CHAPTER 34 — Leaving for the Unknown
Elion — POV
The smell of steamed rice, and bacon hit me before I even rounded the corner into the common room.
It was comforting. The room felt warm. Nostalgic in a way nothing in the apocalypse had the right to be. Someone— probably Lily —had taken the time to turn on the T.V. and a comedy movie was playing but on low volume.
The sound of eggs sizzled faintly in a pan. I looked up and saw Sarah cooking in the kitchen. For a moment, I just stood in the doorway, taking it in.
People were talking softly. Delilah was making some instant coffee in plain tumbler. Aaron was half asleep/ half watching the T.V. and Danny just say there slowly eating. Plates clinked and steam drifted lazily through the warm air. It almost felt like a normal morning.
Almost.
Alexiy waved me over the moment she saw me, her pink eyes warm but still a little shy from earlier. Her hair had been hastily tamed, though I could still see a stubborn curl sticking out near the back.
I walked over to her and ran my hand through her hair to try to help tame the mess. She leaned into my touch and after a few pass throughs with my hand I removed my hands.
"Morning," she said softly as I sat next to her.
Meso glanced up from her tablet at the far end of the table, spoon in her mouth. Her eyes flicked to me, then to Alexiy beside me, then back to her screen.
She had a neutral expression, but the subtle tension in her shoulders spoke volumes.
You know what, I'm counting that as a win. They weren't openly hostile. I can work with this... My mind thinking of ways I can lighten Meso's mood before we leave for the outing.
I grabbed a plate, scooped a mountain of hot rice and eggs, then took a tumbler of instant coffee. The first sip hit my tongue, it was bitter and sharp… I usually have sugar or milk in my coffee.
I barely swallowed before Meso said, with perfect timing:
"So, Elion~… when are you going to turn me?~" She said it coyly, her lips giving a little pout.
I choked.
—Violently.
Coffee burned down the wrong pipe as I coughed, hunched over the table, smacking my chest. Alexiy patted my back in panic, eyes wide. Rea froze mid-bite. Delliha stared like someone had pulled a pin on a grenade.
Meso just sipped her coffee, completely unbothered.
"Clarification," she added casually when everyone kept staring at her. "I meant… when are you going to use your bloodline skill on me? You said you'd eventually, since I don't have one. And your bloodline is rare, powerful, and scientifically fascinating. I'd like to schedule my corruption in advance."
"Corrupt— Meso—!" Alexiy sputtered.
I wiped my mouth, coughing the last bit of coffee out of my lungs.
"…Tonight," I managed.
Meso's eyebrows lifted.
"When we get back," I added. "We're leaving for a supply run now, after we get back we'll have time. I know it would give you some skills, but I don't want to turn you now only for something unexpected to happen and for you to be unconscious on the floor right before we're leaving. "Expect the unexpected.'"
She brightened instantly, smiling like he'd just told her she'd won a prize.
"Lovely. That gives me time to prepare mentally... And physically.... And emotionally.... And possibly spiritually?" she trailed off the last bit and seemed to think bout something.
Alexiy just stared at her, horrified.
"What kind of preparations even—"
"That's classified~" Meso sang.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Yep. This was my life now.
*************************************
Once everyone finished eating, Meso stood abruptly.
"Briefing time, everyone gather around" she announced.
She walked across the room to the large whiteboard mounted on the wall. Someone— probably her —had pinned a topographical map of the surrounding region across it, marked with red circles, yellow post-it notes, and scribbled notes only a madwoman could decipher.
She grabbed a marker and tapped the map once.
"Food. Water. Info," she began. "These are today's priorities. In that order."
The room quieted.
Even Alexiy straightened, her nervousness replaced with focus.
Meso pointed to the bunker's location on the map, a small X drawn in blue marker.
"We're stable, but not sustainable long-term," she said. "This base is powered by solar panel attached outside and we have backup batteries for night. We have enough food for approximately ten people for roughly one year… assuming conservative consumption and zero waste."
"Which we won't do," I cut in. "I want surplus. Not minimum survival."
"Exactly," she nodded, satisfied.
She circled three spots on the foothill city at the base of the mountain.
"These are three potential supply caches. A mall, a hospital, and a supply warehouse. Early-apocalypse looters might've hit them, and there will definitely be zombies, and other dangers, but it's worth checking."
Rea leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Delilah sat on the couch next to Danny, silently attentive. Sarah was holding Lily and Aaron and listening to every word Meso was speaking.
"And what about water?" Alexiy asked.
Meso clicked her marker and drew a star over a large section of the city.
"Yes," she said, tapping the board, "I was just about to mention that. This is the municipal water treatment and storage facility. It holds thousands to millions of gallons of filtered water in underground tanks."
