The Dark Warlock's Game

Chapter 3: Echoes of Survival

Vardy and Luthor rested on hard beds under flickering lights, accompanied by Tracy, who felt safer there than in her dorm.

The nurse, with tired eyes behind a white mask, silently tended to them.

"Where are the others, miss?" Luthor inquired as he sat up, his injuries comparatively light. "Damn, why do they get to be up there while we're stuck down here, huh?"

"The other two are in intensive care," the nurse replied curtly. "You are lucky to be down here. Means you at least have the energy to talk like that."

"Oh," Luthor responded, deflating slightly.

Vardy stared at the cracks in the ceiling wordlessly. He had heard what happened to Frank and Jesse, the Frame students who had fled.

"They had been chased down and mercilessly hunted down by Altanas that smelled their fear," Vardy explained, "and they were savagely beaten again and again as the Altana students tried to fight for who got the knockout points."

Meanwhile, because Dean and his crew had personally dealt with Vardy, Luthor, and Tracy, no other Altanas wanted to compete against Dean and try to claim they had beaten Vardy and his little group.

"In a way, Dean's cruelty had saved them from further harm," Vardy added.

"I doubt they will stay here," the nurse interjected. "White Oak will probably discharge them considering the severity of their injuries, and I doubt they can afford to call in a Restorer."

Vardy and the others nodded in understanding.

It was a known fact that among Altana powers, ones that healed the body were extraordinarily rare.

"Powers that healed the self were not that uncommon, but healing others manifested in such rarity that any Altana that could heal even little cuts on others was guaranteed a lifetime of wealth and employment," Vardy explained.

Altanas capable of this were categorized as Restorers, and their services cost fortunes to hire. Medical technology had advanced to the point where anything short of death could be healed, but recovery still took time and effort neither of which White Oak was willing to spend much on Duds.

And it was a sick joke to even suggest a Frame student hire a proper high-end Restorer to heal their wounds instantly.

The nurse sighed and shook her head before staring at Vardy, Luthor, and Tracy. "You three should consider leaving, too, before this place eats you up and spits you back out in broken pieces."

"Fuck that," Luthor retorted. "I get rich, or I die trying."

"Well, I'm not really here to give life advice, so you do you," the nurse shrugged before she left, walking upstairs to tend to patients upstairs.

After a brief pause, Luthor spoke again.

"You were insane out there, Aldy. You beat the sht out of a couple of those Altana idiots. Did you see how stupid that guy looked before you knocked him out? I could replay that moment in my head a thousand times over."

"Same here," Vardy concurred.

"Why didn't you tell us you could use the Frames?" Tracy interjected. "Why didn't you tell us how to use them earlier?"

Vardy hesitated before responding. "I… I wanted to keep my skills hidden, make sure they underestimated us."

"You wanted to keep your skills hidden, right? Make sure they underestimated you," Luthor surmised.

Vardy raised a brow, surprised that Luthor could parse this despite seeming so dumb.

"Y'know, it's just natural. If you're good at something, you keep it to yourself, especially when you're powerless like us," Luthor explained. "I don't put it against you. It's just the way the world is. Every advantage you can take, you take."

"I suppose," Tracy sighed. "You're right. I just thought that for Frame students like us, all we've got in this academy was each other. I was willing to fight for you two just because you were Duds like me."

"And we can still be allies," Vardy reassured her. "You're right. We need allies here, and no Altana is going to associate with us. In the future, it will be optimal for us to work together.

"If you suspect my trustworthiness, then think about this: how could I have known our first test was going to be a free-for-all bloodbath? If I had known beforehand and had time to piece together a plan, I would have informed everyone and created a strategy that maximized our strengths and covered our weaknesses. But I can't see the future like some Altanas can, can I?"

"Yes, I don't really blame you," Tracy conceded. "It's like Luthor said. When you're a Dud like us where everyone in the world seems to be out to get you, it's just natural to take the advantages you can. I just had a bad gut reaction, but I've thought through it."

"Anyway, considering it looks like we're going to be the last three Frame students left, let's get to know each other," Luthor suggested. "So, what are you all in here for? Why are you guys so desperate you're willing to get your asses kicked ten different ways just for a chance to graduate from this shthole?"

Tracy and Vardy remained silent for several seconds.

"My parents were heroes," Vardy began, "They were killed by the Aegaon. I want to get a license to hunt them down."

"Damn, that's pretty hardcore," Luthor remarked. "I can see why you've got so much drive behind those dead eyes of yours. And you, Tracy?"

"My parents weren't heroes, but they were Altanas," Tracy explained. "When they realized I was a Dud, they disowned me and threw me out to the Wastes."

Vardy felt a twinge of sympathy for her. The Wastes were considered areas ravaged by Vagrant activity where the truly desperate settled, forming ragtag, tiny towns and cities where poverty and desperation filled the air.

"That's fucked," Luthor sympathized. "How old were you?"

"Five, I think," Tracy replied. "It was so long ago, so I don't remember much."

Luthor shook his head in disbelief. "The world hates us, what can I say. I'm the same deal as you. Parents had powers, I had none, so they threw me out. I survived in the Wastes working odd jobs, scrapping for metal and broken tech here and there and, of course, stealing when I could.

"How'd you survive?" Luthor inquired.

"An old Techno took me in," Tracy revealed. "I might not have had powers, but I did have a knack for coding. I helped out at his shop when I could. Tried to earn my keep but keeping drones running."

Technos were a class of Altanas capable of manipulating technology in some enhanced capacity. That Tracy could help out a proper Techno meant the old Techno either pitied her that much or she was just that naturally talented.

"Sweet, so you're smart," Luthor remarked.

Tracy shifted uncomfortably, unused to praise. "I do what I can," she replied, her eyes casting down.

Rumple - that’s the name of the guy that took me in - he's getting old. His memory's fading and his powers don't work for him anymore. I don't want him to die in the Wastes all alone, worked to the bone like that. I want to graduate from here, become a hero, and get him a place to live in a Neo-City where he can spend the rest of his days in quiet. That's the least I owe him."

"You've got a good heart," Luthor complimented.

"But at the end of the day, I also wanted friends," Luthor admitted with a smile directed at his companions. "And what do you know! I've got two friends already. A tech genius and a silent badass. Can't say I'm disappointed."

"You don't have much room to be disappointed," Vardy said with a faint smile. Luthor's positive energy was infectious, Vardy had to admit.

"And friends gotta' stick together," Luthor declared, placing a fist to his heart. "Especially powerless people like us. I got this feeling, but if we stick together, I feel like we'll all make it through this no problem."

"Hope so," Tracy said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Vardy agreed simply, though he couldn't shake the feeling that things might not turn out as smoothly as Luthor hoped.