“Ah, shit,” Elijah said, rubbing the back of his neck. He had no idea how he hadn’t recognized her. In retrospect, he should have. It wasn’t as if she’d really changed that much since high school. In fact, she looked remarkably similar, given that it had been nearly ten years and an apocalypse since the last time he’d seen her. Still, Elijah knew he should have recognized his first serious girlfriend.

“Wow. That happy to see me, huh?”

“Shit. Sorry. Hey, Lucy. How have you been? Apocalypse treating you alright?”

She laughed, letting out a small snort that she tried to cut short. It didn’t work, which clearly distressed her. “You really haven’t changed, have you?” she said, pushing herself to her full height. She was about an inch taller than Elijah, which meant that she was reasonable tall for a woman. And in those shorts, she looked like she was ninety-percent leg.

“More than you can imagine,” he said.

“I heard you had cancer,” she stated.

“Didn’t really take. Saved by the apocalypse,” he admitted. “How about you? Last I checked, you were an engineer, not a botanist.”

Whatever the case, he felt certain that she wasn’t a fellow Druid. He didn’t know how he knew that, but every fiber of his being told him that he would know for certain if he met another person of his archetype.

“How do you think I made all this work? Engineering’s all about solving problems, even when we’re using ethera instead of electricity,” she said. Then, she glanced toward Barry and said, “You can go. You’ll get your shipment on time.”

“But –”

“Come with me,” Lucy said, grabbing Elijah’s upper arm. She tugged on him, but he didn’t move at first. That brought a curious glance, but Elijah didn’t resist further. Instead, he let himself be dragged away from Barry. Once they were out of earshot, Lucy said, “Didn’t think I’d see you hanging out with the likes of Barry Brockerton.”

“We weren’t hanging out. I happened to help him out, and he offered to put me up for the night,” Elijah said.

“He try to push one of his daughters on you?”

“Uh…”

“Which one? I bet it was Tori. She’s the eldest. Of course, he’s tried that with every man of intermediate power in the city. Some of them have even fallen for it,” Lucy said, leading him through the giant greenhouse. “Super sleezy, but I guess he’s working with the tools he has.”

“Did you just refer to a person as a tool?” Elijah asked.

“I could use worse words,” she pointed out. “Like slut. Or whore. Harlot’s a good one, too. And believe me, those girls have earned that and worse. Even before the world changed, they were…ah…social climbers. Dana, the youngest, slept with half the Seahawks’ defensive backfield. Including the backups.”

That’s when they reached a door that led to a small office. Upon entry, Elijah noted that it looked just like any other blue-collar office he’d ever seen. There were tools lying on the metal desk, and the entire back wall was filled with a series of wooden cubbies that held rolled-up blueprints.

She sat on the edge of the desk, saying, “Alright. Spill it. What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were dying in Hawaii.”

“Seriously? That’s kind of a tactless way of putting it.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Like you care. C’mon. Tell me why you’re here,” she said.

With anyone else – except for Alyssa or Carmen, maybe – Elijah would have been hesitant to reveal too much. However, he and Lucy had too much history for him to treat her like anybody else. They’d started going out in middle school, and that relationship had lasted all the way until Elijah’s senior year in high school. The only reason it hadn’t continued was because, after his parents’ death, he’d pulled away from everyone. Lucy had tried to make it work, but back then, Elijah was far more interested in wallowing in self-pity to let her be there for him. As a result, they’d broken up, he’d left for Hawaii the next fall, and he hadn’t spoken to her since then.

But the bond remained.

Just seeing her alive had filled him with such potent relief that it was hard to even quantify it.

So, without hesitation, Elijah told Lucy everything. He didn’t hold anything back. Not his archetype. Not his class. He even told her about his grove and the panther, which turned out to elicit a lot more of an emotional response than he’d thought possible. Clearly, he’d kept things bottled up, and now that he had the benefit of a listener he trusted, he couldn’t stop himself from letting loose with his burdens.

