All of the adults stood up from the table. Davian grabbed his bowl of soup and downed it in one gulp then grabbed a leg of food from the table and left. Endrian’s mom and the other mothers did the same as Davian while Vanya started giving out instructions to everyone not moving already.

“Children I want each of you to down your soup and grab some food. Do this as quickly as possible.” She said this and then did the same, downing her soup and grabbing some of the meat off the table. Endrian drank his soup as quick as he could not asking any questions. His sisters did not pick up on the severity of the situation and were asking what was going on. “Everyone needs to calm down and do as their told, we do not have time for questions. You will at the least down your soup.” Her tone was strong and carried a very authoritative tone which brooked no back talking.

The girls were subdued and a little resentful but they did as they were told. The bell was still going off in the distance adding a harsh counterpoint to the sudden quiet at the dinner table. As the girls were finishing off their soup Vanya continued “Elva go and grab the things that you have packed and grab your sisters as well. Everyone else go grab your things and meet back here as quickly as possible. There is no time to waste. Ethese wait here for a minute, I need to talk to you.”

Endrian had finished before his sisters and grabbed some food. Then he hurried to his room to grab his pack and his weapons. Fortunately there wasn’t a lot to pack. Two pairs of shorts, one pair of pants, two shirts, and his bedroll. This had already been put in a bundle that could easily be slung over his shoulder. The small bags straps were resting on his upper body from left shoulder to right hip with the bedroll lashed to the bag resting at the small of his back. He then ran to the inner court yard and grabbed his two training swords. They weren’t much but it was better than nothing. He placed them in their scabbards and attached them to his waist with the belt the scabbards hung on. Once that was done he grabbed his spear and shield that he practiced with when his father was training him. Once done he ran back to the dining room.

By the time he arrived back at the dining room the adults were back and they also had their weapons. Though their weapons were not the ones that he often saw in training. Each of them had a large bag that they were carrying as well. Looking over he noticed that Ethese was out cold on the table. Vanya and his sisters were still missing but everyone else was limbering up, checking straps. They were wearing some steel armor over vital areas like the chest and the groin. In the rush and hurry his mind was working in a need to know processing style. In other words if it didn’t cause him impact then most of the details were relegated as lower priority. That was why he didn’t notice that everyone was in their fighting form. At least not until his mom came over and started talking to him.

“Ender you need to be in your fighting form. The bell that’s ringing means that there is a greater danger than the guards can deal with. Everyone is being called to arm themselves and defend or flee. We have some time since we have the village shield but this won’t hold them off forever.” She said to him watching his eyes to see how he took the news.

There was not much reaction from Endrian to the news other than him asking “Do we know how much time we have?”

“Not yet. Shyael just left to see if she could get some news. She is the fastest of us so she should be back in just a few minutes. Vanya will be here as soon as she is done getting geared up to explain everything to you children. Listen to her closely and make sure you do what you are told.” She said very seriously.

Before Endrian had a chance to ask any more questions Vanya and the other girls arrived. Vanya was in her fighting form as well she was also decked out with half plate armor. The armor protected the tops of her arms the front of her chest and the front of her legs. She was carrying a shield that was big enough to cover her from her thighs to her neck. In her other hand she had a bearded battle axe that had what looked like a hammerhead opposite the blade for counterbalance and he guessed to hammer an opponent when the blade wouldn’t get through.

She looked around at the group of people that had gathered and started talking. While she was talking Ratrece went over to her and checked her straps to make sure everything was tight and combat ready. “The bell that is going off in the distance is a general call to arms for all individuals in the village. It is also a warning that we may need to abandon the village as well. Shyael went to find out what the status is. If they think that we can weather the attack then Davian and the children will stay here while the rest of us go and fight. If not then we will head to the flying ship as quickly as possible.”

Everyone sat down at the table and ate some food and drank some water. Well the parents did. All of the children and even Endrian were too keyed up to eat properly now. Good thing they got some down earlier before getting worked up. Unfortunately waiting for the unknown tends to make people nervous. If someone looked closely they would see some of the girls were looking a little nauseous. To distract themselves Elva asked what happened to Ethese. To which Vanya said “We were planning on taking the ship in the morning and traveling to Ampleforth. As you know Ethese hasn’t gone through her awakening so we drugged her food. She should be asleep for the next two days.”

It didn’t take long for Shyael to return and she came back in a rush completely out of breath. It had only been about a minute or two but waiting like that is never easy. She took a second to catch her breath and then said “We need to leave immediately. It seems like every beast in the forest is running from something. They even spotted a tier 5 beast out there. Fortunately it ran by our village but there are thousands upon thousands of beasts out there. Many of them are attacking the shields and it will only last a short while before breaking. At which point anyone not in a secure location or on a ship out of here will probably not survive.”

