CHAPTER 5 #2
Grayson’s jaw dropped as they replayed the final moments of the game.
Him on a breakaway, the ice exploding outwards, the aliens scurrying out.
The fixed cameras had taped everything, including his foolhardy battle—which the guy in him actually found impressive until he got mobbed.
Oddly, he didn’t see Aries in any of the clips, just a blurry smudge, as if he’d been scrubbed from the footage.
The announcer returned, stating, “Despite his valiant effort, we are saddened at the passing of hockey veteran and legend, Grayson Warren.”
The anchor went on to say that, while the creatures had been spotted in other locales around the world, those incidents had been rapidly contained by unknown individuals.
As part of the government response to the emergency situation, the military had been called upon.
People could expect boots on the ground within the next few hours and days as troops mobilized.
Local police forces were overwhelmed and had suffered catastrophic losses in confronting the creatures, and people were advised that emergency services had been suspended until the situation with the monsters could be resolved.
Grayson spent the next hour listening and watching, appalled at the carnage and kind of wishing he’d not been left behind. Sure, he didn’t know how to wield a sword or fire a gun, but fuck, people were dying while he sat safe in his new apartment.
One important thing he learned? He wanted to fight.
Wanted to hunt down these murderous aliens.
It would be nice to do something meaningful for the world.
First thing in the morning, teacher or not, he’d take his ass to the training room and start figuring shit out.
Maybe the magical Tower would provide him some demonstration videos if no one was available to teach him.
The next morning, after a sounder sleep than expected, he jogged down the stairs, encountering no one until he entered the dining room. A single guy sat there, and he smiled upon seeing Grayson.
“Hey, new guy. I’m Aquarius.” He stood and held out his hand.
Grayson strode close and shook it. “Grayson.”
Aquarius laughed. “Ah, not using your new name yet, I see. I remember it took me months before I accepted mine.”
“I don’t know if I will. Might have been easier if I’d gotten something cool.” Yeah, he remained salty about that.
“Honestly, I think we all kind of wished we got Leo. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be the lion’s avatar?”
“Does no one keep their birth name?”
The guy shook his head. “No. As I said, it takes time. For example, Zora, who’s been with us maybe two months, is still Zora, but I can’t blame her. Ophiuchus is a mouthful.”
“No shit. Mind if I grab some breakfast?”
“Sorry. Of course. You know how it works?”
“Yeah, Leila showed me last night.”
“Leila?” Aquarius queried as Grayson strode to the niche to find a plate already waiting. Sunnyside up eggs, wheat toast, sausages, orange juice, and a bowl of strawberries. His favorite.
As Grayson carried it back, he replied. “Petite Middle Eastern woman, says she’s the doctor for this place.”
“You met her?” Aquarius’s brows shot up. “I’m surprised. Rumor has it she puts her patients to sleep so they never even get a chance to talk to her.”
“In my case, I don’t think she had a choice. She got roped into being my guide since everyone else was gone,” his wry reply.
“It’s all-hands-on-deck. Everyone but me is out trying to contain the situation in Toronto. Although we might have to redeploy a few warriors, as some of the locations we thought cleared have had more aliens appear.”
“Why aren’t you fighting?”
Aquarius grimaced. “Because the boss has me researching. I’m what you would call the local tech. I’m gathering as much data as I can in the hopes we can get ahead of this problem.”
“I’ve heard they came from those meteors that crashed, but that seems hard to believe. I thought those chunks weren’t all that big? And those things I fought…”
“Yeah, that’s part of the riddle we’re trying to solve. My current theory is they must have contained eggs of some sort that went into rapid growth once they hit our ecosystem.”
“Leila says the sample she’s working on isn’t dead and that she even got it to grow.”
“Interesting. I’ll have to check the network and see if she’s filed a preliminary report on her findings. Regenerative capabilities might explain some of our issues. Could be killing them isn’t enough.”
“You saying we’re dealing with immortal aliens?” The query raised his brows.
“Everything can be killed, but some are tougher than others. I’m going to let Aries know we should probably start incinerating the bodies, in case they’re like vampires and can heal themselves back to life.”
“Vampires?” Grayson had a feeling he’d keep hearing things that surprised for the next little bit.
“Yeah. Nasty buggers, but not as bad as these aliens. If they’re capable of regenerating, even from catastrophic wounds, that would explain the resurgence in some parts and why we’ve not gotten a handle yet in Toronto.
” Aquarius stood and laid his napkin on the table.
“Cool to meet you, but unfortunately, I gotta run. This information is too important to sit on.”
“Anything I can do?”
“Start preparing yourself to fight.”
A suggestion easier said than done. The training room proved somewhat daunting.
The far end held exercise equipment, which he knew how to use, but the wall of weapons?
He grabbed a long sword and swung it a few times, only to make a face.
Damned thing weighed a ton. He wouldn’t be able to wield it for long unless he got stronger.
With that thought in mind, he hit the weights and noticed not only did he not tire quickly, but his usual bench press of 250 pounds seemed too easy.
He added some metal discs, bringing it to three hundred, and found it slightly more challenging.
So, definitely stronger than before. He noticed the same difference with his other regular exercises.
All his weights had to be adjusted upwards, and when he went for a jog on the treadmill, he kept increasing his pace and not breathing hard.
When the tread stopped abruptly, it jolted his entire body, and he cursed. “What the fuck?” Had it lost power?
The lights flickered, and he glanced to the ceiling. Slam. The door to the training room opened, hitting the wall.
He pursed his lips. Ghosts or… “Um, hey, Tower, you trying to tell me something?”
The door waggled. Guess it wanted him to leave. He exited and did a double take because the staircase had changed. No longer did it descend, couldn’t since a smooth floor blocked the lower levels. Guess he’d have to go up. And up. The stairs turned into a moving escalator that zipped.
The floors he’d passed on his way down had been sealed off, leaving him with only one route. As he reached the seventh, he ran into Aquarius, looking just as puzzled.
“I see Tower summoned you, too,” the other man said.
“Does it do that often?”
“No, which means whatever it is must be important. Do you have a weapon?”
“Never even occurred to me to grab one. I thought this place was safe.”
“It is. But it never hurts to be cautious. I’ve got a dagger and a revolver. Come on. Let’s see where Tower wants us to go.”
Heading up with Aquarius reduced some of Grayson’s discomfort at being led around by a sentient building. As they got zipped upward, Aquarius muttered, “Not sure what’s beyond the twelfth floor. All of our stuff is on the first dozen levels.”
“How many floors are there?”
“An insane amount. Let’s just say the rooftop pokes the Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
Grayson almost blurted that was impossible but held his tongue because, hello, nothing about this place followed any normal rules.
Their ascent ended on the sixteenth floor with the moving stairs abruptly stopping and disappearing entirely. Guess they’d reached their destination.
“What’s on this level?” Grayson asked.
“I’m not sure. Never been.”
There were only two doors available. One looked just like his apartment, solid wood with a brass knob, the other, reinforced steel, out of place within the ancient architecture.
However, once they flung it open, it became apparent why the difference. It sealed off a bio lab.
And, within, Leila wielding a lit torch.