Growth

Clare awoke to something smacking her in the face: the fox’s tail. Hours must have passed. She could see the final stages of the sunset through the rear window from the cold floor of the covered bed of the truck. Alice and Marco were beside her, both unconscious. The fox was dreaming in a sizeable crate beside two bobcats, both resting, both resigned to their fates. A guard, the woman who tranquilized them, was on a bench towards the rear of the bed, looking out at the road behind them. She heard Clare stir and looked her way.

“You’re awake?” she asked. “You should be out for at least another hour.”

“Who are you?” Clare asked.

“And why are you doing this?” the woman finished. “Same reason I do anything: money. It’s nothing personal, honey. Now you just stay tied up right there so I don’t have to shoot you again.”

Clare noticed the bonds that kept her hands behind her back, and these would not come off easily.

“Where are you taking us?”

“Like the boss said, New Orleans.”

“So what are you? Slavers? Poachers?”

“Slavers? Poachers? Yes.” Clare glared. “Don’t give me that look. I’m sure someone will buy you there and you’ll be on your way.”

The talk awoke Alice, who immediately began struggling to escape. Their captor stood and put a boot on Alice’s back. “Easy there, sister.”

“Calm down, Alice,” Clare reassured.

“Calm down? Calm down!?” Alice’s struggle continued. “That was him! He killed my family! I want his head on a stick!”

Alice’s shouting caused Marco to stir and the caged bobcats shifted around uncomfortably.

“Alice! They’re taking us to New Orleans. We have that going for us, don’t we?”

“Oh, you want to go like this and take the easy way out, huh?”

Clare frowned. “Well we already cheated with the Primal…”

“What the hell are you two talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alice answered. She calmed a bit.

“Hey, do you have our bags?”

“They aren’t your bags anymore,” the woman said smugly.

“Keep thinking that.”

Clare looked at the animals in the cage behind her.

“They’ll fetch good prices,” the guard said. “It’s hard to get your hands on such big game these days. They all used to be small and stupid, you see.”

“We’ve heard the stories.”

“You mean you’ve heard the facts. I always wonder what life was like before and during the Growth. I mean, you get all of these little animals suddenly tough enough to put you six feet under. But that was a hundred years ago.”

“Don’t start sharing too much. We’ll get Stockholm Syndrome,” Alice said.

“I can talk your ears off if I want to. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“If you want to get technical, we are.” Alice pointed out the back with her foot.

“Smartass.” The woman looked out back. “I don’t think we’re too far from Mandeville. We’re really moving.”

“We sure are. But this is where you get off.”

The woman looked back down just as Alice’s freed fist smacked her across the jaw. It was a one-hit K.O. when the woman’s head struck metal and she fell unconscious.

“Damn, she was supposed to fall out the back.”

“Not bad,” groggy Marco said.

“How did you get free?” Clare asked.

Alice shrugged. “I kind of just jerked at the rope real hard and it snapped. Guess I don’t know my own strength.” Alice narrowed her eyes at Marco, who looked away when he saw her piercing gaze, and then she broke Clare’s bonds. “Time to escape. There’s a killer I have to kill.”

Clare rubbed her sore wrists. “Let’s get them free too.” She searched the woman for keys.

“You’re such a softy.” Alice looked around. She found the woman’s guns: a tranquilizer rifle and revolver. There were a few clips of extra ammunition for the rifle. The women’ packs were hung on hooks on the side with all of their equipment intact. Clare had found keys and opened the cage. The fox was still unconscious but the bobcats walked out.

“Are we free?” one asked.

Clare smiled at them. “You sure are.”

“Hang on, everybody.”

Alice cocked the revolver as she leaned out the back and shot out the rear tire. The truck swerved and slowed to a stop. The front doors opened and closed.

“Damn it, what’s going on now?” one gruff voice asked. “We don’t have time for this shit.”

“The boss doesn’t like late shipments.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Captain Obvious.” The mercenaries looked into the back. Two shots fired. Alice hit both men with the revolver. The women then crawled outside. Alice examined her kills. “Damn, he must be in the other truck,” she muttered. The bobcats hopped out and looked at Clare.

“You’d better get going,” she said to them. They nodded and escaped into the forest.

The other vehicle finally noticed and stopped further down the road. Three people got out, including Alice’s target. “What’s going on!?” he shouted.

His answer was Alice shooting one of the others. He looked down at the bloody hole in his chest before falling. The remaining two raised their rifles and took cover.

