“We can’t leave her here. She is part of the familia. I built this business from the ground up with the help of this van. I can’t just leave her here,” lamented her father as he climbed down the side of the van.

The man had a powerful build. Not like a body builder but someone that engaged in regular physical activity. There wasn’t a hint of fat on him. He had black hair and wore faded denim jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. His pants were black with deep pockets on either side. They looked almost military. The boots he wore were better suited for hiking than combat. CJ assumed the man was in his early fifties.

“I know Papa but the worlds over. We need to survive now. How many monsters did you get?” she asked, trying to switch the subject.

“Can I recommend we get inside somewhere? I don’t like being out on the street like this. There were a lot of those slow walking people coming from the fires,” interjected CJ getting a glare from the man.

“How are you even standing? I hit you center mass. You should be bleeding out if not dead already,” he responded leveling his rifle again.

“Papa, this is CJ. He came to help when he saw the signal flare. I think he’s got body armor under that monkey suit. Oh right, that’s Monty his rabbit. This is what I was laughing about. I don’ think he speaks Spanish, so if you need to tell me something stick with this language,” she said that last part in a softer tone.

CJ was baffled. She was clearly speaking English when she said that. People glanced back at their van, then she took off diving back inside. A few minutes later she emerged with two duffle bags packed to the seams.

“So, you have some encampment with other survivors? I warn you I was in the Marine Corp, try anything funny and I’ll put you down. You look at my daughter cross eyed and I’ll put you down. You fart in the wrong direction and…” he continued but CJ wasn’t in the mood for anymore of this macho shit.

“And you’ll put me down. Do you really think you’re any more terrifying than everything else I’ve had to endure for these past few weeks? Let me give you a little peek into the crap I’ve had to deal with. A giant flying snake was smashing my apartment windows in to find food, I’ve had to fight off saber-toothed chihuahuas with my bare hands, I blew up a car ten feet away from me covered in monsters, spent the next few weeks as bait to lure in enough food for others to eat before my protection detail bailed on me during a giant cicada attack, and now I’m trying to help out two survivors who have already shot me but still refuse to tell me their names,” barked out a frustrated CJ before noticing the smoldering anger building up in the man’s eyes.

“I’m Elena Trinchar and this is my father Rubio Trinchar. Feel better now?” asked Elena as she grabbed her father by the shoulder and squeezed gently.

“Actually, yes. Thank you,” said CJ only now noticing that Monty was trying to get his attention by tugging on his pant leg.

“This guy is crazy, talking to me like that, as if we haven’t had our problems,” Rubio said to Elena in that same tone again.

“I think it’s been tough all around papa. Let’s give this one guy a chance. We could always shoot him later,” Elena responded.

“The fuck you will. I’ll leave you here right now if that’s the case,” CJ said staring right at them.

“You can understand us?” asked a shocked Elena.

“Of course. The two of you are barely a yard away from speaking to each other. I’m not def,” answered CJ.

“So, you can speak Spanish?” Elena asked, putting her right hand on her hip.

“Not a word.”

“But you can understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. Wait, what’s happening?”

“I’m speaking Spanish right now.”

“No, you’re not, you’re speaking English…” CJ trailed off picking up the pieces of Elena’s inquiry.

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Rubio slowly raised his rifle again but not before Monty jumped up and kicked the back of CJ’s leg. That caused CJ to drop to one knee. The benefits of this became apparent once he noticed someone moving around the Trinchar’s van. Rubio noticed CJ squinting and spun around firing off two shots dropping the figure back into the darkness.

“Time to go,” he said before heading down the street the way CJ had come from.

There was a silent agreement between CJ and Elena as they both fell in step behind Rubio. They didn’t even get a block away before CJ had them stop and duck down a side street.

“You better have a good reason for making us stop,” warned Rubio.

“Listen,” answered CJ before pointing to his ears.

