Marie, Carson, Janet, Leroy, and James drove across town following Derek, who was running at a full sprint at nearly forty miles an hour down the highway. He slammed into cars on the road by plowing into the sides of them. They slid and flipped and launched off the highway to roll into the median. Derek’s figure radiated his irritation as he violently tossed vehicles off the highway. The group in the car exchanged uneasy glances.

“Do you think that hurts?” Carson asked.

“No, probably not.” Leroy answered. “Is he pissed about something?”

“Yep, apparently he doesn’t like the government.” James answered before Carson could say any about his brother’s language.

“That’s not all.” Janet commented from the front seat. “I think he’s getting close to the maximum level Anchorage can support. He isn’t going to get much more experience from killing the monsters.”

“And the rest of us are getting are getting left behind by his leveling.” Carson half-complained.

“To be fair, he’s about to cross the Alaska wilderness alone. The nearest road is over 60 miles away, and he’ll need to get a boat to reach the volcano.” Janet’s voice softened as she glanced back at Marie, her expression apologetic. “Sorry, Marie.”

Marie sniffed, not turning away from the window. “It’s fine.”

At the top of the hill, Derek paused, scanning the landscape. Moments later, the truck rumbled to a stop beside him, the bridge to Government Hill visible in the distance. The streets had been cleared of vehicles in the last few days. The truck stopped next to him, and Carson rolled down his window.

“Is there a problem?” Carson asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t want to do this,” Derek complained.

“It’s the best thing to do,” Marie reassured from the backseat, her voice calm but firm.

“Let’s go,” Derek said, trying to mask his reluctance.

Without waiting for a reply, he shot off, his movements a blur of pent-up frustrations. He would rather fight through a horde of monsters than deal with political nonsense.

“Touchy,” Carson muttered as the truck started rolling forward.

When they were talking about the day’s plans earlier that morning, Derek immediately protested, but Marie was in charge. She saved Carson from another of Derek’s hour long monologues on governmental crimes and injustice. His lectures usually were nearly an hour long, typically ending in “Don’t do anything to give them power over you and trust none.”

The truck followed as Derek ran and slowed as they approached the gate. The army soldiers on watch were standing in the road, rifles raised with several Humvees mounted with .50 cal machine guns. All five of those deadly weapons were pointed directly at him as he approached.

Derek signaled the truck to stop and continued walking toward the gate. A stocky man in an army uniform stepped out of a nearby building, grinning as Derek approached. A dozen soldiers quickly flanked him, rifles trained on Derek, while the mounted machine guns swiveled to maintain an open line-of-sight.

“Ah, so the nut job is back.” The man laughed as he approached.

“I didn’t know that jackbooted thugs were issued a sense of humor. That’s my tax dollars hard at work.” Derek replied, not smiling.

“What do you want, Mr. Irisson?” The man said, dropping all hints of levity.

“I want you all to get fucked, but my wife told me I was supposed to say ‘I want to talk to your commander,’.” Derek said, giving air quotes.

The man picked up the phone and made a call. Yesterday they were using radios for communication or he just hadn’t noticed. Since the power had been out, cell service was non-existent, though Derek wasn’t sure why the interface and system running it needed to use the cell towers for communication in the first place.

“You bastards have service here. Fuck.” Derek complained and opened his interface.

Sure enough, his phone started loading with an internet connection. Too bad nothing else worked. After some words with whoever he was on the phone with, the man in charge ended the call and looked at him.

“Senior leadership will meet with you.” He explained, “Get in your vehicle and follow Sgt. Pickle.”

“Negatory Ghost Rider, I’ll walk thanks, and have your men keep their weapons pointed away from my people if you want everyone to walk away without bleeding injuries. I have zero regard for human life, and I will not hesitate to slaughter everyone if someone harms me or mine.” Derek pointed at him. “Be sure to send that up the chain of command. This is a zero-tolerance policy.”

As the soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, Derek continued, “Yes, I know you can wipe my home off the face of this planet with whatever missile you have. So, for the sake of an amiable relationship, if you keep your guns away from my people, I’ll keep my guns away from yours. Fair enough?” Derek finished, walking past the man toward where Sgt. Pickle waited in a side-by-side with another man carrying a high-powered rifle.

The leader of this troop started to say something, but was cut off as Carson started forward. The men hesitated for a second before they cleared the way, allowing them to pass. As Sergeant Pickle led the way deep into the base, they were followed by two Humvees with rifles mounted on the top. Apparently, they were much better equipped than Derek had imagined. The amount of force on display at the gate was incredible. Nearly a hundred soldiers lay in wait for action behind the gate. Mostly they were lingering around waiting for something to happen instead of being attentive. They watched as Derek passed at a jog to keep up with the ATV.

