Author's Note: Shame on me, I have forgotten to thank my reviewers! As of
today I have had 17 reviews (the one I posted doesn't count, I REALLY wish
I could get rid of it), and they have all been positive feedback! Yay!
Although the good majority of said reviews were posted by two people
(DarkDragonX, with 4, and Aerena, with 8, one for each chapter. O_o), I do
appreciate everyone's encouragement. There is nothing wrong with multiple
reviews from one user, don't get me wrong. You could post 100 reviews and I
would read them all, although I would be a bit confused as to why you wrote
that much. So, thanks! Yeah. Moving on...
Chapter 9
"There's another special on TV about the monsters."
"Yeah, what else is new? They haven't left the issue alone for 10 minutes since the breakout yesterday."
"That statistic is probably fairly close to the truth, actually."
"Hey Shade, do you know how many monsters escaped during the breakout?"
"68, not including myself."
"How many have they caught?"
"19 so far. The rest have escaped and hidden out in secluded areas, according to reports."
"Which means there are 49 of them left..."
"Yes."
"When I was in the back, they said that something bizarre happened when the beasts died that would be revealed on their 'special'. They said it yet?"
"No, but I know what it is. I saw it during my time in the lab. You fought monsters before, right? Remember how they faded out of the air?"
Rayen remembered, so he nodded.
"Well, they found out that the monsters have an unusual amount of gold molecules in their structure. When their bodies disassemble themselves, which is what is actually happening when they seem to disappear, those molecules condense and become gold nuggets."
"Seriously? How much?"
"Depends on the size of the monster and how many molecules they have. At first, the scientists thought they could make a fortune by creating monsters and then killing them for gold. Then they realized that between research costs, and the cost of the firepower to actually kill the things, their profit margin would be actually fairly low."
"But it helps us. We'll get all the money we need just by doing what we're going to do anyway."
"True. Except now there will be a number of amateur glory-seekers trying to earn a quick buck by grabbing the gold, and they'll end up getting killed."
"Damn. I hadn't thought about that."
Phil chose this time to interrupt, by yelling towards the back from the driver's seat.
"Hey, we're coming up to a town. We should probably go stop for supplies."
He was right. The drive to Fletz, which lay on the western side of Serdio, from their town, right about in the middle, was long and would probably take several more days. They needed to buy food to last them to their next stop. It was getting late; this was their best stop, as there might not be another one for a while. Rayen and Shade nodded. Phil turned onto the nearest highway exit and onto the city streets.
"So, what do you say we go out to eat tonight?"
"I eat in solitude. Let's face it; I would attract a little too much attention."
Rayen considered that. Shade was pretty conspicuous just with his clothing, but he would have to remove the strips of cloth that served as a mask to shroud his mutated visage. That would cause too many questions that couldn't be answered. Plus, there might be some people on the abroad searching for him. Rayen nodded.
"Alright then, we'll go out. You can get the groceries. We'll make a list; you can add anything you want, I'm not sure what you eat."
"Fine. I will also see if I can relieve some of our financial difficulties as well."
"You mean hunting monsters? Can you find them?"
"Easily enough."
"OK then."
Phil dropped Shade off at the grocery store, and then he drove down the streets until they found a restaurant that looked good. They pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. Phil left his spear in the car, but Rayen took his sword and both pocketed their Dragoon Spirits, should trouble arise. They walked through the revolving doors and sat down until they were given a table.
Rayen noticed when sitting down that they were attracting a great deal of stares, the majority of which he was sure were not pleasant. The waitress, a girl who appeared to be about their age, came to their table, took their orders, and left. Rayen shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was sure now that a good deal of the other customers didn't want them around. He wondered if Phil noticed this, and he gave his friend a questioning look. Phil's face remained blank, however; he obviously hadn't noticed.
The waitress came back and gave them their food. She looked at them in a way Rayen couldn't decipher. He wondered if she shared the other customer's feelings. He decided to put it out of his mind. So they weren't universally popular. What else was new? They both dug into their food with a voracious appetite.
After dessert, Rayen suddenly felt extremely fatigued. He must have been more worn out than he thought. He had stayed up late last night. He always had trouble sleeping in a moving car. Without a second thought, Rayen laid his head on the table and fell asleep. Moments later, although he wasn't awake to see it, Phil fell asleep as well.