Finishing her grave statement everyone was shocked. Then Endrian started to smell a really foul stench. No, no one crapped their pants. Rather it was the smell that a terrified animal would give off. His enhanced sense of smell had him gaging almost instantly. Rushing out of the room holding his nose. He was quickly followed by everyone else in the room. Allyce was carrying Ethese in a princess carry. Vanya said to the girls “Go and grab your training gear in case we have to fight.” She left unsaid that it would be wasteful to leave it and if the children really had to fight then the problems were much worse than any of them expected.

Once the girls had grabbed their gear she said “Alright, standard formation. Elva I will need to you to carry your sister so that your mothers can all have free hands. Davian you take rear guard and watch over the children.” After saying this all the women moved. Elva took Ethese from Endrian’s mom and walked towards the rear of the children. Vanya took point with Allyce and Ratrece flanking either side. Shyael was in the pocket between the other women. She had a recurve bow and two quivers on her hip. One arrow was loosely nocked on the string. Once they were in formation they started to move from the inner courtyard through the house and then outside.

After exiting the house it was easy to see that others were moving in well formed groups. Everyone that they met that was moving was in their fighting form. Many were carrying children with them that were under age and Endrian assumed they hadn’t gone through their awakening. ‘So complicated to have to knock all of these children out. There should be a way to handle this without such drastic measures needing to be taken.’ He could see some of the groups with older children carrying unconscious younger kids. Everyone was moving in a surprisingly calm manner. There was none of the panic that you would see from his old world. They all moved in different formation based on the number of fighters and children to protect. They came across four other groups just coming out of their houses. Endrian could only assume they had some protocol that must be followed to allow for information to be passed as quickly as possible.

Endrian’s family was moving at a quick and determined pace with weapons held ready and heads on a swivel. While there were no threats that Endrian could discern he wasn’t one to complain about being cautious during a crisis. In his opinion more people hurt themselves and others by rushing and ignoring everything around them in their hurry to save their own lives. Where if they had just taken a few seconds more to pay careful attention to the terrain or their surroundings they would have survived. While the adults were moving at a deliberate and quick walking pace, due to their shorter legs, the children had to jog to keep up.

Endrian glanced back to see how Elva was doing. He could see that she was struggling to carry her sister by now. Endrian couldn’t tell how long it had been but holding a dead weight while moving even something that weighs 1 kilo or less when held out at arm’s length would become impossible to hold after a short period of time. So he fell back to Elva and then looked at Davian and said “We need to stop so Elva can get a better grasp on her sister or so she can swap out with someone else.”

Davian looked at Endrian and then looked at Elva before calling out for a temporary halt. Endrian looked at Elva and asked if she wanted to let him carry their sister for a little bit so that she could recover. When she nodded he went to take Ethese in a fireman’s carry however his wings got in the way in a most uncomfortable manner. So he shifted back to his human form since there wasn’t any danger present at the moment and put Ethese on his shoulders. After adjusting Ethese’s weight to sit comfortably on his shoulders he signaled that he was ready to move again. Bare chested and with a shield strapped to his arm his spear held in the hand that his shield was strapped to. Endrian’s mother was going to protest but decided to hold her tongue for now as speed was of the essence.

They started moving again they only had a few more blocks to go before they would be in sight of the ship. At this point they could see a number of other families streaming in quiet and combat ready formations towards the ship. As they rounded the final corner of housing that was blocking their view of the ship Endrian could finally see a huge ship floating in the air above an open area which was used as the town square. On the aft of the ship was a huge sail like fin that looked similar to a tuna fishes tail. On the rear quarter side there was a horizontal flap that looked kind of looked like some type of tree leaf which had a waxy appearance. On the side that Endrian could see there was one of these leaves that was in a half circle shape. He assumed there would be a matching one on the other side to control the pitch and roll of the ship. There was no masts for sails on the deck. As he looked over the ship he could see on the upper deck many people manning the railings. All of these people were wearing some form of armor and were carrying different types of bows. There were rope ladders hanging down from four different locations as people streamed up them.

By Endrian’s estimation it had only been about two or three minutes since they left their home. Fortunately the village shield was still holding. The others were moving quickly and efficiently up the ladders. Watching them as his family waited for their turn he could see all kinds of different beast subspecies present in the people like monkeys, panthers, wolves and racoons. He even saw something that looked suspiciously like a lemur. Interestingly unlike his family where everyone appeared to be the same subspecies the other families were mixed. Some wolves were with panther or raccoons. He saw what looked like a bear and turtle as well. They were all jumbled together but moved in groups much like his family. Making a mental note to ask about it later since it was just about time for them to start up the ladder to board the ship.

