“Alright, one last time, who is the center of our position, Harry?” David quizzed Harry.

 

David was giving everyone a pop quiz before they went out hunting, this was to ensure that everyone understood their roles. David, Harry, Billy, Lena, Jasmin, and Pandora were all huddled together in the workshop, the black van was ready to leave. Using a homemade tow hitch, the van pulled along a flat trailer that David had welded some sheet metal too, this was to give it some waist-high walls.

 

“The van!” Harry said quickly, answering his question.

 

“Correct!” David replied. “Jasmin, what is the best position for the healer?”

 

“Inside of its metal walls, I can heal as long as I can see you.” She said after hesitating a moment.

 

“That is right, that is also why you will be the driver. Rollo doesn’t mind doing the leg work for you, he doesn’t need you to be next to them as long as they are within your mana’s range, he can take care of the rest.” He paused here to look at the plush toy in Jasmin’s arms. “He is such a good boy.”

 

When you see the look of eagerness in its eyes as if pleasing you was all that mattered, how could you not love such an incredible being? David had to shake his head to get the thoughts out of them and looked back at the group.

 

His eyes stopped on a blonde woman with cold blue eyes and an icy expression that thawed the moment their eyes met. A small, gentle, smile appeared on her face, this happened anytime the two looked at each other. He couldn’t help a similar one appearing, then he shook his head to clear it.

 

“I have never driven a vehicle before,” Jasmin said shyly.

 

“You have nothing to worry about,” David told her confidently.

 

“What if I hit something?” She replied a bit sheepish.

 

This caused David to turn and look at the thick steel plating he had installed, as well as the bars over the windows. Then he looked at the large ram he had installed on the front and then the tires that were filled with rubber. The only thing that risked being damaged was the cat’s paint job is put on the front and sides.

 

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” David told her confidently. “Now, back to the quiz. Lena, what is the most dangerous position you can put yourself in?”

 

“Alone and separated.” She said calmly.

 

“That’s right and now we will go back to you Harry, do you know why I have been working out your legs and lower body so hard?” He asked.

 

“To slow me down?” He asked.

 

“You are a warrior Harry, you are always going to be faster than me. A reactive shield can reduce the amount of damage that hits it substantially and it can make you immovable, but you have to be able to keep standing. As long as you keep standing the battle can’t end.” David told him.

 

“Does that mean I can remove the weights?” Harry asked excitedly.

 

“Only when we are hunting, I plan to increase it when we are not hunting to help you get stronger,” David told him.

 

“What?!” Harry looked aghast. “Why?!”

 

“The armor you want to be wearing is going to weigh several hundred pounds, and you need to be able to run and move freely in it,” David responded. “I had to put you in a brigandine because you are not strong enough to wear proper plate mail for dealing with monsters.”

 

“I understand.” He said dejectedly.

 

“I do it because I want to see you live a long life, not due to something like that imp,” David explained. “Most imps don’t inflict curses, some have toxins, and some of them can do even worse things. Demons come in all shapes and sizes, just look at Pandora.” 

 

Pandora looked upset to be picked up and removed from her comfortable cradle made from his arms. She looked over at Billy and issued several meows to make her opinion clear.

 

“She said that she wants you to” Billy started but was cut off.

 

“Mrrrroooooowwwwww!” A long angry meow that seemed to carry a warning in it was issued from the cat in David’s arms.

 

In response to this, Billy went pale then he cleared his throat and changed his voice and it suddenly became higher pitched and a little raspy.

 

“You can not compare me to a normal demon, these paws were meant for gr-” Billy started but was cut off again from the cat hanging in the air. 

 

The look she was giving him was a serious one, it made Billy feel like he had no choice but to start over again.

 

“Don’t compare ME to a normal demon, dese paws are not to be underestimated!” Billy finished.

 

“And that leads us to you Billy, what is your position?” David asked.

 

The boy sighed and looked over at a bucket that had knives, trash bags, and rags for cleaning. “My job is to collect the meat, magic stones, and bones while taking in some of the mana from the kill.”

