Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 4: Is The Essence Of Others

I ended up bunking in John’s office for the remainder of the week. It was a rather easy ask as well.

“John, is it okay that I can sleep here for the rest of the week… and like get acquainted with the team coming over?”

“Sure! Now that you’re under us, you can use this office. Just avoid the work of others and make sure to clean up after yourself.”

I nodded along. All that essentially translated to me as “Be hidden.” I can do that. Just look like everyone else here.

Well… actually, I can’t completely do that. Everyone here looked like they ate three times a day, had good hygiene, and had proper clothes.

I could only have one of those on a good day. But, with times like these, perhaps that could change eventually.

So, with the help of John, I got a futon and a blanket so that I could sleep in the office.

"Just like old times, huh, buddy?" He grinned at me as I laid down my stuff by the desk.

"Yeah, except this time we can actually take a shower without sharing the bathroom." I muttered under my breath as he snorted with laughter.

"And no more sneaking in food from the vending machine to class now, too, huh?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "That was all you, not me. Don't forget when I had to jam your arm out of the vending machine slot."

"Why do you still remember that dude? That was like, five years ago."

"The image of you trying to squirm your way out of a vending machine was really funny." I said as dryly as I could, suppressing a laugh.

John simply grinned as he waved his hand and walked away. "Alright buddy, whatever you say. Just make yourself comfortable."

"Yeah... I will." I brought some of my clothes around, but I usually just reused the old ones without washing them to save money, unless I had to go outside for an interview.

Thankfully, though, I now had enough money to buy myself some new clothes and even afford a shower.

I also began to train myself in using my new Magick at least a few times a day. I would walk from one end of the hallway to the next, setting down cans whenever I saw nobody around me. Then I used a measuring app on my phone to measure the distance of my telekinesis.

The maximum I discovered was around 120feet/36 meters after a few tries. The max weight was simply anything I could reasonably carry.

I didn't want to push myself any further. If one used Magick too much, the power could strain their body to the point known as 'The Shattering'. Where your body would literally shatter apart, falling into nothing as you withered and died.

To that end, I just cozied up a bit and enjoyed the services that those at the top could for the few more days I was here.

It was the most relaxed I had felt in a while, while also somehow the most stressful. The former was because I essentially had to do nothing, and the latter was because I knew my day of reckoning would come.

The day when I would have to go to Galfania.

“Yo, Peta.” John smacked me on my back while I was drinking copious amounts of cold water by the cooler, nearly causing me to gag.

“Y-yes? What do you need?” I took a deep breath as I coughed up some water. Why did he always do that? It wasn't really all that bad, but at least you should give a guy a warning or something.

“Some of the new guys are coming in now, plenty of guys from the military, from our other departments, and people like you.”

“Like me?”

“You know, down-on-their-luck types.”

Yeah, I guessed that was my type, the one without the ability to do anything at all; well, at least I could do something now.

“… Ah yeah, figured. Guess I gotta go meet some of them. Aren’t like a thousand people coming on over though?”

“Yeah, most of them are here; they’re just doing their work now. Oh! I know the best place you can meet the others; come on, man. We’re heading to the testing range!”

John led me down to a facility that was hidden under the ivory tower. We walked out of the elevator and into a tunnel system with curved walls to support the earth above. There, we found several men and women passing by, not in lab coats anymore but in armor, vests, and any other sorts of bodily protection, such as visors and helmets.

“Testing range… like Magick and-“

“Weapons, armors, anything really. We come down here to test out the small-scale stuff; bigger things need a place that isn’t underneath a building.”

“Bigger things? Are we going to bring in missiles and drones to Galfania, too? Honestly, not a bad plan, probably should bring a few nukes too just in case.” I mumbled to myself while we continued.

John gave a small laugh as he went down the stairs and opened a door to an armory filled with several guns on racks by the wall, as well as mannequins wearing vests and goggles.

“Look upon ye mighty… and rejoice!” John raised his arms up, showcasing all of the weaponry available.

