The gas station is far away and after a few minutes, the fight feels like it was ages ago. The fear and excitement are gone and their absence leaves Astrid feeling both sad and tired. There is also an odd feeling of uneasiness that she can't explain. A feeling that something is wrong. She can't help but think about Noah's words, as an emptiness grows in her chest. 'Was what we did back there, how we went in, wrong? I murdered two people without so much as a thought. No. Not murdered. I killed two people. And maybe that one guy survived, so I only killed one person. A person who tried to bash my skull in with a lamp!' Her conscience collapses that reasoning in on itself. 'That man is dead. Without doctors and a hospital to treat it, any gunshot wound is probably fatal. And yes, that woman hit me on the head with a lamp, but was instantly shooting her the right reaction?'
Astrid feels dirty. Like a taint now clings to her hands. 'But then, what should we have done? Just let them get away? Or should we have walked up to the building, waiting to get shot?'
Her conscience doesn't give her an answer. The feeling of dirtiness only intensifies.
'I need someone to talk to. About something, anything else.'
Fynn is engrossed in a discussion about dogs with Noah, but the Sheriff is only busy moving her eyes over the trees. She gives Astrid a short glance as she hears Ranger catch up with Poldi.
Astrid isn't sure what she wants to talk about, so she just asks the first thing that comes to her mind: "So. What were you doing when the fog came?"
The Sheriff turns her head to look at her fellow elf, startled. "I was at home, watching television with my wife... That sounds a bit weird. So you don't get the wrong idea, I'll tell you. Before the fog, I was a man. Whatever transformed us apparently didn't check my gender."
"I already know. Sooo, how is this different?"
"You mean, how is being a woman different from being a man?"
Astrid nods.
"Well, being attracted to men is... different." The Sheriff chuckles. "To be honest though, being an elf is so different from being a human it's hard to tell how being a woman is different to being a man. Except for, you know, the obvious stuff. The only thing that's really annoying is wearing a bra. I mean, that is the only thing I really hate so far. And combing my hair. I always had a buzz cut before the fog and brushing this mane is something I do not look forward to."
Astrid laughs. "You know, you could just cut it."
"I could, but... I always thought short hair looked really ugly on women and... you know. Just because I used to be a man doesn't mean I want to look like one now."
Astrid raises her eyebrows and glances at the Sheriff. "You like being a woman more than being a man?"
The other elf frowns at her. "That's not what I said. Just because I used to be a man doesn't mean I don't want to look good as a woman now."
After a short moment of silence, the Sheriff asks, "Who were you before the fog?"
"I was a normal girl who had just finished school and still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life."
The other elf chuckles.
Astrid smiles, then asks, "If you had a choice, would you want to be turned back into your old self, or would you rather stay like this?"
The Sheriff looks into the undergrowth and smiles. "You're asking a lot of very difficult questions, you know. To be honest, I don't know. I mean, I really liked my old self and my life, but I was a 61-year-old man. Let's just say my prime was behind me. Now I'm what, 20 years old? Probably not even that. I have no back pains and feel like a hyperactive child on steroids. Would you want to be changed back if you were me?"
"If I'm honest, not really."
"One of the things that really bugs me is that it's so hard to read. I'm not sure if it's something with my eyes, but letters seem to move when I look at them. Is that just me, or do you have that problem too?"
Astrid's eyes widen. "I do. The doctor said it's something all elves have."
"Yeah. He said something like that to me too, but I didn't listen to his theories about how our brains process information. The heat vision is really nice though. Another thing that bugs me is that I'm always so hungry. I mean, seriously, if I could I'd probably clean out the entire kitchen on my own."
"I know, right? God damn it. Now you've made me hungry."
They both laugh.
Suddenly the Sheriff's smile fades again. "There's one more weird thing. Ever since my transformation, I've been having these odd dreams. I think they're memories... from whoever this body used to belong to."
Astrid turns her head to look at the other woman. "Me too... I think. The dreams are difficult to remember after I wake up. What do you think they mean?"
The Sheriff shakes her head. "I have no idea, but we should write them down if we get the chance. Maybe they contain useful information."
"We really have to talk to the doctor about that when we get back."
The Sheriff just chuckles. "You'll have to remind me."
They reach the gas station. It feels like it's been years since Astrid was last here, even though it's been barely longer than two days.
The Sheriff tries one of the gas pumps, but not a single drop of diesel leaves the nozzle. "Stupid power outage."
Fynn says, "That the pumps don't work without power, really was to be expected."
