Well, as soon as he could figure out how to get gatlopp marching. Until then, he’d have to deal with Kira. Her thugs would come by soon; they always did after he lit his fire. They’d probably be happy he killed something other than gator this time.
He glanced over at the boar and frowned. It had been bigger than any of the rest of them, but he still hadn’t gotten another xatherite. Jacobs, one of Kira’s stupider thugs, had told him that Pensacola had managed to pick up three now. He knew that the stuff he was fighting was harder than whatever Jacobs could kill. Even if he was mostly red, his attacks were weak, compared to the kind of damage Lee’s traps could dish out.
Another problem… All he had was traps, things that he could create with his lifetime of swamp hunting and the violet xatherite that allowed him to grow steel and shape it however he wanted. He sat musing over his options for almost an hour. His mouth was beginning to water from the aroma coming off the haunch of meat on the spit.
Banging came from the side of gatlopp, “Lee, open up. It’s Kira.”
Lee frowned. She came personally? She hadn’t done that since the first day he’d been found when they tried to get him to come back to Pensacola and grow protections for the town. He opened the outer door, “That’s your portion.” He shouted, and he could hear several of Kira’s people beginning to transport several hundred pounds of pig meat.
“Lee, come talk to me, or I’m going to tell your mama that you’re being rude.”
Lee frowned. While his Ma and Pa had survived, he felt no need to join them. With a grunt, he opened a door large enough for Kira to walk through. Jacobs was the first to appear through the doorway, and a spike of steel shot up, stopping him in his tracks before he impaled himself on it.
“I didn’t invite you, Jacobs. Go make yourself useful and pick up something heavy,” Lee said, with a wave of dismissal.
It took almost five seconds for Jacobs to realize that Lee wasn’t joking, and he could see the big man’s face turning red in anger. Lee prepared a few more spikes in case the stupid lout decided he wanted to try to start something again. They hadn’t gotten along since Lee had forced the bigger boy to pee his pants in fear back in elementary school. It honestly surprised Lee that Jacobs could even remember that long ago.
His spikes were unneeded though. Kira laid a hand on Jacobs’ shoulder and whispered into his ear too quietly for Lee to hear. The big man turned around and began helping the others carry the meat back.
Kira stepped through the portal and waited for Lee to remove the spike, which he did with a wave of his hand, and he then created a stool for her to sit on instead. She was a pretty woman with dark auburn hair, freckles, and a plump body that most men would have called curvy. “What can I do for the new gang lord of Pensacola?” Lee asked, grinning as saw Kira barely restrain her rolled eyes.
“I’m not a gang lord, Lee. Just trying to keep everyone safe.”
“Sure, sure. What can I do for you?”
“Look, I know you said you were only interested in helping us get food and otherwise had no intention of affiliating with the rest of humanity.” She paused looking around at the barren metal room he had created for himself. The lines were all wrong, slightly curved and bent, instead of straight, like something robotic trying to look organic. “But we really need your help. With your skills, we could easily keep everyone safe.”
They had been friends, once, back before…Lee’s eye twitched and he shook his head, “Not interested.”
“Lee, it isn’t safe out here on your own.” Switching tracks, “What if you get hurt and can’t make it back here? You’d be a sitting duck,” Kira said, but Lee refused to meet her eyes. He cut off a portion of the meat and blew on it for a second as he shifted it between his hands before biting into it.
“No. Not if he’s there,” Lee said, dismissing Kira by turning away from her and back to his fire. He heard her sigh and then stand up, walking to the hole he had created for her. They’d had this argument before, and he refused to go near that man.
“Thank you for the meat. I really wish you would reconsider.”
Lee said nothing; he knew she would go away soon. She was too busy saving the whole town to spend too much time on the outcast.
As she left, the metal folded back into a seamless wall. The thought occurred to him as he heard the last of the transporters leave: was he trying to keep them out, or something else in?
Appendix
Adam Jones — A member of the third group of survivors Drew rescues. Adam has a terrakinesis xatherite.
Admiral — A high rank in the Human Protectorate Navy.
Advent — The process of introducing mana into a dimensional slice.
Aevis — The AI Assigned to Earth-3.
Angela Swaze — Daryl’s wife.
Anthony Jacobs — A survivor in Florida, a subordinate of Kira’s.
Ares, Admiral — Cassius Felix-9, known by his Pantheon name of Ares is the leader of the Orion-Cygnus Ironfleet, which is assigned to protect the Sol system. A red mage and member of the Order of the Dragon. His flagship is the Olympus.
Assault Mage — Another term for a Red Mage.
Athena — A member of the Order of the Dragon.
Azura — An awakened species. Invading Azura are known as Pilgrims. Main enemies of the greater Orion-Cygnus branch of Humanity.
Bauk — An alliance of species. They are referred to as refugees.
Bill Mather, SKC — A member of the first group of survivors Drew rescues. Chief Bill has a heal spell called Daddy’s Embrace.
Brady Cooke, DC1 — One of the first group of survivors Drew rescues. Is given the penetrating shot xatherite.
Chakri — The chief of the Orcish clan residing in CGHQ.
Chuck — One of the first group of survivors Drew rescues. Can grow trees and control wood in various ways.
Clyde — A member of the first set of survivors, mostly green xatherite.
Conclave (of the Dragon) — The ruling body of the Order of the Dragon made up of the most respected Knights.
Da Danann — A group of awakened species, they are considered to be main contenders in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the galaxy. A member species of the Daoine.
Dak Kyle, PFC — One of the third group of survivors Drew rescues. From the great lakes. Dak has a xatherite that allows him to turn into stone.
Daoine — A group of awakened species, consisting of the Da Danann, Spyry Jyon, Piksies, and Elatrin among unspecified others.
Daryl Swaze — A survivor that finds Drew on JB Anacostia-Bolling. Indigo specialist the main group’s scout.
Daniel Barnes, PFC — One of the first group of survivors Drew rescues. Proficient with guns.
Deathweaver — A derogatory term for a Red Mage.
Dimensional slice — The process of splitting physical space into distinct dimensional slices that can still communicate with the Alpha timeline.
Donum duplici — Gift given to a squire when they are offered a squireship.
Drew Michalik-3, IT2 — A coast guardsman from Idaho, currently stationed at CG HQ in DC. A red mage and order of the dragon. Drew’s current Human Protectorate rank is Sub-Lieutenant.
Earth-1 — The first-dimensional slice of Earth. It split off from the alpha timeline 8 years ago.
Earth-2 — The second-dimensional slice of earth, it split off from the alpha timeline 4 years ago.
Earth-3 — The third-dimensional slice of Earth and the primary location of the Redmage story.