It only took a few days for the group to figure out the details of the split move and organize the parties. Garth and Carlyle would take a group of thirty-five with them to Nierburg, a diverse group including both the most capable unawakened as well as the most fragile. That would leave less than half with Dylan and Crystal, but without any major standouts. Garth was loathe to do it, but he used his credentials to requisition another Guard Array from the depot. The array they’d deployed was far and away the best they had, but even a couple week’s travel without at least some protection would likely prove fatal for the children and elderly unawakened in their group. They’d also packed and set aside nearly a quarter of their remaining rations – more than enough for Garth’s group to make it Nierburg and back, with the remaining rations being left to extend the time the remnants would be provisioned.
Once more, Garth thought, refreshing the timelines in his head. Two weeks to Nierburg, three days to get resupplied and request assistance, then two weeks or less to return. While the idea of splitting up was a little anxiety inducing, reviewing the plan helped to calm his nerves. And he’d done a lot of reviewing over these last few days. He glanced over a checklist as he emerged from the bunker, every item crossed off except a final readiness check with Carlyle, and his goodbyes to Crystal and Dylan. Walking over to where the unawakened were saying their goodbyes, he spotted Carlyle entering the protective dome of the Guard Array, the barely visible barrier parting around him as he passed it. “How’s everything looking out there?” Garth asked, having grown more used to the young man wandering away over the last week.
“Should be decent enough for travel. Nothing we haven’t seen before.” As Carlyle gave his short reply, Garth noticed a nervous energy about him today; tension in his shoulders, eyes that couldn’t help but watch the surroundings. He considered pressing the matter, but he remembered the nerves he had before his first deployment. Drawing attention to it risked embarrassing Carlyle, and while the relationship seemed to be improving over the last week he didn’t want to push things. “Looks like we’ll be ready to leave in about an hour, anything I can help with on your end before we go?” “Nothing comes to mind; I’ve read the briefs. You’ve got the hard job, I’ll provide supportive fire if there’s an engagement, but mostly just along for the ride.” That made Garth frown a bit, the briefs also included details about his responsibility to help with night watches and camp setup, but at least with some of the more able-bodied unawakened joining their group he had some flexibility.
“I’ll leave you to it then. And Carlyle, if things get bad out there and it doesn’t look like the group is going to make it, I want you to run. Get to Nierburg. On your own you should be able to make that trip pretty quickly. You never signed up to be a soldier, there’s nothing wrong with cutting your losses and getting out. All I’d ask is that you help get a squad from Nierburg out here to take care of the others when you can.” Carlyle looked surprised by those words, mouth slightly agape and almost physically rocked back on his heels. He looked like he was about to say something, then his facial expression returned to its usual smile. “Thanks Garth. Hopefully it won’t come to that.” Nodding his agreement, Garth patted his shoulder and walked past. “Me too. I’ll be back soon, if you need anything send one of the others to come fetch me.”
He found Crystal over near the perimeter of the Guard Array’s barrier inspecting the wall of debris she’d been working on. With their combat power being significantly reduced after Garth and Carlyle’s departure, they had agreed to shore up the basic physical defenses of their small compound. Small groups had gone out and acquired broken boards, cement, brick, anything sturdy they could get their hands on and brought it in to create barricades. It wouldn’t hold them back long should the feral insects choose to breach, but it would give precious moments for Crystal and Dylan to get into formation and get their people to safety. “Not bad work for having no real supplies.” Garth meant it too – she had blocked off the old roadway with a nearly two meter high pile of debris, with no discernible way around. The options were over or through, exactly how they’d planned it. “What can I say, I’m used to working with garbage and making it functional.” She responded, a twinkle in her eye. “Hey now, don’t get too ahead of yourself. I’m hardly functional.” Garth replied with a grin. They stood there in silence for a little bit, Crystal finally breaking it. “Get there safe, okay? I don’t want to have to come looking for you because you did something stupid. I mean it.” He met her eyes and gave her a sad smile. Despite all the flirting over the years, they’d never actually tried to make a run of it. But it was clear to him how much she cared, and he knew his feelings for her were no less real. “That goes double for you. I’ll be back with support in a month, and if this place is a mess I’m going to be so embarrassed in front of all my new friends.”
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“Here I was, about to kiss you, and you had to go and say something like that.”
“If I’d known kissing was on the table, I wouldn’t have wasted time saying anything at all.” Garth said, as he pulled her to him.
A short while later, Garth made his way back to the central square where the groups were congregating. Dylan was talking to Stephanie, giving her instructions about Gwen’s care during the journey. He’d spent the bulk of the last couple of days mitigating symptoms for the people with the worst mana sickness to make the journey easier. He still wanted them to get looked at right away, but he felt confident that they wouldn’t have too much trouble making it to Nierburg. Stephanie saw Garth approaching, thanking Dylan for his help as she left. “Everything settled on your end before we leave?” Garth asked, clasping the older man’s hand. “We’ll be fine, still plenty of work to do but that’s hardly a surprise.” Garth smiled, knowing full well that Crystal wasn’t going to tolerate idleness while they waited for a rescue party from Nierburg. “Take care, Dylan. Bottleneck or no, everybody here owes you a major debt for the care you’ve provided the last couple months. And I’ll make sure that Nierburg hears that loud and clear.” “I’ll just be happy when this whole thing is behind us. My career is the last thing on my mind right now.” Garth couldn’t argue with that. Given everything they’d been through, he’d count it a win to just have any sort of normalcy back. “Then I’ll leave it at ‘thank-you’ for now, and we’ll deal with the rest as it comes. We’ll see you in a few weeks.”
A side road leading away from the compound had intentionally been left unobstructed for their departure, and after much waving and many goodbyes they were on their way. Less than an hour into their journey, a sense of unease began to creep over Garth. He led the group to keep an eye out for any beetles or other creatures that might cross their path, but at this point he didn’t see signs of anything. Ordinarily, that should be a good thing, but as he crossed into an area he’d scouted previously with Crystal the realization dawned on him. There were no prints or tracks at all in the ash, not even his. They certainly hadn’t been going out of their way to remove them, and as he thought back to previous trips out to deal with these monsters he’d always seen networks of tracks. Some were newer, some were older, but the gentle ash falls made the tracks plain to see. Having seen virtually nothing but smooth ash, his unease turned to a cold dread. This wasn’t the action of mindless beasts, this was something – or someone who didn’t want to be tracked. Had he not spent hours each day patrolling in the ash it likely wouldn’t have stuck out at all. By this point he had slowed to a stop, turning toward the rear of the group where Carlyle was covering rear guard. As he did, he saw an orb of flame shooting rapidly into the sky, and another on a collision course for him.