Linux sped across the field. His senses were sharp and he kept them constant to not be spotted by any enemy that could potentially sneak up on him. His senses were so sharp he was afraid that he would suffer a sensory overload. Each time the wind picked up, his skin shivered violently and his hairs stood on end. To a normal man, it would just be a slight chill, but with his senses on overdrive, a slight chill froze him to the bone.

Still, he continued his pace and followed the people ahead of him. He still hadn’t seen them since he began the pursuit, but there was a sinking suspicion in his gut that he wasn’t too far off. That combined with the fact he was nearing Olten by this point and there was substantial evidence backing up that they were near.

Linux slowed and came to a grinding halt. Dirt and rocks flew on either side of him as the friction from his feet sliding against the ground uprooted everything under him. He cursed as that could be an indication that he was near, and he needed to be as stealthy as possible. There was nothing he could do about it now except hope that no one finds it.

He looked ahead and stared at what was in front of him. To anyone not knowing about the energy of this floor, this place would just be more grass, a large pond, and a wall that towered over everyone who looked up. However, there were a few key indicators to the place being not as it seemed. First of all, everything inside a certain radius was frozen in time. No grass swayed, no insects flew, and there was no life moving about the place. The pond to his left also seemed cut off abruptly with no warning. There was no bank that connected water to land, only a sudden conclusion. This was Olten’s dome.

He knew which section he was in front of. If his memory served him correct, he was standing behind a baker’s shop that stood right next to a barber and butcher. The militia that he had seen would have entered through the front entrance like normal. If he came through here, he’d be near the entrance, but unseen from everyone. He entered the dome and ignored the pleasure going down his spine.

Indeed, he ended up behind the baker shop like he imagined. A large garbage can sat right next to a steel door that led into the kitchen. There wasn’t much of a smell since rotten bread didn’t really carry much of one. At least until smelt up close, and it was as disgusting as every other rotten food out there.

Linux moved quietly into the alley. The alley connected to the main road and the back of the bakery. In order to get a better view of everything, he needed to take a risk and cross the main road. First, he had to gather as much information as he could before crossing. There could be some juicy intel just waiting around the corner and he couldn’t miss a single scrap.

He peeked around the corner and saw the owner of the baker and barber shop discussing something with one another. They seemed to be in a heated debate and Linux heightened his senses in order to hear them even better.

“-do this shit at night.” The baker said.

“I don’t know? I’m not a machine.” The barber said, fed up with him.

“Want to just head to the square now before we get in trouble.”

“Sure, but you’re going to shut up on the way there.”

The baker grumbled and they began walking away, ceasing all conversation. Whatever they were talking about, it seemed something was going to happen at the square. That didn’t sit well in Linux’s stomach, especially since he was sure the council knew about the first floorers by this point.

He looked both ways on the main road, and when there was no one within eyesight, he quickly dived into the next alley. The roads were lit up by streetlights that bathed the town in a dull yellow. However, the alleys were pitch black as no light dared to shine down them. He had to follow the small glimpses of light that peeked down the alley’s entrances and exits.

Linux was surprised that there was no homeless near here. The second floor had a homeless problem for a good few years now. Even people with somewhat successful income went homeless because of the lack of space around. Some of them made do with makeshift houses made out of trash and thrown out pieces of plastic, but most of them would usually beg to live with someone He could see a glimpse of a trash house at the entrance of the alley, but there was no one home. It was as if every homeless person vanished from existence.

Combining that with what the baker and barber had said, he reasonably assumed that the guards and council members announced their arrival and ordered everyone to the square. Even the homeless were forced to come, and he didn’t know what to make of it.

Walking slowly down the alley, making extra sure where he was placing his feet, he moved closer and closer toward the square. Along the way, he spotted guards manning checkpoints and individually searched people coming through. Some were complaining about the unnecessary levels of searching, while others stayed quiet and complied with everything the guards said. Everyone coming through was to place all items in a basket before being searched.

One man failed to comply and in turn he was pinned against the wall and every possession that he had was taken. Linux couldn’t believe that was happening. Sure, Oculn and a few of the guards were pricks to him, but to the public they were friendly and welcoming. Searches weren’t this extreme and everyone else began complaining.

“What is the meaning of this?” The man against the wall squeaked out.

“This is injustice.” A woman from the line yelled out. Others followed, and one guard stood forward.

“Listen, you will know why we are doing this shortly. Just comply and something like this won’t happen again.”

The guard let the man go, and he straightened his shirt and took all his possessions back when they were seen as non-dangerous. He went past the checkpoint and the next one walked up, this time complying with the guards. After that, everything went smoothly, but there was still an unsettling feeling in his gut.

He continued onward. Thankfully, none of the guards decided that regularly checking the alleys was a good idea, so it was a simple enough matter to sneak around. He made even more sure that he was being careful with where he stepped since guards polluted the streets like flies on a piece of dried dung. He nudged a bottle and froze in place. It rolled and hit a wall, and despite being quiet, it made the loudest sound he’s ever heard in his life.

