The drive to wherever the group was headed was a very bumpy ride.
The surroundings looked as gloomy as it had ever been.
The fresh air they were able to breathe disappeared at some point but they didn't seem to notice because it had become a norm for all of them. The fresh air was what they had to be wary of.
Ragnar was staring at his palms with deep concentration. ' I can feel it, I am definitely stronger, way too strong even. But it still feels ...not right.'.
He could be seen clenching and releasing his fist gently.
The whole time, Evangeline still had her eyes on him with sparkles in her eyes. Her motives were still unknown to the group but they tacitly agreed to steer clear of that topic.
Even if she had any ill intentions, the look she had been giving Ragnar were the exact opposite, except if she was just acting.
"Do you know how abilities work?" She suddenly asked jolting Ragnar from his thoughts.
He shook his head dejectedly. "I'm still new to this, I can't even remember how I ended up with this power, how am I supposed to know anything about it."
Ailsa also perked her ears in the corner where she was seated, although she seemed to know a few more things than Ragnar, she was still far from being considered knowledgeable.
Evangeline noticed that she had Ragnar's full attention so she continued. "Our abilities are called Adaptions. Where I come from we are referred to as "The Adapted". And with each adaption you must have an affinity or atleast be aware of your affinity for you to progress. For instance, you all here, even the creepy captain and little Ailsa, you're all just Adapteds."
Ragnar was paying his utmost attention to the explanation. This was his first time communicating with the world properly since after the fall.
It was totally random that he ended up at that camp before he mistakenly stumbled on Stein's city.
Back in Steins city.
The atmosphere was nothing but exciting.
The residents of the city was filled with joyful faces, evil grins, disturbing frowns and all sort of extreme expressions.
Albert was back in his office with a bottle of alcohol on his desk.
He looked totally wasted except he still seemed to be trying to jot a few things down.
The already littered room was more chaotic than it ever had been.
"Albert!!" Aiden barged in but paused at the doorstep, the feeling of wrongness he had been feeling shot through the roof.
At first he started involuntarily thinking of Ailsa, in ways he would never have thought of.
Then came jealousy for whatever reason he still seem oblivious to.
The strange actions of the strongest person he knew.
He finally decided to the only brain he trusted in the city but the sight before him made him lose all hope.
He turned back. "I'm going to find it myself."
He got back on the streets, he looked through an alley and there a little girl was in the process of being violated by a bunch of men.
He turned to his right, there another couple in a full on fist fight, their neighbours on the other hand were just minding their businesses, some even seem to be sun bathing.
"Wait...sunbathing?"
Aiden slowly raised his head to the sky and there it was.
He couldn't quite describe the view before him.
He thought he would be terrified out of his mind when he saw the creature but what he felt was an endless feeling of warmth and passion.
"Ha.." he breathed heavily. His gaze still fixed on the view above. His legs glued to the spot.
He wanted to look away but he couldn't. His brain failed to give a meaning to the image it was trying to process.
His whole body system seemed to be doing the opposite of their functions.
He felt suffocated but blissful.
It was a strange emotion.
Meanwhile in the heavy vehicle.
Evangeline's lectures were still going on.
"So you mean, we are beginners where you come from?" Ragnar asked with a sceptical expression.
'she's bluffing' he thought within him and he wasn't to blame.
He felt he could take on both Evangeline and Ailsa together while he was still seated without breaking a sweat.
Evangeline seemed to have read his thoughts. She smiled and with one swift wave of her hand, a cut appeared on Ragnar's cheek.
Before he could even register what just happened she used her thumb to wipe the blood and the cut was gone.
Ailsa had jumped from her seat with her eyes wide open. She was on full defensive mode.
"Why'd you do that!?"
Evangeline giggled childishly. "Relax little Ailsa, there was no intent behind the attack so he won't react."
"Intent? What are you saying? You surely intended to give him a cut which you obviously did!". Ailsa wasn't buying the explanation, her gentle front crumbled at this moment since her life was at stake.
Ragnar on the other hand seemed to be in deep thought, he had seen the attack come but woefully failed to defend against it.
"Intent? I'll get to that later for now let's talk about your affinities so you'll know why you failed to defend against me."
She clapped her hands and gestured for Ailsa to sit.
The group soon managed to gain back their composure and focused.
"Do you know what they call you where I came from?" Evangeline asked Ailsa and seeing her bewilderment, she continued.
"You're known as the witch of order."
Ailsa wanted to ask how they manage to get information about her but she decided to stay quiet, she knew her doubt would be clear soon.
" Adapteds often focus on trying to get used to their adaptions quickly, deepening their familiarity with their affinity so they can gain new skills and abilities and they become Evolved." She paused, her gaze narrowed slightly before adding. "You Ragnar and that Joel guy, you're both at the peak of your adaptions, the reason you haven't evolved yet is because of not knowing you affinities."
Ragnar nodded, he had managed to calm his heart but a slight anticipation still clutched at his throat, he wanted to know what he was. With a soft gulping sound, his voice followed. "You knew about Ailsa, so what about me?"
"Uhmm.." Ragnar held his breath as he watched every single detail on Evangeline's face, his mind screaming for her to speak already. Ailsa and the other girls also perked their ears.
Evangeline sighed with a look of resignation. "That... We really don't know."