Chapter 52
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A large man stood in the doorway, holding a military rifle level with Val's chest. The dim light from outside partially obscured his front-facing features. He was dressed in digital combat fatigues, exposing only some of his tanned skin. He had the build of a defensive lineman from American Football. Stocky, muscular— a real powerhouse of physical form. He had no hat or helmet to hide his short, buzz-cut hair, a seeming standard of military men.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The man demanded in an authoritative tone.
Val raised his hands slowly, palms facing forward. "Easy, I'm a friend, a survivor like yourself. I've been driving since yesterday to find any survivors up here."
The man paused for a moment. "I know that voice, that accent." Still holding his gun to Val, he fished a small flashlight from his breast pocket, shining it and causing Val to squint slightly.
"Fuck me, V? That you?" The man lowered his gun, clicking the safety back on.
"You're kidding, Kainoa?" Val could barely make out his features, but the voice now without the gruff tone was instantly familiar.
"Shit, what the hell are you doing here, man?" Kainoa walked over and pulled Val into a hug with a bear-like arm. It had only been a few weeks, but Val forgot how crushing the man's hugs were. He was not much of a hugger himself, leading to many situations that were awkward on his end as his friends carried the entire greeting themselves. Kainoa was a mix of Native Hawaiian and Tongan descent, Val recalled a joke that went something like 'What Tongan's see as a greeting, we call assault.' It was a stretch to be sure, but Val learned the hint of truth in it first-hand.
Pulling away, Val shifted his shoulders, as Kainoa had cracked his back in his rough reception.
"Looking for you and everyone else, honestly."
"You didn't evacuate with everyone else?"
"No, totaled my car on the way down, was out for a few days at the start of this mess. Where is everyone?" Val peered behind Kainoa, looking for anyone else who might be with him.
"It's uh... It's just me here." Kainoa looked glum, his relief from seeing Val vanishing from his face.
Val's face grew dark. "That can't be, since the start?"
"No, Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were all here too before, along with the rest of the weekend warriors. Weird shit has been happening. When it all started, we got a lot of folks out. The Army got them out of here. But then they stopped sending convoys back to pick up the rest, so we waited, then people started leaving..." Kainoa trailed off, his face contorted with either confusion or doubt.
Val waited a moment, though his friend seemed hesitant to continue his explanation. Val had known him since college in Hawai'i. Kainoa was in a mechanical engineering program, while Val had studied information science. Friendly rivalries between software and hardware geeks led to a lot of interaction and sometimes collaboration. They had never done projects together, but their classes were in the same building on adjacent floors. They had become friends through late nights studying, and whining contests regarding which program was more difficult. After graduation, Kainoa joined the Marine EOD Corp as part of his military scholarship, and Val left for the Bay Area to find work.
"What happened?" Val asked gently.
"Well, the other three— Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were really weird when they left, really determined to go to downtown. I figured they were just jonesing to get some harder stuff at a bar or something, raid a dispensary maybe, so I just told them to be back soon. It's been five days."
"Aside from how long ago, what was so weird?"
"Their faces man, they looked lifeless and got super defensive when I told them just to hang on. Got into an argument about it, but they left anyway."
"Hmm..."
"Also..."
"Hmm?"
"Man, what the hell is with your getup?" Kainoa moved the flashlight up and down Val's figure, noting the leather armor, knives, and the sword on his back.
"It's... A long story."
*Oh shit, Asha!* Val had nearly forgotten about Muninn and Asha waiting by the bike.
"Hey, can you unlock the gate at the front? My bike's parked outside."
"Yeah, I got the keys right here."
"Also... I need you to take a moment and brace yourself. You're going to be shocked, like, craziest shit you've ever seen or heard; my story is crazier and real."
Kainoa raised his eyebrows at him. "What, that you're a LARPer now? Wasn't expecting it, but not that shocked."
Val brought his hand to his face, mildly burning with embarrassment. He was trying to figure out how to prepare Kainoa for the reality of World Fusion's actual effects.
