“Well… how did it go?”
Evantra leaned across the dining table, her eyes locked onto Carmen’s smile.
The woman was beaming. Like a ray of sunshine had somehow managed to penetrate the dilapidated roof of her church, to shine down on Carmen Alvarez, making her tanned skin gleam, more than it usually did, that was.
“Pretty well.”
“Alright, I’ll ask him then.”
Carmen lunged at her from across the table as Evantra withdrew her phone, motioning towards it as if she were about to text Trevor, which she would. As soon as she was out of Carmen’s immediate vicinity.
“Our second date’s next week. After the raids in a couple of days, when things quiet down for him.”
Evantra grinned, giving Carmen a tight hug as the woman smiled.
“You deserve this. I’m really happy for you.”
“It was all thanks to my excellent flirting ability.”
“Excellent flirting ability my butt. You wouldn’t be where you were if it wasn’t for me, Abuela. Better remember that.”
Carmen rolled her eyes, but broke out into a laugh. The door to their right opened with a creak, and they watched a bedraggled Noelle emerge, her wavy red hair tangled. The girl yawned and then seemed to blush, realising that Carmen and Evantra were staring at her.
“M-morning.”
“Did you have a good night’s rest, Noelle? You seem pretty tired.”
“I was up a bit late trying to make some headway on the drone. I think I’m just about done with it,” the palpable excitement was audible in her voice. “We’ll be able to use it as a scout soon enough! We’ll be really well prepared for the sewer raid.”
Carmen’s face fell at the mention of it, and Evantra shot Noelle a withering glance. Carmen turned as Lucas emerged from the room, yawning and rubbing at his eyes.
“Speaking of which… it would be really nice if we spent some time together today. Before the two of you get all busy.”
“Oh?” Evantra raised an eyebrow. “That does sound nice, but I’m meeting Millie this evening, she’s dropping by the gas station on her way back from her excursion to Elsecaller. Why the sudden request?”
“I think… I want to pull the trigger. Make the move to Bastion. Trevor took me around and—”
“THE DATE!”
Noelle seemed to snap out of her haze of lethargy with a shrill scream, rushing towards Carmen. Carmen laughed and sat down at the breakfast table with Noelle to fill them in on the night. Their time at Lillyville, walking around the outskirts, taking in the isolated, towering megabuildings which were the older models which the ones in Elsecaller City were based on.
“Hmm…” Noelle said as she took a bite of her cereal.
“So this… Joe said we could fetch about 500,000 for it. For that price, you could probably afford a small apartment in a megabuilding. Buying out in the suburbs is out of your price range. The only concern is…”
“They aren’t nearly as safe as the ones in Elsecaller, are they?” Carmen replied with a sigh. Noelle nodded in the affirmative.
“The ones in Elsecaller are equipped with bunkers in the event of a Veilsurge. They are also capable of sectioning off sections of the habitat to isolate a Veilsurge. Some of them have on call Ghostslayers to manage any incidents… and of course, the government has a vested interest to nip them in the bud. Not so much the case in Bastion, though. But… I have an idea.”
Noelle’s eyes lit up.
“I might be able to make some inroads with the landlords of a section of a hab with full-dive VR pods. They’re usually a lot quieter, most of the residents are well… in Second World. What do you think, Carmen?”
Carmen took a moment to consider her suggestion and slowly nodded her head.
“I’m open to it. Maybe you could show me some videos and pictures?”
Noelle nodded with enthusiasm, shovelling the rest of her food into her mouth, before scrambling back to the room to grab her pad.
“Nuh uh. You’re not going anywhere,” Evantra felt Carmen latch on to her arm as she gave Noelle’s room a passing glance.
“Do you really need me here while you talk about it?”
“Make an effort, Evantra.”
Evantra restrained the urge to grit her teeth and roll her eyes, but acceded.
“For you.”
---
Upon hearing the news, the Vandemeers accepted Evantra’s offer of 500,000 practically instantly. It seemed like Joe the baker had pulled through, being true to his word. It seemed as if his parents were particularly interested in Wisptown, for some reason Evantra couldn’t fathom.
Thankfully, they had agreed to the generous condition of agreeing that the property remain in Carmen’s possession, subject to her obtaining another residence. Ownership had been transferred, but they were in no rush to claim possession. Besides, Evantra didn’t think the quantum they were offering would put even the slightest dent in their coffers.
Evantra leaned back into the seat of her rickety Himetachi hatchback, sighing comfortably. For the first time in a while, it felt like things were actually going her way.
