23 Journey to Oswald County

Four days past since the deaths of Autumn's friends. The group walked down the country road towards Oswald County in search of a permanent residence. The leaves on the trees turned red as Fall creeps in with its cold weather. Ian smelled a hint of earthiness in the air as he walks forward, and a cool breeze lightly fluttered his brown hair. The leaves danced and swirled around the group with grace like a ballet. When the wind calmed, the leaves slowly landed and piled on each other.

The leaves crunched as Ian and the group tread over them with light steps. The road was dark and damp from earlier's rainfall. Soon, the whole road will be ablaze with a sea of fiery red and gold. Acorns and Conifer Cones scattered across the ground, waiting to grow into beautiful trees. A stone wall, alongside the road, stretched for miles that separated the hill below. The lingering sun shined its rays through the trees and dimly lit the ground they walked on.

Ian grabbed a stick off the ground and waved it to Bounye. The stick immediately caught his attention, and Bounye vigorously wagged his tail in anticipation. With a smile, he threw the stick far out, and Bounye disappeared from his spot before arriving back instantly with it in his mouth. Beside Ian was Lily playing with her fire ability.

"Look, Ian!" Lily tugged on his shirt repeatedly.

Ian looked at her, and Lily wrote her name in cursive with cyan flames as her ink. She looked at him with a beautiful smile on her face. Mrs.Willard and Autumn chatted with each other in cheerful moods. Autumn held Sir Piggy in her arms and gently pet his head as he comfortably slept. During the past three days, Mrs.Willard taught Autumn recipes on various delicious food. Autumn's depressive mood slowly changed over the past days talking to her since her friends died.

"I like to add more sugar than usual when making apple cider." Mrs.Willard smiled and said.

Autumn nodded her head. "It tastes like heaven with whipped cream and cinnamon sticks!"

Marvin continued to pass his 'teachings' onto Mac with eagerness. Mac kept nodding his head while absorbing the information given. His eyes shined with fervor as he carefully listened to Marvin's words as if they were Gospel.

"Remember Mac, the one who assassinated President Prescott was a reptilian." Marvin pointed his fingers up in a dignified way. "The reptilians realized that Prescott couldn't be controlled and killed him through despicable means."

"Where do the bad reptilians hide?" Mac asked.

"Through the portals!" Marvin placed his hands on his hips. "The reptilians finally enacted their master plan to take over the world by sending in interdimensional creatures."

Mac gasped in shock while Ray and Conner looked on with disbelief before slapping their foreheads. He looked up again and noticed a blue sign in the distance. It read, "Oswald County 30 miles ahead."

"Only thirty miles to go, guys!" Ray yelled with excitement.

"It's so far away..." Conner said and drooped his shoulders.

Ray looked at him and sneered. "This is nothing. Back in Sybal, my squad and I had to walk over 100 miles to Sulmac with heavy gear."

(Note: 30 mi = 48 km; 100 mi = 161 km)

The group walked for an hour before spotting an old couple alongside the road. They stood on a dirt path, watering the flowers with glee. The dirt path led to a small, wooden house nearby. The couple had plain clothing and straw hats. The old couple noticed the group walking and waved at them. The group waved back in response as they walk towards them.

"Where are ya goin', friends?" The old man wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "And why ain't ya got a car?"

"Heading towards Oswald County," Ray replied. "And we also lost our car during the monster invasion."

They looked at each other before laughing hysterically. The old couple thought what Ray had said was lunacy; perhaps that of folklore and legends where monsters only exist.

"Monster invasion? Yer quite the joker, ain'tcha?" The old man said.

"You haven't heard anything about it? What about on TV?" Ian asked.

The old woman turned towards Ian and said, "Young fella, we been livin' off the grid for some time now; we ain't have a TV in quite a while."

A rainbow of flowers clustered together along the dirt path that couple had planted. She tilted the water bucket and poured water onto her flowers.

"You should leave," Lily spoke out. "It won't be safe here for long."

"No!" The old man shook his head. "Even if watcha said is true, me and my lovely wife ain't leavin' the paradise that we built!"

"But-" Lily tried persuading them before Marvin interrupted her.

"Let's just go!" Marvin pushed Lily forward. "It's a waste of time to persuade these old people."

"Right, let's just get to Oswald County," Ray said.

The group walked off and left the old couple behind. Perhaps, it's better to let them spend their last days in ignorance and happiness. Ian could only sigh, hoping nothing bad happens to them. A day passed after they met the old couple, and two men walked along the same road as Ian. Behind them was a black lion with menacing, blue eyes. It had an aloof aura as if it was the king of beasts, looking down at everyone beneath it. Shockingly, one of the men had the face of a lion. Black fur partially covered his face, and his thick, black mane reached down to his shoulders. The man had a wide, muscular chest and had a height of two average men. Just like his face, black fur partially covered his body.

Next to him was a man with greying hair. He had a thick beard and brown eyes. The man had slick back hair that enhanced his intimidating appearance. He wore a brown vest with a white shirt underneath that rolled up to his elbows. Dark blue jeans and leather shoes complemented his top attire, and the man appeared dignified. The man glanced at a blue sign.

"It seems we're quite far from Oswald County." The man spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.

"I'm itching for a fight," The lion man clenched his fists and chuckled. The black lion behind him growled in anticipation.

"Perhaps we'll meet others with abilities like us."

The men continued to walk until they spotted the same old couple. They never noticed them until the man in the vest tapped the old man's shoulders.

The old man turned around and yelled, "What'd ya want! Can't ya see I'm busy!"

The man simply smiled and asked, "Sorry for bothering but do you have any spare food?"

The old man stuttered in response when he saw the large man, and his black lion. He walked backward before falling down. His wife ran to him with fear in her eyes. Their teeth chattered, and their body shook in fear. A claw sliced their necks and blood gushed out, staining the flowers nearby. A look of shock was shown on their faces before the couple collapse to the ground. A pool of blood leaked beneath their corpse.

"Stupid bitches." The lion man wiped his claws and said in mockery.

The man turned to him and asked, "Can you control that bloodlust of yours, Baxter?"

"Hmph." Baxter roughly exhaled.

The man shook his head before walking towards the wooden house before Baxter followed behind him.