Chapter 22: Survival and Choices

January 30, 2024 11:41 PM

Samantha and the rest of the group followed William in silence as he led them closer and closer to Lindale. Despite the near pitch black night, William weaved his way through the forest with practiced ease and it was almost like he could see in the dark. A few times he had to stop to let the rest of them catch up as they tried to stay quiet yet move quickly. Each time, though, he simply smiled at them and slowed his pace a bit to let them keep up better.

As they moved, Samantha was worried by the lack of noise in the forest. Even at night, a forest like this should have nocturnal creatures moving about and causing some noise. Owls hooting, deer moving through the brush, etc... But this forest was dead silent andSamantha was fairly sure why. Catmonsters...

Time seemed to lose itself in the darkness of the forest as they keep moving. Samantha couldn't tell how much time had passed or how far they had gone when William, finally, brought them to a halt. He looked back at them with an oddly familiar stern glare, almost like Darius’ usual look. He motioned for them to hold here before vanishing into the darkness of the forest. The group looked around in worry and anticipation as they waited for William to reappear. After a few seconds of waiting, movement snapped them all around, but they all relaxed when they saw it was William coming back. He moved toward Susan and the two whispered between each other for a few seconds. Susan gave William a nod of understanding before he waved them all forward.

The small group moved up and further into the forest. After a second or two of travel, they slowly approached the lip of a large ridge. The ridge was bare of any trees or rocks, but rose high into the air, probably about two to three scale stories. The glow of lights silhouetted the ridge’s outline and the soft murmur of voices could just barely be heard past the ridge. They must be close to Lindale, but still a long ways away considering the volume of the voices. William signaled for them to stay back in cover before motioning Susan, herself, and one of the other soldiers she thought was from Darius' squad to him. They all moved up to William and he made them huddle together to hear.

"We need to get eyes up on that ridge, but its lack of cover makes staying there not an option. I need all of you to come with me so we can scan the area as quickly as we can, alright?" William said with the same stern look that looked completely at odds with his earlier smile. Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Good. Susan, you have the far left, Samantha, you will get the middle left, I'll take the middle right, and Nathan will take the far right. Scan the area for just a second before getting back into cover and try to remember as much as you can. Hopefully, we won't see anything but more forest and the edge of Lindale, but if you do see any Society start back immediately. The rest of us will take the hint and run back as well. Got it?" William said letting a bit of his old smile come back. They all nodded again as he gave them a thumbs up. He pulled out of the huddle and motioned them to follow him.

They followed him to the very edge of the woods and all four of them go ready to rush out to the ridge. Samantha took a deep breath as she got ready to look over her area as quickly as she could. She glanced back at William and waited in anticipation for him to give the order.

As she waited she started to hear a strange noise.. It was soft...very soft. So soft she doubted she would have heard it if it wasn't so quiet. It sounded almost like a buzzing noise, kinda like a bug flying around only not quite right, doubly so with it being winter. Samantha looked back at Susan and tapped her ear. Susan gave her a confused look before closing her eyes. She opened them and  tapped her own ear to confirm she was hearing it too. Samantha was about to look over to William when, suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind.

Samantha didn't dare scream, but did go straight for her knife. Her unknown assailant grabbed her arm before it could reach, however, and pulled her around the tree she had been near. She looked up at the figure and stopped fighting as she saw the big grey beard of William. He pressed both of them tighter against the tree as the buzzing grew louder and silently shhed her.

Suddenly, light burst into life from above the ridge they had been about to run onto to. Samantha swore inside her head as she realized just how close they had come to being spotted. If they had gone out a few seconds earlier...

William whispered out a sorry before pressing in even closer to Samantha to try and keep behind the tree.. Samantha might have been slightly disguisted if she wasn't busy being surprised just how fit William felt. He might have been old, but he was still just as fit as anyone else. In fact, if he had been a couple of decades younger, or her older, she might find this rather appealing. His arms were strong, yet held her gently, while his chest had just enough to it to be impressive. And that determined and stern look on his face... He almost seemed a few decades younger like this and looked more like a soldier than the old grandpa from before.

The light shifted around the area, scanning the treeline they were at. The soft buzzing now made sense as she realized it was the muffled noise of fairy wings. No one really understood how, but fairies could make their wings nearly silent despite how huge they were. William must have heard the buzz too and recognized what it was. The fairy scanned the tree line for a second more before the light disappeared and the buzzing slowly drifted away. William slowly moved away from Samantha before letting out a long relieved sigh.

"Phew...too close... getting too old for this," he whispered before patting his chest. Samantha let out her own held breath as the fairy left and she was freed from William's, not unwelcome, grasp

"Sorry about that, Samantha, but I couldn't risk saying anything with the fairy so close by," WIlliam said giving her an apologetic smile. The stern, almost heroic, figure from before was long gone and now William looked like the old granddad from before. Only embarrassed by having to get into her personal space. Samantha hide her bewilderment at how quickly he had changed and waved the apology off.

"It's fine. I should have been paying attention," Samantha said with an embarrassed look of her own. She should have been looking at William and not Susan when she had heard that noise, stupid. William patted her on the shoulder and shook his head.

"Now I won't have any self-criticism. You were paying attention considering you heard the buzz before I did. In fact, the only reason I heard it is because you were pointing it out to Susan. I just happened to know what that noise was is all. Lack of experience is nothing to be angry at yourself about, so no beating yourself up, OK?" William said, sounding even more like a grandad. Samantha was a bit surprised by his kind words, but managed to smile and nod. William gave her one last pat on the shoulder before motioning for their group to move back into the woods.

