Friday

Karl woke slowly, feeling Jane's arm draped over him. She was the big spoon for a change, like she did when he wasn't feeling well. For a moment he just relished the feeling of love, then opened his eyes.

Memory flooded back as he saw the living room floor of Temporary Safe Zone #2, as Karl thought of it. He looked down at the small arm hanging over him, then carefully extracted himself without waking the owner. It was Terry, which was...less surprising than anyone else would have been, he supposed. She still seemed dead to the world, so he carefully tucked his blanket into a lump for her to hug, nodded to a man he didn't know who was tending the fire, and tiptoed out past several people to the kitchen for a snack.

It was still dark out, but Karl felt rested and alert. The stiffness from sleeping on a hard wooden floor was surprisingly mild and faded quickly. His hunger was temporarily sated with a couple of bowls of dry cereal, washed down with a little water for want of milk. He could definitely use a shower next. And then a change of clothes. One of these days he'd like to run back to his house for some of his things: clothes, and also some books from his library. He winced at the thought of his books decaying rapidly under the System.

He considered going to the shop pedestal and ordering clothes, but then realized that he had better get someone else's advice on fashion. Not Terry; he wasn't completely sure that she wouldn't pull an admittedly excellent prank on him. Chenelle would be the obvious choice, but Karl had no intention of interrupting her sleep or her “quality time” with Doug. She had reached fifth level, and probably needed cheering up, though not as much as some. Karl was glad for her that her immediate family had survived intact. It wasn't true for many.

He went and puttered with the shop anyway, for the practice, and ended up buying socks, underwear, a white undershirt and dark gray pants that he hoped wouldn't be too ridiculous. Then he went ahead and took a shower and changed into his new clothes. Immediately he took the pants off and put his old dirty ones back on, fiercely grateful that no one had seen him in them. Someone has to have a word with the alien tailors. Damned things are like leggings. I looked like one of those knights wearing hose in bad historical movies.

He did take a moment to look at himself in the mirror, and his eyebrows rose to where his hairline had once been. He looked a little like an elderly bodybuilder. Well, not quite, but definitely headed in that direction. His face was the same as ever, but he had bulked up, and that had taken up most of the slack in his old saggy skin. All this in two days? He had been eating like a horse at every opportunity. It was still obvious that he was old, but he looked...healthy.

It was a very strange feeling.

Karl put on his old shirt again on top of the undershirt and cleared out of the bathroom.

All right, what do we have to do today? We need to get these people and supplies the rest of the way back to Maria's house. After that, we've got a lot of firepower and a lot of options. We should be able to take the hobgoblin encampment now, depending on how far it has advanced in our absence. Then we could take the mill itself, and finally find out if it has enough metal to make a permanent Safe Zone.

Hey, wait a minute... Karl hurried back to the shop pedestal, and looked up 'metal'. It showed ingots for sale, for 5 silver each. That would take...fifty gold, to buy all the metal we needed. If we find enough things to loot and sell at auction, maybe, just maybe, we could make up whatever shortfall remains.

If it weren't for its proximity to the mill, Karl might have been tempted to give up on Maria's house and set up base here; it was a much bigger and nicer space, and the total group was up to...thirty-two? He was losing count. Not everyone joining them needed rescuing first. They would never fit in Maria's house without some serious squeezing. Possibly they wanted to keep both Zones going; Maria would, and she had the funds to keep her Zone up for a week.

There was so much to do! Karl felt that he had been running around frantically every day, and it wasn't nearly enough. How do I save as many people as possible? It's not all up to me, all the new people will have their own ideas about what they want, and me leading them is not necessarily part of that. Will they want to elect a leader? Should I just step aside before that? Karl considered it.

No. If they want a different leader they can pick one, but I'll lead them as long as they want to follow. I think I have a duty to keep going as long as I am wanted, as long as I can make a difference. I owe it to God and the System for sparing my life, and for giving me this class.

