By this point, people had begun to notice something and came to the scene.
A man in a construction outfit stopped his car and got out.
"What's going on here?! Go home all of you!"
Andy was looking back and nodding. The moment he moved, the creature followed him, chasing him on all fours.
The moment Andy heard rustling behind him, he knew what it was and began screaming.
The man quickly ran up and punched the beast to the ground.
Many others got out of their cars as well.
Ace could see it, but he saw many adults
On the phone. People seemed to be on the way.
the man in front of him thought he crushed the beast, but he was growing weary as no matter how hard he pulled, his hands stayed near the grass.
The tiny monster wrapped its clawed hands around the man's wrist and the man got a good look at its face before it bit down on his knuckles, causing an uncomfortable crunching sound.
for the first time in his life, Ace had heard a grown man in his late twenties, screaming like a child. He was not a fan.
In fact the young boy was shaking even more as he watched the monster continue to tear into the man. The only reason why he didn't pass out was out of sheer terror.
The man actually put up a fight. Throwing punches, lifting the tiny thing up before slamming it to the floor, yet none of it seemed to work.
In the end, the man passed out and the monster came crawling to him.
"No."
Ace gritted his teeth and failed to move even a few inches. He'd been beaten and stomped on so much it was a miracle he was conscious.
He gave the monster a hateful glare, for that was all he could do. Imagine his surprise when the monster climbed up his body from his legs to his head, only to fall asleep in his hair.
The creature's weight in Ace's hair was warm and oddly comforting, like a sleeping cat. Around him, chaos erupted—people screaming, phones recording, someone vomiting—but the monster just snored softly, its tiny claws kneading his scalp like dough. The moment stretched, surreal and fragile, until a black van screeched to a halt nearby.
Men in tactical gear poured out, rifles raised. Their leader—a woman with a buzzcut and a scar cutting through her eyebrow—signaled with sharp hand motions. "Containment protocol Delta," she barked. "Non-lethals only. That thing's bonded."
after that the his vision got super blurry before it ended. As Ace returned from his vision,
He saw an old friend. Only it was on his shoulder and looked as if it wished to pounce on his instructor.
"Alright, that's it! Times up! Everyone get ready to go eat lunch!"
And with that, the monster seemingly just disappeared. It jumped into a slit shaped portal and vanished.
The cafeteria wasn't as stale as the other places, Ace ate actual food which was a plus.
On his tray was eggs and steak. Perhaps he could bear staying here a while longer.
"This isn't the worst place I've been in so far."
Alex was next to him. "that's nice. I don't care for the food. How long are my parents gonna wait before going crazy looking for me? They probably already have."
' He's right, I need to focus. No way am I getting out of here in this predicament. I gotta get stronger somehow and in a reasonable amount of time.'
seeing Alex was kind of freaking out, Ace had a proposal. "Hey. I know you're kind of hoping to get out, how about this? I get some other people on board as well?"
They spent the next 10 minutes getting rejected for one simple reason. Lack of trust.
Most groups simply wanted to escape with a tight knit duo. More people meant more possibilities of a weak link.
Ace was a bit stumped by this.
Alex chimed in.
"It's a fine move, but not right now. It's only been a few days since everyone got here. In order to truly make them willing, they have to see something that makes them understand that they can't do it themselves."
while they had sat down and were tearing at their food a boy came up to their table.
He had Mahogany skin and an easygoing air about him. "Hello friends. I've noticed you may be in need of another in your persuit of freedom. I've come to chip in as well if you're willing to have me. I'm David jones."
Ace wanted to probe a bit.
"We're willing to take anyone. Do you have any other friends or is there a reason why you're by yourself?"
David looked up. "Unfortunately, I don't have any powers at the moment. It's taking me longer to awaken. However, the sentiment that I have no abilities is not doing me any favors."
Of course, the first person he meets that wants to join their duo does have any powers.
'Better than nothing I suppose. Besides, I'm not gonna brute force my way out if I don't have to.'
"Your in!"
The rest of the day went by as normal as an environment like this would allow. The children were given ample time to play sports afterwards. After recess was over, it was time for bed.
Ace was getting used to this cycle. a few days had gone by since then. David moved to the bunk next to theirs. In class, Ace was briefed on some of the things that changed when he died.
families who were once full fry cooks were developing powerful bloodlines, becoming royalty overnight.
They could support themselves and become rich just by defeating monsters. Sometimes it was a portion of the family who got powerful,
On extremely rare cases, an entire family developed a unique, powerful ability.
Some were so powerful they were known as the great 5 families. Their only job is to send some of their family members down to take on a threat nobody else can deal with, just from their immense power.
their influence rivaled small governments.
No matter who you are, or your political position, the power you think you have is nothing when faced with pure destructive capabilities.
"Yes Ace, what is it that you would like to add?"
"Who is in the Great 5 families?"
Sliding sounds were heard as though he just said something's atrocious. Everyone turned to look at him, fearing he might be mentally impaired.
Alex: "sometimes I feel as though you're not from this planet."
Ace: "me too."
—
Later on, after lunch everyone was brought to an area that looked like an arena.
A voice they could not here shouted from what seemed like everywhere at once.
"Your task is simple. Get into a team of two.Each of you will be able to fight one another in the arena. We wish to see how much you have learned during these past few days."