"Nope, nope, nothing, fuck it, just put the gun away and follow me, I can't help you with this." Val walked past Kainoa, leading him to the gate. A doubtful Kainoa followed him, fishing a set of keys out of his pocket.
As they approached the gate, Asha turned partly to face them, noticing their approach. She had fished out her cloak from the bike, warding off the cold and hiding her ears.
When Kainoa saw her leaning against the bike, he started chuckling. "What? This is your surprise? Did you get yourself a girl after the end of the world? Is this what the LARPing is about? Let me guess, she's into it, and you got into it for her. Haha, you've always been quick to change for a girl."
Kainoa clapped him on the back, congratulating him, before turning to Asha to introduce himself. Then he busied himself, unlocking the padlock to open the gate.
Meanwhile, Muninn seemed to be either stifling laughter or choking. Asha, on the other hand, was giving Val one of the coldest looks he had ever felt, her emerald eyes like daggers saying 'I'll kill you.'
Val groaned inwardly, forgetting how obnoxious Kainoa could sometimes be. "She's not my girlfriend, something of a traveling companion. Also, and you're going to have to take my word for it, she's nearly two hundred years old, and not human."
Kainoa paused as he was untying the chain on the fence gate, before chuckling again. "Oh no no no, I'm not getting into this roleplay of yours."
"He's not lying." Muninn remarked, causing Kainoa to freeze as he was sure he caught the raven speaking in his peripheral vision.
"Did... Did the bird just talk?" He asked, hesitantly.
"Yes, she's Muninn, another friend of mine."
"Hello." Muninn greeted in a pleasant tone.
"Asha, if you don't mind...?" Val pointed to his ears with both hands. Not thrilled with the situation, Asha put her hood down, revealing foot-long pointed ears. Kainoa just gaped, his eyes screwed up, unsure whether to stare at the talking bird or the black-haired elf with long ears.
It was an awkward moment of silence before Val spoke. "You uh... You good, bud?"
"Those can't be real..."
"They're as real as it gets. Human fascination with Elven ears continues to baffle me." Asha glared.
Figuring it would be a moment for Kainoa to take it all in, Val gently nudged him aside and took over the task of opening the gate. After which, he casually pushed his bike in. Kainoa stood frozen in his spot, regarding the raven and the elf as he wracked his mind trying to rationalize the two figures. By the time Kainoa regained his faculties, Val had finished closing the gate again.
"Let's take this inside? There's a lot more I gotta tell you."
Kainoa dumbly nodded. "Uh-huh, yeah, let's do that."
The group moved to one of the barracks, Val left his bike parked outside as they took seats in a large room with beds and crates of food supplies. It had been patched up well enough to shield them from much of the winter, but a couple of broken windows left the place breezy and unfortunately well ventilated. Val had no problem with the cold ever since acquiring Tyr's brand, and Asha looked like she was okay with it as well, owing probably to her home being located far in the North.
"Let's start with your story. I imagine that once I tell you mine, we'll lose the rest of the day to questions." Val proposed.
"Sure, uh, well. You left after our early Thanksgiving, and not long after that, news stations took over the TV, and weather warnings hit our phones. Hardly a couple hours after that, everyone on leave or reserve got called in to assist the guard. I was one of them, it was really weird, so I texted everyone to tell them where to find me if shit hit the fan..." Kainoa explained, regaining his composure as he spoke, though from time to time, he stole a glance at Muninn or Asha as if he was unsure they were real.
"And then the hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, EMPs, et cetera, right?" Val added, helping Kainoa as he was trailing off at times.
Kainoa continued. "Right, most of our equipment just fried, reports of car collisions and traffic jams everywhere, mass panic. We deployed as soon as we got back-up power going and verified our trucks would move. Rounded up hundreds of people, got them to shelters, but it was horrifying. Too many people stayed behind, not believing the sudden reports. Once those hurricanes closed in, I thought that was it. Roofs tore off, and people flung about the streets, so many people died. I managed to get our friends out here to safety, and afterward, we moved out again for search and rescue. Though in reality, it was more counting and collecting the dead. Kyle tried calling you actually before our phones went out, but you didn't pick up."
