Chapter 10 - The Living: Part 1

“You sure about this?” Simon asked. “Our whole thing has been that we don’t fight hordes unless we need to.”

Amoc was fully geared up and in war form; sword, ballistic jumpsuit, and Simon’s fifty pound tower shield. Shield fighting was something he’d never really practiced, as it wasn’t a tactic Garou used before the undead. A shield was mainly a defensive implement, and Garou were built to strike fast and decisively. It was antithetical to how they normally fought. Amoc knew some basic shield fighting theory, mostly just what he learned out of curiosity, but in his time as a Hunter there had never been any need for it.

“Yes.” Amoc replied, frugal of words as always while in war form. “Few places better to learn. Small horde, inside a perimeter, easy escape route.”

Quantico was an ideal place for Amoc to learn. It was somewhat isolated, had an intact perimeter, and it seemed a large portion of the personnel that had been on the base had left when the apocalypse kicked off. Draki reported only a few thousand bodies. Larger than what Amoc had wiped out at Logan’s compound, but still manageable, in his estimation.

Of course, the reason they were still in Quantico and not Washington D.C. was because of Simon’s recent ‘event’. Simon had become a Traveler. He had gone to another world, worked with another version of Amoc and a Witch named Miriam to stop the apocalypse in that world. Simon had experienced these events without question, but it was his recall alone that told the story. This was likely a large part of why no one had ever been able to confirm a returned Traveler.

But I can’t deny what happened right in front of me. The burst of pure living energy that came out of Simon certainly has no other explanation. That and he now registers as non-human to my senses. That’s something that shouldn’t be possible… outside of being turned into a Vampire. And Simon’s definitely not a Vampire. Unless he’s a Vampire that’s immune to sunlight. Yeah… this is why we aborted the trip into D.C. I don’t know what he is anymore, and that kind of scares me.

“Having second thoughts?” Simon asked.

Amoc realized he had been lost in thought, and just blankly staring out at the water.

“Not about this.” Amoc decided honesty was the best policy. “About you.”

“I’m fine, really.” Simon protested. “I feel better than ever, if I’m honest.”

“That’s what scares me.”

“You realize the irony of those words coming out of the mouth of a nine foot tall Garou, right?” Simon wasn’t put off by any of this, that was certain.

And he’s got you there.

“Plus being able to feel when you’re around is kind of cool, and useful.” Simon added.

Simon now apparently had the ability to sense Veil ripples. The ability was raw and unhoned, but definitely there. No human had ever developed that ability randomly, as far as Amoc knew.

Before Amoc could reply, Draki suddenly came down, clearly in a hurry as he landed a bit hard.

“We have a problem.” Draki began. “That warehouse you wanted to check for radio equipment? Something just ran inside it. Something living. The horde is pounding on the doors.”

Amoc had been really distracted. He now noticed a distant sound of banging, and an agitated horde. And there was indeed a faint register of a living being in the direction of the noise.

“Something living?” Simon asked.

“Human sized, dark color… could have been non-human, but I only had the barest glance before it shut the doors.”

“Then it’s time.” Amoc stated as he hefted the shield and sword.

“Wait, radio!” Simon exclaimed as he scrambled to pick up the military radio Logan had gifted them.

Amoc kneeled down and allowed Simon to clip the earpiece onto the base of his right ear, and place the transceiver into a secure pocket on the jumpsuit. Draki was already equipped, having been scouting prior to engagement with the horde.

“Radio check.” Simon said into his own mic.

“Good.” Amoc confirmed.

“Knock ‘em even more dead.” Simon quipped as Amoc stood up.

Amoc shook his massive head at the bad joke while Simon wore a massive grin.

“I take everything I said before back.” Simon stated, craning his neck up at Amoc’s full height. “You look fucking metal. Now go rescue whatever it is out there, Defender of the Living.”

Amoc offered Simon one final sign of the horns before re-gripping his sword and taking off at full stride towards the horde.

The warehouse wasn’t far from the marina, and there was a rail line that ran directly to it. When Amoc got there, he saw what must have been every undead in the area. They were completely oblivious to his presence, standing only a hundred yards away. Whatever was in the warehouse had seriously riled the horde up. The original strategy had been to pull it to one of the baseball fields and deal with them much the same way he had at Logan’s compound, but the horde being distracted presented an opportunity, and Amoc decided to take it.

Shifting to a reverse grip on the sword, Amoc braced it inside the shield, brought as much of his body inside the shield’s profile as he could, and drove forward. The horde didn’t stand a chance, and bodies went flying as he impacted the edge of the horde at speed. The impacts traveled through the shield into his arms, but it was manageable. Amoc would likely only get one pass at this before the horde shifted their attention, but it would be worth it to neutralize a number of them with little effort, before beginning the pull towards the field.

Amoc fully cleared one side of the warehouse before swinging around, bringing his sword back out and facing the horde head on. A clump broke off and came at him. The first few went flying as Amoc bashed the shield into the group. The rest were cut down by a follow up sweep with the sword. More were coming around both sides of the warehouse now. He had the horde’s full attention. Amoc turned and jogged to the nearby field.

The open field allowed Amoc to fully control the eb and flow of the fight. Much as with the horde at Logan’s compound, he pushed and retreated as it flowed around him. Amoc allowed the beast more leeway, and his attacks became more brutal and frequent. His Hunter skills, the beast’s rage, and his rational mind worked as one to manage the pace of the fight. It was a thing of beauty. Amoc had never felt more capable, more powerful, or more dangerous. Or more metal, both figuratively and literally; the shield was providing a useful bulwark to protect his flank, or to push against the horde.

