It’s Not Like You’re Using It Anymore…

Adrian, Evelyn and Mr. Valcadin step into a small office. Much like the halls, the walls are lined with different awards, only these are specific to Mr. Valcadin himself.

“They sure ain’t shy about showing off their crowning achievement…” Adrian remarks under his breath, which earns him an elbow in the ribs from Evelyn.

They sit down across from Mr. Valcadin and he speaks. “So… I feel obligated to ask considering how rare your case is, but you two are Ravaged, correct?”

“Where, sir, now we live in our airship.” Evelyn said.

“I see… previously then…” He trails off, writing something down, then looking back up. “I’ll ask you this then, why so interested in being a storm chaser? Usually we don’t accept Ravaged, they tend to… Undermine our work.”

“I think it’s because of the work you do that I want to join so badly, sir.”

“Hm, go on.”

“Well, the storm chasers chart the storms for the Ravaged and other people, I don’t know where humanity would be without you guys. And I want to be a part of it. I wouldn’t need any of the Overdrive you guys haul, obviously, so…”

Mr. Valcadin leans back in his chair as he listens to her speak. “Well that’s a better reason than most, I find your sense of morality admirable. That and having two Breathers amongst us could bring about a good change.”

“Soo… Does that mean we’re in?”

“It’s a good cover story… But now I’d like to know the real reason if you’d please.”

“What do you mean? I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about…” She ends her obvious lie with a small laugh.

“Do you know what I’ve learned over the years of being a storm chaser, miss…?”

“Evelyn, sir!”

“Evelyn, I’ve learned that many people do think like you, wanting to help for the greater good. It’s not that I don’t believe you, I would just like to know what’s buried underneath.”

Evelyn is silent for a moment after listening to him, getting a look from Adrian that she ignores as she speaks, “I want to reach the eye of the storm, to see if there really is treasure at the end.”

Throughout the years, there had been many rumors about the storm. Some said it was a tool for God, casting some divine judgement on the people who had strayed from his word. Others through the storm has always been, tearing apart the tribes of their ancestors for thousands of years. But the one rumor that got the attention of the Ravaged, Evelyn included, was the prospect that there was treasure in the eye of the storm.

“Ah, the prospect of wealth, I’d be a liar if I said you weren’t the first…” He trails off his sentence as he thinks, interlocking his fingers together, “If you pass the exam and one other condition.” He shoots Adrian a look “I take the well being of everyone here very seriously, so that stunt in the exam room will be the last, understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Adrian replies.

“Then, you can continue with your exam, good luck, Miss Evelyn.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Valcadin!” Evelyn says as the two stand up and leave his office.

Mr. Valcadin listens to the sound of their footsteps trailing off and picks up his desk phone. “Yes, send Lila into my office…”

Lila enters Mr. Valcadin’s office, standing with her arms crossed.

“If you plan on threatening to tell the assassin’s league-” Mr. Valcadin starts but is cut off

“You really think I’m just going to sit here and let you bring Ravaged into our ranks?! Did you just forget about the ascension?! I refuse to-”

“Calm down, I’m playing this smart.” It’s now his turn to cut her off, continuing “What do you think would happen if you angered not one, but two Breathers? I don’t care if you’re a part of the league or not. They would leave a trail of chaos behind them and they only need a reason, yes?” He motions to her now swelling cheek where she was hit.

“Then what do you propose?” Lila said.

“We have them think they’re storm chasers of course. Then the storm will… Unfortunately it is too much for them. Two young rookies, thinking they’re invincible, but it ends in tragedy. It’s a story told millions of times now…” He explains, getting an approving nod from the assassin in response.

“So you’re saying I can deal with them at my discretion?”

“It’s why you’re here, after all.”

In the hall, Evelyn does a triumphant twirl on her skates. “Woohoo! We’re totally in, dude! We did it!”

“You sure bringing up the eye was a good idea?” Adrian says, “They know we’re in it for the money now.”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice, we’re already in deep shit thanks to you…”

“Ugh…” Adrian groans, “I’m sorry, okay? Now get off my back already…”

“You’re forgiven.” The two then continue down the hall.

. . .