They navigated through the bustling base, filled with makeshift shelters and forlorn faces. Canvas tents, lined in organized rows, stood where fields and parks once were. Thousands of displaced people roamed the base, their expressions weary. Derek was relieved he didn’t have to handle this chaos.

The Sergeant led them to a nondescript building where he stopped in one of the parking spots. Derek moved out of the way so that Carson could park. A team of special forces’ types stepped from the building as Carson stepped from his truck.

The special forces team led them into the building, while minding their manners. Skipping the security checkpoint, they led Derek, followed by the rest of the crew, deep down heading to the third floor via the stairs despite the electricity being on. They were led into a conference room where a long conference table sat with chairs on each side.

“Keep your weapons holstered. We will as well.” One of their escorts stated as Derek gave Marie a seat in the center of the table. “The base commander will be here shortly.”

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“Define shortly.” Derek demanded.

“Derek, be nice.” Marie chided, gently.

“Five to ten minutes.” The soldier replied.

Derek saw a single serve coffeemaker in the corner and made him a cup from one of the selections. He asked the others if they wanted any. As the aroma of fresh coffee filled the room, the door opened to reveal a group of tired men in military uniforms. The men all turned their attention to a certain senior staff member, who was obviously the leader based on the soldiers’ deference, and saluted. Carson automatically did the same. Derek glared at him.

After the introductions, Derek’s gaze hardened. “You are ex-military?” he asked, glaring at Carson.

“Uh… yeah…” Carson said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Not for very long.”

Derek growled, but kept his mouth shut when Marie elbowed him, this causing James and Leroy to laugh.

The base commander cleared his throat. “I am Base Commander Colonel Daniel West of the United States Air Force. This is my senior staff, Air Force.” He waved to the two men on one side. “And Army.” he waved to the two men on the other side of him.

The special forces took up posts around the room as he spoke.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Irisson.” He held his hand out to one of the air force staff, who handed him a stack of folders before the Colonel dropped the stack on the table. Each was a dossier on them based on the pictures on their cover. There was one for each of them.

After the formal introductions, Derek gestured towards Marie. “Talk to my wife. She is the leader of our household.”

“So, she tamed the demon?” One of the army staff leaders commented with a smirk.

“No,” Derek answered, in a threatening tone. “I’ve developed a new ability to solve all of my problems… through extreme violence. She’s a diplomat.”

“Colonel West, we are here to establish a working relationship with you.” Marie said, shooting a glare at Derek. “My husband isn’t a fan of the government, so you will be working with me.”

“With all due respect, ma’am. Do you know what the people are calling him?” The same army staff member said. “Every day we get a handful of people in from the city seeking shelter and most of them tell the story of a bloodthirsty demon. Looks human, wears medieval armor, and turns his enemies into a bloody paste before moving onto the next. I’ve seen footage recorded from…” He explained as a tech pulled up footage on a wall display.

After navigating through the menu, he slid it over to them and the video was ready to be played. The video played, there wasn’t any audio. It was drone footage and obviously zoomed in from a far distance. A figure fought through a veritable horde of monsters. A pair of red glowing eyes were apparent from under the helmet as Derek sword cut through three goblins. His free hand grabbed the arm of an attacking goblin and use the body as a weapon until the arm was ripped free. The fight continued with gory violence, but most people had looked away from the screen.

“They call him Tupilak. There are others, but that is the one most often used.”

“And that means what?” Carson asked.

“A Tupilak is a bloodthirsty monster created from witchcraft.” He answered.

Derek shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”

“They say you slaughter everything and anyone who stands in your way. They have seen the people you’ve killed and followed the trail of monsters.”

“Actually,” Marie said, stopping the soldier before continuing in a heavy tone. “He is The Ravager. He brings destruction and death. He brings the end of the end.”

Derek eyed her, but she didn’t look at him. The small twitch in the corner of her mouth was a tell that she was trying to keep herself under control.

“The Ravager?” One asked.

“Not a Ravager, but The Ravager?”

“Yes,” Marie said, handing the man back his phone

“Fine whatever, he’s The Ravager, but we’re getting off point.”

“What is that you have that we need?” The Colonel asked.

“We have information and… The Ravager. What you have are guns and missiles. Guns are basically ineffective against anything stronger than an orc, and missiles cause too much collateral damage for you to use in the city.”

“That still doesn’t convince me why we should work together.” The Colonel stated.

“Do you know what’s been missing in Anchorage since Earth became part of the Collective?” Marie asked.

“What’s that?” The Colonel asked, playing along.

