29

I knew better then to run out onto the street without getting a good view of my surroundings. I didn't know how many monsters were nearby, and there was one place I could think of that no one would look for me. The dungeon. Monsters always went away from dungeons when they were released from them so there shouldn't be many monsters near the dungeon. I wasn't sure. 

I was betting on a maybe, but no one would expect me to rush headfirst into a dungeon by myself so even if boss boy came looking for me he wouldn't look there. I'd be able to strengthen myself while I was in there as well. I wasn't strong enough to get back to the boys right now without a vehicle, and the chances of finding one that was working right now was shrinking by the day. Maybe my perception was jilted by my want to go to the dungeon. I knew that right now everyone was on boss man's side. 

If I were to go back then I would probably face expulsion or death when boss man turned the narrative around on me to make his son seem like the victim. I needed to figure out a way to break whatever spell he was casting on them. Going back to my family before I had my charges was simply not an option. I was responsible for those boys. I'd saved them, and I'd taken full responsibility for them. 

I needed to go back, and take care of them as I'd promised. I wasn't about to make myself a liar. I raised my dagger slowly as I walked out of the front door. Glancing over to the row of burned houses just across the street. I wasn't about to go back, and have them completely undermine me. 

I needed a way to even out the playing field, and right now I was outnumbered, and outgunned. I needed strength, and the dungeon was the easiest way to get it. I wasn't far from the dungeon. It would take me an hour or two max to get all the way over there if I ran. I wasn't interested in running through what could very easily be monster infested territory. 

I started moving. I stayed in the middle of the road as I walked. I would have a few seconds to react if something attacked me while I was in the road. Sure I would be easier for the monsters to find, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to see them coming. Plus the buildings would work as cover for me as well. 

I was a but worried about my poor luck, but I'd been having just as much good luck as bad luck lately. I walked down the road with a quick confident stride. Granted I wasn't feeling anywhere near confident. I was waiting for my luck to turn sour at any moment. Yet nothing happened. 

The middle of smalltown Arlington was dead silent. Not even the noises of birds or other small animals reached me here. I wasn't far from my old apartment now, and there were multiple trashed cars on the road now. Almost as if something had decided to shove around all the parked cars that had been parked along the street before I left. I walked down the road calmly. 

Looking over each vehicle as I passed. There was a truck that looked fresher then the others. It was the only one that didn't have a light dust coating. I approached the truck confidentially. I wasn't getting any alarm bells so there wasn't any reason to be cautious. 

The truck had been flipped upside down. I had to lay down on the ground to get a good look into the cab. There was a boot caught in the seatbelt. The rest of the contents of the cab were strewn about randomly. The boot just kind of stood out to me. 

It was a laced up military type black boot. I didn't know if it was legit military dress or just one of those ones that looked like it. I reached up into the cab, and gripped the foot of the boot. Pulling it over to me, and being hit by an incredible stench. The stench of rotting meat. 

It was a smell I knew well, but I just couldn't stop myself. I rolled the boot over, and looked in the top. The squirming maggots made the flesh wriggle, and my guts rolled, but they held. I tossed the boot away, and grabbed a radio that was just behind it. Pulling it out, and sitting down to click a few buttons. 

The radio didn't make a sound, and some of the buttons didn't come up after they were pressed. It had been crushed at some point so it was worthless to me. I tossed it aside, and continued on my walk. I couldn't help but think of how different this place was now. It used to be so full of life at this time of day. 

Dozens of cars parked along the road. People walking their dogs. Even small families going about their business. Now it was empty, and dead. I walked past the dentist office, the bank, and over to the little three way intersection. 

I crossed the street, and walked up onto the sidewalk. Turning to walk up towards the lot The Fountain stood on. Crossing the parking lot as I walked toward the line of houses that stood between me, and grocery store I was looking for. I had lowered my dagger while walking, but it was still gripped tightly in my right hand. I still remembered the last time I bought food it. 

It was one of the oldest restaurants in town so just about everyone had eaten there at least once. Very little had changed about the place besides the prices. They had only remodeled because the electrical systems had failed. Just deciding to fix up dozens of small problems that had collected over the years. Now it stood empty.