Beneath the flameback wolf’s corpse, light bloomed. A magic circle traced itself into existence—geometric patterns interlocking in perfect symmetry, glowing lines burning white against the concrete of the alley entrance.

  It began spinning, slowly at first, then faster, the rotation building momentum as the light intensified. Lucas had to squint against the brightness. The circle pulsed once, twice, and then erupted in a brilliant white flash that left afterimages dancing across his vision.

  When it cleared, the wolf’s body was gone. In its place lay the loot: curved fangs still slick with saliva, claws like black daggers, and a section of hide with that distinctive red fur.

  There was no blueprint this time. That was annoying. Though he hadn’t even crafted the leg pieces and arm pieces yet, so it wasn’t like he was in desperate need for more. That was assuming he only needed to equip himself, though.

  When a blueprint was used, it was consumed entirely, meaning that if he wanted to make one for Isabelle, his mother, and the two children, he would need more prints going forward.

  “Oh, me?” David’s eyes went wide as he seemingly remembered what he’d been up to before the wolves decided it was best to drag him to the supermarket. At least that’s where Lucas assumed they were going.

  “I was just gathering some supplies in a clothing store,” the man continued.

  “Clothing?” Isabelle asked, raising a brow. The distrust in her eyes practically screamed that she wasn’t buying what the man was putting down.

  But that wasn’t what Lucas was picking up. This man wasn’t like Vincent. If anything, he seemed a little clumsy.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, winter will be coming at some point, and if I’ve learned anything, having an extra stock of clothes is important, especially in these times.”

  “So you chose clothes over food?” Isabelle shifted against the stone and pushed off the shop wall. “Why wouldn’t you go for food or something that can actually fill your belly? It’s only July after all. We have some time until winter.”

  The man shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “Then, little girl, you’ve clearly never slept rough. Streets can get cold at this time of year, and with the great British weather being the way it is, you’d be lucky if you didn’t get soaked on the odd occasion.”

  That confirmed it. The man was homeless. Lucas had suspected as much from the rough clothes and the faint smell he was getting. Though with the water being gone, smelling a bit ripe wasn’t exactly going to be a huge giveaway. Even so, this man had probably been on the street when everything kicked off. It was a miracle he was still alive. Surely, people without a house to lock themselves up in would have been the first dragged away by the Blightkin.

  “How did you make it?”

  David tilted his head, confusion crossing his features.

  Lucas scratched at his head. “Sorry, I figured since you live outside, you would have seen everything. How did you survive when the Blightkin came?”

  “You mean those mean beasties? Well, initially, it was dicey, to say the least. I was running just like everyone else. But luckily... Amble, another one of us old fools—” The man chuckled, scratching his cheek. “He stumbled into one of the recently abandoned factories. An old warehouse that had been owned by a defunct shipping company. We all shuttled in and blocked the doors with what we found inside, and luckily, the dogs didn’t get to us. Miracle, really.”

  Lucas nodded, though that didn’t exactly sound like anything miraculous. If anything, it was just dumb luck, unless there was something David was leaving out.

  “So what do you plan to do now?” Lucas scrutinised the man as he went to reply, wanting to see if he would actually be forthcoming with that information. While most hadn’t had the situation fully hit home yet, instead waiting for the authorities to arrive. He was out scavenging, which meant he’d at least accepted the situation.

  Apollo licked at Lucas’s hand and nudged his leg, causing Lucas to reach down and pat the dog, his metal fingers gliding through its fur.

  “Well, not really sure, to be honest. I’ll probably continue getting the clothes, hopefully get out of here before more of those beasties come by. Not looking forward to running into the worst of them, the boars are a pain to deal with. I saw one of them gut a man yesterday,” David said, shaking his head and scratching at his cheek, his blackened nails rubbing against his dried skin and flecks of skin drifting loose. “But after that, probably head home.”

  “Can I talk to you for a second?” Isabelle spoke up.

  Lucas turned to the girl, stepping over with some confusion. “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “You aren’t thinking of bringing him back, are you?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Lucas had to stop himself from smiling at the accusation. If he were honest, a little part of him had wanted to bring him back to their neighbourhood, if not just to have one more potential ally. Someone who owed him a debt, so when the time came that Vincent would undoubtedly try to claim the throne of their little neighbourhood. He’d have someone he could count on to have his back, hopefully—unless Vincent was a lot more charismatic than even a life debt would allow.

  “So you were,” Isabelle continued, taking his silence as an admission. “Well, don’t. I don’t want him anywhere near my sister.”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow. Was she saying that just because he was homeless? Even in normal times, people tended to look down on them, seeing them more as a problem than anything. Though in the current situation, they were all homeless in a way.

  “And more to the point, I don’t think you should just run around trusting everyone you come across.”

  “I trusted you, didn’t I?” Lucas said.

  Isabelle shifted, stepping back uncomfortably. “You did.”

