Chapter 30: Reheat

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Reheat

He flicked on the small lamp by the toaster.

A small square of paper was stuck to the top.

He peeled it off and squinted at the handwriting.

Reheat it. Don’t eat it cold like a goblin. Z.

Jared snorted.

’This is probably mine.’

He lifted a corner of the foil. Underneath sat a generous pile of chicken parmesan, the breading gone a little soft, the cheese crusted gold at the edges, resting on a tangle of spaghetti and a heap of steamed green beans.

He just peeled the foil off, transferred the plate to a microwave safe dish, and slid it into the microwave. He punched in 2 minutes, hit start, and leaned against the counter.

The machine hummed. The little light inside glowed. The plate turned slowly on its glass tray, round and round, steam beginning to fog the window.

[Charming.]

"Don’t."

[A midnight snack, paired with a note from a girl. A tender domestic moment.]

"It’s 2:41 am. Nothing about this is tender."

[It’s extremely tender. You’re smiling.]

"I’m not smiling."

[You are. Slightly. At a microwave. No less]

The microwave beeped.

He opened the door, stirred the spaghetti, flipped the chicken, and sent it back in for another 90 seconds. When it beeped again, he pulled the plate out with a dishtowel, set it on the counter, and grabbed a fork. The smell filled the kitchen at once, rich with tomato and garlic and melted cheese. His stomach growled so loudly it echoed.

He carried the plate to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. The first bite burned his tongue. He didn’t care. He chewed slowly, eyes closed, and let the warmth spread through his chest.

’This is incredible.’

The kitchen was peaceful.

Then, halfway through the green beans, his mind began to wander.

’It’s time I started.’

He stopped chewing.

He’d known it for a while, he realized. It had been hovering at the back of his thoughts since the documentary. He couldn’t keep stumbling around his own backyard, setting things on fire and arguing with the system. He needed to start for real. Join a guild. Go into the gates. Do the thing that beast masters actually did.

But something nagged at him.

’Why didn’t the original Jared just sign up with Mom and Dad?’

It was the obvious move. His parents ran a guild. They’d have taken him in a heartbeat. He had awakened months ago. He had bonded with an SSS rank beast. He’d had everything he needed, and yet he’d stayed home, trained in the yard, and let the months slide by.

’It doesn’t make sense.’

He twirled a bit of spaghetti around his fork and stared at the wall. The answer wasn’t in the memories. It wasn’t in the phone. He turned it over, and over, and over.

Then, quietly, the answer or at least an assumption came to him.

He set the fork down.

’He was waiting.’

His chest went tight.

’He was waiting on Zoey.’

Jared sighed, long and slow.

It fit. It fit too well. The old Jared had probably been counting down the days until she awakened, sitting on his hands, refusing to go ahead without her. All those months of training in the yard weren’t aimlessness. They were patience.

’Because he loved her.’

The words arrived in his head, simple and clear.

Saying them, even silently, made Jared feel strange.

’Why is my stomach doing that?’

[Oh,] the system said.

"What?"

[Nothing.]

"Why are you saying ’oh’?"

[I’m not saying anything. I’m simply observing.]

[Your heart rate is 112. Your temperature has gone up by half a degree. You’ve gone pink.]

"I haven’t gone pink."

[Butterflies. It’s textbook stuff. You’ve got a whole swarm.]

"It’s the chicken."

[Sure if you must, blame the delicious meal. I’ll have you know It’s not the chicken.]

"It’s the heat. From the microwave then."

[Rex.]

He pushed the plate away an inch and rubbed his face with both hands. The flutter wouldn’t stop. It buzzed against his ribs like a trapped insect, every time he thought of her name. Zoey, calling him a weirdo. Zoey, pinning him in the dirt with tears in her eyes, begging him to stop.

’This isn’t mine. This isn’t my feeling. It’s his.’

But he couldn’t quite tell where the line was anymore.

’What’s me and what’s the other Jared?’

He lowered his hands, took a breath, and made himself say it out loud.

"I’m not going to do the same."

The kitchen was quiet.

