《Herald of Chaos》


 Chapter 1 - The day the world ended

    The nightmare never left me, haunting my dreams every night.


    The day the world ended.


    The day the world ended.


    The day the world ended.


    Alarms blared.


    Cars honked.


    People screamed.


    Gods¡ªso much screaming.


    No light illuminated my room, nothing at all.


    Panic filled me. My door swung open, and someone came in.


    ¡°Shh, shh, Cerys, shhh, baby girl.¡±


    It was me that was screaming.


    Warm arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a soft embrace. ¡°Mom?¡± I held onto her tight, ever so tight. I never wanted to let go.


    ¡°Just a power outage,¡± Mom soothed, stroking my hair. Her fingers loosely combed it, then as deftly as she always had, she tied it back in the hair band permanently attached to her wrist.


    I cuddled into her chest. The wash of her scent, raisin, and cinnamon cookies comforted me. But the screaming wasn¡¯t just me; it was outside.


    ¡°Is that the TV?¡± I asked. ¡°Next door?¡±


    So much noise.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, sounds too close. Too¡ª¡±


    More screaming and loud bangs. Fireworks? No, that wasn¡¯t right.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a power cut,¡± she repeated. ¡°It will be okay. It will be back on soon.¡±


    Her body shook, though. Mom was scared.


    We waited¡ª


    ¡ªand waited.


    Deathy silence.


    We waited even more.


    Nothing, I let out a sigh of relief, but the power didn¡¯t come back on.


    ¡°Been a while since the power has been out this long,¡± Mom said. ¡°If it stays out a while longer, your father might come home early?¡±


    She was trying to make me feel better, but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°I¡¯m ten, not stupid,¡± I said, then regretted it.¡°He¡¯s needed at work.¡± Mom¡¯s face scrunched, though I could barely see it illuminated by the slit in my curtains. There was something in her eyes, something I¡¯d never seen from her before¡ªfear.


    ¡°I know,¡± Mom said and faked a laugh. ¡°Worth a try, right?¡±


    Dad worked at our general hospital. He was always there, and people always relied on him. In this kind of emergency, it would be even worse. Mom knew that just as much as I did.


    We sat in silence for quite a while. The lights never came back on, and the sounds outside didn¡¯t get any better either. Mom tried to settle me back in bed, but my brother woke up and started crying. He was still just a baby, after all. It was okay that my parents called him that, but heaven forbid I say it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring him in here. We can sleep with you,¡± she said, returning to the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± I begged. Tears streamed down my cheeks. But I knew she had to. She couldn¡¯t leave him upset, either. It wasn¡¯t fair.


    Reece was a fussy kid. I was honestly a little surprised he¡¯d never woken up before now, and hearing my mom softly cooing to him while I sat there kind of stung.


    I was jealous, but I loved him. What person couldn¡¯t? He was always too cute. All bright eyed, curious and full of mischief.


    I slid out of bed and went to my curtains. Sneaking behind them, I could see the double doors out onto my small patio. Although this house was big, someone always locked the doors. I only had access to a fire window, and Mom told me never to open it fully.


    Sheer darkness spread before me. There wasn¡¯t a light on, not anywhere.


    A bright light lit my eyes. I tried to close them, but it wouldn¡¯t go away.


    SYSTEM INITIATING


    Your mission - Survive Initiation.


    Do you accept?


    Y/N


    What was this? I tried to shove it away.


    Yes, of course, I wanted to survive. Dad always taught me that. Survival of the fittest¡ªeven though small, I was fit.


    ¡°Mom!¡± I screamed.


    Across the street, the curtains were closed, but I could make out a faint light. Mom had some candles somewhere.


    Without thinking anymore, I shouted yes at the stupid screen and ran for the kitchen to find the tea lights.


    By the time I returned with the small bag and a lighter. Mom was sitting on my bed with Reece. ¡°Thanks, Cerys,¡± she said.


    Mom wasn¡¯t focused on me. She was staring into my brother¡¯s eyes; I saw they were grey, glazed over. ¡°Reece,¡± Mom said softly. ¡°You can say yes, right?¡±


    Reece just didn¡¯t understand what she was saying to him at all. But the more I heard Mom try, the more I knew Reece was going to say no at any second.


    ¡°Mom!¡± I snapped. ¡°Light the candles. I¡¯ve got him.¡±


    Mom turned away from us to the candles, and I scooped my not so little brother into my arms. He was getting heavy now, but I cuddled him, and he cuddled back.