So. If they want me to lead, where will I lead them?

Karl looked at the list of people in his group again. The first question was whether to leave some people behind here for the moment, and the answer was very probably yes. The 'daycare group' as he thought of them: three parents and three preschoolers. They could be moved later once a more permanent setup was ready. They would need enough people to defend this place. How many would that take? Six? Aside from Oak Hill Road itself, they hadn't scouted, so Karl had no idea what dangers lurked in the area. We need a keep, or something like it. A castle. Karl snorted. Someday. For now he had to deal with today.

The shop pedestal told time. It was another hour yet until dawn. Karl wrote up a couple of different plans, assigning people to tasks. He knew that these plans would not survive first contact with opinions or events, but they were a starting place to work from.

George was one of the first other people to stir. When he saw Karl was up, they retreated to the far corner of the kitchen to talk without waking the others.

“I'm going scouting,” George began without preamble. “Any requests?”

Karl nodded. “A mile further on Oak Hill Road, turn onto Sycamore, then left onto Walnut. A bit over a mile down that road, the Safe Zone is at 138 Walnut. The knock is two, then three. Introduce yourself and tell them we're alive. Danny especially will be missing his parents. Obviously, adjust to circumstances, but if you've got the option, that's my preference.”

“Who's in charge there?”

“Maria Sanchez. It's her house. White house, big lawn.”

“Sycamore to 138 Walnut. Knock 2,3. Maria. Got it.”

“Thank you, George.”

He shrugged. “I need the practice.” He looked around, nodded to himself, then catfooted upstairs. Karl blinked, but then realized to avoid the noise of moving a barricade, he was going to exit through a second story window. A real second story man in reverse. Karl smiled and settled down to reread some of his notifications and see what else he had missed while he waited for others to wake up.

About twenty minutes later, a door upstairs slammed open, startling Karl and causing a few people to stir. Rapid heavy footfalls sounded overhead, then on the stairs. Karl jumped up, ready to summon sword and shield if needed. Then Chenelle came into view, completely disheveled, hair everywhere, dressed only in a fluffy white terrycloth robe that was barely closed. Karl briefly noticed her very fit body. Doug was right behind her, looking confused and only slightly more together.

“Terry!” she shouted. Nearly everyone snapped awake at that. “Karl! I need Terry!”

Terry was one of the ones not awake yet. Knowing that Chenelle wouldn't be impulsive like this without reason, he quickly stepped over to his former sleeping spot, remembered what he had seen Doug do to save Michael and himself during combat, reached down with his new strength and with one hand yanked Terry upright by her t-shirt.

The unexpected consequence of this was that with inhuman grace Terry slipped completely out of her top and landed in a crouch, a dagger in one hand, and pivoted quickly to take in the room. “The— Karl!?”

“Terry! Danny's in danger!” Chenelle shouted as she approached.

“What? How do you—? Share it!” Terry snapped. A moment later Karl also got it and opened the notifications:

System Message (Chenelle Hooper):

Your spawn Daniel has taken two Fire damage.

Your spawn Daniel has taken two damage.

Your spawn Daniel has taken five damage.

Terry hopscotched over four different people to where she had left her sneakers and pulled them on. “The fuck is my coat? Fuck it.” Terry grabbed the next coat she saw and threw it on over her bra.

“George left twenty minutes ago headed for Maria's,” Karl told them. “He'll get there first.”

“Not if I cut through the woods!”

“Tag me!” Karl ordered her, rushing forward as she headed for the stairs. As she passed him and slapped his hand, Karl prayed and cast Guardian Aura on her. She glowed faintly white for an instant.

“You can't help them if you get another wolf pack on you, stick to the road!” Karl shouted after her as she barreled upstairs.

“Blessing of Life!” Victoria called out from the floor, one palm pointed up at Terry's receding form, causing a flash of green.

“Don't get lost!” Karl added. A few moments later, even the sound of her was gone.

