The Guild

[blueayes]

Earth has changed, and monsters now rule the surface. The world is now full of creatures that aren't Humans, but that's not our story.

The world shook as a massive tower grew out of the ground, while a castle that flew in the sky shook the ground beneath it, and several dungeons tore holes in the earth.

It wasn't long until the creatures spilled into the world outside and began to attack and destroy everything they found. Humanity tried to fight back, but the enemies were too many and some were so strange that Human weapons could barely do anything to them.

The only reason that Humans survive is that the monsters were killing each other just as much as they were killing the the people around them.

Eventually, the governments that survived, joined with groups of people who were either intelligent or crazy and began to develop both weapons and super soldiers that even the playing field.

Slowly Humanity began to take back some of what it lost and as time passed alliances were made and everyone agreed to live together because if they didn't then none of them would survive.

But that is not our story.

The guild house shook as the different creatures cheered for the adventurers who were challenging one of the dungeons and were trying to seal it. The remaining heroes had lost most of their team members and were now at the gate where the dungeon boss was located.

The Guild had been created after a group of people from Earth somehow found themselves in the bodies of creatures that they didn't belong in, somehow we all found each other and decided to help each other survive this strange place.

Some people would question why, when everyone gained either superpowers or magic, but those people wouldn't even consider how being in a body that isn't your own would feel. Not to mention that some people now have entirely different senses that Humans don't have.

Located in what remains of one of Human cities, the Guild is nothing more than a giant warehouse, that we filled with tables, some televisions that we found in the ruins, and everything that we could scavenge that wasn't expired.

It's a place where orcs drink alongside magical girls, while High Elves eat next to Dark Elves and Dwarfs fight with Humans and super soldiers in video games.

Okay, so it's not a typical guild but it's a place where we all come to feel normal. The creatures that don't have someone from Earth in them are either social outcasts, the family members of someone in the guild, or friends of ours.

The owner of the warehouse agreed to let us use it as long as we helped clean the area around it. It was a small price to pay so we agreed, and he began to make phone calls, before we knew it, people began to move back in and we had more work to do.

As more and more people began to arrive the town that had formed grew into a small city and then into a real city where it was impossible to travel unless you knew where you were going, had something to guide you, or knew someone who knew where to go.

When we asked the Humans why they gathered here, they just said because the Guild was here.

To this day I don't understand why they did it, we can't save everyone, hell we can't protect everyone, but for whatever reason everyone just keeps sending us help requests, and like idiots we keep on doing them.

We aren't like the dwarfs who live in the dungeons and have access to all sorts of precious gems and rare metals. Hell, we aren't like the elves and magical girls that live in those giant trees and have access to all sorts of magic spells and tricks.

Hell, we aren't like the people from the flying castle who can use insane technology and solid magic. At best, we are like the governments of Earth who are barely catching up to those groups.

The doorbell rings as someone walks in, and slowly everyone's attention turns to whoever is standing at the entrance. I turn and find a group of Human soldiers along with several augmented Humans standing at the entrance.

"Welcome how many are in your group?" a waitress asks the group who asks for whoever is in charge.

"I am.' I answer them and notice how the group looks at me, not believing that another Human is in charge of the Guild.

"No one else wanted the job, it's too much of a headache.' I say to them before the leader of the group steps forward and says that they want to join the guild as it's the only place that soldiers like them can go.

I can't help but raise an eyebrow as the man hands me a letter that says that the war is over and everyone needs to focus on rebuilding their lives.

I can't help but let out a breath while I let the weight of what I just read fall on my shoulders. If what this paper says is true then governments have stopped trying to reclaim the lands beyond the cities.

"Just one question, why us? Couldn't you have made a group of your own or simply move into one of the empty houses and live your lives?' I ask the man who looks defeated.

"Not everyone can go back because we have nothing to go back to. Others have done things that they can't forgive themselves for and a few of us can't stop fighting because we swore to take our world back." he answers me.

I look at the soldiers and notice how they are all standing. They look like disciplined soldiers, but I can see the worry in their eyes, they're afraid of being rejected by u.

