The trip home the previous day had earned me enough points to put me over my next threshold, but I'd waited to pick my new ability. I was fairly certain of what ability I wanted, but I didn’t want to waste my opportunity to browse the available options. The Dragons’ predilection for Biological Augments made me want to look at that category of abilities more carefully, and I wanted to do that with my mind fresh and sharp. There’d been too much to deal with the night before, so I'd put it off until this morning.

I'd have time. I’d spoken with the Turners. We’d agreed that while we might go out for a few hours in the cool of the evening, but we would stay home this morning. My kids needed to see me, and we all needed a break. We needed to keep gathering points, but pushing forward too hard would just lead us to mistakes.

I was anxious about Dragon attacks as well, and in no rush to head out to the outskirts of our territory. Here, by the Shop, we were ringed by friendly fighters, and a morning Announcement had let everyone know to watch out for scale-skinned strangers.

Keeping Priya safe, as well as the other two neighbors who’d taken Armored Skin, was more difficult. Anju’s idea of a uniform was good, but if we spread word of one via Announcement, there was no guarantee that only friendlies would hear. Our workaround was far from perfect: the colonel had contacted people in our community with Biological Augments via Mental Speech, and warned them not to go out alone. Furthermore, he’d suggested each wear black-and-white stripes. That was the “uniform” we’d decided on, a tacit nod to our status as unwilling prisoners of this alien game. Bright orange might have been more accurate to the present-day, but that wasn't a color we could guarantee people would have access to. Almost everyone had access to white shirts or white cloth, and there were many ways to create black stripes. We’d posted a sign about the uniform inside the Shop, asking people to spread information by word-of-mouth.

It wouldn’t stop the Dragons from mimicking the uniform if they wanted to - nothing would - but it might at least make their first incursion more obvious.

As we ate breakfast, I perused the Interface for potential Biological Augments, with my kids and the Turners suggesting possibilities. Nearly everything I sought out, I found. The breadth of choices available was daunting. Even eyesight alone could be modified in a plethora of different ways beyond simple enhancement. There were augments that enabled people to see in infrared or ultraviolet, or even into further reaches of the electromagnetic spectrum. X-ray vision didn’t come paired with the ability to emit X-rays, but the ability to do that did, unsettlingly, also exist. (Even if Cure Disease could eliminate cancer, blithely shooting X-rays around seemed reckless to me.) Microscopic vision was available, as was 360-degree vision. Life Sense might not have put literal eyes in the back of my head, but literal eyes were definitely an option. Eyes could be augmented to be more capable in low- or high-light situations, to differentiate among more shades of color, to focus better on moving targets, to see more clearly underwater, and more.

And that was just the eyes. The options for the rest of the body seemed equally extensive.

I had a hard time believing all the Biological Augments could be taken by one person. I’d seen how awkward it looked on the Dragons who’d chosen both spines and armored skin, and I didn't see how you could layer other skin augments on top of those and keep effectiveness for the ones already chosen.

I’d had plenty of time to consider my own choice, and although it was still labeled “insufficient support” in my interface, I felt confident. Even though Anju still couldn’t soar through the air like a fairy, she’d been able to get some use out of Flight immediately, and I expected the same would be true for me and Paralyze.

Paralysis was, after all, a freakishly powerful ability. Immobilizing an enemy was 90% of the way to killing them. Even if I could just paralyze one part of an opponent’s body, or paralyze their whole body for an instant, that would be a huge boon. Either would make dealing with Bladetails far more doable for me; I currently had to rely on others if I faced the sightless flying foes. It would shore up a weakness, allowing me to close range with distant enemies, and still prove useful in close combat and in protecting my kids. It was a bit of a gamble, but even in the absolute worst case, where I couldn’t use it at all, the synergy with my existing abilities should be excellent, particularly with Draw Attention.

You have selected:

Paralyze: temporarily halt target’s motion. Confirm choice?

“Confirm!” I said, and checked my interface.

