The lobby was now bustling with people with bags and cases full of their belongings they were running out into the street to try and go to the town hall as this was what you were supposed to do in the event of chaos. They were all shouting in confusion as they whacked the steering wheels of their cars "What the fuck is going on? Why won't you start you stupid prick?" one man shouted at the top of his lungs whilst his wife and son packed the boot with their cases. A blue window had appeared in front of the man it said
'Certain types of technology have been restricted by the system. Use of technology: [CAR] has been forbidden by the Creator.' I looked at the window in contemplation as I walked past the man, 'that explains why the Swat teams didn't have any guns they must be forbidden as well' I thought to myself.
I walked for about ten minutes and then turned onto a side street. At the end of the street was a large concrete building that said 'Foster Home' in big bold letters above the door. I looked towards the front door only to see two thugs attacking Oscar and Mike as they fought with swords and spears. I activated Ultimate Stealth then snuck towards the back of the bigger one which was engaged in battle with Mike. He was holding his own but the thug was stronger and had the advantage, I activated Triple Burst then stabbed the thug through his chest. Everyone stared at the blade sticking through the man's chest in surprise before it pulled it self back out and flew towards the other thug's head. He turned to see the blade but it was too late to do anything and his last sight was the hilt of the blade in front of his eyes. Both thug's evaporated into a cloud of smoke and headed towards the three people left standing.
[You have levelled up!]
" Wassup boys? Sorry for the kill steal but I'm a little short on time." I said with a big smile on my face as I went to pick up my dagger from off of the ground. "Zeke? Is that you? I couldn't tell with the new hair. It looks good bro." Oscar said while giving me a fist bump as he walked over. "Hey Mike, you good?" I called over to him as he was staring at a blue screen that appeared in front of him. "Yeah I'm great, I just levelled up!" he said as he grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled me in for a man hug. "This is pretty sick hey? Now we can fight monsters for a living just like you!" he continued with a big smile on his face.
Mike had always been pretty jealous of me and my streaming channel as his only had 5 million subs whereas mine was 10 times that amount, he saw this new world as a chance to level the playing field and gain more followers. "Hey Zeke how's it hangin?" came a voice from inside the building. I looked past Mike's smiling face to see Cole walking out of the door towards us. He had dyed his hair bright red but other than that they all looked exactly the same. "Hey bro" I said as he arrived near me giving me a fist bump as he did.
We walked into the home to see the faces of the other 14 people in the home, including the sergeant stood at the bottom of the large staircase. We stopped chatting and fell into formation as we saw him waiting, he smiled at us "At ease" he said and we relaxed a little. "Ezekiel" he said and I stepped forward out of the formation and said back "Yes Sergeant" he looked at me for a second then continued "Do you have any information on the state of society at the moment?". "Yes Sergeant" I replied without moving as he didn't say I could "Okay follow me to my study and file your verbal report. The rest of you are to stand guard to make sure nothing else happens, dismissed." he said before turning his back and heading towards the office "Yes Sergeant" the entire room replied then filed out, I followed him with his wife Sheila following close behind.
"Darling you may leave us now I will talk to you later." the sergeant said whilst smiling at his wife who had entered the room behind me, she smiled and left closing the door behind her. "Report" he said before sitting in his chair, I started telling him about the levelling system, the thugs, the store, and the apartment building and how I recomend we go there as it is a good defedable position and it was in closer proximity to the store.
I finished my report and stood in silence as the sergeant mulled over my words before coming to a decision. "I will take your advice Ezekiel. Go and tell everyone to get ready we're moving out at 2100, your dismissed." he said before standing up and grabbing a suitcase from under his desk to start filling. "Permission to speak freely Sergeant?" I asked still routed to the spot "Permission granted" he said before looking back at me. "You won't need the suitcase Sir as we all have our own inventory space. You only need to concentrate and say 'Inventory' to activate it Sir." I said watching the sergeant as he tried out the new feature. "Thank you Ezekiel, you are dismissed." I walked out through the office door closing it behind me.
I walked to the front hallway then shouted so that everyone in and out of the home could hear me "ATTENTION!" All of the children came rushing into formation when they heard my call. "I have orders from the Sergeant to give so listen carefully. We are to pack away all of our things and move to a more secure location. I will show you all how to use the inventory function of the system now so pay close attention." I then demonstrated how to use the inventory function before continuing "You will take all of your belongings as we are not coming back be ready here by 2100 to move out, you are dismissed" "Yes Sir" I finished giving orders then went to grab my things as everyone filed up the stairs.
I was the oldest in the home so I often gave orders to the other children from the Sergeant and I would perform routine checks through the rooms to make sure everyone was in line. I would actually turn 18 about a week and a half from now, meaning I would leave the foster home to live on my own.