Chapter 49

TJ stayed out of the firehouse, musing over the next ten days and what he was going to do. When people came out, several shot nasty looks his way, but TJ couldn't bring himself to care. Junior needed a living dad, and TJ was more than willing to be the heel to some of these people to ensure he had his best chance of making it out alive. After the early lunch was complete, the next hunt was prepared, and TJ was reminded there was more yet to do. 

Two more, very different trips were taken that day. The second expedition was with an entirely different group than the one from that morning, Seth replacing Farid and many of the other newest hunters being older folks who struggled to walk that far. With the advent of the System and its attributes, many of these people who would be largely hopeless in any attempt to journey any distance by foot could make their slow and steady way to where the hunt would take place. Granny Penny laughed when TJ offered to carry her down the road and out of town in the opposite direction from where he'd entered.

"I'm takin' care of myself. Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours, I'm doin' just fine!" She declared as she continued to push her walker down the road. Somehow, when TJ Appraised her, he saw Disciple 2 displayed, so she'd gained levels somehow. 

"Don't tell Laura," she stage whispered, "I went and got me an Occupation. It's helping out a lot!"

"Now what Occupation was that?" TJ asked, too curious not to dig deeper.

She glanced back and forth before grinning widely. "Attendant!"

TJ squinted at the old lady, unsure how to react. She kept her joyous look, unconcerned with his potential disbelief. Eventually, he had to ask, "Really?"

"Sure as can be!"

"Well, I'm glad it's helping." TJ replied with a shrug. He internally asked the System, "How does the Occupation Attendant help someone on the path to the Divine Throne?"

Every aspect of life can be honed to the level of Divinity. Service, healing, leadership, and destruction are all facets of life, and a Participant can choose to exemplify any aspect of life in their pursuit of the Divine Throne.

TJ sighed deeply as he decided not to follow that train of thoughts. Though he had so many questions about the System and everything it wanted to do, his focus remained on Junior. Thus, he assisted the much less mobile group of hunters, though he was much more careful with how he approached potential combat with them. Instead of just blazing into the forest, he ranged out himself while Seth and the others stayed completely at the ready for anything to come their way. Thus, TJ slowly kited four coyotes, two javelinas, and a mountain lion to the waiting hunters. The mountain lion was a surprise and very nearly deadly, but TJ was quick enough to shift to a coatl and take it down to ensure that though its claws cut through a Zealot's armor without much difficulty, it didn't strike any deadly wounds. That it was merely level 2 and had ambushed them all and nearly eviscerated someone was not lost on him, and TJ feared the day he encountered a level 5, or Kukulkan forbid, level 10.

As the more sickly of the group gained a level or two, their backs straightened and their breathing grew more steady, Penny especially walking away from her walker whenever she could, though she needed to return to it for a moment to catch her breath each time. Despite himself, TJ felt himself bonding further with the hunters as they stumbled and crawled and actually learned. Their five Zealots, only one with a shield, worked together in tandem, and the single Acolyte used her hand crossbow to the best of her ability. Seth stayed near Penny and the other Disciple, the plucky old lady leading her fellow Disciple to throw the largest stones they could manage at the enemies. More often than not, Penny's gravel would plink uselessly against one of the Zealots' armors, but once she managed to strike a javelina's eye and she crowed in exultation as it squealed.

"Ha HAH!" She cackled. "You slippery varmint! Just roll over!" 

Every other one of her attacks went wide, but her enthusiasm was infectious. The Zealots gained levels and experience, and, as TJ learned, they gained 3 Strength every level. Though the beasts all remained a higher level, they were outnumbered and with every hunter having someone supporting them, there were no casualties or serious injuries. The hunt ended when three pukwudgies tried their luck at ambushing them from above but the two Acolytes shot them from the trees. Seth's shot struck its eye, and by the time its corpse smashed against the ground, it was dead. Of the other two, one escaped, but the last took a shot to the leg and broke its spine once it fell over twenty feet. 

The Zealots closed in, and though they were obviously uncomfortable with it, they finished the little goblin creature off. Then, the quota finished, TJ threw the mountain lion's corpse over his shoulder and led the way back home. 

Disaster struck when they'd been where, to the best of TJ's knowledge, they'd crossed into the "safe" zone. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and TJ shouted, "Get down!"