Meghan Moretti

Novelty: 28 (144)

Abilities:

Draw Attention (300%)

Assisted Strike (266.7*%)

Life Sense (250%)

Parry (216.7*%)

Paralyze (291.6*%)

Points: 2304

Money: 42

As I’d expected, the synergy with Assisted Strike had been high, and it had enough in common with my other abilities to give me at least minor boosts, lowest for Parry and Life Sense. Both Draw Attention and Parry had passed another hundred-percent mark and would likely have gained some new effects, and Paralyze was near 300% already.

George generously agreed to play test dummy for me. The results were a little disappointing, but within the range of my expectations. I could Paralyze his whole body for less than a second, but I could also focus my ability to one part of his body. The smaller that part was, the longer the Paralysis lasted. I could freeze a leg for over two full seconds. Not bad.

Draw Attention was more unexpected. I got ready to use it on him and realized I had the option to target a single person or everyone within sight range. I was curious how long it would last when used that way, but I didn’t want to test it on the kids, and I didn’t want to test my upgraded Parry on anyone I cared for. I’d already injured-

Killed.

I took a deep breath. I’d test Parry on the monsters when I had a chance.

That would have to wait, though. Even at this early hour, petitioners had lined up outside our door, and Tamara popped her head in to ask for a hand in dealing with them.

“Not it!” called Priya, waving a scaled hand.

“I could, I guess…” I said reluctantly.

“No! Mom, you need to come watch me! I can move the things in the basket! I can really do it!” Gavin grabbed my hand and started tugging me toward the stairs.

I grinned at George and snapped the fingers of my other hand in mock-regret. “Oh dear. Responsibility calls. I’m afraid I’ll have to leave the fun to you.”

He shook a fist at me. “Curse you and your perfidious allies!”

“Mwahahaha! Onward, Gavin! We must flee!”

He giggled, as he was meant to, and dragged me downstairs to the last unused room in the house, his former bedroom. The unbarricaded windows had been intact until yesterday, but a Bladetail had smashed one late last night. I hadn’t been quite asleep yet, fortunately, and I’d blearily come downstairs to find Colonel Zwerinski literally wrestling it to death. Quite successfully, too. He took a few cuts that we roused Priya to heal, but they weren’t terribly deep. I could have lived without knowing he slept in his boxers, but I was somehow disappointed that they were sensible plaid print. Perhaps it was my tiredness talking, but didn’t people caught out in their intimate apparel have some kind of obligation to be wearing something silly or embarrassing? Hearts, perhaps, or rubber duck print, or maybe a giant smiley face? Alas, no such luck.

It was noteworthy that the Bladetail had lived long enough to attack, even so close to the Shop. We weren’t using our resources optimally, if we were letting monsters live through the darkness. Could we go out at night safely? I frowned as I got a broom and swept up the shards of glass. I’d bring it up with the others.

“Are you ready, Mom? Can I start?”

“Yep!” I said.

Gavin, excited, lashed his tail toward the basket. I thought, for a moment, that he’d fail before he’d even truly begun, but he checked his whiplike movement at the last moment. He glanced over his shoulder to where I stood watching, clearly wondering if I’d caught the near-disaster.

“Careful, buddy.”

He grinned at me, his vaguely apologetic get-out-of-trouble smile, then turned back.

I moved to the side, so I could see his face as well as the tail, and saw his intense look of focus as he carefully transferred each delicate item.

It took him several minutes to move them all, and I was impressed that he didn’t let his concentration slip. The last plastic Easter egg dropped into the second laundry basket and he looked up at me, near-desperate hope on his face.

I gave two thumbs up. “Awesome work! You must have really practiced that.”

“I don’t have to put on my butt bag?”

“Absolutely.”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Gavin accompanied his shouts of relief with dancelike thrusts of his legs and arms.

I grinned. “I still need you to be careful though - if you hurt someone, you might have to put it back on.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “I know! I will not hurt anybody.”

I have him a quick hug, which he returned before pelting out of the room with another yell of glee.

I was proud of him; this level of self-motivation was a real maturity milestone. He’d practiced things before and gotten quite good at them, but previously, Vince and I had been the once to enforce the practice, and it had frequently turned into a power struggle. It would have been easy for this to go the same route, for him to channel all his frustration about wearing the bag into anger against me and simply start acting out, but he hadn’t. He’d worked hard until he could get what he wanted. He was really growing up.

