Then

“What’s going on?” Cal came to a stop next to Eron.

“They want to drive to Frisco, apparently most of their family is there,” Eron said with a nod at the large SUV laden with belongings. “The dad is some kind of prepper. Bribed that dude with the Recharge spell with some gold coins or bullion, something like that. Don’t really get it,” he shrugged.

“I thought the council locked that down. Only officially approved use since he can’t do the spell more than once every few days.”

Eron chuckled. “Guy told them that if they gave him that much gold then they could tell him what to do.”

“Right, so why are we here?”

Cal studied the scene, capturing all of the details in seconds. A group of the watch had one of their trucks parked in front of the family’s SUV, blocking the freeway on-ramp. They were at the edge of the city and he eyed the area beyond the limits warily. Seeing nothing, he reached out as far as he could with his telepathy. Again he wasn’t able to pick up anything beyond a surprisingly large amount of animals, mutated or not, he couldn’t tell for certain.

The scene was quiet with the complete lack of road noise. The hills on both sides of the freeway were green and wild flowers dotted the landscape. In this way the spires’ apocalypse brought a sense of beauty and tranquility back to the natural environment. At least on the surface. Cal had this feeling that at any moment the illusion was going to be shattered and he’d be reminded of why it was an apocalypse.

“Eh, I don’t really know,” Eron said. “Megan said that the council wanted us to be on hand just in case… and before you ask, I don’t know that that means.”

“Seems like this is the watch’s job,” Cal said. “And what’s up with that thing you got there?”

Eron hefted the eight-foot long spear off his shoulder and planted the butt end on the ground. “Cool huh? Remy finally helped me make it after I bugged him for weeks. It’s basically made out of one piece of metal and Remy did his Magneto-thing to make extra strong and dense or something.”

“I can see that,” Cal said. “It’s a little rough-looking.”

“Meh, don’t care about the looks. All I care about is that it’s pointy-sharp and heavy as fuck. Supposedly weighs over fifty pounds, can’t really tell since anything under a couple thousand might as well weigh like a couple of pounds to me.”

“I’m glad you like your new toy, but why even bother? Didn’t think you needed a weapon,” Cal said.

“Well, since we had that talk about what sort of scary and possibly giant monsters are out there in the spaces between cities,” Eron held the spear out with his outstretched arm, point toward the horizon, “I figured it might be a good idea to get me some force multipliers. Axes and sledgehammers from Home Depot aren’t going to cut it.”

“So, when you planning to head out?” Cal tried to keep his tone easy.

“Relax, man,” Eron said. “I didn’t forget. We’ll scout out the immediate areas first. That way I can get an idea of what types of monsters might be out there. I’m starting to think I might go along with that family for at least a few miles. See if I can trigger an escort quest or something,” he grimaced.

“That’s an idea,” Cal said.

The two Cruces brothers continued to observe from a distance for several more minutes as the father of the family argued from the driver’s seat with the member of the watch standing just outside the SUV’s window. The man’s voice grew heated and his gesticulations became more emphatic. They didn’t need their superior hearing to catch the man’s words. The watch member kept his calm before finally walking over to Cal and Eron.

“Sirs, Senior Watchman Todd Biggs.” The man introduced himself to Cal and Eron with a smart salute.

Cal smiled and extended his hand for a shake. Eron did the same.

“Well, Todd,” Cal said. “Nice job keeping cool under all that abuse.”

“Man, I don’t think I’d be able to do the same,” Eron said. “Why even bring your mother into it?”

“Just trying to do my job properly.” Todd grinned, which shifted into a grimace. “I don’t really want to ask this of you,” he shrugged, “but, like I said, I’m just doing my job.”

“Let me guess, the council wants us to keep them from leaving,” Cal said.

“If they want to leave, let them go,” Eron said.

Todd nodded, looking a little bit embarrassed. “That’s my thinking too, but the council thinks differently.”

“What are your orders if they insist on leaving?” Cal was tempted to peak into the family’s thoughts, to see if they were all in agreement in regards to leaving, but he resisted the impulse. It would be an invasion of privacy and he couldn’t do that.

“We’re supposed to ask you to stop them…”

“I thought this was ‘Murica.” Eron laughed. “Free country and all that. If they want to leave, then let them.”

The look on Todd’s face made it plain that he was in agreement. “The council is worried that it’ll encourage others to leave and with the unknown dangers out there…”

“That is the most prudent view, but I’m not going to stand in the way of anyone wanting to go,” Cal said. “As long as they are doing it of their own free will.”

Todd frowned. “What about the kids?”

“Like I said, it’s not what I’d personally do. However, the parents still have the ultimate responsibility.”

“I don’t know, Cal,” Eron said.

“What happened to ‘this is a free country’?”

“Didn’t think about the kids,” Eron shrugged. “Adults going into danger willing is one thing. Taking your kids with you is another.”