“Um...what's happening?” Victoria asked, still lying down with her arm upraised. Good reflexes, skipped through Karl's mind.

A hubbub was growing as over a dozen people started talking and asking questions at once. It was going to be chaos. Karl tried to head it off.

“Listen up! The first Safe Zone may be under attack! If you're fast, gear up for a fight, we're running two miles starting in five minutes!” Karl yelled, grabbing his own Systemized “armor” and starting to struggle into it. “I need six people here to guard the unclassed and non-combat people! The rest form up into a second wave in ten minutes!”

Chenelle was at his side, talking quickly and not making much sense. It saved him the time going over to her, at least. “Timestamps!” he yelled at her, putting on a boot. “That's a thing, right?” he added uncertainly.

She stared at him, and it took her a second longer than Doug for her to understand. They both opened their notifications, hunting, eyes flickering. Doug answered first. “5:45...the second one at 5:52, the third at 5:53.”

“You!” Karl shouted, pointing a finger at someone diagonally across the room, next to the shop pedestal. “Time on the pedestal! What time is it now?”

The person fumbled awkwardly for only a couple of seconds. “5:58!”

“It's been five minutes since he last took damage, he might be out of danger,” Karl pointed out. A moment later he remembered that he could get the time on his System interface. Oops.

“But what hurt him?” Chenelle demanded.

“That's what I'm going to find out. I need one of you with me.” Karl grunted as he got his other boot on and pulled it tight.

“I'm faster,” Doug pointed out, and ran back upstairs.

“I'll keep up.” She followed her husband.

“We'll find him,” Karl promised to their receding backs. Then he stepped into the kitchen and dumped his entire inventory of food on the floor in piles so he could rearm with backup weapons.

On his way back across the living room, Jake offered him two small boxes. “Anti-mage red, damage blue. Press and throw.” Karl took them in both hands and vanished them into inventory, then waded into the mob around the coats to grab his own and his gloves. He wanted to head right out, but knew he needed to control the chaos.

“Okay, listen up! Here are the details! Parents get notifications about their young kids. Danny at the first Safe Zone at the Sanchez house started taking fire damage at 5:45, then minutes later, other damage. Not enough to kill him yet. We are headed to the defense of the Sanchez house and the eight people there including Danny. We are assuming that they are under attack. Our scouts are on their way ahead of us. Be ready to fight on arrival. I need a commander for the second wave and one for the defense here! First wave leaving in two minutes!”

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“I've got the second wave,” Jake said. “I know Dad will want to be in the first.”

“I could...guard...” Victoria offered hesitantly. Nearby, other conversations went on.

“One of us should stay,” Paul said.

“I'll do it,” Chad replied.

“No, I'll stay.”

Chad held up a fist. So did Paul. “One two three shoot! ...Aw, man!”

“Paper beats rock. Go with the second wave Chad. Do what Kablooie says.” Paul stepped closer to Karl. “I've got the defense, Sir. I won't let anything happen to this place before you get back.” He turned to Victoria. “You cool with that?” After a frozen second, she nodded jerkily. “Cool. Let's talk through plans once the first wave clears out. I'll check who is in each group.” He walked off. Karl and Victoria exchanged impressed looks.

Doug and Chenelle were coming back down the steps, so Karl headed outside past the barricade that someone had moved away from the front door. Outside, he found Michael ready and waiting, along with Jo and Tabitha. Jake followed him out, pushing his bicycle. “Whoever needs it. I'd have given it to Terry but I wasn't really awake before she was gone.”

Doug and Chenelle came outside, followed by a tall thin woman in overalls and a thick coat. She nodded to the others. “Christine, ranger, third level. I run a lot.” She glanced back. “I think we're it, Sir Karl.”

“It's just Karl.” He glanced over the group. Tabitha was now perched uncertainly on Jake's bike, Jo holding the frame possessively. Karl frowned. “You good?”

Jo nodded. Tabitha did not respond. Close enough.

“Then let's go.”