A few of the people in the armory looked over to John, some of them frowning but rolling their eyes at his antics, as I looked away out of secondhand embarrassment.

While I was used to it, that doesn't mean it still wasn't weird when John was so grandiose and... joyful like that. Sometimes it got on my nerves that he could be so happy, but I never said anything.

However, John didn’t seem to mind as he walked over to some of the racked weapons that were beside a bench where a small team of people were gathered.

“Good to see you guys over here. Meet one of my best friends: Peter. He’s gonna be joining us for the big mission, you all better do your best to keep his butt safe, or it’s gonna be you guys on the line.”

John let out a laugh as they sighed, but a few smirked, and some even chuckled along with him.

“Yeah, we’ll keep him safe.” A woman with long, dark brown hair stood up. She wore a military uniform and held out her hand for me to shake. I felt like I saw her before, sometime when I first got here.

“I’m Officer Charlie of the 11th Watch Tower division. I work under John. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I shook her hand. Epithet had its own private military, also known as the Watch Tower. Although they never called it that officially, that’s what they were basically.

Fine men and women trained with the best equipment and Magick available so that they could do what they do best:

Strong-arm people who managed to do Magick without their permission.

I didn’t know what Epithet did, but they somehow created an enchantment where if anyone used a spell that was recorded in their databanks, they would be tracked by the Watch Tower.

It wouldn’t be long until they received a knock on their door and were dragged back to one of their buildings for questioning and unknown happenings.

This would also happen if their subscription services weren’t paid on time, either. It was said that the best way to track anyone down was to hope they hadn’t paid Epithet recently because they would be the ones to track the other guy down, land, sea, or sky; you weren’t safe.

There was a story about how some Magi tried to escape them by building a base underwater, a few dozen miles below sea level.

It took less than a day for the Watchtower to find and break him out.

“So… any busts recently?” I asked awkwardly, forcing out a little laugh, trying to break the ice that slowly froze between us.

John smirked and slapped my back, once more nearly causing me to stumble. “Hey, that’s confidential…"

He then leaned and whispered. "But the answer is none!”

Charlie rolled her eyes at that. “It’s not confidential in the slightest. And he’s right, no one as of late was that stupid.”

Another man stood up from the bench, this time someone who looked a lot older than either John or I, probably someone in his 30s; a man with a shaved head and a goatee came up and shook my hand as well.

“So you’re Peter, huh? John talked about you here and there. I’m Henry; it’s good to meet you.”

“Ehe… good to meet you too, what do you do here?”

“Working out a debt, failed to pay, and well, gotta do the time.” He sighed a little before trying to give a warm but pained smile.

“But hey, at least I get to point and shoot at anything that moves up north.”

Charlie scoffed with an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, you and the rest of the trigger-happy lot. At least you all will get your wish. Just watch out; there’s a reason why they’re sending a small army up there.”

“Yeah, 'cause if half the things said there are true, then boy, are we in for a treat.” Another girl whistled as she walked back from the firing range. She had light brown hair tied up in a ponytail.

“The Name is Mollie, nice to see more hands on the deck coming in. What are you here for?”

“… Not being poor.”

Everyone around me laughed for a brief moment. I tried to laugh with them too, but I just felt smaller and more uncomfortable after that.

“I’m certain there are way better jobs than going on this trip man.”

“Yeah, and I got rejected on all of them, so… at least I got this one.”

"Well, it's your funeral; at least we don't have to pay for it." Charlie just sat down and began to clean her rifle.

Henry grunted and patted me on the back. “I’ve been there too. I get it.”

“Does it get better?” I turned to face Henry, but he simply faced away with a solemn look in his eyes.

With a sigh, I looked away and muttered. “…Yeah, I thought so.”

Mollie sensed the disturbance in the air, waving it away. “Alright boys, enough feeling sad about ourselves, let’s go shoot stuff. Come with me.”

I looked at John as we were ushered into the shooting range in the next area. “Is that allowed? Can I really test this stuff?”

