Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Drew and Amber made it to the mobile home lot later than they had originally planned. Mark and Miranda were already in the process of finishing up paperwork on the model they selected when the Wrights walked in. The process to buy the house was actually far quicker and easier than Drew had expected. When they'd purchased their own standard 'stick-built' house, they'd had to jump through a ton of hoops. Buying a mobile home was a breeze in comparison, and cheaper than he had thought it would be, not that they'd end up paying anyways, but that was beside the point.

Turned out, you could buy a brand new, 2,200 square foot home with four bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms for only $169,000, and that was before haggling, any deals that were going on, etc. It included free delivery and hookup too! That was $155,000 cheaper than his current home had cost, and it had about the same amount of space... although his had come with ten acres. Not that ten acres in the country ran that much, maybe 50-100k max.

Not that Drew didn't like his house, it was a beautiful ranch style and the interior was an open concept crossed with a hunting lodge feel. No, he was simply surprised as he'd never looked into it before. Plus they received instant approval on financing. If doomsday wasn't coming, he would have told all his friends about it.

After finishing up with the paperwork, the Wrights went back to the gun store that Drew had visited the previous day. Mark and Miranda headed out to start collecting supplies after they dropped their car full of stuff off at the house. Drew introduced Amber to David, the store owner, and Erick, his employee. Both of them were extremely excited to see Drew back in the store, as it likely meant another big day of sales. They ended up purchasing five Marlin lever-action guns chambered in 45-70, and six revolvers in various calibers.

The couple finished up their shopping by purchasing fifty chicks at a feed store to add to their flock, as they'd be a good source of food and eggs going forward. Additionally, they grabbed a pallet of both dog food, and chicken feed to store in their outdoor buildings. Finally Drew took his wife out to a Chinese buffet to load up their stomachs before heading back home.

The concrete pads had been poured and were dried at his property in preparation for the outbuildings he'd purchased, and the manufacturer was due to come install them tomorrow morning. The new pads for Amber's sister's family and the Kobinah's were due to be poured first thing in the morning as well. It was going to be tight to have their homes ready by the time The Descent happened, but from the hustle shown by the employees at the mobile home dealer, they were taking the expedited delivery very seriously.

The manual wells had been installed, and the new pond that took up the front half of the property was currently being stocked with fish. All in all, things were coming along very nicely. As far as supplies went, they were very well stocked at the moment, and had enough food and other provisions for at least eighteen months. Of course it'd costed them their life savings, and almost maxing out every credit card and line of credit they had or could apply for, but Drew was feeling rather confident in his preparations.

At this point, only a few things still needed to be done. He still needed to try and find some old off-road equipment, supplies needed to be organized and stored in the outbuildings, outhouses needed to be built, as well as a community area for cooking and eating, and finally fencing needed to be erected. The fencing was going to take the longest time, and it was the part that Drew was looking forward to the least. They'd decided to use multiple layers of fencing to keep the property's area somewhat secure. The outermost layer would be a six-line barbed wire and T-post fence, the middle layer was a ten foot high, chain-link fence with barbed wire spun around the top, and the final layer was the fallback.

The fallback would cover a lot less area then the other two fences, as it was going to be around the outside perimeter of the housing. This was to be used only as a last line of defense should they be attacked by a large quantity of targets, or something extremely dangerous. It would consist of an outer layer of forty pound sandbags that were reinforced with an interior layer for concrete cinderblocks held together by rebar and mortar. It was going to take a ton of work once the sand, cinderblocks, and burlap sacks were delivered. But at close to five feet tall at the sandbags, and ten feet tall at the cinderblocks, Drew felt that it was the best they could accomplish given the short notice by The System.

Could the fallback have been constructed stronger, wider, and safer? Yes, most likely. But not with his family's limited money and credit, and not with the manpower they had available. As it was, he was going to need to hire some local folks in town to help out. Would the locals think the Wright family had gone crazy? Absolutely, but he was going to pay them enough to not care. Plus, with only days away from The Descent, he really couldn't find it in himself to care what the locals thought.

While waiting on the Kobinah's to return home from shopping, Drew thought it would be a good time to visit with his mom, spend some time with her, and see what she wanted to do about her token, as everyone else was planning to use theirs later this evening. He went into her tv room, and big surprise, she was watching the Hallmark channel, specifically Christmas movies. It was several months past December now, but his mom had recorded every single one, and was slowly going through them all. He plopped down on the couch next to her. While waiting for a commercial, he began playing with Freya, much to her excitement.

"You looked better before the change." His mom said when the commercial finally came and she paused the tv.

"Really? I look like a movie star right now, and I feel far more confident with my looks." Drew replied.

"You went from looking like a youthful man, into a graying, long haired man I don't even recognize as my son. I gave birth to you, you looked better before."

"You had me extracted, thank you very much. Sorry that I'm hideous now."

"Drew, you're still my son, I love you and I'm very proud of everything you're doing. You're not ugly, and have never been ugly. I just liked the old you better. Also I hate your new hair." His mom said.

"Oh? So when you use your token, you plan on staying exactly the same as you are now? A 71 year-old human woman, while some races are literally immortal."

"Well, I didn't say that, did I?"

"Then why does me looking different matter?" Drew asked.

"Because you're my son, you'll understand when you have children one day."

An awkward silence rang throughout the room, only interrupted by Freya demanding more of Drew's attention. The lack of any sound other than the swooshing of a bushy tail lingered for several minutes, as Drew considered how poorly this conversation had gone so far.