Karl set the pace at a brisk jog at first, waiting to see how the group shook out. When nothing calamitous happened he glanced back. Christine gave him a firm nod. Tabitha looked less uncertain. Doug was tense and Chenelle looked tortured. “Any notification, share it at once,” he called back to them. They both nodded.

Karl picked up the pace. A mile can be walked in twenty minutes. Two and a half miles would take under an hour at a brisk walk. At their steady pace, the trip should only be about twenty minutes, unless they had to fight.

Three minutes into their run, Michael abruptly summoned his bow and quiver, nocked, drew, and shot, all without breaking stride. There was a yelp. When Karl glanced over, a wolf was disappearing into the underbrush, the arrow quivering in a trunk just above wolf height. The bow disappeared again. When Michael looked his way, they shared a nod.

Ten minutes later, they saw the smoke. The tension in the group mounted as they sped up.

Five minutes after that, a sudden sharp whistle brought the group up short. They looked to the left, and saw George standing and waving, Danny standing beside him. Barely a second later, Danny glowed golden, patted his legs, and waved. Karl was a little surprised Danny wasn't running towards his parents, but they soon found out why as they approached.

The twin babies were lying in the grass next to him, alive. Suddenly Chenelle gasped, reading something, and a hand flew to her mouth as she sobbed. Karl turned and saw tears streaming down her face, but she was smiling. “Oh my brave, clever little man,” she sobbed, running up to him and falling to her knees.

“Karl,” Doug said, choked up. Karl saw the notification flashing and opened it.

System Message (Douglas Hooper):

For defeating a foe, rescuing two fellow spawn from danger, and successfully bringing them unharmed to adults, your spawn Daniel is awarded the Title: Spawn Defender. Titles are cumulative unless otherwise indicated.

Spawn Defender: The spawn is granted twenty extra health. Spawn also receives +5% bonus to interactions with other spawn until Junior status is reached.

“Your magic made me better, Mommy.”

“I'm so glad!” She looked up at the others. “He has thirty-two health. He has thirty-two health. Thank you, God,” Chenelle sobbed. The little boy didn't smile.

“Mommy, I think the monsters k-killed Clarissa,” he said sadly, fidgeting.

Damn it. Karl winced. I thought with three scouts they'd be fine. Stupid!

Chenelle reined in her reactions with effort. “What happened, sweetie?”

Daniel started urgently trying to explain. “The monsters were outside and they set the house on fire. So Clarissa put me out the window and then gave me Kyle and then I put Kyle down and she gave me Dana and then she came out the window. And she was carrying Kyle and she had me carry Dana, and then she put Kyle down and told me to stay down and keep them safe and she ran back the other way and there were noises, and...and...and so they were all gone and then the grass was burning so I picked up Dana and carried Dana and then put down Dana and went back and picked up Kyle and carried Kyle, and then I put Kyle down and went back for Dana and carried her and I did that and then I saw a crab.” Chenelle caught her breath but didn't interrupt.

“So I put down Kyle and picked up a really big rock like Terry showed me and dropped it on it and it cut my leg and it really hurt but it couldn't move cause its legs were stuck so I got another rock and did it again and it cut me again but now it couldn't move at all so I got another rock and got behind it and dropped it on top and then I did another one but it still didn't die but I thought that was good enough cause I didn't want to get cut again cause it really hurt and I still had to carry Kyle and Dana.”

“I spotted the brave little bugger doing just like he said,” George said quietly. “Picked one up and carried them twenty feet or so then put them down and went back for the other one. I wanted to go find out more but I didn't want to leave the kids alone again so I stayed here waiting for someone else to show up.”

Karl coughed. “Have you seen Terry?” George shook his head. “The second group is probably ten or fifteen minutes behind us. Can you keep watching the kids until then?”

“I'm not leaving Danny,” Chenelle cut in. Doug put his hand on her shoulder.

