Chapter 8
Sleep was no longer the temporary respite from the chaotic Hell that life had become. Shivering, plagued by visions not originating from his mind, the Teenager wept as he tried to sleep without sleeping, to think without thinking, to live without living. The Neon district had not been the safe haven he had so desperately hoped it would be, the only thing he could take solace in was that the Hunter was not here, though for how long that lasted, he had no idea.
"I'll hunt you down to the ends of the fucking earth to take back what's mine!" He could hear, endlessly on repeat in his mind.
The man had kept his promise, nowhere the Teenager had hid was safe, everywhere had been known to the Hunter, who endlessly sought the Teenager to take back what was 'his'. The Teenager had watched, both through the man's memories and in person, horrified, as he shoved his smoke-covered hand onto peoples' mouths, the burning, searing hot smoke filling their lungs, each breath they could not physically take hurting as if they were dying. The Hunter knew exactly how to make his victims suffer before they died, and even if he didn't yet know it, he knew exactly how to make the Teenager suffer before he had even come to die, because the Teenager knew that each and every death that happened as the Hunter pursued his pray, were happening because of him. Anyone the Teenager had run to in the Warren were now dead, he had no allies, and word has spread quickly amongst the people that if they saw the Teenager, to steer clear or to refuse help, because the Warren's demon would find them and torture them for whatever information they had.
So the Teenager, in a desperate bid to escape, had run to the Neon, his few surviving friends had told him it would be far safer here than it would be in the Warren, where even the Dustmen had learned to fear the Hunter. The Teenager himself had hoped and prayed that the Neon District would prove safer, but fate, as it were, was rarely so kind to the people it called to serve.
The Neon's 'black water', as many had called it, was poisoning the Teenager, but not with physical ailments or maladies, but rather with mental and psychological visions and tortuous sensations. The Teenager was a Human being, he needed water, there was no 'but' in the matter, without water he would die, but with each sip he took, that murderously psychotic woman would dig her way further into his mind, forcing the Teenager to go for days on end without a single sip of water, before forcing himself to gulp mouthfulls at a time as quickly as he could, to force the visions to come all at once and then leave just as quickly.
Oh... Come now, Kiddo... Just come visit me, I'll end your suffering... The temptress said through the Teenager's dreams. I'll give you power, to kill that man, that Hunter... She could see his fears and knew what words to use to seduce him, each time lowering his defenses to draw him in; it was only through sheer force of will that the terrified, parched, starving Teenager was able to resist her. You'll learn to love it... I promise.
At least in reality, the Teenager could fight the Hunter, and the Seductress' forces, but in his dreams? When everything was equal game, where he had no defense against psychological attacks? Anything he did, anything he could think of, was overpowered by the Seductress. Powerful attacks he launched at her, to be batted away like a snowball. Searing smoke he would cyclone directly at her face, only to be eaten wholesale and puffed out like a cigarette. Nothing the Teenager did could harm her, all that he did was amuse her and she would rebuke his every attempt with insults and mind-breaking torture.
The Teenager had once believe in a Hell, he wondered if this was anything like it.
"Hey... Kid." The Teenager was almost physically shaken out of his half-sleep state by a hand on his upturned shoulder.
With a yelp of fear, the Teen disentangled himself from the trash bags he used as blankets and scrambled away, unintentionally backing into the nearest corner. Terrified, and his vision still blurry from sleep, he haphazardly raised his hand in an attempt to drive off whoever was trying to kill him.
"Stay back!" Smoke gathered around his hand and coalesced in his palm, "I'll kill you, I swear!" His voice shook as he made the threat.
"Whoa, okay, kid." The voice said, calmly, the Teenager could just barely see the figure raise his hands against the bright light of the rapidly setting sun. "I won't take another step, I'll stay right here." The figure spoke with a calm, friendly voice that reminded the Teenager of his late grandfather."What's your name?" The man asked, he was responded to with silence. "Well, my name's Dan." He said, "I used to be an auto-mechanic before the Blast, so my customers called me 'Dan the Car-Man'..." The Teenager, through his slowly clearing haze, was wondering if 'Dan' was trying to clear the air.
"What do you want Dan?" The Teenager asked quickly and quietly, not lowering his hand.
"I saw a kid sleeping on the streets, I thought I'd offer him a place to sleep, maybe some water." Dan realized that last bit was the wrong thing to say because the area around his feet was peppered with smoke, a warning shot from the Teenager. "Hey, whoa! The stuff we've got's purified, none of the black tar the people up here have been drinkin'." He elaborated, quickly. "Err... How 'bout this." The man, ever so slowly, reached into his jacket, and pulled out a hip-flask. "It's water, kid, don't worry." He placed it on the ground and kicked it to the Conduit.
Cautiously, the Teenager grabbed the flask, keeping his smoke-enveloped hand pointed at the man. He unscrewed the top and poured a few drops onto his hand, the kid knew what alcohol felt like, in a word it was thicker than water, and this liquid in his hands wasn't alcohol, or any other kind of liquid. All pretense lost, the Teenager voraciously upended the flask and began drinking as if it had been the first sip of water he'd been granted, his entire life. The pure water tasted divine, as if liquid gold was pouring down his throat, moistening it and his tongue with its wonderfulness.