    In the corner of my view words flashed:-


    Thirty Seconds


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°How about we chase those noises away with some cookies, right?¡± I teased.


    His eyes, though glazed, went wider.


    ¡°Hurry Cerys,¡± Mom said.


    Twenty-Five Seconds


    ¡°You know I¡¯ve got cookies hidden. Shall we go get some?¡±


    Twenty Seconds


    ¡°Coo-cookies,¡± he said.


    ¡°You want cookies?¡±


    Fifteen Seconds


    ¡°Y-yes,¡± he said. ¡°Cookies, yes!¡±


    Reece¡¯s eyes returned to normal, and I let out a breath.


    ¡°What would have happened if he¡¯d said no?¡±


    ¡°I snuck out to try to see what was going on. Lila was screaming at Bryce to say yes, but¡ªyou know how¡ª¡± We all knew how awful he was. Lila and Bryce had screaming matches every night for him to go inside. Mom continued, bumbling her words together, ¡°He¡¯d said no¡ª¡± Mom was sobbing now, sucking in huge breaths. I wanted to hug her but Reece had my full attention. ¡°He¡ªhe turned to dust in front of the both of us.¡±


    ¡°He turned to dust?¡±


    Her hands shook as she carried on to light several other small tealights. ¡°I don¡¯t know, yes, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    The light spread eerily around my room, and I picked up my iPad to see if there was anything on it: the news, social media, anything.


    Nothing.


    ¡°No internet?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s connected to the Wi-Fi,¡± she reminded me. ¡°No electricity.¡±


    ¡°No cell service?¡± I asked, hoping there might be.


    Mom pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped the screen a few times. ¡°I can¡¯t get anything on my phone either.¡±


    Ugh, I put the iPad back down and sat next to her, pulling the blankets over my legs.


    Mom made sure we were all tucked in together. I knew I was safe. I felt it.


    Though I saw her try her phone a few more times, the light illuminating the room eerily, she never spoke, she never got through to anyone.


    Eventually, I drifted away, and sleep took me.


    ***


    It was the yelling that woke me later. Reece started soon after. He was just the right age to be a total mess, not old enough to understand things, not young enough to just soothe back to sleep.


    A loud gunshot rang out. Everything went quiet, at least for a moment. Then screams, many, many more screams.


    My mom was up and, placing Reece on the bed next to me, whispered. ¡°Try to keep him quiet. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    I pulled my brother to me and cuddled him into my chest. ¡°Reecie, shhh, mom¡¯s coming right back.¡±


    The noise outside drowned Reece out as he cried again. I tried my best, rocking him back and forth, but I couldn¡¯t console him.


    A gigantic roar shook our house.


    More gunfire.


    Shouting. Screaming


    I closed my eyes. I wanted to put my hands over my ears.


    So, I did.


    ¡°Please stop, please stop!¡± I whispered.


    The screaming didn¡¯t stop.


    The house shook even more, electricity flickered off and on again, then off.


    Then, I was scooped up into powerful arms. The smell of aftershave and¡­. Blood?


    ¡°Dad?¡±


    I felt his arms tighten around me, and his hand settled on my head. ¡°Keep your eyes closed, baby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a baby,¡± I muttered. A blanket covered me and my head. I couldn¡¯t see even if I wanted to.


    We were moving, then Dad was running.


    The screams and noise were horrendous¡ª


    ¡ªand I wanted to scream with them.


    So, scream, I did¡ª


    ¡ªJust like I was screaming right now.


    Dad had eventually stopped running, and I heard Mom soothing Reece.


    But they didn¡¯t stop walking. The night turned into day, and there was bubbling water beside us. I could see it and hear it.


    It was still dark, but there were streetlights attempting to light our way. Cars were whizzing past at incredible speeds. ¡°We¡¯re not safe on this road,¡± Mom said.


    ¡°I know, just a while longer,¡± Dad replied.


    I stole a glance behind; it was the only way I was facing after all. Burning buildings, smoke everywhere.


    Then Mom screamed, and Dad almost dropped me.


    ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡± a gruff male voice asked him.


    ¡°My kids'' school clothes,¡± he said, his voice calm.


    I knew my school clothes were tidied away at home. Why was he lying?


    ¡°Drop the kid,¡± the man said, and I heard a click.


    ¡°I need to pee, dad¡­¡± I moaned in his ear. The man had a gun and was obviously not afraid to threaten us with it.


    ¡°Shh,¡± Dad soothed. He tucked the blanket tighter around me but lowered me to the ground. I clung to him, but he pushed me to the side where I could see Mom and Reece. ¡°Go,¡± he whispered.


