(BL) Hunting The Field Guide-Chapter 449 - 2 am wake up call

Kellen knew he needed to focus, but worry was a pulse underneath his skin. He couldn’t give his students the attention they needed, especially since they were also trembling with fear and worry.

Pamela had arrived at 2 am in the morning. She had rested in the car, the only thing Kellen could believe because she had everything up and running in a half an hour. Rhys got the call that the front lines was calling, and both men had grimly gotten ready, taken each other’s hand and had headed to the conference room.

It was as grim and horrifying as Kellen had worried it would be.

Pamela was streaked with dirt, as was everyone else who was in frame. Every important person that anyone would care about was in frame, meaning the camera was quite a distance away, and not where it had been before. It was now in the Saturn Guild’s area, instead of near the poison gate, and everyone was wearing a suit. Everyone.

It took a minute for everyone to speak to everyone that they wanted. Kellen stayed by Rhys’ side, his hand clenched tightly around the other man’s. He wasn’t going to collapse this time. He’d had enough sleep. He was able to remain on his feet.

But everyone could see it. It was fucking obvious. Hill looked sick. Taylor looked sick. Sergei looked like he was ready to surge. Even Pamela had lost some of the spark in her pink eyes.

"He’s not here." Kellen finally said, and everyone quieted. "Was he near the gate?" Kellen asked firmly, his expression a mask. He was putting on a brave face, and thankfully everyone honoured the effort he was putting in. It was Sergei who spoke up.

"He wasn’t near the gate when it happened. He was...he was helping me out. He was guiding one of my Espers since he was going to put up a barrier to protect the front gates. We...found my Esper, unconscious, but no Guide Jameson in sight." Sergei’s hand clenched, his eyes taking on a deep, dark hue that had Kellen snapping to attention. His sclera were starting to turn black, one of the first signs of an oncoming surge. That and the temper.

"If you don’t go and receive guiding right now, I’m going to reach through this camera and force you to." Kellen snapped, and Sergei’s eyes widened before he swallowed. He looked conflicted, like he didn’t want to do that, and Kellen let out a dry chuckle. "Do you think he would want that? As far as I’m concerned, Brent is MIA right now. If he showed up right now, what the hell do you think he would say?" Kellen was being brutal, but that was what a man so close to surging needed.

Sergei, who normally was pretty mild mannered, snarled and spun away, leaving the group and all of the Espers who had been around him stared at him as he marched away, before they turned their gazes to Kellen. freēwēbnovel.com

Rhys leaned down, pressing a kiss against his cheek.

"Thank you, sugar." Kellen just nodded.

"We don’t need a fucking S Class surging on top of everything." Kellen muttered darkly and Sakura sighed.

"No. We don’t. Okay. Who wants to tell us who is missing?" Sakura said and Pamela stepped forward. She didn’t even glance at Kellen, but her hands were shaking. The PR director in her was taking control, but Kellen could tell this was a lot for even her.

Kellen braced himself. He also held onto Rhys tighter as well. He slid his gaze to Casper, who looked already checked out. His expression was flat, he was already sitting down, and already too pale. Unnaturally so.

Pamela opened her mouth and Kellen closed his eyes. He listened, his heart shattering as almost every name listed was someone he knew. They were all Saturn Guild members. One senior member, four other Espers and the rest? Six of his Field Guide students.

Kellen could feel the looks.

Especially because Pamela had saved Gwen’s name for last.

Kellen couldn’t cry. He really couldn’t. He’d cried so much yesterday which was already unusual for him. He felt like his body just wouldn’t let him.

When he opened his eyes, he had processed the names but that was about it. He hadn’t let the emotions that were filling him be processed at all. He couldn’t. It was too much. Bree was on the list of missing people. The same Bree who had told him she didn’t want to die. Kellen’s jaw was hard.

"That’s...a lot of people." Kellen ended up saying and Rhys squeezed his hand. "When are we forming a party to search for them?" It was a valid question. It wasn’t just one or two people. This was a national level emergency.

People would want them to be found. News had already spread that something horrible had happened on the front lines to the public. They wouldn’t be able to keep this under wraps.

The problem? None of the big wigs were here right now at 2 am. Only those who were directly involved were here. They, tragically, couldn’t move forward without their consent.

Hill stepped forward, her eyes rimmed with red.

"We’re already working on it." Hill said. She glanced at Sakura, and Sakura nodded.

