by Han Yang
“We could get bogged down in a fight around the water. We could see the docks are loaded with narocks and trigger a swarm event. Let’s take a small win. We secure Lornsto by killing the two webo’narocks lazing on the ruins.
“After, we let the animals and our people out to enjoy some sun. The animals will help us sense trouble. They can eat the new growth and get some sun too. While they graze, we can plant some oats with mining tools. At noon, we tuck everyone in and go adventuring to the water.”
Hariet smiled and Yilissa said, “I like it. We can build more privacy, a gate behind the barricades, and so much more. In the meantime, we all get some sun. You said two, I see three.”
“Different angles. Good eye. Can you hit it from here?” I tested her.
“No. Not even close.”
I smirked, “Then let’s get closer. Keep an eye out for lobo’narock tracks. They’ll be indents wider than a man. If we stay slow and steady, we can do everything we need to in short order.”
“Can we give it a go?” Hariet asked.
I nodded, leaving to pick up a spot for overwatch. I found a nice boulder to cover the others as they set up closer to Lornsto. Instead of giving them a plan and having a long, drawn-out discussion, I let them decide how to kill the three narocks.
Since I reached my spot quickly, I decided to check my stats.
Name: Theodore Karo
Race: Human
Age: 21
Strength: 22
Fitness: 21
Aim: 18
Survival Skills: 9
Melee Combat: Novice.
Weapon Combat: Moderate.
Western Proficiency: 9/10
Health: 10/10
Thirst: 10/10
Hunger: 10/10
Weapon Rating: 9/10
Gear Rating: 1/10
Points: 17,733
Ranking: 1st out of 123,433
I did notice that my running, pushups, and sit ups in the mine gave a nice boost. We also held nightly meetings sharing survival and useful tips. This seemed to tick my proficiency to 9, but I had no idea what the exact skill was that gave the boost.
While I wished it told me how close the second-place citizen was, it didn’t. I did find myself curious as to how many points I had earned for the others killing narocks.
Instead of diving into my linker some more, I inspected my surroundings. While the others dashed forward, boulder to boulder, I watched narocks.
Not even halfway there, Craig tripped, fell face first, and fired a stray shot into Lornsto. I immediately vaulted off my rock, hurrying to reinforce the others. Thankfully, Craig recovered quickly while Yilissa and Hariet established defensive positions.
Roar!
The three webo’narocks bounded up the road toward the mine with their amazing agility. Craig fumbled with his weapon, his frustration oozing into his action. He abandoned the rifle for his sidearm.
Crack!
Boom!
Crack!
The lead narock tumbled with a spray of blood ejecting out the back. I turned my feet sideways, reaching a point where I could make a difference.
While I wanted to fire, my breathing bobbed Henry beyond my comfort zone. Patience in the face of adversity could mean life or death. I calmed my mind by relaxing my inhales and exhales.
Crack!
Crack!
Boom!
Yilissa’s round from the lever action hit the hindquarters of the back narock, causing it to tumble. The trailing beast didn’t stay down for long but did limp from the wounding.
Craig blasted a revolver’s full load in short order at the closing webo’narock. The billow of smoke around him may have given an epic feel to the moment, but the webo’narock didn’t even stagger from the barrage.
The massive maw ripped out a roar as it leaped for the kill.
“Dodge, please, dodge,” I muttered, watching through the scope and an open eye.
I waited patiently, finding my shot. I finished my exhale, found the narock easy to track since it was airborne, and fired.
Boom!
Henry bucked, Craig rolled forward in a dodge, and my round punched into the chest before erupting out the back.
I smoothly ejected my casing, plucked a fresh round out of my bandolier, and reloaded Henry almost instantly.
I raised the rifle and watched two rounds slam into the wounded narock who limped forward. The beast staggered, hacking blood in a violent spray.
Deciding to let them finish the kill, I spun to check the horizon. Nothing approached or revealed itself from the sudden cacophony of gunfire.
