Sub-lets in Hell, chapter 5. (Patreon)

I bet you all didn't expect this so soon! Surprise. I'tll be a few days on the next chapter for anything, but for now, please enjoy.

Morning dawned bright and early, as it usually did. I'd gotten another two hours, and that was good enough. Breakfast was donuts and a latte today, both from my favorite coffee shop. Grex had gotten both for me because I was running late.

Then I'd had to send him back home; we hadn't discussed how I felt yet, the higher ups and I. I didn't want to do anything that might get misunderstood, so I'd be talking Karen's ear off later.

For now, I needed to at least show up to muster. Would they ask me to do P.T. today?

Turns out they didn't. They hadn't asked Clay either.

More than a little odd, since we were both still active duty. Whatever, I'd do it myself; I wasn't lazy. Tomorrow. I'd start tomorrow.

As soon as I got close enough that no one else would hear, I told Clay that. His answer was a casual "sure."

The bastard was probably already doing morning P.T. twice, just to spite me. He didn't even have the grace to look tired.

I turned and lined up with him, and together we watched the show. It wasn't a very good one, but I'd take what I could get, and it wasn't like there was anything else to do while we watched the sunrise. I was long since over the desert overnight survival training; I'd just ignore that stuff and sip my latte.

Unless I was ordered to go, of course. That was a different story. Still, there was more than one way to get a latte, even in the desert.

The classroom was where I'd left it, and how I'd left it, which meant I only needed to set my coffee down and then set myself down, and I was ready to teach. So far, teaching had seemed a little on the easy side, but my memory as a kid gave me a different answer there.

Even if my memory from childhood was fuzzy. Something I didn't like to confront directly, but all my memories... while they were still there, there was no recollection of anything that could out the old me. I couldn't remember my old name, and any remembrances of me looking at my body were fuzzed out like an overzealous T.V. censor had taken an airbrush to them. I knew I'd been someone else, and I knew that I'd been a male, but the rest of that was just lost. The price I paid.

One day, I'd ask my parents if I was otherwise the same. How close I was to the old me. Even without some context, I remembered enough to think I was, but confirmation was always nice. One day, I'd be brave enough.

They didn't seem to have any complaints, at least. They also hadn't mentioned my old name since I got the new one... I knew that because there was never a blank. Someone pronouncing my old name in front of me, all I heard was a sound like washed out static for a moment. Some others had tried it, just on the off chance I could hear it. But Grex hadn't been sloppy; when he took my name, he'd taken it completely.

I didn't really miss it, but thinking back, there were none of those staticky moments surrounding my more recent memories with my parents. They had accepted me wholeheartedly. Then again, they were both veterans, so that made sense.

My students started trickling in, their morning physical training done for the day. I felt a bit sorry for them; with no teaching credentials, this felt more than a little like fraud. Some of these people - many of these people - would die in the near future. Some of that might be because my teaching sucks or I forgot something simple that could have saved lives.

Whatever, I couldn't think like that; I'd drive myself crazy. Just before class was to start, I got my butt in gear and turned to the chalkboard. Writing the theory for the basic spells most of us could use was rather nostalgic.

Silence spells, chameleon spells, sense enhancing spells... let's see, what else? Ah right, the handy trail remover - the one I always made my demons use because I was clearly too busy and in no way too lazy to use myself.

A slight revenge for Grex not showing the the spell immediately. Good times.

Would a big wheel be a good enough representation for all this? I guess it could be a pie, or a simple circle.... Whatever, it was done now, they had seen it.

Everyone was here, it was time to start: "Alright. So, what we have here are the basic spells most summoners can use, and our best understanding of why they work. The most important thing to remember here, is that it's all visualization in the end; the silence spell works not only because we can say the words, but because we understand the concept of no sound on a representative level; we don't impose our will through scientific principles, such as canceling the waves that comprise sound, we instead work with the fundamental aspect, the concept of sound itself. The waves cancel or modify themselves based on how we think and feel about such concepts."

