A happy Tillie sat chin deep in the field of wildflowers. Her young dexterous hands picked the blossoms and wove them into crowns and necklaces with impressive speed. She sat adorned in her floral finery, watching her brother at the river. David was supposed to be watching her, but he was more intent on the fishing line he had cast into the water. So, Tillie played in the heather and grasses in her flowered finery. She pretended to be an elven princess.

David had told her elves didn’t used to be real. However, they had now returned, along with a host of other fairy tale creatures, and beasts out of nightmares. He had told her he heard from a traveling scholar that the world had suffered something called a cataclysm. That all the monsters and magic that had disappeared from the world long ago had returned and millions had died. Man’s modern world had all but disappeared and the pockets of surviving humans struggled for a life out of whatever they could squeeze from a chaotic earth. That is why he was supposed to be watching her. 

He was intent on his fishing though, since Todd Lackey caught that ten-pound pike, and was desperate to show him up. Tillie strode elegantly through the fields nodding to servants and peasants. She closed her eyes and felt the warm southerly Minnesota wind in her face. The warm summer sun was setting and the two of them were certainly overdue for starting back for the village to arrive before nightfall. But, she was enjoying the last vestiges of that sun, and that low rumbling in her ears was hardly noticed at all. Unnoticed that is until the dark shadow over took her, snatching her into the sky.

David pulled up an empty line for the hundredth time and cursed softly. Realizing what he uttered, he quickly glanced around to make sure Tillie hadn’t over-heard. If she began repeating what he had said mom would surely tan his hide. Only, Tillie was nowhere in sight. David dropped his line and began wading through the wild flowers. He found her discarded handiwork of flower jewelry and became even more distressed.

“Tillie!” he shouted, but she did not respond “Tillie! He repeated, but his sister did not cry back. David increased his frantic search, tearing through the grasses, screaming repeatedly for his little sister but she did not call to him. So loud and repeatedly did David scream for her that he did not hear the rumble either, and David disappeared into the evening sky as well.

Part one:

The sun bathed Tom Decker in its pale morning glow, as he took his fourth pull on his whiskey flask and exhaled a long frustrated sigh. The Missouri heat was already stifling and the road dust threatened to choke him everytime he rolled down the window. Up ahead the scout he had hired was having his documentation scrutinized by a black-armor clad Coalition soldier as a couple of SAMAS flying power armors flew overhead in scouting patterns. Tom guessed the trooper disliked standing around for hours at a checkpoint as much as he disliked sitting here waiting for the soldier to decide if he would take his frustrations out on Tom’s supply train or not. They had set up this random checkpoint in just the right spot to catch travelers as they made it halfway through a large forested area via a thinner path through the trees. Just as the path turned however, two dozen troops waited to keep travelers aware that their reach extended to these lands as well. Two armored personnel carriers sat on either side, guns swung in the direction of approaching vehicles. Not a battalion, but any amount of these skull faced helmeted dead boys was enough. The fact that they were not in what you would consider Coalition territory is not something you could argue with the self-named Saviors of Humanity.

In one of the trucks towards the rear of the train, several figures bustled about making ready to act if need be, but Tom hoped that fighting could be avoided.

"Is there going to be a problem, you think Tom?" Asked the man in the passenger seat through a thick Spanish accent.

The man who sat beside Tom was dressed comfortably, in a style that said he was used to long distance travel. He only wore an armored vest over his comfortable clothes when most travelers in these times wore as much protection as they could afford. "Hopefully not, most of these fringe Coalition patrols are lax. They are more concerned with staying alive than protocol. Most are open to bribes as well. If this guide I hired is as good at his job as he said, we should be on our way with little trouble, Doctor."

Even with these reassuring words the man he called Doctor checked his pocket watch as if there was a pressing time constraint on his mind.

When Tom picked them up near the El Dorado territory, he said he and his sister had come up from the south, escaping the vampire kingdoms for safer travel. She was young, and with her long dark hair, mocha skin and green eyes she was truthfully the prettiest thing he could ever remember seeing, but the strange beauty never said a word. And while Doc often seemed a little worried, his sister always seemed to be ready to jump out of her own skin. She fidgeted constantly when in the back of the mountaineer, and seemed to need constant breaks on their journey. Tom was already behind schedule when they were stopped by these Coalition thugs.

The doctor checked his antique seeming pocket watch once again, "Might my sister and I get a chance to stretch our legs?"

Tom swept a flask laden hand across the windshield, "see those nice men in their skull faced black armor? They will shoot you if you step out of the car right now. Some are so bored they're just itching to shoot something, and most are brainwashed frightened kids who will pull the trigger at the first boo."

Doc sighed as his sister gave him a desperate look and he gave her a shrug in return.

