on, Mr. Long Legs,¡± Jenna called out as Nate broke ahead of them. ¡°Not all of us are gifted with height.¡±


    Nate looked down at his two companions. Friends? Something more than acquaintances. Jenna stood nearly a full foot shorter than him, with Huck not faring more than a few inches better than her. He strode with his hands in his pockets, his eyebrows knit together in thought as his gaze never broke from the ground in front of his feet. They caught up with Nathaniel in only a few seconds. Jenna stopped to smile, but Huck blew by the two of them.


    ¡°Well, thank you for waiting at least,¡± she grinned, already moving past Nate to catch up with Huck. ¡°We probably should be moving a bit faster, though. Try to keep up, slowpoke.¡±


    He rolled his eyes and followed after.


    By the time they reached the auditorium again, Jenna¡¯s watch read 1350. The check-in form had no line. The three of them signed in without any issue and looked at each other for a clue of what to do now.


    ¡°Um. Let¡¯s see how far along section A has gotten?¡± Jenna offered.


    ¡°Really?¡± Huck challenged. ¡°Back inside? Can¡¯t we do something else for a few hours?¡±


    Honestly, Nate couldn¡¯t disagree with Huck¡¯s point. ¡°We checked in already, and we did the math. It won¡¯t even be remotely close to our turn until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Just this first one,¡± Jenna shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°I wanna see what the auditorium¡¯s like now real quick. Please?¡±


    With crossed arms, Nate rolled his fingers on his bicep and turned his head to check on Huck. ¡°You have anything specific you¡¯d like to do instead?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Huck shrugged. ¡°Hard to know what to do if you don¡¯t know the area too well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll just be a minute. Ten, tops,¡± Jenna insisted.


    Turning, Nate opened and held open the door for his short folk to pass through. ¡°After you.¡±


    Jenna¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Thank you, kind sir.¡±


    Huck passed through without a word, still glowering at the floor.


    Nate fought to beat back the raw flood of anxiety the doors held pent up within them. Thousands of students every year, testing themselves and putting their entire future on the line to go out and try to save humanity. Sacrifices on the altars of idealism. This place chewed people up and spat them out again. Some came out again as true warriors. Some came out as fodder. Some got vomited up as wholly unworthy. Disgust and disdain from faculty for year after year of watching a hopeless death march. Hope from faculty for another promising student. Reckless abandon and youthful naivety that they would be the next Bastion. That they¡¯d be the next Hero that makes a difference. Lambs for the slaughter. Mighty, unstoppable lions. My future depends on this day, hundreds of thousands of voices all rang out in perfect unison throughout the decades, touching this exact door. The future of humanity depends on this day, a million more voices joined in the chorus. Nate swallowed down the raw bolus of emotion and followed Huck and Jenna into the building, letting out a slow breath as the anxiety washed away from his conscious mind.


    He found Jenna walking down the aisle to the front row, closely followed by Huck. The second thing he found was the auditorium had been nearly completely abandoned. Most of Section A had already been tested, and it seemed no one stuck around. Dean Anderson had taken a seat at the edge of the stage as the pods behind him steamed with essence and hummed.


    ¡°Check-ins aren¡¯t in person. There¡¯s a form out front,¡± he addressed the trio with a questioning look plain across his face.


    ¡°Yes, we already signed that,¡± Jenna smiled courteously, gazing around the abandoned building with feigned interest.


    ¡°So why are you here?¡± Dean Anderson continued.


    ¡°Just wanted to see the auditorium without so many people.¡±


    ¡°And how¡¯s it look?¡±


    ¡°Empty,¡± Jenna replied, a heaviness to her answer that Nate wouldn¡¯t have expected from her. For him, it was emotional whiplash going from Reading the chorus of voices at the door only to walk into a mostly abandoned room- a room designed to hold all of those voices at one point in time or another. She interrupted his thoughts with her next words, ¡°Almost feels haunted.¡±


    ¡°Like the eyes of a million ghosts watching and waiting to see who will join them,¡± Dean Anderson nodded somberly. ¡°More than a few deans have quit after only their first day of university. What do you think, Reader?¡±


    Nate pointed questioningly to himself.


    ¡°Ah, ¡®how does he know?¡¯¡± Dean Anderson nodded appreciatively. ¡°Could be I¡¯m a Telepath. Could be a Reader that sees abilities in people. Could be that while your friend here walked in suspecting this place to be haunted, you walked in with a look that said you knew it was. Could be that this morning I was handed a folder of incoming freshmen and memorized every face and ability that showed potential. Which scenario would you prefer?¡±


    ¡°If I got to decide on a scenario, it would be one where demons never invaded us at all,¡± Nate folded his arms, but didn¡¯t quite make eye contact with the dean.


    Jenna beamed a smile at him as Dean Anderson chortled. ¡°Can¡¯t fault you for that one.¡± Dean Anderson rolled his fingers along the stage floor for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s funny, you know. Your timing. See that pillar right there?¡± he pointed behind them.


    Nate turned to see a large pillar intersecting section A to support the overhang balcony of section¡­ whatever section was above that one. It seemed the pillar ate into the row of chairs.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one,¡± Dean Anderson nodded. ¡°Shortens the row by precisely three chairs. Makes it so the next group has three empty pods. If I take three from the next row, then my order gets wonky, and students tend not to fare too well with wonk.¡± Again, his fingers drummed along the stage floor as he visibly thought about carefully choosing his next words. ¡°I¡¯ve found that best practice is to ignore the gaps entirely. If I let the students know about opportunities like this, well¡­ things have gotten very violent very quickly in the past. However, the next group will have three empty pods. That¡¯s a scenario I would not prefer. And here are you three.¡±


    ¡°Here we are,¡± Jenna shrugged with an innocent smile.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dean Anderson contemplated. ¡°Quite fortuitous. Almost suspiciously so. It¡¯s occurred to me that I don¡¯t know who you are.¡±


    ¡°Jenna Harris. Unconfirmed Trait. First in my family,¡± she gave a nervous smile.


    ¡°Unconfirmed, but not unknown,¡± Dean Anderson rose an eyebrow, casting a playful suspicion at the young woman. ¡°Jenna Harris. Seems like another name I may end up having to memorize.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she gave another innocent shrug and smile. ¡°We¡¯d be happy to fill those three empty pods.¡±


    At that moment the pods hissed, essence steam flooding the air as the doors cracked open. Students slowly emerged from the pods, some hacking and coughing, others falling to their knees and gasping for air, while yet others simply strode out. All of them managed to work their way to the other side of the pod where a tiny metal plate poked outward. Their Trait card. Etched into a thin sheet of polished metal, each student gazed to see for the first time with their own eyes their official Trait potential. Nate noted the ones who casually strode out of the pods seemed satisfied with their Trait potential reading, while the ones with worse reactions to the pod seemed more dejected.


    ¡°Next group,¡± Dean Anderson¡¯s voice boomed loudly. ¡°Hurry up. I don¡¯t have all day to spend waiting for you to wake up. Get your heads out of whatever dark crevice you¡¯ve been keeping it in and get a move on. Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go.¡± His gaze turned toward Nathaniel, Jenna, and Huck with a questioning look.


    Without further prompting, Nathaniel and Huck surged forward. It took Nathaniel until that exact moment to realize Jenna hadn¡¯t been standing with the two of them. Apparently, she¡¯d been more proactive in getting to the stage. Nate opened his stride to catch up, tapping her shoulder once he had made it behind her. She looked back at him with a playful grin and gave him an excited look before turning her attention back to the pods and the rapidly dwindling line.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Nate offered to both Huck and Jenna.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want luck,¡± Huck muttered. ¡°Never done anything for me anyway.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in luck,¡± Jenna answered simultaneously. ¡°But thanks anyway.¡±


    Kinda weird how the ¡®anyway¡¯s lined up. He brushed off the strange coincidence and took the stairs onto the stage. The second to last pod stood open for him, its cushioned interior practically an invitation to step inside and relax. The white eggshell-smooth exterior contrasted against the dark gray padding in the harsh stage light, both looking brand new much to Nate¡¯s relief. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped for hours in some centuries-old tech reading the potential of every student who walked into the building. He shuddered as the thought reminded him of touching the door to enter this auditorium. Hesitantly, he stepped into the pod and sat back, careful to keep his Reading unresponsive. Even dulling his senses, the raw emotion of the previous students sieged his mental walls, fighting to become his own emotions.


    Darkness swallowed him as the pod closed. This isn¡¯t so bad. About ten seconds passed with nothing noticeable occurring. Is my pod broken?


    ¡°Hello?¡± Nate called out, reaching forward to bang on the door, but his hand only met empty air.


    He focused his eyes to see the empty auditorium again. He wasn¡¯t in a pod, but sitting in section D chair seven. Dean Anderson was nowhere to be seen, the stage in front of him completely empty. He blinked in confusion at the deafening silence. Am I¡­ hallucinating?


    Looking around the abandoned building, Nate tried not letting his nerves get the best of him. He could feel the anxiety building up around his head as he simply sat in his chair and waited for something.


    Ghostly images of people started to fill the auditorium, standing, sitting, walking. He saw them loop through a few actions before he let out a breath of frustration. Great. Stuck in a Reading until the pod finishes with¡­ doing nothing? He tapped his finger on the seat as anxiety built up in his chest. Stupid pod. Stupid chair. Stupid historically significant building.


    Nathaniel watched the scene in front of him loop several times before the ceiling exploded above him in a shower of glass and rubble. The shockwave pressed him into his chair as he watched shards of glass and stone disintegrate above him. The air swarmed with small bat-like creatures, pouring through the ruined maw of the ceiling. Fear filled Nate as the demon swarm flooded into the building, attacking the unresponsive ghostly figures. Part of his mind wondered how the creatures could see the images he was Reading, but the errant thought was shoved into the back of his mind by his fight or flight response. RUN! He willed his legs to move, battling against the paralyzing fear that glued him to his chair. Move. Now. He grunted with effort as his veritable death rained from above. This is not how Readings are supposed to go! Finally, he managed to fight off the fear that had caged him and stood upright. A demon latched onto his face as he stood, dragging its dagger-like claws across his face three times before Nate had the presence of mind to grab the foot-and-a-half tall creature himself. He pulled, but the creature didn¡¯t want to let go, digging its hands and feet into his face. Nate yanked and endured the pain, throwing the creature to the ground and stomping on it. Its distended belly ruptured like a squashed bug.


    Pandemonium filled the air around him as the swarm flittered from one looping ghostly image to the next, popping them like soap bubbles. What is even happening right now? Am I still in the pod? Nate ran toward an exit as more demons harried him. Pain arced across his back and legs as demons flew by, slashing and biting at whatever they could reach before flying away too quickly to retaliate. By the time he finally made it to the door, he could feel blood dripping in a slow trickle down his legs and back. The door was locked. He fought the panic that smothered his chest. His hands shook uncontrollably as he turned to face the swarm again. The only other door was straight across the auditorium. I¡¯ll have to sprint. More building collapsed around him with a loud crash as rock and metal rained down on him again. Standing here is suicide. But so is going through that swarm. Caught between a frying pan and the fire, Nate scanned the room around him for anything that might help before his eyes landed on the metallic shine of something by his feet. A¡­ short length of piping? Better than nothing.


    Picking it up felt different. It was hard to explain the sensation, especially to anyone unfamiliar with Reading, but suffice it to say, it felt different- something akin to holding putty. He gave the rod a curious squeeze, only to be met by the hard metallic resistance one would expect from holding what amounted to a cylinder of metal, but even with that physical sensation, something in his senses still told him he held unformed mush instead of solid piping. Is this related to my Reading Trait? The thought flickered through his head, but felt wrong somehow. Close, but not exactly right. This wasn¡¯t an object that wanted to tell a story, it felt a lot more like¡­ it wanted to hear a story?


    Not wanting to waste more time, Nate shook his head and began his charge across the room. The flying creatures assaulted him relentlessly, darting in and out of range before Nate could land a strike against them. His clothes tore into rents as the creatures¡¯ claws ceaselessly cut into him. He could feel his lifeblood slipping away by the second as the attacks never relented. You¡¯re meant to protect me, the thought came to Nate out of desperation and he shunted the emotions into his pipe. To Nate¡¯s dismay, he felt the metal in his hand react. It broadened and stretched itself into a shield, thwarting the attack of the next demon. The metal dented with the impact as the sound of a gong crashed into his ears.


    You aren¡¯t meant to break. You¡¯re meant to be unstoppable- impenetrable. Strong. Impervious to damage. He shoved these thoughts into the pipe-turned shield and watched as the dent formed back into the shield. The next creature that crashed into him hit the shield with a small pop of tiny bones breaking. It slid against the metal, dropping to the ground dead. Nate couldn¡¯t stop himself from laughing as the idea of living through this attack took root in his soul. Another attack against his back brought him back to the present and he charged forward, leading his sprint with the strange piece of metal. He made it across the auditorium again. Frantically, he grabbed at the door handle only to realize this door had also been locked. The swarm of demons poured through the room around him, popping the last of the ghost-like figures they shouldn¡¯t have been able to see before turning their attention to the only human left in the room.


    You are an impenetrable defense. No attack gets through you. You have never allowed harm to your wielder, and you never will. He could feel something from his core pouring into the shield, flooding it with¡­ Intent. His mind clicked with the revelation and his core shifted. He could feel his essence rearranging itself, forging new pathways and reinforcing old ones. Reading isn¡¯t only about history. No, that¡¯s not quite right. The answer felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn¡¯t think of the right phrase. And he¡¯d run out of time. Demons surged forward in a tidal wave of wings and claws and teeth as Nate doubled down on pouring Intent into his shield.


    His arm moved on its own, led by the shield as the demons closed in- faster than his brain could properly track. A backwards lunge forced him to release the shield else risk his shoulder dislocating from the wild motion. He could taste his own death as he let go of the shield, but pain never came to him. Instead, the shield seemed to float on its own, flying through the air at incredible speed to defend against every attack from every angle, not letting any demon close in with him. Little by little, it bludgeoned the flapping creatures to death as they surrounded him. Nate watched in shock as his creation worked at speeds nearly too fast to track. Pops and cracks of bone filled his ears along with the crashes of metal as he stood in the center of a cyclone of safety.


    Is this my potential? Is this what I might be capable of? Reading and telling? No, that¡¯s not right either. Reading isn¡¯t about listening to a story being told. Significance. Nate wanted to facepalm. Reading is about significance- history- purpose- Intent. He furrowed his eyebrows as more thoughts buzzed through his mind connecting and disconnecting with other thoughts like a giant bowl of spaghetti. I can Read the Intent of significant objects. I can view their purpose and past. And I can Imbue Intent into objects to give them purpose and past. I can take an old dull knife and reinforce it with its past and significance to make it cut better than a brand new knife. I can take an old broom and sweep all the dust out of a room with just a few swipes. I could turn a pillow into a sleeping potion.


    But how had I turned an old pipe into a shield? The thought disrupted his stream of consciousness to the point where he noticed the swarm had backed away. Instead, the small flying demons seemed to coalesce on the stage of the auditorium into a humanoid shape. That description wasn¡¯t exactly fair- the small creatures were already somewhat humanoid, just 18 inches tall with bat-like wings and faces. But the creature they coalesced into was human-sized as well as shaped. It folded its wings behind its back and crossed its arms as it glared at Nathaniel, as if daring him to make the next move.


    Before Nathaniel could wrap his head around what had just happened, the demon moved. Nate blinked, and the demon¡¯s fist was an inch from his nose, his shield completely deformed around it, but holding the attack at bay. Impervious, impervious! Nate poured his intent into the metal scrap, which pushed back against the powerful creature millimeter by millimeter, slowly but surely winning the game of reverse tug-of-war. Strength unmatched. Nothing gets through you. Unbending, unyielding, unbreaking. Your defense is unmatched. You were made to be strong. Forged to be strong. Proven to be unmatched. You will not fail. You will not falter. He poured everything he had into the shield, realizing his life was on the line. That demon could move faster than Nate could blink.


    Another reverberating crash rang out through the room as the demon¡¯s fist once again collided with the hovering shield, this time bending the metal instead of warping it like putty. The creature stared in shock as its second attack was thwarted- as if hardly any creature could even withstand one hit, let alone two. Faster and faster the attacks came in, each one met with metal which only grew more stubborn the more punishment it took. Even as attacks came in simultaneously from differing directions, the shield stretched and morphed to intercept and halt them. The fight was a stalemate. Nate desperately looked around for something that might tip the fight in his direction. His eyes landed on a bloody shard of stone.


    Cradling the sliver of rock in his hand, he could feel something within it. Much like the pipe, the rock felt different. Potential. An empty space where significance should be. The blood felt slimy in his hands, reeking of rot. Demon blood. An idea flitted through his mind and he ran with it. Demon slayer. Your creation was bathed in demon blood. You rip and tear and cut and pierce. No hide is thick enough to stop you, no demon can weather your ire. You were born in destruction and forged in their blood. You are unstoppable. Your purpose is to kill demons. You must be strong and unerring. You must be tough and unflinching. You are their bane. Your purpose is destruction and wrath. Nate flinched as the small movements of the stone began to cut shallow grooves into his skin, breaking his concentration. He steadied his breathing and poured more Intent into the small object. You were once whole and are now broken. You were a part of structure and stability and are now a part of destruction and blood. Through destruction and blood, you will bring stability and structure. Through breaking, you will create wholeness. Your past will work to bring your purpose through new means.


    Nate winced again as his palms began openly bleeding as sharpness somehow literally radiated from the edges of the stone. Without thinking, he threw the rock towards the demon.


    It died. Without fanfare or warning, the demon slumped to the ground, a hole drilled through its head. Fatigue washed over Nate as he panted for breath. The auditorium was covered in gore and ruin. Adrenaline faded, bringing waves of exhaustion to the forefront of his being. Nate collapsed on the floor, his breath ragged. He stared at his battered body, beaten and bloody.


    Then the pod opened and Nate collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as misty essence evaporated like steam around him.

 Sandwiched

    ¡°Mr. Lione,¡± Dean Anderson¡¯s voice calmly called out to him, ¡°not quite the reaction I was expecting from you.¡±


    Nate¡¯s mind rushed back to minutes before, at the young men and women who simply strode out of the pods with a smile on their face. How? How could you face something like that and just walk away? What kind of monsters were they?


    Huck collapsed on the floor next to Nate and violently emptied his stomach. Twice. By far, that was the worst reaction to the pod anyone had seen, judging from their screams of disgust and horror. Nate could see the fear lingering in Huck¡¯s eyes, the tremble in his hands and legs. Huck vomited once more.


    ¡°I see,¡± Dean Anderson spoke with a frown.


    ¡°Thank you for letting us-¡± Jenna¡¯s voice rang out before she noticed her friends on the floor surrounded by piles of vomit. ¡°Are they okay?¡± alarm filled her voice as she ran over to Dean Anderson. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine,¡± he waved her concern off. ¡°Some people have a poor reaction to essence.¡±


    Essence? Essence? A poor reaction to essence? Nate couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Slowly, he stood, his legs still shaking from fighting for his life before he snatched away his Trait card from the pod.


    [Nathaniel Lione Trait Potential


    Imbuer: 5


    Reader: 4


    Crafter: 1


    Transmuter: 1]


    He had to do a double take at the numbers on his card. Reader IV? How? And on top of that, Imbuer V? What¡­ how?


    ¡°Alright, I think this is a good time to take a break,¡± Dean Anderson announced. ¡°I¡¯ll call maintenance to clean up this mess. The rest of you¡­ I don¡¯t know. Take a bathroom break or something.¡±


    Jenna walked over to Huck, helping him stand up and grabbing his card for him before grabbing Nate¡¯s hand to drag him off stage too. ¡°Are you guys alright? Huck, I can feel you shaking.¡±


    ¡°How¡­¡± Nate still couldn¡¯t believe what his card was telling him. Nor could he believe Jenna¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°How are you okay?¡± he finally stammered. Huck didn¡¯t say anything, still too shell-shocked to do anything but take the next step forward with Jenna¡¯s help. Nate moved around to support him from the other side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to the dorms,¡± Jenna offered, a small smile tugging on her lips as Nate relieved her of Huck¡¯s weight. ¡°We can talk more there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Do you¡­¡± Nate had to shake his head to clear his thoughts from dwelling on that fight- the swarm- tiny claws tearing into his flesh- he shook his head again. ¡°Do you know where they are?¡±


    ¡°Umm. Sort of?¡± she offered.


    The trio made it out of the building and began their trek through campus. Huck wasn¡¯t much of a conversationalist normally, and this state wasn¡¯t doing him any favors. Paired with Nate¡¯s distractedness, they sort of trudged in uneasy silence until they came across a stairway up a hill.


    ¡°Look at this, boys. More freshies. A thousand credits for each of you to pass,¡± a somewhat familiar voice called out to the trio from the top of the stairs. His face seemed to ring a bell in the back of Nate¡¯s mind as he squinted at the guy, before placing his face as the dickwad trying to rough Huck up on the train into Gate U.


    ¡°You look familiar,¡± Nate commented. ¡°Like, your face is ringing a bell or something.¡±


    The boy stiffened at that comment.


    ¡°Give me a moment. I know the answer¡¯s going to slap me across the face soon enough,¡± Nate¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.


    The boy did not like that comment, his hand reflexively moving up to his cheek.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve lost the train of thought,¡± Nate frowned.


    ¡°Listen here, you little shit. Two thousand credits from you and you get to keep your teeth inside your head,¡± the boy took a step forward.


    Jenna cleared her throat and leaned over to whisper, ¡°Do you know each other or something?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ think we met briefly. Must have been a flyby encounter. You know, it¡¯s weird, his face must have made some sort of lasting impression- a real dent in my mind. But I just can¡¯t place him. Was he selling something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± the second-year spat on the ground, his fists clenched with palpable rage.


    Huck slipped from Nate¡¯s arm and met the older boy at the base of the stairs. Huck didn¡¯t say a word, he just leveled his thousand-yard stare up at the situation¡¯s antagonist. The boy tried to push Huck, but Huck reacted too quickly. As soon as his hands made contact, Huck twisted and threw the boy over his shoulder. Huck didn¡¯t let go of the arm, tucking it into his shoulder and bending the boy¡¯s wrist backward until it audibly popped. He slowly brought his unblinking gaze up the stairs to the rest of the waiting thugs.


    They jumped down the stairs two at a time and rushed Huck even as Huck rushed up to meet them. Nate began to shoot forward, but Jenna¡¯s arm lashed out to stop him.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be okay. If either of us join, we won¡¯t be.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Nate asked in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s five on one and I¡¯m pretty sure those are second years. He¡¯s gonna get the shit kicked out of him,¡± he protested.


    Jenna just shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m an Oracle 5. Please, trust me on this. We don¡¯t want to get involved in this fight. Huck will be okay.¡±


    Huck was not okay. The gang rushed him, landing kicks and punches before someone managed to grab hold of Huck and hold him in place.


    ¡°No one messes with our captain without suffering our wrath!¡± one of the gang shouted. Nate winced at the cliche phrase.


    Punches and kicks flew through the air, connecting with Huck¡¯s limp body. Blood sprayed from his mouth as they pummeled his face. A punch to the gut doubled him over. Then Huck threw his body backwards, landing on the guy who had been holding him and riding it down the stone steps like a luge. Nate had to look away, flinching at every pop and crack as the second-year¡¯s skull bounced off the naked stone steps.


    Huck stood up and popped his shoulder back into place, once again leveling that empty stare at the four gang members left. His face was swelling, blood trickling down the corners of his lips, but he showed no emotion whatsoever. No fear, no triumph, no gloating, no pain. Nothing but emptiness.


    The four members looked at each other in hesitation before charging down the steps again. Once again, Huck¡¯s body crumpled to the punishment the gang doled out on his body, spitting up blood and teeth as elbows and knees struck at him relentlessly.


    ¡°We have to help him,¡± Nate pleaded, but Jenna just shook her head. ¡°Please, they¡¯re going to kill him!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be okay,¡± she whispered, though her eyes were wide. ¡°I saw¡­ I saw it. He¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    The gang had taken to picking Huck up and throwing his limp body to the ground again and again. Huck thrashed suddenly and violently, knocking one of the gang boys off balance. He stumbled backward and tripped at the base step. A loud crack sounded through the area as his head smashed against stone. Blood pooled and began to drip down the staircase. Huck stood up and wiped his mouth, revealing clean, unbroken skin beneath.


    ¡°You¡­ you killed him,¡± one of the gang boys stammered at Huck, his eyes not leaving the most recently fallen. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    Huck didn¡¯t answer, leveling his gaze at the remaining gang members.


    ¡°We gotta get help!¡± one boy ran off.


    ¡°Did Huck really just kill a guy?¡± Nate turned to Jenna. ¡°This is getting out of hand. We have to do something.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jenna couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡°No one died in my visions. Huck¡¯s fine. Everyone¡¯s fine. They¡¯ll be- they¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    Disregarding Jenna entirely, Nate rushed toward Huck. Reinforcements must have shattered the remaining morale. The two thugs ran off without a word, but Huck wasn¡¯t paying attention. He knelt by the unmoving body at the base of the stairs, his hand on the boy¡¯s chest. Slowly, Nate could see the boy¡¯s chest rising and falling. Not dead. Thank the blue skies above. Green light surrounded Huck¡¯s hand, causing Nate to recall Huck saying he was some sort of healer. Nate¡¯s frantic pace slowed to a walk as he approached his beaten friend.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Huck answered finally. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Them too," he nodded toward the two downed assailants.


    Nate let out a breath he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been holding, staring at Jenna as she approached. ¡°I saw you lose teeth, man. Don¡¯t say you¡¯re fine.¡±


    Huck turned his head up toward Nate bearing his teeth. Not a single one was missing. ¡°I¡¯ve lost more teeth than I can count before I was five.¡±


    Exasperated, Nate didn¡¯t know what to do but gesticulate over to Jenna to say something. She stared wide-eyed at the scene around her. ¡°It was fine. We were all fine. Just sitting in my room. What ha-¡­ I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What in the bloody blazes of the deepest abyss are you talking about?¡± Nate practically shouted at her. ¡°Why¡¯d you stop me from helping? What do you mean we were all fine? We were not fine, least of all Huck!¡±


    ¡°My visions. I saw us all sitting in my dorm. No one was hurt.¡±


    Nate held his hand up to stop her. ¡°Hold on-¡±


    ¡°We should go,¡± Huck spoke up.


    Jenna¡¯s eyes turned from deep pink to milky white before returning to her normal color. ¡°Huck¡¯s right. Faculty is on their way and we do not want to be caught in the middle of this.¡±


    ¡°So flee the crime scene?¡± Nate couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t fleeing because there was no crime,¡± Huck spoke smoothly as he stood. ¡°On our part, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the guy who ran off told a faculty member we were trying to extort them for a stairway pass,¡± Jenna confirmed. ¡°Quick walk, let¡¯s move.¡± She grabbed Nate¡¯s hand and led him away.


    A few minutes later, they all sat in Jenna¡¯s temporary dorm room, staring at each other in silence. The room itself seemed pretty bare bones, nothing more than a bed and desk with hardly enough room to get between them.


    Nate decided to break the silence. ¡°Oracle?¡± He turned toward Jenna. ¡°As in you see the future.¡±


    She grimaced.


    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t see Huck getting the teeth knocked out of his head?¡± Nate pushed.


    ¡°I¡­¡± but the sentence faded from her mouth as she shrunk back.


    ¡°And you,¡± Nate turned to Huck. ¡°What the hell was that? You were like a zombie or something. They must have beaten you half to death a dozen times. You should have died six times over.¡±


    Huck didn¡¯t comment, but also didn¡¯t meet Nate¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Nate took in a breath, trying to calm himself. ¡°Clearly I¡¯m the only one freaking out here. Let¡¯s start at the beginning. Jenna, how much did you know about today?¡±


    She chewed on her lower lip as she pondered her answer. ¡°Well¡­ a lot. And nothing. Most of it? It¡¯s hard to-¡± she fumbled around with her words for a bit more before taking in a breath to steady her thoughts. ¡°I suspected a lot. Like I told Dean Anderson, my being an Oracle wasn¡¯t ever confirmed before today. I had a lot of hunches that turned out to be true. And some that didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°And now¡­ you can see into the future?¡± Nate pressed.


    ¡°That¡¯s really not how any of this works,¡± Jenna answered with a sigh. ¡°There is no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. There are possibilities and probabilities and inevitabilities and impossibilities, but no ¡®the future¡¯. Mostly just hunches and sometimes vivid dreams before today. But what happened in that pod, I don¡¯t know. I suddenly understood more about my Trait? Or maybe my Trait fully activated and I learned how to better wield it. I don¡¯t know, but now I know I can see futures. Like roads. They lead down specific paths, but you don¡¯t have to go down a particular road if you don¡¯t want to, because there are a ton of other roads too. But yeah. So, I had a pretty strong hunch that we¡¯d be able to make it to Trait testing if we hurried back to the auditorium after lunch, which is why I was in such a rush. I didn¡¯t want to get you guys too excited, so I didn¡¯t say anything. Could be wrong, after all. Sometimes¡­ well, sometimes my hunches were more just wishful thinking.¡± Her cheeks colored at that statement.


    Nate turned to Huck again. ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re okay?¡±


    ¡°No complaints here. You would have been turned into paste if you tried to step in.¡±


    Nate just shook his head in disbelief before turning his attention back to Jenna. ¡°And you sent your parents home on another hunch, right?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ yes. I did tell them we wouldn¡¯t be tested today.¡±


    ¡°But we were,¡± Nate countered. ¡°Also like you predicted.¡±


    ¡°The future isn¡¯t a solid thing,¡± Jenna shrugged. ¡°I took another road when I saw the exit for it.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve said,¡± Nate furrowed his eyebrows in thought. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not talking down to you, I¡¯m just trying to wrap my head around some things. Today has been¡­ hectic for me. Speaking of which, how the hell did you come out of that pod like the whole thing was a stroll through sunshine and rainbows?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure what you mean?¡± Jenna arched an eyebrow at Nate.


