Nick crept through the darkness, hugging the side of the alleyway. The occasional undead stumbled past, but he hadn't been caught yet. He knew that he needed food before he could leave, but he had yet to find an unguarded house. The only light in the city was the glowing cracks in the ceiling far above, and the smoldering remains of the house he had accidentally burned down. Luckily, whatever disaster had killed the inhabitants of this city had covered the building in an obsidian-like stone, stopping the fire from spreading too far. Kid's main body had burned up as well, but the single strand remaining of his vine cluster was wrapped snuggly around his neck.

Nick looked around hurriedly for a way out. There was a window high above that he would have broken, but he wasn't sure if the zombies could hear. He didn't want to risk finding out. He figured a higher view couldn't hurt, and gently poked Kid.

"Hey buddy, do you mind reaching up there and pulling me up?" He said, indicating the pointed rim of the roof.

Sleepy... The ashen vine murmured, its near metaphorical language somehow making itself clear. Nick didn't know what to do about that, but he figured Kid might.

"Can I do anything to get you some energy?" He asked.

It was silent for a moment, as if deliberating. Yes. It decided, before slithering around his neck. The sensation made Nick shiver, like having a snake riding on top of him. And then he cried out, when both ends of the vine plunged into the backs of his shoulders. He had thought they were covered, which was what made it so surprising, but Saul must have used some of the material in order to finish off the breastplate earlier. As the vines plunged into his shoulder blades, he felt like ice water had been dumped on his brain. Words cam slowly, his motions were sluggish. As he slowly recovered he felt Kid's words, now all throughout his mind. It was like the difference between speaking to someone from down the hall, and from the center of the room.

Yes, helps!

Nick grunted, still struggling with the uncomfortable sensations. "Glad I could help."

Yay helping!

Nick heard shifting behind his back, and opened his eyes in time to see a grey streak launch up to the roof. Kid had launched a vine all the way up, lassoed the point, and was now slowly trying to pull him up.

"Thanks bud! Alright, I'll pull myself up."

Yay!

Nick grabbed the vine, noticing that it was surprisingly rough. From the way Kid moved, he had half expected it to feel scaly, but it was easy enough to hold onto. Saul appeared to have recovered enough for fine motor skills, prompting Nick to check in with him before he continued.

"Hey Saul, are you alright?"

I am fine, thank you for asking. I will be unable to do much advanced magic for the time being, but managing your hands is simple enough. I see you have invited a friend over?

Hi! I'm Kid! Kid said excitedly, Saul's sarcasm flying right over its head.

It is a pleasure to meet you. I was under the impression that my arrangement with Saul was unique, although I seem to have been mistaken.

Kid took a moment to understand Saul's advanced diction. I'm special!

"Special how? Kiddo, can any plant just latch onto me?"

Kid giggled No, silly. Just me! I'm special!

Would you mind terribly if I asked you to clarify in what way you are special?

Kid waited a beat. I'm special!

"Alright, I think that's all we're gonna get out of her."

Her? Have you had that conversation already?

"No, I guess I just assumed from her voice. Hey Kid, what gender are you?"

Gender?

"I don't know what I expected. We'll stick with her for now. Wait, how come she doesn't know everything I know?"

I suspect she has yet to look. I will take care of her education, you focus on getting us out of here alive.

"Alright, sounds good." With that, he began climbing. His arms burned almost immediately, but he pushed though. His feet pressed against the obsidian facade, he walked up the wall. With Saul managing his grip it was possible, but it wasn't easy. He was sweating profusely by the time he reached the roof. After allowing himself a few moments to lay down, he looked for a way out. He was a good ten houses from the nearest wall, but there was a main thoroughfare in the way that was absolutely crawling with undead. He needed to get into a house, get out, and shut the city gate as he left. That would stop the zombies from spilling out, and allow him to practice in peace outside the walls, before going in to find food and learn to fight. The plan was easier said than done, however.

Looking across the city, he saw a house relatively close to him that would make an easy target. It's roof had a hole in it, allowing easy access. He quietly jumped the gaps until he arrived, gently hopping into the building. He landed in a crouch, dust billowing out in a ring around him. Standing up, he looked at the clean circle of floor.

"Neat." Looking around the room revealed a cramped little attic space. There was a tiny cot at the far end, surrounded by loose piles of stuff. It was the only description for the sheer variety of mess around the room. There were rusted knives laying on top of torn up plush chairs. Wood scraps just lay about. If there was an organizational system at play here, it was entirely inscrutable to Nick. He carefully stepped around an open box full of rusty nails, searching for a hatch leading downwards into the house. He eventually found it underneath a bedframe that had somehow been cracked almost completely in half. Once he had moved it, he dropped further into the dark house.

