Chapter Ten

Carson's body convulsed, he took in a huge lungful of air, he started coughing out the lung full of air, as dust entered his lungs with it.

He opened his eyes, surveying his surroundings through dry crusty eyes.

I'm still alive? Wait, no, this could very well be hell, he thought, as he took in his surroundings.

He picked himself off the ground, feeling aches and pains in every joint and muscle in his body.

He noticed his leg wasn't broken anymore when he put weight on it, he glanced at his watch, hoping not too much time had elapsed while he was out, he frowned when he realized he had lost 2 and a half hours, time that he would need to buy back if he was to ever catch back up with the girl he wanted to bring back home with him.

Carson pinched his arm. Alright, I still feel pain, so that rules out this being a dream...but doesn't rule out the possibility this is hell though... "but that does," he said aloud as he took in the massive crater in the distance.

When he noticed there wasn't even a single worm corpse to be seen, a grin formed on his lips, all of them being obliterated by the blast.

Carson took out his canteen he kept hooked to his pants, he uncorked it, then took a swig of the water, he rinsed his mouth out with the water before spitting it out, clearing up the dirt that got built up in his mouth, he then went and drained every last drop of water down his throat.

Carson looked at his compass and started dashing forward in the direction Sarah went.

Carson felt relief wash over him when he spotted a city in the distance, but that was nothing compared to the relief he felt when he saw what he could only define as someone's failed attempt at landing, followed by a pair of bare footprints heading into the city.

I found her, finally," he couldn't believe he lucked out on finding her trail so soon.

There was no doubt in his mind that these footprints belonged to the girl, he had tailed her for two straight days, and several miles with nothing better to do than to watch her footprints form in the dirt, so he could recognize the shape of her foot almost instantly.

Carson couldn't believe his bad luck when he got a good look at the giant tree in the center of the town.

"You just had to be a living tree, didn't you." Life Trees weren't called life trees for their bountiful of life they give off.

No, it was named such for they absorbed the life out of everything they touched.

This whole city and every living thing inside the city were more than likely sucked dry of all their life energy, becoming lifeless husks that nourished the tree's growth.

And from the size of this thing, I'd say it's responsible for the deaths of everyone who lived in this city. He made a note and general location of the tree to report it back to HQ, who will then likely send a detachment of heroes to destroy the tree.

One did not leave a Life Tree to do what it likes, for they did not only kill unlucky passerby's that did not know what the Life Tree could do, but it also drained the land around it for several dozen miles.

Carson walked through the city, taking in every detail as he went.

"Did a war zone make its way through the city?" He wondered as he passed by several buildings destroyed as if a tank rammed into the buildings, toppling them over.

He noticed a water tower in the distance and headed in that direction, hoping there was some water in there to wash the grime off himself.

The water tower wasn't one of the bigger ones Carson had found on his journeys. Still, it wasn't small either. It looked like a silo that sat off the ground supported by 4 metal support pillars.

Carson turned the valve and was surprised to see water coming out of the pipe just above his head.

He took in mouthfuls of the water before filling his water flask. He then dunked his head under the fountain of water, letting it flow down his entire body.

He froze when he thought he heard a splashing noise inside the water tank; he listened intently and thought he could hear something moving around inside the water tower.

Could there be a monster living inside the water tank? It was possible after the Nova Wave hit, things like monsters living in a water towers tank weren't that far-fetched. He once saw a human-shaped figure that lived in a lake that would lure people into the depths of the water, only to drown them, right before sucking the flesh right off their bones.

That memory sent a shudder down his spine; let's just hope it's not one of them this time.

Carson peered down the hole that was ripped right off the water tank; he could make out movements just beneath the surface of the water and materialized his sword.

"Alright, let's see what kind of beast you are, shall we," Carson said, facing the water's surface intently, ready to strike at any moment.

Here it comes, he thought, as something was about to break the surface of the water.

His jaw dropped when a beautiful red headed girl broke the surface up to her waist, displaying a very shapely bust with soft pink...it's her, I found her.

Carson's body disappeared before the girl had time to notice him.

Carson turned around and sat down on the edge of the water tank, waiting for the girl to get done bathing.

Carson found this girl's antics quite amusing as he watched her trying to light a fire with two sticks and then search building after building for a way to start a fire.

Carson, of course, had a striker he kept with him at all times. He was tempted to just lay it down somewhere in a house for her to find, but watching her struggle to find a way to light a fire, for some reason, made him feel better.

Maybe he was still bitter on the whole, almost dying a bit on her behalf.

A loud crashing noise brought him out of his daze; he rushed to the room Sarah had just entered and sighed in relief when he noticed she was fine.

When he realized what happened, he smirked. The girl was having a temper tantrum. How adorable, he thought amused.

His smirk faded away quickly, though, when he watched her lift a boulder twice her size over her head like it was a paperweight.

Ok, note to self, don't make girl angry.

Carson followed her back, all the way to the campfire.

He could not believe such a tiny girl like her was carrying a boulder that easily weighed 2-3 tons around like it was nothing.

It wasn't exactly the first time he's seen a girl carry an unimaginable amount of weight before. It just surprised him every time he's seen it.