There was a growing thrum in the air that CJ recognized as the giant cicada’s song. He quickly explained what that sound was before turning toward a side door attached to wone of the buildings. It was locked but CJ had the cure for that. For the first time since gaining the ability, CJ used hand is quicker than the eye. The lock popped and they were all inside the door in a matter of seconds. It was dark inside, but they could smell a copper tang. Within the room were several pipes leading off in all directions. The floor was slick with some kind of liquid.

“Anyone remember what the sign out front said?” asked CJ.

“No, I wasn’t looking checking as we passed,” answered Elena.

“Why would these big bugs track you so far? Surely there would be easier prey within the forest,” pondered Rubio.

“I’m not sure but these mana mutations don’t behave like the creatures they used to be. The corruption in the mana must change them on a fundamental level,” said CJ getting strange looks from the other two.

“What?” asked Elena as she flicked open a lighter.

Now that the room was illuminated, they could see it was some kind of auto parts storeroom. There were racks of shelves stuffed with parts and mufflers hanging upright. This excited CJ because now he could grab some stuff load up his new inventory ability. He began shoving lengths of pipe up his sleeve and any other odd thing he could find. Rubio just shook his head and began searching the large room for threats. After grabbing some pens off a nearby desk, Elena grabbed his arm to stop his berserker clepto behavior.

“Hey, calm down. We have a minute to breathe. What were you saying about bugs? The words didn’t make sense,” Elena explained.

“You don’t have slates? The screens with the messages? That would make a lot of sense. I feel like I already knew that but it’s more important that you confirm it,” answered CJ.

“No, we can’t read that thing. Papa says god’s punishing us because of what he did overseas. It’s a sore subject. If you know anything about what’s happening I’d be happy to listen,” Elena said with a jarring shift in attitude.

“If so, then I have good news for you. I can fix those screens. It’s not comfortable but you’ll be able to read them and probably earn a class,” replied CJ before looking to see if there was any comprehension of his words. There was not.

“I can fix it. You may be able to do some amazing things afterwards. It has to be your choice though. I can’t force it on you. I originally had a broken screen and couldn’t understand people when they talked about all of this. It was like the words were just discordant sounds. Then it would drop back into actual language,” CJ explained getting a nod of comprehension from her.

“I’m not sure about this…” she began before CJ cut her off.

“Absolutely not. I’m not doing anything to you. Your dad already shot me once. I suggest we build up some more trust before we explore my ability to fix slates. Sound good? What’s in the bags? They look heavy,” asked CJ.

“Survival equipment,” was all Elena said as Rubio came back from a row of shelves.

“There is an inner door. I suggest we barricade the one we came in through and try to find some place to wait out the night. CJ help me with this shelving unit,” ordered Rubio.

In the end all three of them had to shift it since CJ wasn’t very strong. No sooner did they finish than the first few bangs were heard against the door. They all quietly backed away from it and CJ used his ability to open the inner door. On the other side of the door a hallway led to the store front. To their immediate left was another door with a glass window. Inside was standard office. It had a desk with a pc on it. There was phone complete with multiple lines, some filing cabinets, and an offensive pinup girl poster. Elena immediately ripped that off the wall. Monty just hopped up on the rolling chair and curled up.

“Hallway is tight. It would make a good defensive position. Elena, can you please do an ammo count? CJ, I take it you’re not much of a fighter?” asked Rubio.

“I was a stage magician. Three matinee shows weekly,” commented CJ who leaned up against a nearby wall.

“How have you survived this long? I assumed a guy like you would have been raptured with the rest of the people,” said Rubio.

CJ assumed he meant the deal. On some instinctive level Rubio must have known what was going on even if his slate was broken. That’s when CJ decided to lay it all on the line. He was pretty sure, between his regeneration and Kinetic Converter, he could survive an angry Marine with a gun if things went south. He might not like it, but he could always cut him in half if things got out of hand. But this father daughter duo were starting to grow on him. They were just trying to look out for each other in this crazy world and all of a sudden, this dirty tuxedo wearing black guy shows up talking about a safe place to go. He understood their reluctancy to trust him. CJ began a long explanation, from no phones to cracked slates and everything in between.