He didn’t know whether to run as fast as he could, or to stand like he was not making anymore sounds. Choosing the latter option, he kept still and listened for any approaching footsteps. He could hear people talking nearby, but otherwise there were no other noises. Taking a deep breath, he began moving, this time waiting five seconds before lowering a foot to touch the ground.

There weren’t many issues beyond those circumstances, so he made it to the square fairly quickly. The noise of hundreds of people talking overpowered his senses, so he turned them down for the time being. Thankfully, he was the one chosen to come and spy on the city, since if either of those three came, they’d get spotted instantly. They didn’t know how to control the electric signals outside of massive bursts of energy which wouldn’t be good for anyone in such a situation as this.

Linux buried himself in an alley between a department and grocery store. He looked out over the square and spotted the massive amount of people crowding around a stage set in the center. The stage was made out of golden oak and stood above everyone’s heads. It was normally used for plays and speeches made by the council. That was most likely the reason they were here, but he had no idea what they were about to say. One topic that would definitely come up was the first floorer situation, as well as the guards killed. Although they should be okay after that incident, or one of them should be okay, they still tried to murder them. That wouldn’t go unspoken, no matter how much he wished it would.

Guards surrounded the stage and Linux situated himself deeper within the alley, avoiding any light that shined into the darkness. Light sprinkled into the alley now and again as lights above the stage hanging above steel poles swung around, highlighting each person it shined upon. The crowd covered their eyes whenever the light shined on them since it was brighter than normal.

Suddenly, the guards began moving around and getting into position. The crowd at the far end of his vision began moving as well, creating a pathway to the stage. The show was about to start, and even though Linux had a back row seat, he felt like he was sitting first class. Footsteps thudded upon the wood as the man of the hour made his way up on stage. The crowd went silent; the reporters carried their pens and papers, and the guards bowed to their leader.

To Linux’s surprise, it was Oculn that took to the stage. He wasn’t the man that normally gave speeches, not just because of his position to monitor rather than lead, but also because the council member that gave any speeches was Rugel, yet he stayed behind. Even still, the likely next option would be Elest since he had to regularly give speeches to the guards to boost morale. What does Oculn have that those two don’t.

Oculn stood on stage, and the crowd began cheering for their hero. He was the man that single-handedly killed a Tetson. Not cheering for him or licking the dirt off his boots would be blasphemous. They had high respect for him, some even considered if it was too high. Any time that question came forward, they would brush it aside since they’d be disrespecting the man that saved their floor.

Oculn coughed into his hand and the crowd shushed once more. When there were no more unnecessary noises rambling about the town, he began the speech he’d been preparing since they began moving.

“Hello people of Olten,” Oculn shouted in a voice that was showing off both his confidence, but also made sure to show his empathy. “I am sorry about the aggressive searches that you had to endure coming to this event. I will explain why we needed to shortly, but first, there’s a depressing announcement to make.”

“Recently, a day or so ago, three of our precious guards have been killed. Their names, Ully Singer, Tellew Pocon, and Fer Megald. They will be missed dearly.”

The crowd mumbled in disturbance and shock. They couldn’t believe that a guard was killed because of the contracts the guards signed. When someone goes through training and officially becomes a guard, they are given a second chance at life. For a normal person, when they die, their Gaxtex is taken away if not broken. For a guard, they’re given a second chance, but stopped at that. The civilians didn’t know why, but two was the magic number for them.

Linux couldn’t believe it either, but it wasn’t just them dying that he couldn’t believe. He knew each of those guards that died. He didn’t know them personally, but he knew their names and records, and knew that they each still had another chance at life. So, why didn’t they get revived. The one that was stabbed through the head was obviously dead, but the other two could have been revived if given another Gaxtex. The answer came soon, and it was an answer he was disgusted hearing.

“The person that killed them was Linux Fausting, the Gaxtex inventor.” The crowd gasped and talked ferverously. Oculn held his hand to quiet them. “He decided to rebel against the council for reasons we will begin shortly. In order to achieve this goal, he hid first floorers and used them as weapons against the guards.”

“I know some of you may respect him for all he does, and that’s why we had to search everyone. We couldn’t risk a traitor carrying a weapon in and I humbly apologize once more. Forgive me.”

Oculn bowed his head to the crowd and Linux couldn’t help but be moved by the sentiment as well. A council member, bowing his head in apologetic fashion towards people who don’t deserve it, much less would expect it, grew his favour even higher. A man as powerful as him was offering his sincerest apologies to the masses. That wasn’t a common event, and it showed his undying humanity and wish to protect the people living on the floor.

The people saw that and immediately burst into cries of forgiveness and some broke into tears. They respected him too much. Some would even say too much, and Linux was one of those some. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand now and whatever he said before and after would be believed by all, no matter how insane and unlikely.

Oculn stood straight once more and returned to his speech. “The reason Linux rebelled is due to him wanting to climb the tower. We forbade our inventors climbing the tower, so when first floorers arrived, he crafted a nefarious plan and the guards died trying to stop him.”

