It seemed like everyone liked the taste of soil as much as Gale as he watched Kyle slurp up his bowl noisily.

  "Worst shit I've ever eaten. And I once ate a jerky I found down the side of a sofa," Kyle said.

  "Could be worse," Clyde said, also placing his bowl down. "Remember what Raven told us to eat in Siberia?"

  Kyle gagged. "Don't remind me."

  Ollie scraped the last bits of the paste, seeming to like the paste compared to the others. His face took on some colour after the syringe and putting food into his stomach. "So anyways, anyone got an idea what this place is? Looks like an undocumented rift we've got going. Not from anything I remember at least."

  "Rift is uncatalogued. Not from anything I memorized in the database," Lily said.

  "Nerd," Kyle muttered, getting a sharp look from Lily.

  Looking through the glass of the floor, at least nothing giant blinked at them from above like in the Eclipsed. Only fake lights from above that he could tell were definitely not real.

  "It's some kind of derelict city. No green or vegetation anywhere." Gale's eyes drifted to the streets below the window. "The spider mechs out there something straight out of sci-fi, and they weren't even the clunky robots that you'd usually expect."

  "Was there anyone inside it?" Ollie asked.

  Gale shook his head. Somehow, the machine felt… alive. It didn't make sense, but that thing had fear, and it had a distinct shriek when he was hacking away at the thing.

  "Heh. Four legs? The one that nearly killed us had six," Kyle said.

  "Six?"

  "Yeah, six." Kyle made a walking motion with his fingers. "Big mother. Probably faster than yours, too. And it really wanted us dead."

  Clyde nodded. "It targeted me first after I shot the first punch-through round."

  "You were shooting at it first," Kyle said.

  "So were you," Clyde countered.

  "Yeah, but I only shot at it because you were shooting at it."

  Lily stood up from the floor. She walked to the wall opening and looked at the distant tower, its upper floors still blinking with faint light. "What about that? That tower's been twinkling since we got here."

  "That's the only light we've seen out here in this city. There must be a power source or something that could power parts of the city," Rachel said.

  "Makes sense," Lily said.

  The mission did say to find the source to the city's power. That could only mean that they'd need to go up whatever that tower is. How would powering up the city even help them kill the corrupted entities? There was nothing that looked like city defenses unless those spider clankers were part of it.

  Regardless, the mission was to find the main power source, restore full power, and get the city's defense systems back online. Not just for the mission points, but because it might help them survive and find a way home.

  Ollie stepped up beside him, looking at the distant tower. "So besides the killer robot spiders, anything else trying to murder us out there?"

  "There was… an eye," Gale said.

  "An eye?" Ollie looked up.

  "A human eye with mechanical spider legs attached to it," Gale explained. "It could turn invisible. I only caught it because I felt something watching me. When I slashed at the empty air, it appeared. Blue iris, white sclera, just like a normal human eye, but with tiny metal spidey legs."

  "So you think there's something else here besides the murder mechs?" Ollie said.

  "Murder mechs that are worth good money, I might add. The tech in those things is next-level. The Path would pay a fortune for samples," Kyle said.

  "And we've got a porter now," Clyde said, clearly making himself known that he was looking at Gale. "We can shoot and loot to our hearts' content."

  Gale sighed. "I'm not a porter."

  "Of course you're not," Clyde said with a small smile. "You're our high-capacity, multi-dimensional storage specialist. Sounds like a good job title to me."

  "I'd take that job over Jonathan's lame-ass jobs any day of the week," Kyle chuckled.

  Gale turned back to Ollie's question. "I think there might be something else. The eye was biological, not just mechanical like the spider mechs."

  "Look, you worry-worry too much. Kids like you should just sit, relax, and slice at anything that moves." Kyle waved his hands like a sword. "All that matters is getting out of here alive. And besides, bringing back some of this tech for a fat payday. Those spider mechs alone would fund my vacation plans for the next five years. Kaching kaching, you know what I mean?"

  "Infinite twinkies," Clyde mumbled.

  "You'd risk your life for loot?" Rachel asked.

  "Hey, loot that'll give me money and bitches," Kyle replied. "Might as well make this whole thing productive. Like, hello? A sci-fi rift hasn't shown up in over 4 years after the last one was fully closed."

  Clyde stood up, dusting off his torn suit pants. "Before we talk about our bright futures, twinkies, and vacations, we need to establish a proper squad. Six of us make a full team, but without defined roles, we'll just get in each other's way." He looked at Ollie. "I vote Glory for squad lead. He's got the most experience leading and orchestrating."

