We were attacked by some new enemies on our way back to the high school, and they were… odd. The squad leader, who was an avid hiker and bird-watcher, was the one who recognised their pre-storm counterparts. They were hooded warblers, except now they were four times their original size and could fire little stinging projectiles from their open mouths. Chloe claimed the magical projectiles they were firing at us were garlic mustard seeds. Why garlic mustard, of all things? It was very strange. Apparently the birds were an invasive species around here.
Thankfully, the seeds were just annoyingly painful rather than actually deadly. It was sort of like getting shot by a paintball gun. They ran, squawking in fear, when I obliterated a dozen with a single moonbeam. Chloe collected the seeds after the scuffle, saying they had medicinal properties and that she wanted to grow some magical seeds to see what they would turn into. It was a pretty good idea, if you asked me. I definitely didn't say that, though.
As for the grocery store, when we got there we found another squad of firefighters busy filling shopping carts with food. We traded some of the full carts for our two remaining empty flatbed trolleys and continued on our way home.
Well — we continued after promising the other squad leader that yes, I would indeed talk to the Captain when I got to the school. God, the way these people looked at me was unsettling.
At least, the folks I’d been with today had chilled out, so once we were away from the other squad, I felt a little less… observed. The tiny bit of comfort I felt vanished when we got back to the school.
I think it was my shining silver-blonde hair that gave away who I was, more than anything else. The moment we got within range of the car-wall, people began to stare.
I tried very hard to appear interested in the defenses, just so I didn't have to meet any of the stares. The wall has actually changed since last night — more robust. Someone had found a ream of barbed wire, which was strung out and staked into the concrete.
“Heyo, where’s the captain?” the squad lead called, waving an arm at the guards.
“He’s dealing with something, some of the civvies are struggling with the concept of an apocalypse,” the guard said with a grin. Then he laid eyes on me and they got so wide they just about fell out of his head. “No shit, you found her? I’ll send someone to get the cap ASAP.”
"Can you get some of Charles' crew down here too? We have a ton of stuff for them," squad leader dude said. To me, he gave a grateful smile. "Thanks for the help today. I'm going to go fill out a report and find my wife, let her know I'm back safe."
"No problem," I said.
Looking over at his people, he said, "Xavier, go get the docs to look at you. Finn and Chloe, you're free to do whatever. Chelsea, can you stay with Silver til the cap gets here?"
They gave a chorus of assent and headed off, except Chelsea of course. Chloe gave me an unreadable look as she left, but I just stared her down.
God, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt — she deserved at least that, given what I'd done. Today hadn't been great, though. I was not happy with her. She had major trust issues at the very least, and at worst she was downright mean and rude to people she'd never had any beef with. Like, sure she could be a bitch to Kai all she wanted, that made sense. The way she treated me as Silver, though? Completely uncalled for.
"So," Chelsea said, once we were alone except for the guards a few yards away. "That goddess of yours, she's legit huh?"
I snorted. "I know it's a little difficult to believe, but yeah. Think of her like the old pagan gods though. Definitely has some character flaws, and has probably slaughtered more people than either of us have met. I like her, though. She's real, you know?"
"Like real?" She asked.
"Yeah, she gets it," I nodded. "Made a joke about a cheating housewife 'finding' God yesterday."
Chelsea laughed. "She definitely sounded pretty cool. Her name was Cynath?"
"She introduced herself to me as Chelu, but yeah, now it's Cynath. Something about rebranding for the apocalypse," I explained, gesturing to the magic-scarred parking lot and the wall of cars.
"Sweet. I'll keep her in mind when I'm next in need of divine intervention."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
She shrugged. "I've never heard God say shit to anyone, but Cynath just joined in on our random conversation about her. Which would you pick to beg for aid?"
I laughed and shook my head wryly. "Good point. Don't expect too much from her, though. She's still small time."
Wonderful sell, Cynath said into my mind. You'll be converting the whole world with that masterful sermon.
I had to fight not to roll my eyes, and thankfully that was when the Fire Captain turned up to change the subject.
"Silver, it's good to finally meet you," he said, offering a hand to shake.
“Uh, yeah… what… can I do for you?” I asked awkwardly.
