Chương 89: 2 - CARAVAN OF DEATH

It was a beautiful early autumn day. But no one would be able to tell from where they were. There wasn't a tree nor a fallen leaf in sight. Instead, there were beaches, palm trees, and endless blue ocean. A few more days of fruitless searching brought the group to the coastline, a place that was the same warm temperature year-round. T'balt always wanted to see the ocean for himself. Too bad he couldn't look at it through the tears in his eyes. He was keeled over, huffing and puffing for the last of his breath.

"God, please kill me now."

"Don't be a wuss. We haven't even run a mile yet." Cannon slapped his back with that unreal strength, knocking T'balt over. He was in a grey suit that they nabbed from the thrift store. T'balt was in his own gym clothes, regretting letting a professional wrestler convince him to exercise.

"Why don't you just…" he struggled.

"Go on without me?"

"Cuz no man in my camp gets left behind! Come on. If you're gonna be lootless, the least you can do is whip that srawny body into shape."

"But Ellie said I looked toned…"

"And when did she say that?" Cannon gave him a skeptical eye.

"Eh… never mind." T'balt stood up and stretched.

"You know, actually, I can keep going."

"That's the spirit! Hup two!" Despite being twice T'balt's girth, Cannon had the endurance of a marathon runner. The man's mere presence made T'balt feel inadequate about his shape. But it was true that having that kind of endurance would help. A well-trained body might give him another option before forcing himself to equip any loot. While it was nice having a loot stack in his body, the act of planning a loadout was meticulous. It was so inconvenient to be limited to a loot stack of 3 per life.

As soon as he put one in, it was like determining everything that iteration would be. And he would be locked into that stack until he died. That closed him off to so many possibilities that he couldn't foresee. He preferred to be reactive, equipping only for emergencies and only what the situation called for. It was a plan that worked before, and since then, it felt fine for him to be lootless.

He had his team after all, and they were always willing to let T'balt decide what loot they would carry through their life. Ellie sat on the hood of their convertible, watching the clouds go by. It was prettier than the beach, which looked as if it had been hit by a tornado. Debris, cars, building wreckage. Every now and then, a corpse would stick out of the sand. It made a nice day at the beach pretty much impossible. But she could still look at the clouds until the boys were done with their run.

Acelin was taking a nap inside the car, looking so peaceful, so unbothered. So young and yet on a mission to save the world like the rest of them. He must've felt her staring because he slowly stirred into a wide-mouthed yawn.

"We haven't left yet?" he groggily asked.

"Nope. And by the looks of them down there, we might be another while. So don't wake yourself up on my account."

"Too late. I'm up now." He sat up in the seat." So when do you think we're going to find this place?"

"How should I know?"

"I mean, I thought maybe T'balt might've said something to you that he hadn't told the rest of us. I mean, I still don't get why we can't just go ask the guy who told him about it in the first place."

"T'balt says doing that might invoke the wrath of the devil himself. Hard to believe a man can be as scary as that, but we don't really have much of a choice but to believe what T'balt says."

"Pfft. We could just kick the devil right in his ass."

"Hey. Just cause we're not at church anymore doesn't mean you can say things like that."

"Yeah, whatever." Acelin laid back down, suddenly bashful.

"Oh, now you want to sleep." Ellie supposed it was time for one of her routine area sweeps. It was usually her job to play scout, using hypersensitivity to scan around and make sure there weren't any demons coming their way. The loot took her a while to get used to. In fact, she hated the feeling of it at first. But after a while, she started to like it. Nothing could get past her senses anymore. Not even the Redeemer. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

She never had any trouble finding him. When she focused, she could hear the exasperated beating of his heart even though he was fifty yards away. She felt it for a moment, getting used to the feeling. It was the most important heartbeat in the world to her. If it stopped, everything would be over. Then she heard something, out of the corner of her ear.

"T'BALT!" She called.

"CANNON! WE NEED TO GO!" She was able to wave them down, but it was faster to just get in the car and drive to them.

"What's the matter?" T'balt asked, jumping into the passenger seat.

"Yeah. You can't just interrupt a man's workout for no good reason." Cannon added, jumping in next to the wide-eyed Acelin. Ellie floored the gas pedal.