The minutes ticked by, and the horde’s numbers dwindled. Amoc regretted the lack of a soundtrack for this fight, but Draki’s calls over the radio kept him focused on the rhythm. That was also a new thing for this fight; Draki fed him information on the horde’s movement and flow around him. It was like having a set of eyes in the back of his head. As the last undead fell in a final sweep of his sword, the beast surged up, and Amoc allowed it. The roar he let loose echoed off every building in Quantico.

Draki landed after a moment, and approached Amoc with caution. A wise thing, given Amoc hadn’t let the beast have that much control in years, and certainly never in the presence of his current traveling companions. He was still its master, however, and dialed it back to a civilized level.

“It’s done.” Amoc stated, mostly for Draki’s benefit.

“So it is.” Draki replied, then spoke into his radio. “All clear.”

That caution was still there. Ever since the revelation of Amoc having been a Hunter in the old world, Draki had acted differently around him. He didn’t want to pry, but the tension was becoming unbearable. This wasn’t the time to ask, though. There was still a ripple inside the warehouse.

“It’s still in there.” Amoc stated, looking back to the warehouse doors. “Not moving.”

“Any sense of what it is?” Draki asked.

“No.” Amoc replied. “It’s not familiar.”

Simon and Maggie came running from the direction of the marina. Marcus must have remained behind to watch the boat.

“Holy shit!” Simon exclaimed on coming to a stop. “That was was fucking loud, I didn’t know you could do that.”

“It felt good.” Amoc plainly stated.

Amoc had enjoyed it, no question.

“I get what you mean now, that feeling he gives you.” Maggie commented to Simon, presumably referring to Amoc’s presence. “It’s intense.”

“I’d say you get used to it, but I’m not sure that’s true.”

“I’m right here, you know.” Amoc stated.

“Oh, so you are.” Simon repeated the old joke.

“I will throw you into the river from here.” Amoc threatened.

“Much as I loathe interrupting the Simon-tossing, there is still the matter at hand.” Draki interjected, reminding them of the presence in the warehouse.

“Right.” Amoc said as he began walking to the warehouse.

The ripple could still be felt. It wasn’t a strong ripple like a non-human, but Draki had said it was dark. Dark skinned? Or dark furred? The former didn’t guarantee it was human, and the latter could be anything, but it had worked a door, so it had to have some level of intelligence. There was one way to find out.

“Wait…” Simon said before Amoc could pull the door open. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel like you or Draki.”

Simon was picking up on the differences in ripples surprisingly quickly.

“No.” Amoc admitted.

“Well if it’s human you’ll scare the shit out of them.” Simon countered. “I should go in.”

“I’ll be behind you.” Amoc wasn’t about to let Simon go in alone, and forced the point when he saw the protest coming. “No debate.”

“Fine.” Simon conceded.

“We’ll wait here, in case anything gets past you.” Maggie offered.

Simon opened the door and went into the darkened warehouse, Amoc propped the shield against a wall, slung his sword over his back, and followed behind. Stacks of equipment lined rows of industrial shelves. It all looked intact. This long into the apocalypse, Amoc still expected to find places like this raided for equipment and supplies. The fact that it looked like nothing had been touched since the beginning didn’t speak well for how many of the living were left. Or the fact that they were in here looking for a singular survivor.

A singular survivor that’s gotten through over a year of this hell.

A noise of something being knocked over was heard, and Amoc had to resist the urge to sprint over to it. Simon’s new-found sense was already leading him in the right direction, based on Amoc’s own judgment of where it was.

“We’re survivors, just like you.” Simon called out, echoing through the warehouse. “The horde outside has been taken care of, thanks to my friend here. I know he’s a little scary, but trust me he’s a great friend to have in these times.”

A little scary?

They turned a row of shelves, practically on top of the ripple at this point… and found the source, cowering in a corner. What Amoc saw was not human; at least not to his vision. The discordance between his senses was something he had not felt before. Even a rare non-human he hadn’t sensed in a long time still felt distinctly non-human. And this creature didn’t.

But it was clearly not human. It was covered from head to toe in dark, short fur. Its body was largely humanoid in shape and size, though it appeared to have digitigrade legs. Its head was vaguely animalistic, but it didn’t resemble anything specific that Amoc could pin down. Yellow eyes looked over a blunt snout, and those eyes went wide when it took in Amoc’s form. There was intelligence there, and Amoc was sure this was no animal.

“Hello there.” Simon began, quietly, kneeling down. “Can you understand me?”

It looked to Simon, but there was no sign of comprehension beyond that shift in its gaze. Simon looked back to Amoc, giving him an incredulous look, then motioning for him to kneel as well. Amoc did so, though that only lowered his height to that of a standing human.

“I guess that’s a no.” Simon assumed, looking back to the creature. “Amoc, any idea?”

His first assumption would have been a Shifter, but this creature wasn’t built like one, and didn’t register like one to his senses. There were some rare non-shapeshifters that came close to the physical form, the lean and lightly built Jackal came to mind, but still it should have registered with Amoc’s senses. Some freakish level of mutation?

No… no human mutation could have done this. I have no idea what I’m looking at.

“None.” Amoc replied.

The creature flinched at Amoc’s voice. That, at least, was a familiar reaction.

“What do you mean, none?” Simon was dubious. “Wasn’t part of being a Hunter knowing about everything in your world?”

