Her dreams that night were filled with the incomprehensible. She felt so full of knowledge but the moment she attempted to make sense of any of it, it drifted out of her grasp. The memories faded quickly when she woke but the feeling of frustration remained even as she arose to get the day started.

Coco greeted her after she had washed up using a cloth wet with alcohol,  the teens of the camp milled around, getting themselves ready as well. Erica walked up to the fire pit and reached her hand in to dig around the ashes. She opted not to use her ‘Magick Sense' this time but even so, it was only a few minutes before her fingers closed around a familiar-feeling crystal. She pulled it out to look at it and confirmed that it was indeed the same type of crystal as the one in her pocket.

She called out to Devon and gave it to him when he approached. “What’s this?” He asked as he inspected it.

“I think the zombies leave them behind when you burn them. Should come in handy for proving how many zombies you guys have taken out.” She told him.

“You got it from the pit?” Devon asked.

Erica nodded. “Listen we’re gonna head out but good luck.” She said heading over to her horse and climbing on, Coco was already ready to go. 

Devon looked as if he wanted to say something but Erica simply waved at him as they rode off, hoping none of them would get any funny ideas about trying to stop them. Derrick watched them ride away with a strange expression on his face.

They rode past him, Erica waved goodbye and continued on at a brisk pace. They rode for several hours, this time taking pains to avoid running into more groups of humans, not wanting to deal with the drama for the time being. Suddenly, Coco pulled up alongside her.

“Don’t look now but Derrick has been following us for a while now.” She said, her voice even more quiet than usual.

“What? Why” Erica asked,slightly alarmed.

“No idea.” Coco replied.

Erica whipped her cremello around and stared into the forest, Coco stopping and turned both the other horses quickly behind her. “I said don’t look now.” She said.

“I don’t think he wants to hurt us.” Erica whispered back. “We know you’re there, Derrick.” She called out.

Derrick appeared as if from nowhere, standing on top of the branch of a large oak tree almost  a quarter mile away. Erica and Coco sat atop their horses as he made his approach, seeming almost bashful.

“What do you want?” Erica asked.

Derrick seemed almost petulant now that he knew he was caught and crossed his arms defiantly in front of him. “Take me with you.” He said.

“Hard pass.” Coco said.

“Why?” Erica asked.

“Two girls are gonna be a target out there. I can help you.” He answered, only stumbling over his words slightly, though he looked resolutely at his own feet while he said it.

“How old are you?” Erica asked.

“Almost fifteen.” Derrick answered defensively.

“You think we need protection from a fourteen year old kid?” Coco said.

Derrick scowled at this and seemed to think a moment before leaping into the air. He jumped higher than Erica was sure was humanly impossible, about fifteen feet, straight up, then curled himself into a ball and hit multiplied backflips on the way back down. 

He landed into a series of incredibly fast backwards handsprings before performing a series of side-to-side leaping movements, demonstrating strength, dexterity, and reflexes, far beyond the level of an elite athlete.

“There’s a lot of other people like me.” He said. “I can help you.” He repeated, panting slightly.

“I concede that you could potentially be useful. I still don’t get why you want to help us though.” Coco said

“Men gotta protect women.” He muttered, looking at his feet once again.

“Seriously?” Erica asked.

“It’s dangerous out there!” Derrick protested. “If you get caught by the wrong niggas they’re probably doing some fucked up things to you.” He finished, once again looking at the floor.

“I don’t buy it.” Coco said after they had exchanged a look.

“Alright, look, you showed Devon that crystal thing, from the fire, and you taught us how to kill zombies. I feel like that’s some game changing shit, like, y’all are heroes basically, and that thing about the crystal was low key, like, valuable. I feel like you could’ve charged for that or like, wanted some kind of percentage, but you just gave that away out of like, the kindness of your heart or whatever. So, anyway I just feel like you need to have someone watch your back.” Derrick finished lamely.

Erica looked at Coco, uncertain of what to do. Coco eyed Derrick critically, then nodded. “Fine, I buy that.” She said. “Just remember, you asked to tag along, so you don’t get a vote about anything that happens or anything we do. Also, there’s only enough food for Erica so you’re gonna need to scavenge for yourself, and the third horse is carrying supplies, so you’re on foot.” Coco instructed.

