21) R and R

After a while the geezer talked himself out and the blonde army guy started to chase him out. Even calling for one of the other army guys to drive Hiram back to the nursing home since he had been drinking.

Before he left Hiram pulled out a paper napkin with dark orange stains that had something folded up inside it.

“I dug these out of two of the ones on the ramp Harry. Your coyote already got the one from her kill, and these are from the two you got. Colonel Klink is refusing to hand over the ones from the dozen or so that chased us out of the dungeon since it was his guys that blew them up.”

I took the napkin from him hesitantly, I could feel two hand lumps inside it. As soon as Hiram stepped back and began arguing with Blondie and a chubby black guy, I noticed two sets of eyes fixated on the napkin in my hand.

Well, one set of blue eyes, and one eye all on its own as Blue stood with her front paws leaning up against my cot. She let out a yip and threw herself back on her hind legs before dropping back to land her front paws up against my cot again trying to get my attention.

Wilyna turned her head and knocked her daughter off of her feet with a poke of her nose, then shifted herself over to block Blue from that side of my cot while giving me an imploring look.

“What the hell?”

I unwrapped the napkin to find two orange blood caked chunks of translucent uncut blue crystals.

What the heck am I looking at?

A square popped up

[ Tier one Beast Core ]

Looking over at Wilyna, who whined, before pinching one of the rocks out of the soggy paper and tossing it towards her.

She caught it out of the air in her mouth and immediately began chewing at it with a crunching sound, flares of blue light flashing out from between her teeth with each crunch. Blue whined from her mother’s side which made the older Coyote turn her whole body away as she chewed.

Looking down at the rock remaining in my hand which was already beginning to stink from the orange blood on it, I felt absolutely no inclination to put it in my mouth.

“I guess you went out and got the rock from inside the one I killed in the alleyway didn’t you girl?”

“Which means you’ve already had at least three of those now.”

That bitch just ignored me, so….

“Here you go Blue. You’re smaller so I should be able to see whatever it does to you first.”

The pup eagerly grabbed the rock from my hand and scrambled under the cot with it. Wilyna was still crunching up hers but she still gave me a hurt look before looking under my cot. After making a snorting sound she left her pup to eat in peace.

Was she bigger than when I first saw her? And what should I do with this napkin?

Then blond guy came back in and said he couldn’t give me any pain pills if I had been drinking. I gave him a dirty look but he was looking around trying to figure out what the bad smell was on the other side of the tent where I had tossed the wadded up napkin.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Nope, wasn’t me. Those cans were from the other guy. I can’t touch the stuff even when I’m not all messed up. Diabetes. I don’t want to lose a leg.”

I think it was more that he didn't care than he believed me since he ended up giving me my pills. I fell asleep with my hand pushing warmth over my stomach since I figured it might help keep me from puking up Bread’s mushroom laced fast healing food Beryl had given me.

From how eating his stuff had affected the smell of what came out of me at the toilet, maybe I should use a bedpan.

That will teach Blondie.

Come morning, Blue was noticeably bigger than her brother who had shown no interest the night before in either of the stones.

Maybe I should rename him Control?

It was another two days of healing up before the Doc let me go home. While I was still torn up he said it was like I had been healing for weeks, not days.

I was still hurting though.

The guy in charge of the military, which I was now thinking of as Klink... thanks for that Hiram, came by to cut me loose himself.

Since I had him here… "Hey, what happened with all the crystals from the ones who followed me out of the dungeon? I got hurt luring them out, so I should get a cut."

Seemed reasonable to me.

Klink just shook his head at me. "Sorry Mr Bright. I have strict orders about the Beast Cores, all of those salvaged from the beasts outside the Dungeons are to be held until picked up by government agents. As are all of those collected inside of the dungeon.”

He looked to the side. “It’s a shame none of you had the chance to harvest the ones any of you killed inside there…”

Ah. I nodded slowly. The guy wasn’t some middle management dupe like I thought, he was a supervisor stuck between getting stupid orders from the real bosses and trying to get the job done despite them.

I still wasn’t going to tell him those stones made great Spirit animal treats, even supervisors were still management and couldn't be trusted, just worked with, instead of around.

So no more blue rocks for the Spirit Coyotes, but I got a ride home in an oversized jeep looking car, with directions to Blondie and his buddy from Klink to make a few stops for me along the way to my house.

He jumped into the passenger seat after helping me and the two pups get into the back and twisted around to look at me.

“Where to Mr. Bright?”

I patted at the bundle of prescriptions their Doc had printed up for me despite his assurance that he had sent the prescriptions for my new meds to my drug stone online and courtesy of the military.

Yeah, that’s how my normal meds from the doctors worked, but with everything going on, I wanted some proof in writing that I was supposed to have the pills I was getting.

“Redsmart, for drugs, food, and some other supplies.”

Hunting supplies.

The Chubby black guy got left on coyote sitting duty in the jeep while Blondie got stuck following me around with a shopping cart. I was riding around in one of those electric chairs with a basket that was too small for everything I wanted to pick up.

First stop was an ATM to pick up some cash. My social security and pension checks had been deposited since all of this had happened and I had some money to burn.

My standard list of food for me of course, as well as the after Easter hams on sale for under a dollar a pound, to which I got Blondie to buy two for his limit of two per customer, in addition to the two for my limit.

He didn’t complain after I told him it wasn’t like I was going to make him pay for it.

Then a few bags of cheap generic dog food, and some of the more expensive stuff meant for puppies.

My new responsibilities were growing up so fast, and the other one needed to be fed too.

Crap, I was going to have to pick up some fertilizer for the tree wasn’t I, either that or start carrying coyote poop into the front yard.

How would the tree eat a Beast Core anyways? Would the green girl chew it up, or would I have to bury it between some roots?

“Mr Bright? Are you having a senior moment?”

I gave Blondie a dark look. “Nope, just figuring out if I can put you to work cleaning up my house.”

His face twitched. “I’m only supposed to inspect your house to make sure it is livable sir, not do anything about if it isn't other than take you back to camp. Technically I don't even have to help you carry all this crap inside… Sir."

Well… Someone has a spine. “Noted.”

By the time I finished getting most of a month's worth of food, other than fresh stuff that wouldn't last more than a week or two, it was time to pick up the seventeen bottles of pills, and the two of insulin, which the place let you buy for cash, no prescriptions needed.

I guess the guy who owned the chain of stores just cared more about keeping people alive than gouging sick people trying to survive for every last cent he could take them for.

The last stop was the camping and hunting area.