Reid looked out at the man, standing proudly victorious amongst the three dead salamanders. He smiled and walked forward towards the wall, not bothering to retrieve his grieves or his damaged sword. The familiar sign of glowing healing magic lit up from different parts of the group, and Reid saw the most grievously wounded individuals be slowly mended. The man didn't spare any of that so much as a glance. He simply walked forward with a smile.

Reid and James shared a look. The scenario they were in was so outlandish, they hadn't even prepared a plan for it.

They had a playbook of sorts, mostly written by Marlene. She had written out how to respond to a number of different potential situations when meeting external groups. If a group arrived full of wounded, there was a plan to set up a healing tent outside the walls so Susan could use her skill - under heavy guard, of course. If people came to them while being chased by beasts, they were to evaluate the situation - then attack at range if the danger was high, or send out a group to defeat the beasts if the risks were manageable. The potential scenarios filled nearly two notebooks, but every plan had two rules they all shared. First, whoever they encountered were not allowed inside the walls. Not unless Marlene gave her assent. Second, anyone from Sanctuary that interacted with the outsiders were to keep all Sanctuary information secret. Any talk of skills, defenses, and even supplies were to be avoided wherever possible.

There was no plan for a group that threw themselves into one of Sanctuary's waves.

James shook his head and turned off the bullhorn, then turned to Lowell. "Get me a card table and a pair of folding chairs. If these people want to act like this is a normal way to meet, we'll treat them like a trade envoy." Lowell ran off, and Reid couldn't help but hear James mutter under his breath. "Alright James, just like playing poker."

#

The folding chairs and table were repositioned multiple times before they found a solid patch of ground. On one side of the table, James sat while Reid and Lowell stood, flanking him. On the other side of the table, the man named Bertrand sat in his polished armor, an empty scabbard on his back, and a knife strapped to his arm. He had long, jet-black hair that was slicked back flat on his scalp. His cleanshaven face was conventionally handsome, and age had only started to show where a bit of skin sagged on his strong jaw.

Bertrand had also brought along two men - whom he didn't introduce. One was tall and thin, covered in soft-looking clothing. He was twitching every so often, and his eyes darted around the Sanctuary representatives like he was trying to catch every shift and movement they made. The other... looked like an industrial refrigerator had grown arms. He stood mostly still, and kept his eyes on Reid. James and Bertrand had gone through basic introductions - and Bertrand refused the healing aid James offered. They were just starting to get into actual discussion. James clicked a pen and his hand hovered over a blank notebook.

"Do you mind if I take notes?"

Bertrand flashed a smile. "Not at all, I have to jot stuff down sometimes, too."

"Alright. So Bertrand, where did you and your people come from? We've been exploring our surroundings but we haven't stumbled on your settlement yet."

Bertrand smiled again. "Don't judge - but our settlement is called Bertland. My son came up with it. We got lucky - with an abundance of people, and resources. I was the mayor of the town before the awakening, you know? So I guess you could say I'm doing my part to try and rebuild civilization here. That's why I've been actively looking for other settlements for a while now - most choose to ally with us, some just want to trade. There are more than a few beacons in the area, though you all are a bit out of the way. We actually came straight here from solidifying an alliance with a new group we just met last week. I'd like to talk about alliances with you later, if you're open to it."

The pen scratched over the page. "Did you happen to bring anyone from that settlement with you? We'd love to make contact with the other groups in the area."

Reid could've sworn he saw a frown flash over Bertrand's face. "I have to say no to that - like I told you, those groups are allied with me, so I'm speaking on their behalf. Part of my job is also about their security. We've just met, so I'm not going to divulge too many details about the other beacons. In fact, I think I've answered enough questions to ask a few of my own." The chuckle that came out of the man sounded genuine. "Would you be able to let us make camp inside the walls for the night? Those beasts were damn vicious, and I'd like to avoid losing any of my men to monsters in the dark." He waited for James to stop writing, then interrupted James just as he started to speak. "And we've got our own tents, so we'd only need a bit of flat ground."

Reid could feel James fighting to keep his voice even and firm. "I'm afraid not - no one is allowed inside on their first visit. We can find you a flat space out here to set up in, though."

