Chapter 9 The Forsaken Town

The burning bright blue moon turned the night sky into day as it radiated a comforting warmth down on the gawking girl. Before her eyes, even more trees sprouted as moss and unknown plants blanketed the shore. As if sitting for decades, the boats turned green, covered in vegetation.

Fearing the worst, she spun on her heels, scanning Umbra but found it unaffected, to her relief. With her own ship safe, she returned her attention to the changing landscape. The spreading nature engulfed the lifeguard tower as it transformed the beach into a grassy shore, leaving only a thin strip of sand at the water’s edge. Similar to the beach, the parking lot beyond disappeared as if it never existed behind towering pines.

A terrifying thought formed, prompting her to sprint to the front deck, gazing toward the narrow opening to the bay. The twelve meter wide opening was now two meters narrower and shrinking at a steady rate.

Elysia dashed to the back of the ship, heaving the raft motor off the raft, setting it on the lower deck before pulling the light inflatable raft on board and strapping it down along with the motor. With her raft secured, she scrambled inside to the control room, lifting the anchor before pressing the start button. Nothing happened forcing her to press it again, this time turning the engine over, but it refused to start.

While staring out the window at the now nine meter wide passage, she pushed the button again. This time, the diesel engines rumbled to life. Before the engine idled down, she slammed the lever into drive and floored the engine. She aimed for the shrinking passage, praying she would make the two hundred meters before it closed.

The heavy yacht crept forward, gaining momentum with each passing second. She white knuckled the steering wheel, staring at the approaching passage now eight meters wide.

Just as she reached the passage, she jerked forward, slamming her chest into the steering wheel as Umbra stilled. After recovering, she shifted the ship into reverse, pulling it off the sandy bottom before aiming toward the left side of the passageway, hoping for deeper water.

The right side of the hull brushed against the sand, tilting the ship, but continued to trudge forward, squeezing through the passage. The ship rocked before righting itself in the much deeper water beyond the bay.

She throttled the engine back a hundred meters from the passageway before turning back to look. Her wide eyes watched the passageway disappear, turning the bay into a lake. She collapsed back into the captain’s chair, exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

After several minutes, she opened her amethyst eyes to find it night once again. Curious about the rest of town, she turned southward toward what was once the main harbor. She flipped on the lights, lighting up her path through the dark waters while staring out the window toward shore, finding nothing but forest.

Fifteen minutes later, she entered the flooded area. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the mayor’s mansion, still surrounded by water but unchanged from her previous visit. She scanned the various ships now floating or capsized at random within the bay that was once the west side of town. Debris and trash lined the new shore a hundred meters past the mayor’s mansion, but beyond that, like everything else, was a dense forest. I wonder if any of the zombies survived. Somehow I doubt some terraforming would kill them off.

Charge 15.

Her eyes drooped for a second as she slumped in the captain’s chair. I should probably get some sleep. It would be stupid to explore town at night. Though with the trees, the zombies may roam during the day like the storm. Is it even worth it? I think I’ll take the raft along shore and see if any zombies find me before I try to land.

Elysia eyed the ship graveyard. I wonder why nature didn’t claim these ships. Maybe it’s because they aren’t in contact with land. If the terraforming destroyed everything on land, I guess I’ll have to hope these ships have supplies I can pilfer. The system doesn’t like me stealing non-essential new stuff, but if claiming this ship was any indication, I shouldn’t have any issues raiding these ships.

She eyed the fallen pack of chocolate caramels on the hardwood floor, but shook her head as she stood up. With a wobbly stride, she hobbled to the couch, collapsing face first out cold within a second.

The next morning sun shined through the windows, bathing the control room in light. Unlike the previous morning, Elysia awakened without struggle, eager to explore. She stretched, toes pointed, arms above her head while yawning.

Elysia sat up, combing her fingers through her greasy long white hair, causing a frown. She wandered to the bathroom, stripping naked before turning on the shower, crossing her fingers the water heater worked. To her relief, a couple of seconds later, the water warmed, prompting her to step under the spray. Without soap, all she could do was spray her body while running her hands along her deathly pale skin.

After spending ten minutes in the shower, she stepped out, staring down at her pile of clothes with a scrunched nose. Crap, why didn’t I grab more clothes? I don’t want to explore naked. What if people return to find a crazy naked girl? Sometimes I envy guys. All they need to wear is shorts.

While cringing, she slipped the underwear, tank top, and sweatpants back on, skin crawling from the sweaty clothes.

Enthusiasm dampened, she wandered out the back door toward the raft while scanning the former west side of town and now ship graveyard. She pushed the raft into the murky water before clipping on the motor. After giving the gas tank a shake, finding it a quarter full, she dropped onto the bench, yanking the pull cord, firing it up in one pull.

Elysia coasted toward the mayor’s mansion while monitoring the murky water to avoid any obstacles. She passed a listing fifteen meter long commercial fishing boat before abruptly swerving as she spotted a mast poking through the water. As she circled, she stared down at the sunken sailboat, barely visible under the dark water. So far, nothing worth pillaging, though there are several nice boats past the mayor’s mansion. I’m surprised Umbra survived as well as it did seeing these boats. Though it would probably have shared the same fate as the fishing boat.