The man who had introduced himself as "Honest" Ernie when Tom hired him, was animatedly talking with a soldier in an officer's uniform that seemed more intent with scrutinizing the paperwork he was handed than conversing with the smiling wilderness guide. Meticulously looking over passenger lists and inventory manifests of the train of vehicles. Tom began to worry that this lieutenant was a perfectionist type. Looking for contraband psychics, magic wielders or non-human Interdimensional beings in this group of settlers, desperate to win commendations and a quick posting back with civilized humanity. All at once Tom's fears were confirmed when Ernie reached into his coat and tried to pass the officer a bottle of black market booze only to have the lieutenant smack it out of his hands to smash on a nearby rock. Soon Ernie was forced to his knees and had rifles aimed at him, the officer calling for a dogboy troop.

"Crap" muttered Tom, who sat up more attentively. This meant a search, and a search ment finding Tom's "hidden" passengers.

In well trained unison the troops began ordering everyone out of their vehicles from the front to the rear of the wagon train. The right APC opened its side door letting three mutant dog men, closely followed by the bald head and face tattoos of a Coalition psi-stalker. They would "sniff out" anyone with psychic or magical abilities. Tom might well revel in the irony of a group that hates anything unnatural or nonhuman using mutant animals and mutant psy-vampires in their day to day operations, but their presence meant they would surely find the passengers Tom was attempting to smuggle past these human supremacists.

Tom exited his Mountaineer with a nervous glance toward the rear vehicle who's cargo module held the Dee Bees he was paid to smuggle out of Coalition territory. His men were casually taking position in case a (seemingly now inevitable) fight were to break out. The doctor was ushered out as well at rifle point and positioned facing the large ATV.

"Hey!" Came the electronic voice of the trooper behind the skull helmet. "Wasn't there someone else in here earlier?"

Tom looked back into his vehicle as he reached the ground. The back seating compartment that held the doctor's sister was empty. She hadn't gotten out. And he didn't see her on the ground. "Just us" claimed Doc.

"Name and identification!" Barked the soldier, although Tom was already handing over his ID reader.

"Tom Decker, licensed and bonded supply train contractor." Tom said as the second Soldier took the flat plastic ID machine.

"Dr. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano." Tom's passenger rattled off, making no move to hand over a reader or papers of any kind.

"Really? And what makes you a doctor, pal?" Said the trooper brusquely as he patted Hernán down for his ID. "Where is your certification?"

"Does it matter?" He said, looking over his shoulder. "Could you read it if I handed it to you?"

"No, most likely not." Interjected the lieutenant as he stepped up to the pair of men from the lead truck. "We don't require our troopers to be literate, just loyal. Lieutenant Tombusque at your service, and I can read your credentials just fine. If you would care to hand them over." The lieutenant placed a hand out as he accepted Tom's reader from the skull faced soldier.

"Would you believe I lost my reader?" Smiled Hernán as he shrugged, turning around with his hands still up.

"Really?" Smiled the Lieutenant back, "and where did you study doctor?"

"Iron Heart" Hernán replied "I am on my way up there to get them replaced. I purchased a ticket north from Tom here and will catch another train the rest of the way into the northern territories."

"Is that so?" He nodded as he confirmed Tom's ID and license. "Mr Decker checks out but I can't seem to find you on the Coalition medical database."

Hernán smiled again "must be out of date." He quipped as he quietly said to Tom out of the side of his mouth "hold your breath."

Tom nearly didn't catch it before the doctor closed all but the first two fingers of each hand into a fist.

Instantly a dark green gas streamed out of thin air on top of the mountaineer. It enveloped the two Coalition troops and their officer. The officer, the least protected, collapsed to the ground immediately, seemingly unconscious. The full environmental armor of the soldiers protected them but the thick gas obstructed their vision. Hernán shoved Tom to the side as the soldiers opened fire, energy bolts slamming into the side of Tom's armored ATV. The pair scrambled around the front of the truck, Tom coughing and woozy from inhaling a small amount of the gas. The barrage of fire from inside the cloud attracted the attention of the approaching Psy squad. Suddenly something unseen sliced through the green fog and one of the troopers was sent flying from the gas cloud to land face first in the grass, pieces of his smashed rifle landing around him.

The psy-stalker pointed at the fleeing men when the APC behind them was hurtled into the air by a sudden explosion. The shockwave threw the stalker and his dogboys to the ground, the armored vehicle struck the ground between the psy unit and the wagon men, and rolled onto its side to obstruct them from view. Tom's hired guns hadn't even begun to engage the deadboys in the rear of the train, besides none could have made it up to the front already to do that to the armored vehicle. And none of them carried heavy enough ordinance to fling an armored personnel carrier into the air.

From around the overturned APC sped an armored figure on a hoverbike of some sort. The biker sped down the wagon train lashing out at some of the soldiers as he passed. Some of the troopers were thrown against the trucks one after another. Then when he had garnered the attention of all the troops, he spun the bike into a tight turn and shot out back the way he came holding up the middle finger of one hand.

"Grab the injured, get in the vehicles, and get after that man!" Shouted one of the soldiers, as he was helping the unconscious lieutenant to his feet. Tom figured he must have been the next ranking officer, but he was panicked and lugging his incapacitated commander. He was so intent on chasing this person who made them look like fools that he had forgotten Tom and his little wagon train. The troops squeezed into the remaining APC with the injured and unconscious, and roared away behind the flying power armors already pursuing the attacker from the air.