    ¡°The pod. It was traumatic. The ceiling literally collapsed around your head? The swarm of demons that tried to kill you with a thousand cuts before it coalesced into some sort of super demon who moved like a speedster?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jenna scrunched her face in confusion. ¡°What are you talking about? The pod wasn¡¯t like that at all.¡±


    ¡°Yes it was,¡± Huck spoke gravely, his eyes distancing themselves into that thousand yard stare again. ¡°Hordes. Endless hordes. Tearing my body apart. Breaking bones, eating my organs. All as I healed up every injury just to suffer it again and again.¡±


    Nate and Jenna stared at Huck wide-eyed.


    ¡°I watched myself die hundreds of times. Held helpless as demons tore away my limbs to fight over who got to eat it.¡± Huck huffed a breath and shook himself. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m gonna go to bed now. Don¡¯t wake me up tomorrow.¡± He stood and walked out the room.


    ¡°What the fu-¡±


    ¡°And you went through something similar?!¡± Jenna practically shouted at Nate.


    ¡°Not like that, no. Just a swarm of demons trying to cut me to ribbons. I learned a ton about my Traits though. And lived. What about you?¡±


    Jenna shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. ¡°I sat in a pod that filled with essence and meditated on my Trait. Then something clicked in my core and I started seeing visions of the future. I learned how to control what I was looking at and got all sorts of insight into my Trait and how it worked. Then the pod opened up.¡±


    Nate blinked at her. ¡°I feel offended on Huck¡¯s behalf.¡±


    Jenna scrunched her face in guilt. ¡°Me too. But before, you said Traits? As in plural?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. Apparently I¡¯m a Reader IV, which is even higher than my mother. And on top of that, Imbuer V.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jenna popped up to her feet. ¡°A tier 9? That¡¯s just under Bastion at 10! Nate, you could turn into a legend!¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Nate searched for the right way to phrase the rest of his thoughts. ¡°I also got Crafter I and Transmuter I, so technically-¡±


    ¡°Tier 11?¡± Jenna gasped breathily. ¡°Nate¡­that¡¯s unheard of. You could change the world as we know it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves now,¡± Nate chuckled nervously. ¡°That¡¯s just my potential. There are oceans of distance between potential and actualization.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, promise me that whenever there are partners or whatever, we¡¯re on the same team,¡± Jenna insisted.


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know what that would entail-¡±


    ¡°Promise me!¡±


    Nate relented with a short laugh, ¡°Okay, okay. I promise we¡¯ll be on the same team as much as possible. Huck too.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she nodded curtly, then smiled. ¡°We should rest for a bit and then orient ourselves to the campus some more.¡±


    ¡°Was that a hunch?¡± Nate teased.


    ¡°Mmm, something like that,¡± Jenna smiled warmly. ¡°I like to think this one¡¯s more intuition.¡±


    The sun was setting so peacefully in the blue-and-now-orange sky, it was almost enough to make Nate forget the association between red skies and demon-infested Scourgelands. Almost. He couldn¡¯t suppress the shiver that ran down his body, even as the last of the late-evening birdsong happily chirruped goodnight to each other. The contrast between here and the rest of the world¡­ it was unnerving, to say the least.


    ¡°Deep in thought?¡± Jenna looked up, taking another lick of her ice cream cone. Strawberry, for some reason. Out of all the flavors they had, she had to go with that one.


    He looked down to his double deluxe fudgey chocolate cone and frowned for a second. Or did I get something too complex? ¡°You have a hunch?¡± he answered curtly.


    Jenna didn¡¯t respond immediately, taking the time to ponder her next words carefully. Nate let the silence hang in the air. ¡°You¡¯re mad at me. And I saw into the future enough times to know why. To your credit, you don¡¯t want to be mad at me, but you are. Nine times out of ten, you try to bottle it up and hope it goes away.¡±


    ¡°That seems invasive,¡± Nate answered concisely.


    ¡°Look, we can play this game where I end up asking why we¡¯re even hanging out if you¡¯re going to be like this and you get super defensive, but I don¡¯t like the direction that road heads. Let¡¯s just jump on the issue. You don¡¯t like that we stood by and watched Huck get beat up.¡±


    Now it was Nate¡¯s turn to pause. ¡°I don¡¯t. You guys were supposed to be my friends. Friends don¡¯t just stand back and watch each other get strung out like that.¡±


    Jenna pursed her lips in distaste. ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, but like it or not, we¡¯d have ended up in the hospital if we tried. Even Huck agreed. Those were second-years in the Hero program, Nate. A whole year of crazy training ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Nate grouched, conceding the point. ¡°Whatever we go through, we go through together. I¡¯m not leaving him out to hang again. Or you. Whatever comes up next.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re afraid I¡¯d have held Huck back too if you took his place?¡± Jenna¡¯s face scrunched up at the thought.


    ¡°¡®Huck, it¡¯s just one person getting hurt. If you get involved, it¡¯ll be all of us,¡¯¡± Nate made a poor facsimile of Jenna¡¯s voice. ¡°Sounds like something you would say.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± Jenna scoffed.


    Nate shrugged. ¡°You can¡¯t know that.¡±


    Jenna blew a raspberry at him before pointing to herself. ¡°Oracle? I actually can know that.¡±


    ¡°I thought there was no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. It¡¯s all just roads taking you down paths.¡±


    She sighed, taking another bite of her ice cream and savoring the flavor before answering, ¡°You can be a little ridiculous sometimes, you know that?¡± She paused, taking another bite. ¡°Feeling any better?¡±


    Nate sighed in defeat. ¡°Yeah, a little.¡±


    ¡°And next time Huck is getting his face pulverized, I promise I won¡¯t stop you from jumping next in line. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nate smiled softly at her sense of humor.


    ¡°Eh. What are friends for, if not encouraging each other to throw themselves into certain danger and horrendous injury?¡±


    That actually got Nate to chuckle a little. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. Huck and I¡­ might need to hear a voice of reason now and again.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she smiled brightly, her lips glistening with melted strawberry ice cream. Nate stared at her glistening lips and wondered for a moment what strawberry ice cream actually tasted like before taking another bite of his own. Jenna continued, ¡°So, we¡¯ve wandered around campus enough that I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get lost anymore. What about you? Feeling comfortable?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a big campus, but not a maze. And we still have, what, six days left before classes actually start? You have any plans?¡±


    Jenna¡¯s next step faltered as her face reddened for some reason. ¡°N-nope,¡± she gave him a nervous smile with just a twinge of¡­ hope? ¡°I¡¯m completely free,¡± she offered as she tucked back a curly lock of brown hair behind her ear.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Probably going to be boring for you, then,¡± Nathaniel shrugged. ¡°I just learned I¡¯m an Imbuer. And apparently better at it than Reading. I gotta practice as much as I can if I have any hope of staying in the hero program.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± she laughed nervously, yet somehow seeming¡­ let down? Nate narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. Did she want me to fail out or something?


    Nate tried at easing her discomfort, ¡°You can come by, if you like. As long as you don¡¯t break my concentration too much and are okay with long periods of awkward silence while nothing happens.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she threw him an unreadable look. ¡°You¡¯re right, though. We both should be practicing with our new abilities.¡±


    ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll walk you back to your dorm,¡± Nate grinned.


    Jenna genuinely laughed at that. ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask that of you. It¡¯s too far out of your way!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Nate chuckled, playing along. ¡°The weather tonight is fair and I don¡¯t mind a brisk walk. Don¡¯t lean too heavily on my generosity, though. I hate feeling taken advantage of.¡±


    She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. Eating the last of her ice cream cone, she took his hand in hers and shook her head with a sigh and a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, then.¡± They took the last ten steps to get back to their building and walked inside. Nate bid her goodnight before heading to the next room over to head to bed himself.


    Popping out of bed the next morning, Nate immediately went to work. ¡°Imbuing¡­. Imbuing, Imbuing, Imbuing,¡± he hummed to himself with a yawn. ¡°Well, one thing¡¯s for sure- I¡¯m not spending the next however many years sleeping terribly,¡± he shot his pillow a disdainful look. In a word, it was lumpy. In several more words, it didn¡¯t keep cool, was too thin and flimsy, smelled of cheap motel rooms, and was scratchy. I could just buy a new pillow, but¡­ The thing looked old. It looked like it had seen better decades, which might be a good place to start with Imbuing practice.


    Nate sat cross-legged on the floor, placing the pillow on his lap and began to concentrate. You are for sleeping, he kept thinking it like a mantra as he meditated. Something felt off, very different from what Imbuing was like in the pod. There, he felt a sort of connection to the metal pipe, like it was hungry to be molded. This pillow just felt moldy. You are for sleeping, he thought harder, pressing his will into the idea. Opening his eyes again, the pillow seemed no different. Nate frowned.


    I¡¯m supposedly a tier V Imbuer. Well, that¡¯s my potential at Imbuing at least. But shouldn¡¯t that mean I pick up on Imbuing easily? His frown deepened as he looked at the pillow on his lap. Then again, how would I know if that did work? He contemplated the pillow again, feeling the clumps of cotton between his fingers. What even is Imbuing? I feel like I knew so much back in the pod, but now everything¡¯s like a dream I¡¯ve hardly remembered having.


    You are for sleeping, Nathaniel thought over and over again. The pillow never changed. Am I thinking the wrong phrase? Telling a pillow that it¡¯s for sleeping wouldn¡¯t exactly change anything, would it? He rolled his fingers across his knee as he thought. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful. Restful. Nate lost track of time as he focused on these aspects of what a good pillow would be. When he opened his eyes, the pillow hadn¡¯t changed. Something¡¯s still missing. Being more honest with himself, Nate would have admitted that a lot was missing. He felt no connection with the pillow, like he did with an object he was Reading. Maybe that¡¯s the key?


    Slowly, Nate focused his attention on connecting with the object, like he did with Reading any mundane object. Just with that small thought alone, his Reading Trait kicked in, causing him to recoil and toss the pillow across the room. The majority of what that pillow had seen in its lifetime was sleeping, but only by a slim margin. Nate grimaced, trying to let the images wash out of his memory before they stuck as he sat on the floor recovering his will to press onward. After a few minutes of mustering himself, he was able to grab the pillow again, albeit by one corner and held it far away from his body this time.


    You are for resting- he jolted himself out of his trance at the strange feeling in his core. Connection. He looked down at the pillow and noted nothing physically different, but his core definitely felt attached to it. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful- again, he had to stop himself from continuing. Each thought was like a feather tickling deep in his ears making his throat itch. The sheer giddiness of actually Imbuing would have been enough to break his concentration on its own, though. Nate chuckled to himself as he held up the pillow to find no changes whatsoever.


    What am I even doing? Am I doing it correctly or incorrectly? Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, he continued practicing. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful. Restful. You are for sleeping. Nate pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth where an itch had begun to develop even as he continued gathering his thoughts. His core hummed contentedly as it seemed to resonate ever so slightly with the pillow in his lap. Once his thoughts had been sufficiently gathered, he willed them into the pillow. He may as well have tried passing a brick through the fabric. His gathered will shoved and shoved against the pillow, but got nowhere.


    Frustrated with hitting yet another wall after having so recently surpassed his first, he tossed the pillow aside and buried his face in his hands with a groan. The digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed told him the entire ordeal had taken three and a half hours. That was three and a half hours of metaphorically bashing his head against a wall. Massaging the pain out of his temples from the rapidly forming headache, he came to the conclusion that now might be a good time to take a break.


    Exiting his dorm, he first looked to Huck¡¯s door, thinking back to his friend. ¡®Don¡¯t wake me up tomorrow.¡¯ Poor guy. He took in a breath of early afternoon hallway air, deciding some time outside might not be a bad idea. As he turned to leave, Jenna popped out of her room, fully dressed and looking ready to go somewhere.


    ¡°Oh. Hey, Jenna. Going somewhere?¡± he casually greeted.


    Jenna gave him a polite smile. ¡°Well, it¡¯s 11:26, and I wanted to see if I made any progress with utilizing my Trait.¡±


    Nate frowned at the comment, his brain missing a piece of the puzzle that was the odd comment his friend just made. ¡°Um. Okay. Did¡­ you make any progress?¡±


    She gave a half shrug and gestured at him, ¡°Well, you¡¯re standing here, so¡­¡±


    Nate blinked. ¡°You used your Trait to see when I¡¯d leave my dorm today?¡±


    She grimaced. ¡°It sounds invasive now, but at the time it seemed like something easily verifiable and wholly outside of my control. Sorry?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s cool,¡± Nate waved her off without taking too much time to think about it. ¡°Honestly, you stalking me is kind of like a compliment, you know?¡±


    ¡°Stalking?¡± Jenna gawked, her cheeks flushing. ¡°I wasn¡¯t stalking-¡±


    ¡°You were,¡± he continued to tease her. ¡°And through time, too. That¡¯s another level.¡±


    ¡°Oh, like you weren¡¯t about to knock on my door and ask me to go for a walk,¡± she narrowed her eyes in mock indignation. ¡°Like I should just be waiting around for your every beck and call.¡±


    Nate frowned at that comment. The idea hadn¡¯t actually fully formed in his head yet, but began forming when he saw Huck¡¯s closed door. ¡°How did you- wait, you kept watching the future to see what happened after, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Jenna folded her arms across her chest, holding her head up high. Well, high for her rather diminutive size. ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t just show up in my pajamas, I had to dress appropriately for whatever it was you wanted to do, knocking on my door in the middle of the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t knock on your door,¡± Nate countered playfully.


    ¡°Yet,¡± Jenna riposted.


    ¡°Exactly how far ahead did you read?¡±


    She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. ¡°Far enough to know you¡¯re frustrated with your Imbuing Trait.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve already gone on that walk with me. Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to see if-¡± she took in a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I was curious about something and needed to know-¡±


    ¡°Curious about what?¡± Nate cut across her.


    Jenna blinked several times. ¡°The¡­ weather. Might have rained.¡±


    ¡°The weather,¡± Nate questioned her disbelievingly.


    ¡°Yup. Turns out it¡¯s a pretty nice day.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Nate narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to bore you, so I guess I¡¯ll just think things through on my own.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Jenna took a step back in shock.


    ¡°You¡¯ve clearly already gone on a walk with me,¡± Nate shrugged. ¡°It¡¯d be boring for you to do it all again and have to listen to my problems all over again.¡± He stepped past her, heading toward the door. She was right about the weather- today was a beautiful day.


    Jenna¡¯s shoulders slumped along with her dropping jaw as Nate stepped past her. Gathering herself, she jogged to catch up with Nate, her eyebrows furrowed in consternation.


    ¡°Betcha didn¡¯t see that one coming,¡± Nate grinned, giving his friend the side-eye.


    ¡°Blue skies above, is this going to be a thing with you?¡±


    ¡°Is what going to be a thing with me?¡± Nate chuckled.


    ¡°Where you go out of your way to break my visions of the future where you¡¯re involved, then say some stupid gotcha line?¡±


    Nate¡¯s chuckle grew into a chortle, then a laugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me, O mighty Oracle?¡±


    Jenna facepalmed, but couldn¡¯t keep herself from chuckling.


    ¡°See? Already better than a depressing walk talking about my feelings,¡± Nate gave her a playful elbow to her shoulder. ¡°Did I at least make any headway in that conversation?¡±


    Jenna rolled her deep pink eyes and sighed. ¡°Not really, but you did at least vent some frustration instead of acting like nobody wants to listen to you and diverting the topic.¡±


    Nate pursed his lips, then glanced down at his short friend. Finally relenting, he began to let loose. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it. I¡¯m supposed to be an Imbuer V. I should have a better grasp of Imbuing than Reading, but Reading comes so easily- like most of the time I have to actively not try to Read an object. But no matter how hard I try, I get nothing with Imbuing.¡±


    Jenna nodded her head- to her credit, paying attention even though she¡¯d likely heard him say these exact words before. ¡°And you¡¯re jealous that I¡¯ve been pretty successful with my Oracle Trait. Part of you wanted to believe that having a Trait at Tier V meant it would be somehow harder to utilize or activate, but I seem to have thoroughly debunked that theory.¡±


    With a sigh, Nate released the breath he hadn¡¯t realized he was holding in. ¡°Kind of like that, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Exactly like that, but go on,¡± Jenna shrugged non-judgmentally.


    ¡°And I¡¯m worried. I have four Traits to work on, and I can¡¯t even get a handle on my strongest one. How am I supposed to keep up with it all?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Jenna looked up at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ well, long story short, while I was looking into the future today, I noticed that in our walk, I looked into the future. Yours. Because you wanted to know which road would be most successful for you to follow. And after a few minutes of a lot of possibilities, your best bet is to spend this year only focusing on Imbuing. Having that skill at Tier V alone is enough to keep you in the Elite class. Reading is pretty much just the cherry on top.¡±


    ¡°The Elite class?¡± Nate asked, trying to wrap his mind around what Jenna just casually dropped. ¡°Wait, so you looked into the future while looking into the future?¡±


    ¡°Umm. Yes. And yes. We¡¯re going to be considered Elites in the Heroic Program for Gate Delving. You me and Huck. Anyone with a total Trait potential over 4. It¡¯s basically the regular HPGD, except about a hundred times more intense. They expect us to be leaders- Guild Officers, or even Guild Masters. Our training will be everything in the normal HPGD at a much higher standard for success, plus additional courses on leadership.¡±


    That news hit Nate like a truck, nearly bowling him over. ¡°Jenna, I¡¯m not sure I even want to be in that program. That sounds way too intense. I don¡¯t even know if I want to be a Hero in the first place.¡±


    ¡°You do,¡± she smiled warmly.


    ¡°I do?¡±


    ¡°You do,¡± she repeated.


    ¡°How far into the future did you have to look to find that answer?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    She stopped walking forward, instead pivoting to face him. ¡°I looked the other direction.¡±


    Nate gave her a questioning look. Does she always talk in weird riddles?


    ¡°I know, for instance, you aren¡¯t one to sit idly by when you see someone needs help, even if you don¡¯t stand a chance of actually helping.¡± She arched an eyebrow at him before turning around to continue walking. ¡°And you, knowing now that your Trait potential is even higher than Bastion¡¯s¡­¡± she shrugged her shoulders without looking back.


    ¡°Be ever brighter,¡± Nate said more to himself than Jenna, his head now realizing what his heart had been telling him. His next step forward felt just a bit lighter. ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡±


    That did cause Jenna to look back, a smirk on her face. ¡°We didn¡¯t even get to your Imbuing problem yet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well,¡± Nate shrugged, ¡°I guess my problems come in layers.¡±


    ¡°Layered is how I prefer my problems. Easy to address. Distinct from one another. Trust me, you don¡¯t want the alternative.¡±


    ¡°The alternative being¡­ no problems at all?¡±


    Jenna scoffed a laugh at that. ¡°No, no. The alternative being a complex web of inter-tangled knots- where every move you make to address one problem will make some other problem worse.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s what your problems look like?¡±


    ¡°Good guess,¡± she spoke with a tight smile.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s¡­ a problem I would very much like to address with someone. But if I do address it, I end up with the worst possible outcome.¡±


    ¡°I thought there was no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. So how could you be so sure that you absolutely will end up with the worst outcome, whatever that is?¡±


    ¡°Remember what I said before about there being possibilities, probabilities, inevitabilities, and impossibilities? That road inevitably leads to the worst outcome.¡±


    Nate thought for a bit, but nothing really came to him aside from one of his dad¡¯s favorite sayings. If you don¡¯t like where a path leads, build a new road forward. ¡°So build a new road,¡± he said, having given up with trying to find a vague solution to her extraordinarily vague problem.


    ¡°That¡¯s not how this works,¡± she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s an either-or situation. Either I say the thing, or I keep it hidden, and the longer it stays hidden, the more likely it is to cause problems.¡±


    ¡°But saying it will cause bigger problems?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Jenna sighed heavily, leaning her head on Nate¡¯s arm for a moment before realizing. With a start, she took a step away, muttering apologies.


    Nate ignored the whole thing, taking her problem into consideration. ¡°So¡­ maybe wait on saying it until holding back causes bigger problems than saying it? Or¡­ I guess maybe there are other threads that need to be pulled before you start untangling this big knot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe,¡± Jenna muttered.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Nate snapped his fingers. ¡°When you were looking into the future at our walk, did we talk about your problems at all?¡±


    ¡°...No.¡±


    ¡°Ha,¡± Nate strode forward with an arrogant smile. ¡°Beat your future-vision again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how-¡± she sighed in defeat. ¡°Yeah, okay, you got me there.¡±


    ¡°Are you getting hungry? I¡¯m starting to get hungry,¡± Nate frowned, looking around. ¡°We should probably get lunch.¡±


    The sandwich shop down the street was quaint in a way that only Chicago could bear to manage. From the coral pink and seafoam green striped awning overhanging the entrance to the relatively tiny interior, no other city could support the existence of such a place- land being too precious a commodity to allow for a shop that could only service a few people at a time. This mom-and-pop shop stood as a testament to the security felt by the people living here. Moreover, it served as Bastion¡¯s private trophy- a precious gem in his crown of accomplishments- a small step towards what civilization used to look like before the sky shattered.


    Nathaniel tried his best to swallow the heavy emotions and memories of the building as he sat at a table that had been servicing people in this shop for more years than he¡¯d been alive, doing his best to disguise the uncomfortable flood of intrusive understanding as swallowing a bite of his sandwich. Jenna had picked his sandwich for him, using her Trait to look down every possibility for what he could order and judging which got the best reaction out of him. Admittedly, her method worked. Rather well. Too well, almost. He closed his eyes and gave another guttural noise of approval as the flavor lingered in his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m never getting food without you again,¡± Nate admittedly.


    Jenna shot him a coy grin. ¡°This time was special. It takes a lot of work for me to do that for you, especially when I could be doing it for me instead. You¡¯re going to have to earn it in the future.¡±


    Nate sighed in defeat, looking at his delicious masterpiece of a sandwich. ¡°The first hit¡¯s always free.¡±


    ¡°Give ¡®em a hint of what they could have, then make ¡®em pay through the nose to get what they want,¡± she grinned wolfishly before taking a bite of her own sandwich. After swallowing, she considered for a moment, ¡°Admittedly, this place does most of that for me.¡±


    ¡°We are very proud of our products,¡± a new voice chimed in, pulling a chair from another table and sitting backwards in it to face the two of them. ¡°You both look a little out of place here and I thought you might be attending the University here with me.¡± She was caramel skinned with black hair and brown eyes, her wiry frame hinting at a life of constantly moving around. ¡°I¡¯m Fiona,¡± she smiled warmly at the two of them. ¡°Sorry for interrupting your date.¡±


    ¡°Nathaniel Lione,¡± Nate responded automatically, moving to shake her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a date,¡± Jenna answered simultaneously, her cheeks reddening.


    They both looked at each other.


    ¡°Oh. Yeah, we¡¯re not like that,¡± Nate corrected himself, sitting back down.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m Jenna Harris,¡± she answered simultaneously again, standing to shake Fiona¡¯s hand.


    Fiona looked between the two of them, narrowing her eyes as if searching for the joke. ¡°Right,¡± she let the word draw out, not moving to shake Jenna¡¯s hand.


    ¡°So did you get tested yet?¡± Nate dragged the conversation forward.


    ¡°Ah. Yes, I was fortunate enough to be in section A when the testing began. Fiona Tigris, Rifter at your service. For the right price,¡± she tacked on with a wink.


    ¡°Really?¡± Nate inquired. ¡°What¡¯s a- Ah!¡± Nate looked up to realize he was now staring out the glass window of the shop instead of looking at the shop¡¯s counter. He swiveled his head around, trying to get his bearings for a moment before realizing he was now sitting where Jenna had sat. Likewise, she was now seated where he had been, looking equally confused.


    After a breath, Fiona let out a short giggle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that,¡± she tried to take a serious tone, but the mirth of her prank prevented it as she stared at Nathaniel and Jenna¡¯s dumbfounded and disoriented expressions. ¡°I figured it would be better to show you. I can move things- objects if they aren¡¯t too big or heavy, and people if they don¡¯t fight against me.¡±


    Nathaniel blinked at Jenna who stared right back at him wearing her own expression of perplexion. ¡°Seems like a pretty useful Trait,¡± Nate noted, reaching across the small, circular table to switch plates with Jenna, smiling to himself as he reunited with the amazing work of edible art.


    ¡°It certainly has its uses,¡± Fiona grinned, her brown eyes flitting briefly between Nate¡¯s expression and the object of his desire. ¡°And I¡¯m glad you hold our family recipes in such high regards.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡± Nate¡¯s eyes widened in awe, ¡°this is your place?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Fiona laughed. ¡°My parents are the owners and operators. I just help around.¡±


    ¡°Jenna, do Fiona and I become best friends, or do I just marry her?¡±


    Jenna gave him a flat look. ¡°Ha ha, very funny.¡±


    Fiona tittered a laugh and stood up. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt. I wish you the best of luck in your testing. Hopefully we¡¯ll meet again.¡±


    ¡°Every day. Specifically at lunch,¡± Nate promised.


    Fiona turned pitying eyes toward Nate. ¡°I don¡¯t think you could afford me, Mr. Lione.¡±


    ¡°Lunch here every day would get expensive¡­¡± he tapped his finger on the table, his mind chugging through scenarios that might work. ¡°I could pull a job or two.¡±


    ¡°Not every cost is financial,¡± Fiona rolled her eyes, spending a moment to lock eyes with Jenna. Fiona shook her head and shrugged before leaving.


    ¡°She¡¯s cute,¡± Jenna finally started the conversation again after about a minute of silence. Her words were a little clipped, but her face was utterly unreadable.


    Nate looked at Jenna for a long moment. Definitely irritated. And a little embarrassed. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ What¡¯s that supposed to mean? His mind whirred as he prepared for another game of ¡®this woman seems to be upset with me and I¡¯m not quite sure why¡¯. ¡°That was pretty dumb of me,¡± he began. Solid opener. Immediately take the blame while not tipping my hand that I have no idea for what I¡¯m to blame.


    Jenna arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°How so?¡± she feigned confusion, not tipping her own hand in any fashion.


    Nate thought quickly. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ ¡°Fiona,¡± he grasped desperately at an answer.


    She broke eye contact, looking down at her sandwich briefly before looking to the side while taking in a slow breath and releasing it with a huff. Settling back against her chair.


    She took the bait. Yank the hook and reel her in.


    ¡°Not sure what I was thinking. We¡¯d be terrible together. I¡¯d just spend my whole day asking her to go make me a sandwich. Not exactly a good look.¡±


    Jenna fought herself as corners of her lips curled upward ever so slightly before she snorted a laugh, the whole action sounding more like a poorly concealed sneeze than anything else.


    Her move. Nate let the silence linger, simply shaking his head in regret.


    Her lips twisted as she considered her next words. Her eyes flickered up toward his for a moment. ¡°I could check, if you want.¡±


    Nate gave her a quizzical look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. ¡°Well, out of¡­. Four hundred and ninety three attempts to ask her out, she only says yes to five of them. Looks like¡­ one involves hiring a farmer with a herd of cows to spell out her name with the cows. Ooo,¡± she grimaced, ¡°and turns out she only says yes out of pity because you slip and fall face-first into a cowpie.¡±


    This time, Nate snorted a laugh. ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± he folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. ¡°I¡¯ll judge the success of each relationship path by the number of sandwiches she makes me. How many do I get from that one?¡±


    Jenna laughed genuinely and opened her eyes to give Nate a bewildered look. ¡°You¡¯d eat cow crap just for a sandwich?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Nate scoffed, ¡°this isn¡¯t ¡®just a sandwich¡¯. This is sacred masterwork art in food form. Men have fought wars over less blasphemous statements than yours, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    She quirked a smile, her head tilting to the side. ¡°It is a pretty good sandwich.¡±


    ¡°Pretty good? Pretty good?¡± Nate mocked outrage and indignation. ¡°Yeah, and the Tier V Gates around New York City are a bit of an inconvenience.¡±


    ¡°Okaaay,¡± she relented with a chuckle, ¡°the sandwiches here are definitely praiseworthy. Blue skies above, Nate.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I quote some of those comments?¡± Fiona shouted from the shop¡¯s backroom. ¡°We¡¯re putting out a new ad in the paper.¡±


    ¡°One free sandwich per quote,¡± Nate offered.


    ¡°Ha! As if. I was being polite by asking. I was actually going to take your comments and publish them anyway, just listing you both as anonymous customers if you didn¡¯t let me quote you specifically.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can quote us,¡± Jenna rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Fiona snapped back teasingly, ¡°but when my fianc¨¦ and I are having an argument, kindly stay out of it.¡± She emphasized the teasing bit by sticking her tongue out at Jenna. ¡°Looking forward to that cowpie to the face, sweetie,¡± she winked playfully at Nate.


    Jenna rolled her eyes and laughed. ¡°She¡¯s not joking. That¡¯s now the only way she¡¯ll say yes to any of your proposals.¡±


    Fiona laughed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t even have to be farm related. Bring in a big pile on the first day of class and see if I say yes.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. How many sandwiches is that route?¡± Nate turned to Jenna.


    ¡°Are you kidding me right now? You¡¯d seriously-¡± she cut herself off with a facepalm. ¡°And I¡¯m not your cheat guide for a dating sim.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d get one sandwich,¡± Fiona answered smugly. ¡°And I don¡¯t have to say yes to your proposal.¡±


    ¡°All it would cost is my dignity?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Fiona waffled her head back and forth a few times, visibly weighing her options, ¡°let¡¯s say your dignity and the remaining half of the price. Plus taxes.¡±


    ¡°You drive a hard bargain¡­¡± Nate narrowed his eyes at her.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Jenna groaned, grabbing his arm and pulling. ¡°Preferably before she takes you for everything you own.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ sandwiches,¡± Nate frowned theatrically.


