The Cyborg System-Chapter 57: Faith and Devotion

Rose awoke early that morning to pray. She was knelt, grasping her cross tightly between her fingers as she mouthed the words to herself. This was a new habit; one she had formed since beginning her military service. Although it was strange, as she had always considered it a chore back at Sanctuary. Oddly, after only a week or so she had missed it. It made her think of home, or the only place she had ever really considered home anyway. She often thought of Mother Mercy and her teachings too. When training got tough, or she felt fear or reluctance to fight, she would think about how Mother Mercy would have dealt with the situation, without complaint or hesitation.

She prayed that the Sanctuary Kids were doing well, that their expedition would go safely and that, above all else, Lenny and Harry would be safe without her. She knew Lenny well enough to understand his pride could get in the way. His ability was strange, and in the present climate, there were dangers if he showed too much, but at the same time, if he held back at the wrong moment, that could be dangerous too. It sometimes felt like his fate rested on the edge of a knife, while at other times, she sensed he was the one holding the knife.

"Oh, Lenny..." she thought. Her feelings for him were tender, more than he really knew, but how could he understand that she had taken a solemn vow? Sure, there were those amongst the Madonnas who ignored their vows, or so she suspected. Mother Charity especially filled her mind at this thought, but she had made the promise before the eyes of God. Though she might not always have been a good Christian, she still had faith. She still believed, no matter what the other Sanctuary Kids thought.

And though God would surely test them, she also believed that he would guide them too. Above all though, she knew God helped those who helped themselves.

*

Mother Charity—or Helen, as she now went by—was sat at the bar, wearing a tight-fitting red dress. She felt strongly that the new attire showed off her curves much more elegantly than that old blue one, not to mention the veil. For a woman in her early forties, she was in very good shape indeed. A bottle of blonde hair dye had helped to freshen her appearance too, along with some flashy silver earrings. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

She had reinvented herself after the attack from the House of Cards. She never wanted to face that fear again. The fear of imminent death. Marius from the Fiends had always had an eye for her, and though they had stolen away moments together in the past, it was quite different to be his. She had assumed an exclusivity to their arrangement after leaving the church, but that had been somewhat naïve on her part. Now, she spent evenings in the Layer, the base of the Fiends, plied with cheap drinks and worse company, hoping that tonight Marius would be coming back with her.

"Another beer?" asked the barman.

She downed the last dregs and nodded in agreement. A fresh bottle took its place and small bowl of peanuts came along with it. She wasn’t a fan of the salty flavour, but grabbed a handful from hunger.

"If you’re looking for Marius, he had to take a job out of town," said the barman.

Strange, he hadn’t even mentioned it. She’d messaged him, but there was no reply. For all his faults, she missed his sweet nothings, the way he would whisper in her ear or kiss her neck, the way he would feel when their bodies pressed together. "Damn, how have I got myself in this situation?"

She thought about going back to the Madonnas, momentarily, but dismissed the idea. That would just be trading one purgatory for another.

"Pretty girls like you," said the barman. "Shouldn’t look so sad."

She smiled at him in response—it was a thin, empty smile.

*

When the notification went out for a Level-2 gate, the Holy Order—as they now referred to themselves—were the first to respond to the message. Mother Mercy had mobilised the old gang of Madonnas, plus the new recruits they had hired from the neighbourhood. However, not having the money to pay for a PTV, never mind a helicopter or whatever else the Four Pillars could afford, she had had to come up with a creative solution to their transport problem that she half remembered from an old book.

"It’ll have to do for now," she thought. "Until we can put some money away."

She had considered selling the rest of the weapons cache, maybe buying something cheap and unreliable second-hand, but she figured she would need the few weapons they had left now more than ever.

However, when a gang of fifteen—mostly middle-aged women in blue tunics—could be seen on the horizon, pedalling up to a freshly opened portal on their bicycles, the few slum dwellers with nowhere else to go, still gathered in the street nearby, stared at them with strange looks. Even the gun drone appeared to be surprised by their arrival.

Mother Mercy slammed on the back break, causing the bicycle to skid. She dumped it on the curb, removing the staff that had been balanced across and tied to the handlebar and slammed it into the ground, activating its core.

When the Black Wolves in the area howled and turned to face this new intruder, deafened by the screech, she knew it had had the desired effect.

*

At Group Warfare that day, Rose had not been surprised when Legion had asked to fight a predator tier beast. It was the expected outcome. What had surprised her, however, was when Roman asked the others to stay back. For the first time, she had seen Roman transform into a giant Leviathan. She had to admit, the sight was awe-inspiring. He had not walked through the giant predator tier White Tiger, as he had expected though.

Actually, he’d taken several nasty gashes to the body, tearing off some scales in the process. When the beast had activated its speed affinity, it used it to lash out with its claws, trying to tear its opponent wide open.

"Fool," said Master Ackerman, shaking his head at the young boy’s arrogance. This was Group Warfare after all. He’d been tempted to not allow it, but thought the exercise might teach him some humility.

Roman had reason for his confidence though. In terms of size, he dwarfed it, and yet, the monster was a tier above anything else he’d faced, its body hardened with essence. However, as he finally grasped the White Tiger’s back between his jaws, biting down as hard he could with his strengthened form, it was clear the fight was over. The sound of crunching bones could be heard, as the beast was paralysed, then bit clean through. If he’d been tasked with taking out one or two more, though, it wasn’t clear what the outcome would have been. There were some downsides to the transformation ability after all. Unlike the spirit beasts, their essence was transforming in the first place, so no additional ability could be used on top. Also, for a size so exaggerated and different from his usual form, it would be impossible for him to utilise spirit weapons or armour at the same time.

This scene brought a sense of reality to those gathered. "Even the strongest of us students," thought Rose. "Struggle against the predators."

As Roman transformed back into his human form, it became apparent his clothes had been completely torn to shreds. He stood there, his member hanging loose, with gashes all over his arms and body.

"Clothes," he demanded, looking at Darius.

The boy nodded, opening up a backpack and tossed over some shorts and a vest.

"Ivy, your groups next," said Master Ackerman. "What tier do you want?"

"Predator," she said without hesitation.

Rose nodded and tightly grasped her staff, ready for another fight. She felt a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. She thought to herself: "What would Mother Mercy do?"

*

It was late that night, and she was just drying her hair after using the communal showers in the women’s facilities. Her roommate was absent, as she often was. She was fond of a certain boy from the Salamanders... not Nicholas, from their Section, but Brian, their only indigo sash. He was quite handsome. More often than not, she would sleep in his room, while Rose slept on her own.

They’d not developed much of a rapport, and so sometimes it felt like she had no roommate, and then when she reappeared, it gently reminded her that wasn’t so.

She was just brushing her hair when there was a knock at the door, followed by a thud. In her pyjamas, she wasn’t sure if she should answer it, but then came a voice: "Rose...?"

"Lenny?"

She moved quickly to the door and removed the bolt, swinging it open.

Lenny had been leant up against the door and so fell to the floor. His body was covered in deep slashes, including one on his face that had cut through the nose and cheek. He was struggling to stay conscious, having lost a lot of blood.

"What happened?" she asked. "Lenny?"

But he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, drifting into the embrace of unconsciousness like a warm blanket.