Knock knock.
A male cadet who is tying his pale-yellow hair in ponytail turns to the door. His glasses glimmering in suspicion. "Hm? Could it be?"
The team's leader, whose hair is dark blue, was sitting on the table right across the door. His grey eyes are expressionless. "Gwen. Get up."
His voice is deep and cold.
A female cadet who is lying down on the sofa gets up. Her purple locks falling down her back as her black eyes saunter sleepily to the door. "Who the hell could it be…?"
The pale blonde brings his index finger to his lips, a sign to be quiet. His dark eyes glance at the blue haired guy, waiting for the signal. When the blue haired cadet nods, he goes to the door.
When the door opens, a group of people is revealed. There are two swordsman cadet in front of the door, one brunette with hazel eyes and one redhead with blue eyes.
The leader's grey eyes instantly focuses on the redhead's blue. They are staring intensely although the blue ones remain unperturbed.
"Team Rufus. Captain told us to join you." The brunette swordsman said. His voice is clear.
Rufus, the blue haired cadet, spends two more seconds glaring at the redhead before his eyes turns crescent and he smiles. "Welcome!"
The cadets shiver. It's because the cadets here know who he is, and they know that he's making his voice is unnaturally sweet. And it's disturbing.
The only ones unaffected were the redhead and the civilians.
"Thanks." The brunette swordsman urges the others to enter the pantry first.
The four-eyed closes the door after the brunette got in.
"You're very lucky to have survived! We barely make it by ourselves here. Please, sit down…" Rufus jumps down from the table and offer the civilians seat.
The civilians are delighted by his behavior, oblivious to the nervousness of the cadets who came with them.
As the civilians take all the seats, the senior cadets sit on the floor to rest. The male worker puts the cadet he was bringing on the sofa, beside the purple haired cadet.
"Oh, you're injured too?" The purple haired cadet looked concerned.
But the female cadet who had just been put down beside her could see behind her mask. "A-Ah yes…" The female cadet nods uncomfortably.
The four-eyed blonde pass the new visitors a water bottle each. The civilians thank him, while the cadets just immediately take a sip.
Then static sounds echo from their Arrows. It always happens whenever there's a call from the Base.
"Team Jake and Team Rufus. I see you all in the 18th floor's pantry. Identify each other." The Captain's voice spoke through.
The brunette holding a bat speaks to his Arrow. "This is Jake. We've met each other. 4th year cadets are Patrick, Arvena, and me. The 3rd years are Rean, Rufus, uh…" He turns to the other two.
"Pierce and Guinevere." Rufus answered for them.
"The 3rd years are Rean, Rufus, Pierce and Guinevere. Over." Jake put his bat on the floor and take a sip.
"Good. Cadet Rean, how's the status of everyone?" The Captain asked.
Rufus makes a 'tsk' sound and narrows his eyes at Rean, the redhead. 'Why is he the one asked?'
Rean takes a quick look on everyone in the room before he replies. "On our side, Senior Arvena is still recovering and the civilians are fine. On Team Rufus's side, no one seems hurt."
"Do any of you in Team Jake have any potions left?" Captain asked.
"I do." Rean immediately said.
"Patrick and I too." Jake said.
"I'm out, Cap." Arvena said.
"Check on Cadet Guinevere and give her one. She was injured." Captain said.
"I will." Rean acts quickly because it's the Captain's order. He closes the mic and walks over to the sofa.
Rufus immediately stands in his way. "Give me the potion. I'll give it to her."
Rean glances at him. "Captain wants her to be checked—"
"I'm her team leader. She's my responsibility." Rufus replied coldly, venom dripping in his voice. He's also staring at Rean intently, like a hawk observing his prey.
Rean doesn't budge, nor he's affected by the gaze at all. He doesn't think it's a wrong thing to check up on someone else for some wounds. Besides, it's the Captain's orders and it's procedure to always look out for one another.
But Rean knows that Rufus never backs down from him. Not about anything. He always tries to do better than him. He's the person who always wants to be one step ahead. He wants to be first. All the time.
'But he was here before me. He was first. And yet the Captain asked us to check on her. He's not doing any better.' Rean could only think as he walks past Rufus.
Rufus glares at his action. 'This guy!'
'Always like this.' Rean sighs inwardly as he walks.
But as he looks at the sofa, Jake is already there with his big blue potion bottle in hand. It's not open though, and Guinevere, the purple haired female cadet, is shaking her head lightly in refusal.
"I've drunk my potion. It's just taking effect." Guinevere said nervously.
"How were you injured?" Jake is looking at her curiously.
"Umm…" She glances at her blonde teammate, her eyes clearly screaming for help.
Jake turns to the one she's staring, and asks. "Pierce, how was she injured?"
The four-eyed answers calmly. "A terrorist pushes her a few times onto the wall. She said her head hurts so much."
"Probably concussion." Patrick said. "That's why she looks alright."
