When they had all gotten their weapons, they all left the weapon shop after signing a promissory note they all would come back to pay for the items they had bought.
"The first group has left already, so as the third." Marcus began to say when the trio had finally come back to meet them.
"We better set out soon before they take all the loot and we roll in debt." Ulysses said and the other nodded in acceptance of his words.
They all began to walk towards the direction of the academy's giant gates but before they could make it there, Ashton turned back to check what he had missed as he passed by that route. He looked up and he realized it was the hall they had had their welcoming rituals in.
*SIGH!*
He let out a frail sigh as he never could get tired of viewing the magnificent structure. The foreign letters that were inscribed on the pillars of the building were still there, glittering as always.
"I really hope I can read those words." Ashton said to himself.
"Of course you can!" Callista suddenly said to him and when he heard her voice, it felt like she was talking from inside his head as he could not see her anywhere near him.
"How?" Ashton asked as he began to walk, his gaze still fixated on the building and its foreign letters without his eyes on the path he was walking on.
"Say to it 'REVEAL' and you will be able to read the words." Callista instructed.
Without much hesitation, Ashton pronounced the word REVEAL. The system interface materialized before him again.
[Do you wish to translate and learn the commandment?]
[Yes] [No]
"What do I do next?" Ashton asked Callista.
"Touch it, dummy!" Callista snapped. If she really was a human at that moment, she would have probably kicked Ashton at that moment.
Ashton scoffed then touched the [Yes] display and the moment he did, he was thrown into a huge storm of surprise as the foreign letters began to condense into the letters he was familiar with. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he stood in his tracks to check the words out promptly.
He read;
"If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here I call for the endurance and faith of the saints."
The smile on his face flushed as he read those words off the pillar.
"What does it mean? The words are a little bit cruel are they not?" Ashton asked Callista with a small frown of confusion etching on his forehead.
"Well, it's not. You have learned the first commandment of the Almighty." Callista replied.
"Comma…"
Before Ashton could finish what he had wanted to say, a system interface materialized before him.
*DING!*
"Eh? Is this you, Callista?"
"Sort of."
*SKRIII*
[Congratulations! You have gained knowledge about the first commandment]
[You have received 10 points]
[Current point]
[Level: 10/100]
"What happens if I exceed 100 points?" Ashton asked as he turned away from the building and began to walk properly behind his group mates.
"You level up!"
"I see!"
._._._._._._._._._._._._._
After checking out of the academy's gate, the journey down to the Eastern part of the city was pretty much quite. The streets of the route they had passed through had been deserted and it seemed more like no single breathing soul had ever lived there.
Some building were eerily silent, some shops door were widely open and there were a lot of rubbish on the streets. A typical evidence that a disaster had happened there.
As they walked on, they were all in defensive positions as they did not know what might be lurking in the corners.
They journey to the Eastern part of the city has been calculated to be a full day's journey but since Ashton had wasted time for his group, they would be taking a break by nightfall and camp somewhere safe before they continued their journey as back up for the first team that were driven there to open the floor for attack.
Soon, night began to fall and Ashton was tired of walking already. Alden had served as a mess of support to him as he had pulled him up from sitting for long in a position to take rest sporadically.
"I…can't…go…any…further!" Ashton wailed aloud as he strained his legs to climb up the cliffy road they were walking on.
"You think we can rest everytime just because you're tired?" Damien fired as he turned around to face Ashton. "Who added him to this team anyway?"
"I think we should set up a camp here." Ulysses said as he looked around the environs to check if anything was strange about the place.
"You too?!" Damien exclaimed in surprise.
"Ulysses is right!" Marcus broke into their talk as he had finished surveying the area as well. "It looks like the mutants are yet to get to this part of the city which means it's safe to pass the night here."
Damien turned to look at Marcus. His expression was evident; he was surprised to see Marcus was also in support of what Ulysses had said.
"And what makes you think this area is safe huh?"
"Look around you, dummy! Can you see any signs of their attack here? Use your head for a minute!"
Damien finally shot a chance to look around and truly, that part of the city had probably escaped being attacked by the mutant even though no one was in that part.
Still, he was not going to falten his resolve. He wanted them all to acknowledge him as the group's leader and hence they must follow his command and his alone!
"What if it is safe?" Damien began to say his lips curling in an annoying snarl. "Do you think we have time to waste so these bloody slum pests can take a rest?"
"Shut your mouth, Damien!" Aurelia fired, releasing her folded arms from her chest. "If you're so tense about the mission, you can go your own way. We all leave by day break and that's final."