I vaulted onto the nearest boulder and continued to scan our surroundings.
Out of my peripheral, Yilissa and Hariet encouraged Craig to take the final shot. He recovered his rifle, aimed, and -
Boom!
The round sent a cloud of sand into the air. He calmed, finding whatever nerve he had lost. I continued to watch patiently. I didn’t give a shit if the narock suffered, not in the slightest.
I did find it imperative for a rifle user to become accustomed to their weapon. That, and he needed a confidence boost.
Boom!
The chest cratered and the .45 round burst out the back of the beast. That was enough to be a killing blow, and the webo’narock collapsed.
Completed Quests:
Quest: Reclaim Lornsto.
Reward: 600 points awarded.
Quest: Kill a webo’narock.
Reward: 300 points x 2. 600 points awarded.
Quest: Team member - kill a webo’narock.
Reward: 100 points x 3. 300 points awarded.
Craig walked over sullenly. I held up a hand when he neared.
“Did you learn something?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Great. Go ahead and tell everyone to come on out and we need the mining tools to plant some seeds. With our well water, we will plant in the basin and water daily. I want the mines to be opened completely with room for a cart laden with wood to pass through. You and Hariet will guard the mine basin while Yilissa and I will guard here,” I said.
“Fun in the sun it is.” He cupped his hands. “Hariet, we’re on basin duty.”
Off he ran with Hariet smoothly catching up. I sat on my rock, enjoying the warm day pass by.
Eventually, I wanted some shade, and I moseyed on over to the nearest tree. A half hour passed when a little toddler and blonde bombshell skipped over with gleeful smiles. Roma’s blue eyes sparkled with happiness, and her infectious joy caused me to grin.
“Well, golly, aren’t you two just the sweetest pair,” I told them, taking a knee to offer a high five.
“Zachary here is the lawman,” Roma said happily.
“Play sticks with me?” Zachary asked, deciding to be shy and leave my palm hanging.
Since the mine wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of fun, we played a few games with sticks. The best was hitting rocks with them. This had ended up being the way Zachary and I bonded. He still asked for his mom all the time, but he was very resilient to his sunburn and already starting to understand.
“No sticks right now. I’m working, little man. Where is your sister?” I asked, and he ignored me to start snatching rocks off the ground.
Roma kissed me quickly and said, “She is helping till the desert into muck. Apparently, Charlotte knows something about farming and is showing others how tilling the land, adding compost she’s been collecting in the basement, and such will grow our sprouting oats.”
I glanced back over to the mine area, seeing animals roaming. None of them bolted, which was good, not like we had a way of corralling them anyway. I was sure they’d come back in for water and feed.
“So lovely out. You look radiant,” I told her.
“Alright, I’m going to return Zachary to Silva before I start hauling wood. This… this is nice. I can live underground at night if this is the reward during the day,” Roma said.
I pulled her in for a big, long kis
s. Our squished lips entwined, and she pulled me in tight. Her hands ran down my back until little fists started hitting my leg.
Zachary was angry at me. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t acknowledge his tantrum.
I did pinch Roma’s butt as she departed. I returned to watching the horizons, noting that narocks tended to sun or shade during the day while moving at night. Since we had cleared the area, I doubted we would find something of interest.
It was likely we’d see new beasts in the morning and have another fight ahead of us. While I thought about the fact we would be constantly fighting, and the fact we had lost our vantage point, I came up with a plan to bring up to Eric, our engineer.
Fifteen minutes later, hand carts rolled down the road toward town. Everyone carried weapons, including the older boys while excluding Lillo.
The seven-year-old wore a bonnet while hauling an empty bag for looting items. When they reached my spot on the road, I followed them, finding myself in lockstep with Roma again.
“I have a sitter for tonight,” she said with a devious smirk.
“Everything okay?” I asked, a bit confused.
She nodded. “I wanted you to tell me stories without prying little ears.”
