Chapter 39: Encounter

Cadonif stiffened. This was his first true interaction with a human. He had to use the knowledge of their culture in his head and make a good first impression.

“I ran here from Beil, the nearby town…” the person, Drake, was saying. He was covered in scrapes and grime.

“You traveled all the way here on foot?!” Cadonif blurted in surprise. He immediately shut up and admonished himself. Fix this. Stick to basic human greetings. “Oh, right, I should introduce myself. I’m, uh…” Cadonif tried to remember the name of the body. It didn’t come to mind. He searched for an ordinary human name to use. “…Steve…” Wait, that was too typical. It sounded suspicious.

Sure enough, Drake raised an eyebrow. “Umm… hello Steve. Like I was saying… Umm… have you seen those…things? The large animals.”

The conversation was moving on. He must have nailed the greeting.

Cadonif knew Drake was referring to the mutants. Humans were new to them, so he must have been confused. Steve feigned confusion. “Yes! Those black things attacked me while I was on the road to the city.”

He wondered why his accent sounded different from Drake’s and tried to replicate his speech.

He then explained how he’d gotten there, trying to stick to the original story as much as possible so that he wouldn’t be stuck with holes in his story later. Only afterward would he realize he hadn’t mentioned why he’d been driving on that road at two in the morning. He didn’t want to say he was from Beil in case Drake knew everyone there. He’d have to come up with a story and identity later on.

The two continued their conversation until the topic of what they’d do next was brought up. Drake’s plan was to go to a nearby city, Cyll, where he naively presumed the virus hadn’t spread. There would be a military there to fight the monsters.

So that’s where everyone on that road was headed to. It was an understandable plan considering their limited knowledge.

Steve thought about it. The powerful military could last a few days, keeping them safe temporarily. In addition, there was safety in numbers. It was a safer choice than staying out in the open, and they could think of a long-term plan later.

It was a good plan for now. Steve agreed to take Drake there. He remembered where it was with reference to the farm on a PVC map. The landing point of the meteorite hadn’t been far off from its designated point.

The two started their journey on foot through the corn fields. Drake explained his recent experiences and background. It made Cadonif surprisingly sympathize with him; he’d never expected a human to have such emotions.

After several tiring hours, the two noticed they were approaching the city. Finally! I’ve run from people before and carried around heavy objects, but I’ve never had to walk such long distances in weird plants and heavy gravity. He was nearing safety at last.

Suddenly, they noticed a giant ant running toward them. Not now! They started running. Interestingly, it was a black ant, known for being smaller and less aggressive than the red ant, which was now blandly also colored black.

Drake offered to split up—a great idea! Surely, the ant would choose to chase the human.

They split up. The ant chose Steve.

What!? Why me!?

Drake stopped.

“Don’t leave me behind!” Steve worried, knowing human psychology.

Drake assured him he wouldn’t abandon him, before getting chased by Grasshopper himself.

There goes my last hope. I was so close to safety! I don’t wanna die now!

Before he thought it couldn’t get any worse, Drake came beside him with his mutant following close behind.

Is dying together some sort of a custom here? Or does he want me to take both of them?

He voiced his concern and Drake once again assured him he had no malintent before picking up a rock and haphazardly throwing it at the ant. He now had the attention of both of them. Steve ran away, wondering what sort of an idiot would put themselves in more danger for the sake of someone they’d met mere hours ago. Far behind, Drake tripped and fell and the two monsters were on top of him. Steve continued running, trying not to look back.

To his surprise, Drake caught up behind him a minute later. The two continued running until they were sure they were safe. Steve thanked him for saving him. It was quite reckless and Steve couldn’t tell how Drake thought to keep another alive at his own cost. There was no way it was normal; he was grateful that such a person was at his side.

They eventually reached the city, which was naturally in literal natural chaos. Towering monsters ran around grabbing humans by the handful and shoving them down their throats to be digested alive.

Drake was obviously shocked, and even Steve was surprised by how quickly the monsters had destroyed the city, but he had to rush him through it. They had to get to safety fast. After the past two encounters, Steve had realized that he was just as vulnerable to attack as humans.

