《Iron Will》


 1 The First Morning

    As I stared at my phone reading the new chapter of a web novel, I liked I could hear the fans kick in on my computer. I was installing an update of one of my favorite games which of course had to happen on my only day off this week. It was two AM and I could hear nothing but my computer. Both my dogs and both cats were sound asleep next to the computer tower trying to get some warmth even though it wasn''t that cold outside.


    "Being able to only sleep 2 or 3 hours a night isn''t all bad¡­" I whispered to myself. I had my knees tucked up my chest and started to spin the computer chair around while I waited. "what do you think Rocko?" I asked my German shepherd.


    Hearing his name, he brought his head up and looked at me with a slight whine from being woken up. When I made eye contact, he stood and marched right up to me and sat with his cold wet nose touching my bare toes.


    "Asshole!" I yelled at him with a laugh. With that my golden retriever awoke and came running over. "See? Now we woke up Lyla." I said as I pet them both gently behind their ears. "And Nigel and Sheena are both awake to..." I wasn''t mad at all but even if they were my pets, I was still putting on a show for some reason. "let''s go see what''s new today." I half spoke half whispered.


    As I stood up, I felt something strange. I want to say it was a Bolt or a zap, but that''s not right. My entire body suddenly flowed with something that made me feel as cold as possible and as hot as I''ve ever felt in my 24 years on this earth at the same time. I didn''t know how long it lasted but I was down on the ground in the fetal position when it finally stopped.


    As I stretched and started to stand, I noticed all 4 animals were laying on their sides and starting to come out of a stupor as well. I rushed to Sheena because she was the closest and could tell whatever happened to me happened to her as well. As I touched her chest to feel her heartbeat it was racing, but she was also freezing and boiling at the same time. Just as I had the thought to call the vet, I felt her temperature balance out. I went and checked the other three animals and could see that they were through the worst of it.


    "But what just happened." I said as I rose to my feet. I could tell something was different with my body but not what. I could also feel something near me that wasn''t a part of me. As I reached out towards that feeling I could see the nails in the door frame starting to shake. "AH!?" is the only sound I could make as the nails all came out at once and rushed towards me.


    As I pulled my hands free from the guard I made unwittingly, I saw a lump of silvery metal laying at my feet. It wasn''t large, but it looked like someone melted down the nails just now and put them at my feet. As I thought this, I heard myself whisper "No way." It couldn''t be, but I was sure that it was. I thought about the part of me that wasn''t me and the metal lump moved without me having to even think about it. I could move it like a limb.


    "Does that mean I''ve got super powered pets as well?" I half-jokingly said as I looked at my pets that were starting to wake and rise. Rocko looked at me and whined, and I could tell he wanted to be spoiled, just like always. I squatted down and called him over gently. "Come here dumby." I called. As he trotted over, I could see the muscles were more toned in his body and I thought the same of the other two as I slowly took a turn with each of them. Sheena was the only one that didn''t have more muscle tone, but when I lifted her into my lap, she weighed more than usual by a few pounds.


    "Oh shit!" I yelled. I ran back to my phone and grabbed it to call my sister Kara. "C''mon C''mon C''mon!" I yelled into the phone. The ringing was more annoying than anything I''d ever heard in my life. Finally, I heard a voice.


    "Hello, Reika? What''s wrong? It''s not even 2:30 in the morning." She sounded groggy like someone woke her up.


    No duh I thought to myself. It''s not normal for anyone but me to sleep so little. "Kara something serious just happened and I want you to pack up some clothes and cooking supplies and get over to my house as soon as possible. I know you don''t understand what I''m saying but just do as I say and get over here fast. I''ll leave a spare key outside over the door frame so just hurry. As soon as I hang up call Darren and tell him to rent a car right now and drive here. I''m going to pick up Zack and be back as soon as possible. You may realize what''s happening on your way over but don''t panic and just wait for me." I wasn''t sure just how bad this was going to be, but I have read way too many books and played to many games to think good things are coming.


    "Reika, what''s going on?" there was a shake in Kara''s voice. "How bad is it?"


    "I''ll explain what I know when you get here. First you must get here and tell that idiot husband of yours to rent a car and come back as soon as possible. Don''t forget that niece and nephew of mine either. I have to call Zack to let him know I''m coming to get him. I hope nothing to bad happens, but you know our family''s luck. We need to get together quickly and since something is up with all four of my pets, I can''t pack them into the truck."


    "Okay, I know you don''t play pranks so I''m gonna pack some clothes and food and be on the way." She said before hanging up.


    As I pulled up to my brothers'' apartment, I had already seen signs of trouble. There were people looting and others just playing with the changes that happened. When I called him for the third time he finally picked up and sounded groggy.


    "Reirei? Why are you calling at 3 in the morning?" he asked sounding beyond confused.


    "Something weird is happening and I''m picking you up to crash at my house for a few days." I didn''t know how to explain anything yet, so I kept it vague. I heard some noise in the background and a light voice ask who was on the phone. "If that''s your girlfriend she can come with us and if it''s a one-night stand, I''ll drop her off somewhere along the way."


    "Jesus, you haven''t changed much have you Rei?" he said with an edge to his tongue. I heard some whispers and then "We''ve been dating 2 years, her name is Delilah, she says she''s coming." He said kind of exasperated.


    "Okay, I''m almost there since you wouldn''t pick up, so pack at least a week''s worth of clothes. If you two aren''t living together she can borrow from Kara and I, OK?" I asked to try to soothe his anger a bit.


    "Okay should I bring anything else? He asked as I heard him shrugging some clothes on.


    "Any food you have but preferably stuff in unopened cans and bottles, just to be safe. Plus, toothbrush and other toiletries obviously." I realized I didn''t say that to Kara, but she was a mom, so she probably thought about that stuff when I said it would be a few days. "I''m pulling into your street now so please hurry and get ready."


    As I walked up the stairs to the 4th floor I couldn''t hear much movement which gave me mixed emotions. I knocked on Zack''s door and almost immediately it was opened by a beautiful blonde girl with green eyes.


    "Reika?" She said with a look of concern as she looked me up and down.


    "Yeah, you must be Delilah. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." I said as she let me into the apartment. I glanced quickly and couldn''t help but notice she''d been living here a while and there was an impressive ring on her finger which meant I was in for a lecture later. "If you''ve got anything ready, I''ll take it to my truck. We need to hurry, looting has already started. And now that we''ve got a beauty like you with us, I''m worried about the even less savory types of slumlords out right now."


    "Your brother said you were interesting, but this isn''t what I thought he meant." Delilah said with a wry smile.


    "Oooh? Interesting huh? With how damaged I''ve become I thought he would have used much less kind words." I gave her another look over and saw some bags behind her. "If you could give me a hand, I''d appreciate it."


    "OK, not a problem." She replied. As we walked down the stairs, she kept quiet and just watched me move. Finally, before the lobby she said "I know your story, but I don''t know you. I don''t want us to be enemies and, in all honesty, I''d like to be friends. Before anything I think I should tell you other than your normal quarrels Zack has never once spoken ill of you, so I don''t think of you as anything less than someone important to the man I love."


    "If we were in a book, you''d be dead for having said something like that." I replied "But in all honesty, I love every member of my family but that doesn''t make it easier to look them in the eye. Why do you think Zack had you answer the door? They know what''s up because even though we were never close in age we were always very close. But this is all stuff we can worry about later. The less people awake the better for now." I looked at her and could see she was upset. "Anyone my family loves is someone I trust. Otherwise you would not be coming with us." I wanted to put her at ease but could tell she had something to say. "Just say whatever you need to say."


    "He almost got every word of what you said exactly right. Have you guys really not spoken in 2 years?" her jaw was a little slack and she looked very cute with that confused look on her face. "I mean I couldn''t even guess what was going on in my brothers head and we were just over a year apart. It makes you wonder why families are all so different and yet all the same."


    "This is no time to get philosophical." I said tossing the bags into the back of my truck. "We can worry about that when we are in a truly safe spot." With that I grabbed her bags and tossed them in to make sure not to stack anything over the edge to prevent any potential attackers. "Let''s head back up." With that I walked back to the 4th floor apartment and finished up the packing.


    "Could you explain what''s going on now Reika?" my sister Kara said as she looked at me. We had spent the last few hours unpacking, and I had a few bombs to drop so I didn''t want them to panic so I was trying to get them to relax. "I can feel something happened, but I can''t tell what." As she said that everyone but Jenny my 5-year-old niece jumped. That gave me a hint as to something I haven''t figured out yet.


    "It''d be easier to just show you." I said as I started to feel around for metal. I could already feel it in the circuits in the electronics but that didn''t help because I didn''t want to destroy them. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a small tin can for makeup from the trash and placed it at my feet. "watch carefully" I spoke demandingly to get the importance across.


    "What!?"


    "How!?"


    "Amazing!"


    There was a chorus of responses as I made the can lift from the ground and start to shift its shape. I could feel the metal moving but I could also feel something weakening within my mind, so I put it down.


    "I''m not sure how to describe it but I can feel metal around me and control it. But it''s not like I tell it what to do but rather like it''s a part of me. Something similar happened to Rocko, Lyla, Nigel, and Sheena. I was awake when it happened just after 2 and it felt like my body was on fire and frozen at the same time. It made me pass out for a couple minutes and when I came to all 4 of them were the same as me. When they started to get up and move, they looked more defined except Sheena, but she has an increased density. Her size is identical, but she weighs significantly more. Can any of you feel anything?" I asked to get a circular conversation going.


    "I''ve felt something since I woke up but I''m not sure what." Kara looked a little scared and her son Jason took her hand.


    "It''s OK mom," he said with a smirk "Aunt Reika got us together right away and you always say family is the strongest when they are together."


    Is this that smart-ass little nephew that used to pick fights every time he got the chance?Was all I could think. But what I said was "Jason''s right, we''re all together so we can help each other figure stuff out."


    As I looked around the room Zack was holding his chin in between his thumb and forefinger and nodded. "Everything I''ve felt since I woke up today was below me. I think my power has something to do with earth or something like that." He wasn''t a gamer or fiction reader like me, but he was almost as smart as Kara which was saying something given, she worked as a chemist for some big-name pharmaceutics company.


    "Alright let''s go check it out then." I said as I stood and clapped my hands once. Kara looked at me with a start and I pulled a wheeled cart with a bunch of different things on it. "everyone else play with these. You might be able to figure something out. And Jenny?" she jumped when she heard her name. "Will you come help Uncle Zack and I figure out what he can do?" I could tell she was worried about something, but I wasn''t sure if it was because she knew her ability already or because she didn''t have one at all.


    "OK, Aunt Reika." She said as she climbed out from between the dogs, she had buried herself in when she got here. She grabbed my hand firmly and then looked me in the eye and smiled. "I''ll help however I can, hm." She gave a pull on my hand and made a gruntlike sound through her lips.


    "Okay let''s give this a shot." Zack said from my enclosed backyard. Jenny was there with a frown of thought on her face trying to figure out how to help.


    "Is something wrong Jenny?" I asked as gently as possible. "If you want to talk about something I can listen or maybe even help out." I could tell something was up, but I didn''t want to scare her since she was still just 5 years old.


    "I can feel stuff like my body but not in it. It feels different now from when we were outside earlier, and I can''t figure out why. I thought maybe I just didn''t change as much as you guys but that''s not true, I guess, I guess I just wasn''t awake yet?" She said almost questioningly.


    "Well what does it feel like? Is it something you can describe? For me and the metal it feels cool and hard but also like water and fire together." I was trying to give or get some hints to help her, but she made a fist with her right and slammed it into her left and shouted.


    "OK!" with that I felt the wind pick up and could tell it was flowing around her. "He he he. This is what I felt." She was giggling at the wind and the few leaves that were picked up by the wind that were tickling her face.


    "Careful Jenny." I cautioned with a huge grin stuck on my face. "you can only do so much at a time and I don''t know what will happen if you overdo it." She looked at me and nodded and I felt the wind slow to almost a full stop.


    "OK Aunt Reika, I think I know what you''re talking about." She started walking towards me and before I knew what was happening, she was wrapped around my legs looking up at me. "Did I do good?" she asked me with a cute smile on her face.


    "You did amazing Jenny. I think even Uncle Zack is jealous of you." I said as I lifted her onto my hip and pointed at my brother.


    Standing there mouth agape he looked at Jenny and shook his head. With a grin he looked at her and said "If I had known I was going to be shown up by my 5-year-old niece I would have prepared myself better mentally. Now I really want to know what this feeling is."


    As he said that I could hear Kara and Delilah in the house making a fuss. I looked at Jenny and said "I''m gonna go check on them, would you stay out here and help your Uncle?"


    With a smile she replied, "OK but can the puppies come out too?"


    "OK," I said, "but make sure they don''t leave the fence." I wanted to make some rules but also knew those two wouldn''t leave the yard without me. "And help Zach figure this out." I whispered with a grin.


    "OK" she said and rushed over to him as soon as I put her down.


    "What''s all the noise about in here guys?" I asked as I entered the living room. As soon as I looked, I realized though. Over Kara''s hand floated a small Flame. It was about the size of a softball and was glowing orange. "Leave it to Queen Kara to make fire." I said jokingly with a snort.


    "R-R-Reika, how do I make it stop." I could see anger from the teasing and fear from the flame at the same time. "I don''t know what to do."


    "Calm down first of all." I could see the fear starting to outweigh the anger, so I wanted her to realize everything was fine. "Next is easy, just don''t think about it and it will go out." As I said that I realized I made a poor choice in words.


    "Is that ALL!!!" she shouted. "Just don''t think about the 6-inch flame floating above my hand that could burn your house down and make everything worse."


    "Yeah, that''s my bad." I smirked as I replied. "I need you to look at me Kara." I took her right hand in mine and stood opposite the flame, so she was looking 180 degrees away from it. "focus on me and only me. Don''t think about anything else." I saw the flame start to go out. "Did you know Jenny can move the sky?" I exaggerated to get her to stop thinking about the flame. "it was probably the cutest thing I ever saw when she was standing in that little cyclone she made. She was laughing and had such a huge smile on her face." With that the flame was out fully.


    "She made a cyclone?" she asked with a twinge of fear in her voice.


    "It was about 3 feet wide and about 7 feet high. I think there is a range to our abilities and she stretched hers out all the way for now. Mind you the wind wasn''t much faster than if she was blowing." I finished to calm her mother down. "Anyone else figure anything out yet?" I looked at Jared and Delilah and they both nodded. Before either could speak, I heard what sounded almost like a landslide outside followed by both Jenny and Zack laughing. "I guess that''s everyone for now.