“I’m going to pretend I don’t know that half your reason for wanting to come is actually just because you were bored, out of respect for your, otherwise, honesty.” She finished.

Derrick smiled at first while having the decency to look embarrassed at her addendum. “Alright, bet.” He said.

“Ok, I guess that settles it.” Erica said, slightly reeling from the sudden change in dynamic but not displeased with the idea of having some backup.

Derrick made for surprisingly good company, as far as Erica was concerned. He usually scouted so far out that he was out of sight most of the day and when he came back he typically kept to himself, though his body odor was strong enough that she decided they were going to have to find a supply of deodorant soon.

The boy seemed like a well of nearly infinite energy, he kept trying to goad them into racing, convinced that he was faster than the horses, and impatient to prove it. Her cremello nearly took off after him multiple times before Coco managed to calm her down.

All that aside, he was a very attentive scout, always updating them on anything of potential importance he had seen and never expressing anything but eagerness when Coco asked him to check something out. 

It was nearing sunset when they found what seemed like a promising supply depot, a town center of what seemed to be about a thousand people, most of them transformed. An impressive wall made of what appeared to be the repurposed walls of houses and buildings was apparently under construction, by the shape, Erica guessed it was the original inspiration for the wall Devon has been working on.

“It should go without saying, but make sure to keep your mouth shut about anything you’ve learned about zombies since meeting us, Derrick.” Coco whispered to him softly. “I want you to gather information if you can, but you need to be absolutely certain you don’t let anything slip, no matter how trustworthy the person might seem. This place looks like a new stronghold of power, and none of us have any way of knowing how the people in charge of this place will react to this new information. The worst case scenario is they decide to hoard the knowledge for themselves and get rid of anyone else who knows about it.” Coco warned gravely.

“I just want to make sure you’re crystal clear on the stakes here.” She said.

“Yeah, I’m clear.” Derrick answered.

There were dozens of orcs standing on the walls and standing around in the surrounding field. They were incredibly tall, the shortest one she saw was easily six feet. Their skin came in hues of brownish green, they had large jaws, thick muscles, and large, almost bulbous noses. Some of them had guns, most of them had some variation of a club.

All  of them wore some version of what looked like motorcycle riding gear that had been modified for melee combat. They stared at them as they passed, some of them making sexual gestures or cat-calling.

Zombies with their legs, arms, and heads amputated, struggled uselessly against the ropes tying them to the stakes in the ground and surrounding trees. They approached with caution, Derrick upfront, and Erica, armed with her pistol, following behind him.

A tall woman with wolf-like ears, wearing modern military camouflage, and a pistol on her hip approached them, with a clipboard tucked under her arm. She raised her arm, hand out, indicating for them to stop. 

“Where are you coming from?” She asked without preamble as she walked up to them, once they had stopped the horses. 

“I’m not sure how to answer the question.” Coco said.

The woman with wolf ears eyed Coco curiously. “Are you coming from a city or another stronghold?” She asked.

“Neither.” Erica said. “We’re coming from our vacation home. We were laying low to give things time to blow over.” She lied, layering what she hoped was just enough truth to avoid whatever heightened senses had allowed Derrick to spot her lie the day before. “What is this place?” She asked.

The wolf-eared woman, who she now recognized as some sort of guard, sniffed but did not directly accuse her of lying. “This place doesn’t really have a name but it’s a stronghold about twenty miles outside of Rutland. Friendly to those of us who got changed.” She said, indicating her ears. Of course you’re free to come inside as well.” She finished, speaking directly to Erica, who was suddenly acutely aware that she was the only non-transformed human within eyeshot.

“We’re looking for a supply depot, and a safe place to lodge ourselves and our horses for the night.” Coco said.

“You’re welcome inside, but you’ll need to commit to a daily chore if you want to spend the night.” The guard informed her.

“Who do I speak to about that then?” Coco asked.

“Just tell reception.” She said, taking a few moments to sniff at Erica before waving them through. “Go ahead.” She instructed

They rode through the gates of the stronghold into an area that must have been reception, it was staffed by elves.