“No seeds, we got nothing again,” David said angrily as he finished combing over the shed.

 

“Everything is rotten,” Harry said sadly.

 

“The monsters got into it, look you can see the droppings.” David pointed to large brown pellets that were on the ground.

 

They were inside of a large metal barn that once held animals and farming supplies. The animals had become monsters and ripped through the building, leaving large holes in their wake. These had allowed other monsters and animals to get into the building and begin eating the seeds that were inside of it. The metal of the building was so badly damaged that the entire structure had started to lean to one side making it dangerous to enter.

 

“I found more gasoline!” Jasmin called from a stall as she carried two red plastic containers. “One of them is marked and smells funny though.”

 

“It is probably for a two two-stroke, did you see a weed eater nearby or motorcycles?” David called back to her as he started picking a lock on a steel cabinet.

 

“There is a chainsaw, could that be what it is for?” Jasmin yelled back across the barn.

 

“Yeah, grab that. If we run into a downed tree it could be really useful.” David yelled back.

 

They weren’t worried about monsters as Pandora was acting as a lookout on the roof of the barn. Having a cat demon as a companion meant having a companion with the ability to find her way on top of anything. They were also in a large field that was relatively clear and easy to see around them, the only negative was that it was starting to get dark.

 

“Haven’t we gotten enough for a day?” Harry called as he began piling the items onto a plastic sled he had found.

 

“The van’s engine is strong, it would be a waste if I didn’t bring back as much as I can with it. The fact that it costs us a low-tier magic stone every 200 miles is a major bummer. That also doesn’t change whether we haul more or less so I would rather take as much as we can.” David explained.

 

Harry stopped and turned to look out the window at the van, all of the room that wasn’t occupied by people was filled with clothes of various sizes. David didn’t stop there though as he decided to strap several mattresses on top of the vehicle since some people were still sleeping on the floor. Then he went a step further as he took duffel bags that were filled with tools and odds and ends and strapped them to the sides of the van.

 

The trailer was an even more laughable scene as it was loaded with large flat sheets of lumber to act as makeshift walls to allow him to stack things even higher.  Boards, sheets of metal, bags of concrete, and rebar were stacked to fill as much space as possible with several cans of gasoline and various household chemicals. Then the meat from all of the monster carcasses filled both freezers and created a small mountain in the middle of the trailer.

 

It was so overfilled it was already close to dragging on the ground, they almost bottomed out taking it over a small dip in the dirt road where it was washed out. 

 

“David, I am pretty sure that the axle is going to break if we take any more stuff on this trip,” Harry stated. “What do you even need a chainsaw for?”

 

“If the axle breaks I have everything I need on the trailer to fix it, I could probably even make it better.” David then pointed at the chainsaw with a serious expression. “The world is ending Harry, what you need to be asking yourself is where you can fit this chainsaw into your life. The more options that you have the more likely you are to win in a battle. Never be content with what you have, you should always think of how you can build and grow your arsenal.”

 

“Are you thinking of turning that chainsaw into a weapon?” Harry asked in fright. 

 

“Harry, you shouldn’t ask such silly questions,” David told him as he finished opening the locked cabinet. “Score!”

 

“What did you find?” Harry called.

 

“A duct tape collection! Look at how many different types he has!” David said in shock.

 

“That is what you are most excited about? Look at all of the bullets!” Harry said excitedly.

 

“This was a collector, Harry,” David said flatly.

 

“I don’t know what you are getting at,” Harry said with embarrassment.

 

“Do you see how this says ‘Nitro powder’ on the box here?” David said and pointed to a label on the box.

 

“Yeah, I haven’t heard of that before,” Harry said with wonder.

 

“Nitro powder is what they called smokeless powder when black powder was considered gunpowder,” David explained. “We don’t have anything that can shoot these, that is why I wasn’t very excited.”

 

“Should I leave it then?” Harry asked.

 

“Of course not, stuff it in the trailer!” David told him with exasperation, he was moving to another locked cabinet.

 

“You just said that we didn’t have any of the guns to shoot these!” Harry said back as he started taking the boxes of bullets and loading them onto the sled.

 

“Harry, the powder in these rounds is a weapon all its own. I have learned from my mistakes and I feel like I now know the best way to use them.” David said as he opened the next locked cabinet.

 

 An explosive sigh left his mouth as he revealed a large collection of vintage lunchboxes that were all made of steel and tin that was pressed and painted. Seeing these items caused Harry to turn to David with a smile.

 

“Load them!” David said.

 

“What?!” Harry called with shock.

 

“This was a test, I feel like I can find a way to use these though,” David explained.

 

“David, are you a hoarder?” Harry asked seriously.

 

“No, I didn’t take any of the kitchenware,” David explained, then he paused as his hand reached for his chin and began stroking the stubble with his nails. “But I probably could have used it now that I think about it.”

 

“Is this how every trip is going to be?” Harry asked with horror.

 

“Not every trip, sometimes we will focus on getting supplies,” David explained as he finished loading the lunchboxes onto the sled. “I have a good feeling about this storage container. Hold on Harry, give me just a moment.”