“Well, of course! Might as well get used to it before the big day. Why, you want to test it out by shooting fish while we sail?”

Charlie nodded along as if it were a matter of fact. “We’re going to do that too, and as well, fire at birds.”

John sighed but grinned as he opened the door to the firing site. The first thing I noticed was how unusually quiet it was, even the gunfire in the distance didn’t ring out as much as it would.

The second was simply how big it was. The entire testing site looked like a warehouse with a curved ceiling and a firing range that was about a football field in length.

There were several people behind the counters, each one testing out the capabilities of their firearms and explosives with protective eyewear and earplugs.

“Like it? The walls, floors, and ceilings absorb sound, but we are still able to hear ourselves. It really helps to focus.”

Mollie went ahead to one of the nearby racks, grabbed a rifle, and handed it to me. “But it won’t be like a real battle; be prepared for chaos on all ends, sounds, noise, whatever it may be.”

I looked down at the gun gingerly. I had never fired one before or even held it. I, of course, knew how it worked, but it was still all so new to me.

“Uhm yeah… got that.”

“Let’s go find the other two; they saved us a spot.” Charlie walked all the way over to the rightmost counter, where two men, both with brown, reddish hair, were currently handling a large Anti-Aircraft rifle, needing both to hold it up and fire, using a stabilizer tripod to hold it down.

Each shot caused a loud boom, which would have echoed throughout the building if not for the sound absorbers, and each time they did so, both men would shake in the recoil.

However, they simply laughed as they fired away without a care in the world until they ran out of bullets.

When they went to reload, Charlie was right behind them, and instinctively, they stood up and stretched their arms.

“Ah, what is it that you need?” The first one, who was taller, a little lankier, and wearing flannel under his armor, asked as he took off his goggles, messing his red hair.

“You want your turn on it now- oy, who’s the other bloke over there? Never seen him around here.” The shorter one, a little bit more stocky, leaned forward to inspect me.

John stepped forward and patted the man in question on the back. “This is Peter, a friend of mine. He’s looking around to check on the people coming to the mission.”

The lanky one took a bow. “The Name is Topher, a pleasure to meet you, Peter. You want to take a turn on the plane killer?”

He patted the anti-aircraft gun as the much more stocky one sat by it. “Don’t worry about the kick; if it sends you flying, we’ll put a pillow on where you ended up so the next time it happens, you’ll feel a lot better.”

“The Name is Derek for your troubles. Whatcha in here for?”

“Money.” I responded with the bluntness of a spoon, causing both men to chuckle.

“Guess we’re in the same boat. Hopefully, we’re all in the same deployment zone when the time comes.”

Mollie laughed and walked to the counter, aiming down her sights. “That requires us all to survive whatever that accursed place throws at us first; even the seas around them are gonna be a challenge.“

She began to shoot every moving target, mowing them down as they continued to pop up.

“We’re going to need to do everything we can to survive.”

I gave a little shrug. I didn't really feel that comfortable with a lot of people around. “John said you guys would be doing all the defending. I’m just gonna be the guy going around and putting herbs and feathers into a bag. It’s not much, but hey, it’s honest work.”

Charlie shook her head and joined Mollie. “You still need to learn how to defend yourself. It’s standard practice with whatever monstrosity comes our way.”

Henry nodded and patted my shoulder. “She’s right, gotta learn while you’re still young. Maybe you can get a job as an officer, too, if you do good enough.”

That sounded nice, but I wanted to be a Magi above all else, and while some used guns, it wasn’t exactly the right path to become an officer for it.

But, I guess if any of the things said about Galfania were right, it was best to at least be prepared for this.

I sighed for a bit; using The Performance Arts of Telekinesis, I grabbed a nearby filled magazine and loaded it into my rifle.

“Hah, that’s the Spirit! Alright, the first to 50 takedowns wins free dinner.” John sat down right next to the control panel to keep track of scores as the rest of the group stood up to join the competition.