    I ran to Mom, and she scooped me up like I weighed nothing. Reece on one arm, me on her other hip. ¡°Mom, I really need to pee,¡± I said.


    ¡°Throw me the bag,¡± the man said.


    There was no blanket covering me now, and I could see. See exactly what was stalking behind the man with the gun. Dad hadn¡¯t moved at all.


    It wasn¡¯t an elephant; it was too small, but it wasn¡¯t anything else I recognized. A thick mouth opened with a thousand teeth.


    Mom let out a little gasp. But then we saw it, Dad held out his hand, four fingers.


    He was waiting.


    Three fingers.


    Waiting for the creature to strike.


    Two fingers.


    Mom dropped me to the floor once more but held my hand tight.


    In that split second, the creature attacked its large jaws clamping down onto the man, his gun went off, the loud boom deafening, but not as deafening as his screams or as mom tried to drag me away.


    Dad lunged for the man, ripping the gun from his hands as he tried to slap the creature off him.


    ¡°Kill it! Kill it, what the fuck are you waiting for!¡± The man screamed.


    Mom had frozen on the spot, and I clung to her.


    Dad turned the gun on the creature and shot it point blank in the head.


    The man dropped with the creature, screaming and clutching at his gaping wound.


    A soft glow spread around my father who held his hands up as if he saw something else we couldn¡¯t.


    Dad seemed as frozen as Mom was, just staring at the mess in front of him. The man still screaming.


    I saw him about to go for his bag.


    But I also saw more of those creatures.


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    Dad looked at us, then to what was coming for us. He shook himself, and then was with us, and he was running again. This time I ran with them.


    ¡°Take the next road,¡± I said to him as our pacing slowed.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We need off the main roads, if you take the next left, we¡¯re heading out¡­ a companion road.¡±


    Dad scooped me up. ¡°How¡¯d you get so smart?¡±


    ¡°The internet,¡± I said, and it made him laugh.


    ¡°I still need to pee,¡± I complained.


    ¡°Shit,¡± he led us off to the side of the road. Then I kept watch. Mom helped me, and made Reece go too, even though he protested with a, ¡°don¡¯t wanna.¡±


    We did take the next left road, and then without cars and signs of anything else, we just walked.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Mom asked him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If we keep walking, we might make it to the outer city by morning. Maybe head to Blakes cabin, in Aker¡¯s Valley?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we stay in the city?¡± I asked.


    ¡°News, radio says too,¡± Dad agreed.


    ¡°But?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°When the shit¡¯s hitting the fan this much, you¡¯re better out of heavily populated areas.¡±Mom nodded and wrapped Reece up tight to her as a light rain started.


    Dad tucked me back in the blanket, and his scent and warmth made me sleepy. Though I couldn¡¯t. I listened to them instead.


    ¡°Can you get anything on your phone?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s some news reports,¡± she replied, and I could see the light of her phone. ¡°Monsters appeared and attacked the city everywhere.¡±


    ¡°No ideas as to what all this is?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she said. ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your bag, what¡¯s in it?¡±


    ¡°Medical supplies,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°You stole it¡­¡±


    ¡°Borrowed,¡± he scolded.


    I didn¡¯t hear anything else.


    ***


    When Dad eventually moved enough to wake me, I slid down to open my eyes to the morning sun.


    ¡°We can stay here for a while,¡± Dad said and eased me to the ground. I looked up at him, still in his hospital scrubs.


    He put a large rucksack down behind him and sat on a small rock, breathing fast but slowing. ¡°Come here,¡± he said and patted his knee.


    I would never refuse him.


    When he looked at me, I knew something bad had happened. ¡°I¡¯m going to be blunt.¡±


    ¡°Alfie,¡± mom begged.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going away,¡± he said. ¡°Did you not see what was on our street? Did you not see what attacked that gunman?¡±


    Mom¡¯s face fell. ¡°Alfie, she¡¯s too young.¡±


    ¡°Cerys, you¡¯re not too young.¡± He pulled me to look at him and simply said. ¡°I need you to be brave. I need you to promise me you¡¯ll always be brave.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± I said. What I wanted to do was cry like my mom was. But I was brave. His brave girl. ¡°I promise, like always.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t hide you all the time.¡± His face was so unmoving, so real. He meant every word. ¡°If I tell you to run. You run. If I tell you to hide. You hide.¡±


    I nodded, shivers running the whole breadth of my body. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Those boxes?¡± I didn¡¯t understand any of it. ¡°What if I¡¯d said no?¡±


    ¡°I am glad Reece likes cookies.¡± Mom cuddled him tighter. ¡°Bryce said no¡ª¡± she was saying almost her eact words from earlier. ¡°He¡ªhe turned to dust in front of the both of us.¡±


    ¡°They did the same at the hospital.¡± My father confirmed. ¡°People didn¡¯t know what it was and said no. They disintegrated right in front of me.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°Chaos will spread further and further. Electricity¡¯s off then on again. We need to hide. This isn¡¯t the end.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Mom said.