They had barely taken two steps before William snapped around and motioned them all down again. Samantha dived back behind the tree she had been using while everyone else scrambled for cover. William and Nathan dived behind the same tree while Susan slid behind a dead shrub. They had just gotten out of sight when the light came flashing back down on them. Shit, the fairy was still here! Fuck, it had just pretended to fly away to try and lure them out! This was one smart fairy...too smart!

The light moved over the area they were hiding in and Samantha swore as she tried to stay in the trees shadow. The others of the group did the same and were barely able to stay away from its revealing rays. Finally, the light moved away from them, but headed toward where the rest of their group was. Fuck, she hoped the others had noticed and had taken cover. Samantha risked a quick peek out to look up at the fairy and to see if it spotted anyone. She looked up at the fairy and her eyes widened in shock.

It was definitely at fairy, but one unlike any Samantha had seen before. It was big, even for a fairy, and looked at least a foot and a half tall, maybe bigger. Not only was it big, but it was more developed too. All fairies looked like young girls, though they were far from such. This one, though, looked more like a young teenager with well rounded hips and breasts that were probably in the B-cups in scale to its size. And then there was its face... She had never seen a fairy that didn't have a damn smile on its face, save for when it was hurt. This one, however,  had a determined stare that looked far too…stern and... human for a fairy. Samantha might not have believed it was a fairy if not for the large bug-like wings and the green antenna hair it had. She swore to herself before ducking back into cover.

"Holy shit," Samantha mouthed silently to herself. She bit her lower lip in worry as she wondered just what this fairy could do. A normal one was dangerous enough with their strange powers and being able to fly. This one...there was no telling what it could do. And with them so close to Lindale... Thankfully, the light went out again and Samantha risked a quick peek to watch it fly off for real this time. She let out her held breath and sank to the ground. Holy shit...what had she gotten herself into?

Slowly, the others began to come out, but stayed near their hiding places, probably worried that this was another trick. Nathan, however, leap away from them tree he had ducked behind with a disgusted look on his face. Susan gave him a harsh glare, but Nathan motioned toward the tree.

“He touched my ass!” he loudly whispered in horror. Samantha looked over and saw William come out from behind the tree, a slight smirk on his face. Susan, however, gave them both a harsh glare before motioning for Nathan to zip it. Nathan looked about to say something before Susan started to move toward him. He clammed up at that point, even going so far as to put his hand over his mouth. Susan turned the glare on William at that point, but the old man just shrugged at it.

Samantha got back to her feet as Susan shook her head in disguist. With them all gathered up, William motioned them back toward the rest of the squad and started to head that way. Samantha started to follow before he mind snapped back into gear. Shit, she needed to tell William what she saw. He needed to know they were not dealing with a normal fairy.. She moved up and managed to catch up with him without tripping over something in the dark. She tugged on his shoulder to get him to lean in so she could whisper to him.

"The fairy from before wasn't normal. It was a lot bigger and more...developed. It looked more like a teenager rather than a child. And it wasn't smiling, it looked...like it was thinking," Samantha whispered into his ear. William turned to give her a studying look, as if hoping to see it was a lie. It was no lie, though, and William looked to see that as he cursed. He rubbed his beard he thought before mouthing a thanks. He moved a little faster and urged the others to move quicker too. As they went, Samantha could almost swear the buzzing was still there... In fact, she knew it was and the others noticed it too. William looked above them as he keep rubbing his beard.

Samanta was sure William would stop, but he keep pressing forward back to where they had left the other four people. The buzzing wasn't stopping either, quite the opposite as it seemed to get louder. The others looked to notice it too and were starting to look around in worry. Yet onward William went. Didn't he hear it? Didn't he hear just how loud that buzzing was getting!? It had to be getting closer and closer and still he went on as it got loude-...wait...

Listening carefully, Samantha realized the sound wasn't getting closer, just louder. The fairy was making its wings louder, but wasn't closing in on them. But...why would it do that? What point was there to make itself more noticeable? Unless...unless it was trying to freak them out. But...there was no way a fairy was smart enough to do something like that. A normal fairy anyway, but this one wasn't normal... And she had just told William that it looked like it was thinking. Oh fuck, what the hell was chasing them?

Finally, the other four of their group came into view. They looked to be on the verge of losing it from the noise, but William motioned for them to stay calm. Luke looked about to talk, but William clamped his hands over his mouth. He placed his finger over Luke’s mouth before locking it, the sign for complete silence. They all nodded as William let go of Luke’s face and motioned for them to huddle around him.

William signed their orders without making a single sound. They were to stay in close formation and ready to dive for cover at a moments notice. There was to be no sound for any reason and all communication was to be in sign form. Most importantly, they were to carry out his orders without question. His grandfatherly look was completely gone as he gave his orders, replaced by a cold and stern glare. Everyone nodded their understanding, looking more comfortable now that William had taken full command. He motioned them to follow him as he moved out.

William lead them back toward the camp, at least Samantha thought that was where they were going, and it seemed as if the buzzing was getting softer as they went. However, it began to pick up volume as William called a halt. He looked back at them before looking up into the air as the buzzing keep up. Samantha tightened her grip on her launcher as everyone started to hold their breath.

Suddenly, William motioned them down and everyone dived into cover. Barely a second later, the light came back on and illuminated a part of the forest, though not the part they were in. Still, it was far too close for comfort and the fairy swung it over them more than once. This time, everyone got a look at the fairy and all of them, including Susan, looked stunned by it. Shit, what was here that was so important that the Society would break out a new weapon like that?

