Caleb finished off the final boggart, thrusting a spirit hand through its gut and tossing it off into the distant snow. His arms evaporated, turning back into a stream of shimmering aether that absorbed back into his body. The fight had barely even gotten his heartrate up. It had all been over in just a few brutal seconds. And from the amount of aether he absorbed from the monsters, he could tell he was still a decent way off from leveling again.
He let out a bored sigh and glanced up at the four people he'd just saved. They looked quite the sight. Covered in soot, bleeding, fear-stricken gasps plastered all over their pale faces. Entirely unprepared for the world they'd found themselves swallowed up by. He imagined that most people were like that, shell-shocked, frozen with fear. But not Caleb. There was definitely something wrong with him, but, whatever it was, it allowed him to adapt, to thrive. He was grateful for it, otherwise he'd be just like everyone else.
If Caleb hadn't arrived when he did, these four wouldn't have stood a chance against the boggarts. Their stringy insides would currently be flossing the gap between a wolf's teeth. He didn't want a thank you, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least expecting them to acknowledge what he'd just done. Instead, they just stared, wide eyed, like deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck.
Great. Was he really going to have to start the conversation?
"Are you guys okay?" Caleb asked, taking a step forward.
The red-haired boy bleeding from his leg shuffled backward as if Caleb were even more monstrous than the boggarts. Why was he the one in front? Shouldn't the injured one be behind the others so they could protect him?
"It's okay," Caleb said. He tried his best to sound sincere, but social interaction had never been his strong suit. "I'm not going to–"
"You're that guy." The taller boy stepped forward, past the red-head. Medium length blond hair, sharp blue eyes, thin but surprsingly well muscled. Definitely the kind of guy that most girls would consider attractive.
"What?" What guy? Did Caleb know these… His brows raised as his eyes swept over each of them. He did know these people. They were those dicks. The assholes that had forced him off the route he was climbing a few weeks ago. He'd seen them around the area several times. Though, he'd mostly done his best to avoid them.
"Yeah. You are, aren't you? You're out climbing like every single day. I always see your car sitting in the preserve's parking lot. Man, it's great to see a friendly face. Do you have any idea what's going on out here? All those screens and messages saying crazy shit, like levels and stats. What are we, in some kind of nerdy video game?" He extended a hand to Caleb, smiling as if the two were long lost buddies. "I'm Lucas by the way."
"Caleb."
Everyone stood still and silent. One of the girls in the back just kept staring, glossy barely even blinking, the other knelt onto one knee, ripped off a piece of her shirt with her teeth, and started wrapping it around a cut on her arm. On the ground, the boy bleeding from his thigh kept looking from Caleb to Lucas, muscles working angrily at the sides of his jaw.
Lucas left his hand in the air for a few more seconds before realizing Caleb wasn't going to shake it and chuckling awkwardly, brushing it back through his hair. "Not one for handshakes? Heh, yeah, me neither. Anyway, I think we should all stick together." He hooked a thumb back over his shoulder to his friends. "That there is Angela, Chloe, and Ty–"
"You bitch!" The red-haired boy lunged from the ground, wrapping his arms around Lucas's midsection and tackling him into the snow. "You were going to use me as bait?"
Ah, so that's what it is.
A palm slapped into the side of Lucas's face, fist cracked against the back of his head. The two struggled against each other, wrestling in the mud and snow. They snapped and grunted, growling like dogs over a bone. The smaller boy got his fingers around Lucas's neck, pressed his face into the ground, yelling about betrayal. Lucas's eyes bulged, and he opened his mouth, screaming back. His spit mixed with the snow. The other boy's blood mixed with the snow. Bloody, melting, muddy snow.
Caleb watched with cold detachment, making no move to intervene. Whatever was going on was between the two of them, not him. He didn't really care for either of the two anyway. It was like he was watching a fight on TV, not one right in front of him.
Lucas jerked an arm backward. He jabbed his thumb into the wound on the other boy's thigh, digging in, pressing and creating a welt of bright red. The red-head screamed and fell backward, dragging himself away, kicking at the Lucas and the snow, as he seethed through clenched teeth, glared through teary eyes.
"What the hell is your problem!" Lucas roared, clambering to his feet. The front of his shirt was soaked through with melted snow.