“Well, we can’t keep them here if they want to leave. Do you want to imprison them? Maybe build some sort of camp, in which we can concentrate them with other like-minded people?”

Eron rolled his eyes. “Man, I’m not Jay and his racists.”

Cal turned to regard Todd. “Well, looks like that’s it, Senior Watchman Biggs. There’s your answer. I hope you don’t get in trouble with the council.”

“You can call me Todd,” he shook his head, “and it’s no problem. Everyone knows that what the Cruces brothers says, goes.”

Cal suppressed a wince, while Eron grinned.

“You really aren’t going to try to stop them?” Eron looked over at the SUV.

“Nah. What are we going to do? Block them with the truck? They can just go around and try another on-ramp. We can’t ram them, that’d just end up hurting more people. If they go it’s not like they’re guaranteed to die, right? Maybe it’ll turn out okay.”

The senior watchman nodded at the two Cruces brothers and returned to the blocked SUV. They watched him exchange a few words with the dad in the drivers seat. Once down, Todd signaled for the truck blocking the on-ramp to move out of the way. The SUV’s engine roared to life and its tires squealed as it took off.

Cal could imagine the eagerness of the father to get on the road, maybe mingled with a little bit of fear that the watch might change their minds and try to stop them. He thought about his own family far to the south. Truly he could sympathize. He understood why Eron wanted to leave. The pragmatic part of Cal just found it difficult to accept the risks.

“I almost forgot what cars sounded like,” Cal said.

“Yeah, dude’s really hitting the gas,” Eron said.

They watched from their new position on the overpass as the tail lights of the SUV receded in the distance.

“I hope they make it okay,” Eron said.

A sudden, loud screech made a mockery of his desires.

Cal watched as a dark shape plummeted out of the sky. It was headed straight for the SUV and the people within.

“Shit!” Eron exploded into action. He jumped off the overpass and hit the freeway running. His powerful strides tearing up the pavement beneath him.

“Get under the overpass and stay there!” Cal shouted at the confused watchmen. He didn’t wait to see if they were going to comply before he too was sprinting.

Cal could run very fast. Testing on the high school track showed that he could break the world record for the 100 meters at a light jog. At an all out sprint, well, he’d lap a thoroughbred race horse like Secretariat or give a cheetah a head start and he’d still run it down.

As fast Cal was, Eron was even faster.

None of that mattered though, as they were both going to be too slow. Cal could only watch in horror as the dark shape unfurled massive wings right before impact. It arrested only enough of its momentum to ensure it didn’t slam against the ground. There was more than enough to crush the roof of the SUV into its interior.

There was a squeal of tires, the dad hitting the brakes, probably reflexively, Cal dully noted. The crunch of metal and plastic. The braking of windows. The only thing missing were the screams. It happened too fast he realized. The family was already dead. He was sickened and relieved at the same time.

Eron roared as he let fly with his metal spear from a good three hundred yards away. A loud bang a split second later caused Cal to almost lose his footing. He belatedly recognized that his brother had just broken the sound barrier with the throw.

There was a loud sound, like metal hitting metal, followed by a screech. Cal had killed enough monsters and mutant animals to recognize a pained vocalization when he heard it.

Cal skidded to a halt next to Eron, who had stopped some one-hundred yards away from the crushed SUV and the monster. It was a mottled brown in color, with small, armor plate-like scales all over its body. Its wings were leathery and looked like a bat’s with the enormous, claws at the tips of its ‘hands’. Its long, serpentine neck ended with an ugly head and maw filled with dagger-like teeth.

“It’s a fucking dragon!” Even with all the things he had seen in the past year and a half, Cal didn’t quite believe his own eyes.

“Nah, it’s a wyvern,” Eron said. “See how its forelimbs are attached to the wings? Dragons have four limbs, their wings count as another two. At least for Euro-style dragons. The Chinese ones have more snake-like bodies and might or might not have four limbs.” He pointed at the monster’s tail. “See the spike on its tail? Looks like a stinger. Wyvern’s are supposed to have a poisonous tail.”

“Does the distinction really matter right now.”

“We should try to get a general idea of what we’re facing,” Eron shrugged. “Is the family…”

Cal already knew the answer, but he reached out with his telepathy in the vain hope that he was wrong. Nothing. “They’re gone.” He shook his head.

The monster snarled and hissed at Cal and Eron from its perch on top of the crushed SUV. Metal groaned and plastic cracked with every little shift of the monster’s weight. Cal could see Eron’s spear barely dangling from the right side of its broad chest.

“Maybe you do your mind reading stuff, yeah?”

Cal reached into the monster’s mind and found nothing but malice and hunger. A recurring thing he was getting rather sick of.

“It’s hungry and it wants to kill us.”

“Figures,” Eron said. “So, what’s the plan? Cause I nailed it with an epic quality throw and it seems not that bothered.”

