Fractured Worlds (Worlds Away #1)

Brela Chapter 14: New Weapons

"You are all good," Dr. Jelen, or Magda as she had told me to call her, said, stepping away from me. "Besides some minor scratches and a few bruises, you're fine."

"That's a relief," I muttered, pulling my jacket back on.

"To be honest, you two were very lucky. That fall could have ended much worse," Cheryl, who had returned not long ago, said, giving Justin the all clear as well.

"Thanks to Justin, it didn't," I said.

Justin let out a grumble as he stood off the bed, something about being tired. Magda sighed. The leader of the medical unit turned to a nearby cupboard and pulled a bottle from it. She tossed it to Justin.

"Take one of those; it'll help you recover from the fatigue," she said. "They're for extensive mental exhaustion only, nothing else."
Justin nodded, opening the cap and popping one into his mouth. He downed the bottle of water Cheryl passed to him.
"Oh, and Brela," Magda said, looking up from the note she was writing, replacing her pen in her lab coat's pocket. "Wayne called and said he had something for you."

"Did he say what?" I asked. I hadn't asked him for anything, let alone seen him recently.

"No, just that it's ready to pick up."

"Hmm." I had no idea what it could be about. "Guess I shouldn't keep him waiting. Thank you."

"No problem." Magda gave me a quick smile before she filed away her note. Justin and I moved to the door. "And Justin." My trainer stopped and turned to look at Magda, the filing cabinet banging shut. "Take the rest of the day off, doctor's orders."

"I was hoping you would say that," Justin said, looking relieved to have a break. With that we left.

"What are you going to do for the rest of the day?" I asked my trainer as we turned down the hall.

"There are a few translations that I need to do, and I could touch up on some of my lore," Justin said. "You?"

"After I see Wayne, I'll probably head to the gyms and do some training in the simulation room, if it's open. Maybe do some parkour or work on my endurance; we'll see." I shrugged.

"Any idea what Wayne has for you?" Justin asked. We paused at the hallway that led to the private quarters. The crowd in the main room was as busy as always. More than once I wished there was a back way into the science unit's section. I hated having to go through a crowd.

"None. My first thought was a sword upgrade, but I doubt it. And I hope not; I like these guys." My hand rested on my compacted blades.

"I can tell," Justin smirked. I gave him a smile of my own.

The growing sound of rapid footfalls had Justin and I dashing to the wall. Gryph ran past us, calling out apologies as he sprinted through the crowd and towards Mae's office. Mae and Edoline stood near the large office window, chatting, oblivious to the approaching leader of the security unit.

"What's that about?" I asked, leaning around Justin to watch Gryph run off.

Justin shrugged. "It can't be that big of a problem if the alarm wasn't raised."

"Fair." We both fell silent. "Well, Wayne's going to be waiting for me. I better get going. I'll see you later then."

"I might join you in the training rooms, if that's okay."

"Yeah, for sure. A sparring partner would be nice."

"That's the plan then." Justin gave me a quick smile, then turned to go to his room. I went my own way, heading through the crowd and towards the science unit's section.

Looking just like the first time I had been here, the shelved room that Wayne called his workspace was a mess. It was cluttered, even more junk filling the shelves and covering work desks. I had no clue how Wayne knew where everything was, or why he kept half the stuff he did in the first place.

"Wayne," I greeted, seeing the inventor hunched over his desk. He didn't answer. "Wayne," I called again. I let out a grumble. "Wayne!" I yelled.

The inventor jumped at my voice, juggling his tool before setting it on his desk. Breathing a little hard at being scared, Wayne pulled out his music, setting it on his desk too.

"Geez, don't sneak up on me like that," he scolded, looking at me. "You could have given me a heart attack."

"I called your name three times before you answered," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I was on a roll," Wayne sighed. "Well, either way, what can I do for you? Did you finally convince Justin to use one of my swords?" A mischievous smile bloomed on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure Justin's response would be something along the lines of "in your dreams". No, I'm here because Magda said you had something for me?"

"Oh, right." Wayne's expression lit up. "One moment please." He darted off, heading to the cluttered shelves behind him. I waited patiently, moving closer to his desk. I looked around as I waited, trying to figure out what some of the shelved items were.
"Okay, here we are." I placed a small staff of some sort back on the shelf and turned to face Wayne as he returned. "Edoline placed this order for you."

Wayne handed me a drawstring bag. It had some weight to it and jingled when I took it from the inventor. I opened the back and pulled out a metal ring. It was a simple silver band, nothing more. Eight more were in the bag.

"What is this?" I asked.

"A compact throwing daggers. They're made from the same technology as your swords. All you have to do is spin the band to extend the dagger and flick your wrist to compact it once again. They'll also attach to your belt like your swords do."

I spun the band of metal, watching as a hilt and blade extended. I held the now extended dagger in my hand, holding it the way Edoline had taught me. I did a few swings, feeling the weight and resistance. It was a nice blade, possibly nicer than Edoline's.
"So, you've been training with these?" Wayne asked.

"Edoline's, yeah," I said, still looking at the dagger.

"She said that you needed some of your own—"

"Since it's easier to get the enemy if you have a longer range," I finished, quoting the vivifica. Wayne nodded his head.

I flicked my wrist, closing the dagger up before sliding it onto my finger. Another thing Edoline had taught me was to hide weapons whenever possible, and with this only looking like a ring it would be the perfect disguise.

"Thank you, Wayne. These will be perfect," I said as I began to attach the rings to my belt. Once arranged, they looked like any other decoration on a belt, blending in perfectly.

"No problem," Wayne said, smiling. "I always love the challenge."

"I can tell."

Rapid footsteps had me turning around in time to see Edoline burst into the lab.

"Wayne, with me. Now," Edoline commanded. She looked ready to run at any time, and there was an urgency in her eyes that I hadn't seen from her before.

"What happened?" Wayne asked, hurriedly grabbing a tool bag from under his desk. All the cheerfulness had vanished, a rare moment of seriousness taking priority.

"A half-eternal beat the jump restricting cells."

"How is that even possible?" I demanded.

"That is what we are hoping to find out," Edoline said.

Wayne slung the bag over his shoulder, before taking off after Edoline. I followed, not knowing if I was needed. Either way, I wanted to know just how this half-eternal had escaped. And who?