Chapter 28: Distress

  Everything was moving so fast. Slava had a hard time following it all. Awakenings, something that felt like it came straight from a comic book. The AITF, an organization he had never really thought of before, was now at the center of his life. His dreams that started acting out led him to… Or Kolya who'd betrayed his trust… The only one he could rely on now was Sasha. She was going through the same shit he was. He felt they could understand each other.

  Why did all of this only happen recently? It was like a tsunami had just washed over him. With this new world opening itself up to him, it felt like he had suddenly become an insignificant puppet in a massive game. It felt like someone had begun pulling his strings.

  Exiting his trance, Slava was shocked to see people gathering at the entrance of the lecture hall. Looking closer, he noticed a familiar face at the center of the group. Wasn't that… What was his name again? Anthrax? Arthas? No that's right, it was Arthur, Arthur Stone. So he came back, did they grow him a new arm or something? As he thought this, Arthur raised his hand in the air, revealing its metallic luster. To his gesture, everyone shut up, staring in confusion. Now, this was interesting.

  "I made a horrible mistake a few months ago," he sullenly said. "As some of you already know, it cost me my arm." Jesus Christ, Slava couldn't believe they were in the same class. "To make sure I do not forget this mistake, I decided to opt for a mechanical arm until I root out the cause of the problem." By the end of his words, his eyes had turned cold. Slava was slightly surprised, maybe this fool wasn't as dumb as he thought.

  Regrowing limbs wasn't a problem anymore. Especially considering the fact that he was part of the AITF. Mechanical augmentations were usually frowned upon as they were "unnatural" and "invasive". Those statements weren't wrong, they were more outdated. Maybe around 50 years ago non-biological implants would've been considered toxic to the body, but the small amount of them that still existed were mostly harmless. And even if they weren't, curing their harmful effects became simple. So even though the technology had moved on, the people didn't and the stigma remained.

  That's why he found it funny and impressive at the same time. His statement was hypocritical yet cunning. He came back with a metallic arm and was able to turn the people's pity into respect. He also was pretty sure that that arm had some combat capabilities that a normal arm wouldn't have.

  As he went to sit down, their gazes crossed, but his eyes didn't flinch. Seeing this, Slava looked away. Well, that was a great distraction, but he needed to focus. Since his Awakening, he tried getting all he could from the lectures. Sure, some professors may be morons, but what they taught was based on decades of collective experience. There was surely something he could use.

  He'd been lucky until now, but there was no guarantee that things would remain the same. The trick they had pulled off with Sasha had surprisingly become fruitful. By crashing the meeting, they'd moved the target from his parents' backs. They were no longer looking for the origins of Despira's curse. Instead, they focussed on catching a group of mysterious Tainted infiltrators. It meant his family was safe, but he and Sasha were still in danger.

  As he thought about this, a message appeared in the corner of his vision. He didn't like invasive tech like the contact lenses but for some reason, he got used to his exosuit pretty fast. It was like a part of his body now and he understood every part of it.

[Call from Valerie Devnah]

  Valerie? Why was she calling him? They knew each other but they'd never talked before. The last time they actually met was when she almost died, but she didn't know that. A feeling of unease rising in his stomach, he answered the call.

  "Hello… hello?" Said a soft trembling voice. "I don't know if you remember me, we've met before. I'm Valerie, Alex's friend…" before she could continue, he abruptly interrupted her.

  "Yeah, I remember you, calm down and tell me what's wrong," he whispered. He was in the middle of class, he had to make this quick, or else things would become bothersome.

  "Oh am I bothering you?" She asked nervously.

  "No, just make it quick," he answered with slight anger in his voice.

  "Oh yes… I'm sorry," she said, stumbling over her words. "I told her something I probably shouldn't have." She stopped as if looking around. "I was talking about her uncle and then she just stormed off," she stopped herself again. "I tried to follow her, but when we turned a corner, she just disappeared." She was now panting, breathing between every word. "I have to go now," her next words were clear and firm. "Please take care of her." She sounded serious. Wait, this couldn't mean…

  "Wait!" He suddenly screamed, standing up. But it was too late the call had already ended. No, it couldn't be. Sasha was missing and Valerie had to leave in a hurry. Fuck Sasha finally did something stupid.

  "Sorry Vich, are we interrupting?" Focussing his eyes he met the professor's. Oh, shit…

  "Apologies professor, something urgent came up, I have to take my leave." Not waiting for his answer, Slava took his tablet and left.

  Shit, shit, shit. Not hesitating, he rushed back to his room.

  "Call Kolya!" He didn't care anymore. Sasha was in danger.

[Calling…]

  "Come on, answer you piece of shit." It rang for some time and as soon as it stopped he began speaking.

  "Kolya, it's me, I don't have much time right now, I think Sasha's in big trouble…" not letting him finish, Kolya interrupted.

  "Alright, I get it, no need to explain further. Meet me at the subway station once you find her. I'll be there as fast as I can. If something's really wrong we don't have much time," Slava couldn't even retort, before he knew it, the call had ended and he stood in front of his door.

  Where could she be? She wasn't online so she had to be hiding somewhere right? Where would she hide? Maybe...

  Abruptly opening the door, he was met with a sorry figure laying at the feet of his bed.

  "Sasha! What the fuck happened?" Hearing his voice, she weakly opened her eyes. "Are you okay? You're bleeding! What happened to your suit?" She lay there defenseless, spear… wait no, she was holding a scythe? Where did she get that?

  "Haha! I knew you'd come," she laughed, coughing up some blood. She had wounds all over, her suit was ripped to shreds, and it was struggling to close her wounds. No matter how much she fought, it was impossible to have so many superficial wounds. Unless…

  "They tried to capture me…" she coughed, "did you know my uncle helped them make the…" she couldn't finish her sentence, her voice became hoarse and she had to cough once more.

  Seeing this, Slava couldn't contain his anger. Letting his suit cover his body he directed some of it towards her, revitalizing her suit and helping it heal her.

  "Shhh. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," he said, forcibly closing her eyes. He could already feel it, they were coming. Shit! How did they get her? Was it her uncle? No, fuck, stop thinking you moron! Do something!

  Instinctively, his hand reached out for the weapon. Sasha was firmly grabbing onto it. As soon as he grabbed on, it began to glow, a purple hue spreading from its tip to his hand. Realizing what he had just done, he tried letting go but it was too late, it had already spread. Feeling his eyes getting heavier, he cursed; "fuck!" Before slumping to his knees, leaning on the scythe as his vision slowly turned black.