Archie and Wren had been in the back of the military vehicle for over an hour. Their ears pressed towards the drivers cabin, they were gleaning key insights into what was happening around the world.

The internet was down, GPS was no longer reliable and lines of communication were intermittent at best. The driver and Damian were discussing the need for regaining control across London. It seemed like beasts were spawning at random, passing through strange blue rips in our reality. Various locations across the UK had simply vanished and been replaced with strongholds, villages, forests and more all yet unexplored and full of mystery.

Damian mentioned to the driver that the military focus was on creating perimeters around all known sites. Planes fired overhead towards the city, deafening loud, Wren and Archie cowered.

Banging against the metal, Archie shouted “Where are you taking us!?’

“To safety, away from the city. We have an RAF base where we’re taking impacted civilians. You’ll both be safe at Wethersfield.”

After some time passed, they overheard the driver ask “dya reckon those two have abilities then?” And all went quiet as Damien and the driver began to speak in hushed tones, impossible to hear more.

Wren whispered “I don’t think this is going to be safe for you Archie… they must know something, we have to get out of here”

Peering between the bars at the rear of the van, Archie saw the large padlock securing the bolted door. Intuitively, he knew what to do. Conjuring a latte art pen, sliding his right arm between the bars, he got to work and began to unpick the padlock. After a minute or two of struggling, the lock popped open and the bolt loosened.

They bided their time, gently opening the van doors, they tied them together with Archie’s jacket to prevent them from slamming together, or opening too widely. Soon they found themselves surrounded by tall yellow rapeseed crops. They took their chance and took leaps of faith. Each tumbling to the ground, scraping, cutting and bruising themselves as they rolled. Ignoring the pain, they leapt into the crops. Silent prayers passed between them as they hoped their escape hadn’t been spotted by a glance at the wing mirror.

Not sure where or what direction they were headed, they both ran as quickly as they could through the crops. Eventually they saw the roofs of another town, which they’d later learn was called Great Bardfield. Sitting between the tall yellow crops they caught their breath.

“I’m scared Archie, my phone has no signal, I want to call my father”

“Me too. I… I.. don’t know what to do, I don’t know what has happened to me”

“These things you can do, how?”

Archie went on to explain to Wren the awakening he had and eventually they hatched a plan. Between them they had some cash and would make their way through to the town in the hope of finding an outdoor goods shop. They’d landed on a plan to get as many hiking supplies as they could and walk out into the countryside, camping away from cities and towns until some order was restored. They both had only a few friends and their families were scattered across the world, uncontactable for at least the near future. London seemed off limits from what they’d overheard too. For now, this would have to do. Archie had camped somewhere near here before, that was their objective for today.

Crouching, they made their way to the edge of the field and stepped out. Gingerly walking through the streets, the town was silent. People staring through windows, unsure on what to do next. Eventually the roads began to sound busier, there was shouting in the distance and the sounds of windows breaking.

“Looting or something more ominous already” Archie mumbled

Stolen story; please report.

“We should turn back” Wren fretted

”No, let’s press on - we need some supplies… something to keep us going”

Once quaint storefronts had been exposed to chaos. Looting and mob culture had prevailed here already. Hooded figures, faces obscured by masks and shadows ran frantically between shops. Their arms overflowing with stolen goods, vans and cars lay by the side of the road, clumsily parked and being filled with watches, TVs, handbags and other useless items.

There were no flashing blue lights to pierce the chaos, no sirens to silence the crowds. These were going to be dark times once more, small towns like this were now at the mercy of the masses.

Wren emptied her bag of notes “we need food Archie”. Her yellow Kraken bag was all they had to fill. They walked through the shattered glass windows of the local supermarket, a co-op. There were already handfuls of people running up and down the aisles, frantically filling their own bags, the floor littered with sweets, smashed glass and red wine. People pushing passed each other, no respect or care given.

Wren stood close to Archie as they walked through the aisles, filling their bag with tins of food, water, cheese and other basics that would get them through the next few days. As they exited the shop, the mobs of young impressionable teenagers had become more rowdy. Working through the crowd, Archie was pushed aside.

“What’s a fine young thing like you doing with this weasel” a fat ogreish thug, arms laden with cheap tattoos shouted, grabbing Wren by the arm.

“Let me go” Wren whispered, exasperated as she struggled free.

“Oh you’ll be plenty safer with me than him these days sweetie” he snorted

Quick as a flash Archie was on his feet, he’d managed to somehow evade the thugs' fiendish friends from holding him back, unsure how he had managed this, they looked at each other confused. Gripping the man’s forearm tightly, Wren was free, she burst forwards.

“Leave us alone, we’re leaving, we don’t want any trouble” Archie said as he gently nudged Wren to keep moving.

Wren braced herself and continued walking away, back towards the fields they’d traversed, it felt safer there. Tears were rolling down Wren’s cheeks, she felt so vulnerable and alone; it took her a minute to register the commotion behind her.

“Shit, you actually stabbed him Mikey….” One man yelled to the group

“He had it coming” the tattoo laden man retorted, as he slowly backed away “we should gerr outta here anyway boys”

Wren glanced over, Archie was hunched over clutching his side. Deep red blood oozed between his fingers, desperately trying to stem the flow. People began to flee, panicked. Running over, Wren helped Archie to his feet and they hobbled away from the chaos that had surrounded them. The mob of thugs running off in every direction, nobody wanting to be tied to a potential murder.

They’d managed to struggle through an alleyway between the supermarket and adjacent housing estate. Propped up behind large red commercial bins, out of sight, Archie’s breath became increasingly haggard. As his vision blurred, he saw a piercing light. Slowly, his vision sharpened once more, his breathing suddenly feeling normal.

Archie looked up to see Wren standing over him, her eyes literally glowing their natural hues, one green and one amber. Her hand was pressed over his wound and he felt a deep warmth pulsing throughout his body.

Dropping to one knee by his side, Wren began to vomit. She was drenched in sweat and her already pale skin seemed even more ghostly than usual. Checking his body, Archie hurriedly wiped away at the blood and discovered his wound was completely sealed and only a faint scar remained.

Ignoring the 3rd miracle of the day, Archie placed his hand on Wren’s back. He gently soothed her as sickness was being purged from her body. The text was still fading from her mind, but it had already ingrained itself onto her soul.

*******

— Wren —

— Role: Defensive Healer, Level 0 —

— Specialism: none. —

— Weapons: Pending. —

— Abilities: 2 —

— Proficiencies: 2 —

* Ability 1: Healing touch. Heal an ally, the worse the injury, the bigger the toll on your stamina. Healing a fatal blow could be fatal to you.

* Ability 2: Shield Blessing. Bless an ally with a temporary shield that negates low-medium damage. Shield lasts for 15 seconds and takes a minor amount of stamina. Cooldown: 5 minutes

* Proficiency 1: One with nature. Your abilities gain a marginal power boost when used in woodland areas.

* Proficiency 2: Purge. Your body naturally purges toxins that could be damaging your body. This is an always-on ‘passive’ ability.

********