Chapter 10
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Sleeping in this new world is horrible, everyone was tussling and turning, they were almost too scared to even close their eyes. Throughout the night there also was constant noises that caused them to jump, sometimes it would be an animal roaring, other times it might just be a large animal passing by. Whatever it was, it constantly woke up the family, after all, they don't want to be eaten in their sleep.
Sarah woke up multiple times for fortunately remembered what her mother told her and didn't make any noise. Instead, she just quietly curled into a ball and stayed next to Chloe, every now and then she might go and sleep by Lachlan's side.
When the light of day finally came it was extremely relaxing, seeing beams of sunlight shoot through the gaps between the tables and chairs. It almost felt as though they weren't constantly on the brink of life and death.
It was 7:00 am when everyone was awake, Chloe was in the Roadhouse's kitchen using whatever was there to cook up a meal. Fortunately, the beasts weren't after their human food so it was all undamaged.
Lachlan yawned and stretched his body, causing himself to groan. After that he finally got up, walking towards the kitchen he could smell baked beans, hash browns and sausages, causing his stomach to gurgle.
Sitting at the desk, Jack and Adam were already halfway into their meal, mowing it down as if it might be their last, which it might. Jack would check the windows every few seconds and scan for anything.
Sarah was on top of the bench eating the same meal as well. She was still quite clumsy so her face looked like a mess and Adam had the wipe it up every 10 seconds.
Chloe walked out of the kitchen after she finished cleaning up, even though she knew very well that there wasn't a need to, just habits. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail using some hair bands they had in the station.
Rocky seemed to have been de-summoned throughout the night, which Jack explained that keeping it summoned mentally exhausted him, he had to reassure Chloe that it won't damage him after saying that.
When he did de-summon him though there was no flashing which is probably why they didn't wake up for it. However, Rocky's body seemed to have been consumed by the shadows before merging with Jack's.
As such, the family decided that Jack would only summon Rocky during the times they really need him, as any other time would just be a waste and could leave them defenceless.
"Good morning Lachy," Chloe said walking up to Lachlan and giving him a big hug, her arms wrapping around Lachlan and pulling towards her, even slightly lifting him off the ground.
"Morning mum," Lachlan replied while hugging back.
"Anyway, get ready, we'll be going in 30 minutes," Chloe stated as she sat down with a plate full of food, just like Jack and Adam she began to devour her food as well.
Lachlan nodded and begun eating breakfast, constantly looking through one of the unconcealed windows, trying to see if he can notice anything, aside from a few shadows passing by there wasn't much.
By the time Lachlan finished his breakfast, Chloe had already packed a few bags full of food and drinks, mainly water. They couldn't know when they would be able to refuel and rest again, so having some meals with them was perfect.
Jack was removing all the tables and chairs used to barricade the door since he was the strongest one there, Chloe and Adam also helped out a bit. Once they cleared it they quickly looked outside and scanned the area for anything unusual, when they saw nothing they knew they had to go now.
After Jack had done so he grabbed some of the bags, Adam grabbed two bags and Sarah while Chloe was carrying a total of five bags. Lachlan was only carrying one bag filled with snacks. Although Sarah could walk by herself, if anything unexpected happens they wouldn't be able to protect her.
Walking outside they noticed there were more animal corpses littered around the area. Some had missing heads, others had missing arms and legs, while there were a few that didn't have anything missing, meaning they probably died of poison.
Although after last night's incident they found it easier to stomach such a sight, Lachlan, Chloe and Sarah however, threw up again. They did find it much easier to resist afterwards, the only unfortunate thing was Sarah saw it all.
"Are they alive?" Sarah said as she pointed towards a beast with everything still intact.
"No, they're not," Adam said, "They've been dead for a little while now and let's hope they stay that way". As the world has changed so much they're not sure what they can expect, maybe there is a beast which is able to control the dead. That would be one dangerous beast.
