Chương 32: Rifts

Nobody moved. Everyone on the street held their breath. Gus broke first.

"So what do you propose?" Enzo didn't answer immediately. He kept his fingers aimed at the man's chest, letting the seconds drag.

"First, you get your lookouts on the roof to stand down. Then your men move back to the parking lot and out of sight." Gus scowled.

"You think I'm gonna send everyone away so you can kill me?"

"Fair point." Enzo shrugged.

"Keep Danny and two others. Everyone else backs off. Then we'll finish this discussion and go our separate ways." Gus stared at him for a long moment. Then he snorted.

"Fine. I was planning to let you go anyway, before you blew a hole in my building." He jerked his head at Danny, who turned and waved at the rooftop. The figures up there hesitated, then disappeared from the edge. Danny faced the line of men behind them and barked an order. They began moving back toward the parking lot. Danny pointed at two of them.

"You two stay." Gus turned toward the alley.

"They can stay," Enzo said.

"It's fine." Gus turned back, eyes narrowing for just a moment.

"Generous of you." Then he shrugged.

"What now?" Enzo hesitated. He glanced at Val to his right, then Kenzo to his left, unsure how to continue buying time. Then he spotted three figures dart quietly across the alleyway behind Kenzo. Behind the two guards who had stepped away from their posts to watch the exchange happening on the main street. The three figures disappeared between the buildings opposite the supermarket. He calmly turned back to Gus.

"Now we leave, and we don't bother each other anymore." Gus stared at him.

"This isn't over, Locke. You come here and make demands. Then deliver threats." He shook his head.

"Next time we talk, you better be coming hat in hand and ready to pay for today's disrespect. Or else maybe we'll take it out on your lady friend." Enzo considered it at that moment. Really thought about uttering two more words. Even though he could see a few watching from the far corner of the building, there were only six men close enough to be an immediate problem. Enzo and his friends could easily overwhelm Gus and Danny, then deal with the remaining guards close enough to react before they could escape.

The problem was that, though they might not have realized it from the earlier demonstration, Power Bolt took a second to charge. Which meant Gus might evade it or activate a defensive skill in time. And he wasn't confident a normal bolt would kill the man quickly enough to make the risk worth it. Something must have shown in his face, because both Danny and Gus tensed again. Enzo lowered his hand, turned around, and started walking away.

"You stay away from our end of town, and we'll stay away from yours." Kenzo and Val closed ranks behind him as they fell back. Enzo and the others retrieved their bikes, mounted up, and rode away in silence under the watchful glares of the Steel Soul Riders.

They found the others three blocks northwest, tucked into the alley behind a row of shuttered shops where they'd agreed to regroup. Enzo was still swinging his bad leg off the bike when a flash of red hair burst from a doorway. Signe crossed the distance in seconds, slamming into him hard enough that he stumbled back against the frame. Her cuffed hands hooked behind his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder. He dropped the cane and held on.

Val hit them a heartbeat later, arms wrapping around both of them from the side, her forehead pressed against Signe's hair. They were both shaking. Then Kenzo's arms wrapped around all three of them, lifting them briefly, and for a while nobody said anything at all. Enzo saw Matt standing apart and gestured for him to join them, which he did a few moments later. He saw his father watching them with a rare, small smile, and mouthed thanks to the old man, who merely nodded back.

When the group hug finally broke, he looked down at the handcuffs and grabbed Signe's wrist gently. He tapped one cuff with a finger and muttered, "Lock," while pulling the arm free of the mechanism. He repeated the process for the other cuff. Signe took them from him, then spun and hurled them at the wall with a grunt. Enzo glanced over his shoulder at the main street.

"I know we have a lot to catch up on, but we need to get back home first. Kenzo brought a spare bike for you." He gestured to the wall where Matt's bike and Pops's bike waited, along with a third.

"Let's go." Signe shook her head.

"No. I need your help."

"With what, Sig?" Val asked. Signe took a deep breath.

"I was travelling with a bunch of people, and yesterday morning, some kids found a rift and disappeared into it." Enzo's eyebrows rose.

"What's a rift?" He paused.

"Wait. Does it look like a crack floating in the air?" She nodded.

"Their parents went in after them. I only got close enough to get the Guide entry, then I ran to town for help, only to encounter those biker pricks." Sumi stepped closer.

"Can you share the details with us?" Signe shook her head.

