(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Emergency, emergency

Just as the two of them were about to scan themselves into the Guiding Division, a loud, long tone could be heard throughout the building. On the other side of the door, loud voices and footsteps could be heard, before the door was flung open, and Casper flew past them. Kellen was pretty sure he didn’t even register that Kellen and Brent were there.

Shortly after Casper left, another swarm of Guides left the Division, and Kellen and Brent waited for a second outside of the door, making sure they weren’t in anyone’s way, before stepping into the Division proper.

It was a mess. Whatever that warning was, it was serious, and had all of the older Guides freaking out. Some of the younger ones seemed worried, but not fully concerned. All except the little Guide that Kellen knew was Casper’s assistant simply because he was seated at a desk outside of Casper’s office, and was frantically answering phones like his life depended on it.

Kellen made his way towards him, knowing that if he was going to get answers, it was going to be from him. But, he also waited his turn. There was no need to stress the man out more by demanding answers when it was clear to him that Casper had ordered him to do something first. When he had hung up the phone with a slight frown on his face, he noticed Kellen and Brent finally. He flushed.

"Excuse me, is everything alright?" Kellen asked him, and they seemed stunned at the sight of Kellen. He swallowed thickly.

"O-Oh, well, I can’t just-" Kellen realised that the man probably didn’t recognise him without his uniform. He couldn’t blame him, he was probably pretty stressed. Fumbling with his pocket, Kellen pulled out his id card and showed his name, rank, and level of clearance to them. He relaxed immediately. "I just tried to call the Field Department, but didn’t get an answer. Thank goodness it was because you were right in front of me. Sorry for not recognising you Guide Woods, and Guide Jameson." Brent smiled warmly at the panicked Guide.

"No worries, cutie. Can you tell us what’s going on?" Guide Anderson nodded.

"Lieutenant Casper is currently off dealing with an emergency situation that has broken out. It seems that there are a couple of Espers who are at dangerously low levels. That was what the alarm was. It is usually used when an Esper is near a surge, and apparently, there are several. He has several Guides nearby, but he shouted that I grabbed you two for him." Immediately, Kellen felt alarm bells go in the back of his mind.

The whole conversation with Gwen came to the forefront of his mind, and he had no doubt that was the reason Casper had asked for him as well. That, and both Brent and Kellen were also A Class Guides, the only other two in the Guild outside of Casper. If push came to shove, Kellen would rather beg for forgiveness later, then ask for permission when it came to saving someone’s life, and if the Captain knew him at all, he would understand that as well.

Kellen felt his jaw harden, hating that Gwen’s slight suggestion might be true, and Guide Anderson swallowed. "Uh, are you alright, Sir?" He asked, and Kellen shook himself. Even Brent was staring at Kellen, his eye brow raised. Kellen set a smile back on his face, but was sure neither one of them was soothed. They were both Guides, they knew the tricks.

"Can you tell me where Casper wants us to go?" He nodded, while Kellen glanced around the room. The anxiety took on a completely different meaning now that he knew that was the surge tone. The newer Guides lack of concern really made Kellen worried, while the older Guides were trying to take charge in the meantime. They were continuing their sessions, because they didn’t need the potential of more surging Espers on their hands. They had to pretend that everything was okay.

But, one thing he noticed was that even though it was close to the time he was supposed to pick up his trainees, there was no one here. Not even Bree. "I know this is slightly off topic, but where are the Guides we are supposed to start training today? I don’t see them." Guide Anderson’s shoulders slightly relaxed at being asked a question he could easily answer.

"Most are just finishing up guiding sessions, and the other half were doing a quick warm up a level up from the incident for your lesson, so Lieutenant Casper grabbed them to help him. He’s at the upper level Esper training room. Not the gym level, but the other room. It’s just above the obstacle course room." Kellen appreciated the simple, but easy to follow directions. He glanced at Brent, and Brent had been taking a sip of his drink. In fact, it looked like he was chugging it.

He was sure Brent had grasped the seriousness of the situation, and knew that Casper asking for our help after asking for a bunch of Guides to help him wasn’t a good sign. Something was clearly off, and they were the kind of people who would help out at any moment.

"Thank you for your directions, Guide Anderson." He blinked, having not expected Kellen to remember his name. His cheeks flushed, before he nodded.

"It’s my pleasure." He muttered as Brent finished his drink and tossed it into the trashcan behind Guide Anderson.

"May I ask that when the others finish their guiding sessions that you have them wait here and we’ll come get them? If you let them know we’re helping out with the incident, and that might eat into our first lesson, they will hopefully understand." Kellen told him with his best Guide smile. Guide Anderson nodded. "If they complain, tell them that we’ll punish them when we get back." He froze, before glancing at the two Guides cloaked in all black. He swallowed thickly before nodding again. Kellen smiled, before he spun on his heel and headed for the door, Brent following after him.

He really, truly, hoped that he, Gwen and Casper were wrong. It would be a nightmare scenario if this was true. Guides were integral to keeping Espers sane. Everyone knew that, and it had taken years to get Espers to trust them wholeheartedly without chains and other awful controlling devices. Kellen could have forgiven them if they were running away from their duties. He would have hated them, but he could at least forgive and understand. It was a lot of pressure to put on a person. But to be hired for a job, and not do it? That was a whole different fucking story.

Brent didn’t ask any questions, keeping pace with Kellen as they stormed out of the Guiding Division and moved quickly towards the elevators. Kellen briefly thought about taking the stairs, but the elevator arrived before he toyed with that thought for too long. Since Brent had already finished his drink, Kellen worked on finishing his own. Brent used his card to get them to the level above the obstacle course room, but both remained silent for the ride up. Brent only cast a look at Kellen once, and from the hard set of his jaw, it was clear Brent knew something was wrong internally.

Just like Kellen, Brent hated when others did a piss poor job.

The elevator doors opened, and Kellen tossed his empty cup into the garbage there while he let Brent take the lead. Like most A Class Guides, he was able to sense power fluctuations in the air from Espers. He kept his pace quick, while Kellen followed behind him.