Looking around for their car they realised a massive scorpion corpse crushed it, the scorpion was about 3 metres long, light brown and missing its tail and a pincer. It looked light it had been stomped on, probably by a kangaroo.
"Shit," Chloe muttered under her breathe, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Looking around they noticed a brown Toyota Hilux that was almost untouched, just having a few blood marks. Walking over they made sure to keep their eyes on all angles, leaving no spot unmonitored.
Checking the inside there was no one in there, and obviously, there were no keys in the ignition. They walked around the car seeing if there was anything else, any way to get in or if there was anyone.
"Ah!" Adam shouted and stepped back, he was at the back of the car looking through the small window.
Walking over Chloe questioned him, "What's wrong Adam?"
"There's a man in the back," Adam replied while pointing to the Toyota's canopy, he was slightly panting, visibly shocked.
Hearing that, Chloe looked through the window, she quickly realised they were mostly covered but she quickly managed to find a gap.
Looking through she indeed saw a man, sleeping. He looked fairly old, maybe in his 50s, had a black well-trimmed beard with a few strands of grey. His hair was cut at a decent length and it had been pulled back. Knocking on the window she tried to get the man to wake up, which failed.
Jack gave it a try, slamming on the metal side caused a loud bang, shocking the man right awake.
Noticing there were people he opened the back window up and shouted angrily, "What are you doing?" His face was slightly red from the anger, he had thought it was another beast and was about to pounce.
"We were just seeing if you were alive sir," Jack replied shyly, he didn't mean to be rude.
"There's no need to slam onto the car then boy, you can just knock," the old man stated.
"Tried it, failed, decided this would work," Jack explained, hoping the old man would understand.
"Huh, well I suppose it did work," the old man grumpily said, opening up the back entrance he got out from the back of his car.
Finally seeing the old man properly shocked Lachlan, although he was old he had well-defined muscles covering his body, his arm muscles certainly popped out of his shirt. The old man's grey hair descended to his shoulders and there were a few scars on his face. Not to mention he seemed to be about 6'7, towering over them. However, that's not the main reason he was shocked, but rather his stats.
--------------------------------------------------------
Name: Alfredo Jackson (Human)
Age: 57 (Adult)
Soul Contracts: 1/5
Compatibility: Dogs (High), Wolfs (Moderate)
STR: 18, AGI: 14, VIT: 10
INT: 18, PER: 20, WIL: 17
Weakness: Foul Smells
Strengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.
--------------------------------------------------------
This old man had some insane stats, Lachlan didn't even think human's natural stats could be so high. Lachlan could only think of one way for someone to get that strong and that's through training and fighting. 'Suppose that's why he's been able to survive' Lachlan thought.
However, that's not all, he also had a soul contract, which meant he had a tamed beast. Taking a closer look at the old man's body, Lachlan noticed the tattoo on his legs, most likely from the taming. The tattoo looked like the head of a dog or wolf, Lachlan couldn't tell which one it was.
"Franklin!" The old man suddenly shouted, confusing the rest of the family. But then surprised them when his leg tattoo began to emit an extremely bright light, a large Wolf emerged from the light.
Gathering around it everyone finally managed to get a good look at it. It looked like a massive wolf with dark-grey fur that had a metallic shine on it. It was 1 - 2 metres tall when standing and about 3 - 4 metres long.
Lachlan quickly analysed it and his mouth opened up in shock.
--------------------------------------------------------
Name: Franklin (Iron-Fur Dog)
Age: Adult
Attribute: Iron
Grade: Normal
Innate Talent: 5th Grade
Level: 3
STR: 42(+4), AGI: 40(+5), VIT: 29(+3)
INT: 33(+1), PER: 44(+2), WIL: 34
Weakness: Foul Smells
Strengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.
--------------------------------------------------------
Seeing such stats made much more sense as to why the old man was able to survive. It also made Lachlan for some reason respect this stranger more, although he was old he was very strong.
"The names Alfredo, you can call me old man, old man Alfredo, or just stick with Alfredo, I don't mind. This is Franklin, he was an Australian Cattle Dog but changed into this after everything changed," Alfredo said.