“Yes you are, love. I'll stay with Danny. If there are survivors they will need you, badly. Go. We'll be here when you get back, no matter what I have to kill to make it happen.” Chenelle hugged Daniel one more time.

“I'll be right back, sweetie, as soon as I can.”

Karl coughed. “Okay, George, I guess you're up. Let's go.”

“Tabby? Son of a mother--!” Karl turned, and Jo was starting to charge down the road after Tabitha, who was riding Jake's bike at high speed towards the burning Sanchez house.

Karl sighed. Every time I think we're starting to work smoothly, I get reminded that we're all just winging it. “Come on.” Karl started a quick jog, with Michael, Chenelle, George and Christine falling in behind. In the distance, they could see Tabitha turn onto the driveway.

When they caught up a minute later, Tabitha was walking around in the middle of what used to be the living room, now open to the air in front, and which was still burning in places. She was calmly looking around at the flames on all sides. Jo was on the porch, coaxing. “Come on, Tabby. Come out of there. Please, Tabby.”

It's as if she's coaxing a house cat, Karl thought. Jo was sweating profusely in the heat and it did not look safe to be in there. He stood there a moment, wondering what to do. Then Tabitha turned and walked to where the front door was hanging off its hinge and out onto the porch. She put a hand fondly on Jo's arm and came down the steps. Jo followed with evident relief.

Tabitha looked straight at Karl. “Fire didn't kill here.”

The universe ran by different rules these days. Karl took her at her word. “Thank you, Tabitha. George?”

“Gimme a minute.” George disappeared around the back, then started slowly heading south towards where Doug waited with the kids, studying the ground.

Much of the story was revealed silently.

He slowed, stopped, and crouched down next to something hidden behind a bush. After several moments, he reached out gently with one hand. He bowed his head, then stood and slowly scanned the ground nearby. He bent to pick something up, and a moment later, another. And another. And another. When he reached six, George faced the bush, said something, and saluted for a long moment. Then he wiped his eyes, turned and slowly started heading north, watching the ground all the while.

Karl blinked hard and cleared his throat. Six of them. She took six of them with her.

“Does anyone else here have a tracking skill?”

“Yes, Sir Karl. That's the other reason I came.” Christine was crouched on the ground, staring at something. Without turning around, she said, “Spawn bodies don't stick around; but human bodies do. I don't see any bodies here, no big blood spills. They're probably still alive, or were half an hour ago. They're not using the road, though. Come on.” She led them towards the treeline, their path converging with George's. The two began pointing things out to each other, muttering comments or just gesturing silently.

Karl brooded. Does Terry have a tracking skill? It hadn't come up before. If she came here and saw this, and didn't spot Danny and George, where would she go? She's either on this trail and ahead of us, or she's scouting the fort from the road.

Monsters that do kidnapping, now. Are they getting more intelligent? Is this hostage taking? Or simply...gathering food? Either way, Karl took solace from thinking that if they were bothering to kidnap them, the humans likely were not going to die immediately.

When they got to a break in the trees, Tabitha pointed. “Fire.” There were two other columns of smoke visible. The Safe Zone wasn't the only place getting burned out, but it also clearly wasn't all the houses. Just the ones with good barricades? Karl guessed.

“We'll have to keep an eye out. If those spread to the trees, a forest fire could burn a lot around here. We've had rain, but not enough,” Jo noted.

Karl groaned inwardly. As if things weren't hard enough.

“...Does that look right to you?” Christine muttered to George, pointing.

“I'm trying to learn, but these don't even look like hobgoblin tracks to me.”

“You've seen them?”

“First spawn I fought,” George confirmed. “I didn't think their feet were clawed like this, though.”

“Maybe that's it. Assumption is a mother.” Christine backed up, then searched along the right side of their path. “What about these?”

George walked over to where she pointed. “Now those are hobgoblin tracks. But...not fresh?”