    After everyone came back in, we all sat down and tried to figure out our abilities. "OK," I started. "I can manipulate metal, Jenny wind, Kara fire, Zack earth, Delilah gets water, and Jason can do... wood? I wonder if there is more there?" I said almost to myself. With that I stood up and walked into the kitchen. I could feel everyone watching me, but I just kept going. I came back with a small cherry tomato plant in my hand and went to Jason. I saw his body shift when I started to get close. "so, it''s not wood but plants, huh Jason?"


    "I can definitely do something with it but I''m not sure what. Can I hold it for a second?" he asked.


    "Go for it." I said, "they''re my favorite, but that means I have a few in there." I wanted him to check his power, but I didn''t want him to hold back. "don''t worry if anything happens to it." I said as I winked at him.


    "Here goes nothing." He said with a sigh. As he held the plant in his hands, I could see the buds of each head growing rapidly. Before long there were green tomatoes growing to the size of a golf ball and then they started to turn red. "Wow, they grew so fast." He was shaking a bit and I could see the excitement in his face.


    "Well let''s give it a test." Kara said as she reached out and plucked 3 of the cherry tomatoes from the plant. "Here." She gave Jason and I one each and popped the last in her mouth. As she bit into it, she sounded like it was delicious. "mmmm, they are so good." She said as she reached for the plant again.


    "Congrats Jason. I said with a grin. You got your mom to eat vegetables. When we were kids, she never would eat them... She said she hated tomatoes in particular." As I popped the tomato I had in my mouth it was definitely on the higher end of the tomatoes I had eaten. "She wasn''t kidding they are great." I said as I pulled some off to share with everyone else.


    "mmm."


    "So good."


    "Yummy."


    Each person left that ate some were all giving praises and I saw Jason look at the floor as his face and ears turned red. He put the tomato in his mouth and I could hear him moan.

 2 Sunrise

    With a glance at the clock I saw it was almost 6 am so I decided to make breakfast. "Hey Zack, will you give me a hand making breakfast. I wanted to talk to you about something while we were there?"


    "Sure thing Rei, what''s up?" he said as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.


    As we entered the kitchen, I made sure we were alone when I said in a low voice, "We are gonna either loot or buy what we need to make sure that when we get back, we can build up a fortress around my house. I don''t know if things will cool down in the end, but they will definitely go to shit first. People and Countries with grudges are going to let this stuff go to their heads and try to take vengeance or declare war. And I''m pretty sure whatever caused everything to go to shit isn''t done yet. I think we might have much bigger things to worry about than some petty wars or fighting to be honest." I had read to many fiction books and played to many games to think lightly of any of this.


    "I understand what you mean but what do you mean fortress?" Zack asked with a confused look on his face.


    "You can move stone and I can move metal. If we put our powers together, we could stop nearly anyone from getting in. The only thing would be people that could use wind to either fly or leap to an extreme height and still land safely."


    "Ohh, that makes sense." He looked thoughtful as he reached into my chest freezer. "So why you and me? I get that you can basically make a blender around you, but Kara could turn anyone into ash that caused trouble."


    "I know you''re her brother, but you have to at least be able to see that she''s a beauty among beauties. Any less attention we can get the better. Plus, you should be able to basically make bullets out of stone. We could probably do something interesting once we learn how to work together better." I was a little surprised at his naivety but also kind of happy. It meant he hadn''t even thought of a worst-case scenario for any of us. "Besides Kara has the only other offensive ability. We need someone to hold down the fort." I looked at him as he started cooking some bacon and I had finished the scrambled egg mix. "First let''s eat and then we''ll go from there. Oh! And I wanted to test out your fianc¨¦e''s ability if you don''t mind." I eyed his response and couldn''t help but notice him jerk at that word.


    "I... I didn''t know how to tell you." He said. "We''ve spoken so little the last few years that when I fell for her and later proposed it was easier to just not say anything." He looked genuinely upset so I thought I would let him off the hook.


    "First anything that happens to you is something I want to hear about and second, I know I''ve holed myself up in here for quite a while which has made it hard to reach me. I wasn''t saying that you needed to tell me but it''s my own fault even with everything you guys did for me after Lexi, mom and dad, I couldn''t do anything but curl up and hide. I started to hide myself away and now I''ve got no choice but to come out of hiding. I know it''s fucked up, but I definitely needed something to shake me loose." I told him the truth but held back a few parts of what I felt. "Just wish it would have been something a bit less drastic." I whispered more to myself than anything.


    "Well... As long as you''re not mad at me." I could see he was upset so I put an arm around him and gave a small squeeze.


    "You''re my little brother... I may get pissed at you, but it will never last long." I looked up into his brown eyes and reached up to shake his black hair with my free hand.


    "Good." He nodded his head and gave me a small squeeze back. "now let''s finish this food."


    "OK, I gotta start this test out too." I reached up and grabbed a glass and poured some hot water and some salt into the glass.


    As I started to stir the salt water Zack said quietly, "good idea." He realized I was trying to figure out the way her water ability worked and what will and won''t move with the water. I reached and started mixing up different soluble items to see what would and wouldn''t work. After filling about 10 cups with strange solutions and making sure breakfast was ready, we left the kitchen.


    As soon as I reached the living room, I was a bit taken aback by the sheer number of tomatoes. "I think that should do it on the tomatoes Zack. Maybe take a breather before you hurt yourself." There were over 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes and Zack was sitting there looking a bit tired.


    "If you say so Aunt Reika." He barely managed to get out a whisper.


    I glared at Kara and she put her hands up and then pointed at me. She stood up and came to me. With a whisper she said, "He wants to impress you. He''s had a crush on you for years and he hasn''t seen you in 2 years. Think carefully about how you treat him OK?"


    "C''mon... Why me? I''ve never been nice to him and I am hardly ever around." I whispered back


    "You of all people should know, the heart wants what the heart wants..." she said with a giggle and a smirk. "Just make sure you let him down easy when it comes to it OK?"


    "Fine, whatever." I said as I sat down to eat. "But Jenny sits with me for every meal from now on." I said as I pulled her into my lap. "I forgot how adorable you were my little Sylph." I said as I hugged her close.


    "What''s a Sylph?" Jenny asked.


    "It''s a beautiful creature that could control the wind." I told her as I filled up my plate with scrambled eggs and some bacon. "They were renowned for both their kindness and their mischievousness. That means playing pranks." I added because she looked confused.


    "Oh! Like Sylphid from that game you played with me, right?" she said as she reached for some bacon on our plate.


    "That was a boy though." I said. "But the same race so good job remembering that." I replied. "After breakfast I was hoping I could borrow you for a little bit, so I could see what else I need to grab while we''re out there, is that OK Delilah?"


    She nodded and looked to Zack as she said "That''s fine, but are you 2 leaving for somewhere? Wouldn''t it be safer to stay here?"


    "Short term yes. But unfortunately, we don''t know how long it will take to get things back to normal. Or," I decided to be a bit more honest. "if they will ever go back. This could easily be just the first part of many which is why I am going to get some more long-term supplies."


    "I don''t like being separated from Zack in this chaos, but if he agrees with you then he isn''t just running off to play games." She said with a long sigh.


    "We''ll be grabbing some stuff and coming back here." He said as he took her face in his hands. "I''m not dumb enough to set up a death flag for myself, so hopefully everything works out."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle a bit at that. "Good answer Zack." I said. "So much ridiculous stuff is already happening. Don''t need to give the universe any more opportunities. With that," I grabbed Delilah by the hand and started pulling. "Let''s see what you can do."


    After playing with Delilah''s ability we determined she can manipulate both water and water with something diluted in it. She can also separate water from anything else making her a way more efficient water filter. She can also pull the water from the air but that''s not a lot so digging up a water source will be necessary for this fortress. I went into my bedroom and started to get dressed. As I looked through my clothes, I tried to grab masculine stuff to try to defeminize myself, but I have always preferred cute clothes so in that department I was lacking. I found some baggy clothes and threw them on. As I walked into the hallway I almost collided with Kara. "Woah Kara." I half yelled. I looked at my sister with her fair skin and brown hair and eyes. She was still scared, and I understood why. She looked at me and my clothes and I saw a bit of pity cross her face. "I''ve always bought cute clothes. Luckily I still had some of Lexi''s stuff sitting in the closet." I said somberly.


    "Oh, I thought I recognized that shirt and hat." She said as she tried to smile. "You may not think so, but they look good on you."


    "Uhh, thanks." I replied. "We aren''t going to be going far. I just want to get a few things and then we''ll come back. I don''t need to tell you that I need you to hold down the fort, do I?"


    "I get it. I''ve got a pretty much useless except for hurting others kind of ability." She pouted.


    "For now, since you can''t control it maybe." I said. "But just like with Delilah''s I have a few ideas for your ability as well. It''s just not going to affect what I plan on grabbing today."


    "Hmm? Is this what you did with your free time instead of studying?" she asked teasingly.


    "Of course." I smiled. "When wasn''t I reading some web novel or playing some game about weird stuff. In that regard I still haven''t changed."


    "That''s true. It was near impossible to get you out of your room until Lexi showed up." She said hesitantly. Seeing I didn''t jump she continued. "Everyone misses her just as much as Mom and Dad. I just thought you would like to know." She reached out for my hand and I let her take it. "Have the nightmares gotten any better?"


    I can get a minimum of 3 to 4 hours of sleep every day for sure and after 2 years it feels like it is enough. The nightmares haven''t lessened at all, but I can at least pretend for her sake. "Yeah, I don''t sleep as much probably because of how long I had them, but I sleep better than before." I smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "But for now, I need to get ready."


    "OK, make sure to take extra care out there. We don''t know just how bad it is yet, plus the sun is about to rise. People are going to be waking up soon."


    With a nod I turned into the bathroom.


    "Dammit, dammit, dammit." I whispered into my reflection. "They were being so good about playing dumb. Why did you have to bring her up? It doesn''t change anything." My whole body was trembling as I looked at myself in a camo jacket and John Deere hat on my head my black hair was spilling out. My almost black eyes were starting to form tears. Which didn''t help the bags under my eyes. I reached into the drawer and pulled out some hair ties. I hadn''t cut my hair since middle school, so it made it all the way down my back. As I took off the hat and started tying up my hair, I could hear Kara and Zack in the hallway.


    "How is she holding up?" I heard Zack say.


    "It''s hard to tell." Kara replied. "She''s always been so good at hiding her feelings and with everything that''s going on its even harder to try to figure her out when my own emotions are all over the place."


    I decided that was enough and stepped out of the bathroom and saw them both stiffen. "I''m not gonna say I''m all rainbows and kittens but I''m a lot better than I used to be." I said as I shot each of them a look. "But I know for a fact that having you 2 talk about me isn''t helping in the least."


    "Sorry..." they both managed to get out. But Kara followed up. "It''s great to see you, even if it''s an act, back to yourself Rei." She was so earnest and sweet that I couldn''t help but hug her. Zack stood there, stock still expecting something from me, so I released Kara and gave him a small jab in his shoulder.


    "Let''s grab Lyla and get moving." I said.


    I squatted down in front of my dogs and looked Rocko right in the eye. He never looked away even before today but now it felt strange. Almost like he was waiting for something. "I need you to hold down the fort with Kara, OK bud?" he placed one of his paws on my knee like he was agreeing with me and with that Zack, Lyla and I were off.


    When we started off, I wanted to get solar panels and any and all seeds and food stuffs I could. "I want to hit up the farm supply store on the edge of town and then head over to the home supplies after." I said to Zack. "Is there anywhere you think we should go?" I asked


    "I think that should do it for now. Just try to avoid as many people as possible and I''ll be happy." He said. I could tell he was nervous about all of this and just trying to put on a show of strength.


    "Remember. If something happens the most important thing is that we make it out alive. If you need to drop something or hurt someone else that''s fine. You also don''t need to worry about killing anyone. If you can incapacitate them that''s enough for now." With that I saw a frown on his face.


    "Not everyone is gonna turn to crime and I''m sure there are people that would prefer to keep living the way they were but that doesn''t mean the people we are going to run into are friendly."


    "It doesn''t mean they are enemies either. Both of us are fairly impressive so I''m sure if we gave them a choice at the start it would be the better choice. I''m not afraid to take a life... But I would rather it not be an innocent." He trailed off at the end.


    "I''m in the same boat. I was just checking where your mindset was. I wanted to make sure we were on the same wavelength." As I said that I pulled into the farm supply store. It was empty. "Here goes nothing." I said as I pulled around the side to hook a trailer up to the truck.


    "Not even gonna pretend huh?" Zack exclaimed.


    "If the world goes back to normal, I''ll be sure to pay for the trailer if the owner is still alive." I said with a laugh. "I was thinking about buying one anyways."


    "Sure sure. I totally believe you." He shot back with a shake of his head.


    After hooking up the trailer I merged the metals together to make it easier to keep together and walked to the delivery door in the back. I felt around for the locks and pulled them loose and then lifted the door. Once I got it off the ground a little bit I slid under and let it settle back down and found the electronic switch to open the door up fully. As Zack backed the trailer into the door, I found a steel pipe and lifted it into my hand. It wasn''t too heavy to carry but it had enough metal to shift for both a weapon and shield. First things first, I took every bag of dog and cat food and threw those into the truck bed. I could move the dolly without much effort, so Zack and I just loaded it all in as fast as possible. Next, I found the seeds and seedlings that were lined up. Luckily, it''s about to be spring. I thought to myself. I started grabbing a few of each type knowing that Jason would be able to grow them, while Delilah could pull the water, helping the seeds blossom better. Next, I went over to the tractors and proceeded to pull as much metal from the first 3 tractors as I could without putting myself in a bad position later. "We''ll load this up and head out." I said to Zack.


    "Yeah this should help quite a bit but..." he was interrupted by squeaking.


    My eyes lit up as I looked at Zack. "If we take some baby chicks, we can get a fair amount of meat and eggs without much worry and since Jason can grow plants, we won''t have to worry about food either." I said excitedly.


    "If we grab these chicks, we are going home to unload first otherwise you''ll have a dead brother to deal with because I''m already annoyed, and it''s been like 1 minute." He said with a moan. He was never fond of animals and I wasn''t until I met Lexi and got dragged to her family''s farm a few dozen times.


    "Fine then let''s load up some more stuff before we grab these things." I said.


    We loaded up a lot of metal goods and some more food for the chicks. When I looked into the pen there were both chicks and ducklings, so I decided we should take both. I pulled out my phone and made a tab on how to stop ducks from flying. I knew it wasn''t nice for the ducks, but I figured just in case. After rounding them up and the heat lamps we made for the truck when I heard shouting outside.


    "I''ll check it out." Zack said quietly.


    I nodded and said, "be careful."


    I put all of the stuff we collected into the truck and made after my brother. When I got near the front door there were 2 men standing over a girl. She looked like she was about college age and I could see blood trickling from the edge of her mouth. Before I could get enough information both men started to raise their hands. One had a small golf ball sized fireball over his hand and the other had a small knife, but it looked like something he made with an ability.