    ¡°You think what we saw was a joke?¡± Dad asked, his tone harsh, so harsh. ¡°Those creatures in our streets were killing people.¡±


    I¡¯d never seen him so frustrated, so angry, especially at Mom.


    Mom curled into herself and cuddled Reece even more.


    ¡°Something happened when I killed that creature,¡± Dad said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I got another box. It said¡ªFirst Kill¡ªYou have killed a Macrodite. XP awarded. It said I would likely survive Initialization.¡±


    ¡°Like my video games?¡± I asked.


    Dad nodded. ¡°I feel so dumb for saying it, but yes.¡±


    ¡°Blakes Cabin it is then?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°For now, yes.¡±


    My Dad took my hand in his, taking my full attention once more. ¡°We¡¯re going to follow the river for a long while. It will take us into the country. You liked the county, right?¡±


    I nodded again at him.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re going to stay there for a while, at my boss¡¯s old place. We were there last summer if you recall.¡±


    I did. The lake there was amazing. There were fish and canoes. I smiled then. It had good memories.


    ¡°Cerys,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re staying there. Until this initialization is over. Then we need to see what¡¯s going on back at home.¡±


    ¡°More monsters?¡± I asked, not really expecting him to answer.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said. ¡°But I hope not,¡± he tried to smile, but there were deep frowns on his forehead.


    I knew he was pretending, and we¡¯d see them¡ªmonsters from my worst nightmares¡ª¡ª¡ªagain.

 2 - Cabin Life

    Chapter 2 - Cabin life


    Dad¡¯s boss¡ª I knew he hated that word¡ªhad a really nice cabin, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Mom tried to put us kids alone in one, but Reece started crying, and did not want to be left on his own at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave us,¡± I begged also.


    ¡°For a couple of nights, lets bunk in the big bed together,¡± Dad overrode her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can find for us to eat.¡± Mom added, her shoulders slumped.


    ¡°Always was plenty of dried goods, though if there¡¯s freezer food, we might not get long out of it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make notes,¡± Mom said. ¡°Will use as much as I can from there first.¡±


    ¡°Can you make notes for us too?¡± Dad asked me even though I yawned at him.


    ¡°What like?¡±


    ¡°The dried goods,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a pass around the lake, see if there¡¯s anyone else around.¡±


    Mom¡¯s face fell. ¡°What I¡ª¡±


    ¡°We have to know,¡± he said.


    Mom closed her eyes and nodded.


    I went to Blake¡¯s office, it had been off limits the last time we were here, but mom was right behind me. ¡°Has to be a notebook or two,¡± she smiled.


    We found the notebooks, and then together started to make notes in the open plan kitchen. Dad had sat Reece in the big child¡¯s chair and given him some cookies. He was grinning from ear to ear but occupied enough for us to do our little job.


    Mom didn¡¯t keep the freezer open for long, literally one glance, she pulled out several large pieces of meat and then closed it up. ¡°Mostly fish,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to dump that in a few days, or it will stink us out of house and home.¡±


    She pretended to gag at me and held her nose. I couldn¡¯t stop laughing - she looked so silly with her face all scrunched up like that!


    The rest of the task she came to help me with after lighting the oven. Propane tanks out the back were how they ran, even I knew they were stocked up, would last us a while, at least even I hoped they would.


    Methodically she read out everything and waited for me to write it all down. I wasn¡¯t a fast writer; she knew that and she was patient.


    But we were done, and the meat was smelling wonderful by the time dad arrived back with a truck loaded from top to bottom with goods.


    He left them in the truck, and we had packet mash, and tinned peas with the meat and gravy though it was not as good as her usual meals we¡¯d also not eaten all day. Reece got all his mushed together and fed to him, even though he was eating more solids this was the only way he ate fresh meat.


    ¡°What¡¯s around?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Dad replied. Then added. ¡°No one at all. I ran the whole lake, got the truck and goods from the store. It¡¯s packed, but no signs of the owners at all, just that¡­¡±


    I saw mom¡¯s glare, and he stopped.


