# Chapter 25 Corinne loved the smell of fresh bread. It was both a nostalgia hit, and it tasted good as well. Who wouldn't want bread? Corinne had led a raid on more houses to the north, allowing them to get chickens. *Layers too.* It had been several days since Jack and the rest left, and already they had done some good in their place. Corinne had wanted to join Jack and the others, but it was best for her to stay. She hadn't been with them for quite as long as Hunter and Arden, but she was trusted. It was a good feeling. Arden sat silently at the table they all usually sat at, so Corinne joined her. She sat down, fresh piece of bread held securely in her teeth. Arden had her usual spike off at the moment, and wore a red bandana over her brown and grey hair. It was a trend started by Rose and Raven, and carried on by many others in the camp. “*Any word from them?*” Arden signed, then resumed eating her sandwich. Egg and cheese, with one of the few remaining pieces of bacon they had. “*Nothing yet. Hopefully they’re going to be back soon*” Corinne signed back, Arden nodded. Scrap had decided to sit on the table, and neither of the women did anything to stop him. He walked over to Arden, tail wagging, and licked her face, then tried for the sandwich. “Damn you old man,” Corinne chuckled, swatting him away. Cass Mason sat down Adjacent to the women, and pet Scrap’s old face. “We’ll have to ration a good bit harder next week. We really need to get food from the east.” Corinne and Arden both nodded. Arden was the first to reply, evidently using her Nythrana spike. “This is a good meal to end on, then, if we do have to ration harder.” “Agreed,” Corinne finished off her bread. It was her second meal of the day, the first being a rabbit she’d hunted early in the morning. She looked out to the group of young men and women. Friends, as she’d come to know them. *What a world.* Had the world not ended, she would have continued working for the DCIA, working on every whim of the Dixie government. Same with Arden. Hunter and Alaina would still live in Macon, and she’d have never met the demigods. She didn’t consider the changes in the world to be good things, but lucky in that she got to meet so many amazing people. “*Arden, I had a good idea.*” Corinne signed, tossing her plate in a bin behind them, attached to the wall. “*Oh?*” “*So for like, forever, people haven't hunted in the city, do you think we could host hunting parties every week through the city and toward the south?” “*Okay that’s a great idea. Let’s let Jack know when he returns.” Corinne nodded, but she was incredibly bored. They’d done all but nothing for the last several days. It was cool to lead so many people, but it was mind-numbing. *No wonder Jack and Hunter are always off doing things.* “*Arden, I’m bored out of my mind.*” Corinne sighed, signing. “*I am too.*” She nodded, letting her plate join Corinne’s in the trash. “*Honestly a hunt would be fun. Let’s start that tonight.*” Corinne grinned, then took her usual stance on top of the table. “Yo, everyone, so we’re gonna have to begin harsher rations next week, especially if Jack and the others don't return soon, so we decided we’re going to start weekly hunting games. At 6, we will start the hunt, and by morning, the person with the most dead game, wins. Simple as. Athens and surrounding areas haven’t been hunted in a century or more, so we will start there. That’s about it.” She plopped down to her seat. “Well-spoken as always,” Cass chuckled. “Hopefully with so many hunting, food won't be as big of a problem.” “I really hope you’re right, Cass. I can't even imagine how we sustain ourselves otherwise.” Corinne often wondered about the future of the group. Depending on how many people were dead, they’d be set back centuries rather quickly. *I don’t want to think of electricity being magic.* Her children one day may even think it a pipe dream. That is, if they survived the northern demigods coming to Georgia. The night fell fast, bringing with it more snow and wind. Corinne shivered, pulling her jacket tight. *Dammit, I need to find myself a heavier jacket.* She didn’t often have a need for a coat, but all her life she’d regretted not having one when she needed it. The rest of the group was out and about in the city, so Corinne spent her time observing the city itself from a tree in the Central Park. She pulled out a notebook, and started writing down things she’d seen. Fires in the distance, small crowds of the dead, and good places to hunt. Writing, with doodles and lists, as well as actual stories, helped her keep her homicidal urges down. “Writing, I see,” A creature mused beside Corinne. She yelped, then scrambled back, into the open air. Corinne sat up, backing herself into a tree. “Karthas?” Corinne demanded, staring at the creature land softly nearby. It had deep dark wings, like that of a bat, and humanoid eyes that seemed to glow. It was a feminine thing, with pale scaled skin, and an ageless face. “I am Karthas.” Karthas said, Closing her four wings behind her back. *Like a biblically accurate angel. Gods above.* It reminded her of biblically accurate angels, Nova, and something she’d forgotten from her mythology classes years before. “What the hell are you,” Corinne asked. She knew the answer, but it was still so strange. “I am an Umbrir. Your people have stories of my kind.” Karthas sighed, “I told you this before.” “This nonsene with demigods and now aliens is so strange to me.” “We’ve been called several dozen things over a few millennia. Hoppers, Seekers, Founders, Winged ones, Four winged ones, Founders, any of those ring a bell?” Karthas asked, sitting down across from Corinne. She spoke with a low voice, almost gravely like that of a lifetime smoker, but still a voice of a female. “I vaguely recall Seekers.” Corinne admitted. She’d never paid much attention to her courses on Mythology, but in this strange new world, she felt she should have. *Undead, Demigods, and now Seekers.* “Good. Well, I don’t have a whole lot of time. I have business to get to, quite far from here. On the planet Terradine. Now I’ve been tasked by my elders to bring some information your way. They have arrived in Georgia.” The ancient Umbrir said, then pulled a tablet from her belt. It was made of a dull grey metal, not unlike the swords and rings the demigods used. The tablet in question had three runes imprinted in it. “This is a runekey, which can take you to a safe place on the planet Xav. You will be safe there, and this one is a two-way ticket. Use it only if you must. This information needs to reach Jack.” Karthas Concluded, then faded out of reality. “I really should have studied in my mythology class.” Corinne said aloud, and shook her head. --- Arden smiled as the deer she’d followed finally dropped. It was a buck, large in size. She brought her hijacked four wheeler to it, and loaded it up. The meat needed to be butchered, but the members of Arex and the various cooks would handle that. *Or maybe another hunter.* Scrap padded along beside her as she drove, unfazed by the running he had to do. *Crazy old man.* Others trickled into the costco lot after her, all told, 20 deer. “That was a success.” Arden said to Corinne as she returned fro mhunting herself. Arden flicked on her Nythrana spike, and felt the blood start to move inside her head. Within a minute, she would have a nosebleed. “Definitely. If we keep this up we will be in great shape. Mind talking with me for a minute?” Corinne gestured for Arden to follow. They walked through the building to the meeting room in the back, and sat down. “What’s up?” “So,” Corinne began, hesitantly, “Karthas appeared to me earlier. The Mythborn are now in georgia.” “Damn, while Jack is away.” Arden wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand, and Corinne handed her a box of tissues. Arden signed that she was “Going dark,” Which between them meant she was not using her spike. “*Yeah. Bad timing.*” “*What do we do?*” “*Make an announcement? They all know about the Umbrir and the northerners.*” Arden nodded. It was pretty much the only thing to do, if Jack got back with the others soon, it would be best. Arden could only hope Karthas or some other one of them got to Jack. [[26 Bridge]]