Allison hugged him tight, wiping away a tear. Both thought of the day Ben’s father died and he was left nearly paralyzed. Months of pain, rehabilitation, and sheer grit had followed—made possible only by his family and their close-knit community.

  “I’m so happy for you, son. And your father would be too, if he could see you now.”

  Jamal stepped forward. “Congratulations, boss. This means a lot to all of us.”

  Michael nodded. Damien smiled, clearly moved.

  Ben just stood in the center of his team, taking in the moment—his past, his pain, his progress—all part of something greater.

  The team had decided to give the rat hide to Carter, to give him the opportunity to develop his skills, instead of selling it to the System Store. After dropping off the spoils of their victory—including the core, which Ben sold—they distributed the Credits among the team.

  Ben approached Luz to see whether they were ready for the trip to the city.

  “Yes, we will be ready in the next 30 minutes. The teachers are herding the students to use the restroom and pack everything up. I’ve also placed our order with Jane’s shop. They’re expecting us and said the delivery should not be a problem,” the chef and budding alchemist informed him.

  “Great, thanks. That gives me the opportunity to quickly freshen up a bit as well. Otherwise, I’ll stink up the truck too much,” Ben said with a smile and headed across the plaza toward his lodge.

  He had barely made it a few steps when Liz and Zack approached him.

  “Ben, do you have a second?” Zack asked.

  “Sure, what’s up? Ready for the trip back to town?”

  “Well, that’s why we wanted to talk with you. We’ve been thinking… and you know, our families are on the coast, not in Simonston. And we’re both biology majors. We wanted to work in agricultural research. What do you think?”

  Ben looked at him, confused. “I’m not sure I follow. Sorry.”

  “We want to stay!” Liz blurted.

  “Oh. Why?”

  “Well, like Zack said… given the uncertainty about what’s going to happen, and that we don’t have much tying us to Simonston—and we really like your vision for this place…”

  “Yeah, we like it!” Zack regained his courage. “And we thought maybe we could help you figure out how to grow food up here. Depending on how things develop in the cities, it might get hard to move enough produce in to sustain the settlement. We’d be excited to test our perks here and research what Energy can do for agriculture…”

  Apparently, talking about research and farming made Zack much more eloquent.

  “Well, I’m glad you like what we’re trying to build here, and I think it could be a great fit—if you can help us become more independent from external sources. You heard about the values we want for this community. Are you okay with those?”

  “Definitely. They’re one of the reasons we want to stay,” Liz said, her enthusiasm genuine. Zack nodded emphatically.

  “Very well. In that case—welcome to the Protectorate. Do you want to do this right now?”

  They both nodded, and the trio walked over to the Protectorate Pillar.

  “Just put your hand on.” Ben gestured forward.

  Liz went first. After a second, she looked at Ben with a smile. “It’s done. I had to confirm that I’ll adhere to the values—and the system said infractions will be tracked.”

  “Oh wow, I didn’t expect that,” Ben murmured with a slight frown.

  Zack completed the procedure as well. Ben congratulated them and asked them to inform Adam of their new status and the system’s message.

  Twenty minutes later, Ben was fresh out of the shower, dressed in his leather shirt, and getting into his truck.

  They were taking three trucks, driven by Luz, Damien, and himself. Rose would ride with Luz, Anne with him, and they’d fit 3–4 kids in each cabin and another four in each truck’s loading bed.

  Allison came to see them off. “Take care, son. When I talked with Julia in the end, she agreed to move here, but she wasn’t really convinced. She said she’d talk with Robin about it. Let’s hope he doesn’t talk her out of it.”

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  “Nah, never. Robin’s a good guy. I’m sure he’ll see that this is the best place for her and the kids. Anyway—we’ve got to go. I’d like to make the round trip in one go, but depending on how things are in the city, we might need to stay overnight. I’ll keep you updated.”

  Ben learned that the three students riding in his cabin were Kevin, Sarah, and Janet—15 years old, private school students. The trip had been part of an elective.

  Sarah asked how long the return trip would take.

  “It’s funny, actually. If we could go as the crow flies in that direction”—he waved to their right—“it’s just about 50 kilometers behind that hill. On a highway, that’d be about half an hour. But we’re far from any highway, so we drive two hours in the opposite direction on a gravel road just to get to a proper one. From there we have to go all the way around the forest. So, all in, five to six hours.”

  The kids seemed content enough—just happy to be heading home.

  After a while, Anne asked, “I’ve seen you and your colleagues with axes. Don’t you use chainsaws for your work?”

  Ben chuckled. “About 15 years ago, my parents realized our operation was too small to compete as a traditional lumber business. But instead of shutting down, they found a niche: we serve a luxury furniture segment based on being ‘organic and hand-crafted.’ So we only fell very select trees—and we do it by hand.”

  “But… that doesn’t make sense. The wood’s the same, whether cut by axe or chainsaw.”

