Slatepocalypse: Unlocked Arcanum

Once the group reached the on ramp that led to the south bound entrance to the turnpike, they were joined by a handful of others racing to get to the highway. The cars were packed in tight and navigation up the ramp was congested due to all the people. At the top of the ramp was a sixteen wheeler tipped over on its side. There was a huge dent in the blue cargo container it was hauling. People were trying to navigate around the wreck when someone started screaming.

Tommy, CJ, and Monty were midway up the ramp as the sounds of distress came from the intersection connecting to the ramp. Two men were brawling over a bag in the street. Nearby was a blonde woman clutching onto two smaller children. It was that same family of four they saw earlier. Tommy clutched at his injured arm and turned away from the scene. CJ did not. He spun his bike around against Monty’s protestations.

“What are you doing? We need to get out of here,” said Tommy with clipped words.

“Do you see cops anywhere? If we want to survive, we can’t do it on our own. Time to build some good will,” replied CJ as he pedaled back down ignoring the complaints of the people squeezing past.

As CJ got closer, he could hear what the men were saying to each other with greater clarity.

“If you were smart, you’d just give me the damn bag and stop scaring your family,” said the assailant.

“No, we won’t survive without it,” replied the father just before throwing a right cross that missed.

That mistake cost him dearly. The crook trying to rob them buried his left fist into the man’s stomach. That knocked the wind out of him and forced him to double over in pain. Not willing to let an opening go to waste, he brought his right elbow down into the back of the father’s head dropping him to the ground. The wife screamed at him again as he raised his right foot to stomp down on the father’s head. The scream snatched his attention long enough for CJ to barrel right into him full speed on the bike. The one thing that surprised the thug the most was a black furred rabbit jumped out of a bicycle basket to plant two feet on his face. Using the bicycles momentum, that missile drop kick sent the bully through the passenger side window of a nearby SUV. His body slumped half in and out of the vehicle taking shallow breaths.

“Hey, you ok buddy?” asked CJ after hopping off the bike.

“I’ll be all right. I don’t believe it’s a concussion. Just got my bell rung. It was brave of you to intervene Mr.?” asked the father extending his hand for help getting back to his feet.

“CJ and we need to stick together if we’re going to get through this. Guys like that won’t hesitate to take advantage of a bad situation,” replied CJ.

“I’m Redmond. That’s my wife Cynthia and our two boys Ed and Riley,” said Redmond as he picked up his duffle bag while pointing to his family.

The whole time they were talking the mugger didn’t move. He was wearing a New York Giants jersey and a pair of jeans. Monty never said anything just hopping back over to where CJ was standing with Redmond. The kid’s faces all lit up when the rabbit came back. CJ picked up Monty and put him back in the basket. Monty was acting strangely. He was more passive and unfocused. CJ warned the kids against petting the bunny due to it having a hard day.

“Is that your pet? It’s a rather large specimen,” asked Cynthia.

“We’re more like coworkers. Aren’t we Monty?” said CJ, only now noticing that Monty hasn’t said a word in a while.

“That’s an odd answer to my wife’s question. How about we move along before that guy wakes up?” asked Redmond, getting nods of ascent from the other two adults.

Redmond checked the contents of his bag before hefting it up. A small silver disc attached to a chord that bifurcated into two ear buds slipped out. Cynthia snatched it up quickly and shoved it back in the bag. CJ made a point to ignore the movements and turned his bike back to the ramp. Redmond and Cynthia shared a knowing glance before taking their children’s hands. Up on the highway he could see Tommy waiving at him to hurry up.

“Hey, that’s a girl’s bike,” blurted one of the children.

“Don’t be rude honey. It’s a lovely bike Mr. CJ,” commented Cynthia.

CJ and his new traveling companions meandered their way past all the cars. Only now noticing that several of them had their windows smashed. The groups assumptions were people going up the ramp had been scavenging for useful things they saw in the cars. CJ stopped at the top and waived Tommy over.

“Tommy this is Redmond and his family. Redmond, this is my recent acquaintance, Tommy. We’re heading toward the pine barrens if you’d be interested in traveling with us,” said CJ after making introductions.

“Nice to meet you. Can I talk to my friend here for just a second? Thanks,” asked Tommy before grabbing CJ by the arm and pulling him to the side of the road, “What are you doing? They’ll just slow us down. Its going to be hard enough to get there on two bikes. Also, what about Monty? How are you going to explain a talking rabbit?”

“First of all, do you have any food on you? Didn’t think so. Water will become a problem in three days or so. Second, I don’t have to explain a talking rabbit any more than all the monsters that have been attacking the last twenty four hours. Finally, I wasn’t just going to stand by and let that family get robbed. Think about it. They’re going to want to feed their kids. I’d rather have four adults looking for food and water than just the two of us… hang on a second. I know this trucking company. They provide wholesale food to the casino’s restaurants. I’ve seen them parked on the loading dock before,” said CJ as he quickly moved over the truck laying on its side.

The logo on the rolling door said Panarese Wholesalers. The door was still closed with a padlock keeping it shut. CJ immediately went to work with the tools he stashed from the bike shop. Redmond walked over to see what he was doing while Cynthina conversed with Tommy. A few seconds later the lock popped, and CJ tried opening the door.

“So, are you some kind of tuxedo wearing thief?” asked Redmond.

“No. Help me roll this up,” replied CJ.

The door was waited on the interior and took a considerable amount of effort from the two men to get halfway. Halfway was all they needed. Inside were tipped over trays and racks of various perishables. CJ stepped in and grabbed a baguette that went right into his inside pocket. Most of the jugs contained cooking oil or some other professional kitchen fluids. One of the trays dumped over contained muffins. CJ eagerly grabbed one of them and started munching.

“This is technically stealing,” said Redmond.

“Tell that to the cops that aren’t coming,” shot back CJ.

Redmond couldn’t argue that point as he grabbed a few things for his family. That’s when one of the groups passing by yelled out something about food. Soon after the rolling door was pushed all the way open as people pushed their way into the container. CJ and Redmond managed to extricate themselves from the rush of humanity.

“It’s only been a day. I’m surprised at how quickly things have broken down,” commented Redmond as they both walked back over to the others.

“I’m still wrapping my head around magic screens, monsters, and people with powers. You see Tommy over there? Yesterday I saw him fix a broken wooden door just by touching it. Said something about being a carpenter. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said CJ cradling a few muffins.

“My wife is more or less the same. I didn’t see the message. I work the night shift, so I was asleep when everything went down. Every time she tries to explain things to me, I can’t make out the words. She even tried writing it down, but I couldn’t read them. It’s made all of this even more frustrating,” remarked Redmond.

“What do you mean; more or less?” asked CJ.

“Well, my wife managed to repair my kid’s ripped pants just by touching them. Said she’s a tailor class. I didn’t understand it at the time. Everything so confused me. We just need to get the boys someplace safe, and we can figure it all out from there,” answered Redmond as they arrived at the rest of their group.

CJ handed out the food they recovered as they kept moving south. It wasn’t long after they left that shots rang out near the mini food riot they created. They were all a good ten minutes down the road and decided to just keep going. Tommy winced as he moved his arm, and the bandage poked through his shirt sleeve. CJ didn’t miss the analytical gaze Redmond shot at Tommy’s arm confirming CJ’s suspicions. That was indeed a stethoscope that fell out of the bag. His real concern was why they were trying to keep it a secret.