Path to the Apocalypse

Beth and Penny thankfully didn't spend too much time talking, Beth just as eager to get home and clean as Chris was. She and Chris quickly exchanged contact information before saying goodbye and they all headed home. "Ah, home sweet home." Chris sighed as he arrived outside the Richardson Orphanage with Penny and Thad. The orphanage was the perfect mix of professional and comfortable. From the yard, it was plain that children lived there, bikes and toys lying about, playground equipment that had signs of heavy use, little hidden places that the kids thought were secret, never noticing the fact that they always remained clean and tidy. The Richardsons wholeheartedly believed that the orphanage was the children's home first.

However, there were also clear signs that this was a professional business. Security cameras covered the yard and a sturdy, wrought iron fence enclosed it, along with a professional security booth, complete with a guard to keep watch. A cement path lined with shrubbery led from the gates to the front door, and inside was a small, elegant foyer, one of the few places kids were not allowed to play or hang out in. Any prospective parents would undergo a thorough evaluation process before ever meeting a child. The Richardsons viewed the children as their own, and would never just give them away. You had to prove you would treat the children right and ensure their safety and survival before you could adopt.

"Chris?" A shocked voice called as he walked in. Chris turned to see the old security guard, Sidney, looking at him with wide eyes. "You- you- you're back! Ha! Hahahaha!" He rushed up, pulling Chris into a crushing bear hug. "This is great! I didn't- you were- oh, it's good you survived!"

"Oof!" Chris let out a slight groan, patting the big security guard on the back awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, good to be back."

Sidney pulled back with a chuckle. "Same old Chris. Go on, get in there. I'm sure they'll all be excited to see you back alive and well."

Chris gave him a weird look, before shrugging and heading inside with Penny and Thad. He was sure everyone would be surprised to see him, but excited? He didn't think that was likely. Between training and school, Chris had never had much time for socializing. Besides people like Derek, Penny, and Thad, who pretty much forced him to be friends with them, he never really connected with anyone.

However, it seemed that his expectations were destined to be broken the moment he stepped through the door. With a cry of his name, everyone froze, before suddenly rushing at him, pulling him into hugs and asking if he was okay. Just crossing the lobby took almost half an hour, and he'd somehow picked up a blanket and a glass of hot cocoa in the process! No matter whether they were staff or kids, everyone seemed to be excited to see him.

"That's enough!" A loud, stern voice suddenly shouted out, calming everyone down. The owner of the orphanage, Mrs. Richardson, stepped into the room, crossing her arms. "Can't you see that he just got back from the Maze? Let him get some rest and clean himself up. We can have a nice welcome back dinner for him and everyone else in a few days." She scolded the large group, and everyone nodded, apologizing as they dispersed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Richardson." Chris thanked her with a relieved sigh.

Mrs. Richardson smiled at him. "You're welcome Christopher." She replied, before pulling him into a tight hug. "It's good to have you back." She whispered, her voice choking slightly, before she pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Now go, clean yourself up and get some rest."

"Yes, Ma'am." Chris saluted, before heading off with Penny and Thad, causing her to snort and shake her head, watching them go with a bemused smile.

*

The first thing Chris did after getting back was take a shower, washing all the accumulated Maze filth off of himself. Afterwards, he returned to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist, sighing as he looked around. His bed was bare, the blankets and sheets neatly folded and placed to the side, his pillow resting on top. A neat stack of boxes sat in the corner, full of all his clothing, a detailed list of the items and their quality sitting on top. It was the same for all his books and electronics. Everything was neatly packaged, ready to go wherever they needed to go in the likely event of his death, whether they decided to donate it or give it to someone else. As for his bank account, the money was set to be donated to the orphanage if he died. He figured they'd have the best use for it.

Chris sighed heavily, placing his hand on one of the stacks of boxes. "Damn it… now I have to unpack." He grumbled, before ripping open a box and pulling out his phone, which had been neatly placed in its original packaging. He quickly opened it up and plugged it into the charger before turning it back on. "Huh, still over eighty percent battery life. Not bad." He muttered, sitting on his bed and leaning against the wall as he began playing with his phone, browsing the various dumb internet sites he'd been unable to catch up with while he was in the Trial.

