Chapter 37
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"Why?" he asked, sincerely puzzled.
Hayden, Willow and Xun looked at each other. They all understood. Rick had grown up in the compound, always safe, having never had an encounter with anything beyond the occasional monster that popped up. And even then, there were enough people between him and it, he never saw them, or experienced the horror of being face to face with one.
"Rick, what do you think will happen when the vampires can't find enough people?" asked Xun curiously.
"What do you mean?" he was obviously perplexed.
"The Slavers find compounds where people are hiding, and raid them every few years. They may let one or two go, but normally everyone in the compound is captured or killed. After a while, they have to expand their search range because they aren't finding anyone hiding in those compounds. I can remember dozens of empty places while I traveled," explained Xun.
"These vampires need to drink blood to survive. So, they constantly have to capture new people. That's why the old way of life died. The people who were in charge tried to kill them in whatever ways they could." Hayden's voice was soft.
Rick nodded thoughtfully. "I read some of the old documents that talked about that. It was required reading when I was young."
"So, when they can't find enough people, they will have to expand their hunt, and that means that eventually the Slavers will find a way to get here. There's too many people for them to ignore." Willow glared at the table.
"Most of the people here, don't understand like you guys do," Rick said patiently. "We don't have the experiences you have all been through."
"Which is why if they ever do come, no one here will survive or escape. They don't know how to hide or flee something they don't understand." Xun touched the straps on his bag that sat on the table in front of him.
"What do we do?" asked Hayden.
"Yeah! We can't sit here talking in circles. We need something to do!" Willow pounded her fist on the table in emphasis.
"If it was just me, I would know what to do. I've never tried to help others escape, too." Xun's face was scrunched in thought.
Rick laughed and said, "Then, let's not escape! Let's prepare to fight! You guys were able to take down a werewolf that was loose, not chained up. You've all had run ins with Slavers. Let's put our heads together and come up with a plan of action!" His voice was upbeat and determined, but Xun wasn't so sure.
The Slavers were far more dangerous than the werewolves, and when there were many together, they were almost unstoppable. Besides, how could they take out the Slavers and vampires when people far more powerful and far better equipped had not?
Xun shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. In all the encounters I have had with the Slavers and werewolves, this is the first time I have ever seen a werewolf get killed. And I have never seen a Slaver even get hurt. They're fast and strong."
Willow nodded, "They can rip a grown man's arm off, if they wanted."
Rick looked at the lost look that entered her eyes, and leaned over to give her a hug.
Xun sat there, watching them, but not really seeing them. He was trying to remember a time when the Slavers had a hard time, maybe even when they might have gotten hurt, but he was coming up blank. His mind started to wander, and remembered how the leaders had chewed him out for the werewolf attack
"Why did the leaders try to blame me for the werewolf killing people?" Xun wondered out loud.
Rick straightened up and looked down at the table, squirming. "Well, there's a rumor that's going around but…"
"Ohhh! A rumor!" Willow leaned in with a grin on her face. The conversation had been too draining, and the possibility of gossip had her all for a topic change. "Come on! You have to spill it!"
With a sigh, Rick said, "The rumor is that Mary, Nathan's mom, loved her brother so much, that she slept with him, and that's how Nathan came along. No one knows of course, but there's no one else in the compound she cares about."
"But her brother had a wife and a kid," choked Willow.
Rick shrugged, "It's a rumor I heard. I didn't come up with it on my own."
"That would explain why she went crazy," Willow finally conceded
Xun shook his head in disgust. He had heard of worse, but had always managed to avoid it.
"I need to head back out and finish exploring the valley. There's a wolf pack that lives along the southern mountain, and I think there's a herd of elk to the north."
Hayden perked up at that. Willow tuned in as well, turning to face him.
Xun smiled, "I don't suppose you two hunters would like to have a chance at getting a few?"
"Hunting has been pretty hard since the number of hunters has dropped. Fewer people are wanting to leave the compound and actually hunt. They would prefer to eat the food grown here, and the fish they bring from the ocean." Hayden added, "It's made bringing in a good kill worth the effort though."
Willow nodded. "I don't mind getting the extra credit for bringing in some elk. They let us have some good food when we do."
Xun looked at her puzzled. "Why don't you just get your own food from outside the compound and not rely on the kitchens here, if you're not happy with it?"
"I'm a terrible cook. Why burn my fingers when there are others to do it for me?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Hayden and Rick looked thoughtfully at his question, completely ignoring Willow.
"I honestly never thought about it," admitted Rick. "They've always offered food here, already cooked and prepared. The best reward they can hand out is better food. I just always focused on getting the reward instead of making my own food."