The darkness clawed at him, his hand invisible when held in front of his face. Eager to solve this new problem, he tested out a theory he had been cooking up for a while. He directed Saul to moving around the bark on his left palm. The covering shifted and flowed like water, releasing a gentle green glow, just like always. He held up the hand, pointing it down the hall, but the light failed to reach more than a couple feet in front of him. Now, for the theoretical part. He directed Saul to try and continue using magic, but stop moving the bark. Slowly, tentatively, the bark faded back into its regular pattern. The light flickered, threatening to fizzle out completely, before it stabilized.

"Yes! Alright Saul, do you think you can bump up the magic a bit?"

I believe it will be possible, but I would like to minimize the use of magic as much as possible. We have yet to discover the mechanism through which it recovers.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"I've got a theory about that too, but we'll need to test it once we're out of the city. For now, I just need enough light to see with." Saul fell silent, but the light dutifully increased, until he had a shining green flashlight emerging from his hand. Curiosity prompted him to try switching it around, making him look like a very big disco ball for a moment. Eventually, he told Saul to try and maintain the same level of magic, but diffused all over the wood covering him. Saul acquiesced, and the light faded out slowly. He could now see in about a 10 foot radius centered on his chest, and he had a very fancy green glow all over him. He found he quite liked the look. Vision restored, he took a proper look around.

The floor boards were cut like hardwood, but made of the same obsidian as everything else in the city. His bare feet padded against the slick stone as he wandered around, hoping to find a kitchen through sheer luck. The last time he had been in a house, it had been full of zombies, so he was keeping an eye out for those as well. Every creak in the old, dilapidated house had him jumping. Needless to say, he was a little on edge. The hall he had dropped into opened up to reveal a cozy living room, or what remained of it at least. The chairs were in various stages of destroyed, and scattered across the room. Gingerly, Nick stepped through the room, into what he could finally pin down as a kitchen.

It was equipped with the same wooden countertop, and the same rusted hinges on all of the cupboards. Hurriedly, Nick opened doors until he found one containing more perfectly preserved food. He grabbed as much as he could, but ran into the same issue as last time. He just couldn't carry it all. It took no small amount of searching to reveal that there was no convenient bag nearby. Instead, he tried something new.

"Hey Kid?"

Yes? She asked.

"Has Saul gotten around to helping you access my memories?"

He said there was something different with me! I'm special! She responded, much more eloquently.

"You can use full sentences?"

That's the different part! He said I couldn't 'ex-peer-ee-ants' your memories. She sounded out the word that she had trouble with.

"That's, a little relieving honestly. I do not want a plant toddler living through my life."

He also said that I could read things you know!

"Wait. How is that different?"

It was Saul that responded. Allow me to take over here. While she is unable to experience your memories in the same way I she does appear to be able to pick up your knowledge in an academic sense. The way she described it seemed similar to reading a book. I believe, if I can convince her to study for any length of time, she will have eventually have the same level of knowledge as you or I.

"It seems like she's learning pretty fast, but she still seems like a little kid. Is she gonna act more like you once she learns it all?"

As far as I can tell, only so much as any child becomes like influential figures on their life. I believe that she will eventually grow, similar to a human child.

"That has some implications we need to work through. Did I accidentally adopt a kid? I think that might be what kidnapping is."

I'm special! Kid chimed in.

Nick sighed. "Yeah Kid, you sure are. Alright, Do you know how to weave?" The question he supposed he was really asking was 'Do I know how to weave?'.

You learned early in life, and it was relatively useless until right now. Allow me a moment to bring her up to speed.

Nick sat and waited, biting down on a link of cold sausage, until Kid spoke up.

I think I get it! Yay learning!

"Yay learning!" He said in exactly the same tone. "Would you helping me out with something now that you know how weaving works?"

I love helping! Nick told her his idea, and shortly after a tightly woven bag hung from the vine emerging from his shoulders. He helped her with the finishing touches, pointing out where the bag needed to attach in order to not bounce around.

"This is fantastic, Kid! Very nice job!"

He got the impression that the vine was blushing. ...Thanks.

