Lana smiled, "thank you! Is there no way for me to look such things up on my own?
Logan looked at her, "I thought that was your last question?"
She laughed, "Okay, come to you if I need to find someone and disrupt your research. Got it!"
"Oh, I do need to tell you, when you bring sandwiches, you can just scan your finger at the door and leave it here on my desk and go so I can keep working unless you need to ask me something. I also added my contact information to your watch so you don't need to come all this way just to ask me something. While it is possible to find people, the families have a problem with general directories. One does exist but not everyone is on it for their own protection. You can also opt out of participating so, if you are more prone to getting bullied, you can remove yourself."
Lana nodded, "thank you for your trust."
Logan nodded and returned to his gadget, obviously done talking for the evening.
Lana left his room quietly, not wanting to disturb him. She gained a great deal in this small visit, and she did not want to risk damaging a budding positive relationship.
She quickly made it back to her own room and Kattie was already back from Dobin's room. She updated Kattie on what Logan had said but omitted the information on her watch. It made Kattie wonder if she was on the directory, so she went looking on her watch. She found her name absent, but she found Lana's name as well as Dobin's. Lana instantly sent a message to her brother that he needed to opt out of the student directory.
The girls then got set to teach Sven where he would find the window he needed to fly though so he could pull off this caper. The girls did their meditation then sent the flying beastie out their window. By 11 pm, Sven returned to the room with a level-2 earth ability book. Lana smiled then went to sleep ensuring the windows in her room were firmly locked.
After a rare peaceful sleep, Lana made sure to send another message to Dobin telling him to make sure he brings his bag today. When they stopped by to get the girls for breakfast, she pulled him into the room and shoved the book into his bag. "Don't ask any questions!"
After an exchange of glances with Kattie, they went to breakfast.
The day went without many issues. In Agricultural Club, Lana set up her tree with her new research gear then started growing and preparing dinner. Her intention was to feed the group then return to do some work. She recently purchased candles so she has a bit of light. She then got a message from Kattie that Quinn was stabbed in combat class. It was common for injuries to happen in combat class but this was an intentional act and Kattie couldn't wait to share what had just happened. Lana debated with herself on whether she should respond and decided against it. Beast Weapons class was closer to Dr. Hayley than she was to Beast Weapons class. He would be healed by the time she got there. It was better to finish cooking. She wondered how Vorden enjoyed the sandwich or if he even ate it.
**********
After Vorden walked in the room and saw Quinn's bloody clothes and pushed Layla against the wall, choking her and scaring her and Peter, Vorden went looking for the person who hurt Quinn. It took a while and after beating up a few people in Quinn's Beast Weapons class, Vorden got the information he needed. He was heading back to the dorms when he saw Brandon leave the building, looking proud of himself. Vorden decided to follow him and wait for the right opportunity. It took a few hours because Brandon chose to go play Power Fighter for a while. With all the stolen credits he had, he could spend a few hours in the machine practicing his fighting skills against other military students from this base and others.
The sun was setting by the time Brandon emerged from the building with a smile on his face. Vorden waited in the shadows. As soon as Brandon got behind a building on the way to the dorms where it was darker, Vorden knocked him out then took him into the forest where it was darker still. Once in the forest, an evil grin emerged from Vorden's expression. "I finally get to play!"
Vorden dropped Brandon in the most painful way. It was more like a body slam. He wasn't trying to break the boy's back or anything. No. This boy made Quinn bleed which means he was going to suffer for as long as Vorden to swing it. Brandon woke up from the forceful impact with a groan. Lucky for Vorden, he already spent enough time in this park to know where the secluded parts were in terms of the forested areas. At this hour, it was even more deserted as everyone would be heading to their rooms before their watches informed them it was time for curfew. He grabbed the helpless boy by the hair and punched him in the stomach then the face, still holding onto his hair. He did not pull any fancy moves. There was no need for it with this punk. He simply punched every non-lethal location until the loss of blood caused the boy to lose consciousness. He wasn't dead when Vorden left him alone in the dark. Vorden left satisfied that by the time they found him after curfew, he would be.
*****
Lana delivered dinner and the extra food to both rooms then returned to her tree in the agricultural area and lost track of time. Lana realized it was getting quite late when she looked at her watch and realized curfew was 30 minutes away. She did some last-minute touches on setting up the lab area because she was struggling with how she wanted it. Then headed back toward the dorms. In the stairwell, about to go into her hallway, she noticed Vorden walk in. At first she looked really concerned because he had blood on him. His energy told her he was not injured so she decided to talk to him.
"Did you get dinner, Vorden?"
He looked at her shocked at the question then decided to roll with it. "No. I was a bit busy."
"Did you like your sandwich? I can make you another one really quick. You can wash up a bit in my bathroom while I put it together if you want. Kattie should be asleep." He raised an eyebrow then nodded.
The door to her bathroom was just inside her room to the right so it was not a big deal to have him step in there if he was quick. Boys were not allowed in girls' rooms but there was a small bit of allowance. There could be times when quick stops were needed like she did with Dobin. She allowed him to enter first then went to the kitchen to make his sandwich. She was surprised at how fast he washed his skin, unable to do anything with his clothes. He came into the kitchen as she was cutting the veggies.
She whispered, "I don't have any meat to put on it but it should be a bit satisfying." The 15-minute curfew warning went off on both of their watches. She hoped Kattie was sleeping sound enough to not realize there was an extra alarm in their room.
He smiled, "it's perfect. Why are you doing this?"
She sighed, "because you are special, like Quinn is but different. Honestly, when I met him when he answered the door, I didn't feel worthy of being in his presence."
Vorden had to stifle a laugh, "What do you mean, not worthy?
She shrugged, "I was told my whole life I would never amount to anything." She finished slicing veggies and spread her special sauce that she used the day before and placed the veggies on while she talked. "Quinn has strong energy about him. He's going to make some important changes in this world. I'll support him where I'm able." She smiled. "Do you want me to wrap this or do you want to eat on the way up?"
Vorden looked at the sandwich then at her face, "No wrapping. You are going to make changes, too." He took the sandwich and was eating before he was even out of the room and it was gone before he got to his destination.
When he entered his room, he noted both his roommates were in bed asleep and Quinn was safe. He laid on his bed as the conversation took place in his head.
Vorden: She is special, isn't she?
Raten: and she doesn't even know it.
Sil: She's nice. She wants to protect Quinn even though she feels unworthy. We need to keep an eye on her. Sil then went back to the dark space in the back of their mind and went to sleep. Raten and Vorden looked at each other trying to decide if they needed a game plan to add another person to their "protect" list.