"In fact, my time in the city wilds proved I’m not at the luxury to do the same."

He couldn’t wait around for anyone. Not for Zoey. Not for his parents. Not for a better moment. He had learned that much, painfully, in the last 2 days. There was no time. Things came for you, and they took what they wanted, and they didn’t wait for you to be ready.

He considered going back to the wilds, just for a moment.

’No. That’s not a good idea. Not after that.’

He shook his head slowly.

"Since I can lose beasts," he said, "I might as well just partake in the real thing."

He lifted his chin.

"I guess it’s time I go join a guild."

[Finally.]

"I’ll talk to Zoey about it in the morning."

[That’s wise.]

"If she’s on board, and Mom and Dad aren’t reachable, then I’m going to abandon the old guy’s idea of working with his parents and trying to convince Zoey too."

[That’s cold. You’re just abandoning the family business? The plan? The legacy?]

"It was his plan. Not mine."

[That’s extremely harsh.]

"I’m being practical."

[You’re being a bit of a monster.]

Jared shrugged, picked up his fork, and stabbed a piece of chicken. He raised it to his mouth.

Then he froze.

"Wait," he said.

He lowered the fork.

The system hummed. [Oh, no. He’s having a thought.]

"The city wilds."

[What about the city wilds?]

"They can’t have high ranking beasts. It doesn’t make sense." He sat up straight, eyes wide, thinking fast. "Think about it. It’s inside the city. It’s practically a neighborhood. If something strong got loose, it could rampage right into the streets. There’s a containment. There has to be. But it’s not the kind of high impact barrier that could hold a truly capable beast."

[Mm.]

"That’s why it’s only full of weak ones. ManShrubs. Little lizards. Nothing that could break out."

[You’re babbling.]

"I’m not babbling."

[You’re babbling quite a lot. You’ve gone on for a full minute, and none of it is about the chicken.]

"No, I’m not." He pushed back his chair and stood up. "That owl wasn’t some random beast. That wasn’t just a wild thing stealing a shiny rock. It belonged to a beast master."

It’s a realization he’d come to earlier when he realized the beast seemed intelligent yet he had never given it much thought.

"There’s no way some random beast would possess the ability to nullify attacks. Not like that. Not that cleanly. Fire, water, ice. It negated all of them. That kind of control....."

[That’s a reasonable deduction.]

"It’s the only one that makes sense."

Jared stood in the middle of the kitchen, fists clenched at his sides. He wasn’t smiling. Despite the realization, despite how clear it all was, there was no triumph in his face. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark and fixed on the floor.

Then something shifted.

A slow, strange smile spread across his lips.

"So what?" he said.

[I’m sorry?]

"So what? So it belonged to a beast master." He laughed, short and quiet. "That means it’s not impossible. It means there’s a person. A real, regular, breathing person with my gem in his pocket, somewhere in this city."

[That’s ..... .]

"It’s give and take."

[I’m not quite sure what you mean by that.]

"There are little rules among beast masters." He picked up the fork again, twirling it between his fingers. "Unwritten ones. Gems get traded. Gems get stolen. Gems get lost. It’s a game with a lot of moving pieces."

[And so?]

"And so I’m going to steal back my gem."

The system said nothing.

"But I’m also going to make sure I never lose one again.

Jared stopped.

[Don’t say it. Don’t say you’re also going to attempt stealing beast gems to level up.]

Jared looked awkwardly at the ceiling. His ears went red. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

"No," he said.

[No?]

"No. I thought about it, no doubt. But no."

[That’s the most dishonest ’no’ I’ve ever heard.]

"It’s an honest no. I considered it. I rejected it."

[Hm.]

"I’m also going to level up my beast bonds," he continued, "so that way if anyone does steal a gem off me, they won’t be able to access the power."

[That’s a bit paranoid.]

"No."

He set the fork down. His voice grew quieter, harder, steady as stone.

"That’s just precaution. No one is ever going to steal from me. I’ll ensure it."

[...]

"In the morning, it begins." He straightened. "I go into the gates. I slay beasts. And I grind some beast points."

[Well said.]