The MOABs reduced the zone right back past the 10km watchers. Explorers found it about 8km from the Anomaly. By morning, the zone had crept back to a 10-kilometer radius and was expanding.

Nobody pretended they were happy, even though volunteers were continuing to be Enhanced at a constant rate. I rarely check the news, but the aerial photos from the bombing were published before and after. There is a big hole in the ground that is now a small lake. The anomaly can be seen suspended above the new lake. I am sure that is a long telephoto shot. To nuke or not to nuke is the debate of the day.

Nowadays, you have to travel fifteen kilometres or more to get to the edge of the zone. I miss the short stroll it used to take. That does not mean there aren't mutated animals and plants everywhere the zone used to be. There are, and the animals wander further afield.

I am starting to think our time here is done. I can feel Anawhata calling me.

“I resigned from the Navy,” Ata said. “They want to put me on the same consultant agreement as you three because I am Enhanced and experienced. They don’t say it, but they want access to the baby.”

“I would say, “Great free health care!” but we are Kiwis, and healthcare is free anyway. You will get better healthcare.” Carla said.

“Go for it,” Soph said, “We can insist on being a group and sticking together.”

“If we are some sort of formal group,” I said, “you are our military liaison.”

“And combat instructor,” Carla said.

“I am a sailor, not a soldier.” Ata reminded us.

“You still have more experience and training than any of us,” Carla said.

“Are you guys actually OK with this?” Ata asked.

I knew she was giving me a last chance to back out, and she would leave rather than make me leave.

Carla and Soph nodded enthusiastically for their own reasons.

I paused, then said, “We are going to need a decent group name.”

“Shut up, Bob,” Carla and Soph said together.

“The Witch’s Coven?” I got things thrown at me for that, so I guess it is a no. I probably should not suggest “The Bastard, the Bitch, the Witch and the Hag.” No, I will keep that one to myself for my own health and safety. Especially for my sexual health.

Ata left to sign the contract so they were effective immediately, and she wouldn’t need to work out her enlistment time.

I decided to take a wander away from camp to get some space. I went near the river this time as the trees were shady, and it wasn’t too far. I saw Eliza in the trees nearby. That's right, we were not supposed to go out alone. I shrugged.

What was bugging me was my huge, big pool of essence that was mostly unused. There have got to be other ways to use it than just empowering mutations. Enhancements, I must call them enhancements.

I put my hand into a pouch and pulled out a fish scale and a bone scale, both from Carla. These are the product of Essence. They were literally created by essence. I pulled out a shark tooth and a human tooth. These were also created by essence. The tooth looked like a normal tooth with the nerve endings that go into the tooth. They will be why it is so painful. We need to find a dentist so that we can numb the teeth before the change. That will help a lot with the pain.

Why didn’t we do that earlier? Fuck I am dumb. I pulsed Carla through our link, “Dentist, Numb Teeth.” in Morse code so she would know there was a better way. She pulsed back, “Fuck Yeah.” I wouldn’t be surprised if she was hitting up Amanda for it right now. She would have a numb mouth for a while, but drooling is better than pain.

Wait, teeth. Can I use the shark's teeth to inject poison? I look at it. No dumbass. Snake teeth and my needle are hollow to inject the poison through. Sharks teeth are not.

I looked at the scales. Essence created those. I picked up a piece of bark off the ground. I put a finger on it and injected poison, leaving the needle in it. Essence created the needle and the poison. Essence created things. Essence mutated things. Living things. Could I empower this essence-created scale, even though it is no longer attached to Carla? Even though I am not Carla. I do have the same essence type.

I put a fish scale on the bark and placed a finger on it. Then I shot a needle through it into the bark. My poison and needle injection is designed to go through fish scales.

I put a second fish scale on the bark. I put a finger on this. Instead of injecting poison, I just tried injecting essence, empowering it like my senses and my skin. The essence seemed stuck in my skin. I know that is not right because Buck could project it. Yes, it was a mutation, but he could do it. Eliza, watching me, can project it to form a gate. It can be done.

I kept hitting a blank. I bet I could figure it out in the peace and quiet of Anawhata. Maybe I need Soph to use Rich’s Essence sense. I know I am onto something here. I pick up the bark and head back to camp.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Rich was lying just outside the tent entrance, so I guess Soph was inside. She was resting on her cot. I showed her the bark and pulled out some more of Carla’s fish scales.

“I figure I should be able to empower these scales, but I am not getting it. Can you look at the essence and tell me what is going on?”

“Bob, I was asleep!”

