The others needed some time to prepare. After having just returned from what was essentially a monster-hunting outing, they needed some time to have food, freshen up, and recover both in mind and body, not necessarily in that order.

Rory understood that. Nevertheless, as he hadn’t been the one who’d headed out with the rest of them, he was a little antsy to get going. The longer they waited, the more they flirted with the moment the true apocalypse started. He really wanted to get the Safe Zone set up before this insane war between the people of Earth and a bunch of aliens began.

So, after lunch, he decided to quiz Dez about what had gone down in their little trip while the rest of them prepared for round two.

They had apparently headed west, though they hadn’t gone far. Dez had figured it would be good to check for survivors and salvage in an area they hadn’t been to already. Unfortunately, they hadn’t found anyone alive. No humans, at least. There had been several Emberteeth roaming the area, providing practice targets for them.

There had also been several Thundershells.

“Really?” Rory asked. “Thundershells?”

Dez nodded, the grimness of his expression reflecting the one on Rory’s face. That wasn’t good news. “I thought we’d taken care of most of them, but these things are like cockroaches. They just keep coming out of nowhere.”

Rory took in a deep breath, then sighed heavily. “Did you find the source? I’m pretty sure they all come from spawn points now.”

“We didn’t. I thought about going looking, but I wasn’t sure how much of a risk it would have been. Might have gone looking if I was alone, though.”

“It’s fine. That was the best call. We’ll find them later. How are the rest of them doing?”

“Not bad. Most of them are getting pretty good at using their Sigils. We’ve got a good crop of people. There are variables, of course. A couple of them were very scared, some got hurt, some were outright stupid, but…” Dez shrugged. “That’s just human nature. Not everyone’s good at everything. Important thing is that they’ve all got some experience under their belt now.”

Rory nodded. “Exactly. That’s what they really needed.”

“Yeah! We got some nice things too. Don’t know if you’ve checked the salvage yet, but one of the things we found was a crap ton of fuel from this rundown garage on Ninth Earl Street. Don’t think we have to worry about the vehicles running out anymore, for a while at least.”

Rory smiled. Dez had a meaningful look in his eyes, and Rory got what the silent part. There was the concern that Rory would have had to find some weird combination of Sigils to run the vehicles after their fuel ran out. It would have taken some time since he hadn’t the faintest clue how to go about doing that. This new fuel shipment meant he had some time before that happened.

Their chatter came around to more mundane things as they talked. Eventually, Rory enquired after Dez’s personal life, about his family and friends.

The big guy just shook his head. “They’re at Mirrorend, so I’m reasonably certain they made it. I’m not worried about them. Just worried if I’ll… get to see them again, at some point.”

“Who are there?”

“Just my mom and dad. My sister was supposed to come and visit too. Not sure if she made it.” He grinned sardonically. “I’m not the best at keeping I touch.”

“That’s surprising to me.”

“It’s not about being responsible. We just maintain a safe distance. They’re my family and I love them all to bits, but sometimes, it’s good to not always stick too close. It’s best for everyone.”

Rory had a hard time imagining that. What sort of life would it be to have to live away from Viv? But then, his experience with her had been blessed. Dez had to have gone through a lot to decide that it was best to keep his distance from his flesh-and-blood family.

He felt sorry for the guy, though he wasn’t about to poke into the matter unless Dez offered, who didn’t elaborate. That was fine. Rory was happy to give him the space he needed.

It struck him then, that as much as he was happy to help everyone in the palace, he still didn’t know everyone. There were perfectly good reasons for it, but that was no excuse. He ought to make more effort to get to know just about everyone here. Soon as he got some down time between working on the Settlement and helping people outside of it.

“Look.” Dez had sat up straight, staring into the main hall. “I think they’re ready to head out.

He was right. The little group was coming out, all ready to depart. He spotted Harlow and the other office worker whose name he had forgotten, Raj and his son, Sid, Jesse, Vern, and a couple of the doctors from the hospital. A good group.