Samantha risked a glance at William between the sweeps and saw him giving the fairy an angry glare. Samantha could understand his frustration as they couldn't go back to the camp with it tailing them. After a few more seconds of the light moving through the forest, the fairy switched it off and moved away from them. William wasted no time in signaling them to follow him as he got them back to moving in another direction. People exchanged worried glances, but William didn't give them a chance to do more than that as he motioned them to move quicker.

Despite their sudden change in direction and speed, the buzzing seemed to stick right on them. William doubled back a few times, changed direction for no reason, and even headed back to where they had started, and still the buzzing followed. Sometimes it would decrease in volume and it looked as if they had finally lost it, only for it to come right back everytime. Every so often, William would motion for them to hide and a second later the light would come on. It was never right on top of them, but was too close too many times to be just coincidence. Samantha couldn't understand how, but this thing was tracking them despite every trick William was throwing at it.

They tried moving faster, they tried moving slower, they even tried stopping for a few minutes and still that damn buzzing was there. William, even, managed to catch a deer and set it off in the opposite direction to try and lure it away, but to no avail. The fairy never saw them, but it never lost them either. And that damn buzzing...constantly, constantly buzzing that set them all on edge and wouldn't let up…Its volume constantly changed and they fairy looked to be purposely switching on its light at different volumes. They were never safe, even when the buzzing sounded far away.

Samantha rubbed her eyes and had to fight back the urge to let out a long yawn. They had been at this for...hours? she wasn't really sure anymore. The others, including Susan, were looking just as exhausted as Samantha. Even William was showing signs of running out of steam and was stroking his beard like mad. This was bad...even if they could keep avoiding the fairy, eventually they would be run ragged and it would be all over. Or, failing that, the sun would rise and there would be no more places to hide. They had to ditch this mutant fairy soon or none of them were getting back, but how?

Samantha couldn’t fault William for it staying with them. He had done so many crazy maneuvers, she had no idea where they were. Yet still the buzzing keep on them. Still it sounded like it was right on top of them. Still it didn’t lose them. Still the ever present pressure of being found was there...

They had doubled back over their double back after having doubled back on a random turn...or something, Samantha wasn't sure anymore, but the ever-present buzzing had followed right along. Samantha was fighting off another yawn when she heard a noise that was not the damn buzzing. It was...something else, something...oh God no...

Samantha moved up to William and tapped him before putting her hands above her head. William stopped rubbing his beard as his eyes widened. He stopped to listen for a second and, sure enough, the sound came again. William's shoulders slumped down as he shook his head. Sniffing...loud sniffing...a catmonster. Whether it was feral or with the Society didn't matter. It had their scent now and was heading toward them. There was no way out of this. Ditching a catmonster that had your scent was a feat in an of itself, doing it while trying to lose a fairy that had proven to be unlosable... This was it. There was no getting out of this. They could maybe delay their deaths, but with both monsters after them it was only a matter of time.

The others stopped as they moved up and Samantha gave them the bad news. They all reacted to the news as one would expect. Most just slumped over, accepting the inevitable. Susan silently cursed and shook her head. Luke just stood there, seemingly in shock before rubbing his head. All Samantha could think about was poor Jacob. He would never know what happened to her and would be left all alone...Dammit, she should have said no to this mission or demanded Jacob come too. After getting so angry at Derek for leaving Jacob, she had done the same damn thing...she just hoped he could forgive her, even if she didn't deserve it.

The sniffing came again, only louder this time, and Samantha sighed to herself. She took in a deep breath and unslung her launcher. She might be about to die, but she was going die like Jessica had, fighting. She sure as hell wasn’t going to roll over and accept death, she was going to leave some scars in testament to herself if nothing else. Susan and a few others saw her and took out their own weapons. Death would take them kicking and screaming too, and Samantha smiled at them. William glanced at her and looked about to tell them to stop, before his eyes lit up. His beard spread out as a big grin came over his face.

William, excitedly, motioned for Samantha's launcher and she, apprehensively, handed it over to him. He took out the rocket that was inside it and set the launcher aside. He messed with the warhead, moving a few wires and other stuff, for a second before smiling to himself. Samantha tried to see what he was doing, but the darkness made it impossible to make out. With... whatever had been done finished, he opened his coat and took out a large slab of salted meat he had, apparently, being saving. Luke seemed about to say something before Nathan clamped his hands over his mouth. Luke glared at Nathan before motioning toward the meat in a "what the hell" manner. Susan gave William a confused look as well as he held up his finger to ask for a minute. He placed the meat onto the warhead before taking a bit of rope he had and wrapping it onto the rocket.  He looked over his meat missile before smiling and poking a few holes in it. A bit of blood and some of the smell began to waft out, causing the sniffing of the catmonster to increase. Oh great, now the catmonster was going to find them faster, and yet William looked pleased.

William shoved the meat rocket into the launcher and raised it up toward the sky. Samantha and the rest gave him a stunned look as William got a smile on his face. What in the hell was he doing?! Susan looked about to move to stop him, but wasn't quick enough.

"Hey, over here!" he yelled out as all of their jaws dropped. Fuck, he had just gave their position away! And one rocket wouldn't take down a fairy, much less a giant mutant one! And what the hell was the meat for?! Before anyone could stop him or say something, the bright light flashed down right onto them. Samantha blinked and tried to look up at the fairy, but couldn't see past the harsh glare of the light. William, however, spun around to the light with a big smile.

