Granite City; A Manaverse Novel, Book 1

1.05 - You Have a Damn Bunker

Granite City Grocer
6:03 p.m.
Granite City

Kyle laid back on the lawn chair allocated to him, watching the countdown tick away slowly. It currently read nineteen hours and some change. He had slept for an hour after washing up and making sure his pets hadn't been hurt too badly. Neither of them had any new wounds, to his relief. It was more of a hassle cleaning the monster's blood off of Lily's face.

Now, the squirmy feline was curled up on his chest and Gunther was asleep on a register mat next to him. The two wouldn't let anyone get too close to him and Kyle was okay with that.

A word floated around his head amongst the doomsday imaginings he'd been besieged with since the start of this whole mess. Loyalty.

His boss, the person he'd held the most loyalty for, did not reciprocate the same. No matter what people expected, to Kyle, loyalty was earned, not freely given. When it was earned, it is hard to break. The only way to lose it so easily was to not show any in return.

Just from how things were going, Kyle doubted the trucking companies would be delivering anything to Granite city any time soon. It's smack dab in the middle of the desert. At least, it was supposed to be a desert. Now it was more like a plain, full of grasses and arid soil. That didn't change the fact that nobody farmed for hundreds of miles. He doubted his job would still be here even if the store did reopen.

Once it was clear Linda wouldn't change her stance, still saying he was useless, Kyle started looking at the store for what it was. A death trap. All it would take was one hard hit from those scorpions on the side door or the roof hatch and everyone in here would die when the monsters swarmed.

That's why Kyle wasn't sleeping now. He tried, rolling and tossing. But fear and paranoia rocked him.

It didn't help that everyone else was still awake, being six pm. Regular people would be wide awake for hours yet. They were speaking quietly or crying in the corner. Their noises kept getting to him. yet, he couldn't blame them for having a regular sleeping schedules.

Another thought bothered him. It was clear to Kyle that all hope had died in this group. He couldn't remain in this kind of environment and stay fully sane. At least, not for long.

Kyle decided it was time to leave. He got up and went onto the sales floor. He had a delivery bag that he could attach to Gunther with a harness he knew the store carried on the pet aisle. He was going shopping first.

He picked out some packaged goods that would store well and could be eaten on the go. When he was selecting canned cat food, he heard a cat growl when he reached for the fish-flavored variety. He looked down and saw Lily watching him. He moved his hand as if to pick up the turkey kind instead and she meowed approvingly. He chuckled and loaded up on that kind.

He always considered his pets to be smart. What owner didn't? Only, he felt like they were smarter than before. Lily was more vocal and opinionated than she had been since he saved her from the shelter a couple years ago.

There was also something in their eyes he never noticed before. It was a light and depth that was new. It was understanding and curiosity. Maybe he was just imagining it as part of this whole "magic is here now" thing, or maybe he just never saw it before because he hadn't looked.

Kyle turned and walked to another aisle when he caught a glimpse of the backroom door where everyone was hiding out. He decided to at least warn the people here but he wouldn't stay and die with them. He also doubted they would leave. He felt he had to say something though.

Kyle stepped into the backroom. When he started speaking, everyone went quiet.

"This place isn't safe."