Mark stepped out of the shed and back into the ankle-deep grey snow. Horan leaned on an outhouse just outside, dressed as though it were just a little nippy. Horan pushed off the outhouse and looked through the shed’s open doorway. “Find anything?”
Mark held up a gas mask, almost identical to the one obscuring his face. “Spare mask. You sure you don’t want one?”
“I said it before, I’ll say it again. Those things are hideous, and I want to look my best for the Greeks. Honestly, you should really reconsider your choice with that thing.”
“Har har. Sorry for choosing not dying of radiation poisoning over looking nice. It’s a real shame I have such fragile cells, Mister Perfect Being. And seriously, wear something normal. You stick out like a sore thumb, and we’re not going to run into the Greeks any time soon.”
“You sure about that?” Horan pulled out a tattered map of Greece and unfolded it, his luminous eye lighting up the paper. “I’ve been looking this thing over, and if I’m right about the landmarks we’ve been seeing lately, it looks like we’re only a few hours away.”
Mark looked at the map, unable to make heads or tails of the labels. “Well, look at you, reading the land like a pro. If it turns out you’re right, you’re entitled to one whole compliment.”
“Can’t wait.” Horan put the map away.
Mark looked around at the empty, snow-covered landscape. “Are you sure, though?”
Horan shrugged. “It’s… it’s dark. I’m sure we’ll see it once we get close. Let’s going, this way.”
“Lead the way.” Mark tossed the mask he’d found and followed Horan through the snow.
-
Trudging through the cold and dark snow, Mark and Horan hopefully scanned the horizon for a landmark of some kind. What little sunlight made it through the clouds began to fade, signalling the beginning of night.
Mark looked up at the sky and stopped. “Alright, it’s getting pretty late. We’re still pretty close to that gas station, we can double back and hole up there for a while.”
Horan looked ahead for a moment and sighed. “…Okay. Maybe you should take the lead once we get going again.”
“It’s okay, you tried your best. Let’s move.” Mark patted Horan on the back and started leading him back through the path they had made through the snow.
It took only a few minutes for the quaint silhouette of a roadside gas station to appear out of the darkness. Mark and Horan hurried inside, looking around at the stripped-bare shelves of the convenience store. They didn’t bother looking to see if the place was inhabited. The local population had all died or left the region years ago, and the few remnants of the demon army besieging the Greeks said that their army had completely disintegrated when Erlani was killed. Mark and Horan typically decided to not mention their part in killing him.
Places along their path that still had salvageable supplies were getting progressively rarer, to the point that Mark often had to carry what little surplus they could find, just in case they hit the smallest of rough patches.
Horan built up a small pile of newspaper scraps and cardboard in an empty space, starting a brief fire with a few sparks from his sword and a snapped-off piece of piping. The two sat around the rapidly-dwindling fire for a few minutes, just soaking in the heat, the brief respite from the bitter world outside. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Horan pulled out his map. “Do you want to look at the map now? See if we can figure out where we are?”
Mark inched away from the almost-dead fire. “I’ll figure it out when we get up. Just try and get some rest.”
Horan leaned against a wall and tried to go to sleep. After a few minutes of slowly dozing, he almost jerked awake when he heard something he hadn’t heard trace of in a while: People.
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Horan shifted into his human form and shook Mark awake. “Hey, I hear someone coming. A few people, it sounds like.”
Mark wordlessly got up and pulled out his knife. He had his rifle conspicuously slung across his back, but that had run out days ago and served only for intimidation purposes now. After a few seconds of listening to the sounds of the night, Mark distantly heard the sound of footsteps and indistinct chatter.
Shrouded by darkness, three cat-headed demons stepped into view from the station entrance. The three were lost in slightly hushed conversation, and didn’t notice that the station was occupied as they walked towards it.
Just a few feet from the broken doorway, one of the demons looked up and noticed Mark and Horan in the building. He held up a hand and pointed the two out to his companions.
The black-furred demon in the middle stepped forward and spoke while the other two lay hands on their sheathed swords. “Looks like this spot’s occupied. Sorry for coming out of nowhere, you can put your weapons down. Any spare rooms in there, you two?”
Mark lowered his knife slightly. “Sorry, this place is full. We don’t want any trouble, just move on and we’ll leave you alone.”
While the first demon eyed Horan suspiciously, the lead demon scanned the building for anything worth looting before shrugging. “Looks like it’s not worth the trouble. You two have fun in there.”
Right before he turned away, the lead demon was stopped by the first one. “Yang, look at the sword guy…” Whispering in her ear, he pointed at Horan’s eyepatch and curved sword.
Yang grimaced and turned back to face Horan. “Say, you with the sword. You wouldn’t happen to know exactly what we are, do you?”
Horan looked around nervously. “Now, I’m not really sure what you three are getting at, but I’m happy to play along with what you’re trying to do if it means you’ll leave.”
Yang sneered. “Don’t bother trying to dodge the question like that.” He slowly walked towards the entrance, one hand on his own sword while his entourage followed behind. “You’re the kind of ‘person’ who always knows more than they let one, aren’t you?”
As he stepped inside, Mark attempted to stand between Yang and Horan. “Look, this is going to get out of hand fast. Just get out of here before things get-“
“Watch your mouth, twerp.” The third demon pushed Mark aside while Yang stepped right in front of Horan.
Yang looked at Horan’s brandished sword. “So, Horan. The demons left out here don’t appreciate you taking out our commander and leaving us in this wasteland. A lot of us have a few choice words for you.”
Horan took a short step back, keeping his sword between himself and the demons. “I don’t… Fine, you win. It’s me. But you really don’t want to do this. I might be an eye down, but we can still take all three of you, no problem.”
Yang drew her sword halfway, keeping an eye on both Mark and Horan. “Oh, I’m sure you could.”
The third demon mimicked Yang’s gesture. “But can the twerp?”
Mark stepped forward, knife held up. “Stop calling me that!” He stopped in his tracks when the third demon held his sword up to Mark’s neck.
Yang nodded at the third demon before turning back to Horan. “Don’t think we didn’t hear about your little partner in crime. You really are the loser Thel told us about, huh? Hanging out with a nobody like that guy? Sleeping in a human gas station? I can’t believe you’re the one who killed Commander Erlani. Honestly, I ought to-“
The first demon looked outside and hurriedly ran to Yang’s side. “Flare incoming!”
Yang’s eyes widened. “Take cover!”
Completely ignoring Mark and Horan, the three demons scampered into the furthest corner of the store right before everything lit up. A piercing light came from somewhere outside, turning night to day and illuminating the land for miles around. The demons, only barely lit up, still sizzled and groaned audibly. Mark and Horan, on the other hand, remained completely unharmed.
Mark took a few steps towards the entrance. “Hey, uh, Horan? Maybe we take the hint and leave?”
Horan shielded his eyes from the glare outside. “Sure, what could go wrong?”
The two stepped outside. Beginning to fade, the source of light was revealed to be the top of a colossal tower in the centre of a massive, marble city in the middle of the countryside. Mark and Horan stared silently at the sight as the light faded completely and the world was plunged once again into darkness.
Horan found his voice after standing in shadow for a brief moment. “Yeah, that’s the place.”
Mark heard the sounds of the demons stirring inside and started speedwalking towards where the tower had been before. “Right, okay, let’s start moving. Fast.”