New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The hours flashed by, all five of them absorbed in their discussion; the small document became thicker by the minute until everyone had said his piece.

Mr. Gu finalized the document and sent it to the office's printer to make copies for everyone.

No signature was required of anyone, but having copies ensured they all kept track of each other's goals and expectations.

Once everything was in order, and Jack was about to have them escorted out, David interrupted him.

"I have something else I wanted to discuss with all of you. And I think it's the perfect opportunity to set your plan in motion," David claimed, pulling out a data stick.

Handing it over to Jack, David leaned back into the sofa and waited for the data stick to get plugged in and booted. Everything he needed was already on it.

Jack didn't waste time, handing the stick to Mr. Gu, who walked to the desk and plugged it into a slot to this effect.

In a matter of seconds, the hologram switched from the looping montage to a static screen with a map open on it.

The map displayed an area a bit northwest of Montreal, about fifty miles away, where a small municipality called Lac-des-Seize-Îles could be found. It was a remote area, surrounded by forests and lakes, with no sign of any other civilization around.

"I present you our next pain in the ass. Lac-des-Seize-Îles," David said, pointing at the display.

Jack wasn't sure where he was going with this, so he stared at him until he continued talking.

"In this remote place, located in the middle of nowhere, is the ideal scenario for your plan to work, Jack."

Jack's eyelid twitched.

"Stop talking in riddles, son. Spit it out."

David chortled lightly.

"So impatient. I guess showing is better than telling, though. Here, give me that remote," David said, grabbing the remote off the table.

He clicked the button on its center, making the image switch out for a news article. It looked like a local newspaper, dated a few days ago.

'Hunter found mauled to death and half eaten. Are bears back in the region?'

The title was innocuous, mostly, as bears were not uncommon in the forests of Quebec. But there was no way David brought this up if it wasn't a special case.

"A bear did not kill this hunter. Although the size of what attacked him matches a black bear, that was not the culprit. The culprit is an animal that Alex appreciates a lot, a wolf.

"But not just any wolf. A mana-mutated one."

David clicked the button again as the image swapped out for a sketch. And the drawing was not something that was normal for the human world.

The image showed two wolves, one of which reached the size of a big black bear. But the other wolf…

It was immense. The size of a ten-wheeler dump truck,

"The first wolf, the smaller one, is what attacked this hunter. It was probably a stray from a local pack who went off to hunt because their usual food source has drastically lessened.

"The increased size of the wolves made them eat more. Therefore, their food source has either all perished or fled the area. This means they will begin to starve and become bolder towards human settlements. I don't need to tell you what that means."

Jack's face paled.

"Are you saying we are about to have a mass grave this close to home?" he asked.

"Well, that depends," David replied.

"On what?" Alex asked.

"On how fast we prepare and get there. I estimate the wolves will start walking into town before nightfall tomorrow."

"Why did you wait this long to tell us?" Kary asked, frowning.

"Yeah. That sounds like you are stalling. Is there a reason?" Alex chimed.

David smirked.

"I am stalling. Because if we all go right now, we'll die," he stated.

Jack's face became stern.

"That bad? What would it take for us to win without casualties?" he asked.

David clicked the button again, the image changing to a chart.

"I estimate the wolf pack to be close to thirty units. Wolves are a protected species in that area, so they left them to thrive. The downside is that now that they have mutated, their numbers will play against us.

"Those are no longer regular wolves. Unironically, they will make the rats in the service tunnels look like vermin."

Alex looked at the chart and couldn't understand what the numbers meant.

"What's with the chart and the percentages?" he asked, confused.

David smiled at him.

"Good question. Each distinct line has a number to it. That is the number of powered people we bring. The percentage numbers are the chances of success without casualty."

Looking at the chart, Jack noticed no 100% category.

"How much do we need for a guaranteed victory without the loss of men?" he asked, locking eyes with David.

"We could be a hundred. It won't matter. You see, the second wolf I showed before, I am almost certain there will be at least one. It's a boss-level creature, just like the rat queen. And god forbid there are two; one would already be a difficult fight, since it will lead the others in combat."

It was a well-known fact that wolves were excellent pack hunters. If a smart one led them in battle, it could spell catastrophe for their prey.

"If there are two of them, I recommend we flee immediately. But if there is only one, then our chances are much better. But there is no guarantee. Death is something that comes in without knocking. A single second of inattention from anyone could spell their end."

Jack understood that all too well. He had experienced war.

"In that case, we better pick our fighters well. Anyone who isn't on top of their game will be a liability," Jack said, crossing his hands.

He was already trying to think about whom to bring. The problem was that this wasn't New Eden.

Their choices were much more limited, and in the few people with powers that he knew, a few of them he didn't want to throw into danger just yet. Like his grandson and Violette Bellemare.

'This will be a tough call...'