Won myself a guild

When Jamie went out to eat lunch, she found Leo and Celia hovering around Sawyer. Hovering was the closest word to what they were doing actually.

"Brother Sawyer, do you need some sauce?"

Leo asked him while holding two sauce bottles. Sawyer shook his head and he retreated to get something else probably.

"Sawyer, do you need more bread? I can toast them."

This was Celia. She looked so eager that Jamie was taken aback. She should go back and come out when Sawyer was somewhere else, just not in this particular living room.

The living room was basically everything. It served as an entertainment room, discussion room, and also a home office. Did they have TVs? Jamie didn't know how the culture was now. Before the Apocalypse, they had so much to do. Watch videos, play games, Binge watch shows, and also study.

What exactly was the process here though? Was there internet here?

Jamie had questions but she couldn't ask Sawyer for obvious reasons. She was sure Celia wouldn't hear her and Leo, well, he would make her form new questions instead of answering the ones she already had. They were like the trinity of possible outcomes.

Sawyer noticed her leaving back but he didn't say anything.

Jamie then entered her space. She needed something to eat. She was against eating snacks for breakfast but they left her no choice.

The vine reacted when she entered the space.

"I feel my original energy!"

Sawyer nodded imperceptibly. So he was right. Jamie was hiding a huge secret. But for the sake of his guild, he was going to keep her safe. He had enemies waiting for him so he didn't have some extra ones who were coming at him because of her. No matter hiw precious the treasure or opportunity she had, he valued his enemies and his peace.

"I'll leave now. Yes, Leo, bring Jamie to the meeting today."

He left with a swagger.

"Why can she join but I can't?"

Celia scowled. Her sweet girl persona was gone with Sawyer.

"You haven't seen her fight. If you do, you'd want her to be the leader. She is that awesome."

Celia snorted.

"As if. Even if you want to lie, make a convincing one."

Seeing her not believing his words, Leo wasn't disturbed.

"You are good as you are. Why do you want to live in danger though? Being a teacher is a great thing. Maybe one day, you will get an Ideal Teacher award move up in the ranks, and go to the Inner City on your own. Isn't that great?"

Celia didn't react.

"Yeah, yeah," she acted out his tone and then left. Leo mumbled under his breath and sat on his chair trying to finish his breakfast.

They ate boiled vegetables because most of the delicious ones weren't made to save energy. Leo had once eaten fried food with his mother. She was once an Inner City noble who fled because of a purge. She could make delicious food and she used to tell him stories about her life.

The purge left her weak and she died when his sister turned seven. His elder sister took care of them but she left when he turned seventeen. He used the savings to buy land and build two brick houses here.

"Hey, Leo!"

Jamie woke him up from his trance.

"Come here, serve yourself."

Jamie didn't want to get caught looking like she never ate with them. That could potentially show her problems and reveal her space.

She took a plate and piled some sweet potato balls. Other than that, she was not interested. Even in the apocalypse, she could eat well. She robbed the people who robbed food and materials so she had so much inventory.

"What does your sister teach?"

"She teaches math. Not that it's particularly useful. Only through guild competitions, are students selected. Like those college entrance examinations, but here you have to fight for a chance. There, you used your mind, here, you need to just survive."

She understood that. Survive at any cost.

"How many people have successfully won the guild competition?"

"Twenty in the past five years."

"And how many died?"

"We don't talk about The Lost. The lost are claimed by the forest and left to die."

That was a terrible fate. Left to die in the Forest. Where there were mutant animals, plants, and zombies?

"Yet, you want to fight? Aren't you scared of losing?"

Leo smiled. It was a harmless smile but Jamie felt the deeply hidden ambition there.

"It's the only way I can go to the Inner City. My sister is waiting for me. I don't think she would leave us if there wasn't any other choice."

Jamie had seen the worst in humans. She wasn't sure but she didn't want to hurt him. Leo was the first person here she liked as a human. She would just support him.

"Yes, let's all go meet your big sister!"

Leo gave her a megawatt smile.

"How are your powers?"

It was the first time she had seen lightning powers so close. None of the people she knew personally had lightning powers. But there was a person in another base with lightning and water, dual powers.

"I can't control them. My body feels tired after shooting ten bolts."

Then she realized the problem. As the powers were gone here, so was the knowledge about upgrading them and harnessing them.

"You try shooting a simple bolt till you perfect it and then keep increasing."

"You mean practice and then upgrade? Like a game?"

Oh, so there were games here. She wondered which ones.

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

The sweet potato balls weren't sweet. They were bland. Jamie transferred them to her space while talking with him sneakily.

"Yes, let's go to the meeting hall. You can meet the rest of our guild there."

"How many people are there in our guild?"

"Actually, we are the only two members in a way. All the others existed way before. Sawyer defeated the head and took over."

He got the guild in a fight? This was becoming more and more like a fantasy world than apocalyptic, in her mind.