505 CHPT 505: Never Relax

Wednesday March 18th, 2241.

A night survived— one as dangerous as the night he met the Lupines. The night he was changed. All for information. For a friend. Leaving that skyscraper full of blood fiends and enslaved Shifters was like breathing again for the first time.

When Cassidy, Ursula and himself made it back to Ra Stadium they almost immediately went to sleep. Almost. First they scented the grounds and checked on their friends. They were sleeping next to the kin of Remus afterall.

Nothing but herbs, earth, iron, leathers….. fear and copious amounts of sweat.

Ursula joined Claude in his predators forest. They slept surrounded by Frosty and the others. A deep sleep.

Claude's nightmares loved such an hour. They had a particular vibe— art style, and tone if you will. But this time they were different. Affected by what the night brought them.

Vampires. He dreamt about them. About Sgt Bertrand grabbing his face and turning him into a mindless snarling weapon he'd use on Maris and the others. The stars in the night sky were the ruby eyes of hunger personified. He felt the hunger— the fear. Like Maris. A hunger for power…. And knowledge of what he truly was. Fear of what he came from…

He was happy to be woken up early— unfortunately it was in the form of a young woman's scream. Again, reminding him of Maris.

Claude and his pack exploded to their feet, eyes wide and fur slowly spreading across newly sweat soaked skin.

"The hell was that?" Ursula said groggily, fighting off a yawn.

"The Dugout." Claude took off. The others followed.

"The main grounds are clear, I've got your back but whatever's underground may be all you if the students can't help." Cassidy said through their link.

Claude flipped and vaulted his way through the dense woodland until he landed on the sanded grounds of the main area with a silent roll.

Quiet inspection took over his mind as he closed in on The Dugout entrance. Footsteps— barely more than streaks in the sand. Someone had entered recently before him. He breathed through his nose to see a replay of their movements in picture perfect olfactory imagery.

Sunlandian Guardsmen. Of course, Adjua and Abina let them back on the clock.

Claude conveyed the information to Ursula and the others. In response, Frosty and Diamondback hesitantly headed back to Predators forest, waiting patiently at the entrance….. with every other animal that followed him without being asked.

Claude sunk down below into the Dugout with Ursula and Loba.

***

The smells of dirt and students overwhelmed him as he traveled deeper down the steps and into the underground mini city.

Colorful lights adorned street poles and building tops— making the woman's cries and ramblings seem almost out of place in the festive environment. It made it feel….. darker.

He hit the ground running, headed straight for the massive gathering of students in the center of the main road.

"Who is it?" Claude asked a student.

No reply really.

He pushed his way up.

"Who's up there?" Claude felt his heartbeat rise as the pictures to his questions were provided in his minds eye.

"Who—" His words fell short as Samuel turned to face him in the crowd.

Samuel smiled and stepped aside.

Weird…. Wrong. It bolstered his panicked senses as he rushed to the front, finding Maris, Isaac and Warren on the other side at the front of the circle of students.

They watched the Sunlandian Guards tending to the young woman on the floor.

She was a student from the Isles of Indus. He could hear the callouses on her hands scratch her skin. She was tall and lanky. Archer. Dark curly hair, bronze skin. It glistened on her face in streaks from how profusely she was crying.

"I— I CAN'T! SHES GONE!"

"Tell us who? Who is gone?"

"Her sister!" Claude found the Indus born chosen of Kali replying as she pushed to the front of the crowd. The little girl looked even younger so close to the large students. She had to be a record of some sort.

The Sunlandian Guards looked like they just heard they'd eaten bombs. Somehow he could see that perfectly even with their Pyramid Helms.

"We're entering the Missing Student Protocol. All of you return to your rooms and remain their until further notice." One of the guards took a gun out of his cloak. The barrel was caked with runes that steamed in the darkness. He aimed for the stairs down the main road and fired.

THUNK!

A flare exploded from the barrel in a burst of bright blue sparks that whistled and screeched like an alarm. Well, that's because it was.