"I see your check, and give you a Checkmate!" he said before firing the rocket straight toward the fairy. Samantha swore as she wondered if William had gone senile from old age. The fairy would just blow that rocket off course with her powers and it would miss completely. William SHOULD know that, but then again he should, also, know not to have random meat on him. Samantha blinked some of the glare away and saw the fairy raise its hand. Dammit, that old fucker had made it where she couldn't even die figh-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the missile exploded mid flight, sending a spray of shrapnel and meat flying straight into the fairy. They fairy yelled in surprised as the meat splattered all over her chest and the light moved away from them as the fairy moved away from them a bit.

"What th- Oh gross!" the fairy said as it looked to debate between wiping the meat off or it being too gross to touch. Samantha and everyone else stared up at the disguisted fairy and wondered if this was his bright idea, splatter the fairy with meat to make it too grossed out to chase them... Yep, he was just an old crazy fart and Samantha wished she had never thought he was appealing in anyway. Some grandfather...

"What the bloody hell are you all doing?! Stop staring and RUN!" William said as he took off to the side. Samantha was tempted just to stay, but William still had her launcher. With an annoyed growl, she took off after him, intent on getting her weapon back before she died. Maybe even use it on him for wasting one of her missiles. The others followed after her since there was really no other choice save to stay and die.

"HEY! Come back!" the fairy yelled as it started to fly after them, the flashlight shining down on them. Samantha cursed as she sprinted through the oddly lit forest, trying to catch the speedy William. What the fuck was the point of THAT?! The fairy hadn't even been distracted for a second before it came after them and now they were all as good as dead. The fairy leaned down as she flew after them and her free hand began to come down toward them. Fuck, she wouldn’t even get to use her damn launcher now!

"Dammit, William, what happened to not getting killed?!" Luke yelled as he tried to pump his legs faster. The rest all glared up at William but looked too busy running to cuss him out.

"Still in effect, old boy! Just keep running and don't stop for an-" his voice was drowned out as a booming meow echoed through the forest. Samantha glanced back as the fairy turned to the side and got a shocked look. Suddenly, a catmonster came pouncing out of the forest, flying over their heads, and crashed into the fairy. The two of them crashed back into the ground sending a huge quake through the ground. They group barely managed to keep their feet as they suddenly found themselves sprinting through a pitch black forest in the middle of an earthquake.. Behind them, the fairy cried out in pain as the catmonster let out another rumbling meow.

"Get...OFF ME! OWWW!" the fairy yelled as Samantha heard the two of them starting to fight. Samantha had to slow down as she began to bump and trip into things in the forest and could hear the rest doing the same. Just a few yards ahead of them, though, she could just make out William's figure.

"HAHA, maybe I'm not out of the game just yet. Make sure you remember that tactic next time you are caught between a fairy and a catmonster!" he said as his shoulders bounced up with his laughter. Son of a bitch...he had used the meat to make the catmonster and the fairy fight. The catmonster had smelled the meat on the fairy and now that the fairy was food… Samantha wasn't sure if William was a genius or just a lucky idiot. To be honest, she didn't really care at that moment.

Behind them, they could hear the fairy and the catmonster fighting. The fairy grunting and cried in pain and exertion as the catmonster hissed and meowed in response. Soon, the sounds of wind being blasted around along with the crashing of titanic bodies into the ground drowned out all other sounds. A battle of monsters was happening behind them, and they needed to get as far from it as possible. William took the lead again as they moved as fast as they dared back to camp. They hadn't succeeded, but at least they were alive.

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Sanders rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on what was going on. Despite Gabby assuring him that he had sleep for six hours, he sure as hell didn't feel like it. He fought off another yawn as he tried to focus on what the soldier in front of Darius was saying.

"-und no sign of Society activity. We did find large amounts of animals and other wildlife that looked to have been displaced by the Society moving into Lindale along with plenty of abandoned buildings., however," the soldier said. Sanders shook the cobwebs out of his head as he tried to focus on what was going on.

He was inside the Command tent with Darius and the rest of the Phoenix leadership, minus William. Darius had called him here once two of the scout groups had reported back. The soldier in the middle of the room giving the report was a runner sent by the Western group. They were still exploring, but had sent this guy back with an update on their progress. Behind him was the Scout who had lead the southern group who keep at parade rest.

"Did Benjamin send a map with you?" Darius asked as he tapped his finger on the table in thought. The soldier nodded and took out a rolled up bit of scrap paper from his jacket. He handed it to Darius who set it aside.

"We'll look at it once we hear from Hannah. Thank you, Holland, go get some rest," Darius said with a dismissing wave. Holland nodded and rushed out of the command tent, looking eager to carry out that order with a big yawn. Everyone else, save Darius, looked to want to take that order as well. Derek rubbed his eyes a bit while Gerard slapped himself a little. Jimmy simply yawned and shook his head. Sanders didn’t bother looking to see what Kimberly was doing.

Hannah moved forward once Holland was gone and gave a short salute to them. Darius nodded for her to start as Sanders tried to pinch himself more awake. It worked for a second, but not much longer.

"Sir, we were successful in finding the Marauders and getting an estimation of their numbers. They are a few miles outside of Lindale and look to be holding back to keep from attracting Society attention. I saw at least thirty or more vehicles ready to engage and many were patrolling the southern edge of Lindale. I find it highly likely that they are looking for us, sir, and are waiting for us to attempt to leave Lindale. It would, therefore, be unwise for us to attempt any movement to the south," Hannah said in a crisp, military-like tone. Sanders blinked a few times at her demeanor and wondered if she had been part of the military before all this.