Val vaguely recalled receiving several phone calls. "Sorry, guess it was the wrong time for my rule about not using my phone while driving..."
"After that, I sort of told you, rounded up survivors for pickup by the Army. There were maybe fifty of us left after the last pickup, so we've been waiting. Then people started going missing."
"That part, any details you can remember, what happened exactly?" Val asked. Asha and Muninn were notably more attentive regarding this detail.
"Well, first it was just trying to recover supplies, maybe find people, even furniture, anything to make the place feel more comfortable till the Army arrives. But the people that went off didn't come back. Then we had a dozen people just get up and leave in the night, not sure why. I told you about Chris and the others, then a few days ago I woke up, and the rest of the Guard and a few other Marines were gone too. Just me here now."
"Why not leave too?" Asha asked.
"Didn't want to risk it, not yet anyway, in case anyone came back."
"What about the mist?" Val asked.
"Mist? Do you mean the fog? It's weird, but it's winter, isn't it?"
"No, it's a mist, and it's not a natural occurrence, that's actually another reason I'm here."
"I don't know anything about that. It's all over Pike Place and all along the coastline, though."
"Yeah, have you seen anything unusual about it? Or in it?"
"No... What are you getting at?"
"We're trying to find out if someone or something is the reason for the disappearances."
Kainoa's face shifted through several emotions, doubt, concern, and then even a slight tinge of anger. "You're saying someone's been kidnapping them? Are you serious?"
Val's face was equally grim. "It's a possibility, I don't know how, but I don't think they would just leave and not come back without telling you anything. Even if they were high as a kite— they know you don't do that stuff, but five days is a bit long for a bender, isn't it?"
Kainoa held his head in his hands. "Fuck... I don't even know anymore. This shit is all too crazy. What the fuck is even going on..?"
Kainoa looked to be breaking down, mumbling something to himself, but he paused and looked up at Val. "You said you don't know how, but you do know why..?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"We *might* know why. It's all just speculation right now."
"I got no other ideas."
"Well, I guess, before that, I need to explain my story."
"Right, right. Shit, actually, any of you thirsty or something? Water? Beer?"
Val chuckled. "Beer, grab a case if you have it, I think you're going to need the alcohol, I sure as hell did."
Kainoa left for a moment, returning with a cooler and some bottles of beers in hand. He also brought some chips which Muninn took to without reserve.
Val started hesitantly. "So, I guess the first thing to start with is that magic is real."
Kainoa looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Magic, mythical beings, all that shit from movies, books, video games, a lot of it is real."
"This isn't funny, V."
"I'm not joking." Val fished out a cigarette, slowly carving a rune in the space above his hand to conjure a small flame for a lighter.
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A large man stood in the doorway, holding a military rifle level with Val's chest. The dim light from outside partially obscured his front-facing features. He was dressed in digital combat fatigues, exposing only some of his tanned skin. He had the build of a defensive lineman from American Football. Stocky, muscular— a real powerhouse of physical form. He had no hat or helmet to hide his short, buzz-cut hair, a seeming standard of military men.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The man demanded in an authoritative tone.
Val raised his hands slowly, palms facing forward. "Easy, I'm a friend, a survivor like yourself. I've been driving since yesterday to find any survivors up here."
The man paused for a moment. "I know that voice, that accent." Still holding his gun to Val, he fished a small flashlight from his breast pocket, shining it and causing Val to squint slightly.
"Fuck me, V? That you?" The man lowered his gun, clicking the safety back on.
"You're kidding, Kainoa?" Val could barely make out his features, but the voice now without the gruff tone was instantly familiar.
"Shit, what the hell are you doing here, man?" Kainoa walked over and pulled Val into a hug with a bear-like arm. It had only been a few weeks, but Val forgot how crushing the man's hugs were. He was not much of a hugger himself, leading to many situations that were awkward on his end as his friends carried the entire greeting themselves. Kainoa was a mix of Native Hawaiian and Tongan descent, Val recalled a joke that went something like 'What Tongan's see as a greeting, we call assault.' It was a stretch to be sure, but Val learned the hint of truth in it first-hand.