“Yes.” Amoc confirmed. “And I don’t know what it is. It doesn’t feel like part of my world.”

“Well that’s new.” Simon concluded. “And you’re right. It feels like Maggie or Marcus, not you or Draki.”

Amoc continued to look over the creature. It was huddled in a dark corner, but the war form’s ability to see in total darkness allowed him to make out details. It was not clothed, and gender was not obvious, but that was no guarantee of anything; half the creatures of his world didn’t fit binary categories. The musculature of the creature seemed masculine, but again, that was no guarantee of anything. It did at least look healthy, but it made little sense why it was alone.

“I think it is new.” Simon stated, seeming to come to a realization.

“New?” Amoc asked.

“As in, it wasn’t here before this morning.” Simon explained. “These senses don’t lie, right? If it’s not of my world, and not of yours… then it has to be new.”

Simon’s theory made sense. Even if there was a gap in Amoc’s knowledge that he didn’t realize, the sense of this creature was… mundane. Even Oursa, Yeti being relatively mundane by the standards of Amoc’s world, stood out as non-human to that sense. This creature was something different.

But still intelligent. It’s been looking back and forth at us as we speak. I have a strong suspicion it’s also sentient.

“Miriam said things would happen, because of what she did.” Simon continued. “To you I don’t feel like a human anymore, right? That shouldn’t be possible, but it happened. Death overpowering life created the undead, we think. Now that life got a boost… it created this.”

“It knows we’re talking to each other.” Amoc interrupted Simon’s theorizing.

Simon blinked, and looked back to regard the creature. There was a subtle shift in its posture that Amoc caught. It, too, seemed to be making a realization of its own.

“Amoc, hold out your hand for me.” Simon requested, holding out his own hand.

Amoc might have asked why, but Simon seemed to have caught the subtle shift as well. Amoc held out his hand for Simon. He noted the creature was looking intently at them now, as Amoc mirrored Simon’s gesture, and it sat up slightly.

Definitely sentient.

Simon placed his hand on top of Amoc’s, massively dwarfed by the war form’s clawed mitts.

“Now put your other hand on top of mine.” Simon continued.

Trust. That’s what Simon was doing. Even if the creature couldn’t understand their words, it understood they were interacting. Simon was trying to show without words that he trusted the creature which massively towered over him.

We’re the unknown creatures to it, after all. If Simon’s theory is true.

Amoc very carefully placed his other hand on top of Simon’s. The creature… Amoc vowed to try and find a better name for it… was no longer cowering, but watching very intently as Amoc made a point of keeping his claws clear of Simon’s arm. After a moment, Amoc released Simon’s hand. Simon then turned to the creature and held out his hand to it.

Amoc instinctively felt a need to pull Simon back, but he suppressed it. In that moment, he belatedly realized that Simon was doing almost exactly the same thing Amoc had done in that utility building in New York City. It felt like a lifetime ago, though it hadn’t even been a year. That moment had laid the first brick in building their trust of each other. Amoc watched as Simon repeated the clasping of hands gesture with this creature. Amoc felt like he was on a hair trigger, and tried not to let it show.

The gesture was mimicked almost exactly, with the creature releasing Simon’s hand. Amoc finally relaxed.

“All right.” Simon was impressed. “I think we’ve got the start of an understanding here.”

They had more than that. To Amoc’s incredible surprise, the creature then reached out to him with the same gesture. Simon looked at Amoc expectantly. Amoc wondered if this was like the first minutes with Simon, their trust starting with necessity. Or was this creature so new that it had no notion of what he was? Despite being covered in and reeking of undead gore, it didn’t seem to be any more or less wary of him than of Simon.

Amoc held his hand out. The creature made a valiant attempt at holding the war form’s paw by both sides, though it had no hope at all of covering it. It released Amoc’s hand the same way it had done for Simon.

“Well now I’m impressed.” Simon stated. “If it’s already used to you… even looking like you do right now… the rest of our group should be easy.”

“How’s it going in there?” Amoc heard Draki’s voice through the radio’s earpiece.

“Looks like we’ve got a new friend.” Simon replied via his own radio.

Simon stood up, and Amoc did the same. The creature took the cue and stood as well. A milestone had clearly been reached in their understanding, even without verbal comprehension. It looked to Simon, and up at Amoc, seeming to be ready for whatever came next.

“Come on.” Simon gestured towards the door. “Let’s go meet everyone else.”

“So you have no idea what it is, and it doesn’t talk, but you’re pretty sure it’s sentient.” Marcus summarized, after Amoc returned to the boat with the rest of their group.

Amoc had also changed back to human form, with their new group member watching. It had observed with the same intent it had shown during their trust gesture. It was like every experience was new to it, and it had no basis for any reaction beyond intently staring. It wasn’t a complete child, though. The way it was quickly able to pick up abstract concepts spoke to that fact. It had, after all, learned very quickly how dangerous the undead are, and closed itself inside the warehouse to get away from the horde.

I bet it can pick up language, once we figure out how to teach it.

“That about sums it up, yes.” Amoc confirmed.

“I’m calling it a Gnoll.” Simon proclaimed.

“You are not.” Amoc protested.

Amoc was familiar with the term. It was an entirely fictional creature with the head of a hyena, and a roughly humanoid body, but no shapeshifting ability. Some African myths referred to monsters resembling hyenas, but if such a creature had ever existed, there was no evidence of it still being around in the modern era.

“You can’t keep calling it ‘creature’ and ‘it’.” Simon argued. “It’s demeaning. You got a better idea?”

