Though perhaps there may have been better things to spend the money on, Rose had insisted on getting a sweet treat for the group to share. It turned out, there had been several items reduced, and so their haul was more than usual: three bread loves, one spread, a whopping six tubes of nutrient paste, some lemon soap, two two-litre bottles of cherryade, a packet of biscuits and a large, slightly out of date sponge cake.
"Nutritious," Lenny thought, before reprimanding himself. What right did he have to complain? After all, it was her money that had paid for them. Sure, they could have bought some more bread, maybe put some money aside for a rainy day, but he had to admit, this was a nice change. Anything to break up the monotony. "Besides," he thought, "Alfie will be pleased."
Their journey had gone without incident, so when Rose, Lenny, Michael and Eva returned, they were in high spirits. But to their surprise, when they arrived back at Sanctuary, there was an unfamiliar face. It was a handsome one with a sandy brown fringe and tall frame. He wore a dark green jacket and hoodie.
The other kids ran to greet them, leaving the well-dressed young man standing on his own. Many small hands made for the shopping bags Rose held. Each person helped themselves to a slice of bread, spread and nutrient paste. Technically, all you really needed to survive, and yet there was something incredibly unappetising about the thick grey paste. But hungry bellies made for undiscerning mouths. They would distribute the treats afterwards, when they could be fully appreciated.
"Who are you?" Lenny was the first to ask.
The young man looked at him. "Don't worry, I won't be here long." He regarded the sight of the many young people eating around him. "I'm not hungry either."
Lenny shrugged, then tucked into the food with a ravenousness that surprised even himself. It had been a long and surprisingly eventful day. His muscles still ached, more from the stat enhancement than the fight. When Alfie offered him his spare crusts, Lenny accepted with glee. He even squeezed a little extra nutrient paste on the corners and gobbled it all up.
"What's your name?" Rose finally asked the young man.
"Harry Lawson," he said. He didn't say much else that first day, but by now the kids knew not to pry when someone turned up in the middle of the night.
*
Wednesday Service went as usual: scripture, hymns, the collection plate.
To his surprise, Harry was still staying at Sanctuary. It turned out that he had an ability too, the ability to control earth. This used to be associated with one of the great clans, but they had disappeared at some point. Lenny wasn't sure on the details. Harry was fifteen, like himself, and so his ability level wasn't very high, not having had the years required to develop and perfect his skill.
Apparently, his father had contracted for the government for a few years, then joined a new faction. A few days later, he was dead. That was last week. Harry hadn't known whether the government had killed him, or a rival faction, but suspected the latter. Apparently, the new faction had treated him like family and taken his joining to be a formality. And yet, no one from the Fiends had come to visit, never mind collect him. It had taken a day or two for him to realise, but when his calls had been ignored, Harry was quick to catch on.
And so, one morning, casually, he had used his ability to help with chores. No one said anything, but everyone stared. As expected, Lenny was the one to finally ask, confirming what they had all suspected and clarifying a few further details.
"So that makes three of us with abilities," Lenny thought to himself. "Not bad for some local orphans." He would endeavour to keep his own ability secret for now, unless something drastic were to happen. After all, from what the system had said, his ability was completely unknown. He'd found a way to discretely ask Harry and confirmed as much. In these times, revealing it could place a target on his back. Some would want the ability for themselves, while others would want to stop others from getting it.
Now that he thought about, creating spirit weapons with virtually no forging time seemed overpowered, even to him. Although, admittedly, it was an exhausting process, and it would take some time for his essence to recover. Also, the weapon description made it sound brittle. Spirit weapons were supposed to be sturdy. Lenny wondered if he could make weapons of the prey, or even predator class in the same way, but thought there would probably be some limitations. At least for now, while his ability was weak. It would be best to get stronger before revealing his ability to anyone, if he did not want to be pressured into joining a faction.
He wondered if he should ask Harry about an ability that made people hear voices in their heads but there was two things that stopped him. Firstly, there was no way to make such a statement without suggesting that he was mentally ill. Secondly, from what the system had said previously, it sounded like the system and ability were sperate things. Sure, the system seemed to have an understanding of what his ability could do, but it couldn't do it for him.
That night, he stared at Harry, as he drifted off to sleep. "I wonder if he will come with us? Or try not to get involved?"