I gave them all a look, and except for those busy taking notes... only lost faces greeted my eyes.

Right, okay. "What that all means is, when you think of the reduction of sound or sight, you don't need to think about the scientific underpinnings in order to make the spell work, or calculate the wave patterns in an attempt to disrupt them. You need to think of the metaphysical ideas of sound themselves. What does sound mean, to you and others? What did it mean in the past? What was He," I pointed up to clarify who I meant. "Thinking before or after when He made sound, or even sight? Some of the works of those older than us can offer some insight and clarity to this."

Time to say the cringe line: "The only wrong in this is to think that science and our technological understanding is correct here. It isn't, save for in the most indirect sense."

The circle I'd written was a modified version of the four humors, with a few extras. It was what worked for most people I knew, including myself, and Grex hadn't had any issue with it. This tower, in fact, spent the most time on this and only covered some of the others in passing, just in case the recruits responded better to another one.

Which I'd be doing, funnily enough, but we had to cover this first. Those with scientific minds struggled the most, oddly enough, but it would take an amazing mind to understand everything about how the sausage was made. Instead, we had to use crutches. You couldn't half-ass spells.

Well, normally. I half-assed spells all the time, with a truly disgusting cheat. Of course, I paid for it, so I should use it.

Was it really a cheat if you paid the price?

Not something I should be asking myself in the middle of a class. "Any questions?"

No one held a hand up, or just belted out the words. Not even a peep. Most were staring at me, and a few were still writing.

That was disappointing. There should be at least one. Something. "Really? No one has a question?"

"Can you show us an example?" Ah, finally. I'd expected that question well before now.

"Sure. Watch carefully."

I held my hand out, tracing the circle I wanted, and stepped out of myself. I didn't need to say any words; my practice in the field paying some dividends for once, now that I no longer needed them.

Stepping out of myself, the copy I'd made in front. I moved left a step and waved, the illusion mirroring my movements, going right and waving with my off hand. I didn't need to explain to these guys how useful having such an illusion in combat could be, even if most demons wouldn't be fooled.

A snap of my fingers and the spell unraveled. "As you can see, I didn't plug in any calculations based on the light or the humidity in the air or anything else. I just traced the spell and did it. The spell itself does the heavy lifting off the concepts I've encoded into it and adjusts those variables accordingly. Now, how does it do that, you may ask?"

I gave them a minute; this was probably the best part: "No one really knows. The prevailing theory is that our demons do that work somehow and just don't tell us."

That was a stupid theory though; otherwise, how was the original gate spell and the summonings themselves handled? Demons did nothing for us without a contract in place, no matter what was offered.

"Now, what I want from you is to read the passages listed in the books that were listed in your course syllabus. You won't get extra credit for reading more, but it might help you visualize the spells you learn here, and therefore, it might help you survive. As such, I'd recommend it. Study as if your lives depend on it - because they do."

I gave them another moment, doing my best to bore my seriousness onto their very souls. "Now, you should use the remaining time to read. Study what you can here, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask."

I went back around to my chair and sat down. Time to get some of my own reading done.

I'd just opened my book when a shadow loomed. "Excuse me, ma'am. I have a question."

I looked up. One of the recruits, one on the larger side as far as things went, was standing before me in parade rest. He wasn't even looking at me, instead favoring the straight-ahead approach.

I couldn't call him out for that; I was a fan of that approach myself. Too bad I couldn't match a name to the face, even after two days of roll call. That said something about me, I felt.

"What is it?"

"Why are we bothering with this, ma'am?"

A rather pointed question, but I could see why he was going for it. Learning this added more time spent to an already awful training course where the average summoner had to spend many sleepless nights cramming while still trying to manage the physical side of things. There were many times where I'd cursed everyone involved, and their parents, and their parents parents, on into the deep past.