 

“Perfect, well done, you also need to complete the homework I gave you, just because the world is ending does not mean I can allow you to be uneducated,” David told him then looked over at the little girl in the corner cleaning the shop. “You too little girl, I have several cassettes I used when I was your age... I never thought I would feel nostalgic over cassettes…”

 

“Right!” She chirped as she continued mopping the concrete.

 

She was cleaning the floor of the workshop while his father was going to start converting the loft of the attic into a bunkhouse for the children. One of the things they were going out to collect was lumber to assist with expanding living quarters inside of the walls of the building. The main goal of this expedition was to hunt as many monsters as possible and scavenge supplies to make shelters.

 

Food and shelter were necessary to live in a place with violent winters, they also needed to store enough food to survive. David already knew that meant leaving the area, but for now, he decided it was best to enjoy the dungeons' protections. Now with monsters everywhere, farming would need to be done in a place with a dungeon, or you would need powerful farmers.

 

“Alright, Lena, what are the most dangerous types of monsters?” He asked.

 

“The ones that look and act human. Use the mana sensor on anyone we find.” She said as she held up a modified flashlight with the enchanted magic stone in it that David made.

 

“We weren’t expecting to find Jasmin, but in the future, we need to expect that we can find survivors. We need to get into the habit of making sure that we are talking to humans, we do not want to invite the wolf into the door.” David said as he looked at Billy who had an embarrassed expression. “Most of these creatures affect the ones that they kill.”

 

“What kind of effect?” Harry asked with some hesitation as if he didn’t want to know.

 

“I will let you imagine it,” David replied ominously. “Sounds like everyone knows the drill, let’s get loaded up then.”

 

***

 

“I see them in front of us, four of them!” Jasmin said in a panic.

 

“Don’t be afraid, they are only in the second layer,” David said confidently.

 

In front of them was a large fenced-off area with many tarp-covered rectangular piles of different construction materials. In the center of the large flat yard was the frame of a large warehouse made of I-beams that were coated in rust. The ground was overgrown with weeds and the dirt road had been difficult to get through but they had to come here.

 

Ward was such a small town that this was the only large building that was being constructed, and it had many supplies that had been prepared for it. The mine was the only profitable industry in the area besides farming. The monsters that were laying down in a patch of grass were a pack of large gray furry creatures that looked like they had once been possum.

 

They had shaggy fur that was gray and would resist slashes from blades. They had hard bones with fat surrounding their bodies to resist impacts and large eyes that were closed as they slept. Only one of the creatures had noticed them coming, that was because the van was much quieter than one would expect.

 

“What do I do, David?!” Jasmin said frantically. “They are getting closer!”

 

David was sitting calmly in the passenger seat and looked over the monsters again. “Normally you would never eat rodents, but monsters are a lot different than animals. Alright, I am going to show you a trick.”

 

“What?! Do we have time for that, they are right in front of us!” She was breathing heavily and her eyes were shaking.

 

David reached over and patted her on the shoulder a few times to console her, then he reached his root over and placed it on top of hers and began to press down on the accelerator. He then used that arm to reach over and begin to make some minor adjustments to the vehicle's steering. He smiled when it was set up correctly.

 

“David, we are going to hit them!” Jasmin said with shock.

 

The three monsters raised their heads and looked at the large grinning vehicle that was barreling towards them on their grass patch in front of the metal fence. Behind the van, the trailer was bouncing along on the grass. 

 

“Van-kun, use tackle!” David yelled as he put his other arm against the dashboard to prepare for impact.

 

Thump! Thump! Thump!

 

They could briefly hear the screams of one of the monsters who were not as lucky as his two friends. Unlike them he was not bounced off the ram bar after taking a fierce blow to the body, instead, he was picked up and smashed through a fence. He was then pulled under the vehicle and smashed to fit under it. Before he was then smashed under the trailer a second time.

 

Crunch!

 

“That is the sound of effectiveness,” David replied as he shook his head a few times to clear the fog.

