Ascended

We needed supplies.

There wasn’t much that we could or needed to take. We always had daggers on us, but now, as Potentials, we were allowed to have a sword as well. I guided us to the storage house next to the kitchen. My stomach groaned at being taunted by the smells of food once more, but I tried to ignore it. I hoped the hunger would speed us up.

Max was dragging his feet. I was beginning to wonder about how hard this mission would be if I just left him behind. I shook the thought out of my head. The Council had ordered us to go, so I’d have to take him.

The store room was open for anyone to come and go as they pleased. Apprentices quickly learned not to take advantage of the trust bestowed upon them. I shivered as I tried to forget about the time I had been caught picking up a sword without permission. It had been my first month as an apprentice and I had been supposed to get a suit of leather. The weapons were in the room next to the armor, and the shiny swords were too cool for a twelve-year-old boy to resist. The beating I had received had left me unable to get out of bed for a whole day. It wasn’t the last lesson I had received about adhering to the strict rules, but it had been an eye-opener to what was expected.

I moved through the storehouse with the ease of muscle memory. Years of stacking the bags of corn and beans in the food room, folding the leathers in the Armory, and polishing the swords in the weaponry had burned the floor layout in my brain. The Bokor’s adherence to detail while keeping things constant ensured that the layout never changed.

I grabbed two swords with shoulder holsters and tossed one to Max. He caught it and slung it over his head, then tightened the band around his chest. It was easier to move faster with the sword on our backs, considering that we had to travel all the way to the coast, mainly on foot, we’d need to be able to move quickly.

I considered our route in my head. I’d been to Port Town once during my time as an apprentice. It would take us at least ten days of walking to reach the coastal town. Probably more considering Max wasn’t acting like he was going to be moving very fast.

There were other options for traveling. Since we didn’t have a Bokor with us, we could get horses from one of the nearby towns, but those animals attracted zombies. Plus, even though we had papers, I had my doubts that it would be easy to get the rare beasts from their owners.

A railway system connected the larger towns, but it didn’t actually enter any of the town walls. Zombies had gotten onto a train during the early days of the outbreak. The conductor had stopped at a nearby town for help, but most of the passengers had already been turned. The town guard had been unable to stop the zombies from overrunning the town. By the time the local Bokor had been petitioned for help, there were no humans left to save. After that, the train stations had been walled off so that it wouldn’t happen again. Other towns refused to let trains stop, purely out of fear.

Some tracks went to Port Town, but it was a two-day hike to the closest train station, and I had no idea when the train would be running. I might ride the train back, but for now, the fastest route would be on foot.

I grabbed a length of rope and tossed one to Max. All that was left was to grab something to eat.

My stomach growled in agreement as we went next door. The cook was one of the newer apprentices. That was usually an indicator that the food wasn’t going to be very good, but I was too hungry to care. I grabbed a bowl and nodded for him to fill it up. I took my warm bowl of vegetable stew and sat down outside. With the fire inside the kitchen, it was too stuffy to stay in there any longer than was needed. Max sat down next to me.

The stew wasn’t bad. Most of the vegetables were undercooked, and it was a little salty, but it was warm food and my stomach stopped growling.

I set my empty bowl on the kitchen step and slapped Max on the knee, “Let’s go.”