There was a reason for it, though: "Because for at least half of you, there won't be any time to learn this afterward; my own class was split in half between stateside and the front, and I would imagine this class won't be any different. That means at least half of you who succeed the course will be shipped out the next day or two, and you'd better know everything you need to know before that happens. At the very least, simple stuff like silence and concealment, but ideally anything you might be capable of casting."

The recruit was still standing there at parade rest, but he'd gone very pale. Our achievements probably hadn't trickled to the front yet, so there were still plenty of demons running around. More than enough to kill whoever we sent.

"Was there anything else?"

He thought about it a minute, or at least pretended to: "No, ma'am."

His return back to his desk was a little stiff - maybe he'd been waiting for a more formal dismissal? I didn't have time for that.

Looking out, he wasn't the only one who'd gone pale. No one wanted to be reminded about the percentages facing them all. Facing us all, really. I wasn't out of the woods yet, if I ever would be.

Maybe it was just sinking in for them all. Sometimes it took a bit - I know it did for me.

Heads dropped to books, and no one else asked anything. At least I seemed to have motivated some of them, which would forever be a good thing.

The bell rang eventually, as one might expect, and the recruits grabbed their books and notes and filed out in about as orderly a fashion as possible.

Which for would be soldiers was very orderly.

The last filed out, and Karen filed in.

"Just who I want to see," I told her. I stood up, but she waved me off before I could do anything more.

"Don't worry about all that stuff, just treat me like you used to. What's up? You need something?"

"I wanted to discuss the defenses of this place. Would there be any objection to me, say, beefing them up a bit? Reworking the wards? Adding a few things, here and there?"

Karen blinked, slowly. Then blinked again. "Alright, I hadn't expected that. I'd have to see what you're planning of course, but if you want to submit stuff like that to me we can work things out from there. I have no blanket objection at this time, and I doubt the boss will either."

"Right, I'll make copies of what I plan to do and where, and just send them at you."

Runes and wards could be photographed just fine, so I'd make a set and then take pictures with my phone; should be good enough; phone cameras were nothing short of amazing.

"Sure. Was that all? You don't have anything else? Not going stir-crazy or want to go run a week's desert survival course, right?"

I couldn't stop the shudder. "Hell no. I've had enough of the desert for a lifetime. Two lifetimes."

Karen nodded. "Good. Sometimes, people find it hard to adjust. Let me know, okay?"

Subtle. Real subtle, Karen. "Sure. I think I'm doing fine, though. All things considered."

Karen cocked her head at me, then shrugged. "I believe you. So, you don't have another class for a bit; how about we get out of here and take a walk? Get another coffee or something? The coffee here isn't as good as the place back at the old apartment building, but it isn't awful."

I didn't really have anything better to do. "Sure," I said again. "I can show you where I want to improve things, if you're willing."

"Sigh," Karen said loudly. "Only you would turn some nice down time into work. but sure, we can do that."

I mean, we would have plenty of downtime... it was just a walk, right?  Right, I should probably pick her brain. I got up but gestured to the chalkboard. "Before we do that, how much did you hear?"

Karen looked at it, clearly humoring me. "Not much, but yeah, that looks right. Is there a problem?"

"Just me wondering if I'm doing a good job."

Karen snorted. "It's your second day. Give yourself some time. That said, looks good so far. Maybe a little early to go straight to this. I think our last guy had a lecture about how one had to 'break the chains science held on our minds' or something."

I remembered it well. "I covered it a bit. Added an example, though, something he never did."

I wondered where the man was now. Probably dead; he had been old for our business, nearly thirty when I'd had his class. Old enough to retire, certainly... but something told me it was a little more simple.

"Really? I can see how an example might help. Did you demonstrate for the class? The other guy couldn't really do much of that."

I gave her my best 'look': "Of course, what do you take me for?"

I wanted my recruits to have the best chance possible. If they died, I didn't want it to be on me. It probably would be anyway, but I'd try.

Karen reached for me; yeah, that wasn't happening. "You're not flicking me."

"Then stop wrinkling your forehead. Worry later, walk now; you're doing fine."

Right. Right.

