![[98 Epigraphs#024]] # Chapter 24 Nova landed silently among the others. “Nothing.” Washington was a ghost-town. “Dammit where are they.” Jack said, slamming his fist into the dilapidated picnic table he sat on. “It’s been ten days.” “Jack,” Raven said, sitting next to him, brow furrowed. “We’ve only been here for one. They clearly aren't in Washington or Tignall.” *Does she like him?* Her tone was soothing, which was odd seeing as her sister was only dead for two months. At the same time, life was short, and the odds of a long life were horrible. Raven was right, the places they’d been in that day had been fruitless. Preserves, towns, the few way houses they’d set up before leaving the first time. It was hard for Nova to consider it, but the odds for Rhett and them’s survival were slim. They were probably long dead. There were hundreds of miles of land to scour, and they could be anywhere. *Why do people feel such strong emotion all the time?* Nova didn’t dampen the effects, it was good to learn to tolerate the feelings. In some ways, not using her powers helped with the physical pain, but allowed mental anguish to fill her heart. *A fact of human life I suppose.* Nova, and all other eternals, had the blessing of passive immortality. Other demigods called it soft immortality, but it was quite robust. She couldn’t die of old age, that was true, but sicknesses didn’t affect her very poorly, she healed fast. All eternals had it, but that didn’t matter a lot when Nova was the only one left at Ironsoul. However, it was also a fact that not every eternal lived at Ironsoul. There were a few Nova had met who lived all across the nation. There were some in Mythborn, though they did not tend to like Ironsoul members. *I better not be alone.* Joshua, Kyle, Nate, Sabrina, Joyce, Jessie, Neil, David, Eliot, Kathryn, Ella, Faith, and Ray. Probably another half dozen others, all gone. Now, just Nova. “Should we try for Augusta?” Hunter asked, “If they got in a pinch in one of the far preserves, I’d think they’d go to the nearest place with good cover.” Jack nodded, “That would be wise. We need to start somewhere.” He started up his truck, Raven took passenger. Nova opted to take shotgun in Hunter’s truck this time. “I hope they’re okay,” hunter said, shifting into gear. “I do too.” Nova said simply. They took Dixie 78, then wrong way on interstate 20. Jack had a hunch he’d shared via radio, that the interstate would be jam packed as they got closer to Augusta, and he turned out to be right. It was the second-largest city in the state, next was Savannah by a slim margin. *What did they tell these people? Just to flock to a big city?* Athens was the opposite, all the traffic headed away from it, toward the interstates. She decided she’d have to ask Hunter what was told to the mortals by their government. She hated asking about events that far away, either the fact she was old enough to be everyone’s mother, or just a leftover bit of her childhood made her wary. Just as she was going to force herself to ask, they crested a hill and slammed on the brakes. Jack’s truck almost slammed into Hunter’s, but also came to a sharp stop. Thousands upon thousands of Maws were making their way toward the city. Jack slammed into reverse behind Hunter and Nova, followed quickly by Hunter. They turned the right way around, and let Jack know they’d need to regroup. Maybe a half mile later, Jack’s brake lights came on again, and he stopped. “Good god. There were thousands.” Raven said, sounding almost awed. “Many more than slaughtered Ironsoul early on.” Nova nodded. “Probably 25 thousand.” “Cant be the same group that we had to lure away then, can it?” Hunter asked. “It could have formed into a bigger group, we really won't know.” Raven said. Nova shook her head, “I’d wager that’s what drove Alaina and them so far. If they were being followed by that many Slackjaws.” “That really does make sense.” Jack said, taking a swig from a bottle of water. Raven sat uncomfortably close to him again, but Nova did her best to ignore that fact. Nova pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her wings around them. She stayed warmer that way. Hunter eyed her, 3 months of conditioning couldn’t get him used to the divine side of the group he joined. *Can I really blame him, He spent his whole life thinking people like us as myths.* “Shit what do we do then?” Hunter asked, pulling jerky from his pocket. *Good lord.* “Well, I suppose we go North. They have Holly Iverson with her.” Jack hopped off his tailgate. “She is as good as Athira kids with her maps. I believe, if these suckers were going east, or northeast, she’d have them go North, then over toward Washington.” “They’d be separated by water from Washington, but the horde wouldn’t be able to follow them across.” Raven said, hopping off the tailgate as well. “We should probably backtrack a ways, and go up along the river best we can.” Hunter pulled out a small section of map, “Let’s get off near 221, get near the lake, and start taking GA 47, then GA 220. That will get us closer to the water.” The rest nodded in agreement, and Jack took lead. Soon they’d have to settle for the night, it was already growing dark, around 5:30pm. --- The next day was an early one, Nova woke everyone up well before dawn. Nova started the day in the air, which ripped and tore and threatened to yank her from the sky. She could see the horde at such a height, heading to the northeast. But was beginning to turn northwest. *Gods above. How many are there?