"You want us to… take it?" Alexiy asked slowly.
"Not all of it," Meso scoffed. "Just however much Elion can steal without destabilizing local infrastructure."
Elion-can-steal. Wonderful phrasing.
I sighed. "What do you mean "however much I can steal"?.... Do you think my Inventory can hold water directly?" I realized what she ment half-way through my question. If 'water' could count as 1 thing to hold in my inventory then at the very least we could try to measure how much I could actually store in the skill.
Meso turned toward me like a predator spotting movement.
"Then test it."
I nodded. No point in waiting when this was a game chaining question. I pulled a water bottle from my Inventory and uncapped it.
"Ready?" I asked.
Everyone nodded.
I tilted the bottle.
Water streamed out—clear, cold—and halfway to the floor… it simply dissolved into shimmering particles and vanished.
Straight into my Inventory.
Alexiy gasped softly.
Rea raised a brow.
Delliha blinked once.
Meso's eyes widened in real-time fascination. Then—
"Oh my god—we're getting so much water."
She nearly bounced.
"It counts as a single stored substance! We can literally stockpile hundreds of gallons in your Inventory at zero weight cost! I wonder what your max storage space is? I wonder if you could store air? Or maybe even Lava?! This— this is—"
"Terrifying?" Alexiy offered.
"Magnificent," Meso corrected. "Absolutely magnificent."
I wasn't sure which adjective was more accurate. Probably both. But this ment we could take a lot more fresh clean water and that's one less worry.
When the noise quieted, I stepped forward.
"All right," I said. "For this run, the team is me, Alexiy, Meso, Rea, and Delliha or Danny. Sorry, but I want one you to stay at the base just incase."
Danny nodded immediately. "I'll hold down the base. Keep watch."
Lily—who had been quietly hugging her mug—stood up fast.
"Can I come?"
Her eyes were hopeful. I could tell she was nervous, from asking or at the idea of going I wasn't sure. But one thing I could tell was she was determined.
I softened my voice.
"Lily… not yet."
She deflated slightly.
"You're not ready for combat," I said gently. "I'm going to teach you how to shoot properly first. After that, depending on the situation we find out from today then, yes. But not today."
She nodded reluctantly."I… okay. I understand."
Meso scribbled something on her tablet.
Sarah looked relieved. Rea approved silently. Delilah simply said, "Wise."
"Okay, gear up and lets meets back in 10." I said so the group would get ready.
Everyone scattered to gear up.
I went to my room and grabbed a backpack, holstered a pistol, and slid a combat knife into a thigh sheath. Meso adjusted her custom harness— by custom, I mean it held three knives, two flash drives, a firearm, and possibly a bomb? Rea had donned a tactical vest. And Delilah had grabbed a large curved blade that looked far too heavy for most people.
I guess Meso gave them some supplies and the thought of Meso having positive interactions with others made me smile.
Alexiy struggled with her knife sheath until I took it from her, I tightened the strap properly around her thigh, and slid the knife in place.
Her cheeks warmed. "Thanks…"
She didn't let go of the knife for a long time after that.
We gave final goodbyes to Sarah and others. I pulled Danny to the side and told him that I will send a telepathic message when we're about a mile from coming back. He was surprised that I could do such a thing but nodded and said that he would be training in the gym and will be ready to welcome us back when I send the message.
I nodded. the only reason I told him now, was for in the absolute worse case scenario, I can send him a message and have him be ready to act without him distrusting hearing a voice in their head. I didn't want him to panic like Meso.
We went to elevator and rose it up to the surface, then I pushed open the wooden, cabin doors leading outside.
Fresh cold air rushed in — clean but sharp, carrying the scent of pine and distant smoke. The bunker was nestled deep in the mountainside, hidden under layers of rock and reinforced steel, but the SUV was parked in a camouflaged alcove just outside.
The black vehicle sat waiting, lightly dusted with morning frost.
Meso clapped her hands and pointed."Shotgun."
Alexiy scowled. Of course she wanted to sit up front.
I spoke up knowing that I needed to help set the tone and rules when it comes to arguments like these.
"You'll be my navigation," I said. "Meso you can ride up front until we're heading back." I turned and smiled at Alexiy hoping that this would lighten her mood.
"Deal~" Meso said as she skipped to the passenger seat and climbed in.
Alexiy huffed but didn't argue aloud. Rea slid into the seat behind Meso. Alexiy settled behind me, crossing her arms. Delilah took the back.
I started the engine. The SUV rumbled awake.
"We all buckled?" I asked.
"Yes," Rea said calmly. "Obviously," Meso replied ."Mm," Delliha grunted. "…Yes," Alexiy mumbled, still annoyed.
