Nodding, Isabelle slipped a hand inside a pocket. “Got to level one this morning, just before I came downstairs. It’s... quite a feeling, I must say.”

  He thought back to earlier, when he’d been listening out for people. With her increase in strength, she should have been able to perceive more. “You heard the others inside, right?”

  Isabelle nodded. She combed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I did. They seemed to have a lot firmer grasp on the old man than even he did of himself.”

  “Yeah. That’s good. So your perception has gone up.”

  “Overall, I’m stronger. Yes.”

  Isabelle nodded, and as he went to ask her another question—

  A howl tore through the air. Distant, but not distant enough. The sound rolled across rooftops and bounced off broken storefronts, raising every hair on Lucas’s arms. Apollo’s ears flattened against his skull, a low whine escaping the dog’s throat.

  Lucas’s mind snapped back to reality. They were still in a danger zone. Standing out in the open, talking about politics and the future like they had all the time in the world. Idiots. They needed to move, needed to find cover, needed to—

  Another howl answered the first. Closer this time. To the east.

  His thoughts reorganised themselves. The supermarket was still their primary goal—had to be, given what the older of those two siblings they were looking for had said about people being taken there. But charging straight toward it would be suicide if they weren’t strong enough. They needed XP. Needed levels. And the best way to get that was by taking out flameback wolves and any other blightkin they found along the way. Turn the journey into a gauntlet. Make every street corner count.

  “We need to move,” he said, his voice low. “And we need to be ready.”

  Isabelle’s bow materialised in her hand without a word.

  ????ˊ? ·?? ? ? ? ??· ??ˋ???

  Lucas clamped his metal hand around the firetusk boar’s large tusk and whipped the pig over his shoulder, slamming it into the asphalt road. A crack rang through the air, and the pig squealed. An arrow from Isabelle slammed into it, silencing it.

  He then glanced over his shoulder to find Apollo wrestling with the last of the patrol that had tried to ambush them, and a second arrow shot toward it, splitting in mid-air before one sank into its rear and the other into its head. Apollo’s teeth finished the wolf a moment later, sinking beneath its flesh and pulling back, releasing a fountain of blood as chunks of fur hung from its jaw. The dog raised a paw and rested it on its defeated foe, with a look of triumph in its canine eyes.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Congratulations on defeating the 2x [Flameback Wolf - Novice 1]!

  | You have gained 8 XP.

  | Congratulations on defeating the 1x [Firetusk Boar - Novice 1]!

  | You have gained 9 XP.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  “I swear, they’re appearing more the closer we get to the supermarket,” Isabelle said, her bow dissipating as she moved closer.

  He nodded. “Yeah, they are. Good for XP, I guess.”

  Overall, they’d fought three patrols so far, excluding these guys. One that consisted mainly of flameback wolves, and the other two being flameback wolves and firetusk boars. Thankfully, the groups so far hadn’t exceeded four, so they were easy enough to deal with. Any more, and they might have had some trouble. They were making steady progress, though, inching closer to the supermarket with each fight.

  If Lucas was honest, he wasn’t exactly sure what his plan was when he got there. If this trend continued, by the time they made it to the supermarket, there’d be a wall of blightkin just waiting there to rip them apart, and he doubted any of those fights would go as easily as this one.

  Isabelle moved away, stepping over the corpses with practised ease. She stopped at the first flameback wolf—red fur matted with blood, mane still smoking faintly from where her arrow had singed it. Raising her hand, she didn’t hesitate. The magic circle traced itself beneath the corpse, geometric lines burning white against the asphalt. It spun, picking up speed, light intensifying until it pulsed once and released a sharp flash. The wolf’s body dissolved, leaving behind claws, fangs, and a strip of hide.

  Standard. Routine. Lucas had seen it dozens of times now.

  They’d worked out this system for harvesting. Her taking one group, him the next, and Apollo getting credit regardless. The rotation kept their XP gains roughly equal. They’d figured out some system logic that Lucas still didn’t fully understand—something to do with contribution to the engagement. But the bulk of the harvesting XP went to whoever did the work. The remaining XP got split among the contributors. Though Lucas didn’t know what would happen if you did nothing and just harvested.

  “Do you think we should head back?” Isabelle said. She crouched on the ground, moving a roll of hide into her backpack, then picking up some teeth from the ground. A large tusk sat off to the side, and as she reached for it, Lucas caught some movement in the corner of his eye.

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  He held up a hand to stop her, his metal feet clinking against the road as he turned, trying to make out where the figure had moved. They were being watched, and if his gut was right, they’d been doing so for some time now.

  Apollo stepped over, his teeth bared towards the alleyway as he let out a low growl.

  “Can you smell them?” Lucas asked, and the dog nodded.

  Isabelle came over a moment later, her voice low. “What happened?”

  “Someone’s watching us,” Lucas said.

  Without missing a beat, Isabelle’s bow manifested within her grip, her finger already on the string.

  “Hey, hey, hey,” he said, raising his hand. “Are you thinking of shooting them right away?”

  Isabelle nodded grimly. “You heard the old man. Someone’s been looting, and clearly, they frightened him. Why would he react the way he did to us if they weren’t dangerous? It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s not only Blightkin we have to worry about, but people too.”

  Lucas nodded, though he didn’t want to think the world had fallen so far already that killing people was anywhere near being considered. Though sadly, part of him also acknowledged that he had to be a little more realistic. People weren’t good or bad, but desperation always forced hard choices.

  Apollo growled, stepping forward. As the German Shepherd moved, so did Isabelle—she shuffled behind a car, arrow nocked, bow trained on the shadows of the alley.