“No.” Amoc conceded.

“Gnoll it is.” Simon smugly concluded.

“Draki thinks it… the ‘Gnoll’... might have been born in a similar way that Gargoyles come into being; as a pure manifestation of the Veil. Gargoyles are born with intelligence and basic instincts, and learn much by those early observations of humanity, including language. When another Gargoyle does eventually find the neophyte, they’ve already got a working knowledge of the basics of being a living, sentient being.”

“Except for any concept of clothing.” Maggie observed. “You all seem to have a fear of wearing clothes. Not that I’m complaining or anything, but… just putting that out there.”

“Yes, well…” Amoc stumbled for words; Maggie’s bluntness had a way of catching him off guard. “I suppose that is true.”

A lot of Amoc’s world did enjoy running around nude, now that he thought about it.

“So it’s not human, but wouldn’t you recognize it as not human?” Marcus asked the question of the day. “Without even being able to see it that is. With that sixth sense of yours.”

“I don’t know anymore.” Amoc admitted. “So much has changed I can’t claim to be the authority on the living I once was.

“Uh, guys… is Draki speaking French right now?” Simon asked, out of the blue.

The ‘Gnoll’, as Simon was intent on calling it now, was in fact examining Draki at this very moment. The Gargoyle’s wings seemed to be especially interesting to it. Amoc focused on Draki’s interaction with Simon’s Gnoll, and Draki was indeed speaking French. The Gargoyle spoke a few languages; living multiple centuries and moving between cultures left plenty of opportunity for learning. Amoc’s French was terrible, but it sounded like Draki was trying to run through some basic phrases.

“Yes, why?” Amoc asked.

“I can understand what he’s saying.” Simon explained. “​​Je ne parle pas français. Oh c'est bizarre.”

“You just said you don’t speak French, in French.” Amoc observed. “And that is definitely bizarre, because I’ve never heard you speak a single word of French before today.”

“What the hell is happening to me?” Simon returned to English.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we’re done finding out.” Amoc concluded.

“Shortwave, high frequency, low frequency… everything you need to reach out long distances.” Marcus commented on their latest acquisition. “Whether or not anyone is listening, that’s the question.”

Most modern military radio systems were digital and encrypted, which was largely useless for this need, but Quantico also had a number of older analog radios. This was one of them, and like most things in the warehouse it was dusty and looked well used, but it had turned on once connected to the Argo’s power. An antenna mast had been temporarily attached to the roof of the Argo’s wheelhouse, as Marcus had informed them the existing marine frequency antenna wasn’t correct for this radio.

“How do you know all this?” Amoc inquired.

“Hunter, remember?” Marcus explained. “Not your kind of hunter of course, but game hunting in Canada takes you pretty deep out into the country. Way beyond any cell service. Communication could save your life out there, so I got my amateur radio license. That test made some of my health and safety certification tests look easy.”

“Right, so what do we do now?” Amoc asked, trusting that Marcus knew what he was doing.

“Now we start calling.” Marcus continued. “I’m going to start with a fairly common calling frequency that’s usually good out to 500 or so miles, depending on how cooperative the ionosphere is today. If it’s in a really good mood, it could reach over 1000 or more miles.”

“And people did this for a hobby?” Amoc was legitimately curious.

“Oh yeah.” Marcus confirmed. “I mean, not with overbuilt and antiquated military gear like this, but yeah. And a lot of them provided legitimate disaster communication when they weren’t using it for fun. Anyway… let’s see if anyone’s out there.”

Amoc took the hint and stopped interrupting Marcus, and watched him check the radio’s settings one more time before pressing down the transmit button the microphone.

“CQ, CQ, CQ, calling CQ.” Marcus said in slow cadence; Amoc guessed the call was some kind of formal prefix to radio a transmission. “This is the vessel Argo on the Potomac River in Virginia, calling CQ. We are a group of survivors searching for any others still among the living. If you can hear this transmission, please respond.”

Marcus released the transmit button and waited for a few seconds, then repeated the message again.

“Well, SNR looked good.” Marcus stated after finishing the second repeat. “It definitely went out. I’ll repeat the transmission and try different frequencies. We’re ‘in the dark’ as they might say. No idea if anyone is listening, and if they can even reply to us if they are.”

“Right, well… I guess we didn’t expect an immediate answer.” Amoc conceded. “I’ll go check on things.”

“We’re not going anywhere for a bit, are we?” Marcus concluded.

“I don’t make the decisions for us, you know that.” Amoc replied. “But I think waiting here for a few days would be wise, given our new friend, Simon’s newfound abilities, and with D.C. not being quite as important as it was yesterday.”

“You’ve got my vote.” Marcus agreed. “I trust your judgment on Veil stuff. Plus there’s probably a lot more useful stuff we can find in Quantico.”

Now Marcus is trusting me more as well. I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with that kind of trust. Maybe that’s the point, though. If I was too comfortable with it, I might not respect it. Respect and trust, two sides of the same coin.

“Thanks.” Amoc said as he moved to exit the Argo’s wheelhouse.

Maggie and Simon were in a grassy area down the marina a bit, working with the creature… the Gnoll. Amoc hopped off the Argo and made his way over. Simon turned to him at his approach.

“We’re calling him Ari.” Simon stated as Amoc drew close. “I mean, still no idea if he’s a he or a her, or something else. That’s a little too abstract a concept for Ari right now. Names, though, I think we’ve got that one figured out.”

