New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 968: A Warning, A Choice, An Opportunity

"What's the point here, twer-Ahem... Sir?"

Alex's eyelid twitched, as he knew what she was about to call him.

"Just fucking lift it," he growled, getting annoyed.

She did as told, her eyes trailing his reaction cautiously.

The crate was empty, but even then, it was still a chunky piece of metal. And although the weight wasn't much of an issue, the size alone had her using both of her arms to lift.

Resting it on her midsection, she raised it as high as she could with the poor grip she could get on the crate, before slamming it back down.

"There. Happy?" she asked, slightly annoyed at being physically tested.

"Almost. Now it's my turn," Alex said, smiling at her.

'What?' she wondered.

'What's he going to do? Tap it and grunt as he lifts it?' she chuckled in her mind.

Carol was a stocky, brutish almost, and she was confident in her strength. So, when she looked at Alex's tone but still trim physique, in her opinion, she couldn't help but think he was weak.

But her jaw hit the floor the next second.

Alex put one hand on the crate, and with a whining of metal bending, she watched as the crate dented under his fingers. And the next second, he lifted it off the ground with one hand.

"What the..."

And Alex wasn't done.

Tossing the crate up and down a couple of times, like it weighed nothing at all, he finished by catching it in his two hands and grinning at her.

Then, with naught but a fraction of his body's new strength, he crushed the crate between his hands as it sheared and bent into a ball of aluminum and plastic lining.

Just like that, in a matter of seconds, he crushed it like it was nothing but an empty bag of chips.

Alex looked at her incredulous face, as her eyes shifted from him to the crate, and back, her mouth agape.

"Ho... Wha... Tha... What the fuck, kid?!" she blurted, stammering her first few words.

Alex tossed the crate to the side, as it clattered to the ground, and walked over to her, stopping a foot away from her.

"Major Schrute, please do not misunderstand this as a threat. I hold no intention of scaring you. But I do want to make something clear. The people you carry on this plane are far from ordinary. We make look like just your regular Dick and Jane, but we are far more dangerous.

"Even the children wield power that would leave your mind a mumbling mess. If you want to keep working with us, I need you to understand the power dynamics of this group, not as employer and employee. But as human and awakened.

"Yes, we call ourselves the awakened. I know, it's lame. I didn't come up with it. But do keep in mind one thing. The awakened, even the weakest of us, can kill a regular person in a breath. Please be mindful of how you treat us, lest you anger someone, and end up as a pension check to your relatives..."

Her heart dropped as the wears reached her brain. Instinctively, her body started shaking, but she wasn't sure why.

She couldn't tell if it was rage or fear.

Alex didn't want to leave her in this state, so he put his hand on her shoulder, pulsing a weak wave of mana into her body, calming it down. He saw her gaze become cloudy for a second, before she blinked and came back to.

"You alright? I think you went into shock for a second, there," Alex tried joking.

She looked down at his hand on her shoulder and stepped back defensively.

"What are you? Are you even human?" she asked, raising her hands again.

Alex sighed again.

'Why do people always fear what they don't understand?'

"I am human, but not human. It's hard to explain. Listen, we don't have time for this. I need you to be ok with this now, not later.

"If not, I'll call Alfred and have you replaced by someone who will be, and we'll arrange for you to get a plane ticket to wherever you want to go. But this is not a decision you can weigh in or think about over a cold one. You're choosing now."

"Even the kids? You made me allow them into the cockpit. They were sitting mere feet away from me..."

"Hey, snap out of it!" Alex barked, getting tired of her confusion and fear.

"Are you in, or are you out? I want an answer now."

The woman looked at him with wide eyes, her mind racing.

Were these people monsters? Were they trustworthy?

Would she be in danger if she flew with them?

So many questions buzzed through her mind.

But Alex was in no mood to wait.

"You got five seconds. Then I'm calling Alfred, he said, crossing his arms.

But the Major's mind was already made up.

"Don't call him. I'll do it. But you gotta promise me you won't eat me," she said, looking

serious.

This caught Alex off guard, and he froze.

"Eat you? What kind of fucking monster do you think we are?" he exclaimed before chuckling.

"Hey, don't laugh! I don't fucking know what things you do," she rebutted.

"Fine. I promise no one will eat you. We cool?"

Shaking her head hesitantly, she finally lowered her arms.

In her mind, Carol was trembling in fear. She had no idea what kind of risk she was taking.

But as she looked at the surrounding aircraft, she couldn't let this chance slip by. She had always wanted to pilot this kind of plane in the private sector. Free of worry, free of the high-

risk flight zones.

The salary was also nothing she would ever get anywhere else. Even a year of this was more than she'd made her entire career in the Air Force.

Spitting on this would be foolish. Even if it meant flying around monsters...

She bit the bullet and accepted by virtue alone of her greed, with a side of curiosity.

'Let's just hope they keep their promise...'