 

The fence had severely slowed the van down and David let off the accelerator and began pumping the breaks. Soon they came to a stop and he could hear the back door of the van kick open. He was certain that it was Harry who was about to bolt out and begin engaging the monsters when he heard something concerning.

 

“Blerghhh!” Harry vomited loudly out the back.

 

“Shit!” David exclaimed as he pushed open his door and began climbing out the side.

 

His poleaxe was in the back, but with the door open he would be able to reach it. Lena was in between the two seats and she could follow David out as soon as he left the van. She had braced herself for the impact and was fine, Billy was a bit dazed, but his spot was behind the driver’s seat in front of the freezer unit.

 

David hopped out of the van and looked at the monsters who were recovering from their sudden impact. The van was stopping inside some tall grasses that grew near the large piles of materials in the yard. The monsters were behind them, the two who bounced to the sides were recovering from the impact.

 

The monster who was run over was in the worst shape as its back legs no longer worked, it could only drag itself on its front legs and cry pitifully. David could safely say that it wasn’t a threat but that wasn’t what he was most worried about. Once he was out of the van it was Lena’s turn to get out of the vehicle which she did swiftly, closing the door behind her.

 

Pandora used the original roof hatch, that had been modified into a small cat door, and jumped onto the roof of the van with Billy’s help. She was nervous as she used her paws to adjust her fur from on top of the van. She looked like a young diva who was nervous about her first performance.

 

“I’m okay!” Harry said with a pale face as he climbed out of the van in his armor.

 

The front of his armor had a few spots on it that were wet from his vomit, he had quickly wiped it off leaving it shiny. Rows or rivets covered his armor, each one securing a metal plate. This was a brigandine that covered his chest and he had metal shoulder pads that looked like something an American football player would use. His helmet was also based on the same sport, with a metal cage protecting his face.

 

The large shield consisted of several thick steel plates that were welded together and covered in a dense scrawl of enchantments. The bask of the shield had several straps and a handle for bracing, it was incredibly heavy. He could only use it with both hands currently due to the size of it.

 

“Billy, toss me a poleaxe!” David called back.

“Got it!” Billy called as he began to take the long weapon off the rack.

 

A rack had been installed above the freezer that carried many different weapons David had made. Several spears and javelins were grouped with different enchantments, hatchets, picks, hammers, and other one-handed weapons were also stored in a bucket. Many of these only needed a magic stone and they would become working weapons.

 

It didn’t take longer than a second for Billy to take the poleaxe off the rack and toss it like a spear towards the man with black hair and pale skin. His pale blue eyes had some excitement in them as he looked at all the materials piled on the ground on pallets. He reached up and caught the poleaxe in the air and gave it a light flourish as he spun it around a few times to position it with his right arm leading.

 

“These are a pack type of monster, they always come in groups. If these were sleeping here then there is going to be a den nearby!” David called out so everyone could hear.

 

In response, the backdoor of the van closed, and he could see Jasmin watching them all intently through the bars covering the window. The backdoor window was designed so that Billy could toss weapons outside if the party needed them. As a child, his job was to provide support from inside of the van until he was old enough to join them.

 

“Harry! You only need to focus on keeping them in front of you, Pandora can deal with them if a group comes.” David yelled out to the large man who was bounding forward.

 

The two possums turned their attention from their dying friend to the group of intruders that had entered their territory. They had been enjoying the sun in the clear field that used to be a dirt parking lot in front of the chain-link fence. The entire area was overgrown and covered in signs of their occupancy. Things like trails in the tall grass, droppings in various places, and claw marks on different surfaces.

 

Harry charged forward heroically with his large shield, this caused both of the monsters to begin shrieking at him as they showed him their fangs. They charged forward at him and both took to the air with their claws raised to deliver a savage blow. Harry held his shield up using both arms and used the slot that had been made through the metal and was covered with layers of plexiglass that was several inches(~5CM) thick. 

 

The moment the first creature hit the shield the pressure caused Harry to buckle, and the second one slammed into the back of the first to try to aid it in its assault. This caused a change to happen in the large metal shield as the various scrawlings on the front began to light up in a deep red color. 