Simon turned back to Ari.

“Simon.” Simon stated while pointing to himself, then pointed at Maggie. “Maggie.”

Simon then pointed to Ari.

“Ari.” Ari proclaimed for himself.

It was the first time Amoc had heard him speak. The voice was a bit rough and gravelly, not unlike the war form’s, but nowhere near as deep.

“Wow.” Amoc was impressed. “So he is verbal.”

“Yeah, and I’ll do you one better.” Simon stated, then pointed at Amoc.

“Amoc.” Ari proclaimed.

“He’s learning fast.” Amoc observed.

“Yeah.” Simon confirmed. “He’s not stupid, he’s just... it’s like he’s the new kid. He’s got reasoning and logic and other stuff going, just no experience with any of this. He picks up a lot just by watching us talk to each other.

“Garou?” Ari asked, still looking at Amoc.

“Okay that’s one I literally just taught him.” Simon turned back to Ari, genuinely surprised. “Yes, that’s what he is exactly. Very good.”

Ari looked exceedingly pleased with himself. He was learning very fast indeed. 

Amoc noted Draki landing at the entry to the marina. Ari had noticed as well.

“Draki, Gargoyle.” Ari stated.

“Yes!” Simon exclaimed. “I guess we’re up to names and species now.”

“Smart bugger, that’s for sure.” Maggie observed.

“Keep it up.” Amoc stated as he moved to meet Draki half way.

“How’s it look?” Amoc asked as he closed with the Gargoyle.

“Good.” Draki began. “Quantico isn’t terrible, as places to loiter for a few days go. Water on two sides, and the perimeter fence is intact from end to end. Some undead beyond it, but nothing inside that I could find. And we’re far enough from the fence that we shouldn’t attract any on the outside.”

“The undead worry me less these days.” Amoc stated. “Things from the old world that have been left unchecked are starting to pester my thoughts. Also… have you felt… different, at all?”

“Different?” Draki was puzzled. “How?”

“I fought a horde this morning.” Amoc explained. “Several thousand bodies. It felt better than anything I’ve ever felt before. I don’t feel even slightly drained by it right now. Like I could do it again for another ten rounds.”

“Interesting.” Draki mused. “I can’t say I feel any different, no, but I do not expend the amount of energy you do when you fight. I’ve also not used stone form for several days now.”

“Maybe Simon’s not the only one that changed.” Amoc mused.

“That is nearly a certainty.” Draki conclued.

“In any case, we need to start prepping for nightfall.” Amoc began as he turned towards the Argo, then noticed Marcus was running towards them.

“I’ve got someone!” Marcus exclaimed as came to a stop in front of Amoc. “Says his name is Ben, and he wants to talk.”

“That was fast.” Amoc couldn’t believe they had made contact so quickly; Marcus had only been trying for a few minutes at this point.

“Something just told me to try a higher frequency.” Marcus explained. “It wouldn’t reach as far, but… well, maybe someone was out there listening closer than we thought, and they were. Come on, I left them waiting, I didn’t want to talk to them without you present.”

Amoc picked up the pace to return to the Argo, and the rest of the group followed, Ari included.

“Again, I’m not your leader here.” Amoc protested.

“Amoc, let me give you some advice.” Maggie spoke up as they walked towards the Argo. “Your friends trust you, and from what little I’ve learned about your expedition so far, it seems like they’re right to. Just go with it, it’s already been decided for you.”

Amoc stopped before the gangway to the Argo and turned to face the rest of the group.

“Do you really want that?” Amoc asked everyone present.

“I mean, you’ve kept us alive and have been a friend since the beginning.” Simon ventured. “I wouldn’t be here without you. Everyone else here can say that too. You’ve put your own life on the line for all of us. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“I don’t…” Amoc paused to find the right words. “I don’t want this to be because of what I am. You don’t have to give me authority because of that, you know that right?”

“Yeah, that’s not why.” Simon replied. “It’s always been about your actions since the day I met you. When you threw your old life away and decided to save a doomed human. You brought us all together and kept this weird thing we have going… going. So like Maggie says, just go with it.”

There were nods of agreement from everyone. Ari just looked confused, but seemed to know there was some kind of meaningful debate going on.

“I’ll do my best.” Amoc offered.

“All I’ve ever asked.” Simon concluded. “Now we probably should get back to that radio before they wonder if the undead got us.”

“Right.” Amoc walked up the gangway and into the wheelhouse, with Marcus and Simon in tow.

Maggie, Draki and Ari opted to wait outside the wheelhouse, as the space wasn’t meant to hold so many people at once. The door and windows were open, so they would be able to hear the conversation. Amoc sat down in front of the radio.

“This one, right?” Amoc asked, picking up the radio’s mic.

“Right.” Marcus confirmed.

Amoc pressed the transmit button.

“This is the Argo, returning your contact. Sorry for the delay. Over.”

The radio was silent for a moment. Amoc briefly thought they may have waited too long.

“Not a problem, Argo.” The voice crackled over the radio’s speaker. “We know how it is out there. This is a different voice, who might I be speaking with?”

“My name is Amoc.”

Amoc released the transmit button and swore. He hadn’t used his human name in quite some time, and it had fallen out of habit.

“I mean, they’re going to have to learn eventually, right?” Simon offered the excuse.