"Y-Yes…" Guinevere nods meekly.
"Ah, then, still, it's better to drink potion. Here, I have a small bottle if you don't like High Potion." Jake fishes a small bottle of red liquid, a small Potion, from his pants pocket and gives it to her.
"A-Ah, thank you." Guinevere is startled by the gesture.
Rean smiles thinly. 'But seniors are faster than us.'
Rufus is looking at this scene in slight anger. 'How dare they act as if I'm not here?!'
Surely, no one understands what he's fussing about. His teammate is getting treated, he should be grateful but he's angry instead.
The cadets are trying to act normally, like this is just an everyday behavior between all of them, even though each group isn't comfortable with the other. Rufus isn't on good terms with Rean but he cannot be a bully because three seniors are here, while the seniors aren't really fond of him or his two teammates at all. Rean? Well, he's always calm whenever. That's his talent and charm, which infuriates Rufus more.
Thankfully, the civilians don't seem to think much of it because they can be a bit relaxed here after all those terrors happening in the morning. There are many cadets around, so they're less worried.
There are static noises again and the Captain said. "I hope Guinevere can stand up after this because there is something all of you have to do."
There is urgency in her voice.
"Is there something wrong, Nat?" Patrick asked.
"Backups will come in half an hour, so you have to leave the floor and meet them then."
Everyone in the room finds it confusing. And Rufus is the first one to ask. "It's in half an hour. We can just rest for fifteen more minutes."
This time, everyone except for Pierce and Guinevere look at him in confusion.
"B-But aren't there monsters…" One of the female civilians nervously asked.
Rufus's team looked surprised. "Monsters…?"
"You didn't know about the monsters?" Arvena asked Guinever beside her.
Guinevere shakes her head. "N-No. What monsters? Aren't we only fighting terrorists?"
Arvena doesn't even hide her bewilderment on their obliviousness.
"I-It can't be… The Base informed us all about it." Arvena seems to be assuring herself rather than telling her junior beside her.
Guinevere and Pierce look at each other in concern before they look at their leader, who instantly asks the Captain. "What's this monster we're hearing from the others, Cap'n?"
There's a pause from the other line. Then the Captain said. "You skipped the notification. There are hordes of monsters coming up the building."
That is when the three got more surprised.
Rean immediately asked right away. "Exactly, there are monsters. How are we going to meet the backups?"
"Go to the roof and—" The Captain pauses, then she asked. "What happened?"
The others in the room are silent. The cadets in the room kind of understands that she wasn't asking them. But what she said after that made them restless.
"This is an emergency. Leave the floor and go straight to the roof." The Captain said. The urgency in her voice is clearer this time.
"What happ—"
"NOW!"
Jake immediately takes Arvena in a piggyback ride and all of them swarm out of the room.
"Mind your steps." Patrick reminded all of them.
As they make their way to the emergency stairs, they hear it. There are more noises now compared to the previously silent floor. When they get to the emergency stairs, they see the problem. There are Direwolves coming out from the 16th floor's emergency hallway. There are only two that's lingering right on the flooring outside of the door, on the spot where they were looking over the railing.
"They're following our scent." Rean concluded. That's the only reason that they found another way besides the normal stairs, because after all, Direwolves are still dog-breed and their noses are sensitive to smells.
Rufus growls and takes Rean by the collar. "You lead them here!"
"Shh!! Rufus! You'll attract them more with your voice!" Guinevere tries pulling him away.
"She's right. We need to run now." Pierce said.
Rufus glares intensely at Rean and his hold does not lessen. He was trying his best to hold his anger with the redhead's existence near him. But hearing him talk makes him disgusted and angry.
At the same time, a static noise appears from Rean's Arrow. "Cadet Rean. I'm giving you direct order."
The redhead answers it immediately, completely ignoring Rufus. "This is Rean."
This only adds fuel to Rufus's fiery gaze.
"Go to 21st floor and help Cadet Terrence. Heads up, Direwolves have reached the invaded the floor. Hurry."
The other line ended.
"Why… Why is she ordering you directly?" Rufus asked.
"Because I can work with him." –is Rean's only answer before he releases himself from Rufus's hold.
Rean doesn't even bat eyelashes as he unsheathed his sword and runs back inside the 18th floor's hallway.
Rufus can only watch his back as he disappears behind the closed emergency doors.
"Rufus, let's go!"
"Come on! We have to hurry! They're going up!"
The seniors and the civilians had already gone first, only his teammates are left waiting for him.
'I hate you.' Rufus curses under his breath. But he understands the situation, so he takes out his own sword.
"Go."
The two instantly run up the stairs at his signal, and he follows them from behind.
'It's alright. I'll take his existing points by getting their gratitude for him.' Rufus smirks as he watches the seniors and civilians.
A strategy he's constructing as he's climbing those stairs… Will he be able to do it?