He hummed and gave me a piercing stare. “Well, first off I’d like to ask what your intentions are for the near future. You’ve been running around as a solo operation doing things without consulting anyone, so I’m a little hesitant to trust you. Especially considering you’re…” he gestured to my ears, “Different.”
Why did it feel like I was getting ‘the talk’ from a protective girlfriend’s father?
“You’ve probably heard some of this from the others by now, but to keep things short, I got a class with a bit more muscle behind it than most. Then I got contacted by some sort of pagan goddess because my class is essentially a paladin from a video game, and she began to explain a little of what was going on,” I told him, repeating what I’d told to the firefighter squad. “Since I had more information about everything, I figured it would be a good idea to use that information to help my community.”
He was nodding along as I spoke, and when I finished, he raised an eyebrow. “That didn’t answer my question, young lady.”
My face heated and I had to quickly find mental traction again when he called me young lady. “O-oh, right… uh, my plans are to… uh… make everyone safe and get stronger? I don’t really know. It’s day two of the apocalypse.”
His serious expression devolved into an amused one, and he chuckled, “Okay then, Silver. I have to say I find this whole goddess thing a little difficult to believe, but we’re living through an unprecedented event. It’s just good to know that you’re not making a power grab.”
“Oh, never,” I said, shaking my head. “Leadership is scary. That’s all yours.”
“Good, well with that out of the way, I’d like to discuss coordinating a bit better,” he said. “We have a great many needs to fill and we need every person who can fight to be out, getting resources.”
“Yeah that’s why I came in with all that gear earlier,” I said, gesturing inwards in the direction the carts were taken.
“Yes, but as great as metalworking supplies are, what we really need right now is food and water,” he said, sighing tiredly.
I shook my head and gestured out into the town. “Food is out there, but it’s impossible to get if everyone is running around using nothing but a hatchet to keep themselves safe. The faster you get people some armour and real weapons, the faster you can send them out knowing they’ll come back with the food — instead of, you know, becoming food for a squirrel. Plus, to be honest you don’t need one singular extra person to help with scavenging for it.”
He gave another weary sigh and kept his silence for several seconds while he considered what I’d said. Hopefully he’d actually listen, because Xavier almost died instead of just getting thrown like if he’d had some protection.
A bright flash illuminated the nearby area as though the sun wasn't already out. It was so sudden, so abrupt, that for a second the Captain and I just stared at each other.
The following boom of thunder rolled over us like a sharp hammer blow. I felt it in my skull, in my chest, in the ground beneath my boots.
The Captain broke the silence. “What the heck was that? Thunder? Are we in for rain, or…”
Everyone was watching the sky by now, so we all saw it.
There’d been storm clouds rolling slowly in since the early morning. Now, from within the shadow of those dark clouds, we saw the silhouette of two titanic wings beating — each sweep trailing snaps of electricity.
Then, it burst free, trailing wisps of cloud as it entered the open air. It was a bird — so large that it made my tiny human mind quail with fear. Only the bones of its wings physical, the rest of it was sizzling lightning that popped with thunder every time it finished a beat.
We all watched in terrified awe as it flew across the sky, completely ignoring us in its journey. Behind it came a blizzard of terrifying intensity. Wind surged and pulled at our clothing, snow and sleet whipped down sporadically, and bolts of lightning smashed down across the city.
One particular strike hit something way too close and an explosion rippled out across our neighbourhood, shattering windows already weakened by the earthquake yesterday.
“That must’ve been the gas station,” he said, then winced. “Shit! There’s so much fuel in there. It isn't going to stop burning for… for days!”
“Will it burn down any other buildings?” I asked, worried. If the whole damn neighbourhood was going to go up in flames then—
A wall of sleet hit us like a hammer coming down on an anvil. It happened over the space of less than a second — the occasional cold thump of icy rain suddenly becoming a deluge.
Fuck! We needed to get under cover! We could go into the school, or… no. No, I couldn't go in, I'd get trapped! I hadn't tested the time limit on my Silver transformation, but doing it in the school where people might see? Bad fucking idea.
“Shit, I’m sorry, sir,” I said, shouting over the storm. “I need to go. I’ll come back tomorrow first thing, if there’s anything special and difficult you need done, let me know then.”
I didn't wait for his assent, nor for confirmation, I just dashed away. I picked an almost random direction. Hopefully it'd allow me to circle back to my hidden safe house behind the school. I had a lot more work to do today.