Rory waited outside the school for Asher to come out. Part of her wanted to thank him for stopping the bullies, whether it was intentional or not. But Asher was taken to the Dean's office, as well as the other 3 who were caught up in the fight.
A moment earlier, Terence and his friends were let out. All of them had pink slips in their hands, and Rory knew what it meant. A pink slip meant that all students who lived on campus would have to do penalty University service for the next month. A punishment that they very well deserved.
Rory waited some more nervously while glancing at the large digital clock on the tall building in front of her. It was about 6 PM. She knew she had to get ready to go to the train, but she was afraid Asher would be expelled and that she would never have the chance to speak with him.
Her fears almost erupted when the doors opened, and the Dean with Asher walked out having a deep conversation with each other. Asher was disregarding whatever Dean Risor had to say, and Rory thought it was strange. They were communicating as if they knew each other. Rory decided to put that feeling past her.
Asher kept his eyes ahead and was just about to pass her, but Rory stepped in front of him to block his way. She noticed that there was a dark mark circling his eye. While he was fighting with Terence and his friends, they gave him a black eye. Rory sighed before speaking.
"I um... I just wanted to say... thank you."
"What?" Asher raised an eyebrow, perplexed at her words. "What are you thanking me for?"
"You... well... you helped me get out of a heated situation. If you hadn't stepped in, Terence's friends would've probably hurt me."
"I didn't just step in. Felt like I was caught up in whatever you have going on."
"I'm sorry."
Asher brushed his hair back and looked at the clock. Rory felt like he was looking at the time to hurry somewhere. He didn't seem to care about her apology. "Get out of my way." Asher nudged her aside softly, and Rory let a slight gasp escape her. As Asher strolled away from her, the warm feeling returned to Rory's chest.
She was able to identify it now. Something about Asher was different. He was an Astellian, and he may have come across as rude, but he wasn't a jerk to her off the bat. Not quite. Of course, he was odd and didn't talk much. But he was the first Astellian so far that didn't threaten to beat her or talk bad about her family.
Rory pulled her bag over her shoulder and speed walked to the border train.
~
"Did you get into a fight?" Amir asked Decha as he sat on the bench in the locker rooms. Decha took a shower and was getting ready for their night watch. His hair was still a bit wet and stuck to his skin, while droplets glazed down his muscular abdomen.
"Yeah, I was punched a bit. I handled it properly though. The other guys lost a tooth." Decha placed a towel over his head and began drying his head.
"Geez! This is the first time I've seen you with a black eye." Amir poked Decha in his cheek, and Decha smacked his hand away. "What did you do to get into a fight?"
"A fool threw some pasta at me while I was in the dining hall."
"He through pasta at you? How insulting! How dare he defile you like that? Especially a general."
"The students don't know my real identity. Risor knows me, though."
"That's right." Amir hissed. "I forgot about the whole undercover thing. Have you been able to find out if there's any suspicious activity?"
"There was a protest outside the school. I didn't catch anyone acting weird. I'm thinking I'm going to have to find out who all the Bracket students are and watch every one of them closely. That's if your theory is true."
"Believe me, I have a strong feeling that the Brackets have something to do with this!"
"I feel that the bombings are done by someone organized, but I'm still not sure if the Brackets are the place to look. Where would they get the resources to blow up an entire city square?"
"I've been telling the Agency we need to enforce strict laws against those who live by the border. Some Bracketers live in Astell. And I heard from other Agents that smuggling weapons happen fairly often."
"So the Bracketers are smuggling weapons to the ones who live in Astell? It makes sense. But before we have the Agency petition the council about strict rules, we should investigate. Suit up. We can start questioning those who live near the border train tonight." Decha unwrapped his towel and began putting on his clothes.
Amir eased off the lockers and began placing his gear on.
"Why didn't I see you at the school today?" Decha placed a top over himself and covered his bare chest.
"I was there. Camping out in the front."
"We're supposed to go undercover together. This means you have to immerse yourself within the crowd, Amir. Blend in."
