Radioactive Evolution

by Richard Hummel

  Yeah, I gathered that, Jared replied sarcastically. Any time a stray thought intrudes, or I try to force a thought in a direction, I lose the state needed to process them both and revert to a single thought.

  We must share a thought space as often as is practical. The more you experience it through me, the easier it will become for you.

  For now, let’s aim to do this at least once per day. I want to push my current limits to the max before I assign my remaining thirty-one percent. I feel there is much more I can do and don’t want to use the nanites as a crutch.

  Yes, I believe you can progress much as you are now.

  All right we’ve got to get moving. We already burned enough daylight, but I think we can still make it through the first leg of our trip today.

  “Listen up, everyone,” Jared shouted. “Please bring all the weapons and manuals over here. Let’s get things packed up and ready to head out. I thought we’d spend another day raiding the houses in town, but we already have more than is wise on the cart. We’ll need to come back later for more. Based on the light streaming in here, we’re getting a later start than I wanted. I encourage you to stretch and prepare for a grueling hike today.”

  It only took a few minutes to gather everything together since the bulk of the items were still on the cart outside the barn. Meanwhile, Jared grabbed the crates in the loft, verified he had all of his belongings loaded up, and dropped to the ground, landing lightly to avoid jostling the contents. It took a few minutes to rearrange the cart so that the explosives were in the center.

  In hindsight, he should’ve had everyone look for ropes, or something else they could use to secure the container. For now, he’d make do with packing everything as closely as possible. Next, he loaded up the crates of weapons and medical supplies. Jared took one last look around the room, confirming they’d loaded everything up.

  “Our first stop will be to disassemble the solar panels and load them up on the cart. I imagine that’ll take the rest of the morning. Actually, Kitty?”

  The large cat padded over and looked him in the eye. It would take him a while to get used to this creature. A house cat as tall as he was at six foot five was slightly intimidating.

  “Can you take point and lead everyone south? You’ll follow the lake to its tip. I’ll take Pete and a couple others to help me get the solar panels loaded up, and Scarlet will fly cover for everyone to make sure nothing lies in wait.”

  I will lead, replied Kitty.

  “Okay, Kitty is going to lead all of you south while I take a small number of you to go get the panels, and then we’ll catch up. If we didn’t have to worry about that drop ship coming back to destroy more of this area, I’d say we come back for the panels later, but I don’t want to risk it.”

  “The walk south is mostly flat, level ground and shouldn’t pose any issues for anyone. Tomorrow is another story and may take significantly more effort.”

  “Pete and Johan, you two come with me. Everyone else line up in a column, three people wide. I’m going to dole out the weapons we have to those on the outside of the column, and you’ll be the groups’ protection. Those that aren’t super familiar with weapons, or who don’t feel comfortable handling them, can move to the center.”

  After he’d finished giving instructions, Jared dug into the weapons crate and handed the pistols and sub-machine guns to the group, ensuring that the machine guns were set to single fire so as not to waste ammo.

  “Let’s move out!”

  Jared, please have everyone stand back.

  “Oh, right. Everyone, please move away from the barn.” Jared moved the cart and gestured for everyone to get behind him. After they’d moved far enough away, Scarlet walked right through the wall of the building as if ripping through a flimsy piece of paper. The building never stood a chance. Wood splintered, metal crumpled, and the doors shattered into fragments.

  Scarlet emerged from the crumbling building and stretched out to her new height.

  “Wow.”

  Jared craned his neck to look up at her. While not as big as her mother yet, she was fast approaching the same stature. When she stretched her neck out, she stood at least thirty, thirty-five feet tall, and her wingspan looked at least sixty or more. Her muscles rippled as she stretched and adjusted.

  The deep red of her skin and scales still burned with vibrancy, but instead of her shiny scales reflecting the light, they drank it in and glowed with their own inner brightness. Her whole body was darker, the scales thicker and harder. The spikes along her back and claws were longer, deadlier than before.

  Scarlet snapped her wings out, bunched her legs, and vaulted into the sky, the wind buffeting everyone.

  Wow, Scarlet. You look incredible!

  Thank you. I...underestimated the changes and now I must hunt again.

  All right. Just don’t stray too far, so you can keep an eye on everyone. If I need you, I’ll reach out, but your priority is the group heading south with Kitty.

  Jared, Pete, and Johan headed over to the solar array, while everyone else followed Kitty. It took the three of them two hours to get all of the solar panels disassembled and ready for transport. The panels were too heavy for Pete and Johan to lift, so Jared sent them to collect wires and any rope they could use to tie the panels down. The last thing they needed was for them to fall off and shatter after all the effort they went through. Finished with their task, Johan and Pete sat on the back of the cart while Jared set out at a brisk walk. The streets of the city, though cluttered, made it very easy to pull and they made good time.

  Scarlet, we’re on our way. How is their progress?

  Jared heard nothing in reply and suspected she was out of range. He’d expected as much, but it still created nervous butterflies in his stomach. Every few minutes, he tried to reach her again. After agonizing for over an hour, he finally managed to connect with Scarlet.