"Get back in the trucks!" Tom yelled "Let's not be here when they get back, people!"

The trucks roared to life as everyone climbed back in. Tom pulled himself into the driver's seat and nearly jumped out of his clothes. Doc's sister was there, still sitting in the seat that was empty when the soldiers pulled them out minutes ago.

"Where did you go? You were not here when the soldiers came."

"My sister has always been good at hiding, amigo. You might say, she is an expert on disappearing." Offered Hernán with a smile. "Should we be going?" He gestured out the windscreen as Tom sighed and shook his head, throwing the Mountaineer into gear and lurching down the trail again.

The train of transports lumbered on, as the sun made its way across the sky. The convoy exited the trees and crossed farmland that probably fed the Coalition settlements to the east. Tom turned to Hernan, "That would explain the increased presence of the troops in this area. These fields weren't here last year when I came through here."

"Your guide should have been knowledgeable enough to avoid this area then." Replied the doctor. "This was a close call."

"Every year the grip of those fascists grows, spreading out and gobbling up more free territories. They call themselves 'the saviors of humanity', but the humans they do save live in squalor around their fortress cities unless they can pay to live inside. They convince their citizens that anything not human is evil, wanting to devour their flesh or their mind, or both."

"You do not believe this, hermano?"

Tom looked over at the strange doctor, with his far too easy demeanor and his far too beautiful, but feral sister, and decided beyond his own comprehension that he trusted him. He'd even go as far as to say he liked him. "Doc, I have been up and down this stretch of land in my life, and most Dee-bees that came though those rifts from other worlds that I have met are just folks. They may look different, but most are just people looking for a life free of fear. Hell, that's all anyone wants in this life." Tom looked out over the grasslands before him, more in his own head than in the moment. "I don't know, maybe I've seen enough. Maybe I need a safe spot to put down roots myself. A place where I don't have to worry about being attacked by a monster everyday."

"Does such a place exist, my friend?" Asked the doctor quietly.

"We can all hope so," Said Tom shaking his head to bring him back to the now. "Or else what are we doing out here?" Tom ground the gears once again and the transport lurched on, over open fields between copse of trees holding the land in a covetous grip.

"Do the monsters not deserve a place too?

Asked Hernan, after a long pause that hinted he gave this question some deep thought.

Tom also chewed on this for a while. "I suppose, but does that mean we roll over for them? After all this was our world first."

"How do we know?" Asked Hernàn, "how do we know they weren't here before and left, just for us to show up in the interim?"

"I guess we don't," conceded Tom, "but how will we know unless we can talk to one."

"Indeed," replied Hernàn with a smile, a smile he turned toward his sister who just returned a frown and a shake of her head.

The APC was upside down, the soldiers were unconscious and their weapons broken. The mercenary climbed back aboard his hoverbike and removed the DeeBee mask. After this the Coalition would definitely return and up the troops next time. They would press harder in this area, but those on that wagon train made it through. It would have to be consolidation for his conscience for now, until better solutions presented themselves. The caravan he helped sneak by the deadboys would be rumbling toward scrapville by now. The mysterious man gunned the accelerator and and rocketed out over the land to the northwest.

In the lower southeast corner of what was Kansas is a sight of a massive Coalition battle where a horde of demons poured forth from a nearby rift. Two battalions of Coalition troops engaged the hoard, one from Missouri, one from the Iron Heart Kingdom. The Coalition was successful but only twenty three soldiers survived. They returned to the Coalition States but decided to write off the leftover wreckage. The place came to be called Carson Plains after the general who was in charge of both battalions who fought, and gave his life, against the demon horde. In the aftermath a former mercenary named Clutch set up a scrapyard sales and bar. The rest of the small settlement popped up over the years as some merchants and travelers saw the potential that Clutch did and set up shop.

The centerpiece of the town is the refitted death's head flying fortress that Clutch turned into his bar and shop. Four refitted Mark V APCs, two on each side of the shop, make up the rest of the town with Doc Marten's Behemoth Explorer mobile hospital next to the scrapyard by the two leftmost APCs.

The sun was setting when the caravan rolled up to the field between the buildings. Honest Ernie kicked out the stand of his oversized wilderness motorbike and hopped off. Ernie put his fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle, "alright compadres, no campfire tonight! Scrapville is here to meet your every need on this stop. Food and drink at the bar, tattoos at Buzz's, food stuffs… I guess if you can call it that at Soylent, Doc Marten's is right there if you have concerns of a medical nature, and the best quality companionship to be had can be found at Lita's. Enjoy yourself tonight, we don't roll till morning." Ernie turned on his heel, heading straight for the bar while the people were still exiting the vehicles, not even really concerned if they heard his well practiced speech.

Some of the caravan goers were spreading out in various directions to the attractions Scrapville offered, but Tom was making his way to the mountaineer in the rear. The trailer on the last transport was covered in strange carvings. Three of his secret passengers carved the runes themselves. Tom touched the runes they showed him and the door on the side of the trailer slid open. Three short bearded men hopped out along with two purple skinned horned beings, one male and a female, that resembled classic demons from human legends. Tom stepped up to the trailer and offered up a hand to the last hidden passenger. "Miss Molly…"

The middle aged but striking woman was dressed in colorful flowing skirts and a white gypsy-like blouse with dark chestnut brown hair tied back and flowing down her shoulders. Her eyes however were covered with a silky purple cloth tied over her eyes, "thank you Thomas," she said in a slight romani accent as she took his hand and stepped down.

