Ash
It was getting light, and there was no sign of her dad or Floof yet. Truth be told, she had already delayed longer than she probably should have. They could have left at least 20 minutes ago. And as much as she didn't want to make this trip without him or Floof, for that matter, it really was starting to look like she didn't have a choice.
These people needed to be back in the neighborhood where they could get proper treatment, or at least as close to proper treatment as existed anymore. What were doctors like in this changed world anyway? Was it just all healing magic? These were just more questions of the endless ones she still hadn't picked from the brain of her father. And now she was worried she might never have the chance.
No, that was a thought she wasn't willing to entertain. She had seen her father in action. Just because he was late didn't mean he wouldn't be back at all. Plus, the man had Floof with him, and that dog was the most loyal animal she had ever seen. True or not, she refused to believe there was anything that could take the two of them out.
She made up her mind. He had given her orders on what to do, and she had put it off too long. It was time.
“Norm, are the sick people safe to transport?” she asked, looking to the closest thing they had to a doctor.
“Probably, but this isn't going to be an easy trip. It's a rough forest out there,” he answered with a shrug.
“I already put something together. It's a makeshift sled. It's still going to be bumpy, but it will probably get us through the forest. So if one of you wants to give me a hand, we can start getting people loaded,” Tom added.
“Norm, Gar, give him a hand and get everything collected you need to bring. As soon as you're ready, we're leaving,” Ash said, before turning to the older woman sitting by the fire. “Gertie, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course. Just let me get my legs under me again,” she answered, slowly standing up from the couch. They had dragged it outside a few hours ago so Gertie could take a view of the forest in the firelight.
Ash led her slightly away from the others, wanting to have the conversation out of earshot. She was worried about what this trip would be like for the woman, but even more so, she was worried about what Gertie might do if they ran into monsters. From what everyone had gathered, she'd been using her abilities in an attempt to bolster her family at the expense of her own body.
She understood all too well what that meant. Her dad had been doing it for her since day one, but he was a lot healthier and far more capable of handling the stress than Gertie was. And Ash needed to make sure she didn't do anything stupid on her trip back.
“Gertie, I need you to do me a big favor. I know it's going to be hard, but on the trip back, conserve your strength. I promise I'll keep your family safe, but that'll be all the harder if we have to worry about you too. So don't drain yourself, okay?” Ash tried to keep a smile on her face as she made the request, but given the situation they were in, it was hard to maintain it.
Gertie frowned. “But what if they need me?” The frown was mixed with a look of stern authority. She was reminded of her own grandmother, and it was one Ash wasn't sure exactly how to question. It was another reason she wished her father was here.
“Hey, I know it's hard. Right now, I'm really worried about my dad and Floof. But he trusted in me to get everyone back to the neighborhood if he wasn't here, and I need you to trust in us to get your family back alive. They're going to want you to be there with them. This whole idea of leadership is really new to me, so am I making any sense?” Ash gave an awkward smile with that last question. It probably wasn't what she was supposed to have said, but she really didn't have a good frame of reference. Fully occupying her father's shoes was far out of the question.
Gertie didn't look entirely convinced. “You have to understand, Ash, I used to be young and think I could defend everything too. I used to have a body that didn't feel like it was on the verge of collapsing just from walking across the room. And the idea that I can defend my family again makes it very hard to ignore that impulse. But I'll try. Because you're right, I do want to be there alive when they wake up.”
“Thank you.”
“You know, some of these plants are surprisingly beautiful in the morning light. I do hope we all live long enough that I can safely show the kids this again someday,” Gertie said wistfully, before turning away and heading back to the front of the house.
Looking at the plant life Gertie had pointed to, Ash had to agree. This was a special sight. And it was made all the worse by the reasons they were here to see it. Her father's hatred for all of this made more sense every day. The idea that someone got to experience new wonders, but they were always tainted by that underlying horror that made it all possible, was enough to drive anyone insane.
The few bits of stories she had already pried loose from him painted a picture of his childhood that terrified her. Part of her wished he had gotten a chance to continue his life with peace, even if it meant the loss of her own. But that was only a small part. She did want to live. And thanks to everything he had done, she was going to.
At least all the sounds of the previous night were gone from the woods. Instead, they had been replaced by the strange mingling of different insects. She had no idea whether that boded well for their trip or not.
