36.

“How was your day?” Santi asked Yesi as he slumped into the couch. Cam and Bianca had taken a walk around the compound while Mom and Dad had retreated upstairs leaving the two siblings alone. It was one of the few times they’d been alone since they had been picked up from the farm.

“Good. That Abraham guy is a dick. Got him and more of his people evolved and that basically finished off the supplies. Got a few more of the treasures you stole from the cyclops, but we’re pretty much done.”

“Good ole’ Abe. He’s struggling to not be in charge. Insecure with the fact that the children are stronger than him,” Santi waved his hands as he said children in a mocking tone. The old heads of the council weren’t coming around but rather being battered into obeisance.

“He’s a dick. But, the guys who were with him seemed to be loyal. They did not like you, that’s for sure.”

“Talking mad shit?”

“No. Anytime someone would bring you up they’d all go quiet and start glaring. I think shit talk would have been better.”

“They hate us, cause they ain’t us.”

“No, I think you’re just a dick.”

“That could also be it,” Santi said, laughing quietly with Yesi. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes till the creaking of the stairs caused both of them to look over as Dad came down the steps. He lowered himself into his chair and looked at the two of them and sighed.

“Your Mom is asleep. Cam and Bianca go off?”

“Yeah. Wanted to walk around and blow off some steam,” Yesi supplied.

“They need to hurry up and just tell us they’re dating,” Dad said as he pulled the lever back and leaned the recliner back. Santi looked over at Yesi and she looked sheepish. Santi had thought they were together, but how had Dad figured it out?

“I have eyes. I can see the two of you looking at each other. This old man is observant. It’s not like they’ve been discreet.”

“I didn’t know,” Santi muttered as Yesi looked off in the distance.

“Santiago, you can’t see what’s right in front of you sometimes,” Dad said with a chuckle.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Why were you at the fight, Dad? I thought you and Mom weren’t interested in leveling?

“I’m not. But, I can’t let my children go out there while I sit at home, can I? Some things can’t be done. A father’s love can make him do things he’d never expect. Like going and fighting giant metal machines.”

“Don’t be going and getting sentimental on us old man. Had enough of that today.”

“Santi,” Yesi slapped at his arm and he rolled his eyes at his sister while his Dad just chuckled.

“So, did you get the leveling itch?” Santi pushed.

“Itch? Oh, a need to keep fighting and getting stronger? No. Fuck that. I’d be happy just to cook and hangout at home with your Mom and you kids.”

“Ahhh, Dad,” Yesi sighed.

“I’m old. This world will be for you kids. I’m too old to understand it. I just want to see you all grow up. Want to hold a few grandbabies and bounce them on my knee. Maybe have a nice little restaurant. Watch people smile when they eat my food.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“And Mom?”

“I don’t know anymore. She’s gotten quiet. It was hard, Santi. Right after it all came down. I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t protect any of them. It was Cam and Bianca who stepped up. Your Mom is a strong woman. My Garbiella is pure steel. But this shook her. She’ll get back on her feet, she just needs time.”

“She talks when it's just us, but not as much. Not the same way.” Yesi spoke quietly, shrinking in on herself.

“We’re all alive. That’s what matters. We can overcome the rest in time.” Santi said with conviction.

“We’ll get there. Right now we need to be there for Cameron. He’s hurting bad.” Dad had never looked away from the ceiling as he spoke, eyes distant as he talked.

“I know, but we can’t abandon this place. We need a home where people like you and Mom can be safe.”

“I know that, Santi. So does Cameron. It doesn’t make it not hurt.”

“I’ll be leaving with him and Bianca and a few others the minute this place has calmed down. We can push out immediately and with the boost in the stats we’ll get down there quick.”

“What about me?” Yesi asked.

“You need to finish leveling and evolve yourself. I’ll leave you here with the grimoire. There’s some things you could do to help defend our home while we’re away.” There would be plenty for Yesi and the others to do to get the community going to long term sustainability. The moment the Pillar set down and he claimed it, they’d be set. He could leave the others here to build up the community while he traveled and found people, treasures, and anything else of interest.

“Alright. I wasn’t really excited about the prospect of trekking across the ruins of our state anyways.”

“Listen, I got to go and get ready for the raid tomorrow. I’ll be back later.” Santi was up and off before they could protest. He needed to ensure his team was ready for what was going to be their toughest fight yet. Cam and Bianca were off doing their thing, but he needed Chloe, Tank, and Chad all ready. The secondary team with Rayleigh and few others were likely going to be involved as well.

Santi strode through Homebase and found Tank where he normally was, in the infirmary. The big man had plenty of patients, but in the new world if you survived the initial trauma, you’d likely survive the aftermath as long as the healers had mana to power their spells and skills.

“Sup, man,” Tank whispered as he disentangled himself from someone who was laid out on a cot and headed toward him. Santi wanted to sigh and vent to him, someone who was a little distanced from the family. That would be rude and self centered, especially as Tank was in the middle of the equivalent of a hospital ward.

“Raid tomorrow. We’re finishing off that damn rift. Need you there.”

“Then I’ll be there. How’d everyone do today?”

“We were coming together until the end. Cam found out his dad’s still alive and he’s having a tough time of it right now.”

“Bianca taking care of him?”

“Did everyone know they were together?”

“Oh yeah. You’re just blind.”

“Fuck. But, yeah. They’re walking around blowing off steam. We didn’t get the levels I wanted for them, but they got used to their new power. I got my levels afterward. All the dens in the area are cleared out too.”

“The dens were going to be a problem, good work on clearing them out.”

“It was a good way to blow off some steam. That last one was gross and sad.”

“The pound?”

“Yeah. It reminded me of all of those sad ass tv ads with the dogs staring at the camera.”

“Oh those were the worst. Glad it's cleared out. Did you see any people?”

“No. I don’t know if there's that many left. I think a bunch probably ran out of the city, headed for the smaller towns. Once we get this rift cleared and then whatever it is going on downtown taken care of, we’ll start sending patrols out there.”

“There’s a lot of us here, but not as many as there should be.” Tank had a hard look on his generally kind face. There was anger and sorrow mixed with determination.

“We’ll find them. Bring them all in. But we have to deal with the food issues first. Has anyone started planting crops or anything like that?”

“Some of the people that your sister helped evolve have some weird classes. Couple had to do with food but I wasn’t sure exactly what they were. Have to check with Marisol for that.”

“After the raid. Dealing with them gives me a headache.” Tank laughed and shook his head as he patted him on the shoulder before they talked about nothing for a few minutes. Santi reluctantly said goodbye and headed off towards the girl's house. The dwarves had been housed next to them and a few guards were posted around the house to keep all of the lookie-loos from bothering them.

He poked his head in and told Chloe what was going on. Rayleigh promised to round up a secondary team for emergencies and then Santi had to hunt down the others. Daniel and Hana were in their room as always and Chad was sitting with his brother drinking a few warm beers. They all nodded when he told them they were going back tomorrow.

Santi was ready for this shit to be over. The rift had been a threat to them for too long and now all of the surprises had been pushed out of the way and dealt with.