    I raised my pipe and as I went to say something to Zack, I saw Lyla run out from the side of the building barking. The men both looked over and I saw almost evil grins form. As she got closer, I saw Lyla''s fur start to flutter separately from the wind from her running. As she got closer her fur started to turn red and orange. She was starting on fire and it wasn''t a bad thing. She was going to help this complete stranger and I couldn''t understand why. I raced out to meet Lyla in case she needed my help and by the time I got out there both men had run off.


    "Lyla!" I couldn''t help but shout. "what were you thinking running out here like that." I was so scared just now as I approached Lyla her fur turned back to the golden brown it normally was and she sat down right at the girl''s feet looking at me. I crouched down and glanced at the girls face who looked nervous but not scared as I grabbed onto and hugged Lyla. "you scared me so much you big dumbie." I said into her fur.


    "My names Alice." The girl said and put out her hand.


    "Reika." I replied as I took her hand. She had sharp features and blue eyes. Her blonde hair made a gorgeous contrast to her tanned skin. "And this little fireball is Lyla. Oh, and that''s Zack my brother" I said as I pointed over my shoulder.


    "Good to meet ya. We need to go Reika." He said it quickly. I agreed but Lyla was acting strangely.


    "Hold on, Lyla was a tracking dog before Lexi adopted her, so there''s a reason she''s being like this." As I looked at Alice, she reacted to tracking dog.


    "My brother and I were attacked, and I was trying to find supplies to help him. Could we maybe come with you?" She asked genuinely. "We don''t have any way to pay you back, but I can move water and my brother can move earth." She said pleading with us.


    "I think it''s a good idea as long as it''s not too far." I said checking with Zack.


    "Agreed." He said, but quickly followed it with, "even though you yourself said to avoid people you stop as soon as a pretty girl needs help."


    "Remind me to beat you later." I said as I felt my face heat up. "Anyway, where''s your brother. We have a truck, so it will be easy to get back to my place.


    "He''s right over there. Part of our house was set fire to a bit ago, so we were squatting in a shed to keep warm."


    "OK, we''ve got some blankets in the back seat of the truck and I know some basic first aid so let''s get your brother and get out of here." As I said that Lyla stood up finally and started to follow Alice to the shed her brother was in.


    As we approached, I said. "Just in case you''re up to something, I want you to know I haven''t let my guard down. I''ve read a few stories about these scenarios so if someone tries to ambush me, I''ll kill them without fail." I would have a hard time killing but that''s not something she needs to know yet.


    "Don''t worry. We just want to live our lives, but all the shitheads are already out and about." she said nonchalantly. "Besides just by looking at you 2 you''d probably kick our asses."


    I smiled as we opened the door but as soon as I smelled blood the smile faded. I could see her brother breathing heavy and holding his stomach. I glanced at Zack to make sure he would cover me and then approached. "Hey I''m Reika. I told your sister I might be able to help." I spoke steadily and calmly since he was holding his side, so it was pretty likely he would be fine once the wound was closed up.


    "The names Will." He eked out through his teeth. "Do what you can. I don''t expect much so don''t worry about letting me down."


    "Cracking jokes in a situation like this." I couldn''t help but smile. "If I was anyone else, I''d say you were a man after my own heart." I chuckled and then took a look. "It''s not too bad. Alice, run to my truck and grab my first aid kit." I started to clear the area, so he could lay properly. "A tiny cut like this and your acting like it''s the end of the world. Don''t be a baby." I gave the wound a tap and he sighed out in pain. "Nothing''s necrotic and since I can turn metal inside out, I can guarantee you won''t get an infection from the needle."


    "Well whatever then." He rolled a bit to give me better access to the wound and completely let his guard down. "Just don''t go touching anywhere weird and we''ll be fine." he said with a smirk.


    Alice returned with the first aid kit and I first cleaned and sterilized the wound and then pulled out the needle. "I''ve never had stitches without anesthetic, so I guess this is the part where I say this is gonna hurt." I tried to smile but I''m not good with another person''s pain. As I went to work with the stitches Alice was next to Zack and they were talking and keeping watch. "Zack go get the truck, so we can head home as soon as I finish up here."


    "OK, I''ll be right back." He headed off and then I said to Alice. "Your brother is going to be fine now, so how did this happen anyway?" I wanted to ask her without my brother because he was being quite cold and thought we might be able to talk more freely.


    "Some idiot was throwing stones that were sharp as knives all around and one of them hit him." She said.


    I could tell it was a lie, but I didn''t think it was time to push when her brother said. "Your still gonna protect that asshole? It was our little brother. He got a little power and immediately started attacking everything. When I tried to stop him, he did this." He had anger, sadness, and despair on his face.


    "He''s gonna get himself killed and no lie is gonna save him!" He shouted at the end.


    "You don''t know what''s wrong!" Alice yelled back. "Something could be wrong with his head. For fucks sake you can move metal with your mind and got attacked by stones floating in the air. How can you dismiss his mind being damaged so easily!" She had tears forming in her eyes. "How can you give up on Seth so easily!" She was screaming. Crying and angry I couldn''t have been happier to see Zack.


    "Well." I said awkwardly. "Looks like our rides here. Someone gimme a hand getting him up." I said after I finished dressing his wound and packing up the supplies. "I''ve got some baby birds to get home."


    After a bit of a drive we got back to my house and things were still pretty awkward. I wanted to say something but decided that I was the least qualified for that job. After pulling into the driveway Lyla jumped out of the truck and ran straight inside. After a few seconds Rocko came out with Jenny in tow and then Kara and Jason.


    "All good here?" I asked.


    "Yeah. You weren''t gone nearly as long as you guessed." Kara narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you do?"


    "I''m offended. This is because somebody..." I glared at Zack. "Didn''t want to listen to some baby birds chirping for a little bit."


    "Baby birds!" Jenny said as her eyes lit up. "Can I see them? Can I Mom?" She asked Kara.


    "Let''s get the truck parked and figure out where to go from there OK honey?" She replied back as she lifted the little girl.


    "Do you need a hand with something Aunt Reika? I''m feeling a lot better now that I''ve slept a bit." Jason said.


    "Thanks Jason. We have a guy that''s hurt here so could you help Zack get him to the guest room. I''m gonna have to figure out lodging now that I think about it too huh?" I said more to myself than anyone else. "Well first let''s start with what''s in front of us."


    "So not only did you take in a bunch of baby birds but your bringing two people into the fold as well?" Kara sighed. "You tell us to do or not do something and then immediately do the exact opposite. I don''t think I''ll ever be able to keep up with you Reika..." She trailed off at the end, but I got the gist of what she was saying.


    "Like I could deny a beautiful girl asking me to help her brother. It''s not every day a shut in like me gets to play the role of knight Kara. And besides they said they would work for us so it''s a deal not altruism."


    "Fine, whatever." She sighed. With that I started unpacking the supplies, so we could head back out.


    When I had unpacked the majority of the supplies I went into the house and was instantly tackled by a little girl. "Where are the baby bird''s aunt Reika. Mom said I could see them, and I bet they are just so cute huh?" She was so excited.


    "I put them in the garage, so they could stay warm until I build them their own houses. They are still really small, so we need to make sure they get enough food and water and make sure they are warm."


    I took her hand and walked her into the garage through the door in the kitchen. "OK. Leave it to me. I''ll make sure they grow up big and strong." She was so confident it was adorable.


    "OK. You''ll probably need help from Jason when they get bigger because they like green food but let me show you how to feed and water them first." I said with a smile.


    "Oh! Sorry." As we entered the garage Alice was leaning against the standing freezers, I had lined up staring at her phone. "I was trying to get my idiot brother on the phone." I could tell she was crying and saw her wipe her face with her sleeves.


    "It''s fine. If you can talk him back to himself, he''s more than welcome to stay here. But that''s only if he calms down a bit." I said as I lifted my index finger and thumb into a small gap. "Until he calls back do you mind giving me and Jenny a hand?" If there''s one thing I''m good at its distracting. "I''m trying to show her how to feed and water them. We have ducks and chickens in here, but they are pretty young so as long as we give them food water and heat, they should be fine."


    "Oh? I''ve always been pretty good with animals. You probably noticed that with your golden retriever though." She looked at me and then smiled at Jenny. "Are you gonna be taking care of these guys all by yourself?" she asked Jenny as she looked towards the makeshift pen, I set up for them.


    "For now. When they get bigger and need more types of food, I''m gonna need my brothers help." She ran to the gate I made to get into the pens. "They are so cute!" She exclaimed.


    "Be careful not to step on them Jenny." I called after her. "They don''t know any better to avoid your feet."


    "OK." She said. She stepped into the pen and raised her feet just over the wood shavings I spread out as bedding. She squatted down and started to coo the chicks and ducklings.


    "She''s adorable..." I heard Alice whisper.


    "She''s mine! You can''t have her." I shouted to try to lighten the mood. "Although if you play your cards right, I might let you borrow her from time to time." I flashed what I thought was my best smile and gave a small nod.


    "Then I''ll definitely have to play my cards right." She said as she looked at me with a grin. "Can I come in there with you Jenny?" She asked while slowly opening the door.


    "OK." She looked over her shoulder quickly to make sure the chicks weren''t in front of the door. "Just don''t lift your feet to high." As Alice went into the pen I stepped back inside.


    "So, Zack just told me about Lyla. Why didn''t you say anything to me?" I had barely gotten my foot in the door and was already being assaulted.


    "What''s there to say?" I said as I went to the fridge. "Lyla can start on fire. It''s not like I can do anything about it and it''s not like she is going to use it to hurt us. She''s too much of a sweetheart for that. She didn''t even attack the guys we ran into, just scared them off. And if you even suggest I do something to my Lyla you are out of your goddamned mind." I wasn''t even going to let the idea float in her head, more or less let it leave her mouth.


    "That''s not what I was getting at." She said, a bit startled. "I just don''t like being left in the dark. I haven''t been able to get a hold of Darren except for right after you told me to call him and all this stuff is happening!" She was getting upset and I could understand why. "And you''re just running around grabbing supplies and acting like this is normal and so is Zack. Why am I the only one having a hard time keeping up with what''s happening." At that she started to bury her face in her hands.


    As she sobbed, I walked over and started to hug her. "First, I can''t speak for Zack but I''m just reacting like I always wanted the characters in my stories to when shit hit the fan and second, Darren was 4 or 5 hours away at 2am and he was out there for work meaning his phone was probably charging when you called. His phones probably dead and he''ll be here around noon. It''s gonna take some extra time but he''ll make it here nice and safe. He wouldn''t dare to piss you off." I said the last part with a small smile as I pulled her face up to look her in the eye. "Do you think I would lie to you?" I wanted her to know how much I meant what I just said, as well as calm down since her kids will only stay calm as long as she does.


    "No, not about something like this." she almost whispered. "You''ve always been a bit to honest about the big stuff." She sniffed one more time and then laughed. "You''re probably right about Darren too." She started to giggle. Probably realizing she made a bit of a scene. "Oh man I can''t believe I just did that." She looked down again but this time she had a little smile.


    "It''s fine. Everybody gets to freak out as much as they want for the next few days with no judgement as long as they come back from said freak-out." With that I started to pull away and she pulled me closer. "Well this is nice." I whispered into her ear.


    "The same goes for you Reika." She said quietly. "I know it''s been a long time, but you are allowed to freak out as much as you want. About Mom," her body straightened a bit. "Dad," she moved so she was still holding me but was looking into my face. "And Lexi." My body shuddered on its own.


    "Using your own fear and regret to try to help me." I was starting to feel tears run down my cheeks, but they were not going to just stop. "This is not fair! I''m supposed to be over all that." With those words I broke down. I don''t remember what I said or heard for the next few minutes, but I definitely started to feel better.


    After our little breakdowns my sister and I split up. She went to play with Jenny and the birds and I went to get Zack. As I walked into the living room. I heard them talking. "If you think this isn''t safe, you haven''t heard anything I''ve said about Reika. After the accident she felt useless, so she started learning survival skills hand over foot. As soon as she had a handle on one, she would move to the next. If we are stuck here for 7 months the baby will be delivered by Reika and Kara with almost no problem. I mean you have 2 people that have learned as much about the human body as some if not most doctors as well as Reika knowing how to deal in a crisis. I saw how she handled that guy upstairs. She didn''t flinch at the blood, she cleaned the cut out and sewed it up. I wouldn''t be surprised if she could perform a C-section if need be."


    "That''s enough praise little brother." I said as I walked into the room. "It''s nice to know how highly you think of me but it''s pretty embarrassing." I felt heat in my face. "especially since I was just crying my eyes out not even 5 minutes ago." As his eyes narrowed questioningly, I said, "Don''t ask."


    "But everything I said was true. Especially after seeing you with that guy earlier..." He trailed off looking at the stairs. "It was an eye opener seeing how much you''ve grown these last few years. I don''t know what else to say."


    "All that and you''re still not gonna bring up the baby? That''s all I really wanna hear about. Is it a boy or girl? Is there anything you didn''t pack for vitamins and meds? I''m gonna go get Kara to get her to make a list of stuff to get for our outing." As I walked back into the kitchen my heart was racing. That brother of mine just added so many damn objectives to get through the year. I thought to myself.


    As I opened the door into the garage I was treated to a beautiful sight of Jenny, Kara, and Alice playing with the chicks and ducklings. It was a sight to behold seeing the cuteness of my sister and her daughter along with the striking beauty of Alice each with 1 or 2 baby birds chirping away in their hands. "So, I just overheard Zack and Delilah and apparently, we need to get Prenatal vitamins when I head back out, so could you write them down for me, so I know what to grab Kara?"


    "Wait Delilah''s pregnant? That''s great." She said with a smile as she put the birds down. "Oh, but with everything happening I guess this is also terrifying." She started to pout as she grabbed some paper and a pen to write on. As she ripped off the sheet and handed it to me, she said. "Am I allowed to congratulate her even though she''s terrified?"


    "I congratulated you didn''t I." I said with a laugh. "Just be yourself. That''s always been more than enough." And with that she was off.


    "Can I come with you for supplies?" Alice asked as Kara left with Jenny in tow. "I want to make myself useful while I''m here since you were so kind as to help me and my brother."


    "Sure, I was hoping to experiment more with water abilities and since my former test subject is now under house arrest, you''ll do fine. What kind of skills do you have otherwise?"


    "Gee, thanks. I''ve never felt so wanted." She said sarcastically. "I was studying to be a vet, so I can help with most animals just not the big ones like cows, pigs, or horses. And I was an avid archer..."


