Chương 79: What Survives

Enzo sat on his bike at the main gate along with the others who were also ready to depart. Murph rested on her haunches beside him, tongue lolling from her mouth with a silly grin, while her tail snapped back and forward excitedly. Pops and Signe had their own bicycles with them. His old man was dressed in his hunting gear, along with his bow and hunting knife, while Signe wore comfortable travel clothes and had her long red hair pulled back into a tight braid.

She smiled at him when their eyes met, then began wheeling her bike toward where Kenzo waited on the other side of the gate. The big man was stretching in the middle of the road, performing a few warm-up exercises while he waited for the rest of them. As always, Kenzo didn't have a bike. Even if they had one that fit the walking slab of muscle, Enzo knew without a doubt he would still choose to run. The last member of their five person team was Tricia, the sharpshooter Frank had recommended.

She was waiting patiently, standing a few meters away with one of the Watch's bicycles. She was short, maybe five-two at the most, and she'd arrived dressed in basic hunting camo and a crossbow strapped across her back. A capped quiver of bolts hung at her waist. She'd only spoken briefly to introduce herself, but Enzo got the sense it was because she was a woman of few words, not because she was anxious or nervous about what was to come.

"Are you listening to me?" Enzo turned back to find Val standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. Sumi was beside her, struggling to hide a smile. The pair had gathered at the gate, along with Frank and some others, to see them off.

"Of course I am." Val scowled.

"Then what was I saying?" Sumi mouthed something at him from over Val's shoulder, but he couldn't quite make it out.

"That we need antibiotics, a set of dental tools, and a blood pressure thing—""A sphygmomanometer," Sumi said. Enzo shook his head.

"There is no way I can pronounce that."

"Doc also needs calcium gluconate, misoprostol, and prenatal vitamins for Ruth," Val added.

"If they don't have the last one, folic acid will do."

"I've got it covered, Val." Enzo patted one of his jacket pockets.

"Doc Hadley already gave me a comprehensive list with notes about what to prioritize."

"Alright," Val said.

"Now, as to what we have to offer—" Enzo held up a hand.

"I've got it covered. I spoke to Jack about our supply situation earlier. Then I spoke with mom and Ruth about produce and pigs. And, finally, I met with Gerald." He paused to check that nobody else besides Pops was within earshot, then lowered his voice.

"Were you aware that he's a mage?" Val's eyes widened.

"He isn't. Is he?" Enzo nodded.

"Keep it between us though, okay?" Both Sumi and Val nodded back.

"He's not interested in anything other than his leatherworking though, and I'm inclined to let him keep doing what he's doing. In fact, I need you to look into finding him someone to help out and learn the craft."

"An apprentice?"

"Yeah." He hesitated.

"Someone hardworking, patient, and lacking a sense of smell. It stinks bad up there."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. I have a feeling that between his leather and my enchanting, we might be able to corner the market on magic armor."

"That's a really good idea," Sumi said.

"I've been thinking that maybe we should be withholding our crafting knowledge in favor of just selling or trading the equipment instead." Val glanced at her.

"She might be right, Enzo. But it's your decision." She turned back to him.

"What are we going to do about Gerald, though? If he's a mage…" Enzo shook his head.

"Leave it. As long as he's not hurting anyone or putting others at risk, I don't see any reason to force him into the guild."

"It sets a precedent," Val said.

"And whether mages have to be registered with the guild or are free to practice as they please is something we should consider seriously." Enzo frowned.

"It doesn't need to be so black and white, though," Sumi argued.

"The guild can eventually offer knowledge and training as an incentive to join, while also regulating what magics are permitted to be cast or practiced in public or around other people. That way mages will want to join us, and those that don't want to are allowed to still learn on their own, as long as they don't endanger anyone else." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"I think this is a discussion for later," Pops said, cutting in quietly. He turned to Enzo.

"You don't want to be late to your first meeting with the 101s."

"Right." Enzo double-checked that his cane was strapped to the bike frame correctly, then pushed off.

"Take care of things while we're gone," he called back.

"Don't worry about us," Val said.

"Just make sure you come back with an alliance."

"I'll do my best."

The beginning of the ride was quiet as they rolled downhill in the direction of the city, leaving their territory behind. Nobody lived along these streets anymore, having long since made the decision between joining the Riders or the Locke settlement. But when they reached the main intersection where they could turn right and head into the city proper, they instead turned left.

The unmarked road, which could barely fit two vehicles side by side, sloped upward, cutting between near-vertical hills on one side and poorly maintained residential fences on the other. The detour along the back roads would allow them to avoid the main streets and any of the old commercial strips where the Riders might be watching, but it doubled their travel time and the riders' legs felt every meter of the climb. Signe kept the pace steady, followed by Pops and Tricia, while Enzo brought up the rear.