"You knew it was me," he remarked smiling.

"Of course," she said with a laugh and smiled back, "you have been the one to help me down at every stop on this trip. I think you are doting on me, captain."

"I could never refuse a lovely lady in need." He set her hand in the crook of his arm and addressed his secret passengers, "Clutch's has food and drink, as well as being a place where non-human mercenaries frequent, so you all will not be persecuted against there."

"Still, a bar is not a safe place for my sister," said the demon looking deebee.

"Nor mine, I fear," said Hernàn. "I agree with our d'norr friend."

"Yes, that place…Soylent, it says it has food." The lady d'norr pointed out.

"Yes Na'tali, but," began Tom, "Catfish Bob is an arbleerian. If you like your food chemically engineered and synthetic, it is highly nutritious. But let me assure you it tastes just as it sounds. Clutch serves good food, and his scrapyard dogs," Tom pointed out some of the mutant dogboys walking the wall of the scrapyard propper that the bar backed against, "keep the peace. No one starts fights in there that doesn't want six generations of them dog piling on them, no pun intended. It is perfectly safe for the ladies. So Tre'vor and Hernàn, you can rest at ease." Tom patted Molly's hand to signal she would be safe as well. As for Etri, Dorn and Vard," Tom now addressed the short hairy men, "my dwarf friends, the bar has some of the strongest home brew I've yet found." This prompted cheers from the dwarves, as they hurried towards the converted transport. The D'norr and the doctor with his sister followed, albeit at a slower, more cautious pace. Tom was even more ambling in his walk, enjoying escorting Molly to the bar. The lot in front of the town, if you could really call it that, was not crowded. There was one combat vehicle probably owned by some mercs, and a few bikes, hover and wheeled, but they should have their choice of table.

"So, my dear," Tom eased, as they were several paces behind the others, "did you sense anything off about your traveling companions?"

"They seem to be just what they say they are." Molly began, "just people looking for a new life." She was quiet for a moment before adding, "the doctor and his sister though," she added another pause that worried Tom, "she is not what she seems."

When they reached the door two large armed and armored dogs were checking entrants over for overt weapons. One was a  pitbull breed and the other a malamute or some alsatian breed. No one of Tom's group came packing so there was no trouble. Which was good because six more dog mutants were stationed around the inside of the bar. The group could relax at the table, as it seemed most of the occupants of the other vehicles were patronizing the other shops. Besides Ernie, just a large man in Huntsman armor at the bar was inside already. Ernie was trying to talk him up but the mercenary didn't seem interested. The dwarves were already seated and quaffing spirits by the time the rest of them were seated.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The group sat at one of the largest tables, and soon a five foot corgi girl was setting down bottles of water in front of everyone, her little tail wagging furiously out from under the back of her little poodle skirt. "Hi Tom, welcome back." Came the high pitched cutesy voice from her furry muzzle.

"Hi Ginger," replied Tom, scratching under her ear, "how is the best girl?"

Ginger let out a giggle and her tail seemed to move even faster, if that was possible. She handed out menus and warned people away from the catfish because Greez, the bulldog cook, left it out all last night to thaw but claimed it was still fine. Ginger claimed her nose begged to differ. She assured them his cooking was actually good but his sense of smell was fading as he got older and then she took orders from the travelers.

Ginger was right, they all found the food enjoyable and thanked her for her recommendations. They talked and drank for a while, even the D'norr siblings began to relax and enjoy themselves. D'norr tend to be emotionally sensitive, and react badly to strong negative emotion, but the atmosphere in the bar was light and happy.

That was, until they arrived. Four cyborg mercenaries, pushing, laughing and shouting. And they headed right towards the table the travelers sat at.

"This is our table." Said one in a growling voice full of electronic reverb.

"Not tonight it would appear," said Hernàn, in a cheery voice.

"It's ours, time to move." The borg repeated more forcefully.

"It belongs to Clutch actually." Said Tom standing up but placing his palms toward the merc to keep the interaction calm. "And it is the only table that sits all of us. So for a night maybe you can find a different table."

Hernán noticed Ginger going up to one of the other dogboys. He worried this could get ugly as their kind were less than subtle.

"It's ours," the borg smiled, pointing at a symbol carved into the tabletop, "our name is on it." His buddies had a good chuckle at this.

"Sorry, but unless Clutch asks us to move, we have the right to sit here." Tom was beginning to get annoyed, the dwarves were pulling out axes and the D'norr could sense the tension growing. The doctor looked at his sister who was growing visibly more agitated. This situation was about to explode.