There was a certain look about them now. A grimness, a tightness about the mouth, but also a look of certainty in the corner of their eyes. They had gained some experienced. They’d already known what it took to survive, but now, they knew what it was to hunt and kill. To be the predator instead of the prey. Just as Rory and the others had been when fighting the Stormscale Wyvern.

“Everyone ready?? Rory asked in greeting.

They all nodded, expressions resolute.

“We’re heading to the substation?” Raj asked. “What are we getting there?”

Rory briefly explained how the Sigil of Settlement Warded into the column in the main hall needed Sigils to bring out its latent power. “Once we get a Sigil from the substation, we can basically complete the Sigil of Settlement. That’ll let us create a Safe Zone. As in, no more worries about monsters.”

“What does that mean?” one of the doctors asked. “No more monsters attacking us at all, or…?”

“I believe it makes monster attacks decrease a lot, and those are external attacks I’m talking about. Internal attacks like creatures spawning shouldn’t happen anymore at all. No more spawn points cropping up inside the palace. Basically, we won’t need constant patrols anymore.”

At least, that was what Rory assumed was going to happen. Neither Arelland nor Truck had been totally open what exactly occurred with Safe Zones. But then, the idea was clear. The people at Mirrorend weren’t just surviving, they were thriving enough to go to war because of their Safe Zone. If Rory could replicate something like that, they’d be set for good.

That was, until the system itself came for them. But he had a plan to take care of that too, thanks to Arelland’s merchanting suggestion.

“I’m coming too,” Sue said, approaching from behind the others.

“You sure?” Rory asked.

She nodded. “I want to see the substation again. This Electrium… is strange. I want to see it there.”

Rory frowned. “Strange how?”

“I guess you don’t notice until you spend a long time in its presence, but it feels alive somehow. Like its running something off the electricity it’s producing from sunlight.”

“Like photosynthesis,” Sid said. “Not hard to imagine that’s what the rocks really do.”

Rory shook his head. “It’s not a plant.”

Sue’s troubled expression didn’t change. “Maybe so. But it might operate in the same way. I think we need to be more careful about it. Let me come along. I want to see if the ones we saw at the substation give off the same feeling.”

“Suit yourself,” Rory said. “It’ll just be a slightly tighter squeeze.”

With that taken care of, they decided to pile up into the vehicles they were taking. Rory decided to check up on Diane one last time.

She was upstairs, looking placidly thoughtful. The people she had turned back to regular humans physically had been dragged to one corner of the storage chamber, leaving the rest of the Neophytes in one gaggle.

The only difference was that a couple of them actually looked up when Rory entered, their slit-pupiled eyes registering him with full recognition.

Ah, so Diane had healed their minds instead of their bodies.

“Hello,” Rory said, somewhat tentatively. “How are you feeling?”

They didn’t reply at first. Rory noticed that no one seemed tense or frightened or anything of the sort. Miles, Trish, Allen, and Viv were all up here, ready to provide any backup should Diane need it. But they were relaxed. It seemed their concern that the Neophytes with the healed minds might attack them was unfounded.

“We are well,” the Neophyte on the right said. His voice had a slight sibilance to it, like a talking snake that could almost pass for human. “We heard that you decided to help us instead of leaving us in our… condition. Thank you for that.”

“Don’t mention it,” Rory said. He wasn’t sure about the we, but he decided to chalk that up as yet another irregularity. They already had several, what was one more? “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you alright with… not being…”

He struggled with wording and gestured at them instead. The Neophytes seemed to understand.

“It is an unfortunate scenario,” the one on the left said, this one with a female voice. “We admit we were rather panicked when we saw ourselves.” She faced the others, nodding gratefully. “But you have all been kind and patient and have helped us understand the situation. We are thankful for it. We will do our best with what has been given to us. It is all we can do.”

Rory felt like sighing, but at the face of the Neophytes holding themselves up, he did his best to smile encouragingly instead. “Well, I appreciate you taking it all… stoically. We’re here to help, and as you’ve seen, everyone is nice here. We’ll do everything we can to figure out if there’s a way to improve the situation. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to tell us if you have problems.”

Both Neophytes nodded, and said in unison, “We will. Thank you.”