For the first time since the Veilsurge, she felt like a degree of normalcy had returned. Spending the day with Carmen and Lucas, as they flicked through apartment options. Carmen telling them about the different suburbs in Bastion, some of which drew inspiration from the districts in Elsecaller City – a mishmash of different cultural influences.
Besides having a nice day, she had mastered two of the catalysts, miraculously obtaining all of the requisite skills to unlock the rituals tied to them.
She was slowly building up her arsenal and repertoire, having added the Liberty Astral A5 to her selection. Now, all she needed to do was learning about how to get her hands on more catalysts, and the world was practically her oyster.
Even so, bills had to be paid, and one of her many employers on the taskfinder app had come calling again.
She pulled up to the gas station
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Street lights flickered outside, casting long shadows on the cracked, white concrete. It was about 9pm, and Millie was due to arrive back from her short excursion in Elsecaller City any time now. She’d mentioned that she would be making a stop at the station before heading back into Wisptown.
It’s the least I could do to try to be a better friend.
Evantra glanced at her taskfinder app, responding to Doug’s text telling him that she’d arrived. Doug’s gas station had become one of her most reliable gigs when she had first started working, one that she had neglected due to the events of the past two weeks.
She shut the door to her car and watched with a smile as a small bus pulled into the gas station, familiar lettering written across its side.
Wisptown orphanage.
Evantra waved to the kids inside, receiving some lethargic waves in return. No doubt, they were tired from their excursion.
“There’s my favourite not-best-friend. My favourite flaker? Ghost? What should I call you? Oh, I know, my favourite person who hasn’t been to Elsecaller City,” Millie descended from the bus with a tired grin. From memory, they had spent a few days in the city, and Evantra was certain that the little ones would have wrung out all of Millie’s spare energy.
“I’m looking forward to spending the next two days off in bed. Urgh.”
“You’re just a ray of sunshine, aren’t you, Mills. Teach me your secrets.”
Millie’s lips turned into a devilish grin.
“Bringing smiles to children…”
She waved cheerily back to the kids on the bus.
“And antidepressants. You should try it sometime.”
“Which one?”
Millie just stuck her tongue out at her.
“The museum was amazing, by the way. Whole sections dedicated to the megacorporations and their innovations through the years… no way they wouldn’t keep funding going without it. Still, the vehicles were pretty cool. Harry and Elias almost jumped into an ancient Nezha prototype recon drone on display – Harbinger model with the big guns. Oh… and the magical girl exhibit.”
Evantra felt her heartbeat quicken at the mention of it.
“They’re taking it down, it seems, we didn’t have access to it. To make way for another exhibition. Maybe they’ll do one on Australia. It’s a bit of a shame, but this is what happens when your bills are footed by megacorps, I suppose. Still, it was a good time. No major crises or alien invasions to speak of, I’d say it went well.”
Millie poked her in the side.
“You jelly?”
“I’m jelly.”
“Anyway, I need to go take a huge dump. If I take too long the children will weep with sorrow… don’t want them throwing any fucking tantrums,” Millie’s voice dropped low as she leaned forward, before she broke off in the direction of the lavatory.
“Wait, here.”
Evantra held out a croissant she had bought from the baker's to Millie.
“It’s uh… a little stale but—”
“You got me a gift? Who are you?”
Millie’s face lit up as she received the croissant with glee, taking a small bite out of it.
Huh. I really have been a shitty friend, haven’t I.
Evantra waved as the girl half skipped into the store, making her way to the women’s restrooms. She followed her inside and was welcomed with the familiar low drone of air conditioning and its chill on her skin.
“Doug, don’t you ever turn that thing down?”
Doug, the closest thing to her “employer”, even though she was technically a contractor for employee right reasons, just gave her a gruff nod and pointed towards the storage cabinet. She removed the mop from its place, grabbed a bucket and made towards the male toilets.
“Darn it, Doug.”
The toilet was deserted, but the smell made her let out a small sigh. It was immediately evident to her that Doug had skimped on cleaning in the time she had been gone. Or maybe it was just that the previous contractors did a shoddy job.
The cleaning went as it always did. Putting in her earbuds, Evantra lost herself to the routine of mopping the floor, cleaning the toilet bowls and urinals, and finally finishing with the stalls. There was something about losing yourself to physical work that calmed her and prevented her mind from wandering like it did in quieter moments.
Thankless as the work sometimes was, she was grateful for the brief moments of serenity it brought her.
A reprieve from darker thoughts.
“All done.”
Admiring her work with a smile, and the air now noticeably fresh from her labour, Evantra headed towards the women’s toilets. Exiting back out into the store, she made her way towards the woman’s toilets just opposite her.
She froze.
She took a step back and looked towards the counter, where Doug had been seated.
