Renee stifled a laugh at her brother's speechlessness, and it was difficult to say no to Peaches, not when she is the most adorable one here. Even her smiles were contagious, and Renee knew she was right about her angelic personality. It made her curious to know more about Peaches' background, and unlike everyone else, she's more comfortable around Lysander and Robinson.
"Are you the Peaches who made that wonderful meal?" Cyrus couldn't help but ask, amusement clouding his green eyes, and Peaches nodded while returning to the counter, wiping the already neat place over and over again with a napkin.
"Did you like it? I can make you more!" She offered.
"If I get served food like that everyday then you can call me whatever you want." He said, earning a slight happy jump from Peaches who glanced at the indifferent Naya.
"See Naya? Their nicknames suit them all perfectly! When will you agree that I'm amazing with nicknames?"
"Maybe in my next life when there's a ten percent knowledge in my brain." Naya rolled her eyes and was back on her phone. Renee couldn't help but glance at Naya with interest, and she had to admit that she liked the fact that she wasn't all over her brother like the many women Cyrus has encountered in his life.
"Aren't there more?" Cyrus whispered to Renee, his gaze darting around as if he would spot more survivors. Being in the midst of other fellow humans was as appealing for her brother as she hoped it would be, and maybe if he met the rest, he would change his mind about leaving this place.
"Uhm, where are the rest?" Renee directed her question to Naya.
"If you're talking about Vincent and Eric, they're in the CCTV room." She answered, "they keep an eye on the cams in case there's a slip of monsters, we have to be ready for anything."
"A CCTV room? Can we see?" Renee requested, and Naya shrugged before rising from her table.
"Come with me."
Once again, they were led through a different hallway, but they didn't go that far before Naya stopped in front of a brown wooden door. She opened it, and just as she said, the boys were in there.
Naya led them into the private room that was bathed in the soft glow of multiple monitors, and Renee feasted her eyes on the security cams. The air hummed with the steady whir of electronic equipment, and the walls were adorned with an array of surveillance screens, each displaying a different perspective of the besieged building.
The room itself was functional, with a central console hosting a network of control, blinking lights, and digital maps showing strategic points within the area.
"You boys seem busy." Naya came to stand in-between the two focused men who acknowledged her presence, but their gaze was concentrated on the screen.
"The monsters, I don't know if they keep increasing or decreasing with each day. It's like watching a horror movie." Eric began, zooming in at the gate to show them what he was talking about.
Renee and Cyrus equally took a peek, and a nightmarish scene unfolded. A horde of mutated monsters, all grotesque and frenzied, threw themselves aggressively at the formidable gate, but the gate stood tall and imposing, barely cracking despite the relentless assault it was currently facing.
Each impact resonated with desperation, as if the creatures were driven by an insatiable desire to breach the defense. They clawed and pounded in a frenetic attempt, and despite placing the audio on mute, Renee could hear their screech and screams from just watching them alone.
She looked away when one of the bigger monsters tore apart a fellow small one and flung the body elsewhere so it could take its turn.
"Damn.. how strong is that gate?" Cyrus inquired.
"The gates are constructed with heavy duty steels, and other strong materials, it's mostly designed to withstand force, which makes it the best gate to hold off these monsters until evacuation." Vincent answered, "there are some microscopic, self-repairing nanobots that monitor the gate's damage and instantly repairs them without human assistance."
"Wait, you mean the Quantum alloy?" Cyrus guessed, and Vincent nodded, quite surprised he knew the name.
"How did–"
"I work for one of the tech-companies, we were briefed on this, I never knew it was launched already."
"Woah! Dude, you worked there?!" Vincent and Eric immediately turned their attention to Cyrus, "I heard every tech-company in the state is responsible for the best weaponry design and all that amazing stuff, including the Quantum alloy."
"Well yes but I just started working there a couple of months back," Cyrus explained before they got way too ahead of themselves, "my level hasn't reached that peak yet."
While Cyrus was once again getting carried away with all the tech-instruments, Renee glanced at the slightly opened door just in time to see Lysander pass by.
Excusing herself, she immediately stepped out to speak with him, running after him so she could catch up with him.
"Master Zander." She called, and he halted at the sound of his name. Renee stood in front of him, nearly out of breath from all the sprinting she did just so she could catch up to him.
"Can I have a word please, master Zander?"
"It's Lysander." He corrected, insisting she dropped the formalities.
He was looking down at her, confusion etched on his face. After steadying her breath, Renee met his gaze and requested politely.
"Can Cyrus and I be a part of your guild?" She asked, hopefully, but his response was the same.
"No."
"But I can be of help, and my brother is fantastic with technology! I want.. to stay here, with everyone."
"And I said no, you can't be here." His tone was firm, there was no changing his mind, and before Renee could try once more, he was walking past her, as if saying the conversation was over.
"Fine then," Renee said to him, balling her fist at her side. "I'll just speak to the leader of the guild instead. If you won't take advantage of our presence, I'll make him accept us."
And he halted.