    ¡°Now,¡± Jenna pulled harder, trying to subdue her smile.


    The sky was more peaceful than either one of them had experienced before this week. White wisps of cloud drifted slowly across that ocean of light blue as birds chirped happily from trees planted along the sidewalks. They took a minute to enjoy this serenity, this moment of peace with each other, reflecting on their lives ahead of them.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t spoken about your Imbuing problem,¡± Jenna absently noted, as if reading Nate like an open book.


    ¡°I think you hit all the points already. I¡¯m frustrated and, yes, a little jealous that you¡¯ve got your Trait working for you so well. And I¡¯m supposed to focus on Imbuing this year. What else is there to say?¡±


    Jenna took a long moment to answer. ¡°The things you want to say instead of someone else¡¯s summarization?¡±


    Now it was Nate¡¯s turn to walk in silence for a time. ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± he finally uttered. ¡°Because I have no clue what shape the future holds for me. What¡¯s an Imbuer even do in a dungeon? Or out of a dungeon if I fail out of the HPGD? And that¡¯s assuming I can even manage to Imbue anything at all.¡±


    Frowning, Jenna tapped her chin. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. What actually is Imbuing?¡±


    Nate opened his mouth to answer, but not a single word came to mind. Perplexed, he closed his mouth again and thought over her question. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re struggling to Imbue?¡± Jenna offered.


    ¡°But it was so easy in the pod.¡±


    ¡°What did it look like in the pod then?¡± she inquired.


    ¡°I just¡­ willed things to be a certain way and they were. But I¡¯ve tried that already and nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Do the materials you Imbue have to have certain conditions?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t¡­ know,¡± Nate dragged out each word. ¡°I¡¯ve only tried Imbuing my pillow.¡±


    ¡°Maybe your pillow¡¯s just stubborn.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pillow. It can¡¯t be stubborn,¡± Nate scoffed.


    ¡°How¡¯s it resisting your will to Imbue it then?¡±


    Again, Nate opened his mouth to speak, and again, no words came. ¡°You¡¯ve given me a lot to think about.¡±


    Jenna let out a long sigh, ¡°And now your mind won¡¯t focus on anything but the new ideas popping into your head leaving you jittery with excitement. Yeah, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Really? You don¡¯t mind?¡±


    She twisted her lips and looked at Nate for a moment before answering. ¡°I mind a little. But I know this is really important for you, so yes, go. Just promise you won¡¯t stay locked up in your room the whole time? And I expect at least one text a day, if nothing else then at least let me know you haven¡¯t starved yourself to death.¡±


    ¡°You beautiful person,¡± Nate giddily hugged his friend and sprinted off to the dorm.


    Jenna lightly touched her arms where Nate had hugged her as she watched him run off. ¡°You could¡¯ve walked me home,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°I¡¯m going back too, you know.¡±

 Sky Shatter

    Despite good ventilation, the air in the gym was stale and sweaty in a way heavily used gyms perpetually seem to be. Huck had been in the building long enough for his nose to ignore the odor by now; not that he needed to focus much on doing so. Every muscle in his body screamed for his attention with the pain of his workout. He was relentless. For hours on end, he¡¯d pushed himself harder and harder, not fighting against the feeling of inferiority from being smacked around by that gang. Rather, he fought against his memories of that pod. Every time he tore his triceps, it reminded him he still had that arm attached to his body. Every time his knee popped out of place, lancing pain whispered soothing thoughts of ¡®I¡¯m still here¡¯. Every time his body crumpled under the weights, he stood up again and the memories felt more like a bad dream. Other gym goers had long since stopped paying attention to Huck and his reckless workouts and body-breaking collapses- not since he popped his knee back into place and kept going. This pain centered him; it was real in a way the pod couldn¡¯t replicate.


    ¡°Even for an Eternal, you should take a break,¡± a voice came from behind him. The man was huge. Dark skin, bald head, and a strange accent- the same man who rescued Huck on the train. The memory of a loud slap rang in Huck¡¯s ears.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it,¡± Huck spoke over his shoulder looking up before going after another set of squats.


    ¡°I was being polite. You¡¯ve been hogging the squat rack for the last hour,¡± the somewhat stranger persisted.


    Huck looked around the gym. Everyone seemed to be staring at the encounter. At him. The small guy versus the giant. ¡°Get here faster next time,¡± he decided to respond before dipping low again.


    ¡°I see,¡± was all the man replied before picking up another two plates and casually adding them to Huck¡¯s bar.


    ¡°The hell are you doing?¡± Huck called out at the unexpected weight increase.


    ¡°If I cannot workout, then I will train. You are not pushing yourself to grow- you¡¯re just trying to hurt yourself. Maybe this will make you hurt yourself faster.¡± Without warning, he picked up another two plates, adding them to the bar as well. ¡°Remember to keep your form,¡± the man gave Huck¡¯s sternum a hard poke. ¡°Back straight.¡±


    Huck¡¯s face reddened with effort as he tried to lift, giving way to a powerful groan as his body exploded with effort. One inch- two. Slowly, his body crawled upward against the tremendous strain. Right until it couldn¡¯t. Huck collapsed under the tyranny of gravity and oppressive weights, fully expecting broken, well, everything, but to his surprise he hit the ground without being crushed.


    The man stood over Huck holding the bar at a ninety degree angle from his body. ¡°If you really have problems you need to get beaten out of you, there¡¯s a sparring ring downstairs. The guy in there now is on a winning streak.¡±


    Huck looked up at the man looming over him and slowly nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll look into that. I¡¯m Huck by the way.¡±


    ¡°I remember from the train. Odd we should meet again so soon. My name is Tobi. Good luck downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want it,¡± Huck grinned before standing up, ignoring Tobi¡¯s outstretched hand to help him up, noting Tobi still hadn¡¯t put down the barbell stacked with plates. ¡°But I¡¯ll remember your name too, Tobi. So far, you seem like the man to beat.¡±


    ¡°See if you can,¡± Tobi nodded somberly in acknowledgement.


    Huck wiped his face and arms down before heading down the stairs. The stench of sweat was the first thing to assault his senses, quickly followed by the dull thwaps of flesh pounding on flesh. A rudimentary boxing ring stood out in the center of the floor, elevated a few feet off the ground where two guys fought mercilessly. As Huck took in more details of the room, he noticed that the two people fighting appeared to be identical in everything from appearance to Traits. Though clearly, one of the two did not fight as well; every move he made was slower, every punch he threw seemed weaker, and clearly, his stamina was flagging. In a matter of moments, the superior fighter had his other self pinned to the ground. The match was over. The loser groaned before rolling out of the ring to a corner where a staff member tended to the wounds, using their Trait to heal the fighters.


    Absent of another challenger, Huck took his opportunity to step into the ring. His opponent¡¯s form shifted until he stared at a mirror reflection of himself. A Shifter. Must be off putting for competitors to punch themselves in the face. His challenger looked himself over, noting his own diminished height and reach before locking eyes with Huck, an eyebrow arched in question.


    ¡°You¡¯re a Shifter?¡± Huck asked, getting himself into a fighting stance.


    His face slowly nodded back at him.


    ¡°You ready?¡±


    Again, Huck watched himself respond by slowly nodding his head.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    That was all the warning his doppelganger needed to spring into action. Probing jabs flew at Huck tentatively, but that didn¡¯t last long. His other self kicked out at Huck¡¯s shin, causing Huck to stumble before his face cracked loudly from a backhanded fist. Huck stared at the ground in front of his face for a moment, trying to grasp what had happened. He¡¯d been outmaneuvered, and quickly. Standing back up, he charged back into the fight and landed a glancing blow against the ribs before doubling over from the fist that had somehow managed to plant itself firmly in his gut. He could feel his Healing Trait working overtime on the blows, slowly standing back up to lock eyes with his lookalike.


    On and on the fight went for long minutes stretching into what felt like an eternity. Blow after blow crashed against his body from his opponent who just seemed to be a better version of himself in every aspect. No matter how quickly Huck moved, his other was quicker. No matter how hard he hit, his other could take the blow and keep coming. He¡¯s probably a few inches taller, too. Huck¡¯s fighting style became brutal, letting hits through in order to get a chance at landing a hit of his own. He could feel his bruises worsening, his eyes swelling, his cuts reopening after each suffered blow from the relentless fists of himself. And still, Huck forced himself to stand and fight. He threw himself at his opponent again and again, always taking the worse beating, but always rising again to fight.


    This time as Huck rose from the ground, his other self shook his head, pointing for Huck to leave the ring.


    ¡°If you¡¯re gonna be me, there¡¯s something you gotta learn first,¡± Huck huffed, his heart pounding in his chest from the exhaustion of prolonged combat. ¡°Quitting¡¯s for the dead.¡±


    With that, he threw himself bodily at the one bearing his likeness, tackling the guy to the ground. They pounded each other¡¯s faces before the doppel managed to pin Huck¡¯s arm behind his back. It should have been over then. But these soft idiots have no idea what living in Philadelphia means. Huck rolled into the pin, dislocating his shoulder in the process with nothing more than a grunt. Using the moment of surprise to his advantage, he wheeled on his other, once again tackling him to the ground. They fought and beat each other like that for a moment, Huck using his dislocated arm as a sort of flail until his Healing Trait kicked in enough to work it again. He could feel his knuckles fracturing with every punch, his skin splitting on his face, his nose bending and breaking again and again.


    His whole body trembled with effort as his doppel managed to make enough space to break up the ground fight. He watched himself stare back at him, swollen eyes filled with confusion and a twinge of horror. Huck grinned back, forcing himself to take another step forward, only to be literally smacked down by a haymaker. Huck stood up again, landing a tired haymaker of his own. Blood flew out of a wound that slowly healed from a Trait nearing exhaustion. They traded wild, winded, sloppy punches with each other until they collapsed in a pile of bruises and blood. Huck slowly managed to bring himself to stand again, only to notice his other self remaining down, holding up a hand in surrender. He seemed¡­ confused with the outcome of the match- confused about what Trait Huck possessed that he hadn¡¯t copied correctly.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good Shifter,¡± Huck gasped for air, helping the doppel stand back up. ¡°Enhancer too, right?¡± The Shifter nodded assent. ¡°Make yourself a better version of your opponent. Good strategy.¡±


    The Shifter shook his head in dismay.


    ¡°Thought so. You definitely felt like a better version of me.¡± Huck lightly pounded a fist to his heart. ¡°Good fight.¡± Huck turned around and took a step before collapsing to the ground unconscious.


    Jenna sat on a bench, taking in the peaceful atmosphere while she could. Yesterday had rained, which really sucked, but today was beautiful again. She felt the bench beneath her shift as another person sat down next to her.


    Without opening her eyes, Jenna simply spoke, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?¡± a male voice responded.


    ¡°Correct. I¡¯m not interested. In you, specifically. You¡¯ll have better chances with the blonde about to run by. Not that those chances are particularly favorable for you, but still... Better than zero, right?¡±


    ¡°Wha-¡±


    Soft yet rapid footsteps moved past the bench, interrupting the nameless mook¡¯s confusion. They passed by and to the mook¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t hesitate in leaving to chase after her. With a sigh, Jenna spoke more to herself than anyone else, ¡°Works every time.¡±


    ¡°Hi,¡± a somewhat familiar voice greeted Jenna.


    ¡°Hello, sandwich girl,¡± Jenna sighed, silently mourning the peace that had all-too-soon ended for her.


    ¡°You can call me Fiona,¡± Fiona giggled. ¡°And I was surprised to see you here. Well, surprised to see you alone, anyway. Where¡¯s your¡­ platonic friend who happens to be male?¡±


    ¡°In his dorm. Frustrated, but still making headway,¡± Jenna answered nonchalantly. ¡°Look, let¡¯s just cut to the chase here. You saw me just now and are smart enough to put together that I¡¯m an Oracle.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Yes, that saves so much time from being delicate about your Trait. Do you already know what questions I¡¯m going to ask then?¡±


    ¡°Yes I do; yes I am pretty good at it; no, that¡¯s not how the future works; yes, I¡¯ll be in the Elite class with you so you can ask me more questions as they come up; I haven¡¯t decided if we should become friends yet; no, not because of Nate; Then why? I can see the future, but I can¡¯t feel the future; What does that mean? I can see actions, but I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m thinking or feeling during those moments.¡±


    ¡°Like¡­ I could ask you who I date next, and you could tell me, but you wouldn¡¯t know if I fall in love?¡± Fiona reasoned out.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Jenna responded. ¡°We¡¯ll spend a good amount of time with each other from our classes, but I have no idea if we enjoy that time.¡±


    ¡°And you already knew all of that without me asking?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Sounds exhausting.¡±


    ¡°It can be. But I was looking through my day anyway to see if-¡± she caught herself and tried to hold back her blush.


    ¡°To see if perhaps a platonic friend of yours who happens to be male would actually pay attention to you instead of whatever project he¡¯s currently working on?¡±


    Now Jenna couldn¡¯t hold back the blush.


    ¡°You care about him?¡±


    Jenna nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s really weird since you literally just met like three days ago, but okay. I won¡¯t tease him anymore.¡± Fiona¡¯s eyes narrowed as her thoughts put something together. ¡°But you¡¯ve actually known him for a while now, haven¡¯t you? A while longer than he¡¯s known you?¡±


    Her eyes shot open with alarm. ¡°N-not really,¡± Jenna defended herself.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen him, though. In the future. I¡¯m guessing in your future? Yeah, I thought so,¡± Fiona gave a sly grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your secret¡¯s safe with me,¡± she sing-songed. ¡°And I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m not going to blackmail you over it. You¡¯re a real treasure, Jenna Harris. I hope we can be friends. Real ones. I have a feeling we¡¯ll need them in the courses coming up.¡±


    Jenna nodded her head. ¡°Makes sense. I just don¡¯t know who the last member of our group is.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Fiona scrunched her eyebrows together.


    ¡°Me, you, and Nate makes three, plus Huck makes four. I see a fifth person with us, but I have no idea who.¡±


    ¡°Who is Huck?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. Little rough around the edges, but a good guy deep down,¡± Jenna waved her hand dismissively.


    ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s number five look like?¡± Fiona thankfully moved on.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing: I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s just¡­ sorta blurry. You know how sometimes when you dream you just know something? I get the same sort of feeling about him. Or her. Whoever number five is doesn¡¯t look like anyone, least of all his or herself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ weird.¡±


    ¡°We all are. Sorry you got stuck with the weirdos,¡± Jenna shrugged.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I guess I¡¯m kind of a weirdo too. I come from a family-owned sandwich shop to be an Elite hero. Not exactly a typical origin story.¡±


    Jenna let the silence hang in the air, still unsure of where Fiona wanted to take this line of questioning.


    ¡°So how¡¯s our class look?¡± Fiona led. ¡°The Elites. Anyone interesting I should know about?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much everyone there is someone to know about,¡± Jenna smiled politely. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the Elite class if it were filled with inconsequential people, would it?¡±


    ¡°Right, but is there anyone¡­ interesting¡­ to me, specifically,¡± Fiona pressed.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Jenna sucked on her teeth. ¡°You wanna know if you meet anyone you end up dating.¡±


    ¡°Preferably someone I end up marrying,¡± Fiona nodded unabashedly, moving in closer to Jenna in excitement.


    ¡°That¡¯s not how the future works,¡± Jenna sighed. ¡°Look, I could literally just pull out a random name and thanks to your presuppositions, your relationship would go far- because you think the relationship will go far, not because of any sort of innate compatibility with each other. How you view the present is most often the deciding factor for your future. But in reality, you could just choose to be with someone and have the same determination and mindset to persevere and¡­ and, you¡¯re not paying attention anymore.¡±


    ¡°Please?¡± Fiona begged. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll give you a free sandwich?¡±


    Defeated, Jenna hung her head. With a thought, her pink irises turned milky white. Images flashed through her head at the speed of thought, giving off more impression than discernible future. She saw Fiona doting on her future classmates, flirting with any male around her. ¡°You are not a one man kind of woman, are you?¡±


    ¡°Men are like candy. So many flavors to choose from, how can you know which one to pick when maybe another flavor is better?¡±


    Jenna shook her head. ¡°Most of these routes end up with jealous breakups. I¡¯d recommend focusing on learning how to tell yourself no.¡±


    ¡°Most? But not all of them?¡± Fiona inched closer.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you took away from that sentence?¡± Jenna shook her head with a chuckle. ¡°Fine. Some relationships go well some of the time. Relatively speaking.¡±


    ¡°How relative?¡±


    ¡°They last longer than a month?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s practically marriage,¡± Fiona grinned eagerly. ¡°Who who who? Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ you call him Nick, though I get the feeling that isn¡¯t his actual name. You also don¡¯t really look too happy whenever you¡¯re with him. Seems sort of like it¡¯s just the novelty of being in a relationship so long that keeps you around. He seems pretty happy though. Until you cheat on him.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Nick? I¡¯ll keep an eye out for this Nick. Thanks, Jenna. You¡¯re a gem.¡±


    Jenna sighed and shook her head. ¡°What are friends for, if not to fail utterly at Bechdel tests?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Jenna sighed and shook her head again. ¡°Any chance you want to talk about something other than boys?¡±


    ¡°Sounds boring,¡± Fiona frowned. ¡°But I guess I¡¯ll give it a shot?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s your Trait coming along?¡± Jenna probed.


    ¡°Same as it¡¯s always been,¡± Fiona shrugged.


    Silence ensued.


    ¡°Well, that was fun. I¡¯m going back to my shop,¡± Fiona stood abruptly.


    Jenna buried her head in her hands. ¡°I need better friends,¡± she muttered to herself.


    Nate opened bloodshot eyes to a room that looked like it had barely managed to survive a major earthquake. Pillows, blankets, clothes, and crumbs of food all lay strewn about the floor. His bed was no longer flush against the wall, and it appeared his dresser had tipped over at some point. But none of that mattered anymore. Gingerly, he held the pillow in his hands, inspecting it closely. It had been a brand-new pillow just the other¡­ had it really been a day already? Not important. He shook his head, trying to focus. Imbuing had worked. I think. As he held the pillow and Read it, he got flashes of his own voice speaking back to him: ¡®Sleep. Rest. Peace.¡¯ His voice chanted on repeat back to himself. Even staring at it so intently now seemed so warm and inviting. Maybe I should rest my eyes for a moment. He jolted himself awake, fighting off every urge his sleep-deprived body was throwing at him.


    Stifling a yawn, he stood up and left the room. The scent of fresh air nearly knocked him back, but he pressed onward still, running to Jenna¡¯s door. After a few knocks and no answer, he frowned, turning to Huck¡¯s door only to get the same result. He wandered around the building, carrying his triumph and deeply regretting not taking down either new friend¡¯s phone number. Clearly not thinking coherently, Nate¡¯s sleep-deprived stumbles around the dorm took him in wider circles searching for Jenna. Though now that he thought about it, why was he looking for her again? There was a perfectly good pillow in his hand. He could just curl up and-


    ¡°Jenna?¡± Nate rubbed his eyes with the hand holding his pillow. His head slumped in a microsleep cycle before he caught himself.


    Jenna was sitting alone on a bench in a park that they¡¯d never been to before. She smiled back at him in her new outfit- Nate frowned upon realizing he was still wearing the exact same clothes the last time they¡¯d met several days ago.


    ¡°So much for texting me,¡± Jenna shook her head.


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± Nate grimaced. ¡°Sorry. We should-¡± he yawned fiercely, ¡°we should exchange numbers. So I can actually do that.¡±


    Jenna stared at Nate and blinked several times before bursting out into a laugh. ¡°Blue skies, how have we not done that already? Here I was starting to think that you just straight up forgot about me.¡±


    They spent a minute adding each other to their contact lists and verifying they¡¯d copied each other¡¯s numbers correctly before Jenna motioned to Nate¡¯s pillow. ¡°Can I assume you¡¯ve been successful?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Nate would have narrowed his eyes if not for the fear that if they weren¡¯t wide open they¡¯d immediately shut. ¡°Don¡¯t you know already?¡±


    Jenna stifled a laugh. ¡°First of all, you don¡¯t have to stare at me like that. You look like a lunatic.¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t keep my eyes like this, I¡¯ll fall asleep,¡± Nate explained.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she giggled. ¡°Second, of the futures I looked at, about half of them had you come back with nothing. All I saw was that in every future, this is where I found you next. So after you didn¡¯t reach out to me for a whole five days, I decided to wait where we meet next.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird,¡± Nate frowned.


    ¡°What¡¯s weird?¡± Jenna challenged defensively.


    ¡°I checked your room first. Then I checked for Huck. Then I checked all around the dorm building. I¡¯m actually not sure how I made it all the way out¡­ where are we?¡±


    ¡°The park in the center of campus,¡± Jenna offered.


    ¡°Right. Well, it¡¯s kind of literally the last place I checked to find you.¡±


    ¡°Anywhere you find me would literally be the last place you searched,¡± Jenna grinned playfully.


    ¡°Okay, you got me on that one, but why are you all the way out here?¡±


    ¡°Cause this is where we¡¯d meet again.¡±


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t a single future where you were just in your dorm room or something?¡±


    Jenna frowned and shrugged. ¡°I guess not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°So the pillow?¡± Jenna prodded.


    ¡°Oh. Right. See for yourself,¡± he grinned and tossed the pillow at her. She caught it deftly, giving the cushion a few pokes and prods as she examined it.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± she stifled a yawn, ¡°excuse me. Doesn¡¯t seem different from a normal pillow.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Nate pointed at her, ¡°But you yawned.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a reflex. Pillows are associated with sleep and I¡¯ve been really tired. Looking into the future is a lot more work that people realize,¡± she tucked the pillow behind her head on the park bench. ¡°Oo, that¡¯s nice, though. Good quality to it. Come on, sit with me.¡±


    ¡°I, uh,¡± Nate looked around nervously. ¡°I kinda stink.¡±


    Jenna gave a genuine laugh that tinkled pleasantly in Nate¡¯s ears. ¡°You do. But only because you went almost five days without reaching out to me.¡±


    ¡°I told you already, I didn¡¯t have your number,¡± Nate explained, unable to hide his own smile.


    ¡°And there wasn¡¯t a single future where you couldn¡¯t knock on the wall or something?¡± Jenna challenged as Nate sat next to her.


    As an answer, Nate gestured to where they were. ¡°Apparently that wouldn¡¯t have worked either, since you were all the way out here for no reason.¡±


    Jenna shrugged and yawned again. ¡°You expect me to be some kind of oracle or something?¡± Her eyes drooped heavily under the setting sun, golden light making her brown curls glow muddy reddish. Nate didn¡¯t reply, already sleeping.


    ¡°Hey,¡± a gruff voice startled the two of them awake. It was dark out. Very dark.


    Nate yawned, sitting up as he picked his head from Jenna¡¯s lap. He stretched and blinked a few times at the very bright light shining in his eyes. ¡°Wha¡­¡± was all he could manage as the brain fog remained. It was a bit cold out.


    ¡°Oh. You were sleeping. Good,¡± the gruff voice noted. ¡°Well, not good, but better than¡­ anyway,¡± he cleared his throat. ¡°Campus security. Got a call about a potential public disturbance from a couple in the park, thought I¡¯d check it out.¡±


    Jenna let loose a yawn, ¡°Disturbance? Us?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah,¡± the gruff voice answered. ¡°Couple of kids late at night out in the park. The way you guys were positioned- it sort of leads to certain conclusions.¡±


    ¡°What kind of conclusions?¡± Nate responded, still not able to see anything beyond the flashlight shining in his eyes. What sleep he had gotten in however many hours had passed worked wonders for his brain to become functional again. Or at least as functional as Nate¡¯s brain normally would be when it came to anything having to do with the opposite sex.


    ¡°You know, with your head¡­ and her leaning back like that¡­ Don¡¯t make me spell it out,¡± the security officer groaned. ¡°I¡¯m too old to do night rounds around the Bloody Willow anymore.¡±


    ¡°Bloody Willow?¡± Jenna scrunched her nose.


    ¡°The Wet Wood? Maidenhead? Blushing Knotty? Red Weeper? Who am I kidding, you¡¯re first years, aren¡¯t you? I shouldn¡¯t go around putting ideas in your head. You know what? Forget I said anything. There was supposed to be a curfew set tonight. Get yourselves back to a dorm. And for the love of Bastion¡¯s city, if you decide to get intimate on campus, keep it private.¡±


    Jenna blushed and looked away as Nathaniel blinked at the elderly guard.


    ¡°There¡¯s a curfew in effect tonight?¡± Nate asked in a daze.


    ¡°You¡¯ve still got 15 minutes. The Manatologist is predicting an erratic Tier IV Gate to pop in around the area sometime in the early morning. He¡¯s been wrong before, but¡­¡± the guard shrugged noncommittally. ¡°Whatever may or may not happen, Lighthouse is in the city tonight. As long as the streets are cleared of bystanders, the Heroes can clean up without worry.¡±


    Nate felt something squeeze his hand. He looked over to find Jenna nodding slowly.


    ¡°We should go,¡± she spoke softly. ¡°You too. Finish your patrol as quickly as you can.¡± Her eyes flashed milky white for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s one other couple on your route in the bushes about a quarter mile that way.¡± Her face reddened substantially as her own words caught up to her. ¡°Not that I saw them! Well, I did see them, but I wasn¡¯t looking at them; I wasn¡¯t even trying to see them at all!- not that they were being obvious that I noticed them-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s an Oracle,¡± Nate shrugged to the security guard. ¡°Tier V. Get them and get inside.¡± Squeezing Jenna¡¯s hand to snap her out of her spiraling embarrassment, Nate stood and strode briskly back toward the temporary dorm, dragging a still sputtering Jenna behind him.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± Nate asked her somberly.


    ¡°Tier IV, like he said. In the city proper. Close to campus. And soon. Mayhem doesn¡¯t seem to breach the streets, thanks to Lighthouse.¡±


    The rest of their walk was silent as Jenna finally seemed to get her feet back under herself. She caught up with Nate in a few strides and they began to cut back across campus. Without word or question, they both strode into Nate¡¯s room and closed the door. Pungent sweat stink blasted their nostrils within seconds, causing them both to recoil before Nate threw his window open, giving Jenna a look of solemn apology.


    ¡°Sorry. Sort of lost track of¡­ well, everything working on my Imbuing.¡±


    Holding a hand to her nose, Jenna chuckled to herself. ¡°Can¡¯t be perfect,¡± she shrugged. ¡°Besides, I think it¡¯s a bit better now?¡± she ventured, still unwilling to test that particular theory at the moment.


    The sky shattered. White shards of light filled the black sky before dissolving to a blood red. Wind howled through the open window with the sharp screeches of demons, just barely below the threshold of pain in volume and tone. Nate¡¯s back hunched in discomfort. He could feel every hair on his body stand on end. His mind flashed back through the years in Columbus, Ohio. Back to similar sky shatterings. Back to screaming and blood. Back to crowds trampling each other in a panic. Back to hideous laughter as the creatures slaughtered groups of people at a time. Back to fallen Heroes and broken hopes. Back to darkness. Back to the present as Jenna gave his hand a tight squeeze. Looking over, he could see etches of fear in her own pink irises.


    The two of them strained to see anything out of their first floor windows to no avail, the actions behind the various shouts and screeches and screams blasting through their window completely hidden by surrounding buildings. Nate shuddered at the city¡¯s siren wails, willing himself not to be drawn into the past again.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay,¡± Jenna muttered, more to herself than Nate. ¡°I saw it¡¯s going to be okay, so it¡¯s going to be okay.¡±


    Funny how now ¡®the future¡¯ is definitive. Truth be told, it was a convenient lie Nate would 100% get behind right now. We¡¯re going to be okay. It was such a simple convenience to believe with Heroes on the streets. Truthfully, the sentiment translated to ¡®we won¡¯t get slaughtered this time around¡¯.


    Low rumblings filled the air like thunder as battle broke out in the streets several blocks away. Muffled voices shouting indiscernibly at each other echoed across Chicago¡¯s skyscrapers and into the dormitory room. A tangible aura of oppression and fear fell over the city. Nate and Jenna stood there, unwilling to let go of one another as true terror radiated outward from the flashing lights just out of sight. Shockwaves blasted through the air, the barest eddies of those which managed to get reflected into Nate¡¯s open window was nearly enough to rock the pair of young adults backward and off their feet. Their building shook again under another oppressive shockwave, dust crumbling from the ceiling. Jenna¡¯s breath hitched before she returned to her mantra of ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±


    Nate could only shake his head in dismay, giving his friend a look of concern. She thinks I have what it takes to stand out there and fight Demons? I couldn¡¯t even stay upright on the outskirts of this battle. The shockwave of a stray punch would be enough to turn me into jelly if I were even a few blocks closer. Hell, this building can¡¯t even take much more punishment. His eyes drifted upward as the dormitory shook once again. Perhaps it was intuition that extended his arm; perhaps destiny or fate, or maybe it was simple curiosity that led his actions. Nate¡¯s hand connected with the wall and he felt something resonate within his core. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for a structure to be unstable. That was the antithesis of design. Structures are designed and built for stability and shelter. Period. Nate¡¯s will nudged the building itself. It didn¡¯t feel like improving any materials, or changing the building¡¯s foundation to be more solid. The sensation was more along the lines of aligning the building with its inherent purpose of design. Subtle shifts in joints to better handle stress and strain, tightening of bolts, rejoining subtle flaws in welds, purging several dozen minute imperfections that didn¡¯t align with the building¡¯s purpose. He could feel some sort of energy leave his body, adding up rapidly to fatigue. His eyes fluttered, breaking him out of his focus as he nearly blacked out, stumbling into Jenna.


    ¡°Woah,¡± Jenna exclaimed in surprise as nearly 200 pounds fell limp against her diminutive frame.


    Nate caught himself just before they both toppled over. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not sure-¡±


    Another explosion crashed through the air. The building still shook, but not nearly as badly as it had for even the lesser shockwaves.