After the restaurant closed, and they were sure the drugged food had taken full effect, several of the local customers got up from their tables and dragged the two sleeping bodies into the back room of the kitchen.
Chapter 9
"There's another special on TV about the monsters."
"Yeah, what else is new? They haven't left the issue alone for 10 minutes since the breakout yesterday."
"That statistic is probably fairly close to the truth, actually."
"Hey Shade, do you know how many monsters escaped during the breakout?"
"68, not including myself."
"How many have they caught?"
"19 so far. The rest have escaped and hidden out in secluded areas, according to reports."
"Which means there are 49 of them left..."
"Yes."
"When I was in the back, they said that something bizarre happened when the beasts died that would be revealed on their 'special'. They said it yet?"
"No, but I know what it is. I saw it during my time in the lab. You fought monsters before, right? Remember how they faded out of the air?"
Rayen remembered, so he nodded.
"Well, they found out that the monsters have an unusual amount of gold molecules in their structure. When their bodies disassemble themselves, which is what is actually happening when they seem to disappear, those molecules condense and become gold nuggets."
"Seriously? How much?"
"Depends on the size of the monster and how many molecules they have. At first, the scientists thought they could make a fortune by creating monsters and then killing them for gold. Then they realized that between research costs, and the cost of the firepower to actually kill the things, their profit margin would be actually fairly low."
"But it helps us. We'll get all the money we need just by doing what we're going to do anyway."
"True. Except now there will be a number of amateur glory-seekers trying to earn a quick buck by grabbing the gold, and they'll end up getting killed."
"Damn. I hadn't thought about that."
Phil chose this time to interrupt, by yelling towards the back from the driver's seat.
"Hey, we're coming up to a town. We should probably go stop for supplies."
He was right. The drive to Fletz, which lay on the western side of Serdio, from their town, right about in the middle, was long and would probably take several more days. They needed to buy food to last them to their next stop. It was getting late; this was their best stop, as there might not be another one for a while. Rayen and Shade nodded. Phil turned onto the nearest highway exit and onto the city streets.
"So, what do you say we go out to eat tonight?"
"I eat in solitude. Let's face it; I would attract a little too much attention."
Rayen considered that. Shade was pretty conspicuous just with his clothing, but he would have to remove the strips of cloth that served as a mask to shroud his mutated visage. That would cause too many questions that couldn't be answered. Plus, there might be some people on the abroad searching for him. Rayen nodded.
"Alright then, we'll go out. You can get the groceries. We'll make a list; you can add anything you want, I'm not sure what you eat."
"Fine. I will also see if I can relieve some of our financial difficulties as well."
"You mean hunting monsters? Can you find them?"
"Easily enough."
"OK then."
Phil dropped Shade off at the grocery store, and then he drove down the streets until they found a restaurant that looked good. They pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. Phil left his spear in the car, but Rayen took his sword and both pocketed their Dragoon Spirits, should trouble arise. They walked through the revolving doors and sat down until they were given a table.
Rayen noticed when sitting down that they were attracting a great deal of stares, the majority of which he was sure were not pleasant. The waitress, a girl who appeared to be about their age, came to their table, took their orders, and left. Rayen shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was sure now that a good deal of the other customers didn't want them around. He wondered if Phil noticed this, and he gave his friend a questioning look. Phil's face remained blank, however; he obviously hadn't noticed.
The waitress came back and gave them their food. She looked at them in a way Rayen couldn't decipher. He wondered if she shared the other customer's feelings. He decided to put it out of his mind. So they weren't universally popular. What else was new? They both dug into their food with a voracious appetite.
After dessert, Rayen suddenly felt extremely fatigued. He must have been more worn out than he thought. He had stayed up late last night. He always had trouble sleeping in a moving car. Without a second thought, Rayen laid his head on the table and fell asleep. Moments later, although he wasn't awake to see it, Phil fell asleep as well.
After the restaurant closed, and they were sure the drugged food had taken full effect, several of the local customers got up from their tables and dragged the two sleeping bodies into the back room of the kitchen.