"Hey, Chris, do you-" Thad walked in, stopping as he noticed Chris's position. "Did you seriously just unpack your phone and play on it this entire time?" He asked incredulously.

Chris turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?"

Thad frowned at him for a moment, before sighing and shaking his head. "Just get dressed. We're going to go get dinner."

Chris patted his stomach thoughtfully. "I could use some real food… sure, give me a minute." He replied, throwing his phone to the side and getting up to rip open a few more boxes, putting on a change of clothes. He shoved his phone in his pocket, along with his wallet which he pulled out of a different box, before turning back to Thad. "Alright, let's go." They started walking out, when Chris's phone began to buzz. He frowned, pulling it out and staring at the unfamiliar number for a moment, before realizing it was probably Beth and answering it. “Hello?”

"Hey! Is this Chris?" Beth asked from the other end.

"Yup. What's up?" Chris replied.

"It's me! Beth!" Beth answered excitedly. "I just wanted to call and make sure you got home okay."

"Yeah, I'm good. Just finished showering and whatnot. I'm about to head out and get some food, actually." Chris explained.

"Oh! Can I join you? What floor are you on? I'm on the third!"

"We're on the forty-fourth." Chris replied. "We're about ten minutes from the lifts, so… it'd be over an hour to get down here from up there. Plus however long it takes you to get to the lift. Are you sure you want to make that long a trip?"

Beth chuckled from the other end. "It won't take me that long. I have an express pass." She commented in a proud tone.

Chris's eyebrows rose. "Seriously? How'd you manage that?"

"Oh, my dad is pretty high up in the military. This is just one of the perks." Beth replied dismissively.

"Uh huh… well, then how long do you think it will take you?" Chris asked.

Beth paused, doing the calculations in her head. "Fifteen to twenty? Something like that. Where should I meet you?"

Chris paused, turning to Thad. "Where are we eating?"

Thad shrugged. "Where do you want to eat?"

Chris cocked his head, considering it. "Hellfire?"

"The wing place?" Thad asked, before nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Alright, cool." Chris nodded, before focusing on the phone again. "We're going to a place called Hellfire. It's actually closer to the lifts, so it should cut your trip down to ten or fifteen. We'll see you soon."

"See you soon!" Beth agreed happily, before hanging up.

"So, Beth's coming?" Thad asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chris nodded. "Yeah. She called to make sure I got home okay and wanted to come."

"Interesting." Thad muttered, nodding slowly, giving Chris a weird look.

Chris raised an eyebrow at him. "How is that interesting?”

"Oh, no reason." Thad shook his head, grinning slightly.

They found Penny waiting nearby, sitting in one of the common areas, before heading out to the restaurant. They took a quick trip on the railcar to get to the area, walking a few blocks before arriving at the restaurant and finding a table. Hellfire was a pretty casual place, so they were free to seat themselves, not worrying about how many people they had. They all ordered drinks, sitting around and chatting while they waited for Beth to arrive.

Hellfire was noticeably a bit more rowdy than usual, but Chris wasn't surprised. After the end of every Trial, the entire City went a little wild for about a week as the Trial takers celebrated their survival and their official entry into adulthood. There were parties, parades, and a bunch of dumb teenagers getting drunk off their asses for the first time. Of course, there were also those who partied before the Trial too, but those parties had more of a 'let's do a bunch of crazy shit before we die' vibe which was just depressing if you put too much thought into it.

"Hey, Chris, why don't you get some alcohol?" Penny asked. "You are legal now."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Maybe later. I don't want my first time getting drunk to be in some public place where I can make an ass of myself. Best to save that for a private gathering, with friends."

"Yeah, plus we should probably save it for when Derek's back. He wouldn't want to miss it." Thad nodded along.

"Right, Derek. What's taking him so long, anyways?" Penny muttered.

"Getting out of the Maze isn't a matter of strength or skill. You kinda just have to be lucky and hope you run into a beacon sooner rather than later." Chris explained.

"I guess… still, I wish he'd hurry up." Penny grumbled.

