Frank sat on the curb a couple streets down from the apartments, just in sight of the thinning crowds hanging around outside. After another day of working with the Crafting Crew, he was waiting for his friends in the deepening dusk. It was fairly common now for most people to hang around and socialize outside to wind down the day. While most still didn’t officially have work, there were few that weren’t making preparations, either to join the Volunteers, the Vanguards, or pursue their own vision of the future.

Similar to his plans for the evening.

He raised his drink in a ‘cheers’ gesture as a few members of the Vanguard walked past on patrol. They waved lightly, moving on their route. Frank eyed them idly, noting that they both had makeshift patches on their clothes, a stylized double ‘V’ on the shoulder, one V resting the other.

“It’s a step short of a uniform, but I’m sure they’re going to work on that soon too.”

He turned, seeing Kevin and Mai walk up. He raised a hand in greeting. Kevin pointed at one of the Vanguard members walking away. “I made that patch! I was told it’s ‘so-so’.”

“Did you at least get the Skill for making it?”

He nodded, a sly grin crossing his face. “Well, I got what I wanted out of it.”

Frank gave him a curious look, but let it be. They had more important things to do right now. He turned to Mai. “Was Violet okay last night? She seemed a little… Off.”

She nodded, a frown crossing her face. “She– well. As far as I could tell, she was fine by the end of the night. I think it’s pretty clear that there’s something eating at her though. She didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t press. We’ve only just met, and it’s best to take these things slow.”

“Right. Do you think–” He started.

She cut him off. “We don’t really have the time. We’ve got to move on before the Vanguard patrols come by again. They might not be too upset that we’re sneaking out, but best to be safe about it.”

He nodded, chagrined. I just ignored Kevin for the same reason. “Alright. So… how exactly are we going to sneak past them?”

She grinned and started walking. “Follow me! And try to keep up.”

They jogged at a surprisingly harsh pace, which left Frank with a sheen of sweat as they made their way through the city. They weren’t going terribly far from the protected regions the Vanguard called home, but it felt like a much longer trek than it would have a few short weeks ago.

They crossed open streets as infrequently as possible, Mai taking the time to guide them into alleys and through buildings when available. He didn’t understand why at first, but after a few quick diversions into cover, he picked up on what they were avoiding. A brief patter of feet, the distant flap of wings and the occasional cry of beasts was enough to convince him.

Sitting in the backroom of a cafe, Frank caught his breath. He glanced at the other two. Mai seemed unfazed, but Kevin was similarly winded.

He noticed Frank looking, and jerked his chin at him. “Whatchu lookin’ at, old man?” He whispered.

“Old man? I’m barely in my 20’s! And what about you, I thought kids were supposed to have limitless energy. Your energy looks very limited.”

Kevin let loose an exaggerated scoff. “I have all kinds of energy! I’m fresh, as fresh as a… Well I’m a little baby boy, and I'm just gonna get better with time. You, on the other hand…”

Mai, in her early 40’s, sighed. “Okay, children. Enough.”

The two of them settled down as she laid out a hand drawn map in front of them. She pointed out a few locations on it. “The place we’re headed is here, and we should be about here.”

Frank perked up. The two locations were practically next to each other. “So we’re almost there?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I figured we’d take a break, and take the time to scout out the entrance a bit instead of just rushing it. After all, I’m a bit concerned about this.” She placed her finger down on a spot between them and their goal. It had a few notes on it that she’d scribbled down. “There’s a big plaza right out in front of the mall, and there’s a big old fountain right in the middle. Assuming the water is still running… It might be a watering hole for the beasties wandering around.”

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Kevin sighed. “Damn. I think you’re right.”

Frank looked at him quizzically.

“Some of my Skills have to do with observation. I can hear more beasts near us than normal. They’re not moving, and I think they’re…” He cupped a hand to his ear, aimed at the front of the cafe. “Eating?”

He cracked open the door to the front. A grimace crossed his face. “Ugh, definitely eating.”

Mai put a hand to the side of her face, considering. “Hmm. We’ll probably have to deal with that, then.”

Frank stood, wiping the sweat off his face. As he did, Mai pulled him back down. “Finish taking a rest, we’re in no rush.” She gave a knowing look to the two men, “After all, some of us need it.”

