A Creature of War, Book 4, CH04 (Patreon)

They did find a printed map, a century old, by the date printed on it. They couldn’t count on it for accurate local details, but now they knew how to go to reach the US. The map ended at the US border, but they all knew their country well enough that once there they’d be able to make their way back to the Freak Lab in Vermont.

As they got closer to Panama, the number of Anthros in the groups that attacked them increased, and while some were Support Class, there were no other Specialists.

Panama was a problem because it had been decimated. Every city they came across was destroyed, razed to the ground. The dead were everywhere, most old, burned and decomposed. There was nowhere for them to get food, even the land had been burned to the the dirt.

There were no animals for them to hunt, and when they finally ran out of food, they had to resort to eating the bodies they came across. They didn’t want to sacrifice their cart pulling oxen. Vee spent most of his time curing them of the food poisoning they got that way.

Then, they reached the canal, and where the bridge should have stood, was a broken wreckage. They had no way to cross.

Someone mentioned there was another bridge, but without any certainty it would be intact, Vee decided they would cross here.

They had to leave the cart as it wouldn’t float, and they lost their oxen to the water. They made it across alive, Although El almost didn’t. He was pulled under by the current. And it was only because of desperation and panic he put all his mind into getting the water to throw him up. All that happened was that he was pushed to the surface and Vee was able to grab him.

As soon as he had a foot on solid ground he ran out of the river. His shivering was only partially caused by the cold water. He’d almost drowned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been terrified while immersed in water.

And then it hit him, he’d gotten some control over the water. He looked at his wet clothing and pushed the water out of it. Nothing happened, so he concentrated harder, and harder until the water fell off, leaving him dry, and exhausted.

It shouldn’t have been this hard. Water had been the first element he’d gained control of and stopping a river like this one would have been easy before. Staying dry was something he’d done without even thinking about it.

“El?”

The lynx looked up at the bull, a broad smile on his face. “I controlled the water Vee. It’s coming back.” He jumped to his feet and hugged the bull. “It’s coming back.”

“I never doubted it would,” Vee whispered, holding him tightly. “Think you can dry me up?”

El laughed and shook his head. “I don’t have the strength. Doing this was like… I don’t know, it’s like I was trying to move the ocean.”

“You ever do that?”

“No, but I figure moving that much water would be hard.”

“Okay, well, I can handle being wet in this weather.” Vee kissed the lynx on the forehead. “It’s good to have you back, El. You had me worried there for a bit.”

“I’m sorry. Controlling the element, it’s so much a part of my—”

“El, I know. You don’t need to explain it. I know. I’m just glad you’re feeling more like yourself.”

El nodded, and Vee gave the order for everyone to move out since they needed to find supplies as quickly as possible.

The map was gone, but so long as they kept to highway one, they’d cross the country and eventually reach the US. It took them a day to reach the next inhabited town, and by then they were all famished. The river had forced the runners to burn through all their reserves and Vee had kept them alive through pure will, burning himself up in the process.

They were ready to fight, to take what they so desperately needed, but there were no pitchforks waiting for them, no screams, or swords. The first person to see them was a woman, tending to a field. She yelled, but not at them, soon people were coming, carrying food.

They didn’t ask questions. They just gave them the food. Told them they were welcome to anything they could eat. That they could stay as long as they needed, or wanted.

Even once he was in conversation, explaining some of the traveling they’d had to do, El didn’t immediately realize they were speaking a language he understood. Spanish. He and Vee had learned it over a century before when they’d fought against the Mexicans.

They learned that a faction of the Panamanian Army was responsible for the scorched earth on the other side of the canal. Why all the bridges had been destroyed, to keep them from doing the same on this side. It had been easy to ensure the current washed them away when they tried to swim across.

El didn’t ask, nor did Vee, but they exchanged a look. For it to have been easy, a Specialist had been involved. El wasn’t the only Specialist with control over water. Bourbon, the Screech Owl in Unit Three had controlled water too. 

El had been more powerful, on the level of the sheer amount of water he’d been able to manipulate. Lake full of it, compared to ten liters Bourbon strained to lift, but when it came to what they could each do with that water, Bourbon had El beat.

The scientist had called what the Owl could do ‘hydrokinesis,’ because she could manipulate water in ways that defied physics. Bourbon had been able to get water to float in the air without any support. She could have droplets fly around her, turn them into needles hard enough to pierce body armor. El had seen her cut down soldiers with ribbons of water.

Another way her ability differed from his was that water didn’t feel connected to her when she manipulated it. It was external, like a knife, while to El, water was part of him, an extension of who he was.