The flask now empty, the Teenager removed it from his lips and, with a loud intake of air, wiped the excess off of his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. Breathing heavily now, and his senses in overdrive thanks to the pure water now running through his system, the Teen could get a good look at Dan. He stood tall, most likely a foot taller than he, he wore a blank, black T-Shirt underneath a gray zip-up hoody, he had a rough beard but a close-shaven buzz cut. On his tan face was a kind smile underneath two dark brown eyes.
"Alright... Now I'm listening." The Teenager was slowly gaining his composure, he stood up, leaning against the wall.
Dan nodded, "that's something." He said, "listen son, I've got a small community running, down underground, in the sewers near a substation." He explained, "we;re pretty much the only thing this city's got to society these days, we take in anyone not in a gang, or trying to run away." He said kindly, "it's safe... Whatever you're obviously running from, it won't find you."
The Teenager stared at the man for several moments, his heart pounding in his ears as he was practically being provided safe haven. Could it be true? It seemed too good to be so, but here it was.
"I -"
"John VaSilas I swear if you don't answer this door I'm breaking it down!"
Groaning, John VaSilas was ripped from his pleasantly horrifying dream. He slowly sat up, the blankets from his futon sliding down his bare chest as he held his forehead in his palm. Silas blinked heavily, he had obviously been sleeping hard, what day was it? He glanced around his -
"Last warning, VaSilas!"
"Shut the hell up!" Silas countered, "give me a damn minute." Few knew the golden rule about John VaSilas: don't wake him up, he had once been awoken by his mother in the middle of the night, and though he had no recollection of the events, the story went that he'd promptly gotten into a shouting match with her that woke up the entire building and nearly got a few policemen called.
Shaking his head, Silas looked around his room again, trying to find the calendar, he had crashed so hard he didn't know what day it was. The Conduit's internal clock told him it was Friday, but apparently he was wrong, it was Saturday the third. Blinking, the Conduit suddenly realized he'd been at this school for an entire month. An entire month of -
The door crashed inwards, Silas acted on instinct and dove out of the way, grabbing his sling-bag and rolling to his feet in one fluid motion. Ever since Empire he had always kept his Sling-Bag equipped with the essentials, so if he had to run he could grab everything he owned and bolt. Now with his bag on his back, Silas assumed a combat stance, electricity running up both arms as a single puff of smoke escaped his nostrils.
Standing in his broken-in doorway was a figure in the robes of a Public Safety Enforcer, looking bored, but cautious at the look of the shirtless Conduit in front of him. Silas didn't know and didn't care if the man was staring at his scars, his bright blue electricity, his unkempt hair, all three, or none, all he knew was that there was an Enforcer he didn't recognize, standing in his doorway.
"The hell do you want?" Silas asked slowly, realizing that it was far too early for classes to begin this Saturday morning.
"You will speak with a more respective tone to a Public Enforcer." The Enforcer, who wore thick rimmed glasses, ordered the Conduit, who thought of a half dozen colorful swear words he could show the monster.
"I'll think about it." The Conduit stated, annoyed, "what do you want? Besides to break down my door. Who the hell are you, anyway?"
"My name is not of importance." The monster stated, "what is important is that Kuyou Tanzin whishes to see you immediately."
Silas blinked, "why does Kuyou want to see me at -" He reached into the pocket on his sling-bag's strap, retrieved his phone, and clicked it on. "- five in the damn morning? The night classes haven't even ended yet." He stated, putting the phone back in his pocket.
"I am not privy to the reasonings of the Head Enforcer, now get dressed and make yourself presentable, you have three minutes before I drag you out of here." The monster said, as he turned to leave.
"You can try." Silas said unafraid; the monster ignored him.
Now fully dressed, John VaSilas was walking through the PSC office building. He had been let go by the monster he'd affectionately - and openly - referred to as 'Douchebag', and was making his way to Kuyou's office. Silas would admit, the warm interior made of hardwood, plaster, and painting-hung walls, gave the building a comforting, warm feeling.
Silas found the office that belonged to Kuyou, and raised his hand to knock, but paused when he heard raised voices inside. Intrigued, the Conduit leaned forward.
"- have made my decision, Keito! There is no proof in conjecture and stories! Until I say otherwise, my decision stands! I shall review it when I return!"
"But what do you plan on finding in the Human world? Why will you not tell me what you have found this last week?"
"Because my investigation is mine, and mine alone!" Kuyou's voice gained a significantly deeper tone, "if I discover the worst, I will act accordingly!" Silas knew his luck was running out, so he knocked twice, before he turned the handle and entered the room.
"Err... What'd I miss?" The hooded Conduit asked, as he entered the room. Repairing the hoody had been simple enough, as it turned out the school had a sewing club, go figure. "Lover's Quarrel?" He grinned.
"Shut the hell up!" Keito barked.
"Koyama! Outside!" Kuyou roared.
