Chapter 36: The Amazing Bella

Early the following morning, when the sun had just risen above the horizon in the east, a black Ford Transit van followed after a Honda pickup truck as they exited the gates of Gin's Hot Springs Resort in Paradise, Montana.

The vehicles quickly rounded a corner before joining the Montana Highway 135 leading to the city of Missoula. They accelerated fast and hit a speed of about 50 miles per hour before disappearing in the distance.

Odin was seated in the driving seat of the van behind, steering it forward with expert ease. He was in his full combat gear, including all-weather hiking pants, water-proof boots, a leather jacket, gloves, and a hat. And on either side of his belt were holsters bearing his Desert Eagle 50 AE Magnum and a Kel-Tech semi-automatic handgun. He was obviously ready to deal with any dangers that might appear on their way to Missoula.

Beside him, in the van's passenger seat, sat his two sisters, Bella and Carol, watching the scenery flashing by outside the window. They were also in full combat gear that Odin had bought them a few days ago. But that couldn't chase away the worried expressions outlining their faces.

Odin hadn't hidden the incidents of the previous night from the girls. He had even told them about the threat posed by the mysterious organization behind the assailants he had slain. His intent was to force their young minds to mature. He wanted them to adapt quickly and be ready to handle all the unexpected situations that might emerge after the descent of the apocalypse.

"Bella!" Odin said, breaking the silence in the van. "Please, put on your face mask. We don't want you catching something dangerous that might be floating around in the air."

"Okay," Bella agreed readily and donned her face mask. She had become quite humble after experiencing the previous day's hardships. She was quieter, and she hadn't thrown any tantrums that morning.

"There is something I wanted to ask," Carol, the older sister, suddenly said. "Since we're leaving the resort, what will happen to mum? Isn't she still somewhere near the resort?"

"You got that wrong," Odin said, guiding the van around a sharp corner. "The strong entity that helped save mom can easily find us even after we move to another place. We only need to stay alive, and she will return to us at one point. I promise you that."

"That's a relief," Carol said, a relieved smile outlining her face for the first time that morning. She seemed like she had just unloaded a heavy burden off her shoulders.

Odin smiled, turning his attention back to the road ahead. He had decided not to tell his sisters about the mysterious orb and the golden book to avoid attracting danger to them. Odin didn't wish for apocalypse oddities, like the Dark One and his goons, to turn their attention on his sisters — simply because they knew some information about the golden book entity. That was why he was always insisting that a powerful entity had saved Aunt Lucy.

Silence soon returned to the van's interior as they continued driving towards Missoula. Their journey was dull for almost an hour, and they surprisingly didn't chance upon any survivors along the road. They only met a few weak zombies blocking the way. But even without needing Odin to act, Christian knocked them off the road with the pickup truck he was driving to clear the way. They then continued their journey.

Everything seemed to be going well until they reached the section of the highway near the Flathead River, where they were forced to halt their journey. Their luck wasn't the best, and they chanced upon a rangale of about a dozen white-tailed deer standing in the middle of the road. The animals weren't grazing or doing something normal deer should do — but stood motionless like statues, basking under the early morning sun.

But all that didn't surprise Odin as he stepped on the brakes to slow down the moving van. Instead, what caused his heart to flutter were the glowing tiny blue specks dancing around the animals. Like the most beautiful of fireflies, they floated around the place and sometimes disappeared into the bodies of the white-tailed deer.

"Oh my God!" Bella exclaimed after witnessing the picturesque sight through the windshield. Her eyes glowed, full of excitement, and she said, "Those are really beautiful. Can I go and touch them?"

"No, stay in the car," Odin readily refused as his foot applied more force on the brake pedal to halt the van beside Iris and Christian's pickup truck. "Many animals have mutated after the descent of the apocalypse. Even the originally harmless animals, like the white-tailed deer ahead, may have already turned ferocious. You have to remain wary of them. Do you understand, Bella?"

The young girl seemed disappointed, but that didn't stop her from nodding and saying, "I understand."

"Good," Odin said. Smiling confidently, he picked up his machete from behind the driver's seat. "I'll go help Christian and Iris to chase those deer away from the road. Please, don't open the doors or step out of the vehicle until I return."

The sisters nodded in response.

Odin smiled at them before stepping out of the van and locking the doors. He then joined Iris and Christian, the two guards already standing in the middle of the road — just a short distance from their pickup truck.

"We should work fast to chase them away from the road," he said as the three of them watched the deer group from a good distance. "We can't wait for them to move away themselves. That'll waste a lot of our time."

"Indeed, that's the only way forward," Iris agreed. "But if there are mutated deer in the group, they will retaliate when we attack them. That could prove to be dangerous for us."