He didn’t ask about the Specialist who had drowned the soldiers. He didn’t ask if any of the few Anthros he saw among the humans was him, or her. He’d protected them, so he wasn’t going to ask them to reveal him.

What he did notice was how the humans and Anthros worked together, like equals.

He didn’t know if this was something that had happened after technology stopped working, or it had always been like this. Panama was one of the few countries he’d never had a reason to be in. They hadn’t gone to war with anyone and hadn’t had anything the US wanted. 

And he didn’t ask. They were welcoming them in without questioning them, he’d return the favor. They stayed there a few days, to regain their strength and were treated as one of the community their entire stay. Vee treated the sick and injured. El practiced his water control by cleaning dirty water. A bowl’s worth left him exhausted, but gratitude on the people’s face make him push himself.

The runners carried items from one side of the community to the other. One went to the next town over on an errand for the people here and returned with news he’d been treated the same. Welcomed, fed, and given packages to return. And that there had been some Anthros there too, working as part of the community.

When they left, they were given a wooden card with food and blankets and clothing, and a mule to pull it. Vee tried to refuse, but the elders in charge had insisted.

The trip through the rest of Panama was much the same. The citizens had come together, instead of fighting each other for what was available. Large farms were established and everyone worked them.

In one of the larger community they’d been amazed to discover an Anthro as part of the group leading the town, and that she was accorded the same respect the human leaders were.

El had trouble understanding how it could be. He’d been made to take orders from humans. He could give them, when he led a unit, but there had always humans in a higher position than him.

There had been a few countries led by Anthros, but it had always happened through violence, and afterward humans were treated as sub-servant. The Chinese had learned that the hard way when their Super Anthro program turned around and took over the country. It had been one of the few of times the US had worked with other countries to stop someone.

One morning, as they were approaching the Panama and Costa Rica border, they woke to find two of theirs had left in the night, leaving a message behind, written in charcoal. They were staying in Panama. They didn’t want to have to fight anymore. They wished them well and asked to be left alone.

Vee had grumbled about deserters. He’d warned the other that if he caught anyone else thinking of leaving, he wouldn’t bother with a court-martial, he’d execute them on the spot.

El supported Vee’s decision, but he also understood why they’d left. They had nothing tying them to the US, other than duty. Once they were back, all this would be settled and it would be wars again. If he didn’t have Vee, would he want to go back to that? He wasn’t sure.

Crossing into Costa Rica brought having to raid for their food back, same with Nicaragua and Honduras.

El did his best not to think about the people they hurt this way. At least the no longer needed as much food since it was only the five of them. What they took lasted them longer, so they didn’t need to raid as often.

By the time they reach Mexico, they’d acquired a new, larger cart, and a horse to pull it. They could put enough food on it to last them months, instead of weeks.

And El had managed to move fire for the first time.

It was the first border that was manned although the humans didn’t look like any government representative. Thugs, and ruffians were what they looked like, which meant little, since the five of them also look like that. Being on the road without access to amenities like washing machines, didn’t lend itself to looking presentable.

Vee almost went to war when the toll to enter the counter was most of their food. El reasoned with him. They couldn’t fight them all, not when there was twenty times more of the Mexicans than them. They could get more food later, the important thing was that they were almost home. Once they were through Mexico, they’d be in the US.

So once in Mexico, they hunted and stole food. Most towns had walls up and guards now, making acquiring food harder, but they were human with little fighting experience, so none of them starved. The few people with combat experience they encountered had been part of the Mexican army. 

El noticed that unlike with humans, Vee tried to reason with the Anthros. And if fighting couldn’t be avoided, he made sure to leave them alive. One Mexican Anthro, a thin coyote who spoke a little English, asked to join them, wanting to escape the slave status they were relegated to.

Vee welcomed him, only to curse him two days later when he vanished with half the food they had left.

Then winter hit.

The nights were cold enough at times the fire couldn’t keep El from shivering. They didn’t lose anyone, thanks to the food and clothing they stole.

When even the days were too cold, they took over a village and finally had a warm night of sleep. To justify their presence, Vee and the five of them kill the bandits that had been preying on the village, and brought back anything they could find.

Vee tried to be fair. El could see that. He made sure everyone had food and a fire for warmth, but any someone opposed him, they fell sick. The included one of their runners, DHC, when he argues with Vee about being the ones in charge. They were just soldiers, not rulers. DHC got better a few days later, unlike some of the humans, but the lesson had been learned. No one opposed Vee after that.

When the weather warmed, they set out again, leaving the village to fend bit itself.