A smile riding across his face, he placed more of the food into the bag and then turned to head out when he spotted a malevolent orange glow down the hall. His arms shot into a stance that was slowly becoming familiar, and he waited as the zombie stumbled into the light. But this was no stumble. It was a purposeful, menacing strut, like the zombie had perfect confidence in itself. A tight, torn covering of leathery skin covered portions of it, but the jagged edges of broken bones stuck out at odd angles. Nick shuddered, not ready to fight something with such human mannerisms, but the zombie gave him no time to prepare himself. It shot forward in a blur of grey and orange, launching directly into his personal space. Nick jolted backwards, placing his cheek directly into the zombie's right hook as he did so. Desperately, he punched wildly, only luck ensuring that he caught the zombie in the shoulder. He stumbled back, hoping to gain distance. The zombie glared at him silently, its dead and rotting features contorting with rage.

Nicholas, I understand your apprehension.

Nick almost snarled, but he bit back the spiteful reply he had come up with when he realized that out of anyone, Saul might be the only one who could know exactly what he was feeling. "Then you know that I can't do this. It was one thing when it was just disturbing, but that thing can think! It's smart, it's planning! I can't kill it, Saul! I can't!" Tears streamed down his cheeks by the end, cutting tracks through the dirt and blood that had coated him.

Then, Saul replied gently, do not kill it.

The simplicity of the statement stopped Nick short. "D-don't kill it?"

Have Kid tie it up. Or better yet, toss it into a room and lock the door. It is not like it will starve, seeing as it is already dead.

"...Yeah. Yeah, alright. I can do that. Okay. Thank you, Saul."

Of course, Nicholas. Anytime.

A solution found, Nick brought his full attention back to the zombie, that had been locked in a standoff with him the whole time. The veneer of humanity had fallen away as soon as it stopped being helpful, but even malicious, Nick could tell that there was something intelligent behind the creature. He stepped forward, prompting both Saul and Kid at the same time. With a burst of green light, strands of grey vine emerged from his back, wrapping around his arms and braiding along his wrists. At the same time, any pointed edges along him dulled down, instead flattening out like little shields. Finally, he directed Saul to make one last change. Green light up like a halo along his neck, the wood their growing up and over the back of his skull. It reached over, tousling his hair. It left a small amount of clearance, which was quickly filled in by Kid to provide padding. As the wood reached his forehead, the front pushed out, sloping down at a sharp angle. When the light faded, he was left with a helmet like a medieval knight. There was a slit for him to see through, and holes dotted the sloped front in order for him to breath properly and speak through. Though he lost a significant portion of his peripheral vision, he could clearly see the zombie in front of him, now looking confused.

Now feeling a little whimsical, he directed Saul to add some decorations along the shoulders and arms, to match the knight theme. It required a little extra wood, but he was assured that it was worth it. He stepped forward and the zombie snarled at him, eerily silent. It jumped at him to take a swipe, causing him to flinch, but the helmet did its job. The attack bounced off, knocked aside by the curved angles of the helmet. His head shifted from the force, but the cushioning along the inside, courtesy of Kid, proved effective enough to keep his skull intact. When the zombie went for another attack, Nick's arm shot up to grab it. If he had a mirror, he would have seen the inside of his helmet light up with an ethereal green glow. Flowing like water, Nick easily stepped around the scrabbling corpse, placing its stick thin arm against its leathery back. With his other hand, he grabbed its opposite shoulder.

The zombie's mouth was held open in a silent scream as Nick led it into a side room. He nudged the door open with his foot, shoved the undead inside, and slammed the door quickly. The violent pounding that immediately followed was not too calming, but nothing could have ruined Nick's mood at that point. He had won the fight, without killing what might have been a person. He couldn't be sure, but it didn't really matter. He pushed on the door with his full body weight, despite the obsidian slab rattling in its frame.

"Hey Kid, you think you could grab a chair from the main room for me?" He grunted

I can try! She responded exuberantly, a tendril snaking off down the hall until it exited the glowing circle of light. Shortly after, the screech of glass on glass heralded her return carrying a spindly chair, now constructed of the same volcanic glass. He lodged it under the doorknob, before taking a step back to examine his handiwork. The door rattled once more, prompting Nick to quickly nod and then scramble back up to the attic. He struggled for nearly a minute to muscle his way onto the roof, before heading towards the main gate across the tightly packed rooftops. When he approached, he held back, waiting to see if any zombies were guarding it, but the gate was empty. Suspiciously so, he might have thought, but he was too tired to worry about the motives of dead people. With the help of Kid, he dropped to the glassy cobbles below, found the mechanism to shut the gate, and had Kid pull it once he was past.

Finally, he was out of the city.