“Where’d you learn how to use guns?” Clare asked.

“Alfred.”

Shots pinged near Clare. “Alice, what do we do?” Clare had led Marco across the street and behind a wide tree. “We don’t exactly have them by surprise anymore.”

“No shit!”

A bullet splintered the bark by Clare’s head. She repositioned herself.

“Stay hidden,” Alice said. “Let me just think for a sec.”

“Take your time,” Marco called.

“Shut up.”

Alice peeked out from behind the truck. Bullets struck the side above her head, and she quickly pulled back.

“Alice, we need to run.”

“What? Like hell!”

“I don’t know how to use guns, we have an unconscious animal, and they are two trained killers. We need to go!”

Alice grit her teeth. “Damn it.” She shoved the guns in her pack. “Fine. We do it your stupid way.” Alice threw her pack to Clare and hopped into the truck where she lifted the sleeping fox into her arms. Back outside, Clare waited anxiously. She had secured the packs and awaited the escape. Alice hopped out the back and got herself ready, set, and sprinted across the road. She was fast, and the gunfire missed.

The sprint continued when she entered the woods. Clare and Marco were right behind her. No bullets chased them. They slowed and hid after a good five minutes of running and heard no sounds of pursuit.

“This is good,” Alice huffed.

“Are you sure?”

“For now. They might try to hunt us down eventually but they won’t leave their trucks dead in the road.” She kicked a tree. “I almost had him.”

“You’ll get him. Look how close you were this time.”

“Let’s talk about anything else.”

“Well we kind of missed out on a free ride today.”

“Maybe. Shit, this fox is heavy. Besides, we’ve been getting too much help. What’s the point of being dropped in the forest if we’re not going to get anything out of it?”

“The Protectors just left you out here? What a surprise.”

“Shush.”

They continued walking. Clare noticed Alice kicking rocks and stomping on twigs with excessive force. She knew Alice didn’t want to hear it but Clare said it anyway. “Please calm down.”

“No! Today was a loss. Yesterday was also a loss. We are losing at life.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are always running.”

“What’s so wrong with running?”

“It’s cowardly, for one.”

“Ah, but are you not alive and well?” the fox said from Alice’s arms. Alice jumped in surprise and dropped it. The fox landed gracefully at Alice’s feet.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Only a minute.” The fox stretched its legs. “Cowardice is a means of survival. Do gazelle attack lions when they see them?”

“What’s a gazelle?” Clare asked.

Marco giggled and the fox sighed. “Do bugs attack frogs? No. They run and they live.”

“I don’t feel much better but I get it.”

“I do not remember what happened,” the fox said.

“We were all tranquilized for a while before Alice set us free. There was a little shootout after that before we ran away.”

“Then I must thank you for bringing me with you.”

Alice shrugged. “You’ve been helping us out for a while now. It seemed like the right thing to do. A favor for a favor, right?”

The fox grinned and nodded.

“So how far do you think we were carried?” Clare asked.

“The trucks were really moving from what I could tell looking out the back. Plus the sun’s set.”

“So…”

“So I don’t know.”

Marco shrugged when the others looked at him for his thoughts.

“Then I guess all we can do is keep walking,” Clare groaned.

And so they did, southward. The day was as tiresome as usual and at the end of it they made their evening fire and Clare practiced making a better spit for future rotisserie meals. But tonight was just the last of the canned food. No mercenaries showed, unless they were waiting and watching from the unimpeded darkness of a world with little electricity and light. Sleep was a no-go. With the recent tranquilization, the group was very much awake now. When everyone finally admitted to this, they lit torches for nighttime travel and resumed the journey.

“The slavers have taken us much further south than I originally predicted,” the fox pointed out.

“How can you tell?”

“There is new flora. These plants and trees are most definitely southern.”

Clare’s gaze moved up from the bushes to the sky. The vast reaches of space glimmered in the heavens above. Without the lights of civilization and the smog of industry, there was nothing between the cosmos and the human eye.

“We may well be in Louisiana,” the fox said. “If that is the case, we are about to face the most trying part of the journey.”

“About to? We haven’t yet? Oh, God.”

“Can you explain it to her?” Alice asked of the fox.

The fox looked at Clare. “She does not know what a swamp is, does she?”

“I do not,” Clare admitted.

Marco just shook his head. Clare jabbed his arm.