"Chris!" Beth exclaimed when she showed up a few minutes later, hopping over to him and hugging him tightly, not letting go until Chris returned her hug awkwardly from his seat. She then took a seat right next to him, turning to look at the other two with a big smile on her face. "Hey guys! Did you order already?"

"Nah, we figured we'd wait for you." Thad replied with a shrug.

"I still don't see what the big deal is." Chris grumbled. "So our food comes out earlier, so what? Us waiting doesn't make her food come out any quicker."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He gets grouchy when he's hungry."

"How is this grouchy? This is a matter of logic." Chris protested, tapping the table seriously.

Beth shook her head. "It's fine, I wouldn't have minded if you guys ordered anyways. I'm the one who decided to join in late and it'd be rude to expect you to wait for me."

"We've only been waiting for a little while, it's really not a problem." Penny retorted, smiling politely.

Beth smiled back, before picking up her menu. "So, what's good here?"

""The wings."" Thad and Chris announced in unison.

"I prefer the barbecue." Chris added.

"I'm partial to the honey mustard." Thad shrugged.

"I like barbecue." Beth nodded along, finding the option in the menu. "Do you know if it's processed or artificial?" The City couldn't exactly raise animals, since any animal would develop abilities and potentially turn on them, so they had to resort to other methods to get meat. The first was by processing the meat from the creatures in the Maze, grinding it up and using specialized machines and abilities to alter its texture and taste, while adding in the necessary vitamins and other nutritional supplements necessary for humanity's survival. The second was by artificially growing meat the way you wanted it to be. There really wasn't much difference between the two, but some people thought the artificial meat was healthier, since the bits and pieces of the creatures that got ground up included the nasty bits that no one would eat in the first place. Chris was of the opinion it didn't matter since they both got changed into whatever people wanted them to be, but hey, public opinion was a stupid, stupid thing.

"I think it's artificial…" Penny responded with a frown.

"Oh, it doesn't matter either way. I'm just used to eating meat straight from the Maze creatures, so I was wondering which one I'm having and whether it'd taste different either way." Beth commented with a shrug.

The three of them paused, looking at her strangely. "You… you can do that?" Penny asked, eyes widening.

"Do what?" Beth asked hesitantly, looking back at them with a frown.

"You can eat straight creature meat? That hasn't been processed?" Thad elaborated. "I thought that was poisonous or something."

Beth shook her head. "No, it isn't- well, a lot of the creature meat is disease ridden, so I wouldn't recommend eating most of it, which is why we process a lot of it, but there are a few creatures that are good to eat… mostly the ones with hooves."

"Huh… how do you even get something like that? I've never even seen someplace offering creature meat." Chris commented, furrowing his brow.

"Well… it's kind of a specialty thing… from the military. It's part of their funding. Rich people are willing to spend large amounts of money for something 'special'." Beth explained, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Gotcha." Chris nodded. "So… how rich are you then?"

Beth flushed. "I-I'm not- it isn't-" She stammered for a bit, before taking a deep breath. "It- it isn't that we're rich… but… my dad is the, uh… the head of the Scouts." She finished in a low whisper, looking increasingly embarrassed as she went.

"Oh. Cool." Chris nodded appreciatively.

Beth blinked at him, her eyes widening. "Th-that's it? You- you aren't going to freak out?" She asked tentatively.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would I freak out?"

"Chris, you realize this means her dad is one of the most powerful men in the City, right?" Penny hissed in a tight voice, shooting nervous glances towards Beth.

"Yeah? So?" Chris replied, frowning slightly, looking confused.

"Chris, this is like being friends with a celebrity!" Thad explained in the same low tone everyone was using.

Chris cocked his head. "Is that a big deal?"

"Is that a- ugh, forget it!" Penny threw her hands up in frustration.

Beth was smiling widely, eyes almost glittering as she looked at Chris. "You're awesome." She muttered, leaning in to hug him again.

"He's weird." Penny grumbled.

"He's different, I'll give you that." Thad sighed, rubbing his temple.

"I'm just me." Chris replied with a shrug.

*

"So… Do you still want to do it?" Beth asked as they were about to leave, causing Thad and Penny to freeze, staring at Chris with wide eyes.

