Chapter 4: Till human voices wake us, and we drown

How the hell are there a whole bunch of Corroded in here? The Town Square is the most high priority area on our watch. There’s barriers and measures installed almost everywhere that should guarantee none coming here from outside. We have patrolling agents stationed every few blocks, they should take care of a Corroded if it's born right here. And there’s the 24x7 surveillance being monitored by Division Five. There is no way a whole hoard of C’s are just roaming about the place. They were purposefully summoned here… Who could’ve done such a thing?

A million thoughts ran through my head at the speed of bullets flying, as I ran outside the shop, the instant I sensed that familiar malicious presence from our surroundings. I stepped out into the street, my eyes catching a glimpse of the monsters that had just started their rampage. I knew I had to stop them before the damage could get substantial. It wouldn’t take long for news to break out if something too major happened, and we would be officially done.

Also, no. I know what you’re thinking, and I’ll answer your question before you ask. Normal people can, in fact, not see Corroded or even sense their presence. For them it’s just stuff happening around them out of nowhere. Must be confusing. Well, for most of them, actually. Some random people are able to see Corroded, and most people like that are diagnosed mentally ill and thrown into institutions. Rough…

Using my Vitalis reading, I could tell that there were reinforcements arriving. Gonna be too late by the time they get here… Heh, a smirk played on my face, I get to let loose and hog the credit before my useless subordinates arrive… Must be my lucky day.

I ran towards the Corroded closest to me. It had the face of a cat with dark eyes, void of any light in them, and an incredibly ugly mouth with sharp teeth. It spat out its disgusting saliva or whatever that fluid was, all over the place, as it shouted. It turned its attention to me, but before it could move its heavy and bulky grasshopper-like body, I had jumped right behind it, targeting its blind spot. The anatomy of these things is beyond weird, don’t ask me to elaborate on its appearance any further.

I closed my eyes as I entered Flow mode. This is a tricky tactic to use in battle, but I’ve done this enough times, so it’s basically muscle memory to me. I opened my eyes within a matter of mere milliseconds, the Vitalis aura of the Corroded became visible and tangible to me as I used Reading. Emitting beams of positive V (as we call Vitalis for short) in quick succession, I pinned the ugly creature down against the ground, before Warping my leg to change form and grow bigger and heavier in size as I stomp crushed its skull. The Corroded burst into flames of its corrosive energy, so I quickly threw a containment trapbox at it, and turned my attention to the two beings rampaging near the Central Bridge.

I warped my leg back to normal before I rearranged the bone and muscle structure on both of them, making them more aerodynamic and suitable for running at top superhuman speed. Also, if you happen to be confused about how any of this works, don’t worry, I’ll explain it all later. I ran my way over to the bridge, as I saw one of the two fellas trying to claw at an innocent passing-by car, as the other tried to climb up the bridge by its side, up from the water.

—

“Daddy look outside, there’s a weird monster out there and it's trying to climb up the bridge… Haha, it’s so stupid,” I told my dad as I looked out of the window of our car.

“Sweetie, you watch too much TV… Also don't call anyone stupid, it’s not very nice,” my father told me from the driver seat, not even bothering to turn his head around.

“No, no… I’m telling the truth, it’s right th- Oh my goodness! There’s a man fighting it! He just kicked it into the river… Is he Superman?”

My father sighed as he looked at me through the rearview mirror, and he said “Yes, of course. It’s Superman. He’s taking a break in the outside world before he walks back into the television set for your entertainment”

“Really?” I exclaimed, “Wow, he’s such a cool guy!! I want to become Superman when I grow up!”

—

Phew, thank the lord, I thought as I saw the cars on the bridge safely cross to the other side, and I had successfully dealt with both the Corroded there.