"To be honest, I chickened out. Risor was never fond of me. I graduated only because I was good at fighting. Packing a punch helps with grades."
"Risor made you into a General."
"You wouldn't understand. You were just a kid when we graduated." Amir huffed. Decha was only 14 when he was enrolled as a freshman at Grandell, but Amir at the time was 19 and going through that phase where he thought he could do anything because he was an adult.
Grandell had strict rules that Amir felt like he couldn't follow. And because of that, he was called to the Dean's office more than the number of fingers he had. Fortunately, he was offered to attend the General's training program. It allowed him to graduate with Decha.
"Whatever." Decha tossed a cap and mask to Amir. "Let's go—" Before Decha could finish his sentence, he felt the entire room shake rapidly. The lights began to flicker and the lockers began to rumble.
"Earthquake!" Amir hollered and covered his head as the ceiling panels began to fall.
"Crap!" Decha threw himself against the wall and covered his head. After a bit, the building stopped and the two men glanced at each other. "What the heck?"
"What in the world—" Amir started but was cut short when he heard a roar of groaning coming from outside the locker room. Many agents were running around rapidly as they tried to process the event.
"A bomb!" One shouted.
"A bomb?" Amir blinked. Both he and Decha, and were on high alert.
"A bomb just went off across the Agency!"
"What are we standing here for?! We've gotta go after the culprit!" Amir tapped Decha's shoulder. The two men ran out of the tall building and saw a mass of rubble outside. There were bodies on the ground, others hugging on to each other on the sidelines.
Decha ran up to one woman who was laying flat on her stomach. Blood ran down her face as Decha placed his fingers against her neck. There was no movement or pulse. He glanced at Amir and shook his head with a dreadful frown. "She's dead."
"Someone help my baby!" A woman who was buried under a pile of bricks screamed at the top of her lungs. A few citizens were helping to remove the pile off of her, and a little blonde boy was revealed. His eyes were open, but blood was all over his head. He was unconscious. "Help my son!"
Amir rushed over and took the little boy in his arms before doing chest compressions on the child. The boy was still alive, but he wasn't breathing. "Go grab a med kit!" Amir shouted at a nearby general who was lingering over him.
"Yes sir!"
"Decha! Can you assess her injuries?"
Decha came forward and stepped over different bodies to help the woman. "Are you okay?"
"My leg!" She cried. "I can't move my leg!"
"Okay, hold on." He lifted her arm over his shoulder and scooped the woman up suddenly. She screeched and howled in pain. There was a slight buldge in her calf. "Your leg is broken, I'll put you down and we'll call an ambulance to get you to a hospital," Decha stated.
"The boy is breathing again!" Amir huffed in relief and wiped his face.
"My son! My boy!" The woman took her son, who was in shock from the explosion, and hugged him close. She kissed his face and began to cry. The wails of many people buried under minerals rang through the air. Many agents came running out of the Agency, helping in any way they could.
The sight was completely heart-wrenching. Amir felt like he had to puke. There were so many people trapped under the bricks. So many women and children were dead outside after being crushed by a falling stone.
Decha spotted a person dressed in a dark hoodie walking away from the screams. A normal citizen wouldn't think much of it, but Decha suspected him to be the culprit. There was a large black bag that he was carrying close. Not only that, but the person hidden was eyeing his surroundings cautiously.
"Amir, follow me," Decha commanded and began walking in the opposite direction.
"Wait! What?" Amir stood. "Shouldn't we attend to the people?"
"I'm asking you," Decha gestured at the suspicious being.
"Oh. I get you." Amir understood immediately. The two speed-walked over to the mysterious figure, who caught on quickly and began to run. Decha groaned as he hated to chase people and began to sprint. Amir was faster and tackled the hooded man. They both hit the road with a loud smack sound.
The bag he was carrying flew out of his hands and skidded over near Decha's feet.
"Roll him over."
Amir turned the man over, and before he could think, Amir's hand was pulled towards the man's mouth. He bit Amir, who responded by punching him. "You filthy little—!"
