Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

Elijah chose not to approach in one of his bestial forms. Doing so would have felt somehow disrespectful, but of whom, he wasn’t certain. Honolulu was obviously deserted and half buried in the sand. Few of the city’s streets were even visible, and many of the traffic lights and signs were only partially exposed.

But the city was instantly recognizable, especially to a man who’d lived there for most of his adult life. He’d arrived at the tender age of seventeen, and aside from a handful of short vacations, hadn’t left until he’d been diagnosed with cancer. Even then, he’d put his return to Seattle off until the very last minute, and when the world had transformed, he was practically on his death bed.

In the years since, he’d been through so much. He’d nearly died so many times he’d lost count, and he’d met plenty of people he considered true friends. However, he’d never really forgotten Hawaii, largely because he’d never been afforded the opportunity for closure.

Until very recently, he’d held out hope that it had survived, that people like his former girlfriend were living somewhere in isolation. Perhaps they were even thriving. The not knowing made it easier to push the deep sense of foreboding aside and ignore the harsh reality that she, along with all his former colleagues, was likely dead.

After all, that was the fate of most of the world. Why would Hawaii be spared?

But now that he was face-to-face with reality, he couldn’t ignore the bands of impending grief wrapped around his heart. His stomach twisted into a complex knot of tension, anxiety, and grief, but he forced himself to approach with a steady gait.

Then he saw the remains of Pearl Harbor.

Most Americans knew the naval base as the site of the attack that catapulted the United States into the second World War, but it had remained in use all the way until the world had transformed. The ruins were a sad mix of hulking ships, still practically new and untouched by corrosion, and Elijah couldn’t miss two derelicts from that nearly century-old attack.

The first was the USS Arizona, and it was covered by a fallen structure. The memorial that had been erected in its honor had once floated above the wreck, but without water, it had collapsed atop the very ship it was meant to memorialize. The second was further away, but in the desert, Elijah had no trouble identifying what was left of Ford Island and the nearby wreckage of the USS Utah.

The attack itself had been well before Elijah’s time, but during college, he’d taken the time to visit the local museums – like the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial – so he had some context for what had been lost on that fateful day.

But now, all that was gone.

Just like the rest of the city. Or more broadly, like most of human history. How many such events would be forgotten because there was no one left to remember them? No sites left to memorialize them? Future generations would have no context for the sacrifices made by those who’d come before the World Tree’s influence. They wouldn’t know what sorts of lives their ancestors led. It would all be lost.

And while Elijah wasn’t really a student of history, he found that loss to be incredibly affecting, to the point where he wanted to do something about it. That only lasted a few moments before he realized how much else he had on his plate. He’d already allocated an absolute fortune toward helping the less fortunate, and even he couldn’t afford to start throwing money at the preservation of history.

But he didn’t like that.

In any case, he only took a few minutes to investigate the new ships on the off chance that someone had survived and had taken shelter within. They were practically fortresses, so they would have made for a very defensible home. And sure enough, some people – Navy personnel, from the uniforms – had done just that, though defensibility clearly wasn’t the biggest problem, because they hadn’t survived.

Their mummified corpses suggested they’d been dead for years.

A few had gathered around the ship’s galley, but most had died in their tiny bunks. They probably had no idea what had even happened. Not really. Sure, they’d gotten the same initial notifications as everyone else, but they’d never had the chance to establish a Branch. Most probably hadn’t even gained any levels.

Elijah inspected a few other ships, but he found similar situations. The only aberration was when he stumbled upon what turned out to be the site of a standoff between two groups of marines. The corpses were riddled with bullet holes, and the resulting blood had stained the deck red. The color had mostly faded, but Elijah knew those dark splotches for what they were.

Had they panicked? Had they simply disagreed about the next steps? Nobody would ever know the answer to that mystery.

That was the last ship Elijah inspected before he moved toward the city, which was a little less than ten miles away to the east. He cut across what was once Hickam Field and soon found himself among the remnants of the city’s airport. Jumbo jets – not unlike the one he’d taken back to Seattle – stood in a neat line, connected to the terminal via a series of jetways. Seeing those enclosed passages from the ground was an odd feeling. Almost like he was trespassing somewhere he definitely had no right to visit.

But there was no more security.

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No more transit authority.

They were all dead, just like the sailors. Elijah felt a few of them within the planes themselves, though the real graveyard was within the terminal. In there, people had banded together in an effort to survive.

They weren’t successful.

Elijah considered picking his way through the building to see if he could find anything useful, but after seeing so much death, he couldn’t stomach it. Instead, after he confirmed that there were no more survivors, he quickly moved through the airfield, eventually mounting the highway that connected the airport to the city.

As he traveled, he couldn’t help but notice the residential areas on either side of the avenue. Everyone who’d lived in those houses was now dead. Shane had already warned him as much, but now Elijah had no choice but to accept it as a fact. Pointedly, he chose not to inspect them.

Picking through the remains of so many severed lives just wasn’t worth a few trinkets of questionable value.