A loud crash interrupted my thoughts. I barely had time to gasp in shock before Gavin’s voice followed it. “I’m okay!”

Damnit, kid. I was glad it wasn’t an emergency, but did you have to make a mess right now? I trudged out of the room, in no hurry to see what fresh issue awaited me.

The turned heads of the crowd in the kitchen made it clear what direction I should go, and moments later I heard Alexandra’s dramatic voice upbraiding my son.

“Young man! You should have known better! Such a mess. Also - are you not meant to have that tail tucked away?”

“No!”

“Don’t lie to me!”

It was an effort not to clench my jaw. “Thank you, Alexandra, but I will handle my own son’s discipline. And yes, he was telling you the truth. I don’t appreciate you calling him a liar.”

Alexandra huffed at me, offended. “It is just after sunrise and he is destroying the house right outside our door. I will keep my mouth shut, but you should control your own children.”

How did she manage to be so unrelentingly obnoxious? It was a talent, really. She was wearing a nightgown and her hair was a mess. Gavin had likely woken her up. I tried to tell myself that it would be easy to lash out when you'd been awakened so abruptly, but that bitch had lashed out at my son and-

I didn't think I could manage true generosity, here. Instead, I ignored her, turning to pick the ceiling fan up off of Gavin.

“Thanks, Mom!” He grinned at me as he crawled out. Shards of glass now littered the rug, remnants of the lights that had hung off the bottom of the fan.

“What were you thinking?” My voice didn’t come off as angry so much as despairing.

“Well, I have a monkey tail and I can use it now! I wanted to do monkey things, like swing around.” Gavin paused for a moment, looking guilty. “I didn’t know it would fall when I grabbed it.”

As much of a mess as this was, it was hard to be mad at him. Not just because he was damn cute, but also because there was really no reason why a six-year-old should understand that a ceiling fan probably couldn’t bear his weight. It was part of the house; why wouldn’t it? The answer was obvious to an adult, but not so much to a kid.

“What am I going to do with you?” I muttered.

I’d been talking to myself, but Alexandra apparently took it as a request to share her vast wisdom. “Take him to the playground if he wants to be a monkey!”

“Just… take him to the playground. Through all the monsters. To play.”

Alexandra waved a hand at me carelessly. “All what monsters? People will be clearing them out as fast as they spawn. Sofia! Come here and help me carry this rug outside. It is covered in broken glass. We need to dump it.”

I pushed down my irritation at the way she was taking command of the situation. This was my house, but she was living here now too. Besides, I didn’t really want to clean up broken glass. I should be grateful she was handling it.

George was peering in from the kitchen, where he’d been helping Tamara with logistics. “I think that’s a good idea. You two should take all the kids. Get them out of the house, get some fresh air. It's really early. We've got a few hours before it gets hot.”

“Really?” I asked. “Even with the bladetails? They’ll go for the tagons, you know.”

He shrugged. “You kept us safe yesterday, and you’ll have both Priya and Gavin with you.”

“Yeaaaah! The playground. Samar, we’re going to the playground!”

Gavin rushed off upstairs, away from the site of his crime.

“I didn’t say yes yet!” I called.

He didn’t respond, already out of earshot. Or pretending to be.

George was giving me a funny look. “This isn’t that risky, Meghan. It’s safer than a lot of the things we did last week. Are you that worried about the Dragons? They didn’t seem interested in a fight, really.”

“Yes! No. Maybe. I’m not sure.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Are you really saying you think it’s a good idea to take the kids out amongst the monsters and murderers to play?”

George winced, but didn’t back down. “Do you think staying here, in the house next to the Shop, is safer for them? If anyone decides to make trouble, this is where it will start. I’ve been thinking of suggesting we move.”

I hadn’t even considered that. “You think we should leave the house?”

He shook his head. “No. I mean, I thought about it, but if we can get through the next few days, we’ll get some walls up and this will be the safest place for miles. Staying is worth the risk, but until then, I'm happy for the kids to spend more time elsewhere. It’ll be good for them, too. We can’t keep them cooped up inside forever.”

I clenched my fists, but nodded reluctantly. We were fortunate - probably the luckiest two families in the city - but I still didn’t know the best way to keep my kids safe.