    As she trailed off, I said, "No way!" I rushed into the corner and opened the locker on the wall. "I refused to get rid of any of her stuff, so this compound bow has been sitting in her locker for almost 2 years. I haven''t even looked at it, so it might need some maintenance... Actually, I won''t need my crossbow either so if you want to try that?"


    As I looked at her, she jumped. "I can actually use both, so whichever is in better condition is what I would prefer..." Her voice kept starting out at a proper level and then shrinking down like she was either embarrassed or shy.


    "What''s up with you?" I said as I eyed her up. "You''ve been acting strange for the last few minutes and it''s making me feel weird."


    She looked up at me and when we made eye contact, she looked back to the ground. "Is it OK if I use something of someone so important?"


    Ohh she caught on to Lexi. I thought to myself. "She''s gone and can''t come back. She may have been my whole world, but I need to keep my friends and family safe. As long as you stay here, you are family." I said handing the bow over. It was still in great shape because I cleaned it once a month, even if I said otherwise. "That includes your brother upstairs..." I waited a second before continuing.


    "I''ll invite your younger brother in too if he is willing to sit down and talk first."


    "That''s not..." she cut herself off. With a shake of her head she continued. "Thanks, I''ll keep trying to get in touch with him. You never know." She picked up the quiver. "This isn''t like mine. How do you?"


    She was struggling to put the quiver over her shoulder but since it wasn''t designed for that the arrows spilled to the floor. "It''s actually a belt. It loops around your waist for faster reloads and easier decision making on the hunt. Lexi was a farm girl through and through. That''s why I''ve gotten so accustomed to sleeping with 2 dogs and cats every night."


    After picking up the arrows I put the belt on to show her how to draw the arrows quickly and how to choose between the two sets of arrows. "Thanks." She whispered out as I put the belt on her and squatted down to make sure the arrows wouldn''t fall. "I''ve never used one like this."


    "To be honest she constantly tried to get me to use a bow." I pulled up my sleeve. "But the last time I drew a bow string it was poorly made and snapped and ripped my arm up pretty bad." I said showing her my forearm. The scar didn''t look too bad, but it was definitely pronounced against my pale skin. "I couldn''t use this arm for a few days at all. She felt so bad she did everything for me for about 6 days." I said with a smile.


    "Ouch." She sized up the wound and then looked at my face. "how many days did you actually need her help?"


    "I was good when I woke up the next day just a little sore." With a grin I continued. "but there''s nothing wrong with wanting to be spoiled from time to time." As I was saying that I felt her hand touch my arm and jerked. She pulled back herself and apologized. "It''s fine. I just haven''t had much practice with the whole physical contact these last few years. Especially a girl as pretty as you." I looked her in the eye and she smiled back. "Why don''t you go take a few test shots in the back while I figure out the rest of the list we are grabbing okay?"


    "OK." She nodded her head as her ears turned a bit red. Is there a range or trees or something? Wouldn''t want to shoot something of value." She said as she made for the back door of the garage.


    "There''s a range to the left it''s set up for 50, 75 and 100 feet. Don''t worry about the arrows since I can fix ''em or make new ones." I pointed out the door where the three targets I had set up were and then added. "I don''t know a lot about bows but that one''s entire frame is from a light weight metal and I think the same is true of the bowstring so don''t put yourself out about damaging it." I wanted her to relax and get a real feel for the bow so that I could rely on her if I needed to.


    "Well when you say it like that it makes me want to try to Robin Hood the arrows." She gave a gorgeous grin as she opened the door.


    "Like you could..." I joked back.


    Back in the kitchen I could hear Kara and Delilah, so I peeked in to get Zack''s attention. When he saw me, he rushed over.


    "Are you ready to go?" He asked nervously.


    I looked him up and down and replied. "Wow if I didn''t know better, I''d say my little brother is running away." I couldn''t help but smile. As I brought my volume up his hand clapped over my mouth. "We''re bringing Alice and she''s using Lexi''s bow, so we need a few minutes, so she can adjust how she holds herself and the bow." I looked at him and clapped his shoulder once. "We''ll leave in 15."

 3 Another Outing

    As we loaded into the truck, I grabbed a decent chunk of steel and filled it with water and loaded it into the truck bed. Next, I went and grabbed Rocko, so he wouldn''t be jealous this time and then had Zack drive while Alice and I were in the back.


    "I don''t really think that''s possible." Alice said as I was trying to get her to adjust the temperature of the water. "I can''t be sure but how would I even do that?"


    "Temperature isn''t what you should be thinking about." I replied as I lifted a small piece of metal and placed it in her hand. "Everything is moving at a certain speed so if you slow it down it will be colder and if you speed it up it will get hotter. Watch." As I said that I started to cause the lump in her hand to speed up its vibrations and it warmed up a bit. "I''m not very good at it yet but you felt it warm up right?"


    "I don''t get it but if you can do it with metal, I guess I should be able to with water." With that she floated some water through the back window into the truck and tried to change temperature. After a while I could see the water shifting strangely and looked at her questioningly. "I think I get the idea, but for some reason it isn''t working."


    I cupped my hands and said. "Try to put it in my hands and I''ll try to help." As the water lowered into my hands, I could feel the water lapping in my hands and realized I misspoke earlier. "I think I said something dumb earlier. It''s not trying to move the entire pool of water around. You need to focus on making the entire pool vibrate. It''s not about shaking and sloshing it''s just little vibrations to heat it and stilling those vibrations to cool it."


    She looked at me with a confused look on her face and then nodded. "I feel like if I do this..." she shifted her body and tilted her hands a bit which was kind of funny since it wasn''t necessary. It reminded me of kids trying to open combination locks for the first time. "How''s that?"


    The water felt a bit warmer. "Like that. Can you go any faster?" She nodded and then I felt the water get even warmer. She couldn''t make it boil or freeze but I was pretty sure she would be able to in the future. "Great job! I think if you keep working at it you could maybe even freeze or boil the water once you have a better grasp and get a bit stronger." I flung the water out the window behind me and brushed my hands on my shirt. "You might even get to the point where you can make arrows for yourself out of ice." I wanted to instill that idea now, so she could get an image in her head.


    "That would make my life much easier. I would already have a stockpile of weapons and why stop at arrows. Maybe a spear or a dagger would be possible too." She was really excited. "I don''t know why we met or why you think about such weird stuff, but I definitely want to keep working with you. I think you are going to go a long way in this crazy new world."


    "Umm... This is a bit much for just giving you a way to protect yourself. I''m just a nerd. Don''t worry about it." I didn''t know what was going on, but it was a little creepy.


    We pulled into the parking lot and went towards the back where the loading docks were. I could see a few people in the distance, but I wasn''t too worried about it yet. Dealing with what''s in front of you is the most important. As we climbed out of the vehicle Alice stopped and held her hand out for me. I wasn''t sure if this was another side of her admiration or if it was something else, but I decided not to over think it and just accepted her help.


    "So, what are we grabbing here." Alice looked at me expectantly.


    "Solar panels and batteries that charge off of them. We can store up power and also if need be, we can use the batteries for trade in the long term." I didn''t want either of them to go grabbing anything we didn''t need. I walked around the side of the building and made sure it was empty before I called Rocko. "Rocko, Idite syuta." His commands were in Russian originally so when I start using them, he pretty much ignores everyone else. As he ran up to me, I squatted down and said "you are scout with Alice. Keep her safe." I looked at Alice and said "Make some noise if anyone goes to enter. If you don''t think you can deal on your own his commands are, voz''mi ikh to attack, and pyatka will make him stop."


    "That''s not quite right but Russian right?" She looked confused.


    "He and Lyla are both service dogs that didn''t have owners. Lexi''s parents trained them, so we took them in, but I don''t speak Russian and neither do her parents. It was supposedly a request by the guy that was gonna be working with him." I shook my head. "If the people being attacked can''t say the commands, they can''t stop him in a bad situation or something like that." I trailed off.


    "Oh ok." She smiled brightly. "I know a bit of Russian from my grandparents, but I don''t really speak it. I do speak Spanish though." She bragged at the end. "We''ll set up over there." She pointed to a commercial car trailer. "Rocko can get up and down easy enough and I''ll have the elevated advantage." She pulled the bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow as she climbed up onto the trailer. Rocko followed after without anyone saying anything and Zack and I repeated the breaking and entering from earlier.


    As we entered the main store through the loading dock I immediately went to where the green energy section was and was delighted. "Yes!" I exclaimed. "Way more than we''ll need." I grabbed a flat cart over and pointed. "You get that end and we''ll grab 2 at a time."


    "Alright Rei..." He seemed a bit off. "But should we take more than we need? What if someone else needs them?" He seemed genuinely upset.


    "We are taking them all because the 8 of us will be too crammed into just my house. I plan on adding some more once we get a handle on the situation. I want to make a small safe haven for people that aren''t looking for glory and just want to live their life. I had the idea when Alice offered to work for us if we saved her brother." I have always been quite greedy, so this was probably a surprise for him.


    "If you plan on making a town or whatever..." He looked into the distance. "I guess that''s fine as long as you''re not trying to build up some harem." He laughed as he finished that sentence. "You couldn''t even control one girl more or less a whole harem." He stopped moving the panels because he was bent over laughing.


    "Is something funny Papa... What could be happening that''s so funny to my dear old daddy..." I changed my voice to sound childish and when I said Papa he stopped laughing and his body stiffened.


    "Yeah," he scratched the back of his head. "About that, is now a good time for this?"


    "Whether it''s a good time or not is irrelevant." I said firmly. "We aren''t in any position to decide on this since there''s probably not a lot of clinics open in this new world. We just get through today and then tomorrow. One day at a time. Now hurry up." He pushed a button for me since I couldn''t have kids, naturally I''d get a bit jealous.


    "Sorry, I am just scared. I probably would have said something similar even without everything that''s going on."


    We loaded up the panels onto the trailer and I sealed them in with metal, so no one could see them. Next, I loaded in battery after battery. They were about half the size of a generic car battery and had a small slot that the panels could clip into. With the right allocation of resources, we had enough for easily 30 times what I actually needed. The batteries would be useful in the fall since the sun refused to come out in October around these parts. I looked around the store one last time and decided I would come back in a week for some other things, nodded, and then jumped into the truck. As we pulled out, I whistled and Alice and Rocko both peeked out from the car on the trailer and then climbed down.


    We pulled up to the pharmacy and I looked at everyone. "We grab as much as possible. I''m gonna make some carts that hold a lot and are light, so you guys just grab drugs. Antibiotics are the most important but I''m gonna make sure to grab anything I can for Delilah, so you two get everything useful. Even if it doesn''t seem useful grab it. Vitamins too. We don''t know what kind of diet we are going to be looking at 6 months from now."


    "OK"


    "You got it!"


    They both shouted and after seeing that Rocko barked.


    "Feeling left out bud?" I said as I scratched behind his ears. "let''s go."


    As we walked into the pharmacy, I grabbed some carts that were there and filled in the gaps and made them reach from just over the wheels to right under each of our chins. I had unlocked the door so hopefully no one was in here but that didn''t seem to be the case. As we walked towards the back, I saw a young boy hiding from us through a security mirror in the corner. He looked to be a newer elementary school student, 5 or 6, and he had a small branch in his hand. I signaled everyone because a child is the last person I wanted to hurt.


    "Hey kid? I saw you when we came in." I was talking louder than I needed to, so he didn''t realize I knew right where he was. "We are here for antibiotics and medicine for my brother''s wife because she''s pregnant. We aren''t gonna hurt you and if you come out, we might help you." I watched the mirror indirectly, so he wouldn''t get a surprise attack in and saw him throw the branch into the aisle in front of me.


    "Don''t get mad at me." He was whimpering, and I could see tears in his face when he stepped into the aisle. "my mom has a cut and I don''t know where to get the white paper for her." He was shaking from how upset he was. "Will you help me?"


    "OK, but don''t try any funny business." I looked him straight in the eye the whole time and he never tried to break eye contact. "I actually know a bit about helping hurt people so where is your mom?" I looked to Alice and Zack and nodded. "You 2 get looting and I''ll take Rocko as my back up." I pushed my cart towards Alice and gave Zack the list that Kara gave me earlier. "let''s go bud." I walked over and grabbed a generic first aid kit and after making sure what was in it, I grabbed a bottle of iodine to be safe and followed after the boy.


    As we walked out the back off the store, I could see the broken window the boy must have come through. "Did you hurt yourself coming in here?" I couldn''t see anything wrong, but I wanted to make sure."


    "No, I made sure to not touch the glass." He responded without turning and just kept leading.


    "How far are we going?" I wanted to get him to be comfortable around me, so he didn''t do anything if I caused his mom to yell out when I was working on her.


    "Just a ways. We live in that blue house and she is in the living room." He pointed at the house and kept walking.


    When we entered the house, I smelled copper and rushed into the living room. Luckily it was a superficial wound on her right calf. "Oh, thank god it smelled like it was worse than this." I said quietly as I knelt down. "I''m Reika. Your son said you needed help." I opened the first aid kit and started cleaning the wound.


    "I''m Leah and you''ve met my son Jacob." She said as she tried to smile. "We were attacked, and I won. It''s not my blood you''re smelling mostly." She pointed to the other room and I saw a pool of blood forming at the crack of the door.


    "Oh, that explains a lot." I wasn''t going to console her, and I wasn''t worried about her opinion of me either. "Let''s get you patched up to start. And then you can worry about that." I said as I nodded towards the door.


    "Where did he find you?" she asked me as I was finishing up with her leg.


    "My brother and I, and a... Friend? Of ours were getting supplies. We were trying to make sure we didn''t have to deal with stuff like this. If you''re interested, we are building up a small group of people, and both my sister and I are capable of treating the wounded like yourself. And I have a niece and nephew that are about the same age as Jacob there." I wasn''t sure if she would be trustworthy, but she had been extremely calm since I got here and had killed someone. It may not be a great quality, but it would definitely be useful if we had any scumbags show up ever.


    "That''s not a bad idea. It''s been just Jacob and I since before he was born so with everyone being able to make weapons almost out of thin air, I don''t think it would be wise to stay that way." She stood up and started to limp a bit towards the bloodied door. "I really don''t want to see my ex like this. He was always a bit crazy but now that he''s dead I don''t think I could use the clothes here." She looked like she was about to cry.


    "Why don''t you come with us right now? We can pick up clothes for you later and until then you can borrow mine and Jacob is about the same size as Jason. We can do a clothing run in a few days once things calm down a bit." If she was coming with us, I didn''t want to let us be separated until she was back at my house.


    "OK, if you''re OK with having us." As she nodded her head her red hair stood out by the windowlight and I noticed the freckles on her face.


    "Well first." I walked to the back door and pulled the metal screen door out. I turned it into a crutch for her to help with mobility. "You''re an earth manipulator, right? And Jacob''s Plant?"


