Grace Period (1)

Avery had shown Dean around most of Waterloo Station. The place wasn't what he remembered. The shops had been fashioned into living quarters, each crammed with enough bunk beds for the massive group of people that were staying there. Dean was relieved the toilets and public showers still worked. As soon as he saw the shower, he grabbed some of Avery's supplies and hopped right in, washing away the multiple types of blood from his skin.

The place was packed full of people who had survived the Floods of Gate Monsters in London. He noticed something though, the people who were left were strong, as if the weak had been culled.

Dean saw two men standing in front of an escape door, as if they were stopping anyone from entering. Avery noticed him staring.

"We don't go in there." She said.

"Why?"

"Fox is in there, he doesn't come out much but we're not allowed to go in. Unless you want to fight his group."

Dean recognised the name; Fox was a strong and clever Hunter that ran quite a large group. Their name was 'Shaker', they had a high clear rate for mid-ranked Gates but there were rumours that they had a nasty habit of killing other groups within the Gate. It was hard to say if it was true or not, because no one was able to get evidence from inside the Gates. The Gate's were very dangerous places, one mistake could cost you your life.

The men stood vigilant, keeping watch by the door. The door was the only access into the rooms behind it, rooms that led to the back of the station.

Dean looked at the door for a moment, wondering what laid behind. Tabby purred in Avery's arms as she stroked her ear. Dean decided to ignore his curiosity and continued being led around the station by Avery.

...

In a nicely fashioned room that stood behind the two men. A lean built man sat on a sofa, pillows scattered all around him. His hair was dark blue, a bit of length to the top with short sides. He leaned back on the sofa, a big bone with meat was in his hand. He ripped off the flesh with his teeth as if he was an animal. The meat and bone wasn't something you'd find from an animal on Earth; it looked as if it came from quite a large Gate Monster. He was chewing loudly; the piece of flesh was tough and needed to be mashed by his teeth. The only pieces of clothing he wore were ripped jeans and combat boots. His exposed chest was covered in scars, there wasn't much skin left that didn't have any.

A couple of strong men stood in front of him, all of them waited for him to talk. They were big, but no match to the wild air of the man on the sofa. In the corner of the room, a middle-aged woman was tied up to a radiator, her palms were sore and red from the tight restraints, her mouth gagged.

"Report." The man on the sofa said, his mouth full of monster meat.

One of the men responded. He kept his posture straight as if he had plenty of practice, "Over four hundred people with Backers, Fox."

Fox smirked and swallowed the piece of flesh in his mouth. "Good man."

The men stood still, waiting for him to continue. He looked at them and snarled, "Well, go." He pointed the bone in his hand to the door. The men walked out of the room. They walked through a long hallway and exited through the door Dean was curious about not too long.

Fox sat up from the sofa. A smile creeped across his face. He took a bite of the meat and walked over to the tied-up woman, lifting her chin with his free hand. "A week until the Backer Selection and I'll be able to start. It's all thanks to you and your son." The woman rebelled and pulled out of his hand and placed her head away from him, closing her eyes. He quickly grabbed her face, keeping it steady with his grip.

"Look at me." He said, anger came through his voice.

She opened her eyes and looked straight into his. Fox smirked at the woman listening to him, "Play good now and I'll let your son live."

...

Avery took Dean to a place to sit. The restaurant's kitchens were empty of food, but some of the people who had upgraded their Contestant Stores were selling food with a price slightly higher than it was on the store. She had been enjoying her time with the cat and wanted to stay as long as she could.

"Do you want anything?" She asked Dean, hoping to butter him up so she could play with Tabby for longer.

"I'm good."

Dean opened up his Contestant Store and brought an energy ball. It dropped into his palm and he threw it into his mouth. Avery stuck out her tongue, her face scrunched up as she saw Dean swallow the ball.

"You choose to eat those when you have the choice of other food?"

Dean looked at her and let out a breath. "They're cheap."

