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 Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:56 pm
It had been a while since Gale had gone to the library; but here he was now, sitting at one of the tables in the back, a stack of dusty books to his side. Idly flipping through one in particular, the title of which was a different language, Gale propped his elbow up on the table and rested his head against his hand, reading glasses slipping down his nose.
There was no real reason for him to actually be reading said books except for a plain and simple curiosity. He turned a page, eyes moving over the unfamiliar symbols with interest.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 6:52 pm
Gale's cellphone buzzed once, twice. There was an unread text, sent by an unidentifiable number. In the text was a single message, an image of a serpent in a circle and a list of coordinates beneath it.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 6:59 pm
Gale almost didn't hear the phone ring, instead focused intensely on the books in front of him. After a moment, however, he became aware of the buzzing noise emanating from his pocket, reached into it, and pulled out his phone. A thumb was slid across the screen to unlock it and read the message.
"Bloody hell."
With a disgruntled expression, Gale slammed the book he was currently reading shut, tucked the phone away again, and exited the library.
A few moments later, he was outside on the grounds, squinting at the coordinates. The first question was obviously if the location of them was on the island, but there was no way of knowing for sure about that unless...
With a feeling more akin to resignation than anything else, Gale tapped out a message.Zoobey Text to ???Where will this lead me? Is it off island?
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:09 pm
Five minutes later, the default invalid number message pinged back.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:41 pm
Well, damn.
With an annoyed look at his phone, Gale swiped a thumb across the screen to get back to the coordinates. The thought to ask Caelius about them very briefly flitted over his mind, and was quickly dispelled because that would only be used as a last resort. As for the Death Division assistant...
Well, Mark was Mark.
Maybe the coordinates was a location on Deus, which meant he had to figure out just where they were. Gale turned and headed back into the library, wondering if there was a computer he could use to decipher them.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:50 pm
There were plenty of computers available, but they were as per usual, set in an extremely public area, due to the number of Hunters who just wanted some good old fashioned photos of Hunters with their weapons. Their other weapons.
As Gale probably knew, which he obviously should because this narration is obviously telling him, information on Deus was limited. To access coordinates, Gale needed clearance, and he could obtain it either through the portal, by bothering his favourite Death Assistant ever, or simply by searching on his cell phone, which already had clearance to most restricted informations.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:56 pm
The library had been a bad idea.
Gale hastily went back outside.
Out on the campus, he looked once more at his phone and the coordinates, idly tapping a finger against the screen. After several more minutes of waffling back and forth between talking to Mark and avoiding Mark at all costs, Gale finally decided to try a different route altogether.
He fetched a notepad from his bag, scribbled down the numbers, and padded over to the lighthouse.
"Do you know where this is, by chance?" Gale asked the tech on duty, extending the paper towards them. The portals led all over the world, which meant inputting data, which meant possibly knowing how to decipher the location of the coordinates.
At least, hopefully.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:01 pm
The Hunter on duty shrugged. "Does it look like I memorize coordinates for absolutely no reason?" He didn't even bother looking at the numbers Gale had shown and pointed to the free console, displaying a digital map. "It's all yours."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:06 pm
Gale resisted the very strong urge to roll his eyes.
"Thanks," he said, instead of the alternative, which involved several choice expletives. Gale slipped over to the console, squinting down at the map first, and then at the paper in his hands, and back down at the map again.
He pressed a few numbers, inputting the data in what he (hoped) was the correct way.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:08 pm
The coordinates simply said INVALID in blinking red.
However, behind Gale, there was a click, and a low whirring noise. A portal had activated to those exact coordinates.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:12 pm
"The hell," Gale muttered in annoyance, scowling at the red letters. It was looking more and more like he would be forced into talking to one of his illustrious leaders, though the concept was daunting.
But just as he was getting ready to resign himself to such a fate, the portal clicked into activation. Gale's eyes flickered towards it, brows raising in surprise. He cast a look back at the portal tech, and then back at the portal.
The question now was - did he dare?
Well, there was really no helping it, as much as Gale was loathed to admit. He gave a sigh, crumpled the paper into his pocket, and eyed the portal with complete and utter wariness.
"Well, here goes nothing," he muttered, more to Jinhai than himself. The dragon gave a small murmur of assent, and then Gale stepped through the portal.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:33 pm
Gale arrived at a beautiful reception hall. It seemed to be in a very tall building, and above him on the wall were mounted the words OPUS LABS LTD. There was a grand piano in the middle of the reception hall, people in fancy suits and dresses were milling around, and food was being catered by a variety of attendants in grey.
"Welcome, Mr. Gentry." The receptionist nodded to him, and then pulled out a name tag that said GALE GENTRY. "Please help yourself. The main event will begin in approximately ten minutes."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:41 pm
Whatever Gale was expecting to be on the other side of the portal - this was not it.
He stared at the grand hall, feeling absurdly under dressed in just a simple pair of khakis and a red button down cardigan that he'd tossed on over a plain white shirt (not to mention the unflattering eyepatch). Gale blinked slowly, wondering if he had somehow mistaken the coordinates, but -
"Er," he said, casting a glance at the receptionist, a stunned expression on his face. After a few seconds of hesitation, he reached out and accepted the name tag.
"T...thank you," he said slowly, cautiously, as he made to pin the tag onto his sweater.
What the hell is Opus Labs?
<< I don't think I've ever heard of that before, which means neither have you. >> Jinhai murmured thoughtfully, as Gale looked around for someone, anyone, that might be familiar while also simultaneously attempting to look like he belonged.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:46 pm
Most people paid Gale no heed, though someone did stop by and offer him some sparkling apple juice. About a minute in, a screen began to lower, a very impressively large monitor.
On it was YES, marked in red and NO, marked in green.
"Votes will begin soon," announced a distinct voice over the speaker system, "do not forget to submit your tally, each vote counts." Immediately, a few attendants appeared, handing out papers that simply allowed the choice of YES or NO.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:57 pm
Gale took the sparkling apple juice with a certain amount of resignation and sipped it delicately because he was an adult.
The monitor was given a bemused look.
Voting? Gale thought in alarm, glancing about the room. What kind of voting? For what? Why?
A thousand and one questions that he couldn't possibly ask without seeming ignorant. Gale's gaze moved from person to person, turning only to offer a faint smile and a quiet thank you to the attendant that passed him the paper.
He stood there staring at it in mixed confusion and frustration, hoping his face didn't register any of this.
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