    "Umm... Manipulator?" She was trying to get used to the crutch and didn''t understand what I was saying.


    "You can move Rocks and dirt?"


    "Oh yeah, but how did you know?" she seemed nervous now.


    There were holes all over the floor from where I assumed, she had pulled the rocks she used to defend herself. I knelt back down and pointed.


    "Oh!" She exclaimed. "It''s so obvious and I didn''t even realize."


    As we made our way back to the pharmacy, I learned that the man Leah had killed was Jacob''s father, but she hadn''t had anything to do with him since he walked out when she got pregnant. He had shown up today to take Jacob and when things got heated, he attacked with a sword he made out of metal. I couldn''t understand why every other metal user was so focused on making metal weapons when I just planned on launching metal spears or daggers at anyone that threatened my friends and myself. Anyways, Jacob knew nothing about his father, so he and Leah fended him off together and when he died Jacob immediately went looking for help. As we approached the back door, I heard Alice and Zack talking inside, so I called out as quietly as possible to prevent any kind of accident. They had loaded up a lot of bottles and boxes into the bed of the truck and they had found a tarp to cover everything with.


    "More lost puppies?" Zack said with a smirk.


    "Oh, shut up. She was attacked, and I didn''t want her to have to deal with the body. Plus, Jacob is like Jason and she is an earth mover like you." I was getting exhausted from all the running around, so my temper was running thin.


    At this Jason leaned towards Alice and said "She''s cranky. If you tell her she''ll like you more." He had a smile on his face and I didn''t know what it was for.


    I looked at Alice and raised an eyebrow. "What''s up?"


    "I''m not sure how you''ll feel about it, but we found a box of kittens. It was stuck back by the dumpster and the mewing was pretty bad. I''m guessing they''re getting to be about 7 or 8 weeks old.


    If you''re against it, I understand but I would like to take them back with us." She had a pleading look on her face.


    "I guess Zack didn''t tell you." I decided to play it out to tease her a bit. "The dogs were both adopted by Lexi." I paused at that and then when I thought she was gonna start tearing up I finished with, "I have always had a weak spot for cats. Especially kittens." I smiled as I walked towards the box.


    "Where are they?"


    "Right here!" She cheered happily. "You scared me for a bit there." She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the truck.


    As I looked into the back of the truck there were 3 kittens eating from a can of cat food and I couldn''t help myself. "Oh my gosh they''re so little. How could anyone be so mean to you?" I asked as I scooped up a black and white spotted kitten. As I looked at its face, I could tell it needed a bit of medicine but otherwise it was fine. "You said you were studying to be a vet, right? Do you think you could get the dosage right if I got the medicine for these guys?"


    At that Alice smiled and replied. "I found the right medicine here, so we don''t have to worry about that. Plus, I definitely can handle the dosage. Even if I get a few scratches from these guys." She was happy and excited.


    After piling into the truck and having to really cram in with 5 people and 3 kittens we finally managed to figure out how to seat everyone. Rocko hopped into the back of the truck and laid down on the tarp. Alice and I sat in the back again this time with Jacob sitting next to me and Zack drove with Leah up front. While we drove back, I told everyone about my idea for housing since it was going to get crowded here soon. I had a decent amount of property because Lexi and I were going to try to make an animal sanctuary once we had gotten settled down. 20 acres should be easy to build a few houses and I was going to make a decent sized plot for crops and a large water reservoir for each home. First, I wanted to wall up the property, so I had to make sure we could get a decent flow of metal and stone piled up. I wanted to steal a dump truck of some kind for the stone and I wanted to get a flatbed for the metal but any large truck I could modify and make work. As we made our way back, I kept seeing people out on the streets. Nobody was trying to take control of anything yet but there were many people fighting. When we got to about 1 mile from my house, I saw two girls about Alice''s age running from a group of men. The fact that their clothes were ripped gave me an idea as to why they were running.


    "Stop the truck!" Alice yelled. Right after she shimmied her way to hanging from the back window and drew the bowstring back. "Don''t lay a hand on those girls!" She yelled to the pursuers. The girls came running up to the truck and started to plead for help.


    "Hop onto the tarp, we don''t have much further to go." I said to them.


    As the group got closer Alice yelled out again. "If you get any closer, I will fire. I don''t care what you can do, can you stop a flurry of arrows aimed at nothing but kill shots?" She loosed the first arrow and nocked another. This one was a serrated tip meant to damage. The arrow the fired had hit a man in the stomach in a nonfatal spot. "That is your only warning!" As she yelled that some of the men stopped while others ran away.


    "You''ll regret that bitch!" One of the men yelled. He formed a small fireball about the size of a quarter and started running.


    "Enough!" Alice yelled and released the arrow. It lodged directly in between his eyes and he fell. I couldn''t help but watch because I was curious, but as soon as the arrow hit, the flame didn''t go out, but it was out before his body hit the ground. With that the men picked up the man that was wounded and took off leaving the dead man there.


    As she climbed into the truck and Zack pulled off, I grabbed Alice and looked her in the eye. "Are you OK?" I asked holding her face and not letting her look away. "I need you to talk to me."


    "I-I-I''m good." She said shakily. She had tears in her eyes. It''s not easy to kill someone so she probably was hurting right now.


    "No. You just killed someone." I whispered into her ear. "If you''re OK I''m gonna kick you out of this car right now. Look at me." She kept lowering her head and trying not to look me in the eye. I raised her face with both hands and brushed her hair out of her face. Tears were streaming down, and she was shaking like a leaf. "I''ve never killed someone, but I''ve watched people die. If that can screw someone up, then being the cause must be terrible." I kept running my hand through her hair and ended up hugging her as we rode the rest of the way home in silence.


    As we pulled into the driveway Zack looked back at me. Alice had fallen asleep in my arms and I didn''t want to wake her up yet. "Unload what you can without me. Don''t forget the babies and just put them in the garage near the chicken pen. There is a heat lamp in there so hang it over the box for them today."


    "Alright." Zack replied. "What should I do with the strays?" He said nodding his head towards the girls in the truck bed.


    "Introduce Jacob to Jason, they have the same power and might be able to learn from each other. The girls should be fine but have Kara come out and greet them. They were through hell, so they are gonna take time to get used to guys again." I didn''t want to baby them, but they looked barely 20 so I didn''t want to push them too hard either. "If you could grab a blanket for us, I''d appreciate it because she is out like a light and I could use a nap." I smirked at the end to show that I was fine. After a little while of sitting there running my hand through Alice''s hair Kara came out with Jenny and some blankets. Without a word Jenny climbed into the truck and wrapped the blanket around us careful as to not wake Alice. She smiled and nodded at me and then went into the house with Kara and the girls.


    I nodded off for a bit and when I came to a black four door sedan was pulling into the driveway. I readied myself for trouble but had a guess as to who it was. As it parked next to me, I saw Darren getting out and he saw me through the window. He came over and after seeing Alice whispered,


    "Long time no see Reika. Thanks for keeping everyone together while I was gone. Who''s this?" he nodded towards Alice.


    "We met this morning when Lyla saved her. She had to shoot someone with a bow and it took its toll."


    "Oh, then I''ll leave ya be." He started to turn.


    "Before you leave what''s your ability?" I asked so I knew for later.


    "Wind..." he replied sheepishly and walked off.


    With that I ran my hands through Alice''s hair and fell asleep.


    I woke up again but this time to movement. I felt Alice stirring and looked down at her. Her head was tucked in between my neck and shoulder and it was extremely comfortable. She started to panic so I whispered, "It''s OK. I''m right here." I could already feel her pulse and breathing relaxing. "I''m sticking with ya until you''re ready to be alone. You''ve been through a lot." I turned and saw her looking up at me. "Are you hungry? I''m not one to brag but I''m a pretty good cook." I smiled at her and finally realized that I''d been holding her for a few hours.


    With a wry grin she lifted herself a bit and then said, "I could eat but I''d be fine staying like this for a bit. I''m really starting to feel a bit better, but that''s probably because of what those guys would have done if we weren''t there. I definitely never want to do something like that again, but I know if it came down to it I could do it again." As she said that she turned under the blanket so that we weren''t facing each other but were side by side. I thought we were going in when she leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder. "Can we stay like this for a bit and just talk. Treat me like a normal girl for a bit."


    "I mean normal was never my strong suit. If Lexi and I weren''t so drawn to each other as soon as we met, I''d probably never spoken to anyone outside my family aside from necessity." I look at the girl leaning against me and she took my hand under the blanket.


    "That''s fine. Talk to me about our plans for this base. You called it a town earlier but it''s gonna be so much more isn''t it?" She was staring me in the eye and I could see a slight blush forming on her ears.


    "Do you know what''s coming exactly?"


    She was so sure in me I didn''t know how to let her down. I felt her thumb rubbing on the back of my hand she was holding and said. "I have no sure-fire idea as to what''s coming but I''ve read so many books with this kind of scenario and so many games have a start like this in the fantasy or sci-fi sections that I am trying to prepare for them all at once. The scenario I''m most afraid of happening is where the government''s freak out and nuke each other. That''s not likely if people hole up in their houses with their loved ones like here. Another idea is alien testing but that usually goes unnoticed, so it won''t change anything. Another is that these abilities are magic or mana. If that''s the case we could see monsters, dungeons, or even new human races like elves or dwarves coming into existence. There are so many different ideas but the first rule," I looked her back in the eye again, "is to stick together. No one goes alone after today. I know I went off earlier, but that was my own stupidity. I''m gonna be relying on you in the future to help me out so don''t let me pull that later." After I finished saying that she gave my hand a squeeze and we sat there for a quite a bit in silence.


    When the sun started to go down, I heard the gravel crunching under someone''s feet. I had fallen asleep again and at some point, Alice and I had gotten entangled with the blanket and each other and we''re now laying in the back seat. I gave her hand I was still holding a squeeze and she woke up and rolled her head to look at me. I moved my free hand and signaled her to be quiet while I listened.


    "This house doesn''t look like much, but they always get deliveries from refrigerated trucks and she doesn''t go out much." I could hear a woman''s voice and wasn''t sure what she was going to try but knew she was watching me in the past.


    "Do you think she''ll help us?" I heard another woman say. "We don''t have food and those assholes basically said they''d only help if we gave ourselves to them." It sounded like 4 women, but the age difference was noticeable just from they''re voices.


    "How much are you gonna talk about me? I''ve got feelings ya know." I decided to come off as a bit brash as I sat up but with another girl wrapped around me as I sat up, I couldn''t begin to guess what they thought.


    "Yeah don''t make us beat you up." Alice tried to add but with her just waking up, her voice cracked, and it was much more cute, than intimidating. She got frustrated with herself and buried her face into my chest.


    "Sorry miss." An older woman close to 50 looked at me. She had long black hair with ribbons of grey hair pouring down. "We weren''t being disrespectful. Just nervous is all." She had an accent I couldn''t place but I guessed it was just southern. "We had to leave because the men in our apartment building grouped up and are forcing us to service them if we want to stay. I felt Alice tighten up on me and wrap her hand that wasn''t holding onto me around me. "I knew of you from before with your wife and you 2 were always so kind I convinced these girls to come with me."


    "Ahh shit. Bringing up Lexi''s cheating." I said with a grimace. "But if you''re looking for food and shelter, we are planning on building up a small compound here. It won''t be a free ride even the elderly and children will be working but you can stay here if you promise not to cause trouble. I don''t care who you are or who you were. You cause trouble and you''re out." The women looked at me and nodded.


    "Thank you so much, my name is Gene." The older woman said. Her face was starting to wrinkle but her body was rather fit for her age. She stood the shortest of the women but had an air about her that made her feel taller.


    "I''m Lois. I''m not sure what help I can be but thanks for having me." She was probably in her mid-thirties. Asian, I think Japanese, her bow at the thanks reminded me of when friends go over to each other''s houses in anime. Her dark skin and black hair and eyes were all flawless.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Agatha." She was a strong looking woman that seemed like the kind that would never bend to anyone. She had an accent that made me think Russian, but I don''t know any Russians, so I couldn''t be sure. Her dirty blonde hair and grey/silver eyes were truly beautiful. "I am quite capable so don''t be afraid to put me to use. I can also move the earth but I''m still trying to get the hang of it." She took a step back after introducing herself.


    The last girl looked maybe 11. Her face was soaked in tears and she was shivering. I saw how upset she was, and my heart broke for her. "M-m-my names Terese. I''m 10 and can shape wood. My m-m-mom c-c-couldn''t come because those men..." she trailed off. I looked to Gene and she shook her head and signaled the girl''s mother was deceased.


    I gave Alice a squeeze since she was still hiding her face in my chest and said, "There''s more people and animals in the house and I don''t know if they made food yet, but Alice and I were just about to get a bite to eat. Would you like to join us?" I climbed out of the truck as Alice refused to stop clinging to me, and since I promised I''d be here for her I didn''t want to peel her off yet and squatted down in front of Terese. "I wanted to check my baby birds and kittens before I made dinner. Could you give Alice and I a hand?"


    "Oh?" As I said that Kara must have been coming out to check on us when she saw our new companions. "I don''t think I should ever leave that sister of mine alone." She said as she approached the 3 older women. "I''m Kara. Let''s get you girls inside." Always the big sister she even doted on the woman 20 years her senior like a little sister.


    "We''re gonna show Terese the chicks and the kittens. Is Jenny in there?" I looked towards Kara and she nodded. As Alice unwrapped herself from me her face was still red, and she took the blanket and started folding it up. I took Terese''s hand and Alice grabbed the other as we walked into the garage.


    As soon as we entered the Garage Jenny looked up from the box and saw Terese. Her eyes widened, and she stood and ran over. "I''m Jenny, and I''m 5. What''s your name?"


    "I''m Terese... I''m 10." She tried to reply similarly to Jenny and as soon as she did Jenny grabbed each of her hands and pulled her to the kittens.


    "See the babies." She whispered. "The orange one is my favorite, but the gray one is really funny and the black and white one is really cute and gentle." She started pointing at each and talking about them like we''ve had them for weeks and not hours.


    "Oh yeah..." Alice said lightly. "What happened to the drugs?" she looked at me as she asked.


    "My Sister was a chemist for a pharmaceutics company, so she probably got them all where they needed to be." I looked over to the girls. "I''m gonna make something to eat can you keep Terese company Jenny?"


    "OK." She cheered back quietly. "It''s about time to feed the birds so can you help me?" she asked kindly. Terese just nodded her head. At least she had stopped crying for now. As she stepped into the pen she said, "Don''t lift your feet to high. The babies don''t know to look out for your feet." Already an expert I chuckled quietly and could feel Alice laughing too.


    I stepped into the kitchen and Kara, Gene, Agatha and one of the 2 girls from earlier were already cooking up a nice feast. "Wow, I''d figured the 8 of you would have already eaten." I said as I eyed up my sister.


