Chapter 47: Neighborhood Watch
Charlie joined Camila in leading the way as Coop observed every detail of the city. She figured he was just surprised by how much things had changed. The metropolitan areas had no way of disguising the damage that the assimilation of mana had caused. Compared to natural landscapes, it was a lot more obvious when smooth pavement was suddenly cut off, or a modern building was falling apart like it was left derelict for decades.
Not every structure was deteriorated, like how not every tree had grown enormously, but most had been damaged in some way. They hadn’t passed any that actually collapsed though, but there were definitely a few that she would rather not enter if she had a choice. Really, she would prefer to avoid entering any strange buildings, but that was just her own constant apprehension.
They traveled down a main road that would lead to her old neighborhood while bypassing the city proper. It was strangely nostalgic for Charlie, since her grade school commute took her along the same route. The road was two-lanes with a wide median filled with old oak trees. The trees had almost uniformly grown large enough to provide a thick canopy that left a cool shade over both sides of pavement. It was almost picturesque except for the abandoned vehicles and toppled over signs at each intersection. Most of the main thoroughfare wasn’t that different from how it had been before mana.
She was excited about seeing her parents again, though she was a little nervous about what they would find. She really hoped her mom was back from her faction’s training by now. The Empire had told them it was extremely rare for Chosen to remain with their factions for so long, so she had high expectations for her mother’s faction and class. Her mother had been an especially gifted doctor and she hoped that a faction was helping her leverage her skills for the future. It was quite an investment to keep a Chosen for so long.
Hopefully, her faction was a friendly one.
Between the boat trip and the walk to her parents’ house, the entire journey had been startlingly quick. They would be arriving in the evening despite the outmoded transportation. Even before, when she rode the ferry and there were working cars, a trip back from Ghost Reef meant an entire day’s worth of travel before she made it home.
She had no idea a sailing ship could travel as fast as they had on the Eye of the Storm, and the crew had assured her that the rest of the ships in the Tempest Fleet were even faster. Back on land, instead of dealing with traffic, they were strolling through what used to be a very busy section of the city limits. This was one of those roads that had horrible commuter traffic thanks to a general lack of public transportation to the suburbs from downtown.
She glanced at Camila who was constantly vigilant despite her casual confidence. Charlie’s respect for her steady companion had only grown the more she learned about her. Admittedly, Camila’s appearance immediately demanded a superficial admiration, but she was also smart, perceptive, and driven. Charlie was still finding new ways to feel jealous of her friend.
Camila noticed Charlie’s attention and flashed a smile that had her involuntarily returning the expression.
“Almost there.” Camila observed out loud and Coop nodded absently as he scanned an abandoned fast food restaurant. The ‘Now Hiring’ sign seemed unlikely.
Coop had been a kind person even before mana came, but despite the apocalyptic scenario he had shown an even more easy going personality than Charlie had expected. Still, despite his casual demeanor and uncomplaining attitude, she knew he was determined and persistent. It wasn’t an accident he had risen so high on the leaderboards. He had figured out his own path without the guidance of a faction and was making it work to an extent that boggled her mind. Somehow Charlie had found herself surrounded by people she believed were exceptional. She could hardly compare herself to either of them.
They hadn’t seen any monsters, but she could tell Coop was itching to find some. Every few minutes he summoned one of his ghost weapons, cycling through a few different types. That finally changed when they approached Peacock Park, just a few blocks from her neighborhood. A pack of five monsters was patrolling along the outer sidewalk and more were visible inside the park.