* The horde was bigger than Nova could have imagined, perhaps 4 times the size of the one that destroyed Ironsoul. She landed shortly thereafter, pleasantly surprised by Hunter cooking pancakes. “Where did you get that shit?” She asked, rather crudely, for her normal self. She didn't usually swear, soon after the war, that fell out of popularity due to the women who stayed behind in the war, one upping each other with poshness. At least that is how her old history teacher phrased it. The women of the time really had nothing better to do than to be vain. Voted to go into war, got out of the consequences. “Raided a waffle house. Looks like this one was bullshitting the customers.” Hunter laughed, holding the pre-mixed liquid. The package read ‘Pre-mixed waffle and pancake cooking solution.’ “Bro. That sucks.” Jack said, reading the ingredients list, and averting his eyes shortly thereafter. *Do I want to know?* They were heavenly. Stacy Baker hadn’t made bread or anything in a good while, just due to the lack of grains and such. *Gods I hope they find some laying hens. That’d be a godsend.* After breakfast, they turned onto Georgia 47. The roads were starkly quiet and empty. It was eerie. The pines swayed in an invisible breeze. Hunter cut the silence after several uncomfortable minutes. “This all reminds me of old Appalachian stories my grandparents would tell.” Hunter said, gesturing with one hand to the windshield. “It's so lifeless.” Nova nodded, “Yeah that fits really well. It’s uncanny.” The horde followed them slowly, but they were driving slow. They followed behind Jack’s truck, trying to watch for anything to scavenge. Or possible survivors of Rhett’s party. Nova sat watching the pines pass in a blur. “I Hope we find them.” Hunter sighed. “I miss Lainey.” “Lainey?” Nova asked, raising an eyebrow. “Pet name?” “I prefer not to use the term. But yes, that’s what I call her.” “How long have you two known each other anyway? I know I haven’t interacted much with you or any of the mortals since you joined.” “Years. We were friends before we even started high-school. It’s kinda funny honestly, we reunited like the day before the world fell.” “That is interesting. It seems Rose and Rhett met first under similar circumstances.” Nova said, “At least that I’ve heard of.” “Yeah, DND or something. What a world we live in now eh?“ “It’s the same as it was, with fewer consequences for people’s actions, and fewer people to worry about. I hate it, and I love it. Paradox.” “That’s fair. I dunno. On the one hand its good to be self-sufficient, but at the expense of like 90% of the world's population.” “I'm sure it's more than that. For all I know, our group is the only one to survive.” Hunter nodded, he normally tried to see the light side of things, but that version of him came through less often over time. Nova didn’t know him as well as he knew Charlie, but they were alike in that way. *Gods, do normal people always feel this sad?* She’d gotten over Charlie’s death the month before, but now felt the searing pain of loss again. She didn’t have to bury her feelings before Hunter stopped the truck. “Jack,” Hunter said with the window down. “Do we need to be concerned about the roadwork?” “I hope not. I’d like to get as far as we can on this road, then 220.” “Aight then.” Hunter rolled his window back up. The horde was still following at a close distance, but not extremely concerning. The wind picked up, Nova could feel its touch on the truck. They were at 220 in no time, taking the right onto the smaller paved road. “Good lord, this hasn’t been touched in years.” Hunter said, swerving to avoid a massive pothole. It wasn’t well maintained, plants growing into the concrete at its edges. Roots from trees all around pushed concrete to it’s breaking point. The whole road was almost like gravel. “You can say that again.” Nova shook her hair from her face. Even though she had dropped her numbness, it was still best to cover her face. It was a power it seemed only she had. A power with one use, and no drawback. But it was inherited from Hela. She had the same condition. “This thing still work?” A voice cracked over the radio. “Aye, Jack.” Hunter replied. “Wait, wait no. This is Rhett.” The voice said. *Thank the gods.* “Rhett?” Nova asked, smiling. “Is that Nova?” Rhett asked in return. “Where are you guys?” Hunter flashed his brights for Jack to stop, and pulled over. “We’ve been looking for a while, man. We’re headed up to the Dixie 378 bridge.” Jack and Raven both rushed over. Hunter rolled his window down. “Ah gotcha.” Rhett said, “We’re all halfway up 221 in South Carolina. Got a horde on our tail, but we are in plum branch now.” “Shit we have a horde on our asses too. I doubt it’s as big.” Jack said through the receiver. “Oh hey Jack. Who all is there?” “Me, Raven, Nova, and Hunter. That’s it.” “Ah okay. Well, we will see you on the Dixie 378 bridge I suppose.” “Aye.” Hunter replied, replacing the receiver. “How the hell did you do that?” Raven asked, brow furrowed. “They did. Made a call on their comms, and we picked it up.” Hunter laughed. “Stroke of luck there, honestly.” “I’d have to agree.” Nova said, “So they are just across the River from us.” “Guess we need to continue on our way.” Jack said, walking back to his truck. Hunter rolled up his window, “Gods. It’s good to hear their voices.” “I feel the same,” Nova sighed. *How long was I holding my breath?* “Oh fuck!” Hunter shouted, causing Nova to jump. “Oh fuck, what?” “The fucking bridge is out.” He gestured angrily. “Ah. Damn.” Hunter stopped the truck alongside Jack's, and Nova hopped out. “Why didn't they put signs up.” “I guess they’re part of the horde now.” Raven chuckled. *Gods.* Jack looked as mad as Hunter. A wave of fear passed over Nova. “Shit.” She did a full turn. Sure enough, the horde was gaining. She didn’t know if they grew frenzied without food for a long time, but they were no laughing matter. “Shit.” Jack, Raven, and Hunter said in unison, the same realization crossing them. The bridge was out, and they had a horde on their asses. [[25 Bread]]