If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not to fear the result of a hundred battles.
~Sun Tzu, the undefeated general.
11 months later.
The crisp Georgia air was cold enough for Devin to see his own breath, but he came to this hunting trip prepared. His trusty double-layered camo jacket along with the rest of his cold weather gear kept him nice and warm in their small hiding spot behind several tall bushes. If the apocalypse taught me one thing, it’s the necessity of being prepared. He thought.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that Devin couldn’t predict—the biggest of which was teenage curiosity.
“Whatcha reading?” Ken asked in a low voice for the umpteenth time.
“Sun Tzu.” He whispered curtly as he shut the book, and stuffed it in his bag. “The Art of War.” He elaborated, pulling his knife out from behind him to play with that instead. Much easier to tune him out this way. Devin thought as he spun his knife in the air. Despite his haphazardous techniques and careless attitude, the butt of the blade landed in the palm of his hand every single time.
“Isn’t that just some old Asian dude?” The teen’s brow furrowed. “What’s war got to do with hunting?”
“Can y’all shut the hell up?” Gerald huffed while he crossed his arms over his shivering torso. “How the hell are we supposed to lure Big Bertha with y’all babbling so loud,”
“Pshh,” Ken waved off the concern. “With that little pig screaming down there, there’s no way that big boar would notice us. Plus, the first sign of danger, and Ben will let us know, ain’t that right.” He called out to his twin brother who held a silent thumbs up in response.
“You can’t rely just on those magical skills of yours. Supers die just like us normal people when they ain’t careful, and if they can kick the bucket, so can you. Ain’t that right, Devin?” Gerald said, to which Devin shrugged.
Don’t drag me into your mess, old man. He shook his head, continuing his knife tricks.
“Seems to me like they’re the most useful ones here. They even helped me set up the traps, what did you do?”
“I set this whole thing up, my friend.” Gerald smiled. ‘Think of it as the beauty of supervision.”
“What a boomer thing to say,” Ben mumbled.
“Hey!” Gerald stood up, exposing the top of his head from behind the bushes that concealed them. “You finally decide to say something after moping all day, and it’s an insult?” Before the older man could continue, he was interrupted by another wave of ear-grating shrieks.
The strung-up piglet that served as their bait seemed to remind Gerald where they were since he promptly sat back down.
“Still nothing?” He asked Ben, his earlier aggression forgotten.
“Not one peep,” Ben replied, not bothering to look up from his book.
At least one brother turned out decent. Devin said, nodding his head in approval of his reading choice. Can’t imagine how it’s like to live with my complete opposite.
Devin barely knew the twins and Gerald. Hell, he didn’t know anyone in town, but he preferred it that way. The apocalypse had a funny way of bringing out the worst in people, and he’d rather not be in the middle of a mob when things went wrong.
And in this day and age, things usually do.
It was a miracle Devin had managed to squeeze himself into a team that had two Skilled, but the safety net was just a bonus. His real goal was Big Bertha herself, specifically, the core of condensed magical energy she carried in her massive body.
There was a small chance for any mutated beasts or monsters to possess one, but everyone knew it was practically guaranteed when dealing with something of elite caliber and above. It was a material worth more than its weight in gold, and something everyone coveted.
After all, using one was the easiest way to become a superhuman; beings capable of wielding abilities that made cantrips and skills look like parlor tricks.
The rest of the requirements were nebulous and unique to each person, but one thing was clear. On top of a core, one needed a certain number of shards—that, Devin was sure of. Putting down his knife and closing his eyes, Devin felt the core in his chest pulse in tune with his heart. It brimmed with energy, as if a single drop would be enough to cause an overflow.
Pretty much full, he observed. It’s been nearly a year since he noticed its appearance, and with its ability to absorb a portion of the shards of everything he killed, Devin was sure he had enough. All he needed was the crystal that served as the beast’s core, which seemed to be serving itself on a silver platter.
He was so close to freedom that he could taste it. All I have to do is steal from a supposedly manic Super. Devin groaned.
“Are you okay?” Ken asked, prompting Devin to open his eyes and see Ken, who was too close for comfort. “Does meditating help you sense magic? You can sense it, right?” Ken guessed. “That’s totally something a main character would be able to do.”
Devin was about to lay some cold, hard facts on the kid to change the subject from his half-correct/half-deluded assumptions when Ben beat him to the punch.
“Get out of his face,” the older brother snapped without turning to face them. “Not everyone wants to talk to you.”
“But I just wanted to get to know him,” Ken said, downtrodden like a kicked puppy. “There’s hardly been any newcomers lately.”
“If you want to get to know someone, then you should ask him what kind of tomfoolery he got into before those damn shards fell out of the sky,” Gerald grumbled. “Like, how the hell do you know how to set up a log trap?”
Devin smiled. “I was beginning my engineering degree at Gainesville. Spent a lot of my time tinkering around.”