The two followed groups to a plaza where soldiers were fighting off the animals from entering and a crowd was fighting to get onto helicopters. He observed one of them flying away before a giant lizard leapt at it and tore it into two with its jaw. There was just one helicopter left, and about a hundred people were fighting to get on it. The scene was violent and reminded Cadonif of the videos of humans that he’d seen. This was what he’d expected to see of them.

Steve turned to Drake. “Looks like there’s no way to escape the city besides on foot.”

The two started leaving the plaza. Steve knew there was no way he could fight humans to get on the helicopter. He had to choose a peaceful option with few humans involved. He had to find a safe place to live.

Gather some resources in the city and move to the woods? Or stay in the buildings in Cyll? Sure, there were bigger animals, but the structures were quite sturdy and it was easier to spot enemies…

Drake stopped Steve and his train of thoughts. He explained he wanted to fight the monsters with the soldiers. At this point, Cadonif couldn’t tell whether he was brave or crazy. Even if he were brave, there was no use in reducing a few from the uncountable number of monsters across the world, and it wouldn’t be a heroic death.

Drake told him that he didn’t want to regret not using this opportunity to fight later on. Steve couldn’t stop him: he understood the feeling, after all.

It felt like a bitter farewell, however, allowing the first human he’d gotten to know and a companion part and head to his death. Drake had begun to fill a hole Geenud’s absence had left behind.

Suddenly, Steve spotted an animal on the building beside them. A part of the building crumbled under its weight. Steve sensed danger. A few chunks of cement came loose and fell. He looked at Drake, a few yards away, who was beginning to look up at the noise. It could kill him. Steve could come and push him out of the way, but it would then place him in danger.

He’s just a human I met hours ago, he told himself. My life matters most. I don’t have to help him. He watched the chunks fall. His heartbeat and breath quickened. His use to me is over. Images of Drake saving him from the Ant came to mind. He weakly raised a hand toward Drake. It was too late for action now. The rubble hit Drake on the head. His body collapsed.

This is an Apocalypse. It’s normal to have casualties. Harden your heart and get used to it, Cad.

He gulped and tried to turn around, but couldn’t ignore the body. He went over and checked the pulse. Drake was still alive, albeit unconscious.

“Darn it.”

This complicated things. He couldn’t just ignore him now. He had to help Drake. His values forced him to.

This weight will slow me down, Cadonif thought as he slung Drake over his back. But at least he will be useful to me later, as before. He was also starting to get attached to him, unfortunately.

Now, where could they go? Drake needed treatment fast. Cadonif searched through human knowledge for any information that can help. He found one: all buildings were required to house first-aid kits. But the fact that cars drove on the opposite side of the road than his knowledge indicated, and his differing accent, made him realize that his body had been taken from a resident of a different country. His knowledge being unreliable, there was no guarantee he’d find first-aid kits there.

Searching around, he luckily came across a pharmacy that was being looted for medicine or improvised suicide pills. He found bandages and other supplies, which he used to treat Drake’s wounds.

Next, Cadonif carried him over to the plaza. It wasn’t possible to survive in this city with Drake as a burden. He looked to the helicopter for his last hope.

In front of the noisy crowd was a platform on which were a group of soldiers from the city’s army base. They seemed to be in charge of who got onto the last helicopter. A man with a gun was on the platform yelling at the soldiers. His gun was pointed at a civilian.

“Gimme… or… dies!” Cadonif could barely make out over the sound of ruckus.

The man’s face was red and threatening. He shot a round at the ground, causing a roar from the crowd, which stepped away. One guard shook her head. She looked at another and gave a signal. The soldier pointed his gun at the captor and fired. The surprised criminal shot a round into the hostage, killing the both of them.

This caused a further stir in the crowd. The soldiers fired into the air, intent on maintaining order and clarifying who was in power. Civilian lives were no longer as important: most of them would die anyway.

Jeez, the situation is bad! What can I do?