"My problem? You! Your plan. What was it, huh? Explain how throwing me to the wolves would have helped us all escape."
Lucas clenched his fists at his sides, staring. His head swiveled back and forth, looking at everyone around him. Caleb could see the gears turning in his head, churning to come up with some excuse for why he had betrayed his friends beyond selfish preservation. Chloe shook her head and turned away from the ordeal. Angela rubbed nervously at her wrist, looking like she'd been slapped.
Don't look at me. You'll find no pity here.
"That's what I thought." He pushed himself up on shaky legs, tripped as he tried to put weight on the injured one, then climbed back up, leaning against a shelf of rock, breathing heavily. "Coward."
That set something off within Lucas. He sucked in a sharp breath, started stomping across the rutted ground. Angela held out a hand, told him to stop. It didn't matter. He grabbed the other boy by the front of his shirt and cracked him across the jaw, sent him sprawling down once more before kicking him in the gut.
What an absolute mess. This was why Caleb didn't like being around other people. It was so much easier to be on his own. He was just glad that, this time, he wouldn't have to clean any of it up.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Lucas yelled from behind Caleb.
Caleb looked back over his shoulder. Blood dripped from Lucas's fist. He stood over the younger boy, who lay groaning on the ground. The girl, Angela, was crying again. God, why did he have to get himself wrapped up in this mess? He should have just… Caleb caught himself. That was no way to think. He may not like talking to people, he may have to keep pushing himself hard to grow, he may be miles stronger than the people in front of him, but he couldn't think that way. The strong should protect the weak. If he just walked away, all four of them would almost certainly die. And that would be one him whether he liked it or not. With a sigh, he turned back around, planting his feet in the snow.
For the first time, he looked at everyone, really looked, and words bloomed over their heads, just like it did when he saw monsters.
Lucas Adams
Aether Level 2
Chloe Han
Aether Level 2
Angela Lawrence
Aether Level 1
Tyler Brown
Aether Level 1
Just as he'd suspected.
"It's not safe here." Everyone was looking at Caleb now. "There are tons more groups just like that one. They're swarming all over the place. If we don't get moving soon, another will find us. I can take care of myself easily enough, but I don't want to have to worry about watching over all of you."
Lucas scoffed. "You don't have to worry about me. I can handle myself just fine."
Clearly. You obviously had the situation under control before I got here. Sacrificing your friend was all part of the plan.
"It's the rest of these guys that'll slow us down. How about you and me work together? I bet we'd make a good team. Tyler, Angela, and Chloe can find a cave to hide in and we can come back and get them once it's safe. I'm strong, I can fight. Trust me." It sounded like Lucas really believed the words he was saying. Not Caleb, though, he didn't believe that one bit.
"I work alone. I don't need you to be my partner. I'm either taking all of you or none of you," Caleb said, matter of fact. Though that cave idea didn't sound awful. It would certainly make it easier for him to keep them out of harm's way.
"Alright, Mr. Macho Man." Lucas strutted across the snow toward Caleb. "Just because you're a little stronger than us doesn't mean you get to call all the shots. I'm in charge of my group, and that's four against one. So how about you do as I say, okay?"
Lucas jabbed a finger into Caleb's chest. It was like he'd poked a brick wall. His finger bent slightly backward, the taut skin not even denting. Caleb hadn't had a chance to look in a mirror in a while, but he didn't need one now. Looking down through the tattered remains of his shirt, the changes were obvious. His frame had thickened, his shoulders broader, his arms knotted with muscle that seemed carved into him. Veins traced faint lines across his forearms. There wasn't a shred of softness left on him – just coils of powerful strength.
The skin on Lucas's cheeks flushed. He took a step back, swallowing hard. Then he squinted, inspecting Caleb, and his eyes grew wide as saucers. "Level… fifteen? How?"
"Are you going to listen to me now? Or do I have to poke you in the chest?"
Lucas forced out an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean… I guess I can settle for us all getting a vote."
"Oh, shut it, Lucas." Chloe shouldered past the blonde boy with a roll of her eyes. He glared at her back, but she ignored him. She looked at Caleb, her dark eyes stern and serious. "Whatever it is you need us to do, we'll do it. We just want to get out of here alive."
Alright. Maybe not all of them were awful. But he still didn't want a partner.