Again, Damine fumed at Aurelia's words but he could not attack her as the eyes of every one of them were etched into his skin. He looked at each of them and he found out no one was actually in support of his resolve.
"Go on, you can lead the way first!" Marcus said to Damien without a care in the world.
Damien clenched his fists and hissed irritatedly as he had no choice that eventually succumb to their final resolve. He knew if he set out on the journey alone, there is a high probability he would be attacked and defending himself against some number of mutants will be a tasky job for him.
When everyone had seen Damien was not moving an inch to leave, they all began to walk towards a deserted building that would serve as a resting harbor for them that night.
._._._._._._._._._._._._._
When they had all settled in, they created a small fire to warm themselves up and a small conversation ensued out of nowhere. It was Ashton who had started the conversation by asking a question.
"What crime did you guys commit to be sent to the MTA?"
Everyone except Jamil suddenly stopped whatever they had been doing and turned at Ashton with a dense look on their faces. Then someone bursted into a loud laughter and the others followed. Ashton looked at them awkwardly as their action had made him feel suddenly embarrassed.
"What's it? Did I say something funny?" He asked his eyes nervously darting around.
"Who told you we needed to commit a crime before we could get admitted into the MTA?" Alden asked in between laughs.
"Was that not the case? I had always thought high class criminals got into the academy really fast than those who possess elemental abilities from birth." Ashton laid out his genuine thoughts.
"Do you possess an elemental ability?" Ulysses asked.
Ashton scratched his hair and then replied, "I guess."
As he gave his reply again, Damine began to laugh uncontrollably again and everyone abruptly turned at him as they were irked to know why he was laughing at a word that had no joke in it. He finally stopped but he was still trying to regain himself well.
"You know one thing about elemental abilities, Ashton," he began to say, his lips curling up in a humorless snarl. "It chooses who may wield it and it does not suffer fools."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Do not mind his words, Ashton!" Aurelia said. "He's just a jerk! And for your question, we did not commit any crime before we got admitted into the academy. It was a special selection I guess."
After she had given Ashton a reply, she said again.
"It's probably going to be hard for us to fall asleep tonight."
"Ashton will be standing guard since he's the weakest amongst us!" Damien announced resting his back against a wall where he had sat as he was preparing to sleep. "If anyone had to die during an unprecedented raid, it should be him."
"Okay, Damien that's enough!" Alden, who had been quiet, warned throwing an ugly shot at Damien. The latter scoffed and adjusted himself to a better position.
"It's okay." Ashton chided. "I will stand guard."
"Before you do, why don't you tell us a story? Maybe we will fall asleep faster." Ulysses suggested before he let out a loud yawn.
Ashton refused but after much pestering from both Alden, Jamil, Ulysses and Aurelia, he finally agreed to tell a tale.
"Okay, fine! But this is not a story someone wrote…it is probably what will happen in the future or something."
"Eh?" Jamil shrugged.
"Yes, what I think will happen to us in the future. Okay, you all should listen."
He cleared his throat then began to say the words like he was reading a poem to them.
"The war is probably still raging over there,.....
[A/N: This is the letter from the beginning of the book so there is no need to re-write it here. If you want to refresh your stay for their night, you can check the letter in CHAPTER ONE again. This is where it happened…no one died everything is just Ashton's future assumptions]
*****o*****
When everyone had finally fallen asleep, Ashton gently stood up from their midst so as not to wake anyone up. He went outside the building and sat there to keep watch over night. As he sat there in the chilly night, he wiped a bead of tears that had plopped out of his eyes due to the chilly wind.
"I hope we all love to see a new world after this apocalypse!" Ashton muttered as he raised his gaze to the moon to tell her a silent wish of his.
"What did you wish for?" Marcus asked as soon as he had unfolded his wishing palm.
"Fuck!" Ashton shouted mildly as he was startled. "Why did you have to scare me like that?"
Marcus did not bother to give him a reply as he sat next to him. "You should go inside and take a rest. I will stand guard in your stead."
"Mind your business!" Ashton sneered looking away from Marcus.
They both remained silent as they looked into the prolonged darkness that was chased out by the glowing moon. After a while, Marcus heaved a sigh then began to say,
"Y-you can rest your head on my shoulder for a…"
Before he could finish his words, Ashton's head had fallen on his shoulder as he had been asleep for a while.
*SIGH!*
"You're just a normal teenager, Ashton…just like me!"