![[98 Epigraphs#018]] # Chapter 18 Arden didn’t like to wear black dresses, or any dresses at all for that matter. Even so, she felt the need to show respect to Charlie at her funeral. She and Corinne, now in pants and a tank top, were leaving Charlie’s graveside. *How does that woman manage to change that fast.* Jack and Raven looked the worst out of the three who had exerted so much power. Nova used her powers constantly to be numb, so she looked better in that regard. Arden had some wounds of her own, not the supernatural type, but bullets and a few slashes of a machete. She’d request a child of Aevala to heal herself, but they’d exerted themselves just healing Nova, Raven and Jack. *Even then, some pain never truly leaves.* Arden, in her very limited time spent with demigods, had never seen such an extreme use of power. From what she’d heard, even the other demigods hadn’t. Giant clouds of Darkness, Cold, and silence had befallen the war zone that was the mall, and chaos had broken out. “Arden,” Corinne asked aloud, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. “Hey, sorry Corinne. I’m not used to the Nythrana spike.” The spike in question was a spikeblade, granting her the ability to almost hear. It wasn’t the same as hearing, as she simply understood what was being said in her mind. “You probably won't get used to it for a while.” Corinne chuckled. “I was only given it two days ago. Plus the constant bleeding, it awful.” Two days before, 2 days after Charlie’s death. *These are hard times. Granted, the world has fallen after all.* The blade itself was fashioned with an alloy of Adamantium and Steel. It gave little power, and little consequence, but helped her maneuver social settings easier, she’d begun to isolate herself less. “Do you like it, though?” “Has its benefits.” Arden wiped blood from her nose. “That’s just not one of them.” Corinne nodded, walking not toward the truck they’d arrived in, instead toward the carnage that was the main camp. Charlie had been buried by her favorite tree, toward the end of the woods, so the children of Arex had cleared all the bodies, men and maw, for the funeral. The rest of the camp was absolutely covered in blood and gore. Jack had already deemed it impossible to rebuild and relocate, just due to the collective memory of the fall, and just how bad it had gotten. As Corinne and Arden walked, she made mental note of the gore. Blood trails, limbs rotting on the pathways, cabins destroyed, and bodies littered around like macabre decoration. *Halloween, but real.* After leaving the main camp area, Corinne spoke again, “I’m planning on going with some others to the mall, and clear it of the dead. Wanna come?” Arden shrugged, “Got nothing better to do.” Corinne raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “In a dress?” Arden looked down, considering. “Didn’t think of that. I do have clothes in my backpack in the truck, though, I’ll just change on the way.” Arden wiped a glob of blood from her upper lip once more. “I’m gonna go deaf for a while. The spike would be best for group settings.” “*Sounds good,*” Corinne signed, rounding the front grill of the truck, and starting the engine. They took Dixie 129 down fifteen miles or so, before taking the wrong way exit onto the loop, to the west. They hadn’t thought of a good way to clear the hundreds or thousands of cars from the road. It was a three lane, chock-full. Arden couldn’t fathom just the sheer volume of metal just out there covering the asphalt. The demigods were still learning about the Adamantium and manufacturing the ring and spikeblades. They’d only had the stuff for a couple weeks, but so far had learned how to imbue power without the presence of a particular demigod. Blood achieved the same effect. Just a few milliliters per blade. All donated consensually, of course. Having rounded the loop, now on Atlanta highway, Corinne pulled the truck into the Georgia Square mall parking lot. Mortal and Maw alike were littered throughout, Corinne had even run a couple over by the time they got to the loading dock. The conflict had ended outside, ending with one man’s head on a pike. Several other cars and trucks entered the parking lot, following a similar but less bloody path through the carnage. Mostly members of House Arex. After entering the mall, the stench wasn’t quite as bad as she would have expected. The children of Arex began to pull the bodies from the halls, while Corinne and Arden headed straight for the food court. She hadn’t known Charlie too well prior to the events at the mall. They’d talked occasionally, but Arden