Decha knocked the man to the ground by pressing his foot on his back. Amir crouched and yanked the hoodie off. A darker tan-skinned man with black straight hair cursed. "A Bracketer." Amir pointed at the symbol tattooed on his face.
"Let me go! I didn't do anything!"
"Then why did you run?" Decha snapped and picked up the bag before unzipping it.
"Because you followed me!"
Decha rummaged through the bag before feeling his fingers go stiff. He yanked out a large black box-like object with a small panel of buttons. There was a bit of wiring done on the outside, and a display of faded numbers. "A remote timer," Decha announced to Amir.
"Well look what we have here." Amir glossed his eyes over the man. "Someone's in deep crap."
"What are you, cops?"
Decha yanked the man by his shirt and gave him the deadliest glare. The man gazed into Decha's empty dark eyes and a painful chill went down his neck. He realized who exactly he was dealing with. It was the general who owned the empty void of pupils, the man whom he only heard stories of.
"Do you realize how many people you killed?" Amir huffed.
"I didn't kill anyone." The man denied it.
"You placed the bomb, and set it off."
"You can't prove that's mine!"
"It was in your bag." Decha hissed.
"I wanna speak to a lawyer!"
"You sick fool." Decha voiced monotonously. "You killed innocent people! Who else are you working with?"
"I ain't telling you nothing." The man spat in Decha's face, and Amir took over.
"We'll bring him back to the Agency, and let Director Chen handle him." Amir scoffed and handcuffed the suspect before dragging him back toward the mess. Decha eyed the mess in horror. If the Bracketers were wreaking havoc in Astell, then this would cause a war between the Sectors.
It wouldn't be the first time, but Sector B wouldn't last, as Astell had all the powerful resources handed to them. Decha knew he needed to look into this deeply and effectively. The bomb went off 2 miles away from Grandell. Something told him deep down that this was a start for something worse to come.
It was a warning. He didn't want to visualize the bodies of students who attended Grandell University. If the Bracketers were behind it, then those threats weren't empty. He needed to find out which of the students were from Sector B and interrogate them.
Decha took one more glance at the damage before brushing his hair back and growling. He was immensely bitter about all the lives lost around him.
~~~
The News the night before terrified Rory. There was a bomb that went off across from the Agency, where Grandell graduates who wanted to become generals worked. The fact that it was so close to the Agency frightened everyone. All the students were on edge.
Rumors were beginning to spread. Students left and right theorized that Bracketers were responsible for the damage. There was a rumor that the council would raise Sector B's tax rates as a punishment. No official statement has been released about a culprit. But the speculations about Sector B were driving Rory crazy.
But she realized that she didn't have to fear much. Rory decided to leave for class later than usual because she had a plan. She figured out that the entire university feared Asher. No one would even glance his way. And because of that reason, she decided to experiment. If she stayed near Asher, no one would attack her or threaten her.
Rory knew she wouldn't be able to stop the bullying all the time, but she knew that she could use Asher as a shield to minimize the level of attention she got.
Rory waited for all the students to head inside for their classes before walking to wait out front for Asher. She knew that he usually arrived at the campus at 9 AM, but it seemed that this time he was running late. She felt her hairs stand on the back of her neck.
If she waited any longer, she'd be tardy for her class. Of course, she's never experienced being late for class before. She didn't want to know what it felt like. Being schooled at home for so long made her fear the outcome of being late. "Where is he..." Rory bit her lip nervously and began pacing back and forth.
So many questions ran through her mind. What if he didn't come to school today? What if he was a victim of the bombing? What if he decided to quit Grandell? Why would he? If he was, he'd be missing out on such great opportunities for himself.
So many of these thoughts were driving Rory mad. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest.
Not very long after her anxiety meltdown, she saw the very guy she was waiting for sauntering toward the school. He looked pissed. Majorly pissed. Who in the world ticked him off so early in the morning? Rory bit her fingernails and patiently stayed there as he got closer.
Asher didn't glance her way. He was too deep in his thoughts to notice. Right before he could walk past her, Rory reached out to him.
