Adam spent the next two days in the clinic. A small room, its windows, and doors shut tight, with guards bringing meals at regular intervals. Twist it hard enough and he could it a prison. Compared to his other detentions though, this place was a five-star motel. At least neither Lucy nor Saria threw him into a cell with a dozen other guys, then told them to drink from the toilet if thirsty.

Whatever wizardly process that awakened his Pactbearer powers had also sealed up any major wounds. It was as if the golden light was an organism within his body and saved him to prevent its host’s death. Too bad it hadn’t done anything to cure his exhaustion. Even if he wanted to walk around West Junction, his own body didn’t let him.

His mouth still worked. It was a fact that Lucy recognised since she spent a good portion of her time in the clinic room chatting with him. He got the impression it was less altruism and more to glean information from him, but at least it was something to do.

“I’m still befuddled why your world wasn’t a unified theocracy like ours.” She said during one conversation. It started with a random book the West Junction scavengers had found and somehow ended up talking about her homeworld’s main religion.

Adam snorted. “America couldn’t keep its shit together even after like a hundred years. Never mind the rest of the world.”

“Was that Jesus figures incapable?”

“He died two thousand years ago. Nobody really knows if he even existed.” Adam said. “People said they did, but in my experience, they never had any proof.”

“Sounds like there’s a story behind that,” Lucy remarked.

“There used to be a church I visited,” Adam said. “They gave out free food on Sundays and let me take shelter for the rain. That lasted half a year until the head priest was caught with his hands in the church jar.”

Lucy blanched. “He was embezzling church funds?” she cried.

“That the word? Yeah, he stole the money meant to help the poor. Used it to buy gifts for a woman he was seeing.” Adam said. He frowned. “Everyone was super pissed at him, including me.”

“And rightfully so!” Lucy said, her jaw clenched. “Had this been in Astraea, he would’ve been publicly whipped, then sent to the Goddess’s apostles for his judgment cleansing!”

“That means he would die?”

“He would understand his sins and be sentenced to repent for them,” Lucy said. “Many such of our superiors were once like that.”

“Astraea must be the tits if the Goddess is putting in that much work. That guy got sent to prison instead. Dunno what happened after.” Adam said. He thought about saying the next thing, then did anyway. “Thought the Goddess cut off contact with you, Saria, and the rest.”

“She didn’t cut us off!” Lucy protested, with surprising forcefulness. She realised, cleared her throat and sat back down. “We merely lost contact with her upon landing here.”

“Right…”

He added that to the list of things he needed to be careful around the girls. Religious fanatics in America were bad enough—one guy in detention had tried to even convert him to their Bappy church or whatever. Astraea’s maidens seemed to be on a whole another level.

Saria, in comparison, did not seem interested in talking to him. She gave him papers to read about West Junction, along with a paperback novel borrowed from a fellow scavenger. Its pages were yellowed enough to be a banana skin. Half the contents were missing too. He read the papers instead. They were informational in content—maps, guides for handling the red and what to do if a horde of vagrants suddenly approached.

The message was obvious. Join them or die to vagrants outside. Catch twenty-two, the devil’s game.

I can still negotiate, though.

The rest of the time, Saria stood against the wall, either watching or performing maintenance on her rifle.

“Hey, I’ve got a question.” Adam said, after reading through the papers, “Why did you make a pact with me?”

“Weren’t you listening? Lucy was too banged up too.” Saria said.

“And there wasn’t any other reason?”

There was a brief pause. “No. Now, focus on learning about the village, sheesh.”

A non-answer, great. Whatever. He’d find out eventually.

He laid in bed, passing the two days with numb idleness, brief conversation, and little guilt. Through that time, he didn’t see nor hear a hint of the red. It was welcomed. He had only lived under the cherry-red skies for a few days, yet it felt as if he’d been here for a week.

The moment he walked was the moment Lucy and Saria took them to their superiors. They led him out of the clinic room to a meeting room down the hall.

“Brigid is waiting behind that door,” Lucy said. “She will discuss what’ll happen to you and your Pactbearer powers.”

“Remember what I said,” Saria warned. “No swearing! Show Brigid the proper respect, too.”

“Agreeing with Saria here,” Lucy said. “Don’t anger Brigid. You don’t want to upset her.”

“Noted,” Adam said. I’ll see for myself, thanks. He thought. He grasped the handles before any of the girls could and headed in.