“And… begin!”

I ended up bunking in John’s office for the remainder of the week. It was a rather easy ask as well.

“John, is it okay that I can sleep here for the rest of the week… and like get acquainted with the team coming over?”

“Sure! Now that you’re under us, you can use this office. Just avoid the work of others and make sure to clean up after yourself.”

I nodded along. All that essentially translated to me as “Be hidden.” I can do that. Just look like everyone else here.

Well… actually, I can’t completely do that. Everyone here looked like they ate three times a day, had good hygiene, and had proper clothes.

I could only have one of those on a good day. But, with times like these, perhaps that could change eventually.

So, with the help of John, I got a futon and a blanket so that I could sleep in the office.

"Just like old times, huh, buddy?" He grinned at me as I laid down my stuff by the desk.

"Yeah, except this time we can actually take a shower without sharing the bathroom." I muttered under my breath as he snorted with laughter.

"And no more sneaking in food from the vending machine to class now, too, huh?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "That was all you, not me. Don't forget when I had to jam your arm out of the vending machine slot."

"Why do you still remember that dude? That was like, five years ago."

"The image of you trying to squirm your way out of a vending machine was really funny." I said as dryly as I could, suppressing a laugh.

John simply grinned as he waved his hand and walked away. "Alright buddy, whatever you say. Just make yourself comfortable."

"Yeah... I will." I brought some of my clothes around, but I usually just reused the old ones without washing them to save money, unless I had to go outside for an interview.

Thankfully, though, I now had enough money to buy myself some new clothes and even afford a shower.

I also began to train myself in using my new Magick at least a few times a day. I would walk from one end of the hallway to the next, setting down cans whenever I saw nobody around me. Then I used a measuring app on my phone to measure the distance of my telekinesis.

The maximum I discovered was around 120feet/36 meters after a few tries. The max weight was simply anything I could reasonably carry.

I didn't want to push myself any further. If one used Magick too much, the power could strain their body to the point known as 'The Shattering'. Where your body would literally shatter apart, falling into nothing as you withered and died.

To that end, I just cozied up a bit and enjoyed the services that those at the top could for the few more days I was here.

It was the most relaxed I had felt in a while, while also somehow the most stressful. The former was because I essentially had to do nothing, and the latter was because I knew my day of reckoning would come.

The day when I would have to go to Galfania.

“Yo, Peta.” John smacked me on my back while I was drinking copious amounts of cold water by the cooler, nearly causing me to gag.

“Y-yes? What do you need?” I took a deep breath as I coughed up some water. Why did he always do that? It wasn't really all that bad, but at least you should give a guy a warning or something.

“Some of the new guys are coming in now, plenty of guys from the military, from our other departments, and people like you.”

“Like me?”

“You know, down-on-their-luck types.”

Yeah, I guessed that was my type, the one without the ability to do anything at all; well, at least I could do something now.

“… Ah yeah, figured. Guess I gotta go meet some of them. Aren’t like a thousand people coming on over though?”

“Yeah, most of them are here; they’re just doing their work now. Oh! I know the best place you can meet the others; come on, man. We’re heading to the testing range!”

John led me down to a facility that was hidden under the ivory tower. We walked out of the elevator and into a tunnel system with curved walls to support the earth above. There, we found several men and women passing by, not in lab coats anymore but in armor, vests, and any other sorts of bodily protection, such as visors and helmets.

“Testing range… like Magick and-“

“Weapons, armors, anything really. We come down here to test out the small-scale stuff; bigger things need a place that isn’t underneath a building.”

“Bigger things? Are we going to bring in missiles and drones to Galfania, too? Honestly, not a bad plan, probably should bring a few nukes too just in case.” I mumbled to myself while we continued.

John gave a small laugh as he went down the stairs and opened a door to an armory filled with several guns on racks by the wall, as well as mannequins wearing vests and goggles.

“Look upon ye mighty… and rejoice!” John raised his arms up, showcasing all of the weaponry available.