“The soldiers that are supposed to be defending this country. Instead of being out there killing monsters, you’re hiding behind your walls and fences. How many tens of thousands of people have died because of the monsters?”

“There are tens of thousands within our boundaries, safe from those monsters.” He retorted.

“Those people came to you; you didn’t go to them. We don’t have the manpower or resources to save anyone. You do, yet you have been hiding behind these walls. Why is that?”

“Because we have been stuck defending the base, we have way too much land to cover with the men we have.”

Marie took a sip of her coffee. “We don’t have enough people to keep a permanent night watch, and we have done more for the city than you have with all your men and power. We have empowered dozens of independent groups by showing them how to use the new interface. We have culled thousands of monsters from the city. Tell me, what is your highest-level man?”

The Colonel looked from Marie to his own team, obviously looking for an answer.

“Uh, level eleven, sir.” The answer came from one of the special forces’ guys.

“The highest level we have recorded is level 8,” One of the Air Force guys said after looking at his notebook.

“They go out and kill monsters after shift.” The soldier shrugged.

“For reference,” Marie said, pulling the obviously displeased staff team’s attention. “Derek is over level thirty. I’m level fourteen, and the three of them are level thirteen.”

“Your once magnificent army is now cannon-fodder.” Derek stated. “I bet your average level is what, four? I was a higher level than that before you even realized what was going on.”

Marie sighed, exasperation evident in her voice. The military officials exchanged uneasy glances before one of them spoke up.

“What is in it for you?” One of the Air Force guys asked.

“A backup plan.” Marie stated. “If something happens, my family has a place to retreat. Allies, we have someone to might be able to help us out of a situation. With our assistance, we have people that can train you, teach you, and guide you into a future where monsters might only be a minor threat.”

“And how can you do that?”

“I’m an oracle. I can literally see into the future. Carson can heal wounds, Leroy is the second-best martial expert in the state, and James is an expert in magic.”

“What about him?” The Colonel asked.

“He is The Ravager.” Marie answered with a fond smile. “The bringer of death.”

“That’s not ominous.” One of the army guys scoffed, then added sarcastically. “Yeah, let’s ally with the demon.”

“You say that,” Marie said, giving him a hard look. “But I know for a fact that he is the difference between this city surviving and death. And for the record, he is a dragonkin, not a demon.”

“I think we’ve heard enough.” The commander announced, “We will adjourn to make a decision.”

Marie nodded, rising to her feet. “Of course.”

“You can wait for us to make a decision in the rec room downstairs.” One of the Staff members stated, looking to the Special Forces members who nodded.

After the staff members exited, their escorts led them down the hall to a recreation room. A row of vending machines stood off to one side, a pool table, a ping-pong table, and several other games sat in the center of the room.

Settling into the rec room, Leroy turned to their escorts. “Are you rangers?

“Yeah, 75th Ranger Regiment, 2nd Battalion. We were up here for training when all this went down.”

“Have you seen much action since this began?” Carson asked.

“Plenty, mostly goblins and orcs.” One of them chuckled.

“You have Slayer achievements?” Derek asked with a competitive grin.

They all gave crooked smiles. “Goblin Slayer rank 2, Orc Slayer rank 2, Troll Slayer rank 1,” He said proudly, looking at their interface, then he smirked with a smartass grin on his face. “What about you, Mr. Ravager?”

“You sure you want to compare to me? I would hate to show you up.”

“Come on, what is it?” Another said.

“Goblin Slayer at rank 5, Orc Slayer at rank 4, Troll Slayer at rank 2, and Hobgoblin, Ogre, and Minotaur Slayer at rank 1.”

“Fuck.” One of them said, “How many kills was rank 5?”

“Two thousand.”

“Ravager is fitting. You’re a fucking monster.” The ranger stated, his eyes flicking to Derek’s horns.

Derek shrugged, but grinned.

“Alright, Mr. Ravager, Leroy needs some competition on the ping-pong table.” Marie said affectionately, patting him on the shoulder.

Derek looked over to see Leroy crushing Carson at the ping-pong table. His high physical ability was putting him way ahead of Carson’s ability to manage, and Leroy wasn’t being kind.

“What is he?” One of the rangers asked quietly as Derek walked over to join them.

“A dragon.” Marie replied, just as quietly. “A guardian.”

“Was he once human?”

“Yeah, he evolved at level 16 into a being that can fight the monsters.” She stated.

“I call next game!” Derek said loudly with a grin.

“21-0, you lose Dad!” Leroy bragged.

“I knew I never should have taught him that game,” Carson complained as he handed the loser’s paddle to Derek.