Pulling away, Val shifted his shoulders, as Kainoa had cracked his back in his rough reception.
"Looking for you and everyone else, honestly."
"You didn't evacuate with everyone else?"
"No, totaled my car on the way down, was out for a few days at the start of this mess. Where is everyone?" Val peered behind Kainoa, looking for anyone else who might be with him.
"It's uh... It's just me here." Kainoa looked glum, his relief from seeing Val vanishing from his face.
Val's face grew dark. "That can't be, since the start?"
"No, Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were all here too before, along with the rest of the weekend warriors. Weird shit has been happening. When it all started, we got a lot of folks out. The Army got them out of here. But then they stopped sending convoys back to pick up the rest, so we waited, then people started leaving..." Kainoa trailed off, his face contorted with either confusion or doubt.
Val waited a moment, though his friend seemed hesitant to continue his explanation. Val had known him since college in Hawai'i. Kainoa was in a mechanical engineering program, while Val had studied information science. Friendly rivalries between software and hardware geeks led to a lot of interaction and sometimes collaboration. They had never done projects together, but their classes were in the same building on adjacent floors. They had become friends through late nights studying, and whining contests regarding which program was more difficult. After graduation, Kainoa joined the Marine EOD Corp as part of his military scholarship, and Val left for the Bay Area to find work.
"What happened?" Val asked gently.
"Well, the other three— Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were really weird when they left, really determined to go to downtown. I figured they were just jonesing to get some harder stuff at a bar or something, raid a dispensary maybe, so I just told them to be back soon. It's been five days."
"Aside from how long ago, what was so weird?"
"Their faces man, they looked lifeless and got super defensive when I told them just to hang on. Got into an argument about it, but they left anyway."
"Hmm..."
"Also..."
"Hmm?"
"Man, what the hell is with your getup?" Kainoa moved the flashlight up and down Val's figure, noting the leather armor, knives, and the sword on his back.
"It's... A long story."
*Oh shit, Asha!* Val had nearly forgotten about Muninn and Asha waiting by the bike.
"Hey, can you unlock the gate at the front? My bike's parked outside."
"Yeah, I got the keys right here."
"Also... I need you to take a moment and brace yourself. You're going to be shocked, like, craziest shit you've ever seen or heard; my story is crazier and real."
Kainoa raised his eyebrows at him. "What, that you're a LARPer now? Wasn't expecting it, but not that shocked."
Val brought his hand to his face, mildly burning with embarrassment. He was trying to figure out how to prepare Kainoa for the reality of World Fusion's actual effects.
"Nope, nope, nothing, fuck it, just put the gun away and follow me, I can't help you with this." Val walked past Kainoa, leading him to the gate. A doubtful Kainoa followed him, fishing a set of keys out of his pocket.
As they approached the gate, Asha turned partly to face them, noticing their approach. She had fished out her cloak from the bike, warding off the cold and hiding her ears.
When Kainoa saw her leaning against the bike, he started chuckling. "What? This is your surprise? Did you get yourself a girl after the end of the world? Is this what the LARPing is about? Let me guess, she's into it, and you got into it for her. Haha, you've always been quick to change for a girl."
Kainoa clapped him on the back, congratulating him, before turning to Asha to introduce himself. Then he busied himself, unlocking the padlock to open the gate.
Meanwhile, Muninn seemed to be either stifling laughter or choking. Asha, on the other hand, was giving Val one of the coldest looks he had ever felt, her emerald eyes like daggers saying 'I'll kill you.'
Val groaned inwardly, forgetting how obnoxious Kainoa could sometimes be. "She's not my girlfriend, something of a traveling companion. Also, and you're going to have to take my word for it, she's nearly two hundred years old, and not human."
Kainoa paused as he was untying the chain on the fence gate, before chuckling again. "Oh no no no, I'm not getting into this roleplay of yours."
"He's not lying." Muninn remarked, causing Kainoa to freeze as he was sure he caught the raven speaking in his peripheral vision.
