The Manaverse

The Digsby Residence - Pool House

Granite City

Kyle hated waking up so early in the morning. Any time between three a.m. and noon was way too early. It was like waking up late in the afternoon for anybody else. Maybe it was time to correct the many year habit.

Diggy wouldn't be allowed to poke his head in until later. As such, Kyle considered what to do. He was going to wait until the sun rose to leave. He didn't want to have to rely on the animals and their keen senses to avoid becoming breakfast for something larger.

Kyle's only option was to find another secure location. When he couldn't come up with any, he clicked his tablet back on. He was thankful every time it came back to life. Pulling up the browser, he spoke allowed to Alex, his artificial intelligence assistant. He normally used the AI to find certain movies or to look up new games while he was playing and didn't have time to type out the words himself.

"Alex. Where would be a safe location to go in a disaster?"

The chime indicating Alex had an answer sounded and the genderless voice spoke.

"Based on current news and location, there are two locations that are labeled as possibly safe. The Granite City air raid bunkers and inside the Granite City National Bank."

Kyle paid the annual fee for the "smarter" A.I. He had never been more grateful for that fact than right then. He didn't like the idea of the bank. So, he decided he would attempt to make it to the air raid bunkers.

Kyle had completely forgotten they existed until Alex reminded him. They were built during the last world war and were only a tourist attraction. He guessed the people who oversaw the bunkers had put them into use.

Even if he got there and couldn't enter, at least he had a goal. It was much better than waiting to be eaten.

"Thank you, Alex. You might just have saved my life."

The AI didn't respond, nor did he expect them to.

Kyle waited around, tapping his feet, making a quick meal for everyone, and paced. As soon as he cleaned up everything, including his pets' waste, and it was light enough for him to feel comfortable, Kyle scratched out a note for Diggy on a pad and left.

He was not going to be responsible for his bro losing his safe location. If Mrs. Digsby found Kyle here before Diggy could head her off, Kyle knew Diggy would get kicked out. He also knew Diggy would feel awful. Kyle would rather hurt his friend's feelings than lead him to his death.

If Kyle had to guess, the reasons Mrs. Digsby didn't want Kyle in the bunker weren't all those things Diggy had relayed. He would wager it was because she wanted to ensure her family lived. Anyone outside the family would be a risk in the best case.

He didn't blame her for it either. What would Kyle do if he was back North, living near his family in East Falls? He didn't know. They had fallen out of contact a few years before over something very stupid. He regretted that more than ever now.

Kyle did slip a message to his brother, Ray. The man had his wife and kids to look after, so they spoke infrequently. He doubted his brother would see it, even if his devices hadn't fried. His parents didn't use social media and their cell numbers had changed. Hopefully, he could find a working phone and get those numbers from Ray.

Kyle and the pets all walked carefully, only being spotted a handful of times. They only had to fight to survive once. It was against another house pet monster.

The rabbit had grown to be size of cow and had jagged teeth. It clearly ate meat as they had stumbled upon it gorging itself on one of its own kind. It unceremoniously turned and jumped at them.

To Kyle's relief, the creature was slow from overeating. Slow didn't mean stupid though and it was still fast enough that they couldn't get away. It kept cutting them off. So, they chose to fight before they stumbled upon another monster in their flight.

It only took a few hits from his bat and both of the pets clawing and biting at the rabbit for it to die. Kyle tried to stop his pets from eating off of the corpse, but after a few pouts and angry growls from Gunther and Lily respectively, he backed off. Unlike the cat monster, they only had a few bites of the rabbit before signaling they were done by walking back to him. The group left quickly after that.

Before Kyle knew it, there were only five hours left on the timer. Based on his knowledge of the city, he had to be close to the bunkers. His tablet wasn't on the net out here and his phone was down, so he couldn't check. He knew he had to make it to Baker street and take a left. Baker was not far from the city center and they had just passed Main.

Around them were the skyscrapers of the city. Huge glass and metal business buildings mixed with flashy casinos and hotels, being the population hub of the city. It was eerie for it to be that empty. No monsters, no people. Only broken glass, lines of stalled cars, and blood could be seen.

Kyle should have known something was wrong when Gunther's ears went flat and his nub was tucked. It should have given him a clue when Lily refused to walk and needed to be carried. Her tail was puffed out and flicking nervously.

No. What tipped him off was the rumbling. It wasn't the constant shaking of earthquakes, either. He recognized it from blockbuster hits with dinosaurs and giant monsters.

"Impact tremors," Kyle whispered.

The three barely had time to duck and roll beneath a lifted pickup before a massive foot slammed into view from around the nearest corner. The skin was green and it had strange growths all over the three-toed foot.

Another foot joined it, causing everything to vibrate briefly. Kyle held his breath. Both of his animals pressed into him and were shaking violently. Neither made a sound.

A car to their left was lifted into the sky by a giant, green hand. The two knobby fingers and two thumbs looked like a grotesque claw machine claw from a Halloween store, scooping up its prize.