"If you can agree to work with other species.' I wave at the room and show how the warehouse is full of creatures that aren't Human. "Then you and your men are one of us." I say to the man who nods.

The moment we shake hands one of the soldiers runs outside and announces that they were accepted. I can hear people cheering and out of instinct I walk toward the door and look outside.

I can feel my heart stop, there's an army made of normal Humans and augmented humans outside and I just let them into the sanctuary that we created.

The moment we shake hands one of the soldiers runs outside and announces that they were accepted. I can hear people cheering and out of instinct I walk toward the door and look outside.

I can feel my heart stop, there's an army made of normal Humans and augmented humans outside and I just let them into the sanctuary that we created.

 

[blueayes]

1 Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life

I looked at the coin that showed that I was in charge to think that something so small once gave me the power to do anything I wanted, but my time behind the desk was over.

The door to my office opens and I see my replacement walk in, she hasn't aged a day. She still has the same long black hair and bright brown eyes that even now show how bright her soul is.

"Ready." I hear her say to me before a flash of light nearly blinds me and I'm forced to blink while I rub my eyes as I try to regain my sight but when I can see again I see her holding a long duster coat and a gun that I thought I would never see again.

"Surprise." she says to me before she enters my, no it's her office now. She hands me the gun but puts the coat on my back.

"Someone found it, but because it was broken they sold it and the guy that bought it recognized it was your old gun and you can imagine the rest." she answers me before she walks away and puts her coin on the desk.

"Do you have any advice, boss?" I say to her while not expecting an answer.

Her lips move and I can see something that looks like a smile, but her elven nature makes it look too elegant, too unnatural when compared to how she was smiling at me earlier.

"Make a four to six-man team, you don't count." She answers me, I'm about to ask her why but she starts to explain before I can say anything.

"You have been behind the desk for too long and while you know how to handle paperwork, argue with politicians, and speak with whoever you have to you are way behind the rest of us."

"Find fresh blood, people who either don't have any experience fighting or haven't adjusted to how much the world has changed."

I look at her bright brown eyes and nod, I turn and start to walk away but before I can reach the door I feel her hand on my shoulder. Before I can say anything, she takes the coin from my hand and puts it into a small hole that's on the coat sleeve.

"Look" I hear her say as she shows me that the emblem that was marked on the cin is now on the coat.

I must look pretty pathetic to her, because I can tell that she is doing her best as she tries to make me feel better. I don't know why but I pulled her close to me and hugged her as tightly as I could before I left the place that I've worked in for years.

I can hear the music playing and the people around me argue and laugh, there isn't a goodbye or anything that shows that I'm going to be missed, and before I know it I'm outside.

For the first time in years, I don't know what to do, the ruins that I helped clean up are gone, and in their place are houses and apartments. I could just walk until I find the dump and help the people working there clean u the mess that hasn't been cleaned up yet.

The sound of engines reminds me of how close the guild is to the hole and I walk towards it until I'm standing on it.

I can see the neon lights that only glow brighter, the endless underground cities that we helped uncover and fix. I could go down there and see if I can find something to do.

I can't help but look up, and while I feel like crying because as strange as it might seem. I just left something that I have been doing for years. I know that I was tired of doing it but now that I finally left. I don't know what to do.

Everyone else left long ago, they are still here but they all went to have their adventures while I stayed behind to make sure things didn't fall apart.

"Come on get it together, you're an adventure too." I say to myself as I try to keep myself from falling apart.

"I guess I should look for some work." I say to myself before the collar of my coat glows and a blue screen shows me what jobs are available for someone that's at the bottom.

I look up and find myself looking at some sort of flying machine I can see the engines that it uses to keep itself from touching the ground but it doesn't spin or do anything it only glows.

It's not alone, there's a giant boat flying next to it both machines are headed into the wastelands and I can't help but feel as if this world left me behind long ago.

"Let's start with something simple." I say to myself as I look at my options again and find that the easiest job is to help a group of newcomers find a place to live.