Derek swore to himself at the news as Darius shook his head. He looked saddened by this development, but didn't look at all surprised by it. Sanders supposed he should be concerned too, but couldn't help but be grateful. With the Marauders just waiting for them to try and escape back to Hope, retreat was no longer an option. They would have to stay and the longer they stayed the more time Sanders had to find what Manchent had left. Once this meeting was over, he might go do just that.

Darius dismissed Hannah and she gave a crisp salute before heading out of the tent. No sooner had she left did Derek let out a long drawn out sigh.

"Damn Marauders cut off our retreat. Now what are we going to do?" Derek asked as he rubbed his face in worry.

"We could just smash through them. Find where they are weakest and burn through," Gerard suggested with a smile. Derek rolled his eyes at that suggestion as Darius ignored them both. Jimmy simply rubbed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair while Kimberly remained silent in her corner. Sanders wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but he was glad it had.

"That would end badly. Pyrrha has already shown she can't outrun their vehicles and if they take her down, again, while chasing us..." Jimmy added in before shooting his head with his fingers. Gerard looked to want to debate it, but couldn't come up with a good comeback for that.

"We cannot stay here, either. The Society will find us, eventually, if we cannot find a place to hide. And, even if we do avoid them, the Marauders are sure to move in once they are gone. We need a place to lay low till they both leave, which means we need a place with lots of food and lots of hiding places," Darius said to no one in particular. Sanders, at first, didn't like this plan, but then again... If they had a place that was secure and hidden, he could take Pyrrha out to look without having to worry about them. Wasn't perfect, but it might be the best he could do till they got word back from the Northern and Eastern scouts. If- no they would come back. They had too.

Sanders glanced back at Darius and saw him take out the map Holland had brought. He unrolled it and spread it out on the table. Seeing nothing else to do, Sanders headed over to look at it as well.

The map was beyond rough and had the barest of bare bones markings. From what little Sanders could make sense of, the area had been a mostly rural area of the small town, farms and that sort of thing. A few houses were scattered about the area along with a few roads going about the place. The map ended when it reached a highway going south and north. To the north was written Rome while the south was marked with Cedartown. Oddly, Cedartown's name had a skull and crossbones by it.

"What's that for?" Sanders asked as he pointed out the mark. Darius glanced at it and, for a split second, his mask slipped into fear.

"To mark that we don't go there. No one goes there, not even the Society," Darius said with an edge in his voice. No o- fuck Sanders knew what that meant. It was one of those areas, the off limit places where people went to disappear. Sanders had to suppress a shudder of his own as he thought about his own close encounter with one. That had been before Flonne had joined the Ranger squad and that mission...actually he didn’t want to think about it.

Looking for anything to get his mind off that horrid memory, Sanders noticed a drawing of a large building on the map. It was rather far from Lindale and looked to be kind of out in the middle of nowhere, yet looked far too large to be a house and didn't look like the other badly drawn barns.

"What about that?" Sanders asked as he pointed it out to Darius. Darius, however, was already looking at it seemed just as confused by it as he was. He shook his head as Derek and Gerard came over to see what they were talking about.

"A warehouse maybe?" Gerard suggested as Derek sighed to himself.

"What would a warehouse being doing out in the middle of nowhere? No, its probably just something they misdrew," Derek said with a dismissing wave. Gerard gave him a glare and opened his mouth to fire back.

"Its Lindale Middle," Kimberly suddenly said from the side. Everyone glanced over to her as she looked over the map with a cold and uninterested face.

"W- I used to live here a few years before the shrink. It was so long ago, though, that I didn't bother bring it up, but I do remember the middle school was way out of town. Had to...do things there," Kimberly said as she turned to head back to her corner. Derek got a worried look and was about to go after her when Darius put his hand on his shoulder.

"Derek, leave it. This school might be our way of avoiding the Society and the Marauders. We wi-" Darius started, but Sanders stopped listening. He looked back at Kimberly and keep getting an odd nagging feeling. Something about what she had said...or...

Sanders blinked as for, just a second, Kimberly looked like Isabella again. Dammit he hated how much they looked alike. It wa-...wait...

Isabella mouthed something to him, but he couldn't understand...

Sanders eyes widened a bit as he remembered that. She had mouthed something to him, but he hadn't been able to understand it. Could it be... He went over to Kimberly and tried to keep his face as passive as possible, he didn't want to look desperate to her. She gave him a cold look as he came closer.

"Cou-...could you repeat the name of that school?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even. Kimberly's cold stare turned to a confused one as she studied him.

"Please, its important," he added. Kimberly stared at him for a moment more before sighed to herself and shrugging.

"Lindale Middle," she said, once again looking more like Isabella. No, it was too fast!

"No, slower like...like you are trying to get someone to understand who can't hear," Sanders said, giving up on trying to keep his anxiety and excitement off his face. Kimberly gave him an even more confused look before shaking her head.

“I don’t know what this is about, bu-”

"Please! Trust me, this is important!" Sanders begged as Kimberly turned back to him. She didn’t look happy about being interrupted, but sighed to herself as she shook her head..

"Lin-dale Mid-dle," Isabella mouthed just before telling him thank you. He pulled the trigger.

That was it...that was what she had been mouthing to him...Lindale Middle...it was Lindale Middle which meant....Which meant what Manchent left was in Lindale Middle!!! Sanders couldn't help himself as he hugged Kimberly.