But it more than likely had to do with the fact that he was born before the great calamity. The newer generation wouldn't even bat an eye at this kind of spectacle.

Humanity sure has come along way, hasn't it? Back in my day, men were physically stronger than women. That doesn't hold much sway anymore, not when you have women like her that can defy logic.

A loud metallic ringing sound broke him out of his thoughts.

What is she doing now? He mentally sighed when he noticed she was hitting the rock with a chunk of metal.

So that's why she brought the boulder back with her, and here I thought she just really liked the rock and decided to bring it along with her.

Carson noticed once the campfire was lit, the vines around the fire receded several dozen feet away from the campfire.

Well, it made sense. Even though the vines were as tough as steel cables, it was still made out of wood, and the fire was the tree's natural enemy.

Carson sat behind the boulder facing away from the fire, resting his back against the hard surface. He decided he could finally get some rest. He figured the girl wouldn't light a fire just to abandon it after putting so much effort into lighting it.

His eyes slowly drooped shut, his mind finally shutting down after the excessive strain he put it through.

Carson was rudely awoken by a loud metallic sound after what felt like seconds of shutting his eyes.

His eyes locked onto the biggest Behemoth Bear he had ever seen in his life, which was saying something cause he had killed many in his travels between towns.

He quietly got to his feet, taking out his sword as he did so.

He backed up a few feet to get better footing. He did not want to face the bear with his back against a boulder. That would be just asking for death.

Carson blinked when he heard the girl tell the bear it did a good job.

His eyes caught sight of the massive fish it brought and realized that was probably the loud noise he heard right before waking.

Don't tell me she has managed to tame a Queen class Behemoth Bear.

That was something he had never heard of someone achieving before. Behemoth Bears were notorious for their violent behavior towards humans, like most animals that mutated from the Nova Wave, not that any animals hadn't mutated after the calamity, none that he had heard of at any rate.

The bear seemed tame though, it just went over and sat by the fire like the two were good friends. Does she even really need me to bring her back with me? But there were far more dangers out here than just Behemoth Bears or Carnage Worms.

His gaze took in the giant ominous tree in the distance, and he noticed the branches swaying at the top of the tree ominously as if it knew there was prey in its territory.

He watched as the vines become more active as the daylight receded.

He went back to his boulder to rest, knowing that the night was going to be a long one.

Carson was awoken yet again by the sounds of metal scraping against metal.

His eyes followed the direction the noise was coming from, and he smirked in amusement.

The girl was trying to cut open a Mutated Carp with a kitchen knife. She would have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting through those tough scales with that knife.

After braking the tip of the knife off, she tossed the knife straight at him.

Carson summoned his sword in the nick of time to parry the knife, which was moments from skewering him through the gut.

He was just glad his reactions hadn't slipped away from him over the many years of being away from combat. Did she do that on purpose? Has she figured out I'm Here?.

His mind swirled with possibilities, trying to remember if he could have been spotted by the girl.

As hard as he jogged his memory, nothing came to him, so he put it down as a coincidence, for now.

The sun had just set when the vines finally made their move.

Carson was sitting against his boulder, waiting for this moment.

The girl had just got done eating her fish, which Carson wouldn't have believed a little girl like that could have eaten a fish several times her size by herself if he hadn't witnessed it himself.

The vines lifted themselves off of the ground and sprang directly towards Sarah, who happened to be on top of the bear sleeping.

Carson's body blurred as he leaped on top of the bear, right beside the girl, who seemed to be oblivious of what was going on as she snored with the bear.

His sword slashed in all directions, cutting down hundreds of vines attempting to grab Sarah and take her to the Life Tree to be absorbed.

The girl must have a pretty decent sized life force for the vines to completely ignore the bear and me and solely target her.

Carson's feet danced around the girl's body as he cut down the vines that came from all angles.

After two hours of constantly cutting down vines, he groaned, yup, this is going to be a long night.

He cut down another wave of vines and could have sworn he accidentally stepped on the girl's arm with the misstep he made. He looked down at the girl, who instead of being woken up by the foot, simply turned around in her sleep, still snoring.

You could at least help you brat, he thought ruefully at the girl, and you to you stupid bear.

Carson's body was drenched in sweat, and his breathing was ragged.

He had just got done taking on another wave of vines for what felt like the thousandth time, and he had lost count of the waves upon waves of the vines that tried attacking the girl.

He was dead wrong about the vines being afraid of the fire. After a few waves of them going around it, they eventually must have gotten tired of it and smothered the flames with thousands of vines put together.

Carson saw the sun crack over the horizon and smiled.

Almost done, just got to hang on for a little longer.

With that thought, he took in a deep breath and let it out, preparing himself for the next wave, his sword at the ready.

Carson managed to take down the last wave; the sun was over the horizon now, shining brightly over the land.

Every muscle in Carson's body felt sore, he could barely move his arms at the moment, and his legs were barely keeping him upright. Carson's sword vanished in a flash of light, returning to his soul.

Well, I'm spent, was his only thought before he toppled over, falling off of the bear's body and down a pile of vines that built up around the bear's body as he cut them down.