The wall behind him was splattered entirely with flecks of red, a small red hole visible in the very centre of his forehead.
Doug’s blood painted the wall behind him.
Millie.
Evantra burst into the female toilet in front of her, rapidly scanning the stalls. She resisted the urge to call out, knowing that giving away her position could jeopardise her. Even as sickly adrenaline began to suffuse her body, Evantra tried to keep a calm head.
By this time, the bus would have left. She’s—
Evantra halted as she peered around the corner of one of the store shelves.
The orphanage’s bus was still parked in the station, where she had last seen it.
There was something on the cracked, concrete floor in front of it.
Evantra rushed forwards, throwing caution to the wind, her heart in her throat. She slammed her palm repeatedly onto the button that would trigger the gas station door to open. As the frosted glass door moved to the side, Evantra caught a clearer glimpse of what was lying before her.
A body was lying face down on the white concrete, painted red with blood.
A single, chocolate croissant was lying just out of reach on the floor beside it.
A scream tore free from her throat.
“MILLIE!”
She jolted forwards, running to crouch down right next to the body. As she ran out of the store, she could hear the muffled screams of the children in the bus next to her.
“No.”
[Clot acceleration]
Evantra stabbed her stim into her friend’s back, where she saw the bullet’s entry wound. Then another.
[Clot acceleration]
[Clot acceleration]
[Clot acceleration]
[Clot acceleration]
“Please. Mills.”
Turning her over, she confirmed it was her friend, Millie's glassy eyes looking back at her.
She was gone.
Rage, like she had only experienced once before, returned to her. Suffusing her entire body. Her vision turned red as it was clouded by adrenaline, and Evantra’s grip around her Nagantra tightened, her fingernails cutting into her palm, as she held it before her.
[Darkvision]
[Ritual of Veilsight]
Veilsouls remaining: 15
The immediate surrounds of the carpark caked in darkness flashed into visibility. Her eyes darted around the surroundings, desperately attempting to make out what was around her.
Seeking the perpetrator.
There was nothing.
She was powerless.
Evantra sprinted towards the road, and it was empty, stretching out in either direction as far as she could see.
She collapsed to her knees, the trembling in her hands overwhelming her.
“No.”
“No. No. No. No. Mills. You can’t leave too.”
Evantra extracted her phone from her pocket, almost dropping it as her hands shook.
“Evant—”
“S-someone shot Millie. I’m at 355 Melton Street, the gas station.”
Evantra heard a protracted pause on the other end, before she heard a clatter, as if Trevor was scrambling.
“I’ll be right there, get to safety Ev—”
Evantra stalked back towards the bus, holstering her machine pistol.
She kicked the door of the bus open, forcing her fingers into the narrow space she had created and shoving it aside.
The bus driver was dead. Similarly killed by a well-placed bullet to the forehead.
She walked onto the bus, gripping the guardrail to steady herself.
“Did anyone see anything?”
Two rows of young faces stared back at her, tears in their eyes, trembling under their seats.
Focus Evantra. Focus.
She let out a deep, shuddering sigh as she squeezed her eyes shut. Then she rushed forwards to attend to the children left behind. She did a quick round up and down the bus, ensuring that none of the orphans had been hurt.
Then she halted, noticing two of them staring out the window towards—
‘Hey, hey, you two,” she said softly, “get down from there.”
She gently pried them away from the window, their tear and snot-stained faces staring up at her in pure incredulity, their eyes distant. They couldn’t have been older than five or six years of age.
“Why don’t you both play a game, huh?”
Evantra opened Tetris on her phone as her hands shivered, which was quietly accepted by the kids.
I remember something about Tetris helping with PTSD.
I don’t have phones for all of them.
Distant sirens drew closer, as the area around her was flooded with police vehicles.
---
The station was crawling with policemen, flashing lights from their vehicles painting the surrounds. One of the officers had driven back the kids to the orphanage, while the rest had cordoned off the interior of the station, taking away the bodies.
The voices around her were muffled.
She couldn’t make out quite what they were saying.
Evantra stared down at the stain on the cracked white pavement, marked in bl—
“Hey, hey.”
She felt someone envelop her in a warm jacket, only then realising that her body was shivering. The muffled voices came into focus as she tore her gaze away from the bloody concrete floor.
“Security cams were shot, just like in the other instances. Not the fault of the culprit, they were poorly maintained, it seems.”
“Evantra. Evantra. Hey.”
She slowly raised her head to look at Trevor, who had draped his jacket around her.
“C’mon, let’s get you home.”
“I need to give my statement. I’ve heard about people forgetting details—”
“Evantra,” Trevor gave her a level look, gently squeezing her forearm.
“Let’s go.”
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