Chapter 20 - Fading Daylight

  We didn't chat much as we made our way back through the train tunnel. I didn't have much to say, and I guess Alex was keeping his thoughts to himself, too. Nothing attacked us, although I was vaguely aware of being watched from the shadows once or twice.

  We passed right by the train. I barely even gave it a glance. There was too much loss and pain still wrapped up in that place.

  By the time I got back to where I left the tarp, the stupid pill bugs had gotten their act together enough to venture forth once more. There weren't very many of them out on the tracks, and although they'd found the tarp, they hadn't managed to get it open yet. To their credit, as soon as they saw us coming, they scattered. By the time we walked up to the tarp, they were all long gone.

  "What were those things?" Alex asked.

  "We used to call them pill bugs when I was a kid," I replied. "I think they’re actually some kind of crustacean, or something like that. I don't remember the details. Whatever they are, this is the giant version. Sort of like that spider that almost ate you."

  "I take it you ran into trouble with these guys earlier?"

  "Yeah, you could say that," I replied. "They're pretty weak, but their bite has a knockout venom, so watch yourself around them."

  The more information we could pass back and forth about the capabilities of these creatures, the better. Lack of knowledge was going to get people killed faster than just about anything else. To me, sharing information was just good common sense. Besides, Alex seemed like a decent guy. He’d had my back when I ventured down to visit the Rat King. We were all going to need friends to help us through what was happening.

  I went over to the tarp and adjusted it, carefully retying two spots where the pill bugs had managed to bite through the cord. They hadn't gotten to the people inside, which was good. I was glad we'd gotten there in time.

  Once I'd gotten the tarp straightened out properly again, I gently laid Amanda's body on top of it and picked up one end. I was probably strong enough to just pick up the whole thing and carry it, but it was very bulky, and I wasn't sure how well that would work out. Instead, I opted to use the tarp like a sled and drag it along behind me toward the entrance.

  "What's in there?" Alex asked, pointing at the tarp.

  I hesitated for a moment before answering. "Other people from our train who didn't make it."

  "Oh." There was a pause while Alex digested that. "I'm sorry. Do you need help?"

  I shook my head. "I've got this, thanks."

  Aside from the fact that I felt like this was something personal, a thing I had to do, I also wanted to tell him that I had tier five strength thanks to all the crystals I'd captured and could easily handle this weight and then some. But as much as I wanted to believe Alex was a new friend and that I could trust him, the reality was I didn't know the man in the least. Maybe it was time to work on changing some of that.

  As we set out, me dragging the tarp behind me, and Alex shining the way with the chem light on the end of my spear, I decided to see if I could engage him in more conversation.

  "Where are you from, Alex?" I asked. "I live in an apartment just north of MGH."

  I figured it would be easier for him to reveal things about himself if I did first.

  "Cambridge," he replied. "I work, or maybe worked, is a better word for it? Anyway, I worked at a tech startup over in Cambridge. My apartment isn't too far from that T station where you found me. I suppose all of that is in the past now, though, huh?"

  "I don't know what we're dealing with here yet. Do you have information on how big this is? How widespread, whatever all of this is?" I asked.

  I doubted he had many more answers than I did, but even a little more information would be lovely! I felt like I was fumbling around in the dark, unable to make good plans because I just didn't know enough about what was going on. How widespread was this weirdness? Did it just impact Boston? Or was it much bigger than that? I didn't want to admit aloud or even say quietly to myself what my biggest fear was. If this was everywhere, if the whole planet had shifted to whatever this new strangeness was, then there was going to be no help coming. We'd have to rely on ourselves to survive it. Our skills, abilities, and knowledge would be the only thing standing between us and getting wiped out by the monsters that seemed to be everywhere.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "I doubt I know that much more than you, maybe less. You seem like you're doing pretty well for yourself in all of this," Alex replied. "I do have one piece of information that I found interesting, though: those green creatures, the ones you called goblins?"

  "Yeah?" I replied.

  "I'm almost certain I saw a squirrel transform into one of them."

  I stopped in my tracks at that. "Are you serious?"

  He nodded. I let that sink in for a moment. If he was right, it might explain a lot, although it opened up a whole bunch of new questions to replace it.

  “If you’re sure about that…” I started to say.

  He cut in. “I’m not. I think I saw it, right when all the power died. But I can’t say for sure.”