Hayden remained quiet, obviously lost in his thoughts.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Why?" he asked, sincerely puzzled.
Hayden, Willow and Xun looked at each other. They all understood. Rick had grown up in the compound, always safe, having never had an encounter with anything beyond the occasional monster that popped up. And even then, there were enough people between him and it, he never saw them, or experienced the horror of being face to face with one.
"Rick, what do you think will happen when the vampires can't find enough people?" asked Xun curiously.
"What do you mean?" he was obviously perplexed.
"The Slavers find compounds where people are hiding, and raid them every few years. They may let one or two go, but normally everyone in the compound is captured or killed. After a while, they have to expand their search range because they aren't finding anyone hiding in those compounds. I can remember dozens of empty places while I traveled," explained Xun.
"These vampires need to drink blood to survive. So, they constantly have to capture new people. That's why the old way of life died. The people who were in charge tried to kill them in whatever ways they could." Hayden's voice was soft.
Rick nodded thoughtfully. "I read some of the old documents that talked about that. It was required reading when I was young."
"So, when they can't find enough people, they will have to expand their hunt, and that means that eventually the Slavers will find a way to get here. There's too many people for them to ignore." Willow glared at the table.
"Most of the people here, don't understand like you guys do," Rick said patiently. "We don't have the experiences you have all been through."
"Which is why if they ever do come, no one here will survive or escape. They don't know how to hide or flee something they don't understand." Xun touched the straps on his bag that sat on the table in front of him.
"What do we do?" asked Hayden.
"Yeah! We can't sit here talking in circles. We need something to do!" Willow pounded her fist on the table in emphasis.
"If it was just me, I would know what to do. I've never tried to help others escape, too." Xun's face was scrunched in thought.
Rick laughed and said, "Then, let's not escape! Let's prepare to fight! You guys were able to take down a werewolf that was loose, not chained up. You've all had run ins with Slavers. Let's put our heads together and come up with a plan of action!" His voice was upbeat and determined, but Xun wasn't so sure.
The Slavers were far more dangerous than the werewolves, and when there were many together, they were almost unstoppable. Besides, how could they take out the Slavers and vampires when people far more powerful and far better equipped had not?
Xun shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. In all the encounters I have had with the Slavers and werewolves, this is the first time I have ever seen a werewolf get killed. And I have never seen a Slaver even get hurt. They're fast and strong."
Willow nodded, "They can rip a grown man's arm off, if they wanted."
Rick looked at the lost look that entered her eyes, and leaned over to give her a hug.
Xun sat there, watching them, but not really seeing them. He was trying to remember a time when the Slavers had a hard time, maybe even when they might have gotten hurt, but he was coming up blank. His mind started to wander, and remembered how the leaders had chewed him out for the werewolf attack
"Why did the leaders try to blame me for the werewolf killing people?" Xun wondered out loud.
Rick straightened up and looked down at the table, squirming. "Well, there's a rumor that's going around but…"
"Ohhh! A rumor!" Willow leaned in with a grin on her face. The conversation had been too draining, and the possibility of gossip had her all for a topic change. "Come on! You have to spill it!"
With a sigh, Rick said, "The rumor is that Mary, Nathan's mom, loved her brother so much, that she slept with him, and that's how Nathan came along. No one knows of course, but there's no one else in the compound she cares about."
"But her brother had a wife and a kid," choked Willow.
Rick shrugged, "It's a rumor I heard. I didn't come up with it on my own."
"That would explain why she went crazy," Willow finally conceded
Xun shook his head in disgust. He had heard of worse, but had always managed to avoid it.
"I need to head back out and finish exploring the valley. There's a wolf pack that lives along the southern mountain, and I think there's a herd of elk to the north."
Hayden perked up at that. Willow tuned in as well, turning to face him.
Xun smiled, "I don't suppose you two hunters would like to have a chance at getting a few?"
"Hunting has been pretty hard since the number of hunters has dropped. Fewer people are wanting to leave the compound and actually hunt. They would prefer to eat the food grown here, and the fish they bring from the ocean." Hayden added, "It's made bringing in a good kill worth the effort though."
Willow nodded. "I don't mind getting the extra credit for bringing in some elk. They let us have some good food when we do."
Xun looked at her puzzled. "Why don't you just get your own food from outside the compound and not rely on the kitchens here, if you're not happy with it?"
"I'm a terrible cook. Why burn my fingers when there are others to do it for me?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Hayden and Rick looked thoughtfully at his question, completely ignoring Willow.
"I honestly never thought about it," admitted Rick. "They've always offered food here, already cooked and prepared. The best reward they can hand out is better food. I just always focused on getting the reward instead of making my own food."