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Sleeping in this new world is horrible, everyone was tussling and turning, they were almost too scared to even close their eyes. Throughout the night there also was constant noises that caused them to jump, sometimes it would be an animal roaring, other times it might just be a large animal passing by. Whatever it was, it constantly woke up the family, after all, they don't want to be eaten in their sleep.
Sarah woke up multiple times for fortunately remembered what her mother told her and didn't make any noise. Instead, she just quietly curled into a ball and stayed next to Chloe, every now and then she might go and sleep by Lachlan's side.
When the light of day finally came it was extremely relaxing, seeing beams of sunlight shoot through the gaps between the tables and chairs. It almost felt as though they weren't constantly on the brink of life and death.
It was 7:00 am when everyone was awake, Chloe was in the Roadhouse's kitchen using whatever was there to cook up a meal. Fortunately, the beasts weren't after their human food so it was all undamaged.
Lachlan yawned and stretched his body, causing himself to groan. After that he finally got up, walking towards the kitchen he could smell baked beans, hash browns and sausages, causing his stomach to gurgle.
Sitting at the desk, Jack and Adam were already halfway into their meal, mowing it down as if it might be their last, which it might. Jack would check the windows every few seconds and scan for anything.
Sarah was on top of the bench eating the same meal as well. She was still quite clumsy so her face looked like a mess and Adam had the wipe it up every 10 seconds.
Chloe walked out of the kitchen after she finished cleaning up, even though she knew very well that there wasn't a need to, just habits. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail using some hair bands they had in the station.
Rocky seemed to have been de-summoned throughout the night, which Jack explained that keeping it summoned mentally exhausted him, he had to reassure Chloe that it won't damage him after saying that.
When he did de-summon him though there was no flashing which is probably why they didn't wake up for it. However, Rocky's body seemed to have been consumed by the shadows before merging with Jack's.
As such, the family decided that Jack would only summon Rocky during the times they really need him, as any other time would just be a waste and could leave them defenceless.
"Good morning Lachy," Chloe said walking up to Lachlan and giving him a big hug, her arms wrapping around Lachlan and pulling towards her, even slightly lifting him off the ground.
"Morning mum," Lachlan replied while hugging back.
"Anyway, get ready, we'll be going in 30 minutes," Chloe stated as she sat down with a plate full of food, just like Jack and Adam she began to devour her food as well.
Lachlan nodded and begun eating breakfast, constantly looking through one of the unconcealed windows, trying to see if he can notice anything, aside from a few shadows passing by there wasn't much.
By the time Lachlan finished his breakfast, Chloe had already packed a few bags full of food and drinks, mainly water. They couldn't know when they would be able to refuel and rest again, so having some meals with them was perfect.
Jack was removing all the tables and chairs used to barricade the door since he was the strongest one there, Chloe and Adam also helped out a bit. Once they cleared it they quickly looked outside and scanned the area for anything unusual, when they saw nothing they knew they had to go now.
After Jack had done so he grabbed some of the bags, Adam grabbed two bags and Sarah while Chloe was carrying a total of five bags. Lachlan was only carrying one bag filled with snacks. Although Sarah could walk by herself, if anything unexpected happens they wouldn't be able to protect her.
Walking outside they noticed there were more animal corpses littered around the area. Some had missing heads, others had missing arms and legs, while there were a few that didn't have anything missing, meaning they probably died of poison.
Although after last night's incident they found it easier to stomach such a sight, Lachlan, Chloe and Sarah however, threw up again. They did find it much easier to resist afterwards, the only unfortunate thing was Sarah saw it all.
"Are they alive?" Sarah said as she pointed towards a beast with everything still intact.
"No, they're not," Adam said, "They've been dead for a little while now and let's hope they stay that way". As the world has changed so much they're not sure what they can expect, maybe there is a beast which is able to control the dead. That would be one dangerous beast.