The flare spun and screeched it's way down the road, twisting at the corner and bolting up the stairs as if it was pulled by a string towards the surface where it only got louder. The Lupines had to cover their ears. He could only imagine Cassidy's pain.

And the Vampires….

"Your rooms NOW!!"

The students moved.

***

An hour had passed since the Missing Student Protocol was activated. He could hear a dozen conversations and a hundred footsteps above ground. New shipments of Guards, The Nine, The Lion of The Sunlands. They were working overtime before the civilian crowd returned. They'd lose money if the people found out a student had gone missing… or worse. It dampened the integrity of Ra Stadium. Made it feel more real. Less of a sporting event.

It was never a sporting event. And it was realer than one missing student. One mistake and the whole tournament could be a bloodbath. Fanatical Monster Slayers like Ronin were less than a mile away from Elder Vampires strong enough to overtake nations.

Vampires like Sgt Bertrand— who seemed dead set on things that would promise a war in Ra Stadium.

Or maybe an assault. A simple assault, small and damaging. Kidnap. Sewing fear into the tournament heads. Causing monetary chaos….. financial collapse. More riots. More blood—

It could've been him.

Or Rupont. He wasn't too good to be true. He wasn't a good guy. He was a someone who wanted to win. And he'd use anyone he could. Just as he did with Claude only hours ago, just as he sparked a small war and called the casualties trash. If he was Rupere Fiara that was the first showing of his true face. What if student murder was the next? But why? Simply because blood?

And why did Samuel seem pleased? How many Lupines of Remus were present? Who was he in contact with? Why WHY WHYW WHY—

"So where did you go last night?"

Claude turned to face Maris in response to her question. They all sat inside her and Ursula's room. A tight and cozy room at the top floor of an earthen complex. Little more than two beds, a window and some books.

"There was a dinner for the first place winner of the Martial Arts Expo." Claude lied.

The other three were so deep in their own convo it felt like only Maris was in the room with him.

"…..and you took Ursula."

Jealousy?

Claude leaned in a few inches as he sat on the floor and smelled her. She copied his movements and did the same as if her nose would tell her anything.

"I did…. But it's not for the reason you think." Claude replied.

"So you don't favor her over me? To an unfair degree?"

Claude shook his head, "I don't do favorites….. unless we're talking about Frosty."

Maris nodded, "Frosty is a favorite. Unless he continues to hide the secrets to his transformation…. I too would like to transform. He owes me that much, I gave him pieces of my meals all the time back at the Aslan Estate. I thought animals listened when you fed them."

"PitWolves aren't normal animals….. or even considered animals to most people. But I will tell you, evolution plays a large role." Claude explained.

"Can humans evolve like that?" Maris asked as guards continued to scurry above ground.

"Rebirth. That's human evolution."

"There is something beyond that…" Maris said flatly.

"What?"

"Why did you take Ursula to the dinner and not me? Or Warren or Isaac?" Maris blew past her previous statement at light speeds.

Oddly enough it kept them on the same topic at large.

"Well, it was connected to our shared disappearance…." Claude started, "And you."

He and Ursula did a lot of talking before falling asleep. And it all led to one moment. It was all about how to lay out the details, but one fact remained.

Maris would be vetted by Rupont. She'd most likely prove true to the claims. And from there it was ethics— it was too late anyway. Rupont wouldn't just back away, and Maris deserved to know her lineage.

Claude and Ursula both understood that, considering half of their own was a mystery. Ursula's mother driven out by her toxic and overbearing father. Claude's mother being nothing more than an anxiety filled blank space.

If he could learn who she was and why she made him so nervous, he'd take the shot. Sometimes he felt closer than ever. Maris must've felt that. He could give her that truth.

But then what? Do as the book said and allow her to become the Hybrid Queen of the underworld?

"What about me?" Maris finally asked.

Another alarm went off, he could hear the Guards outside calling for them to head upstairs.

"[Ouuuu saved by the bell it seems.]"

Everyone got to their feet and headed outside.

"Right….. saved"