Shadow Sun Survival Page 6

  Single Use Item

  Opening and reading the spell on this scroll will imbue upon the reader the knowledge of the Levitate spell. This channeled spell will allow the caster to lift and move objects with magic. Can be cast on self or others. Higher skill levels will increase caster’s control over the target. Length of spell depends on available mana pool. Effectiveness and duration increase with higher Intelligence and Will Power attributes.

  Allistor practically drooled as he read the description of the item.

  His first instinct as a gamer was to open and read the scroll. Levitation was an awesome power. When cast on himself, with the proper control, he might be able to actually fly. Eventually. But he could do tons of other cool stuff as well.

  When the initial rush of loot adrenaline subsided, he took a moment to reconsider. He had focused all of his attribute points on Strength and Stamina before that day. With his current stats, the spell would be wasted on him. Better to find someone with high Intelligence and Will Power and give it to them.

  But what if that person didn’t make it? Was it smart to potentially waste a valuable scroll on a practical stranger who might die tomorrow in the forest, or next week from some low-level monster? Maybe it was smarter to just hold onto it for now.

  Thinking again about using it himself, he pulled up his stats. He’d started with a reasonably high (for a human) score of five in Intelligence on day one. And though his focus had been on developing his Strength and Stamina, raising each by a point through hard work, and assigning one free attribute point to each to bring them up to fours, Intelligence was still his highest stat, other than Adaptability, which was at six. He’d also put one point in Constitution after seeing his father’s health pool go way up when he’d raised that skill.

  He began to think about scale. When it came to humans, and how they performed within the Collective’s stat-based system, how good was an Intelligence of five? He and his father had figured out that a four in Strength was roughly twice the human norm. Did that mean his five in Intelligence made him two times smarter than the average bear? He didn’t think so. And his Will Power score was still a three. So if he elected to go with a caster build, he’d need to raise that.

  If he were honest with himself, his starting stats had favored a caster build, to begin with. He’d followed his father in developing his more physical aspects because the twos that he started with had seemed pitiful at the time. It was also a simple and clear way to test out ways to improve himself.

  Tempted to spend his three remaining points to raise his Will Power and Intelligence, he decided to hold off. He put the scroll away and leaned his back against the wall. Despite his extended nap earlier, it wasn’t long before he fell asleep once again.

  Chapter Four

  No Place Like Home

  Morning brought a bustle of activity. The group gathered all their supplies and prepared to set out for town. There was a brief discussion of staying in the caves, since nothing else had tried to attack during the night. But the arguments of the previous evening held, and none of the men who’d led the titan away had shown up. So the group set out.

  Once again, Sandy led them on a straight path through the forest, avoiding the hiking path until just before they reached the footbridge that led across the river into town. There were a few gasps as they emerged from the trees and viewed the town. Most of them had been too busy running from the titan to get a good look at the extent of destruction the thing had caused. Not one building remained whole. They could still see the church steeple, but the rest of that structure was caved in. The water tower, strangely enough, was intact. Though one of its iron support legs was bent.

  Chloe whimpered into her mother’s shoulder. “Momma, it’s all gone. Our house.”

  Nancy patted her back and hugged her close. “I know, baby. But we’re going to find a new home. A nice safe one.”

  Sean and Robert Edward moved forward first, crossing the bridge and securing the other side. When they signaled it was clear, the others followed as quickly as they could. They gathered in the shadow of a brick wall - a remainder of what had been the elementary school.

  Sam spoke just loudly enough for the others to hear over the sound of the river rushing by. “Alright. We make for City Hall. It’s only three blocks. Keep low, and pay attention. There might be… what did you call them, Allistor? Mobs?” Allistor nodded once. “Mobs. Bad things. Call out if you see something. Try not to fire a weapon unless we have to. I don’t want to attract every damn mob in town.”

  He and Allistor took the lead. Sam wielded a machete, while Allistor held his rebar spear. The others waited a few seconds, then followed along single file. Sean brought up the rear.

  They skirted around the side of the elementary school, picking their way through the rubble past what had been a convenience store. Meg hissed at her husband and pointed toward the store. There were several cans of soda and plastic drink bottles scattered about. Sam nodded in understanding, and the group fanned out. They searched the rubble as best they could, grabbing anything intact that could be of use. Drinks, food, even some band-aids, air fresheners, a single cheap plastic flashlight and some batteries, and a couple of fake fire logs.

  Chloe found quite a bit of candy and sweets, which her mother let her gather up, with a very quiet lecture on sharing with the others. They found a bunch of plastic bags to help carry their supplies and distributed the weight among the group.

  Every time a plastic bag rustled as they moved along, Allistor found himself cringing and wishing for a bag of holding or inventory bag like he got in most RPG games. The kind that could store twenty or fifty items without adding weight. And didn’t make any noise when you walked. He resolved to find a way to check out the ‘open market’ that the system info had spoken about. Maybe he could buy one there.

  They approached City Hall from behind. There was a small park at the rear of the building, less than an acre of green grass with a gazebo, some mature trees, and a fountain in the middle. The building itself was surprisingly intact, compared to other buildings in town. It was clear the titan had stepped directly onto or into the three-story building. The entire center of it was obliterated, the roof completely gone, and sections of the interior burned out. But the stone walls on either end had remained. The east end wall was two stories high, the west end only one.