But there was no more time to put it off. Behind her, they had already started loading the others onto the sled. It was time to leave. Floof and her dad would just have to catch up.
“Tom, are you able to pull the sled alone, or do you need help?” Ash asked. Given the level of construction she'd seen the man do before, she had a feeling he was capable of hauling it on his own, but she didn't want to assume. It was always possible he had focused on a different attribute than strength.
“Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. What do you want me to do if we get in any fights, though?” he replied as he worked a rope into his belt.
“Depends on where the attack is coming from. If they are behind us, I want you to just keep going. Noah, you're going to be out in front, so if that happens, get them back safe. I'll stay in the rear.”
“Sounds good,” was the only reply to Ash’s surprise. She had felt sure someone would question her orders. Not that she wasn’t glad at the turn of events; it just wasn’t at all what she had expected.
“Is everything packed and ready to go?” Ash followed up, looking around at all of their faces. The few yeses and nods she received were enough for her. “Then let’s go.”
Every broken twig and rustle in the bushes kept Ash on edge. She had her bow out, ready to fire at the first sign of danger. Her supply of arrows was strongly limited at the moment, but anything to slow down a potential attacker was worth it in her mind.
“They're gonna be okay, you know. I haven't known Adam long, but he's something special,” Ralph whispered to her, pulling her focus away from their surroundings.
“I do, but it's still hard. Do you think this is how he felt about me when the spiders got me that first night?”
Ralph raised an eyebrow. “I imagine he was a lot more worried. You're strong in your own right, but there's a big difference between what you can do and what that Adam can do. Likely, whatever reason he's not back yet has to do with him finding a lot of bad guys that he had to deal with. Or, you know, Floof found another secret cave. Who knows?”
“Have I mentioned how strange that crystal is? Why does it list all of our names like that, Ralph? Actually, no, why doesn't it list everyone's names but only some of them?” The topic had opened up a point of confusion she had had for a while now, and with everything that had happened, she hadn't had any time to really talk to anyone about it.
“Yeah, yeah. I don't actually have any good answers here. And this is even one of those times where I'm trying to shut up about what I know. I really don't have any idea what that crystal is. I tossed out a couple of possibilities to your dad before Jimmy showed up, but I don't really have any faith in them being right. Something weird is going on, Ash. But hey, at least it's interesting. System-space could use a big shakeup. It's gotten so consistent.”
Ash suppressed a sigh. She didn’t really know how to respond to that. The idea of System-space was still a giant alien concept to her, and when she tried to visualize the scale of what her world existed in now, it threatened to unleash a torrent of anxiety in her mind. She had been doing her best to try not to think about that concept.
“I guess,” she replied. Ralph, seeming to guess her hesitance, let the conversation die, and they spent the next few hours of their walk in silence.
Finally, in the distance, they spotted the river. She could see the bonfire still glowing bright even under the sunlit sky. There was still no sign of her father.
“Run! Make for the boat!” Noah suddenly yelled.
While he had heard it before she had, the sounds were now obvious. Several things were crashing through the forest toward them. And it was far too many bodies to belong to the missing members of the group.
“You heard Noah. Get everyone across now!” she followed up, trying to spot any of the monsters for a clean shot.
“Hello there, Ash. Your father isn't coming to help you. Neither is that beast of yours. They've been dealt with. All that's left is you and your little group. And after you're gone, how long do you think those walls will stand against us?”
The voice in her mind had returned. But unlike last time, she already had her defenses up. “Get the hell out of my mind!” she screamed into the woods, refusing to believe a word it said.
She wasn't stupid. She knew how intimidation tactics worked. And even on the off chance it wasn't lying, that just meant she had to kill them. It was what her dad would do in her place.
Ahead of her, the group burst from the woods as Noah kept barking orders. Her own pace had slowed down just slightly, trying to keep herself as the distraction. It was important the sled got across the river before the real fight started.
“Ash, get your ass across the river! I'm coming!” A loud, caring bellow from Grimbleflork easily reached her ears as she stepped out from under the canopy.
The noises in the forest exploded into life. The glowing eyes of the undead, skeletal forms appeared everywhere, marching forward toward them. There was no way she would be able to get back to the other side of the river before they caught them.
She had to hold their charge.