Pursuer's of the Heavens

Chapter 2: Doormats and Defenders

Layne awoke to the sudden slamming of a door. Taking this as a signal to wake up he slowly rose out of bed, wishing for just a little more sleep. Shoving on some slippers and slipping on a Braver and Boulder T-shirt he headed out his bedroom door. While pouring hot water over plain oats and eating them he noticed Saria wasn't here getting ready for school. After peering around the apartment he figured she had left early to school. Deciding not to do anything about this fact he prepared for another day at the construction site.

Wrapping his body with the bright orange vest he used as a uniform and slipping the cheap, rubber boots over his feet he readied himself to continue work on the Schatz bank, a new location being built in the sunset providence of Prosperita.

Stepping out the door Layne began the trek to the site. The site was located a few minutes from their apartment they currently rented at Brad's All-Access Motel and Apartments. The path to the site was engraved in Layne's mind due to his daily visits to the construction location. As he trudged towards his destination the world around him began to awaken in all of its selective wonders. The vendor's shouts once again began to fill the air as everything began its endless cycle. Adjusting the orange vest draped over his chest Layne noticed his destination beginning to enter his sight. The faint, dull noise of jackhammers became overbearingly noisy as it entered deeper and deeper into his skull like a nail into a plank. It surely would have brought the average citizen to their knees, but Layne was used to the ache constantly accompanied with the sound. The red ear mufflers swaddled around his head like a scarf proved to be effective at warding off the pain.

As he entered into the site Matthew Greenfern, the manager of the project, approached him hurriedly with his yellow hard hat and clipboard stuffed to the brim with important documents and employee scheduling. "Ah, Layne, I'm glad you're here!" He shouted excitedly, trying not to be drowned out by the jackhammers klanging. "I actually have a little request for you, you see Courtney just submitted her two weeks and wishes to use her remaining PTO for the rest of the time here. Because of this I am missing a worker for the later night shift till nine for the rest of the week and I was hoping you'd be able to pick up the slack." Layne, shocked by how quickly his manager spoke, took a second to respond. Recovering, he stated "I don't believe I could do that sir. My workload is big enough." "Well, if you don't want me to reduce your hours to part time, then I suggest you do." Annoyed by this, Layne begrudgingly accepted his offer to dodge the potentially disastrous outcome and continued into the site to complete the day.

The clock inched along as the lecture dragged on, threatening to never reach the hour mark. Saria held her ink pen in her hand, tapping it against the desk rhythmically. Currently she resided in a history course that was covering the city's decades old past.

"So then after Senator Andrei Salmon initiated the civilian protection and crime removal act the main source of crime plaguing us, the gang known as the Pursuer's of the Heavens were forced to take all of their members out of the town, thus revealing all of their names and forever outing them and forcing an eternal exile upon themselves. Several years went by with significantly less crime, which in turn forced several officers off the force because they weren't needed." As Professor Nelton Sharpe, the lecturer, stopped teaching for a second to readjust his notes the digital clock he had set up began to ring, signaling that five minutes remained for class. "Alright everyone, we have five minutes left so please start clearing your desks and remember that this lecture's material will be on your quiz tomorrow in class. Have a great day everyone." Throughout his statement, Prof. Nelton had to get progressively louder as the loud shuffling began to drown out his voice.

After a majority of the students had already exited the classroom Saria snapped out of her trance and began to awkwardly fumble her things together. The mention of the Pursuit of The Heavens had completely caught her off-guard and left her stunned. "How could that be considered history?" She thought to herself. "I mean, it was 15 years ago but still, how is that appropriate for a people like me?" As she continued in thought Nelton approached her.