“Amoc… that’s an interesting name.” The voice came back on the radio. “I’m Ben, if your friend didn’t already mention it. We’re up in the hills out here near the West Virginia and Virginia border. Been here for a while now, though it’s been tough going. Haven’t had contact from anyone in a long time, was starting to wonder if there was anyone else left. Good to hear there’s still others out there. You said you were on a boat in the Potomac, is that how you’ve stayed alive this long? Over.”

Amoc looked at Simon and Marcus.

“Your call.” Simon conceded.

“That’s definitely part of it.” Amoc replied into the radio’s mic. “We’ve got a pretty capable group of people too. We’ve been as far as Canada, and now down here to Virginia, trying to find others. You’re only the second group we’ve found. Over.”

“Canada?” Ben’s surprise was obvious even over the radio. “That’s impressive. We’ve had a couple of infrequent radio contacts out on the West coast, and even Europe a while back, but, well… obviously there’s no way to reach those people. They’re out there, though. We’re not alone. You, though, you’re the first we might actually be able to reach. Over.”

There are more people out there. Holy shit, there are others out there.

Amoc looked back at the faces behind him, and they were all clearly making the same realizations. Even Ari seemed to be picking up on their elation.

“That’s amazing to hear, Ben.” Amoc continued the contact. “Where are you exactly? I can’t make any guarantees, but if we had a better idea, we might be able to work out a route. Over.”

There was a pause before Ben returned on the radio. Likely he was flanked by his people as well, and was debating whether or not to trust them with that information. Marcus hadn’t provided exact information in their initial contact either. Even with as few people as there seemed to be left in the world, trusting someone you’d never met before was a hard thing.

“Have you heard of a place called Mt. Weather?” Ben finally came back. “If you’re on the Potomac, it should be less than a hundred miles from you. Over.”

Simon quickly reached for the shelf where a cable was sticking out, and pulled his iPad off its charger. He quickly tapped out something, and showed the screen to Amoc. The mapping application showed Mt. Weather was deep in the Virginia foothills, maybe eighty miles from Quantico. It was a long way with no routes other than land.

“Yes, I see it on the map.” Amoc confirmed. “It’s about eighty miles from us. Doesn’t look like there are any easy routes, though. We’re currently docked at Quantico. Over.”

Simon took the iPad back and began consulting something else on it.

“The Marine Corps base?” Ben replied. “I know it. And you’re not wrong, that is a difficult route. Give me a minute to consult with my people. Maybe we can figure something out. Over.”

“We’ll be here, over.” Amoc replied, and turned to Simon after releasing the transmit button. “What are you seeing?”

“The Potomac’s all rapids once you pass D.C., but I already knew that.” Simon began. “Charts say maybe we could get to Harper’s Ferry if one of these smaller boats here works, a big if, but Great Falls would be a hell of a ride. It’s just rocks for days from there on. Even kayaks might not be able to do it. I mean, maybe there are stretches of clear water that we could risk walking for a bit to get to, but that’s a hell of a long way against a very strong current. Maybe you could do it, but for the rest of us it would be a hell of a workout.”

“In wolf form I could get there in a couple days, but I’d rather not leave you here.” Amoc offered. “Plus that would raise some pretty obvious questions about how I covered that distance so quickly.”

“It certainly would.” Draki spoke up from the open door. “But I may have an idea. Simon, how are you with military vehicles?”

“Never worked on one, but if it’s got a service manual nearby, I’m game to try.” Simon then seemed to realize what Draki was saying. “Wait a sec… are we talking about armor?”

“Indeed, wheeled armor.” Draki confirmed.

“Okay, I need to see this now.” Simon looked to Amoc for permission, clearly excited.

“Go, we’ll be here.” Amoc granted Simon his leave.

Simon left with Draki, leaving the radio to Amoc.

“Can we trust them?” Marcus asked the pragmatic question, as that was how his mind worked. “Ben and his people, that is. We’ve been lucky so far.”

“We have, and we’ll still be careful.” Amoc reassured Marcus. “I think it’s worth the risk, though. And you’ve got me to mitigate that risk.”

“That we do.” Marcus conceded, and continued down the pragmatic line of questions. “Say we do this. What’s out there? Any ideas?”

“A lot of unknowns.” Amoc began. “If it’s anything like New York, the suburbs are a lot less predictable than the city. In the city, you know the horde is there, always. Out in the suburbs it’s less certain, and less uniform. Could run across a horde of a hundred, or a hundred thousand, at any moment. And that was before I knew about non-human undead and the things from the old world roaming the night.”

“Draki’s wheeled armor sounds very appealing.”

Before Amoc could respond, the radio crackled back to life and Ben’s voice was heard again.

“Amoc, are you still there? Over.”

“Still here, over.” Amoc confirmed.

“This is going to take a bit longer to figure out than I thought.” Ben stated. “Just wanted to let you know, I’ve got people working on it, but it may take some time. Over.”

“As it turns out, we may have a way to get to you, but we’re also going to need some time to figure it out. Over.”

“Well, when you have more, let us know.” Ben stated. “We’ll do the same. I assume you’ll have someone monitoring the radio? Over.”

“We will. Over.”

“Okay, looking forward to hearing from you again soon.” Ben concluded. “Mt. Weather out.”

“Likewise, it’s been good to hear another voice.” Amoc returned the final contact. “Argo out.”

“Well he seems nice.” Maggie observed. “My gut says they’re being earnest. My people from New York City… they weren’t all saints, but they knew the stakes, knew there aren’t enough of us left for petty bullshit. We all just want to remain among the living at the end of the day.”

“I want you to be right.” Amoc genuinely did. “Marcus, watch the radio. I’m going to go see what Simon and Draki are up to.”