A red-haired woman sat at the end of a table, her gloved hands folded in front of her face. She wore a similar black uniform to Lucy and Saria, though hers was adorned with epaulets and longer sleeves, denoting her higher rank. A thin smile crossed her lips upon seeing Adam come in. It set on edge immediately. This was not the gentle smile his sister wore. It was the sinister expression of a predator, one who knew his weaknesses and how to exploit them.

Others were in the room. Men in women with the same cloaks as the two girls, flanking the woman on both sides. None of them looked particularly happy to see him. They were arranged in such a way that Adam’s focus was directed on the woman first. This woman was the head, no doubt about it.

“So, you are the Pactbearer who almost got our girls killed. You’ve certainly younger than I expected.” The woman began. Her words were elegant as silk and cold as steel. “I am Brigid, former commander of Astraea’s War Maidens and the current head of Defense in West Junction.”

“I’m Adam,” Adam said. “Nice to meet you, Brigid.”

He resisted the urge to add the ‘Miss’ before her name. He couldn’t let himself kowtow before her. Had to fight the battle on his terms.

“What do you want with me?” He asked.

“No further pleasantries? Very well.” Brigid said. “You understand that your presence here has caused quite a stir, yes?”

“Lucy and Saria told me that, yeah,” Adam said. “Said Pactbearers are crazy powerful.”

“We’ve had to suppress any information about you from leaking out to the rest of the town. That is how troublesome it is.” Brigid said. “Did you know that a fully empowered Pactbearers can forge pacts with up to a dozen Exiles? That alone is a significant military advantage in our current world.”

“So, I’m valuable, huh?”

“Oh yes,” Brigid said. “Thanks to you, Saria does not need to worry about the red’s volatility, not to mention the development of her second Talent. We would very much like you on our side, Adam.”

“That sounds nice.”

“I would hope so. I’ve heard you’ve struck up a rapport with Lucy and Saria.”

More so the former than the latter. “So if I joined you, what happens next?”

“We would accept you into West Junction. Teach you, train you, give you a place to belong.” Brigid said. “I heard you wandered on the streets in our old world. In exchange, you utilize our talents for West Junction on scavenging missions, maintenance, and its defense.”

“I got an impression this is outta my hands.”

“It very much is not,” Brigid admitted. “Most would leap at this deal, instead of starving in the wastes.”

It was good. Too good. Part of him was pissed off at being coerced like this. An idea suddenly struck him. If we going to end up stuck here, he might as well know his limits.

“What if I decide to just leave by myself and join some other place?” Adam asked. He ignored the gasp from Lucy and the furious hiss from Saria. Brigid’s smile faded.

“Now, why would you do that?” She asked. “I hope you realize you are surrounded by people who could easily restrain you. There may not be a nice clinic room next time.”

“It’s a hypothetical. I could jump out the window right now!”

The other men and women tensed up. He heard the click of Saria’s rifle. Brigid dismissed them with a wave. “Are you trying to provoke me, Adam?” She asked as if she already knew the answer.

“I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“Adam, you—” Saria began her shout, only for Brigid to wave her down again.

“Children like you respect strength and fear, I believe.” She said. “Very well, then.”

The red exploded right out of her body. If Lucy’s pressure had felt like a warm fire, Brigid’s pressure was that of an iron maiden. It suffocated him from all sides. His knees trembled, threatening to send him topple to the ground. He was swimming in the cherry-red ocean, with no escape in sight, as invisible hands reached down and grabbed his ankles…

Brigid withdrew her pressure. Adam stood up, sweating and his head dizzy.

“Was that good enough?” Brigid asked.

He understood perfectly. This woman was the boss. He was the underling now. He needed to shut his trap and obey orders.

Full circle and back again. Story of his life. Instead of university or gangs, it was this.

That was fine.

Saria turned out to not be fine. The instant Adam, Lucy, and Saria left the meeting, she rounded on him.

“What the hell was that about?” She demanded. “We told you not to provoke Brigid like that!”

Adam shrugged. “I just wanted to see what she was about.”

“By letting her release her soul pressure?” Saria said. “Are you insane, or this is a cultural thing from your old world?”

“Gotta know my limits around here,” Adam said. “So, I’m part of you guys, now?”

“Yes,” Lucy said. “Welcome to West Junction, Adam.”

They stepped out of the clinic into the village. The sun was bright, illuminating a space of busy people who were scattered in origin yet banded together to make the most of what they had. It had been a wild journey getting here, but he felt as if a new chapter was starting. Adam gripped Mary’s pendant. What would she say if she could see him now?

“Go on, Adam! Get out there and make some friends.”

Yeah, that sounded about right.