We rolled out onto the mountain road.
The scenery shifted as we descended:
The towering pine trees and the jagged cliffs. Eventually we reached the foot of the mountain. Stretches of cracked asphalt were everywhere while a few abandoned cars, doors open like their owners had simply vanished mid-step, were seen.
Meso scrolled through a digital map on her tablet.
"We'll enter from the northern highway," she said. "It should be less bottlenecked. The southern routes likely saw more evac traffic."
"Makes sense," I replied.
Behind me, Alexiy leaned forward, curiosity overcoming her earlier irritation.
"So… Meso," she asked casually, "what did you do before all this? You never really said."
"Oh, you know," Meso said lightly. "This. That. Small hobbies."
"Hobbies like…?" Alexiy pressed.
Meso turned slightly, lips curving.
"Crashing government firewalls. Rewriting security protocols. Hacking defense networks. Making federal agencies chase imaginary hackers across seven countries. While selling secrets to the rich."
Alexiy blinked."…That's not a hobby."
"It was Tuesday," Meso shrugged.
Alexiy stared."So did you learn that in school?"
"Ahaha! No, please I skipped messy drama and stupidity."
"Then... What about work? You built that bunker and that must've been expensive."
Meso seemed to hesitate for a moment before she respond. "Well, I built three companies, and sold them. But after a while I was bored so my job turned to full-time hacking and selling secrets. Rich people are very protective about their secrets you know... but they are also well... rich. Ahahaha" Meso giggled at the end.
She was smiling to herself looking out the window, watching the destruction pass by. I honestly had no idea what was going on in her pretty little head.
Alexiy slowly sat back in her seat.
"…Okay."
Meso smiled sweetly.
I hid a grin. I wasn't sure if Alexiy actually knew what exactly Meso ment, but she must've gotten a good enough picture of her from that interaction.
Rea leaned forward. She seemed to be interested in the conversation now. "Were you… ever arrested?"
"Nope," Meso said proudly. "They never found me unless I wanted to be."
Alexiy buried her face in her hands.
After about forty minutes, the area outside had shifted again. There was more scattered wreckage.
A rusted delivery truck lay on its side. A collapsed road sign reading Welcome to Alder Falls. A dark smear across the pavement I chose not to identify.
Rea looked out her window. "It's like the whole world has ended," she murmured.
Delliha nodded silently.
We pressed on.
Ten minutes later, we saw it.
The first thing we saw was the police cruiser.
Burned out entirely, metal warped by heat. Its tires melted into the asphalt. The words Alder Falls Police Department were almost unreadable.
Next was the school bus. The windows were shattered. Doors bent outward, and black scorch marks along one side.
Alexiy's breath caught. "Oh god…"
We drove further in.
A grocery store stood with its front doors ripped off, glass scattered across the sidewalk. The shelves inside were half-looted, half-destroyed.
A clothing store had been smashed open. Houses along the street had broken windows, doors hanging crooked, fences trampled.
Trash littered the road. A stroller lay abandoned near a lamppost.
The smell hit next.
The sharp— oddly sweet smell burnt plastic. The stench of rotting organic matter lingered in the air, mixing with ash and soot.
It was faint. But the air smelt unmistakable. It smelled like Death
Silence filled the SUV.
No birds flew above. No people walked the streets. Even the wind seemed to die down.
Just the thrum of the engine and the distant groan of metal cooling in the sun.
Meso finally spoke.
Her voice was low and measured. She sounded almost clinical.
"This is early-apocalypse damage," she said, scanning the street. " Things will only get worse before they get better. There will be: Looters, more panic. Civil collapse has already started. We might still find survivors... but they may be our enemies."
Alexiy shivered.
Rea's jaw tightened.
Delliha rested a hand on her blade, eyes scanning for movement.
I slowed the vehicle, breath steady, eyes forward. To me it didn't matter. I already knew I was different. I know the moment I killed something like a spider or dog or fish... I wouldn't mind. So I never killed anything before the apocalypse... and now that I've killed zombies and humans I don't care. It they stand in my way I will do what needs to be done.
We weren't even in the heart of the city yet.
This was just the outskirts.
We rolled forward, tires crunching over broken glass, past the burned cruiser, the ruined bus, and the shredded storefronts.
The deeper we went, the worse it would get.
I gripped the wheel.
"Everyone," I said quietly, "stay sharp."
No one argued.
No one spoke.
We entered the city.
And the city stared back, hollow and dead.
AN: Over 2,600 words in this chapter as a sorry for delay in posting. Check out my other book The Dating Protocol. There's no magic, but romance and a system and chance for the loner, loser, to finally shine in a normal world. It's a fun Slice of life. But ofc there will be smut ;)