Reid caught another flitting shadow pass over Bertrand. "It's disappointing to hear we have to stay outside, especially after helping you with those monsters." Bertrand shook his head for a moment, but James didn't respond. "But don't worry - I won't hold it against you. My second question is about your beacon - has it been killing unawakened recently?"

Reid and James shared a glance - one that the thin man had very obviously seen.

"It's been acting up as of late, yes." James answered. "I assume others are having the same issue, then. Have you figured out how to fix it?"

Bertrand's smile never left his face. "Not yet - and every one has the same problem. The unawakened can't touch the things, but awakened can interact with them just fine. How many people do you still have as unawakened? Your settlement can't be large enough to still be queueing through the process, right?"

James shifted uncomfortably. "It's a problem we can manage. But let's talk trade. What supplies are you looking for, and what do you have to offer?"

The two continued back and forth for an uncomfortably long time - both probing for bit of information without really agreeing to anything at all. The whole discussion reminded Reid of the disingenuous way he had to act at the call center to placate shitty people - and it made his skin crawl. Bertrand brought up being allowed inside the walls twice more during the discussion, but didn't press the issue further than that. In the end, no agreement was reached - and they paused discussions to allow Bertrand to go check on his men and coordinate them to set up their camp. They left the table and chairs where they were, with a promise to return to discussions tomorrow.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

James, Lowell, and Reid silently returned to the Rec Hall and made straight for the strategy room. The door locked behind them, and Lowell replaced the "29" with "30" on Marlene's chalkboard as Reid and James finally spoke.

"That guy was a piece of fucking work." Reid started. "I don't think you should try to negotiate with them."

"And I don't want to," James tossed his notebook and pen on the table. "The way he was talking -." James counted off points on his fingers. "He referred to settlements as beacons multiple times, he kept saying they were allied with him - not with Bertland, they probed for information on our headcount more than once, he refused to let us talk to other allies of his, and admitted their 100-man group just went straight from another beacon to ours. Those aren't the actions of someone trying to make friends. And the people with them - did you notice there aren't any women in that group? Did you notice that most of them seem to be higher leveled?" He sighed and plopped himself down in a chair. "I'd rather not talk to them at all - especially because a lot of our good people are out on the scavenger run. And I'm not the tactician Marlene is if they end up wanting a fight."

"Well, we should go kick them out." Reid attempted to twirl James' pen between his fingers, but it clattered to the table. "Bertrand showed some serious power earlier, but I bet I can take him. We push them out, and remove the problem. Do it now, so they can't do anything to us."

James spent a moment staring at the pen. His mouth set into a firm line, and he snatched the pen off the table. "No - no direct confrontation right now if we can avoid it. We do two things. First is I send a scout to meet up with Marlene's group, and let them know we might have trouble. Lowell - get someone you trust, someone good at staying quiet, and I want you to carry a dirtbike and two gas cans at least a mile away from the camp. Then, I want you to start the thing and ride flat out to the bridge site." He scribbled a few words down on a fresh page in his notebook, then tore out and folded the page. "Only give this to her, and then you what you know. Go now, let's not waste time."

Lowell nodded once, and sprinted out of the room. Reid and James both stayed silent until the door closed behind him.

Reid didn't like the wait-and-see approach. He didn't want to wait. He was torn between going off on his own, or going with the plan. He wanted to launch himself over the wall and tell Bertrand to go home - but, he trusted James. The man was a fine leader, a decent teacher, and a good friend. He quieted the part of himself pushing for confrontation, and listened to James.

"Reid, I think they'll try to get more information out of us tomorrow, but I still want to be on guard. Can Susan heal away fatigue?" Reid nodded. "That'll help. I want to keep a high presence on the battlements - constant wall patrols, but we'll need to keep the same people out there all night. I don't think they'd launch a night assault if we show them we don't have any openings to exploit. So we guard, we watch them, and we prove we're not an easy target."

Reid put a hand on James's shoulder. "Just don't forget - Susan's going to want a ready pot of coffee... But what's the plan if they do attack?"

James's face was grim, and he looked to the chalkboard. "Hold out until Marlene reinforces us - or wave 30 does."

