Chapter 33: 32

Maia took up the point position as they moved in a line down the ditch. They all moved slowly, now that the experience of dozens of goblins all fitting into a single house. Numerous inns and lodges dotted the side of the road, all of them seeming to have been boarded up from the outside. With no clear access to be seen, the party decided to ignore looting for the moment, as too much noise from breaking in could cause unwelcome visitors to greet them. As they came up to the gas station, Natalie took a look at the surrounding area. There was a fair amount of trees in the area, except when it came to the surroundings of the school building. There were a couple trees along the back of it, but otherwise it was the only place with clear sight lines despite it only being a single story structure.
While looking at the school, the more time she spent fixated on the building, she slowly started seeing more and more. The windows were covered up like the houses they had passed by. The main difference with these ones were that they were barricaded from the inside. It also appeared to have a make shift blockade built up in front of the main door, or at least what she assumed was the main door. It was hard to be certain from her point of view. Letting Emily and Maia know, they slowly snuck down the road until they were obscured from view of the school by the line of trees that sat just across the road from it. They took turns crossing, checking multiple times to see if they were spotted. Once all three were across just fine, they moved up the tree line towards the spot opposite the barricaded entrance.
When they ended up at the point just across the street from the school doors, Natalie peeked out from behind a tree. Maia and Emily each took positions to make sure to watch for anything approaching them from behind or the sides. From what Nat could see, there was a random collection of chairs and desks in a rough semi-circle in front of the doorway, with a slight opening at the front. There were a couple human head popping up above the wall, looking out as if they were on watch. They seemed skittish, afraid, and on edge as their heads whipped back and forth, trying to make sure every angle was covered. Surrounding and even partially covering the outside of their homemade wall were more black stains. It had been long enough since the last time they were attacked that all of the blood had dried up.
She thought over the situation in front of her. Chances are this was a group of people who had banded together. They could either turn violent towards her, or be willing to trade supplies and information. The information anyone could have on the world now or on if anyone else found out anything about the Soulscape could be beneficial. The possible reward, though slim, far outweighed any risk that could come from making her presence known. Coming to a decision, Nat called out while remaining hidden, "Hello there! Are you friendly?" Immediately she heard some banging and rattling come from the entrance way. They must not have been expecting to hear anything intelligible, for there was a sizable amount of movement behind the barricade as people seemed to scramble into position. From her view through the hole in the wall, she saw people running back and forth, seemingly attempting to get everything into position. From behind the organised chaos, an older woman came out and asked a question to one of the people rushing about.
Watching her shake her head, Natalie was surprised when this woman walked right up to the hole. "That depends. Are you friendly?" Hearing this response, a smile crept over Natalie face. She got the two wolves to fall in and enter her Soulscape before she got up and walked out onto the road. These people seemed terrified of shadows, bringing a couple of wolves alongside her was sure to cause an incident. She felt all eyes focus on her as she walked out onto the road, which was hilariously enough actually named School Ave. She held her hands out as she came to a stop, barely stepping onto the asphalt. "Well, I am Canadian, so I think I am about as friendly as one could get."

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The elderly woman just starts laughing out loud at Natalie's response. "I would consider that friendly. Come on in, we can share some details about what each of us know." Slowly, Nat crossed the road to the waiting woman, feeling the eyes of the people manning the barricade following her every movement. As she came up to the literal hole in the wall, she held out her hand to the elderly woman. "Nice to meet you, I'm Natalie."
The woman took the hand and delivered a solid handshake, "Its a pleasure Natalie. My name is Gertrude. Was not expecting to see another face so soon. Come, come, we have much to discuss." Leading Natalie inside, Gertrude brought her to what was the principals office. As they entered the room, Nat could not help but notice a Tabby cat lounging on the desk. As Gertrude and Nat sat in opposing chairs, the cat stretched and got up, leaping into the older woman's lap. Lightly scratching the felines head, Gertrude inquired first. "So Natalie, where are you from. Dangerous days to be hiking across the country side. What with them monsters and all. Hard to see this and believe it is all real sometimes."
"Well Gertrude, I used to live in Waterton. Was a wildlife conservation officer. As you can see," she lifted her bandaged up left arm, "It is still definitely dangerous. Those monsters are vicious little fuckers. But I have made it here fairly easily." Throughout the answer, Gertrude's face remained pensive, unchanging no matter what words were brought up. Finally, after a few moments of silence where both of them were carefully observing the other, Gertrude spoke up, leaning forward while putting her hands together. "So, you used to live in Waterton. I have a few good friends that live there. Do you know Bryden? Is he still the head of fish and wildlife conservation? And do you know my grandson and where he might be at this moment? His name is Troy, and he always did seem to speak of a Natalie."
Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Lachlan, Coen, Adam, John, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times.

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