"There's a group of people nearby. I sensed them."

"Oh," T'balt said.

"Good. We might be able to get some information out of them."

"Most of them are dead. I can sense one of their heartbeats, but it's faint. If I get to them in time, I might be able to help them." Everyone in the car realized the severity of the situation, so they braced themselves. Cannon looked to T'balt.

"Has this one happened before?"

"No, this is a first for me." They drove towards the source of Ellie's distress, her eyes glowing red the whole time. But they switched off when the whole car caught a whiff of a strange chemical in the air.

"Eww… what is that?" Acelin asked.

"It smells like burnt dirt?" Cannon said.

"Ellie?" T'balt prodded.

"There are remnants of some chemical cloud, but most of it has dissipated. We should be fine," she answered. They came to a stop behind a destroyed caravan. Based on the wreckage, it looked like their path was blocked by a fallen tree in the middle of the road. There were at least ten trucks lined up, all the same make and model, with covered beds. Most of the bodies weren't in the trucks when they died. Many had slashed throats and bullet wounds, all in pinpointed vital areas.

"An ambush?" Before T'balt could process any of it, Ellie was out of the car, sprinting towards the middle of all the mess. He got out after her.

"Acelin, stay in the car," he said.

"Seriously?" the boy complained. Cannon nodded to agree.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Ellie scanned the area for the sign of life she felt before. She found it in the lead car. It was a man in the front seat, clutching his stomach as his life bled out on the seat. He was lying down, not from the pain but as if he was hiding. One of his arms was aimed, charging with some sort of attack.

"It's okay!" she called at him.

"I'm a healer. I came to help you!" There was a pause for a moment. Ellie sensed the tension in the man's body relax briefly, but the arm didn't lower.

"How do I know that's true?" The voice was cold, almost monotonous.

"You don't. Not until I heal that wound in your stomach. From what my senses are telling me, you don't have much time, so please… I come in peace." T'balt watched closely behind her, getting the idea that the situation was still volatile.

"How many of you are there?" the voice in the truck said.

"Four," T'balt answered.

"We were just driving by and wanted to help. That's all."

"Likely story," the door opened, and the man rolled out, unable to stand on his own feet. T'balt caught him and leaned him against the truck. Ellie immediately got to work on his abdomen. After a few minutes, the puncture would close up, and the man's breathing, which was once erratic, had calmed. He was expensively dressed for a guy near death, in a white satin collared shirt and black tie, tailored dress pants with a matching vest, and a few gold accessories.

Though the blood leaking through his shirt ruined the appeal. He had a pointed face, sharp features, and unbelievably smooth pale skin. There was a mark on his face, so small it could be mistaken for a mole. But it was diamond-shaped, like the ones on playing cards.

"There. You should be all better now." Ellie said.

"I'm far from feeling optimal. But I'm not dead, so this interaction has been profitable."

"Right… uhhh. You're welcome." The man stood fixing his tie and straightening his shirt.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, the man started walking away. T'balt and Ellie watched him peruse around the cars, checking the bodies in them, more like a mortician rather than a friend. Like he was taking a tally.

"You think he's grateful?" Ellie asked. T'balt walked after the man.

"You're still here?" he said.

"If you're looking for a reward, I've got nothing for you. Everything is a tangible asset of Mitus Corlander. Please refrain from stealing."

"No, I wasn't… what happened here?" T'balt asked.

"I don't see why that concerns you. Or are you continuing on with the good Samaritan act?" He started checking the trucks, moving aside bodies to check if they would start. So far, none of them have. T'balt sighed. The man was straightforwardly stubborn.

"I am looking for a reward. Information. We're searching for something." The man nodded affirmingly, pleasantly surprised by T'balt's forwardness.

"I'll answer one question in ample detail as payment for allowing your woman to heal me. What is it you want to know?"

"And what if I wanted two?"

"I'm open to bargaining." Looking at this man in his stone dark eyes, T'balt knew he wasn't gonna out-negotiate him, so he relented.

"Okay. Have you heard of a place called the Looter's Paradise?" The man paused, checking the last truck for a working engine. He turned the key, and it revved as a final cry before dying. He frowned and looked at T'balt.

"That information will cost you more than my life."