"You will move, even if we have to move you." Said the cyborg through gritted teeth. His hand went through a complicated sequence of folds as a circular blade exposed itself. The mercenary was slowly pushing the spinning blade toward Tom's face, when it stopped suddenly with a whine and groan of mechanical systems. The big man from the bar had stepped up to the table and grasped the wrist of the bionic arm. The strain was visible on the man's face as his prosthesis whirred and stalled, the stranger's face however was calm and smiling.

"Now, we don't want trouble." The man was easily six and a half feet and well muscled under his Huntsman armor. He looked to be in his early to mid twenties to Hernán, and his neat dark hair and blue eyes reminded the doctor of an image he had seen before. "You four may be badasses, and maybe you could take everyone in here," Tom could swear the mechanical arm screamed as it started to slowly move back away from his face, "but even if you take down these eight dogboys, believe me, there are over six dozen of their kin that will continue to pour into this place until you and your friends are reduced to puppy chow." The merc must have been pulling back on his cyberarm, because the stranger suddenly released his grip and the cyborg fell over backward onto his butt.

The cyborg mercenary scrambled to his feet, wide eyed and unsure of what he was looking at. "Y…yeah guys, let's find a better table tonight." He held the wrist of his mechanical arm and his friends could see finger shaped dents in the armored casing surrounding it. They didn't argue the change in attitude, or question his order. The four men walked over to a corner booth and sat down.

"Now he is definitely not what he seems." Whispered Molly to Tom.

"We appreciate the aid, mister," said Tom, offering the stranger a hand.

He watched the mercs until they took a seat and turned back to Tom with a smile, "Eric, Eric Magnison. Sorry for intervening, I figured no one really wanted trouble. Sometimes a situation just needs an outside point of view."

"Well we would appreciate your company," said Molly suddenly, "you know, in case any more trouble needs mediating."

"I'm Tom Decker'' as they shook hands, "and the welcoming lady here is Miss Molly." Tom rounded the table and introduced all his special passengers, "doctor Hernàn and his sister Serenity," the doctor nodded but his sister stared at Eric as if trying to understand what she was looking at. "Our dwarven friends, Etri, Dorn and Vard. And the D'norr siblings Tre'vor and Na'tali."

"I have met D'norr, you usually prefer calm and peaceful places. No stomach for conflict. The wilds of the frontier is not usually a place you would find your people." Said Eric to the two demon looking deebees as he pulled up a chair at Molly's welcoming request.

"We are hoping for a better life outside Coalition territory. Someplace more tolerant than the Lonestar burbs we grew up in." Tre'vor explained.

"My brother has a new type of engine that will buy us a new life where we are headed." Interjected Na'tali excitedly.

"Sister, please." Replied Tre'vor sharply. Then his tone softened, "I would not bore our fellow travelers with details."

"I'm sure the details are anything but." Said Eric with a nod, "though it begs the question, where are you all headed?"

"Hope Pines," replied Tom. "It's a settlement deep into the old Minnesota territory. A decade at least, maybe more ahead of Coalition expansion plans. I've been taking people out there for a few years now."

"Did you see those blokes?" Ernie slurred, as he had now managed to stumble into the table and flop into the last remaining seat. "Bunch of cybermercs nearly cleaned our clocks."

"Ours, Ernie?" Asked Tom. "It seems you disappeared when they showed up."

"I was rousing the attention of the scrapyard dogs." Ernie said defensively. "Security is their job here not mine."

"Clearly," said Hernàn, "nor is negotiating checkpoints, it would seem."

"Not my fault the lieutenant was a rules stickler. How was I supposed to know he couldn't  be bribed?"

"Literally your job Ernie." Said Tom.  "You were hired to keep the wagon train safe."

"Hey, we made it out fine."

"Only because someone else attacked the checkpoint and drew them away." Argued Hernàn, "we owe our lives to whoever that was."

"If we had another contractor, Ernie, I would fire you." Scolded Tom.

"What do you do Mr. Magnison?" Molly asked, out of the blue.

Eric set down his drink, still looking at the table, "I'm a Wilderness scout, actually." At this he looked up at Tom and gave a wry smile.

Tom turned to Molly and gave her a shake of the head and faced Eric, "how much would you charge to guide a train to the Minnesota territory?"

Eric took a long drink before replying with a sorry look to Ernie, "seeing as how I'm already headed farther north than that at the moment, I'd say nothing."

Ernie was violently on his feet before Tom could utter the words, "sorry, I guess you're fired Ernie."

"You can't do that!" Ernie screamed, "no one knows that territory up there better than me! You'll regret this!" And the irate guide threw his mug down at the table, splashing everyone present and knocking over several other drinks.

As he stormed past, Ginger returned to the table, ears and tail held down low, "I'll…I'll just get you all some… I'll replace those drinks right away." The dog girl stammered as she swept the containers and liquid from the table into a tub.

Molly placed a hand on the panicked girl's arm, "you're fine sweetheart, some other people can't take accountability for their own poor performance."

The dog girl's ears relaxed and her tail made slow swishings again and she finished up and skipped off.

"Ernie was right," Eric suddenly inserted into the following silence, "he knew the north as good as anybody. But lately his groups have been hit and miss. A lot of his contracts were getting hit by marauders or even never being heard from again. Something changed, and when you hired him in Lonestar, I was worried. So, to be honest, I've been following you since then."