Everyone listened, but poor, or lucky, as the case may be, Peter, the sole Zealot with a shield, went down with his shield over his body. TJ couldn't say how, but the pukwudgies' thrown spears bounced off the shield and one flew straight up and cut through Peter's right eye's cornea. As the man about the same age as TJ himself screamed in pain and fear, the rest of the hunting party tried to protect him, to retaliate against the pukwudgies. They disappeared into the trees too quickly, retreating from the space they couldn't yet intrude upon. 

TJ growled curses under his breath as he dropped the mountain lion corpse where he stood. "Disciples, on him, now!"

Penny pushed through the group of concerned but unable to help hunters and laid her hands on Peter's face. 

"Hold still, honey. It'll be just a second." 

Peter stilled to mere shaking breaths as a light washed over the group from Penny's hands. She took a shuddering breath and swayed while TJ reached a hand out to steady her. The old lady gratefully took it and struggled to stand. He helped her to her walker while the rest of the hunters gathered Peter into their arms and carried him deeper into the safe zone, hopefully away from the range where the pukwudgies could reach him. There wasn't any more movement from anything in the forest nearby, but TJ didn't take any risks. He activated his Divine Transformation and dragged the two corpses left behind as the rest of the hunters hurried to the firehouse. It wasn't long before TJ caught up and could hear the panicked conversation.

"It's all blurry!"

"Like you can see light or just like you need glasses?"

"Like it's all blurry! I can't… I can't see anything! I'm blind!"

TJ quickly caught on to what the crescendoing discussion was about. When he came around and was able to see Peter's face, the blood had been wiped off as best as it could in so little time, though it still filled the man's eyebrows and eyelashes. Under that, though, was the much more concerning eye. It had once been a dark blue but now was cloudy and unresponsive. Peter was waving his hands, the terror of losing his sight stealing his rationality. 

"Everyone!" TJ shouted while using Wind Manipulation to blow back their screams and force their attention onto him. "There's nothing we can do right this second. Let's get to the firehouse, speak with Laura, and figure it out from there. Got it?"

Surprisingly, Peter was the first to respond, gritting his teeth and nodding before turning and leading the way to the firehouse. The rest of the hunters gathered whatever came to their hands and followed his lead. TJ walked in the back, eyes wide open and searching for any abnormality. There wasn't anything that stood out to him, but he'd already known that didn't mean anything. Even so, he'd gotten complacent and Peter paid the price. He was supposed to be the smart, experienced one, and he'd lost focus at the last second. 

As they stumbled into the firehouse, TJ saw what he'd refused to earlier. The ugly looks he'd received at lunch hadn't come from the lazy who resented being made to work. They came from the survivors of the less fortunate expeditions. Peter's wound was far from the most serious he could see. Missing fingers and thickly scarred faces were common while wounds so serious they were still only scabbed over instead of fully healed patterned most people. Wounds had been treated only to the level that HP recovery wouldn't be impeded so that natural regeneration could take care of the rest. For a moment, TJ questioned why they'd been left to suffer, but as he watched harried Disciples pacing between groaning patients, he realized why. 

Necessary though he thought they were, these hunts were dangerous, and each person out there risked their lives. Looking around in these people's faces, he saw many that would struggle to walk out of this building again tomorrow. They'd set off with expectations of strength and security, and instead they'd found their own weakness and death. Groans of pain and fear filled the air, and TJ worried that he'd broken the spirits of these people. Then, he worried for himself, and cursed his selfishness. 

Fortunately, before he'd lost himself in his worries and fear, TJ took a second look. Though some faces were filled with despair and weakness, most were set with stubborn defiance. They'd seen their friends and companions be hurt and they decided to do something about that. His reluctance was washed away by a righteous fury, and TJ felt that these mere beasts had challenged the dignity of a coatl for long enough. 

"Peter?" He asked, and the partially blinded man turned to look.

"Yeah?"

"Will you be ok here for now?"

Peter shrugged. "Nothing else I can do, to be honest."

"Ok. I'll check on you when I get back." Then, TJ stood up and met the eyes of those who looked at him. "This is ridiculous. Those monsters think they can ambush us and I'm not going to do something about it? I'm taking the fight to them, weakening them even more. Anyone who's at least level 5 in their Class and willing, meet me outside in ten minutes. I'm going to kill some of the bastards."

He didn't say anything more, merely stalking out of the room. Shuffling feet and murmured voices answered him immediately, but TJ didn't look back. He merely walked to the tree where he'd settled down earlier that morning and turned to sit down. Before he fully hit the ground, though, the sight of a dozen determined denizens of the town greeted him, Stanton in front of them all.

"Kid, we're with you. Let's hunt some of the fuckers."