An Gort Rua, Co. Limerick, Ireland — After the hunt

The airship’s shadow stretched long and lean across the Irish landscape, a dark gash against the moonlit patchwork of the Limerick countryside. Elsbeth “Elz” Jones watched from the windowed balcony as they flew. There wasn’t much to see as the airship passed between the moon and the landscape below, but still, her heart thrummed in anticipation. It had been over ten years since she’d been to the cottage, and though she’d dreamt about it, being this close again stirred up lots of pain and fear in her. She’d intended to come back here with her family intact but Mat was gone, leaving a hole that nothing could fill. Not even the precious gift he’d left her with. She pressed a kiss to the top of Trey’s head, hoping…

Trey cuddled into Elz’s side, as they both looked out into the darkness. Even in the gentle comfort of her embrace, she could feel Elsbeth’s tension as the ship began its descent.

“Almost there” Elz murmured, more to herself than to her daughter. At the same time the pilot’s voice broke the quiet atmosphere.

“We’ve arrived at your destination. The ship remains at your disposal, but we will return for you in a week if we do not hear otherwise.”

Elz nodded even though the pilot couldn’t see her. They had already discussed this. The Creaux had let her know that the ship was hers until she returned to New York. The crew (Elz now knew there were two people in the cockpit of the ship) had a place in London where they could stay, and they’d agreed that they should first take the Watcher to a nearby hive to recuperate. The airship would be back in the morning for them to unload anything they needed, but after that would not return for a week unless needed sooner.

The ship landed in the middle of a field a few hundred feet from the cottage, and they disembarked into moonlit darkness and unfamiliar quiet. The cottage sat three miles outside of the nearest town which had been evacuated many years before so, unlike New York which was still noisy if not as busy as before, it offered quiet nights where only the wildlife could be heard. The Muta-Hare population had chased off all but the insects, so there wasn’t much wildlife to be heard.

Elz, Trey and the Old Man walked towards the cottage in the darkness. As they crossed the field, a row of softly glowing phosphorescent lights came into view, marking off a fence that had not been there a decade before. Elz worried that the property had been inhabited, but the darkness of the windows in the building ahead kept her hopeful. They followed the lights on the fence until they came to the gate and passing through that, finally approached the front yard of the cabin. The gate that she remembered from her visit had been replaced with a larger Wrought Iron gate, and the stone fence had been raised another foot in height. Inside the yard, the path to the door was clear of grass even as the garden had overgrown all its other boundaries. Elz took it all in, promising herself to investigate further in the morning.

They pushed the gate open. “Home sweet temporary home,” Elz said, her voice carrying a note of dry humor as she led the way.

Inside, the cottage was just as she remembered—small, sturdy, inviting. She looked around wanting to take everything in, noting the things that had changed and the things that remained the same. Half-formed memories rushed to her mind, and again the sadness and loss threatened to over-take her.

“Everything alright, Elz?” Noting the tension in her stance, Man Xiong placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Fine,” she replied curtly. “Just memories.”

Trey yawned beside her, pulling her out of her funk. It had been a long few days, whatever she was feeling could be dealt with after some sleep. Dropping her backpack, she drew her Glocks and headed for the stairs.

“It’s too clean. I’ll check the rest of the house, you stay here.”

The loft was almost just as she remembered it. The bed and bedding was different from before and the walls had been repainted, but it was as if nothing else had been moved. Elz checked around the room and in the closet just to be safe but found nothing out of the ordinary other than the absence of all but a layer of dust.

Downstairs she reassured the others that everything was good, then pulled her sleeping bag and her camping kit out of her backpack. “I’ll start a fire, Old Man. You can have the bed upstairs.”

Man Xiong made an attempt to argue, but Elz was firm. “Just for tonight. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The Old Man conceded on the issue and headed upstairs as Elz checked the chimney and then started a fire in the fireplace. Once the fire was going, she laid out sleeping bags for both herself and Trey.

It wasn’t too long before they were falling asleep in front of the fire.

.

.

.

“I can smell daddy.” Trey’s whisper evaporated into the silent room, her mom already too deep in sleep to hear her.

—————————

The next dawn greeted Elz as she strolled around the property taking in the changes that she had not been able to see the night before. Around the back of the cottage she realised that it had been upgraded and added on to, and was now nearly twice as large. Two new rooms had been added on the first floor, and it appeared that they also had loft space above. She made a note to locate their entryways when she went back inside, berating herself for having missed them during her safety check the night before. Still, she had not expected it, and the structure of the room had appeared unchanged.