    "Like we could eat without the person that brought us together." she said as she came over and pinched my cheek. "Besides both Maya and Tina are like Jason and Jacob, so vegetables will never be a problem."


    I looked at the girl from earlier. When she was running from those men, she seemed older, but she was probably only 13. "I''m Maya." She looked at me and then Alice. "Thank you so much for earlier, it couldn''t have been easy."


    As her hands she had wrapped around mine tightened she said. "It was necessary to keep you and Tina alive. It might stop some of them from being so despicable in the long term as well." Her voice was shaking, and her body was trembling as well. I grabbed a glass and took her up to my room.


    "This is a secret so shhh." I sat her down on my bed where Lyla was sleeping with Nigel and went to the closet. I came back out with a bottle of brandy and a small plastic container of ice. After pouring a glass for each of us I sat down and handed her the drink.


    As soon as I sat down, she clung onto my arm with her free hand and said "Thanks, do you do this a lot?" I could tell what she was really asking.


    "I set this up a long time ago. I used to just drink myself stupid and then repeat the process. After about 6 months I realized it wasn''t helping, but that doesn''t mean I''m not allowed to get drunk every once in a while." I tipped back the glass of brandy and looked over at Alice. "I''m not trying to force you to alcoholism, but a bit might help you calm down."


    "I''m 23 but I was so focused on my future I''ve never drank alcohol or done any kind of drugs. It''s just finally hitting me that everything I''ve worked for till now is going up in smoke." She took a sip of the brandy and pulled away. "Ick." Her tongue was still hanging out a bit and she looked adorable.


    "Hold on." As I stood. "I didn''t realize it was your first drink." I went back into the closet and grabbed a sweeter drink for her. As I grabbed a wine glass for her, she was looking around the room.


    "How long have you lived here?" She stood up and was looking at the pictures on the dresser.


    "I moved in right after we got married. The property was pretty cheap and with help from our parents we were able to get a really good interest rate. Not that any of that matters anymore. All the work I put into getting this house and it''s been just me and the animals for 2 years." I was putting the cork back in the wine when she walked over.


    "From what I''ve seen you''re wearing her clothes right now, so you got the left side and she got the right.?" She asked as she peeked around me.


    "Yeah. She was left handed so she preferred everything to be on the right for some reason I could never really understand." I handed her the wine glass. "Try this." I poured her glass of brandy into mine and watched her.


    "Mmm. Much better." She said with a grin. "This is that stuff that gives hangovers if you drink too much right? I read about it somewhere."


    "Drinking leads to hangovers. Sugary stuff just makes it worse." I replied straightly. I wasn''t going to give her any bad info on drinking. "If you like that I''ll give you another after dinner but with the work we still have tonight you shouldn''t have too much."


    She raised an eyebrow at that. "What kind of work?" She drank back the rest of the wine, so I finished off my drink and rinsed out the glasses in the bathroom sink.


    As I started towards the guest room, I felt her hand slip into mine again. "If we can get your brother outside along with mine, I want to get a water reservoir built. It only takes 3 to 5 days of non-regulation for town and city water to turn toxic. It starts pretty slowly and by the time you realize you''re sick it''s too late. Next, I want to get some wood stocked up for more houses, well cabins I guess, to be built. And lastly we are going to need walls." I looked at her and she was nodding along to what I said.


    "Is this all stuff you think about regularly or are you just this good at reacting to bad situations?" she stared fixedly at me.


    "Since we don''t know exactly what''s going to happen it''s better to plan for the worst. Plus, I wanted to see if fire manipulators and earth manipulators could work together to make glass." She looked confused. "With glass we can make greenhouses to help the plant manipulators and we could also replace or reinforce windows using their abilities with mine or your brothers." She smiled and squeezed my hand.


    "No wonder you were already gathering supplies after a few hours of this. I''m glad I ran into you so early." She was smiling ear to ear and swinging our hands as we went into the guest room. "How are you doing Will?" She asked as we approached his bed. Leah was laying in the other bed sound asleep and Jacob was sleeping on top of her blanket.


    Will was awake and sat up a bit more in the bed. "I''m up but I am getting restless." He looked like a child pouting about something.


    "Well that''s good. Maybe I can put you to work then." I responded.


    He shifted his body to get out of bed. "What''re we doing?" he asked as he went to stand up.


    "I want to dig up a well and link it with a reservoir that your sister and my sister-in-law can regulate and maintain. We''ll need more once we get some more houses going so this one''s allowed to be a bit ugly." I smiled at the end.


    He stood up and then looked at his sister holding my hand and said "OK, but what did I miss? Alice has always been pretty cold to anyone not family."


    Alice squeezed tighter like she thought he was going to separate us. "Some things happened, and she said I could stay with her till I was ready." She looked down and her voice got quiet. "It''s fine isn''t it?"


    I couldn''t tell if she was asking me or her brother, so I rubbed her hand with my thumb. "It''s fine. Now let''s get something to eat before we get to work." Alice cheered up with that, so we woke Leah and Jacob and headed downstairs.


    When we got into the dining room, I felt a bit overwhelmed. There was 17 people all circling the table once we got situated. I had never had more than 9 before today at one table and I hadn''t eaten at it aside from this morning in more than 2 years. As I sat down Jenny ran over and sat in my lap.


    "This is my seat, right?" she said looking up at me over her shoulder.


    "You bet it is." I said as I gave her a squeeze. "I''m glad you remembered." I calmed down a lot from that and then I felt Alice leaning up against me. She moved her chair so that she could lean on me.


    If this keeps up it could really cause some problems down the road. I thought to myself. For now, it was fine but when we are working on the reservoir later it could be a problem. I decided for now it would be fine, but I''d talk to her later. Even if she didn''t want to. She hadn''t smiled since this started but she kept trying to flash grins. She was still thinking about it, so I''ll just let it be.


    I looked at everyone in front of me and some were happy, some were sad, and others just like me were just overwhelmed. We ate and chatted about the work left to do. I said that if anyone wanted to sleep or needed some time to deal with everything it would be fine, but if they could help, I would really appreciate it. Everyone was really interested in helping and even decided that at first light the 2 metal users were going to go find a bigger truck for hauling supplies to get walls up as soon as possible.


    "For tonight I wanted to get some trees from the tree line out back and get a line dug out for water that Delilah and Alice can regulate. After we get that done most people can go to sleep and then the rest of us will keep watch. I have the 2 beds in the guest room and 2 pull out couches in my computer room. Plus, what''s in the living room, it might be a squeeze, but I think everyone should manage. And since someone made me sleep 5 or 6 hours..." I glanced at Alice and she shrunk down a little. "I won''t need to sleep for quite a while."


    After dinner everyone set off to work and we got pretty far along. The 5 plant manipulators helped us get the trees over by the house. It looked like the trees were rolling pretty fast, and the wood would take the shape of boards or whatever else they needed it to be. The hole for the well was faster than expected since Zack just stood where I wanted the well and then slowly parted the dirt under his feet. After he hit water, he made another hole to get back up and then shook off some water.


    "You''re a fast learner." I smiled and gave him a slap on the back.


    "I''ll help out." Alice said. She caused the water to come off his skin and clothes and then it moved around a bit and fell into a basin we had started using to start off the water supply. I realized the movement was separating the clean water from the possible toxins.


    "You ready Will?" I asked as I stepped towards the hole.


    "Sure, sure." He walked over, and we "lifted" the pile of steel. I stepped onto the side and he stood next to me. We lowered ourselves slowly into the hole and were covering the sides all the way to the bottom. Once we reached the bottom, we ran a pipe into the bottom and I hooked up the water pump we brought down. "This should help long term. The rungs were a good idea in case someone has to get down here." His deep voice reverberated in the tunnel.


    "You never know when someone will need to check the pump. Plus, it''s set to stop when the hose is blocked or can''t flow out, so we don''t have to worry too much about it. I figured make a manhole cover and call it a day." We started shifting the metal under us almost like a strange escalator.


    When we reached the top and I covered the hole Alice grabbed onto me from behind and with her head on my shoulder she said, "good job you two."


    I was starting to get used to the clinging by her, so I just said "Thanks. We can start a tank above here like they used to have, and you and Delilah can keep it clean." I looked over at the other people working and Agatha had finished flattening 2 houses worth of ground. We had spent some time deciding the layout so if the building needed to continue it would be easy to keep spreading. "I''d like to continue but I''m almost spent on my ability. What about everyone else?"


    A few people said they were spent while some more were still good to go. I decided to call it since we were getting close to midnight.


    "I think we should call it for now and that way there is still some people that can support the rest of us if anything happens "


    "That''s a smart call Reika." Alice said cheerfully. "My power isn''t as useful for what we are doing now but I was using it a bunch, so I feel a bit spent."


    When we made it into the house some people set up to make sure they can play defense while the rest of us headed to our pre-decided sleeping areas. I knew Alice wasn''t going to be leaving my side for a while and since that nap in the truck was so comfortable, I wasn''t opposed. I got an idea on the way up the stairs and when I went into my bedroom I changed in the closet and then headed into the bathroom and poured a glass of water. When I came out Alice was putting on some pajamas, I loaned her, and I saw more of her than I expected. She didn''t cover herself, but she did speed up a bit as I crawled in to my bed. As soon as I was situated, she laid down next to me and took my hand under the blanket.


    "I wanted to try something, but I want you to do it too. Will you help me out with this?" I had rolled and was looking Alice in the face.


    "Sure, what do you need me to do!" She responded instantly, and she looked ready for anything.


    "I want to see if running our abilities to zero will do anything. There''s a chance you might not be able to use our abilities ever again or even worse physical pain could happen to us." I wasn''t sure how to word it, but I figured she would get what I meant.


    "Oh, that''s why you put water near the bed. I thought you were one of those people that just woke up and drank in the middle of the night." She had moved along the bed closer to me and was basically wrapped around my left arm and leg. "So, you want me to manipulate the water until I can''t, anymore right?"


    She was so close to me I felt a bit intimidated. I couldn''t tell if she was flirting or oblivious and I could feel my cheeks warming as I said "Yeah. I''ll do the same with the metal hangars I grabbed from the closet." I couldn''t move away since she was latched onto me, so I just turned my head and acted like I was focusing on the metal above me. As I shifted it, I tried stretching as thin as possible. It spread out above me, but I could not get it thinner then about 1 centimeter and when I tried to make shapes I could go with spheres and circles, triangles and pyramids, squares and cubes, and a few more shapes. As long as they weren''t too elaborate, I could form them. I started feeling weaker, but I knew I should keep going to properly check. I moved it into a smaller and easier to handle shape and then moved it next to the bed. As I ran out of power, I felt depleted and could feel sweat on my body.


    I looked at her and her face was covered in sweat and she was smiling at me. "I feel somehow empty, but fine."


    "Yeah." I nodded because I understood. "But I can already feel it coming back. I think when we wake up, we will be fine."


    "I feel something growing." Alice said as she slid her hands around mine again. I didn''t realize she had stopped but I also didn''t realize that I was already so used to it I felt better when she grabbed onto me. "I think you are onto something with this."


    "I have no idea, but it might be like stamina. If you don''t push yourself it won''t really get a chance to grow. I''m gonna call it mental stamina for now." My breathing had calmed down but with Alice this close to me and what I saw before I was having a hard time thinking straight.


    "Good idea. I''m really tired even with that nap earlier though so I''m going to go to sleep. She let go of my hand and I started to reach for it but was met by her wrapping herself around me in an embrace. "I hope you don''t mind, but I slept so well this afternoon..." She trailed off.


    "It''s fine. I don''t remember the last time I slept that long myself." I said as I reached out to embrace her back.


    "I''m so glad." She said back quietly. She leaned forward so her face was almost touching mine and continued. "Even if this is the end of the world, I am so glad I got to meet you." As she said that she gave me a small kiss on the edge of my mouth. "Thank you for saving Will. If it''s OK I think I want to spend whatever time we have left by your side."


    I was shaken. I knew there was a chance for this, but I kept actively putting it on the back burner. "I can''t give you everything you deserve. I am glad I saved your brother, but only because every person I can help with the information I learned after Lexi''s death means they were saved because of her. That means you and Jacob should thank her." I never took my eyes off hers and she just looked at me.


    "I don''t think you grasp what I meant. I know you still love her. Your entire room, closet and every frame in this house has a picture that she is in. Do I want you? Yes. But I don''t know if it''s because you saved me and Will, or because your beautiful and kind, or just cause you''re here and I want someone." She kissed me this time full on. I didn''t kiss back at first but since I didn''t stop her or pull away, she held the kiss for a few seconds. "When you''re ready for even just physical I''ll be here as long as you need."


    I rested my forehead against hers and said, "If you would have given that speech before we did our workout you might have gotten lucky tonight." I said with a grin. I kissed her back this time. "I can''t promise anything but try again tomorrow. Now, let''s go to sleep." I could see her puff her cheeks out as I teased her and gave her a quick peck as I wrapped around her for sleep.


    "Ugh, stupid, stupid Alice." She mumbled. I couldn''t help but chuckle at that.

 4 On The Hun

    Six days have come and gone since the day the world went weird. Everyone has been working hard and because of everyone working so well together, the wall went up faster and easier than expected. We decided that if we could make a wall to keep people out, it would be easier to make it so the wall made a lot of noise if it came down. With that thought in mind the metal only reaches 4 feet up with stone on top. The stone is layered so if a metal user was to try to break in the stone would crumble. The stone maxes out at about 15 feet. Next were the houses. We built 6. Kara, Zack and their families are staying with me. As well as Alice, she and I have gotten even closer but haven''t progressed much since I joked to Zack about her "attacking" me.


    Jenny happened to hear that and has been sleeping with us every night. This hasn''t stopped us from flirting, and occasionally wandering off. Nothing too heavy has happened, just a lot of heavy petting and a few make out sessions. It''s like she knows though, because once we start getting a bit further than usual Jenny shows up almost out of nowhere. I''ve heard Alice call her a few times a "cute but impossible" girl. As for me I have mixed emotions too. I have not done anything like this with anyone other than Lexi. When I think about it, I know I''m not doing anything wrong, it just hurts a bit. With Jenny always interrupting and Alice getting frustrated I decided to take her and Lyla on a hunt. Meat is something we can''t just replace unlike any crops we have in the farming plot. I figured it would help us if we could just talk but since we got into the stand, we have been pretty caught up with each other just not with talking.


    As Alice reached to take off her sweater, we heard something moving through the bushes near us and she quite loudly said "For the love of god I am never going to get laid at this rate." She then looked at me and since we were both breathing heavy, she grabbed her bow and with an embarrassed look on her face she fixed her sweater and drew a standard tip arrow from the quiver that was hanging on a tree branch.