  “It is. But there were people willing to pay for the difference,” Ben said with a smile.

  About an hour into the drive, Ben—at the back of the convoy—saw Damien slowing and stopping. Before he could ask why, a [Flame Spark] shot out of Damien’s window and a squeal rang out. A small boar bolted into the trees.

  After that, the group made good progress, and Ben enjoyed the chat with the students and Anne, who asked about his life as a lumberjack and his vision for the Protectorate.

  About halfway through, they reached their usual gas station. Ben noted that, despite a truck being parked there, it was eerily quiet. No one in the shop window. As the convoy stopped, kids eagerly jumped off the truck beds.

  “Everybody stop! Stay with the cars for now!” Ben shouted as he jumped out.

  The students froze.

  “Stay calm, students,” Anne said with a steady voice. “We’ll check the area, then you can stretch your legs.” She gave Ben a nod, and together they approached the shop.

  The door opened normally. Inside, the aisles were clear. The counter unmanned. The office door stood ajar. Ben felt a knot in his stomach. He approached slowly, nudging the door open with his axe.

  A wave of putrid air hit him. Blood trailed from behind the desk. He cautiously stepped inside—left, right, behind the door—clear. Then, inching around the desk with his axe ready, he spotted a mauled leg.

  A flashback. Not again. He froze briefly, thoughts flashing back to the accident a few months ago.

  “What is it?” Anne asked, quietly.

  Ben shook himself and activated [Calm], steadying his breath. He stepped forward. A man, mid-40s, lay crumpled behind the desk. His gut torn out. Limbs gnawed. Very dead—but not decayed.

  Then, a scream from outside.

  Anne was already sprinting. Ben followed. A male student was stumbling away from the restrooms. A massive gray wolf was growling and battering the bathroom door.

  With one final lunge, the wolf smashed the door open and lunged.

  Anne raced ahead, interposing herself. She lowered her center of gravity, angled sideways. As the wolf leapt, she stepped left and snapped a vicious kick into its throat.

  The beast reeled, stunned.

  Ben struck instantly, cleaving deep into the wolf’s neck with two powerful chops.

  “Timothy! What were you thinking?!” Anne scolded.

  “I—I’m sorry! I just needed to pee… I didn’t think…” he stammered.

  “In this new world, anything can happen. You must be vigilant. Now get back to the trucks. Mr. Jackson and I will clear the restrooms.”

  Ben stepped beside Anne. “That was… impressive. What type of martial art was that?”

  She inclined her head slightly. “Krav Maga. I’ve been practicing since I was a teenager. When the system hit, I got it as an uncommon perk.”

  “Very cool. That how you took out those two foxes near the Protectorate?”

  “Yeah. Though I’d rather not keep fighting animals unarmed… thick fur and claws are no joke.”

  “Let’s check the restrooms. I’ll push the doors open with my axe. If something jumps, I’ll fall back, and we can flank it.”

  Anne nodded. They cleared the men’s room first. Blood. No beast—but a young man lay face down by the sinks, throat torn out.

  The women’s room, thankfully, was empty.

  Ben retrieved a tarp from beside the station and covered the body in the restroom, after retrieving the man’s wallet. He did the same for the man in the office, then called the police to report both deaths.

  To his surprise, the police thanked him but said they were now focusing exclusively on low-Energy zones and were no longer operating outside major cities. They asked him to drop off the wallets at a station in Simonston and left it at that.

  Anne shook her head. “They’ve basically abandoned the rest of the country. Shameful.”

  Ben frowned. “Yeah. But I get it. We stayed because it’s home—and because the Protectorate gives us a chance to survive. You can’t ask someone else to risk their life if you have the option to just leave.”

  Anne nodded. “You’re not wrong… Anyway, the students are ready. Think it’s okay to take a few chocolate bars if we leave the money?”

  Ben considered it. “I think so. Honestly, I’m not sure money matters much anymore—but it feels like the right thing to do.”

  They gathered some snacks and sodas, left the money, and handed the supplies to the students. Then they got back on the road.

  The students were clearly affected by the events at the gas station and rode in silence for a while.

  Eventually, Anne broke the silence. “Ben, I’m not actually a full-time teacher at Brickham’s. I’m hired on a freelance basis for these outdoor courses. I also don’t have any real obligations in the city—my mother lives with my brother and they’re doing fine. I’ve always been more drawn to the wilderness.” She paused. “That’s a roundabout way of saying: I’d like to return with you to the Protectorate. Give that life a chance. What do you think?”

  Ben smiled. “That would be wonderful. We could certainly use someone with your survival and combat experience. If you’re happy to subscribe to our values, you’re more than welcome.”

  “Your values are one of the reasons I think it’s worth trying.”

  “Does that mean you’re not coming back to school with us, Mrs. Solomon?” Kevin asked from the back of the cabin.