    ¡°Dust,¡± I answered for them.


    Dad looked at me with wide eyes, like he was surprised I knew. But I wasn¡¯t stupid. I knew what they were talking about.


    Dad nodded. ¡°Two other cabins were full of it too.¡±


    Mom pushed her food away, but dad pushed it back. ¡°Eat it while we have it.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°That bad?¡±


    ¡°Even if we pull everything into one house, I don¡¯t think any of it will last for long.¡±


    ¡°How long, is long?¡±


    ¡°Real dried goods a year tops. But we¡¯ll have to fish, catch anything¡ªeverything we can.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here a year,¡± Mom said.


    ¡°We¡¯re staying as long as we can, to figure out what is going on and go from there.¡±


    ¡°The boats?¡±


    ¡°All fueled and fine,¡± he added scraping the gravy off his plate, and going for more. He ate another plate full and seeing mine was empty filled mine again too. ¡°Eat as much as you can without being sick.¡±


    I just nodded and ate, till my stomach hurt.


    The bed with just me and Reece in it was cold at first. I could hear them talking in the kitchen. I tiptoed to the door, pressing my ear against it. Mom and Dad always talked about the important stuff when they thought I was asleep.


    ¡°I know¡ª¡± Mom said.


    I strained to hear better. Grown-ups always thought kids couldn¡¯t understand things.


    Then I heard Dad. ¡°I saw more boxes,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°I have too, it said I¡¯d gathered skills for - Town building and Management.¡±


    ¡°I¡ªI killed something.¡±


    I heard cutlery clatter to the sink.


    ¡°Like the one where you got the gun?¡±


    ¡°Similar, it said it was a Vrat. Was a lot smaller.¡±


    ¡°So like a rat?¡±


    ¡°There could be more,¡± he said. ¡°If it¡¯s anything like a rat.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Mom started sobbing. ¡°We can¡¯t fight monsters?¡±


    ¡°We have to,¡± Dad replied, and I peeked out just enough to see him consoling her. ¡°We¡¯ll do whatever it takes to get stronger and fight, fight for us, for our children.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough.¡±


    **I wanted to run out there and hug them. Tell them I could help too. But what could I do? I was only ten. Just a kid.**


    ¡°You gave birth to two beautiful kids,¡± Dad carried on. ¡°You¡¯re more than strong enough.¡±


    I slipped back into bed, hugging my knees. Reece was fast asleep, and when they came in later, I pretended to be as well.


    ***


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± Mom asked as Dad bundled us into the truck.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, nothing will come for you.¡±


    It had been a couple of days now, Dad had done a lot of the recon and packing while we stayed inside, sorting it. The freezer food had been disposed of, and made way for things animals could easily get at. Now it was packed with dried goods in plastics, not tins. That was my idea, and mom had been proud. **I¡¯d seen it on a YouTube video once - plastic doesn¡¯t make noise like cans do if something tries to get in. Mom said I was so clever for thinking of it.** The internet had lasted two more days, and then as the electricity failed again, it just never came back.


    I heard mom and dad trying through those first days to phone people, to listen to news stations, but things were stuck on repeat from the day the world fell. That was their term. Fall it did and it was continuing to fall it seemed. Thankfully nothing had fallen here yet.


    I was standing on a stool putting dishes away when the grey boxes appeared again in front of me, blurring my vision for just that split second it took to miss my destination. The plate slipping and shattering on the floor.


    SYSTEM REBOOTING


    PLEASE WAIT


    YOU HAVE SURVIVED INITIALIZATION


    CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE IN THE TOP 1%


    OF THE WORLD¡¯S POPULATION


    SYSTEM RECOGNIZING


    Cerys Bellova


    Female - 10


    Puberty - Not Attained


    To reach the next level in system recognition - reach puberty


    SYSTEM STATS


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Recognizing skill


    Scholar


    Cerys you are a fast learner, this means you will go far once you can gain access properly.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked no one.


    The message flashed up:


    SYSTEM STATS


    To access your system stats - reach puberty


    SYSTEM BLOCKED


    ¡°Puberty? Isn¡¯t that when you get all gross and grow hair in weird places? Ugh, that¡¯s years away!¡±


    Mom and Dad rushed in as I swiped it away, and Reece started crying. Mom went to Reece, and Dad automatically grabbed a brush to clean up.


    ¡°You saw it?¡± Dad asked and I nodded. ¡°What did it say?¡±


    I recalled it perfectly for both of them.