The Sheriff shrugs. "Always worth a try. Any ideas on how we're going to get the fuel from that underground reservoir into our canisters?"
Noah shrugs. "They should have one of these manual fuel pumps here somewhere."
"All right. Astrid, Noah, go look for a few canisters and some sort of pump and a few tubes. Fynn and I will get the reservoir open."
While the two start removing the reservoir cover, Astrid and Noah enter the store for the second time. Astrid's eyes immediately jump to the spots where the clerk and policewoman died. There is nothing left of the two, aside from dried blood and a few gnawed bones.
"They're both gone," Noah says. He looks away from the meager remains. "I was hoping I could give her some sort of burial. Better than rotting, I suppose... Anyway, let's get what we need and get out of here. Could you check the back?"
Astrid slowly walks to the door leading into the back room. She sees the spot where she ate the sandwiches and dropped her soft drink. "We should probably take as much food as we can."
"Yeah," Noah replies from between the shelves.
The door to the back is bent in where the monster threw itself into it. The handle is jammed in place, but with a bit of force, Astrid manages to pull it open. The small room beyond is exactly the way they left it. The cable they used to climb out the window still hangs from the ceiling and a few empty shells from Noah's pistol rest on the floor.
Astrid scans the room and spots something that looks useful. The device is crammed into a corner, next to cleaning utensils. It looks a bit like an air pump used for inflatable mattresses, but with a far more industrial look to it. With a smile, Astrid picks it up.
"I found something," she yells on her way out of the small room.
"Nice. That looks like something we can use. Maybe we won't have to jury rig anything."
Astrid and Noah carry the pump and canisters to the others, who have already opened the reservoir access. They feed one of the tubes into the pipes, and after a good deal of pumping, the first bit of fuel starts squirting into the canister.
Suddenly, Noah straightens up. "I hear something. A car... No. Several motorcycles are approaching from that direction."
They all look up and listen. It takes a few moments before the others hear the sounds of nearby engines too.
Astrid lets go of the pump and jumps to her feet. "What do we do? Hide in the gas station?" she asks the Sheriff.
The other elf just pats the pistol at her side. "We have nothing to fear. And let's not expect the worst. We want to contact other people anyway."
Three motorcycles appear. The low black bikes, each with at least one skull or cross somewhere on the machine, look like they should belong to a biker gang, but the drivers are all dressed in Army uniforms and carry assault rifles on their backs.
Astrid's insides knot as she watches the group close in on the gas station.
She whispers to the Sheriff, "What are they doing here?"
The Sheriff doesn't answer. Her eyes are fixed on one of the soldiers.
Most of the drivers park next to the gas station, but this one drives right up to Astrid and the others. Her face is obscured by a large helmet and the top part of her uniform is hidden under a black leather jacket. Unlike the other two, she isn't carrying an assault rifle, but has a pistol holstered at her side.
Her motorcycle lets out a loud roar as they pull up next to them, then she turns the engine off. The soldier takes off her helmet to reveal the face of an elf. Her features are thin, with thick lips and bony cheeks. Unlike Astrid and the Sheriff, her skin is not white, but a dark gray that's close to the color of a storm cloud. The elf's white hair is in a buzz cut. Evil yellow eyes glare from sunken sockets as they scan the Sheriff. They move over the other elf, stopping on the pistol for barely a second. Even though her thin build makes her look tall, she's smaller than Astrid by almost two heads, which makes her about as tall as a normal human man. She stands with her legs apart and shoulders back, a tough pose that doesn't fit her frail physique. Something about her weak look and tough demeanor gives Astrid the urge to attack her, but she suppresses her weird impulse instantly.
After looking them all over, the dark-skinned elf starts to talk. Her voice has an oddly high pitch. "Hello. Is this your gas station?"
The Sheriff replies, "No. We're just looking for diesel. I take it you're from the High Rock Army Base?"
"Yes. Colonel John McFadi at your service." She gives them a casual salute. "I assume you don't have a problem if we take what we need from the reservoir?"
The Sheriff smiles at her. "Not at all. There's enough here for everyone."
"That's good to hear." The Colonel pulls a whistle out of her pocket. Two quick trills cause the other soldiers to turn off their engines and dismount their bikes.
"What was that?" the Sheriff asks.
"The whistle? A simple form of communication. You wouldn't happen to have any working radios or similar devices, would you?"
The Sheriff frowns. "Everything's bricked."