Frank crouched in the front of the shop, beside his two comrades. They were huddled under tables by the streetside windows, barely peeking out onto the plaza.

It was a wide area, one he hadn’t been to often before the Integration. It looked like it would be pleasant during the day, expansive walking space dotted with green oases, little clusters of seating both for public use, and in front of businesses. It looked like exactly the kind of space you’d like to have in a city.

Under normal conditions.

Now, by the dim light of the moon and the occasionally flickering light poles, it was hard to imagine it as the idyllic city view it may have once been. In the center of the plaza, a fountain pumped water, stained red. Half in the fountain, half several feet away, lay a zebra.

Trying to contend with the cognitive dissonance of seeing a zebra, dead or alive, in the middle of the city, it took him a minute to realize that it wasn’t wolves feeding on its lifeless body. They were dogs, larger than they should be, in slightly different shapes and colors than they likely began life, but dogs nonetheless.

He could see that several were sporting wounds, bloody bruises and chunks out of them where the zebra's hooves must have landed. One was prowling with a noted limp.

Wounded as they were, they were still on vicious alert. Arrayed on the roofs of nearby buildings, Frank could see a number of birds, themselves larger than they should be. They were ravens, or crows; he had trouble telling the difference.

He glanced at his companions. “Any chance we aren’t going straight across the plaza?”

Wordlessly, Mai pointed. On either side of the fountain were steps circling up to an old building. Likely once something like a government office or bank, it had a sign out front: ‘Helis mall’. The sign had space below the name for plaques of businesses. He couldn’t read them from here, but he had a vague inkling from a previous trip that it was mostly clothing stores.

His heart sank. “...Can we distract them?”

“I’m thinking.” Mai sat there, brow furrowed as she surveyed the scene, looking from the beasts in the plaza to those she could see on the edges. Slowly, her frown turned curious.

“Frank, I’m going to need you to enchant something for me.” She turned to the two of them. “I have a plan, but you’ll both need to be ready to run.”

Pretty soon, Frank and Kevin stood ready in the alley beside the cafe. Mai was setting the plan in motion elsewhere, so that attention would be drawn away from them. She would have to put in a bit more running to get clear, but she’d proven she had more cardio under her belt than the two guys did.

Now, they were just waiting for her signal. It should be a pretty obvious one.

Heart beating hard in his chest, Frank felt himself leaning forward, eyes peeled as he peeked around the edge of the alley. The dogs were loping around, eating, drinking, and snapping at each other occasionally. On the rooftops, birds sat in silence, waiting. Watching.

They don’t know we’re here, do they? It’s kind of creepy how they’re just sitting there like–

There! A flash on the edge of the plaza, arcing through the air. It was almost blinding to look at, and it was almost immediately the center of attention. The object landed hard near the fountain, rolling a few times before coming to a rest. Under the lights, both natural and artificial, it shone and sparkled like almost nothing he’d seen before. It was dazzling. Tantalizing.

For the first time, the birds up above started squawking. It was one at first, but quickly spread, some individuals hopping about on their perches to get a better look at the shiny that had suddenly dropped into their view. As they spoke to each other with their bird-calls, the dogs below grew agitated, snarling and barking warnings.

But a consensus was soon reached.

As one, the birds, which Mai had identified as crows, took flight. As one, they descended.

The plaza exploded into a bloodbath. A cacophony of caws, yips and howls, it was unlike anything he’d ever heard before.

He ran, never daring to slow or look at the beasts as they fought.

Heart pounding, hair on the back of his neck standing up, he circled around the plaza, running for the mall doors. Every step felt like it took minutes, but it wasn’t long before he made it through the doors, with Kevin not long behind him. The two of them stood just past the threshold, panting and shaking as they looked out at the chaos.

Mai sprinted up the stairs around the fountain, a chihuahua the size of a regular dog bolting up after her. It was nearly within biting range, but in an explosion of fur and feathers, a similarly sized crow slammed into the angry hellspawn, carrying it off.

Safe and unharmed, though very rattled, she slipped in beside them. She glanced at Frank. “Your ‘shiny’ enchantment is a little too powerful. I almost blinded myself when I threw it. Very popular with the birds though.” She started walking off into the mall. “Come on. There’s a small sports supply store down this way. Let’s get geared up.”