Chương 86: 84: A Triumph of Mildness

I found the right house without too much difficulty. One wrong turn, a quick correction, and another couple hundred yards, and here I was. Jack's block hadn't taken as much damage as the streets near the rift, which probably made sense. Monsters spewing forth from the rift would be the primary source of damage, although I still wanted to know what had caused all the fires. Something had exploded those gas tanks. But Jack's house still stood, relatively undamaged. The windows were boarded up, but not broken.

The garage door was closed, not burned. The yard looked fine. Someone took care of the garden. I wondered whether it was his mother or father while I waited for someone to answer my knock. Knocking on doors was weird in the 21 st century. Okay, sure, I lived in the middle of nowhere, so maybe it was different for me, but I didn't answer when someone knocked. Anyone I knew would have texted me first, including deliveries. Anyone I didn't know shouldn't be at my door.

But I didn't have Jack's cell number, so I knocked. The guy who answered was obviously Jack's dad. He radiated dadness. I was probably old enough to be Jack's mother, so this wasn't an age thing. It was just… did people become middle-aged when they had kids? Was it like a poison pill that came with staying up all night with screaming babies? Khakis, a Duke t-shirt, a Great Clips haircut, and an expression that immediately let me know that the only reason he'd opened the door was because I was an attractive woman.

I don't know why that was obvious, but it was.

"Do you need help?" he said.

"Shelter? Our phones aren't working."

"Yeah, common problem," I said with a dismissive wave.

"Is Jack here?"

"Jack?" It was as if he'd never heard of his son.

"Jack? Jack Francis? This is his address, right?"

"Yes?" He sounded like he wasn't sure. His gaze skimmed over the dogs, and I could see him stiffen when he registered Riley. Okay, so not a dog person. People who knew dogs stiffened when they saw Bear. Bear was the dangerous one. But Riley was a Rottweiler/pit bull mix, so people who only knew stereotypes registered him first.

"Is Jack here?" I asked again patiently.

"I—" he started, then, "Jack!" he called over his shoulder.

"It's for you." No automatic invitation in, then. I was sure I would have gotten one if I didn't have the dogs, but it was fine that I didn't. Footsteps, then Jack peering over his dad's shoulder.

"Olivia!" He shoved past his father, out the door, hesitated for half a second, then hugged me like I was the long-lost cousin who'd donated my kidney to save his life. Really. I patted his back, my eyes meeting those of his surprised father. I'm sure I looked amused, but his father looked appalled, with maybe a touch of trepidation.

"Jack?" Jack's dad said as Jack finally let go of me. Jack ignored him. I'd give decent odds that it was characteristic, not unusual.

"Do you—Zelda!" Jack dropped to his knees and submitted to the mandatory face-kissing from an enthusiastic Z. I kinda smirked. I recognized this dynamic. My relationship with my own dad had its ups and downs, and in a funny way, it warmed my heart to see that same dynamic playing out with Jack and his dad. It was nostalgia with a side of apocalyptic adrenaline.

"Jack, come inside. What are you doing out there? David, why are you letting him—oh, hello." And that would be Jack's mother. Like his dad, she had a kind of midwestern mom energy that shone through despite her tired eyes. And yes, I know North Carolina isn't even adjacent to the Midwest, but still. Maybe they'd moved here from Ohio.

"I—are those safe?" She wasn't clutching her pearls because she wasn't wearing pearls, but if she had been, she would have. Her eyes were on the dogs.

"They're not mana-crazed, if that's what you're asking. And they're in the System, so they won't become mana-crazed, either." She managed to pull her gaze off them and look at me.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about."

"Jack taught me a lot."

"Jack did?" The shock was genuine.

"You should come in. It's dangerous out there." She looked up and down the street, clearly searching for approaching monsters.

"Jack, come inside. You're still hurt. You shouldn't even be moving around." Jack's back was to his mother, but I caught his eye roll.

"I'm fine, Mom. A lot better." I tapped [Analyze] to take a quick look. [Shadow Mage: Level 7]. What had Jack been doing with his time? I stayed focused and more info appeared: Jack Francis. Human. Condition: Stable, residual burn injuries.

"You got burned again?" I asked him.

"Please come inside," his mother said before he could respond, her voice urgent.

"We need to have the doors closed before the rats come back. I don't want them targeting the house. Although…" She looked at the dogs and hesitated. I looked, too.