 

David could tell that the lock on this metal storage locker had been replaced since it was used around the lock cylinder. The other ones had been standard keyways with a normal key, so this change made David quite excited. After switching his tools and playing around in the lock for less than a minute he felt the pins give in and he was able to open it.

 

“Woah!” Harry called.

 

Inside were many rifles with scopes lined up in different styles, some of them were even night vision scopes with portable battery packs. Some of the rifles had wooden features and some of them were plastic, the treated metal on the rifles also went from silver to black. They had all kinds of different markings and branding on them, however, they all shared one similarity.

 

“They are fucking pellet guns.” David sighed explosively. “He probably killed the rats in his barn with them!” 

 

“So these are useless then?” Harry asked.

 

“Are you insane? These are all perfectly good night vision scopes that can be mounted to other weapons! Besides, I am sure I can modify these into something useful.” David explained. “Load them up!”

 

“David!” Lena called.

 

“Did you find something?” David called back.

 

It sounded like she was in the loft of the barn, she had gone over there shortly after they arrived here by climbing a wooden ladder. It didn’t take long for him to see the blond woman standing up and looking down at him from the loft which only took up half a barn. From the banister he watched her hold up a doll that gave him chills when he saw it.

 

It wore a black dress that looked like something you would wear if you were mourning a death, with a dark veil over the doll's white hair. It looked like the doll had been mottled on a woman who had been in her middle age, with a cold expression on her face. 

 

That is one creepy doll! David thought. Why is she showing me this?

 

“I think I am going to keep it.” She said with her broken smile.

 

The smile on David’s face began to twitch as he struggled to maintain it after he heard the news she had given him. He was looking at the doll and trying to decide if he would be okay looking at it every single day. When this thought went through his mind, he suddenly felt a chill beginning to rise his back.

 

Why couldn’t it be stuffed animals! David thought.

 

“She also has a friend,” Lena said with a smile as she reached behind her and held up a second doll.

 

This one had dark hair and blue eyes, she also had an angry look on her doll face, her dress was simple and covered her porcelain joinings.  When he saw it at first it almost reminded him of his cousin Sarah.

 

“I think I am going to give this one to your aunt though, I think that she might like it,” Lena commented.

 

“Yeah, I think that she might,” David said with a forced smile. 

 

A sigh of relief left his mouth quietly when he heard that she was giving away one of the dolls, but he didn’t feel any better about it. Whenever he looked at a doll he always had this creepy feeling that they were looking back at him. Just as he was trying to figure out what to say, Jasmin saved him by giving him a diversion.

 

“I walked around the perimeter of the house but it was completely burned down, even the basement had a fire in it,” Jasmin said. 

 

“That was probably where all the guns were, did you see a safe in the wreckage?” David asked.

 

“No, it looks like it only burned down a few days ago, some of the coals were still warm,” Jasmin said.

 

“That just means it could have happened within the month,” David explained. “The coals can stay warm for a long time if they are not exposed, or if they are buried. What we should be thankful for is that the fire didn’t spread from the house. It could have burned everything in the valley since we no longer have a fire department.”

David glanced outside and saw that it was getting darker, they only had an hour of light left.

 

“Let’s call it a day and get everything packed, it is getting late,” David called.

 

“Thank god!” Harry called as he quickly began to pull the sled towards the trailer.

 

David looked up to see Lena climbing down the ladder she used to get into the loft with the dolls hanging on her back. A feeling of defeat began to fill him when he realized that he was going to have to get used to seeing them around. Then a thought struck him since he realized this was going to have to work both ways.

 

“Hey, Lena?” He called.

 

“Yes?” She asked as she finished getting down the ladder.

 

He wasn’t sure how to tell her he was okay with her having the dolls, he felt like he didn’t want them near him for some reason. Something about the doll in the black dress was giving him the chills and he didn’t know how to express it.

 

“Can I see the doll on your back?” David asked.

 

She reached back casually and pulled the doll in the black dress out of the tote she was carrying them in. Holding it out with both hands, David responded by reaching into his pocket and pulling out the mana detector he had installed in a small flashlight to make it easier to use. He then shone the dim beam of light it formed over Lena and the doll in her hands, but all he saw was her blueish color of light.

 

This made him breathe a sigh of relief, he didn’t know why he felt so unsettled by the doll, but something about the solemn aura it gave off made his skin crawl. Then he shook his head to clear his muddled thoughts, it was just a doll. In his mind, he had an amazing way he could use something extreme as a way to get her to temper any habits she would have with the dolls, but what came out of his mouth was something else.

 

“I like superheroes,” David said dumbly.

 

Lena turned and looked at him with the creepy doll in her arms, she had a blank expression on her face as she processed what he said. Then a smile spread over her face as she gave a stunning response.

 

“That is fine, as your girlfriend, it is my job to support you. As long as we work together and support each other we can get through anything.” She said with a smile, then he thought he heard her mutter something. It sounded like ‘magical girls’ which almost gave him a heart attack.

