Earlier before the Cerberus attack at N.A.U.
Lance startled awake as the book he was holding dropped onto the table in front of him. A stifled giggle came from across the table from him. He looked over as Melody looked back down at her notes, pretending she didn’t see him dozing off.
“I was just testing the gravity in the room with my book,” Lance noted as he picked up the tome.
“It seems that nobody turned it off yet, so we’re good for now.”
Melody laughed at his joke and looked up, setting her pen down.
“You were snoring…” she said with a smirk.
“Was I?” Lance asked, slightly embarrassed.
“You don’t seem to be getting a lot of sleep lately,” Melody commented.
“Everything okay?”
“It’s… been a week,” Lance said as he rubbed his face.
“These tests have been pretty killer…”
Melody tilted her head.
“Just the tests? You seem to be pretty busy outside of studies,” she added.
Lance casually lifted his nearby coffee mug and took a long sip from it.
“Gotta keep the brain and body sharp,” he said.
“But… how are you supposed to be sharp if you’re running on four hours of sleep?”
“Are we talking daily or weekly?” Lance asked sheepishly.
“LANCE!”
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” he said defensively.
“I get… enough… sleep… sometimes…”
Melody narrowed her eyes.
“You’d better be… or I’ll have to call your mom or something on you.”
Lance grinned.
“And how would you plan on doing that, pray tell?” he asked.
“You haven’t even met my mother yet.”
“I have my ways,” Melody stated with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
They laughed together for a moment and eventually returned to their respective studying, Melody was copying down some notes she had made for a test and Lance was reading an extensive computer engineering book.
Melody glanced back up as if she were going to say something, but opted not to.
“Something on your mind?” Lance asked without looking up.
Melody thought for a moment, then set her pen down.
“How do you do it?”
Lance lowered his book and looked up at her.
“Do what exactly?” Lance asked.
“There are a lot of things that I do…”
“Exactly!” she said.
“I strive for the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ approach to life,” Lance said with a shrug.
“And somehow you still have time to hang out with us.”
Lance gave her a smirk.
“I enjoy everyone’s company,” he said.
He paused briefly.
“Some more than others.”
Melody blushed, knowing he meant herself, and looked back at her notes.
“Well, some…” she started, but was cut off by terrified screams and the sound of breaking glass coming from down the hall nearby.
Lance stood and looked down the direction the sounds were coming from as a series of loud barks added to the cacophony of noise and he was suddenly more alert.
“Grab your things, now…” he stated as he quickly closed his book.
Terrified, Melody complied and threw her notebooks and pens into her bag. Lance moved to the center of the open space just as a small group of people ran through the area.
“Monster dogs!” one of them yelled in a panic.
Others started running, some abandoning whatever they had to flee towards the emergency exits.
“Melody, this way!” Lance called as he led his friend by the hand.
Lance’s phone suddenly began ringing, but he ignored it, though he did recognize the preset tone to be the one for Adam’s number. Other people were gradually joining the group, all attempting to escape in the same direction. They neared an emergency exit and Lance paused at the door.
“What is it?” Melody asked.
“I’m going to make sure people are getting out,” Lance said.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
She looked at him in terror but nodded.
“Don’t be long…” she said.
She turned and ran out the door with the others nearby, Lance watching her go. He didn’t care to lie to her, but what was he supposed to say to her? That he was a vigilante who was likely the reason these “monster dogs” were attacking the campus? He turned and ran down the hall and pulled out his phone, glanced at a text version of the message that was left by Adam. He skimmed through it, then redialed Adam’s number.
"So glad you could return my call!” Adam said with a tense exhale as he answered.
“Does the science project in question have three heads and a bad attitude?” Lance asked.
“Oh, how ever did you guess?”
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