“Davian take Ethese and go up first. The rest of the children should follow. I and the others will come up last.” Vanya explained the order to make sure the non-combatants were safe and secured first. Davian came over and got Ethese from Endrian and gave him a pat on the shoulder saying “Good job.” Vanya helped tie Ethese to Davian so that he could climb with both hands. With Ethese’s arms and legs around him he was able to quickly scale up the ladder. Endrian was right behind him and he was quickly followed by the rest of his family.

Being so high up Endrian wanted to take a look and see what was going on that was causing the whole village to flee. However, since there was no mast in the middle of the ship and the railings were already piled with people and he was still too short to see over others it was impossible for him to see from where he was at. Thinking to here he decided to see if he could get to the quarter deck and get a good look from there. Before he got a chance to wander off he was quickly grabbed by Davian.

“Don’t wander off. Your mom would skin me alive if you went missing.” Davian said.

Endrian realized that the false sense of security he got from them achieving their goal, of getting to the ship, made him forget himself and give in to curiosity. Nodding his head in acknowledgment he turned and watch the rest of his family make it over the sides. He had to admit the movie Zombieland had it right. Rules of survival, rule number one: Cardio. Endrian was very thankful that he practiced so diligently every day. Without proper cardio he wouldn’t have been able to carry Ethese so far and still be able to climb a rope ladder that was more than 10 meters long.

While he was contemplating this all of his sisters had finally made it aboard and were standing closely with Endrian and his dad. Shyael came over the railing next after she arrived she glanced at them and then headed for the forecastle of the ship. Quickly throwing over her shoulder “I’m going to see if I can be of help.”

Next came Allyce. She climbed over the rails and moved towards Endrian’s group. It was at this point that everyone heard and felt a sound. They heard a deep thump. Kind of like an implosion. It felt like being really close to a firework exploding, or any type of high explosive, the shock wave knocked many adults and children off their feet. As they looked around they could see that the shield was no longer visible. Endrian got to his feet and ran over to the ladder to see what was going on down below.

Ratrece and Vanya were both still on the ladder thankfully. They had a somewhat dazed expression on their face. “You need to move!!” Endrian yelled down to them. There were others on the ladder as well. All of them started to wake up with the shout. Endrian could see panic setting in for the people still on the ground. There weren’t many left maybe 20 or 30 people total that weren’t on the ladder already. Some were quickly lashing their unconscious children to their bodies and would quickly make for the ladders. He could also see that some were not so fortunate to be able to hold on when the shield failed. As he backed away from the edge he could see out easily and what he saw was terrifying.

The village guards were running in the distance carrying some others that had passed out. Behind them was a horde of different animals. Some were just regular squirrels and birds. There were wolves and ferrets and pretty much any domestic animal you could think of. Running in these groups behind the guards were also much larger animals. In his quick glance he saw what looked like a chicken covered in flames that was at least a meter tall. He also saw a dog that looked like a mastiff except it was two meters tall at the shoulder and had what looked like granite scales all over its body There was even a spike on it’s forehead.

These animals were running through the streets and in some cases through the houses. The archers on the side that Endrian had looked out from all drew their bows and looked like they were getting ready to buy some time for the people below. Endrian had to admit that it was impressive that these people wouldn’t just flee as soon as shit got real. The women at the rail fired a volley of arrows. Unfortunately Endrian couldn’t see what effect it had on the horde of monsters and animals charging through their town.

While this was going on more and more people streamed over the sides of the ship and quickly moved to whatever portions they could find that were unoccupied.

“Everyone that is not a combatant. We need you to move down into the hold. Having this many people on deck will prevent us from properly defending.” Some woman shouted this from the forecastle. She was pointing to a person standing closer to the quarterdeck who was waving their hands and said “Move toward the person waving their hands. Please watch your step and move in an orderly fashion so that we can get as many people out of here as possible. There are crew members below that will guide you to the hold once we are safely away from here we will give further orders and see about accommodations.”

As Endrian, his sisters, and his father were moving towards the person. Endrian saw in the sky another smaller ship. That looked kind of like a long boat or skiff, swoop down and throw a ladder over the side for what he assumed was to help more people escape the disaster. Just before he took his first steps down into the hold he saw that small skiff rising up and taking off at a high rate of speed. It was filled with the city guards and the people they were carrying. After that glimpse he couldn’t see any more as he descended into the hold of the ship.

Endrian, his sisters, and his father found a spot that was out of the way and sat down. Endrian moved behind his dad to help untie Ethese. As he sat down he could feel the ship start to move. It was a subtle movement at first but it was quickly picking up speed. People were still coming down into the hold. Often an adult male sometimes with an adult female and whatever children. If there were a number of children that were underage and unconscious then the whole family would arrive and set them down before the women would head back to see if they could be of help.