    Jenna¡¯s eyes flew wide as she gazed into Nate¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you just-¡±


    He couldn¡¯t keep the smile from creeping upward, ¡°I think I did, yeah.¡±


    After righting herself, she followed up with a light punch to his shoulder. ¡°Imbuer V,¡± she grinned cheekily. ¡°Told you you had it in you.¡±


    Nate chuffed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember that being an exact quote, but yeah. Thanks. And I guess for the campus orientation advice as well. Probably wouldn¡¯t have made it back in time otherwise.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t any sort of prediction,¡± she blushed under the praise.


    ¡°As I remember, neither was your Imbuer pep-talk. Well, not really.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ wasn¡¯t that a vision within a vision where I said you should focus on Imbuing?¡± Jenna scrunched her nose, trying to recall herself.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the part that helped me,¡± Nate chuckled, collapsing onto his bed. ¡°It was the talking bit after. Where you just had me talking about what Imbuing is. Or really, highlighting my complete lack of understanding. Your questions helped a lot more than your visions.¡±


    ¡°Pah! Some Oracle I am, then,¡± she teased with the shake of her head.


    Nate gave his own chuckle. ¡°Oracle V, Friend VI. The Trait¡¯s kinda OP. Don¡¯t disparage.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m like: a Mega Ultra Friend?¡± something in her voice soured as her face fell flat.


    ¡°Hey, friendship is the greatest magic of all. Don¡¯t sell yourself short,¡± Nate teased, sitting upright to pat Jenna¡¯s head playfully. His smile fell away quickly as their eyes met. Part of him wanted to kiss her. Badly. But she¡¯s an Oracle. Surely she¡¯s looked into our future by now. If anything significant were there for us, wouldn¡¯t she tell me? Nate broke eye contact and looked out the open window again, taking a deep breath in and out again. Silence filled the room for an awkward moment before Nate spoke up again. ¡°The shockwaves are coming in more sparsely. Lighthouse probably already contained the break. I think we should call it a night and head off to our beds.¡±


    For the tiniest of moments, Nate could almost swear he caught something flash across her face out of the corner of his eye. Relief? ¡°Yeah,¡± she turned to him and grinned. ¡°Big day tomorrow. Don¡¯t sleep in, okay? Orientation is still important for the Elites.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll walk to orientation together. Then at least we¡¯ll know we¡¯re both there. Night Jenna.¡±


    Jenna rolled her eyes, shaking her head with a smile. ¡°Good night, Nate.¡±

 Poignant

    Nate roused drearily to his door pounding. He managed to roll himself out of bed and drunkenly navigate his way to answer his reverberating door. It feels like I was only asleep for five minutes. Throwing the door open, he looked down to find Jenna fully dressed and looking at him expectantly.


    Sudden fear surged through his blood. Shattered skies, I¡¯m late, aren¡¯t I?


    ¡°You¡¯re not late. Yet,¡± Jenna answered him without prompting.


    ¡°But I would have been if you didn¡¯t wake me up when you did,¡± Nate finished.


    Jenna stared sleepily at him without answering for a moment. ¡°Well, are you going to get ready for the day or what?¡±


    Nate¡¯s eyes widened before he hastily turned and tripped over¡­ something, landing flat on his face. Scrambling to turn around and shut the door before he could embarrass himself further, he caught Jenna trying diligently not to laugh and suppress her smile with all her willpower before he slammed his door closed to get changed.


    A dozen minutes later, he was (mostly) ready for a new day, having quickly showered, changed, and brushed his teeth. He glanced at the clock, noticing he was right on time to leave as promised. He opened the door to find Jenna leaning against the wall.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be a thing, is it?¡± she questioned him, though she still held a great deal of mirth in her countenance.


    ¡°What isn¡¯t going to be a thing?¡±


    ¡°Me being a poor man¡¯s alarm clock. You aren¡¯t going to make that a thing, are you? Cause I¡¯m a lot more than an alarm clock, you know.¡±


    ¡°Right. You¡¯re also a- what was it again? Right,¡± he snapped his fingers, ¡°a dating sim walkthrough.¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± she swatted at his chest with the back of her hand before turning to leave. After a few steps, she called back without turning around, ¡°You¡¯ll want to tuck your shirt in today.¡±


    The uniforms for the Heroic Program for Gate Delving consisted of various shades of brown. At least it was brown for first-years. Khakis, brown shoes, brown button-down, brown belt. It wasn¡¯t an eyesore with the varying shades of brown, but it certainly seemed¡­ monotonous. He glanced at Jenna¡¯s outfit, who had apparently decided on a dress skirt and short-sleeved blouse (all various shades of brown again), before catching up to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s very¡­ brown,¡± Nate muttered to Jenna as they walked quickly across a campus seemingly untouched by last night¡¯s mayhem.


    ¡°Our year is brown,¡± Jenna spoke as if shrugging noncommittally, though their pace made an actual shrug unlikely. ¡°Fourth years are black, third years are white, second years are gray.¡±


    Nate narrowed his eyes momentarily before remembering Jenna was an Oracle. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m going to say this, but I can¡¯t wait to get into those grays next year.¡±


    Jenna gave him a sharp look before responding. ¡°No, our year is brown. Not ¡®first years are brown¡¯. Everyone in our class will stay in brown until we graduate. We¡¯ll get some sort of markings as we progress to delineate our specialties and whatnot, and the dress code gets a lot less strict as the years go on, but we¡¯ll be wearing a lot of brown for the time being.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s depressing.¡±


    Jenna tapped her chin thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯d think gray or black would be worse.¡±


    ¡°Doubt it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just looking to be mad at something today, aren¡¯t you?¡± Jenna challenged.


    ¡°Not really. I truly believe that there isn¡¯t a color more shit than brown.¡±


    Jenna gave Nate a side eye, doing her best to suppress the wry grin forming on her face. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I walked into that.¡±


    ¡°Best practice is to wipe your shoes,¡± Nate shrugged absently.


    Jenna gave him a quizzical look before understanding struck. She chuffed a laugh. ¡°I fully thought you were going to make some sort of comment about the Oracle not seeing where a conversation was headed.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but then you¡¯d only mispredict the future once. I just got you twice,¡± Nate teased.


    Jenna¡¯s shoulders slumped as she heaved a sigh. ¡°Dammit Nate. That¡¯s not how the future works.¡±


    ¡°Pfft. You¡¯re just jealous I got you again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re insufferable.¡±


    ¡°Twice in a row.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t even listening to me anymore,¡± Jenna frowned.


    ¡°You really stepped into a big pile of brown there.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to you, who magically appeared in your outfit this morning?¡±


    Nate gave her a sidelong grin. ¡°Now you¡¯re getting it. Man, what happened to that shy girl on the train who barely spoke a word?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not actually shy, you just¡­ it was a weird day for me and I was really nervous, okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why you looked like I was going to strangle you the first moment we were unsupervised. Cause it was a weird day for you.¡±


    Jenna groaned. ¡°Can we please just drop it? Pretend the whole train incident never happened?¡±


    Nate nodded in consideration for a moment. ¡°Jenna, I don¡¯t think a lot of people understand how Reading works.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite literate, thank you,¡± she replied flatly.


    ¡°You pick up your toothbrush and that¡¯s what it is: a tool. You brush your teeth with it and forget about it. One day when it¡¯s old and worn, you toss it away without a second thought and get yourself a new one. I pick up a toothbrush and I see its entire history. I see its purpose, its design, its intention when it was made. I see the idle thoughts its user had while brushing their teeth. The inspirational moments that made thoughts click together. I can tell how good its user is at brushing their teeth, and whether or not they preferred left or right, top or bottom. I know the spots in their mouth they habitually miss. The toothbrush tells me everything. Everything. I guess what I¡¯m trying to get at is: us Readers, we can¡¯t forget the past- we are the past.¡±


    ¡°Cool story, bro,¡± Jenna razzed. ¡°Your mom make you memorize that speech?¡±


    Nate shrugged. ¡°She ranted something like it at my dad once. Thought it was pretty poignant.¡±


    ¡°Poignant?¡± Jenna smirked.


    ¡°...Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I do not think it means what you think it means,¡± she quoted at me.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Nate kept his laughter under his breath, turning his attention back toward campus. More students clad in shades of brown piled into the walkways and sidewalks, all destined for the meeting hall once more. Orientation. The official start of the school year. The building already loomed over them, its doors open and waiting to devour the students throwing themselves inside. Making a note to keep touching to a minimum while inside, he still couldn¡¯t suppress a shudder passing through the threshold.


    They made their way to the auditorium and down the aisle to seats three rows from the front. Apparently the student body had taken Dean Anderson¡¯s warning about filling up the front rows to heart this time. Probably a good sign. Speaking of the Dean, he sat on the edge of the raised stage, seeming content to simply swing his legs as the new year filled in their seats. Nate and Jenna sat there for a moment, looking around the room for any familiar faces and finding none. A general buzz of conversation hung in the air, requiring any particular person to speak more loudly than necessary to converse with another person, which added to the general noise in a cycle of growing background buzz. Neither Nathaniel nor Jenna seemed particularly interested in contributing to that cycle, so they waited quietly.


    After another 45 or so minutes, Dean Anderson finally stood up and picked up the microphone from its stand as a large screen unfurled from the ceiling.


    ¡°Good morning, first-years. Glad you managed to find your way back here. For the most part. You¡¯ll notice there are already some empty chairs in here. I¡¯ll let you ponder on that meaning for a moment, but that subject isn¡¯t on today¡¯s agenda. You see, today is for you: people who can follow instructions- people who have an inclination of what duty entails. As such, you¡¯ve taken your first steps down the path of becoming a Hero. Congratulations on clearing the first hurdle. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of the screen behind me. I¡¯m going to flash a few names on that screen to stay behind and meet with me after everyone has been dismissed for the day. So if your name shows up, be sure to stick around after I¡¯ve done the general dismissal.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes instantly glued to the screen, hoping their name didn¡¯t pop up. Whatever the Dean had wanted to keep those people around for couldn¡¯t have been good. Especially if it took up more precious free time.


    A list of 20 names slowly scrolled up the screen, Nathaniel Leone being the very first name on that list. His shoulders slumped at the thought of spending more time away from Imbuing practice. It wasn¡¯t until he saw Jenna Harris on the list that his mind connected the dots. ¡°That¡¯s the list of our year¡¯s Elites, isn¡¯t it?¡± he whispered. She grinned and winked, putting a finger up to her lips. Nathaniel paid more attention to that list, going over the names of his future classmates and competition.


    Nathaniel Leone


    Tobi Negembe


    Mi


    Nico Vale


    Andrea Reed


    Connor Vale


    Jenna Harris


    Fiona Tigris


    Harmony Iziri


    Wren Li


    Dominique Hacel


    Anthony Lamelli


    Sheila Dame


    Indrus Flammentos


    Blanc Lenore


    Bianca Romanov


    Huxley Finnalee


    Tara McGill


    Gustav Klein


    Garret Brown


    Looks like Huck made it too. Nate was relieved to see it. He hadn¡¯t seen Huck since last orientation even though he lived next door. Hopefully, he¡¯d gotten into a better headspace over these last few days.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Alright, so those are the ladies and gentlemen that need to stay behind. Moving on. Welcome to the Heroic Program for Gate Delving, or HPGD as you may come to call it. The dropout rate is high. Very high. That¡¯s mostly because this course is mandatory for your age, and very few of you sitting here are capable of reforging yourselves into becoming capable and effective Heroes from the whiny and angsty teens you are now. The rest of society still appreciates you for who you are and in fact needs people like you to keep it ticking. Even if your heart is set on gate delving, there are plenty of civilian-side jobs that support delvers, hell some jobs even get to enter gates once they¡¯ve been cleared. All that to say: when you get cut from the program, it¡¯s not really an issue. Most people aren¡¯t Heroes, and there¡¯s plenty of work to do elsewhere.¡±


    For their part, the audience took that news without much of a reaction. The statistics didn¡¯t exactly surprise them, having grown up in a society where most people were in fact, not gate delving powerhouses and the hope of humanity despite a mandatory gate delving program for anyone with a Trait.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think that¡¯d phase you, but still good starting ground to cover,¡± Dean Anderson continued after getting the read on the room. ¡°That¡¯s the bad news. Here¡¯s some better news: everyone check under your seat.¡±


    Nate frowned curiously and reached under his chair, feeling the hard bottom under the cushion. A few excited shrieks from the crowd behind him made him continue his search until he felt some sort of shallow edge. It had a sort of shape¡­ a rectangle.


    ¡°Under each of your seats is a brand new study pad. That¡¯s right. You get a study pad. And you get a new study pad. And you get a new study pad. Everyone gets a new study pad!¡± Dean Anderson announced, pointing randomly into the audience.


    Nate¡¯s fingers finally managed to pluck the device from underneath his seat and held it up in the dim light. It didn¡¯t look like much, just two metal half-rectangles with rounded edges attached to each other. When he pulled them apart, a holographic screen extended between the metal panels. He¡¯d used study pads before, but getting the newest model was always nice. Next to him, Jenna seemed likewise familiar with the device she held up, already flitting through what looked like information on Gate U and class syllabi.


    Nate, however, had a different task in mind. His fingers quickly searched for the definition of poignant. He briefly glanced at the words, smirked, and elbowed Jenna for her attention, pointing out ¡®Poignant: causing strong feelings¡¯ with a braggadocious grin.


    Jenna rolled her eyes, grabbed Nate¡¯s pointing finger and moved it so he read the next four words: ¡®of sadness or distress¡¯. She gave him a look before pointing back to Dean Anderson.


    ¡°That¡¯s right: yours to keep, courtesy of tax-payers nation-wide. Try not to disappoint them too much. So now that¡¯s both the bad news and good news out of the way, which leaves us with introductions. I¡¯ll be bringing up your first year professors one by one, they¡¯ll give a short speech of who they are, what subject they teach, and what they expect from you as students-¡±


    Nate zoned out. Long-winded speeches followed for hours as each member of the faculty gave their what-for. Honestly, Nate couldn¡¯t remember even the first professor¡¯s name or what class they taught halfway through their own speech. He sat there. He tried. But the information was like a looming wall threatening to collapse over his head. Hours passed as information flew over his already hyper-saturated mind. He didn¡¯t even recognize Jenna waving her hand across his face.


    ¡°- Nate? Nathanielllllll? Helllllooooooo?¡±


    Nate blinked and recoiled from the hand waving in front of his face, taking another moment to realize the hand belonged to Jenna.


    ¡°Blue skies above, Nate. I was starting to worry you went comatose.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha. I wasn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think so either until Fiona came over and offered us free sandwiches if we left with her right then.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been dismissed for lunch?¡± Jenna led.


    ¡°Really? When?¡± Nate jerked his head to a rapidly emptying auditorium.


    ¡°About five minutes ago now.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Nate¡¯s expression dropped in realization. ¡°Fiona. She¡¯s the sandwich girl?¡±


    ¡°Fiona Tigris. Yes, she¡¯s the sandwich girl.¡±


    ¡°She came by and offered a free sandwich?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    Nate narrowed his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t joke about this. I missed a free Fiona sandwich?¡±


    ¡°Phrasing,¡± Jenna rolled her eyes, ¡°but yes.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit.¡±


    Jenna chuckled and shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that. Come on. You need food. Today¡¯s gonna be long.¡±


    ¡°If she offers sandwiches, you slap me back to myself, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°A sandwich wasn¡¯t the only thing she offered,¡± she muttered under her breath darkly.


    ¡°Wait, what? What else did she offer? Jenna? What else did sandwich-girl offer?¡±


    ¡°Nothing that meant anything. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Lunch was a quick affair, where Jenna helpfully summarized the important classes for the near future. The freshmen schedule was relatively simple, further simplified for the Elites. Both Expedition and Tactics would cover mornings every other day, with a short break for breakfast, followed by Administration and Trait Advancement classes to cover the rest of the mornings for the respective days. After a lunch break, each freshman could fill their schedule out with a slot for an elective, and they¡¯d each end their day with combatives class. In this schedule, Elites would differ from normal students by having their mandatory Administration class, whereas Administration for non-elites would have to be taken as an elective if they so desired, otherwise freeing up that time slot for an elective or free period. Nate¡¯s eye was twitching by the end of even her brief summary. With a sigh she flashed her study pad at Nate, showing him a sketch of their weekly schedule.


    ¡°Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be Expedition and Administration days, while Tuesdays and Thursdays will be Tactics and Trait Advancement. Here¡¯s our afternoon block for electives, and we end each day with combatives,¡± Jenna pointed out helpfully. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty full schedule, honestly. Probably going to be a lot more challenging than either of us are prepared for.¡±


    ¡°Can we talk about something else? I don¡¯t think I can handle more scholastic talk right now.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh,¡± a third voice spoke out from a distance. Nate and Jenna turned their heads to see Fiona approaching with a sly grin on her face. ¡°What finally got him to come back to the land of the living?¡± she arched her eyebrows playfully a few times. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to be impressed or offended. I¡¯ve never had a man remain so unresponsive after whispering in his ear. Especially after what I offered to get you to wake up again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard about the sandwich thing. Real bummed out about that,¡± Nate sighed.


    Fiona grinned, laughing silently to herself. ¡°A sandwich? That was just the first offer.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Fiona,¡± Jenna sighed. ¡°Congrats on- wait, nevermind.¡± Her eyes grew large as she slapped her hand to her mouth, nearly letting the knowledge about the list of elites out too early.


    ¡°Oh, that list thing?¡± Fiona arched an eyebrow and took a seat at their table with casual ease. ¡°It¡¯s, what, the list of Elites, right? Tier IV or higher? I think everyone on that list knows exactly what that list is for, you don¡¯t have to worry about letting that bit of information slip. Helps that we get that chit with our Trait potentials, you know?¡±


    Nate still had his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, muttering ¡®A sandwich was just the first offer? What¡¯s better than a sandwich?¡¯ to himself as the two women spoke with one another.


    Jenna nodded her head as confirmation. ¡°It¡¯s not the Elites I¡¯m worried about finding out. The non-elites-¡±


    ¡°-Please,¡± Fiona interrupted and held up a hand, ¡°just call them Normies or something. Regulars? I don¡¯t know. Non-elites is such a mouthful.¡± With a grin, she elbowed Nate and winked at him. ¡°If you woke up when I tried, you could have given me a mouthful.¡±


    Nate frowned in confusion, muttering, ¡®We would¡­ share a sandwich? No, that can¡¯t be right.¡¯


    Fiona gave Jenna a flat look. Jenna folded her arms across her chest, returned the look and shrugged.


    ¡°He¡¯s either gay, or you¡¯ve got your work cut out for you. Maybe both,¡± Fiona frowned in sympathy.


    ¡°His brain¡¯s a little fried from over-lecturing,¡± Jenna answered with a touch of hostility. ¡°Would you please leave him out of your scope?¡±


    ¡°Ooo, does the little huntress have him sighted herself?¡± Fiona couldn¡¯t keep the grin off her face.


    ¡°If he gets distracted with a girlfriend now, there¡¯s a very large chance he¡¯ll wreck himself right out of the HPGD. Especially if she breaks his heart.¡±


    ¡°Are you certain you aren¡¯t goalkeeping? Or is it more like ¡®if I can¡¯t have this toy, no one can?¡¯ I think it¡¯s the latter,¡± Fiona narrowed her eyes in playful suspicion. ¡°You looked into your futures and, what, it¡¯s a disaster? But you met him and you like him and can¡¯t stand the thought of anyone else being close?¡±


    Jenna¡¯s bottom lip curled downward before she gave Nate a look. By some miracle, his burnt-out brain was too occupied with processing the proposition of a sandwich to be part of the new conversation. Still, she gave Fiona a bit of a stink-eye for talking as openly as she was. With a small huff, Jenna leaned forward. ¡°This is what no one seems to understand: there is no ¡®the future¡¯. There are ¡®can be¡¯s and ¡®may be¡¯s and even some ¡®definitely¡¯s, but no ¡®the future¡¯. I¡¯m not worried about what you think I¡¯m worried about because the roads that we travel aren¡¯t preordained. Even if you were right, and I¡¯m not saying you are, all I have to do is guide us to a road where you aren¡¯t right anymore. A gentle nudge, and we hop off that old ugly path and onto wonderful pavement to take us to a different eventual present. Time, patience, the right words, an impulse acted upon that wasn¡¯t in another present- ¡®the future¡¯, if there is such a thing, belongs to the Oracles. But right now, we¡¯re both exactly where we should be. Thank you for your concern. I¡¯d appreciate it if you stopped from further meddling.¡±


    Fiona sat back from the verbal barrage. ¡°That sounds¡­ really manipulative.¡±


    ¡°Whatever choice everyone makes is entirely their own decision,¡± Jenna shrugged indifferently. ¡°Besides,¡± she rested her elbows on the table, leaning towards Fiona, ¡°I¡¯m not even changing roads. Just yelling out the window for the dumb deer to move somewhere else so she doesn¡¯t cause a giant flaming wreck.¡± Jenna gave a smile that never touched her eyes.


    Fiona sat back, her lips forming a small ¡®o¡¯ even as she laughed. ¡°You definitely aren¡¯t the pushover I first thought you were. Yeah, I think we can be good friends.¡± Giving Nate, who seemed to be nearly aware again, a quick glance she added, ¡°and I won¡¯t be¡­ stepping on your toes again. So to speak.¡± She blinked a few times before bouncing her head side to side, ¡°Not seriously anyway.¡±


    Jenna arched an eyebrow. Fiona winked back at her and left to return to the auditorium.


    ¡°Nathaniel Lione,¡± Nate spoke aloud and frowned to himself.


    The sudden eruption of his own name caught Jenna off guard. She turned her head to blink at the boy several times in confusion before just staring at him with a questioning look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she was talking about sandwiches,¡± Nate concluded. ¡°But I also don¡¯t think my name is anything close to a mouthful to say. I don¡¯t get it. Was she going to whisper my own name into my ear?¡± Nate bobbed his head, reconsidering the notion. ¡°I guess that might be a thing for some guys.¡±


    Jenna shook her head, unable to keep the genuine grin from her face.


    ¡°What?¡± Nate asked seriously. ¡°Is it really that funny? Am I missing something?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was a joke well past its expiration date. The only reason it¡¯s funny at all is because you missed it so badly.¡±


    Nate rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. ¡°Too much thinking. Too much lecture. Too much boring. My head hurts.¡±


    ¡°We can just sit here for a bit in silence, if you¡¯d like,¡± Jenna offered with a shrug.


    ¡°That sounds nice.¡±


    After about five minutes of closing his eyes, breathing deeply, and letting the sun shine on his face, it was time to head back to the auditorium for more orientation. Just the thought of sitting through more ramblings gave Nate a level of anxiety he could hardly cope with, but Jenna assured him the second half of the day would be much easier to get through. Given the promise of an Oracle, Nate felt a weight lift from his chest. Not the entire weight, but enough to be able to marshal himself and rally. His brain still felt like it was wading through shin-deep muddy water.


    By the time they had seated themselves in the auditorium again, Dean Anderson looked ready to begin part two.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the Dean¡¯s voice boomed over the microphone, ¡°looks like just about everyone is back. Good. So now part two. Your first assignment will be to form groups of five, and we¡¯re going to do a scavenger hunt. I know, it sounds childish, but it¡¯s a good way to break the ice with your classmates and simultaneously familiarize yourselves with our campus. Be warned: yes, this is your first graded assignment, and yes, it will count toward your GPA for the HPGD. Each group of 5 will get two lists to complete, one pink list and one orange list. Both must be completed before 5 P.M. today, when we reconvene back here to go over the results of your assignments. Professor Marvin here,¡± he motioned back toward a lanky man carrying a stack of papers, ¡°will be handing out your lists once you have your groups. Before you go rushing around, I¡¯d like to see the list of students I¡¯d announced earlier come and meet me in the back room behind the stage. Once the door is shut, the rest of you may begin with your assignment.¡±


    Nate arched an eyebrow at Jenna, who nodded at him before standing up. He followed suit, excusing himself around the rows of students, feeling every eye split between himself and 19 other students. Curiosity, anger, jealousy, defiance, and a need to prove themselves pierced the defensive shell of his mind as decades of toil and emotion surged through his skin every time his hand so much as brushed the row of chairs to his left as he shuffled clumsily past the still seated row of students to his right. Calling out the elite class is apparently tradition. Generations of awkward shuffling flitted through his mind¡¯s eye as ghostly images-some of which he recognized- of decades past made the same trek up toward the stage and into the backroom. These were the powerhouses that society had been built upon. These were the shoulders he now stood on. These were the lives laid down to buy time for another generation- the bodies who forged the road, the blood that painted it- the sacrifices that formed the foundation his generation and generations yet to come were built upon. These were the first truly significant steps of his entire life: awkward, shuffling, and clumsy as they might be. Nate took in a deep breath unable to shake the feeling he was partaking in a sacred ritual, stood up straighter, and finally made his way to a main aisle.


    Uncertainty filled the faces of every student, their questions and guesses clearly written in their expressions of wonder and slow movements. Dean Anderson simply stood up, turned his back to the room, and exited through the door without uttering another word. The assembled students followed suit, some chancing a last glance back to the main student body before disappearing through the door at the back of the stage. Nate never looked back, never gave a questioning glance, all too certain of where his next steps would ultimately lead.

 Elites

    Once the 20 soon-to-be Elite students finally entered the room and sat in one of the 20 metal folding chairs, Dean Anderson took the time to look each student in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all know why I¡¯ve called you here,¡± he spoke slowly; purposefully. ¡°You¡¯ve all tested positive for HIV.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the room erupted in alarm as each of the students glanced at each other in panic- each of the students except Jenna, Nathaniel, and Tobi, that is. Nate folded his arms across his chest, leaned back in his chair, and stared the dean down as he waited for the man¡¯s next announcement.


    Dean Anderson met Nate¡¯s gaze before smirking and glancing between Jenna, Nate, and Tobi. ¡°You can always tell who the virgins are,¡± the man muttered under his breath, his lips barely readable and low voice impossible to hear over the din of the room.


    ¡°Oh calm down,¡± Dean Anderson spoke again, this time loud enough to be heard over the students¡¯ commotion. ¡°That was a joke¡­ Unless it actually isn¡¯t for you, in which case I apologize. Point is, you 20 are your class¡¯ Elite students. Each of you have either 1 Trait at or above Tier IV potential, or multiple Traits totaling Tier IV potential and above. That being said, having the potential to be something great doesn¡¯t always mean that¡¯s how you¡¯ll turn out, as I was happily reminded upon hearing the extortion ring set up by a second-year Elite student and his company,¡± Dean Anderson¡¯s eyes drilled into Huck. ¡°Some of you don¡¯t belong here. The rest of you will have to prove that you do. I do not promise an easy road, or a life of privilege while you are enrolled in the Elite Heroic Program for Gate Delving- quite the opposite in fact. Your road will be harder than that of the main body of students. We will expect more from you, not just in quality of work, but also in quantity. Where others have free time, you will have more training. While your classmates will have drunken nights and hungover mornings, you will be enhancing your Traits and lifting weights. You will see your fellow students walking home with another young man or woman to enjoy an evening with, and you will resign yourself to the fact that you will be married to your textbooks for the next three years. You will be called Elite, not because of an accident of birth, but by the blood, sweat, and tears it took you to create such a gap between yourself and everyone behind you. We expect this of you, not because we are sadists, but because we are at war. Humanity needs you to become its next pillars of strength. Humanity needs the next generation to be stronger than all the ones before it.


    ¡°The truth of it all is: we don¡¯t have much ground left to give to the demons. Each success builds a little buffer of time before we face species-wide extinction. Each failure could be our last. If we lose so much as a single farm, our entire city might starve. If our water supply becomes contaminated, we¡¯ll be even worse off. Our survival as Humans requires you, who have such great potential, to lead others in our defense. It is my duty to oversee the process of forging your potential into tempered steel. It is a duty I do not take lightly. As such, I will not tolerate anyone who would shirk that weight of responsibility. You will maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA in all of your classes. You will take the top spots in every combat tournament. Because at the end of your three years, you will be placed in a position of leadership, and you will be facing down the endless hordes of demons. This is what it means to be an Elite student here. If you fail that, you will be replaced by those more worthy should any prove themselves especially capable from the main body, your authority will be stripped from you, and will be expected to act the part of the rank and file soldier you seemingly so longed to become. Questions so far?¡±


    A well-built and well-tanned young man raised his hand, waiting for Dean Anderson to acknowledge him.


    With a sigh, Dean Anderson resigned himself to spending more time here than he¡¯d like. ¡°Connor Vale, if I¡¯m not mistaken?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir- Dean, that is,¡± Connor stumbled. ¡°Not all Traits are suited to combat. What if we aren¡¯t those? Um, that is, what if our Traits aren¡¯t suited for combat? Are we still required to take a top place in the combat tournaments?¡±


    Dean Anderson rose an eyebrow at the young man. ¡°Right. Perhaps I wasn¡¯t clear enough on that issue. You will take the top spots in every combat tournament,¡± he repeated himself, ¡°or you are out of the program. If you lack the ability to pack a punch, learn to think. If you can¡¯t do that, then you better train to take hits until your opponent collapses. Understood?¡±


    Connor frowned, but nodded his head.