"Don't worry," Odin said. "There's only one that is mutated. If it retaliates, I'll handle it."

"How do you know that there's only one mutated deer in the group?" Iris asked, her tone skeptical. "How can you even tell them apart when they all look the same?"

"I have my ways," Odin replied, smiling mysteriously. Of course, the Origin Order had already alerted him about the presence of a Pseudo-Type-I mutated deer within the surroundings. Fortunately, it was the only one in the rangale of twelve.

"Fellas!" Christian said abruptly. "Don't you think we've forgotten something? What's up with those luminous blue firefly thingies floating around the group of deer? Could they be harmful?"

"I don't know what they are," Odin replied. "But I don't think they are harmful. Otherwise, the deer group would have already run away from this place."

"That's true, indeed," Iris said, smiling. "Look at the deer. They even seem to be absorbing them. Those blue specks should be very enticing to them."

"Exactly," Odin agreed. "Guys! Stay here and ensure that none of the deer charge towards our vehicles. I'll go over and try to scare them away. If I fail, I'll kill them all."

Whoosh!

Without waiting for a response, he started jogging toward the group of deer. His actions immediately alerted the formerly docile creatures, and they tilted their heads to glance his way with eyes that seemed full of hostility. As he continued moving towards them, they started stomping their front hooves on the tarmac as if they wanted to charge at him.

But all the actions of the deer didn't induce even the slightest bit of fear within Odin. While working as a research assistant in Yellowstone, he had learned from the rangers that decades of merciless hunting by humans had already ingrained true terror among most deer populations at the genetic level. As long as the animals caught the scent of a creature called the Homo sapien, they would most likely choose to run instead of fighting. And even if they had evolved and toughened up after the descent of the apocalypse, they would most likely find it hard to beat a strong human in a fight due to their inherent docile nature. As a result, Odin didn't even fear the Pseudo-type-I deer hidden within the group.

"Odin! Please don't kill them! Don't kill them!"

Suddenly, a sharp and piercing scream made its way into Odin's ears just as he was about ten yards from the deer. He halted his charge with meta-human reflexes before easing back slowly from the animal group. He quickly rejoined Christian and Iris before turning his scorching gaze toward the young girl that had just screamed.

"Bella!" He intoned, his eyes narrowing. "What are you doing out of the van? Didn't I tell you to stay inside? What if the animals had attacked?" His voice was sharp since he wanted the young girl to understand that her actions were reckless.

"I just..." Bella tried to respond but stopped mid-sentence after noticing Odin's sharp gaze. Instead, her eyes moistened, and she glanced at the ground.

"And you, Carol!" Odin continued, turning towards the older sister. "You should already be aware of how dangerous the world is. Why did you let her out, and why are you also out of the van, yourself?"

"Odin, just give us a moment to explain," Carol replied, stammering slightly. "Bella says that she can communicate with those white-tailed deer. She can convince them to move away from the road. So, you don't have to attack them."

"What?" Odin's eyes widened. "She can communicate with the animals?"

"That's what she claims," Carol replied, shrugging.

Odin turned towards the then sobbing Bella, his gaze questioning. "Bella! Is it true that you can communicate with those white-tailed deer?"

Bella nodded in response.

"Is this for real?" Iris couldn't help but exclaim. Even Christian was looking at Bella with incredulity.

Odin ignored the docile deer still absorbing the blue specks in the road and walked towards Bella. He patted her back amiably to soothe her emotions before asking in a softer voice, "Bella! Are you sure that you can get through to them? Can you really communicate with them?"

"Yes, I'm sure I can reach out to them," Bella chose to speak that time around. She had gained a bit of calm after Odin softened his tone.

"How are you able to accomplish that?" Odin asked again. "How are you able to talk to them? Can you tell me?"

Bella nodded, her face lighting up. "I can somehow grasp what they are thinking and feeling. And I can also use my mind to form a mysterious connection with them. I feel that if I push harder with my mind, I can convince them to move away from the road. Just give me a moment. I'll show you."

Before Odin could respond, Bella closed her eyes. She creased her brows as if to concentrate before raising her arm to point at the group of deer.

A few seconds passed, and suddenly something incredible happened. The white-tailed deer that had been rooted in the middle of the road started moving. They were like a group of docile sheep under the guidance of a skilled shepherd as they trotted away in an orderly manner. Surprisingly, they seemed to have forgotten about the enticing blue specks flying about in the middle of the road. They left and disappeared in the distance without showing aggression.

"This..." Odin was at a loss for words while glancing at the young girl. His heart started racing with anticipation as he considered the possibility of Bella having awakened an incredible meta-power.