“Swamps are wetlands. You have to imagine the forest that we are currently in except with water all around us. Some areas are shallow, others are deep, but both hide dangers. Travel is extremely difficult as well. The roads did not survive the hurricanes of old.”

“Hurricanes?”

“It’s a storm. A very, very destructive storm. You’ve experienced tornados in Tennessee, right?” Alice asked.

“Yeah, we’ve had them hit the Refuge.”

“One of those, except bigger and badder. A bunch of tornados can be inside hurricanes.”

“Wooow.”

“Most of Louisiana is a giant swamp,” the fox continued. “New Orleans is in ruins but it was, and is, an important place for you humans. That is why actions were taken to preserve it.”

Weariness eventually caught up with the four late into the night. Torch became campfire, which became ashes by late morning. The air grew more humid as they continued. Ponds appeared. Small lakes and then bayous followed. The path became like a twisting snake and unless the group wanted to get wet, they had to follow its lead. That is, until they ran out of road.

Shoes were abandoned and stuffed into their packs. Their feet adapted to the cool water soon anyway. The day dragged on uneventfully. The only entertainment was small talk, complaints about the heat and humidity, and the occasional remark about the lovely scenery that the wetlands provided at times.

And then the mosquitoes came. Monstrous mosquitoes. The fox came to the dirty rescue. It found a nice pit of mud and rolled around in it. The humans were naturally hesitant, but finally gave in when the approach of dusk summoned the swarms. They were filthy and reeked, but the mud did the trick. Then nightfall. A fire was built upon a patch of higher dry land but it was not a mosquito repellant. The mud had to stay on.

Around the warmth, Alice started a story. “Alfred told me a lot of tales about the world before the Growth. One of those things was that this area used to be all dry land. The wetlands gradually moved up over the years.”

“Any clues why? Just Mother Nature doing its thing?” Clare asked.

“Must be. It’s a very strange world we live in now.”

Marco spoke up. “Consider weather and other natural disasters. We believe that this is Mother Nature keeping humanity in check. It is most definitely trying to prevent the mistakes of the past from resurfacing.”

Alice rubbed her eyes. “Let’s put a pin in the cultist beliefs.” She leaned back onto her bedroll but jerked right back up. “What the hell?”

“What?”

It’s wet. There’s a puddle under here.” Alice began trembling. “A hidden fucking puddle. Right here on what was supposed to be the only dry spot we could find! I’m sick of this shit! Swamps, Crusaders, mosquitoes, and now not even a dry bed! All I want is my revenge and then to move on with my life. I shouldn’t have to put up with so much bullshit. You’re the lucky one! You got to kill your enemy. I’m stuck thinking about mine all day long, every day.”

“It’s alright, Alice. We’re in Louisiana, remember? We’re almost there.”

“Right after we crawl out of this swamp covered in shit-smelling muck.”

“I know it’s hard. We are right here with you, dealing with the same stuff. Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Alice rose and marched off into the swamp.

The fox stopped Clare before she could follow. “Give her a few moments. It has been a tiresome day.”

As Clare stood beside the fox and Marco looked on in fear, Alice trudged aimlessly through the obnoxious terrain, ignoring how much dirtier it was making her. So many thoughts and frustrations raced through her mind. When enough was enough, she found a dead tree and beat it into splinters. And when that was over, she did the same to another.

Splashing water sounded when Alice had finished with the fourth tree. She turned and made out Clare in the moonlight. Clare wordlessly approached and gently wrapped her arms around Alice. Alice squeezed right back and let it all out.

“It’s too much!” she cried.

“I know, sweetheart. I know.”

Alice sniffled. “When I was little, people broke into our house. I watched my mom and dad get beheaded right in front of me. The only reason I’m alive is because Alfred came home in time. He killed most of the intruders, but my parents’ executioner escaped. Alfred dropped me with relatives for a few years after that. The only thing keeping me going is the thought that one day I could get my revenge and when I finally had it in my grasp, I ran away! I’m sick of this mud, I’m sick of Crusaders, I’m sick of everything! The killer was right in front of me. That son of a bitch was within reach and I fucking ran away!”

Clare lightly popped Alice in the back of the head. “Language.”

Alice couldn’t help but chuckle and released herself from Clare’s hold. She took a few more moments to compose herself and then said, “Let’s go back to the fire. And I’m sorry for yelling at you. You didn’t deserve it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Clare said. “We all need a good cry every now and then.”