"Did... Did the bird just talk?" He asked, hesitantly.
"Yes, she's Muninn, another friend of mine."
"Hello." Muninn greeted in a pleasant tone.
"Asha, if you don't mind...?" Val pointed to his ears with both hands. Not thrilled with the situation, Asha put her hood down, revealing foot-long pointed ears. Kainoa just gaped, his eyes screwed up, unsure whether to stare at the talking bird or the black-haired elf with long ears.
It was an awkward moment of silence before Val spoke. "You uh... You good, bud?"
"Those can't be real..."
"They're as real as it gets. Human fascination with Elven ears continues to baffle me." Asha glared.
Figuring it would be a moment for Kainoa to take it all in, Val gently nudged him aside and took over the task of opening the gate. After which, he casually pushed his bike in. Kainoa stood frozen in his spot, regarding the raven and the elf as he wracked his mind trying to rationalize the two figures. By the time Kainoa regained his faculties, Val had finished closing the gate again.
"Let's take this inside? There's a lot more I gotta tell you."
Kainoa dumbly nodded. "Uh-huh, yeah, let's do that."
The group moved to one of the barracks, Val left his bike parked outside as they took seats in a large room with beds and crates of food supplies. It had been patched up well enough to shield them from much of the winter, but a couple of broken windows left the place breezy and unfortunately well ventilated. Val had no problem with the cold ever since acquiring Tyr's brand, and Asha looked like she was okay with it as well, owing probably to her home being located far in the North.
"Let's start with your story. I imagine that once I tell you mine, we'll lose the rest of the day to questions." Val proposed.
"Sure, uh, well. You left after our early Thanksgiving, and not long after that, news stations took over the TV, and weather warnings hit our phones. Hardly a couple hours after that, everyone on leave or reserve got called in to assist the guard. I was one of them, it was really weird, so I texted everyone to tell them where to find me if shit hit the fan..." Kainoa explained, regaining his composure as he spoke, though from time to time, he stole a glance at Muninn or Asha as if he was unsure they were real.
"And then the hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, EMPs, et cetera, right?" Val added, helping Kainoa as he was trailing off at times.
Kainoa continued. "Right, most of our equipment just fried, reports of car collisions and traffic jams everywhere, mass panic. We deployed as soon as we got back-up power going and verified our trucks would move. Rounded up hundreds of people, got them to shelters, but it was horrifying. Too many people stayed behind, not believing the sudden reports. Once those hurricanes closed in, I thought that was it. Roofs tore off, and people flung about the streets, so many people died. I managed to get our friends out here to safety, and afterward, we moved out again for search and rescue. Though in reality, it was more counting and collecting the dead. Kyle tried calling you actually before our phones went out, but you didn't pick up."
Val vaguely recalled receiving several phone calls. "Sorry, guess it was the wrong time for my rule about not using my phone while driving..."
"After that, I sort of told you, rounded up survivors for pickup by the Army. There were maybe fifty of us left after the last pickup, so we've been waiting. Then people started going missing."
"That part, any details you can remember, what happened exactly?" Val asked. Asha and Muninn were notably more attentive regarding this detail.
"Well, first it was just trying to recover supplies, maybe find people, even furniture, anything to make the place feel more comfortable till the Army arrives. But the people that went off didn't come back. Then we had a dozen people just get up and leave in the night, not sure why. I told you about Chris and the others, then a few days ago I woke up, and the rest of the Guard and a few other Marines were gone too. Just me here now."
"Why not leave too?" Asha asked.
"Didn't want to risk it, not yet anyway, in case anyone came back."
"What about the mist?" Val asked.
"Mist? Do you mean the fog? It's weird, but it's winter, isn't it?"
"No, it's a mist, and it's not a natural occurrence, that's actually another reason I'm here."
"I don't know anything about that. It's all over Pike Place and all along the coastline, though."
"Yeah, have you seen anything unusual about it? Or in it?"
"No... What are you getting at?"
"We're trying to find out if someone or something is the reason for the disappearances."