"So it was you then," offered Hernàn, "you hit the Coalition check point, and drew them off of us." Eric said nothing, but he did smile at the accusation. "I thought I recognised that camo pattern on your armor. Maple leaves over laying each other. You are a Tundra Ranger, aren't you?"

"What do you know about these Rangers, Doctor?" Eric asked before taking another drink.

"I've heard stories, of course. An army up north like the Coalition, but instead of being held together by fear and ignorance, every man follows a code of honor…"

"Keep the people safe.

Keep the peace.

Recognize and defy tyranny in all its guises.

Protect and help those in need, but understand that they must stand on their own two feet and do for themselves. Your greatest gift to others is helping them to do so.

The pursuit of justice must be relentless. The unjust must always be brought to pay for their crimes.

Other people have different beliefs and ways of life. We embrace and celebrate those differences, and share in the commonality of all intelligent and peace loving beings.

Never doubt the good we are doing.

Believe in yourself and so will others, for truth and conviction are contagious.

Never make a threat, demand or ultimatum you are not willing and able to back up with force.

Never betray a trust. Keep your word of honor, for it reflects on us all. We have earned the trust of others and it is a commodity beyond any tangible reward. Cherish it and never abuse it.

Never compromise another Ranger, and never speak for another man.

One person can make a difference. Never doubt it.

A Tundra Ranger never stands alone."

Eric's eyes were closed by the time the last words fell from his lips, as if it was not so much an oath as a prayer. The table was once again draped in silence when he opened them. "We see ourselves as protectors of humanity true, but we define humanity in more broad strokes, not just those born human."

"That seems like a worthy code," said Molly finally, "I think we are in good hands indeed"

The trucks were loaded the next day, and were made ready to roll out as Tom & Eric consulted over the maps. The route was planned and Eric rode ahead, to intercept any trouble before the train arrived at it.

The special passengers were made ready in the tail car. Molly smiled and shook her head at the three dwarves, still passed out from last night's reveling.

As the convoy pulled away from Scrapville, Ernie stepped out from the bar joined by the mercenary from the previous evening.

"You were supposed to start a fight, Chopper." Said Ernie.

"Yes," the borg named Chopper replied, "a fight, not get me and my men killed."

"He was one man. I thought you were mercenaries." Said Ernie shaking his head.

Chopper held up his armored bionic arm with the perfect little fingerprint shaped dents in it. "Except he ain't a normal man is he."

"No," he replied, "I guess I can't  fault you there. But not to worry, the Master has another way to deal with them."

By midday the mountaineers had moved at better than average speed. The river crossing had gone quicker than anticipated. Four large trees had been laid over the water by someone in a semblance of a perfect bridge. The large all terrain vehicles had rolled up onto the trunks with ease and rolled across the river. By lunch the group had settled at the rendezvous point with the cook fire already going. Eric however was late showing up. He offered an apology on the grounds of checking the perimeter against lunchtime surprises. As usual the campfire food was not just good, it was excellent. Na'tali had picked up cooking duty a few stops into the journey, the special passengers were less likely to be seen once they left official Coalition territory and he risked the objections of the human passengers as the nonhumans deserved to get out of the trailer for the evening. They were surely thankful for her after a few meals. And if he were honest with himself it gave him a chance to be around Miss Molly. In these hard times the marks of middle age were plainly visible on folks, but she was the most beautiful woman his age he had ever met. In the Coalition States people are taught that psychics were the downfall of humanity. Parasites being born into pure humanity, threatening to eat it from the inside. People like Molly were hunted and executed out of fear of them burning down human civilization or destroying their very minds. It was a powerful argument that spread fear through the Coalition settlements like a brushfire, a fear they used to control people. All Tom saw when he looked at her was the most wonderful woman he ever met.

"This is wonderful, Na'tali." Said Eric as he spooned out another mouthful, "I never considered putting apples in chili."

"Makes it sweet, and compliments the spice." Smilled the D'norr girl.

"Well, Na'tali," offered Tom, " you will certainly be popular in Hope Pines."

She laughed, "maybe I can open a restaurant. I can call it Ta'dath a C'pek, Food of the Heart."

"Sounds wonderful," said Molly, "I look forward to eating there."

Eric looked at the doctor's sister from across the fire, she took small sporadic bites of the food at best. But she watched him intently. He nodded to her, but she simply continued to stare.

"So Doc," began the guide, "I assume you two are fleeing the vampire kingdoms. I have yet to make it that far in my travels but I have encountered a vampire or two down near Lone Star."

"Multiply that by thousands, my friend," Hernán began, "and you begin to understand the plight of our homeland. We could not stay, as much as we love our homeland, it was not safe for my sister."

"The people need to band together," Eric looked over the assembled people around the cook fire, "truly together, when no one whose heart is pure is left out, we will face the true evils that threaten this world and make it safe again."

The travelers took in his words in silence until one of the humans gave a whoop and spurred the gathering into applause.

