Wayne: “What the – Did something just happen to me? Strange...my head sort of hurts…”

Mr. Abrams: “...He doesn’t remember?”

Wayne: “...Hm

.

.

.

Ah! Ahhhh – AHHHHH!”

Without a second to spare, Wayne suddenly recalled the explosion, the villains, and dying flowers...and lastly: a deep voice warning him to keep going straight and he’ll be safe. Nothing else came to his mind. Though, frankly speaking, this was more than enough to scare him shitless.

Mr. Abrams: “...Great. Another weird case to add to my list of future investigations. Haah. My precious future sleep…”

After that he only ran faster with a newfound deeply-rooted fear of the unknown. And a newfound deeply-rooted hate for Hero High School.

Wayne: “Huff...Huff...Huff… This… this stupid, stupid school! How could they allow villains to attack us? And why didn’t our teacher notice the villains sneaking over?? How could they … treat us like this! *Sniff* First everyone in our freshman student body hates us, then we’re forced in the middle of a forest with no cell phone signal in sight, and now we’ve been abandoned while villains hunt us down…! I… I… *Sniff* Are we not good enough to assign security guards to protect?”

He continued to run. An eerie presence could be felt in the air, which only served to heighten the youth’s anxiety. He didn’t know what was going on, but he WAS sure about one single thing: that he wanted to live.

…

The experience ended. The silent teacher put his palm on top of the fearful boy’s head and ruffled his hair a bit.

Mr. Abrams: “Despite what your peers think, I am very proud of you, Wayne. You had the highest chance of survival in that situation and didn’t succumb to death. There were other worries I had of your situation, such as running deep into the woods without a plan or team in case a hidden villain was able to track you down,

(or getting caught up in the forest fights. Luckily, he headed in the wrong direction. A blessing in disguise, it would seem.)

but nonetheless, you survived. So good work, kid.”

Wayne: “*Trembles* Good...work? Good work? I’ve done good work, you say?

...haha. Hahaha...Good work...what’s so good about abandoning everyone?”

Mr. Abrams: “...Don’t be stupid. There was nothing you could do in that sort of situation, the fact that you survived alone is good enough. You shouldn’t let yourself feel too bad. Rationally speaking, you made the right choice. Nobody can fault you for escaping when you have no power to combat those enemies-Add

Wayne: “But THEY didn’t feel that way…! They act like I committed some sort of monstrous crime or something! So far, I’ve been entirely ignored after we got teleported to this place!”

Mr, Abrams: “I’m sure that isn’t the case. Everybody just went through something traumatizing and they need time to readjust their minds. They don’t blame you-”

Wayne: “THEY DO! *Sniff* I-I abandoned them...But I didn’t mean to! It-It wasn’t the wrong decision, right?! I ha-had to *Sniff* I HAD to…!”

He couldn’t choke back his whimpering voice. Tears welled up and fell in rhythmic, symmetrical fashion. Thank goodness, Mr. Abrams sent the other three away before speaking with Wayne at the side of the lobby.

Wayne: “I...I didn’t mean to leave them all to die! That wasn- *Sniff* wasn’t my– m- my *Sniff* intention at all. It just…

*Sniff!*

Wha- What do they expect me to do even if I WERE to stay behind?! I can’t do anything!”

Mr. Abrams: “Mhm. That’s right, you couldn’t take on villains like those people. You aren’t expected to, either. That’s security’s job.

(…Is he merely using me to vent his frustrations? Were the other students really ignoring him on purpose, or did they preoccupy themselves with their own worries, giving birth to this strange misunderstanding that led him to his current way of thinking? I have a very hard time picturing Elijah of all kids ignoring his fellow classmate’s words. Maybe if they were directed negatively to Elijah…But not other than that. These kids, they don’t understand how delicate the mind works – none of them do.)”

Wayne: “T-Then tell THEM that!! Because for some reason I’m the one getting ignored!”

Mr. Abrams: “Wayne, listen to me closely. There is a chance that you aren’t being ignored at all. Are you sure you aren’t imagining all of this? Think about it, everybody has been in some sort of traumatic situation. Did they ignore you at the forest? No. I’m thinking that their tension levels dropped immensely after being brought here, and now they’re each in their own little worlds. They’re not ignoring you, you’re just feeling guilty over things you wish you could change...am I wrong?”