didn’t feel they were in any way friends. However, the memory of her death would forever stick in Arden’s mind. She had used her telekinesis power to launch herself up toward the top floor, freeing Hunter and Alaina. After jumping down, she’d been shot in the face, so she crashed into a heap. Blood pooling. Raven, Jack, and Nova exploded with power like nobody had ever seen. After several seconds of silence and the deep darkness and cold, it began to lift, revealing the trio dashing around, and slaughtering everyone. The mortals had been stunned by the power displayed, and weren’t hard to kill after that. Arden and Corinne and then split off the main group, killing smaller groups here and there. Seeing the carnage brought the memory back. But now she was safe, no battle, no pain, no loss. Just her and Corinne. ____ Jack sat atop the Costco warehouse, dangling his feet off the edge. He felt numb, alone, after what unfolded in the mall just 3 days before. Charlie had been his lifelong friend, since both their childhoods. *Now she’s gone.* He was trying not to show the grief he felt inside, on his face, but it wasn’t easy. He felt he needed space. But every time he rounded a corner or entered a room or a car, he half expected to see Charlie’s red hair. The lovely, bubbly girl he’d loved dearly, even before they were in a relationship. Jack heard footsteps behind him, but didn’t turn to see who it was. *If I’m to be killed, let it be fast.* He prayed, to the void above the world. Raven sat down just a couple feet away from him, and matched his seating position. The two watched the cars below for a time, before Raven pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The box read, ‘Marlboro.’ Not the United brand he was used to seeing from her. These were older, not made in Dixie since before the secession war. They were sold in the north, but hard to get over the border. *Those things really can kill. Maybe the dead gods are granting me death after all.* Raven’s jet black hair was tied into small tight braids, similar to Charlie’s before her death. Everything else about her was the same. Torn off hoodie sleeves, ripped dark jeans. Still the two were so similar. She lit one, then held the pack out toward him, one higher than the others. He thought for a moment, but slid down next to her, and took one. Raven didn’t look at him, but used her lit one to light his. The two sat in silence for a time, watching as people returned from their old camp, and the mall. Some hauled fallen demigods or mortals, others raided the old Ironsoul camp, returning with lost items. After an hour of silence, and when Arden’s truck returned from the mall, Raven broke the silence. “Jack, I miss her.” Jack saw a drop hit the pack of cigarettes in her hand. Raven looked toward him, more tears following the first, ruining her light makeup. “I miss her too.” Jack said quietly, pulling Raven closer. She laid her head on his shoulder as he wrapped a comforting hand around her back. After releasing her, Jack continued to smoke. The cigarettes reeked like death, but the nicotine they gave him brought Jack some much-needed clarity. “Raven,” Jack began, slipping a ring off his left ring finger. He had two rings, his, a gift from Charlie, and the one he had given to Charlie. “This belonged to Charlie, I just can’t…” He said, breath catching. “I’ll bear it for you.” Raven smiled softly, accepting the ring and sliding onto her own ring finger. “We both lost someone we loved.” After a few more minutes of silence, Jack stood, helping Raven to her feet, and the pair left the rooftop. Jack and Raven went their separate ways, Jack to Cass about supplies, and Raven to Corinne and Arden. “Cass.” Jack nodded to the young man. “Jack.” Cass replied, weilding his ever present clipboard. “So we are okay in regular fuel right now, but we are a bit concerned on power infrastructure and food.” “There are solar panels on alot of the houses in Statham.” Corinne commented, splitting off from Raven and Arden, walking over to the guys. The other two girls followed. “They’d be great if we could get them here.” Cass said, making a note. “Let’s go there, we can scavenge for other shit as well.” Raven said, gesturing to everyone there. “Someone needs to lead though.” Jack said, “Cass, you and Hunter will stay in lead. Raven, Corinne, Arden and I will go to Statham. We’ll need ladders, a good truck, fuel, and a trailer.” “On it. Give me a few minutes.” Cass replied, scurrying away. “Work for you girls?” Jack asked, nodding to the others. “I need a break anyway.” Raven said, glancing at Jack. *We both do.