#86

And yet, sure enough, You wakes up the next day. There's silence. Things have stopped falling from the sky, though the city doesn't look much better. A thin layer of ash has settled over everything, including Your skin. You wipes it off, and looks around. Susie, Mark, and Klaus have already risen, and have stepped outside the ditch; that must mean it's safe. They seem to be inspecting a low point in the road.

As You approaches them, Susie glances at You, and seems happy that You's awake. You is about to ask her what they're looking at, but You can see for Yourself. Sometime last night the road cracked open to form a crater, which became filled with fuel. The result looks relatively toxic, and Mark and Klaus aren't too happy to see it. You knows you'll all have to avoid these craters if there are others like them. Currently, You just wants to be able to make it to the airport to pick up some of those Fennec guns from the plane (if they're still around, that is) and then presumably take a highway of sorts out of the city. You'll go around if need be, to get on the western road to the Emperor's next hiding spot.

The plane was to the south, though, so You turns to Susie. “Susie, you said you're good at compass stuff. Where's south?”

She looks at you. “Well, I don't just have a built-in compass. That would be stupid. I was looking at coordinates last time and I just happen to know how to read those.”

“Oh yeah.” You gets kind of dumb around her sometimes. “We could see where the sun is.”

“That makes more sense.” She looks up and points. “That's east. We head that way then.”

You nods, and bites Your lip. Damn. Uh. You feels unhealthy in some meaningful way.

There is a street that leads south, and so You begins to lead everyone. Mark has remained silent all this time, but then he starts talking to Susie again. More book stuff. It's not like You can't relate, because You can read, obviously, but at the same time it's sort of their thing and so You doesn't want to interrupt.

You does, however, decide to try talking to Klaus.

“So, Klaus. Um.”

No response, except for a slight glance; and it's a condescending glance.

“What's your story? I'm sorry that I didn't ask earlier...”

He ignores You.

You ignores him, then.

Mark and Susie keep chatting and haven't noticed, which is a small grace.

A little bit later, You sees something up ahead; something familiar. It's the plane, but it's crashed in the street. It looks like someone, maybe a group of citizens, maybe some soldiers or Ultramarines, tried to take it out of here, but was maybe knocked out of the sky by the explosion. Probably soldiers that took it, then. Given the shape of the crash it's likely that anyone aboard is dead. You wants to inspect the cargo bay, where some of the guns were held, when You sees that one of the nearby buildings has collapsed over the plane's tail—burying the cargo bay in about five tons or so of crushed stone. Pretty unlikely You could get anything out of there.

“Dang!” You says.

“What?” It's Mark.

You forgets You didn't tell him about this plane. You tells him about the guns that were aboard, and how useful they'd likely be.

“That does sound rather useful, I have to admit,” he says with litotes. You doesn't like his tone, but You's starting to not like him, in general. “Well, maybe some of those guns fell out? I would like to use a gun.”

“So would I!” Susie says. You almost says that she gets the next weapon, no matter what, but that's not quite fair and You doesn't want to piss this guy off. Not yet, anyway.

As You's about to say something, Klaus breaks forward and kneels at the wreckage. There, trapped beneath a small piece of stone, is a single Tommy gun. In good condition, too. He takes it back to the group and silently hands it to Susie, which causes Mark to frown. You privately grins, and the reason behind such a thing is this: You is starting to realize that Klaus must be doing something superhuman to guide things along so smoothly. The way that he went for that gun was as if he had sensed it was there, rather than merely seen it. Or, it was as if he had caused that one gun to be there, conveniently. Just one. For Susie, and not for Mark. As if he, too, didn't trust or like Mark.

You does like Klaus. He's a neat guy.

Mark doesn't complain, however, which means he could be neat too. But You doesn't know what to think. In some ways, he's a stranger, and thus forms a good target to pour Your frustrations with this whole ruthlessly disturbing and tiring quest into. A proxy for Your father. But that's not fair, and You knows it isn't fair, but in some ways You doesn't give a shit. There's just something about him right away.

You doesn't really know what a hipster is, though. And he certainly doesn't know about Mark's hometown; such knowledge would just complicate things further.

It's while walking west, then, that You remembers to tell them about the incident from last night—which You does right away.

Mark seems unsettled. “So, these Crimson Guards are like...zombies?”

You nods. “It looks like it. I think the man was dead when he was...assimilated.”

Mark is unsettled, now. He doesn't know why. The Old Man (bastard) took away his fear of zombies. But his mind hasn't had a lot of peace since he was teleported to this city; and so maybe it came back. Or maybe the Old Man just practices really shitty magic. If it even is magic.

It's when they keep trying to stay on the western path that they see The House hovering overhead.