I picked up the shovel and, remembering a reel I'd seen ages ago, dug a smaller, angled hole into the side of the pit. It should make fire burn hotter with less visible flame.
The [Invigorating Recovery] had taken the edge off, enough that I no longer felt like I was running on fumes. So I chopped the larger logs down and started layering wood over the bodies, then covered everything with leaves until you could barely tell what was underneath. My hands and core weren't happy about the chopping, but it kept my mind from going anywhere I didn't want it to go.
By the time Andy came back with four backpacks worth of belongings, the pit looked almost presentable.
He pulled the Starting Fluid from one of the packs and emptied the whole thing over the pile before dropping the container in with everything else. The sharp smell of gasoline almost blocked out the stench of dead bodies.
Before we lit it, Andy walked over to Dick, crouching to his eye level.
"I need that shrouding card of yours," he said. "I'll give it back when we're done. And I'll throw in one of mine to hold onto while you wait."
Dick stared at him from behind the duct tape, then slowly nodded.
Andy went very still. A few seconds passed.
"Christ," he muttered, standing up. He rolled his shoulders like he was trying to shake something off.
"What?" I asked.
"Didn't trust him to use the card truthfully." He looked at the fire pit. "You want to do the honours?"
I activated the [Torch] and dumped as much into it as I could manage. The fire caught fast and burned low, most of the flame staying beneath the hole's lip like it was supposed to. The smell was still brutal. We both backed away quickly.
"That thing is draining as hell," Andy said, watching the smoke curl up. "No wonder you passed out the first time you used it."
"Takes practice." I wiped my hands on my jeans. "I need to go back to camp before I leave."
"I'll be here. But… What are you going to do?"
"I want to say goodbye to the people I came with, and return Jeff's cards. He's got two kids to take care of."
Andy was quiet for a moment, watching the flames. "Can't imagine keeping kids alive in this."
"Yep. So you think no one will find you here?"
"Yeah. That shrouding skill is something else. It's level three and potent." He paused. "Did you notice some skills have an emotional impact? Like they change your mood or… thoughts?"
"Yeah," I said, after a moment. "My [Torch] almost… calls to me to burn things. It also uses emotions to push fire stronger."
I thought of what Iris had told me. Cards are you, and you are cards. What is offered is the reflection of your actions, and the person you become is a reflection of your choices.
"So I wasn't losing my mind. His skill is like that. It's like, you know, that feeling when you walk into a room, and everyone's giving you side eye? Like one of those days where you're convinced you've done something terrible, but you can't remember what? But everyone around you knows, and they're all staring." Andy shivered. "I don't know how he walks around with that in his head all day."
I glanced over at Dick.
"What's it called?"
"[Aversion Aura]."
"Yeah," I said. "Doesn't sound pleasant."
I turned to go get Jeff's card, then remembered Dick had watched the whole conversation, including the part where I'd told Andy I was planning to give the cards away. Sure enough, when I came over to negotiate the [Dodge] and [Heavy Strike], he shook his head.
I didn't have the patience for it.
I turned my open palm in his direction. "You've seen what my [Torch] does to someone's face. You give me the cards, or I demonstrate it again."
He made a muffled sound.
"Here's the deal," I said. "You cooperate, and you keep the [Aversion Aura]. I imagine that's your strongest skill, with it being level three. What's better: keeping your best card, or dead and nothing?"
He thought about it for a few seconds. Then nodded.
I gave him [Steady Hands] and [Invigorating Recovery], and confirmed slotting [Dodge] and [Heavy Strike].
I pulled my backpack on and looked at Andy. "How do I look?"
He considered me. "Like you got put through a wood chipper, then decided to clean a chimney afterwards."
I tried wiping some soot from my face with a dirty sleeve of my hoodie.
"No, don't wipe it. It's actually good camouflage. You look like that soldier in Predator. Stalking through the jungle."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Keep him tied up." I jerked my head at Dick. "He's got my cards. I want those back."
I rolled out a rope to guide myself back through Dick's [Aversion Aura], tied it off to a tree, when it ran out, and headed toward camp.