“That’s it, that’s it! Thank you Kimberly!” he said with with a happy laugh. He let her go as she stared after him in complete shock. Darius and the others had turned to him in confusion as well and backed up a little as he rushed to them.

"I know what she meant, I know what Isabella was trying to tell me!" he said, as if any of them had any idea what that meant. All of them gave him a weirded out look and Sanders gave an annoyed sigh as he tried to calm himself down to explain.

"OK..OK... Just before I killed my Captain, Isabella, she was mouthing something to me. I figuring it was a clue as to where Manchent's thing could be found, but I never could figure out what she was saying. Kimberly, though, looks a good bit like Isabella, enough that I was able to figure out what she was trying to tell me. She was saying Lindale Middle. Which means Manchent’s thing, or at least a clue to its whereabouts, is there!" Sanders said as everyone looked at him in confusion, then curiosity, and then surprise.

"Are you sure?" Jimmy asked with a stunned look. Sanders nodded before turning back to Darius. Darius seemed, for once, at a loss for words. He looked about to say something when, suddenly, the tent flap burst inward as a soldier came rushing in.

"SIR! One of the last scout grou- or rather people came back, sir!" the soldier said, oblivious to what he had just interrupted. Darius shook out of his stupor and turned to the soldier, getting his usual mask on at the same time.

"What do you mean people?" he asked before raising a hand to stop Sanders from interrupting. Dammit, they didn't have TIME for this! They knew where Manchent's thing was!!! They needed to go!!

"Well...only one of them is back, sir. And he is...hurt, badly," the soldier said with a worried look. Kimberly sprinted out of the tent as soon as he was done and was followed by Derek.

"Lead the way," Darius told the soldier who saluted and started out. Sanders cursed inwardly at this happening at the worst time. Still, he couldn't help but be worried about whoever had just come back. And a man had come back...not William and not Saman- oh God no. Sanders went after Derek and Kimberly, his need to get to Lindale Middle forgotten in favor of worry. Shit, how could he have forgotten about the scouts still being out there looking for a way into Lindale?!

Sanders managed to follow them through the darkness, leaving the soldier, Darius, and the rest behind. There was a large amount of people gathered next to Pyrrha’s leg and both Kimberly and Derek were heading there. Sanders followed and came up to it a few seconds after them. He managed to push his way forward till he saw the man...or what was left of him.

The man's entire right arm was gone, just ripped completely off. His right side was covered in huge gashes and claw marks and it was a miracle he was even still awake considering all the blood he had lost. The blood soaked nurses near him were shaking their heads while Kimberly was whispering something to him as she cradled his body. Derek knelt nearby and waited for the man to stop gasping for breath.

"Devin, Devin, can you talk? What happened?" Derek asked as he leaned a little closer. Devin took a gasping breath as he tried to answer.

"Ca....cat....monsters....Got...half..mountain...C-Ch...rista...eat..." he stopped as he coughed up a bit of blood. He started to cry a bit as Kimberly shhed him and started to wipe away his tears.

"Shh...its OK...its OK. You did good, you did good. Don't worry about them, just rest," Kimberly said before cradling him closer. Devin stopped crying as Kimberly took his remaining hand in hers and held it tight. Devin gave a few more gasps for breathes before his head lolled to the side. Derek shook his head as he looked away while Kimberly pushed Devin's dead body away.

"Get a body bag and make sure you write his name down," Kimberly told her nurses as two of them went running off to the ladders. She sighed and rubbed her face before turning back to the small crowd that had gathered. She gave them an angry glare.

"The show is over, GO AWAY!" she yelled as the group scattered like fish from a pebble. Sanders stayed where he was as he wondered if Samantha was in his group. Darius and the rest arrived a second later and Darius moved to the body.

"Devin...one of mine that I sent north. Shame, he was a good soldier. Did he tell you anything before..?" Darius asked as if he was just asking for a drink. If that bothered Derek, however, he didn't show it.

"Not really. Sounded like they were attacked by catmonsters before they got to the mountain and that Christa was eaten. Guessing he is...was the only survivor," Derek said with a long sigh. Gerard kicked the ground in anger as he moved off to cuss to himself.

"Seems we won't be getting any intel from the mountain or be staying here any longer. Derek, get everyone ready to move out, we need to get out of here before his blood trail leads those catmonsters to us," Darius said with an annoyed sigh. Sanders snapped out of his shock of seeing the poor man bleed to death as he thought about something.

"Wait, we can't leave. William and his group haven't come back yet!" Sanders said as he turned to Darius. Darius turned to Sanders and gave him an emotionless stare.

"I am very well aware of that, however...I think we both know why that is," Darius said as his eyes went back down to the dead man. Sanders anger flared at that as he narrowed his eyes.

"We don't know that for sure and if they are alive, we will be leaving them to die! We can't do that, right?" Sanders said as he looked around for someone to side with him. Gerard, however, had wandered off, Jimmy simply looked away, Derek lowered his head to the ground, and Kimberly just gave him a cold, angry stare. She mouthed, “Just a doctor”, to him before turning away. Holy shit...they...they honestly were OK with this.

"We don't have a choice. A catmonster could be sneaking up on us right now and we would not know it. We have to leave before we are all killed," Darius said as he stared at Sanders. Sanders tightened his fist and was about to argue when a thought entered his head. Lindsey... He had tried to save everyone there too and how had that turned out?

"You said it yourself that you know where Manchent's legacy is now. We have come too far to let concern for a few stop us from saving the many. We have to go, now, or we put everyone here in danger. And if we are found and followed to Lindale Middle, all the sacrfices of all the people who got us here will be meaningless," Darius said with an unyielding stare.