Kainoa's face shifted through several emotions, doubt, concern, and then even a slight tinge of anger. "You're saying someone's been kidnapping them? Are you serious?"
Val's face was equally grim. "It's a possibility, I don't know how, but I don't think they would just leave and not come back without telling you anything. Even if they were high as a kite— they know you don't do that stuff, but five days is a bit long for a bender, isn't it?"
Kainoa held his head in his hands. "Fuck... I don't even know anymore. This shit is all too crazy. What the fuck is even going on..?"
Kainoa looked to be breaking down, mumbling something to himself, but he paused and looked up at Val. "You said you don't know how, but you do know why..?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"We *might* know why. It's all just speculation right now."
"I got no other ideas."
"Well, I guess, before that, I need to explain my story."
"Right, right. Shit, actually, any of you thirsty or something? Water? Beer?"
Val chuckled. "Beer, grab a case if you have it, I think you're going to need the alcohol, I sure as hell did."
Kainoa left for a moment, returning with a cooler and some bottles of beers in hand. He also brought some chips which Muninn took to without reserve.
Val started hesitantly. "So, I guess the first thing to start with is that magic is real."
Kainoa looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Magic, mythical beings, all that shit from movies, books, video games, a lot of it is real."
"This isn't funny, V."
"I'm not joking." Val fished out a cigarette, slowly carving a rune in the space above his hand to conjure a small flame for a lighter.
A large man stood in the doorway, holding a military rifle level with Val's chest.The dim light from outside partially obscured his front-facing features. He was dressed in digital combat fatigues, exposing only some of his tanned skin. He had the build of a defensive lineman from American Football. Stocky, muscular a real powerhouse of physical form. He had no hat or helmet to hide his short, buzz-cut hair, a seeming standard of military men. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The man demanded in an authoritative tone. Val raised his hands slowly, palms facing forward. "Easy, I'm a friend, a survivor like yourself. I've been driving since yesterday to find any survivors up here." The man paused for a moment. "I know that voice, that accent." Still holding his gun to Val, he fished a small flashlight from his breast pocket, shining it and causing Val to squint slightly. "Fuck me, V? That you?" The man lowered his gun, clicking the safety back on. "You're kidding, Kainoa?" Val could barely make out his features, but the voice now without the gruff tone was instantly familiar. "Shit, what the hell are you doing here, man?" Kainoa walked over and pulled Val into a hug with a bear-like arm. It had only been a few weeks, but Val forgot howcrushing the man's hugs were. He was not much of a hugger himself, leading to many situations that were awkward on his end as his friends carried the entire greeting themselves. Kainoa was a mix of Native Hawaiian and Tongan descent, Val recalled a joke that went something like 'What Tongan's see as a greeting, we call assault.' It was a stretch to be sure, but Val learned the hint of truth in it first-hand. Pulling away, Val shifted his shoulders, as Kainoa had cracked his back in his rough reception. "Looking for you and everyone else, honestly." "Youdidn't evacuate with everyone else?" "No, totaled my car on the way down, was out for a few days at the start of this mess. Where is everyone?" Val peered behind Kainoa, looking for anyone else who might be with him. "It's uh... It's just me here." Kainoa looked glum, his relief from seeing Val vanishing from his face. Val's face grew dark. "That can't be, since the start?" "No, Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were all here too before, along with the rest of the weekend warriors. Weird shit has been happening. When it all started, we got a lot of folks out. The Army got them out of here. But then they stopped sending convoys back to pick up the rest, so we waited, then people started leaving..." Kainoa trailed off, his face contorted with either confusion or doubt. Val waited a moment, though his friend seemed hesitant to continue his explanation. Val had known him since college in Hawai'i. Kainoa was in a mechanical engineering program, while Val had studied information science. Friendly rivalries between software and hardware geeks led to a lot of interaction and sometimes collaboration. They had never done projects together, but their classes were in the same building on adjacent