“Okay, okay, this is what we do. First, I—”

The monster suddenly sprang from the top of the SUV. It flapped its wings to gain altitude before it folded them close to its body in a dive.

“It’s coming right for us!” Eron crouched low and jumped straight for the monster.

The monster’s teeth-filled mouth was wide open and Cal could see where Eron’s trajectory was headed. Was his brother tough enough to handle that? Cal wasn’t about to find out.

Cal reached out with his telekinesis. The strain was immense. The monster’s strength was well beyond the gremlins he was accustomed to shoving around. It was actually resisting. With a final, desperate effort, he somehow managed to pull the monster’s head down just enough that its snapping jaws narrowly missed Eron.

It was through blurred vision that Cal thought he could make out Eron grabbing one of the monster’s horns to pull himself onto the monster’s long neck. Once there, he started to punch the monster with his free hand. The sound was like thunder.

The monster flew in erratic circles as it tried to dislodge its unwelcome guest. Eron held on with a vise-like grip, while his hammer-like blows clearly bothered the beast.

Cal watched helplessly as they flew higher and higher into the clear sky. He groaned and wiped away at the blood that flowed from his nose. He stood on unsteady feet and opened two small rectangular pouches at his belt, one on each side of his body. He needed to do something before the monster took Eron too far away.

Again he called on the power of his mind. He ignored the stabbing pains in his brain and pulled the dozen knife blades from the pouches. The blades obeyed and flew up into the air. He saw and felt each one distinctly with his telekinetic power.

Each blade was like an instrument in an orchestra, but Cal was no conductor, merely guiding the sum of individual parts. He was each individual musician at the same time.

A blade tore through the tough leathery membrane of the monster’s right wing from below. There was resistance, but Cal’s telekinetic might pushed through when muscle might have failed. Another blade did the same to the left wing from above. A blade sliced a long gash. Two blades crisscrossed to leave an X-shaped cut.

A dozen blades played a symphony across the unfortunate monster’s wings. They stabbed and cut until the wings were in tatters.

The monster plummeted to the ground.

“Oops.” Cal had a sinking sensation that he might have overdone it.

There was a loud thud as the monster and Eron crashed into the dirt a short distance to the left of the freeway.

Cal rushed over to find that the monster still lived, more importantly, so did Eron.

His brother was still straddling the monster’s neck, trapping it in place, while he gripped its horns with two hands. Eron’s face was a mask of rage as he pulled and twisted with all his might.

The monster’s snarls became squeals as Eron forced its head further and further to one side. The monster struggled mightily, its clawed legs and forelimbs tore great furrows into the dirt, but Eron was simply too strong.

A loud snap echoed through the air, followed by a silence that seemed too sudden.

Eron held onto the monster’s head for a few more seconds before finally letting go. The head flopped to the ground with a weighty thud.

“Your face is bleeding again,” Eron said as soon as Cal reached his side.

“Never mind that,” Cal snapped. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, great actually! Awesome move with the knives. I’m sorry I made fun of you for taking apart all those folders. I was kind of starting to worry. Thought I might’ve screwed up by jumping on it.” Eron kicked at the monster’s head. “Just making sure it’s dead.”

“Well, you broke its neck.”

“Can’t ever be too safe when it comes to magic bullshit,” Eron shrugged. “You think I should rip its head off?”

“Can you?”

“Won’t know till I try.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to,” Cal said. “I’m not picking up any thoughts. It’s dead.”

“I’m going to have to carry this thing back, aren’t I?”

“Yeah. It’s an entirely brand new kind of monster. In fact I’d say this changes the paradigm. An autopsy will give us valuable information and we’re probably supposed to harvest it for useful parts.”

Eron grimaced. “Right, weapons from its teeth and claws, armor from its hide, and poison from its… glands? I guess. Man, real life is nothing like games.”

“You think?”

“The grossness of this thing just doesn’t come across in games.”

“I know what you mean, it smells terrible.”

“You think it’s bad? I’ve got way better super smell than you,” Eron gagged. “It’s like a skunk took a bath in raw meat that’s been left out in the sun for a couple of days. Then the skunk puked on itself cause it smelled so bad.”

“That sounds about right,” Cal said. “Well, if you could just drag this thing onto the road—”

“Why me? You’ve got super strength too,” Eron whined.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Cal sighed. “In that case you’ll have to push the SUV back to the watch, they should be under the overpass. They’ll be able to use their truck to tow it the rest of the way back.”

The reminder of the dead family sobered Eron up.

“Damn, I almost forgot about that. Alright, I’ll do that. What do you want to do about the wyvern? You’ll damage the corpse if you drag it all the way.”

“Do you think you can bring a tow truck back here? One of the big ones with a flatbed? I’m not sure if they have any with charged batteries though.”

“I can just tow it no problem, faster than driving one anyways,” Eron said.

“Good, try to be quick.” Cal eyed the corpse. “This thing might attract others and I don’t want to see what other monsters might still be out here.”