Marcus moved to sit down in the seat Amoc vacated.

“Will do, boss.” Marcus replied, sounding far too earnest.

“First order, no one’s calling me ‘boss’” Amoc retorted.

“Yes captain.” Maggie piled on.

“I will turn this boat around, I swear.” Amoc said in mock protest.

Ari just looked on in his usual confusion, while Maggie and Marcus both looked exceedingly pleased with themselves. Amoc shook his head and turned to leave the wheelhouse. Walking over the gangway to the dock, Amoc felt for the location of Simon’s presence, and set off in that direction.

Leading. My father said I was going to run the family business some day. Said I had what it took, and in private said that few Garou ever managed something like it. I never believed it. Still not sure I do, but I guess he was onto something. Just keep doing what I’ve been doing, like Simon said. Make sure I keep earning that trust.

It was quite a walk to where Simon had gone. It turned out to be all the way to the airfield at the southern end of Quantico. Amoc’s sense told him Simon and Draki were on the other side of a small warehouse at the end of the northernmost taxiway. Amoc rounded the corner from the road, and saw Simon and Draki standing in front of two armored, four axle vehicles, with a large gun turret on top. The rear door was open on one of them.

“Amoc!” Simon exclaimed as he noticed Amoc’s approach. “It’s a Marine Corps LAV! Two of them! And they have a service manual!”

Simon held up a thick binder. Presumably that was why the door was open.

“Can we really use these?” Amoc was incredulous.

“Absolutely.” Simon confidently replied. “They’re just diesel trucks, really. Regular diesel motor and an automatic transmission. This is stuff I know. They look like they’ve held up well sitting here for a year. Batteries are dead of course, but that’s an easy fix. I need to read through this…” Simon held up the manual again. “So it’s not happening today, but yeah… we can use these.”

“Well, we were planning to hang out here for a couple days to scour the base for supplies and equipment.” Amoc conceded.

“I’d say we just found some.” Simon was clearly excited.

“All right… but I’d like Draki to range out a bit.” Amoc realized he was settling into the leadership thing pretty quickly. “Will my amateur mechanic skills do?”

“Yeah, I think if an eighteen year old fresh out of boot camp can service one of these, you’ll do fine.” Simon replied.

“Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not…” Amoc mused, then turned to Draki. “If you would, Draki, I’d like to know a bit more about what’s beyond the fence line. As far as you're comfortable with before sunset. Armor’s great, but if we run into a massive horde… or something else, it may not do us any good.”

“Of course.” Draki agreed, and began to move away to make clearance for his wings.

“Oh, Draki… keep a decent altitude.” Amoc added. “I’m not as comfortable sending you out solo as I used to be. Especially with things changing. No risks, okay?”

“No risks.” Draki repeated.

Draki spread his wings to their full span, and with a couple of good beats, he was away.

“A good leader watches out for his people.” Simon offered.

“You have a service manual to read.” Amoc retorted.

“Aye aye, sir!”

“The water is right there, Simon.”

Simon made himself busy reading.

“Amoc, I need you for sec in here.” Simon’s tone said the request was important.

Amoc closed the equipment crate he had been looking through, and started walking towards Simon. They had discovered every supply needed to support and arm the LAVs inside the warehouse, like someone had been preparing them for use. The supplies weren’t orderly, like it had been done in a rush. Amoc figured it for another snapshot in time, right as the apocalypse happened. He could only imagine the chaos every military base had experienced as all their command structure rapidly went dark.

Amoc turned the corner around a shelving unit to find Simon had set the service manual aside and was looking over a different manual. Simon pointed to the service manual.

“Pick that up, open it to any page, and tell me the page number.” Simon ordered Amoc.

“What’s this about?” Amoc wasn’t sure where Simon was going with this.

“Just humor me, please?” Simon asked.

Amoc picked up the service manual, and opened it to a page that was about two thirds of the way in.

“Okay… ten dash eight.” Amoc read the page number off.

“Section on electrical systems, that page talks about how to check that the main battery is charging, and describes symptoms of a failing battery.” Simon rattled off the description. “Next page is on battery replacement.”

Amoc flipped to the next page, and that was indeed what it covered.

“Impressive.” Amoc commented.

“It’s terrifying.” Simon retorted.

That wasn’t the response Amoc had been expecting.

“Terrifying?” Amoc asked.

“I didn’t just get lucky there.” Simon explained. “I looked at every page in that manual once, and now it’s up here.” Simon pointed to his temple. “And it’s not just memorization, I understand it. All the military jargon, the mechanics and logic, all of it. Like I understood Draki speaking French this morning.”

Simon was deeply unsettled. Amoc noted he was nervously bouncing a leg up and down as he explained.

“What the fuck is happening to me, Amoc? When Miriam sent me back, I was… I don’t know how to describe it. It felt like I was being rebuilt from parts. I just wasn’t… anything. And then I was. I don’t feel like I know what I am anymore.”

Amoc kneeled down directly in front of the chair Simon was sitting in. He recognized the reaction all too well.

“I know what that feels like.” Amoc began. “I felt it when I first learned what I was. We’re not born with that knowledge, you know. When we learn our true nature, it feels like the rug we were standing on just got pulled out from under us. One moment you were human, the next you’re not. That happens again for Garou the first time we change. We’re not in control that first time, and it feels like something has invaded our mind and body. But the next day, you realize it’s still you. You just have abilities you never had before. It changes you, just like any major life event, but it’s still you.”