Obtaining the last seats on the helicopter was hopeless. He felt like giving up, but remembered the person he was carrying. What would Drake have done? He wouldn’t have given up. He hadn’t given up when his town was being destroyed. He hadn’t given up along his journey; he trekked through the entire night in dangerous woods, thinking about his two companions. He hadn’t given up when the Ant and Grasshopper jumped the two; he found a way for them to escape. He hadn’t given up when he realized his last hope was gone and the city was in ruins; he resolved himself to fight the enemies till the end, thinking any effort was worth it.

Steve wouldn’t give up.

He would find a way onto the helicopter. But how?

Humans immediately think of themselves. They’d think, ‘I’ll push this guy in front of a mutant to save myself,’ rather than, ‘I’ll work with him to survive together.’ Cadonif saw this for himself with the second car driver earlier. A quick and definite solution was the best option for them. He had to show them the way he thought. He had to show them some reason. And in the state of confusion and panic that they were in, it was going to be difficult.

Persuasion is often regarded as a skill that some people are better at than others. People think that it can be learned. This is not the complete truth. Persuasion requires a certain composure, certain words, and certain inflection. Some people have an innate talent for picking up these things and become successful salespeople and scammers. The people that possess this appear to be distributed randomly, however, for Cadonif’s entire species, these come instinctively.

He had only to hone it from his youth through practice. Encountering serious situations throughout his life in poverty, he’d developed the ability well to the point that it would be perfect if only he’d had more confidence talking to others. It’d become a subconscious activity that he could do without putting much awareness into, like driving, however, it was mentally exhausting to use in all conversations, so he would turn it ‘on’ at will when he’d need it.

However, he would have to truly go above and beyond this time to convince the crowd of the plan he had in mind for them. He’d have to convince them to do something they naturally wouldn’t. And more than to trick them, he also wanted to help them, not because he liked them, but because their helplessness and desperateness reminded him of Sartoog’s treatment from the Federation. He did not want to feel like UnIF.

Cadonif took a deep breath. Persuasion had failed on Tocarris, probably because her mind was too twisted to reason with, but he couldn’t let it fail now.

* * *

Trevor Pharell looked around vigilantly from in the crowd. The army was fighting off the monster animals from getting into the plaza, but they could only manage for so long. The crowd was full of yelling. The helicopter was their only salvation, and every desperate body including himself would do anything to get on it. The one obstacle was the army—the same one buying them time, ironically. The situation was not looking good for his survival. Would he meet his wife soon?

Trevor watched, attentive, as a young man stepped onto the platform and talked to the soldiers, who checked him for arms before handing him a megaphone.

“Umm… Hello, everyone. I’m Steve. I just wanted to talk to you all about the situation we’re in.”

The crowd fell silent.

“Look… I know things look scary now. These monsters suddenly appeared and are eating people. We all want to get to safety, but there are a hundred of us and only two seats left on this helicopter. There’s no way all of us can get on it.

“But the situation is not hopeless. The monsters got the surprise on us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t defeat them. Our country possesses great weapons. These guns are ineffective because the bullets are small, but we can defeat them with large explosives. The monsters just caught us by surprise.”

The crowd began to whisper. “You may be right,” one person said, “but what do you want us to do until then. We can’t wait.

“Don’t worry. I’m getting to that.” The boy was oddly charismatic. “Army reinforcements will come with those eventually, but, obviously, there’s the problem of what we do until then. I don’t want to stand out here and die, nor do I want others to. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live and look back much later and regret letting a hundred people die—not while there’s a way for all of us to live.”

Murmurs began in the crowd.

“Yes, you heard that right. There is a way. We don’t need to treat this as a hopeless situation where only a few can survive.

“We’ve been preparing for the Apocalypse for many months, now! We know how to survive on our own! We just need somewhere safe from the monsters to do that. Like inside a sturdy building. If we all lived together in a building with supplies like food that can last us for months, then we’re safe! Together!”

The crowd was now discussing heavily.

People are actually considering what he’s spouting?

