Ascended

It didn’t take long for Val to show up.

Eveth and Ziggy were right behind her along with a dozen lumberjacks. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that Ziggy was carrying an ax.

The seven-year-old was holding it close to the head with both hands and it was obvious that he was struggling to carry it, but he was jealously guarding it whenever Eveth tried to take it from him.

“What do you have?” I didn’t need to phrase it like a question. There was no hiding the the huge took in his arms.

“Eveth said I could!” Ziggy curled his arms around the tool, making it harder to take away from him if someone tried.

“That’s Master Eveth.” I glared at the blonde as I guided the three of them away from the Humans. “That just proves why he can’t stay here.”

“You’re not the one who has to listen to him whining about how tired he is.” Eveth looked around the clearing. “Where’s your plus one?”

“Cooling off.” I looked over at the Humans as they set the saw against the first tree. “Look, we need to get out of their way.” I looked over at Val. “Master Val?”

“Ax.” Val held out her hand.

Ziggy looked over at Eveth who just shook her head. The boy looked like he was about to cry as he handed the tool over.

“When we come back, I bet they’ll let you chop some limbs off, but right now you have to come with us.” Val leaned the ax against the nearest tree. She nodded at it and I saw Hugh give her a thumbs up as he kept shouting orders at the men.

“There’s not any Zombies around for miles.” I looked at Val. “I don’t know what that means, but keep your eyes peeled for Touched.”

“Was it smart to bring him with us?” Eveth swallowed. “The last time we fought Touched…”

I knew what she was talking about even though it hadn’t really been the last time we fought Touched. It had been the time before that and she was the only one of the Wranglers that had returned.

“Who knows what would happen to him in there.” I shook my head. “If fighting starts, use your bubble thingy on him.”

I could tell by the look on their faces that none of them liked the arrangement.

“I need to get to my side and find Fyga.” I shifted my gaze over each of them. “Once we’re done here, then we can check out that island, then be on our way to Port Town.” I knelt down to look at Ziggy. “If you’re good, then we’ll get you an ax that you can actually use.”

The boy’s face lit up. “Really?!”

“I’m sure they have a place that makes them.” I patted his shoulder, then messed up his hair as I stood up. “If you see something, yell. Last thing I want is for us to get into a fight, but if it happens, we need to end if fast.” I eyed the women. “Don’t hold back.”

“We’re not the ones you need to worry about.” Val raised an eyebrow and nodded to the north. “Good luck with your child.”

I thought about pointing out that Fyga might actually be older than she was, but that wasn’t something I wanted to solidify. If Fyga knew she was the oldest as well as the longest ascended, then she might try to usurp command and that was a headache that I didn’t want to deal with.

“I’ll be fine.” I waved at them as I walked off. “See you at sundown!”

They waved back, then headed into the woods.

I made a broad arc around the lumberjacks. The first tree fell before I got clear of them. I was surprised how fast they were working. They would tire out and slow down eventually, but for now, they were making great time. I headed into the forest to look for my partner. They were trusting us to keep them safe so they could give it their all. I planned on giving their safety mine as well.