"So what are your plans with the token?"

"I'm not sure yet. Half of me thinks I've snapped and hit dementia like your nana did, so I haven't given it any serious thought. Although, I did speak with that young man who's been staying with us, so I know there are many options." His mom said.

"If you do have early onset dementia, using the token will fix it, at least that's what Spock told me. What did you talk about with him?"

"He's a very kind young man. Although... I wouldn't say he's slow, he just seems much younger than he looks. We talked about the different races and classes that are available."

"Anddddd that didn't help you make any decisions?"

"No. I'm old, I feel old, my back and hip hurt almost daily, I don't have a quarter of the energy I used to, and honestly I really just want to enjoy my shows and relax after working and travelling for so many years. But now, this damn System thing just gets to swoop in and demand we change our lives or die. It's frustrating, and it pisses me off that it's taking away my tv!"

"Well, many races live far, far longer than humans in The System. Elves live hundreds if not thousands of years even at level 0. You'd basically be a twenty year-old again if you went with something like that. I would hate to see you having to fight, and I'll do everything I can so you don't have to, but you may want to consider what you'd like to do on that regard. None of the starting classes seem like great choices for you."

"You're overthinking things Drew. Whatever happens, happens. We'll deal with it the best we can, and that's all anyone can ask for. I'm more worried about you. You're young, or at least you used to look young. You have your wife and future kids to think of, I don't want anything to happen to you." His mom said.

"I have a ranged class and I can summon combat pets. The pets should be able to distract the bad guys while I stay relatively safe. Worst case scenario, I'm far stronger than I used to be."

"I'm sure you are. You're my baby boy, I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I wish I had advice that would help you find something you'd enjoy."

"It'll all work out. In life, when a door is closed, a window is opened. I'll figure things out when I use my token. I'm very proud of you Drew, I just want you to know that."

"Thanks mom, I love you."

"Love you too, now get the hell out of here, I have shows to watch." His mom griped.

The Kobinahs made it back to the house around 4:30pm, their luxury SUV packed full of camping equipment, outdoor cookware, and flannel. Lots and lots of flannel, and what looked to be nearly four hundred feet of rope. What did they need that much rope for? Drew didn't know. But he did know that rope was important to always have on hand in survival situations. Although more than a football field worth of rope was overkill.

Unfortunately, Spock would be back to sleeping on the couch in the living room until the new home for Mark and Miranda was ready.

Once the SUV was unloaded, everyone gathered in the living room. It was almost time for them to use the tokens. The Kobinahs sat on the couch along with Spock, while the Wrights sat on the love seat with Freya receiving attention from Amber. When Drew's mom finally shuffled out of her seclusion, she sat on the recliner. Everyone took several minutes to catch up with each other, relay the progress and errands each had accomplished and have a few laughs before getting to the serious conversation.

"So have ya'll had enough time to figure out what your goals and plans are for the most part?" Drew asked Mark and Miranda.

"Yes, I think we're as ready as we're going to be." Miranda said.

"Yeah man, we got this, no worries!" Mark said.

"Cool, what did ya'll decide on?" Drew asked.

"I'm going to go with the...Neophyte? The healer, whatever the name is. For my race, I'm choosing to go with an elf of some kind. I was already in the medical field and working at a hospital, and I found that helping people was the most rewarding part of my working career. The elf is honestly for the long life and bonus to magic, but I think I'm going to look the same, maybe lose a few pounds, and get some straightened hair, as I hate taking care of my current hair." Miranda said.

"What about you, Mark?" Drew asked after nodding his head to Miranda.

"I want to keep it a surprise until we get back." He said with a devilish smile.

"Oh? Have something cool picked out huh? Well, I can't wait to see everyone when ya'll get back. Remember the time limit, since you already know most of the information thanks to Spock. I'd recommend taking more time to look into what the boons can be spent on." Drew said.

Drew opened his spatial inventory and removed the tokens from the pocket dimension. They were large, nondescript light blue gems cut into a smooth oval and surrounded by a large plate of gold at their sides. He handed the five tokens out. Everyone looked at them in silence, admiring the beauty of the gems and precious metal.

"When you're ready, focus on the tokens in your hand, and think of the word 'activate' in your mind. You'll find yourself in the tutorial introduction almost instantaneously." Spock said to the gathered party.

"On 3?" Mark asked.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"3" Drew said.

"2" Amber exclaimed.

"1" Miranda said nervously.

*POP!*

Drew and Spock sat alone in the living room, as everyone else had been transported off to wherever the tutorial took place. They sat in quiet peace as Drew worried about the choices his friends and family were going to make.

"They're going to be okay." Drew said to reassure himself.

"Indeed."

"It was a strange experience for me, but I was also the first one to go, it was the middle of the night and I was stuck wearing my...."

"Your boxer shorts and stained t-shirt. Yes, I remember. I was there." Spock said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh shit. Oops." Drew said after a moment.

"Oops?" Spock inquired.

"Yeahhhhh..... I forgot to mention the one negative side-effect..."

"There are no negative side-effects Drew Wright, they will be perfectly safe." Spock assured Drew.

"Yes, perfectly safe, but when they come back..." Drew began.

"They will have their new races and classes."

"...and they'll be naked." Drew finished.

Silence...

"Oops." Spock agreed.

"Sooooo... want to go hang out on the porch, and have a beer while I grill up some meat?"

"Indeed. This escape plan sounds quite promising." Spock replied.