I sensed the last one a kilometre or so away from me. I rewarped my legs back into the running settings, because I had temporarily hardened my skin to kick the C’s, and I hurried back over to Town Square Central. But before I could make it there in time, I heard a loud explosion. The sudden sound caused me to pick up even more speed. I turned a corner and to my utter surprise I saw William cowering on the pavement, panicking, as he was surrounded by the scattered exploded remains of a Corroded.

“What in the world happened here? Are you okay William?”

“Just…. What just happened here…” he looked up to me, gasping a little, before calming himself down. He was still hyperventilating slightly, so I grabbed his arm and dragged him back inside the cafe.

I turned to look at Alyssa as she was seated at a table near the door. She shrugged with an I tried expression on her face. I sighed, as I got William to sit at a table, and had him drink some water that Alyssa quietly placed on the counter.

“Are you doing better right now?” I asked William as he seemed to come back to his wits.

“I think so…” he held his face in his hands, as he shook a little.

“William. I need you to tell me the details of everything that happened. Exactly.”

“I- I- I don’t know sir… I actually h- have n- no idea…”

“Come on, focus. Think. Tell me. Whatever comes to mind”

“I… I went outside, after you… I argued with that waitress there for a bit, before she rolled her eyes and let me go. And then… And then… I… Ahh…. I felt the presence of something, and it felt weird… I can’t explain it with words… But I thought I was about to die from something I didn’t even understand. But… But then… Then everything just exploded around me or something… And now I’m here… That’s all I remember…”

I sighed, “Oh well… There go my hopes of bagging all the glory… It was you wasn’t it, Al? You shot the thing down right?”

“Surprisingly no. It wasn’t me. The glory is still up for grabs,” she replied, her eyes fixed to the magazine she was reading, her legs crossed and raised on the tabletop.

“Wait hold on… What. If it wasn’t you, then who was it?”

“Beats me. It’s as he says… The thing just spontaneously combusted out of nowhere. I don’t get paid enough to analyse this shit. That’s for the smart people to do”

Something wasn’t right, I thought, as I walked back outside the cafe. The cleanup team had arrived alongside the reinforcements, and I had Elise run up to me.

“Motherfucker, you’re back to glory hogging? This part of town is Division Nine’s territory, you scummy man. I bet you’re also cheating on your girlfriend, aren’t you? Huh?” she said, as she stood in front of me, resting her hand on her slightly raised hip, in a stance which gave away her intentions of engaging in banter with me. She was wearing a black miniskirt that was definitely violating the uniform guidelines, along with an undersized shirt that showed off her midriff, and a top coat that was a few sizes too big for her draping over her shoulders. The burgundy necktie, the distinctive element of her division’s uniform, swayed lightly in the air, as did her silky shining hair that was styled in a wolf cut that added to her butch aesthetic, if the dark coloured lipstick wasn’t enough. She also had a tear mole under her right eye, which isn’t really relevant or necessary information right now, but you know now.

“Where did that last part come from…” I asked her, deciding to humour her for a bit.

“Hah, who you think you’re lying to Hannington? You think I don’t know of your habits…? I know exactly what you’re doing every weekend behind her back…” she smirked, as she leaned in closer, pulling me by my tie, “Want me to rat you out to Jamie?”

I scoffed, lightly slapping her hand away from my tie, as I readjusted it, “Elle, we both know you won’t be doing any of that. Even if you did, I don’t think Jamie would particularly care”

“Oh what a lovely girl she is, she deserves much better than a piece of scum like you, who’s only using her–”

“Please stop trying to steal my girlfriend, you farglot”

“A what now?”

“Nevermind… Hey listen, I would love to argue with you at more length, but right now, I’m a bit busy. I have a mission I’m working on right now, and this situation here is definitely related in some way or the other…”

“Do you take me for a moron?” she looked at me with slight disgust as she continued, “I was just looking for a way to pass the time while Division Twelve did their analysis work. We have another hour or so to kill before we get any info of use. I’ve got our men stationed on high alert around here, you don’t need to worry. Come on then,” she pushed me back inside the cafe, kicking the glass door wide open, as she walked in right after me. As her eyes landed on Alyssa, a huge grin cropped up on her face as she jumped forward to hug her tightly.