    ¡°So, you got nothing else, but Scholar?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t have access,¡± I said with a sigh.


    Dad scooped me down off the chair, tucking stray hairs behind my ears.


    ¡°Puberty?¡± Mom asked. ¡°Does that mean a specific age? Or actual puberty?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dad replied. ¡°If it was an age, it would have said surely?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± I pouted, crossing my arms. ¡°Why do I have to wait? I¡¯m not a baby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not old enough?¡± My bottom lip trembled. Not being old enough had meant many things in my life. Can¡¯t use certain channels, can¡¯t read certain things. At home the internet had been locked up tight. Here¡­ not so much.


    ¡°Why Scholar?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s smart,¡± Dad said.


    ¡°Do you think Reece saw something similar?¡±


    Reece was now watching something on my iPad. ¡°Yeah, he just doesn¡¯t know what it is.¡±


    ¡°Lightning Mage,¡± Reece said without even looking up.


    Dad¡¯s jaw dropped open, and I stared at Reece with big eyes. He was only little - he never talked in full sentences like that!


    Dad¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What was that Reece?¡±


    ¡°Cerys¡¯s smart¡ªme Lightning Mage,¡± he repeated.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re smart,¡± I told him with a grin. ¡°Just like me.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°I have no clue, but maybe we¡¯ll learn more as we develop things ourselves?¡±


    ¡°I hope so,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are we really sticking to today¡¯s plan?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°I need Cerys with me. You can pack the truck while Reece plays.¡±


    I felt all warm inside that Dad wanted me to go with him. Mom was always treating me like a baby, but Dad let me help with the important stuff. It made me feel special.


    ¡°The camp¡¯s secure,¡± Dad assured her. ¡°I¡¯ll know if anything gets inside now, but we have to move things sooner rather than later. Log it, pack it wise.¡±


    They kissed briefly, and I giggled. Mom came to me. ¡°He might be your dad, but he¡¯s still my husband.¡± Mom said and made me giggle again. She kissed my cheek. ¡°Be brave today.¡±


    ¡°Always,¡± I answered her. ¡°Daddy¡¯s brave girl.¡±


    When mom and Reece were driving away, Dad turned to me and kneeled. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was ever going to get her to agree to this,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re with me a hundred percent, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s just us.¡± I stared into his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve been reading, I need¡ªI want to learn.¡±


    ¡°Reading? So that¡¯s why you got Scholar?¡±


    **¡±I downloaded all the stuff I could think of to my iPad before the internet went away. Survival guides and stuff about plants you can eat. And I printed the most important pages on Mr. Blake¡¯s printer, just in case.¡±**


    Dad cocked his head at me, then like usual, he ruffled my hair while I groused. ¡°See that¡¯s exactly the kid I know. Smart.¡±


    **¡±You¡¯re taking me with you ¡®cause you want me to learn stuff, right? Important stuff that Mom wouldn¡¯t want me to know?¡±**


    ¡°I need you too. There¡¯s going to be times I¡¯m not able to be here, or your mom¡¯s not watching. You¡ª¡± He paused and pointed to his eyes. ¡°Well, you have to learn to have these peeled, and these¡ª¡± to his ears. ¡°Listening.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Mostly, I need you to be thinking on your own,¡± he said. ¡°You have to make decisions when we can¡¯t, and you¡¯re already proving that.¡±


    ¡°Survival of the fittest,¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I will be fittest.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Dad reached over and pulled down a gun, angling it away from us, but so that I could clearly see it. ¡°This is going to be yours.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, a real gun? For me?¡± My heart started racing super fast. A REAL gun!


    ¡°Birthday present?¡±


    Dad¡¯s face fell. ¡°Crap, is it?¡±


    I just nodded. He put the gun down for a moment and pulled me to him. ¡°CerBer I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    I squeezed him tight. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    Dad squeezed back, his breath catching. ¡°Still, this, all of this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the BEST birthday present ever! None of my friends would get something this cool. They¡¯d just get stupid dolls and stuff.¡±


    He let me go, held my eyes for a moment, then nodded. ¡°When I¡¯m doing something, I also need you to be safe. That means¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªI need to learn how to defend myself, and you.¡±


    ¡°We have a good number of bullets, and there were quite a few of these in the lockup out the back of the shop.¡±


    ¡°Handy,¡± I said and smiled, though looking at the weapon in his hands **my tummy felt all swirly and weird. I¡¯d never even touched a real gun before. What if I hurt someone by accident?**


    ¡°Scared is good,¡± Dad said. ¡°Treat every gun no matter even if I pass it to you and say it¡¯s empty, as it¡¯s loaded, right?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I was nodding as he passed me the gun.