  Lucas sighed; it was good. They were taking no chances. But still a shame.

  He didn’t feel the need to be as cautious, though. A puppet’s metal body afforded him some risk tolerance that flesh didn’t.

  Ahead, a figure emerged from the shadows, hands raised. Looking more annoyed with himself than anything else. Their noticing had apparently ruined any plan he may have had. That was a little surprising; Lucas would have thought he’d be more scared.

  “All right, I’m coming out slowly. Can see you’ve already got eyes on me.” The voice carried a careful neutrality. “I’m just trying to get by. I don’t mean any harm.”

  A jolt of recognition shot through Lucas, and he took a step closer. That voice. He knew that voice.

  Ben.

  Moving closer, the boy’s features resolved from shadow. Scraggly clothes, a grey hoodie, and a black leather backpack fastened at the front. Those brown eyes scanned over Lucas, widening slightly at his metallic appearance before shifting to Apollo. The dog was still growling, closing the distance with hackles raised.

  “Hey, metal robot guy?” Ben’s hands stayed up, palms out. “Can you call your dog off, please?”

  “Ben?”

  The young man’s eyes snapped to Lucas, confusion creasing his brow. “Do you know me?”

  “Ben, it’s me. Lucas.” He pointed at his own face.

  A moment passed. Then something clicked into place behind Ben’s eyes, and they went wide. His hands dropped to his sides.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ben stared. “Lucas? What happened to you?”

  “What happened to me?” Lucas gestured back to the shadowed alleyway Ben had just stepped from. “What were you doing skulking around behind that building?”

  “I was just gathering supplies.” Ben raised his hands, gesturing emphatically at Lucas’s chassis, eyebrows climbing his forehead as if to exaggerate the point. “Also, I’m not the one that’s—you’re a robot, Lucas. What the hell?”

  Gravel crunched at Lucas’s side. Isabelle stepped over, bow dematerialising in a sparkle of white light, and she crossed her arms over her chest, gaze moving between the two of them.

  “You know this guy?”

  Lucas nodded, gesturing toward Ben. “He was a colleague of mine. From Dizzy Dave’s.”

  Crazy, he’d thought—

  Lucas brought a hand to his face with a clink of metal, working his jaw.

  He wasn’t really sure what he’d thought had happened to his colleagues, honestly. There were others he cared about, too. Charlotte, Liam... what had happened to them? He’d probably have to search around for them. If they were still alive.

  But then, what could he even do for his friends? He couldn’t exactly go out of his way and put himself and anyone else in danger just because he knew them. Could he?

  “Yeah,” Ben said, his gaze still lingering on Apollo. The dog had quieted, head tilting as he looked between Lucas and Isabelle, waiting. “Lucas and I go way back.”

  “And what are you doing out here?” Lucas asked.

  Ben shrugged, his gaze drifting down the street and lingering there. “I’m following a trail. Richard—you remember him, right?”

  How could Lucas not? He’d seen the man get dragged away by wolves just yesterday afternoon. Watched the man’s friend, Donny, die.

  Ben sighed, scratching at his jaw. “Well, the trail I’m following leads down there, toward the supermarket. And, uh...” He grimaced. “I don’t know how to say this, but it’s not looking good.”

  Lucas frowned. He hadn’t been aware that Ben had any ability to track. It had to be related to the system. Perhaps a word he was using.

  Ben’s hand dropped to his side, and he glanced over his shoulder before continuing.

  “They’d originally left yesterday, but Donovan—he’s kind of the big man in charge of our little group at the moment—sent us out to gather more resources after they didn’t come back. He wanted us to find Rich and the guy that was with him and bring back some medicine for Sarah.” A pause. “She’s Richard’s girlfriend. Not doing too well, and especially now with Richard missing, her condition’s kind of gotten worse.”

  Ben turned back, meeting Lucas’s gaze. “So yeah. That’s why I’m here. Tracking, hiding from Blightkin, hoping to find something to bring back.” He raised an eyebrow. “And you?”

  Resting a metallic hand on his hip with a clink, Lucas shrugged. “Kind of the same thing. Just gathering resources, really.”

  Isabelle shot him a look that asked: Why didn’t you tell him about Richard?

  Lucas gave her a small shake of his head.

  It’s not that Lucas didn’t want to tell Ben what had happened. More a question of how to go about it. He didn’t want to end up in another situation like yesterday, putting the two sides at odds.

  “So he’s gone down there,” Lucas said, raising a hand and jabbing down the street. “Are you gonna go investigate?”

  “I was. It’s proving more difficult than expected, actually.” Ben’s expression lightened slightly. “Well, that is, until I found you guys. Clearing out the patrols the way you have has made it easier to follow the tracks. But at the rate these blightkin are increasing...” He let out a breath. “It’s probably a bloody hive at the end of that street.”

  “Why would they gather at the supermarket, though?” Ben’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  “Probably the easiest place to gather a bunch of people,” Isabelle said. Her voice was flat. “The blightkin seem to have a reason for what they’re doing. As much as I want to say it’s just wild carnage. It’s not.”

  Her eyes scanned the area. Blood trails. Broken car windows. Smashed-in houses and storefronts.

  All this destruction, yet not one body left behind. Not even a finger. Anything that the wolves could drag away, the creatures had.

  Lucas nodded slowly. “Grim times.”

  “You’re telling me.” Ben kicked at the air, frustration bleeding through the motion. Apollo let out a low whine in acknowledgement. “So much death, man. And this system on top of it.”

  He went quiet for a moment, then tilted his head up. “Can I ask you something, Lucas?”