(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: A worst case scenario Chapter 45: A worst case scenario As they got closer, Kellen and Hill were able to see the destruction up close and personal.

From their aerial view, they could see that the damage was far worse than the video showed.

The explosion radiated from one particular point and fanned out in a three block radius.

Kellen and Hill could see that there worst of it was being held in suspension, while the silvery blue powers of telekinetics could be seen at work in the least damaged areas.

Given how quickly this had happened, Kellen had no doubt who was wielding that power.

His suspicions were confirmed when Hill landed them amongst the emergency responders, further away from the blast radius.  People were already working on recovery, and Kellen could tell most of them were from the Nemesis Guild.

It made sense, since the Nemesis Guild was closer to Guiding Center A compared to the Saturn Guild, but Kellen knew that was only for now.

Soon, this area would be flooded with the emergency responders from all three of the major Guilds in the city.  No one stopped Hill as she made her way towards the cordoned off area, even as she held a Guide in her arms.

Both were filled with worry for the Captain, and as soon as Kellen noticed the red and black of the Nemesis Guild, Kellen pointed.

Unspoken, Hill took off until the two of them stood before the powerful Telekinetic.

Captain Sergei was busy holding up the debris of a collapsed building while his team worked on getting survivors out.

As much as the two were impatient to find their own Captain, they waited their turn.

The Captain of the Nemesis Guild was a rather tall and slender man, with cropped brown hair and blue eyes.

He had several piercings that covered his ears and face, mostly focusing on his eyebrow, ears, and lips.

His skin was pale in colour, almost translucent, and he gave off the feeling that he hadn’t slept in months.

It didn’t matter if that was the case or not.

The black and red of his Esper uniform brought his pale features into sharp contrast.

He was a strong Esper though, and despite the outward appearance of negligence and uncaring, he took very good care of those who he considered loyal to him.

Kellen had been on the receiving end of that kindness through the several contracts he’d done with him.

Although Captain Sergei wasn’t a talkative person, he let his actions speak louder for himself.

Often, when other Guilds or Espers had contracted Kellen and Brent out, they would assume that the Field Guides would pay for the equipment needed to keep the team safe.

Captain Sergei had gone out of his way to make sure it was written in contract that the Nemesis Guild would provide only the best equipment for them, and that the Field Guide’s would be able to keep it after the contract was over.  Hill waited until the survivors had escaped before speaking.

“Captain Sergei, have you seen Captain Thatcher?” He didn’t show any surprise at the new members joining this rescue.

His silvery blue eyes, taken over with the strength of his powers, glanced at the two.  “He raced off before us, so I haven’t seen him.

My guess would be that he’s near the epicenter.

I’ve been reaching out to check on him, and that’s where I can get the sense for him.” His eyes slid to Kellen exclusively.

“Good luck.

He’s been holding out for a team to be organized to find out what caused this, and if there are more.” Kellen felt the warning like a stone in his gut.

He swallowed, before nodding.

They didn’t wait to thank him, and instead bolted off in the direction he suggested.  That was where they found him.

Like Captain Sergei had said, the Captain was near where the video had been shot.

The Captain stood in the middle of an circular impression into the street, crumbling the road and making it treacherous to move on.

An invisible wind whipped around him, tossing his clothes and hair around him violently.

His eyes were bright yellow as he stared in the direction of the building he held in stasis.

Even from here, Kellen could tell sweat was rolling down his forehead.  Kellen slapped Hill’s shoulder, forcing her to halt in her steps.

Jumping out of her arms, he loudly approached the Captain from the side.

He didn’t want to startle him, especially since he was doing such important work.

Kellen moved down the incline, surprised by how deep it was before he got closer to the Captain, alone.

“Captain?

Can you hear me?” He asked loudly.

He really didn’t want to startle him.

Slowly, the Captain’s head turned towards Kellen, and that was when Kellen realised that the Captain was using a lot more power then he thought.

His eyes were vibrant yellow, causing Kellen to suck in as he met his gaze.

Picking up his pace, he reached the Captain’s side and without a second thought, grabbed the Esper’s hand and began guiding.

It was a bit unconventional, since Guide’s usually didn’t guide while an Esper was actively using their powers, but Kellen didn’t give a damn.

This was his Esper, goddamnit, and he was going to take care of him!

Unlike normal, Kellen didn’t see anything like an ocean or waves while guiding him, and instead had clear visual around him while his own powers were sucked out of him like a vacuum.

This must have been similar to what the other Guide’s who had previously helped the Captain had described.

“Hill?

I need you to go grab a large amount of those shakes Taylor makes.

We’re going to need as many as you can get!” Kellen didn’t move, unsure if he even could.

He’d never guided anyone like this before, and his body felt strangely like it was floating.

He was hoping that this wasn’t going to be a new normal for him as exclusive Guide for the Captain, but he began to brace himself just in case.

Kellen heard Hill’s affirmative response, before he felt the Captain squeeze his hand.

Turning his head slightly, happy that he could actually do so, Kellen glanced at the Captain, giving his hand a returning squeeze.