 

Boom!

 

The moment the pressure reached a certain point, the shield activated and roared its response to its attackers. A forceful explosion was forced out of the shield and created a shockwave that fought against the impact of the rats. This blast of force instantly threw the two rats with the force of getting hit by a second car and sent them rolling over the ground kicking up dirt and weeds.

 

Harry almost bent backward under the force of the shield, but he had already practiced with it on the ranch. He dug his feet into the ground and used his strong legs to slide back a few feet(~1M). The reason he could even keep his balance was due to the intense training his legs had gone through.

 

David took this chance to charge forward and drive the spear point of his poleaxe into the dying possum’s head. This silenced it instantly and he pushed the carcass that was the size of a large dog towards the van. Monsters, unlike animals, did not have to worry about things like bacteria or viruses, their immune systems were very capable of ensuring this.

 

The first warriors learned their abilities from monsters, David thought. Even their methods of body tempering were adapted from abilities that they discovered monsters using.

 

Several loud calls like the shrieks of rodents could be heard coming from the ground, this was proof that the hive had been stirred. Monsters like this loved to make dens and live in large communities, they had to be exterminated if they were discovered near towns or villages. David reckoned they only had a few moments until they were swarmed by the monsters.

 

One of the possums was quicker to recover than the other, and it got to its legs first after shaking its head a few times. The one to react to this one first was Lena, who had prepared a spell. Sparks began to dance along the tip of her knife's blade that grew denser and denser before a bolt of electricity was discharged towards the monster who was on his feet.

 

The electricity hit its dark gray fur and began causing its body to twitch as it screamed out in pain. Its muscles locked up and it was reduced to twitching on the ground as it waited for the sparks dancing across its body to end. The loud crackling added more racket to the sounds of wind, rustling grass, and angry monster rodents.

 

“Shit! There are way more of them than I thought!” David cursed.

 

He spun his pole ax around to the monster who was getting to his feet, he was now holding it like a javelin. He pushed his mana into the stone in the back until it activated, launching the weapon forward with his throw. It made a loud popping noise as it tore through the air towards the monster possum.

 

The creature saw death approaching and tried to evade it, all it managed to do was turn its head and allow the spear to drive itself into its body through the shoulder. It started as a hole until it reached the hammer and ax blade which caused the wound to bloom open and rip apart. This caused blood to shoot out into the air and stain the grass around the monster.

 

Harry charged forward and used his shield as a board and used it to press the shocking monster into the ground. Reaching behind his waist, he pulled out a large bowie knife that David’s father had used in the military. Harry had a determined expression with hesitation showing before he formed his resolve and closed his eyes. He began driving the knife into the body of the possum over and over the image of his father dying played through his mind.

 

David watched this with some sadness as he used his poleaxe to begin dragging the carcass of the monster towards the van. It didn’t take long for Harry to stab the trapped monster to death, he looked a little sad. David wasn’t sure if it was because of his father or because of the monster.

 

“Harry, hurry and drag it to the trailer. They are coming!” David called out when he began to hear grass rustle.

 

Harry shook off his melancholy as he quickly began to drag the carcass towards the van and the large trailer. David was using his ears to listen to the surroundings, he then placed a foot on the back of the dead monster's head, and gave his poleaxe a savage tug as he ripped the blade out of the meat.

 

“They are coming from three different directions. They are at 9, 12, and 2 on a clock. There are twelve of them in total.”  Lena reported.

 

This caused David some shock as he looked to the side at the blonde woman who was calmly looking over the battle. He could see flames beginning to build along the blade of her knife, and the metal was beginning to glow slightly red. 

 

“How do you know that?” He asked.

 

She looked at him for a moment, but instead of responding she just turned towards the direction that the rustling was coming from. Harry just finished tossing the carcass into the back of the van, this way if they needed to retreat they could keep their spoils. David also realized he wasn’t going to get an answer from the woman and could only sigh.

 

“Pandora, you are up!” David called.