  Jared, I’m here.

  How is everyone doing? Did you find something to eat?

  They are…progressing. Yes, I’ve eaten my fill.

  Should I even ask?

  About? Scarlet asked, amusement coloring her words.

  Shaking his head, Jared picked up his pace. He needed to catch up and push them to move faster if they hoped to reach shelter for the night. Jared felt a little bad for asking a fourteen-year-old to lead them into unknown territory, but she’d survived nine years on her own, and Kitty could handle anything they encountered. At least until Jared or Scarlet arrived to provide her some backup.

  It took Jared another hour to catch up to the rear of the column, and he called out a greeting and asked everyone to stop for a minute. Walking toward Vanessa, Elle, and Kitty, Jared addressed everyone.

  “I know that all of you are still regaining your strength, but we’ve got to move faster if we hope to reach shelter by nightfall. If we don’t reach it, we’ll need to camp in the open area, a lake on one side and flat open expanse all around. Definitely not an ideal situation with such a large group and god-only-knows-what creatures lurking out there, stalking us. We’ll rest for just a few minutes and then we move.”

  Jared, there’s no—

  I’m trying to motivate them. They don’t need to know we’re in the clear.

  Oh, Scarlet said, enlightened. Proceed.

  “So, let’s pick it up. If you absolutely cannot walk another step, we’ll rest for a short time.” Jared paused to make sure everyone understood. “All right, let’s keep at it.”

  Kitty started forward once more, Jared picking up the rear.

  In the back of the column, Jared could watch everyone and keep an eye for any danger approaching. He also wanted to stay in the back in case he lost his grip on the cart, or any explosive fell and detonated.

  With Scarlet in the sky and the ability to cycle through normal and Heat Sight, they needn’t really worry about any threats sne
aking up on them. Occasionally, Kitty bounded forward, quickly disappearing from view as she searched among rocks and dead trees for threats. It was obvious the cat knew how to activate its camouflage ability at will as it occasionally disappeared from any of his visual abilities.

  I wonder if there’s a way to share or transfer abilities, thought Jared. Scarlet, do you think we can learn or transfer abilities amongst ourselves?

  I see you are watching Kitty as well. The way she disappears is fascinating. I would love to study the nanites to see how it works. My first guess is that it mirrors the surroundings, making her effectively invisible.

  Yeah, after Regeneration, I think that’s the best ability I’ve seen so far. Granted, you still have to move silently, but even so, it is pretty cool. I know we can’t just transfer the ability because of the unique DNA sequencing, but perhaps there’s a way we can learn how it works and modify some of our free nanites?

  I agree. Transferring would enable many new possibilities. It is too bad the professor did not foresee this eventuality. As for learning the ability, I do think it possible, but impractical. Copying the coding would be the easiest step, but then you are left with one, or a small handful of nanites capable of such an ability. You would need to assign a lot of free nanites into the ability to make it viable. Given your need for mental acuity, that is not a wise use of your resources.

  Difficulty aside, I think it’s worth pursuing further when I’ve sufficiently enhanced my Mind. Take Heat Sight, for instance. That ability has saved my life many times. Sure, not all of them are useful, but a good number of them are for different situations. An example would be the ability to regulate body temperature. While not super useful for most people, if someone wanted to be a scout or hide from creatures with Heat Sight, then maybe that’s an ability they’d find useful.

  It is an excellent idea, and I agree that however this camouflage works, it is very powerful. Also, keep in mind that you’re the only one in a position to learn and replicate abilities. Once we get companions for those here, they need to vastly improve their Minds, but how many are liable to dump everything into Mind first? After your speech the other day, many of them want to revert their physical attributes to look more human.

  I considered that a possibility, but I hadn’t realized it bothered some of them so much. I’ve grown accustomed to it and find it uniquely…them.

  I know many of them struggle with the changes. Now that they have control of their bodies, and eventually will have the ability to change their physical appearance, many of them want to rid themselves of the reminder.

  Regardless of what they choose, it looks like the two of us are in for a lot of work and training.

  Yes. More so if those here do not bond with a dragon. I do not know how Kitty learned to speak as she does, since her mind knew almost nothing of human behavior and speech prior to their bonding. It is truly remarkable.

  Several hours passed as Jared thought about training these people. If they somehow managed to get everyone to a level similar to he and Scarlet, they’d be a formidable force, and might just have a chance against a city.

  Though how many ships and soldiers a city could muster was still an unknown factor. He also didn’t know if the cities had any defensive measures.

  Jared let the ideas simmer in his mind as they trekked along the lake. It would still be quite some time before they attempted anything of the sort, but it never hurt to start planning and thinking ahead.

  It was fully dark by the time the ruins he’d observed from Scarlet’s back came into view. Sighs of relief echoed up and down the column as they struggled to put one foot in front of the other. It was a large, sprawling area and the architecture of the place looked older than most cities he’d explored, a Victorian era.

