Chapter 35
Curious what happens next? Read more here
Linton, who had been about to sit on the sofa, stopped and forced an awkward smile.
“Am I not good enough?”
“…No, it’s not that.”
Adrien took the main seat, while Linton sat at an angle on a long sofa—so different from the way things were when Samuel visited.
“Samuel asked me to come. He said training was wearing him out, and he didn’t think he could guide you properly today, so he wanted me to fill in.”
Had Samuel really asked that?
For some reason, Adrien couldn’t bring herself to believe it, even if she couldn’t explain why.
“Well, I won’t be needing guiding today, Captain.”
“…Why not? Have you already been guided?”
“I took my meds. Figured Samuel wasn’t coming today.”
“Meds?”
Linton’s face instantly hardened. Adrien looked away. Linton hated it when she took guiding supplements. Sure enough, his voice rose in protest.
“I’ve told you so many times how bad those are for you. The doctor said to stop taking them too! Why keep taking those pills when you have a guide right here?”
“They work for me. I’ve been taking them for years with no side effects. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Adrien!”
Linton’s raised voice echoed through the room, and Adrien’s brow furrowed.
“Captain, how many times do I have to remind you about proper titles?”
Linton bowed his head at Adrien’s suddenly cold tone.
“This isn’t personal time. Even if we’re alone, I expect you to maintain professionalism while we’re working.”
“Understood, Commander.”
“Fix it. I don’t want to have to bring this up again.”
“I will.”
“Then you can go now.”
Linton hesitated, unwilling to leave, but Adrien’s cold gaze left him no choice. He finally stood and left the room.
* * *
After Linton left, Adrien dug through her files for a long time, but still couldn’t find anything about animals turning into beasts or about anything infectious. Frustrated, she stood up and headed to the lobby, where a commotion caught her attention—someone was crying.
Turning around, she saw the new recruits stumbling in, their faces streaked with tears.
“What’s going on?”
Brenda, Ricola, Peter—every single one of them was crying. Peter rushed forward, grabbing at Adrien’s coat.
“Co-Commander! Please, you have to find him. Please!”
Adrien recognized the recruit as Samuel’s closest friend.
An ominous chill ran down her spine. She immediately glanced around, looking for someone—only to realize one person was missing.
“Samuel disappeared in the mountains! We can’t find him anywhere!”
“…What?”
“Please, please help me find my friend…”
Peter collapsed, sobbing. Adrien felt her mind go blank for a moment, but only for a moment. Years on the battlefield had trained her to act on instinct even under shock.
She quickly sought out whoever had the clearest picture of what was happening. Just then, she spotted Kate coming inside.
“Commander.”
“Lieutenant Kate, where’s Captain Linton right now?”
“He’s gone back to search the mountain.”
“And Ensign Samuel?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Adrien nearly swore, barely containing the anger boiling up inside her.
“What happened?”
“During the mountain training, it seems Ensign Samuel slipped and fell.”
“What were the two of them doing there at the time?”
None of this made sense—only anger burned in her chest.
The surge of power leaking from her made the new recruits instinctively want to flee, but they found themselves rooted to the spot, paralyzed by the aura of an esper whose level couldn’t be measured.
Kate, taking the full brunt of it, had gone deathly pale.
“If anything happens to Ensign Samuel, you’d both better be prepared.”
Adrien’s red eyes glinted dangerously.
“Co-Commander!”
“Get everyone who can move and follow me.”
Adrien barked orders to Bailey and Michelle as they appeared on the upper floor, then rushed out of the building.
* * *
Samuel was falling.
In a split second, he looked for anything to grab onto. He kicked off a jutting rock for leverage, twisting his body as he fell. He tried to grab a ledge but missed, pain shooting up his fingers. Still, he couldn’t stop.
“Huh—”
Suddenly, his shirt caught on a branch, halting his fall—but only for a moment. The thin branch snapped under his weight, and Samuel looked down.
There was water below.
“Damn it.”
As he muttered, Samuel plunged into the river.
* * *
“I tried to warn him. I told him, no matter how used to mountains you are, this terrain is dangerous.”
“….”
“But Ensign Samuel deliberately stayed near the edge. I think he figured the others wouldn’t dare get too close if he did.”
“….”
“Are you even listening, Commander?”
Linton’s words faded into the background. Adrien was staring down over the cliff, as if convinced she’d spot something if she just looked hard enough.
“Careful, Commander, you’ll fall too.”
“You said this is where Samuel was last seen, right?”
“That’s right.”
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.