Heinz slowly eased the van into his marina parking space and pulled up the handbrake. He lingered in that position, breathing slowly as his tiredness washed over him.
The zone clearing had been run of the mill, uncomplicated but it was another weight on already tired souls. They all wanted the zone opened but none of them wanted it to happen right then.
They'd taken this frustration out on the Swarm they met. Which was awkward enough with all the injuries.
Idly he took note that he would need to get more diesel. The van seemed to be burning through more than usual. Enough that it might be worth checking if the cap was still sealed. It was only a short trip to Rennziege and back with his spare fuel cans but right now it might as well have been a marathon. At least he still had the spare fuel or it would have been so much worse. A trip to the garage definitely involved checks and paperwork now.
He hadn’t been spending enough time on the yacht to burn through any of his stocks aside from food. He had little to nothing left for food. Diesel wasn't a concern for him yet though. He should even run the engine for a bit today to keep the battery going.
Heinz locked the van behind him and started a slow trudge towards his home. He left his halberd in the boot but his handaxe rested comfortably against his side. Carrying a weapon with him was becoming second nature.
The guard at the marina entrance gave him a searching look but raised no challenge. Either they recognised him from somewhere or were kind enough to know that he was not in the mood.
Heinz paused beside Rennziege. The untouched boat bobbed gently in the wind. He needed to consider how to approach this. He hadn’t been home since the last threshold. Given how the pontoon was sagging under his weight, his yacht would not enjoy the newly added kgs. This might be more like getting on a kayak than getting on a boat that weighed several times what his van did.
He started by tightening the dock lines. It had been a few days and the thick ropes had stretched. They would absorb some of the rocking force as he moved around. The next step was to check the yachts on either side of Rennziege. He needed to make sure that their masts weren’t in line. As Rennziege leaned to one side, the masts would get closer. If they got tangled it would be a disaster. No one would be hauling Heinz up a mast to fix something anymore. Thankfully both yachts were bow-in compared to his stern-in. It was the usual position built from a habit Guillaume and he had. The boats hadn’t moved in a long time so it was unlikely to change.
Heinz walked around Rennziege one more time but there was little else he could do. He grabbed hold of the shroud. The metal line connected the mast to the starboard deck near the widest section of the boat. It was one of the strongest points on the boat. Placing a foot on the gunnel, Heinz began to shift his weight onto the boat.
With a creak, Rennziege began to shift. A slap rang out as the spinnaker halyard smacked against the mast.
Rennziege was a stout boat. She was old and though the fibreglass had some softer spots where water had soaked through over the years, the hull was thick. Newer yachts with better composites and materials had thinner walls but older yachts were built with more caution.
All of this meant that as Heinz stepped off the pontoon and onto Rennziege, it creaked and maybe bowed fractionally under his feet but the deck didn’t break.
Heinz breathed a sigh of relief and moved slowly toward the cabin. Rennziege gradually righted, her keel pulling her back straight.
Inside Heinz wasted no time pulling off layers. The axe and backpack tied to the GAA helmet was first. Then the waterproof jacket, then the chicken wire jacket. It was here that he stopped. It seemed none of his thresholds, augments and pieces of armour could change some basic biology.
After twenty four hours of duty, fighting and stress he stank.
Heinz eyed the cramped bathroom and shower room on Rennziege before groaning and making his way off the boat. The water was cold and bracing but Heinz was sure he could feel the dirt and grime falling off him as he swam.
Getting the wetsuit off underwater was a disaster and he ended up dragging himself back onto the pontoon to try it properly. The water was fine as long as he kept moving. His shoulder hurt but powerful strokes drove him forward and built a small wake behind him. When he stopped in one place however, he sank. Like a fishing weight. He was never in any danger of drowning but the rapid sinking was terrifying in itself.
It didn’t stop him from doing a lap around the marina when he got the wetsuit off.
Heinz hung his wetsuit up over the boom and inspected the damage. It wasn’t torn to shreds or anything but it was a record of every fight. The majority of the damage was on the limbs. Claw marks from Lizards, Jackals, Spiders nearly everything they’d fought had left some kind of mark. The back got hit less but each strike was deeper and few of the marks didn’t cut through the neoprene. The thick material was proving less and less effective as the Swarm grew weirder. He'd retired his last wetsuit after receiving similar slices down the back at Aiden's farm. It was time to retire this one.
The centre’s wetsuit that he borrowed from Rosa a few days was in better condition but not by much. Maybe it was time to find a different source of protection.
“Heinz!” Rosa called happily.
Heinz waved back and walked over.
“Laundry day is it?” Rosa asked with an arched brow.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Heinz smiled. “Something like that.” He was wearing the baggiest clothing he could find. The cuts along his back and shoulder had behaved all the way through his swim only to act up with a vengeance as the salt started to dry. He’d thrown fresh water over his back but the cuts were still sore. Baggy clothes was his answer. The difference compared to the skin tight wetsuit and heavy layers left him feeling a little exposed but the feeling of relief was worth it.
“How is the workshop going? Wetsuits don’t seem to be cutting it anymore.”
“It’s going.” Rosa said, absently continuing the conversation as she inspected him. Given how her gaze lingered on his shoulder, she had already gotten some kind of action report. “How are you doing?”
Heinz held up a hand and wobbled it back and forth. “Tired.”
Rosa hummed in response. She nodded her head back towards the centre and the workshop. ”Let’s walk.”