  Unfortunately, the stairway leading down to lower levels was buried under a pile of stone and scorched wood.

  Sam took a look, prodding at some of the debris with his foot. “It would take us days to move all of this. And I’m not sure it wouldn’t collapse on us.”

  Meg was looking at the west wall. “I… remember there was an old coal furnace down there. And a coal chute. One of the kids tried to climb up in it and got all dirty.” She had been walking toward the outside of the wall as she spoke. After a while, she pointed to a square section of the wall where the stone was a different color than the rest. “I’m pretty sure this is it.”

  Allistor nodded and stepped in front of her. He jammed the tip of his spear into the mortar between two of the stones. Levering it back and forth, he pried out some of it. Getting closer, he used the sharp point to scrape at the mortar. When he’d made a deep groove, he shoved the point in again and levered out a stone.

  He stepped back so that Meg could take a look. Behind the stone was a metal plate. She tapped on it with a knuckle, and a hollow clank could be heard.

  “Yep! I think this is it.” She turned to smile at him. With one rock gone, Allistor was able to reach in and pull the others free with his bare hands. The noise had the others nervously searching the area while he worked. Within just a few minutes, he had exposed what they now could see was an iron door about three feet square. There must have once been a lever used to secure it and pull it open, but it had been removed when they covered the door with stone.

  Allistor used his spear tip again, pushing it between the metal door and its frame where the lever had been. Prying it
open caused the metal hinges to squeal so loudly that they all dropped into a crouch and held their breaths.

  Not wanting to have to make the noise more than once, he continued. Grabbing it with both hands he yanked it all the way open. The rusted hinges protested but complied. A look inside showed a narrow metal shaft sloping down at a very steep angle. Allistor couldn’t see the bottom. Coal dust tickled his nose.

  The group waited in silence for a while, expecting some of the new monsters to appear. When none did, Sam stuck his head in the door and shined a flashlight downward. His voice echoed as he said, “It goes down maybe fifteen feet. I can’t see anything but the floor right under the shaft.”

  “We don’t have a rope. How are we going to get down there?” Sean asked.

  Allistor grimaced. “Never go adventuring without a rope,” he mumbled to himself.

  Meg stepped forward and looked down the shaft. “I could shimmy down there without falling. I think,” she offered.

  Sam shook his head. “We don’t know what’s down there. And we’d have no way to bring you back up. We need a rope. Preferably a rope ladder.”

  “Hardware store’s across town. Might find some rope there. I could go take a look?” Robert Edward offered.

  Meg smiled at him but shook her head. “Can’t have you wandering off alone.” She thought for a minute. “There should be a ton of power cords and extension cords in this building. Maybe we can find enough to use?”

  The entire group moved back into City Hall and began to poke around. The rooms up against the end walls were partially intact. They grabbed up anything that might be tied together to make a rope. In a custodian’s closet, they found a plastic chair and a six-foot folding ladder. There were also several dozen rolls of toilet paper, which Meg took a few of with a grin. “This might be the best thing we’ve found all day.”

  They scooped up a few tools they found on a shelf and a can of spray lubricant. Sean grabbed that up. “For the hinges.”

  Five minutes later they were all back at the chute. Sam and Allistor began knotting cords together, using their improved strength to pull them tight and test them. Sean sprayed the hinges while the others watched and waited.

  When they were done, they had nearly thirty feet of cord-rope. The two men played a quick game of tug-of-war to test whether it would hold. Meg volunteered again to go down. And again, Sam refused. “We’re sending Sean. He’s armed, and he knows how to clear a room.” Sean nodded, and there was no argument, even from Meg.

  Allistor anchored the makeshift rope around his waist, then dropped the rest of the coil down the shaft. Robert Edward assisted Sean in getting his legs into the shaft, then gripped one arm as he took hold of the rope. When he felt secure, Sean let go of Robert Edward and began to lower himself down. The multiple knots gave him decent hand and footholds as he worked his way down.

  In less than a minute, Allistor felt the tension on the line go slack. A whisper came up from below. “I’m down. Hang on.”

  They all waited anxiously as Sean explored the room below. Allistor actually jumped a bit when he called up. “All clear. Lots of junk down here, but there’s enough room.”

  Meg, looking dubiously at the rope, called down in a loud whisper. “Any doors leading out?”

  “Yeah. But both are blocked with furniture and crap.”

  Robert Edward stepped toward the shaft. “I can help him move that. I put a point in strength last night.”

  So they repeated the process, helping him into the shaft and down. While they waited for the two men below to try and find a way out, Allistor looked to Sam. “I can hold this while everyone else goes down, but…”

  Sam nodded. “We need an anchor. Especially if this is going to be the only way up or down.” He went back around the wall to poke around inside the building.

  Five minutes later he returned carrying a six-foot length of broken wood beam. “We can tie onto this. Set it across the hole with one end stuck in the ground. It’s sturdy enough.”