  Ollie sighed. "Actually, I think Gale should take point on this one."

  "What?" Kyle snapped. "You can't be serious."

  Lily crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. "Ollie's right. Gale survived a rift alone before in unexplored space. None of us have that experience."

  "He was alone then," Kyle said. "Leading yourself and leading a team are completely different skill sets."

  "The rookie's been in one rift, and now we're supposed to hand him the reins?" Clyde said. "No offense, Gale, but team operations require years of training. One successful survival run doesn't qualify you."

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Kyle paced across the room. "This isn't some training exercise where mistakes get you a bad grade. One wrong call out here means we all die."

  "Will you all shut up?" Rachel yelled loud enough to shut the two idiots up. She turned to Gale, "No one's even asked what you think. Can you handle leading this squad, Gale?"

  Everyone looked at him now. Kyle was right, though. He wasn't experienced in dealing with teams. Even internally cursed at the whole convoy getting them to the exit. Somehow, one way or another, no one died. But, looking at Rachel and the others, they all worked like one cohesive team. What's an 18 year old against a bunch of adults?

  "No," he said. "Kyle and Clyde are right. I don't have experience leading. Let's go with Ollie."

  Ollie studied him for a moment, hand on his chin. "Fair enough. I won't push it. So here's how we'll structure the team. For Gale's sake, I'll explain while I talk. A full squad is usually six. We'll go with standard roles in a 6-man operation."

  He began pointing to each person in turn. "I'll take squad lead as backline controller. My telekinesis works best when I have clear sight lines to the battlefield."

  Kyle saluted with a grin. "General Glory takes command."

  "Lily," Ollie said, "you're our scout. You'll operate ahead of the main team, identifying threats and sending information back. Your force fields and lances give you the protection and offense needed to work solo."

  Lily nodded once.

  "Rachel, you'll serve as vanguard," Ollie said. "Front-line, first into combat. Your job is to initiate engagement and direct battle flow."

  Rachel's eyes flickered briefly to Gale. "Understood."

  "Gale, you're rear-guard. You protect our backline, which would be me and Kyle from flanking attacks or enemies that come from behind. You watch our backs when we're dealing with what's in front."

  Ollie turned to the twins. "Clyde, you're backline artillery. Your long guns give us the damage we need from a distance."

  "As always," Clyde said.

  "Kyle, you're flank support. Work with Rachel, pick off enemies she draws in, keep the pressure off her left and right."

  Kyle spun his pistol around his finger. "So business as usual."

  "Now, let me explain how these roles function together in an awakened squad," Ollie said.

  He gathered dust on the floor and floated it to make a diagram in the air. "Vanguard is our front-line fighter. They absorb initial attacks, do the most initial damage, high burst, and create openings. Scout works independently, providing intelligence and occasional surgical strikes. The flank support prevents enemies from overwhelming our vanguard by attacking from multiple directions."

  Ollie pointed behind him at Clyde. "Backline positions provide heavy damage and battlefield control from a distance. Rear-guard protects the backline specialists from surprise attacks and serves as our last line of defense."

  He looked around the group. "Any questions?"

  Rachel raised a hand. "Yes. Gale works better as vanguard."

  "Of course you'd say that. Put the rookie in another critical position," Kyle said.

  "I've seen him fight," Rachel said. "His skills are wasted in rear-guard."

  "We all saw him fight in Sudbury," Kyle said. "He's got moves, sure, but vanguard needs experience and sturdiness."

  "You're not giving him enough credit," Lily said. "There were reports about something invisible stopping a car travelling at 50 kilometres per hour with bare hands near the Adult Learning Centre at Yorkdale. A month before that, a boy emerged from the Red Death incident's blockade alone. And both of you clearly have never seen him fight seriously."

  "Both were Gale," Ollie said. "The Path has been tracking these incidents. He's more capable than most Awakened I've worked with."

  "Shit, that was our rookie?" Kyle whistled.

  Clyde looked at Gale with one eyebrow raised. "Fine. The rookie can play vanguard. But if he messes up, we switch positions immediately."

  "Settled then," Ollie said. "Gale takes vanguard. Rachel, you'll support from flank along with Kyle."

  Rachel smiled, looking pleased, while Kyle glanced at Clyde, which made both of the idiots chuckle.

  Vanguard… he could probably handle that. Just make a big mess in the middle and draw attention. He was already used to that with the ghouls and beasts anyways. From the way Rachel looked at him, she was really expecting a lot from him. Internally though, he was screaming. Give the kid the pillar that holds the team together, she said. Gale facepalmed mentally.