The fox was all curled up and Marco on his own little patch of relatively dry land when the women returned. But as comfortable as it looked, there was anxiety in the fox’s eyes that only faded when Clare and Alice reappeared. Alice took her seat beside the animal, who relaxed when she put an arm around it.

Marco felt jealous.

“Hey, Clare?” Alice said.

“Yeah?”

“While we’re sharing, is it alright if I ask something you?”

“Of course. What would you like to know?”

“I was wondering about your situation regarding Ryker. It was Ryker, right?”

“Yeah. I was his slave since I was a child. I grew up and worked in his mine.”

“My God. I’m sorry, Clare.”

“I was told that my parents had sold me to him. I don’t remember what they look like. So it’s been a life of labor for me.”

Alice crawled to Clare and pulled her in to herself and the fox.

“But then Calvin came. I don’t know how to repay him. I’ve only been a burden so far.”

“I’m sure he understands. I mean, he’s running around the country all the time. It’s no wonder he’s in better shape and a more knowledgeable about everything. You can’t try to compare yourself to him yet. But we’ll get there. The two of us. We’ll become Protectors and get closure.”

“We can do this.”

“That’s right. We can do this!”

“Can we do this tomorrow?” the tired fox cut in.

The women smiled and returned to their bedrolls. Alice found a new and unquestionably dry spot. When they settled, Marco spoke up.

“Clare?”

“Yeah?”

“We may not be on the same side, but I am sorry about your past. I would not wish that on my enemies.”

“What’s past is past.”

“But still…”

“I’m here because I’m starting a new life. I can’t dwell on what happened.” Clare sighed. “And honestly, killing Ryker wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought it’d be.”

Alice rolled over to face Clare. “No?”

“All I did was slit his throat. The real fulfillment came from leaving. It was seeing trees and the river and the sky. Tasting steak. Freeing animals.” Clare smiled. “Life isn’t so bad.”

Alice just rolled back over and went to sleep.

More walking the next day, not that there was anything else to do. Humid in the morning, humid in the evening.

“I fail to see the dangers of the swamp,” Clare said to the fox.

“It lurks. We must not let our guard down. Something may well have been following us this whole time.”

“Paranoid little fur ball. I’ll bet we- Wait, do you hear that?”

“I do,” the fox said.

“I hear it now too,” Clare said. “It sounds like a fight, maybe?”

“Let’s go. Slowly.”

They crept forward and tried to refrain from stirring the waters too much. There was a struggle ahead. That became apparent. And whatever was causing the ruckus was big. Trees shook in the distance and waves began to disturb the otherwise calm surface of the water.

“Should we really do this?” Clare asked.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“I am, but this is scary.”

“I agree with Clare,” the fox said.

“So you want to give up and go all the way around?”

“It’s not that far. It’s a five-minute detour, tops.”

“Just hush and keep sneaking. It’s not like we have to get involved.”

“You people are nuts,” Marco said.

The group hit a patch of tall grass that was the final barricade and peeked out the other side.

There was a battle, and it was big. A thirty-foot alligator fought beside a snake just as long, if not longer. All spectators had never seen the reptiles’ adversary before. It appeared reptilian as well but stood twenty feet high on its hind legs. Thick black skin served as formidable armor against the gnashing teeth of its enemies. The hands had long claws and the tail snapped trees in half as it thrashed about. Its fangs were too long for its mouth and jutted out. A row of spikes crawled down its spine to the tip of the tail.

“A dragon,” Alice whispered. “Alfred told me about them but I never thought I’d see one.”

The dragon roared, lifted the alligator, and threw it into some trees. The snake attacked and buried its fangs into the dragon’s neck but the hide was too thick and the lethal bite was ineffective. The dragon grabbed the snake by the neck and twisted. The serpent went limp, instantly slain. When that was seen by the alligator, it made a run for it, finding deeper water and swimming away. The monster roared to the sky in victory. It echoed for miles. Then in one bite, it severed the snake’s head from its body and began its meal.

“That is enough,” the fox said. “We must leave while it is distracted.” No one objected to that, and they took the long way around the battlefield. As they tiptoed along, the fox stopped abruptly and pointed with its nose in the direction of a strange looking pile of leaves on dry ground. The others also stopped when they noticed its peculiarity.

Then a hand slowly came out of it and pointed downward. The group looked at their feet. Just mud. The hand waved for them to stop that, then motioned like it was pressing something down. Still, no one quite got it.

