You must be this old to enter the Dungeon

73) Group march

In the morning, I did my new normal.

Let the coyotes out, and let an Acey in to start making coffee while I kept watch on the furry mootchers from my back porch.

Not that I needed to. They weren’t in any danger, Vito could see any threat long before I could, and he could send the Heap to deal with it.

But I had made a promise to Wylina. Just like people had done with dogs so long ago, She looked after me and I looked after them.

But if we were all still alive come winter, I would be looking after them through the window of the back door, not standing outside on the back porch right after getting out of a warm bed.

They got more dog food and water, I got my coffee, and a fry up of eggs, diced hot dogs, and the last two pieces of bread. Which meant having to be the one who ate the heel instead of tossing it to the coyotes to eat so I didn’t have to.

So much crust. I really needed to make another grocery run.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, I peeked outside the living room window and saw the big army truck waiting outside. Johanson was sitting at the wheel and chatting with, or at least at, another Acey while the first joined me at the table to help finish off the pot. She sat across the table from me sipping at a mug of plain black coffee with both hands and a gentle smile on her face.

I think she understood that I was heading into danger again today, but instead of fussing, she was just being with me.

But at least I knew someone was rooting for me.

I loaded up the last of what all I was taking with me from the house on my way out the door with a furry mob brushing past me as they headed outside.

Turning around I was ambushed by a hug on both sides as the green girls embraced me with soft, but strong, arms for a moment then stepped back to watch me leave from the front porch.

Johanson’s friend held the car door open for me to squeeze into the back seat after the mutts piled in. Blue was big enough now that she took up most of the seat even after I pointed for Chubby to join his mother in the back of the jeep like vehicle.

He grumbled and gave me a scornful look after seeing that his sister got to stretch out on the seat.

The girls waved, and I pulled the apple they had tucked into the front pocket of my hoodie out and bit into it.

Both of the men sitting up front were able to read the room, so we rode out in silence.

No talk, no radio, nothing but our own thoughts.

Both men were armed, and wearing some kind of armor. A set of heavy packs shared the space in the back with two coyotes.

It seemed me and the moochers weren’t going in alone today, at least not up until the entrance of the Dungeon.

After that, well you got to be this old to enter the Dungeon. The youngsters can wait their turn at it, since it’s not like anything my generation can do is going to stop all of this. They’ll get their chance.

The soldiers standing guard on the bridge to Bird Island had slightly different uniforms, although I couldn’t tell you how they were different to save my life.

They saluted the car as we drove over.

That didn’t feel right somehow, although again I couldn’t find the words to say why.

The bus from the Elysium was already here, with its team of five old people still emerging from inside of it. Moving far easier than people their age normally would, their eyes far sharper.

Surrounding them was everyone I recognized from Ebler’s people, and more.

Gathered around as they checked each other’s weapons, their packs, and all the other stuff they strap onto modern day soldiers.

They’re so young.

Even Ebler, and the other middle aged men. I got twenty years or more, harsh sad years, on them, even the oldest of them.

A lifetime over the rest.

Oh. This is why I didn’t like the salute.

They sought this out. They signed up for this whenever and however it came. I got sucked into something one morning because of circumstances I never could have even imagined.

Offer to shake my hand. Buy me a drink, or toast my memory. But a salute? That’s for soldiers, not me, I’m just surviving. Fighting for myself and my own, not a country. Not for honor. Not for service.

“Thanks for the ride.”

I got out of the car and headed over to the other geezers, my own which was the coyotes, and in a way, the two men following along behind me.

Ebler stood up on a metal folding chair and looked around at his men and women.

“We will be the strike team that gets the assets to the gateway. Once there, we will hold our ground and stand prepared in case they come back out with Devil Dogs coming out behind them. Anything gets in our way, it dies. Weapon hot.”

Then he hopped down and a sergeant helped him get his own gear on. The sheer bulk of it visibly weighting the man down. But I don’t think I would have wanted to get up and down like that with all of that on me either, even when I was his age.

I exchanged a few nods with the other geezers in reply to their greeting and stared blankly at Beryl as she gave me a nod.

What else do you want from me woman? I’m here.

The old zoo was pretty much trashed. The walkways over the exhibits were all rusted out and fallen. The place was overgrown in weeds, and all of that was from before the place had become a daily battleground.

The Dungeon had been sending out packs of Bale Hounds out every few hours, sometimes in big groups and sometimes in penny packets, one after the other, all hours day and night. Bullet holes and almost black colored splatters of blood were visible everywhere I looked.

The coyotes were nervous and so were the army guys. They moved around us, with some darting forward and hiding behind things while pointing their guns all around, before more raced forwards as we caught up with the first group.

All of them had their eyes constantly looking around, and they had me doing it too, looking at every shadow, jumping at each hit of motion at the edges of my vision.

Hiram cursed. “It’s Fear Essence... The damned Dungeon is pushing out Fear Essence! I call bullshit!”

Then the first hounds came out, from everywhere all at once. Howling.

I knew that feeling, from Hiram when he had caught me with his fear powers, but even with Fear getting sharper, even when the howls made my gut clench, it just wasn’t as bad as what the smiling man had been doing, and now that I knew it for what it was…

Running forward I stored my shotgun and grabbed the thirty pound or so hairless dog off of the top of the pack the little redheaded gal had on her. The damned thing had jumped down from one of the overhead walkways along with a few others who had missed the soldiers, but not the ground.

Even the ones who had hit the pavement with the sound of breaking bones had still forced their way along the ground at the army guys who backed away from them with their faces gone pale, their eyes wide.

Lifting the thing up with both hands of my hands dug into its chilly, greasy flesh, I half turned and yelled at Hiram who was looking around for something safe to shoot at with his shotgun.

“Pull!”

I don’t know what it is about seeing a half shredded dead dog monster flying through the air, almost slowly spinning around after the sound of a gunshot that could get people’s attention so well that it cleared the mind. It might be the blood splatter, or it might be the reminder that you too are armed and that shooting the nasty little things that are trying to bite you will put a stop to that.

After what felt like a very long half a minute, the last of the gunshots petered off leaving a circle of panting men and women, who slowly began to smile at each other. The ones on the edges of the crowd kept scanning their surroundings and calling out things like “Seccured.” and “ Clear” while the rest began to twitch and shake as they tried to calm down.

Ebler looked around, then switched out the bullet holder part of his gun to a new one. “Everyone take a breather while all my attention is on the perimeter.”

As a few soldiers looked at each other and set to gutting the dogs on the ground and pulling the roughly formed gray gems from their chests, I noticed none of the soldiers had those cameras on them.

I guess with this not being an official mission, they don’t have to record it.

Hirum slipped up next to me and leaned in to whisper loudly enough for anyone who cared to hear. “Harry. The money got deposited in your bank account late last afternoon, it’s… more than I expected.”

I grunted at him and tried to think about all that money.

But all I could get my mind to do was think about finishing our little hike to a dark hole in the ground and then try not to think about what was going to happen next.