Gerald snorted. “I can see that.”
Stuck going down memory lane, Devin saw flashes of blood, broken glass, and a breathless bus driver before he managed to put a wrench thought about his life before the apocalypse. The life he spent mostly alone, bouncing from place to place. Hopefully, it won’t be like that here. I would rather stay here than anywhere else.
“What brings you here though?” Ken asked. “Bainbridge is pretty far from Tallahassee.”
“He said Gainesville.” Ben corrected his brother. “Two completely different things, idiot.”.
“I was just generalizing, you nitpicky nerd.” Ken shot back, then continued like it never happened. “But yeah, why are you here?”
Devin thought about the question, of how much he should say and if he was able to trust the people around him. He’s just a little guy. No harm in telling him a little bit.
“Actually, I had a sister who lived here,” Devin said. “We hadn’t spoken to each other in years, but a little bit before the Fall, she messaged me out of the blue, telling me to come visit. Of course, I didn’t answer, but I should have. Maybe she would still be here.”
Gerald nodded, while Ken for the first time looked serious. “Did she die when the power went out?”
Devin sighed, “I don’t know. Haven’t been able to get in touch with her since then, and when I got here, her place was trashed, like no one had lived there for months. No use dwelling on it though. I managed to get out of that hell hole that is Gainesville, and that’s all that matters.”
“Oh yeah?” Gerald asked. “How were the mutants over there? We had a pretty bad time because of all the forests around town.”
“It was…horrible.” Devin shivered, trying not to think of all the casual deaths he had seen that day. “Gainesville had mutants, but that wasn’t the biggest issue. The city also had monsters.”
The two of them sat in shocked silence at Devin’s declaration. Even Ben put down his book and poked an ear closer.
“No way,” Ken whispered. “How’d you guys survive?”
Devin shrugged. “Monsters were weaker then, don’t know why. It also helps when your driver crashes the bus right into their raid portal.”
“Badass,” Ken said with stars in his eyes.
“The boy ain’t lying.” Gerald crossed his arms, as he scrutinized him once more. “The real question though is what happened to the loot from the portal.”
“Had no idea that was even a thing back then,” Devin told a half-truth, wearing a practiced weary expression. “If I could go back in time, I definitely would try to get my hands on whatever came out of that portal.”
“Right,” Gerald said slowly. “You couldn’t have known.”
The group fell into relative silence, which was fine by Devin. He much rather practice or read than navigate the complexities of human relationships. My skills are the only thing that won’t betray me. He thought as he began to spin the blade on the tip of his finger. They give me what I put into them.
“Um, guys?” Ben said in a low voice. “My [Danger Sense] is starting to ring.”
The statement was like a shock of thunder to the group. They stopped everything they were doing and huddled on the side where they could keep an eye on the bait across the clearing. With bated breath, the four of them waited for moving trees or shaking ground, but not a single sign of Big Bertha’s arrival revealed themselves.’
“Wher—” Ken began to ask, but was silenced by a hand from Ben. He gave him a severe look before his expression shifted to a grimace.
For the first time during the entire morning, the clearing was quiet. The buzz of the native insects was suddenly gone, while bird chirps vanished. Even the strung-up sow was subdued by the sudden stillness of the forest.
The forest seemed to hold its breath along with Devin and the others, aware of the monstrosity hidden in the dense foliage.
Ben flinched before a thunderous crack rang out followed by a deep bellow. Devin couldn’t keep his eyes straight as the ground shook again and again. Towering trees splintered as if they were pushed to the side like they were nothing more than cheap toothpicks.
Finally, the ground stopped shaking for a moment, giving Devin a chance to take a look at the target of the hunt, yet just the sight of the beast was enough to make him freeze. As wide as a semi and taller than himself almost twice over, the elite mutated boar was a certified monster, and that was before factoring in her massive tusks that tapered off into sharp, gleaming points
The strongest beast for miles, nothing in the forest could mess with Big Bertha, and that included them. At least, that would be the case if she caught us off-guard, but you’re exactly where I want you. Devin clenched his jaw as he watched the giant mutated boar edge closer to his trip wire. Any second now.
Devin didn’t blink as he waited for the trap to be triggered. Yet, Big Bertha stopped just at the rope, refusing to move a single inch more.
What the hell is happening? Devin asked himself, but it only took a glance to see what. The boar didn’t need to proceed any further, her tusks were long enough for her to cut the rope that held her baby.
“Well, I’ll be…” Gerald whispered nearly imperceptibly. “They really do have some brains.”
“Guess it’s up to me, like always.” He whispered, aiming with his knife. Not trusting himself to be able to slice the rope to activate the trap, Devin aimed for the next best thing.
Gerald’s eyes went wide, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” He screamed in a hushed tone.
“Finishing the job.” He said, throwing his weapon with all his might.