  Ollie snapped his fingers, looking at Gale. "Next step is equipment check. We need to inventory what we have and distribute it properly. You're our walking armory now. Let's see what we're working with."

  Gale nodded and moved to the centre of the room. Focusing, his space storage spit out everything that Rachel had brought. Combat kits. Ammo boxes. Breach charges. Anti-mage shockbangs. Magic scrolls. Long guns. Desert Eagles. MageTech ammo crates. Syringe guns. Null field generators. And finally, a small bag of red and grey marbles.

  The pile looked ready for war.

  Kyle whistled low. "Rachel wasn't kidding when she said she got more than asked for."

  "Gerard always overpacks," Rachel faked a laugh. "Better too much than too little."

  Lily walked around the equipment. "This is good. Better than a standard kit for a six-person operation."

  Ollie picked up one of the long guns, running his fingers along the barrel. "M4 Glory Industry Mod. Top of the line. Who needs what?"

  Kyle stepped forward. "I need a backup blade. Something with reach but not too heavy."

  "Long gun for me. Preferably with a scope," Clyde said.

  "Combat gauntlets, if there are any," Rachel said.

  "I'm good," Lily said, patting the Deagles at her sides. "Got everything I need right here."

  Gale sorted through the equipment, pulling out specific items based on each request. He found a black bladed dagger with etchings reminiscent of the etchings along the Ann Family mansion. He passed it to Kyle, who tested it, spinning it.

  "Not bad," Kyle slid the dagger into his belt. "An Ann Family special. How much could I sell this for, Rachel?"

  "If you sell that dagger on the black market, Gerard would literally hunt you down."

  "Jeeze, was just asking. No need to get feisty," Kyle said.

  For Clyde, Gale selected one of the meanest looking guns with glyphed etchings all over it and an "SSG" by the trigger.

  Clyde took it, checked the magazine, and sighted down the barrel toward the broken wall.

  "Zeroed perfectly," he noted, slinging it across his back.

  Rachel waited as Gale dug deeper. After another minute, he pulled out a pair of combat gloves, red glyphs and intricate patterns with what looked like etchings along the brass knuckles and black plates along the backhand.

  "Perfect," Rachel said, slipping them on. The gauntlets adjusted to fit her hands, red light pulsing once before staying steady.

  Ollie took the second long gun, checking it over quickly. "What about ammo?"

  Gale handed out ammo for each weapon. Assorted Glory Industry rounds for the long guns and deagles, homing blue color coded mags for Kyle's pistol.

  "Everyone takes a red marble," Ollie pointed to the small bag. "Just in case we get separated."

  Gale handed out the red marbles, one to each person. They pocketed them without comment.

  "What about protective gear?" Clyde asked, eyeing the combat kits.

  Gale opened one of the kits, showing lightweight body armour, arm and leg guards, comms devices, and tactical accessories.

  "These are Ann Family standard issue," Rachel said. "The armour weighs almost nothing but can stop most standard projectiles."

  "Won't do much against those laser cannons the spider mechs were packing," Kyle said.

  "Better than nothing," Clyde said, already putting on the vests and arm guards.

  Ollie turned to Gale. "What else do we have that might be useful?"

  Gale looked over the remaining equipment. "Eight breach charges. Eight anti-mage shockbangs. Sixteen magic scrolls. Forty syringe guns for medical emergencies. Two null field generators, whatever they are."

  "The null field generators could be crucial," Lily picked one up. "If those machines track by sensing ether, these might make us invisible to them."

  Kyle grabbed a random scroll and opened it. "Most are basic. Forcefields, shields, light source, minor healing. A few strengthening buffs, probably for Rachel or Gale. Let's split these up so we all have some just for emergencies."

  Rachel took several of the syringe guns, putting them on her belt. "Everyone, take at least two syringe guns."

  "Alright idiots and ladies, I'm finding the city power source." Ollie tossed up the red marble. It spun before dropping towards the massive tower on the horizon.

  "Welp, that answers that question," Kyle said. "A net-new rift environment, a squad with a rookie, and giant tachikomis out to kill us. You think they got consciousness inside them?"

  "Rather not think about it," Clyde said. "Worst thing that could happen is they force us to listen to their existential uncertainties."

  Rachel elbowed Clyde while Lily sighed.

  "Spider mechs with chips we want." Ollie laughed. "Rest up. We leave in 6 hours."

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