She continued on, eyeing a capsized fishing boat before reaching the mayor’s mansion. After circling the mansion scanning, she found several smaller fishing boats pushed up against the building near where Umbra was, but finding nothing of interest, she moved on.

Finally, she reached several larger intact ships floating in a clump between shore and the mansion. She tied her raft to the back of a luxury fishing boat before climbing on board. Unlike her ship, aside from the filthy water, the wood plank deck of a lighter shade than her yacht was clear. Her waterproof cycling boots sloshed through several centimeters of water as she approached the cabin. Inside, she found a simple vinyl couch on each side of the cabin with two swivel chairs aimed out the front window.

After a quick scan, she found the ignition but no key, so she moved on to the white sailboat, only to stop before jumping. Why are these ships stuck together? She peered over the railing to find her high school beaching the ships. Well, I guess school is out. Good thing I parked further out. It would be horrible to beach myself after all the work I put into my yacht. Her eyes widened as a horrifying thought formed. She spun to the west, staring past the mansion at her yacht. She breathed a sigh of relief to find it floating in the calm waters. I really hope Umbra doesn’t beach herself. I forgot to anchor her. Should I spin back and drop anchor? She was fine overnight, so I think I should be okay. The water is unusually calm today. If she floats out to sea, I should be able to chase her down with my raft or worse case, one of the fishing boats should be operational. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.

She took another glance at Umbra before vaulting over the railing onto the sailboat. Again she sloshed through the water on the deck into the cabin, but though the size of her yacht, the cabin lacked any furnishing beyond a basic kitchen, bathroom, and a combo living room bedroom. I wonder if the sail works on my yacht. I never climbed on top of the roof either. I think there is another deck up there, maybe to control the retracted sail. I have no idea how to use a sailboat so if the electric control failed, they are junk.

Finding nothing of interest, Elysia moved on to the last boat, an ocean cruiser several meters longer than her yacht. However, to her dismay, the moment she stepped onto the deck, she saw a tree crushing the cabin, ruining any salvaging efforts.

With a sigh, she hopped back to the first boat before returning to her raft. I’m really lucky Umbra presented herself to me. Only a dozen ships out of over a hundred survived intact, and of those, I could maybe save a few smaller fishing boats.

Elysia motored toward shore, swerving around submerged trees. She frowned at a moss covered yacht beached on the shore as she coasted by revving the motor every few seconds to make as much noise as possible.

After several minutes of following the shoreline, she shut off the engine, listening for any activity on shore, but found it silent. Afraid to hit her prop on debris, she rowed to shore, pulling her raft up on a moss covered road. She tied it to a small pine tree before pushing her way through the dense forest.

Branches whipped her body as she struggled her way through, reaching a clearing a few minutes later. She scanned her surroundings in bewilderment, finding herself in a nature covered intersection a block away from Emerson. Freaky, I was just here yesterday. It’s like decades passed in a day.

She cupped her face as she pressed it to the discolored window of a gas station but couldn’t see inside. While keeping an eye out for shambling creatures, she circled around, pushing through some tall grass to reach the door. She yanked the door open and stuck her head inside, shocked to find the interior pristine. Weird, the terraforming skipped the inside. Maybe I’ll be able to resupply after all. Though I doubt many buildings survived as intact as this one. Just in case I should probably grab a few things. If only I brought my backpack. Actually, I think I’ll save looting for on my way back.

Elysia closed the door, returning to the center of the clearing. Her eyes landed on a restaurant on the opposite side of the former intersection, but unlike the gas station, the restaurant had several trees growing through it, prompting her to move on. I wish I had a machete or something. It will be a pain to travel far through this forest. If my guess is correct, if I walk past the gas station, I should reach Emerson and a bunch of stores. At the very least, I need to find some more clothes. I wonder if the shop I went to yesterday survived.

She pushed through the pine branches while shielding her face with her arms. Out of nowhere, the ground disappeared out from under her feet, sending her crashing several meters down onto concrete.

Stars danced in her vision as throbbing pain radiated through her legs and butt. She laid in a daze sprawled out on the moss covered concrete for a minute before forcing herself upright. Her back protested, but she succeeded in sitting up, resting her back against the side of the hole. Seriously? A pool? The least they could have done is left water in it.

Elysia massaged her legs as she took stock of her body. After finding nothing broken, just sore, she rested her hand on the side of the pool as she struggled to her feet. She limped around a tree that sprouted through the pool, likely the cause of its lack of water. Under thick vines, she found the ladder, allowing her to climb out of the pit. Now extra careful of her surroundings, she pushed on, legs protesting the abuse.

Several minutes later, another clearing presented itself but before she could celebrate, text formed in her vision sending a chill down her spine.

You have entered The Forsaken Town! As the first participant, you shall receive 50% XP boost.