"Please," said Eric, holding up his hands. "That was not all me, it's just something the Ranger that found and recruited me used to say." He stood as the noise died down, "now we need to finish up and get moving. We can make another fifty miles, I think before we camp for the night, and get to enjoy more of Miss Na'tali's cooking."

The train lumbered on, Eric had sped ahead once more to keep an eye out for threats. Hernàn and his sister once more joined Tom in his cab up front. Tom did actually enjoy the doctor's company, as he was full of old stories and information about everywhere they passed. He pointed out a cluster of corn plants, and explained that these were probably hold overs from the fields that were not only large enough to dominate this land and feed the old kingdom of North America, but the whole world. Whoever the doc was, he was well educated. His sister however was still another matter. However, since Eric had taken over the guide job, she was needing less breaks. She had, although taken to laying across the back seat on occasion with a blanket completely covering her.

She had just emerged as Hernán was wrapping up a lecture on the Kansas City Chiefs and some ancient game called baseball.

The world was suddenly spinning end over end. When the truck finally came to a stop the vehicle was on its driver's side, Tom and Hernàn were still belted to their seats but Serenity was against the driver side wall.

"Is everyone ok?" Shouted Tom looking about. Hernàn was shaken but already trying to unbuckle himself. His sister was already standing, seemingly no worse for wear except in a panic and already attempting to open the truck's top hatch.

Tom reached up, which was in reality to the side and popped the hatch release. The girl immediately scrambled out.

"Be careful out there, we don't know what hit us yet!" Tom yelled after her.

He found out quickly as he and Hernàn exited the truck. In the clearing between the trees a rhino buffalo was pacing. Tom looked back and could see the convoy had stopped and the driver of the current lead truck had popped out of his hatch, weapon at the ready. Tom waved him down, no sense angering the creature if they could sneak away. The creature was twenty foot tall and resembled a rhinoceros with clawed feet and fangs, with a buffalo-like hump covered in shaggy hair on its back. The beasts were fierce, territorial and carnivorous.

The doctor noticed its eyes, milky and wet with liquid seeping out of its corners. It obviously couldn't see very well from what he theorized as some kind of infection. "I believe it mistook your mountaineer for a rival." Whispered Hernàn, as he inched toward the next truck, keeping his sister behind him. "Its eyesight seems to be compromised, maybe we can sneak away unnoticed."

The creature snorted and tossed its head up and down in the direction of the overturned truck. "I am more worried about it mistaking us for lunch." Replied Tom as he readied his rifle.

The beast suddenly noticed the movement of the small blurry creatures behind the capsized vehicle. Its unmoving challenger forgotten in the presence of prey, the rhino buffalo pawed at the dirt with its foot and once again snorted before charging, its rhinoceros-like horn leveled at the tiny humans. Tom saw Serenity step in front of her brother as the beast was less than ten paces from the group. A hoverbike streaked past, colliding with the trees beyond, as a figure dropped between them and the monster.

Eric grabbed the rhino buffalo by the horn and under the jaw and dug his feet into the turf. The ground behind him piled up three feet but the beast stopped. Tom could see the muscles of the multi-ton monster twitching from still trying to push forward yet their guide was still holding it back.

"Calm down big guy." Said Eric, gritting his teeth. "Just give up, we're not worth it."

With a burst of verbal strain, the wilderness guide began to lift the animal by its head. The rhino buffalo's claws began to tear ruts into the ground as its feet slowly left the ground. With a heave, the mostly blinded predator was tossed back twenty feet, crashing to the ground. The rhino buffalo was immediately back on its feet and charging.

"Oh come on!" Said Eric as he raised his fists and adjusted his feet. "Just give up already."

The beast tore toward the man, horn once more lowered for a charge. As it reached him he stepped to the side and punched the beast in the side of the head. It fell to the ground following the force of the blow and slid to a stop on its side in the dirt.

Eric hadn't even received the chance to relax when the animal snorted and stood up again, shaking its head.

"Really." Sighed Eric, "can't you just give up and wander off?"

Eric steeled himself for another charge, and became aware of a small figure ducking under his right arm. A raven haired head popped out as the doctor's sister ducked under his bicep and stood next to him. As the massive beast charged once more the girl leaned forward and puckered her lips like a kiss. A stream of dark green gas streamed out of the girl's mouth, and enveloped the monster. The animal could be heard collapsing inside the cloud, only to come sliding out of it on its side again. Eric was forced again to catch the animal and stop it from sliding over them. He had to pick up Serenity, who gave out a high pitched squeal at being manhandled, in one arm before he managed to stop it from moving.

The rhino buffalo's eyes were still open and it breathed in and out in a deep rhythmic pattern, but it did not move. It let loose a few groans but lay perfectly still.

"Someone is keeping secrets," she smiled, whispering into Eric's ear as she was once again set down, before turning and walking back to the flipped truck.

"So she does talk," he said walking after her, "and apparently I am not the only one." He added looking back at the motionless monster.