  And there was the rub. He trusted her, and still did, yet she clearly did not feel the same. Her eyes still held the same distrustful gaze she’d had ever since those beams had shot into the sky. Now gone, their shadows still clearly lingered on her and affected how she saw the world. She didn’t trust anyone, and that approach probably wouldn’t disappear anytime soon.

  “Alright—”

  Before he could finish saying what he was going to say, David spoke up. “If you’re thinking of bringing me back with you, you don’t need to, kids. I actually do have somewhere to go. As I said, Amble found the warehouse, and we were actually holding up there quite fine. We even had some others of your type come around.”

  “Your type?” Lucas asked, crossing his arms. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Oh, I have nothing against robots. Calm down. I just mean people with power like yours.”

  Lucas bit his lip. Had this man seen talking robots before? It was odd that he hadn’t reacted when he’d harvested the wolves. David had seen this as if it were a completely normal thing to do after killing a creature. So, he too had dealt with people like Lucas, like Vincent. Were they controlling puppets as well? How strong were they? And had they made it to level one yet? Perhaps further?

  Lucas wanted to ask him about them and find out what these people were up to. But before he could, distant pops like gunfire sounded in the distance, followed by the howling of what was most likely more flameback wolves. He even caught the sound of crows on the wind, but whether they were fire crows or just the normal earth animals, he wasn’t sure.

  “By the way, do you have any idea of where they might have been taking you?” Isabelle asked, her gaze sweeping over the man.

  David shook his head at the question and glanced over his shoulder down the alleyway. “I’m not sure, to be honest, though in my time dipping through buildings, I have heard some things.”

  “Like what?” Lucas asked, noting that the man had said he was moving through the neighbourhood, clearly alone, by the fact that he didn’t seem concerned about the safety of anyone else at this moment. He was light on his feet, a benefit in these times, but clearly, because he’d almost been taken, not light enough.

  “Well, mostly just screams, and by the sound of them, people getting dragged away. I’ve heard them screaming for help, but I haven’t got powers like you guys, and I’m not putting myself between those wolves and their meal.” He gave them a weak smile, clearly aware of the cowardice within his voice.

  Though Lucas couldn’t blame him. He himself had abandoned those people in the house when the boar had been ramming down their garage door, not that he could have helped, especially back then. Perhaps now things might go differently, but he wasn’t too sure. Maybe he should go check on them?

  “But yeah, from the sounds of it, they’re all being taken somewhere. I actually thought they were just being dragged around back initially and just being killed, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening.” David scratched at his stubble, letting out a deep groan.

  “What do you think is happening?” Isabelle said, irritated that the man kept leaving these hanging questions in the air without finishing them, as if wanting to stimulate some kind of conversation, one that they were clearly already having. This was definitely someone who was not used to being talked to.

  “Well, from what I can tell, they seem to get dragged to the supermarket. Busters, you know it, right?”

  “Yeah.” Lucas nodded grimly. It was exactly what the siblings had told him. The wolves were taking people somewhere to do something to them. That didn’t mean they were killed immediately, so there was maybe some hope for Richard, but he was not liking the man’s odds.

  Isabelle gave him a look that said they were thinking the same thing. This supermarket was either going to be a boon, if they could defeat the creatures, or a problem, depending on what the wolves were doing there.

  As the silence settled between the group, punctuated by Apollo’s low whines, David rolled his shoulders and sighed. “Well, if you’ll excuse me—” He stepped past them, moving back onto the main street. He came back a few seconds later with a bundle of clothes in his hand. “It was nice talking to you, kids. Stay safe out there,” he chuckled. “Probably be a lot safer than I will be.”

  “You stay safe too, old man.” Lucas tapped the man on the shoulder as he passed, watching as he lowered himself to the ground with thick bundles, trying to take on a more stealthy approach as he slipped down the side of the alleyway.

  “Should we get going?” He turned to Isabelle, whose gaze still lingered on where the man had disappeared to. She seemed to snap out of her focus a moment later and nodded.

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  Apollo let out a low whine at their agreement, raising a paw. His injury would be a problem for him, and so Lucas dropped to a metal knee and scooped him up. The dog’s weight was barely manageable in this form, as the spike puppet was weaker than Lucas’s actual body, especially after his level-up.

  They trudged back across the street, Lucas’s metal feet ringing against the ground with each step. He crouched beside the first flameback corpse, raising his hand. The magic circle traced itself beneath the wolf—geometric lines burning white, spinning faster, faster, until the flash came and materials scattered across the ground. Fangs. Claws. Hide. He gathered them quickly and moved on to the next. Same process. The light felt harsh against his eyes, but he’d gotten used to it. Third wolf. More materials. The pile in Isabelle’s bag grew heavier.

  On the fourth wolf, something different materialised alongside the usual drops—a rolled piece of parchment, edges crisp and glowing faintly blue. A print. He picked it up, the paper warm against his metal fingers. Flameback Wolf Helm. This next one would be for Isabelle. The fifth wolf yielded another helm. Two blueprints total. Not bad.