BACK TO THE CITY

Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow, he had been shoveling for over an hour, but digging graves for hundreds would probably make him break. They had already spent a night at the Academy, gathering the bodies of the dead in one place so the little girl wouldn't have to see the horrible sight. Elijah came out of the door of one of the dormitories, clearing his throat quietly.

"Can you keep her company for a while?" asked Elijah.

"The girl?"

"Yes, her."

"Why?"

"She won't let go of Master Halsey's map," Elijah complained.

The shovel was thrown carelessly by Isaac, who almost gave up. The pair's work became increasingly tiring as they had to care for a little girl who was rather difficult to communicate with. Inevitably, they took turns collecting corpses and guarding the girl.

"Do you know her name?" It was Isaac who asked this time.

"Map."

Isaac slammed his fist into Elijah's shoulder, not hard. "Shut up."

"I talk to her a lot, but it's like she doesn't understand a word I say."

"She's three or four, how can she not understand?"

"It's like she's not from here. I don't know what part of the world."

Isaac was stunned for a moment. "Makes sense."

"If Bernice is here, she speaks several languages, maybe the girl understands one of them."

Isaac's finger pointed at the shovel on the ground. "Dig in, stop being lazy. I'll take care of Map," he said, changing the subject.

"Yes, Sir."

The door creaked and thudded loudly behind Elijah. The young man walked over to the hole Isaac had made, probably just big enough to bury a dog. Elijah rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a strange chill as he touched the stone. He tried to remember the screen he had seen while still in the Orb area.

"Status," he said quietly.

[καταβροχθίζω Ͱ 10+]

[αέρας Ͱ 2+]

[γη Ͱ 2+]

[Φωτιά Ͱ 1+]

[κεραυνός Ͱ 2+]

[τηλεκίνηση Ͱ 1+]

[νερό Ͱ 2+]

[επαναφόρτιση Ͱ 0]

[Your Status, King]

"Where did this power come from?" muttered Elijah as he stared intently at the screen in front of him.

[Your powers were gained when you were in the cocoon. That's the basis of the King as The Devourer, and the Queens is the Seed Sower. You are the leader]

[You are absorbing 10 harvest objects.]

[Air Ͱ 2+]

[Earth Ͱ 2+]

[Fire Ͱ 1+]

[Lightning Ͱ 2+]

[Telekinesis Ͱ 1+]

[Water Ͱ 2+]

[Recharge Ͱ 0]

[Your Status, King]

Elijah nodded. "Recharge? What does that mean?"

Then the screen showed some information again, but Elijah didn't really understand what it meant.

[You need a Harvest item with the power επαναφόρτιση: Recharge.]

Elijah just sighed softly, and the writing disappeared from view. He looked at the slightly mounded dirt, the result of Isaac's shovel. Since the status says that Elijah has the power of the earth, does he have to prove it? Because Elijah still doesn't really believe it, with something happening to him now. Not sure what the cause is.

A lifetime of not having superpowers, then suddenly he gets different superpowers in his body. It was both exciting and frightening.

"Okay," Elijah sighed.

Elijah's palms opened and he focused on the ground in front of him. As the gravel and sand slowly began to rise, the ground began to heave, just as Elijah had thought it would. A huge hole had formed.

Elijah sat on the ground and felt his energy drain away. He couldn't control or use the energy yet. Apparently, it was very, very difficult to control the ground.

After feeling that his body was getting better, Elijah made large holes around the academy to bury the body. He was forced to bury a number of bodies at once because it would take too much time to bury them one by one. Not to mention the fishy smell and the decaying state of the bodies.

When it was all over, Elijah stepped into the place where the bodies of the dead Academione and Masters were to be buried.

…

Elijah finished his work at midnight. Isaac came out of the dormitory looking half asleep and approached Elijah who was standing on the last mound of ground.

"Sorry, I fell asleep accompanying Map," Isaac said.

"No problem."

"What have you been doing?"

"I just finished a funeral."

"A person?"

"All of them." Elijah stepped over to Isaac. "I'm going to take a shower and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll look for anyone who might still be alive out there."

Isaac thought Elijah was delusional. Or maybe he was so confused that he was hallucinating. But Isaac didn't say anything. He let Elijah go inside and then decided to go to the place where the bodies had been collected. As he walked, Isaac saw mounds of earth here and there.

