ROAD TRIP!!!

As Chris awoke to a shoving on his butt, he opened his eyes.

"HUH?! What's going on, who is there?"

Then he realized it was probably one of the kids again. He placed his head in his shoddy pillow and began to compose himself for a day of travel…whatever that would mean.

He rolled over on the bed and looked at the bustling in the room. Decorations and anything portable were being rolled up and tied together for the trip.

He sat up and ran his fingers through his long hair and felt his stubble on his face.

[Dwarfs are so hairy; I am going to have to get a straight razor.] He thought with dread. He remembered a certain movie that ruined barbers for him, just the thought of exposing his neck to a blade gave him chills down his spine.

Chris jumped up off of the "cot" and walked out the door. He was looking for Sarah, but she wasn't in the home. Then he saw a bunch of kids walking in lines, just like an ant colony.

He giggled at the sight of little ones following the leader and walked past them.

"Hey! Need any help?" Asked Chris as he saw she was struggling with a large object.

"No! Just stay back where the kids are, this is dangerous, and you don't want to get hurt." Shouted Sarah from behind the large piece of wood.

Chris was confused at her tone of speaking.

[Ah, she must be in mom mode.]

Then he said, "Oh, alright, just let me know if you need help carrying anything heavy!" and then he walked back to get stuff from the house. He was just trying to help in any way, and it was the least he could do.

As he started to carry bundles of tied cargo back to the large piece of wood that was being assembled, he noticed what it was.

"WAIT! IS THAT A CARRAIGE? Are you building a carriage for this trip?" Asked Chris as his mind was blown.

She looked from underneath and said, "What? No, I am not building it, I am just putting it back together." And then she went back to work.

She was thinking, [I need to get on the road by mid-day, it is a few hours but if we run into bandits then we might have to camp outside.]

She kept making plans and was getting the schedule worked out in her mind. She had taken many trips to town with Rufus and the kids before, but now she only goes when it is safe.

Bandit attacks are relatively common and happen more than 6 times a year for a standard village, but Bandits have been getting driven away by standing armies and the merchants that provided them with food have become less vulnerable. When people get desperate and hungry, bad things happen.

After putting the carriage together, she took it out for a little bit of a test ride and the "cutting edge" technology was holding up (from over 20 years ago…) to her standards.

After seeing the carriage disappear, Chris was worried he got left, but he saw Sarah coming back rather soon.

[What in the unholy fuck is going on here?] Thought Chris as he looked at her "carriage" that was basically a rotted-out wagon.

He waved her down and said, "Sarah! You can't ride this thing for any distance. It will probably break in like 5 minutes or something."

She looked at him confusedly and said, "Are you an expert on carriages?"

"No, but this thing is suffering from dry-rot and it is warped in places, see!" Said Chris as he rubbed the plank of wood that was turning outward and holding shape.

She waved him off, "It is fine, these were made to last for many years, I am sure it will last us this trip."

Chris facepalmed and watched as all of the kids piled onto the upper deck. Behind was a smaller wagon that was pulled along with the passenger wagon, and it contained all of the items and belongings that were going to be taken to town for the foreseeable future.

Chris was hesitant to get on, but he was pulled up by Sarah as she held the reigns to get the large Ox moving.

The kids looked back at their old home while Sarah kept a lookout, and Chris sat with his legs crossed as he was trying not to move and break the carriage.

The happy family (+1) were now moving along and Sarah was asking the kids about their responsibilities.

[Damn, apparently, I barely made it in time…nice coincidence.] Thought Chris as he looked upward to the sky.

[Was this all a part of his plan? Maybe the stabbing wasn't, but an escaped slave stumbles his way here and I "possess" his body. Chad would definitely say this is a conspiracy.

Damn.

I miss that fucker.]

Chris could feel that his heart had changed ever since the awakening, something was off.

He felt very conflicted about it, before, but now? It was neutral to him, just like most things appeared to be.

He loved Chad but it was something other than the betrayal that made him, what is the word for it?

Apathetic.

Chris felt apathy. Even the stab wound didn't REALLY bother him very much, it was like everything was returned to zero, but he did like Sarah and he could feel that apathy slowly melting away, just like an iceberg was slowly melting when it came into contact with warmer ocean water.

Chris thought about the kids. There he felt something strong and deep within him calling out. He needed to protect them if he could.

[What a weird feeling. Is that how parents feel?]

Chris thought back to the awakening and remembered all of the text on his vision. He would have to get that sorted out because he would be a healer, but he would deal damage instead of healing to friendly targets. But the other important thing was the Wildcard "trait" or whatever. The feeling started when that last stage of blue did…

[It had to have been that, I was thinking about Chad and it shifted at that very moment. What does it mean?]

The group was moving along and were over halfway when Sarah slowed the carriage down as a group could be seen approaching.