For her part, Lucy listened with an implacable expression. She didn’t judge him, however, and when he finally admitted to what he’d done upon finding the hunters, she frowned. Elijah quickly moved on, telling her about his code, then explained everything that had happened since then.

“And here I am,” he said. The explanation had taken more than an hour, but Lucy hadn’t really moved. By comparison, Elijah had paced back and forth, gesturing as he told the story. Once he was finished, he stopped and asked, “Thoughts?”

“Top five.”

“Huh?”

“You’re in the top five. You know, I never even look at the rankings. Most people don’t,” Lucy admitted. “I knew they were there, but I’ve always had way too much going on to pay attention to it. But if I’d just looked, I would have known you were alive.”

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Elijah fidgeted a bit as he said, “Well, I wasn’t even on the list for the longest time. The first year on the island was just me trying to survive. You know, only killing things when I needed food. The panther killed anything strong enough to actually hurt me, so it took a long time for me to even get a level. It wasn’t until I started hunting Voxx that I started really leveling. Since then, I’ve run multiple towers, and I’m still losing ground on the top people.”

“And your sister’s wife is on the power rankings, too?” Lucy asked. “That’s quite a coincidence.”

Elijah shrugged. “Carmen was always exceptional. More than me. I just got lucky,” he admitted. “Good class. A powerful guardian to protect me while I got my feet under me. That sort of thing.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Lucy said, pushing her glasses up the her nose. “I doubt most people would have survived what you’ve described.”

“Maybe. What about you?” he asked. “The mysterious and powerful Gardener. I expected another Druid.”

“Nope. I took Tradesman,” she said. “Then Ethereal Engineer. I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far if it wasn’t for my husband, though. He took Scholar, which didn’t seem all that useful at first. But then he got a class called Etheracist. It let him map the flow of ethera and predict how it would react to certain stimuli. Together, and with the help of a bunch of other Tradesmen, we built the Garden.”

“I notice a lot of past tense there. What happened?”

“Same thing that happened to most of the world. A lot of people died,” she said. “But Sean passed after a freak accident. A beam collapsed on top of him. There weren’t any Healers around, so…”

She sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek.

“How long ago?”

“Two years last month.”

“I’m sorry,” Elijah said, stepping forward. He wrapped his arms around her, saying, “I wish I was here.”

“Me too.”

The pair remained like that for a few more minutes until, finally, Lucy pulled away, wiped her eyes, and said, “You’re looking for Easton, right?”

“I’ve heard it’s to the east.”

“It is. I’ve had that confirmed. Somewhere between seven-hundred and a thousand miles away,” she said. “I’ve seen it on maps.”

Then, she went on to reveal that the people of Seattle hadn’t been completely idle. Instead, they’d spent the last few years steadily exploring the area around the city and compiling maps. More, there were apparently some efforts underway to create a new worldwide government, though distance and the complications of communication had stymied those efforts. Still, it was nice to know that people hadn’t completely descended into anarchy.

“So, do you want me to help out? I can probably spend a week or so in here and triple your output,” Elijah said. “Maybe even more. I don’t know. With the framework you have in place, it might be a lot more.”

“I think –”

A knock at the door cut her off. Before she could respond, the door swung open. At the same time, Elijah stepped in front of Lucy, shielding her from danger. It was a good thing, too, because three armored fighters stepped through a second later. The one in the center was a dark-skinned man with a military haircut and the crisp mannerisms that went with it. He wore the same black fatigues Elijah had seen from the guards at the city’s gates. The other two – a man and a woman – were dressed in identical gear.

“When most people knock on a door, they wait for an answer before they barge in,” Elijah said, planting the butt of his staff on the floor. It hit with a metallic clang. “Kind of rude. A bit dangerous, too. That’s the kind of thing that causes all sorts of accidents.”

“This the guy?” the man in the middle asked.

“Matches the description,” said the woman. “Taller than they said, though. Not much, but still…”

“You’re looking for me?” Elijah asked, ignoring the quip about his height. He was average. Not short. He just wished people would recognize that.

