Chapter 88: Friends I

A black SUV moved through the busy streets of New York, heading toward Columbia University.

Luke sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through his phone while Manny drove.

Today, Gwen, Brie, Mischelle, and one another girl Luke did not know were putting on a band performance.

Because every new band needed free labor, Luke was roped into volunteering as stage crew.

A week had passed since that chaotic afternoon in the snow.

Life back home had gradually returned to normal. The authorities had contacted the family on the very same evening to explain Alex’s situation, and by the next day, she was even well enough to video chat from her hospital room.

The official story given to her team was very simple and comforting. The authorities claimed it was an unusual natural survival event. They told Alex there would be a few standard safety investigations and a routine interview before she could put the whole ordeal behind her.

Luke knew better. The T-stream’s upgraded Hacking tool (yes, he invested some TP in it) let him dig into the real reports.

The investigation team had sensed something off from the start.

Fortunately, they never found any trace of a Yeti. He had been careful enough to wipe the footprints (via Ash manipulation) near the research group. What they did find were signs of other humans. The tribal people.

It turned out this was not the first time those tribes had been spotted in Antarctica. Because of that, the researchers were cleared to head home. The investigators no longer needed them on site. From what Luke could tell, the people running the case were decent about it.

Overall, the situation stayed under control. Alex would be home in a few days.

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A while later, the SUV slowed to a halt near the university’s main entrance. Manny left to search for an open parking space, leaving Luke to wait by the curb until Peter jogged over to meet him.

Manny returned from the visitor lot a couple of minutes later, jogging up to the sidewalk right as Peter emerged through the campus gates.

“Glad you both made it,” Peter said with a small smile as he walked out from the campus gates to meet them. He glanced over at Luke, his expression turning thoughtful. “Hey, how is Alex holding up after everything that happened? Is she okay now?”

“No worries, she is doing great,” Luke replied with a reassuring nod. “She will be home in a few days.”

“That is a huge relief,” Peter said and then gestured for them to follow him deeper into the university grounds.

Manny caught up with them just then, nodding in agreement with the update. Together, the three of them started walking inward toward the auditorium where the performance was taking place.

As they moved down the tiled hallway, Luke noticed something odd about the way Peter moved. There was a very slight limp in his steps, barely visible under a normal stride. Luke decided not to point it out. It was so faint that anyone else would have missed it entirely. But the more troubling part was the way he faked to act as usual.

Even the way way he asked about Alex’s well being… He was good in faking it, but Luke was now even better in reading people than before. The books helped and practicing on Bucky contributed to increase his skill too.

The stage area came into view soon enough. Brie stood on the platform testing a mic. Mischelle sorted cables on the polished floor. Betty checked items off a clipboard. Gwen tuned her guitar near the speakers, and the fourth girl adjusted the drum kit.

Betty spotted them first. “About time. We still have a lot to move.”

“Yo, Luke,” Mischelle said. “You’re on cable duty. Manny lights.”

“Not even a hello,” Luke said, walking towards a box full of cables.

“Happy to help,” Manny said proudly. “Every great performance needs a solid crew behind the scenes.”

Gwen walked over from the main soundboard a moment later. She held a clipboard tightly against her chest and offered Luke a very stiff, awkward smile in greeting.

She quickly looked away and pretended to be deeply focused on reading her printed notes.

Her awkwardness brought back memories of that afternoon by the pool a few days ago. She had almost blurted out calling him a creepy clown, the nickname she used for Veritas, before stopping herself.

When he pressed her on it, she made up an excuse about him reminding her of an old abusive ex. Luke knew right away that it was a total lie, but it seemed it was nothing but an accidental slip-up.

Not minding her at all, Luke grabbed a heavy bundle of extension cords and started with the easy tasks.

He carried large speaker monitors to the front of the stage and taped down loose power lines to prevent tripping hazards. The physical work felt simple and straightforward. He even helped Manny lift a heavy light rig into place without breaking a sweat.

Then he reached a large plastic crate filled with specialized audio gear. He pulled out a thick cord with a weird three-pin metal connector. He looked at the massive soundboard resting on a folding table.

The metal machine had dozens of different input jacks. To his completely untrained eyes, every single hole looked almost the same.

Gwen noticed his clear confusion from across the platform. She placed her clipboard on top of a speaker box and walked over to where he was crouching.

“That’s the wrong hole,” Gwen said, standing behind him and crossing her arms over her chest.

Luke raised his brow.

‘I’m not an audio guy, but was the only way to say it?’

“You look lost,” She added.

“I’m not lost,” Luke said. “I’m exploring.”

“Sure you are.” She knelt down beside him and took the cable. Her fingers moved quickly, pulling the end and plugging it into the right hole, where it fit nice and tight.

They spent the next few minutes on it…

“Manny mentioned that this is going to be all of your first actual live performance,” Luke said casually, breaking the quiet as they finished plugging in the remaining lines. “Are you feeling nervous?”

Gwen paused with a wire in her hand and looked out over the empty area where the audience would soon gather.

“Maybe a little,” she admitted, her voice dropping slightly. “I know we are not going to be perfect, but I also do not want to mess up so bad that it breaks the band.”

