Chapter 69: Request for extraction.

In the Capital.

Morgan had already planned for a day like this...a day when those in power would come after Malia. The plan was for her to hide in the market toilets near the Kranny Court building in the slums until nightfall and call the extraction team.

It was a solid plan, except for one tiny detail, market toilets in the slums smelled like a graveyard for rotten eggs but at least she had made it there without being caught by the police or Trinity’s personal dogs disguised as soldiers.

"If the police do not kill me, this stench definitely will," Malia muttered, pinching her nose.

She looked down at her lap. Sitting there was the snow ant. It was the only piece of her husband left in this world. "If he were here, he would have something to say about the stench. What do you think it would be?" Malia wiped a few tears from her eyes. It was not the time to cry. She would cry after getting her revenge, no matter when that was.

The bug rubbed its front legs together, looking up at her as if to say, hey, don’t look at me, you picked the hiding spot.

She sighed and looked at the black card in her hand. It had nothing else on it except for a phone number written in gold. Morgan had told her to call it, say her name, and request to be extracted from the capital. He had told her not to care about where she was taken when the day came, as long as she was safe and left the capital.

The plan had been to escape together, not alone! Her eyes shut briefly, blinking back the tears that came with the sudden memory of her husband. He had blocked a bullet meant for her with his own body just so she could survive. She didn’t even know what would happen to his body now. Would it just be buried in a limbo pit? That’s what the capital workers did to the thousands of poor beggars and low-borns who died on the slum streets with no one to claim them. No proper burial, no respect, just thrown away like trash.

And once a week, chemicals would be dumped on the bodies, dissolving them out of existence forever. No burial plot, no memorial tablet. "No," Malia whispered, her chest tightening with heavy grief. "I won’t let them just forget you. Your name will be the last thing they say before they die."

The snow ant tapped her thumb with its cold antenna. It was like a tiny, freezing hug. She cleared her congested throat and wiped her wet eyes. Now was not the time to be lost in sad thoughts. If her mind wasn’t clear, she would become a corpse too and Morgan’s death would have been for nothing.

She took out her cheap, cracked phone and dialed the golden number.

Ring...

Ring...

The person on the other line picked up. But there was only silence. No "hello," no "who is this?" Just the faint sound of heavy breathing.

Malia swallowed hard. "My name is Malia Gravis," she said, her voice shaking slightly before she forced it to steady. "I am the leader of the Liberty Fighter’s Movement in the Capital; I am at the market toilets near the Kranny Court building. Morgan asked me to call you if things ever went south. I want to disappear. He said that you could make it happen."

There was a long pause. When the voice finally spoke, it sounded completely mechanical and strange, altered by some kind of device. "Stay put. Do not move. The extraction team is coming to pick you up in twenty."

Click. The call was cut.

Malia let out a long sigh.... not one of total relief, but at least there was a spark of hope. She looked down at the white snow ant. "See? You do not have to worry. We will be safe soon."

The snow ant tilted its head, then suddenly crawled inside her sleeve to escape the terrible toilet smell.

"Yeah, fair enough," Malia chuckled weakly through her dry throat. "Let’s just hope this extraction team gets here before the guards, or my nose will give out entirely."

The wings of her butterfly fluttered, as if it wanted to escape, but it couldn’t, because it was on lookout duty.

*****

Tension filled Main Seven Island, a fortified village that served as the training ground for every soul maiden in existence. It was also home to the Soul Maiden Academy: The First 7 Academy that was named after the first seven soul maidens.

The nations had chosen this place strategically. It had a front-row seat to the Veil that kept the world safe from the Somnivores. Since the maidens were the keepers of the Veil, staying close made sense. It had limited access, which guaranteed safety for the Soul maidens and students who attended it.

It was also a brooder for eggs of mid to high level beasts which the wealthy could purchase at high prices for their families.

On the surface, the reasons were all good, but beneath, it was an inescapable prison. The surrounding ocean crawled with mutated and flesh-eating sea monsters. The only time anyone left was during official holidays. During the school semester? It was a beautifully gilded cage.

All other trips had to approved by the Divine Soul Maiden Trinity herself.

On the island this night, the sky was pitch black, lit only by the eerie, pulsing multicolored glow of the Veil in the distance. Inside the academy’s massive auditorium, every single soul maiden had been rounded up.

They stood like soldiers in a rigid parade, though they ranged from literal children to grown women. The dress code was simple but spoke volumes. White latex jumpsuits for those under eighteen. They were mostly wide-eyed and terrified.

Red latex jumpsuits for those over eighteen but still in training, who were sweating through their collars.

Black latex jumpsuits for the fully trained elite, ready for lethal missions beyond the Veil or whatever task Trinity saw fit to assign them. They looked stoic, but their hands were twitching.

Right now, the auditorium was a buzzing hive of frantic whispering.

"What do you think this is about? A sudden summons in the night!" a girl in white whispered, her teeth chattering. "Did a beast breach the veil?"

"Worse," a senior muttered back, wiping sweat from her forehead. "I heard Head Mistress Julia discovered someone smuggled instant noodles from the mainland, we are supposed to eat healthy foods always. That idiot will be starved for a week."

"I hope this is about the quality of the water around here. My skin has been itchy for days."

The buzzing abruptly died. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Julia stepped onto the raised stone platform. Trailing right behind her was her half-life beast, a massive buffalo with sharp metallic horns and metal armor. It had deep red eyes. It was all raw, pulsating muscle with a jaw full of jagged teeth that dripped red corrosive saliva onto the stone floor.