Surviving the Apocalypse with a System.

“ Your husband told me to say this to you ma’am ,March 4th , 2023 .”

These words got Mrs Chester’s attention. Linzy had used the code that she and her husband had reserved only for the worst of emergencies.

“The only thing that would make him tell you that was if he was certain he’d die. Has he ?” she turned back, fearing the answer to the question she had just asked.

“ I’m so sorry to have to tell you this , but your husband left us yesterday . One of the monsters got to him,” Linzy answered , receiving her phone from the soldier who had been frisking the watchman’s corpse.

After seeing so much death in such a short span of time , getting back property from the dead didn’t even fly past her radar.

Cynthia , however , was still reeling from shock , though she tried to keep herself composed . She had already seen death’s door once , it was time to start acting like it.

“Timothy and I have been separated for months now , his death isn’t as painful as you may think. What concerns me are your words ,and you will have to come with me ,” Mrs Chester said, gesturing to her soldiers to escort the girls behind her.

“Are we under arrest?” Cynthia freaked out.

“Yes ,” the asian woman was already out of the building but they still heard her.

They were led to the main administration block , the building that housed all major offices in the facility.

Because of the ongoing crisis , most of these offices were packed with countless board meetings trying to find solutions for the nation’s future. They were so busy they hardly noticed what the doctor was up to.

When Mrs Chester got to her office , she dismissed the soldiers , finally being left alone with the two girls.

“ What I am about to show you , must not part your lips under any circumstance, got it ?” she sternly warned them.

At this point , Linzy and Cynthia were just going with the flow of things.

If they had their way , they’d probably choose to be back at the company working the deadlines that Timothy kept dishing out. But since this was not the case , whatever guaranteed survival was pretty much good for them.

“ Yes ma’am ,” Linzy had turned into the spokesman.

“When you get in , shut up and don’t even try to greet anyone. Once the meeting is done , you will be coming with me for further discussions ,” Mrs Chester finalised and opened the door.

The office was a spacious room , neat with a brown wooden floor on which a thick woolly carpet was laid over.

The wall-sized windows let in the soft night light that gently illuminated the white cupboard on top of which was a two layered bookshelf stacked with volumes of literary works.

The crowd present tried not to interfere with the potted plants by the walls as they moved the large desk over to a corner to create considerable room at the centre.

They all wore the same white jackets , giving off the eerie presence of an occult congregation.

Naaman was among them and waved when he saw Linzy and Cynthia enter with Mrs Chester.

“ You know him ?” Mrs Chester asked Linzy in a lowered voice.

“We met at the gate. He helped us get past the crowd ,”

“ Alright then , go over there and don’t leave his side till I’m done here ,”

Mrs Chester walked over to the centre as a group of men struggled to carry a large wooden box over to her. Linzy grabbed Cynthia’s hand and led the way over to Naaman.

“ Won’t we be left behind by the pilot ?” Cynthia worried.

“ Perhaps , but it would be safer to remain here. We can ask Mrs Chester to help look for Jack afterwards ,” Linzy’s mind was already cooking a plan B.

Cynthia obviously didn’t like what her friend was now planning , for as much as Linzy wanted to get to Jack , she too wanted the same but with Hamilton. For a moment she even regretted having tagged along in Linzy’s crazy adventure.

“ Nice to see the two of you again. Tell me , did the angry people at the gate give you any more trouble after we parted ways ,” Naaman warmly greeted the two women.

His focus was more on Linzy , but Cynthia was the one more elated to see him. It was a welcome escape from hanging around the stubborn Linzy.

“ We definitely owe you big time for that ,”Linzy smiled back.

“ How are the jackets? They were meant to keep you out of trouble but they can also come in handy in this chilly weather ,” Naaman continued.

“Thank you for them ,” Cynthia took a turn , “ So what is this organisation about ? I’ve never heard of you people. Do you do overseas charity or something?”

“ Well , it’s actually a bit more complicated. Since Mrs Chester decided to bring you here , I’ll let her demystify the subject herself. Listen closely to the speech she will give,” Naaman evaded the topic as Mrs Chester clapped her hands twice to get the room’s attention.

The murmuring died instantly , and all eyes turned to the wooden box that Mrs Chester was pointing at.

“Friends , or as the world has rather deemed us , Heretics , let me take this chance to thank you for heeding the call.

I know that most of you have families and friends that need you in this crisis .You being here is a strong affirmation of the commitment we share to the cause for humanity,” she started , receiving cheers and applause from her audience.

“ You all warm my heart , but let’s try to keep it down . I didn’t have enough money to bribe the other floors you know,” she cracked a small joke and let the laughter pass before going on.

“ Some of you may know what’s in this box, some may not . The story they tell us about mages being born blessed with elemental powers , the contents of this box is what will disprove that lie.

Mages may inherit elemental powers from their bloodlines , but it is at the very core a power not of this world. The government will try and tell you otherwise but the truth cannot be any clearer. The powers of the mages is a stolen heritage , one that is soon about to be reclaimed by its owners.

Lucas , Linda , open this box and let the people behold the truth with their eyes. That they may believe.”

Naaman craned his neck to have a clearer look at what was in the box. Linzy got curious as well, suddenly being reminded of how her mage abilities had expired three years ago.

Cynthia, on the other hand , was a bit rattled when she heard the word Heretics. These were the same people that the government had launched a manhunt for , following the wake of the recent crisis. Though details about why they were being tracked down remained obscure , it still made her uneasy knowing that she was in the company of wanted terrorists.

The box was opened and inside it was a blue crystalline shard with multiple fault lines repeatedly crossing over its surface. The shard itself was hovering in mid-air , yet still seemed to be exerting weight on the box. That was obvious given the strain that was displayed by the two people who had been carrying the box.

“Ancient history talks of a great battle fought on this planet long before recorded history, a great war between giants .

The stories are common , the giants came from another world and in their fight , their bodies were bruised and shattered.

Now this is where the controversy starts. See when the government would like you to believe otherwise ,these shattered pieces from that war are actually what gave rise to the first mages .

For a long time , this has all been seen as Heretic propaganda . But science in its endeavour to discover what is hidden , has been able to trace the same elemental properties recorded in mage genotypes back to this shard. It is so saturated in fact , that going off pure estimate , this shard is the equivalent of an entire nation’s worth of mages,” the doctor continued.

“I know that we have never really been properly united before. The only thing we have in common is our disbelief in the narratives those in power continue to perpetuate so that they can keep tampering with powers beyond them.

The monsters that are attacking us , they seek this shard because of what it means to the future of humanity.

If it were to be studied further, then a new generation of mages , far stronger than the ones we currently have , could be created and used to win this war for us. This is the new mission for all of us branded Heretics , let us show the world that they were wrong in doubting us. Let them realise that it is us who have had their best interests at heart from the very beginning.

We will pull our resou…,” Mrs Chester was cut short by the man who slowly walked to the front clapping his hands cheerfully.

“ Naaman , what’s wrong ?” she asked the him , a little surprised by his actions.

The man gave her a dangerous blank expression before walking over to the wooden box where the shard was.

“ When Heretics call this a stolen power , they speak only what is true,” he calmly looked at the crystal , which seemed to glow softly in his presence.