She stopped and looked back, not at Eric but the beast. She saw what Hernán had noticed, the infected eyes of the rhino buffalo. She realized it wasn't his fault, blind and probably hungry from not being able to hunt well, he attacked because he was an animal. Serenity made a series of complex motions with her hands and once again blew air from her lips. A warm sweet wind enveloped Eric and moved past to the beast. His eyes dried in the wind, white and cloudiness cleared up. She smiled again and with a cheery little hop, returned to walking back to the mountaineer.

Tom watched the two, the wilderness guide stronger than any human should be, and the Doc's strange sister who apparently does magic. He recognized the green cloud that fell the rhino buffalo as the same that incapacitated the officer at the checkpoint and blinded his soldiers. But he didn't see her then.

As she and Eric reached the transport Tom stood there with his arms crossed, "there seems to be an awful lot of explaining that needs to be done."

"Shouldn't we get back on the road first?" Asked Serenity. She grasped the side of the downed truck and strained, the vehicle not budging at first but then slowly lifting. Eric stepped up to the mountaineer and placed one hand under the now raised corner and effortlessly flipped it up on its wheels, looking at Serenity with a raised eyebrow.

"I would have gotten it, no thank you." She said with a sneer.

Eric closed his eyes and turned his head away, "we needed to get back underway, this isn't a competition." The guide began looking over any damage to the truck. "Besides, if it was, I would win easily." He turned back to the girl for a quick smile before returning to the inspection. He did not see her scathing look she sent back his way.

"Looks good" said Tom, seeing only the minor dent in the passenger side where the rhino buffalo had initially hit and flipped over the truck. "She will drive, she is a tough old girl."

Eric retrieved his hoverbike and discovered the trees had done no more damage than he expected. "I'll scout ahead and when we camp tonight Tom, I'll explain what I can." At that Eric sped ahead, leaving Tom with the doctor and his sister.

"Now, what the hell do I have on my wagon train?" Asked Tom after a few miles down the road.

"I assure you we are what we said we are, just two people escaping what was an unsafe situation in the south. My sister was in terrible danger  in the vampire kingdoms."

"Why," asked Tom Bluntly, "why particularly your sister?"

"For what she is. Mr. Decker. Have you heard of Quetzalcoatl?" Replied Hernàn.

"The god or the dragon?" Parried Tom.

"Ah yes, you see, my people know there is no difference. The Quetzalcoatl, was the dragon who appeared to my people thousands of years ago. Teaching us about the universe and the life and laws my people thrived under. Though, members of his species are called Kukulan, to differentiate. I was taught all of  this by the scholars of my home. And in my explorations I found the proof of our myths and legends. In an abandoned temple lost in the jungle five years ago, I found an egg. An egg she hatched from, a direct descendant of Quetzalcoatl. If the vampires knew a spawn of a god existed who could ruin their plans by ending their deal with the old gods to keep the rain away, they would kill her. She is too young to face them now. So I am keeping her safe up here until she is old enough to free our lands."

"So she is a dragon?" Asked Tom, "I am not a person who judges you if you aren't human, but I know what I am carrying when it comes to the others. I am just disappointed I didn't know what I had." Tom looked at Hernàn mulling over what he was dealt. "So she is not really your sister then?"

"Not so hermano," smiled Hernàn, "I may be human, but the blood of the god flows through these veins as well. We are family true"

"So all the stops…" began Tom.

"She can only hold her human for a few hours for now. Until she grows in size and power, two or three, four hours tops can she hold her human form."

Over his shoulder Tom could see the form of Serenity begin to flow. When it finished in his back seat was a serpent, almost ten feet long with wings and two bird-like legs in rainbow colored feathers. Other tufts of feathers along her body matched with the rainbow hued scales that covered the rest of her. He saw a pair of serpent eyes blue as the sky after a storm looking back at him, she was as frightening as she was beautiful. "I've only

"And she is magic?" Continued Tom, looking back to Hernàn.

"Magic runs in her veins. My sister controls the four winds, the weather and the sky, as well as healing. That is why the vampires want her dead. When she comes into her full strength Serenity will call down the killing rains and wipe them from our lands." The doctor put a hand on one of Tom's, "we are not a threat to you, Tom."

"I figured that, but I still feel things are getting more and more complicated."

That night the caravan stopped to make camp, Tom and the doctor with his sister gathered around a small fire by themselves. Joined by Eric and Molly. Serenity sat there in human form again, adorned in her usual jeans, midriff sleeveless tee and comfortable hiking shoes. Tom had noted at the beginning of the trip she dressed in a younger and more feminine version of the doctor's attire. Either it sold their relationship better or that relationship influenced her human form. Tom had explained to Molly the situation before Eric arrived, but once more she seemed already ahead of what he was trying to tell her.

"So Mr. Magnison," Molly began before Tom could begin. He smiled at her, happy she took the awkwardness of starting off his shoulders. "You must have a fascinating story."

"Yes," said Tom, "what are you? A borg, a dragon…" he led this last inquiry with a glance at Serenity, that Eric didn't catch.

"To be honest, I don't know what I am." Began the young wilderness scout. "My mother was as human as can be. But where my abilities come from, what I can do, I've never understood. But I can tell you I was born in Newfoundland, far north on the east coast of this continent…