Despite Carry’s protests, Alan was off the table the next day, hobbling around with the aid of his stick. She had literally worked a miracle on the mangled appendage that had once been Alan’s lower leg and - under threat of beer being removed – Alan provided honest reports about his progress. Her bag of healing tricks could do nothing for the scarring, which led to Alan referring to his ‘zombie leg’.
In the days that followed the destruction of the rat’s nest the group finally had contact from other survivors, some of whom had witnessed the aftermath from between drawn curtains overlooking the park. Matt and Arlee were apparently recognised, and a surprising knock on the door one day turned out to be a group including some parents of local school children who they knew. They told of familiar struggles; other groups banded together for security. Tales of grief, but also of resilience and burgeoning hope.
Arlee took charge of setting up some visits and regular check-ins with other groups, and Matt went into weaving overdrive, creating set after set of home essential patches which they could start to distribute. Although the rat’s nest was the source of the most numerous threat to the village, the other survivors reported seeing a host of other terrifying and occasionally wondrous sights, derived from more familiar natural inhabitants.
Savage foxes prowling around houses looking for weak spots. Massive deer with magnificent antlers, seen bounding across roads and fields. There were reports of people carried off by the enormous red kites and dragged into water by the grappling tongues of huge frogs. The world was full of threats that humans were not prepared to deal with but had to now learn how.
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Kira and Lara spent much of their time closeted away with the encyclopaedia, learning all they could about Oswald and his growth. When asked about it, they gave vague responses which Matt promised himself would need to be followed up. This was added to the long list of stuff to do and promptly lost in its depths. Oswald himself turned out to be adept at bringing down the swollen pigeons, both to supplement the group’s larder and to feed his prodigious appetite. His growth had tapered off at a little less than five metres from head to tail, and his flights over the village initially provoked hysterical fear from those who saw him.
As the season turned properly from Winter into Spring the vegetable patches started sharing their bounty, providing a regular source of fresh food. Alan was able to advise others on getting these setup and Kira was able to reinforce his general knowledge with specific details of optimal growing conditions. When asked about this, they put it down to Alan’s experience and avoided any mention of Kira’s book.
Curiously, the vegetable patch behind Alan and Carry’s house flourished more than any other. Consulting Kira, this was attributed to the energy radiating from Lion’s grave and the resulting locus. The growth of vegetables would have taken first prize in most country fairs, though Alan’s repeated ‘testing to make sure that carrot is alright’ meant that the crop never got the chance to leave the premises.