It was further than I'd thought. Finding the site in the dark with all the fires dead took extra time, and by the time I came out of the trees near the makeshift kitchen.
I kept to the shadows, aiming for the white medical tent. And nearly walked straight into someone standing under the registration tent. I pulled the [Torch] activation back at the last second. The figure hadn't moved toward me. They just stood there, watching, eyes catching the moonlight, like I was face-to-face with a cat, not a human.
"Who are you, and where are you going?" The person asked.
So, the camp security must have been a little better than nothing.
"Emm, sorry. Jessica, my name is Jessica," I said. "I got carried away testing new cards in the forest. Hit a tree." I pointed at the dried blood on my head. "Woke up after dark. I'm hoping to get that looked at."
She studied me for a moment, then stepped out from under the tent's shadow. "I'll walk you. So you don't hit anything else."
"Thanks. Are you on night patrol?"
"Not exactly. Most of the security volunteers are near the main entrance. I took the reception desk. Someone should be here if people need help at night."
My shoulders loosened a little. "That's... very kind of you."
"Old systems are gone," she said simply. "It's up to each of us now to make sure what comes next isn't a shitshow."
We reached the tent flap, and the light coming through the gap lit her face. She was around my age, tired in a way that went deeper than one bad night.
"What did you do before all this?" I asked.
Her lips quirked in half a smile. "Got out on parole. Was trying to figure out what came next."
"Oh, wow, ok."
She stopped at the entrance. "Get some rest. And next time, take someone with you."
"I will," I said. "Thank you for walking with me. And it was nice meeting you."
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Inside the med tent, only two cots were still occupied. It was quiet except for the soft breathing of sleeping people. The first cot was the same man I'd seen coughing earlier that afternoon. The second was Jeff's. The thin metal frame of his cot was visibly suffering under the combined weight of him and both kids. They'd draped themselves across him with the full boneless commitment of children who'd decided dad was a mattress.
First, I checked behind the curtain, but Iris wasn't there. As quietly as possible, I found Amanda's backpack under Jeff's cot and started pulling it out to get the paper map.
"You look like shit." Jeff's voice was barely above a whisper. When I looked up, he was already shifting kids off him, moving carefully. "Didn't recognize you at first."
"Rough night."
"Iris is in the next tent over: small blue one. Or you can just wait for her here. She's usually back by four a.m. There's a spare sleeping bag behind the curtain."
"I'll be fine. I'm leaving early. I stopped by to mark the spot where I've left Amanda's body, as promised."
"You are leaving the camp for good? Why so early?"
I didn't answer. Just pushed [Dodge] and [Heavy Strike] cards at him.
He stared at the notification for a long second. "How?"
"Just accept them. You'll need those."
"You look like this because of it? Because you went to get my cards back?"
"I didn't start anything. Just finished it. No one will be asking for those back."
"Chloe—"
"I'm too tired to explain, Jeff. You know the guys who extorted you. I have some cards they liked; you can draw conclusions yourself. I want you and the kids to get to the farm. That's it." I marked the spot on the map and gave it back to him. "Take someone with you when you go. Forest isn't safe."
He nodded, folding the map carefully, not to wake up the children. "If we ever manage to get in touch again—"
"Don't worry about it." I found the water cooler in the corner and filled my bottle, drank half, filled it again.
"Liv woke up once already," Jeff said, after a moment. "She's feeling much better. Got a card too, apparently. [Slingshot]. She can give yours back— "
"Don't sweat it. It's a gift."
"So you aren't coming with us then?"
I looked over the sleeping girl.
"I've got family to get back to. Tell her congratulations," I said. "And goodbye."
"I will."
I pulled my bag on and let myself out. The cat-eyed woman was gone, or at least not showing herself. Either way, it was oddly reassuring. Someone decent was out here holding a night shift for strangers, for no reason except that someone had to.
The [Aversion Aura] was a potent card. Even with my rope as a guide and a use of [Pathfinder], it kept nudging my attention sideways: a persistent, uncomfortable sense that I'd chosen the wrong direction, that my destination was somewhere else entirely. I moved tree to tree, hand over hand on the rope, until the firepit came into view.