Looking around for their car they realised a massive scorpion corpse crushed it, the scorpion was about 3 metres long, light brown and missing its tail and a pincer. It looked light it had been stomped on, probably by a kangaroo.
"Shit," Chloe muttered under her breathe, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Looking around they noticed a brown Toyota Hilux that was almost untouched, just having a few blood marks. Walking over they made sure to keep their eyes on all angles, leaving no spot unmonitored.
Checking the inside there was no one in there, and obviously, there were no keys in the ignition. They walked around the car seeing if there was anything else, any way to get in or if there was anyone.
"Ah!" Adam shouted and stepped back, he was at the back of the car looking through the small window.
Walking over Chloe questioned him, "What's wrong Adam?"
"There's a man in the back," Adam replied while pointing to the Toyota's canopy, he was slightly panting, visibly shocked.
Hearing that, Chloe looked through the window, she quickly realised they were mostly covered but she quickly managed to find a gap.
Looking through she indeed saw a man, sleeping. He looked fairly old, maybe in his 50s, had a black well-trimmed beard with a few strands of grey. His hair was cut at a decent length and it had been pulled back. Knocking on the window she tried to get the man to wake up, which failed.
Jack gave it a try, slamming on the metal side caused a loud bang, shocking the man right awake.
Noticing there were people he opened the back window up and shouted angrily, "What are you doing?" His face was slightly red from the anger, he had thought it was another beast and was about to pounce.
"We were just seeing if you were alive sir," Jack replied shyly, he didn't mean to be rude.
"There's no need to slam onto the car then boy, you can just knock," the old man stated.
"Tried it, failed, decided this would work," Jack explained, hoping the old man would understand.
"Huh, well I suppose it did work," the old man grumpily said, opening up the back entrance he got out from the back of his car.
Finally seeing the old man properly shocked Lachlan, although he was old he had well-defined muscles covering his body, his arm muscles certainly popped out of his shirt. The old man's grey hair descended to his shoulders and there were a few scars on his face. Not to mention he seemed to be about 6'7, towering over them. However, that's not the main reason he was shocked, but rather his stats.
--------------------------------------------------------
Name: Alfredo Jackson (Human)
Age: 57 (Adult)
Soul Contracts: 1/5
Compatibility: Dogs (High), Wolfs (Moderate)
STR: 18, AGI: 14, VIT: 10
INT: 18, PER: 20, WIL: 17
Weakness: Foul Smells
Strengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.
--------------------------------------------------------
This old man had some insane stats, Lachlan didn't even think human's natural stats could be so high. Lachlan could only think of one way for someone to get that strong and that's through training and fighting. 'Suppose that's why he's been able to survive' Lachlan thought.
However, that's not all, he also had a soul contract, which meant he had a tamed beast. Taking a closer look at the old man's body, Lachlan noticed the tattoo on his legs, most likely from the taming. The tattoo looked like the head of a dog or wolf, Lachlan couldn't tell which one it was.
"Franklin!" The old man suddenly shouted, confusing the rest of the family. But then surprised them when his leg tattoo began to emit an extremely bright light, a large Wolf emerged from the light.
Gathering around it everyone finally managed to get a good look at it. It looked like a massive wolf with dark-grey fur that had a metallic shine on it. It was 1 - 2 metres tall when standing and about 3 - 4 metres long.
Lachlan quickly analysed it and his mouth opened up in shock.
--------------------------------------------------------
Name: Franklin (Iron-Fur Dog)
Age: Adult
Attribute: Iron
Grade: Normal
Innate Talent: 5th Grade
Level: 3
STR: 42(+4), AGI: 40(+5), VIT: 29(+3)
INT: 33(+1), PER: 44(+2), WIL: 34
Weakness: Foul Smells
Strengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.
--------------------------------------------------------
Seeing such stats made much more sense as to why the old man was able to survive. It also made Lachlan for some reason respect this stranger more, although he was old he was very strong.
