Saga of a New World - (Audiobook Available)

30. Requiem

She's torn out of her thoughts by the Sheriff saying, "Look."

Astrid snaps her eyes away from the charred remains and looks toward a destroyed wall.

Several glass panels in a metal frame formed what once was some sort of office, but the metal beams are now completely bent and the glass shattered, save for a few shards still attached to their supports. The scorch marks on the walls and ceiling point away from the room in a jagged pattern.

"Something exploded in there," the Sheriff says. She runs towards the room.

Astrid follows with slow and careful steps, making sure not to step on any of the fresh corpses.

The remains of assault rifles, blown ammunition, and other weapons are strewn around the room. Whatever exploded in here must have been stored against the glass wall, firing objects into the rest of the room with so much force that a metal shard of unknown origin has embedded itself into the wall on the other side.

While Astrid stands in the partially intact doorway, the Sheriff picks up a battered assault rifle. "Damn. What kind of heat were these people packing? I wonder..." She tries to cock the weapon, but the small handle doesn't move. "Nope. Busted. Quick, help me look for something that's still intact."

Astrid looks at the wreckage. She wants a gun, just to have that feeling of safety she felt when she had Fynn's, but there's something more important. "We need to find my father."

"Your father is either dead or perfectly fine. If you really want to find him quickly, help me search."

Astrid picks up a battered assault rifle, instantly covering her hand in black and red soot. "Ugh." She drops the charred and rusted weapon. "This is disgusting."

The Sheriff gives Astrid an annoyed look as she kicks away the broken doors of a cabinet. "Everything's destroyed. That golden stuff your father spits is some real potent stuff. Really makes my heart bleed to see all these beautiful guns battered and burned."

"That..." Astrid looks through the blasted-out wall into the large room. She imagines being equipped with assault rifles. It would solve a lot of problems they are no doubt going to have. "...does suck."

"It really does... Oh, look." The Sheriff leans down and picks up a grenade pin. "Guess we know what blew this whole thing to hell... No, they must've been packing something stronger. Probably some plastic explosives. Ah, who cares." She sticks her hand into a hole in a cabinet that once doubled as a desk. Most of the wooden container is still intact, protected from the explosion by the large and completely destroyed bookshelf next to it. "Here we go." She moves her fingers inside the box then pulls them back out and opens the charred, sliding plastic door. "Jackpot."

"What?" Astrid asks and runs to join the other elf. Inside the cabinet, the soldiers placed a large green metal box next to office supplies. A bit of soulfire must have gotten inside as the paint has cracked and exposed the now-rusted metal beneath in several places. There is white text written on the side of the canister, but Astrid can't make out what it means before the Sheriff leans closer and covers it with her body. "Curse this dyslexia.... 8-4-0 c a r t r... cartridges... 5... 5.56 millimeter. Yes!"

"What is it?" Astrid asks.

"This, my girl, is a metric crap ton of ammunition." She pulls the box out, causing it to slam onto the ground with a loud metallic crash. The top of the box opens to reveal hundreds of cartridges. Astrid looks at the mass of brass and lead, causing grim butterflies to fly in her stomach.

The Sheriff looks like a little girl that received a pony for Christmas. "Half empty, but this has to be at least three or four hundred shots." She slams the lid back on and snaps it shut. "Let's get this back to the horses."