    "Shout a bit louder, I don''t think people heard you in the UK..." I said sardonically. My shirt had already come off, so I grabbed it and started putting it back on when what we heard in the bushes came out.


    "That''s definitely..." I trailed off.


    Alice followed up with "It''s that thing right." She was confused and so was I.


    In front of and below us was a creature that stood around 8 or 9 feet tall. Its skin was a light green with traces of blue fading throughout. It had legs, arms, and torso of an overweight man but what was most disturbing was its pig like head.


    "That''s definitely an Orc." As I said that my crossbow was at the ready and I was making 5 metal spears float at my side. I launched my crossbow Bolt and all the spears at once. The Bolt buried itself into the right eye and 4 of the 5 spears pierced the chest. The 5th spear landed directly in the forehead.


    "Holy shit." Alice managed to whisper out. "You didn''t let that thing stand a chance." She looked at me a bit nervously but also with a bit of respect.


    "I''m not gonna lie. I''ve read too many doujinshi to even let a humanoid monster be near me." My face turned red as my body trembled at the night, I found myself pulled into a few hours of sheer terror. The monsters in those books would just use girls and even though it disgusted me I read through the whole series before I vowed to never even look at another one. "Anyway." I cleared my throat. "Let''s check it out."


    We climbed down from the tree stand and made our way to the Orc. As we approached it wasn''t moving but once I was close enough, I pulled the spears and Bolt out and put them at the ready. Then I decapitated the creature and dug a small hole. Alice poured some water out and flushed it all through the Orc and then into the hole. We had discussed this on our way out but were planning on a deer or maybe a coyote. After she was done, I covered the hole and she cleaned the water and put it back in the waterproof bag she had taken to filling and wearing.


    "In almost everything I''ve read Orcs are an even better form of pork." I looked at Alice and she grinned. "But in 2 stories they were toxic. I really want to try it, but I don''t want to risk it. Are you up to a cookout?" I grinned at Alice.


    "Like you had to ask. If you''re somewhere I''m there." She had been showing a genuine smile the last 2 days and it is probably one of the most beautiful things I''ve ever seen. "I don''t know much about monsters but if we should only use a bit, we should aim for, here right?" she pointed to the arms. The legs and chest were very fatty, but I didn''t know if that was good or bad. Public services went out on day 5 so I couldn''t make any kind of internet searches. I had saved a map of the 500 square miles around my property for emergencies, but I didn''t have time to get everything.


    "No idea. Why don''t we cut out a few different places and try it? While it''s cooking, I wanted to check some stuff as well."


    "Alright, since we drained the blood already, we''ll get a better idea of the taste as well."


    Lyla had gotten excited at first but had already laid back down under the tree stand, so when I called her over, she stood and shook herself off before heading over. As she padded up to me, I squatted down and asked her "Do you think you can take me where this thing came from?"


    As I pointed at the Orc she walked over and sniffed it and then gave a chuff. This was something she did when she had a scent. "We aren''t going right away." I grabbed her collar. "We have other stuff to do first. With that she yawned and laid back down under the tree stand. I wondered if she did that when Lexi used to bring her out for deer season. I could never sit still long outside and when I came it usually turned out like with Alice this time. I blushed thinking about it and turned.


    "She and Lexi used to come here huh?" She asked.


    She had figured me out pretty good over the last few days and wouldn''t hold back. We were both dealing with things but neither of us would let the other retreat when faced with a moment to deal.


    "Yeah, but just like with you I''ve never been good at sitting still and waiting." I took her hand and smiled as we tried to decide what to cook.


    After some deliberation we just randomly cut off some parts that weren''t organs and skewered them. I made a small pit to cook over and pulled some lawn chairs over. "Could you watch these? I want to check the body." We were going to mince and bury the body and if nothing happened let everyone else know later.


    I made a grid about 3ft by 3ft. It wasn''t big, but I narrowed the edges down and then with a lot of weight turned the Orc into little 3-inch pieces. Afterwards I slowly sifted through the remains. After not coming up with anything I scooped up a hole and dumped the remains in.


    I was sure it was gonna be there so when I went to sit down Alice saw I was depressed and asked "What''s wrong? You''re not gonna bury the head."


    "Of course!!!" I shot up and shouted. I walked over to the head and when I cracked it open, sitting inside like it was waiting for me was a small clear gem. "There you are beautiful." I was really excited by this.


    "Oy, I''m over here. Don''t you dare tell me your moving on already." Alice said teasingly. I could tell she was curious, so I brought it over after mincing and burying the head.


    "In books they have a lot of names, but my favorite was always monster shards." I held the small gem between my forefinger and thumb and showed it to her. The blood and brain matter didn''t stick to it and I could feel power inside. It looked like a small clear cube, but it was about half the size of a die.


    "And?" Alice looked at me a bit overwhelmed. "Total Normie over here." She pointed to herself with her thumb on her free hand.


    I nodded and laughed. "I can tell I can absorb it but I''m gonna wait. Depending on the type these can make us so much stronger. I''m talking a boy in blue tights would have a hard time dealing with us. Mind you this is just a guess, and some need a bunch and others need specific kinds..."


    "Ahem! Earth to Reika, the most beautiful nerd in existence."


    I was lost in thought when Alice started shaking her hand in my face. At some point I had stopped telling her my ideas and started just mulling them over in my head. I took her hand and looked her in the eye. "This just changed the whole game." I said happily.


    "What do you mean? You don''t know what it will do yet." Alice pulled the skewers from the fire and sat on my lap. "Here." She pulled a gob of leg meat and put it in my mouth. "let''s eat first and then you can go into over analyze mode."


    "Oh! Mmmm!" As soon as the meat hit my tongue, I couldn''t help but be mad. The meat was definitely the best I''ve ever had but I couldn''t eat a lot in case it was toxic. "It''s delicious try some." I said as I pulled some for her from a skewer.


    "Oh my god! Why did you bury it? I could eat so much more than this." I couldn''t help but agree with her but since we were playing with fire here, we had to deal.


    "If it''s toxic, this much shouldn''t kill us. And if it''s not, Lyla''s gonna show us where to get more once we finish."


    With that we devoured it all in a few minutes and cleaned up the area. Once we cleaned up, I told Lyla to track the Orcs scent and we started off.


    Within one step Alice was wrapped around my arm and nibbling on my ear. I turned to her and gave her a kiss and said, "NO. There are monsters out now." I held my first finger up at that. Next, I held up a second and said, "Also this was supposed to be a trip, so we could reward everyone for how quickly we got the compound completed."


    Alice bit her lip and then looked at me with the sweetest most innocent pout I''ve ever seen and said "I don''t count with everyone? I''m not worried about any other reward." We were still walking but it was getting harder to pull away.


    "I said no." I replied firmly. She looked upset, so I took her chin and looked her in the eye. "But if that''s what you want for a reward then you''ll just have to convince Jenny that you won''t attack me." I smiled at that.


    "Ugh that angel is definitely not gonna listen to me."


    She puffed her cheeks out and I said, "Then what about before breakfast?" Jenny always fed the animals and helped with breakfast first thing. That''s usually when Alice and I would talk and got to know each other. It''s probably when I started to like her for more than her appearance too.


    "But that''s a different kind of special time. This is this and that is that. We shouldn''t mix the two." She had been saying all this quietly. Loud enough for me to hear but not necessarily to me. I kept walking and felt her hand in mine.


    "I''ve grown to really care for you Alice. I know it''s only been a week but you''re the first person I''ve ever wanted to spend time with aside from Lexi and my family. If an opportunity arises, I am definitely going to take advantage of you so hard you won''t be able to see straight for a month." I meant everything I just said. The real reason I brought her out here was for just that, but that damned Orc. "I''m not going to say I love you but you''re definitely my most important person now." I wrapped her in a tight hug and whispered, "Trust me when I say I meant figuratively and literally about seeing straight." I teased her ear with my lips as I pulled out of the embrace.


    She stared at me. I could see her face had gone red and I knew mine was heating up, but I wanted her response. I had basically just confessed and asked her out. If this wasn''t the world it was, I''d probably be a bit more nervous. She started to open her mouth and then paused.


    After what felt like an eternity, she finally said "Did you mean all of that?" I nodded. "I''ve thought you were gorgeous from the instant I saw you and even with everything going on was hoping for a chance to be with you. These past few days have been great and even with everything going on I haven''t had any regrets. You have made me really happy, I''d love to spend as much time as possible with you from here on out as well." As she finished saying that she leaned against me. I was a few inches taller than her, so she was pretty regularly putting her head between my boob''s.


    I pushed her back again and said "Later, for now we need to keep going." At some point we had stopped, and Lyla was getting impatient. She was chuffing and kept pacing because she has always liked to search for things but with me being a shut-in, she hadn''t gotten many chances.


    After 30 minutes or so we arrived. Lyla sat down next to what looked like a cave that was so generic it actually caused me to laugh. Standing out of the ground was 1 rock that shot straight up to the right, and another that was longer shot up to the left making an almost doorframe. The back was another rock when I walked around it.


    "What''s so funny?" Alice asked as we were looking at the cave.


    "In almost every RPG the main character has to go to a cave or underground dungeon. When you get there it usually looks like this." I paused to get my point across. "In. Every. Single. One." I kept pointing at the cave as I paused for each word.


    "Hmm. I guess that would be funny." She said as she looked at me still chuckling a bit.


    "Sorry, it''s just I''ve seen this a few hundred times and it always got me excited. But now that I''m looking at one in person, I realize how lack luster it is." I forced myself to get over this and decided to press on. "Let''s peak inside. Get your weapons ready and we''ll just check it out for a few minutes."


    "Alright, should we report back first?"


    "I''d say yes or no but just answering that question is a flag. Just keep alert and shoot anything that moves. We''ve triggered too many death flags to go home now. Let''s cut a few down and then we''ll head back."


    "You haven''t led me down the wrong path yet, let''s fuck shit up." She raised her bow in the air.


    I knelt down to Lyla. "Good job girl. If you keep us safe and help us get home, you''ll get so many treats." She started shaking her golden tail so hard her body was rocking side to side. I couldn''t help but laugh. "Good girl you know what''s up." I said as the 3 of us headed into the cave.


    I was ecstatic the instant we stepped in. The floor and walls glowed just like in the books and I could feel an energy throughout the cave. Before I knew it, I heard myself say "It''s a real-life dungeon." I was feeling up the walls and looking at every little detail. Before too long I heard squeaking from in front of me. I readied 2 spears since I went a bit overkill with the Orc. As I did that a mouse like creature came around the corner and I stuck it to a wall by impaling it. It squeaked one last time and then died.


    "Ruthless." I head Alice mutter. "Even though it''s so cute." She knelt in front of it and pulled out her phone and took a quick picture.


    "Would you rather I let it make some scars on me?" I asked boldly.


    "From what I''ve seen you have too many scars." She stopped herself there. "Sorry, that sounded better in my head." She hung her head.


    "It''s fine." I waved my hand in front of me and continued. "We are going to talk about them sometime but not right now." I knelt down and split the head of my victim open looking for my monster shard, but I couldn''t find it. "Bull shit!" I spit the words to my side.


    "What''s up Rei?"


    She dropped a nickname in a time like this? I couldn''t help but smirk. "No shard. I''m gonna check the rest. After some digging, I found a clear shard that was identical to the Orcs from earlier. I felt better and said "Found it! Now what do we do with the body?" I stood and decided we would clean any gore but leave the corpses along the walls "Most dungeons clean themselves in books." Was the excuse I gave even if it was true.


    "Alright let''s make some progress." Alice shouted as she nocked an arrow and we headed forward.


    It didn''t take long for another mouse to find us. This one looked the same but instead of brown it was a bright green. It was the same size and had the same mask coloring as a raccoon on its face. The differences were minimal at best. Alice finished this one with one arrow and I found the shard in the heart like the last creature. We swept it to the corner and Alice cleaned the arrow.


    "How do you want to continue?" I asked her.


    "Well if the few games I played on my phone were a hint to anything- "She stopped talking as she shot another mouse, blue this time, between the eyes. "We need to kill a bunch for data, right?" she started back up like it was nothing and I fetched her arrow and another shard.


    As I moved the body I decided. "OK we''ll continue on until the monsters get stronger or one of us gets tired." I looked in my bag and made a small metal box to keep the shards safe.


    "Sounds good to me." Alice beamed a smile. "I need you to fix these for me first." She held out 3 arrows. I started to fuse the cracks and right as I finished, I heard more squeaking. "I got this, you fix those."


    "Alright. Don''t you dare step away from me though." She had 20 standard and 20 serrated tips usually so 3 wasn''t a big loss. She stood straight and prepared to fight. "It''s always 1 at a time..." She mumbled as she killed another mouse. This one was pink with a purple "mask."


    "I''m glad it''s just 1." I said honestly. "I know we are much stronger than them, but a hoard may still overwhelm us." I made a spear and started carrying it. I decided I would carry one to fight to save my mental stamina.


    "I guess that''s true but given how small these things are you would think they would work together." We kept exploring while collecting the monster shards for about 45 minutes.


    "I think we should head back now." I said to Alice as I carved another monster shard. I was getting a bit tired and didn''t want to risk my stamina getting much lower given we will get assaulted on the way back.


    "Sounds good. Not that I even know what they do but we got a good haul already." She took my hand to help me up when I saw something weird with the floor.


    "What''s that?" I said quietly.


    "What''s what?" Alice replied back.


    "The floor there is different." We had reached a dead end and in the corner the floor bulged up about 10 inches. I kept my distance to be safe and started digging. Almost immediately I saw a small piece of bluish metal sticking out. "Maybe it''s like a treasure chest?" I muttered to myself.


    Alice walked over and scooped up the chunk. "This stuff looks weird. It''s definitely metal but it feels strange and it''s really light but hard." She tossed it to me and I stopped it in the air.


    "OH!" I shouted. "I can definitely use this." I could feel more energy in this than I''d felt in other metal. I tried to manipulate it but couldn''t do more than any other type I''d used in the past. "Let''s get home first, then we can play." I smiled and turned as Alice ran up alongside.me.


    As we were leaving the cave, I noticed the monsters we had killed closer to the entrance were gone. I''d say they took about 10 minutes to disappear. We were killing them consistently on the way back when something strange happened.


    Alice shot the gray mouse with an arrow and in a puff of dark blue smoke the mouse was gone. "Wait what?" Alice looked around carefully, but the mouse was nowhere to be found.


    I approached where the corpse should have been and found the arrow she shot and a small rock. I lifted the rock and arrow and walked back to Alice. "Is there anything around us Lyla?" I decided to ask. I looked, and she was relatively calm. She had been tensing up whenever we got close to monsters, so I looked over the rock with Alice. "Is it maybe a rare drop?" I asked her


    "You got me." She looked at the rock in my hand and the bloodied arrow in the other. She took the arrow back making sure to grip my hand slightly before she took the arrow.