Kenzo jogged alongside him without any effort, his long strides easily keeping up with their pace, and in fact slowing down for them as they struggled with the hill. Murph had no such patience. She raced ahead, disappeared into a yard to investigate something only she could smell, then came bounding back to check on the group before tearing off again. Kenzo watched her with amusement every time she blew past him. The back streets were just as empty as those near their settlement. Nobody lived up here anymore.

Grass had pushed through cracks in the asphalt, and weeds rose waist-high in front yards that had once been kept immaculate. Vines climbed porch columns and wrapped around mailboxes. Back at the settlement, people spent time every day trimming the growth back to keep it from swallowing their homes and other spaces. Out here, without anyone to fight it, the vegetation was winning. And quickly. The further they rode, the more aggressive it became.

Sections of the street that had already been left mostly untended before the blood rain now had bushes that spilled into the road. Driveways disappeared entirely under creeping mosses. Blackberry brambles had consumed an entire fence line, the brambles thick enough that it would have taken a machete to cut through.

They'd known for a while now that mana was accelerating everything, but outside the settlement it was easy to imagine that the world as it used to be might be completely swallowed by nature within a year. Most of the houses had their doors hanging open, having been raided during the first month. This close to the settlement, it might have even been their own people who'd picked through what remained. As they rounded a corner, two large ravens perched on a power line looked down at them.

Neither of them were startled at their sudden arrival. Instead, they watched as the group passed beneath them, heads tracking their progress. One cawed softly. The other responded. Then the first again. Back and forth they went, quieter than usual, and almost like they were holding a conversation they didn't want overheard. Kenzo glanced up at them.

"Those two are definitely talking about us." He was joking, but nobody disagreed.

"Do you think all animals will become Beasts eventually?" Signe said over her shoulder.

"It's possible," Pops said.

"Natural selection will see to it that Beasts thrive. Meanwhile, normal species that fail to adapt or find some survival niche will die out."

"What about humans?" Kenzo asked. Pops was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. In the short-term, at least, normal people will survive. But one day? Maybe everyone will have magic."

"Or we'll all be zombies," Tricia said, her tone deadpan. Enzo laughed.

"We've got something up ahead," Signe called back. A side street ahead had been entirely walled off. Cars and vans had been shoved together bumper to bumper across the street, which was itself not an unusual sight. The additional cars stacked on top of the bottom row were, however. It must have taken considerable effort and manpower, or a few strong cultivators, to get them stacked like that. But the oddity didn't end there. Roots and vines covered the vehicles, even threading through the open windows.

It didn't look like natural growth. The coverage was too uniform, almost deliberate, as though someone had guided or encouraged the vegetation to swallow and link the vehicles until only a narrow gap remained in the center, barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through. Beyond the barricade, a woman sat on the nearest rooftop, with a bow resting across her knees. She watched them ride past, tracking them with a steady, intent gaze until they rounded the next bend.

"I'm surprised any of the smaller groups like that are still holding out," Kenzo said.

"It's taken everyone's cooperation to make our settlement work."

"Could be there were some serious preppers on that street," Pops said. Tricia glanced over at him.

"What's a prepper, sir?"

"A prepper is someone who wants to be prepared in the event that a natural disaster strikes. They have food, water, medical supplies, and other equipment stashed away for when it does. I'm one myself." Pops smiled wryly.

"Though I suppose it's more accurate to say I was, because we're now living in that natural disaster." Tricia's eyebrows rose.

"Ohh. I get it. So you think those people had lots of supplies already?"

"Exactly."

"But wouldn't they have run out already?" Pops nodded.

"It's very likely. But I'm sure they salvaged extra supplies, just as we did."

"And they have less mouths to feed," Enzo added. They rode in silence for the next twenty minutes. The roads eventually leveled out, giving their legs a brief reprieve before beginning to slope downward again. Signe took the lead through another series of turns, gradually angling them back in the direction of the golf course. Then Signe slowed to a complete stop, where Murph was already waiting. Everyone else pulled up beside her. Another barricade blocked the street ahead. But this one was different.

The earlier barricade had stood out because of the strange vegetation growing over it. All the others they'd seen since the apocalypse began had either been manned or obviously abandoned. This one looked like it had been overrun. A body lay slumped across the hood of one of the cars forming the barrier. Its chest had been torn open, the ribs spread apart. The heart was gone. More bodies lay scattered just beyond the barricade, their faces and necks shredded by wounds that could only have come from claws.