The Colonel gives them a knowing nod. "We actually managed to get a generator and projector going. Seems like most of the stuff that wasn't plugged in during the fog still works too. But I guess without power on the grid that doesn't really matter much."
They hear another engine, and a moment later, a Unimog comes driving down the road. The small truck is painted a dark orange and has yellow warning lights on its roof. The cargo bed is taken up by a large plastic tank.
The Sheriff squints at the approaching vehicle, her eyes becoming little more than slits. Her expression snaps back to normal as the Colonel turns back around.
"You want us to fill those canisters for you?" the Colonel asks. "We have an electric pump that works with the truck's battery."
A smile returns to the Sheriff's face. "That would be great."
The Colonel barks several orders at her soldiers. The man driving the truck jumps out to get their canisters, while the kobold sitting in the front of the car starts feeding a plastic tube into the reservoir.
"Anyway," she turns back to them, "I feel bad for asking – I mean, we're the Army for God's sake – but you wouldn't happen to have any food or medicine you could spare, would you?"
"All we have is our tractor and our horses. We're trying to hunt, but... it has proven difficult. Things aren't looking good."
The Colonel's sympathetic face tells them she knows exactly what they're talking about. "High Rock Base is covered in that weird fog and the... monsters inside it are immune to our guns. Without access to the commissary, we have literally nothing. With winter on the way we're getting kind of desperate and its proving more and more difficult to keep my men in line... but never mind that. By the way," she leans towards Fynn, "I recognize you. Fynn... Rot. Yes. I remember. You participated in that drive hunt in the Army Training Field last year. If I remember rightly, you managed to shoot two hogs that day. Maybe we'll have better luck if we hunt together."
Fynn smiles. "Gladly, Colonel. I'll take you up on that if things calm down a bit. Where can we find you?"
"We're holed up in the base high school. I'll tell my men to... watch for someone waving a piece of cloth above their head, okay?"
Fynn nods.
The Colonel smiles. "Anyway, you're probably busy and it seems your canisters are full."
"Thanks," the Sheriff says. "Astrid. Go get the horses."
The Colonel's eyes follow Astrid. Her name sounds familiar to the dark-skinned elf. "Your name's Astrid is it?", she asks her. It takes the Colonel a few moments to remember where she heard it before.
Astrid turns around. "It is. Why?"
"A giant helped us clear the road when we were scouting. He said he was looking for his sister. A girl named Astrid."
Astrid's eyes widen. "Where?"
"Just head down this road, past a broken-down car, until you reach a small road that leads into the forest and is blocked by a barrier. That's where we met him yesterday."
Astrid's eyes instantly snap onto the Sheriff. "We have to go there. Now!"
The other elf frowns. "Astrid, we have to get back before it gets dark."
"That's my family! I helped you find the farm, I came to High Rock, and I risked my life getting the tractor back. The least you can do for me is help me find my family!"
Noah pipes in, "I don't think that's such a good idea. It's already past noon and meeting invisible monsters at night isn't very high on my things-I-want-to-do list."
Astrid feels anger bubbling in her chest like a hot stone has been dropped on her insides. "I risked my life to help you guys and now you don't even want to help me with this?"
Fynn takes a step forward. "Astrid is right. We need to find her family. Oskar can probably track them if they left a proper trail, but if we delay, a monster might find them first."
Astrid smiles at Fynn. He smiles back and nods.
Noah replies, "We can't just run off. The others will have no idea where we are!"
Colonel McFadi watches their discussion. Her expression's blank but her eyes fix on each of them in turn as they talk. She decides to end their discussion with the only logical conclusion: "Just split up. You," she nods towards the Sheriff, "and you," she nods towards Noah, "head back to Fynn's farm." She pauses for a moment to let them correct her if her assumption that 'the farm' meant the Rot homestead is wrong, but the lack of a reaction tells her that she assumed correctly. "And then Astrid and Fynn can go with one of my men to find her family. I can spare Lieutenant Brigmer for a few minutes. He can show you the spot where we found Astrid's brother."
Lieutenant Brigmer jumps as he hears his name and walks over to them. "You called my name, sir?"
"Yes. Do you remember the giant from yesterday? I want you to show them where you found him. Then come back."
The man nods.
The Sheriff scowls but says, "Sounds good."
Noah frowns. He doesn't like the idea of splitting up but doesn't challenge the Sheriff's decision.
"It's a plan. I guess," Fynn says.
Astrid is a bit angry. 'They should all come! Okay, maybe they should take the tractor back as quickly as possible. Besides, Fynn can probably handle most monsters that might cross our path... I hope.'