Then a voice yelled, “NOW!”

Guns fired from hidden locations in the tall grass. The four dropped and took cover behind whatever they could find. The dragon’s roars filled their ears next, followed by the screams and shouts of men and women. Clare poked her head up to see what was going on.

There were a good fifteen people that had been in hiding. All were camouflaged. The dragon was trapped in their circle with many, many harpoons and ropes all over it. And it seemed every last one was absolutely necessary to keep the creature in place. It was roaring and struggling with a great fury.

“Don’t you people know what ‘get down’ means?” the former pile of leaves asked. It was a young man perhaps a few years older than Clare. He had a thick Southern accent and a pretty good tan. He tossed aside his ghillie suit and revealed camo-everything clothes. He was armed to the teeth with all kinds of outdoors equipment.

“We’re sorry,” Alice answered. “We had no idea any of this was going on.”

“It’s alright. That’s kind of the point anyway. We wouldn’t be great Monster Hunters if they could smell us coming a mile away.”

“Monster Hunters?” Marco asked.

The boy put his hands on his hips and stood up straight and tall. “That’s right. We hunt anything from Dragons to… other things.”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’?” Alice asked. “You didn’t do so much just now.”

“Hey, I contribute! I just wasn’t needed this time, that’s all. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He lifted a giant bag over his broad shoulders.

“You’re a pack mule!” Alice mocked.

“No, I am a genuine hunter just like everyone else here.”

Alice laughed. “Alright, sorry for busting your balls.”

“I’m Clare,” Clare said to change the subject.

“And I’m Alice. That’s our prisoner, Marco.”

Marco waved his bound hands.

The young hunter was clearly baffled by Marco’s situation but let it go. “I’m Martin. Pleased to meet you, even if every other sentence is some kind of insult. It’s rare you find attractive young ladies out in these parts.”

“Save the flattery, Romeo,” Alice said, blushing anyway.

Another man came over. “Who are these two?” he asked. This one was a greying man with a handlebar mustache and cowboy hat.

“Hank. This is Clare, Alice and Marco. And this is their pet, I guess?”

“I am no man’s pet,” the fox responded.

“Okay, not a pet.”

“I’m Hank. It’s a pleasure to meet you, but this isn’t the best place to be right now. We have the dragon tied up, but that never means it won’t get out somehow. I’ve seen it. Trust this old man.”

“Don’t worry, we aren’t sticking around,” Clare said. “We have to get to New Orleans.”

“New Orleans? You might find a caged up dragon or two down there. They get shipped everywhere these days.”

“Why?” the fox asked. “They are mindless killers. They are only ever a danger.”

“I know that more than most, little fox. As for where they go, I have no idea. I only get them to clients and they hand me money.”

“You humans and your currency…”

“So yeah, we’ll get out your hair,” Alice said.

“It was good to meet you,” Clare added.

“You three take care,” Hank said.

“Hope to see you again one day,” Martin said.

Just like that, they were on the road again. The sounds of the hunt faded into the distance when Alice exclaimed, “That was epic!”

“Dragons are abominations,” the fox said. “They are not of Nature.”

“Let’s not talk about Nature,” Alice said. “I’m in a good mood from watching that awesome monster battle. Don’t ruin it.”

“So be it. But you must remember that they are not truly animals. Foxes, bears, and delicious chickens can be reasoned with. Dragon cannot, and there is no reason to try to interact with them other than trying to slay them.”

Alice said, “Protectors make their armor out of their skin. Alfred told me so. Did you see how the snake’s fangs barely did anything? If teeth like that won’t work, I don’t think anything will.”

“Scary,” Marco said.

“Indeed.”

“No, wait. Something has to.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Protectors are using their skins, doesn’t that mean they can kill them?”

“Kill that thing? Maybe they just find dead ones.”

“Your Protectors are a mysterious group. Even we animals do not know most of your ways.”

“So why trust them?” Marco asked.

“Some of us do not. You know this well.”

“What does that mean?” Clare asked Marco.

“It means that our army doesn’t just include humans,” Marco explained. “There are plenty of animals on our side too. Why shouldn’t they be? It’s the right side.”

“Just as the Crusaders have allies, so too do the Protectors, and human beings in general as well. Not every animal is as bloodthirsty as your Overseer,” the fox retorted.

“Our reasoning is sound. We want to take back the world for your sake as well.”

