Chapter 348: Healers are the backbone of any Guild

Kellen would admit, he was getting a bit annoyed. Where the hell was Rhys? Or anyone, actually?

Not that he couldn’t make it work, and not that he wasn’t handling the situation well, he was just confused, and also wondered if they were blind or something? It didn’t make sense that they wouldn’t notice what was going on in the Guild building, especially since Kellen, Sergei, Brent and the others had found over 20 intruders at this point, and several safe rooms full of people, or partially full of people.

They had also found far too many casualties. Mostly scientists and civilians because most of the Guides weren’t in the building, but it was a significant loss of life that had Zaria beside herself. She knew most of the people personally, which made complete sense. Kellen felt terrible for her, and for Aunt Dina and the families of those who didn’t even know that they had passed yet.

It honestly felt like it was one thing after another for Aunt Dina, and Kellen wasn’t even sure if these people knew what they were planning, let alone wanted to participate. It was a low, cruel thing to do, but Kellen wasn’t going to change his stance just because they were evil. They continued to shoot to injure, only taking it further if they actively behaved in a way that could put them or the others in danger.

They’d been able to make quite a bit of progress up the building, but Kellen still knew that they had a while to go. They hadn’t even made it to the living quarters yet, or the levels where the medical team were, and Kellen shuddered worrying about them.

He had a vague understanding of what time it was. He thought he’d have a better understanding, but there was something strange going on with all of the clocks on their phones as well as on the walls of the rooms. It didn’t matter if the clock was digital or not, the time seemed to be frozen.

That did tell Kellen that some kind of time thing had been cast on the building, but that didn’t help him understand why or how. He didn’t know as much about Rhys’ powers as he’d like to know, but Kellen felt that most people didn’t. Time Espers were rare, and their powers were not well known. Even with Kellen himself becoming a Time Esper he still didn’t know as much as he’d like to.

It was frustrating, but all Kellen could do was continue doing what he was doing. Making his way towards the others. He didn’t want to consider that they were in trouble, that didn’t make him feel good. He didn’t like the pain in his chest as the time continued to drag on and he hadn’t seen a sign of them.

His gut wasn’t telling him that they were in danger, and he wasn’t seeing any visions, but that didn’t mean that things were fine. Kellen’s only hope was that they had busted out of the building and were fighting the people outside of the building, not that they were trapped inside like Kellen and the others were.

That was the best Kellen could hope for at the moment.

~

Kellen and the group were inching closer and closer to the Medical Bay, and one of the things that Kellen was noticing, as was Sergei, was that the number of intruders was next to zero, and if they did find someone....Well, they weren’t alive, that was for sure.

That did have Kellen and the others on high alert. That meant that someone was around killing them, and that could be a dangerous individual or individuals that might target anyone and everyone, or it could be a member of the Guild. There might be a third option, but that third option was that Rhys was here in Kellen’s mind.

Either way, it meant that the group was on high alert, everyone scanning the area, careful of their steps. It was just as well that they were, since it was Sergei and the Wind Esper who stopped them. Sergei put his hand out in front of Kellen and Brent, preventing them from moving forward. Kellen was about to ask him what was going on when the Wind Esper made a sudden wave of air and appeared to cut through something.

Kellen blinked, confused as Sergei gave a soft chuckle.

"We either just avoided a trap, or set off one. Be prepared, everyone." Kellen felt his spine stiffen at Sergei’s calm tone, his grip shifting on the gun in his hands. That was...not anything good to hear.

The others closed in on the weaker members of the group, protecting everyone’s back as they waited. Did that mean that Kellen and Brent were being protected? Yes, but Kellen didn’t mind. He didn’t need to be targeted because he needed to get to Rhys. The bullet wouldn’t hit, given the fact that so many people with them weren’t going to allow that, but it didn’t hurt to think of Rhys in a moment like this.

Kellen watched as the others listened, Kellen keeping his own ears open. The waiting killed him, but it was the right thing to do. Especially when the people who did slam the door open were familiar, and welcomed, faces.

"Who the fuc-Kellen? Sergei, Brent? Zaria! Oh, thank goodness!" Uncle Vance was pointing a huge weapon at them, one that Kellen had seen at the weapon expo that he had gone to with Rhys before. It was too big for Kellen to use as a Field Guide, but a healer?

Good for Uncle Vance.

He wasn’t alone. He had a few other Healers with him, all suited up with weapons and armor. They weren’t clean, either. They had clearly faced off with several intruders, and from Uncle Vance’s glimmer in his eye, he wasn’t sorry in the least.

"We’re a mixed group from the gym and Zaria came from a mission I’d sent her on outside. We’ve been making our way up to this level since the alert went out." Sergei said. That seemed to confuse Uncle Vance.

"An alert went out?" He asked and Kellen nodded.

"Yeah. Aunt Dina sent one. Didn’t you see it?" Kellen asked and Uncle Vance gave Kellen a confused look. He lowered his weapon, frowning as he scanned Kellen, his eyes green, and Kellen let out a soft sigh. "How much have you been using your abilities? You should be more careful, Uncle Vance." Kellen warned, knowing how much Healers were sinks when it came to powers.

Uncle Vance flinched, then gave a soft smile before it disappeared.

"I’m being conservative, Kellen, and we have Guides with us, even if it feels wrong to ask them for help. I’ve been avoiding it, but still...and about your words. Dina doesn’t have a Guild-wide alert system set up. Do you have your phone on you still?" He asked and Kellen nodded. He approached his Uncle, reaching for his phone before pulling up his messages with Aunt Dina.

Uncle Vance looked over the words there, his frown deepening.

"She wouldn’t have ever said this. She would have told you to get to the closest safe room, which is on that floor. This is from her number, but this isn’t her." That worried Kellen, as it worried Uncle Vance. He sighed, handing the phone back to Kellen. "Well, either way, let’s get you into the Medical Bay, hmm? Anyone injured?" He asked and Kellen shook his head.

"Not here. We have a few injured people dotted across the safe rooms we’ve visited, but not bad enough that we had to bring them up to you." Kellen explained as they moved through the rooms. It was clear now that Kellen saw it all that Uncle Vance and his team had been the ones dealing with the intruders.

That might mean that most, if not all, had been dealt with.

"Hmm. I just hope the power comes back on for the other areas of the building soon. That way we can speed up cleaning up the mess." Uncle Vance said conversationally. He was leading the group back through the hallways and navigating the traps that he and his people had set up. Brent was looking around, whistling in amazement at all the effort that the others had put in.

"How long did it take you to do all this?" Brent asked, curious, and one of the Healers turned to him, all giddy.

"I’d always wanted to do something like this." He told him, and Uncle Vance grinned in response as well.

"We had time, and freedom, and no one to tell me no because I was the person in charge." Uncle Vance confirmed. Brent let out a chuckle, and even Kellen felt his lips curl up slightly.

Kellen wasn’t aware that Uncle Vance was as unhinged as he was presenting, but it was clear that it wasn’t in a bad way. He clearly had wanted to protect his people and his patients, and so did the other Healers as well. A group of Healers left all alone?

Yeah, maybe they would need to keep an eye on Taylor and the other Healers when they went back. They would always need one sane Esper, civilian, or Guide on their team at all times. Preferably a Field Guide.