Simon hadn’t made eye contact during Amoc’s speech, so he decided to get his attention by reaching up and placing a hand on Simon’s shoulder. That got him to finally look at Amoc.

“You may not be human anymore, but you’re still Simon.” Amoc continued. “You’re also something new, like Ari. I can’t say I know where this new road ends, but I’m going to be here with you while we travel it.”

Simon was quiet for several moments, then let out a small sigh.

“The Veil could have at least given me a body like yours while it was rebuilding me.”

Amoc genuinely laughed. That was the Simon he knew.

“If you’ve got the service manual memorized now, what are you reading?” Amoc asked, redirecting the conversation.

“Oh… the manual for the Bushmaster.” Simon casually explained.

“Holy shit, that’s an option?”

“Yeah.” Simon continued. “Assuming it passes inspection. Armor piercing ammo isn’t going to be very useful against undead, but the high explosive might. Assuming the rotting body of an undead can even trigger the round. You know how it is, regular weapons just aren’t that useful against the horde.”

Only severe cranial trauma could kill an undead for good. You could lob a grenade directly at the feet of one, and it wouldn’t care if none of that shrapnel hit it in the head. A large anti-armor round would just pass through the chest of an undead and it wouldn’t even notice. The biggest set of challenges when dealing with undead are that they’re fast, don’t care about suppressive fire, and are never alone. You’d never get more than a few shots off before it overwhelmed you. Unconventional methods were the only things that worked, like a Garou wearing body armor and fighting defensively; a thing that never would have happened in the old world.

“The undead aren’t our only threat anymore, though.” Amoc reasoned.

“Yeah, why I thought it would be a good idea to know how to use it anyway.”

“And that more than anything is all the proof I need.” Amoc returned to Simon’s existential crisis. “As always, giving us more tools to survive.”

“I try.” Simon offered.

“And you have been since the day I met you.” Amoc confirmed. “The things you’ve come up with have opened me up to so many possibilities I never would have thought of before. That’s the Simon that hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Still would have liked some abs.” Simon mused.

Amoc laughed again. Simon had always been a bit on the skinny side, but he was stronger than he looked. Lots of hard labor both before and after the apocalypse led to that, Amoc presumed.

“We can work on that.” Amoc offered. “Just maybe not today. Sun’s about to go down, so I think we need to get back to the Argo now.”

“Yeah, I’m not even going to argue that one.” Simon conceded.

Amoc stood up. Simon grabbed the manuals and stood as well. While Simon had been reading, Amoc had done some organization of the equipment Simon had called out, so that they would be well set to get started on servicing the LAVs in the morning. It looked like in a day or two they would be riding out of Quantico in armored vehicles.

They walked back to the Argo quietly, not just out of the habit of noise discipline, but likely also because Simon was lost in thought. Returning to the Argo, Amoc noted that Draki had also made it back. He reported no significant activity beyond the fence line. Amoc couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. Maggie had been working with Ari, and it seemed like he had a few basic words in his vocabulary now; not bad for a day’s work. Marcus also reported that Ben had been in contact again, and informed them that a southern route was advisable, as the more populated areas to the north were very active with hordes.

“He couldn’t offer anything else.” Marcus expanded on the report. “I think things may be a bit rougher up there than he wants to admit. We’ve had it pretty easy all things considered, but we also have a pretty unique team.”

“Yeah.” Maggie added. “I can tell you a thing or two about trying to survive with nothing but your sweat and blood. It’s really hard. But that’s the past, and I’m here now because you helped me. So we’re going to keep helping, right?”

“Right.” Amoc confirmed. “Simon’s pretty sure we can have the LAVs ready to roll in a day or two, so we’re doing this. I assume Ben didn’t mention anything else about their situation?”

“No, just that things were ‘rough’ and they would welcome the help.” Marcus confirmed. “That and the advice to keep south.”

“Right, well, I think between the LAVs and myself, we’ll be pretty well equipped to deal with whatever we come across.” Amoc began. “Mind, though, that this is not Canada. Even though it’s rural Virginia, it’s far more populated than rural Canada. There are going to be more undead, and possibly other things. Once we roll out Quantico’s gates, we don’t stop until we reach Mt. Weather.”

Amoc saw nods all around, other than from Ari, of course. He was definitely picking up that they were discussing something important, though.

“What we do when we arrive is something we’ll have to determine when we see their situation for ourselves.” Amoc stated. “Any thoughts or questions?”

“I wish we still had the Internet.” Simon commented. “I vaguely recall Mt. Weather being some kind of government operations center, the kind that’s got high fences. Not that a high fence would keep out a determined horde, but it is fairly remote.”

“Is our goal still Albany?” Marcus asked. “What about D.C.?”

“Simon I think learned all we wanted to learn from D.C.” Amoc replied. “And I see no value in risking a major urban center with no clear goal. Finding more survivors, that’s the priority now. And getting back to Albany if Martine can figure out how to make it safe. For now, we go introduce ourselves to these survivors, assess their situation, and go from there. And yes, that includes eventually introducing them to the greater world.”

Again Amoc looked around at the faces in front of him, human and otherwise, and saw no dissent, just confidence that he was making the right call. Amoc silently vowed to continue to make sure that trust was deserved.

“Right, well… we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, so let’s work out who’s doing what while we make dinner.”

“I’m picking out the music.” Simon immediately volunteered.

Yeah, nothing’s changed there.

“Let’s hope for a quick trip.” Amoc sarcastically concluded.