Chapter 2: A Late Night Killing

As they lay in their individual rooms, only a few managed to get some sleep. It was hard since they did not trust their caretakers, and the doors didn't even have locks. The beds were terribly hard, with only strange blue plants used as cushions. Rhys, Aoki, Elara, and Mateo were the only ones who managed to sleep; the rest sat in their rooms, contemplating what to do.

Many hours deep into the night, a scream pierced the silence, only to be abruptly cut off. The sound awoke and alarmed everyone, making them rush out of their rooms to see what had happened. Then a man's voice echoed through the hallway, "Ah, I did not think she would be awake at this hour." Below him was a woman, lying on her stomach in the doorway, surrounded by a pool of blood. It was Astrid. Her neck had been cut nearly all the way through. Her eyes still had life in them and was looking at the rest of the group. Then a crack was heard as the man slammed down on her neck with his foot. Some of the summoned screamed or started panting heavily. Mori and Wolfgang quickly shoved the kids into Mori's room and closed the door.

"I am sorry. I wanted to kill you all in your sleep so you wouldn't feel pain. But now I have no choice," he said in a somber tone, lifting his foot covered in her blood. He stood at the end of the hallway, blocking the only exit. "For the safety of the human race, you all have to die here and now!" The man was Rose. His eyes looked mad as he charged at Caoimhe with a dagger. Declan jumped in the way; the dagger struck right between his ribs, causing him to release a blood-curdling scream. Mateo and Rhys grabbed Rose by the arms, trying to shove him to the ground, but he was far too strong, inhumanly so for a man in his 60s. Declan, gritting his teeth, jammed his thumbs into Rose's eyes. Rose screamed, falling backwards, pulling the dagger out of Declan, which made Declan scream and collapse to the ground.

At the back end of the hallway, Elara pulled something from her back pocket. It was a taser. She lunged at Rose, who was now on the ground, jamming it into his left thigh. He screamed and let go of the dagger while also kicking Elara in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. Mateo, taking this opportunity, let go of Rose and quickly picked up the dagger. However, with one arm free, Rose was able to slam Rhys' head with his fist, making him let go as well. With this opportunity, Rose ran for the exit, but with his vision impaired, he slipped on Astrid's blood, slamming his face on the hard stone floor, dazing him. Mateo jumped on him, jabbing the dagger into his back multiple times.

Rose, dazed, blinded, and bleeding from multiple stab wounds, somehow managed to turn around and kick Mateo in his nether regions. Mateo fell to the side, leaving the dagger in Rose's back. Rose crawled towards the exit, muttering to himself, "I have failed him. I… I was too arrogant." He coughed up blood. "I… need to… wrong him." He lifted his hand, and then, like a doll with its strings cut, he collapsed to the ground.

Everyone was shaking violently and breathing heavily, each one filled with adrenaline. Mateo was affected the most and vomited on the ground. Caoimhe was the first to move. She took off her jacket and pressed it against Declan's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. "W-we need help!" she cried. "Who do you think will help us? The police? Because if you didn't notice, we are not on Earth!! And the people here just tried to kill us!!" Elara shouted, holding her stomach as she slowly got up from the ground. Suddenly, Metal clanking was heard, and it was getting louder and louder as it came closer.

Everyone on the ground except Caoimhe quickly got up. Shaking, they readied themselves for what might happen next. "Shit, we are going to die. A-aren't we?" Caoimhe cried. Mori tried to calm the situation, "I-I t-think they're here to help." Elara shouted in response, "Like hell they are, this guy just tried to kill us!!" Rhys then replied, "I-I think so too, o-or they would have done so already." This statement calmed everyone, although only a bit.

A few moments later, what appeared to be guards came rushing in. "What has happened here?" a female guard demanded. "H-he tried to kill us!!" Rhys quickly shouted, pointing at Rose. The guard picked up Rose's head to check his identity. "Is this… Rose? And are you the summoned ones? Why are you here—"

She was interrupted by Oliver, who stepped forward. "I-I think I can answer that," he said. "Rose was the one who led them here. I also bear some responsibility for this, as I left Rose to show them their quarters without a guard detail." He covered his face with his hand. "I never knew Baxley's influence went so deep, even into the order." Looking at Astrid, he instructed, "Get a reviver, one of them is dead. Also, bring Rose's body to the torture room. We will extract all the information we need from him."

"Who the fuck is Baxley?!" Declan shouted weakly. "Ah, also get a healer," Oliver said to another guard. "I will explain everything, but first we need to take care of you and Astrid. Those who can move should follow me. I will explain everything." They were all hesitant but followed his instructions, as there was no other option.