They could have made it to the workshop in a minute or two at a quick pace. Instead they took a longer route around the outside of the centre at a snail’s pace. It felt to Heinz like they might as well have been waiting in a queue but he enjoyed it all the same.
“Do you want to talk about it? Or should I?”
“Not really.” Heinz replied to both suggestions.
“I’ll talk then.” Rosa slowed further to pick up a bit of rubbish and push the boat that had hidden it further to the side. “The monsters you started this whole thing for? They were found. They’d taken residence across the water from the boatyard. God knows how they got that far but they had. They were a few kilometres from the town.”
“Rosa.” Heinz asked? Pleaded? He wanted to forget about it all for a while.
“Another group killed a new kind of swarm near where the river narrows. We used to drop kayaks off there for trips back to Kinmore. Some kind of crocodile thing with massive jaws. They’re calling it a Kelpie. There's a description on the board outside.”
“Rosa!”
“What do you want me to say Heinz? It was an incredible success. Some people were hurt but no one was killed. Things with Courtmacsherry have never been so good. The area is safer and all the monsters were killed. All monsters Heinz.”
Heinz stopped and sat down on the wheel of one of the boat trailers. It popped off the trailer and both Heinz and the boat fell to the floor. He ignored it.
“He spoke to us. I think he was calling out for his dead son when he arrived. I don’t even remember the son's name.”
Rosa took a seat down next to him.
“He had children in that van. Even if you could ignore all the other deaths, which you can’t. Kids Heinz. Kids.” Rosa took a shuddering breath. “We’ve always had monsters on earth. They just didn’t give you magic powers for killing them and they weren’t our problem to deal with.”
“We didn’t know about the kids.” Heinz argued. “Who were we to decide to be executioners? We didn’t even talk to him. We were angry or frustrated or hysteric or.. I don’t know.”
“No you weren’t.” Rosa said a bastion of calm. “I’ve talked to Jack and Jamie. You didn’t do it out of anger or emotion. You knew about the deaths and there were bodies in the house. You knew what the stakes were. In a better time or if they were less dangerous maybe something else could have happened. But the outcome would have been the same. Courtmacsherry was never going to let what happened go and neither would we.”
Heinz remained silent. She was right but it didn’t change how he felt.
“Now, let me show you what the workshop has been doing. After that you can head over to Maggies. Jack and Jamie are there already and want to talk to you. I’ll head over later.” Rosa stood and took a look at the wheeless trailer before shaking her head. “Think about it all you want today then forget it. Concentrate on the work and make sure you come back.”
Philip started to clap and whoop as Donal walked out. A round of laughter started as the group of workers stitching chicken wire caught on.
Donal gave a wave and a short bow before doing a spin. There was a muted thunk as some of the flat shapes in his clothes shifted and knocked together.
“Well what do you think?” Donal asked before pantomiming some stabs forward and punches forward.
“Well it looks like you’re very injured and decided to wear a handmade costume to hide the bandages.” Heinz said with a grin. “What are lumps and are those chaps?”
“Yup.” Rosa said as she fixed Heinz with an evil grin. “The lumps are plates of metal, fibreglass or hardwood. Anything we can get our hands on. They’re sown into pockets which is very awkward. These designs are the easiest for us to mass produce.”
Heinz looked at Philip in disbelief.
“They aren’t chaps but she’s right about the rest. There are no plates at the joints or anywhere that needs to bend. We aren't armourers or anything. It makes it look like there’s less or nothing in those areas but the whole outfit has a layer of chicken wire through it.” Philip answered with a small smile.
Heinz groaned.
“Oi!” Rosa poked his side. “These take a lot of work to make. We’ve only made about 20 so far. You’re lucky you and your group are getting them at all.”
“I know, I know.” Heinz grumbled. Louder and to the rest of the crowd he continued. “Thank you everyone for your help. This will keep me a lot safer.”
Quieter he whispered to Rosa and Philip. ”Why does it always seem like your gifts come with a joke attached?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rosa replied with a grin that made it clear how she really felt.
“She’s right about the work though.” Donal chimed in as he approached. “The boatyard is making as many plates as they can and are still looking for volunteers. Thankfully the school is helping with all the chicken wire bits and stitching.”
“The joys of child labour.” Rosa finished bitterly, smile wiped off her face. “Why educate them when you don’t need to pay them?”
She patted Heinz on the arm and turned to leave.
“We aren’t paying anyone!” Philip shouted after her. There were a few chuckles from the crowd but it was clear this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. Philip turned to Heinz as he stood. “Let her go, she’s upset about it but she knows it's important. The school is using it as part of the home Ec and art classes which is why some of the clothes are on the colourful side.”
“Colourful?” Heinz asked. “Isn't that a disadvantage? Shouldn't it be some kind of camo?”
He wasn’t the happiest about the idea of child labour either but it wasn’t like centre hadn't employed children as helpers before. They were paid and supervised and all genuinely wanted to be there. He didn’t imagine the situation at the school to be any different.
Philip shrugged. “You’d know better than I would. It seems most of the swarm don’t see very well or don’t have eyes at all. We okayed it with some reclaimers.”
“How are things going with Credits? Can I help buy some supplies?” Heinz asked, looking back at Donal who was starting to shrug off the outfit. “Are you planning on switching to paying people with them?”
“There was some plan but the tax killed that before it could start. It’s too much for small transfers.” Philip shook his head and tutted. “Buy more augments and keep collecting food if you want to help.”
Donal got the outfit top off and held it out to Heinz. “Want to try this on then?”