floors. They had become friends through late nights studying, and whining contests regarding which program was more difficult. After graduation, Kainoa joined the Marine EOD Corp as part of his military scholarship, and Val left for the Bay Area to find work. "What happened?" Val asked gently. "Well, the other three Chris, Judy, Kyle, they were really weird when they left, really determined to go to downtown. Ifigured they were just jonesing to get some harder stuffat a bar or something, raid a dispensary maybe, so I just told them to be back soon. It's been five days." "Aside from how long ago, what was so weird?" "Their faces man, they looked lifeless and got super defensive when I told them just to hang on. Got into an argument about it, but they left anyway." "Hmm..." "Also..." "Hmm?" "Man, what the hell is with your getup?" Kainoa moved the flashlight up and down Val's figure, noting the leather armor, knives, and the sword on his back. "It's... Along story." *Oh shit, Asha!*Val had nearly forgotten about Muninn and Asha waiting by the bike. "Hey, can you unlock the gate at the front? My bike's parked outside." "Yeah, I got the keys right here." "Also... Ineed you to take a moment and brace yourself. You're going to be shocked, like, craziest shit you've ever seen or heard; my story is crazier and real." Kainoa raised his eyebrows at him. "What, that you're a LARPer now? Wasn't expecting it, but not that shocked." Val brought his hand to his face, mildly burning with embarrassment.He wastrying to figure out how to prepare Kainoa for the reality of WorldFusion's actual effects. "Nope, nope, nothing, fuck it, just put the gun away and follow me, Ican't help you with this." Val walked past Kainoa, leading him to the gate. A doubtful Kainoa followed him, fishing a set of keys out of his pocket. As they approached the gate, Asha turned partly to face them, noticing their approach. She had fished out her cloak from the bike, warding off the cold and hiding her ears. When Kainoa saw her leaningagainst the bike, he started chuckling. "What? This is your surprise? Did you get yourself a girl after the end of the world? Is this what the LARPing is about? Let me guess, she's into it, and you got into it for her. Haha, you've always been quick to change for a girl." Kainoa clapped him on the back, congratulating him, before turning to Asha to introduce himself. Then he busied himself, unlocking the padlock to open the gate. Meanwhile, Muninn seemed to be either stifling laughter or choking. Asha, on the other hand, was giving Val one of the coldest looks he had ever felt, her emerald eyes like daggers saying 'I'll kill you.' Val groaned inwardly, forgetting how obnoxious Kainoa could sometimes be. "She's not my girlfriend, something of a traveling companion. Also, and you're going to have to take my word for it, she's nearly two hundred years old, and not human." Kainoa paused as he was untying the chain on the fence gate, before chuckling again. "Oh no no no, I'm not getting into this roleplay of yours." "He's not lying." Muninn remarked, causing Kainoa to freeze as he was sure he caught the raven speaking in his peripheral vision. "Did... Did the bird just talk?" He asked, hesitantly. "Yes, she's Muninn, another friend of mine." "Hello." Muninn greeted in a pleasant tone. "Asha, if you don't mind...?" Val pointed to his ears with both hands. Not thrilled with the situation, Asha put her hood down, revealing foot-long pointed ears. Kainoa just gaped, his eyes screwed up, unsure whether to stare at the talking bird or the black-haired elf with long ears. It was an awkward moment of silence before Val spoke. "You uh... You good, bud?" "Those can't be real..." "They're as real as it gets. Human fascination with Elven ears continues to baffle me." Asha glared. Figuring it would be a moment for Kainoa to take it all in, Val gently nudged him aside and took over the task of opening the gate. After which, he casually pushed his bike in. Kainoa stood frozen in his spot, regarding the raven and the elf as he wracked his mind trying to rationalize the two figures. By the time Kainoa regained his faculties, Val had finished closing the gate again. "Let's take this inside? There's a lot more Igotta tell you." Kainoa dumbly nodded."Uh-huh, yeah, let's do that." The group moved to one of the barracks, Val left his bike parked outside as they took seats in a large room with beds and crates of food supplies. It had been patched up well enough to shield them from much of the winter, but a couple of broken windows left the place breezy and unfortunately well ventilated. Val had no problem with the cold ever since acquiring Tyr's brand, and Asha looked like she was okay with