In the present day, Adrian and Lila are thrown around like toys under the intense winds of the storm, throwing them in every direction without letting them hit the ground. Lila strains every muscle to try to correct herself in some way but the storm continues to control her path. Meanwhile, Adrian tries to keep track of his enemies position through the roaring wind, muscles beginning to pulse yet again.

“OVERDRIVE!!” He yells out before swinging his bat with all the force he can muster.

The sheer force behind his swing radically changes his course, moving opposite of his swing, and directly towards the assassin. He jerks his body around and prepares a swing aimed towards the sky as they crash into each other.

“OVERDRIVE!!” Adrian yells out again

Swinging his bat before Lila can retaliate, the impact sends them both into the hard ground beneath them. Lila takes the full brunt of the fall, her helmet’s mask shattering, the elements now with full reign to do what they please. Adrian however rolls off her back with a pained groan, the assassin’s body breaking his fall enough to not end up like her. He gathers himself as the fresh crater the two created on impact provides a bit of cover for him to at least think straight. He sits up and rolls his enemy over, seeing her skin dried out and shriveled.

“The burn…” Adrian thinks to himself, never used to seeing the people afflicted with the disease.

If the storm’s powerful winds and unpredictable lightning strikes weren't enough, because of the drug mixed in the rain, the storm also brought about a quick killing illness to whoever steps into its territory unprotected. The burn being a result of an Overdrive overdose. Blinking away the memories, Adrian starts to search the woman’s body, taking the oxygen reserves left in the suit.

“It’s not like you’re using it anymore…” He says putting the tanks with the others on his belt. .

He continues to search until he finds it on her thigh, a metal plate, similar to Adrian’s but in gold rather than silver. It reads “999” and Adrian clicks his tongue. It was higher than his rank, the lower the number, the higher your status in the league.

“You can’t be serious… If I would’ve known you were this low, I wouldn’t have gone through all this…” He grumbles as he pockets the plate. “At least it’s triple digits.”

Adrian then turns his attention to his helmet’s inner screen. Each suit is equipped with a small map in the helmet with the storm’s wind patterns. He sees the direction the storm is heading, east, and fast. Adrian lurches forward and starts to bolt to the west, staring at the map to guide his direction. The wind and rain hit the dome of his helmet like small daggers as he can barely even see his hand in front of his face. He forces himself to the ground time and time again when a large gust threatens to throw him airborne again. Lightning hits the ground around him from all angles, defining another one of his senses as his ears ring like bells, pounding his head. After running blindly for what feels like days, Adrian runs into something solid, feeling around the object and grabbing a handful of moss. He swipes it away and sees a metal plate underneath the few feet of vegetation.

“Is this…?” He trails off as he runs his hand along the metal to navigate himself.

He stops as he feels his hand touch air and spots an opening in the metal. He ducks inside the opening and stands straight in the cabin of an old airship. It looked like it had met its end long ago, with the same vegetation outside covering the interior, making a jungle of vines and shrubs. Adrian’s helmet starts to slowly fog up as he catches his breath, batting away the plants in front of him, entering further in.

“Huh… An old storm chaser ship… Probably a sorry sucker from a different raid.” He thinks out loud as he finds a place to rest, sitting on an old dusty crate, he takes out the air tanks around his waist. He tosses the damaged ones to the side. “Seven total, a little over an hour left…” He checks the map and leans back, switching out his old air tank for a new one. “Should be enough time.”

The one thing Adrian had going for him in this situation was the storm’s speed. It moves around the world once a month. His eyes slowly scan around his new surroundings before they land on a box across from him. An insignia he doesn’t recognize is painted on the box. A crow, with a serpent caught in its talons and its wings spread wide in triumph, in front of a backdrop of what seems like a row of soldiers under an eclipse.

“The hell group is this…?” He says running his hand along it. “Graffiti? Nah, it looks factory painted on… Weird.” He opens the box and finds dusty bullets inside. “Nothing out of the ordinary for an airship…”

Adrian is left to think on this for the next hour before the outside becomes safe enough to at least walk through. He looks to the east and sees the storm moving away from him before turning on his helmet’s radio.

“Yo, Ev! You there?” but only silence follows. He scans the sky for any signs of their or the Stormchaser ships but he only sees a plume of smoke. He follows the trail of smoke with his eyes for a moment to determine its origin. “There’s no way… Right?” he says to himself before going to investigate.