  History was one of his favorite subjects growing up, and he loved staring at the great architecture from different eras. The more modern buildings became, the less beauty showed through. Some of the modern landmarks and monuments in the twentieth century showed an elegance to them, but it was nothing like the Victorian era, or even the Greek and Roman empires with their magnificent coliseums and temples like the Parthenon. Jared smiled to himself; the ability to recall the pictures with perfect clarity continually amazed him. Cycling through images of the Greco-Roman empire made him wish he’d been born in a different place and time, before the world went to crap.

  Returning to the present, Jared led the group through the city, looking for the large building he’d found earlier. Jared asked Scarlet to direct Kitty through the streets. Unlike the city they’d come from, this one wasn’t laid out in a grid-like pattern, but rather wound back and forth with no rhyme or reason.

  Once they reached the building, everyone but Kitty, Elle, and himself collapsed, totally exhausted. Surprisingly, only a few had fallen behind during the walk and it only slowed their progress a little. He suspected that wouldn’t be the case tomorrow as they entered rough terrain. Jared really hoped the cart fit up the dried creek, or it was going to be a very long day for him.

  Preparing for the night, Jared offered to take first watch even though he desperately wanted to sleep after keeping watch the previous evening and the workout of pulling the cart. Except for Elle, Kitty, and Scarlet, everyone else was near exhaustion and needed rest before they could pull a watch rotation.

  Scarlet, you okay to keep flying for a while?

  Yes, I can do this for hours yet. You may rest if needed.

  Thanks, but I’ll take first watch. As tired as I am, these people need the rest much more than we do.

  Jared walked over to Elle and Kitty. “Are you okay to help take the second watch tonight? We’ll only have two rotations of guards. I’ll take first, and I’d like to have you both on the second.”

  Elle and Kitty nodded their heads in agreement and quickly found a place to rest before their watch began. After everyone settled in, Jared addressed them even though half had already fallen asleep.

  “Please get as much rest as you can, and we’ll begin at first light tomorrow. The second leg of this trip is liable to be much harder, and we need an early start. Also, we will have guard shifts throughout the night so you’ve no need to be afraid.”

  A collective groan sounded through the room, and he watched as people massaged sore feet and backs. Jared didn’t blame them, his own body groaning with aches and pains. Fortunately for him, Regeneration would kick in soon and wash those pains away.

  Dropping his pack on the cart, Jared checked his weapons and started his patrol.

  Jared and Scarlet patrolled half the night before Scarlet landed in the middle of the ruined building, barely clearing the broken edges of the walls. She landed as lightly as possible, but it still made the ground tremble, startling a few people awake.

  Jared whispered in their minds that all was well and to go back to sleep. In hindsight, that was a bad idea so recently after their ordeal with Razael, but they had no lights, and he’d instructed them to avoid a fire lest they attract unwanted attention. Thankfully, it didn’t look like anyone panicked, and he quickly woke Elle and Kitty to take his place.

  Jared fell asleep instantly, exhausted from the day’s work, but an instant later someone gently prodded him awake. He’d been about to make a rude comment until he realized the sun was already cresting over the horizon. Groaning, Jared stood, his body aching, in spite of his Regeneration ability. He winced at the thought of trekking up a mountain with the cart.

  By the time Jared was ready to continue the hike, everyone else was waiting on him, and all he had to do was equip his pack. Having little of their own definitely allowed them to remain highly mobile and ready in a moment’s notice.

  Rolling his shoulders and neck, Jared flexed his hands and arms as he approached the cart. Selfishly, he wished that some of the others could help, but the only two strong enough were Kitty and Scarlet, and they were best suited to scouting
the area for other threats.

  “Okay, everyone, same formation as yesterday. Today’s hike will be much harder, and I expect we’ll need to stop more often. Please do your best to push through, and if you really need to rest, you may sit on the cart again. Once we get to our destination, there are rooms built into the mountainside that are easily defensible and will allow everyone to rest in comfort. We’ll still keep a watch, but it’s a more secure area, so you’ll be able to take all the time you need to rest and recover.”

  After his pronouncement, everyone cheered, and he saw relief in their eyes. The activity of the last few days and their clear lack of physical strength made it difficult for any of them to maintain the constant pace. Jared suspected they’d curse him before the day was through, but at least his little speech spurred them forward.

  They quickly left the tip of the lake behind and headed west toward their new home. For the first few hours everyone managed to keep up the pace, with only one person straggling behind. Jared was grateful he didn’t need to pull anyone yet because his hands and back already ached, and they’d only made it a third of the way there.

  Jared, you have company incoming from the east. They are too far for me to see clearly. Just a moment.

  Jared called everyone to a halt.

  “Listen up, everyone. Scarlet says there are creatures closing on our position. Those with weapons, please move back here with me. Remember what I said about the safety on your weapons, and never point your weapon at someone else.”

  It is a small group of rabbits headed your way.

  How many?

  It looks like eighteen, but they are jumping really fast, so it is hard to say for certain.

  “Scarlet says it’s just a few rabbits,” Jared said, downplaying the number so as not to freak them out. “Those of you with experience shooting weapons form a line back here. Everyone else, get behind us.”