The alarm caused him to open his eyes, and then the horns outside awoke him fully. Time for another day.
His day went on as normal. He got coffee, ate a few chocolates from the first game, and went with Jay to the subway, where another day awaited. He'd go to work, he'd study a little for the exams, he'd sleep. It'd all work out.
Until he saw the military standing outside the complex.
Leon and Jay exchanged glances. Around a dozen men in front of them, all in armoured wear. Some were holding guns, and none were passing any heed on them.
"Should I call the boss?" Jay asked.
"Probably a good idea." Leon nodded.
A few minutes later, Ms. Williams came out. The cops didn't pass heed on her, either.
"Excuse me, gentlemen." She asked, trying to make sense of the situation. But her pose of a tilted head and hands on her hips made it clear she was ready to tear into them at a moments notice. "What's going on here?"
She was still ignored.
"What the hell is going on here?" She asked, angrier this time. A man in a slightly different uniform came out to meet her.
"We're with the military, madam." He said calmly.
"I see that! I just wanna know why you gotta be in my place specifically."
"We have no plans for here, madam."
Ms. Williams stood in stunned silence for a second, before exploding once again.
"Then why do you need to be in my area, huh? Can you not stand around scaring people somewhere else?"
"Who are we scaring?"
"You all have guns. So anyone with common sense. Now get out."
"Madam, we're under orders to stay until further orders."
"And what are those?"
"We're under no obligation to disclose that. But you can rest assured knowing that this area will most likely not be harmed."
"If you want me to leave, that 'most likely' better turn to a 'hundred percent."
Leon and Jay just left. If Ms. Williams couldn't get them to stand down, it was a lost cause.
Leon finally got to school, and it was all set to be an ordinary day. Until Allan appeared behind him, looking more frazzled than usual.
"Leon, you gotta come with me." He said in a hushed tone, getting as close as he could to him. Leon then learned his main ally didn't use mouthwash.
Allan dragged him to the school gate, laughing to himself to try and seem casual.
"Yeah, it was pretty wacky what we did last night. You know, that thing. With the girls. That were there. Anyway."
His head shot across the gate, to a man casually standing around, smoking a cigarette.
"Okay?" Leon asked. "What am I looking at, exactly?"
"That's an undercover cop. Look, short hair, military standard. Big boots, but not too big. Baggy clothes to hide armoured vest, look brand new. And look, he's about to take another drag."
The man inhaled the cigarette, and grimaced slightly as he did so.
"Trust me, that is not the face an experienced smoker makes when smoking." Allan said, ducking when the man looked towards the school.
"We are being observed by the military."
"So what? They're involved in the next game?" Leon asked.
"Look, I was right about being government experiments!" Allan yelled in the same whispered tone. "Leon, we're in the trial period, okay? After the next game, we gotta stick together, no matter what. You got me?"
The day went on as normal. Leon was doing slightly better in all of his tests, and if the exams matched up with the tests, he'd have the points to get the courses he wanted. As he walked through classes, he occasionally saw Allan looking through the hallways, inspecting any crevasse or crack in the wall.
Until just before the final bell was about to ring, yet more ringing was heard. Leon's senses began to dull, and the only thing clear to him was whatever message was about to be beamed into his head.
"Hello, everybody." The cheery voice returned. "Now, today is a little different than what we were normally doing. Because today is the fifth challenge, and to commemorate that, everyone is going to be playing!"
Leon jolted in his seat when he heard that, almost snapping out of the trance.
"Now, a deal has been made with the military of this fine country. So today's challenge is simple. Don't get caught! Whoever does will be out of the game. But this time, I can't guarantee if you'll die or not. Still, wouldn't recommend it. Don't know what the military here is capable of, but it's probably not good."
Sybil looked outside the window. There were a few cop cars outside already, with several soldiers dotted around each. At least one looked directly at her, checking a phone afterwards. Her students were watching her from behind.
"Class is over." Sybil said, shooing them away. With them gone, she could hopefully focus on how to actually escape them all. Except the sound of the door opening wasn't heard.
"I said class is over!" She yelled. The students left after exchanging nervous glances at each other. A couple whispered about what's growing on her arm. She looked down, and sure enough, the blue crystal was back. She clenched her arm, and it was still there. If she could figure out how to grow the crystal to make a big enough shield, or even cover her entire body, she'd be set. There was pretty much no other option than leaving. Surely the feds had permission to storm the school once everyone was gone. So while her powers were active, she had one option.
She swung at the window as hard as she could, shattering it. She ran to the back of the room, before quickly sprinting out of the opened window. Several soldiers were waiting in front of her when she left. She swung again, knocking the man to the ground with a single punch, left heavily bleeding. She swung again at a man who tried shooting her, the bullet barely grazing her face as it embedded itself into the wall. She ran for a police car, slamming the crystal against the head of the man standing next to it. She quickly got in, grabbing the man next to her for the keys. She put the key in, slammed her foot on the gas, and drove off as fast as she could.
The crystal was still on her hand. Not growing with the stress, but driving with one hand wasn't good, especially since she hasn't actually drove since she got her license back home. She tried focusing on shrinking the crystal, and it seemed to work. The crystal slowly shrank back into her skin, and it looked like she had no powers at all. Just as the wave of calm washed over her, the car collided with a wall. The airbag hit her, and she slowly crawled out. The car was wrecked, but the area looked fairly empty, save a few people walking around.
"Is sis streaming right now?" She asked as she took her phone out.