"Hey, Julian!" Veind exclaimed, slapping Julian's back. At the time, Julian was doing his best to stay awake while working. The sudden hit in the back gave him energy, but it quickly dissipated.
"What the hell was that for?!" Julian whined, rubbing his eyes. His eyebags were deep and his eyes were squinted.
"Check this out. Contraband!" Veind smiled as she pulled something out of her shirt. It was shaped like a cube and colorful.
"Is this a... 6 by 6 Rubik's cube?" Julian asked. It looked similar to the one he had at home, though the colors were different. Lots of questions washed through his head. There were other people that came to this world?
"Rubik's cube? You mean a color block?" Veind responded, with a curious look on her face. All of Julian's worries were gone, as it seemed like this was a commonly used toy.
"I've never solved one of these things before."
Julian wasn't lying. Back on earth, he never had any toys. He was skilled at a few things that required high intelligence, but he was never really interested in them. They were things that his parents forced him to do. He eventually pulled out of all those activities when the competition got too easy.
"Come on, try it!" Veind suggested, patting Julian's back again. It was less aggressive and a lot more kinder.
Julian sighed and picked it up. He didn't get any sleep at all and his brain was not in a good state. But, he decided to give it a try.
"I'll be surprised if you solve this. My friend Ailen hasn't even been able to solve a 4 by 4-"
"Finished."
"Eh..!?"
Julian threw the Rubik's cube into the air and Veind caught it. Her jaw dropped in awe.
"You're perfect for the team!"
"Team? What... team?"
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"Ah, it's you!" Ailen exclaimed as he saw Julian enter the room. Inside the room, Julian, Ailen, Oscar, and Veind were all there.
"Hm? Ah, it's him. Veind, how will this guy be able to help us in our escape?" Oscar asked, a little disappointed.
"Guys! No worries! He has the brains."
"If you really have the brains, then make a plan for us, Julian!" Ailen asked, aggressively. Oscar and Ailen moved closer toward Julian, sending him closer and closer to the wall.
"Y-you can't just put me on the spot like this!" Julian responded nervously. His palms started to become sweaty.
"That's exactly what we're doing. So hurry up!" Ailen's arm moved to grab Julian's collar but grabbed his forehead.
"Chop chop! We don't have all day!" Ailen whined.
"Okay, okay! Just let me go!"
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"It'll take a few weeks, but I'm sure my plan will work. You three have to become influential across this whole slave community."
"Eh? I'm the best speaker! Veind is too aggressive, and Oscar is too calm. How can we possibly rile them up?"
"Oscar is strong and attractive, while Veind is enthusiastic and explosive. It's perfect. You're... you can speak... well."
"What!? You're downplaying me! I'm pretty cute, right? I can rile up the ladies!" Ailen whined, annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah. You'll be known as Oscar's sidekick, for now. So stop whining."
"So Julian, what's your role going to be, in this whole ordeal?" Oscar asked.
"I'm just the planner. The smartest of the bunch."
"Alright, Julian. We're trusting you, so don't betray us!" Veind said.
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Julian barely managed to walk. He had gotten so tired and he didn't get any sleep during his break time.
"You look pretty tired. What's your name?" a person tapped Julian's shoulder, asking. Julian turned around.
It was a girl. She looked around 15 or 16. She had pale skin that seemed almost sickly, with dark purple eyes that seemed to look straight through Julian.
Her hair was long and blonde. It was a pale type of blonde, close to white, but you could still see that tint of yellow in her hair. Her bangs fell to her eyes, covering her purple eyes.
When she smiled, fangs were visible. A vampire?
"O-Oh, I'm Julian!" Julian stuttered. He was flustered, captivated by her beauty. You couldn't really blame him. He was a 13-year-old boy, after all.
She looked about 170 cm, which means she was slightly taller than Julian.
"I'm Elyse. It's nice to meet you."
"Are you... a vampire?" Julian asked, with a bit of fear in his voice. He felt that his blood was soon to be drained.
"A vampire? What the hell is that? I'm a Conele, can't you tell by my fangs?" she flashed her teeth to Julian one more time.
"Oh... I see."
"That... Oscar guy, he's doing work for everyone else. Isn't he quite inspiring?" Elyse said, looking at Oscar. Julian looked at Oscar with her.
"He already started!? I expected him to start a lot later!" Julian said, surprised.
"Ah, right. I remembered why I came to you. You seemed the easiest- I mean, the nicest. So can I ask you a favor?" she said. In the middle of her sentence, she quickly changed the word she wanted to use.
"Sure, sure!" Julian replied, happy to help.
"You see, the food here doesn't have much nutritional value... But I can smell it from you. A single drop of your blood could give me a week's worth of energy!"
"You're a vampire!?" Julian asked, with his fear coming back.
"I'm a Conele! We can drink blood, don't you know? Can't you tell by my fangs?"
"Oh. So what do you want from me, then?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you? You're blood! I want it!"
"Why would I give it to you...?"
"What?" Elyse expected Julian to easily give in, so she was a bit shocked.
"Go ask someone else."
"Y-You're so mean! Come on!"
"I barely know you, lady. Even if I did, I'm not gonna give my blood away so easily like that. You're pretty, but you're just some... girl."
"I'm pretty? Thanks! But, come on, Julian. Don't you have any kindness in your heart?" she pouted.
"Nope. Get out of here."
"Ah, fine! Whatever!"