Chapter 29 - Shyft

Rynold was the first to get out of the car and looked up ahead to see what they were dealing with.

Although the roads were normally clear but somewhat rocky, vegetation seems to have grown from the side and covered most of what used to be a road. It wasn't big enough for them to travel by car but wide enough for them to travel on foot.

However, based on evidence from the past few days, things aren't usually what they seem.

They could be jumped by gigantic insects or aggressive flora that might kill them at any slight misstep. But what else could they do at this point?

Taking the lead, Rynold was the first to enter the grass tunnel. He was greeted by large grass that blocked his vision, making him crouch his way forward. It was annoying, to say the least, but it was effective.

The rest saw what Rynold was doing and followed suit, with Oliver staying last, daggers out.

Oliver failed to realize that he had a wolf following along until they were a few steps deeper into the grass forest. He motioned Strider to sniff out any underlying dangers that would come out from the tall grass. He doubted that the wolf's senses would work but it was worth a shot.

Step after step, the group moved deeper and deeper with Rynold counting how much farther he needed to go to reach the very outskirts of his hometown.

He was being optimistic, the town that he grew up in was rather peaceful and protected by trading agencies that mainly deal with aquatic exports. This meant that the town didn't have any sort of defenses that would prepare them for the sudden coming of the New World.

'This should be the place,' Rynold thought once he saw the vegetation and tall grass clear up from upfront.

Finally getting to stand up straight once more in the clearing, Rynold stretch his legs while the others did the same. The group was collectively glad that they didn't have any sort of creature to deal with when getting through the grass.

Rynold looked around to see what went on. The clearing had some buildings and localized huts but there weren't any corpses to note of. That was a good sign. This was the very edge of the town where some guards used to say in these houses but they looked empty.

Rynold marched forward to check the houses. Jack made sense of this and did what the military thought him to do, give him some cover. He pulled out his Poisonous Mana Rifle and readied to fire, hand on the trigger in case something went wrong.

Rynold checked out the houses, opening the doors only to find out that they were empty and seemed like they left in a hurry too. The place was a mess with random things scattered on the floor.

He got through the next few houses but came up empty still. The houses were all the same as the first one he went through. He approached the last house and didn't have high hopes for it.

Opening the door, he was right. It was still the same as the ones before, empty and a mess. Rynold gave up and turned around, deciding that they should wrap it up and keep moving forward.

Rynold opened his mouth and told the group, "we should keep goi-"

A spear from behind suddenly stabbed him in the shoulder from the house that he thought was empty. Rynold let out a groan of pain before leaping from the doorway to make a space in between him and the attacker.

"What a little piece of sh-"

He didn't even get to finish what he was saying because another spear was thrown from inside the house. Rynold raised his gauntlets to guard the spear, pretty easily, in fact.

"Come out and face me!" Rynold yelled loud enough for even Oliver and the rest to hear him.

Oliver rushed up to where Rynold was and Jack aimed at the entrance of the house to shoot as soon as the attacker showed himself. It was wasteful, after all, if he shot out some Mana.

"Rynold?" the attacker was surprised that he heard the familiar voice and the vulgar mouth of the young lad that left the town for the city.

"What the..?" Rynold asked, "Shyft is that you?"

"Kid! You're back!" Shyft exclaimed to his surprise, the kid that had once left the town made it back and stronger to boot.

Rynold was shocked that his uncle was still here and hiding inside a house too. "Stand down!" Rynold yelled once more and loud enough for Jack to hear.

The group lowered their guard and Oliver stood to Rynold's side, still wary for danger.

Shyft finally showed himself as he came out from the house, dusting himself off from the dirt that he got from staying inside the dirty house.

He was rather tall with a sort of lean body type but his figure still stood tall with pride. Hard to believe that would come from a guy that was hiding inside a house.

Jack and Skye moved forward to where Rynold and Oliver were with Strider in tow.

"Guys, this is the captain of the town guard and my uncle, Shyft," Rynold introduced his uncle to his friends.

"I don't get it," Jack suddenly asked, "he's your uncle but you call him by his first name?"

Shyft let out a laugh at Jack's sudden question, "I threatened to hit him with a spear if he called me a different name. Speaking of, I suggest you guys do the same unless you want a spear in your back."

Skye healed Rynold's wound that the spear had left behind now that he pulled it out. Rynold snickered at the remark that Shyft had said. Oliver, on the other hand, had a different sentiment."

"I'd like to see you try," Oliver said with an arrogant smirk.

"Daring aren't we?" Shyft smiled back at Oliver, raising his spear up for a challenge.

"Ehem."

Rynold coughed to make the two men stop acting like children. He continued, "save the pleasantries for later. How's home?" He was worried about what happened to the town that made the guards panic like they did all the while leaving the captain to fend for himself.

"Right. Right," Shyft smiled embarrassingly before a serious expression took over. "The town's overrun from both sides. Weird human-like things came out from within the city at the same time some animals mutated. Both the fish and the wild animals changed too, making the town a very dangerous place to live in."

"Damn," Rynold cursed underneath his breath. "What about the family?"

Shyft sighed, "well, last I heard they were fine. But who knows what's happened now?"

Tsk.

Rynold was stumped but he didn't give up. He had to fight for the people he cared about, it came naturally for him to have a sense of responsibility even if people didn't ask it from him.

"Okay, here's the plan," Rynold devised a plan that would make them fight the creatures that await them. "Clear out the ghouls first, that's our first priority. The fish and sea creatures won't attack us on land and the wild animals won't attack unless we go out of our way to kill them."

He continued, "Jack and Skye take the vantage point up on the tallest building that's at the near edge of town. We're moving out at the same time so there shouldn't be a problem of taking you guys there. Meanwhile, Oliver, Strider, Shyft, and I will be clearing the ghouls in the town. And please, for the love of all things that are holy, don't go overboard with the structural damage, okay?"

Oliver nodded while having a somewhat regretful expression on his face. Shyft, on the other hand, was divided on what he felt. Rynold took charge when he had both seniority and experience of being a captain. He simply nodded to Rynold's request.

"Good. Check your gear and we move out in five," Rynold said before leaving the group to do what they had to do. Rynold stretched his arms and legs, at the same time, checked his shoulder if the spear injured him in a way that would hinder his movements. Thankfully, it didn't.

Oliver scratched Strider's belly while talking with Skye. Jack checked the condition of his weapon, a standard habit he's gotten over the years. Shyft checked his gear as well and decided to pack light for the trip.

Shyft decided not to bother Rynold when they were prepping, he knew for a fact that a few minutes before a fight to get physically and mentally prepared was important for any victory. The more he decided to put off his questions, the more questions he's thought of asking, especially about the metal gloves that were on Rynold's arms.

"Ready to go?" Rynold suddenly asked the rest of them.