"Just a sec." I pulled out the spray bottle I'd picked up in the swamp rift and gave each of the dogs a few quick spritzes of All-Clean Cleansing Spray. The blood and gore on their muzzles, necks, and legs poofed into dust.

"I'm sorry, I should have taken care of that sooner." I said to Jack's parents, then said to him, "I can't believe you let her lick you with all that blood on her." A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"At least it wasn't green," he replied.

"None of it was hers, right?"

"Not a bit," I replied cheerfully as we headed inside, dogs included.

"All rats."

"You ran into the rats?"

"Rats? Where? How close are they?"

"Zelda must have loved that." They all spoke at once, talking over one another, Jack's parents' voices frantic, Jack himself relaxed.

"She did." I answered Jack first.

"Straight for the biggest one, of course. Bear and Riley did great, too." I glanced around the house, seeing signs of the ongoing apocalypse overlaying a perfectly nice (okay, bland as hell) suburban home. I bet the cleaning crew showed up once a week, in and out in 40 minutes, spraying down almost pristine bathrooms, and making sure the aroma of lemons hung in the air after they left. Off-white walls, gray laminate flooring in the hallway we were walking down.

Framed kids' artwork hung on the walls, featuring the flowers and houses that Jack and his sister almost certainly drew in kindergarten. The kitchen was probably his mom's pride and joy. Renovated after the kids graduated high school, maybe, with all stainless steel appliances and a big hooded vent over the six-burner stove. But bottled water and boxes of packaged food were piled on the counters, and the windows were blocked off by plywood boards that didn't fit.

His dad must not have a handy shed out back with the stacked debris of thirty years of living, and they probably hadn't made it to Home Depot before the store was cleared out. The dogs were staying right at my heels, not showing any interest in exploring. I could feel Bear's stress level rising, though. Strange place, strange people, strange smells, and walls. She could kill rats all day long, but she wanted to know where the exits were in here. I dropped my hand to her neck, reassuring her without words.

"How close were the rats?" Jack's father demanded.

"If it was one of the smaller groups, they've been precursors to the swarm before. We need to block the front windows."

"We need to go upstairs and attack them from the windows. It's a chance to get XP. We should take it," Jack's voice held patience edged with frustration.

"We are not opening the windows." Jack's mother moved away from us, angling toward the kitchen sink.

"Rats can climb, Jack. I know you know that. The windows stay closed."

"Yeah, because I've had so much experience with rats," Jack muttered. I felt as if I'd stepped into the middle of an ongoing argument. Bear didn't like it at all. Her hackles were rising. Riley noticed before I could do more than firm my touch on her neck, and repositioned, moving so she was between the two of us. Gently, he leaned into her, just a little, letting her know he was here, that it was fine, that we were all okay. She didn't exactly relax, but her fur smoothed.

I gave Riley a tiny dip of my chin, acknowledging his expert help, and he seemed to stand a little taller. Zelda, though, was having none of this conversation about rats. She barked, one sharp yip, saying in dog, The rats are dead, stupids. We killed them.

"Zelda," I hissed at her.

"Don't be rude."

"No, I'm sorry," Jack's mom said.

"We're the ones being rude. We haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Missy, this is my husband David. And I'm sorry, how do you know Jack?" She was fluttering between the kitchen sink and island as if trying to find the familiar action: a drink to offer, cookies to plate, the proper hostess gesture. But she couldn't figure it out mid-apocalypse. Give the guest coffee or board up the windows? Tough call.

"I'm Olivia Thorne. Jack and I met in the scenario," I said. Missy and David exchanged glances, Missy's eyes widening, David's narrowing.

"The scenario?" David said.

"Yes, Dad, the scenario you don't believe I went through," Jack said.

"That scenario. Olivia and Zelda were part of my team."

"I—but you—you were barely even late getting home!" David blustered. Oh, God, poor Jack.

"That would have been such a strange thing to lie about," I said, absolutely mildly. Seriously, it was a triumph of mildness. It didn't contain even the slightest hint of "you fucking asshole" which would have come far more naturally to me.

"During the apocalypse? The challenge scenario gave some big advantages to people who got stuck in it."

"Advantages?" David scoffed, but Missy interrupted him.

"That thing, the fire thing, would have destroyed so much more if Jack hadn't nearly died fighting it. You know that, David."