Long moments passed until the car made a ground-shattering reappearance, close to where it had been before. The frame and all the windows were smashed. Whatever being it was had thrown the car down and it left a small crater in its wake.

Then there was a roaring silence. Kyle's heart thundered in his ears and every breath he allowed himself was a gale, ready to sweep him away when their hiding spot was next. Instead, there was more earth-shaking as the feet disappeared further down the street they had come from.

Kyle waited for nearly a full minute after the tremors faded before he was able to coax the animals out after him. They scurried as fast as they could away from the massive feet until Kyle found a landmark he recognized. They only had a little longer to go before they made it to the bunker.

Kyle's first sign of people was when he decided to go into the downtown mall. The bunker was a few blocks on the other side and he saw a body in the glass door briefly before it disappeared. The bright t-shirt and jeans were unmistakable.

Kyle ran as sneakily as he could to the door and tried to open it. It was dead-bolted and the metal shutter was down on both windows. He didn't dare pound on it. Thankfully the doors were inside a small alcove so they were mostly hidden.

A dark skinned man stepped back into view and smiled at him, pointing to Kyle's right. He was shaking his head.

"You won't let me in?" Kyle mouthed. The man shrugged and began pointing to Kyle's right more frantically.

Confused, Kyle did as instructed and worked his way around the building to the right. He reconsidered going into the mall for the same reasons as the grocery store. Seeing the smashed out window that had a large wooden desk covering most of the gap made him reconsider harder.

His curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards the hole. The desk was far enough back that he could slip inside. Something felt off, so he stuck his bat out around the desk first.

There was the clink of metal on metal, a gunshot, and the bat was ripped from his hand. More gunshots followed and he hunkered against the desk, covering his head with his arms as he heard bullet after bullet hit around the desk.

A male voice was finally heard and the gunfire stopped.

"It's a civilian! A civilian! Stop firing!"

Kyle had his back to the desk and could see the parking lot. Three more dog monsters were running toward him. They must have been drawn by the sound.

Kyle instantly scooped up Lily and ran toward the guns around the corner.

"They aren't! They aren't!" Kyle yelled.

Kyle didn't even make it to the soldiers before they were firing again. He dived behind another set of desks that had people with rifles firing at the window. A few people in the row behind the front line scowled at Kyle but nobody said anything to him until the gunfire stopped.

"That was mighty reckless." The man from the window said and offered Kyle a hand up. "Where did you come from?" He shook Kyle's hand.

Kyle brushed himself off and made sure he had a tight hold on Lily and Gunther's leash.

"My apartment turned out to be insecure. I needed a new place and was heading towards the bunkers." Kyle explained.

The man shook his head. "Everyone on main street had the same idea. It's over-packed."

"Well, damn it. Can I stay here then?" Kyle asked, looking hopeful.

The man smiled and stuck his hand out again. "The name is Fredrick. And, yes. Please come in."

Kyle let out a sigh of relief and shook Fredrick's hand. "Thank you. This is my third stop."

"You were refused at other places and lived to make it here?" Fredrick asked in honest surprise.

Kyle forced a smile. It was hard. "Aye. I did. We were lucky. We had a scare on First street but we made it."

Fredrick slapped Kyles back, laughing. The other people around them looked awestruck.

"You came from First street? There's no way." A woman said.

"You're either lying or amazing." Another man said.

Everyone started speaking at once, the noise becoming a dull roar. When Fredrick put a fist up, everyone fell silent.

"Did you see it?"

Kyle shrugged. "I've seen a lot. Do you mean the giant green thing?"

Fredrick nodded. "We call him Jeffery on account of the fact that it was his name before the shift. He used to be a little monkey at the Roundup Circus that performed and did tricks. So you did come from First street." Fredrick said, crossing his arms, still nodding. "He likes it over there for some reason."

People gasped but didn't speak. It was apparent to Kyle that Fredrick was in charge and everyone knew it.

"Come. Let's get you a place to crash for a while." Fredrick said, gesturing deeper into the store. The exit into the mall proper was that way.

Kyle nodded and followed. As nobody said anything about his pets, he went with the assumption they were allowed. He'd leave before letting people turn them out.

They walked down the main corridor of the mall until they reached the food court. Along the way, he saw a lot of people huddled together and talking. The mix was eclectic as far as race, gender, and age. Around the food court were more people. Some were in the restaurants serving food while others were sitting at the tables or laying on sleeping bags.

"Not enough room for people to all crash out in the stores and such. Some felt better in a big group with some space, so they chose to be out here." Fredrick explained. "Find yourself a spot and grab some grub if your hungry. We're almost to the end of this task." He nodded to another man who left. "Let's chat after the countdown, okay?"

Kyle nodded and shook Fredrick's hand again and Fredrick also left.

Kyle wandered around until he found a fairly low-populated area by a few clothing boutiques and claimed an open bench. Lily hid under it and Gunther laid his head on Kyle's knee.

Looking around, Kyle was still bummed about having to leave Diggy's and he felt this place wasn't very secure. He was just glad to be around so many survivors. Knowing the bunker was packed was a mixed feeling. In the end, it meant many, many more people were alive.