17 To Waterloo Station (6)

"We're nearly there Tabby."

The cat had been sulking for the hours it had spent in Dean's arm. She enjoyed the ride at first, but the more time she spent with Dean, the less enjoyable it became. Dean didn't do anything to Tabby, she just didn't like him.

Finally, they arrived at their destination, Waterloo Station was just ahead of them, but... there was something in the way. Armed men were standing in front of the zone wall that blocked the way into a terminal connected to Waterloo. The men were armed with weapons and wore pieces of armor that you would expect a Hunter to wear. The only one that didn't match the group was a young boy. He wore black headphones over his messy white hair and was lounging in a fold out chair; he tinkered with a smart phone. The floor that spanned the space between Dean and the group was covered in scorch marks.

"Who are your Backers?" The man in middle asked Dean. The man was the biggest out of all of them. He stood strong; confidence emanated from his voice. His breathing was steady, and his chest was unmoving. He waited for Dean's response, keeping an eye on him. Dean could tell that the damage to the floor wasn't done by Gate monsters, but rather, the armed men that stood in front of him. They had an air about them that they weren't there to protect others but to keep out unwanted people. He had to be careful with what he responded, or he'd be turned to a crisp.

"Little Moon" Dean replied, keeping his eyes on the man in the middle. Dean tightened his grip on his pipe. He didn't want to fight these men, but he wouldn't go down easy.

[Little Moon dislikes your deceit]

[DarkLie21 wishes for you to fight the group]

[Crippled_Raven enjoys your deceit]

The man looked at Dean straight in the eye and gave him a signal to the rest of the group. Another member, stood next to the child, tapped the kid on the head to get his attention. The boy took off his headphones, sliding them down to his neck, and looked at Dean. His eyes began to glow gold.

[Unknown has used Sage's Eyes Lv1 on Dean]

[System has blocked Unknown's Sage's Eyes Lv1]

The boy's eyes went wide for a moment before he quickly regained himself. The golden glow faded from his pupils. He pointed at Dean and waved his hand back. The strong man still kept a level eye on Dean.

"You may go in."

The armed group of men cleared a way for Dean. He breathed a sigh of relieve in his mind and walked through the zone's barrier. The boy smiled, sliding his headphones back over his ears, and went back to his phone.

'So that's what Sage's Eyes looks like when I use it' Dean thought to himself.

Ding!

A couple of windows appeared in front of him.

[You have entered the Safe Zone: Waterloo Station]

[Area Mission: Gather Complete]

[You have been awarded 100 Points]

[You have entered a day before the time limit, you've received an additional award]

[You have been awarded 50 Points]

Ding!

[Main Mission: Prepare for Backer Selection]

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: Prepare yourself for the Backer Selection in One Week. 100 Points taken every 24 hours as payment for Grace Period. (If you cannot pay, your life will be taken as compensation.)

Time limit: None

Rewards: Backer

Failure: Death

Dean swiped away the windows. He shucked his head, he lifted Tabby up and looked into her black pupils, "Let's find Mary, shall we?". Her tail perked up at the sound of Mary's name, she purred as Dean put her back into his arm.

Dean walked through the terminal, entering into the main square of Waterloo Station. As he walked up the broken escalator, he heard the sound of people talking. Waterloo Station was huge; it was two stories with a high glass ceiling, metal scaffolding holding it all in place. It looked as if the building had been modified; the clock that hung from the middle had a digital screen wrapped around it. The screen showed a digital clock counting down, currently at 168:42:05. The building was full of people, they were relaxed and had smiles on their faces as they were making jokes during their chitchat. For people in an apocalypse, they were strangely happy.

"Hey newbie. Welcome to Waterloo Station."

Dean turned to the voice. It was a petite woman with a wooden bow connected to her waist. Leaning against a wall she was shorter than Dean. Her brunette hair was tied in short pigtails that rested on her collarbones; the ends faded into a bright red, it stood out against her pale skin. She had high black boots, with dark blue jeans that were set high against her waist. She wore a tight black shirt underneath a bright red cropped jacket. Her right arm was the only thing that had metal on it. She had a fingerless black gauntlet that was secured from her knuckles to her elbow.

"Hey."

Dean waved to her; the metal pipe was still in his hand. Tabby sat curled up in his other arm. Meeting someone new who hadn't tried to attack him at first sight was nice. The relaxed atmosphere calmed Dean.

The girl's eyes lit up when she noticed Tabby in Dean's arm. "Oh my god! You brought a cat!" She rushed over to him to make a fuss of Tabby. She stuck out a finger and stroked Tabby's ear, the cat purred in satisfaction.

"What's her name?" Stars could be seen in her eyes; the soft fur of the cat was a treat for her.

"Tabby... and yours?" He responded.

The girl looked up to Dean, a smile was plastered across her face as if she were a child at Christmas.

"Avery, can I hold Tabby? Please?" She put out her hands, giving Dean puppy eyes. Dean sighed and handed her Tabby. "Be careful with her, she might burn you."

"Ha ha... what?" Avery raised her eyebrow. She had confused look on her face as she cuddled the chubby ginger tabby.

"Never mind. By the way, have you seen an old lady and an ugly, muscular guy with a broadsword?" Dean looked around the station, he saw no signs of Sam or Mary.

"I didn't see an old lady, but I did see this handsome guy with a broadsword. He had this sexy scar across his eyebrow." Avery petted Tabby. She enjoyed the feel of the fur against her skin.

"No no, you must be mistaken. He was ugly."

"No, I'm pretty sure he was handsome."

"Gahhh" Dean dismissed her calling Sam handsome, he looked like a hobgoblin to him. But he couldn't argue that the ladies liked Sam.

"Where did he go?" Dean asked, dusting off the ginger cat hairs that were on his top.

She pointed towards a large billboard that was hung on a brick wall. "Thank you." Dean put his hand out to take the cat back. "Can I hold her for longer? I'll tag along."

Dean shrugged, tired from the past two days of events, "Sure."

The board was covered in papers, each had various missions written on them, they were written similarly to how the Gate missions were.

"What's this?"

"A way to gain points. Rip the paper and it'll take you to a side mission." Avery replied as she nuzzled into Tabby.

"You're telling me Sam went on a side mission? How long does it normally take to come back?" Dean took a piece of paper off the wall and inspected it. He didn't want to meet up with Sam again, but he wanted to give Mary her cat back.

"It's hard to say, it could be an hour, it could be a day."

"Move!" A group shoved past Dean, one of them pulled a paper from the board. The other members of his group placed a hand on his back. He tore the paper in half, the group of people faded after the paper was ripped in two.

"Who the hell were they?" Dean's clothes were scuffed from the shove.

"They're Fox's guys, same people who were standing at the front. They have a nasty attitude, think they run the place."

Dean put the paper back onto the board. 'Seems like you get those people everywhere', he thought.

Sam would return soon, there's no point in waiting here for god knows how long.

"What else do you do around here then?"

Avery's eyes lit up, "I'll show you around if you let me play with Tabby for longer?"

"Sure."

Avery put out her hand, the cat was hooked under her other arm. "This way."