Keito gave Kuyou and Silas a look, before she retreated outside, closing the door behind her. Silas looked from the door, to Kuyou, who offered him a seat, which Silas took. "So... What did I miss?"
Kuyou answered disinterestedly, clearly tired of the topic. "Keito is angry that I have to leave campus on investigative business, for an indeterminate amount of time, and we may soon be dealing with a onew recruit?"
"Ah... Who's the lucky Monster?" Silas asked, itching his scalp from beneath his hood.
"You." The fire-wielder said blankly.
Silas paused in his itching, right hand covering half of his face. He blinked, "run that by me again?"
"Rumors fly very quickly around this school, John VaSilas." Said Kuyou, "I know it was you who dealt Anti-Thesis such a hard blow a month ago, and it was you and the Vampire who took down Saizo Komiya." He counted off, "plus your actions against the Chimera last week, they all displayed power unlike anything I have ever seen." The fire-wielder explained, "the decision made itself, I just had to realize it."
Silas felt his heart slow down, was Hitler offering him a job in the Gestapo?
"You... Want me... To join the Public Safety Commission?" Silas reiterated, to the responding nod of the Head Enforcer. "What would that entail?" He wondered, curiously.
"First and foremost, your duties would be split between education and enforcing. Education is paramount for a man still in school, such as yourself. I find my duties split monthly due to my status as a post-education student." The fire-wielder explained, "however, after classes each day you would be given an hour for personal leisure, and the rest of your day would be spent enforcing."
"And... How does one enforce?" All the 'enforcing' experience the Conduit had thus far was stumbling across Kuyou in the woods, and tagging along on a search and destroy mission, if that was common place he may refuse the offer.
"At its core, you are the officer, the judge, and the jury. If you find a crime in progress, you have visual proof, locational alibi, and reason for Enforcement, and the Headmaster has given us clearance to act however we wish with crimes in progress." The fire-wielder explained.
Explaining why he executes everyone he comes across... "And what about those sting operations you seem to always be on?"
"Those are left for the higher-class and higher ranked Enforcers, should you accept, you would only fit one of those categories." Kuyou informed him.
And not even... "Say I don't want to kill everyone I come across, is there some kind of jail here?"
"There is." Kuyou left it at that.
"Okay..." Silas leaned his head back. The situation suddenly felt like he was trying to shove ten pounds of trash into a five pound bag, Kuyou had just dropped something on him that he hadn't expected, not in his wildest dreams. On one hand, with his powers he could definitely do some good, and with the political power that came with the Enforcers, he could do a lot more good than he could without it; but this wasn't Empire City, where less than a quarter of its population had powers, this was Yokai Academy, a literal school for monsters, everyone here was a monster and could tear apart a Human being, powers or no. And what was to say that the Enforcers weren't like the DUP? The differences between them were certainly there, but what was the core separating factor between these people and them?
The fact that the Enforcers accepted monsters?
He wasn't one, though. He wasn't even sure if he was Human or not, he was even less sure if anyone here would accept the 'Conduits are separate from Humans' argument. Least of all Kuyou, who seemed extremely by the books. There was the argument that could be made that Witches were essentially the first Conduits, but Silas had to make a choice.
Or... Did he?
"Can I sleep on it?" Silas asked, lowering his head to make eye contact with the head Enforcer, who nodded.
"Indeed." Said Kuyou, "I have waved your classes for this morning so you could do just that. I will be leaving tomorrow at noon, so if you meet me here at eleven o' clock with your answer, we can get you inducted."
"Ah..." Said Silas, planting his hands on his knees and pushing himself to his feet, "Well then, allow me to sleep on this... I'm a little conflicted at the moment."
Kuyou nodded, smartly, and the two bade their farewells.
Silas now was walking through the campus, the night-students were filing out as the day students were waking up and going about their morning routines. A few who recognized him gave the Conduit a friendly wave and a greeting, which he returned. He was contemplating simply going back to sleep when he got to his room, to think about the PSC later, Silas would have wanted to walk to his room without further confrontation, but fate was a cruel mistress, and as such had other plans for him. Keito Koyama was waiting for him directly on the path, in the center of the campus, a deep scowl planted upon her face. Silas thought he could see a desire to kill in her eyes.
Blinking, Silas tried to see where the 'ignore' option would bring him. For his trouble, a spider's leg slammed into his chest, sending him into a tree. For just a half second, the Conduit considered letting the woman go, she was very obviously pissed, and the Conduit was wondering if she was on the Monster version of the menstrual cycle. This line of thought was dashed when he saw a gob of white, stringy-substance flying straight for his face. Without any recognition, Silas smoke-dashed out of the way, the web bullet slamming into the tree, burrowing deep within it.
"Okay... What the fuck?" Silas asked simply.
"You know what the fuck!" The rapidly transforming spider-woman growled, to a responsive, but confused, blink from the Conduit. "You know what your kind has done to mine!"
Uh oh... Silas had to play his cards carefully, "and what species are we talking about here?"
The spider-woman inhaled deeply. "You HUMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