"Wait!" She huffed. "You're late!"
Asher was taken aback by her statement and narrowed his dark eyes at her. "Excuse me?"
"Later than usual. Professor Mass's class starts at 9:30. You usually get here by 9, but it's 9:20 right now. That's okay. We still have time to get there."
"... Okay?" Asher looked left to right awkwardly. Who did this chick think she was? Why was she keeping track of the times he got there? Asher stepped toward the door but became annoyed the moment he saw Rory step after him.
"I'm relieved that you made it. I thought we were going to be late."
Asher opened the door and walked down the hall with Rory hot on his tail.
"So Mass is supposed to talk about the history of the Sectors technology today. Did you read about it yet?"
"No."
"Oh. I did. I think it's interesting how you Astellians look at the way mechanics work. I like that you view things differently. You know, back at home, they taught us that transferring our data from our physical and high-maintenance machines to something simple and digital was a form of defoliation. But here it's as if it can be used to help people."
Asher groaned slightly, not wanting to hear her rant about the Lecture he was going to sleep through. They neared the classroom door, but Rory wouldn't stop talking.
"I want to learn how to transfer data from my old things to create new and easier machines to help my neighbors. So I'm excited about the experiment today."
"Why are you following me?" Asher stopped to turn and hissed at her. What was her problem? He helped her one time and now she thought they were friends. Half the time, he wasn't even helping her. He just so happened to cross paths.
"I—"
"You think I'm stupid? You're copying my movement and I can feel you trying to get closer as we walk. A baby would notice that you're stalking me like a shadow."
"I didn't say anything—"
"Then tell me. Why are you following me?" Asher spat in a threatening tone. "Do you have an issue you want to settle? Are you looking for money? Is this because of yesterday? What do you want?"
"I... it's a bit complicated."
"It's about to be a lot more complicated if you don't tell me the truth, princess. I'm not patient."
"No one will hurt me when I'm around you," Rory confessed.
Asher chuckled sarcastically. "What?"
"Everyone here is scared of you. But for some reason, I feel safe when I'm near you. Everyone is always trying to pick a fight with me. I just want to attend silently. When you're around, no one will even spare you a glance. So I just want to blend in."
"Do I look like a joke to you? You feel safe? Around me?" Asher scoffed and poked her in the head. "Let me lay it on you. I'm capable of doing things that will make your heart stop and your soul leave. Don't play games with me, if you can't handle the outcome. We clear?"
"I... okay?" Rory felt her bones rattle.
"You're gonna stay away from me if you know what's good for you."
"I can't," Rory whined.
"What? You can't? Do you want help? Because I can make your life dreadful in seconds." He snarled. "Stop following me."
"No." Rory looked to her feet. "I promise I won't be a bother. I just want to get through the rest of this school year without being attacked. If you want me to stop talking, I'll stop talking. I'm good at keeping quiet. Just let me hide behind you—"
"No. If you wanna stop being attacked, stick up for yourself. Don't cower away, stupid."
"I can't do that."
"Not my problem." Asher stormed into the room and the entire class, including the Professor himself, jumped. Rory waited a few seconds before entering after Asher and followed him to their usual seats.
Asher wasn't in the mood. If Rory continued with her actions, he had planned on making her miserable the entire day. He was good at causing harm. It was a skill he had to learn in his line of work.
Asher sat down and rested his head over his arm. The moment Mass opened his mouth to say something, Asher drifted off into a deep sleep.
Asher thought she would've given up, but she persisted. Every moment or so he'd glance over his shoulder and see that Rory was still behind him. It wasn't until he got to the dining hall that he realized she finally left him alone.
Rory had stopped in front of a large vending machine that served both hot food and cold drinks. Rory remembered what her father told her about Astellian food, but the images on the machine looked so tempting.
On the display was a large glass of a carbonated drink with droplets easing down the side of it. That was the drink she wanted. Rory gazed at the price and pulled about 50 tekels from her pocket. She reached to put her money in while thinking she would only try it once. Her father's words were instilled in her, but an intense feeling of curiosity flooded her heart.