    I took it tentatively and nodded, making sure he knew I understood. ¡°I did watch and listen to you and Blake,¡± I added. ¡°Safety first.¡±


    Dad winked at me, then slow and steady he ran through everything that made up the gun.


    It was heavier than it looked, but not super heavy. I moved it around carefully like Dad showed me, getting used to how it felt in my hands. I liked that I could protect myself now. And maybe protect Dad and Mom and Reece too, if those monsters came back.


    ¡°Here he said, hold like this, and this,¡± he moved my hands into a better position and then he patted the muzzle. ¡°Keep this, pointing in a safe direction, at all times.¡±


    I was still nodding, but because I didn¡¯t speak, he looked at me. ¡°Got it,¡± I added and gently angled the gun away from pointing at our safe house.


    ¡°Good girl,¡± he praised. ¡°Next, never have your finger on the trigger. Only move to position when you¡¯re sighting, move this¡ª¡± he pointed to a switch on the side. ¡°To on, then finger over the trigger. I¡¯ll leave it in safety mode for now. Feel how the trigger is.¡±


    I put my fingers over the trigger, and gently felt it catch. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°But it won¡¯t feel like that with the safety off, will it?¡±


    ¡°No, it will pull back further, and then fire.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said again.


    ¡°When you¡¯re sighting always look at your target, and past it, this bullet will likely keep on going through your target and into whatever is in its path, that means if you sight a dear, and your brother is on the other side¡ª¡±


    I gasped and almost dropped the gun. The thought of hurting Reece made my whole body go cold. ¡°No Cerys, if you pull the trigger without knowing what¡¯s behind your target, it could mean life or death for one of us.¡±


    I sucked in a breath, steadying my nerves, ¡°How far past?¡±


    I saw my dad look. ¡°See the first post here, and then the sign at the far end of this pathway?¡± He checked I was nodding. ¡°Then it would likely hit that sign.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s like super far!¡± I couldn¡¯t believe a tiny bullet could go that distance.


    ¡°And fast,¡± he added.


    ¡°Did you learn all this out here?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Blake was a good guy.¡±


    There was sadness in his eyes then. ¡°Hey Dad, the system said we¡¯re in the top one percent of people. That means lots of people are still alive, right? Like ninety million? I learned that in math class.¡±


    ¡°How do you¡ª¡± he started, then laughed. ¡°Smart ass.¡±


    ¡°It means there¡¯s a chance out there, that people we know might have survived.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said and blew out a breath.


    ¡°That scares you?¡± I asked.


    He blew out another breath before he answered, ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°People can do the most horrid things when scared.¡±


    ¡°Like that man with the gun on the road.¡±


    ¡°Exactly like that man on the road. You need to be very, very careful. If you come across anyone at all when we¡¯re not with you.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± I said, and we drifted into silence. ¡°So what else are we gonna do today? I wanna learn everything!¡±


    ¡°Your mom will be teaching you still,¡± he said. ¡°Just in very different things.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°But we need to learn the fighting stuff too, so we don¡¯t get eaten by monsters.¡±


    ¡°Give her some time,¡± he said. ¡°She¡¯ll come around.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so for the rest of the day?¡±


    ¡°Well, you get used to carrying that, and comfortable, and we¡¯re going to check the traps around and then head out into the lake to do the same.¡±


    ¡°Think we¡¯ll catch anything?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯re still some animals about, I¡¯ve seen normal tracks.¡± He helped me shoulder the rifle properly and added a rucksack with supplies to my back.


    **¡±Ughhh, this weighs a ton!¡± I complained, my shoulders already starting to hurt.**


    ¡°Get used to that too, you¡¯re going to have to get stronger.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°How can you tell the tracks are normal?¡± I asked as we started to walk the camp.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± he grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll show you everything I know, and together we¡¯ll both learn and get stronger. Agreed?¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± I said and smiled back.


    ***


    When we returned back to the cabin that day, I held up two freshly gutted and skinned rabbits in one hand and a large fish in the other.


    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± mom said and came bouncing over to us, but then she stopped dead.


    Uh-oh. Mom saw the gun. Her face turned that scary red color it gets when she¡¯s super mad. I wanted to hide the gun behind my back, but it was too late.


    ¡°I knew there was a reason you were insisting on taking her out,¡± I looked between the both of them and knew what was coming¡ªshe¡¯d seen the gun.