“You, sir,” the young man pointed to someone in the crowd. “You look strong.”

“Uh, thanks. I, uh, lift weights.”

“Do you think you, along with the many other strong men and women in this crowd can move some heavy objects in front of windows and doors to form an indoor blockade against the mutants?”

“Well, yeah. That doesn’t sound so hard.”

“What about you, miss? What do you do for a living, apart from trying to escape these monsters, I mean?” There were a few chuckles.

“I’m an accountant.”

“Do you think you can index the supplies in a mall? Food, clothing, daily-use items… without worrying about how to distribute them.”

“I think so.”

“Great! Any other people who can count inventory? It’s a simple task.” Some hands shot up. “What about doctors? Are there any doctors in this crowd?” Again, hands came up.

People looked around in surprise and reassurance.

“We have all sorts of people who are qualified for all the things that we need to survive. We just have to stay safe indoors for some time. We’ll cover one another’s weaknesses.”

The crowd was roaring again, captivated by his words.

He’s making the idea attractive by saying it guarantees them survival and they don’t have much work themselves—they can depend on others that know what they’re doing. This makes it look safe for those who are underconfident about their survival. This is ridiculous, taking advantage of group thought! Trevor was not falling for it.

“What’s in it for you?!” he found himself shouting. “You probably want to get onto the helicopter and abandon us here.” He sweat nervously as all eyes fell on him.

Steve looked at him. “Let me explain something. This person with me,” he pointed at a boy seated unconscious and wrapped in bandages, “—his name is Drake. He’s the sole survivor from the town where the meteorite landed. That means he has knowledge no one else does about the origins of that blue Mist that caused all this. I have such knowledge, too. I must take him to government authorities to help them discover how to stop these monsters. Otherwise, all of you and everyone affected by this Apocalypse could live your whole lives in hiding from these monsters.”

Trevor was flabbergasted. He looked at the boy’s eyes, which were powerful and compelling.

“I hate to see humans be so primitive and fight like this rather than working together to survive. It’s all so pointless.

“I promise to help find a way to stop this and come back to help you all. So, until then, can you cooperate? I know you. You’re an experienced store manager, right? Can I trust you to lead the group to safety? Or do you want us to continue fighting until we all get killed?”

This guy’s avoiding the question and pulling out lies.

“This isn’t about my leadership.”

Steve sighed. “Can you think of any person more deserving of that seat than another?” He called out a few people once more, and they shook their heads. “If we want to settle this democratically, everyone will vote for themselves, and it won’t lead anywhere. Don’t you agree? So the end result will be that the helicopter will leave with two empty seats and we’ll all stay here. But that way, as I said, I won’t be able to go talk to the government authorities and save you all here. Is that what you want?”

He’s making me an enemy while offering me the opportunity to become the leader. Arguing further won’t get me a seat and bringing him down with me hurts our chances of survival. He’s smart!

With Trevor placed in the spotlight with a tough decision, after some struggle under the pressure, he relented: “I… know a Mall nearby. It’s stocked with all the basic necessities. Let’s all go there. But, Mr. Steve, because you gave us the idea for this plan, you should go on with your friend…”

* * *

Under the steady hum of the engine, as the helicopter rose above the city blanketed in the morning sun’s warm golden rays, Steve looked down out the window at where he’d departed from. He wondered where the helicopter would take Drake and him. He knew Tocarris had planned the virus such that no crevice of the planet would be safe, but was content that he was safe for now.

He wondered if he would ever meet those people again, or if they’d even survive. PVC might try other tactics to kill the surviving humans, but he was satisfied with what he’d accomplished for now. He’d gained more courage that day than he had in his whole life.

He didn’t have regrets as he watched the world burn below. He didn’t care too much that his plan failed because he’d tried his best, and, of course, humans were bad anyway. There’s a twinge of sadness thinking that, like those in the plaza, humans could have become good and rational. If only they could have reformed them.

Overall, however, Steve was optimistic that he could take on the future with Drake and survive. He fell asleep, exhausted from the long day of running, persuading, and trying to stay alive.