A few of the people in the armory looked over to John, some of them frowning but rolling their eyes at his antics, as I looked away out of secondhand embarrassment.

While I was used to it, that doesn't mean it still wasn't weird when John was so grandiose and... joyful like that. Sometimes it got on my nerves that he could be so happy, but I never said anything.

However, John didn’t seem to mind as he walked over to some of the racked weapons that were beside a bench where a small team of people were gathered.

“Good to see you guys over here. Meet one of my best friends: Peter. He’s gonna be joining us for the big mission, you all better do your best to keep his butt safe, or it’s gonna be you guys on the line.”

John let out a laugh as they sighed, but a few smirked, and some even chuckled along with him.

“Yeah, we’ll keep him safe.” A woman with long, dark brown hair stood up. She wore a military uniform and held out her hand for me to shake. I felt like I saw her before, sometime when I first got here.

“I’m Officer Charlie of the 11th Watch Tower division. I work under John. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I shook her hand. Epithet had its own private military, also known as the Watch Tower. Although they never called it that officially, that’s what they were basically.

Fine men and women trained with the best equipment and Magick available so that they could do what they do best:

Strong-arm people who managed to do Magick without their permission.

I didn’t know what Epithet did, but they somehow created an enchantment where if anyone used a spell that was recorded in their databanks, they would be tracked by the Watch Tower.

It wouldn’t be long until they received a knock on their door and were dragged back to one of their buildings for questioning and unknown happenings.

This would also happen if their subscription services weren’t paid on time, either. It was said that the best way to track anyone down was to hope they hadn’t paid Epithet recently because they would be the ones to track the other guy down, land, sea, or sky; you weren’t safe.

There was a story about how some Magi tried to escape them by building a base underwater, a few dozen miles below sea level.

It took less than a day for the Watchtower to find and break him out.

“So… any busts recently?” I asked awkwardly, forcing out a little laugh, trying to break the ice that slowly froze between us.

John smirked and slapped my back, once more nearly causing me to stumble. “Hey, that’s confidential…"

He then leaned and whispered. "But the answer is none!”

Charlie rolled her eyes at that. “It’s not confidential in the slightest. And he’s right, no one as of late was that stupid.”

Another man stood up from the bench, this time someone who looked a lot older than either John or I, probably someone in his 30s; a man with a shaved head and a goatee came up and shook my hand as well.

“So you’re Peter, huh? John talked about you here and there. I’m Henry; it’s good to meet you.”

“Ehe… good to meet you too, what do you do here?”

“Working out a debt, failed to pay, and well, gotta do the time.” He sighed a little before trying to give a warm but pained smile.

“But hey, at least I get to point and shoot at anything that moves up north.”

Charlie scoffed with an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, you and the rest of the trigger-happy lot. At least you all will get your wish. Just watch out; there’s a reason why they’re sending a small army up there.”

“Yeah, 'cause if half the things said there are true, then boy, are we in for a treat.” Another girl whistled as she walked back from the firing range. She had light brown hair tied up in a ponytail.

“The Name is Mollie, nice to see more hands on the deck coming in. What are you here for?”

“… Not being poor.”

Everyone around me laughed for a brief moment. I tried to laugh with them too, but I just felt smaller and more uncomfortable after that.

“I’m certain there are way better jobs than going on this trip man.”

“Yeah, and I got rejected on all of them, so… at least I got this one.”

"Well, it's your funeral; at least we don't have to pay for it." Charlie just sat down and began to clean her rifle.

Henry grunted and patted me on the back. “I’ve been there too. I get it.”

“Does it get better?” I turned to face Henry, but he simply faced away with a solemn look in his eyes.

With a sigh, I looked away and muttered. “…Yeah, I thought so.”

Mollie sensed the disturbance in the air, waving it away. “Alright boys, enough feeling sad about ourselves, let’s go shoot stuff. Come with me.”

I looked at John as we were ushered into the shooting range in the next area. “Is that allowed? Can I really test this stuff?”

