Chapter 32: Heart of the Hare

She heard the men holding their breath as she spoke to them, unfiltered, holding every word with clarity. "I learned I’m brutal. I can kill—without hesitation—not that I enjoy that particular part of the process... I enjoy combat, and the goblins bored me after I learned how weak they were.

"So...I tried to manipulate their commander into a feud by killing his subordinates. In hindsight, it was a waste of time; he didn’t care about them. I overestimated my abilities against him and almost died. Do I regret it? No. I loved it," she laughed, wincing at the painful daggers that ripped into her lungs and chest.

"If I were to make an educated guess, I’d say The Oscillation unlocked more about who we really are from experience. Does that mean I want to take on the US military or kill random defenseless citizens? Absolutely not. I’m not an idiot. I knew I couldn’t live a normal life an hour after analyzing my change, so I’ve tried to position myself here to tell you this... I need direction."

Her fingers tightened in her lap, vision shifting to glare at her much less muscular arms. "I think most of us do... We can’t enter society like we were, and to think otherwise would be delusional; it would be a mistake on the government’s part to do that.

"I came here to tell you about my experience in the last twelve hours, and what I need, which can translate to other mythickin. I don’t know about legendkin; Anthony has his own problems and concerns regarding his fiancé; he’ll probably sneak out if you don’t let him go to check on her by the end of the day."

"Your family?" Mateo pressed, crossing his legs as he studied her.

"Oh. Haha. Yeah, I love my family... I don’t want to disappoint my dad or mom, and I’m terrified of how my mom is going to respond to all of this... I was going to ask if you could have someone pick them up because they’re likely stuck in the blockades and traffic jams on the way here."

Thompson gave her a nod. "I can certainly put out the word to the troops stationed along the freeway. So, you’re a very aggressive young woman who is looking for a direction to point her ambition, and you think the military has a place for that... All of this has sort of been a showcase of your skillset?"

"In short, I suppose," Rachel said, closing her eyes and sinking back into her chair. "I don’t know what I expect from the military. All I know is that my original plan to become a lawyer feels so...meaningless to me now. I still want to make my parents proud, but in a different way, I guess.

"I’m worried about the Scarlet Hand cult going after my family after that woman freaked out about me getting close to Scarlet. I hear other changed people’s paranoia about the government using us as guinea pigs or treating us like aliens. I want a direction I can be happy to push forward because there is so much chaos right now. I don’t want to be trapped or locked up like some animal..."

Eyes opening, she forced a smile. "So...what is your verdict...or can you even give one?" she asked, looking between them after spilling her heart. "I’ll tell the military everything I know about this System and the goddess thing...which, if we’re being honest here, heh, I was hoping to reveal to someone a bit higher in rank, but I’m too tired to play games now. So..."

Mateo and Thompson chuckled, rubbing their faces while processing her confession.

The blond man stared at the screen and streamed out a long puff of air. "I can’t tell you anything, and...I think you’re right when it comes to some of this information. I’ll only reference some of the things you talked about and push it up the ladder; we’re being looked at by a lot of high-ranking officials, and I’ll wait to see who decides to slap their weight on the table."

He stood with Mateo, making her groan to mirror them, and to her surprise, the men shook her hand before saluting her with a smile, the Coast Guard officer speaking.

"No matter the reasons, Rachel, you’ve saved a lot of lives today, and on behalf of everyone under my command, I thank you for stepping up and being an active, positive force that has allowed thousands of people to return to their loved ones."

Rachel’s ears fell back a little at the respect in their eyes. "I...just did what I thought was the most logical choice... If I did nothing, I felt like my life was over with how mythickin are being viewed. It was strategic... It was the only way I could see myself seeing my family again."

"And that’s a key distinction," Mateo commented, and Thompson nodded his agreement.

"The way I see it, Ms. Park, you took a stand in an impossible situation—as a citizen without the call for duty—and provided critical intel with—while reckless—courageous action nonetheless that has saved thousands while possibly saving millions in the future. Thank you for your service."

"Thank you for your service, as well, Lt. Herrero, Lt. Thompson," she finished, rubbing her legs while trying to stop their shakes. "Now, if you’ll excuse me...I’m going to go lay down before I collapse again."

"Allow me to escort you," Mateo said, motioning her to the door. "We can talk when you wake up; someone higher in command will likely want to go into further detail with you soon enough."

"Sounds good."

Heading to the area they’d set up for them, Rachel found cots where Selvaria and Scarlet were already resting; well, the leviathan was on the ground since her weight had flattened the bed. Anthony was staring up at the ceiling, waiting for her return in the dim room.

"How’d it go?" he asked as Mateo talked with the men standing guard outside, leaving them alone.

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the suitcase Selvaria had gathered for her and went to select some replacement garments.

"Hehe. Translation: when can I see my girl? Probably after we wake up; they can’t give us any definitive plans for the future, but I tried to make a case that forcing us to sit around doing nothing isn’t the best strategy... We’ll see tomorrow. For now, I’m going to change behind those curtains Selvaria set up and go to bed. Night!"

"Heh. Night... Thanks for asking. What’s going to become of us?" he mumbled to himself, likely pondering much the same as she was; there were countless ways this could go, and many not so good.

"Hopefully, things will be clearer when we wake up... I gave them a lot of things to consider. Time will tell."

Silence took the room as Rachel passed Scarlet and reached down to squeeze the sleeping girl’s hand; her wounds had recovered, and it looked like Selvaria had stolen a few of her clothes for them to use, as well, or possibly Cloe’s by the nightgown the leviathan wore.

I don’t know if I’m being stupid by giving so much to the military, but it’s my only path forward... I can’t fight the world and need people in power on my side. I have leverage thanks to Cerridwen and all the details the fantasy nerds provided... Will it be enough, though?

She wanted to cry while gritting her teeth and pulling off her bra and bottoms; Rachel wanted to enter her mental state to upgrade her System but knew it would be better to do it when she had a rested mind. If she blacked out and talked about sensitive stuff with Mateo and Lt. Thompson, she didn’t want to make the mistake of throwing all her points into Endurance, which would have a terrible return by the low Grade.

Flopping onto her back on the cot, Rachel puffed out a hot breath while settling in; yet, even her dreams were plagued by an assortment of chaotic images and sensations.

A fire-haired goddess—colored almost like a garnet—gave her a tight-lipped stare with burning, coal-like eyes; flames erupted around her, showing her influence over nightmares and the underworld. A black, crescent moon marked her forehead, and a fist-sized ruby hovered in front of her, showing a slitted eye.

Rachel glanced around in confusion, seeing the dream-like infinity burning to cinders with a steaming cauldron nearly empty between them.

The heat pulled back the woman’s thick hair, showing one of her thin, elf-like ears and drawing attention to the obsidian collar she wore as her violet dress smoldered, and a beautiful autumn-haired goddess with flowers in her flowing locks stood beside her, studying Rachel with doubt in her lilac-hued irises.

In the next instant, she was falling over a large city—a blood moon overhead—spotting a colossal tree that sprouted out of a canal, where a massive clock tower rang; the branches soon overshadowed the buildings, and everything went black to show a mixed coral-orange, pink, and white-coated rabbit as a soft voice caressed her thoughts.

Keep those who are supporting you close. Find the mythickin fairy and unicorn; they will provide you a path toward me... Rachel, your world—all worlds—are in great danger, and you must enter the World Tree. Moongmor will guide you to his mistress. Eostre has agreed to watch your path forward. Be cautious, Rachel; you have enemies far stronger than us, but your power will see you through what is to come.