it as well, owing probably to her home being locatedfar in the North. "Let's start with your story. I imagine that once Itell you mine, we'll lose the rest of the day to questions." Val proposed. "Sure, uh, well. You left after our early Thanksgiving, and not long after that, news stations took over the TV, and weather warnings hit our phones. Hardly a couple hours after that, everyone on leave or reserve got called in to assist the guard. I was one of them, it was really weird, so Itexted everyone to tell them where to find me if shit hit the fan..." Kainoa explained, regaining his composure as he spoke, though from time to time, he stole a glance at Muninn or Asha as if he wasunsure they were real. "And then the hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, EMPs, et cetera, right?" Val added, helping Kainoa as he was trailing off at times. Kainoa continued."Right, most of our equipment just fried, reports of car collisions and traffic jams everywhere, mass panic. We deployed as soon as we got back-up power going and verified our trucks would move. Rounded up hundreds of people, got them to shelters, but it was horrifying. Too many people stayed behind, not believing the sudden reports. Once those hurricanes closed in, Ithought that was it. Roofs tore off, and people flung about the streets, so many people died. Imanaged to get our friends out here to safety, and afterward, we moved out again for search and rescue. Though in reality, it was more counting and collecting the dead. Kyle tried calling you actually before our phones went out, but you didn't pick up." Val vaguely recalled receiving several phone calls."Sorry, guess it was the wrong time for my rule about not using my phone while driving..." "After that, Isort of told you, rounded up survivors for pickup by the Army. There were maybe fifty of us left after the last pickup, so we've been waiting. Then people started going missing." "That part, any details you can remember, what happened exactly?"Val asked. Asha and Muninn were notably more attentive regarding this detail. "Well, first it was just trying to recover supplies, maybe find people, even furniture, anything to make the place feel more comfortable till the Army arrives. But the people that went off didn't come back. Then we had a dozen people just get up and leave in the night, not sure why. I told you about Chris and the others, then a few days ago Iwoke up, and the rest of the Guard and a few other Marines were gone too. Just me here now." "Why not leave too?" Asha asked. "Didn't want to risk it, not yet anyway, in case anyone came back." "What about the mist?"Val asked. "Mist? Do you mean the fog? It's weird, but it's winter, isn't it?" "No, it's a mist, and it's not a natural occurrence, that's actually another reason I'm here." "I don't know anything about that. It's all over PikePlace and all along the coastline, though." "Yeah, have you seen anything unusual about it? Or in it?" "No... What are you getting at?" "We're trying to find out if someone or something is the reason for the disappearances." Kainoa's face shifted through several emotions, doubt, concern, and then even a slight tinge of anger. "You're saying someone's been kidnapping them? Are you serious?" Val's face was equally grim. "It's a possibility, I don't know how, but Idon't think they would just leave and not come back without telling you anything. Even if they were high as a kite they know you don't do that stuff, but five days is a bit long for a bender, isn't it?" Kainoa held his head in his hands."Fuck... Idon't even know anymore. This shit is all too crazy. What the fuck is even going on..?" Kainoa looked to be breaking down, mumbling something to himself,but he paused and looked up at Val. "You said you don't know how, but you do know why..?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "We *might* know why. It's all just speculation right now." "I got no other ideas." "Well, Iguess, before that, Ineed to explain my story." "Right, right. Shit, actually, any of you thirsty or something? Water? Beer?" Val chuckled."Beer, grab a case if you have it, Ithink you're going to need the alcohol, Isure as hell did." Kainoa left for a moment, returning with a cooler and some bottles ofbeers in hand. He also brought some chips which Muninn took to without reserve. Val started hesitantly."So, Iguess the first thing to start with is that magic is real." Kainoa looked at him in confusion."What?" "Magic, mythical beings, all that shit from movies, books, video games, a lot of it is real." "This isn't funny, V." "I'm not joking." Val fished out a cigarette, slowly carving a rune in the space above his hand to conjure a small flame for a lighter.