Andy was where I'd left him. Dick was still tied to his tree, head drooped, like he was sleeping.
The pit looked like something out of a war documentary. The wood had burned down to almost nothing, and two charred skeletal shapes were clearly visible through the thin flames.
"We need more wood," I said.
Andy groaned. "Can't you just torch it again?"
"I can, and I will. But fire must be fed with something that burns well."
I nudged Dick awake with my foot to take my cards back, then hit Andy with [Invigorating Recovery]. "Up."
We wound through the trees, using a rope as a guide to stay close while gathering branches.
"Surprised the [Aura]'s still holding," I said.
"I refreshed it. Didn't want anyone wandering over when the smell reaches the camp."
"Good thinking."
We piled the branches and [Torched] everything in the pit again.
"Anything happened while I was gone?" I asked, going through my bag to take stock of the food situation. Eating was out of the question with the smell, but I wanted to know what I was working with, once I leave.
"Got my class," Andy said. "Bushwhacker."
"Like a guerrilla fighter?"
"Something like that." He was definitely trying not to look embarrassed about the name. "It gives me reduced cooldown on rogue cards, better stealth, and weather resistance."
"Sounds useful."
"You haven't checked yours yet, have you?"
I hadn't. I opened the notification I'd been ignoring.
Your Deck is complete. Class selection available. Enter Class selection now? Yes/No.
When I chose "Yes", three cards appeared with a brief resume under each. When I focused on it, the text expanded, filling out the space around.
Frontier Scout — Some people work better alone. Choose this class to keep your peace, wherever life takes you. Self-Reliance: +10% effectiveness of all skills when solo. Emergency Mobility: movement skills 30% more effective and reduced cooldown when health is low. Prepared Traveller: equipment weight reduced, and minor inconveniences don't slow you down.
Hedge Mage — You didn't learn magic from a book. You learned it because you needed to. Choose this class to keep learning on your own terms. Mana Conservation: +20% mana regeneration. Card Acceleration: -20% cooldown on all mana-consuming cards. Backdraft Control: your own offensive cards have less chances of harming you.
Channelling Warden — Your weapon is an extension of your will, not just your arm. Choose this class to hit harder and heal better. Channelling: card effects can be channelled through equipped melee weapons. Precision Efficiency: channelled cards gain +15% strength. Weapon Resonance: card effects last 10% longer when channelled through weapons you have a card for.
"Okay," I said. This was hard to admit, but…"I actually need a second opinion on this."
Andy looked up. "Sure, what are the options?"
I read them out loud.
We sat with it for a moment. The ground was soaked through, cold seeping up through every tear in my clothes. I shifted, looking around for something else to sit on, but we'd burned all the foliage.
"Warden has the most synergy, since you can combine it with all your cards," Andy said. "Channel everything through the polearm, and your casting gets stronger."
"I haven't had a functional weapon since I got the [Spear] card. Broomstick handles snap, too bulky to carry around, they're useless in close quarters, and mine always get misplaced, anyway."
"Fair. Hedge Mage then. It doesn't work with all your cards, but the percentages are higher, and you'd get more casts out of all of your magic cards."
That was the one that had caught my attention first. Not just for the utility, but the more you use cards, the more you receive them, and the stronger they get. Getting stronger magic was an easy sell, because, well:
"Magic is cool."
"And obviously Frontier Scout fits your sociopathic tendencies—"
"Your sense of humour needs better timing," I said flatly.
"Sorry. But, seriously, that movement buff when you're hurt is OP might save your life one day."
It probably could. But looking at that class description made me feel like I was reading an epitaph of the last few years of my life. Efficient. Isolated. Surviving. That wasn't who I wanted to be anymore.
"Mage," I said. "I want to be a Mage."
"Cool."
Andy went to make Dick refresh the [Aversion Aura]. I accepted my new class, then ran [Splice] and [Heal Wound] over the worst of my cuts, before turning the [Torch] on the remaining bones, making sure nothing short of a dental exam could identify them.