"The names Alfredo, you can call me old man, old man Alfredo, or just stick with Alfredo, I don't mind. This is Franklin, he was an Australian Cattle Dog but changed into this after everything changed," Alfredo said.
Sleeping in this new world is horrible, everyone was tussling and turning, they were almost too scared to even close their eyes. Throughout the night there also was constant noises that caused them to jump, sometimes it would be an animal roaring, other times it might just be a large animal passing by. Whatever it was, it constantly woke up the family, after all, they don't want to be eaten in their sleep.Sarah woke up multiple times for fortunately remembered what her mother told her and didn't make any noise. Instead, she just quietly curled into a ball and stayed next to Chloe, every now and then she might go and sleep by Lachlan's side.When the light of day finally came it was extremely relaxing, seeing beams of sunlight shoot through the gaps between the tables and chairs. It almost felt as though they weren't constantly on the brink of life and death.It was 7:00 am when everyone was awake, Chloe was in the Roadhouse's kitchen using whatever was there to cook up a meal. Fortunately, the beasts weren't after their human food so it was all undamaged.Lachlan yawned and stretched his body, causing himself to groan. After that he finally got up, walking towards the kitchen he could smell baked beans, hash browns and sausages, causing his stomach to gurgle.Sitting at the desk, Jack and Adam were already halfway into their meal, mowing it down as if it might be their last, which it might. Jack would check the windows every few seconds and scan for anything.Sarah was on top of the bench eating the same meal as well. She was still quite clumsy so her face looked like a mess and Adam had the wipe it up every 10 seconds.Chloe walked out of the kitchen after she finished cleaning up, even though she knew very well that there wasn't a need to, just habits. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail using some hair bands they had in the station.Rocky seemed to have been de-summoned throughout the night, which Jack explained that keeping it summoned mentally exhausted him, he had to reassure Chloe that it won't damage him after saying that.When he did de-summon him though there was no flashing which is probably why they didn't wake up for it. However, Rocky's body seemed to have been consumed by the shadows before merging with Jack's.As such, the family decided that Jack would only summon Rocky during the times they really need him, as any other time would just be a waste and could leave them defenceless."Good morning Lachy," Chloe said walking up to Lachlan and giving him a big hug, her arms wrapping around Lachlan and pulling towards her, even slightly lifting him off the ground."Morning mum," Lachlan replied while hugging back."Anyway, get ready, we'll be going in 30 minutes," Chloe stated as she sat down with a plate full of food, just like Jack and Adam she began to devour her food as well.Lachlan nodded and begun eating breakfast, constantly looking through one of the unconcealed windows, trying to see if he can notice anything, aside from a few shadows passing by there wasn't much.By the time Lachlan finished his breakfast, Chloe had already packed a few bags full of food and drinks, mainly water. They couldn't know when they would be able to refuel and rest again, so having some meals with them was perfect.Jack was removing all the tables and chairs used to barricade the door since he was the strongest one there, Chloe and Adam also helped out a bit. Once they cleared it they quickly looked outside and scanned the area for anything unusual, when they saw nothing they knew they had to go now.After Jack had done so he grabbed some of the bags, Adam grabbed two bags and Sarah while Chloe was carrying a total of five bags. Lachlan was only carrying one bag filled with snacks. Although Sarah could walk by herself, if anything unexpected happens they wouldn't be able to protect her.Walking outside they noticed there were more animal corpses littered around the area. Some had missing heads, others had missing arms and legs, while there were a few that didn't have anything missing, meaning they probably died of poison.Although after last night's incident they found it easier to stomach such a sight, Lachlan, Chloe and Sarah however, threw up again. They did find it much easier to resist afterwards, the only unfortunate thing was Sarah saw it all."Are they alive?" Sarah said as she pointed towards a beast with everything still intact."No, they're not," Adam said, "They've been dead for a little while now and let's hope they stay that way". As the world has changed