Wayne: “*Sniff* Of course you’re wrong!!”

Mr. Abrams: “…”

Wayne: “I’m not making this up and it’s NOT MY FAULT either…! I f I had stayed behind, I – I would have also died… If I regret running away then it would mean that I regret surviving! That’s dumb!

...But… *Sniff* mayb - maybe… *Sniff* maybe I could have made…made a little difference, or something…”

Mr. Abrams: “Don’t worry, and give it some time. Maybe once everyone has settled in, you all can have a leisurely talk about how you feel with today’s situation. You can ask them then, okay?”

The boy’s welling tears began to dry. His teacher offered a few more words of comfort before disappearing with a flash of light. The sun was about to set soon. And from what he learned through his enemy One’s memories, Today’s fun experiences were not quite over…

...

Mr. Byle: “Did you summon back the other security force members? I remember stationing some men around the woods before today’s Orientation bouts at the arena. So how come villains got through so easily?!”

Temporary Security Leader: “Yes, sir! I did in fact, call them back over. The two stationed to escort the plethora of nurses came back immediately as Dome and the medical team were teleported away! Those stationed to guard the kids also returned. In total, everyone deployed for today’s mission came back safely.”

Mr. Byle: “As for the rest…?”

Temporary Security Leader: “That -

...Un-Unfortunately *Wipes sweat* we couldn’t find a single trace of them. No blood stains or anything at their assigned posts to signify a battle ensued or an assassination. There was nothing at the site other than some rustled up leaves, and those could’ve been anything.”

Mr. Byle: “...Good work Peter. You’re relieved of your temporary position. Remind me to investigate the matter pertaining to suspicious personnel later. Once we get back to the Security Staff Headquarters, that is. Brahnson! How many have we found so far?!”

Brahnson: “Not many, sir! Other than the burnt body we discovered, and excluding the two we engaged in combat before escaping with space magic, we did come across something strange!”

Mr. Byle: “Well, what is it?”

Brahnson: “It’s a hand. *Holds up preservation box containing hand*”

Mr. Byle: “…”

A small rectangular box capable of preserving a ruler’s length of goods, easily rested in an older officer’s hands as he stood directly beside the young adult.

Brahnson: “F-Furthermore, we don’t believe it to be one of our own; right Fenric?”

Fenric: “...Yes. They they give off a different odor than the rest of our force. My hounds say so. It seems… to belong to a woman.”

Mr. Byle: “That rules out…

*Cough*

Erm, 98 percent of our security. The three women in our staff...*Turns around* two are behind me. Somebody get me in touch with Lieutenant Taylor!”

?: “Um, sir?”

Mr. Byle: “What?”

?: “Why do we all talk like we came out of the army or something?”

Mr. Byle: “...Force of habit. Most who work here are old war vets from various countries. Could also have transferred here from another military force. Besides, we aren’t some simple security force like those found guarding jewelry stores. We protect children here. We’re an actual task force designated to protect them and offer security against most – if – not – all – threats. WHERE IS TAYLOR? Ramona, do you happen to know?”

Ramona: “Today is her day off.”

Mr. Byle: “...Damn. Can I bother you to give her a call?”

Ramona: “Yes, sir.(Why is he always so gentle with the women??)”

Fenric: “Psst. Ramona. I can guess your thought based on that annoyed expression you’re wearing. The truth is, he treats you girls differently because he’s afraid you’ll all quit and leave him with a bunch of stuffy men.”

Ramona: “Hmph!! If he treats us equally in training and holds the same expectations for all of us before we’re accepted into the force, then he should TREAT me the same as everyone, Fenric. I don’t want the others to view me as a liability.”

Fenric: “...Agreed, I suppose.”

?: “Sir, another question. Do the rest of us have to speak like this as well?”

Mr. Byle: “...What’s your name?”

?: “Jeffery, sir. My name is Jeffery.”

Mr. Byle: “Peter vouched for you, so I brought you along. Remember this, I don’t care how you speak to me, so long as you don’t discriminate against anyone else. Out here, we are a team. So if a few wish to speak with me like the old times on the field, then fine. I only hope that you learn to understand what they’re saying. Because I also don’t tolerate miscommunication as an excuse for screw-ups.”

Jeffery: “Got it.”

Mr. Byle: “...Let’s go around once more and search the entire forest again before returning. I have an inkling as to what happened with our missing men.”

---