    This girl is flirting in the middle of a dungeon. I thought to myself. "Let''s just get back. We''ll play with it later." Is all I said. Then it hit me. "You know it''s probably like the metal earlier. An earth user will probably know more.


    "That makes sense." She nodded. "Not sure how many times I''m gonna say it in my life but your brain is definitely unique." She looked at me and added, "In a good way."


    "Thanks, let''s go." With that we headed out of the dungeon.


    When we made it back into the woods the first thing Alice did was put her bow over her shoulder and then latch onto me. If I said it was a problem I would be lying since I had grown rather fond of it, we walked back to the tree stand and gathered up our supplies when Alice came over and whispered to me "We have a watcher, what should we do."


    "I''m pretty sure they are harmless but to be safe fire a warning shot from the bow." I whispered back. We had been followed from about the halfway mark between the cave and the tree stand.


    Without a word and in one swift motion Alice drew bow and arrow and fired so it hit a tree.


    "Sorry! Sorry!" We heard an elderly man''s voice. "I was checking to see if you were dangerous." An older man with streaks of gray poked his head out. He pulled the arrow out if the tree and approached.


    "Careful old man." I didn''t get a good feel from him and would end him in an instant if he tried anything. I felt Alice leaning against me looking over my shoulder. Keeping her mouth hidden she whispered in my ear. "Yeah, I know." We were on the same page, so I said, "Leave it on the ground and walk away."


    "This is no place for 2 women to be alone." He had an evaluating eye and it felt disgusting.


    "Well since this is my property, I''m not all that worried." I owned back here and a bit more. The dungeon was probably on my property too.


    "Oh, is that so. I apologize for trespassing. I was just trying to get away from trouble and wound up here." He kept trying to get closer and I kept stopping him.


    "Don''t you mean we?" I was done playing his game. There were 3 men including this man and I would destroy them if they tried anything.


    "Oh, your sharp. No wonder you''re at a tree stand. How''d the hunt go anyways?" he stepped forward as he said that, and I''d had enough.


    "Turn around and walk away right now. I don''t want to kill someone, but I will." I raised my crossbow and pointed it at him while I ran some metal from my bag into the ground.


    "Same goes for me." Alice said calmly as she aimed directly at a man up in a tree.


    "Bitch, just shut up!" a man yelled and rushed in. Before anyone could do anything, he crumbled to ash without a sound. Behind him was Kara and Zack.


    "You were late for dinner, so we came searching. I remembered you saying you came out here few times." Kara was breathing heavy from killing someone.


    The man under Alice''s gaze put his hands up while the elderly man decided to charge. The instant he stepped within range I raised the metal and impaled him. His body slumped, and I pulled the metal back to myself.


    "I can make wind, so they forced me." The man said. He had plenty of fresh cuts and bruises on his body, so I was inclined to believe him.


    "Fine, but everyone will be told how we met. If I hear anything negative about you." I paused for emphasis and stared him up and down. I then looked to the old man''s corpse and finished. "Well you get the idea."


    "Huh?"


    "Wait."


    "You can''t be serious."


    I heard the others say. I did think it was a bad idea, but he would make a good example whether he was good or not. If he behaved, he would show that we were a forgiving group and if he tried anything we would be seen as relentless towards rule breakers.


    "If he does something shitty, he dies. The 4 of us are all Judge, jury, and Executioners. If we decide he did something wrong." I paused again then decided to go back. "Even if he''s innocent but we decide otherwise he dies. He does however we see fit."


    "If you say so Rei." Alice was the first to chime in.


    "Alright but we can''t be bringing in every person we come across. And when did you start calling her Rei?" Zack followed up.


    "A little bit ago honestly but it just felt right y''know?" Alice replied nonchalantly.


    "If you think this is the right call." Kara hesitated. Probably thinking about Jenny and the other kids. She walked up to the man and got right up in his face. "We have young children at the base. If one of them says anything about you doing anything weird." She stopped, and a fire ball appeared floating just over her shoulder. "Do I make myself clear."


    "Y-y-yes ma''am." He stuttered out. Although she was a beautiful woman, she was also terrifying when she needed to be.


    With that we headed back. The prisoner whose name was Mark took the lead. He told us that the US government was conscripting people with certain abilities and the other 2 men were running. They were fire and metal users. Kara and me. Not to mention Gene, Lois, and Will. We''d sat down and decided we were sticking together as a whole, so this wasn''t a decision, but it could spell trouble. When we got back, I made a cell near the crops and had Mark get in. I grabbed some food and then went in the house.


    "Monsters are a thing now and I have a dungeon on my property." I cut right to the chase and the group was still not used to it. "Also, the government is trying to force people to help them. It should be easy enough to turn them down since we don''t need anything they are offering. Also, Alice and I tried some monster meat. It was delicious, but we want to make sure it''s not toxic before anyone else eats it. Any questions?" This part everyone was used too. They raised their hands and I called on them. "Gene?"


    "I''m not worried about the government, what with my age, but monsters? Dungeons? How are we supposed to handle that?"


    "The monsters are probably strong but since this isn''t a video game removing or destroying vital organs will kill them. At least that''s been the case for the 2 kinds Alice and I found. I went a bit overboard with the Orc."


    "A bit?" Alice interrupted me and started laughing. "She shot it with a crossbow and 5 spears as soon as she saw it. Then cut its head off before we even got close." She was holding her stomach from laughing so hard and I could feel heat from embarrassment enter my face.


    "A-Anyways." I cut back in. "It was an easy kill. The other was a mouse like creature in the actual dungeon. In games they''re called Puchi Suri, but that doesn''t matter. They are about the size of a house cat and look like a mouse with a raccoon mask."


    "Here." Alice said as she pulled up the picture on her phone. Everyone looked at it and then passed it around the room. "They can be a bunch of different colors, but they all share the same pattern. We saw 1 that was pure white, but it acted the same as the others. They squeak like crazy and charge. Nothing special just hit them in the head and they die."


    "Also, if you kill a monster." I reached into my bag and pulled out a monster shard. "These are located either in the brain or heart. I''m not sure why, but I plan on experimenting and passing information forward." More hands went up. "Kara?"


    "You didn''t bring up Mark. Why?" She looked concerned.


    "In all honesty, he''s not that big of a threat. He is weaker than Jenny or Darren and neither of them are our big hitters. Also, the bruises on his body and cuts make me think he was just someone they used." I looked at everyone and told them the story.


    "I don''t trust him but that doesn''t justify execution." Agatha said. She had shown the least mercy out of her group. "Where is he now? I would like a few words." She stood as she asked.


    "Out by the field. He is in a cell I made." She nodded and left the room. "Anyone else?" I scanned the room and a small hand shot up. "Yes Jenny?" I asked her.


    "Umm... If there are monsters what does that mean? Can they just be or is there a way to make them happen?" She looked frustrated as she tried to ask her question in a proper format.


    "I''m pretty sure they are formed in the dungeons and then just look for things to eat. That means they aren''t going to show up in the compound but outside of it you could run into some." I think I understood what she was really asking so I answered to the best of my ability. She looked a bit relieved with my answer. One hand went up next. "What''s up Leah?"


    "I remember seeing in a game the reason people hunted monsters in the dungeons was to stop them from leaving it. Is that how this works here?"


    "I can''t say yes or no. When we killed the Orc, Lyla led us directly to the cave that holds the dungeon. When we entered, we explored for about 45 minutes and headed back. The only monsters we found were the Puchi Suri''s. Oh yeah." I reached into my bag and pulled out the stone from earlier. "When we killed them, we usually harvested their monster shards but one puffed away in a cloud of smoke when it died, and this was there. We had found a strange metal in a dead end of the dungeon and I was curious if this rock was similar. Catch." I tossed the rock to her and when it got close, she stopped it in midair and then grabbed it.


    "This is new. I can feel this, and it feels good". Zack came over and looked at it.


    "I wonder what it does." He stated flatly as he looked it over.


    "When I played with this one." I pulled out the metal chunk. "It didn''t sap my mental stamina as much as normal metal. It''s almost like it''s easier to manipulate."


    Zack lifted it and formed some shapes with it. Possibly what he did before he went to sleep every day since Alice and I shared our results with everyone and it quickly became the norm to see some piece of something shifting when someone was getting ready for bed.


    "It''s probably less than half the energy." He said quickly. "It could help a lot if we got a large amount."


    "He won''t be a problem." Agatha came back into the room and said. "Let him out. He''s agreed to be attached to me with metal at all times for 6 months."


    "That''s... An idea I guess." Alice was the first to say anything.


    As I saw her looking at me, I said. "Never gonna happen Hun. Never ever." I patted her shoulder and walked out to check with Mark. I stopped turned back in and said, "Meeting adjourned." Then chuckled and walked out.


    I pulled apart Marks cell and approached him. "Agatha says your willing to be physically attached to her for 6 months to prove you aren''t a risk." I said plainly.


    "When she gave me the idea, I thought she was crazy. We are going to be seeing a lot of each other and she is beautiful. If she is willing who am I to complain. With that I made some slightly bulky cuffs and put them around their ankles. Next, I combined them together with a few links. They couldn''t be more than 5 feet apart, but it should be enough.


    "There, done. Try it out." I said.


    "It''s fine." Agatha said. She then grabbed Mark and they started practicing moving.


    "Well that solves that." Alice said as she took my hand. I need to go inside first so I''ll catch you at dinner. She gave me a peck on the cheek and ran inside.


    "What was that about?" Kara asked.


    "I told her I like her earlier and she said the same." I blushed a bit, but I''ve never liked hiding information.


    "Oh my." Kara said as she pretended to fan herself "Is it warm in here or is it just me?" She was teasing me pretty bad, but I''d really missed this.


    "You and Zack never doubted me, right?" I asked as I leaned my head onto her shoulder. "You knew I loved you guys this whole time, right?" I hadn''t spoken to them since the funerals. I had locked myself in the house and only left for work and when a class I wanted to take required I leave the house.


    "There was never a doubt in our minds Reirei." She called me my least favorite nickname. The one my Dad called me when I was a baby and Zack and Kara both used affectionately.


    "I still hate being called that though." I smiled as I made a fist and playfully tapped her stomach.


    Maya and Tina came by and headed to the garden. They were the dinner crew almost every day. I waved at them and they both gave small smiles and then started to gather some vegetables and fruits. I had some fruits in the fridge when things went weird and we tried planting them. We got apples, oranges, grapes and strawberries. It was strange seeing plants from different climates and seasons all growing together.


    "Hey Kara?" I asked


    "What''s up?" she asked back.


    "I really want to reward everyone for everything they''ve done but I don''t know how. What would be a good way to raise everyone''s spirits?" I had been trying to come up with something but other than the dear meat I wasn''t sure.


    "I mean why? You have given everyone here a home and have only asked for help they are willing to give. Every person here is glad to be here. Some may miss their loved ones but that doesn''t mean they want to leave. It''s not just about the safety you provide but also because you don''t hide information and if you find something useful you tell everyone." She was looking at me with respect. "You may not want to hear it, but Lexi would be so, so, SO proud of your strength." She gave me a big hug and squeezed me tightly. "Mom too. Dad would just say something like about time you stepped up, but he would be so proud."


    "Thanks Kara." I felt tears running down my face, but they weren''t from sadness this time. I felt like everything she said was right. I chuckled when I thought of Dad. "Although Dad would be furious that those games and books, he always gave me a hard time for, helped create this."


    "Oh yeah." She started laughing as Zack walked over. "Hey Zack, what do you think Dads reaction would be knowing that the games Reika played helped save us?" She asked calmly.


    He immediately grinned ear to ear. "Oh, he would be hemming and hawing till next year if he knew. Even though he gave us freedom to do what we wanted I never understood his hatred of games." He added.


    I replied. "He was a big show off. He probably didn''t like not being able to just prove how good someone was at something. You would have to really meet certain criteria to see someone''s skill at certain games."


    They both nodded, then Kara said. "To be fair his show offy ways are why Mom fell in love with him. She told me once that he was bragging about something no normal person would and she found it to be adorable. After that she was in love."


    "That''s mom alright. Aww how cute." Zack said in a somewhat girly voice. "I love it and it''s mine now." He finished. We were all laughing as we entered the garage.


    Inside Alice and Jenny were smiling at each other and when they saw us Alice ran over. I put my hand out and she took it and we went inside. The kitchen was full again. Even though we had built the new houses everyone continued to eat here together. There was enough room for everyone to eat together but cooking was a problem. As we squeezed through Kara stayed behind to help while Zack went off to find Delilah.


    "Ugh..." I said as I sat down. Out of nowhere Jenny appeared and sat in my lap as Alice leaned against me. "We just can''t get a break." I knew I shouldn''t say it but there was so much going on.


    "We''ll figure it out." Alice said and started playing with my hair. "It''s not like we have a choice." She added and smiled.


    "I''m so glad I get to see that pretty smile." I said as I looked at her. I did not mean to say that out loud but oh well. I followed up. "When you got here your grin was so fake it was irritating." I added on.


    She coughed at what I said and then looked at me. "That. That was nice." She leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek.


    "No." Jenny reached up and pushed Alice right by the face. With her small hands blocking her mouth Alice pulled back and laughed.


    After dinner I went upstairs to my room and changed. When I came out of the bathroom Alice was sitting on my bed and patted next to her. "I talked to Jenny and she gave me tonight if I promised not to attack." She looked at the floor and turned red. "So, I won''t attack you..." She was mumbling.


    I did not need any more help. I walked right up to her and gave her a forceful and meaningful kiss and immediately went for her shirt. Before long I found myself pulling her bra off and then was looking at her everything.


    "It''s definitely embarrassing when you stare." She whispered. I pulled my shirt off and before I knew it, we were naked in front of each other. "Even more beautiful than I thought."


    All I could think of were my scars. They were from the accident and there were marks on my shoulders, my stomach my back and my legs. They stood out against my pale skin and I definitely was self-conscious about them. I moved forward and gave her another kiss and pushed her onto the bed.


    After some time went by, we were laying face to face in my bed. I was playing with her shoulder length blonde hair and she was smiling. She looked at the scars on my shoulders and ran her fingers across them. It tickled but I knew what she was going to say so I laid there quietly waiting.


    "Is this from the accident?" She finally asked. She didn''t seem nervous and she kept going. "Could you tell me about it?" We had an unspoken agreement. When either of us pushed the other would answer. It was our way of helping each other.


    I laid there with her hair in one hand and my other wrapped around the small of her back. I nodded and decided I would tell her as much as I could. "OK. But if I reach a point that I can''t continue you have to let me stop for now. OK?" I looked her in the eye. She lowered her head and gave a gentle kiss to the scar on my left shoulder.


    "OK."