 

[blueayes]

Near the wall that separates the wasteland from the city I find three men and a group of women waiting for me, but they aren't alone there are other groups close to where they are standing.

I can't help but smile at least this part hasn't changed much.

I can hear some of the women yelling at their guides, while others are crying, some are even threatening the guides but the guides ignore it all and continue doing their job.

"Come with me." I say to them, I know that I should ask what their names are but I won't do that because I know what's going to happen next.

The group follows me to the wall and as I lead them to the top, I ask them how long has it been since they arrived in the city, or if they remember how long they were outside before someone brought them.

They all give me different answers, the two teenagers who jook Japanese say that they were in the city for a year, but they were in the ruins, while the two women who are with them say that they have only been in the city for a month.

The older Latina woman and what I can only assume is her son, say that they were found outside, but it's only been a day for them.

The blond teen and the group of equally blond women that are with him say that they can't remember as they don't know how they even got to the city.

I stop walking and tell them to look at the wasteland. I listen to them gasp, an ocean separates into a forest, that leads into a mountain that leads into a radioactive land, that leads to another ruined city.

I tell them to turn around and look at the city that is now their home.

The group falls silent, the ruins of everything that crashed into each other, lead into the towering buildings that were either repaired or rebuilt over the years.

There is a massive field where farmers grow the food that people need to live. I can appreciate how big the wall is because I can see the entrance to the city below and all of the technology inside of it.

"The truth is that all of you are from different worlds, or should I say that it is the same world but in different dimensions."

"To put it simply, wherein one reality a person might have been impossible to stop, here that same power is next to useless, the same goes for the reverse."

"None of you are forced to stay and if you want to leave feel free to do it, but no one is going to risk their lives to save you if you choose to leave." I say to them before sending them the list of jobs available t them.

"These are the things that all of you can do for now, with that out of the way I'll explain the three rules that can not be changed." I can feel their attention on me.

"The rules are simple no woman who reaches the age of thirteen can be single unless they have a male family member looking after them. Rule number two you are not human or anything else you are a member of this city everything else can go to hell. And finally, we don't allow anyone be they men or women to simply go from one partner to another. The minimum is four women per man no exceptions."

The group falls silent and I can see the gears in their heads spinning, I prepare myself to hear them argue or threaten me but I notice that they are looking at the people around us.

"What if we just want to keep our sisters or other family members safe and we don't want anyone?" the blond ten asks me.

"Look around you, how many Humans do you think are left? We need to get our population up, but eventually, your sister, aunt, or mom will want a family of her own and that means that you will have to find a woman for yourself and then three more." I answer him.

"You said not to consider ourselves Human, why?" the Japanese boy asks.

"There was a massive war, it was everything versus everyone. There are bad people in this world just like in every other world. Some of them said we are Humans so why not work to getehr only to betray whoever they asked for help."

"The same goes for the other beings living in the city, that's why we all live here, it's our way of saying screw you." I answer him.

"Are there any other questions?" I ask them but no one answers.

"The world is full of monsters, be they magical or technological in nature, hell we even have ghosts, demons, mutants, and angels running around." I let my words sink in before continuing.

"We are at the surface, but we have an even bigger city or cities underground, it's up to you to decide where you want to live."

I turned and led them down the path that we took to get to the top of the wall. We walk past waterfalls that aren't connected to anything and the water is just coming from a hole in reality, past towers that float just above the ground meaning that they aren't completely part of the world.

There are roads where buildings tore themselves out of the ground so there are giant holes where pieces of road and even a few cars are frozen in time.

We walk past soldiers who are exiting a small dungeon after exterminating the creatures that live in it, a group of soldiers and police officers are inspecting the empty houses and apartments making sure that nothing has moved into them yet.

Men women and children who have replaced or enhanced their bodies using different kinds of technologies walk past us uncaring about the looks that the newcomers give them.

We finally arrive at the guild but before I let them inside I lead them to the area where they can see the city below, between the gasps and since that sets in, I can feel that they finally understand that their old lives are over.

I usually take them to the guild and help them get started.