He could have bought some food from the people who were selling, but in all honesty, the life of being frugal had stuck to him, and he'd rather save points for when he needed them. He only made it to Waterloo because he had spent most of his points on Dexterity to outrun the centipedes. The cat had saved him after it transformed, but who knew if it would have done so if he hadn't been running for so long.

"Dean?" A rough voice said behind him.

A tall, elderly man stood above him. You could tell he was old by the grey in his short hair, but his body didn't match his age. He was muscular, his massive form visible through his tank top. He had armored bottoms, and a large sword attached to his back, it was as tall and wide as he was.

Dean knew the man. If anyone was going to survive this long, of course it would be him. He was his teacher at the Hunter academy. The man was called Arthur Harrenhal; he was biracial, a cross between Asian and British. He taught theory but would still dive into the Gates occasionally. The man was quite popular for his strength and knowledge. His Hunter name was Kraermos - for the large sword he carried around with him.

"Professor?" Dean replied.

Arthur picked Dean up out of his chair and gave him a tight hug. The type that was suffocating and close to breaking his back. Arthur had never been able to control his strength and would regularly break pencils with his fingers in his classes.

Arthur put him down before he could hear his back crack; Dean breathed in deeply. The air from his lungs had been squeezed out from the gorilla like hug.

"I haven't been called that in a while, it's good to see you boy!" Arthur's voice was rough, it always sounded like someone added bass to it. He was loud.

"It's good to see you too, Professor."

Arthur pulled a chair across to join the two.

"So, what happened to you?" He asked Dean.

Avery didn't mind that Arthur ignored that she was there, she was entertained by Tabby.

"It's a long story"

Dean filled Arthur in on everything that happened; Avery listened too; her eyes went wide in surprise. Everyone had it rough getting to Waterloo Station, but Dean had no idea what he had woken up to. The cat she held in her arms could also turn into a giant blue tiger. She was scared at first, but that quickly changed after she began to imagine petting the magical beast; she would happily risk the chance of being burnt.

"Sam's always been like that." Arthur replied, his massive arm leaned on the table.

"You know him?" Most people had heard about Sam because he was Awakened at a young age, but Dean was surprised his teacher knew him. London was a big place and Sam never bothered going to a university to study to be a Hunter. What would the point be when you already fast tracked into becoming one?

"Indeed, I was in a group with him once for conquering a Gate. It would've been an easy one to complete, we just had to handle a couple of Orcs. But the boy was still fresh and wet behind his ears, too cocky... He just came out after his awakening and tried soloing a group of Orcs by himself. The boy was strong, but he didn't work well in a team. He left our Healers for dead. If our Tank hadn't jumped in on time, they wouldn't have made it."

Arthur clenched his fist, gritting his teeth. "He would have made a good Hunter too if he wasn't so reckless. No one would team up with him after he kept challenging himself, risking the lives of others that joined him when conquering Gates."

Avery's face became puzzled, "I guess even the good-looking ones can act childish."

Arthur placed his large hand on Dean's shoulder, the conversation had put a damper on the mood.

"You know what helps me relax? Pumping iron."

Arthur pulled Dean out of his chair and headed out of the restaurant. The rest of the people looked at him as he got carried over the shoulder by this muscular old man. Avery followed them out with Tabby in hand.

"Hey! wait-"

Before Dean could finish, Arthur pulled a piece of paper off the board and tore it in two. They vanished right in front of Avery and Tabby. Avery huffed, "Men."

The scenery changed around Arthur and Dean, a room full of weights and workout equipment appeared in front of them.

Ding!

A window appeared in front of Dean's eyes.

[Side Mission: Work Out]

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions:

Run for 10 Miles: Incomplete (0/10)

Perform 100 Push ups: Incomplete (0/100)

Time limit: None

Rewards: 10 Points, Returning to Waterloo

Failure: None

Arthur put him down and went over to the running machine. "Come on Dean, time to get that blood pumping."

Dean's eye twitched, he forgot that Arthur was like this sometimes. He would do it to him and his fellow students after class sometimes.

"For f-"