I tried to pay attention to whether the class had changed anything: less strain, faster recovery, something. But it was hard to separate from the general exhaustion and the residual ache of everything the night had left behind. But something was there. Using [Torch] felt more natural. Less like squeezing out gel and more like opening a tap.
When Andy came back, we covered the pit with soil, and that was that.
"What now?" he asked.
"We walk out. All three of us." I glanced at Dick. "Once we hit the road, you're on your own."
Andy looked like a kicked puppy. "I thought we'd continue together. Head to that farm I showed you on the map."
"You set people up to kill me, Andy. There's no coming back from that."
"I really am sorry. I was a terrible ass. Getting kicked in the head helped clarify things."
I didn't answer. Dick didn't have much say in it either.
We moved in silence, Dick between us, hands bound. The rising sun painted the forest in soft shades of pink, casting just enough light to walk without tripping.
Where the trees thinned, and I used [Pathfinder] to fix my direction: home, to Ester. The picture it gave me was vague, more suggestion than a map, but it was something to follow.
Eventually, we hit the barrier Andy had mentioned. The familiar vines with purple flowers had swallowed a thick blueberry shrub whole, snaking up between the trees, and blooming even in the dark. I used the [Torch] to clear just enough for us to pass through. Keeping the gap small helped ease my anxiety about giving monsters a back door to the camp. These plants grew fast.
When we reached the road intersection, I stopped.
"This is far enough." I cut Dick's rope and left both ends with Andy. "He's your problem now. Don't go back to camp."
Andy stared at me. "So that's it."
"That's it."
He looked like he had more to say. Thought better of it.
"Good luck," I said, and meant it about as much as the situation warranted.
Then I walked west and didn't look back.
Chloe's Deck (10/10):
Class: Hedge Mage — You didn't learn magic from a book. You learned it because you needed to. Choose this class to keep learning on your own terms. Mana Conservation: +20% mana regeneration. Card Acceleration: -20% cooldown on all mana-consuming cards. Backdraft Control: your own offensive cards have less chances of harming you.
-
Blue Card: [Leap II]
Instantly leap forward up to 10 feet. Beware of obstacles. Obstacle impacts deal reduced damage. Cooldown 20 minutes.
Progression towards the next card upgrade 1/2
-
Blue Card: [Heal Wound II]
A medium burst of healing for a single target area you touch. Cooldown 1 hour.
Progression towards the next card upgrade 1/2
-
Green Card: [Polearm]
Intermediate proficiency with polearm weapons. +7% damage, improved accuracy, and reduced stamina cost when wielding spears, halberds, poleaxes, or glaives.
-
Blue Card: [Pyromaniac Torch II]
Fire recognizes a kindred spirit. Go on. Light it up, and the fire will stick to your target. Just be careful what you feed it. Cooldown 10 minutes.
-
Blue card: [Pathfinder]
Read the landscape and identify the safest routes by using subtle signs like animal tracks, worn earth, natural markers, and subconscious knowledge. Cooldown 6 hours.
-
Blue Card: [Tissue Splice II].
Fuse two edges of tissue up to 1 inch deep. Cooldown 45 minutes.
-
Blue Card: [Invigorating Recovery]
Channel a small burst of vital energy through touch, increasing recovery from injuries, magical and physical fatigue by 20% for the next thirty minutes. Cooldown 1 hour.
-
Green Card: [Steady Hand]
5% Better accuracy when aiming or throwing.
-
Blue Card: [Detect Weakness]
Access target to identify exploitable flaws and vulnerable points, increasing critical hit chance by 5%. Cooldown 3 hours.
-
Blue Card: [Quick Draw]
Draw weapon 15% faster, if it's within your arm's reach.
Thank you all for reading.
This is the end of Book 1 and the first arc of Chloe's story. I'm working on what comes next, though I can't give a posting date yet. Realistically, we're looking at a few months, possibly longer.
Thank you for sticking with me through this one. Your feedback means a lot.