“No, they're not, see how that's flat? And that's dry?” After George grunted, Christine straightened up. “Sir Karl, the things that took our people aren't hobgoblins. I don't know what they are. The tracks are curving west.”

“We need to let the others know where we're headed,” Karl realized. “If the second group doesn't have trackers...”

“They might assume it is the hobgoblins and that we've gone to attack the fort,” Jo finished.

The two trackers looked at each other. Then George turned to Karl and said, “I'll go back and tell them. Christine's better at this, so she should be the one to guide you. Good hunting.” Karl nodded, and George turned and started hurrying back the way they came. In just a few seconds Karl couldn't see or hear him anymore.

Christine led them further into the woods. Their progress got slower and slower, as Christine kept losing the trail and reacquiring it. Then she reached down and picked something up.

“A copper piece.” A minute later, she found another one. Karl breathed a small laugh. “Clever. I bet it's Maria. She's summoning coppers from inventory and dropping them like breadcrumbs.” Money can solve problems. “Makes sense. She didn't think of it right away, but from here on...”

Their pursuit sped up again, as they wove their way between trees. The path twisted constantly. Then Christine abruptly halted and took a quick step back, holding up a hand.

“I got a glimpse of a fire ahead around the edge of that ridge. Let me scout first.”

“Makes sense. Give me your hand.” Christine frowned in confusion but complied. Karl said a silent prayer and cast Guardian Aura on the ranger. “Good hunting.”

“Thank you, Sir Karl.” Christine looked a little awed as she left.

Must be the class, Karl sighed inwardly. I've seen three people get actual Titles, including an incredibly brave five year old, so why do I rate a 'Sir' unless from my age, and association with myths? Karl sobered. If it comes with the class, then that's even more I need to live up to.

The five of them gathered in a circle to wait: Karl, then clockwise Michael, Chenelle, Jo, and Tabitha. Michael and Jo faced outwards, watching for danger. Karl noticed that Tabitha had her hands tightly clasped behind her. Resisting temptation? I'm glad she's reining herself in and takes the forest fire threat seriously at least. Karl wondered what the story was with the taciturn young lady, but decided that he wasn't going to open that particular can of worms until he had a lot more free time than he did currently. Maybe once the world is saved.

Karl eyed Chenelle, then asked very quietly, “How are you doing?” Tabitha looked from him to Chenelle and back a couple of times, her face inscrutable. Then the pyromancer walked over and stood in Chenelle's personal space until the healer raised an eyebrow, then nodded and swapped places. Now she was next to Karl while Tabitha was on Jo's other side, which would be better for Jo's blood pressure. Tabitha pointedly turned and faced outward, hands still clasped tightly.

Karl and Chenelle smiled at each other, then turned so they were mostly facing outward as well but could see each other.

“I'm okay,” she murmured. “So relieved and proud of Danny, but also I feel guilty for relaxing and...for not being around when Danny needed me. When I think of what almost happened...!” She shook her head, face red. “Ugh, I think I have Stockholm Syndrome. I'm actually feeling grateful to this System that seems determined to slaughter us. I'm grateful to it for giving Danny a little more protection from the dangers it is itself producing.”

“Terry called it schizophrenic—the System, I mean. For making our lives so dramatically easier in certain ways while trying hard to kill us in others.”

“Exactly! This horror unleashed swarms of monsters and killed off probably two thirds of the human race overnight. And yet I could almost swear it deliberately dropped us a hint on how to save you from that curse. You might have died without it.”

“Hmph. The System feels...” Karl trailed off, trying to chasing down a thought. Chenelle tilted her head at him.

“The System feels...?” she prompted.

“The System told us last night that it is partially sentient...” Karl mused. What am I missing?

“You mean like an AI?”

Karl nodded. “Mmm...”

“How can something be partially sentient?”

“I don't know. It does what it's programmed to, but feels guilty about it?” Karl joked, then felt his blood run cold. Is the System, itself, a victim of this too?

System Message: You've discovered an important fact about the System. Information on this topic is not available.