“Mhmm, then you do not need to be nervous at all,” Luke said, leaning back on his heels. “I do not think people come to these things for perfect. If they wanted perfect, they would stay home and listen to the album. They come to see something real. You all can do that.” He gave her a cheerful double thumbs up.

Gwen smiled, her shoulders relaxing just a bit.

She looked at him, and for a moment she felt that strange little tug again, the same one she had felt before and had tried hard to forget.

A voice behind a clown mask, telling a room full of terrified hostages the truths they had spent their whole lives hiding from.

‘Okay, Gwen. Stop.’

She shook her head a little to clear her mind. That was ridiculous. Veritas uses his words like a knife to tear people down. Luke was using them to make her feel better. The two were not even close.

The last cable clicked into place. Gwen stood up and brushed dust off her knees. Luke did the same, slower, like he was still not sure he had done anything useful.

“Luke!” Betty shouted from across the hall, pointing a finger at the ground. “The extension cord for the lights is still lying right in the middle of the walkway. Do you want someone to trip and sue us?”

“God, she acts like she’s paying me, talk about entitlement,” Luke sighed under his breath.

He stood up, gave Gwen a quick wave, and walked over to fix the cord.

As the evening approached, the dim venue lights came on, and a sizable crowd began filling up the hall. Everything was running on schedule until a loud snap echoed from behind the main amplifiers.

Mischelle gasped as she pulled out a cracked power adapter. The main audio feed for the instruments had fried itself, and without that specific component, none of their guitars would carry through the main speakers.

“We are totally dead in the water,” Brie said, resting her hands on her hips with a look of pure frustration. “The show starts in twenty minutes. Where are we supposed to get another one of these right now?”

“What about spares?” Manny asked.

“These were the spares!” Betty shouted.

“Oh,” Manny went quiet.

And not just him, the whole group fell silent, their anxious expressions making the atmosphere heavy. All that hard work was about to go to waste over a single piece of plastic and copper.

From the corner of his eye, Luke noticed Peter, the guy hadn’t been saying much today, even now it somehow felt he was lost somewhere else. Luke also noticed that Gwen was about to move. But stepped up before she could.

“Hey, relax,” Luke said, taking the broken adapter from Mischelle’s hand. “Manny and I can go grab a replacement before your set starts. Manny’s car is right outside.”

“I am already on it,” Manny said, pulling out his keys and adjusting a hat he got from somewhere with an extremely serious face. “Let’s move.”

Manny drove while Luke called the store and asked them to hold a matching adapter. The clerk said they had one left on the shelf.

When they pulled up to the storefront on Broadway, Luke dashed inside, found the exact audio connector on the back shelf, paid the cashier in cash, and sprinted back out to the curb.

There were barely 12 minutes left before the band had to step onto the stage.

Luke jumped into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut. “Floor it, Manny.”

Manny pressed the pedal firmly, keeping the SUV moving as fast as legally possible while weaving smoothly between city cabs. He pulled up beside the university entrance with exactly 1 minute to spare.

“Go!” Manny shouted, already looking for a curb to park. “I will find a spot and meet you inside!”

Meanwhile, backstage, the girls sat on plastic chairs, checking their phones every few seconds.

Gwen sighed. She had wanted to go alone, swing to the store herself, and get the damn thing herself. She could have done it quickly and surely, but it’d raise unnecessary questions.

Suddenly, fast footsteps echoed down the wooden hallway. Luke burst through the backstage entrance, holding a bright store bag high in the air. He jogged up to the group, handed the bag straight to Mischelle, and dramatically plopped flat onto the hard floor.

He made sure to huff and puff heavily, fanning his shirt as if he had just run a full marathon to show off his huge effort.

“Took you long enough,” Betty said, but there was a small smile on her face. “Thank you,” She added. She meant it.

Brie and Mischelle pulled the new unit from the bag and got to work. Within two minutes, the soundboard hummed back to life. The lights flickered on. The crowd outside cheered, thinking the show was starting.

Sure, it was a few minutes later than the schedule, but the audience was pretty chill about it.

As their performance started and heavy music filled the area, Luke joined up with the cheering crowd right as Manny came over.

“Where is Peter?” Luke asked, leaning closer to Manny as the heavy bass notes vibrated through the ground. “Did you spot him on the way here?”

Manny did not even look back, his eyes locked firmly on the stage. “Don’t know, don’t care. My Brie shines like a total rockstar up there.”

Luke let out a low sigh, giving up on getting a serious answer, and turned his attention back to the stage.

The girls had planned a three-song setlist, and by the end of the first track, the crowd was completely hooked. Loud cheers and clapping echoed across the hall. They had clearly put in countless hours of hard practice, and their natural talent was showing through every chord and beat.

The band launched smoothly into their second song, building up the energy as the crowd cheered along with the rhythm.

Just as they were reaching the final chorus, a deafening crash shattered the music.

The heavy double doors near the side entrance burst into pieces, sending jagged shards of wood and iron flying across the floor. Absolute panic ripped through the crowd instantly.

Screams echoed across the hall as people scrambled over each other to run toward the main exit.

A giant, dark green monster stepped through the ruined doorway. It towered over the fleeing students, covered in thick scales with a massive tail sweeping behind it, looking like a terrifying giant lizard straight out of a nightmare.