Chapter 57: Teaching a lesson

The void retreated. Everyone opened their eyes to find themselves back in their sleeping bags. Their minds were still buzzing because of the myriad of fights they had before. Their bodies could feel the difference. It was as though they had been fighting for months. The memory was ingrained in them, becoming muscle memory.

They weren’t physically tired; however, mentally, they felt drained. They lay there on the floor of the room, taking inventory of the skills they had learned during this time.

Aiden was the first to sit up. He ran a hand through his hair, “Well, we got what we paid for. His eyes had a world-weary look. In 24 hours, he was able to learn more about fighting than he had in his life. He knew there was more to come, so he didn’t reject it.

“A damn hard lesson if you ask me,” Marcus said, sitting up as well, leaning against the wall.

They nodded. They all understood stage 2. It was a way of working through their weakness. They talked briefly about what their weaknesses were and how they had to fight. Just letting others know and seeing if they had any ideas on how they would be able to handle things better in the future.

They were all different now. Harder. Sharper.

“We need to get some sleep,” Aiden said after they finished their talk. “We’re all drained.”

No one argued. One by one, they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the alarm Ember had set up before going to bed woke everyone up. They felt refreshed, their minds were clear. The mental exhaustion was washed away by a good night’s rest.

“Ready?” Aiden asked after everyone had eaten.

They moved towards the door, opening the inside lock. Ivan pushed the door, expecting it to open, it didn’t budge.

“What the hell?” he grunted.

He pushed the door again, this time using some strength to push it. A screeching sound came from the other side of the door. He didn’t completely open it. Rather, he turned to the others.

When they heard the sound, they understood what was happening. One of the students from outside actually came down to lock them in.

“Push it open,” Aiden said. The look on his face showed how annoyed he was.

Ivan pushed the door open, and the object outside scraped against the door. The sound filled the room. When they stepped out, they saw it was an iron bar pushed through the latch.

The team walked out, looking at the now-useless bar. They walked up the stairs, boots sounding in the empty basement. As they made their way up the stairs, they saw the students huddled together looking down at them.

They were watching. A mixture of emotions was visible on their faces.

As soon as they saw Ember’s group coming towards the top of the stairs, they scrambled, rushing back to the lobby floor. They formed the previous huddle that Ember’s group had seen when they first came in. They were standing near the circulation desk.

Ivan’s annoyance, already simmering, boiled over when he saw them at the desk.

“Which one of you little fuckers locked us in?” he snarled. His voice echoed in the silence.

No one stepped forward immediately. After a moment of hesitation, the same girl from before stepped forward. Her fiery red hair made her stand out. “I did,” she said. “We didn’t know who you were. I was protecting everyone.”

Ivan’s anger faltered. He looked at her. At her determined face. The tremor of her hand showed she wasn’t as brave as she was pretending to be. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Even after all the training they received, if she wasn’t an actual threat, he didn’t want to fight her.

Seeing his hesitation, Ember stepped forward. She nodded at the girl, calmly, gracefully. Ivan stepped back, wondering what Ember was about to do.

The girl who had stepped out eyed her wearily.

“I don’t care that you locked the door,” Ember said, her voice soft and cold. “Wanting to protect your friends is noble. I can stand by that. But, there is one thing you did wrong, and you need to be punished for it.”

The redhead’s eyes widened, “Punished?”

“You provoked us,” Ember continued. “You locked a group of armed, dangerous people you know nothing about in a room. Your efforts are valiant. I applaud you.” And she did. “But,” she paused. “You never provoke people you don’t know. We walked away and left you alone. We didn’t kill you when we could. That was enough of a warning. But your self-righteous nature got the better of you. You thought locking us in the room would make you safe. It didn’t. It gave you an enemy.”

All while saying this, Ember continued stepping forward until she was a few steps away from the woman. She raised her hand, drew it back, and struck the redhead across the face. A sharp slap that echoed in the lobby.

The woman cried out, stumbling backwards. Her hand flew to her cheek, which was already turning red. Ember’s eyes flickered to the students standing closeby. The shock and outrage on their faces were apparent.

Ember’s voice dropped to a near whisper, but in the silence, she could still be heard. “The next person might not stop at a slap.”

As if nothing happened, Ember skipped back to Aiden, wrapping her hands around his arm and leaning into him. Aiden stroked her hair, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her hair.

He whispered, “That was sexy.” As he reached for one of her hands and put it to the crotch of his pants, where she felt his semi-hard and growing cock.

She flicked it, and he hissed. “Not the time,” she whispered to him.

He grinned at her before turning to the students, his eyes turning cold.

She cleared her throat and straightened up, getting everyone’s attention. “Now that we’ve resolved that,” she said sweetly. “My name is Ember, this is Aiden, Ivan, Adrienne, Alex, Marcus, and Sarah. We mean you no harm. We were only passing through on our way to our base.”

She looked at the students across from them. She saw some were terrified, some were wary. Others, like the redhead, had a look of hatred. Ember appraised each of them, trying to figure out what kind of people they were and whether she wanted them to join.

It’s been more than a week, and they were able to survive this long, so there must be something special about them.

“And, we’re looking for people who want to build a new world, to join us.” Her voice was warm and inviting.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep