Chapter 33

“Hurry up.” Jewel was glaring at Henry as he grabbed his food. They’d been at it for roughly 6 hours, driving up and down Powers, stopping at various locations in order to force rifts open, to kill any D.E.D. that came through. Additionally, any time a rift opened naturally, Jewel called it out, and they went after it.

However, towards the end of the last hour, given what time it was, Henry asked if they could stop for a dinner break. After all, while it was the D.E.D. doing most of the work, the constant moving about, pushing through people, and conducting secret battles, was oddly tiring. Though, Jewel was showing zero signs of fatigue. In fact, she seemed to almost gain extra energy after each D.E.D. was slain.

And speaking of slain D.E.D., Jewel had been living up to her nickname. The moment a D.E.D. began to come through the rift, no matter the level, Henry was instructed to attack it. As soon as both his D.E.D. had landed a single attack on the enemy, even if it hadn’t fully materialized, Jewel’s Cyoeraeth would move in, opening its mouth wide in a silent scream. While Henry couldn’t hear the cry, thankfully, he could tell it was terrifying. Even more so, it completely destroyed the D.E.D. coming through, seeming to drain them of all their essence, making them vanish into nothing. It was brutal, yet efficient. It also meant not a single D.E.D. coming through had a chance to talk to them. Jewel hadn’t been lying about that either.

“I’m coming.” Henry grumbled as he finished up. They’d stopped at AI near the Imax theater. He’d offered to buy them dinner, even though he and she were still clashing personality wise. It was the least he figured he could do. After all, in his short time with her, his D.E.D. had already gained multiple levels. In fact, after the last fight, his D.E.D. had reached level 9. Something he’d not fathomed would be possible in a single day.

“You should have just left it.” Jewel said as he followed her out of the restaurant. He had his Styrofoam box filled with his teriyaki chicken and rice in it. They’d only just gotten their food, when an alert had gone off on their phones. An alert that echoed not just from their devices, but all around the restaurant. The cause? The D.E.D. application sending out an alert about a Greater Rift forming. Once again, a Larpen was emerging, and the app began counting down immediately. Just as before, just as during the day Henry had first downloaded the app, they had 1 hour till it arrived.

“I figured we had time.” He grumbled, “besides, I wasn’t about to waste my food.” Especially because he rarely ever ate there. Not that he cared, but he didn’t like going to hibachi places by himself. But rarely did he and his friends stop there either, because cost and time wise, it wasn’t the greatest option. Especially when there was a Panda Express just down the road, and countless other fast food joints.

“You thought wrong.” Jewel hissed. They were moving quickly towards his car, in a parking lot that was quickly emptying out. There may not have been many actual Exorcists in the city, but the game was still ridiculously popular, and everyone was heading to the Greater Rift. “When a Greater Rift forms, smaller D.E.D. will pass through as well. It’s our job to get there as quickly as possible, to establish a permitter, and ensure any stragglers that come through are taken care of, before the actual fight begins.”

“You could have explained that.” Henry mumbled back, as they got into his car. “All you said was we had to go. Which I figured was a no brainer.”

“When I say we have to go, I mean immediately.” She retorted. “This is a prime moment to gain you some extra experience, and will serve as a good teaching point. I know Loki showed you an away battle, but I’ll teach you what it means to be part of the Strike Team.” She flashed him a hungry smile, licking her lips in a…confusing manner. “I’ll show you the true joys of being on the home team for a Greater Rift.”

That, was more than a little disconcerting to Henry. If he had to guess, she was implying this was going to be a blood bath. Or essence bath, given the digital, otherworldly nature of the D.E.D. As much as Henry disliked the wanton slaughter of the D.E.D., especially given their intelligence, and everything he’d seen about them so far, it was extremely efficient in leveling them up. If the Greater Rift provided the opportunity she implied it did, he had no doubt he was about to hit level 10 with his two summoned D.E.D. And while it was still a ways away from evolving the Drakeling, he was certain level 10 would provide some sort of nice power boost. At least, that’s what his gamer instincts told him.

“This, is also why I told you to hurry.” Jewel added a moment later. AI was located in the same area as the Imax theater, and a large shopping center. Which meant the parking lot was filled with hundreds of cars. And given the fact everyone was now working to leave, at the same time, to head to the Greater Rift…it was a nightmare. Henry’s car was on, but not a single person was giving him the chance to get out of his parking spot, and leave.

“Oh yeah, because I could have predicted this. You do know I’m still new to all of this, right?” He’d been controlling himself quite well, but now he was getting agitated. Both over her comments, and because, he felt stupid. Traffic leaving this parking lot was normally bad. Add in this mad rush, and it made sense that it was going to suck.

“Had you just listened to me, we’d have avoided this.” She smirked, and let out a sigh. “Keep the car running, I’ll open up a spot.” Without another word, she stepped out of the car, and casually strolled in front of an approaching car. She showed not a care in the world as the car came to a screeching halt, just a foot from hitting her. The driver honked loudly at her, and she simply flipped them off, while motioning for Henry to pull free from his spot, and take advantage of the gap she’d just created for him. As he, the driver of the car Jewel had just blocked got out and rushed towards her, screaming profanities at her.

And then, as promptly as they’d rushed towards her, they were heading back to their car, a look of confusion and fear on their face. They’d gotten within striking distance of her, and with crazy force, she’d slapped them, twice. And hard, from the sound of it. The attack by Jewel had been so quick, so forceful, they’d staggered backwards, their eyes unfocused. Blatant assault aside, as they retreated, and Henry stared, unbelieving of what he’d just seen, Jewel walked back into his car, and got in.

“Stop wasting time and let’s go.” She said as she closed the door. Henry, for once, was speechless. He simply shook his head, and pulled away, leaving the car, and the man she’d bitchslapped, confused, and disorientated.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Henry said with a nervous chuckle, trying to break the silence. Like, seriously, what had he just witnessed? Even more so, he was probably most taken back by the facts of the situation. The individual Jewel had slapped, had been over 6ft in height, and a rather well-built male. Jewel, with her slender frame, didn’t seem the type to be able to overpower anyone. And yet…Henry had a feeling she’d been holding back with her attack.

“If you keep being stupid, you’ll end up there.” She said without even looking at him. “And trust me, that was just a preview of what I would do to you if you pissed me off.” Her words, were serious, and Henry couldn’t help but shiver at the statement. Or…maybe at her Cyoeraeth, which had crept up near him as Jewel spoke. Even after 6 hours, that thing was still creepy. But after what he’d just watched, he wasn’t certain it was the scariest thing in the car anymore.