Hayden remained quiet, obviously lost in his thoughts.
"Why?" he asked, sincerely puzzled.Hayden, Willow and Xun looked at each other. They all understood. Rick had grown up in the compound, always safe, having never had an encounter with anything beyond the occasional monster that popped up. And even then, there were enough people between him and it, he never saw them, or experienced the horror of being face to face with one."Rick, what do you think will happen when the vampires can't find enough people?" asked Xun curiously."What do you mean?" he was obviously perplexed."The Slavers find compounds where people are hiding, and raid them every few years. They may let one or two go, but normally everyone in the compound is captured or killed. After a while, they have to expand their search range because they aren't finding anyone hiding in those compounds. I can remember dozens of empty places while I traveled," explained Xun."These vampires need to drink blood to survive. So, they constantly have to capture new people. That's why the old way of life died. The people who were in charge tried to kill them in whatever ways they could." Hayden's voice was soft.Rick nodded thoughtfully. "I read some of the old documents that talked about that. It was required reading when I was young.""So, when they can't find enough people, they will have to expand their hunt, and that means that eventually the Slavers will find a way to get here. There's too many people for them to ignore." Willow glared at the table."Most of the people here, don't understand like you guys do," Rick said patiently. "We don't have the experiences you have all been through.""Which is why if they ever do come, no one here will survive or escape. They don't know how to hide or flee something they don't understand." Xun touched the straps on his bag that sat on the table in front of him."What do we do?" asked Hayden."Yeah! We can't sit here talking in circles. We need something to do!" Willow pounded her fist on the table in emphasis."If it was just me, I would know what to do. I've never tried to help others escape, too." Xun's face was scrunched in thought.Rick laughed and said, "Then, let's not escape! Let's prepare to fight! You guys were able to take down a werewolf that was loose, not chained up. You've all had run ins with Slavers. Let's put our heads together and come up with a plan of action!" His voice was upbeat and determined, but Xun wasn't so sure.The Slavers were far more dangerous than the werewolves, and when there were many together, they were almost unstoppable. Besides, how could they take out the Slavers and vampires when people far more powerful and far better equipped had not?Xun shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. In all the encounters I have had with the Slavers and werewolves, this is the first time I have ever seen a werewolf get killed. And I have never seen a Slaver even get hurt. They're fast and strong."Willow nodded, "They can rip a grown man's arm off, if they wanted."Rick looked at the lost look that entered her eyes, and leaned over to give her a hug.Xun sat there, watching them, but not really seeing them. He was trying to remember a time when the Slavers had a hard time, maybe even when they might have gotten hurt, but he was coming up blank. His mind started to wander, and remembered how the leaders had chewed him out for the werewolf attack"Why did the leaders try to blame me for the werewolf killing people?" Xun wondered out loud.Rick straightened up and looked down at the table, squirming. "Well, there's a rumor that's going around but""Ohhh! A rumor!" Willow leaned in with a grin on her face. The conversation had been too draining, and the possibility of gossip had her all for a topic change. "Come on! You have to spill it!"With a sigh, Rick said, "The rumor is that Mary, Nathan's mom, loved her brother so much, that she slept with him, and that's how Nathan came along. No one knows of course, but there's no one else in the compound she cares about.""But her brother had a wife and a kid," choked Willow.Rick shrugged, "It's a rumor I heard. I didn't come up with it on my own.""That would explain why she went crazy," Willow finally concededXun shook his head in disgust. He had heard of worse, but had always managed to avoid it."I need to head back out and finish exploring the valley. There's a wolf pack that lives along the southern mountain, and I think there's a herd of elk to the north."Hayden perked up at that. Willow tuned in as well, turning to face him.Xun smiled, "I don't suppose you two hunters would like to have a chance at getting a few?""Hunting has been pretty hard since the number of hunters has dropped. Fewer people are wanting to leave the compound and actually hunt. They would prefer to eat the food grown here, and the fish they bring from the ocean." Hayden added, "It's made bringing in a good kill worth the effort though."Willow nodded. "I don't mind getting the extra credit for bringing in some elk. They let us have some good food when we do."Xun looked at her puzzled. "Why don't you just get your own food from outside the compound and not rely on the kitchens here, if you're not happy with it?""I'm a terrible cook. Why burn my fingers when there are others to do it for me?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.Hayden and Rick looked thoughtfully at his question, completely ignoring Willow."I honestly never thought about it," admitted Rick. "They've always offered food here, already cooked and prepared. The best reward they can hand out is better food. I just always focused on getting the reward instead of making my own food."Hayden remained quiet, obviously lost in his thoughts.