“I kinda like telling Lillo and Zachary stories. They love it.”
Mark snickered and said, “She wants to have sex. I swear, you can be a three-year-old sometimes.”
“Mark!” Charlotte snapped. “Excuse my husband.”
“No, no. It’s quite alright,” I said. “I’m rather reserved in my affections. I care deeply for Roma and welcome a quiet night alone, even if it is not as risqué as Mark might assume. I was merely trying to point out that I’m fond of being a father and feel bad excluding those in my charge.”
Mark snickered, “If you couldn’t shoot and fight like a demon, I’d swear you were an alien.”
“Blunt, but understandable. I am an alien to some extent. Sadly, or gladly, I am,” I said, and we arrived at the town. We paused by the lobo’narock’s trail. “See these holes? They go a good six-feet deep and are three-feet wide. This is the indentation of a full grown lobo’narock. It is heading to Laro which makes me sad.”
“Why haven’t you secured the steamboat?” Mark asked in a judging way. “You could be sailing upriver to save everyone.”
His wife didn’t even bother at this point, instead choosing to help Roma lift boards onto the handcart. I followed the tracks, seeing water filling the bottom of the craters. A turtle tried to hide from me, and I almost jumped down to catch it. Turtle soup was a thing, but not today.
“The steamboat is inconsequential. Sure, it matters, and yes, I want to get it running, but what matters most are you, the good people of Lornsto Mine. If we got on the steamboat, it broke away when we start it, or we died trying to secure it, then none of this would happen,” I said, gesturing to the wood collecting.
“You really want to start a farm from the mine,” Mark said. “I just want to go back to Laro. Living underground is horrid.”
“You drastically misunderstand the situation. Let me give you my worst-case scenario that I think will happen. Additional variants of monsters are coming, and no one is meant to survive. Bisben will fall. Snagglewood will fall.
“The Goddess wants to teach everyone a very hard lesson, and you are the unfortunate iteration to suffer her wrath. You never know how bloody good you have it until it is all gone. Mark, I have no problem with your negative outlook. I have no issue with you speaking the hard truths no one wants to hear.
“However, I will say this, and I hope you don’t kill yourself over it. Life will never get better than it is today as a whole. The old ways are gone, and you need to figure out if you can handle that fact,” I said, inspecting the next hole.
“You think Laro is lost?” he asked, this time his words sounding sad.
“Not only is Laro lost, it will also fuel the next wave and the next wave. Opo didn’t get rid of its alpha-level one-sized variants. It got rid of the babies. Lobo’narocks are suddenly here, capable of toppling towering buildings and walls. I kept my mouth shut, but these toppled buildings are a warning and a precursor.
“Just today, Craig tripped, firing his gun on accident, and he almost got eaten. The beast that attacked him was able to leap twenty-five feet in a flash. And it was but a babe. The monsters, the true monsters, can’t even be killed in such a manner.
“Opo will have a king of the hill type narock battle after another wave of alphas rolls over this area. I’m getting off track. Things are good, right, Mark? Right here, right now, we are the dominant species. We have one thousand and seventy-two more .45 rounds and six hundred and sixteen .50 rounds. The .22 will be useless soon.
“We have food. We have loved ones. We have safety and shelter. So yes, I’m more concerned about us than a steamboat because I don’t like where that steamboat leads, and I do like where all these supplies are going,” I said.
“We’re going to run out of candles,” Mark grumbled.
“I - I know, Mark. I know. The question is, do I risk my life to see in the dark? I really think some more ammo, candles, seeds, and other supplies are going to be critical, but I also know I can’t leave you all behind. Hell, it's not even guaranteed that we find something or can make landfall if we go to Opo or Laro.
“And the most soul-crushing part of all this is that the Goddess gave me a mission for all of us to get to Bisben, Mark. The reward was so good it was bad. Like, unbelievable rewards,” I said.
