(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 45

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. _{freёwebnovel.com}

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.