"My scientists are hard at work. Haven’t slept, and are close to completing the next version of the suits." Kellen knew what that meant. He nodded.

"Every hour counts." Kellen said and everyone nodded. It wasn’t like they were new to this. They all knew what was at stake. Kellen let out a shaky breath. "How is the rest of the front lines?" Kellen asked, turning the attention away from the list. He had to. He needed to.

It wouldn’t do them any good if the rest of the front lines were fucked up beyond repair, since that would only mean more chaos while they tried to get everyone out. Because they would. They would be trying to get everyone out.

There was no way in hell that Kellen was going to remain here, in the city. Everyone could feel it like a pulse beneath their skin.

~

Which led to his first class. His morning class. He had to break the news to them, personally, who had been sucked into the gate. The absolute horror on everyone’s face reflected how Kellen felt inside, but he had to be strong for them.

He told them in the conference room. He’d actually called everyone together, the morning and the afternoon class because this was an emergency situation. He also thought it would be extremely rude to not tell everyone at the same time and have the afternoon class find out through word of mouth.

Everyone started crying. Especially when they heard that Brent was missing. Kellen clenched his hands around each other, behind his back so that none of them could see as he listened to their wails.

Kellen remained stoic, a rock, and he could feel how upset that made the others. He couldn’t change who he was though. He knew from their wails that they were considering them dead. Kellen would not be doing so.

Whether Brent was in the gate or not, he was going to find him and he was going to save him. He knew where his sister was, so he was going to save her and everyone else too. Bree especially. The poor girl didn’t...no one deserved to die like that.

Kellen could feel it. The rumours that were going to spread. Calling him a heartless bastard. He could feel the change even from his own people as they wailed. They wanted comfort, they wanted someone to tell them that everything was going to be okay, but Kellen wasn’t that. He’d never been that.

That was the whole reason he’d had someone like Brent at his side. Someone who could offer that comfort relatively easily. Now that he was gone? Kellen’s flaws were glaring, obvious. He wasn’t a soft person. He had worked hard to gain even the inch of softness he had used to get into Guiding Center B, and now it was gone. Wiped.

He was back to the same man he had been on the front lines. Hard, sharp. Someone people didn’t like.

Kellen took the secret glares without flinching. He made no promises. He just told his groups that if they wanted to continue on with classes, it would be self guided study since he would have his hands full. Then, he had left the room and Casper, bless him, stepped in. Acting as the balm to Kellen’s rough and tumble personality.

He didn’t take it personally. He just knew better. There was a reason that everyone thought he was going to end up as an Esper and not a Guide, even as a child.

Kellen stomped through the Guiding Division, heading for his office on the research level and he could feel the shift in treatment. The pity, the glares. Kellen knew that whatever good will he’d earned before might be gone forever. He was a soldier first, a Field Guide first, and everything else second.

That meant that he was going to be harsh, he was going to be rough. He didn’t expect this level of detachment from his people, but unfortunately, this was a good learning opportunity for them. Thank goodness he hadn’t said that. Even he knew that was too far to say given how attached they had all grown to Brent. To Bree. To everyone.

When Kellen arrived down to the research level, the bowl was overflowing. Maeve was standing there, her face grim. The rest of the team was standing behind her, looking nervous, worried. Jerky.

"You tell us if you need anything." She said firmly. "Anything, Kellen. I don’t know how much help a useless Esper and some civilians can be, but we’ll try our best." She said and Kellen felt his shoulders relax slightly.

"I need someone to go check on some equipment for me. If I give you the list, can you do that?" Kellen asked. He knew it was so out of their wheel house, but Maeve didn’t even hesitate.

"We’re great at that. Anything else?" She asked and Kellen hesitated.

"Rhys might need more bodies to help with checks and things. I don’t know-"

"-We’re on it." Maeve said, along with her group. Kellen felt his body shake, and for a moment he was worried he was going to let his mask slip. Thankfully he was able to compose himself again and he nodded. A slightly harsh smile touching his lips.

"Thank you Maeve. I’ll get you that list. Let me just type it out and print it." Kellen told her. Maeve nodded, grabbing a handful and sweets and shoving it into his chest. Kellen scrambled to catch them.

"Eat them. I know you’re going to need it." Her eyes held a deep, unspeakable truth. She knew he was going to end up on the front lines, and Kellen was grateful that she was willing to help. He needed, swallowing, tearing into one of the marshmallows with his teeth as he opened the door to his office. He was going to need the calories.

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