I still kept a good six feet away, just in case Karen felt the urge again. "So, what do you want to talk about then?"

What nice and innocent subject could we even discuss here? I couldn't think of a single thing.

"So, I expected you to be a bit more thin. Most people who go to the front, even with the best MRE technology money can buy, lose a little weight - but you seem to have avoided that fate."

Did she just call me fat? No, it was Karen; she was just oblivious and was asking how I'd eaten those nasty MRE's... I mean some were good, but that spaghetti! "Well, for the most part I sent Grex to get food for all of us. Didn't you read my reports?"

"I did. Pizza, pasta, donuts... you were living it up in the forest."

I was wrong; she WAS calling me fat. I hadn't actually gained a single pound, according to my scale. How could I best call her blind without actually calling her blind?

"I was trying to  do anything I could to keep up morale. I think it worked."

Karen hmm'd at me. "That's also why you kept gating around?"

Here it comes at last. "Well, that and being able to get out got us away from any counters. I am absolutely sure the demons knew we existed and where we were at a few points, and getting out of dodge kept us alive and on the offensive."

If our true location had been discovered at any point, we'd have been mobbed until we died, with demons thrown at us to pin us down until the heavy artillery could come up.

We hit the door out, and free from the confines of the tower the sun hit us both like a physical blow; I'd forgotten my hat, and wasn't that a tragedy? At least I had my sunglasses.

Karen picked up on it. "Right, we have to hurry. You'll bake like jerky in this sun."

That was twice. "Charming image. For the record, I haven't gained a single ounce; we all ate badly, but we all burned it off."

"Really?" Karen asked, turned and looking directly at my chest. "I could have sworn those grew...."

She was. She was actually trying to piss me off. "When I get out, I'm getting them reduced."

"Don't you dare! At least, not until your back starts aching. You hit that age, you're free to do what you want."

As if the choice was hers. "I'll donate whatever the docs take to you."

Karen stopped and mock-pouted. "Rude."

Then she walked off with an exaggerated sniff, forcing me to pick up the pace. "So why ask about my weight?"

I was sure my weight was even updated on my file; she should know what it is... if she bothered to read it. Maybe she skimmed?

"Simple. So far, I've only seen you in uniforms, and you've been back for days! I was thinking it was time to go shopping again."

Oh. Hell no. "I'm still on active duty? It isn't even the weekend?"

Karen flopped her hand at me. "Please, no one actually pays any attention to that. At least, not for us, and not if you don't want to. Want to guess what I've got on under my robe?"

I really didn't. But it was hot, so: "T-shirt and shorts?"

Karen favored me with a look again. "You're right. Nice eye."

"Nothing gave it away; I just know you."

Someone who didn't really know might confuse it with laziness or lack of care. It was actually a part of Karen's price... pure sloth, the actual sin, with a capital S. She could fight it just enough to be effective, but with her other problem being a lack of any emotion in general, her contract had crippled her in some of the strangest ways. Everyone who knew her, even the big man, simply worked around it.

At times like this, it worked for both of us.

A few steps out and Karen turned toward what passed for a coffee shop here, a little attachment next to the px that looked like it'd be more at home at a strip mall than a military base.

What was even weirder was the place next to it... an eye clinic? Why an eye clinic, and not an actual clinic?

I mean I'd been through here before, but the place had been closed... I think. Karen led the way inside, and I followed.

Inside, the place looked like a typical cafe, if a small one. There were donuts to one side, bread and muffins on the other, and a wall of coffee advertisements behind the counter. I didn't need any, of course, just some coffee. Wait, they had ice cream and milkshakes too?!?

No, I shouldn't. Stick with the basics, Madness. Heh.

Karen ordered an espresso... had she been sleeping as well as I had? Not to be outdone, I ordered one too. We both grabbed our numbers even though we were the only ones in the place, and sat down at a table - the farthest one from both the counter and the door.

It was time to ask, I suppose. "So what's been going on in the city? How is the precinct holding up? The task force?"