    ¡°Good,¡± Dean Anderson took in a deep breath. ¡°That being said, the students around you won¡¯t be your competition for those tournaments. You don¡¯t have to do better than anyone else in here. All you have to do is be better than everyone else out there.¡±


    The students shifted in their chairs uncomfortably as the weight of Dean Anderson¡¯s words settled on their shoulders. For his part, the Dean nodded approvingly at their understanding. ¡°There are only 20 of you here, which is historically rather low for a starting Elite class size. Normally we¡¯d get 40-50 potentials from the get-go and trim down to about 10 graduating Elites. As I mentioned earlier, new laws have come out that forbid cutting a class down to size, which includes the Elite class. Instead, we¡¯ve set up standards that all previous graduating Elite classes have achieved without ever being asked to do so. We¡¯re still looking to ensure quality here and what it means to graduate as an Elite. So with the 20 of you, I¡¯d suggest spending the next bit of time getting to know one another.¡±


    An awkward pause filled the room as heads turned to look expectantly at one another for who wanted to start off the introductions. Dean Anderson leaned back and waited in silence as the future Elites tried to figure out what to do. Minutes passed as fingers pointed before Jenna stood up and rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to save us about an hour of time here. Dean Anderson isn¡¯t going to instruct us further. Let¡¯s just start at that end of the row and make our way down. He also isn¡¯t going to tell us that we¡¯re still on the clock for completing that scavenger hunt, and all the time we waste here is only going to crucially cut into our assignment time.¡±


    ¡°Spoil sport,¡± Dean Anderson chuckled, even as he pouted. ¡°I had a valuable lesson to circle back around to in there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your previous ominous warning with our parents about quote, ¡®rueing the slow and confused procession of people¡¯ and that our first lesson should be that ¡®time wasted from not heeding orders is time lost¡¯. Very clever. But you¡¯ve already got clever things with this assignment in store for us so let¡¯s just stay on task, shall we?¡±


    ¡°I also had some important announcements concerning your upcoming semester,¡± Dean Anderson frowned.


    ¡°Nothing you won¡¯t reiterate via email over the weekend though,¡± Jenna immediately retorted.


    Dean Anderson actually gave a slow clap to Jenna before the person all the way at the end of the row stood up as suggested and started the introductions off properly.


    A recognizable face stood up at the end of the row, bald and dark skinned. His thick accent came through as he spoke, ¡°I am Tobi Negembe.¡± Many eyes widened in recognition of the last name as whispers broke out through the assembled students, but Tobi cut the noise off with a slash of his hand. ¡°To answer your questions, yes, Bastion is my father. I know this does not give me a free pass here in my own studies. Allow me to show you I am as worthy of being called a Hero as he is.¡±


    After he sat down, the wiry framed girl with a mane of red hair and electric blue eyes who had been sitting next to him stood. ¡°Wow, tough act to follow, but here I am,¡± she chuckled lightly. ¡°Name¡¯s Tara McGill. I¡¯m a Volt.¡± Just to demonstrate the truth to her words, a spark of electricity jumped across her thumb and pointer finger. ¡°And if I can¡¯t cut it as a Hero, I plan on going into Electrical Engineering, like my da.¡± After a pause, she gave a nervous chuckle, ¡°Not that I¡¯m planning on failing. Just a backup plan.¡± She sat without saying another word.


    Another familiar face stood up after Tara sat. ¡°I¡¯m Fiona Tigris and very happy to meet you all,¡± her gaze lingered on a few of the male faces, her lips twitching a smile as she did. ¡°I suppose I¡¯m a Rifter, though my Trait card says I also have some talent in teleportation which I had been previously unaware of up to this point. Like Mr. Negembe, I am also from the great city of Chicago and¡­ I suppose if I don¡¯t make it through this Hero program, I¡¯ll continue working in my family¡¯s sandwich shop business.¡± She paused, tapping a finger on her chin, ¡°What else¡­? I guess I should say I don¡¯t see myself as much of a fighter and hope to fill a command and support role on a team. Outside of a diving team, I excel in supply and logistics.¡± She pressed her skirt primly against her legs as she sat back down, the picture of poise and grace.


    Next up was a short girl of far eastern descent, her silky raven hair cut short just below her ears and light twinkling mischievously in her pastel pink eyes. Her grin challenged the room to a fight, twenty on one, and boasted of her being the only one to walk away. ¡°I¡¯m Harmony Iziri, and none of you will see me coming. I¡¯m an elemental illusionist and I can teleport anywhere I can see within 15 yards with perfect silence, which makes me perfect for recon. On a diving team, subterfuge is my game.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not very subtle to just blurt out your fighting style knowing full well there will be graded and ranked combat tournaments in the near future,¡± Dean Anderson arched an eyebrow at the girl.


    Harmony shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m going to flick you on the nose in three seconds,¡± she folded her arms, but otherwise made no movement toward her target. ¡°Three, two, one-¡±


    ¡°-Ow,¡± Dean Anderson flinched back, his hand grabbing his nose. The image of the girl flickered into nothingness as the real Harmony revealed herself standing next to the dean, her fingers outstretched and less than an inch away from the dean¡¯s nose. ¡°Okay, point taken,¡± Dean Anderson corrected himself with a scowl. ¡°Though I will not encourage any further assault on the dean of your program. Take your seat, Harmony.¡± Again, the Harmony flickered and disappeared, revealing the real Harmony in her seat with a questioning eyebrow arched.


    ¡°Maybe I never left it,¡± the shit-eating grin plastered on her face never faltered in its challenge toward the room, even as it shimmered into nothingness as Harmony revealed herself to be back in her seat, arms across her chest.


    ¡°I am the great Sheila Dame,¡± the girl next to Harmony stood up and announced in a thick Australian accent. ¡°I¡¯m also an illusionist, though one of the mind.¡± She spoke with wide eyes, the solid black irises and pupils along with her dyed black hair contrasting heavily with her pale and pasty skin. ¡°As you can no doubt hear from my amazing accent, my family immigrated out of Australia.¡±


    ¡°You guys moved out of Australia? Why on earth would you do that?¡± Tara questioned.


    Eyes still wide, Sheila locked eyes with the redhead. ¡°Not enough death. True Aussies are drawn to danger like a siren call. We feed off it and consume it until it finally consumes us.¡± Impossible as it may seem, her eyes widened further as she stared Tara down before her face took on a normal appearance. ¡°But for real, the people down under got a bit¡­ weird when the rift opened? Plus my dad¡¯s job paid him, like, three times his current salary to move to the States, so here I am. Don¡¯t shoot. Or is that only a thing in your primary schools?¡±


    ¡°Moving along,¡± Dean Anderson pushed the current conversation to end.


    The next girl who stood up also had black eyes, but blonde hair and an athletic build. She looked around the room, taking a moment on each face that met hers before sitting down again. Silence fell over the room before confusion spread like a plague. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Dean Anderson cleared his throat, ¡°I suppose that was as much of an introduction as Bianca Romanov was willing to give. I actually have this letter here,¡± he reached into his pocket to pull out an envelope, ¡°from what I¡¯m assuming are her loving parents. It says, and I¡¯m quoting here, ¡®Please take care in training our little Bianca Romanov. She¡¯s an expert close-combat marksman but could use some improvement on distances over 500 meters. Should any major injury befall her, you will not hear from us again,¡¯ end quote, unsigned. I¡¯ll choose to interpret that last line as a ¡®lost-in-translation¡¯ issue as opposed to an ¡®openly-threatening-the-dean¡¯ issue.¡± He peered under his eyebrows at Bianca as the room seemed to shift from one of ease and relaxation to one of frigid death. ¡°Your family¡­ wasn¡¯t threatening me¡­ correct?¡±


    Wide-eyed, Bianca slowly shook her head. Immediately, the room shifted back to its inviting atmosphere as the dean took on his usual casual smile. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s move on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Wren Li,¡± the next guy spoke as he stood up. He was well built, but not to the point that his overly muscular frame would hamper any movement. His raven black hair sat neatly trimmed above dark brown eyes. ¡°Combination Lux and Shade. I believe balance in all things is how we grow stronger. As such, I¡¯ve practiced as an all-rounder in my fighting style. I can even tank or heal in a pinch.¡±


    ¡°While I understand your philosophy involves a certain well-roundedness in all aspects, you¡¯ll find that our curriculum here shows how important it is to specialize or focus on a few areas and do them well, as opposed to everyone on a team trying to do everything themselves,¡± Dean Anderson interjected.


    ¡°My apologies, Dean Anderson, but my focus is on filling in the gaps that specializations naturally leave open,¡± Wren explained calmly.


    ¡°Well, once you¡¯ve graduated, I suppose you can die in whatever manner you deem worthy,¡± Dean Anderson shot back without a hint of emotion on his face.


    Huck stood up. ¡°I¡¯m Huxley Finnalee. I¡¯m from Philadelphia. That should pretty much explain everything you need to know about me.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Philadelphia,¡± Dean Anderson smiled warmly. ¡°Hark, how fares the front lines?¡±


    ¡°Same shit, different fly,¡± Huck shrugged. ¡°But the city holds for now.¡± Huck moved to sit down as if that were enough.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Harmony shook her head, ¡°what in the ever-shattered skies is being from Philadelphia supposed to tell us about you? What¡¯s your Trait? What¡¯s your role?¡±


    ¡°My Trait is being a persistent son-of-a bitch and my role is being in your face,¡± Huck answered without standing. ¡°Philadelphia stands as a giant middle finger to the demonic hordes, and I¡¯ll be the same.¡±


    Harmony gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose while the young man next to Huck stood up to introduce himself next.


    ¡°I¡¯m Connor. Vale. Twins with Nico,¡± his arm barely twitched to motion to the guy sitting next to him. ¡°My focus is healing, which is why I don¡¯t think I¡¯m cut out for combat. I suppose I¡¯ll have to do as the dean suggested and train harder for that deficiency.¡±


    Before Connor even finished sitting, his brother spoke out, not bothering to stand. With a brief wave of his hand he began, ¡°Nico. That guy¡¯s my twin like he said. And, uh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s wise to divulge my Traits, but I can¡¯t see keeping it hidden as being any sort of practical. I¡¯m a Puppeteer, but my card says I¡¯m also a Crafter. I guess I can make my own toys. Pay me enough, and maybe I can make a toy for you too,¡± he ended his introduction with a generalized wink that may as well have just been the word ¡®ladies¡¯.


    ¡°My name is Indrus Flammentos,¡± the young woman next to Nico stood and introduced herself with a flourish of a curtsey. ¡°And I am not interested in toys,¡± she gave a disparaging look to the boy next to her. ¡°What captures my heart is passion, and there is no greater incarnation of passion than fire.¡± With that, the seams of her clothing sputtered and popped with sparks of flame and ember that quickly dissipated in the air. I will put my passion into this training and become one of the greatest Heroes the world knows. I will be the one to light the Lighthouse and become a beacon for the hope of humanity.¡±


    As Indrus sat, the young woman next to her took a moment to realize she was up next. She wore a gentle smile with short blonde hair and blue eyes. With a quick press to smooth out her skirt, she stood and spoke softly. ¡°Hello. I am Blanc Lenore. It is good to meet you all. I will happily fill the support role in my team.¡± Blanc sat back down.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Harmony challenged again. ¡°You¡¯re worse than Mr. Philadelphia. What¡¯s your Trait?¡±


    Blanc stood back up and smiled kindly at Harmony, ¡°No thank you.¡± She sat back down.


    Harmony threw her hands in the air in a gesture of exasperation. ¡°What is with you people?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s a pretty apt description of her Trait,¡± Dean Anderson interjected.


    ¡°Being with someone?¡± Harmony asked in confusion.


    Dean Anderson smirked. ¡°If I were a petty man, I¡¯d ask you to try the same trick with her that you pulled with me. But as the adult in the room, I¡¯ll just save time and tell you: that young woman is an unprecedented Negator V. We have no idea what that could mean for our future. Suffice it to say: she effectively has the final word on whether or not the people around her can use a Trait or not.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± the slim young man next to Blanc spoke out next. He didn¡¯t so much stand as remain seated and float to a higher elevation. ¡°Name¡¯s Tony Lamelli. And I can fly, so I make pretty good recon for any terrain that allows for elevation advantage. Probably the best damned Pilot in the country. The competitions I''ve won let me know I¡¯m at least the best for my age category.¡± He floated back down to his seat. ¡°Oh, and uh, my card says I¡¯m also a bit of a Shifter, but I have no idea how that¡¯s supposed to work.¡±


    ¡°My name is Garett Brown,¡± a soft-spoken voice muttered. Nate hardly even realized the guy was in the room at all. ¡°I¡¯m a Rubble. Tank type.¡± He quickly sat down again, evoking a ten second long awkward silence as everyone wondered if there would be anything else from him.


    ¡°Alright, I guess it¡¯s my turn,¡± a woman over six and a half feet tall with black hair and black eyes stood up. ¡°Name¡¯s Dominique Hacel. I¡¯m a Hound and apparently a Reader. Not sure how that translates to a combat role, but I look forward to learning with you all.¡±


    ¡°Which brings it to me,¡± a young woman with auburn hair and blue eyes stood, giving the room a nod of greeting. ¡°My biggest asset in a gate-delving team is area control. I¡¯m not strong in any particular Trait, but combining them, I can make a field of increased gravity for my enemies and negate their strengths. Should function as something of a slow spell in an RPG.¡±


    As the girl sat back down, Huck, of all people, scoffed a laugh. ¡°What, no name?¡± he implored.


    The girl gave the room an embarrassed smile before she stood up again. ¡°Oh,¡± her face reddened noticeably. ¡°Andrea Reed.¡± Huck folded his arms, nodded, and pointedly looked away.


    Then Dean Anderson stood up. Not the Dean Anderson sitting facing the group of students, mind you- a second identical Dean Anderson stood up from the row of chairs. Nate was quite certain there had not been a Dean Anderson lookalike amongst the students as they walked through. ¡°I¡¯m Dean Anderson,¡± the faux Dean Anderson announced. ¡°And my favorite spice to add to any dish is belly lint,¡± the faux Dean Anderson matched the real Dean Anderson¡¯s cadence of voice perfectly. ¡°On Sunday nights, I take my weekly bath reading teen romance novels about vampires; wishing there was someone out there in the world who could hold me gently and caress my ear with their poetry.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± the real Dean Anderson agreed with a modicum of humor in his voice. ¡°Though I should add I have personally led successful raids on no fewer than three tier V Gates and held my brother in my arms as he breathed his last. Chances are, I¡¯ll have a full third of your names on a list of dead Hero alumni within 5 years of your graduation day. Half, for the non-elite class. That being said, however I may or may not choose to relax is irrelevant to my persona as a whole.¡±


    That statement shut faux Dean Anderson up quickly. Real Dean Anderson smiled. ¡°Everyone, this is Mi. Mi, meet everyone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really you, though,¡± Harmony spoke, her already almond eyes narrowing further.


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s not you. That¡¯s Mi,¡± real Dean Anderson poked the game along.


    ¡°But who¡¯s that?¡± Tara added.


    ¡°I can be you,¡± faux Tara quipped back at real Tara.


    Real Tara¡¯s eyes widened at the abrupt shift in persona. ¡°You can¡¯t be me! See? I can still do lightning.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always Mi,¡± faux Tara held out her hand and quirked an eyebrow as lightning danced across her fingers.


    ¡°No, come on. You can copy Traits?¡± Harmony asked in dismay.


    ¡°No, Mi can copy Traits,¡± Dean Anderson interjected, giving his students a toothy grin. ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t give right now for a transfer student named Yu.¡±


    ¡°Does Mi have a last name?¡± Huck asked, making some of the slower students finally understand.


    ¡°Actually, no. His full legal name is Mi,¡± Dean Anderson shrugged. ¡°Not sure how or why, but I also don¡¯t much care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a Mimic and Enhancer,¡± Mi shifted his body effortlessly into that of a young Asian man.


    ¡°I thought Mimics only copied Traits,¡± Huck raised an eyebrow in question. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your formchanges classify you as a Shifter?¡±


    Mi shrugged as a response.


    ¡°Where do you see yourself on a team?¡± Tobi interjected.


    Harmony shot Tobi a look that said ¡®idiot¡¯ before mouthing off, ¡°Obviously he can be anything- just not anything missing. And I¡¯ll bet his Enhancer Trait lets him pull off most roles better than the guy he¡¯s copying.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a guy who appreciates a balanced approach to life,¡± Wren nodded appreciatively.


    ¡°Come on, guys, we¡¯re still on the clock here,¡± Jenna reminded the room with a hint of anxiety in her voice. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving down the line.¡±


    ¡°I am Gustav Klein,¡± a slim young man bowed to his audience. His sharp eyes briefly met everyone else¡¯s in the room. ¡°Shifter, jokester, and generally loved by all. Especially mothers. My shifting allows me to tank almost any blow unlike my ex who was apparently quite the opposite.¡±


    Fiona snorted a laugh before covering her mouth and hiding her mirth as best she could.


    ¡°Not a completely dead crowd at least,¡± Gustav winked at her and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.


    ¡°Right,¡± Jenna gathered herself to stand as Gustav sat. ¡°My name¡¯s Jenna Harris and I¡¯m the first in my family with a Trait. Oracle.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not just any old Oracle,¡± Dean Anderson grinned maliciously. ¡°A Tier V Oracle. No detail of the future evades your sight.¡±


    Jenna visibly tried to hold back, but couldn¡¯t. Her suppressed frown turned to a forced smile as she responded, ¡°A more accurate statement would be ¡®there is no future that evades my sight¡¯ because there isn¡¯t such a thing as ¡®the future¡¯, let alone details of ¡®the future¡¯ that most Oracles simply miss. If an Oracle is wrong, it¡¯s not because they missed details in their prediction, it¡¯s because the future itself changed into-¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Dean Anderson cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m going to do you all a favor and keep you on track here,¡± he spoke, offhandedly checking his wristwatch.


    Jenna took in a short, determined breath and pressed on. ¡°As an Oracle, I¡¯ll be fulfilling a support role on any team. Preferably one outside the Gate itself. While I¡¯m honored to be here amongst you, I don¡¯t see myself being able to compete in any combat tournaments.¡± She gave a half smile before sitting down again.


    That leaves me. Nate could feel everyone¡¯s gaze turn toward him as he stood, thinking of something to say. Gustav should have gone last. ¡°I¡¯m Nate Lione. Apparently I¡¯m an Imbuer-¡±


    A wave of questions from his classmates bombarded him unexpectedly and so rapid-fire, that he had trouble keeping track of who was saying what.


    ¡°I have this amazing sword-¡±


    ¡°-it¡¯d look so cool if it had a fire Imbuement-¡±


    ¡°Do you think you could take a look at my armor?¡±


    ¡°-don¡¯t even know his Imbuing type yet-¡±


    ¡°-should probably go with an increased weight Imbuement, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you think about-?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you can¡¯t wear metal with a lightning Imbuement-¡±


    ¡°-it¡¯s not too much to ask, but-¡±


    ¡°-elemental, ethereal, physical, harmonic-¡±


    ¡°-so that way I could just stick my finger in my glass and cool my drink-¡±


    On and on, the questions kept coming until Nate sliced his hand through the air. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I was an Imbuer until I got my potential Trait card. I¡¯ve been nothing but a Reader my whole life up until now. I don¡¯t even know what Imbuing really is or even how it¡¯s supposed to work.¡±


    Disappointed, everyone moved back to their chairs except Nico, who shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got some old spare gear you can work on for practice. I don¡¯t care if it gets ruined or not; it¡¯s well beyond resale value.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯d actually appreciate that,¡± Nate gave a polite smile and nod to the guy.


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± Dean Anderson clapped his hands together. ¡°Anything else? No? Good. Your task is to complete a scavenger hunt. Teams of five with a pink and orange list per team. Your scavenger results are due by 5, so that gives you¡­ just about an hour to complete your task. Keep in mind I did have other announcements to make here pertaining to your first semesters, but as Ms. Harris correctly pointed out, that was mostly just to waste the time you have all thoroughly wasted yourselves. I¡¯ll email you all the pertinent information. Good luck.¡±

 Complete a Scavenger Hunt

    Getting 20 students to organize into four groups of five isn¡¯t a difficult task when students are familiar with each other. Organizing students into four groups of five likewise isn¡¯t a difficult task when they are complete strangers. But giving the students a peek at each other¡¯s personalities and abilities with enough time to form first impressions while then putting the burden of a group project on top of that turns out to be a recipe for disaster. Everyone seemed to have very strong opinions of who should be on their team and who should not. Nate chuckled as demand for Jenna to be on their team repeated itself for the umpteenth time, once again breaking down what team assembly had been managed up to that point. Nate glanced up at Dean Anderson, still seated in the room where he had been this whole time, chuckling to himself.


    Given our rate of progress, we should be able to finally form groups just before the assignment is due. And yet, no one seemed to want to listen to Nate. Every suggestion he¡¯d made had been promptly ignored as the more fiery personalities spoke even louder to try and get what they wanted. Either Nate could shout everyone down, or sit back and let them fail. Given how little time they had left, they¡¯d probably fail anyway. Nate sighed and shrugged. Maybe there won¡¯t be an Elite class this year. He blew a frustrated puff of air into his forehead, making eye contact with Dean Anderson. The man chuckled silently at Nate, as if challenging him to do something.


    ¡°Listen,¡± Jenna managed to let herself be heard over the roar of the others¡¯ voices. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. The only way we have a chance of walking away successfully is if we have four team captains and choose our groups by snake. I¡¯ll be one team captain so no one gets to choose me. I need three more volunteers.¡±


    The room quieted down as she spoke, students suddenly remembering the upcoming deadline and taking things a bit more seriously.


    ¡°Who chooses first?¡± Tony Lamelli openly challenged.


    Jenna briefly looked skyward as if she¡¯d find patience written on the ceiling before letting out her breath. ¡°Any method you could think of to randomly select someone wouldn¡¯t actually be fair. I¡¯d win it. So I¡¯ll pick first. And I think, being that the responsibility of your group¡¯s success or failure is on the team captain¡¯s shoulders more so than their teammates, I think whoever is brave enough to volunteer next should get to pick next.¡±


    ¡°What if we don¡¯t get four volunteers?¡± Harmony Iziri shot back.


    ¡°Then I will select my team and leave the rest of you to sort this mess out yourselves.¡±


    ¡°I will be team captain,¡± Tobi Negembe stepped forward. ¡°I will take on that responsibility.¡±


    ¡°Eh,¡± Nico Vale raised his hand noncommittally while stepping forward. ¡°Might be fun to be the ringleader.¡±


    ¡°One more,¡± Jenna pleaded, looking to the remaining students for another volunteer.


    Nate was about to step forward, when he caught Jenna¡¯s eye. Subtly, she shook her head back and forth, pointing to herself.


    ¡°I can be the fourth leader,¡± Dominique Hacel stepped forward, towering over the other leaders.


    ¡°Great,¡± Jenna clapped her hands. ¡°Snake style picking, so me, Tobi, Nico, Dominique, then Dominique, Nico, Tobi, and me,¡± she instructed promptly. ¡°Mi is on my team.¡±


    Nate stepped back in shock. She chose him first?


    ¡°Tony,¡± Tobi spoke, surety in his voice.


    ¡°Mobility,¡± Nico nodded. ¡°Not bad. Gustav,¡± Nico gave a finger gun. ¡°You¡¯re my guy.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Connor objected.


    ¡°Relax,¡± Nico waved away. ¡°A healer isn¡¯t any good for this anyway, so I¡¯ll get you in the end.¡±


    ¡°Tara,¡± Dominique pointed at the redhead, who zipped behind her new team leader with a smile. Dominique continued without missing a beat, ¡°And Wren.¡±


    Nico blew out a breath of air, ¡°Hoo, good choices there. Connor. My team. Now.¡±


    Dominique gave him a confused look, ¡°I thought no one wanted a Healer for a scavenger hunt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mean to my dear brother,¡± Nico shot back cooly, but didn¡¯t explain himself further.


    ¡°Before I pick next,¡± Tobi began, ¡°Fiona, you said you were a Rifter? Is that micro or macro?¡±


    Fiona frowned, ¡°I¡¯m not- what?¡±


    ¡°Could you open a Rift several blocks away, or only in this room? And how large are your Rifts? Can you send our whole party through at once?¡± Tobi explained calmly.


    ¡°Oh. Micro. Single objects, and not very far,¡± Fiona shrugged.


    Tobi nodded his head, ¡°Thank you for your honesty. Sheila, you are on my team.¡±


    Jenna smiled as her eyes met Nate¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ll take Fiona and Huck¡±


    ¡°Last pick,¡± Nate whispered to his friend. ¡°Ouch.¡± Though the truth of it bothered him more than he was willing to admit. I understand her tactics, but shouldn¡¯t you pick your friends first?


    ¡°Harmony,¡± Tobi spoke without delaying further. He must have some sort of mental list for prioritization.


    ¡°Indi,¡± Nico smiled widely and opened his arms wide. ¡°Let¡¯s bring the heat, baby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take Blanc and Andrea,¡± Dominique nodded firmly.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take Ms. Silent and Broody,¡± Nico pointed to Bianca.


    Tobi looked between Nate and Garrett several times as if trying to weigh the merits of each. A small part of Nate wanted Tobi to pick him just so he wouldn¡¯t be the last pick- technically this is the last pick. Jenna would be forced to take me if Tobi takes Garrett.


    ¡°Garrett,¡± Tobi finally announced before each team gathered, each to its own area of the room to further plan without risking other teams overhearing their brilliant ideas and stealing them as their own.


    Nate walked over to where Jenna, Mi, Fiona, and Huck stood, each awaiting Jenna¡¯s instruction. ¡°We¡¯d just be wasting time trying to figure things out. We need the lists first.,¡± she simply shook her head. They walked back out of the room, gathered the two lists from Professor Marvin and sat in a circle.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left,¡± Jenna began. ¡°And today was very purposefully designed that way. Bottom line: pretty much we¡¯re all going to fail. That¡¯s okay. Even these lists aren¡¯t actually fair. If we split up into two groups, we¡¯d be crossing and zigzagging each other across campus and wasting so much time just trying to get from one place to the next. What we actually need to do is create two new lists that are more orderly. One group takes the north end of campus, and the other group takes the south end. Once we¡¯ve done that, we refer back to the original pink and orange lists and transfer whatever pictures we need and hand them in. I¡¯ll go with Nate, and you three can manage the south side. We should be able to squeak out just enough items on the list to pass before 5. Don¡¯t be late though, got it?¡±


    Tobi and his team burst through the doors to the back room and sprinted to Professor Marvin to grab their lists before sprinting away, Tony speeding through the air on a one-man mission to complete an entire list himself.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Jenna rolled her eyes and walked off, grabbing Nate¡¯s arm.


    Once outside, their two groups split with Nate and Jenna heading north to the first marker on their new lists. They walked in silence for a few minutes, keeping their eyes peeled for any landmarks.


    After so much time in silence, Jenna scrunched her face up before asking, ¡°So¡­ is this the version of you that¡¯s hurt that I picked you last?¡±


    ¡°Version of me?¡± Nate questioned.


    ¡°A few different possibilities for this future- well, I guess it¡¯s the present now. Some Nates confront me, others stay silent. Some are just curious about my choice as they confront me, some are angry, some are¡­ really upset.¡±


    ¡°Come on, I can¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    ¡°There were tears,¡± Jenna side-eyed me. ¡°And some really hurtful exchanges of words.¡±


    Nate frowned, unsure if he should apologize for what some of his future selves¡­ ended up¡­ not doing? No, that¡¯s completely ridiculous. Just move on with the conversation.


    ¡°Honestly?¡± Nate took in a breath. ¡°I mean it does hurt a little, being the last choice. Especially since I thought we were getting along so well, it makes it seem like you were just playing along as a friend to entertain yourself until classes started. But you also don¡¯t seem that disingenuous. And in the back of my mind, I know that it was probably some sort of tactic to get exactly who you wanted for your team. Just kinda sucks being the last pick in any situation. But I think I can get over the blow to my bruised ego without exploding all over our friendship,¡± he chuckled softly.


    ¡°Ah, good. Honest Nate,¡± she audibly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ll start off with yeah, you¡¯re right. I had to use tactics to get us five on the same team. The others don¡¯t know this yet, well, maybe Nico suspects something given his team choices, but we¡¯re going to be a group for more than just this project. This is our team for this whole semester, and we¡¯ve got a lot of very different projects to work on with each other.¡±


    Nate nodded along, but didn¡¯t comment.


    ¡°You absolutely would have been my first choice if things played out differently in the introductions,¡± Jenna offered.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Nate waved away the sympathy, ¡°I have a slightly bruised ego but you don¡¯t need to nurse me back to health.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Jenna stopped walking. ¡°There weren¡¯t many scenarios where I could get both you and Huck with me on a team like we promised. But thankfully, you basically introduced yourself as someone with one of the most utilitarian Traits out there but no idea how to use it. If you mentioned or even hinted at your successes, I¡¯d have to snatch you up as the first choice. But by the time it got back to me, Huck would have been taken by someone else.¡±


    ¡°That seems really manipulative,¡± Nate frowned briefly.


    ¡°Most of life is. Someone¡¯s pulling strings somewhere to get theirs while we¡¯re left to deal with the consequences. If being an Oracle has taught me anything, it¡¯s how easily powerful people put their fingers on the scale of fate.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you always saying how there¡¯s no such thing as fate?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And there isn¡¯t. But technically there is,¡± she held a finger up for explanation. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s the statue of Bastion. Take the picture. So time moves forward, and people move forward with time. Think of it like we¡¯re all floating in a tube along a river. The river will take us all somewhere along itself. And if everyone does nothing, someone with a really strong model could roughly assess where everyone would end up. But people tend to paddle their tubes away from areas of the river they don¡¯t like, and every time they do, they splash and make ripples which in turn affect the other riders, altering their courses slightly. Fate would be if everyone just stayed their course and didn¡¯t make waves- the predetermined outcome. Effectively fate doesn¡¯t exist because free will always alters course away from fate rather unpredictably.¡±


    ¡°And the powerful people have a powerful paddle?¡± Nate ventured a guess.


    Jenna teetered her hand back and forth, ¡°It¡¯s more that people who could truly be called powerful are captaining an ocean liner? When someone with real power makes a move, it¡¯s not something us tiny little tubers can just ignore or paddle away from. We all get caught in those giant wakes.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem fair.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t, but next time a portal opens up in the city, I¡¯ll let Bastion know you think it¡¯s unfair for him to make moves against fate and that he should just let things go as they are. What will be will be, right?¡±


    Nate¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°The only way we survive this invasion is by struggling against fate, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only way we¡¯ve even managed to exist for this long, let alone our own futures. Some powerful boats came along and purposefully careened into banks to protect the rest of us from getting stuck there and ending the whole tubing trip early.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ heavy.¡±


    Standing in front of the statue, silence took over and a heavy weight settled on his chest.