"Fire elemental," Jack told me.

"Anytime it got near something explosive—" He spread his hands, making a pow sound.

"If it hadn't started to rain, it would have taken out half of Durham, maybe more. But I managed to kill it." He seemed grimly proud.

"You nearly killed yourself," Missy snapped at him.

"You should have let the authorities take care of it. The police, the National Guard, the army. It's their job." Oh, God, poor Jack. Yeah, I know I just said that, but it was all I could think.

"Yeah, I expect they're kind of busy these days," I said softly, with a friendly smile, trying to defuse the argument before it could really get going.

"Hey, what's going on?" It was a female voice, coming from the top of the stairs, rapidly followed by a female presence, bouncing down the steps. Blonde, attractive, fully made-up despite, you know, the apocalypse, and wearing athletic gear. She was followed by a guy: perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect skin. I disliked him at first sight. Oh, right, he reminded me of my ex. I tried to stuff the feelings down.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded.

"Dogs?"

"This is my friend Olivia," Jack said before I could reply.

"And her dogs, Zelda, Bear, Riley." He pointed to each in turn. I was secretly impressed that he remembered, given that he'd never met Bear and Riley before. I'd told him about them during the scenario, but still.

"Olivia, my sister Megan, her boyfriend Bryce." I nodded, acknowledging the introduction. Megan raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Your friend?" Bryce put a hand on her shoulder.

"Meg, Jack can have friends." Ooh, I really did dislike him. It wasn't the words, it was the mocking undercurrent. There was a shitload of subtext there, all of it implying "your loser brother." Maybe some of it implying "weird old lady" for me, but I didn't care about that so much. I didn't need a twenty-something frat boy to be impressed by me. Bear felt my disdain, and her lips curled back. I tightened my hand on her neck and whispered, "No. Behave."

Zelda plopped her butt on the ground and stared at Bryce as if she were a herding dog instead of a terrier. You've seen the look. It's that stare that says, "I don't care if you're bigger than me, I'm tougher than you and you WILL follow my orders." I tapped [Analyze]. I should have done it sooner. Jack's mom was still an Unknown. His dad was a Level 1 Guard. Megan was a Level 2 Archer and Bryce was a Level 1 Fighter. My lip did not curl in disgust. But not a single Uncommon class among them.

And what the hell had they been doing for the past week? Okay, six days.

"What are you doing here?" Megan asked.

"How did you get here? Did you drive? Are the roads okay?"

"I told you, Meg. We should be able to get to my parents' place, no problem." Bryce didn't wait for me to actually answer any of Megan's questions. Earnestly, he said to her parents, "I really think we should get out of here before the rat swarm comes around again. I know you're worried about the roads, but the house in the mountains would be so much safer." House in the mountains? I looked at Jack in silent question. He sighed.

"Bryce's family owns a vacation home in Spruce Gap. It's got a safe room. And guns."

"We can pick up some food on the way," Bryce continued. I snorted. I'd been being so good, too. But that was a step too far. Bryce smiled, but his eyes were cold.

"Yeah, you might be right. That might be an issue. But the pantry should be stocked. Nothing fresh, but then there won't be fresh food here either before too long. Plus, the mountains, clear air, fewer people. The safe room, and some real weapons. It's the sensible decision."

"I was pretty out of it for a while after the fire elemental," Jack said quietly.

"But Bryce has been trying to talk Megan into heading to his parents' place since Day Two."

"You and your parents are welcome to come, too. And if your friend—Olivia, was it? —can swing her own transportation, she's welcome to join us. You'd have to figure out how to feed your animals on your own, of course. We don't have a stash of dog food, I'm afraid." Bryce gave a light chuckle. [Uncanny Insight] told me that the light chuckle meant, "Dogs? Really? Only pathetic people have pets." Okay, maybe I was reading into his words a little too much. I gritted my teeth.

And then I forced myself to stop, because I'd been warned by my dentist that teeth-gritting was a terrible habit. Huh, did levels fix dental problems, too? That would be cool if they did. With an effort of will (or Will? I was at +44, I believed), I stopped dissociating and brought myself back to my current surroundings.

"Actually," I said, painfully polite, "I'm here to ask Jack if he wants to join our friend Emma's enclave in New Jersey. She'd like his help."