“We are,” said the man. “My name is Isaiah Roberts, and I’m the Lord of this city.”

“Kind of presumptuous to call yourself that,” Elijah remarked.

“Boys. Stop,” Lucy said, grabbing Elijah’s shoulder. He very nearly reacted to that, and not in a way that would make him any friends. However, he managed to corral his instincts just enough to keep himself in check. Still, it was evidence of how tightly he was wound. Lucy noticed, probably because every muscle in his body had contracted the second she’d touched him. “Relax, Elijah. Isaiah is a good man.”

“I am relaxed,” Elijah lied, his eyes never leaving Isaiah. “What do you want from me? I haven’t killed anyone since coming into town. In fact, I wasted two silver to keep from having to do that. So, I can’t imagine why you’re here.”

“You’re top five. I’d have to be an idiot not to want to meet you,” Isaiah said.

“I’m just a level thirty –”

“Your skill or item doesn’t work on a Lord.”

“You keep saying that like I know what it means. Not that I care much about titles,” Elijah was quick to add.

“I’m a system sanctioned Lord,” Isaiah revealed. “One of the benefits of the path I rook is that I can see through most identity obfuscating skills and items. It doesn’t come for free, but you were odd enough that I thought it was warranted.”

“I’m not that odd.”

“You came strolling out of the desert like you didn’t have a care in the world. You’re wearing no less than four items that are at least Simple-Grade. Including your purse, of all things. And –”

“Satchel.”

“What?”

“I can’t believe I have to keep pointing this out. It’s a satchel. Not a purse. Indiana Jones uses one,” Elijah said. It seemed like an important distinction, and he didn’t understand why people kept making the same mistake.

“I feel like I’ve heard that before,” one of Isaiah’s guards said.

“It doesn’t matter,” the Lord said. “My point is that you were clearly powerful. So, I used an ability, and I found out who you are. That’s why I’m here.”

“That doesn’t explain anything. Do you want my help with something? Or is this just a meet-n-greet? Because I was trying to catch up with an old friend,” he said.

“I’m concerned. What relationship do you have with Mercer Mesa?”

“None that matters.”

“Would you be willing to work against them?” asked Isaiah.

Elijah shrugged. “I don’t particularly like them, if that’s what you’re asking. But I’m not staying in this city for much longer. So, I have no intention of getting involved in your…whatever it is you’re about to propose.”

As far as Elijah was concerned, there was only one reason a city’s leader would approach him. He needed Elijah’s strength, probably to get a leg up on his competition. And while Elijah wasn’t necessarily opposed to putting someone like Barry in his place, he was more concerned with getting to Easton.

“I see. And what if we gave you unfettered access to our Branch? And the tower we have under our control?” Isaiah asked.

“Do you happen to have a Librarian?”

“We do. She’s low leveled, but we could make her services available to you.”

That was even more tempting. Still, Elijah said, “I can’t get tied up here. I’m searching for something. When I find it, I may come back. If I do, there’s a chance I might help. Assuming you’re not some sort of tyrant. You’re not, are you?”

“I just want to help the people of this city,” the man stated. “That’s why your answer is so disappointing.”

“Is this where you try to force my hand?”

“Of course not. We aren’t the bad guys here. If you change your mind, come to the Capitol. Chances are, this conflict won’t soon end.”

“Alright.”

Then, the man turned on his heel and marched away. His flunkies followed, the last one out closing the door with some degree of force.

“That went well,” Elijah said, glancing back at Lucy. “So, what’s his deal?”

“He’s a good man,” Lucy said. “Former marine. Before the world changed, he won an election as a city councilman. He ended up taking everything over after everyone else died or shrank away from the challenge. Thousands of people owe their lives to Isaiah Roberts.”

“Ah. Then I’m glad we didn’t get into a fight,” Elijah said. “So, those maps you were talking about? You happen to have one you can lend me?”