    ¡°The title of Hero is never given out lightly,¡± Jenna answered breathily after another moment of pause.


    Nate snapped the picture on his phone before pocketing it again. ¡°Why not hop rivers?¡±


    Jenna turned to face Nate, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve talked about different futures before. Wouldn¡¯t that be like different rivers?¡±


    Jenna tapped her chin a few times as they continued on their quest together. After a moment of thinking, she responded, ¡°No, we¡¯re always on the same river. What I mean by different futures is where we¡¯ll be along the river up ahead- maybe more to the right or left; either option is probable so both are equally likely futures and no one could say which one is ¡®real¡¯ or ¡®the future¡¯.¡±


    Nate absorbed her answer silently, digesting what his friend had told him. ¡°And no one can control where the river goes. Doesn¡¯t that mean that fate actually is a thing then? I could ride the Mississippi down, but never end up in California. As long as Humanity is stuck on that river, then whether to salvation or abyss, ultimately, we¡¯re going to end up exactly where it dumps us.¡±


    ¡°And no one has ever seen that ending,¡± Jenna nodded her head. ¡°Humanity¡¯s tube trip has always ended long before the river does.¡±


    ¡°How do you deal with all this?¡± Nate shook his head in disbelief.


    Jenna didn¡¯t answer for a while as they walked along toward their next goal. After crossing the street, she took in a breath and turned to face Nate. ¡°A while ago, you said something along the lines of Readers being the past, right?¡±


    ¡°Something like that, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s something like that for me too. If you¡¯re the past brought into the present, then I would be the future brought to the now. My gift isn¡¯t any less complex than what you¡¯re thinking right now, but being an Oracle helps me intuit the future better.¡±


    ¡°The future?¡± Nate smirked.


    ¡°As a generalized ¡®whichever future may come to be¡¯,¡± she softly smiled back at him. ¡°Come on, I think I see the museum.¡±


    Huck, Mi, and Fiona walked together without uttering a single word for a time, Fiona awkwardly looking back and forth between her two silent companions. Huck seemed to take the lead, picking a direction and just speed walking that way. At least the weather was holding up. She gave an exasperated sigh at the prolonged wordless silence before finally breaking it.


    ¡°Do either of you even know what to look for? Cause I have no idea what¡¯s even on our list or if we passed it already-¡±


    Huck thrust the paper backwards without even turning his head. ¡°Thanks for volunteering to be in charge of that.¡±


    Years of customer service tamped down Fiona¡¯s irateness as she grimly smiled and took the paper. With the sun hanging low in the sky, reading anything on that list would be challenging without a flashlight. Scanning the list with her study pad, she was able to read the screen much easier than the list itself. She smiled, taking a moment to mentally congratulate herself for her own ingenuity before the lack of conversation began to bother her again.


    ¡°I¡¯m Fiona-¡±


    ¡°We know,¡± Huck cut her off. ¡°We were there fifteen minutes ago when you introduced yourself. Huck. Mi,¡± he pointed toward himself and the much taller man walking beside him.


    ¡°Wait, your nickname is Huck?¡± Fiona smirked. ¡°Huck Finnaley? Like Huck Finn?¡± she let out a delighted giggle. ¡°Were your parents a big fan of Mark Twain or something?¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t tell you,¡± Huck answered tersely. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen ¡®em since I was seven. Walked into a Gate one day and never walked back out.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± whatever chipper mood Fiona had just begun to feel vanished like a morning dew on a hot summer day. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. Not something you can control,¡± Huck shrugged and sped up his pace.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they were good Heroes,¡± Fiona offered meekly.


    ¡°They were,¡± Huck nodded, not bothering to look back at her. ¡°That¡¯s what everyone told me, anyway: what good Heroes my parents were, how much their sacrifices helped the city survive another day. So I guess that¡¯s just what good Heroes do- they die.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Fiona squeaked out quietly, the gentle breeze enough to whisk her words back away to whatever ethereal realm words head off to when they die stillborn on your lips.


    Nobody looked happy. Tobi¡¯s group had been back late to the auditorium and hadn¡¯t even heard the call for the Elite groups to head to the back room. Dean Anderson sat at the head of the row of metal folding chairs with six papers, shaking his head and tutting audibly as he double-checked each and every one of them. Anxiety had taken position above the room, pressing down on each student like the weight of the ocean crushing in against a tiny submarine.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to say,¡± Dean Anderson spoke slowly, each word purposefully hanging in the air to build suspense. ¡°Certainly a day for firsts. On the one hand, two groups have technically passed the assignment which is an astounding first. On the other hand, of the two groups that failed, one failed to show up to be graded, which is horrendous- and another first.¡± He paused, looking each of his students in the eye for a moment. ¡°And Nico, when I say ¡®technically passed¡¯, I do mean by the most technical reading of the rules possible.¡± Dean Anderson sighed. ¡°This assignment was supposed to demonstrate a need for communication, situational awareness, and cooperation. I¡¯m assuming Jenna¡¯s team divvied up tasks based on location instead of list, sending one group to one area and another group to the other to cover as many items on both lists in as short a period of time as possible thereby removing the time eaten up from weaving all across our campus.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Jenna nodded her confirmation.


    ¡°And her team completed just over two thirds of all the items across both scavenger hunt lists. I¡¯m sure seeing a future me give this speech inspired you to make some changes to your plans.¡±


    Again, Jenna nodded confirmation.


    ¡°As for your team, Nico, I¡¯m¡­ flabbergasted.¡±


    Nico shrugged, stoically silent.


    ¡°Pocket lint, three nickels, a hastily written poem, a broken pencil, a shoelace, a crumpled receipt from the university¡¯s cafe, an empty coffee cup from said receipt-¡±


    ¡°-and a red paperclip,¡± Nico finished, grinning and nodding along to the dean¡¯s list of odd items.


    ¡°I¡¯m uncertain what possessed you to hand in these items.¡±


    ¡°But we passed,¡± Nico nodded.


    Dean Anderson¡¯s lips tightened. ¡°Technically.¡±


    Nico shrugged nonchalantly, ¡°Our instructions were to complete a scavenger hunt and to receive an orange and pink paper from Professor Marvin.¡±


    ¡°The scavenger hunt you were supposed to complete was on those papers,¡± Dean Anderson pointed out.


    ¡°Ah, but not necessarily the scavenger hunt we were instructed to complete. Our assignment was to ¡®complete a scavenger hunt¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So you made your own list of things I¡¯m assuming you found in your pockets.¡±


    ¡°Plus the pink and orange lists Professor Marvin gave us,¡± Nico nodded.


    ¡°Right,¡± Dean Anderson shook his head, ¡°¡®one pink list for a scavenger hunt¡¯ and ¡®one orange list for a scavenger hunt¡¯. Check and check. I¡¯m not thrilled with your methodology.¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t thrilled that you operated in bad faith by trying to give us an assignment we were meant to fail,¡± Nico countered.


    ¡°You were supposed to learn a harsh lesson,¡± Dean Anderson grumbled.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you even get that idea?¡± Nico changed topics.


    Dean Anderson pursed his lips. ¡°It was in a fictional book I read. Seemed like a fun idea with lots of lessons to teach.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I read that one,¡± Nico nodded his head. ¡°About literal superheroes going to college? A little on the nose to pull a lesson from that, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m hearing is you knew the correct answer and exactly how to go about solving the problem and chose to do it your way instead,¡± Dean Anderson shot back deadpan. ¡°Now I¡¯m tempted to fail you yet again.¡±


    ¡°It was a risk either way,¡± Nico shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t exactly have an overabundance of time, so I chose to change the parameters such that we could complete the assignment.¡±


    The dean drummed his finger on Nico¡¯s paper as he leveled his gaze at the young man. ¡°I believe I have announcements to conclude for the rest of your class¡¯ orientation. Please make your way back to your seats.¡±


    Nate led the file of students out of the backroom and into the auditorium. As soon as he pushed the door open, the entire auditorium went silent. He could feel every eye on him, questioning what was going on, and what their presence back with the main student body meant. Nate gave away no clues as he silently walked back to his seat, Jenna plopping down next to him. A few minutes passed without Dean Anderson leaving the backroom, expectant silence forming into hushed whispers, inevitably leading to a general din of indecipherable discussion.


    ¡°Is he coming out?¡± Nate eventually leaned over to speak to Jenna after a few minutes of suspense.


    Before Jenna could answer, the door on stage opened once again, Dean Anderson striding out confidently with a smug smile on his face.


    ¡°Good to see none of you got bored and left,¡± he greeted the students. ¡°I¡¯d like to congratulate the majority of you students on passing your first assignment. Well done. That being said, not everyone passed. Some of you may have guessed already, but those students who met with me earlier and who came out of the back room even more recently are your class¡¯ current student Elites. Half of your Elite class failed this simple assignment. Understand that I had put no further requirements on them than I did on you. Some of the most promising students even failed to show up at the deadline. While you were all cooperating and focusing on getting the work done, your elites had a little pow-wow where they introduced themselves, argued, and generally wasted time. All-in-all, they halved their amount of allotted time for this assignment. However, even with half the amount of time, there were still some successes. Elite Jenna Harris was able to step up as a leader to organize a fair and streamlined way to create teams. She then had the foresight to not hand out the lists to her team as they were, but reorganize them based on location to split her team up and cover different parts of campus without wasting time to criss-cross across campus. Her foresight, planning, and leadership are well-deserving of the Elite title. I hope you all recognize both her and her team.


    ¡°Likewise, our second story of success lies with Elite Nico Vale who, instead of looking at the now-nearly-impossible assignment and giving up, decided to turn the task on its head. Instead of trying to complete the implied task of a scavenger hunt I had created, he decided to look into the letter of my orders, which was to complete a scavenger hunt. Mr. Vale used critical thinking, innovation, and wit to accomplish the impossible. For that, and that alone, his accomplishment should be recognized. Humanity, if we are to survive, needs people like Elite Harris and Vale. We need planners who recognize necessary optimizations, and thinkers who come at problems sideways just as much as we need protectors like Bastion. The world as we know it has a lot of problems that need solving, and generations of Heroes sacrificing themselves has taught us we can no longer afford to continually throw raw muscle at these invaders. Our problems won¡¯t go away if we approach them without a plan. It¡¯s time we fought smarter instead of just harder.


    ¡°In light of your first success in the HPGD, give yourselves a round of applause,¡± Dean Anderson announced. The auditorium erupted in shouts of triumph, along with a few taunts thrown in at the Elites who failed. After a minute, the dean regained control of his audience. ¡°Alright, yes, very good. Well done,¡± he clapped a few times. ¡°Tomorrow marks your first weekend here, so let me lay down a few ground rules: stay safe, don¡¯t add to or subtract from the general population, and if you¡¯re going to do something stupid- don¡¯t get caught. Class registration is due this coming Wednesday, so make sure you get your applications in. Trust me, those classes get taken up pretty quickly so you don¡¯t want to wait until the last minute. I¡¯d like to meet up with the Elites again after this as I¡¯m not entirely thrilled by their performance. As for the rest of you, good night and enjoy your weekend.¡±


    ¡°Another chewing out,¡± Nate turned to Jenna with a questioning look.


    She teetered her hand and gave an inconsequential shrug. ¡°It¡¯s more making sure we register for the correct classes. Ours start Monday instead of Wednesday.¡±


    Slowly, the auditorium filtered out as students left for their dorms or a dining hall. After nearly half an hour, the building was once again empty save for twenty students and a dean.


    ¡°So what to do about the failures?¡± Dean Anderson questioned aloud. ¡°Already behind the regular students¡¯ GPA. I think until you get your acts together collectively, you¡¯ll need to work harder than everyone else to make up that difference. Your classes are starting Monday, which means none of you leave tonight until you¡¯ve registered.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re punishing us even though we didn¡¯t fail?¡± Nico arched an eyebrow. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem fair.¡±


    ¡°Unabashedly so,¡± Dean Anderson spoke unphased. ¡°If you¡¯re delving a Gate and the tank fails to contain his target, who gets punished?¡±


    ¡°Everyone. But we¡¯ve already selected our teams,¡± Nico answered, pointing to his group.


    Dean Anderson leaned forward, taking a moment to assess Nico¡¯s challenge. ¡°Very well. As a completely random and definitely not real life example, let¡¯s suppose an unstable tier V Gate appears in your city. Some random Delving team is assessed to be capable of handling the threat, enters in, and fails their assignment. The Gate breaks and floods the entire city with demons. Who gets punished for that Delving team¡¯s failure? Just that team? Or likewise all the teams that had been counting on them to contain the Gate while they handled other issues? Doesn¡¯t the entire city suffer the consequences? What about trade between cities? What about the people who depended on materials or food the city produced? Failure is never isolated. If your team fails, humanity suffers the consequences. One broken gate can topple a city, and one less city is one fewer footholds we have to hang onto. While both you and Ms. Harris were laudably clever, neither of you saw fit to extend your solutions to the other groups. That¡¯s where you failed, Mr. Vale. You¡¯re all the class of Elites. You have responsibilities to many more people than just yourself. And so I must train you to hold yourselves accountable for more than your own actions.¡±


    Nico didn¡¯t have a response to that other than furrowing his eyebrows and frowning.


    ¡°Any other concerns?¡± Dean Anderson scanned the faces of the other students. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll walk you to the computer labs for your class registrations. You¡¯ll all be in the same classes as each other, save for a single elective. Aside from your elective, you will not be sharing classes with the regular HPGD students, as your curriculum will be accelerated. I¡¯d recommend trying for an elective to go over the basis of your Trait. Even if you feel like you¡¯ve got a good grasp on it, or you¡¯re Tier IV or even V, getting help early from experienced veterans is a good springboard to launch yourself further. Along that vein of thought, just because someone has a lower Tier than you in your Trait doesn¡¯t mean you automatically know better than they do.¡± He took a moment to stare down each Elite student. ¡°So I¡¯d better not hear complaints from my faculty that you¡¯re ignoring their instructions or acting out in class. This will be your only warning.¡±


    The night went on for a few more hours as each student went through registration and class selection. Nate¡¯s stomach rumbled angrily just before 2000, reminding him he¡¯d skipped dinner. Fortunately, the Dean took down orders for takeout and even paid out of pocket for the meals, allowing them to work while they ate. Nate finished registering his last class- an elective for beginner level Imbuing, so he sat in his chair next to Jenna and watched her waffle between a few choices.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just use your Trait?¡± Nate asked, already bored of watching his friend waffle her decision.


    ¡°I could, yes. And I have. And everything seems equally significant. Or equally inconsequential. There are too many variables. I don¡¯t know,¡± she held her head in her hands as she let out a big sigh.


    ¡°Well, if none of it matters, then what is it that you want?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± her voice became quiet at that admission. ¡°I guess I should do something to stay in the Elite program, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something you should do- if you want to,¡± Nate emphasized.


    Jenna sighed in defeat. ¡°It¡¯s- I¡¯m just so frustrated because I want so many things and I know it¡¯s stupid for someone to try to get everything you want because there¡¯s so much more than just you but if I have the ability to get what I want then shouldn¡¯t I do it, but there¡¯s also the whole fate of humanity and what needs to be done to keep our species alive and there¡¯s no way that choosing a stupid elective should be this consequential to my goals or our survival as a whole,¡± she gasped for air, finally having run out after that huge expository jumble with no pause between words.


    Nate waited a few more moments to make sure she¡¯d managed to squeeze all her thoughts out before addressing his friend, ¡°I took intermediate control for Imbuing. But I think you might want that intermediate conditioning class if you think you¡¯re going to have a hard time with combatives.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s sacrificing humanity for my own goals. I may not stay in the Elite class, but getting better control over my powers sooner would end up saving more lives,¡± she argued.


    Nate just shrugged. ¡°You seem to have a pretty good handle on your powers already. Plus I think you¡¯d save more lives by staying on the leader route- maybe becoming a guild advisor or something to position your team for success.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she held her face in her hands and groaned. ¡°That¡¯s another aspect to consider.¡±


    ¡°Well, that and couldn¡¯t you just attend the intermediate control class now?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jenna looked at him incredulously.


    ¡°A few days back when I first crawled out of my cave and had been unsuccessful with Imbuing. Remember how you¡¯d been looking into the future and saw a vision of you looking into the future? Couldn¡¯t you just sit down for a moment and look into the future where you take the intermediate control class, learn everything you can from that vision, and then take conditioning?¡±


    ¡°I-¡± Jenna stopped herself before frowning. Several times in a row, she opened her mouth as if to speak before closing it again and making some unique facial expression afterward. Slowly, carefully, she finally admitted, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it works that way. There¡¯s- there¡¯s a possibility that once I¡¯ve decided to take the intermediate conditioning course that the future where I take the control class gets cut off.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s worth a try,¡± Nate finished for her, arching his eyebrows to her in a question of confirmation.


    ¡°But it¡¯s worth a try,¡± she nodded before her eyes turned milky white. She sat there in silence for a full five minutes before shaking her head. ¡°That¡¯s too weird.¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But also not quite as well as I¡¯d have liked. There were too many variables for my Trait to cover more than a day, but even as I solidified the thought of definitely taking conditioning over control, I could feel something changing. Remember the river tubing analogy? This felt like a tiny little finger of water carving into the river bank- like I¡¯d been the one to carve it. And I could keep carving it, but only a little bit at a time.¡±


    Nate furrowed his brows. ¡°A new river?¡±


    ¡°No, no new rivers,¡± Jenna shook her head emphatically. ¡°The exact same river, just much smaller. A simulation of the river we¡¯re currently on with our tubes slightly rearranged such that I take control instead of conditioning. I think¡­ I think I just made a simulation for an alternate reality,¡± her own eyebrows scrunched together giving her face a cute pinched expression that made Nate smile ever-so-slightly for the delight of being a witness to it. ¡°I get the feeling I can only account for so much, so I need to come back to it day by day and keep working on it, but¡­ it should be possible to theoretically take both classes.¡±


    ¡°Woah. Could you just take every elective at once that way?¡± Nate asked excitedly.


    Jenna chuckled aloud before putting her hand to her mouth embarrassedly. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ just stick with one alternate reality at a time for now, yeah? Maybe next year I¡¯ll have a better handle on my Trait to do more- assuming my intuition is correct about this simulation-river thing. What about you? You sure you¡¯re ready for intermediate control in Imbuing?¡±


    Nate shrugged, ¡°Intermediate control classes start with the rest of our Elite classes, and if I find out I¡¯m not ready, I can just switch to beginner without missing any classes. No risk, all reward.¡±


    Having finally selected her classes and entering them for registration, they both stood up only to find Dean Anderson had been hovering over their shoulders with a large grin.


    ¡°Uh,¡± Nate started awkwardly, ¡°sorry. Is¡­ there something you need from us?¡±


    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t mind me,¡± Dean Anderson waved away. ¡°I was just checking in with the only students who haven¡¯t completed registration to see if there were some questions I could answer to get things wrapped up for you.¡±


    ¡°We finished,¡± Jenna sheepishly smiled. ¡°Sorry it took so long for me to decide.¡±


    Dean Anderson¡¯s grin grew larger, ¡°I¡¯m not. That¡¯s quite the ability you¡¯ve encountered with your Trait, Ms. Harris. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to run a minor experiment to test your hypothesis.¡±


    ¡°Hypothesis?¡± Jenna frowned, growing even more nervous as the conversation continued.


    ¡°Nothing to worry about, I assure you. You do exactly as you planned. When semester midterms come, if you consent, I¡¯d like to give you an additional test to take- before you ask, no, it wouldn¡¯t count against your GPA, I¡¯m just gathering experimental data.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m confused,¡± Jenna admitted.


    ¡°Ah. Right,¡± Dean Anderson cleared his throat before explaining himself. ¡°Your alternate reality theory. I¡¯d like to test it. You¡¯ll be handed the exact same midterm that other intermediate control students are handed. If you don¡¯t do well, I should think that would be sufficient evidence against your theory.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ll have even more to study?¡± Jenna frowned. ¡°That sounds really stressful.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s the crux of the issue. I want you to only study for your control class in your alternate timeline. If I¡¯m not mistaken, your Oracle Trait has a rather useful subjective temporal compression ability? Much like dreaming.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ suppose it does,¡± she frowned.


    ¡°And of course if you do well on the midterms, I¡¯d give you the final exam as another data point to examine,¡± the dean continued.


    Jenna¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°I was afraid of that.¡±


    ¡°And naturally, if you do well on both the midterm and final, I can see no reason not to credit you with having taken the class?¡±


    In the span of a single heartbeat her demeanor completely changed from troubled to outright greed. ¡°I think I can agree to those terms.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll hope for your success,¡± Dean Anderson answered, the grin never having left his face- a grin that Jenna now mirrored. ¡°I hope you both have a relaxing weekend. I trust you can find your way back to your dorms?¡±


    ¡°About that,¡± Nate began. ¡°You said before that our dormitories were temporary and in accordance with where we happened to be seated. When are we getting our real ones?¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± Dean Anderson huffed contemplatively. ¡°I didn¡¯t mention that this year, did I?¡± With a frown and a shrug he explained, ¡°You¡¯ll be assigned to your dorms after the 1st year entrance ceremony at the end of your first week of classes. Formal event, so wear your dress uniforms. There¡¯ll be dinner, dancing, and it serves as a general meet and greet for your company.¡±


    ¡°Company?¡± Nate prodded.


    ¡°Right,¡± Dean Anderson sighed heavily. ¡°Normally I¡¯d have explained all this to eat up time before the scavenger hunt, but that particular train was shut down,¡± he gestured toward Jenna with a pointed look. ¡°So each Elite will be assigned 20 regular students as a Company to lead. Then each Company of your Elite group will come together to form a Battalion. All of it is inconsequential in the first semester- mostly just names and numbers on a list for you to handle during your studies, but it still helps form cohesion and lets you get a general idea of who you¡¯ll be working with in the future. From the second semester onward, your Company will be more actively engaged with you, taking your orders and gaining credits based on their performance. You¡¯ll be graded based on both their performance and your ability to lead them. Every Saturday will be ¡®open market¡¯ day where you may freely buy or sell equipment and even openly trade Company members. Usually, I get a good half hour to full hour of questions after explaining all that. Questions I suppose I¡¯ll have to answer individually,¡± the Dean let out a dark sigh of exasperation. ¡°You know what? I think this year I¡¯ll just do a group chat. That way I¡¯m not answering the same questions ad nauseam.¡±


    ¡°But what does all that have to do with our dorms?¡± Nate looped back around to his original question.


    ¡°Oh, your dorms will be assigned by battalion and company. One building per Battalion, one floor per Company.¡±


    Quickly doing the math, Nate frowned and questioned, ¡°What about the other students? There were way more than 500 in that auditorium.¡±


    ¡°We take the top 500 with the strongest Trait potential, skewing toward physical ability where ties are concerned. In the unlikely event that someone not assigned a Battalion stays in the HPGD, they will be assigned to one as soon as a position opens. Until then, they¡¯ll share a dormitory experience with those already out of the program. If you have any more questions, by all means, save them for the group chat. That will be all. Goodnight.¡±


    Nate frowned and looked at Jenna who shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve already looked into this whole Company thing?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± she shrugged again. ¡°Like the dean said, it¡¯s mostly inconsequential this semester and I¡¯m a little too busy with other things to drive much further down the road than that.¡±


    ¡°No major issues then?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Jenna snapped her fingers as if suddenly remembering, ¡°there is that one guy on your squad who tries to kill us in our sleep.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound too bad,¡± Nate shrugged playfully. ¡°What is it, roid rage or am I that incompetent of a leader?¡±


    ¡°Jealousy mostly. It seems you¡¯ll manage to seduce his mother in the near future,¡± Jenna gave a theatrical sigh.


    ¡°So why¡¯s he killing you then?¡±


    Jenna shrugged and chuckled, ¡°Wrong place wrong time?¡±


    With an amused chuckle, Nate pushed, ¡°And why are you in my dorm when I¡¯m asleep?¡±


    Her eyes widened a fraction before her face reddened. ¡°Not that we¡¯d be sleeping together or anything. Our dorms- they¡¯re- we¡¯re still neighbors- and the noise,¡± her voice hitched as she forced a laugh as Nate tried not to laugh at her stumbling over her words. Blue skies above, she¡¯s cute when she¡¯s caught up like this. ¡°He¡¯d have to try and get me too- no witnesses, you know? Shut up,¡± she finished with a pout.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything,¡± Nate chuckled. Jenna glared.


    Their short walk back to their respective rooms remained silent, Jenna screwing up her face into some look caught between scowl and glare anytime Nate was about to open his mouth. After bidding each other a good night, Nate closed the door to his room and slumped to the floor with a frown. Is she really not interested in dating me? Maybe I¡¯m just bad at flirting. His mind played back his past failed relationships and everything he ever did wrong. Maybe I¡¯m just not being direct enough. Dad always told me I needed to be as direct as possible with women.


    The dance. Nate made up his mind. I¡¯ll ask her to dance with me at the first year entrance ceremony thing. And if she shies away or avoids me, I¡¯ll know she doesn¡¯t like me. Or at least that if we pursued a relationship, it¡¯d flame out. Nate frowned at that thought. Is that really something I¡¯m just going to accept though? She¡¯s an Oracle and saw the future and we don¡¯t work out? How many times have I already beaten that future vision of hers? Can I do it again when it really matters? Or maybe me trying too hard is what wrecks us in the first place. He slapped his palm to his forehead and tried to stifle his groan of frustration before picking himself up off the floor and preparing for bed. She¡¯s definitely not making this easy for me. Oracles are impossible.


    Shattered skies! Jenna mentally kicked herself as she brushed her teeth. Do I have to never wear this outfit again? What if he Reads it? Can he? He picked up on my dad¡¯s job just from my dad briefly touching his wallet so of course he could Read it. These aren¡¯t exactly trivial emotions I go through with him. She spat in the sink hard before forcing herself to calm down as panic threatened to overwhelm her mind. Maybe just tell him? Yeah. ¡®Hi Nate. I like you. A lot. And that was before I ever met you officially. My favorite future I¡¯ve ever witnessed is one where we end up together and making our own family.¡¯ Perfectly reasonable conversation to have with a man you met a handful of days ago. ¡®Oh and by the way, if we start dating now, it¡¯ll almost definitely ruin absolutely everything for us because we can¡¯t really handle the stresses that the HPGD will put on us while maintaining a healthy relationship but please don¡¯t go around looking for someone else. Especially not Fiona who would almost absolutely give you everything you could ever ask from a woman just to get me to act on all these emotions I have for you.¡¯ The toothbrush raced furiously across her mouth as she fumed. Yes, let¡¯s definitely have that extraordinarily rational conversation where you don¡¯t freak out on me and think I¡¯m some massive weirdo stalker and avoid me for the rest of forever. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s completely fine with you that I had a crush on you before we ever met- and before I knew for sure if I even had a Trait, right? With a sudden frown, she paused and looked at her toothbrush in the mirror. Nate¡¯s words about Readers being the past rang in her ears along with something about even being able to Read toothbrush revelations. Great. Now I¡¯ll have to hide my freaking toothbrush whenever he comes over. Readers are impossible!

 Chapter 8- Plenty of room for good Heroes

    Sunlight peeked through Nate¡¯s window as he stared in bewilderment. Last night had not been kind to him. His thoughts ran ceaselessly as anxiety gripped his emotions, throttling what little desire he had for rest into non-existence. Her face flitted through his mind: her smile, the little crinkles on her nose when she scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, even that cute pout she had last night, annoying as it was in the moment.


    Damn it all. I think I need to spend today by myself. Maybe go lift something heavy, Nate grumbled to himself and rolled off the bed. His frustration mounted in his thoughts as he changed and nearly burst out of his dorm room, careening into another person wearing a hoodie with their hood up.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nate grumbled. The other guy grumbled something back incoherently and continued walking.


    ¡°Wait, Huck?¡± Nate narrowed his eyes at his friend in confusion. ¡°Wait a second-¡±


    ¡°Busy. Gym,¡± Huck replied without turning back.


    ¡°Yeah. Same.¡±


    That did get Huck to turn around. He gave Nate an appraising look before nodding slowly. ¡°I know a good one. Not campus owned. Kinda small, but not crowded.¡± Without any explanation, he tossed a small package at Nate who fumbled the catch. It appeared to be some sort of nutrition bar advertising a meal on the go. ¡°You¡¯ll thank me for that later,¡± Huck waved Nate to catch up.


    Nate ate as he walked, taking small bites of the chalky protein bar mostly to be polite. He recognized that he probably should have eaten some sort of meal before dedicating time and frustration to a workout, but his frustration stopped him from thinking clearly.


    Right before the entrance of the Gym, Huck paused, turning to face his friend. ¡°You remember the fight at the stairs?¡±


    Nate nodded.


    ¡°Same thing here. You can spot me on weights while you¡¯re resting, but don¡¯t interfere unless I ask for it. Got it?¡±


    Nate nodded.


    They walked in together, stopping at the front desk to sign in and pay. The nearly empty Gym smelled simultaneously of sweat and cleaning solution.


    ¡°See if all that muscle is good for something,¡± Huck swatted Nate¡¯s chest and walked over to a bench where some guy was pressing a barbell loaded with plates. ¡°What¡¯s up, Mi?¡±


    Setting the bar down, the large man sat up, grinned, and slapped Huck¡¯s hand in greeting.


    How could he possibly recognize that guy was Mi?