  There was a crash from below, and a cloud of coal dust erupted from the shaft. Everyone took a few steps back as the breeze pushed it away. Sean called up, “We’re okay!” causing Meg to chuckle. There was another sound of creaking hinges, then silence.

  The group up top shuffled around and fidgeted, anxious to hear what was going on. None dared call out, in case something non-human was alive down there. Several minutes passed, and then Sam stuck his head into the shaft. Allistor could see him clenching his fists, resisting the urge to call out. They hadn’t heard anything that sounded like a battle, or screams of pain. So he held his tongue.

  Allistor nearly shit himself when Sean walked around the corner of the building and called out, “Hey guys!” as he waved at them. He had a huge grin on his face, bright white teeth standing out from his coal-dust-covered face.

  Meg threw a water bottle at him, cursing under her breath about giving old ladies a heart attack. The bottle bounced off his chest, and he caught it on the rebound. “Thanks!” After taking a swig and spitting it back out, he took a long drink.

  “We found another way. Obviously. There’s a stair that leads down to the jail level. From there, we found a tunnel. The other end comes out in the basement of the sheriff’s office.” He pointed in that general direction. The sheriff’s office was situated next door to City Hall, on the side opposite of where they stood. “I worked there two years and didn’t even know it had a basement. Anyway, the basement is still intact, and we found a way out.”

  Allistor quickly pulled the cord-rope up out of the shaft and closed the metal door. The hinges complained much less after having been lubricated. When he’d secured the rope over one shoulder, he nodded to Sean, who turned and led them around the back of the building toward what had been the sheriff’s office. As they walked, he said, “I have to warn you, it’s kind of creepy down there. Smells, too.”

  As soon as he said that, Meg grabbed Sandy and the two of them ducked back into the city hall custodian’s closet. The two ladies grabbed a mop and bucket on wheels and raided the shelves for various other cleaning supplies. Rejoining the group, Meg handed the heavy bucket full of bleach bottles and such to Allistor. She winked at him, saying, “It’s handy having a strong young man around.”

  From the front of the group, Sam called back, “I heard that!” without turning around.

  The group reached the entrance to their new home just a minute later. There was a pair of metal doors built into the ground at a forty-five-degree angle, like storm cellar doors you might find on a farm. One of the doors was open and stairs led downward. Sam turned on his flashlight and followed Sean down. He turned to Allistor on his way down. “Close that door behind us, and see if there’s a way to bolt it shut.”

  One by one the group descended, Sam illuminating the stairs for them. Allistor closed the door behind himself, and sure enough, there was a simple slide bolt to lock them. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found they were in a very basic concrete-walled room with an old wood stove, a rough-hewn wooden table and chairs, and an empty rifle rack on the wall. In one corner was an eight-by-eight-foot holding cell with iron bars and two long benches, one against each concrete wall.

  Sean led them through a door and into a tunnel cut right into the rock around it. The ceiling was high enough for everyone to walk upright, but the tunnel was only about three feet wide. They walked single-file, following the light in front. Allistor kept one hand on the wall to his left as a guide. The stone was rough and very, very dusty.

  About fifty feet from the entrance, Sean stepped out of the tunnel into the large room filled with jail cells that Allistor remembered. It wasn’t as large as he’d pictured it in his head, but he’d only been about ten years old last time he was here. And Sean wasn’t kidding about the smell. It was a combination of old dust, mold, and maybe a rotting rat carcass or something.

  There was a wide open space in the center of the room. Along the walls to his left and right were rows of c
ells. He quickly counted – each wall sported six cells. They were cut right into the stone, each with a wooden door that sported a single small window about five feet off the floor. In one corner was the bathroom that Meg had mentioned, complete with the antique pull-cord toilet with the tank mounted just below the ceiling. Meg was already moving toward it. She gave the chain an experimental tug, but nothing happened.

  She looked at Sean. “Think you could get this working, Mister Engineering?”

  The deputy shrugged. “I could check the pipes upstairs. Maybe it’s just a simple matter of reconnecting it. If the water lines between here and the water tower aren’t damaged, it should work fine.”

  Meg gave him a look, and said, “The sooner the better, young man.”

  Nancy and Chloe had lit half a dozen candles and placed them on the floor across the room, providing some light. Sean took Sam’s flashlight and headed up the stairs to the next level, the one where they’d emerged from the coal chute. They could hear him banging around up there a few moments later.

  There was no furniture of any kind in the main room. But the cells each had a bench carved out of stone against the back wall. Nancy and the lady Allistor thought of as “Doc”, began assigning cells and passing out blankets. There weren’t enough for everyone, so Chloe and the ladies got priority.

  Meg, Sandy, and Lilly were already pouring bleach on the floor and scrubbing at the stone. They recruited Robert Edward to assist them. Sandy handed him two empty one-gallon bleach bottles and sent him upstairs to find water. “Put those sexy muscles to good use.”

  With nothing much to contribute, Allistor returned back down the tunnel. He lifted the bulky table, turned it sideways, and carried it back down the tunnel. Then he returned for the chairs. Next, he tried the interior stairs leading up from the holding cell area to the sheriff’s station. He got about halfway up before the pile of twisted metal and concrete blocked his way.