Henrick wakes up with a soft groan, his body still aching but largely recovered from the brutal fight with Eric. He sits up and notices the giant feline only now returning, dark purple blood on its lips.
Selene greets the mother cat, still playing with the kittens who have now decided that she is their bed. "How long was I asleep?" Henrick asks, gently shaking Elly and Leo awake.
"About 2 hours. You tossed and turned the whole time, it's a wonder that Elly and Leo stayed asleep." says the elf-like woman, amusement and pity warring on her face in equal measure.
The little girl in question stretches and sits up explosively, her eyes wide open. "I'm up!" she whisper-screams at the soldier, smiling as she sees his bewildered face. The canine follows after, stretching languidly as opposed to Elly's hyperactivity.
Father David chuckles softly, awoken by Elly's not so subtle wake up call. Alex huffs and rolls over to the other side, clearly displeased at having been woken up.
Veronica stretches softly, blinking the sleep away as Alex sits up groggily. "Can we get five more minutes?" Henrick packs up his makeshift bed with swift military precision and turns to address the group.
"We'll have to move quick. We'll never know when another earthquake or horde is gonna rip through the city." Father David and Selene nod, quickening their steps, while Alex and Veronica try to keep up with them.
The shadowy feline lays on its side, allowing her children to feed on milk while she watches the humans about to leave. Selene takes a tentative step forward, hesitantly reaching out to pet the runt of the litter.
With a purr, the mother cat nudges the runt with her nose, clearly allowing Selene to say goodbye. "I'll see you around, Sesame. What do you think about the name?" she asks, searching the baby's eyes for approval.
'Sesame' just tilts her head, gives Selene a lick on her hand, and goes back to drinking milk from her mother. "Heh, Sesame it is." she chuckles, preparing to head out.
Henrick scans the outside for any sign of the corrupted, then the skies for any indications of a thunderstorm. Satisfied that there are none for both, he nods at the giant feline in thanks and steps out onto the street.
"First order of business: find a working vehicle. Most of the vehicles we've seen are either overturned or damaged, no doubt caused by the mutated humans."
The soldier then looks at the group, who file out of the building. "Have any of you seen what might be a functioning van or truck on our way here, or near here?" he asks, not wanting to waste too much time in searching.
Alex perks up and raises his hand, eliciting groans from the group. "This isn't a classroom. Speak freely." Henrick chuckles at the fire user's quirky nature, and is secretly thankful for his positive attitude.
"I saw a beautiful range rover sport near the Empire State. Even if it's a little damaged, I bet I could fix it up if I got my hands on it. Used to be a mechanic." Alex says confidently, patting his chest.
Veronica frowns at the suggestion, her eyes darting around in fear. "But what if those things are still there? What if we end up attracting them?" she asks, uncertainty clear in her voice.
Father David nods at her words, clearly worried about the same thing. "Umm...I can check." Elly suddenly says, walking in front of the soldier and raising her hands up in a 'carry me' gesture.
"How?" Henrick asks, as he picks the little girl up. "Hihi, you'll see. Just get close to where we need to be." Henrick just smiles as he and the rest of the group make their way closer to the Empire State Building.
"Let's all get on top of that building. Looks like it has a good view of the Empire Sta-" Henrick starts but suddenly finds himself flying upwards and appearing on top of the building he was just pointing at.
The soldier looks around in shock, electricity coiling on his fingers, prepared to protect Elly who's being suspiciously quiet in his arms. He chances a look at the girl and sighs when he sees the mischievous smile on her face.
"So that's what you meant. You can teleport, no. It's more like we shifted." Henrick says, lightly flicking Elly's forehead. Elly just smiles and waves down at the group, who stand frozen because of how sudden they flew up
"Now I can be useful to you."
The words make Henrick's eyes harden as he places Elly down and kneels in front of her. The little girl looks down, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she grips the edge of her shirt.
"I couldn't save Sam...I 'shifted' us away from the sewers, but ended up with...that thing. He killed her immediately, because she tried to shield me from him."
Tears openly flow now, her red eyes staring straight at the soldier. "I don't want that to happen again." Henrick just ruffles her hair and gives her the gentlest smile he can. "It won't." His words ring out strong and sure, a statement of fact more than a promise.
He picks her up once more and looks for the Range Rover Sport that Alex talked about. There, amongst the rubble from the tip of the Empire State Building, is the aforementioned vehicle that somehow remained undamaged.
There's no sign of the corrupted, more than likely attracted to other parts of Manhattan. With a signal to Elly, the both of them appear in front of the group in a flash of movement. "What the? Where did you guys go?" Alex asks in shock, his fingers shakily pointing at them.
Henrick ruffles Elly's hair again, turning to the group afterwards. "I can shift to anywhere I see. The limit is one extra person per shift." Father David crosses his arms, an impressed look on his face.
"How many times can you shift before getting tired?" Selene asks, concerned for the little girl's limits. "I can keep going as long as I'm not tired." is the reply, Elly's voice lined with confidence.
"Why didn't you escape from Eric when you had the chance?" Veronica asks gently, scared of triggering another episode. The group goes silent, watching the little girl's reaction.
Elly smiles sadly and holds Henrick's neck more tightly. "And go where?" she asks. The question is a simple one, yet none have the answer. They're all reminded of their harsh new reality, and how much harder it would be for a child.
Henrick clears his throat, bringing everyone out of their melancholy. "Let's focus on getting that car. It's in pretty good condition, the door was left open, and there aren't any corrupted nearby." he says, already moving towards the Empire State Building.
The rest of the group are forced to follow and contemplate another time. They approach the still standing monolith and take in the full scope of the destruction.
Craters and fractures paint the earth. Dozens of corrupted bodies crushed underneath debris, and the half eaten corpse of a large man hangs on the tip of Empire State.
"Is that Eric? What the hell happened to him?" Alex asks, bewildered at how different he looks compared to his memories.
Henrick explains from the start, about how the old man messenger was actually Eric, and how the portly man ate others for their abilities.
Veronica pales at the casual mention of cannibalism, shooting the corpse a disgusted look. Father David clenches his fist at how useless he felt during the fight, a fire now burning in his soul to become stronger.
Elly closes her eyes and almost starts shaking in fear, when Henrick swiftly moves towards the vehicle. "Hey, let's see what this car's all about." he says, weakly deflecting her thoughts away from Eric.
The little girl opens her eyes and swallows the lump in her throat, a fierce look in her eyes that screams 'I'm strong.'. The group make their way to the range rover, Alex stepping forward and checking the vehicle.
Seeing no damage, he presses the ignition and smiles in satisfaction as the car purrs to life. He checks the screen and turns to the group.
"It's got a decent charge at eighty percent, and the fuel tank is full too. I'd say we'll have enough to make it out of New York."
The fire user says, already excited to drive the car. "From what we're seeing, the cars on the road have been mostly cleared out and pushes to the side by the corrupted." Henrick observes.
"Hopefully it'll stay that way for most of the journey, but I'm doubtful it will. I'll stay out of the car to push vehicles away if needed. Any volunteers? It'll be a good workout."
Father David immediately steps forward, a determined gleam in his eyes. To prove himself competent or to increase his strength? Maybe both.
Leo trots forward too, sniffing the air to signify what he'll do. "Good boy." Henrick says softly as he scratches behind the canine's ear. Placing Elly in the car, along with his backpack, Henrick then starts walking ahead.
"Let's roll out."
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END