    ¡°This is Nate,¡± Huck waved Nate over. ¡°Met him before orientation. Seems like an alright guy.¡±


    Mi appraised Nate for a moment before simply stating, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± With that, he stood and motioned Nate toward the bench. ¡°Show us what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    Nate got into position and pushed to no avail. He struggled for everything he was worth and got nowhere. Just like with Jenna. The thought galvanized his body to push harder- to surpass his limits as rage-fueled adrenaline coursed through his muscles. Effort, sweat, shouting, muscles, and blood all worked in tandem to give that bar every ounce of Nate¡¯s being as his frustration with himself coalesced into limit-surpassing glory. The bar raised an inch- two- right before Huck¡¯s hand slammed it back to its resting place.


    ¡°Dude. You¡¯re not a Vanguard,¡± Huck shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ve got about 320 pounds on there. Check your weights before you get yourself killed.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Nate panted for breath before sliding back off the bench. ¡°Right. Maybe one of you could help me get the right weight. I don¡¯t know much about lifting.¡±


    Mi and Huck glanced at each other before giving Nate¡¯s large and fit frame a once over.


    ¡°Sky-shattered genetics,¡± Huck scoffed. Mi nodded and rolled his eyes.


    The day passed as the group of young men lifted together, not so much talking as shouting in effort to raise ever-heavier objects off the ground. Nate found the effort and pain cathartic in a way that couldn¡¯t rightly be described- akin to finally breaking free of a crowd so congested that no one could move forward. Huck never rested, opting to do sets again with Nate and Mi, encouraging them with every rep to keep up the effort and give it everything they had. Nate¡¯s muscles were shaking after the first hour. After the second, they felt more like liquid pools of goop than solid muscle as the guys went through every muscle group in the body for what felt like the umpteenth time. It wasn¡¯t until after the third hour that they were interrupted.


    ¡°Lady Troubles, Inferiority Complex, Self-Loathing, get over here,¡± a gravelly voice called over to the group of young men, pointing at each of them. ¡°I can spot your type a mile away.¡±


    Each of them sported a look of shock, pointing to themselves as if unsure if they were the ones being addressed or not.


    ¡°What, we¡¯re not welcome?¡± Huck finally answered with a challenge.


    ¡°Not welcome? What? Heck no! If I turned down every young man raging against his inner demons I¡¯d be out on my ass within the month. I called you over to tell you that you¡¯re perfect candidates for my training program. I¡¯m gonna work you till you drop. I¡¯ll make you pump iron until every muscle fiber sheds tears. Then I¡¯m gonna work you until your pain erases every problem you have. Weight training, cardio, fighting, I¡¯ll put you through it all.¡±


    The trio looked at each other in confusion before Nate decided to speak up for the group, ¡°I guess we¡¯re waiting for the part where any of that is supposed to sound tempting?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± the buff old man questioned. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good time to you? Blue skies above, kids these days. No one wants to put in the work anymore.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ve got enough going on and precious little free time as it is,¡± Nate countered.


    ¡°Hold up,¡± Huck placed a hand on Nate¡¯s arm, looking interested in the strange man¡¯s offer. ¡°Let¡¯s at least hear him out.¡±


    Note to self: Huck might be insane.


    ¡°I get the whole ¡®put forth effort¡¯ thing, what I¡¯m not hearing is the why,¡± Huck continued. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to get stronger for strength¡¯s sake, but honestly, we¡¯ll be getting a ton of training from the HPGD already. What makes you think your extra training could be any better than that?¡±


    ¡°Better?¡± the man roared in laughter. ¡°Better? By the time I¡¯m done with you, you¡¯ll make those Elites in your class look like washouts. I can hardly wait,¡± the man turned and laughed, leading Nate, Huck, and Mi to a rack of dumbbells as if their acceptance was a foregone conclusion.


    Glancing over at each other and shrugging, the young men followed the mysterious man towards the back of the Gym.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Nate questioned.


    The man frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the words above the entrance say?¡±


    ¡°Hightower Gym,¡± Nate answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± the man replied. ¡°Now shut up and do as I say. I¡¯ve never seen a more sorry lot of pathetic amateurs in my life, walking around like that killing yourselves.¡±


    ¡°We put in good effort,¡± Huck argued sharply. ¡°Everything we had!  We put sweat onto the mat.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Hightower crossed his arms, presenting an imposing figure with a frame, stance, muscular definition, and height that would have intimidated most professional bodybuilders from the days before the apocalypse. ¡°And what happens once your anger with yourselves runs out? You stop lifting? Get complacent? Sit back and relax while a demon spears an arm through your chest? The first stage of good technique is persistence. If I¡¯m gonna personally train you, then I need to know I¡¯m not wasting my time. You aren¡¯t wastes of time, are you?¡± he glared at all three of them.


    ¡°No,¡± Huck scowled, drawn in by the challenge.


    ¡°No what?¡± Hightower demanded.


    ¡°No sir!¡± Huck snapped back immediately, much to the apparent delight of the strange man.


    ¡°Good,¡± Hightower smiled like a wolf let into the pigpen. ¡°Then I expect you three here every Saturday at 5 in the morning from here on until you quit on me,¡± he gave a predatory grin, showing his gleaming white teeth. Nate couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that they were about to make a deal with a devil, but nodded his ascent anyway. ¡°No hesitation? Maybe you three might make it out alive after all. Come on, we¡¯re going downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why us?¡± Nate folded his arms across his chest. ¡°This isn¡¯t some weird bet you made with an HPGD coach where you train us up to compete, is it?¡±


    Hightower frowned at that. ¡°No,¡± his shoulders slumped in defeat. ¡°Those cowards stopped taking bets with me and the students I trained up years ago. Said their wages could afford the wager.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that confident?¡± Huck seemed impressed.


    ¡°Shattered skies, yeah,¡± Hightower pounded his chest. ¡°I¡¯ve got a pretty impressive resume when it comes to training up Heroes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that confident in us, though?¡± Huck pressed.


    In response, Hightower teetered his hand and gave a slight shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve seen better, to be honest. You¡¯ve got some potential, though.¡±


    ¡°Back to my question,¡± Nate cut in. ¡°Why us? There was an entire gym of people upstairs, and I know there were bigger and better than us three.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± the large man shrugged. ¡°But those guys show up for like 15 minutes and go about their days. You all stayed for half the day already and were still looking for more. That¡¯s dedication to the craft. Most of those higher ups on campus don¡¯t understand that potential isn¡¯t even half of the equation. You can be the next Bastion, but that won¡¯t mean a single dead demon if you don¡¯t put in the work to get there. Life is more about dedication and pursuit than potential.¡±


    Nate frowned. ¡°That sounds¡­ like the opposite of what we¡¯re told at Gate U. Except for Dean Anderson, everyone else seems to think that potential is the end-all-be-all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because college fills your head with nonsense. In the real world, there¡¯s surviving or there¡¯s dying. That¡¯s it- those are your two choices. Potential isn¡¯t gonna save you from jack shit. If you wanna survive, then put in the work to stay alive. How¡¯s that for a sales pitch?¡±


    Huck nodded his head in acquiescence. ¡°Better. So what¡¯s this program of yours that''s gonna keep us alive out in the real world?¡±


    ¡°Normally a ton of lifting,¡± Hightower answered. ¡°But that¡¯s only the start. And since you fine fellas got most of that bit out of the way already, then we move onto the next step for today: fighting.¡±


    ¡°To the sparring ring?¡± Huck¡¯s eyebrows shot up.


    ¡°To the sparring ring,¡± Hightower affirmed, leading them all downstairs to an empty room filled mostly with a raised stage with rope around the perimeter.


    They gathered in the center of the empty ring in a loose circle. ¡°This is hallowed ground,¡± Hightower began, ¡°your crucible. This is where all your effort upstairs gets solidified into fruition and gains. This ring is where you prove yourself. This ring is where you practice survival because out of this ring, you will be fighting for your very lives. Lady Troubles! Punch Inferiority Complex here in the mouth.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Nate immediately drew away. ¡°I¡¯m not just gonna-¡± he was interrupted by a fist connecting with his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground as his vision darkened for a moment.


    Hightower stood over Nate, shaking his head. ¡°Maybe I wasn¡¯t clear enough. Hesitation out there will get you killed. Now stand back up.¡±


    As Nate was standing again, Hightower nodded his head toward Mi. ¡°Self-Loathing. Teach Lady Troubles about hesitation again.¡±


    Mi gave Nate an apologetic look before swinging and connecting with Nat¡¯s jaw again, once again sending Nate careening to the ground in pain. Hightower stood Nate back up, put a hand to his face and Healed him. Then he punched Nate in the jaw again sending him to the floor.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Nate cursed loudly when he came to. ¡°Bloody abyss below and shattered skies above what the hell was that for?¡± he shouted, giving Hightower a death glare.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a giant walking punching bag!¡± Hightower shouted back. ¡°All target! No defense! And you just let yourself get hit! Today you woke up and made one good choice- coming here. Since then all you¡¯ve done is hesitate and let other guys tell you what to do. How much should I lift? I don¡¯t know the forms. We¡¯re not doing that exercise again, are we?¡± Hightower openly mocked. ¡°No one can tell you what weight and technique is right better than your own body. You feel it when you get it right. It''s good to know good technique, but in the end, these guys are just trying to approximate the experience for you. Now stand up and punch Inferiority Complex in the mouth.¡±


    Picking himself up off the ground Nate swung a wild haymaker at Huck who leaned back slightly to avoid the frantic blow entirely. Huck actually scoffed at the punch. Nate just stood there shaking his head until Hightower¡¯s fist connected with his chin. Again.


    Nate blinked himself back to consciousness from the ground as he stared wildly at the ceiling. ¡°What the abyss,¡± he mumbled. His whole body hurt.


    ¡°What¡¯re you lying there for?¡± Hightower questioned him.


    ¡°You punched me! Again!¡± Nate shouted back, unable to hide the heat from his voice.


    ¡°And you don¡¯t know why?¡± Hightower ventured.


    ¡°No. Let me guess: some bullshit about being punchable.¡±


    ¡°What were my instructions?¡± the man questioned.


    ¡°Punch Huck.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°So you gave up on my assignment.¡±


    ¡°No, I failed it, and then you punched me!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall telling you to try punching Inferiority Complex. I told you to punch him,¡± Hightower countered. ¡°Now stand up and punch him. Or rather: don¡¯t stop trying until you succeed.¡±


    Nate groaned, but rolled to his feet and threw another wild punch, which Huck easily sidestepped. With a glance at Hightower, Nate caught the man raising an eyebrow and cocking his arm back. No longer hesitating or checking to see if he was doing the right thing, Nate moved toward Huck and threw a follow-up jab and missed again.


    ¡°Damn. He does learn,¡± Hightower muttered sardonically. ¡°Self-loathing, go help Lady Troubles.¡±


    Wordlessly, Mi turned and tackled Huck to the ground. Grabbing Huck¡¯s arms and grapevining his legs, Mi rolled to present Huck¡¯s face and Nate finally connected with a loud crack. Pain shot up Nate¡¯s entire arm causing both he and Huck to curse loudly.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Huck shouted at Hightower.


    ¡°Not bad, Self-Loathing, not bad,¡± Hightower nodded appreciatively. ¡°Now the two of you punch Self-Loathing in the mouth,¡± he nodded toward Mi as the target this time.


    Without warning, Huck¡¯s head snapped backward, connecting with Mi¡¯s nose with an ugly crunch and a mist of blood. He rolled out of the now loose hold Mi had on him and followed up with a quick jab into Mi¡¯s mouth. Mi, for his part, recovered quickly, trying to get off the ground and sat up to get on his feet again- which is exactly when Nate landed his haymaker, knocking the young man on his back again. Nate¡¯s fist must have caught Mi¡¯s tooth, as the skin on his hand split wide open revealing white bone with a spray of blood. Nate¡¯s vision whitened with pain as he cradled his shattered and split hand.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough,¡± Hightower stopped them, kneeling first to Heal Mi, then Nate. ¡°The three of you: fifty pushups- time now,¡± he instructed. As the young men moved to obey, he continued to speak, ¡°Now I know where to start with you lot. While some of you obviously have more experience in combat than others,¡± he stared pointedly at Huck, ¡°none of you are so far ahead that you need different starting places in your training. Which is good news for me. I¡¯m sure right now you¡¯re questioning why the hell you¡¯re even listening to me at this point. That¡¯s fair. And you certainly don¡¯t have to listen to me at all. All I ask for now is you keep with me for another ten minutes. Then after your first combatives class, see if you don¡¯t come back begging for more.¡± He paced in front of the young men as he spoke, watching each of them hit their limits and collapse well before hitting 50 pushups. ¡°How many did you get done?¡±


    ¡°15,¡± Nate groaned, rubbing his arms. ¡°I¡¯d do 50 easily, if we didn¡¯t just come back from a three hour work-out.¡±


    ¡°Done,¡± Huck sat up, his eyes challenging Hightower to say otherwise.


    ¡°Done? Good. Do another 50. What about you, Self-Loathing?¡±


    ¡°32,¡± Mi answered through his teeth.


    ¡°So now that the two of you failed my assignment, you think you¡¯re finished?¡± Hightower stopped pacing to instead drill his gaze into Mi and Nate. ¡°Do you think Humanity has room for Heroes that quit?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nate got back into position with an angry huff of breath and began pushing again.


    ¡°No? What about you, Self-Loathing? Do you agree with your friend?¡±


    Mi nodded his head and followed suit.


    ¡°And what about you, Inferiority Complex?¡± Hightower pushed.


    Huck paused his pushups to stare directly into the large man¡¯s eyes. ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of room for Heroes six feet underground.¡±


    ¡°Stand up,¡± Hightower commanded. Huck obliged. ¡°It seems your pals still need to learn that lesson. How many did you get through on your second set?¡±


    ¡°Another 30,¡± Huck answered immediately.


    ¡°Good. The last 20 go to each of those guys. Count it out for them.¡±


    Nate struggled for air, let alone another pushup. But with Huck and Mi standing there watching, something inside him wouldn¡¯t let him be the weak one here. He wouldn¡¯t stay the punching bag. After some grueling minutes and with shaking arms, Nate finished his set.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Hightower nodded. ¡°Now you probably think that was ten minutes, and you learned nothing. Let me be clear: pushups are on your own time, not mine.¡± With that, he laid hands on both Nate and Mi, Healing them as he continued to speak. ¡°For the next ten minutes, we¡¯re going to move on to a little game I like to call ¡®tag¡¯. Lady Troubles, your target is Self-Loathing. Self-Loathing, your target is Inferiority Complex. And Inferiority Complex, your target is Lady Troubles. Using only punches and footwork, your goal is to score as many points as possible. You score a point when you land a clean punch to your target¡¯s head. The two losers do another 50 pushups in tandem while the winner gets to lay across their backs. Go.¡±


    Nate¡¯s head rang as Huck scored the first point.


    ¡°Keep your guard up, Lady Troubles,¡± Hightower instructed. ¡°Fists tight against your head like this.¡±


    The bout went on with Huck, Mi, and Nate all chasing each other in a circle.


    ¡°You¡¯re not trying to knock each other out here! Use quick, straight jabs, not wild haymakers!¡± Hightower instructed intermittently. ¡°Keep your guards up or you¡¯ll get got!¡±


    Keeping tabs on your target while also trying to avoid the guy targeting you was nearly impossible for Nate. Huck landed blow after blow on the side of Nate¡¯s face, his grin growing wider by the minute as he widened his point lead over the other two.


    ¡°Lady Troubles, if I have to tell you one more time to keep your guard up I will personally dedicate my life to ingraining that lesson into your thick skull.¡±


    With a groan, Nate lifted his aching and tired arm back up, blocking Huck¡¯s next jab. Through sheer effort of will, he snapped out a jab towards Mi. Thankfully Mi seemed just as distracted as Nate was, splitting his attention between a target and an attacker so Nate didn¡¯t embarrass himself pointwise, but by his count, the scores weren¡¯t even close. In the last few minutes, exhaustion played a large role in the group dynamic. Each of Huck¡¯s jabs sent a spray of sweat into Nate¡¯s eye, who suspected he was doing the same thing to Mi. His arms felt like jelly while his legs ached and refused to move as Mi danced out of reach. Unable to catch up, Nate tucked his chin and brought both arms up in an attempt to not get hit- an effort which proved at least moderately successful.


    ¡°Time!¡± Hightower¡¯s voice boomed through the small sparring ring. ¡°All of you, come here.¡± He laid hands on both Mi and Nate again, healing their bruises, cuts, scrapes, and fractured hand bones, while purposefully neglecting their sore and overworked muscles. ¡°Good effort,¡± he gave a slight nod of approval. ¡°Now I believe two of you owe me pushups. Lady Troubles and Self-loathing! On the ground! Inferiority Complex, don¡¯t just stand there, add your weight to their routine.¡±


    With Huck laying across both Mi and Nate, they dipped down to start their first pushup. Huck¡¯s added weight wasn¡¯t so much as to make the task impossible, but as tired as their arms were, getting even a single pushup felt impossible. Especially since they had to coordinate their effort.


    ¡°Zero!¡± Hightower counted off for the umpteenth time as Mi came back up without Nate. ¡°I asked for 50 pushups and you lot can¡¯t even give me one? Both down, both up. I didn¡¯t think this was a complex task, but you seem to be doing everything in your power to prove me wrong. Coordinate with each other! No! Keep proper form, head straight ahead. Feel the other guy¡¯s movements- know what he¡¯s doing and what he¡¯s about to do. You feel he¡¯s struggling to get up? Shift to take on more weight. Teamwork makes the dream work. Zero! Do it again!¡±


    Nate¡¯s arms could barely support his own weight by this point, let alone half of Huck¡¯s. After what felt like hours of trembling and digging into his willpower deeper than he¡¯d ever tried for anything before, his arms finally collapsed from under him.


    ¡°Still zero,¡± Hightower barked out. ¡°Inferiority Complex, you just gonna lay there and waste away while your buddies put in the work to make themselves stronger, or are you gonna start pushing yourself to get stronger too?¡±


    ¡°But you-¡±


    ¡°But nothing,¡± Hightower interrupted in a roar. ¡°Now get down and start pushing before your buddies leave you in the dust!¡±


    About an hour later, they¡¯d finally finished pushing. Well, Nate finally finished pushing. Mi and Huck had both finished their 50 well ahead of their friend and shouted along with Hightower to keep Nate motivated.


    His arms hurt like they never had before in his life. No matter how he screamed and pushed and willed himself to do more, Nate just couldn¡¯t get even a fraction of an inch higher.


    ¡°One. More,¡± Huck encouraged. ¡°C¡¯mon, Nate. You got one more in you. Just one.¡±


    ¡°This is what it comes down to,¡± Hightower lectured softly, pacing back and forth in front of Nate. ¡°Survival. Life or death. All of it comes down to this question. When your body says it has nothing left, do you believe it?¡±


    Air ran raggedly through Nate¡¯s lungs as the sweat of effort poured off his face. One inch. Two. Little by little, he gained ground on his task as he surpassed every limit he thought he had as he shoved down every thought of what was impossible and brought forth more than he knew he was capable of doing. His arms screamed in pain as something like fire jolted through his nervous system. His form grew sloppy, sagging in the middle before Huck or Hightower shouted him back into a straight line. He pushed, never giving ground, never giving up, never succumbing to a mindset of weakness or inability until finally, finally, his fully extended arms held up his body.


    ¡°Fifty!¡± Hightower screamed loud enough to shake the room.


    Adrenaline left Nate¡¯s body as he collapsed to the ground, his gorge rising in his throat. With Hightower¡¯s Healing hand on his back however, nothing more than that happened, but Nate still had an odd taste of metal in his mouth.


    ¡°Good effort today, you three,¡± Hightower nodded in full sincerity. ¡°You¡¯ve all earned my respect in these past few hours. That¡¯s not something just anyone can do.¡± Nate felt more than saw Hightower¡¯s gaze linger on him for a moment. ¡°You sure you¡¯re not an Eternal or something?¡±


    Nate, still gasping, his body mostly numb in an attempt to recover, barely managed to shake his head.


    ¡°Built like a Vanguard, but he¡¯s a Reader,¡± Huck answered simply.


    Hightower grunted, his lips forming a momentary frown. ¡°Just a Reader?¡±


    ¡°Imbuer too, I guess,¡± Huck shrugged noncommittally.


    Hightower grunted again. ¡°Shame. He¡¯s got the mindset and willpower to make him one of the best Eternals I¡¯ve ever seen. See, Eternals tend to have exactly one weakness- they give up when their bodies do. They have so much endurance, they don¡¯t know what to do when it runs out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an Eternal,¡± Huck frowned. ¡°No one¡¯s got more fight than me.¡±


    Hightower took a long moment to look into Huck¡¯s eyes. ¡°And yet you never pushed yourself so hard that you actually failed a single one of my instructions. That¡¯s why no matter how good you get, you still find yourself left in the dust.¡±


    Huck¡¯s gaze dropped. He didn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Now you see where you¡¯re really failing. Conquer that and I might need to remember your name, Inferiority Complex. You three keep bringing me this energy and I¡¯ll make Heroes out of you yet. But what you all need most right now is food, hydration, and rest. Whatever you do tomorrow, I better not see any of you in my gym, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Nate and Huck chorused while Mi nodded along.


    ¡°Good. I hope I helped unleash some of your pent-up frustrations today. If any of you wish to continue, 5 AM next Saturday, right here. Now get your scrawny asses home and start resting!¡± Hightower barked.


    Nate, Mi, and Huck scrambled up the stairs and out the door. Sweaty, sticky, and sore as they were, their scramble was more of a hobbled limp, but effective enough to at least propel them back to the safety of the city.


    ¡°We¡¯re never going back there, right?¡± Nate looked at his two teammates.


    Huck shrugged. ¡°I kinda liked it.¡±


    ¡°You won. Of course you liked it,¡± Mi countered.


    Nate frowned and gave Mi a discerning look. ¡°You talk?¡±


    ¡°Not often,¡± Huck answered instead as Mi just shrugged. ¡°But he¡¯s not mute like that Bianca girl.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s mute?¡± Nate asked incredulously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember Dean Anderson during introductions? He was the one who said everything. And Gustav told me she didn¡¯t talk at all during the scavenger hunt either.¡±


    ¡°Gustav¡­ who was Gustav again?¡±


    Huck frowned at Nate, giving him a concerned look, ¡°Have you spoken to anyone who isn¡¯t Jenna?¡±


    Nate just rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. ¡°Not really. Fiona, I think?¡±


    Mi grunted something like a laugh, ¡°Lady Troubles.¡±


    ¡°Gustav was the loud one,¡± Huck explained, ¡°with the joke about his ex?¡±


    Nate frowned and shook his head.


    Rolling his eyes, Huck continued, ¡°Shorter than me? Brown hair? Purple eyes?¡±


    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± Nate nodded in recognition. Short as Huck was, managing to be an even shorter guy was something of an accomplishment.


    ¡°But seriously, you want to go back there next Saturday?¡± Nate gave Huck and Mi another incredulous look.


    ¡°Hightower might be a little off his rocker, but he¡¯s got the right mindset for training Heroes,¡± Huck¡¯s answer was full of assuredness. ¡°Remember when we met on the train what I said about being a good Hero in Philly? Being a good Hero won¡¯t cut it out there in the real world- not if you have aspirations of living more than a few years after graduating. We have to be great Heroes to have a chance at living. The man gets it. I¡¯ll give Hightower a few weekends and see how far the guy¡¯s teaching gets me.¡± Mi nodded his assent.


    With a sigh of longsuffering, Nate gathered his will and relented. ¡°What he said back there- about me being a punching bag. That¡¯s not who I want to be.¡±


    Huck nodded along. ¡°Well said. And if you¡¯re afraid of being a punching bag, remember: in there you¡¯re not a punching bag- you¡¯re Lady Troubles.¡± He swatted Nate¡¯s chest with the back of his hand, a grin spreading maliciously across his face.


    Nate groaned, half from the force of the blow and half from his very sore muscles. ¡°Okay, Inferiority Complex. Give it a rest, would you?¡± Nate shot back, though unable to muster the strength to return the strike.

 Mock Trial

    Sunday passed by in a haze of unconsciousness for Nate, interrupted occasionally by Jenna knocking on his door to deliver some tray of food from presumably the campus cafeteria. She didn¡¯t say much of anything- at least nothing Nathaniel was in any state of mind to understand. It was mostly the looks she gave him that he remembered- or the looks she hadn¡¯t given him? Being as exhausted as he was, his Reader Trait was off its leash for the first time in nearly a decade. The first time he opened the door to see Jenna, he nearly hadn¡¯t been able to see her at all. Ghostly images of midnight knocks for romantic trysts and discreet kisses flooded his mind. Invitations, news delivered, hopes for what tomorrow would bring, conversations that lasted well into the morning, quests for a late night meal- images danced lucidly in front of his face, nearly as real as the small woman standing before him holding a tray of food. Voices rushed through his ears saying a hundred different versions of essentially the same thing- a hundred different things all at once- the exact same thing a hundred times.


    ¡°Nate, are you¡­ okay?¡± The frizz of the loose brown curls in her hair showed some deal of stress. Worry. Anxiety- tucked away behind her mask of a smile. She was being careful- cautious. Cautious not to think or feel too strongly. Reserved. She was a gazelle approaching a watering hole where a lion was already drinking. They were back on the train: her fearing for their future, him afraid of his past. She leapt into his arms to kiss him passionately as his fingers ran through her fiery red hair. He stared deeply into her green eyes, feeling more connected to a person than he ever had before. Tears flooded her eyes as she slapped him across the face for sleeping with another woman. A fist connected with his jaw for going after his girl. She stumbled drunkenly into her best friend, both of them tittering together as they made their way into her room, hearts racing.


    Nate stumbled against the doorframe- hit hard by every one of the blows, body tingling from every first kiss, and woozy from every inebriation. ¡°Jenna, I-¡± he felt his mouth moving- caught up in the stream of confessions, flying high from so many drunken nights, giddy from the touch of her body- his feelings all desperately trying to erupt upon her. He was unsure what he said next- unsure if he said anything at all.


    Jenna had been standing there, smiling at him along with a thousand thousand other faces and somehow he¡¯d found himself suddenly at his desk, an empty tray of food in front of him. His body ached. His muscles protested with every minute movement. Pain flared through his body, acting to anchor him to the present before he passed out in his bed again.


    This all happened twice more, each time Nate feeling like he got further and further into confessing his burgeoning feelings to Jenna and yet completely uncertain if he had said anything at all. Or if it had actually been Jenna knocking on his door.


    When the fourth knock came around Nate sprang out of bed, confused by the morning beams of light coming through the crack in his window blinds. Jenna stood in the hallway, once again dressed in the browns of their uniform. Something like wariness or fear gleamed through her eyes before they softened once again into their usual warmth.


    She cracked a grin. ¡°I thought we agreed that the Jenna alarm clock wouldn¡¯t be a thing with you.¡± Mocking attitude, she cocked a hand up on her hip. Pants today instead of a skirt for her uniform. ¡°You¡¯d better get dressed,¡± she sing-songed.


    Nate¡¯s eyes widened for a moment before he threw off his shirt and began fumbling at his pants, then widened further when he realized he hadn¡¯t yet closed the door. He turned to find Jenna with her back turned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she couldn¡¯t help chuckling. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°This time,¡± Nate¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± she inquired innocently.


    ¡°Your back was already turned. You knew to turn your back, which means you looked into the future where you didn¡¯t turn around in time. How much did you let me undress?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair to hold people accountable to a future that doesn¡¯t transpire, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Nate growled more than spoke, ¡°Fine.¡± He threw off his pants and rummaged through his drawers for the disparate pieces that made up an acceptable uniform.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna-¡± Jenna¡¯s voice came across the open room, pausing briefly before the sound of a door slamming caught Nate off guard- the sound of his door slamming.


    He facepalmed, his ears growing hot with embarrassment as he threw clothes on his body and rushed through getting himself ready again this morning. Once ready enough, he threw his door open to see a still red-faced Jenna leaning against the wall opposite his door, now wearing a tan blouse and skirt.


    ¡°I-¡± she began.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nate¡¯s cheeks grew hot again as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Yesterday was¡­ kind of like a fever-dream for me. Guess I¡¯m not all back yet.¡±


    Scoffing a laugh, Jenna shook her head. ¡°Not that much.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your question from earlier- about how much I saw of you in the future when you started stripping in front of me. Not- that much.¡± Jenna shook her head again, meeting Nate¡¯s eyes. ¡°Come on, big guy. We gotta get to class.¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Expedition I,¡± a thin man stood with his arms clasped behind his back. His face was rugged and weathered from both age and sun. ¡°I am Professor Marvin, as you hopefully recall by now.¡±


    Oh yeah. He¡¯s the guy who handed out the scavenger hunt lists.


    Professor Marvin continued, ¡°Many of you no doubt believe the Gate Delving Program to be all about what goes on inside a Gate and how to survive. You couldn¡¯t be more wrong; we teach you to survive in the world. Gate Delving is but a tiny fraction of the time you will spend fighting for your life. And while other classes are more focused on the demons that try to kill you, the focus of my class is the cruel, uncaring embrace of mother nature. Exposure, dehydration, heatstroke, and hypothermia have laid claim to more human lives than demons could ever even comprehend taking. Does anyone care to venture a guess at the most deadly aspect of mother nature?¡±


    A young woman with auburn red hair raised her hand.


    ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Andrea,¡± the redhead answered promptly. ¡°And¡­ rain?¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Professor Marvin nodded. ¡°And what¡¯s your thought process here?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Andrea started, her face contorting from nerves. ¡°Rain gets you wet, which can lead to things like pneumonia. Or getting cold, so hypothermia. Um. It can cause flooding too. And landslides if you¡¯re near a cliff.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t snow be worse?¡± Professor Marvin countered. ¡°Snow necessitates cold temperatures, which would worsen pneumonia, hypothermia, catching a cold or your body running a fever. Avalanches are also rather common near mountainous regions.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right,¡± Andrea nodded meekly.