“What happened?” He asked softly, and Kellen realised that the wind whipped around him too.

It didn’t hurt him, ruffling his clothes and hair in a similar way as the Captain.

“We think an Esper may have surged, but we aren’t sure.

Too much happened back to back for it to be just one thing.

Maybe several Espers surged? The others are in charge of finding that out.

Meanwhile, I am here holding the worst damaged areas together until they can confirm that nothing more is going to happen.” Kellen frowned, feeling his body sway towards the Esper as he lost more and more of his body weight.  “How much are you holding together?” Kellen asked the unblinking Esper.  “About three blocks.” He answered.

Three blocks?

That was a huge distance, given how big these streets were.

Kellen was impressed and worried all over again.

That was a huge burden, even for an S Class.

How much was this going to cost them?

How much was this going to cost him?

He’d already felt awful after their kissing guiding session, and Kellen felt that this wasn’t going to end quickly.

He tightened his grip on the Captain’s hand.

“You need to tell me if you feel yourself slipping.

Hill just went to grab some shakes for me.

Don’t worry about my condition, let me do that.

You focus on your job.” Kellen stated firmly, his tone unwavering and the Captain gave a small jerk of his head in acknowledgement.

Kellen felt him squeeze his hand and Kellen steeled himself.

He wasn’t going to let go of this hand until this was over.  Hill landed near them a few minutes later, a whole ass cooler in her arms.

it was huge, but Kellen knew he needed the whole thing.

She opened the cooler, and Kellen reached inside.

Fumbling with one hand to open the lid, Hill took pity on him and helped.

Kellen poured the shake down his throat before fumbling with another, and another, until he had poured six into his body.

He stopped, knowing he would need to wait for them to be absorbed into his body before consuming more.

Hill watched him with worried eyes, standing by nervously and Kellen smiled.  “The cooler will keep me for at least half an hour.

Go help.

I know you want to.” She nodded, and after glancing at the Captain, rushed off.

Clearly, he had given his consent, otherwise she wouldn’t have left them alone.

Kellen stood holding the Captain’s hand while they waited for the area to be cleared of all living civilians and for the second team to arrive.  “Normally, Guide’s wait till after the Esper uses their powers to come and soothe them, Mr.

Woods.” Kellen was surprised by the Captain’s voice breaking the silence.

Time had been moving slowly as they had been standing there, slow enough that Kellen had worried the Captain had forgotten he was there.  “I’m not a normal Guide, Captain.

I’m yours.” The Captain jerked, and Kellen worried he’d surprised the Esper.

The Captain slid his yellow eyes towards the Guide, and Kellen felt that they were in their own world.

“That’s quite romantic of you, Mr.

Woods.

If we must fall, we fall together hmm?” His lips quirked up slightly, a gleam in his bright gaze.

Kellen, however, didn’t like what he said.  “We aren’t falling.

You’re doing your best to stop that from happening, and I’m doing my best to support you.” He sighed.

“You’re probably using an amount of power that would send any lesser Esper into a full blown power surge.” The Captain chuckled.  “You can tell how much power I am using?” He asked and Kellen shook his head.  “No, I can’t tell that because I haven’t seen you in a surged state yet.

Mind you, I do not ever want to see you in a surged state, Captain Thatcher.

That was not me asking.” The Captain’s shoulders shook with his silent laughter.

“I can tell that you are using an immense amount of powers, but not where you are within your own levels, especially since you are still actively pulling from yourself.

It also just isn’t in my skillset unfortunately.

I bet Casper has it.” Kellen said, and the Captain didn’t comment for a few minutes.

Kellen drank a few more shakes.  “Captain Sergei just informed me that the team is moving forward.

One of his Espers found the remnants of what appeared to be a bomb, and believes that he can find any remainders.

I’ll need to hold out until they have combed the whole area.

He said it shouldn’t take too long.” Kellen nodded, glancing at his supply of shakes.

Hopefully it would be enough.  “Alright.

I can do that.” Kellen told him and felt the gaze of the Captain on him before it turned back towards the blocks he was holding.

They began to hear the calling of others working around them, but neither paid attention.

The Captain was serious, focused.

Kellen had noticed that unlike his usual self, he was moving quite slowly, almost like he was in stop motion.

He wondered if that had anything to do with his powers, and he also worried that if he spoke to him too much it would distract him.

So, he held his tongue.

Holding his hand like a lifeline, Kellen drank his shakes when he felt his powers begin to wane.

If this had been an average guiding session, or even anything like when he’d guided that surging Esper at Guiding Center B, he would have already become delirious.

Thanks to the shakes, he was able to keep his sanity, and his life.

The Captain was a hungry man, demanding everything from the Guide.

Kellen felt every minute that ticked by like a warning.

When they passed the 15 minute mark, then the 20, moving to the 25 minute mark.

He knew the moment that they had gone over the 30 minute mark.

He tried not to react visually, even as his heart accelerated in his chest.

Given that the Captain had shown such limited knowledge about Guides so far, Kellen took advantage of that fact and assumed the man had no idea about why they only guided for 15 minutes a day.