One of the groups that brought down multiple sleeping children asked “Does anyone have any spare Nightshade Lotus extract to spare? We had enough for two full doses but not for three. We just need one more does if anyone has it. We would be happy to pay. As long as we can get it.” Hearing this another male made a tsking sound but pulled his backpack around and grabbed a small vial. Handing it to them he said “You know that you are supposed to have at least one dose for every child that has yet to go through an awakening.”

“We know, but one of the vials had leaked and we were unaware at the time.” She said contritely. Pulling out a gold coin she offered it to the man, but he shook his head and pushed her hand back. “Keep your money. Just make sure you do it properly from now on! Only your kids will suffer from your lack of awareness.” He was gruff in his sayings but you could see the compassion in his eyes. She took the scolding and thanked him for his consideration and generosity. To which he gave a cold “hmph” and moved back over to the children he was looking after.

Everyone was settling in. More people were coming down from the deck. Most of these were women that were carrying melee weapons. They passed on that there was no immediate danger so they were only getting in the crew’s way. Hearing this a lot of people sighed in relief and the tension level in the hold started dropping. Many of the women were quietly talking with their families. Endrian’s mothers finally came back though Shyael wasn’t there it was to be expected since she had a good bow and was primarily an archer of the group. They weren’t totally out of danger yet but the most immediate threat had passed.

The women sat down and pulled their children close to them. Offering words of encouragement and comfort. Endrian’s mom came over and scooped him up. This made him feel a little awkward and he smiled, patted her hand and said “I’m fine mom. Why don’t you go check on dad he seems to be a little left out.” Allyce smiled but instead went over to Zukoya. Her short silky purple hair was pulled back into a top knot and her baby blue eyes looking a little lost and scared. Allyce embraced her and comforted her telling her that her mother was fine. Vanya was holding Ethese in her lap with her head resting on her shoulder while Elva leaned against her mother’s other shoulder for support. Even Ratrece and her two daughters were leaning against each other.

As enjoyable as it was for them, it was only able to last just a short moment. One of the crew ran down and called for all fighters to come to the deck immediately. They also asked specifically for anyone at the core formation stage. Hearing this Davian’s expression went grim and he stood up to leave. Vanya stood up as well and looked at Elva saying “You’re in command of the kids while we are busy.”

A few moments later the ship shuddered. The sounds of yelling could be heard from above as well as a deep rumbling sound. For the next few moments the sounds of combat rang from above deck. Then a deep cracking sound rang throughout the ship. When Endrian heard that sound it was obvious to him that they were in trouble. That was because the sound came from the bottom of the ship and if there was something attacking from under the ship they were going to be screwed. Standing up he walked over and picked up Ethese and looked at the others and said “I don’t feel safe here let’s move someplace safer.” Without giving them time to argue he headed to the space under the stairs carrying Ethese on his shoulders again. He put his shield on his arm, making sure it was tight, and then attached his spear to his backpack. Tightening up his belt he took the leather straps that they had used to tie Ethese to Davian and then proceeded to tie Ethese to his body while he wedged himself under the stairs. The other girls had come over with him and got under the stairs as well. Just as they got in the ship started to list hard to the starboard side which threw them into the wall.

“Shift back to your fighting form.” Endrian said.

“I’m in charge!” Elva exclaimed.

“That’s fine, but if you want your best chance at surviving then you should change.” As he said that he shifted. When he shifted it wedged him in a little tighter which could be a good thing or bad thing. He wasn’t sure which yet but he figured being loose in the hold was just asking for something to get broken if they crashed. Then the ship leaned hard to the port side and started to tilt down. The girls were starting to freak out now and quickly shifted to their fighting forms without further argument.

“Gather as close as you can and duck your heads down. If we crash we’ll try and reduce the impact to us by making it hard to move. Make sure you protect your head as best you can.” Endrian said in an authoritative tone.

“Will that really help us?” Zukoya asked.

Endrian replied “It will definitely help.” In reality he wasn’t sure if it would help or not but based on the physics he understood as long as they weren’t flying across the hold and didn’t get ejected from the ship they stood a good chance of coming out of this relatively unscathed and protecting your head in this type of situation was always a good thing. But he figured they needed reassurance more than the truth right now.

Bracing himself as much as possible along with his sisters he shifted his shield so that it was over the heads of the others. Right at this time they could hear someone yell “Everyone hold on we are going to crash.” Then the ship tilted again. The bow raised up and body pitched to port but the downward momentum didn’t change at all. He relaxed his body as much as possible and tightly held Ethese in his arms cradling her head. That’s when the first jolt hit. It felt like they hit a tree. Then the ship started rolling. It pinned him and the girls against the hull next to the stairs. Endrian never felt the next hit because it struck like a hammer and he blacked out.