#

Reid walked along Sanctuary's wall, eyes set on Betrand's camp. Dozens of lanterns illuminated a ring around it, and even more were interspersed throughout the tents. It was bright enough that Reid needed to let his vision adjust any time he looked to the woods - or looked at his patrol buddy.

Louis was no longer on the defender team. But when Reid told the boy he'd be missing their regular hangout time to do a special, emergency night watch - Louis volunteered to join him. Reid couldn't exactly say no - he had to have a second person with him, and James had already approved it. They were on the third of three 'shifts' - Susan had already removed their fatigue twice. In a few hours, dawn would break and they would be able to swap out with another set of guards. As they walked along the wall, Louis continued to talk to Reid. Most of his conversations recently involved Louis sharing animal facts. Lots of animal facts.

"Ah! Do you know about pistol shrimp and mantis shrimp?" Reid shook his head, peering at the dark area outside Bertrand's camp. His eyes kept playing tricks on him, mistaking flickering shadows for people moving though the dark.

"Okay, okay. So the pistol shrimp is really cool. They have this special claw, and when they close it right, it shoots water out at super high speeds. Just water, in the ocean, right? Except the water is traveling so fast, it makes this superbubble, and when the bubble pops, it's louder than a gunshot and it can be hotter than lava. Incredible, right?"

Reid squinted at the darkness. "That really is."

"So you would think it's the coolest shrimp in the sea - except!" Louis was holding a finger in the air to grab Reid's attention, "Nothing can beat a mantis shrimp." Reid let himself be drawn in by Louis's enthusiasm, and he turned to face him. "We have three color cones in our eyes, right? Red - green - blue. Well the mantis shrimp, it's got sixteen. It sees the world entirely different from how we do. And they're really colorful themselves. But that's not all - they have this horseshoe bone-muscle thing that lets them punch as fast as a bullet." Louis rubbed his elbow, then threw a fist into the air. "Their arms move so quick, the water around them boils, and the strikes make a shockwave. Amazing, right! But that's not the best part! Their strikes are so powerful they also make bubbles that are super hot when they collapse - except the mantis's bubbles emit bursts of light when they collapse. How cool is t-"

Louis froze mid-sentence, eyes open. Reid stared at him for a few seconds. Was Louis playing up his next animal fact, or was something wrong?

Those seconds were enough time for unseen hands to reach Reid. A massive pair of arms wrapped around his neck in a sleeper hold, as another stuffed a rag over his mouth and nose. He felt the pinprick of needles on his legs and arms, and rapidly felt his strength draining. A thought flashed into Reid's brain. Sleeper holds could knock someone out in ten seconds. Two seconds had passed.

This was bad. Something happened to Louis. Reid needed to fight back. He needed to run, he needed to do something. He tried to raise his arms or kick his legs, but multiple pairs of hands were clamped onto each appendage, forcing him to hold still. Seven seconds.

He tried to twist his head out of the hold, but the massive arms gripped him like a vise. Reid thrashed, desperately trying to get himself free. A pair of hands slipped off his left arm.

Ten seconds.

He brought his elbow back with all the force he could manage - and felt it dig deep into soft flesh. A gasp of air came out of the man holding his neck, but his arms didn't move. He went for another elbow, but the arms still held his neck. He flung a fist blindly out to his left, and was rewarded with the crack of breaking bone, and a pained groan.

Fifteen seconds.

He raised his left arm above his shoulder and blindly swung until he found the man's face. His thumb caught on the man's nose. Reid pushed it into a nostril, then pulled his hand up as hard as he could. The grip on his neck started to loosen - just a bit - then a muffled scream sounded out as the nostril tore itself away from the man's face. Reid slapped his hand back into the man's bloodied face, and tried to find his eye sockets.

Nineteen seconds.

It was harder to see. Harder to think. Reid felt his consciousness recede, like falling away from a point of light. His pointer finger touched an eyebrow, then hooked between eyeball and the bone of the socket. He pushed into the flesh, and pulled outward. The stifled scream intensified and the bone started to crack. Reid tried to push his finger up into the man's brain.

The point of light was so far away now. All of his senses were faded like he was experiencing reality from under a thick blanket.

Reid's arm fell limp as he blacked out.