As Shade crossed the streets of NQSC, he kicked a few crumbled pebbles and locked eyes with passing civilians. On his route to the police station, he passed alley after alley, each sheltering the city's forgotten—or rather, ignored.
The outskirt rats.
Not that he thought of them as animals—it was just the label that the public slapped onto them.
It was tragic, really, but not something he had the power to change. Not just yet, and even if he could, most were tainted and would be a cancer to common society.
'Blame the government for that.' He thought, 'I mean, really? Synthetic paste? It pains me just thinking about it.'
He twisted the knob and stepped into the police station, eyes sweeping across the room.
Police, in truth, were a little useless. Their job was fairly limited: contain the infected and stall the abominations that come from the infected.
…but…
…most employees were mundane humans—with a select few government employees volunteering to help.
This meant that if a patient failed their Nightmare before the government dispatched an Awakened soldier, casualties were nearly a certainty.
Selfish or not, Shade handled his own Nightmare without following protocol. Partly because he trusted himself, and mostly because he didn't care what happened if he failed.
If he died, that would be it—and the dead don't feel regret, nor do they empathize.
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Walking up to a counter, he tapped a slab of wood to grab the officer's attention. As his target turned towards him, Shade noticed the label on the man's tag.
It read: "Sundro"
Seeing this, Shade bowed his head in respect before parting his lips. "Officer, uh, Sundro…" Shade began, "...I'd like to make a request."
"And that is?" Officer Sundro asked, leaning his arm onto the desk. "Gods, it better not be another infected." He joked, but Shade didn't laugh—unintentionally making the atmosphere awkward.
"A ride, could I get a ride to the Awakened Academy?" Shade adjusted his posture before acting upset. "I don't exactly have any transportation, and I recently completed my First Nightmare, so I—"
"—sorry, did you say you completed your First Nightmare? So, you're a Dreamer?" Shade nodded in response. "That means you actively ignored the rules and fell asleep on your own, right?"
Shade instantly feigned embarrassment. He more or less knew that the officer would be annoyed, but cases like this weren't rare—so many people fall victim to the spell, they couldn't possibly catch them all. This meant that he'd certainly be let off lightly without punishment.
"I'm sorry, sir. I was too tired for the walk since I live on the other side of NQSC, and as I said before—I don't have any sources of transportation." He paused, "I would have passed out on a sidewalk when coming here."
Officer Sundro visibly creased his brows before sighing. "Hahhh… Alright, I'm just happy you made it through."
'I knew that would work.'
"Some other kid woke up recently as well, so maybe their instructor could drive the both of you…" He sighed, "...but I'd have to put a good word in, he's already antisocial, one more annoying kid would be difficult."
Shade chuckled at the sentiment and made his way to a bench. Earlier, the officer had given him a few details about how long it would take and who the people were.
From what he heard, the man who'd be escorting them was known as "Jay", an Awakened soldier that the government had assigned here—likely as a training test of some sort.
Officer Sundro described him as rude, quiet, and as somebody who'd shut down any request past what he was paid to do.
'Honestly, fair play.'
As for the young Dreamer, there was very little information. They came into the station half asleep and quickly passed out on the floor—having visible bruises on their arms. In fact, all they really knew was that it was a girl—and where she came from was a mystery.
"Her only known information was her unknown information? What am I talking about…" Shade muttered as he gazed through the distant windows, admiring clouds as they rummaged through the air.
He was curious, of course. While his origins weren't written about, his identity was easily scanned the moment he entered this polished station—that girl, however, was like a ghost. Perhaps she was from the outskirts—or maybe even worse.
Well, he wouldn't have to wait too long since a nearby door quietly creaked open.
Two figures walked through, one of them was slightly taller than himself, likely around six feet—while the other was just below.
'Five foot nine?' Her height didn't really matter; he was more interested in her story. But Shade didn't approach immediately, he waited for Officer Sundro to send the two towards him.
As that was happening, he analyzed their features.
Jay appeared to have shiny blond hair—about shoulder-length with back-flowing waves. He wore a polished unzipped leather jacket with a white tee beneath. As for the pants, Shade wasn't quite sure. 'Maybe a Memory?'
The girl beside him wore… a black shirt and beaten-up shorts. 'Gods, at least get her some change of clothes!?' Besides the concern, this opened a few doors for inference.
Shade's family wasn't even close to being wealthy, but he still had plenty of normal clothes to wear. This meant that she was clearly poor—or somewhat unimportant in the eyes of her family.
Weirdly, she appeared well-fed. In fact, she looked rather strong—especially her calves. Eventually the two made eye contact and Shade noticed her black eyes—the same shade as her pupils.
'Scary, it's like a black hole.' He joked inwardly as he noted her micro-expressions.
When hearing about her beaten up state and quick unconsciousness, he thought she'd be some bullied kid with low self-confidence—but she held herself with respect and didn't shy away from assertiveness. In fact, they were still glaring into each other's eyes…
…Almost like a staring contest; very one-sided, her eyes were terrifying.
Neither of them spoke, nor did they approach each other.
Shade noticeably chuckled when he realized her intent. The girl was trying to make him shy away—probably an old habit that made her feel powerful. It was a little funny, at least, it was to him.
Seeing Shade laugh, her eyebrow raised slightly as she turned her head away. Then, Jay signaled her to change as he handed her a few folded clothes.
'I wonder how easy it'd be to mess with her…' Shade thought, tracing her figure with his eyes as she walked into the changing room. 'Nah, she's probably not worth it.'
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Authors Note:
- Word Count: [1142]
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