Chris paused, thinking over what she could mean, which was definitely not anything suggestive. "You mean joining the Scouts?" Chris asked, and Beth nodded, causing Penny and Thad's eyes to widen even more. Chris shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Beth smiled happily. "Then… When do you want to join? They're taking their next batch of recruits in a few weeks, but if that's too early for you, we can wait a few months."

Chris frowned, considering it. "Well… I wouldn't mind having a few months off, but I'm pretty sure I'd say the same at any point, so I guess I could do it in a few weeks."

"Are you sure? It's up to you. If you think you need a break, it's fine." Beth assured him, looking at him with concern.

"Nah, if I rested that long, I'd just get soft. I have nothing motivating me to work anymore. Joining sooner will be good for me." Chris assured her.

"Really?" Beth asked, cocking her head.

"Yeah, I'm really bad without motivation. If there's no reason to do it, it probably isn't happening. It's just the way I am, and I can't help it." Chris sighed wearily.

"Okay… then we'll join in a few weeks!" Beth announced cheerfully. "Don't worry, I'll handle everything."

"Outstanding. Just let me know if there's anything I need." Chris nodded along.

"I will." Beth grinned back at him. With that, their meal was finished and they went their separate ways.

"You're joining the Scouts?!?" Penny hissed incredulously as they walked away.

"Yeah? Why?" Chris replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Because you're- you're- you're brilliant! Why would you waste that on the Scouts!?!" Penny exclaimed in exasperation.

"Chris, you could be a doctor or a researcher." Thad jumped in. "Reducing yourself to some sort of military grunt…"

Chris shook his head. "Guys, you know I'm not going to get very far in those fields. I missed too much prep work in high school because I had to focus on training, and I'm just not going to put in the extra hard work to make a mark. Besides, I'm not just going to be a grunt. Beth said I can work on their weapons and equipment, real practical application type crap. Doesn't that sound fun? I'll be fine."

Penny frowned. "I guess that's better… but still! I just think you could be doing more."

"Eh, we'll see. Just because I'm going into the Scouts now doesn't mean I have to stay there forever. I mean, I'll get old at some point and then I'll have to do something different." Chris shrugged.

Thad shook his head. "I just do not get how you make your decisions."

*

Once they returned to the orphanage, Chris opened a portal to the space, walking in and handing Dyrdek a to-go box of wings before dumping all the bones from their meal into Jello. He turned to leave, pausing as he noticed Dyrdek staring at a wing, a single bite taken out of it. “You don't like it?”

[I don't deserve it.] Dyrdek spat, his expression twisting. [I'm useless! How can I eat this delicious food when I've done nothing to earn it!]

Chris blinked. “Huh…” He'd never have expected a goblin to be worried about deserving something. “It's fine? I mean, it isn't like it's your fault. You're clearly willing to work, I just don't have anything for you to do, and that's on me, not you.”

[But you don't have anything for me to do because there's nothing I can do!] Dyrdek protested. [I'm too weak to be used!]

“You're a bit weak, yeah, but you don't have to remain weak.” Chris countered. “I mean, there isn't much you can do about your ability, but you can learn how to use a weapon, or make traps, or poison, or anything really. Just find something you want to be good at and work at it until you are.”

Dyrdek blinked. [I- can learn?]

“Sure, why not?” Chris shrugged. “That's what makes humans so great. Outside the military, abilities are fairly useless. Well, not useless, but if you don't have the skills to keep up, just relying on your ability won't get you very far. We maximize our effectiveness by combining our innate abilities with knowledge and expertise. So even if your ability is kinda meh, as long as you develop your skills, you'll never be incapable.”

Dyrdek frowned for a moment, before giving Chris a determined nod. [Then I will learn. I won't let you down again, Chief!]

“You haven't- eh, whatever gets you there.” Chris shook his head. “Let me know what you decide on and I'll get you some books to help you along. If there's nothing else, I'm going to get to bed.” He began to leave, before pausing and turning back. “And eat the damn wings! I don't care if you think you deserve them or not, I bought them for you and you are not going to waste them! Feed the bones to Jello once you're done.” He turned to leave again, before stopping once more. “Scratch that, I'm taking Jello. Can't sleep without my pillow, after all. Just leave the bones in the container.”