(XLII) Expansion [1]

Sam drank the remaining liquid in the bowl, and suddenly, the wounds on his hand started to release steam, and the cut vanished. He placed the bowl on the desk and rubbed his hands together. 

"So, what do you say?" He asked, sliding the contract over the desk again before he placed the Health Potion on top of it. 

"Rosa is dumbfounded by the cutie..." Rosalyn muttered, staring at the glowing red liquid in the water bottle. 

"Sign, and I will provide more for you to research." Sam said, activating [Soul Pledge] as his eyes emitted a turquoise light. He held his hand out as the blue flame returned, and a large feathered quill pen appeared in his fingertips. 

Rosalyn chewed on her lower lip momentarily before hesitating to reach out. When she took the pen, the ink reservoir inside it filled with a red liquid. 

She looked over the contract once more before she signed 'Dr. Rosalyn Garcia' on the line at the bottom. Suddenly, the pen vanished as the blue fire flared up, and the scroll rolled up, floating above the desk as a bright red ribbon wrapped around the middle. 

Sealing wax appeared over the ribbon and covered the knot before a crest appeared and magically sealed the contract. It vanished in a puff of wispy black smoke and flowed into Sam's palm. 

╔══The Target has been bound to the User. Soul Contractors: [1/2]══╝

╔══Name: Rosalyn══╝

╔══Age: 69══╝

╔══Affinity: Associate 100/1,000══╝

Soul Contractors utilized an Affinity System rather than the Intimacy System that Soul Ties used. Instead of growing the trust with the Soul Tie, the user must prove their worth to the Soul Contractor to increase their understanding. 

Typically, this is completed by increasing their knowledge and understanding based on their particular field of interest. 

Sam smirked at Rosalyn and nodded, "I'm glad you made the right choice." 

"What's right is subjective." Rosa countered, her eyes fixated on the Health Potion, her mind racing a mile a minute, "What's next?" 

Sam sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Do you have any people you wish to bring?"

"Does the cutie mean assistants?" Rosalyn asked, continuing after the young man nodded, "Yes, Rosa has three." 

Sam brought out a notebook and continued to ask her many questions regarding the medical equipment, surgical tools, and the countless compounds and reagents used to create medicines. 

Rosalyn answered each question in great detail as he wrote down notes. He followed up with questions about patients, larger equipment, and transportation to Saint Louis. 

"Will the journey be dangerous?" Rosalyn asked her first question as she leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on her desk and placing both hands behind her neck. 

"No." Sam shook his head, "It will be boring and dull." 

"Sounds like the cutie will not be escorting Rosa." She replied, pouting as she kicked her legs into the air before jumping out of her chair, smoothing her frilly dress again. 

"No." Sam, reaching forward and grabbing the Health Potion before Rosalyn could snatch it and placed it into his bag, "I have other things to do... I'll meet you there."

"Hmph!" Rosalyn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting as she glared up at the young man. 

"How long will it take you to gather everything together for transport?" He asked, turning around as he led her down the stairs. 

"Depends, how much do you want us to bring?" She asked, skipping beside him, her appearance and behavior betraying her age. 

"Everything." 

***

Ichiko rode a bike with Jijo on the back, Isaac with Amy holding on, while Kaitlyn and Nathan rode together, the two agriculturalists ferried two of the three friends, and the last guy rode alone. 

The highway had been cleared previously by Samael, and the sun had started to set the next day when they arrived at the ruins of Chicago. Despite the trip taking 26 hours, they camped out under the stars the previous night. 

The group had made a brief fifteen-minute stop every few hours, bringing their total travel time to roughly 36 hours. Ichiko brought the bike to a halt as everyone followed suit. 

Isaac reached into his jacket and pulled out the map and a marker as he marked their location with an 'X' before drawing a path toward their destination. 

"Another four hours..." He called out with a sigh, looking up at the setting sun, "Should we find a place to hold up for the night and get there first thing in the morning?" 

"No." Ichiko called out, turning around as everyone started to protest. Her seething gaze silenced everyone as they immediately started pedaling and rode past her. 

"That's what I thought..." She muttered, kicking off with her foot and riding ahead beside Isaac as he navigated for her. 

A few hours later, the sun had completely set as they rode onto the parking lot of the mall, approaching as the moonlight illuminated their way. 

"Don't you guys find it really spooky?" Nathan asked as the group approached the large double doors. 

"What's that?" Ichiko asked, grabbing the handle and jerking the door open as it loudly screeched against the floor. 

"That everyone is just gone..." Kaitlyn finished her brother's sentence. 

"Nah, it's actually quite nice!" Isaac said, brushing past the twins and patting them on the head. 

Amy and the two girls rushed into the mall, squealing as they ran toward a display and started grabbing clothes from the racks, talking excitedly amongst themselves. 

The lone guy and the two agriculturalists stood at the entrance and rolled their eyes, following Isaac silently. Jijo and the twins remained beside Ichiko as they walked after Isaac, leaving the girls alone. 

"Isaac!" Amy called out, turning around as she held up a short dress to her body, "Do you think this will look cute on me..??"

She turned her head, looking down the empty corridor repeatedly before she shrieked, causing the other two to become panicky as they ran down the hallway, looking for the rest of the group. 

They turned a corner, exclaiming as they crashed into Ichiko's back and stumbled backward. The shrine maiden turned, shushing them as they noticed a kid holding a broken metal pole. 

The jagged edge of the broken part of the pole was pointed at Isaac as he held both hands up, signaling his surrender. 

He was trapped under a large pile of buckets and chairs with a tripwire he sprung around his feet. The child's eyes darted between Isaac and the rest of the group, standing back. 

"Hey, hey, hey!" Isaac shouted, struggling as he moved his feet underneath the pile, trying to free himself, the kid inching forward as he thrusted the spear. 

"What do you guys want?!?" Allen yelled, stepping on top of the rubble and pinning Isaac to the ground. 

"We're not here to hurt you!" Isaac said, kicking his legs roughly as he scrambled backward, stumbling as he stood, "We came looking for you!" 

"Liar!" Allen screamed, thrusting the spear at Isaac, who sidestepped the lunge and grabbed the shaft of the pole, yanking it out of the boy's hands. 

"Wait-!" Isaac shouted, dropping the spear and reaching out for the boy as he turned around and ran away.