Page 134 of Remnants: Disruption
I creep towards the closed door which happens to be on the opposite side from where my apartment is.
“Then get this to Varun and I’ll meet with von Kemp,” the first voice says.
There’s the sound of shuffling and I step into the shadows. The realm now holds comforting familiarity—which is a large difference from even a few weeks ago—and the small portal is enough to peer through.
Two figures move from the open door, and it shuts before I can see anything beyond the entrance.
The first figure looks like a were-person, though it’s tough to distinguish from silhouette alone. Especially since they don’t often take human forms.
The other might have been a vampire if I didn’t know there weren’t any here. They look like Varun with more hair and possibly a few more remaining neurons.
The two stomp up the hall going the opposite direction from my impromptu cover.
I carefully step back out and lean down the hall, listening as their voices fade. The door is locked when I try it. It’s even strangely solid when I lean my shoulder into it.
Frowning, I reach for one of the spirits parading around in my spirit realm. The ghostly impression manifests beside me and I give it a little forward head nod.
Like a well-trained cattle dog, the spirit disappears through the door, and I hear the mechanism of the lock turn.
“Huh,” I whisper, pushing the door open. “That was easier than I expected.”
I swear the spirit rolls its eyes at me before vanishing.
“Cheeky—” I begin but freeze when I see the room.
Maps line every wall. It’s New Chicago but in like six different flavors. One that looks like the underground railroads that used to exist before the Second Disruption. One that’s clearly the sewage systems and Affliction piping that spans the city. And one that looks like a sky-view of the buildings with markings at the Guild, DAEMON, and the NCPD amongst others.
And the final map is one of what I can only imagine is the Citadel with all of its other tunnels and passages.
Marked along it are access points, which apparently includes more than just the one elevator.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I pull out my dPhone and snapping photos of each of the walls. Then of the other absurdly damning materials along the tables.
If these guys wanted an award for “most obvious coup attempt” they’d win first place.
I back out of the room and close the door behind me.
My mind runs at warp speed as I jog down the stairs and back into the main cavern. People still swarm the streets like it’s mid-day, but they look decidedly less sober.
Turning in place, I try to figure out where Cass might be this time of night. Or morning.
Fuck, I’m tired.
The Cradle seems like the most obvious, followed by her own room. I have no idea if she even sleeps. It would be pretty understandable if her power alone kept her sustained.
Her bed was really fucking comfortable, though, so that would be a huge waste.
I make for the council building, trying not to look too obvious that I’m in a hurry. No one stares at me anymore, and I take heart in the fact that Marla had been right. I’m amongst my own people now.
It takes a few minutes, but I finally reach the entrance to the large basin with the Cradle pushed up beside it.
At the center of the basin are a group of people that look legitimately sinister. Which might be comedic if it weren’t a bunch of people with powers capable of bringing down the cavern.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Gareth von Kemp asks, beaming at me when I get a little too close to their group.
I glance over at entrance to the Cradle, hoping that Cass is there and that this isn’t some wild ass goose chase.
“Is there something you need, Gareth?” I ask, figuring if Cass comes this way, I can just ditch this weirdo, but it wouldn’t do to piss him off right away.
