New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



The half-hour passed by so slowly, as both Kary and Alexander stressed for the battle to come. It wasn't like rats scared them, but the meaning of the battle itself did.

They would need to battle in the middle of a city, where people lived, and make sure the battle didn't overflow into a crowded area. To make matters worse, they would have to remain as unseen as possible.

Even if the world started seeing that things were changing, David insisted it still wasn't time yet to be out in the open about it. He kept saying he was waiting for a specific moment.

Whenever that was, was anyone's guess.

But as the last minutes ticked down, and the couple took the elevator to the lobby, a hooded figure entered the lobby as they exited the elevator.

Alexander recognized the hurried gait of the man and whistled lightly to catch his attention. David stopped his hurried gait toward the counter, hearing the whistle, and turned to face the direction it had come from.

Seeing his quarries coming toward him, he stood in place, waiting for them.

As they both reached him, he turned back toward the entrance doors as they walked next to him.

"Good, I didn't have to wait. Let's go. I know the place and now a shortcut."

Alex waited till they were out of earshot of people, before asking David a question that had been on his mind for the last half hour.

"Did you know?"

David turned his head slightly, eyeing Alex from the corner of his eye.

"Did I know what? You'll have to be a bit more specific. I know a shit-load of things."

"Did you know something would happen this close to us, this soon? Or is this new to you?"

David faced forward again, his face thoughtful.

"I knew it was coming, but I wasn't sure when. This exact breach happened last time, too, but authorities discovered it only later. The rat infestation had become incredible by then, and it took the army to take them down.

"I don't know what happened that we discovered it sooner this time. Could be something drove the homeless underground sooner, like an attack by superhuman people on a bank, in broad daylight."

David side-eyes Alex as he said that, with a snicker, but resumed his talking fast enough.

"Or he could have been looking for something down there, and he escaped the rats, which he might not have the last time. I have no way of knowing the specifics. What I know, though, is that the rat infestation will be much more manageable this time, and we should be fine just the three of us."

Kary looked at him warily.

"When do you intend to tell us more of what you know? I think we have passed the point of trust where you can at least divulge the events to come, and their times. Don't you think it would be better if we could plan for them beforehand?"

David chortled.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I would love to tell you more. But what info I have on these events might no longer be relevant. This situation is enough of an example of this. Normally, the rat infestation shouldn't have started for another month or two, by previous estimations.

"I don't know what's causing this, but it seems the veil between the two worlds is thinning faster than last time. Mana is becoming thicker here, at a much faster pace than last time. I can feel its density climb by the day.

"This may help us become stronger much faster, but it also means the events I witnessed last time will happen sooner, and the convergence might also come sooner."

The worry in his voice was genuine, and Kary lay off of him. He might be a taciturn bastard-ish man, but it was clear as day that he still cared about humanity.

They had been walking for a few minutes now, and they reached a part of downtown that was a bit more rundown. David turned right into a dark alleyway, where light barely made it to the ground, with the height of the nearby buildings.

Halfway into the alley, he turned left, into a small dip. In this small depression of the building and alley, a large metal box, with a trap door on top.

The large metallic box of rusted black steel had seen better days. The flaked-away paint on it littered the surrounding ground, as the steel under it had rusted it off.

A large metallic lock sealed the door shut, which also looked like it wouldn't budge, with all the rust on it. But this was barely an issue for anyone present.

Reaching forward, David grabbed the lock in his hand and yanked on it, shattering it like it was plastic.

"This leads to the old maintenance tunnels under the city, from where they accessed the metro tunnels and the major sewer lines. No one has opened it in years, since they mostly send bots down there now.

"My guess is that the homeless dude went in through one of these similar access points in town and wandered into the sewer lines, where they found the rats last time. But we'll be closer to the nest from this side."

Alex tugged on the door, pulling it open, his face over the hole. He got assaulted by a draft of stale air, mixed in with the smell of decay, rust and human dejection.

He immediately gagged as the smell hit his nose and almost keeled over to throw up. To which David laughed, calling him 'weak sauce'.

"What's the matter, tough guy? Can't stand the smell of a bit of shit?"

Kary frowned at him.

"You sound like the smell doesn't bother you. It sure bothers me… Do we have to go down there? Did you bring masks or something to cover our faces?"

David glanced at her.

"I've smelled way worse than this. If you can't stand the smell, you are more than welcome to stay out here. I'm sure I can handle it on my own, even if I would appreciate the backup."

Alex raised his hand, still gagging lightly.

"Nah. Eurgh. I'm fine, I swear. Eurgh. I'll come with you. Just give me a second to adapt."

Kary shook her head.

"If he's going, then I am too. I'll just have to breathe as little as possible."

David grinned widely.

"Alrighty then! Let's go kill some rodents!"

After blurting this, he jumped into the hole, feet first, disappearing into the darkness.