  “Okay, but let’s assume for a moment you’re right,” I went on. We were getting closer to the tunnel entrance, so I kept my eyes peeled for potential threats. “That would explain a lot of what we’re seeing, right? I mean, the ratkin probably used to be regular rats. The giant spider was probably a normal spider this morning. Those pill bugs were probably the size of my pinky nail before they were changed. Whatever happened, maybe it altered things. Changed their form and nature.”

  “I guess that makes sense, but how?” Alex asked.

  I shook my head. “I have absolutely no idea. But if the goblins are transformed squirrels, I expect we may see a lot of them. Boston Common and the Public Garden will be crawling with the things.”

  “Assuming they all changed, anyway,” Alex added. “I’m here hoping that’s not the case.”

  “Why?”

  He chuckled, and it sounded dark. “Can you imagine if every spider in the world turned into a monster like that thing?”

  I shivered at that idea. “Yup. I’m joining Team I Hope Not, too.”

  He laughed.

  Daylight loomed not far ahead. I stopped to reposition the bodies. The light had turned deep orange, so I knew sunset couldn’t be that far off. I wanted to get back somewhere safe, or at least safer than this, before dark. As crazy as things had been during the day, I figured they’d likely get a lot worse when the sun set. I glanced over at Alex.

  “What are your plans? You going to try to make it back to your apartment?” I asked.

  “Not sure. I think there’s a lot of risk no matter which way I go.”

  I couldn’t help but agree. That left me with something of a dilemma. I didn’t really know this guy, but I did have an apartment waiting for me that was at least somewhat secure. It might be nice to have another set of eyes standing guard in case something did come after us. Spiders can crawl up the sides of buildings, and the one I’d killed was big enough it could maybe smash through a window.

  The idea of waking up staring into monstrous fangs was not appealing!

  That helped me make the decision. “You want to come back with me? I have a sofa you can crash on. It might be nice to have someone to split watches with, just to be sure.”

  He pondered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I think that makes sense. If you’d wanted me dead, you could have left me in the webs. You went the extra mile to save me. I’ll come with you, at least for tonight. We can figure out what we’re doing next tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I replied. We were getting close to the exit now. “Once we’re outside, there’s a bunch of goblins off to the right. Last I saw they were hard at work building some sort of fort near the river’s edge, so they weren’t paying much attention to me. I left my bike by the tunnel entrance. If you can grab that, I’ll keep dragging the tarp.”

  “I can get your bike, for sure. You positive you don’t need help with that?” Alex asked. “It looks heavy.”

  I shrugged, picked up a rock from the tracks, and threw it into the wall as hard as I could. The stone exploded on impact, sending chips flying in all directions. It was far enough away that none of the bits hit us, but the impact left a small hole in the cement wall. Alex whistled. I couldn’t blame him. Even I was impressed, and I was pretty sure of what would happen when I threw the rock.

  “Have you killed some of the monsters with your bat?” I asked. He nodded. “So you’ve gotten some crystals from them, right?”

  “Yes, I have. Watch,” Alex said. He held out a hand, palm up, and something swirled in his palm, growing in size. It wasn’t until it was the size of a grapefruit that I realized what I was looking at.

  “Is that water?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Sure is. I can Create Water and Control Water. They’re both just tier one, but it’s still pretty amazing, right?”

  “Very definitely!” I’d been worried about water. Most houses had enough in the pipes to keep people alive for a day or two, but after that we’d be in deep trouble without fresh water to drink. If we had people who could create water with magic, that changed everything! “Where did you get the stones from?”

  “A couple of humanoid crab things that crawled out of the canal,” Alex said. “They attacked some people as they were fleeing into a building, so I went in to help.”

  “The baseball bat?” I asked.

  “Got it from another guy who didn’t make it.”

  “Ouch. Sorry I asked.”

  Alex shook his head. “No worries. I think there’s going to be a lot of that going around. What about you? I take it you have some of those crystals as well?”

  “I do, yeah,” I said. “Mostly Strength and Stamina, but I also got a few for something called Natural Armor, which makes my skin and bones extra tough.”

  “Sounds useful!”

  “It has been, but maybe not as much as Create Water. I have a feeling you’re going to save a lot of lives.” We’d reached the place where I stashed the bike, so I pointed it out to him.

  Alex was stuck pushing the bike for the time being; riding it on the railway wasn’t going to work. But we were right near the entrance, so we proceeded with some caution, watching out for the goblins I knew had to be somewhere nearby as we pressed on into the last of the fading daylight.