* “Works for us.” Arden said aloud. “Good. Let’s all make packs. I’ll make an announcement to the rest of camp. We’ll leave at like 2pm.” Jack said, dismissing them. --- Arden sat in the truck’s bed, enjoying the wind wrestling with her hair. Raven and Scrap were in the truck bed as well, Scrap standing up. Raven had declined the truck cab, opting to enjoy the wind, same as Arden. “*Does do that he always*?” Raven signed poorly. *At least she’s trying.* She had her head tilted and was smiling at the old dog. “You mean, ‘does he always do that?’” Arden repeated aloud, slowly making the signs to match. “*Does he always do that?*” Raven repeated, properly this time. “He does, crazy loon.” Arden replied, signing as well. *That poor stubborn old dog.* Arden thought. Arden could feel the movement of the empty trailer behind them, swaying as Jack moved the wheel around abandoned cars. “The eastbound lanes look much better than they did originally, I don’t know if it’s a trick of the light or what.” Raven commented, turned around to watch the lanes. She didn’t need to turn to hear Raven, the Nythrana spike worked wonders. “I wonder if someone’s been clearing it?” Arden agreed, scanning the lanes across the median as they passed. “I doubt…” Raven began, but was cut off as Corinne and Scrap slammed into her. Jack had turned the truck left, into a side street. The girls in the back broke out in laughter, Scrap looking confused. Arden pet him behind his ears. “Sorry bout that.” Corinne said, having slid open the small window between the bed and the cab. “All good.” Arden and Raven said in unison. “Where are we anyways?” Arden asked, looking around the neighborhood, if you could call it that. *Community is the right word I suppose.* “Had a friend a long time ago who worked in pest control, he knew houses in this area pretty well. Mix of old and new money.” She pointed the way for Jack, and Arden continued to study the community. It was stunning. Even with the clear lack of care for the last 2 months, the place was a beauty. Trees lined the street, houses had large ornate fences around, electric gates. The houses ranged in size, between 2 and 5 stories. The houses could be told apart by several methods. The people with new money tended to be more conservative with their spending, at least the weapons dealers were. New money like shitty gas stations tended to go extravagant. Old money was the same way. After having money for so long, and having few kids to inherit it, they went all out. That’s where the three to five-story houses were at. Gun money was usually spread to a family, to sustain everyone during the secession war. “Alrighty, down the road to our right, Pinelog, 105 will be one of the best to raid. Old money, four or five stories. And up and to the left is one owned by some Indians, who owned like 16 shitty convenience stores. They got all the tech they’d ever need. Then they also own the house down on Cherokee, 1081.” Corinne smiled. “They should have put in solar panels, they were the thing like 5 years ago.” Arden almost slammed into Raven again as they pulled into 2429 Pine Trail. It was a three-story house, one of the larger homes Arden had ever been around. They had three garage doors around the left side, and a massive U shaped driveway in their front law. Solar panels coated the roof. “This is great.” Raven said, eyes wide and looking over the house. “Yes, it sure is.” Jack smiled. “Corinne, you are a godsend.” “We probably need to clear it, right?” Arden asked. “Yes. I’d like to scan the outside.” Corinne said, Raven nodded. “Coolio. Arden and I will clear the inside.” Jack said, opening his door and hopping out. Arden followed him to the garage door, and helped him heave it up. Lights were on inside, clearly powered by solar. Jack covered his ears suddenly, and the lights began to flash. *Gods, glad I don’t have epilepsy.* An alarm must have gone off, so Arden rushed to the door. She broke down the glass panel, kicking the door in, then shot at the admin security panel. *Gods, that was stupid.* The lights stopped flashing, and Jack had recovered when Arden headed back to the garage. “I would not want anyone to be subjected to that.” He said, shaking his head violently. Scrap walked back in to the garage, having left and hid behind the neighbor’s fence. Inside the garage sat an SUV, all the bells and whistles. Fully charged. “Well, that’s convenient.” Arden laughed. “Sure is. Bet these people had at least three, based on the chargers all in here.” Jack said, opening the door to the inside that Arden had kicked in. [[19 Harvest]]