“So we have come to Olten to put a stop to his plans.” Oculn turned and pointed to the elevator that was at the very end of the town and situated into the wall. It ascended upward and vanished into the sky above them. “We will wait for Linux and the first floorers here. What we have called you out to do is to keep an eye out. If you see Linux or anyone you’ve never seen before, report it to the guards. They will not get away with their crimes. Any questions?”

A reporter raised his hand, a pencil in between his pointer and middle finger. Oculn pointed to him and he took that as the cue to begin. “Sir, how do we know Linux isn’t being manipulated by these first floorers.” Another reporter raised his hand. “Yeah, and what happened to the guards second chances.”

The crowd began another discussion, this time coming up with theories trying to paint Linux as the innocent victim behind murderous and devilish first floorers. He felt touched by their defenses to his character, but he couldn’t help but feel like he let them down. Although Oculn was exaggerating the details, he couldn’t disagree with some of his statements. It was true that he was merely using the first floorers to help him finish his business and climb, but he wasn’t as much of a criminal as was depicted in Oculn’s speech. If they kept on questioning, then there might be a chance that they’d finally obtain minds of their own.

Oculn raised his hand one final time. “I get y’all have issues with the idea of Linux being some murderer.” Oculn looked up to the sky with a single tear dropping from his eye. The whole performance was so damn fake that Linux couldn’t help but gag. “I too couldn’t believe it when I heard it, but I saw the bodies with my own eyes. Their Gaxtexes were broken so badly they became unrepairable. We were too late to get more Gaxtexes since our supply was running out and our only inventor was rebelling against us.”

“So when I saw that, I figured out Linux had betrayed us, not just the council, but everyone on this floor.” He faced toward the crowd once more with tears streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were red and sunken in, giving the allusion that he’d been crying for a while, even before this speech. “He was someone that we all trusted! He and his family took the people of this floor from a dying breed and turned us into the mighty unit we are now! I get why you have reservations, but trust me on this!”

“I am the hero of this floor!” He shouted, pounding his hand in the air. The crowd followed suit, emotions high and turning the air into a cackle of electricity, both metaphorically and literally. “I killed a Tetson with my own two hands and avenged Yeow! If there is someone you can put your hearts and beliefs in, it is I! So please believe in me!”

The speech quickly turned from a calm call to action to a childish plea to believe. It was so informal and sounded like what an emotional teenager would shout when people called them out for lying. However, that’s the reason it worked. Both Linux and Oculn knew the best way to appeal to a crowd of people was to get on their level. A large crowd hardly cared about a formal speech, and given how quiet it was, it gave them time to think. In that time, they could come up with fallacies and end up going against the original message. In a burst of emotions, however, there was no time to think. Instead, they went off the first thing they felt, and what they felt was anger towards him.

He couldn’t stay here any longer. If the spotlight ever fell on him, he’d be surrounded and captured in an instant. He had an idea of what would happen when they arrived here. A mob of lightning and fire would await and they’d be burned at their feet. As the crowd continued to shout for justice and peace, Linux ran. He ran and ran and ran until he was far enough away that he could raise his senses once again. In a final burst of speed, he exited the alley and out from the dome and made it back into the cool air outside.

With the information that he has now, he could just run back to the elevator at the far end of the floor. At top speed, he’d get there in around ten to fifteen minutes, but that would tire him out to no end. He held himself back, but the speed at which he ran would take nearly an hour to reach the other side. He had to, otherwise, he’d be useless for the upcoming fight, and it would be a fight that would take everything they had.

Linux ran as fast as he could without wearing himself out. He hated it, but that’s how things had to be. Thankfully, if it weren’t for him going slow, he would have missed something interesting happening. That something filled him with dread as he passed by, but he stopped anyway, cause what he saw was guards surrounding a Tetson hole.

Linux hid himself behind a tree as he observed the guards from a safe distance. There were five surrounding a Tetson hole and all of them were badly wounded. One of them had an arm dangling by a single thread of muscle. Lightning exited their wounds as they healed and the combination of all five of them had the entire area glow a bright green.

They had obviously fought a Tetson recently, but why? There was no reason for them to since their job was to wait for them to head to Olten, right? What benefit did they have fighting the most ferocious and terrifying monsters anyone could encounter? Something smelled, and it was so rancid he expected a dead body to appear right out of the hole.

The guards nodded to each other and the healthiest of them walked over to a box. He hadn’t seen the box when hiding, but he could see it clearly now that it was pointed out. It was a wooden box that was nailed shut on all sides. It was most commonly used to transport appliances to houses when someone ordered one. The top of the box was meant to slide right off for easy access, and it could be used over and over again.

The guard opened it and grabbed something inside. From the way he moved, and the exasperated look on his face, it seemed like it was a heavy object. What he brought out was something that even Linux wasn’t prepared for.

It was the Gone Red, a bomb that released powerful amounts of red electricity that could wipe a person from existence.