Instead, he shifted into the Shape of the Scourge and sprinted down the highway. Along the way, he was forced to leap over a few abandoned cars, but mostly, the road was clear. Pushing himself to his limit felt freeing, like he was proving to himself that the world couldn’t conquer everyone.

It was silly.

For one, he already knew as much. He’d seen people banding together to survive. Whole cities had managed to fight back against the elements and ethera. He had done it himself.

But none of them had faced the insidious enemy known as dehydration. People could survive just about any environmental danger Earth might throw at them. They could go without food for weeks before succumbing to starvation, and they had the ability to fight back against most predators. But without water, they would only make it a few days.

The people of Hawaii had found that out.

After a few minutes, Elijah reached the outskirts of the city proper, and it was just what he’d expected. The infrastructure had blocked some of the sand, so there were places that looked entirely untouched by the desert. But evidence of unrest was everywhere.

Broken or boarded windows were the most obvious, but there were plenty of abandoned automobiles as well. And if Elijah looked hard enough, he could find bodies, too. Mostly, they were huddled in various buildings, where they’d been overwhelmed by their thirst. But there were also a few areas where fights had clearly broken out.

Perhaps over water or other supplies.

Those corpses were mummified by the harsh elements as well, but Elijah saw plenty of gunshot or stab wounds.

He also saw animal corpses.

Predominantly cats and dogs, but he sensed plenty of rat, lizard, and mouse remains as well. None were suited to living in a desert, so they’d succumbed to dehydration just like the humans. Elijah also saw a few birds, an alley full of feral pig corpses, and even a handful of horses.

The only solace was that, while exploring the rest of the desert, the sand had covered the corpses of the marine life. Because of that, he’d been incapable of sensing it.

As he continued to explore, using Guise of the Unseen out of habit, he noticed that the only living things in the area were wasps. For whatever reason, Elijah felt a deep sense of anger when he saw them. Maybe it was because of what he’d witnessed with the soldiers from Seattle. That kind of thing tended to stick with a guy, after all.

But in the back of his mind, Elijah couldn’t help but feel as if it was more personal. By all rights, they were just insects. Huge, deadly bugs, but no different from any others he’d encountered in his travels. And none of those had incited the sort of hatred he felt when he looked upon those swarms.

Fortunately, he had the self-control not to act.

The last thing he wanted was to engage in a battle against an unknown number of wasps. The last ones might not have been much of a challenge, but there was nothing to suggest that these weren’t much stronger.

He really didn’t want to find out. Not in his current mood.

Or maybe it was what he needed. A little wanton slaughter might do him some good. It would certainly make him feel like he had a little more control over the whole situation.

But he didn’t.

And he had no intention of lying to himself. It wasn’t healthy. Going on a rampage against a bunch of wasps – even if he wanted nothing more – would cheapen the loss.

So, he ignored them, committing to moving through the city. What he didn’t ignore was the thousands of corpses he passed along the way. Or the familiar sights.

Like Leonard’s Bakery, where he and Nina had enjoyed the best malasadas on the island. Or Waiola Shave Ice. Or their favorite café, called Morning Glass.

There were so many good memories. Most were wrapped around food and good company, but there were quieter places as well. Like their favorite park.

He even passed the yoga studio where she’d worked part-time. Her day job was as a dental assistant, but her true passion had always been yoga. Elijah had often teased her about the overly spiritual bent to the whole thing, but now, he wished he could tell her how much it had helped him.

After all, he’d used some of what she’d taught to help him get a handle on his old guardian form. Even now, he still engaged in many of those same exercises whenever he had the chance. He’d convinced himself that it was because they were helpful, but the truth was probably that they reminded him of her.

Perhaps he wasn’t as over her as he’d thought he was.

For so long, he had forced himself not to think about her. About their relationship. About her probable fate. But with those memories bludgeoning him with every step he took, he could no longer hide from the emotions he’d hidden from himself.

From how much he missed her. From how much he regretted breaking things off in a misguided attempt to spare her from the misery that came with watching him die from cancer. From the shame that came from that choice.

He was so wrapped up in his feelings that he barely paid attention to the campus where he nominally worked. He’d spent most of his time doing research at Kāne‘ohe Bay, so he rarely even visited the Mānoa campus. Still, he couldn’t ignore the familiar sights that stirred even more memories.

As he hurried along, he wasn’t blind to the fact that he was running toward Kaimukī – the neighborhood where he’d once lived. It was an old residential neighborhood, far too expensive for him to afford. The only reason he’d been able to pay the rent at all was because the building was owned by a friend of a friend. Otherwise, he’d have been forced to live much further away.

Regardless, the neighborhood was only a few minutes away, and soon enough, he found himself standing in front of his old apartment building. It was only six stories tall – nothing special. But it had once been home.

Not anymore.

Like everywhere else, it was just another grave site. Elijah could feel that before he even opened the front door. Once again, he’d returned to his human form, so when he stepped inside, he felt a chill run up his spine. Right inside were four corpses.

It was obviously a herald of what was to come. A sign of what he’d already seen. A reality he needed to face. In a daze, he made his way toward the stairs and started climbing, anxiety and fear tightening his stomach with every step.