“Alyyyyyy! Girl, it's been so long, you been doing well?”

“Yeah yeah I’m good, please leave me alone. I need some space, Lieutenant”

“Aww too bad, you’re such a cutie though…”

“I appreciate it, you look well too”

“No compliments for me? Well, I can make do with a burger then! Extra onions and no pickles, with a side of fries please~” I chimed in

“How about I fucking kill you, how about that? This is a cafe, we don’t sell burgers here.”

“Do me a solid pleaseee Al, I am actually famished and totally spent after doing that workout routine of killing Corroded”

“I’ll just bring you a normal sandwich”

“Do you have ranch sauce?”

“... Please die”

—

“You were here before time? Now that’s unusual… Must be something really important, hm?” I heard Jacob’s voice as he sat beside me at the bench overlooking the gently flowing waters of the river, on top of which the Floating Market was situated.

“Yo… Thought you wouldn’t come”

“Oh come on, dude. I already missed out on your concert the other night. I’m not that much of an asshole, y’know…”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, man”

“So… Will you tell me already, what it is that you want to say”

“Nope. You go first”

“... You’re impossible, you know that?”

“But of course,” I replied with a playful smile, as I waited for Jacob’s response.

He let out a sigh, as he began, “Kristen is having me check out that dude’s doctor”

“That dude, as in, William?”

“Yep”

“And by check out, you of course mean…”

“Well, that all depends on how things play out, but potentially yes”

“What’d the doctor even do?”

“Why do you think the kid is under treatment?”

“Possibly, because of some event he’s had with the Corroded, and is getting treated for some mental disorder like– Wait…”

“Exactly. Took you long enough to figure it out, genius.”

“Faust isn’t a shrink… Or anything neurology, psychology related… He’s just…”

“A normal doctor”

“Oh… Now it makes a lot more sense…”

“Well, I think you have already figured it out… But it’s best to come clean. It was me who was responsible for summoning the Corroded in Town Square today”

“Massively irresponsible move. Should’ve done it in a more secluded area”

“But I trust our agents, especially a certain Second Lieutenant from Division Eight,” he winked playfully, as he stuck his tongue out.

“Grown ass man…” I sighed, “Well, your test was conclusive enough. Faust has definitely been administering some Vitalis blocker to the guy. That explains why his aura felt off to me, it was unnaturally suppressed for the magnitude he probably possesses…”

“Enough to cause a Corroded to spontaneously combust when in contact with it”

“I think that answers the why… But we still don’t know who… Who exactly is Faust, and what is he working for?”

“You’ve been rather quick to dismiss the idea that the two of them could be working in cahoots”

“Hah, William? You clearly don’t know the guy. He’s the type that can’t even lie properly. I consider myself to be a decent judge of character. I know that he is innocent”

“Well, I trust you so, I’ll take your word for it. But… Hmm… Say, what will you do if William is to spill the beans about PRECIPICE to the press? He is a journalist after all… We can’t trust them”

“That’s not going to happen,” I chuckled a little, as I replied to Jacob, causing a confused and puzzled look on his face.

“Awfully sure, aren’t we? Why’s that? You seem to have a plan?”

“Indeed”

“And that is?”

I leaned close into his ear as I whispered my suggestion to him. Jacob’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, as he took a step back and stared at me, his jaw almost dropping to the floor.

“You cannot be serious…” he told me, half pleading and half demanding for me to say that I was jesting.

“Oh but I am…”

I can’t read people’s minds, but I’ve known Jacob for long enough to guess the thought that went through his mind at that moment. “This guy has finally lost it totally, hasn’t he?”

Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. My idea was nuts after all, and incredibly reckless.

> To be continued

Author's Note:
I hope I can get this novel done in time before the submission deadline is over lol

Thanks to everyone who's been reading the chapters, we're at 200 views yippie!!