so much they're not sure what they can expect, maybe there is a beast which is able to control the dead. That would be one dangerous beast.Looking around for their car they realised a massive scorpion corpse crushed it, the scorpion was about 3 metres long, light brown and missing its tail and a pincer. It looked light it had been stomped on, probably by a kangaroo."Shit," Chloe muttered under her breathe, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear.Looking around they noticed a brown Toyota Hilux that was almost untouched, just having a few blood marks. Walking over they made sure to keep their eyes on all angles, leaving no spot unmonitored.Checking the inside there was no one in there, and obviously, there were no keys in the ignition. They walked around the car seeing if there was anything else, any way to get in or if there was anyone."Ah!" Adam shouted and stepped back, he was at the back of the car looking through the small window.Walking over Chloe questioned him, "What's wrong Adam?""There's a man in the back," Adam replied while pointing to the Toyota's canopy, he was slightly panting, visibly shocked.Hearing that, Chloe looked through the window, she quickly realised they were mostly covered but she quickly managed to find a gap.Looking through she indeed saw a man, sleeping. He looked fairly old, maybe in his 50s, had a black well-trimmed beard with a few strands of grey. His hair was cut at a decent length and it had been pulled back. Knocking on the window she tried to get the man to wake up, which failed.Jack gave it a try, slamming on the metal side caused a loud bang, shocking the man right awake.Noticing there were people he opened the back window up and shouted angrily, "What are you doing?" His face was slightly red from the anger, he had thought it was another beast and was about to pounce."We were just seeing if you were alive sir," Jack replied shyly, he didn't mean to be rude."There's no need to slam onto the car then boy, you can just knock," the old man stated."Tried it, failed, decided this would work," Jack explained, hoping the old man would understand."Huh, well I suppose it did work," the old man grumpily said, opening up the back entrance he got out from the back of his car.Finally seeing the old man properly shocked Lachlan, although he was old he had well-defined muscles covering his body, his arm muscles certainly popped out of his shirt. The old man's grey hair descended to his shoulders and there were a few scars on his face. Not to mention he seemed to be about 6'7, towering over them. However, that's not the main reason he was shocked, but rather his stats.--------------------------------------------------------Name: Alfredo Jackson HumanAge: 57 AdultSoul Contracts: 1/5Compatibility: Dogs High, Wolfs ModerateSTR: 18, AGI: 14, VIT: 10INT: 18, PER: 20, WIL: 17Weakness: Foul SmellsStrengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.--------------------------------------------------------This old man had some insane stats, Lachlan didn't even think human's natural stats could be so high. Lachlan could only think of one way for someone to get that strong and that's through training and fighting. 'Suppose that's why he's been able to survive' Lachlan thought.However, that's not all, he also had a soul contract, which meant he had a tamed beast. Taking a closer look at the old man's body, Lachlan noticed the tattoo on his legs, most likely from the taming. The tattoo looked like the head of a dog or wolf, Lachlan couldn't tell which one it was."Franklin!" The old man suddenly shouted, confusing the rest of the family. But then surprised them when his leg tattoo began to emit an extremely bright light, a large Wolf emerged from the light.Gathering around it everyone finally managed to get a good look at it. It looked like a massive wolf with dark-grey fur that had a metallic shine on it. It was 1 - 2 metres tall when standing and about 3 - 4 metres long.Lachlan quickly analysed it and his mouth opened up in shock.--------------------------------------------------------Name: Franklin Iron-Fur DogAge: AdultAttribute: IronGrade: NormalInnate Talent: 5th GradeLevel: 3STR: 42+4, AGI: 40+5, VIT: 29+3INT: 33+1, PER: 44+2, WIL: 34Weakness: Foul SmellsStrengths: Accurate Nose, Strong Bite.--------------------------------------------------------Seeing such stats made much more sense as to why the old man was able to survive. It also made Lachlan for some reason respect this stranger more, although he was old he was very strong."The names Alfredo, you can call me old man, old man Alfredo, or just stick with Alfredo, I don't mind. This is Franklin, he was an Australian Cattle Dog but changed into this after everything changed," Alfredo said.