    ¡°Mirta,¡± Dad started, and with a gentle push to my back added. ¡°Go in the house, you can make a start on cooking the meat.¡±


    I was about to protest, but Mom¡¯s face¡­ I¡¯d never, ever seen her this angry. Then there were sparks.


    ¡°Inside now!¡± Dad said.


    I did as he ordered, and rushed inside, whirling around to get a look at my mom as what seemed like magic¡ªno fire¡ªmanifested all around her.


    ¡°WHOA!¡± I pressed my face against the window. Mom had actual FIRE coming off her! Like a superhero! This was the coolest and scariest thing ever!


    ¡°You need to calm down,¡± Dad said hands up in a placating manner.


    ¡°Calm down, you gave our ten-year-old daughter a gun and went out hunting what do you expect me to say.¡±


    The sparking red energy around mom was growing stronger and stronger.


    ¡°Mirta, please.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you Mirta please, me nothing.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t just watch. They were going to hurt each other! Mom looked like she was going to explode, and Dad looked scared! I dropped the meat and ran out screaming to stand between them. ¡°Stop it, stop it! We fight the monsters, not each other!¡±


    But in that next instant it was as if the world exploded around us. Mom a veritable fireball and Dad kneeling in defense, with what looked like a shield shooting out around the both of us.


    Mom dropped and Dad was with her in a second as she sobbed, ¡°Oh god what did I do, what could I have done?¡± she was staring at her hands.


    Recognizing skill


    Negotiator


    My hands were shaking. Did I just stop Mom and Dad from fighting? With actual superpowers? A little box appeared in front of me saying ¡°Negotiator.¡± Cool!


    I kept the gun behind me, not wanting to leave it anywhere seeing as I wasn¡¯t sure where Reece was and stepped to them both. ¡°The voice of reason as well as smart,¡± Dad said at me.


    ¡°What do the boxes say?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It called me a Firestarter,¡± Mom said. ¡°But, I feel wild, out of control with it? It¡¯s like pure rage.¡±


    ¡°Protector,¡± Dad added. ¡°I feel saft, calm.¡±


    ¡°Negotiator,¡± I said and wrapped the both of them in my arms.


    When the gun tapped mom on the shoulder, she looked at it and then to my dad. ¡°She¡¯s too young,¡± she murmured.


    **¡±Mom, I might be too young for the stupid system, but I¡¯m not too young to learn how to protect us. What if those monsters come back and you and Dad aren¡¯t there?¡±**


    Mom closed her eyes for a second. ¡°Let¡¯s get dinner started.¡±


    ¡°You have a good day?¡± Dad asked.


    ¡°We did, everything is unloaded and stored. It took time, but time we have.¡±


    ¡°At least for now,¡± Dad added.


    ¡°Any more on the news?¡± I risked.


    ¡°There¡¯s been very few messages,¡± mom admitted, ¡°All city centers were targeted it seems, most of the people in those are gone.¡±


    ¡°Gone? Like... all turned to dust?¡± I remembered what Mom had said about the neighbor. All those people... it made my chest hurt to think about it.


    ¡°Anyone know what¡¯s actually going on?¡±


    Mom shook her head as we made it inside the cabin and Dad showed me where to secure the gun, with the combination code. At least in here Reece wouldn¡¯t have access, he however tucked the smaller holster he had under his shirt.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even trust being in the house?¡± Mom asked him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going without a weapon, not now.¡±


    Mom shook her head. ¡°If you can, Cer, get Reece washed up. Dinner will be a few hours.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± I said and made my way into the back of the cabin.


    I caught dad¡¯s, ¡°You forgot its her birthday too.¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± she cried. ¡°I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    I moved out of hearing range to where Reece was playing with some old cars, and an iPad spat music into the air.


    He looked up at me, picked the iPad up and swapped channels for a moment. ¡°Happy Birthday,¡± played.


    I sat down next to him on the floor. ¡°How come you remembered my birthday when Mom and Dad forgot?¡± I asked, poking his tummy to make him giggle.


    Reece tapped the side of his head.


    ¡°The System tell you it was my birthday?¡±


    ¡°No, silly.¡± He giggled. ¡°Me smart, like sis.¡±


    ¡°You ARE smart!¡± I gave him a big hug. ¡°Smartest little brother ever.¡±


    When the song ended, I picked it up and changed it to something else. Reece smiled and went back to play with his cars. ¡°Bath soon,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Hate bath,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°I hate it too.¡±