“I can’t force you to make Pyrrha move, so the choice is yours. Do you risk everything for eight people, or doom eight to make sure we find what your Captain and Manchent gave their life to protect?” Darius asked with a stare that sent chills down Sanders spine.

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January 31, 2024 6:32 AM

Samantha gasped for breath as she tried to keep running. Only a..little further and...they would be back. The sun was already starting to rise over the horizon and everyone, even Susan and William were beyond exhausted. They had spent so many hours trying to lose that damn fairy and had moved around so much, that they had gotten lost in the tangle of trees. Finally, though, they had found the hill they had hide behind and now...now it was almost here. She couldn't wait to just flop down and sleep.

"Fuck...finally. Oh they better let us use the barracks to sleep after this shit," Luke said as he rushed to the front of the pact. Neither William nor Susan told him to wait for them as they all walked that last few feet to where the camp was. They just had to round this hill and Pyrrha would be there along with Jacob and everyone else.

Luke rounded the hill first and stopped dead in his tracks. Samantha wondered what was up with that till she rounded it too. Pyrrha was gone...the camp was gone...everyone was gone...

"No...no...nonono... They...they couldn't have...they wouldn't have..." Luke started to say as he collapsed to the ground. William and the rest came around the corner next and he let out a long sad sigh.

"He could...he would...he did..." William said as Samantha fell to her knees. She stared at the empty field that Pyrrha had been laying on...the perimeter where Jacob would have been on guard...the spot the tent had been when they had been given this mission. All gone...

She was so stunned, that she almost didn't hear the voices as they started to drift through the air. Almost didn't feel the rumbling ground as massive feet began to move toward them.

"The catmonsters keep wanting to go this way, maybe we finally found something to play with," a booming voice said.

"I hope so, I have been wanting to try out this new way Lutice taught me to kill tinies. Slowly step on them bit by bit till their heads pop like a toothpaste top," the other voice said before the air was filled with laughter.

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Sanders glanced backward yet again as his guilt gnawed at his conscious. He had left them...he had left them to die and yet...what choice did he have? They had left barely minutes before Pyrrha's ears perked up and she gave a low hiss. A catmonster had followed Devin's blood trail and would have found them if they hadn't left. Pyrrha would have won the fight, he had no doubt, but there was no telling how many people would have got caught underfoot. And if a giantess had heard the fight or a fairy went to report it... But still...they had left them.

Rubbing the small whistle in his pocket, Sanders tried to fight off the guilt. There was nothing he could have done and staying would have just got more people killed. Hell, Samantha and William might have been killed out in the field and never made it back. And they might be able to survive out there...maybe... Sanders had to fight off tears as he tried not to think of Samantha petting Pyrrha or William rubbing his grey beard. They had left them...and hadn't told Jacob...dammit what had he done?

A satisfied purr from Pyrrha snapped him out of his internal anguish. Pyrrha was moving along on all fours, but was using her right arm to shovel a large amount of animals into her mouth. The Western scouts had been right about the animals, they were everywhere and Pyrrha had an effortless time catching up a feast for herself. She was still stuffing her face as they moved closer and closer to where Lindale Middle was. Lindale Middle...he needed to focus on that now and not...not what he had been convinced to do. Their deaths had to mean something and that meant he HAD to find what Manchent had left. He just...just had to now...he couldn’t...wouldn’t live with himself otherwise… He had left them...

Pyrrha, finally finished her massive meal and licked her hand clean before giving a loud burp. Sanders shook his head at her lack of manners before patting her ear. Pyrrha gave a soft purr in response...but even that didn't help. Dammit...how could he have left them?

They crested a small hill and Sanders sighed as he looked down from the hill. Lindale Middle was only a hundred or so yards ahead of them...standing huge and silent in a sea of slowly crumbling pavement and rusted wrecks. Thankfully, none of the cars looked to be in any sort of drivable condition and Sanders didn't see any sign of the Society. At least...at least that was something.

"Let's go, Pyrrha," he said as Pyrrha gave a short meow in response. They headed down the hill and to the large parking lot in front of the old middle school. Old cars and trucks lined the area, still parked in the spots they had been ten years ago. A few had crashed into others or looked to have just rolled to a stop somewhere, the poor drivers trapped inside them when the shrink hit.

As they moved past the parking lot, they came to the pick-up/drop-off area in front of the school. A few rusted buses were scattered about the area, their cargo long gone and dead. Sanders wondered how many kids had been trapped in them, screaming in terror and fear before hunger or thirst took them. As horrid as a thought that was, the crumbling remains of backpacks and books were far worse. Even from high up on Pyrrha's head, he could swear he could see blood stains leaking out from under them. Kids...crushed by their own school supplies... he could only imagine the terror and panic that must have gripped this place. Never before was he more glad he had been out with his family when the shrink had hit. Being trapped somewhere like this, miles and miles from your family with mass panic all around you… It would be like being left in enemy territory...he had left them...

Pyrrha's ears lowered as if feeling the sorrow and loss of this place. Sanders rubbed her ears to try and cheer her up, but she didn't respond. Behind Pyrrha's head, the platform with the others was just as silent as they were. He could imagine the people on the platform were reflected on the same thing as Sanders...or reliving their own horrors from that day. He wondered if any of the others who knew what they had done were feeling as torn as he was. He figured at least one was not...