Pressing Diane’s shoulder and leaving her with a smile, Rory headed out. Viv joined him to say goodbye.

“I’ll only be gone for a short while,” he said.

She gave him a flat look. “Dear, it’s an apocalypse. A short while is at best an optimistic estimate. But anyway, yes, please stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks.”

“I won’t. What do you think of our new friends? I’m surprised they took everything so calmly.”

They had paused at the top of the stairs. Viv looked back towards the storage chamber, lost in thought.

“Well, they were a bit rowdy when Diane did her magic and they got their mental faculties back,” she said. “But yes, overall, they’ve been surprisingly pleasant to deal with.”

“What’s with this we business?”

“They’re a hive mind.”

“A what?”

Viv looked uncomfortable for a moment. “They’re in each other’s heads, altogether. Everyone can listen in to each other’s thoughts and it’s—” She sighed. “It’s a giant mess, Rory. I don’t know if I can explain it well.”

“You’re a professor.”

“Not a professor of telepathy.”

“I’m not sure a hive mind is the same as telepathy, to be fair.”

“Don’t you have places to be?”

Rory laughed, and Viv joined in soon after. They parted with a kiss and a hug.

“I’m ready,” he told their designated driver—Jesse. “Let’s go.”

#

The trip was calm and pleasant. Too much so, in Rory’s opinion. The air held a tentativeness, as though it was holding its breath for something to come. Rory didn’t like it one bit. Nor did he enjoy the fact that the cloudy sky had grown even darker. A storm was coming.

A thunderstorm.

They used the same path as last time to get to the substation. The road was deserted and devoid of any monsters, lacking even any Thundershells that Rory had expected. Even the path to the front gate was the same as before. There was still the furrow in the Electrium that Rory had Woven to let their vehicles get within the substation itself.

It was when they finally got into the substation proper that they found trouble awaiting.

“This doesn’t look good,” Sue said.

Electrium had regrown everywhere. It was all over the grounds, papering several of the walls, blocking doorways and windows and stuffing up entire rooms. There was no way Rory would be able to Weave them all away.

“Anybody see any Thundershells or anything out of the ordinary, yell immediately,” Dez said. “Understood?”

They all nodded nervously as they got out of the pickup and the van and started spreading out.

“Keep your guard up,” Dez continued, his loud voice ringing over the area. “Make sure you keep an eye on everything. Watch each other’s backs. Don’t let any surprises sneak up on up you.”

Dez was going to turn everyone paranoid at this rate. Rory didn’t really blame him. Better paranoid and safe than dead by carelessness.

But he had wasted enough time being worried and frightened. Rory walked up to the substation’s main building, the one they had virtually destroyed to kill all the Thundershells. Then he used his Weaving on it, letting the storm of white lines spread outwards and sink into the Electrium-covered rubble.

Ah, right, the Electrium. Rory focused on his Weaving, imagining the lines sinking into the rubble itself, honing in on the idea of the rubble once being the substation, a place that powered the entire town of Hillhard.

Soon enough, he got had a new Sigil. It had the image of a chimney with a bolt embossed on top.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Energy. All things need energy to drive themselves. Now you have the capability to handle that integral, driving energy.

[Cerulean VI] allows 160 meters of integrated power lines, and allocation of power source location. Improves passively.

Stats

Type: Settlement

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Cerulean VI [0%]

Efficiency: High [79%]

Rory gripped the blue Sigil tightly with a smile. There. It was finally done. Now he just needed to—

“We’ve got a call,” Sid shouted. He was one of the ones who’d been left to guard the vehicles. “It’s urgent!”

Rory hurried back with the others. Viv had phoned over the Sigil of Calling.

“You all need to return,” she said. Her voice was supremely worried. Frightened in a way Rory had rarely heard over his life together with her, and not once since the apocalypse had started. “The Thunderclaw is back. It’s right here. You need—”

There was a vicious clap of thunder, so loud it shook the whole world. It hadn’t just been through the Sigil. The whole world around them felt like it was shattering to pieces.

When it finally stopped, Rory was left with one thing on his mind only.

“Let’s go,” he shouted. “We’ve got a monster to kill. Again.”