"It's really long. The Guide describes it as a tear caused when ambient mana gathers and grows dense enough to affect the underlying physics of reality. It'll be easier if you read the entry yourself when we get there."

"Wait a sec," Matt said, holding a hand out.

"You want us to go inside this thing that swallows people?" Signe hesitated, then looked up at Enzo.

"I'm sorry, I know you just came to get me, but they're good people. They let me travel with them." She swallowed.

"But I couldn't go in alone. I don't have any good spells or weapons to fight whatever's in there."

"Do you know what's inside it?" Pops asked. She shook her head.

"The Guide just said that if something has claimed the rift, then nothing can leave until it's killed or the core is destroyed." She sighed.

"The rest of us waited for a while, but none of the others came out, so I went for help." You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Kenzo glanced at him.

"What do you think, bro?" Enzo exhaled slowly.

"I'm worried about retaliation from the bikers." He turned to Matt.

"You know their situation. Thoughts?" Matt clicked his tongue.

"Gus assigned most of their mages to deal with the group on the other side of the highway. Even if he wants to, I don't think they can do anything until they're dealt with. Gus probably won't send normal people after you now that the guns aren't working. And they're still training people to use the bows and crossbows." Val clapped her hands.

"Great. So we'll go and deal with this rift thing first, then head home."

"No."

"Why not?" Val demanded. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We don't know enough about the rift to risk everyone going. Only the mages should go."

"Okay, fine. So?"

"You need to go home with Matt and Pops and Sumi."

"Bullshit! I'm going with you." Enzo shook his head.

"Kenzo and I will go. Signe too, because she has to show us the way. You need to make sure the watch is ready just in case. We can't risk all the mages going, and they'll listen to you."

"Then you go back, and I'll go with Kenzo."

"We don't need to send two hitters and no thinkers." He grinned at Kenzo.

"No offence, big guy. You know what I mean." Kenzo grinned at him.

"Sure do." Val deflated under his gaze.

"This is bullshit," she repeated.

"I could go with you instead of Kenzo." Pops stepped up beside her and placed his hand on her other shoulder.

"Then your mother and I would be worried about both of our kids not coming back." He met Enzo's eyes.

"Besides, your brother is right. The people trust you." Val fell silent.

"I'll go with them," Sumi said. Everyone turned to her in surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"It's not that odd. I'm curious about the rift, too. And I can help." Enzo nodded at her.

"Thanks. I didn't want to presume, but that would be great." Kenzo ruffled Val's hair.

"Then it's decided. We'll go help Signe with this thing, and the rest of you will head home to make sure everyone's ready just in case."

"Fine." Val muttered. Then she glared at them.

"But you better come back fast or I'll be coming after you." Enzo smiled at her.

"Sure." He didn't mention that Signe hadn't told them where the rift was yet.

"Feed Murph when you get back, okay?"

They split from the group at the next intersection. Matt raised a hand. Pops gave Enzo a nod that said everything it needed to. Val glared at him.

"Bring Sumi and Signe back safe, or else!" Enzo chuckled.

"Follow me," Signe said, turning north.

"We'll circle around the bikers." They rode, taking up the entire street, Enzo and Signe in the middle. Sumi to his left. Kenzo to Signe's right. The streets were mostly empty, quiet in that particular way the town had become since the rain. Or because resources were running dry, and the motorcycle club was making it more dangerous every day to scavenge. Signe glanced at Enzo.

"My parents. Are they okay?"

"They're good," Kenzo called from her other side.

"Checked on them the day after the rain ended. They've been doing fine since. Helping out." Enzo nodded.

"Val included your street inside our perimeter." He paused.

"Your mom joined the gardening club my mother started. Not sure what your dad's been doing. Honestly, I haven't spoken to them myself. Things have been…" He trailed off.

"Sorry, Sin. I should have checked on them, too. Things have just been so hectic. There's never a minute to spare." She studied him for a moment. Then changed the subject, sparing him.

"I was surprised to see you and Val were back. Were you in Mill Valley when it happened?" Enzo shook his head.

"We were in San Fran when it started. We rode home after the rain stopped." Jabbed his chin at Kenzo.

"The big lug was already home when it rained. We found him out defending the neighborhood with a bat." Signe laughed, eyes narrowing, revealing her dimples.

"Sounds just like him."

"What?" Kenzo huffed.

"Nothing weird about protecting your home. You would've done the same as me."

"How was it for you?" Enzo asked.