Passing the solemn sight, Pyrrha slipped through the broken doors and into the school itself. Dust and debris littered the floor and gave it an almost carpet like appearance. To the right was the door leading into the school's office, barely hanging from the wall by a single hinge. To the left was an old trophy case that was so covered in dust that Sanders couldn't see inside. Forward lead to the hallway which split off to the right and left.

Sanders was here, but had no idea where to look inside the school. Isabella had said to come here, though, so something had to be here. Maybe...maybe she had left a clue somewhere. Yes, she had to have had. He had come to far and...lost too much to give up now.

Sanders got Pyrrha to move through the area and had Gabby ask the people on the platform to look out of anything odd. They moved about the area, but nothing looked out of place or disturbed. Even worse, any tracks Isabella's footprints had made in the dust had been blow away or purposely destroyed, probably the later since anyone could have followed them. Dammit, there had to be SOMETHING she had le- wait...

Isabella had gotten rid of her footprints to hide her path. Anyone, even a giantess, could have found that. But Sanders and, at the time, Aviel were not giants… OF COURSE!

"Pyrrha, down!" Sanders said as Pyrrha gave him a confused meow. He stomped his foot on her head to get her to hurry up and she grumbled a bit before raising her hand. He had climbed onto the hand just as Derek came out of Pyrrha’s sea of blonde hair.

"Sanders? What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, brushing some hair out of his face.

"Isabella wouldn't have left a clue a giantess could see, after all she didn't want the Society to find this. But maybe she left a clue that someone our size COULD see," Sanders said with a smile before Pyrrha lowered him down. Derek moved to Pyrrha's forehead to watch him, Pyrrha looking a bit annoyed with him being there, as he was placed onto the ground.

Sanders had to wave the carpet of dust away and coughed a bit as some of it got into his throat. Once enough of it was gone that he could see, he looked around the area for something out of the ordinary. He scanned the room, but didn't see anything until he looked toward the lockers ahead of them. There, just under the lip of the lockers and out of sight of anyone looking at or down at them, was a small arrow drawn in permanent marker. It was pointing to the left and Sanders smiled as he had found her clue. He was close now...

"Pyrrha, up!" he said in excitement as Pyrrha plucked him off the ground. She put him back on her head and Sanders made sure to get a good grip.

"Well?" Derek asked as he tried to imitate Sanders grip on Pyrrha's hair.

"There was an arrow written below the lip of the lockers. Isabella left us a trail. Pyrrha, go left!" he said as Pyrrha meowed and headed off down the left hallway. Derek had a bit of trouble holding on, but got his legs soon enough. He relayed what happened to Gabby who sent it down to Darius. They were on their way to the prize.

From there came an easy pattern to follow. They would go down the hallway till they reached an intersection. Sanders would be lowered down and find the arrow. Once he found it, Pyrrha would pick him back up and off they went again. They went like this down four intersections before coming to a dead end hallway.

Pyrrha slowed as she went down the hallway, glancing back and forth between the massive doors. They all looked to be leading into classrooms, but the doors were closed tight. Considering the dust and rust on the doors, Sanders doubted they had been used since the Shrink Disaster. Sanders was beginning to worry if he had been wrong or had missed an arrow when Pyrrha's ears perked up. She moved to a door near the end of the hall that looked to be cracked open a bit. Sanders and Derek leaned forward to get a better look into the ro-

"Well?" Gabby said suddenly, causing both Sanders and Derek to jump a bit. They both glared at Gabby who giggled at having scared them both.

"Dammit, Gabby, I nearly jumped off Pyrrha's head because of you. What are you doing up here anyway?" Sanders asked, trying to get his heart rate back down from manic.

"I was bored sitting back there so I came to see what was going on. So, find anything?" she asked with a mischievous smile.

"We might have if you hadn't interrupted us," Derek grumbled out as he turned back to look into the classroom. He didn't get a chance to get a good look as Pyrrha's ears shot straight up. She gave a curious meow as she pushed the door open enough for her to get through.

"Pyrrha? What is it?" Sanders asked in confusion. Pyrrha didn't answer as she moved into the classroom. The classroom looked like any other with old desks, some fallen, some fallen apart, unused chalk boards, and crumbling posters scattered about. Sanders saw clear signs of some of them having been cut into by shrunken people, but most looked to have simply rotted away. Near the back was a plastic desk that still looked relatively intact. Pyrrha headed toward it as her tail slowly rose up.

"Pyrrha, what the hell has gotten in to you? Sto- WOAH!" Sanders said as Pyrrha moved to the desk and began to stand up. Derek swore as he grabbed a chunk of hair as Gabby grabbed Sanders. Sanders felt his stomach drop to his feet as Pyrrha rose to her full height and, just barely, crested the top of the desk. Sanders took a second to recover before smacked Pyrrha's ear.

"Dammit, Pyrrha, give us some warning when you do that! You bet-..." Sanders stopped as he noticed movement in front of Pyrrha. Standing a few feet from Pyrrha's face was a woman in clean, non-animal fur, clothing. She was clutching a little girl dressed much the same to her chest as they both stared at them in terror. Behind them was a large building Sanders recognized as a Society prefab shelter along with a number of Society crates. A massive water bottle sized for a giantess towered over it and had a large cap in front of it to collect the water.

Sanders looked over this in shock as he turned back to the woman and child. The child looked terrified by them until she looked at Sanders. She blinked a few times at Sanders before pulling on the woman's dress and saying something to her. The woman looked at her and then at him before her eyes widened.

"S...Sanders Cutter?" she stammered out in disbelief.