As the minutes ticked by, and they got further and further from the 30 minute mark, Kellen felt his stomach drop.

He knew this was going to cost him, he just hoped he got to somewhere safe before it blew up.  “Area’s clear Captain Thatcher!” Hill’s voice called from a distance and Kellen turned his head slowly, spotting her behind them, waving.

Kellen waved his hand to show they had heard her.

“Glad that no one will get hurt now.” Kellen said, pleased that at least one group was finished.

Captain sighed, bursting his bubble.

“There have already been casualties, Mr.

Woods.” Kellen could feel the weight of those words.

He gave the man’s hand a squeeze.  “Captain, it’s not your fault.

No one expected this.

No one thought there was going to be someone planting bombs in the city today.” The Captain didn’t say anything, nor did he glance at the Guide.

He sighed.

He was going to have to deal with that later, when they had some time alone and the weight of the whole city wasn’t on the Captain’s shoulders.

He clearly wasn’t going to accept any comfort right now.  Wiping away his own sweat, Kellen kept drinking shakes, guiding the Captain while they waited for the all clear from the others.

The crunching of gravel and broken concrete sounded behind them and Kellen glanced back.  It was Captain Sergei and the head of the D.E.C., Uncle Tom.

Uncle Tom was an old family friend, a good friend to my parents.

He’d known Kellen since he was a child, and had watched him grow up.

He was outwardly kind, but Kellen also knew that he had been very disappointed when he hadn’t manifested as anything but a C Class Guide.

His peppered hair was slightly messy, and his brown eyes scanned the area.

His uniform was even messy, which surprised Kellen and also proved how serious the situation was.

Uncle Tom hated when things were out of their place.  “Captain Thatcher, the whole area is clear.

You are safe to release.” Uncle Tom told him, and closing his eyes, the Captain did just that.

Kellen had worried that everything would stop suddenly, but instead it was slow diffusion.

Kellen knew the moment that the Captain stopped using his powers, since the vacuum finished tugging on him.

Frantically, Kellen checked his levels internally, and was relieved to find that he was solidly at a safe level.

He knew, deep within him, that if he hadn’t guided him the way that he had, the Captain would have come dangerously close to surging.  Kellen released the Captain’s hand, who visibly swayed at the sudden release from the Guide.

Taking only a second to gather himself, he turned and met the gaze of the other powerful men.

The meeting of three S Classes always made Kellen’s skin crawl, but he had other matters to attend to.

He glanced at the cooler, finding only two shakes left.

Sighing, he began to guzzle those down too, knowing he was in for a rough ride.  “Did you find the source of the explosion?

Was it a surged Esper?” The Captain asked.

Kellen was only vaguely listening to them until he felt the burning sensation of three powerful gazes on him.

Turning his direction up and away from the cooler, he looked up to find three gazes filled with horror and shock.

He had no idea why until he blinked and then the Captain was in front of him, forcing him to sit down next to the cooler.

“Mr.

Woods, your nose is bleeding.” Seeing the full blown panic the man was in, Kellen couldn’t help but find humour in it.

It was one of the first symptoms of overexertion, but he wasn’t too worried yet.

He waved off the concern of the older man, plugging his nose and leaning forward so he didn’t get any blood on his white uniform.  “Oh, it’s nothing.

Don’t worry about me Captain.” It was clear that he didn’t believe him.

Kellen laughed.

“I’m fine, Captain.” He said firmly, glancing up at him from where he had his nose plugged.

His face was still full of panic, and glancing at the other two, they seemed concerned as well.

Kellen waved his hand at the three of them.

“Stop worrying, it’ll stop in a minute.

I’m not skin and bones.

Go do your big boy things, and I’ll be over here minding my business.” His words didn’t seem to inspire confidence, since the Captain furrowed his brow.

Kellen would be the first to admit, they did sound a little like he’d used too much of his powers, but what could he do?

He had no more shakes left.

This was who he was for now.  “Mr.

Woods, please.

Stay here.

Don’t go anywhere else.” His tone was serious, and so was the grip he had on Kellen’s shoulder.

He released his hold, staring down at the younger Guide.

Kellen tilted his head back to stare at up at him.

He noticed his eyes were a little brighter then before, and Kellen reached out, patting his hip, the highest he could reach on his body without standing.  “I’m fine Captain.

Go.

I’ll stay here like a good boy.” Kellen was trying to lighten the mood, but the Captain was having none of it.  “If you move without my permission, I will call Green, and then your sister.

After, I will call your parents.” He threatened, and Kellen took him seriously.

The Captain bent forward, brushing Kellen’s hair away from his forehead before planting a kiss on the slightly damp skin there.

Stunned, Kellen watched as he straightened and joined the other powerful men.

Both of them were watching them, before they turned their attention solely on the Captain.

Still in shock, Kellen touched the spot where he had felt the Captain’s lips just seconds before.

His chest tingled as he remembered the touch.

He wasn’t sure why the Captain did that, but it must have been an act to fool the others, right?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Any guesses on what kind of powers Captain Thatcher has?