    ¡°Would you like to change your answer then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good. You¡¯re still wrong. Any other guesses?¡±


    No one else seemed brave enough to play the professor¡¯s little game, so the thin man simply leaned back against the front of his desk and folded his arms. ¡°Getting lost. By far and away, being in an unfamiliar area is the single most dangerous aspect of any terrain you may find yourself in. Your homework tonight will be to memorize what the 5 major terrain features are, as well as be able to adequately demonstrate each using only one hand. During the next class on Wednesday, each of you will be assessed and graded on these two topics. You must also be able to describe each of the minor terrain features and point each out on a topographical map.¡±


    ¡°Professor Marvin?¡± a young man with brown hair and brown eyes raised his hand.


    ¡°Yes. Mr. Connor Vale, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Connor nodded. ¡°Is this a group project?¡±


    ¡°Not for your class,¡± the professor answered curtly. ¡°We expect you to be leaders. As such, each of you individually needs to have these aspects mastered if you are to lead a team. Of course, I don¡¯t care how you study or learn what these features are, nor do I care how you lot come up with a way to identify features using only your hand. Just like it doesn¡¯t really matter how you find yourself lost in the countryside somewhere. You will be graded individually on this, because your survival and the survival of your delving team is solely on your own shoulders.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Nico held up a hand requesting to pause. ¡°I think what my brother is getting at is we have an Oracle in our class. She already knows the answers, or can spend a moment of time to learn them simply by looking ahead. We¡¯re not exactly on an even playing field here.¡±


    ¡°An Oracle?¡± Professor Marvin arched an eyebrow, still relaxed and leaning against the front of his desk. ¡°Huh. And Mr. Vale what, in your esteemed opinion, would you say is the purpose of my class?¡±


    Nico pursed his lips for a moment as he thought. ¡°To help us survive in the wild?¡±


    ¡°The wild?¡± Professor Marvin chuckled. ¡°Is that what you call them now? Wilds?¡± He shook his head in dismay. ¡°It used to be our countryside. Not domesticated or even necessarily tamed, but still ours. But yes, you have the essence of it: to survive in these ¡®wilds¡¯. Hypothetically, let¡¯s say this Oracle becomes lost. How long do you think an Oracle remains lost? How long before an Oracle chooses a course of action? How long before they read the future to determine the best course of action for themselves and their team? Do you think having this Oracle memorize what a saddle looks like will be useful in any way? Or does their Trait simply negate the need for these basic steps?¡±


    Nico frowned. ¡°I guess she negates that need. But it¡¯s still not fair.¡±


    ¡°Life generally is unfair. Should we penalize those who have advantage?¡±


    ¡°Probably not. But I¡¯m a puppeteer. I could make something like a drone and have reconnaissance of the whole area. So shouldn¡¯t I also be able to skip this part?¡±


    Professor Marvin took in a breath and sighed, finally standing up to walk forward. ¡°Nico, you definitely have an advantage in that aspect. Here¡¯s the major difference: you can get a map of the land. Great. That¡¯s what you¡¯re working with- land features. You¡¯ll still have to assess the information you gather, relay that information to others, make judgement calls based off of that information you gather, and plot courses to get you back home. This Oracle of yours doesn¡¯t do any of that. He or she doesn¡¯t have a map of the land but a map of the future. You¡¯re working with two entirely different sets of resources. If you trust your Trait, you take what the terrain deems as the simplest course. If you hold this Oracle to do the same, their course may take them directly over a hill rather than around it simply because they foresaw a demonic patrol pass by the base of the hill. So again, does it matter if the Oracle knows what a spur is, or is that bit of knowledge largely irrelevant or already accounted for to their Trait?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know how that Trait works,¡± Nico admitted with a frown. ¡°So¡­ I guess? But that¡¯s basically a free grade for her.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is free,¡± the professor shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty good summary of my Trait¡¯s utility,¡± Jenna offered, outing herself as the Oracle. ¡°And I can take your test now if you¡¯d like, Professor.¡±


    Professor Marvin smiled lopsidedly for a moment, making eye contact with the young woman. ¡°Oh, you won¡¯t be taking any test in my class. Like I said, nothing is free. You¡¯ll be teaching the class all about this assignment. Your grade will be the average of the three highest and singular lowest scores.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second-¡± Jenna started.


    ¡°No,¡± the professor interrupted. ¡°Your role as an Oracle is utilitarian, as you pointed out. As such, your success isn¡¯t measured by what you can do by yourself, but by how well you support those around you. Can you get others to put their trust in you blindly? And how well can you instruct them to follow your orders?¡±


    Jenna frowned. ¡°But the only way for me to get a perfect score is if everyone else does too. I can¡¯t stand out academically like that.¡±


    Professor Marvin smirked and shook his head. ¡°Correct. May I remind you that my class is focused on survival. You win when everyone survives. You¡¯ll probably never receive the credit you¡¯re due, but everyone survives. And believe me when I tell you, I¡¯ve yet to have a freshman class do that. I think being the cause of your class¡¯ survival would be enough academic stand-out, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Nate interjected quickly, ¡°people die in your class?¡±


    ¡°Ah. Right,¡± Professor Marvin snapped his fingers. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone over that bit yet. Short answer: no. Historically my class has a casualty rate no different from any other- that is to say: barring horrible accidents or student violence, no one dies. You will receive situational ¡®fake deaths¡¯, however. As we go throughout the year, you¡¯ll be taken through the ¡®wilds¡¯ periodically and assessed on your learned survival abilities. Fail these, and you ¡®die¡¯, leaving your team shorthanded for the remainder of the mission. Dying might be the result of dehydration, exertion, hot or cold injury, starvation, or even the occasional demonic ambush. Your final grade will be determined by the number of ¡®deaths¡¯ you¡¯ve accrued throughout the semester, NOT via test. That being said, there will still be a final test- a culmination of what you¡¯ve learned. You will spend a full two weeks fending for yourselves in an unknown location. The only way to pass my final exam is by not ¡®dying¡¯. Questions?¡±


    ¡°Can we actually hold off on those questions?¡± Jenna stood up, turning to address the class as a whole. ¡°A lot of what you want to know will naturally be addressed and make more sense as we get further into this class and, as a reminder, we have our first assignment due just slightly sooner than the end of semester exam.¡±


    With a smirk and a shrug, Professor Marvin handed the floor over to her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she threw a tight-lipped smile his way. ¡°Not a fan of public speaking by the way.¡± Taking a deep breath, she held her closed fist out in front of her. ¡°Five major terrain features. This is going to be our reference,¡± she motioned to her closed fist. She then pointed to a knuckle. ¡°Hill. We should all know what a hill is. Easy, right? Next one too. Between two hills is a valley.¡± Her finger slid along the space between her knuckles, rotating her pointing finger and hand in an exaggerated movement. ¡°Everyone with me so far?¡± She looked around the room to see people frowning at her, but nodding their heads. ¡°Alright, glad I asked. I think you guys should go through this with me. Everyone hold out a fist and point to a hill. Good. And now a valley. Great. You¡¯re getting it. Next is ridge,¡± she ran her finger along her knuckles. ¡°Basically a series of hills. Then we have saddles,¡± she slid a finger through the space between two knuckles, ¡°yes, like what you put on a horse. Kinda looks the same, too. Two opposite sides go up, two opposite sides go down. Remember those potato chips as a kid that came all stacked on top of one another instead of loosely in the bag before we lost most of Idaho? Think that shape. Saddle. Last feature is the depression.¡± This time, she turned her fist and extended a finger to point to herself. ¡°Little dark humor,¡± she tried a chuckle, but her nerves got the better of her effort. ¡°But if you look at your fist, you¡¯ll see your index finger and thumb encircling a hole. That hole demonstrates a depression. So we¡¯ve got Hill, Valley, Ridge, Saddle, and Depression. Those are the five major terrain features. And how to use only one hand to describe each feature. Coincidentally, those hand gestures are also how to silently signal those terrain features to your team without speaking. That¡¯ll be important later. Once again: hill,¡± she pointed to a knuckle, ¡°valley,¡± she slid her finger from one knuckle to the next, ¡°ridge,¡± she cut a finger across her knuckles, ¡°saddle,¡± she slid a finger between her knuckles, ¡°and depression,¡± she pointed to herself and tried a smile.


    ¡°H-V-R-S-D. You can try to come up with your own little mnemonic to memorize that, but if you don¡¯t mind sounding a bit goofy, Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing does the job. Hill, Valley, Ridge, Saddle, Depression. Keep working on those.¡±


    Jenna was¡­ astounding. Not that Nate had much in the way of doubt for his friend, but seeing her up there giving an expert lecture on this only grew his respect for her.


    ¡°That¡¯s great and all,¡± Harmony spoke up after a minute, ¡°but¡­ how are we supposed to know if you¡¯re right, or just making things up on the spot?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± Jenna frowned with a shrug before closing her eyes.


    ¡°You could always just not listen,¡± Nico offered. ¡°See how long you can last as an Elite with failing grades.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a fair question,¡± Jenna held up a placating hand. ¡°None of you should just blindly trust me. How many times have you heard on the news of some scam artist or other claiming to be an Oracle and running away with a whole bunch of people¡¯s money? The claim of being an Oracle should come with some proof or demonstration. Take out your study pad, search the Tactical Field Guide, go to pages 21, 23, 27, and 35. You will find everything I just said as well as pictures of a hand demonstrating all 5 features on page 42.¡±


    Jenna gave the class a moment to wander over to Nate¡¯s desk, finding him practicing the hand movements. She tried a smile, swallowing hard, her face already red from public speaking. ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing,¡± Nate responded immediately, blinking at her in disbelief. ¡°You got all that from looking at today?¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°And Wednesday when I found out about the test,¡± she nodded, her cheeks turning a slightly darker pink. ¡°But you¡¯re good with the five major features?¡±


    Nate gave a shit-eating grin and nodded, ¡°Oh yeah. Hole, Veranda, Rocks, Something or other, and Ditch. Just like you taught me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she rolled her eyes and couldn¡¯t keep herself from smiling, ¡°just remember there¡¯s a good reason why I came to check up on you and what you retained of my lesson before checking on anyone else. Here,¡± she held out her fist. ¡°What¡¯s first?¡±


    ¡°Hill,¡± Nate chuckled, tapping her first knuckle. ¡°Valley,¡± he swooped his finger between her knuckles, ¡°ridge,¡± he dragged his finger across the top of her hand, ¡°saddle,¡± he pointed, ¡°and depression.¡± With that last movement, he took her hand in his to tilt it sideways and point to the hole formed. He didn¡¯t let go of her hand. ¡°You¡¯re good at this,¡± his eyes met hers and he momentarily forgot everything that had been running through his mind at that exact moment. ¡°Thank you. For yesterday. Bringing me food, I mean. I think I overworked myself on Saturday and my Reader Trait ran a bit wild off its leash. Good news though: I¡¯ll only be doing exactly that every Saturday for the foreseeable future.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that good news?¡± Jenna chuckled, not moving to withdraw her hand. ¡°And,¡± her face turned an even deeper shade of pink, ¡°can I¡­ have this back?¡± she smirked and wiggled her hand still clasped in his. ¡°I think my other students are starting to get some wrong ideas about the kind of personal tutoring I offer.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Nate shook his head as if just now realizing he still held her hand, forced a chuckle, and let go.


    ¡°Uh, hey,¡± another voice cut across their moment, ¡°I¡¯m, uh, having some trouble learning too. Can I hold your hand?¡±


    ¡°Buzz off, Tony!¡± Jenna turned on him immediately.


    ¡°So hot and then so cold. I thought we were forever, babe,¡± the boy- Tony, acted out as if he¡¯d taken a stab through the heart, but laughed theatrically.


    ¡°You two know each other?¡± Nate arched his eyebrows looking between them.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jenna growled and marched up to the front of the room again. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough practice. Let¡¯s move on.¡±


    Jenna spent the remainder of class also demonstrating a draw, spur, cliff, cut, and fill and a hundred questions about how to memorize all of those. She then moved on to various tactical advantages and disadvantages, but fielded answers to those questions with hand waves about tactics not being quite so important yet.


    Breakfast was a hurried affair for the class of Elites, getting only half an hour with the required travel time to and from the cafeteria back into the main cluster of university buildings. The patrolling faculty certainly made known that this was no time for socialization, interrupting any conversation to get in the students¡¯ faces and shout at them to use their mouths to eat faster. Nate had to hand it to the faculty patrolling the dining hall: they got creative with their language.


    ¡°You better shove that useless hole full of food before my foot finds a new boot to wear! You know what a vacuum is, Firstie?- DON¡¯T STOP TO ANSWER ME, DUMBASS. JUST NOD YOUR HEAD AND KEEP EATING! A vacuum is what you better be to that food on your tray. Hoover up, Firsties!¡±


    For the life of him, he couldn¡¯t come up with a reason as to why they had to endure this kind of aggressive shouting over breakfast, but it wasn¡¯t exactly like he was in an environment where questions were welcomed. His eyes flicked over to Jenna, but she just shook her head and stuffed more food in her face.


    When breakfast finally ended, the same faculty that patrolled around breakfast also marched the students back to the university buildings, taking delight in throwing out verbal abuse after verbal abuse for the horrendous formation and marching ability of their class who had never been taught how to march or create a formation.


    It wasn¡¯t until they sat behind a desk once again that they finally had the freedom to speak, but by that point, the professor had strolled into the room to begin his lecture.


    ¡°Good morning. I¡¯ve been informed that I have the distinct pleasure of addressing this year¡¯s class of Elites. I am Professor Brown, as in the color of your uniform. And this is Administration I. Here, we learn to handle resources. Can anyone give me an example of a resource?¡± The voice came from a thin man in a fine suit with gray hair orbiting a shiny bald head.


    ¡°Credits,¡± Tobi fired off immediately.


    ¡°Absolutely. Credits make the world go ¡®round. Credits in hand are generally thought of as liquid assets, as they are readily interchangeable for goods and services- they take shape into whatever you need in that moment. Can anyone think of another resource?¡±


    ¡°Raw materials,¡± Harmony spoke confidently.


    ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Professor Brown snapped a finger. ¡°Often overlooked by Gate delvers is the possibility of harvesting raw materials from Gates. Minerals, herbs, precious gems, even leather or hide are all around you and available to take into custody for processing.¡±


    ¡°Who you know,¡± Nico offered without further prompting.


    ¡°Networking. Again, often overlooked,¡± Professor Brown nodded his head again. ¡°People tend to forget that people are a resource to draw upon as well. Probably one of the highest reasons a Guild collapses is because they haven¡¯t been managing their personnel resources properly. Very good. Anyone else?¡±


    Nate turned to look at Jenna, waiting for her to fill in an answer, but she was focused on taking notes.


    After a brief pause Nate spoke up, ¡°Well, you mentioned liquid assets, but there¡¯s also investments, finished products, and services you can provide. Anything you own that generates revenue, be it renting land or owning a pencil factory. The key is: assets require ownership.¡±


    This time, Jenna did turn her head to face him, giving him a searching look. She and most of the rest of the class.


    ¡°Very well summed up,¡± Professor Brown chuckled softly. ¡°I see your parents weren¡¯t remiss in teaching you about financial literacy. You hit the key point I wanted to touch upon. Assets require ownership. While most people are horrified to then admit that people are assets, the truth is: if you pay your employees, then you have come to a consensual agreement of buying their time. You now have responsibility for and authority over your employees, and in effect, own them during agreed upon work hours. Along the lines of ownership, a raw vein of ore in a Gate isn¡¯t your asset until you¡¯ve mined it and safely brought the unrefined ore out again. This is why Gates are not assets even though Guilds may purchase shares. What they actually purchase are percentage profits of any raw material asset acquired from the Gate. But I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. This class will not have any sort of examination or test or quiz. Instead, you will be graded on a semester-long project. I¡¯m sure the Dean thoroughly explained the concept of your Company and Battalion?¡± the elderly gentlemen chuckled knowingly.


    ¡°Um. No?¡± Nico was the first to speak up.


    Harmony followed up, ¡°Yeah, we got this weird email over the weekend mentioning Companies and Battalions, but it sounded half-drunk. Then we got an invitation from the dean to a group chat, but no one said anything.¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Sheila stared wide-eyed at her classmates.


    Nate frowned, taking out his study pad to realize that he had gotten a group chat invitation from the dean on Sunday. Accepting it, he saw only one message: ¡®G¡¯day y¡¯all. Congrats on making it one day closer to your death.¡¯


    ¡°Y¡¯all?¡± Nate couldn¡¯t help but question aloud.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to Americanize. Isn¡¯t that what you say here?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Professor Brown frowned. ¡°He didn¡¯t waste your time before the scavenger hunt going over endless details for the upcoming semester?¡±


    ¡°He tried to,¡± Tony scoffed. ¡°Little Miss Fortune Teller put the kibosh on that though. And oh wow,¡± he took on a mocking voice, ¡°looks like another unilateral decision on her part that came back to bite us in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Dick,¡± Nate couldn¡¯t help but mutter just loud enough that hopefully Tony heard. The young man gave a sharp look in Nate¡¯s direction, letting him know his prod hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed.


    ¡°You got a problem, guy?¡± Tony challenged.


    ¡°Actually, yeah,¡± Nate stood up. ¡°She¡¯s done nothing but help us since we¡¯ve got here.¡±


    ¡°What a croc of shit,¡± Tony shook his head and laughed. ¡°Hear that, sweet heart? Mr. White Knight thinks you¡¯re some sort of altruistic angel. I guess he¡¯s choosing not to see how only your group managed to pass? The rest of us got just as screwed over as if she said nothing. Except, turns out, that we¡¯re even more screwed over cause at least the dean would have provided us with valuable information about this coming semester. ¡° At this, Tony threw his arms up in the air and sat back down with a huff. ¡°Simp,¡± he muttered, just loud enough for Nate to hear.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite enough,¡± Professor Brown warned against any further discussion or retaliation. ¡°I will be more than delighted to finally be able to fulfill my obligations to you as your instructor on this matter. For this class, each of you will receive a Company of 20 students selected from your year¡¯s normal HPGD class. While relatively unimportant now, the students assigned to you will stay with you throughout your studies barring their own HPGD course failure. Any member lost will be replaced by a student on the waiting list. Your semester long project will be a mock trial of sorts, with you acting as a guild leader and your Company acting as your guild. You will manage your guild¡¯s assets, gate delves, and personnel. I know you haven¡¯t yet had your Tactics class so much of what comes next will have many questions, but please do save those specific questions for when you enter into your Tactics class as your professor there will better be able to answer them. Upon managing your finances, you will hopefully quickly come to the conclusion that your guild needs a source of revenue. As such, you will be simulating Gate Delves for your guild. This requires planning, scheduling, and quick thinking to direct your team through each gate to come back alive and with enough finances to pay the men and women who put their lives on the line for humanity¡¯s sake. Their wages are yours to decide. Keep in mind that next semester, your guild members will have to agree to their wages, so it¡¯s best to keep a realistic model for this semester.


    ¡°As for your Battalions, I suppose you¡¯ll need to form groups of five within your class if you haven¡¯t already. Five Companies makes a Battalion. You will treat your Battalion as sister guilds, coordinating delves and sending aid when needed. And you will need to send aid throughout the year. Your goal is to become as profitable as possible. That being said, each member of your guild that dies sets you back 10,000 credits, so do try to take relative care of your members. Keep in mind that this loss will only increase as you progress through your years here at university and we are being very generous keeping it so low for your first semester. Once a teammate ¡®dies¡¯, they will be replaced by themselves, and have their contracts renegotiated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll spend most of my class time going over finance reports, event reports, disciplinary actions, as well as honorary recommendations. From you, I expect to see finance reports weekly at a minimum. The other kinds of reports are event related, so cannot be regularly requested, but you¡¯ll need a minimum of five of each by the end of the semester. Make an event up and how you handled that situation if you really have to.


    ¡°The main goal of my class is to prepare you for various leadership roles. Naturally in the real world, these reports would be in several different hands instead of just one, but knowing how to do them all prepares versatile officers. I¡¯m assuming you have questions?¡±


    Fiona raised a hand. ¡°How are we graded?¡±


    ¡°Profitability. More revenue means you can afford to higher more members to your guild, meaning larger operations. For now though, you will be stuck with 20 members. Going into bankruptcy constitutes a failing grade. If you aren¡¯t quite bankrupt, but still bleeding credits, D. A guild that has made no profit will receive a C this first semester. This is your benchmark: pulling gains even with expenses. Since this is your first time overseeing a guild, we decided to be lenient and let you experiment until you get a better handle on finances. Keep in mind that next semester, pulling even will be considered borderline failure. Back to the now, showing profitability will give you a B, and significant profitability will garner you an A. Your Battalion will be graded as a conglomerate corporation, so don¡¯t leave your sister guilds out to dry.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s our starting capital?¡± Nico started off. ¡°Are there other expenses besides salary like rent, energy bills, supplies, and transport?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Professor Brown simply nodded. ¡°You each start with 500,000 credits loaned out to you, 20 hard working guild members, no land, and no base of operations. Each Company will choose the location for their base of operations by the end of class today. Keep in mind that both communication and transportation will play an essential role for your Battalion for the upcoming semester. The location of your base of operations will determine your expenses as well as local resources and accessabilities, so plan carefully. The further you are away from the Rent, the fewer Gates spawn. This can be both boon and bane.¡±


    ¡°Do we have a Battalion Commander, or is that for us to decide?¡± Tobi spoke out.


    ¡°Ah, fantastic question. This first semester, no. In your second semester, you will be assigned a fourth year as your Battalion Commander. This is to whom you will be sending in all of your Company reports. For now, you¡¯ll have to confer among yourselves the best way to delegate authority for your Battalion. Any other pertinent questions?¡± He looked around the room and no one said anything. ¡°Very well. Then I have here charts and maps of available locations, as well as a report for each location pertaining to expenses, opportunities and various risks all tiered I to V. Philadelphia, for instance, would be both a Tier V risk and opportunity for any guild that wishes to headquarter there. In contrast, the Dakotas would pose a Tier III risk with a Tier I opportunity, as they have bands of patrolling demons left over from various Gate breaks while having very few Gates spawn in their area and while you can attempt a crusade to fight off demon armies, you¡¯ll quickly discover that the lack of resource-rich Gates isn¡¯t conducive to financing a private army. That being said, I¡¯ll leave the rest of today¡¯s remaining class time to get your Battalions situated. Please have one representative from each Battalion take a map and area report.¡±


    Nate¡¯s group formed instantly around Jenna, all of them waiting to listen to her direction.


    ¡°What?¡± Jenna looked around the group of faces waiting on her next words.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna tell us which cities to set up our bases in?¡± Huck questioned.


    ¡°Oh. Everywhere sucks,¡± Jenna shrugged. ¡°And there are no right answers.¡±


    ¡°Well, do some places suck less?¡± Fiona led.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jenna gave an aggravated sigh. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest with you, this class was not in my scope as something I¡¯d need to look ahead on.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really?¡± Huck chuckled good-naturedly.


    ¡°There¡¯s only so much time in the day,¡± Jenna replied defensively. ¡°I can¡¯t keep my eyes on everything. This class is called Administration for crying out loud, why would I think I¡¯d need to spend time looking at how to file paperwork?¡±


    Nate gave a solid ¡°Huh,¡± and paused. ¡°For some reason I thought you were some sort of perfectionist.¡±


    ¡°What? No,¡± Jenna shook her head vigorously. ¡°Things rarely ever go according to plan- that¡¯s the first lesson every Oracle learns.¡±


    ¡°Well, couldn¡¯t you use your Trait now and see ahead where we should go?¡± Fiona prodded as Mi nodded in agreement. ¡°We have the rest of class, so it¡¯s not exactly like we¡¯ll be rushing. And it¡¯s like Professor Marvin said: while everyone else is working with land-based data, all we really need is future-based data.¡±


    ¡°Except you¡¯ve forgotten one thing,¡± Jenna held up a finger. ¡°I am absolutely exhausted.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Fiona actually stepped back. ¡°Why? How?¡±


    ¡°I overused my Trait over the weekend,¡± she shook her head, loose ringlets of brown curls metronoming in time with her movements.


    ¡°What happened over the weekend?¡± Fiona¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion.


    ¡°It was the weekend before classes started. I was trying to get ahead of the curve. And there were also a few personal things I really had to look into. I¡¯m tapped out. Plus you can¡¯t always rely on me for every bit of future advice. You¡¯re going to have to make your own decisions based on what information you have every once in a while, okay? I¡¯m not a cheat code for amazing grades.¡±


    Fiona¡¯s jaw hung open in dismay as her dreams of an easy ride shattered visibly in her eyes. Nate couldn¡¯t help but try to keep his chuckle contained inwardly.


    ¡°Blue skies, Jenna,¡± Nate couldn¡¯t keep his chuckle in any longer. ¡°You¡¯re not a dating guide, you¡¯re not an alarm clock, and now you¡¯re not a cheat code to get the easy A? It¡¯s almost like you want to have friends based on your personality rather than what you can give them.¡±


    She gave him a look backed by such a weight of emotion that Nate couldn¡¯t possibly decipher its meaning, ¡°Nate, this is why-¡± she stopped herself with a soft sight and a shake of her head. And with that, the intense look vanished. ¡°Nevermind,¡± a faint smile graced her lips for a brief moment. ¡°That being said, I think there are some limitations we should put on ourselves.¡±


    Nate nodded his head. ¡°Professor Brown mentioned communication and transportation would factor in at some point. We should make sure we¡¯re close enough to have supply lines without depending on a single route. Probably all in-state or within say a 100 mile radius of a central point.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good planning,¡± Fiona nodded. ¡°And if we treat this Battalion as a small business to begin with, then I think we shouldn¡¯t be randomly clustered, but linear. We should form a chain of supply and communications, that way everybody already knows which direction to send something.¡±


    Nate shook his head emphatically. ¡°We should put a focus on each base having control over some resource or other. We¡¯re graded as a Battalion instead of individual companies, so even if one company guards access to food, water, and transportation, that gives the rest of the Battalion the ability to focus better on delving gates.¡±


    Fiona narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°A supply chain is called that for a reason. In a better world, yes, we could just send a caravan or train to any which city regardless of direction, but we¡¯re dealing with a demon invasion. We need protected routes to deliver goods, even if that means sacrificing time to deliver.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not against having a chain of some sort,¡± Nate held up a hand in defense, ¡°I¡¯m saying we shouldn¡¯t focus on linearity. The resources we have access to will be more important-¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a computer game where we¡¯ll be trading silk between cities,¡± Huck interrupted. ¡°Or where we have one base focused on food production and another on industry or wealth. I understand diversification is important, but each of us should be largely self-sufficient. This isn¡¯t going to be an easy ride where nothing happens. Routes will be cut off, demon hordes will march, Gates will spawn in, and we¡¯ll get cut off from one another. What are you gonna do when whatever podunk city farmer Nate here decides to settle near gets sacked because no one thinks protecting the boonies is logistically feasible and all of us were relying on him to deliver food?¡±


    ¡°How do you know all that¡¯s going to happen?¡± Fiona challenged. ¡°We¡¯re just getting our feet wet. How can they expect us to handle a full-blown invasion?¡±


    ¡°Same way humanity started off 110 years back- we don¡¯t. And failure is the blade of learning, so long as you live long enough to grow from the experience,¡± Huck gave her a flat look. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯ll be the whole point of this class- showing us how unprepared we actually are.¡±


    ¡°Well, gee, if only there were someone around who could give us a head¡¯s up for what we might expect to encounter on this project,¡± Fiona blurted out with passive-aggressive flair.


    Mi joined the circle, tossing a map of the USA into the middle of the group as he flipped through a couple of pages of reports. Today he was shorter with sandy brown hair and thick glasses surrounding gray eyes. Pushing up his glasses, he began, ¡°The Midwest is prime territory. We need to claim an area there before the other groups catch on. There¡¯s a few good reasons why Lighthouse is stationed in Chicago. Clean water, good food, centralized location far enough from the Rift that Gate spawning is more or less stabilized. I¡¯d recommend running North to South with access to the Mississippi instead of West and East with nothing but land between us.¡±


    Everyone stared blankly at Mi for a moment.


    ¡°Some sort of Reader,¡± Mi shrugged. ¡°Low Tier. Literally lets him read faster with a minor information processing boost. Saw the kid on my way to class this morning, thought it¡¯d be a useful ability.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can Shift into people you¡¯ve seen before, not just whoever you see in front of you?¡±


    ¡°First off- Mimic, not Shifter. Second: I can keep a few Traits on retainer for a bit of time,¡± Mi answered with a shrug, his voice stereotypically nasal.


    ¡°Kind of cute for a nerd,¡± Fiona gave a lopsided grin. ¡°Any idea where this guy was headed this morning?¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re using the river as a means of backup transportation?¡± Nate leaned back in thought.


    ¡°Oh, that too, I guess,¡± Mi shrugged. ¡°I thought it¡¯d be helpful ¡®cause demons don¡¯t like running water.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Huck narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s vampires, sweetie,¡± Fiona chuckled.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t vampires burned by running water?¡± Jenna chimed in with an amused grin.


    Mi frowned, apparently serious. He knit his eyebrows together as if not understanding what the rest of his group had missed. ¡°Demons¡­ don¡¯t like running water? You¡­ didn¡¯t-?¡± his frown deepened. ¡°It¡¯s the main reason Philadelphia hasn¡¯t been sacked yet. It¡¯s right across the Delaware from the Rift and pretty much only the Hudson River stands between it and the broken Tier V Gates of New York.¡±


    ¡°St. Louis is right on the Mississippi though,¡± Nate frowned in confusion. ¡°And that place got razed to the ground not even ten years back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they were preparing and planning for Philly,¡± Mi frowned again, looking at his group in confusion. ¡°It was a rehearsal. You guys¡­ didn¡¯t know that?¡±


    Every eye in the group turned toward Jenna whose eyes were already milky white. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not good,¡± she muttered before snapping back to the present.