The addition wasn’t the only change however. The Barn and the shed, once dilapidated havens for rusted tools and old-world chemicals, had been rebuilt boasting new cinderblock walls and reinforced doors. Strangely enough, there were small black panels built in next to the doors. Elz pulled open the one on the shed to find a security keypad installed into the wall, though there didn't seem to be any power running to it. Curiosity and caution warring within, she drew her gun and slowly pushed open the unlocked door, the iron banded wood cool to her touch.

Inside, the smell of various oils hit her nostrils. She blinked at the shelves and recently built workbench that lined the walls of the small building. Tools hung neatly on hooks, their metal surfaces gleaming with the oils used to protect them from rust. Plastic bins with tight lids were stacked carefully on the shelves. Dust covered everything, indicating that they had not been touched in a while, but still it was vastly different from the scene Elz had left over ten years before. Her brow furrowed; someone had obviously spent some time and care on the property.

Regardless of the property seeming to have been claimed, years of scavenging to survive would not allow her to leave the bins unexplored, so Elz wiped off the lids of the closest bins and began to look through the contents. One by one, she opened them up and rummaged through the neatly packed contents. There were stores of canned foods, matches, batteries and clothing. On another standing shelf, sat a solar generator and a solar stove. There were also bins filled with bottles of products that had been banned by the treaties.

Leaving the shed she walked over to the barn and peeked inside. Mostly empty but for a bicycle and a wooden cart, it seemed to be more garage than barn. A memory triggered and Elz took a closer look at the cart. She couldn’t be sure, because the wood had already been half rotted back then and this cart looked to be in great condition, but she was almost certain it was the cart that Mataias had built to help her transport the Muta-Hare skins all those years ago. It was strange, being in this place that was almost as she remembered it but still so different.

After investigating both buildings, Elz had seen enough. Whoever had been here and updated the property would eventually be coming back. Like her, they were a survivalist, and this was obviously their safehouse. Elz couldn’t say she blamed them, it would’ve been hers as well—completely off the grid and far away from people or bureaucracy. She sighed, hoping that the accumulated dust meant that they would be away a while longer. A few days of relaxation on the property would be great for both her and Trey, even if it meant putting her dreams of living here permanently to rest.

A hum thrummed through the air and Elz rounded the side of the building to see the airship landing in the field a short distance away. She ducked back into the barn to get the cart and as she walked back around to the front of the house, met Trey and Man Xiong was they exited the cottage.

“Good Morning.” They both looked well rested. Trey, still wearing her JCUs from the night before, skipped down the stairs and hugged her mom.

“Hi mommy. Where’d you go?”

“Walked around outside.” Elz hugged her back and waved at The Old Man, over her shoulder. “We’ve gotta get you in some off-day clothes.”

On the airship, they sorted through the things they would need for their week off. Elz and Trey only took a few outfits to wear, but Elz insisted on keeping their weapons and gear with them.

“Are you really going to need all that stuff?” Man Xiong asked as she loaded the armory case onto the cart.

“Better to have it and not need it.” Elz wasn’t going to explain herself, not even to the Old Man, but why should she need to? Their life was about survival—hunting and killing— he knew this. A day off simply meant they weren’t hunting anything. It didn't mean nothing was hunting them. If that seemed a bit on the paranoid side, such was life. Humans were back in the middle of the food chain and Elz’s job was to make sure her daughter wasn’t on anyone’s menu.

The Old Man nodded because he did get it. They continued to load up most of the supplies, only leaving behind a few thing that were meant for New York. They offloaded one of the scooters to pull the cart, and Trey drove that back to the house as Elz and Man Xiong walked back with the bicycles they had found in Cardigan.

“You sure you want me along?” The Old Man asked. Trey had already taken off across the field going as fast as the mobility scooter would let her in the tramped down grass. “I know this place is special to you. I can hang with the crew for a few days.”

Elz shook her head. “Its special to me and Mat. Trey wants to share this with you. If it becomes special to her, she’ll be glad to have you as part of the memory.”

Man Xiong studied her for a moment, then continued the walk in silence.

Trey waited for them at the garden gate. “Where are we putting everything?”

“Most of it is coming inside, the propane tanks and gardening supplies can go in the shed.” Elz looked around at her companions, clapped her hands and smiled widely. “All right people, its vacation time.”