“They’d only be that good if it was that bad,” he said in a deflated tone. “I see your point. I may not like it, but I think I understand. We’re doomed, but we can make the most of it or I can blow my brains out…” Charlotte eyed him intensely. “The kids are great, and I love you, babe. I’ll shut up now and get to work. If you hear a grown man crying tonight, ignore it.”
“Yeah, Mark. But you know what? We got each other. We have a secure home with fresh water that we can’t contaminate,” I said.
“Then why are we boiling water?” Joana asked.
Joana was a mother whose husband had died on the wall on the first raid in Laro. She rarely spoke to me or anyone. While I had tried to get to know everyone, and I had to some extent, Joana mostly did her chores and stayed quiet.
“Always boil water. I’m going to be honest. I agree, I think the water is fine. We use the fire for light and conversation too,” I said, shifting around the fallen boards.
I walked to the nearest rock and scanned the horizon. I did feel bad for not working, but then again, I was working - just in a different manner. Those lobo’narock tracks headed toward Laro but diverted to the river about a mile away.
If I had to guess, it was raiding the nests up stream. We’d never kill it without dynamite. I did keep a vigilant eye on the road toward the docks, knowing more than likely new threats waited down there, but nothing ever crested the ridge to reveal itself.
An hour passed, with the others swapping to cheerful talk while they worked. I paid attention to my task at hand, always looking at that road that went to the river.
“Are you staying or coming back with us?” Roma asked.
“I’ll walk the route and clear it on the way back,” I said, hopping off my rock. “This may take a while.”
“Two trips today. We decided to not wear ourselves out. The Apple should have an actual shower curtain. Lenny has been finding excuses to use the bathroom when Hariet showers,” Roma said.
I snickered, “Fair enough, and boys... For scientific reasons, when does Hariet shower?” Roma pinched my arm while I danced away from her further attacks. “Ouch, ouch. Just kidding. Damn girl, those pinches are going to bruise.” I stole a quick kiss on her cheek “I only have eyes for you. Now, grab this dragon and watch over us while I haul this cart.”
She accepted the hefty forty-five and her mischievous eyes told me I’d be in for some fun later if all went well with the steamboat.
28
; Snagglewood Day 28
Lornsto Mines
“I want something more secure,” I said to Eric, folding my arms at the practically nonexistent defense.
“Give me time. I will jam this up again but do it right so we can go in and out,” Eric replied.
We stood at the first-floor landing spot where all the coal, desk, and handcarts had been. This was our choke point and Eric was great at creating impenetrable clogs to keep us safe. Except we tore that all down to haul animals and carts back and forth.
I kicked a plank in his creation, and it somehow held.
“You need to trust me. Keep a soldier behind to stay guard while I work. Today will be risky while I rebuild,” Eric said. “Your grand plans for a tower will have to wait for another day. Our in and out takes priority.”
“Hey, look. I do trust you. Those narocks tried to get down to use the mine and your clutter kept them out. At the same time, I want a narrow chute straight up and a walled tower to snipe from,” I said.
He held out one hand and closed another. “Hopes and reality. Also, one problem at time. We need more boards for what you want to do anyway.”
“Right, I’ll get out of your way. Are you ready Craig?” I asked. “I’m excited to raid the steamboat. Something about a shower curtain.”
Kayla giggled as the man kissed his wife and infant goodbye. Hariet went to join us, but I held up a hand. She didn’t question the order, understanding that someone had to protect the flock while we were away. Especially with the gate under construction.
“Yeah, you sure you don’t want to stay?” Craig asked. “The ship could be empty and ruined.”
I bobbed my head, walking up the incline. Yilissa and Roma stood at the mine’s exit, chatting with smiles.
My arrival halted their conversation, and because Craig pushed the hand cart filled with coal up the mine, I had to interrupt them.
“Ya sure that’s enough?” Yilissa asked Craig.
“Not like there’s more ready to be loaded. But yes, this is enough to make it most of the way to Bisben,” Craig replied.