“Well, of course! Might as well get used to it before the big day. Why, you want to test it out by shooting fish while we sail?”

Charlie nodded along as if it were a matter of fact. “We’re going to do that too, and as well, fire at birds.”

John sighed but grinned as he opened the door to the firing site. The first thing I noticed was how unusually quiet it was, even the gunfire in the distance didn’t ring out as much as it would.

The second was simply how big it was. The entire testing site looked like a warehouse with a curved ceiling and a firing range that was about a football field in length.

There were several people behind the counters, each one testing out the capabilities of their firearms and explosives with protective eyewear and earplugs.

“Like it? The walls, floors, and ceilings absorb sound, but we are still able to hear ourselves. It really helps to focus.”

Mollie went ahead to one of the nearby racks, grabbed a rifle, and handed it to me. “But it won’t be like a real battle; be prepared for chaos on all ends, sounds, noise, whatever it may be.”

I looked down at the gun gingerly. I had never fired one before or even held it. I, of course, knew how it worked, but it was still all so new to me.

“Uhm yeah… got that.”

“Let’s go find the other two; they saved us a spot.” Charlie walked all the way over to the rightmost counter, where two men, both with brown, reddish hair, were currently handling a large Anti-Aircraft rifle, needing both to hold it up and fire, using a stabilizer tripod to hold it down.

Each shot caused a loud boom, which would have echoed throughout the building if not for the sound absorbers, and each time they did so, both men would shake in the recoil.

However, they simply laughed as they fired away without a care in the world until they ran out of bullets.

When they went to reload, Charlie was right behind them, and instinctively, they stood up and stretched their arms.

“Ah, what is it that you need?” The first one, who was taller, a little lankier, and wearing flannel under his armor, asked as he took off his goggles, messing his red hair.

“You want your turn on it now- oy, who’s the other bloke over there? Never seen him around here.” The shorter one, a little bit more stocky, leaned forward to inspect me.

John stepped forward and patted the man in question on the back. “This is Peter, a friend of mine. He’s looking around to check on the people coming to the mission.”

The lanky one took a bow. “The Name is Topher, a pleasure to meet you, Peter. You want to take a turn on the plane killer?”

He patted the anti-aircraft gun as the much more stocky one sat by it. “Don’t worry about the kick; if it sends you flying, we’ll put a pillow on where you ended up so the next time it happens, you’ll feel a lot better.”

“The Name is Derek for your troubles. Whatcha in here for?”

“Money.” I responded with the bluntness of a spoon, causing both men to chuckle.

“Guess we’re in the same boat. Hopefully, we’re all in the same deployment zone when the time comes.”

Mollie laughed and walked to the counter, aiming down her sights. “That requires us all to survive whatever that accursed place throws at us first; even the seas around them are gonna be a challenge.“

She began to shoot every moving target, mowing them down as they continued to pop up.

“We’re going to need to do everything we can to survive.”

I gave a little shrug. I didn't really feel that comfortable with a lot of people around. “John said you guys would be doing all the defending. I’m just gonna be the guy going around and putting herbs and feathers into a bag. It’s not much, but hey, it’s honest work.”

Charlie shook her head and joined Mollie. “You still need to learn how to defend yourself. It’s standard practice with whatever monstrosity comes our way.”

Henry nodded and patted my shoulder. “She’s right, gotta learn while you’re still young. Maybe you can get a job as an officer, too, if you do good enough.”

That sounded nice, but I wanted to be a Magi above all else, and while some used guns, it wasn’t exactly the right path to become an officer for it.

But, I guess if any of the things said about Galfania were right, it was best to at least be prepared for this.

I sighed for a bit; using The Performance Arts of Telekinesis, I grabbed a nearby filled magazine and loaded it into my rifle.

“Hah, that’s the Spirit! Alright, the first to 50 takedowns wins free dinner.” John sat down right next to the control panel to keep track of scores as the rest of the group stood up to join the competition.

“And… begin!”