“Yes, at the cost of killing innocents.”

“There is nothing innocent about mankind.”

“You lack faith in humanity. Have you thrown yours away?”

“Putting faith in humanity is putting faith in rapists, thieves, and murderers. I recognize and will atone for the sins of my ancestors. Those sins of the past are still occurring today when they should have been buried with humanity during the Growth.”

“There is always hope. Humanity survived the Growth. It adapted to the new world. It can change for the better.”

Marco sighed. “No, I don’t believe it can. Examples of the worst of humanity walk beside us.”

“What’d you call me?” Alice said.

“Hey, this is your and the fox’s debate. Leave us out of it.”

“Clare spent her life as a slave. As I understand it, Alice had loved ones killed before her very eyes. What could they have possibly done to have deserved that?”

“There will always be good and there will always be evil,” the fox continued. “Yes, there is still cruelty in humanity. But slaughtering the masses is no way to solve that. The Protectors think before they act. They find the heart of the problem and use rational problem solving to find a solution.”

“Calvin said that Ron had influence on a broader scale,” Clare said. “He cut off the head of the snake and then went on his way.”

The fox looked at Marco. “See?”

“That’s one snake dead and a million living on. It’d be best to kill them all.”

“I see something,” Alice cut in.

“Where?”

“Dead ahead. Looks like a wall.”

“It could be a Refuge. But this close to wandering dragons?”

“Be on guard.”

The group reached the walls of what was indeed a Refuge. The guards did not question their entrance and let them through the gate. A surprisingly large number of people were outside the gate though. The monster’s far-reaching roar had undoubtedly gotten their attention. Clare and Alice’s walk was largely ignored even though they were still mud-covered. A large warehouse blocked their view of the rest of the refuge behind it. They moved the long distance around it and its surrounding Cyprus trees until they spotted more structures and a large body of water. This place was a boatyard. They surveyed the area from the warehouse’s porch.

Clare was still unfamiliar with boats. The many new shapes and sizes of the ones here fascinated her. “This is a cool place,” she uttered. “There weren’t this many boats in Memphis.”

A large man who had kept quiet on the porch spoke up. “There ain’t as much water in Memphis,” he said. “Y’all ain’t from around here.”

“No we are not.”

“And you got a little fox with you. That’s real cute. So you headin’ to New Orleans?”

The fox sneered.

“Yeah,” Alice said. “You sound like you know a good way to get there.”

“A good way? It’s the best way. You gotta take a boat, and since you don’t got a boat, you can ride on my boat.”

“Thanks but no thanks. We’re going to look around for a while.”

“Suit yourself. Ol’ Johnny’s going to be here when you change your mind.” He went back to his chair and relaxed with a bottle of beer. “Glad they still make these,” he said to himself.

Clare and Alice walked along the high ground where other buildings were situated. Businesses sold everything boat-related from fishing supplies to boat motor parts. The land sloped a short distance to the water, almost like a grassy, muddy beach. Many long docks stretched out over the water, all facing the same direction, the direction that led out over a massive lake.

“What’s the name of the lake?” Clare asked.

“I’ve seen the name but I can’t pronounce it,” Alice replied. “What really matters is that we find a way, a cheap way, to get across. We should have enough money to get us a ride. Maybe we should go back to Ol’ Johnny.”

“We may not have to. Look over there.” Clare pointed to a bridge so long that it disappeared into the horizon. “Does that stretch all the way across?”

“I’d have to guess it does but let’s ask.” Alice led the way to the nearest building, a fishing supplies shop. It was pretty ragged both outside and in. But all of the fishing necessities were there. A tired man had his head on his arm behind the counter.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked lazily.

“We just want to know if the bridge goes all the way across the lake.”

“Causeway Bridge? It sure does. Broken in a few spots, but nothing some engineers couldn’t fix with wooden planks. Shmucks. It’ll take you all day though. It’s twenty-four miles long.”

“Twenty-four!? Shit.” Alice turned to her comrades. “What I’m hearing is we can either pay for a ride across or walk it. The problem with a ride is that we’ll be damn near out of cash afterwards. I’m leaning towards walking. Clare? Thoughts?”

“You know I want a ride.”

“Fox?”

“I am not comfortable off the land.”

Alice hesitated but asked Marco as well. He replied with a simple, “I don’t care.”

“And I choose walking. Two against one. Sorry, Clare.”

“Ugh.”