“Yeah, sorry you are awake now, though. Only you and Rich can do this, and he gets grumpy if I wake him.”

I got a very grumpy look. Soph is too nice for her own good.

She sighed, “What did you want?”

See? I repeated myself.

“The scales are… how do I explain this? They have Car’s pattern to them. Show me what you are doing?” I showed her. “Yeah, it is bouncing or being rejected because the pattern doesn’t match.”

“Oh! Well, that’s an easy fix.” I pulled on the link with Carla, and instead of absorbing her essence, I fed it to my finger and onto the scales and in it went easy as. I followed it up with a poison needle, and the needle bounced—one empowered scale.

“What did you do?” Soph asked.

“I drew Carla’s essence through the link and used that—time for her to send essence for a change.”

“Right, yes. The link goes both ways.”

“Right, can we do more than one at a time?” I laid out a row of scales, making sure they all touched, and then I empowered one end and spiked a needle in the other. “Yes, easy as. Awesome!”

I got a pulse query from Carla and sent her back a DND meaning, ‘do not disturb,’

“What are you going to do with that?” Soph asked.

“That is proof of concept that essence can be used for other things than empowering your enhancements. But this, specifically? I am going to make some scale armour that I can empower. We could probably make it two or three layers thick to stop most things. It will need some testing. Probably fish scale on the bottom and bone scale on the top.”

“Can you make me some, too?” Soph said.

“I suppose, but only Carla and I could empower it. Your fur might have to be enough.”

“Oh, is that what you think? I don’t have access to her essence, but I see her essence, and I have been copying it. Watch.” She put her finger on the fish scale and then nodded to me. My needle bounced.

“Fucking fantastic. We can copy people's patterns. Let me try.” I looked at Carla’s essence and saw how it swirled or the pattern it was at the core and tried to make mine copy it. “Fuck, that's not easy.” It was sort of like moving small parts of my essence again but twisting the slippery bugger into a pattern.

When I finally got it, Soph was dozing again. It didn’t take that long… Oh, I shook Soph again.

“What?”

“It’s dinner time.”

“Oh, ta.”

Over dinner, I explained what I was doing to Carla and Ata. Ata was excited.

“That's great! my feathers only cover my back. I need something for my front.”

Carla wasn’t so sure, “I think I am starting to feel like a sheep that is about to be shorn.”

“We have lots of scales to go on with. We have been collecting them, remember.”

“Hummpf,” she said noncommittally.

“Now the next task is, how do we see other people's patterns without Soph’s Skill?” I asked.

I got silence as a response.

“Soph? You can see Rich and Eliza’s patterns, right?” She nodded. “They are dark turquoise. Can you match their patterns?”

“With my fluorescent blue?”

“Yes. Can you change your colour to match?”

“I don’t know. I am familiar with the colour, and not just from being in the zone so much.” She sounded uncertain. “What I can do is match the pattern with my blue, and it enhances our bond, but I haven’t tried changing colour.”

“That is interesting. Maybe matching patterns is enough? I am trying to match colour, as we all have been in the zone a lot,” I said. “You won’t change your core colour. You will need to separate part of your essence out and then try to change only that part.”

“It is not easy, is it?” said Carla.

“You should start by trying to mimic my essence and then Sophs, as those are the two you know best. We are also all fluorescent blue. I mimicked yours first.”

Carla nodded.

“By that logic, only a limited number of people will be able to mimic our essence as only a few have spent time in the Waiheke zone and been changed by it,” Ata said.

I nodded. That made sense. Maybe patterns are enough. Colour might be a step too far, but it is worth trying.

Changing the colour of the essence is hard. When I collapsed in bed that night, I might have been getting a slightly darker shade of blue. Maybe. There was no green yet.

Amanda came and sat with us at breakfast. “How are my favourite Enhanced? I'm sorry that I have been too busy to catch up. Too many people are mutating, and far too many are dying.”

“You are not exactly in our good books,” I said.

“Oh?”

“North Koreans,” said Carla.

“Right. That’s the reason for…” she indicated the soldier sitting at the table over with a coffee.

“Good,” said Carla.

“Serves you right,” I said, “Fancy an academic being popular reading in North Korea.”

“I write well,” Amanda defended herself, “and my subjects are fascinating.”

“As one of those subjects, I don’t want people fascinated with me,” I said.

“Sorry. Normally, I would change names and obscure details, but in my defence, I did have permission.”

“Oh?” I inquired.

“The agreements we signed,” said Soph. “They give permission for academic work.”

“Those things- I will have you know that being referenced in academic journals is not good for our health and safety,” I said.