The vending machine made a soft beep, then a click sound and she saw a tiny robotic arm place the drink on the display counter. She took the cold can into her hands and walked over to where Asher was sitting before popping it open.
Asher saw her approaching and grumbled to himself. She sat across the table from him and began unpacking her lunch. Asher decided to keep his eyes on his meal, to avoid conversation that she would try to engage him in. Then his phone began to buzz.
Asher pulled out his pocket and began typing away on it while Rory began to eat her meal. Rory felt the entire hall's eyes on her while she ate. But she didn't mind it. She knew that as long as she was near Asher, no one would dare approach her.
Finally, she could eat in peace. Rory took a large gulp of the drink she bought and a bitter taste made her gag. She started to cough and Asher gave her the most furious stare ever.
"You said you'd keep quiet." He hissed.
"I can't when I'm coughing." Rory cleared her throat and wiped her mouth. Then she took a look at the label of the drink. She read it and saw the number of artificial sugars that were listed under the ingredients. Why was it so bitter if it had all that sugar?
Asher noticed her strange behavior. She was studying the label of her soda as if it were a test. "I don't care about your bodily functions. I don't wanna hear a sound out of you."
"I will try my best." Rory frowned and began eating her small portion of pasta in her lunch container. There were a few veggies in there too, like cucumbers and corn. It wasn't uncommon for other students to bring their personal lunch, but Asher noticed how hers was homemade. Why would she bring homemade food when there were so many other restaurants nearby? And Grandell provided the student's lunches and dinners for them. Why wasn't she taking advantage of that?
It wasn't like Grandell's food was disgusting. They had some of the best chefs for the staff. And she spat out her drink as if she'd never tried one of Astell's popular beverages before. Something about Rory was odd, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
Rory felt uncomfortable with his gaze. "I know you want me to stay quiet... But I'm curious. What is your major?"
"Curiosity kills the cat," Asher replied nonchalantly.
"You don't seem like the type of guy going into the science field. Unless you're doing it on the side... maybe to become something more?"
"Listen, Lady—"
"My name is Rory." She intervened.
"Whatever. All I want right now is to finish my food in silence. Is that too much to ask for?"
"But you haven't even touched your food."
Asher opened his mouth to say something but stopped. She had him. There was nothing he could think of saying to rebuke her.
"If you answer the question, I won't talk anymore. I promise."
"My major is none of your business." Asher sneered. Only because he didn't have a major. He was here undercover after all. "There, I answered your question. Happy?" Asher grabbed his spoon off his tray and stuck it in the bowl of stew. He shoved a portion into his mouth, deciding to gobble his food quickly so he could leave her here.
Rory pouted and kept her eyes on him. Her stare drifted towards the bruise on his face. Asher stopped eating when he felt soft fingers graze across his cheek. Then he looked up and realized that Rory touched him.
"Does it hurt?" She mumbled softly.
An image of a woman with dark hair and fair skin flashed in Asher's mind. The woman was smiling at him, and placing a tiny patch on his face.
"Does it hurt?" The woman frowned at him. "You worry me." She caressed his cheek softly.
Asher leaned closer to her touch.
"Chai?" Asher huffed. Then his head started pounding. In an instant, the woman disappeared and was replaced by Rory. Asher stood up immediately and grunted when the pain in his head worsened. It wasn't until he slammed his fist down and put a hole into the table that it went away.
Rory jumped out of her seat at the impact. Asher blinked a few times as his memory faded. Then he leered at Rory before storming out of the cafeteria. Rory gathered her things as quickly as possible before going after him.
"Asher!" Rory puffed as she struggled to keep up. "Asher, wait!"
Asher ignored her calls and left the main building altogether. There was no way he could continue the mission after that distorted memory. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the students. Not now, he wasn't.
~~~
Thank you everyone for reading! Please be sure to like and comment what you think, I do enjoy getting feedback! Don't forget to support me (follow me) on Kofi/Twitter/Instagram: caktwrites!