When he arrived, his mouth dropped open. Not a single body was outside, all of them had been properly buried by Elijah. Isaac immediately turned around, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"How did he do it?" the young man muttered in horror.

*

Near midday, Isaac and Elijah left the academy. They carried what food and other necessities they could find. Map held Elijah's hand, the girl saying nothing as they prepared to leave. As soon as she knew she was leaving the academy, the little girl willingly gave the blueprint map to Elijah.

Isaac walked while looking at the map, he was so serious.

Looking at the map, they obviously lived in Fall City. The map showed the locations of the orbs scattered throughout the country. Including the headquarters of the Deformity and the Army. The nearest Deformity base was in New Castle, a thousand miles away.

"How long will it take us to get there?" asked Elijah.

"New Castle?" Isaac asked back and Elijah replied with a nod. "Forever, I guess," he continued.

Isaac was still speaking a little curtly, but Elijah didn't mind.

Elijah turned his attention to the little girl, who looked happy, as if they were about to go on a picnic or a camping trip. "Who am I?" Elijah patted his chest.

"Eli."

"Smart girl. And him?" Elijah pointed at Isaac.

"Isaac."

Elijah let out an amused chuckle. "And you?"

"Map."

Isaac couldn't help a laugh that sounded like a fart. "Clever," he commented.

They continued down the paved road until Map collapsed from exhaustion halfway into the city. Eventually, Elijah carried the little girl on his back. Isaac looked annoyed as their progress slowed.

As soon as they entered the city, Map tightened her hug around Elijah's neck out of fear. The city was really eerie, even in the daytime. It was so quiet, so still.

"This is no better than the Academy." Isaac's face paled.

"But we have nothing to fear."

Isaac knows the story of the Orb, that it exploded because of the services of the Deformity and Elijah's colleagues. Forced to lie, Elijah was abandoned by the others. Isaac naturally believed the story, since Elijah had no powers. Carrying Elijah was a burden.

They stopped in front of a supermarket where Elijah had been before. Isaac sat on the porch with Map. Meanwhile, Elijah went inside to get food, though somehow they managed to carry it. Probably with a shopping cart, at least Map could sit comfortably. So that Elijah and Isaac wouldn't be too sore to travel far.

Elijah was stunned for a moment in the almost empty supermarket. He had just left two nights ago, but why was it already empty? As Elijah remembered, various food items were still intact on the shelves. Feeling bad, Elijah rushed out and immediately took Map in his arms.

"We need to get out of here," Elijah said.

"What's wrong?" Isaac started to panic when he saw his friend's worried face.

Before Elijah could speak, he saw a small red dot glow on Isaac's chest, then another red glow appear, aimed directly at their bodies. From behind the walls of another building came the sound of cocking weapons. Elijah had given up, lowering Map and making a gesture of surrender.

"Shit," Isaac hissed.

A group of people emerged. Elijah hoped it was the Army, but he was wrong. And these figures were exactly what he had feared all along. They wore dark clothing, and half of their faces were covered with masks and scarves, so that only parts of their noses and eyes were visible.

They were called rebels. A group of people who denied the existence of the Orb and Academy. There were even rumors during his time at the Academy that these rebels killed children who had powers.

Unfortunately, neither Elijah nor Isaac could argue that they were not students at the Academy. They were wearing uniforms, and there was a bracelet on Isaac's hand.

"Oh, we found the Academy mice," one of them cooed.

He lowered his gun and walked over to Elijah, Isaac and Map. The little girl began to sob quietly, holding Elijah's hand tightly.

"It's okay, Map. Calm down," Elijah whispered.

"Are you from the Academy?" the man asked.

"Yes, but we—"

"This is none of your business." Isaac cut Elijah off.

The man chuckled and shook his head as his friends approached, still pointing their guns at the Academy kids.

Suddenly, the man hit Isaac in the stomach with his rifle, causing Isaac to fall to the ground, groaning in pain. Elijah started to go over to his friend, but the muzzle of the rifle was already pressed against one cheek.

"Move," the man said coldly.

Elijah was carried away by the men from the supermarket. So were Isaac and Map.

"But, sir. We..."

"Move!" the men cut in loudly.

Elijah's mind began to wander. Who knows where they will be taken, and not necessarily to safety. The human pack numbered about ten. He could have paralyzed them by force. Elijah thought, should he take that risk?