 

David went completely pale and his breathing stopped when he thought of some of the childhood memories he shared with Susie’s son Trey. He could see two little boys running home from elementary school to make it home in time for a show about a magical girl and her group that fought evil. When he thought of how he and Trey would sing and dance to the theme song he immediately wanted to find a hole and crawl inside of it and die.

 

“David, Lena! Let’s go!” Harry called from outside.

 

Is it a relief I am suddenly feeling? I don’t want to ask if she knows or not! What if she just starts laughing at me? I will never be able to live it down! David’s thoughts were jumbled, he didn’t even take notice of an arm threading through his and leading him towards the van. Seeing the vehicle caused another thought to pass through his mind. What the hell is Harry talking about? There is still plenty of clearance and room left, I could easily stack a bit more on top of the trai-

 

“David! Let’s go!” Harry called with exasperation.

 

“Fine,” David called as he began to start wedging himself in the van.

 

Due to how much stuff David had packed inside of the van Harry was forced to sit in the front due to his size with his armor. Jasmin drove and David sat in the back with Lena sitting on his lap. The only one who might have been uncomfortable was Billy who had to sit in Harry’s cold armored lap.

 

Due to the angle, she was sitting, David wasn’t able to see her face, but she was probably warm he assumed since her skin was red. Her breathing was also a little ragged, so he was worried that she wasn’t able to get comfortable where she was sitting. 

 

“Sorry, it is so cramped inside of here. I think the next time we go out, what we should really look for is a bigger trailer.” David began when he was stopped by three voices in the front of the vehicle.

“”“No!””” Harry, Jasmin, and Billy all called.

 

The only one who didn’t care about any of the human’s troubles was the small black and white cat that could change her size at will but usually stayed between the size of a housecat and a kitten. Her attention was completely on the several large trout that were swimming around inside of a plastic bucket. These were her precious catches she made while Billy had been cleaning the carcasses and David was maintaining their equipment.

 

In the future, it was planned for Harry to handle the cooking while Jasmin did the laundry and healing any wounded. Lena was going to learn to sew and Billy would turn into an all-purpose member of the party since he would only handle supplies. Until he was in his mid-teens or a few layers in, they wouldn’t have him do any fighting.

 

Jasmin began driving the van down the road and he could feel Lena’s body with every bump on the dirt road, it kept making him feel embarrassed about how much he had packed into the van. The only good thing was that most of it were blankets and clothing, it was stuff that would become necessary over time. The most important thing to begin stocking up in an area with extreme winters was things like food and snow gear.

 

“Hey David, when are we going out again?” Harry asked.

 

“A week, we need to digest everything in this load.” He said. “Every night you all need to use a magic stone to take in as much mana as you can to replenish your stores and to help increase your limits. It is just like working out a muscle, you break it down by using it and build it back up stronger. This is also what you will need to do if you want to become stronger, try to find ways during the day to use mana in your activities.”

 

“Won’t that look strange?” Harry asked.

 

“You need to be able to wear armor that weighs close to the weight of a car.” David paused here and thought of a better way to explain it. “Have you seen in those TV shows how someone can stop something that weighs several times as much as they do like a car?” 

 

“Yeah, I always thought those scenes were cool!” Harry said.

 

“That is perfect, to do that you need to weigh about the same as the opponent, preferably more. Most abilities that increase weight or size do this by bonding things like carbon or nitrogen to the organism that is found floating in the air. This is temporary and it is never permanent, it is also a bad idea to use these kinds of abilities as they damage your cell's ability to replicate and shorten your maximum lifespan.” David explained. “The best thing to do is to take it slow and build up the muscle to support the armor you need as a warrior to fight.”

 

“Okay, how would you go about using mana in your daily life?” Harry asked.

 

“Bro, I enchant and make runes, I always use mana.” David stopped here and looked down at his slightly shaking hands. 

 

Most people used mana in small amounts, as an enchanter if he wasn’t sucking up magical stones like lollipops to replenish his reserves he would need to sleep close to sixteen hours a day to function properly. Mana addiction was most common with enchanters or mages who used their mana consistently. Warriors at a certain point can use their passive muscle strength without using any mana to outlast most mages or invokers in long fights.

 

The addiction happened from taking in mana from various sources, people would become addicted to the feeling of being bloated. It was kind of like big eater's who get used to being overly full and can no longer be satisfied with a normal serving. Then one day they go too far and become a horrifying monster...

 

“I had a question, too,” Jasmin said.

 

This question and answer session when they were driving around had been common, it also happened when they did some training to get used to basic formations.

 

“Are we going to go somewhere else?” She asked. “After the dungeon I mean.”

“Yeah, we will have to go to Denver and Castle Rock to scavenge if we can’t trade. I also plan to go to some of the other small towns in the dungeons' influence to see if we can find more survivors.” David said calmly and yawned tiredly/ “I am going to take a nap, wake me up when we get to the house.”

 

Leaning back, David closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.