"In Santa Rosa, I mean." The smile faded.

"I passed out in my car after the rain hit. When I woke up, I managed to drive home before the engine died. Spent the next few days in my studio, figuring out the magic." She was quiet for a moment.

"The sounds were the worst part. I could hear the Eaters at night. Screeching. Moving through the streets. But I didn't know what they were until days later."

"What did you do?"

"What I do best. Made music." She almost smiled.

"I figured out early that I could shape mana into sound and light. Even worked out a way to amplify my hearing, which turned out to be a mistake at first because I could hear everything. Including things I really didn't want to…" Sumi leaned forward slightly on her bike.

"You created sensory spells? From scratch?" Signe nodded.

"I didn't know there were any other types until today." She gave Enzo a sidelong look.

"That Lock spell you used was cool. Also very you. Should I ask why you're so magically gifted at unlocking cuffs?" Kenzo laughed. Enzo struggled to restrain his own amusement.

"That's fascinating," Sumi said, ignoring them.

"Your approach to magic is completely different from ours."

"It was very useful," Signe continued.

"By the time the rain stopped, the Eaters were getting worse. I watched a pack of them moving from house to house from my window. Figured I had maybe an hour before they reached me. Thankfully, I'd already worked out a spell that let me see in the dark, because I ran that night and didn't stop until dawn." Enzo saw what she wasn't saying. The Eaters hadn't overrun San Francisco by the time they'd left, but his experience with them had still been traumatic. Kevin. The hospital. Bodies mauled and eaten.

The two Tier 1s they'd encountered, already transforming into something more. But he said nothing. She wouldn't want to discuss it yet. Her gaze drifted to his cane, where it rested against the frame of the bike. Her eyes came up and met his. For a second, he thought she was going to ask. She looked away.

"Once I started running, I figured the safest place was home. Make sure my parents were okay." She glanced at Enzo.

"And you guys, of course. Though I knew if anyone was going to thrive in a magic-fueled zombie apocalypse, it was going to be you two." Kenzo chuckled.

"She knows us too well."

"I'd love to see your spells when we get a chance," Enzo said.

"What you're describing sounds nothing like what we've been doing." Sumi nodded.

"I'd also be happy to trade notes when we get back. I've been trying to develop a spell similar to what you're doing." Signe smiled.

"I'd like that." Then she looked between Sumi and Enzo, her tone light.

"So how do you two know each other?" Kenzo turned his head the other way. Enzo caught the grin.

"I'm Val's friend," Sumi said.

"We went to the same campus. Ran into each other during the first week of our courses and found out we had a lot in common. We became close pretty quickly." She adjusted her grip on the handlebars.

"I'd heard all about Enzo from Val, but I only met him when he fought his way to the hospital to get his sister out. He didn't even wait for the blood rain to stop." Signe shared a look with Sumi, smiling again.

"Typical Enzo." Enzo objected.

"I'm right here, you know? And what was I supposed to do? You know what Val is like." Kenzo nodded.

"He has a point. If he'd waited another day, she might have organized an Eater-killing-militia, and then he'd never get her to leave." Signe and Sumi laughed. Enzo nodded. Emphatically.

"Exactly." As they left the city limits, they fell into a comfortable silence. Residential streets were replaced by hilly roads, dense trees and brush flanking either side.

"It's just up ahead," Signe said suddenly. They reached the top of a gentle incline and came to a stop. The forested road ahead of them dipped sharply into something of a valley, with rocky faces climbing either side, before ending in another hill. There were people sitting down in the basin, though far from the very noticeable crack in the air hovering above the road. She pointed.

"We rested for the night just off the road on the other side. The next morning, while everyone was eating, some of the kids followed the road down and… disappeared into the rift." Sumi gasped.

"You need to see it. The ambient mana is so thick down there." Enzo activated Mana Sense, and the world became layered in purple hues. At the bottom of the valley, though, the color was dense, almost completely painting over everything.

"Damn," Kenzo muttered.

"Ain't seen anything like that." He wasn't wrong. And even from this distance, he could make out the ambient mana flows entering the rift. Almost as if the crack in reality was a drain or a funnel. When Enzo released Mana Sense, he noticed some of the people had risen to their feet. They were pointing and shouting, though he couldn't make it out from this distance.

"Alright, let's head down so we get the Guide entry. Then we can figure out what to do." The others nodded, and together they began their descent into the valley.