At twenty-five seconds, he stopped channeling. He didn’t want to drain his mana completely, and all of the kyllings were down. Including the boss. She wasn’t dead, just badly burned and stunned unconscious from the multiple strikes.
Kylling Brood Mother
Level 25
Elite
Health: 5,180/39,000
He was raising his shotgun to put a few rounds in her head when Helen called up. “Don’t shoot!” When he lowered his weapon, she pulled out some rope. “If we can take her back, she can raise us our herd. We have no idea whether these eggs will be male or female. Or if they’ll even hatch.”
“How the hell are we going to take her back? She weighs something like five hundred pounds. And the moment she wakes up, she’ll eat our faces.”
Helen just grinned. “Get down here and help me.”
Allistor hopped down from boulder to boulder until he reached Helen. Fuzzy was going around the other birds, crunching necks and making sure they were dead. Allistor was surprised to see that he was receiving loot each time Fuzzy touched one of the dead birds. Ignoring that development for a moment, he stepped next to Helen. “What can I do?”
“Hold this.” She looped one end of the rope and handed it to him. She took the other end and began to tie the brood mother’s feet together. When she had them tightly secured, she returned to Allistor. “Okay, pull as hard as you can up toward her head. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt her. Chickens are very flexible.”
Allistor pulled on the rope, causing both knees to bend up toward the chicken’s belly, and its feet to press against its tail end.
“Okay now wrap the rope one time around its neck, then put the loop over its beak. Make sure the rope is up behind that ridge at the top.” Allistor did as he was told. Once the loop was on, he saw for himself where he could pull the loose end and tighten the loop. It was a simple slipknot.
When he was done, the monster was effectively hog-tied. Helen went behind him and tightened the rope slightly, less forgiving than he was. Then she tied off the loose end to make sure the knot couldn’t be undone.
They took some time to loot and harvest the bodies, adding a few hundred more pounds of murder chicken meat to their store. Since they had the brood mother, Helen went ahead and collected the rest of the eggs. Assuming they’d killed the entire flock now, the eggs were doomed if she left them.
“Alright, I’m going to run back to the Stronghold and get the hover cart from the truck. You start dragging this big momma back in that direction, and I’ll meet you in between.” Helen smirked at him. When he opened his mouth to protest, she added, “Don’t tell me a big strong man like you can’t handle it. I mean, with your strength stat, you should be able to throw her over one shoulder and carry her back.”
Allistor stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. “Just hurry. And be safe. If you see anything, like more murder chickens, run or hide. I’ll see you soon.”
Helen took off, and Allistor turned to look at the kylling elite. She was awake and growling, occasionally struggling against her bonds. She’d been awake for several minutes, and was much calmer now. At first, she’d thrashed until the knots tightened. Allistor had worried she’d break the rope, but Helen had reassured him that it was twenty-five-hundred pound climbing rope, and would hold just fine.
With a sigh he reached down and grabbed ahold of the rope at her feet, walking back toward the Stronghold and dragging her behind. She gave a few muted squawks of protest and struggled a bit more at first. But she soon realized she wasn’t going to be able to break free.
He pulled her down the slope from the nest and across a wide meadow they’d passed before. At the end of that, he began to head back uphill. Helen had been right. With his improved strength, he probably could lift the kylling and carry her. And pulling her was not much of a strain, though it did require some effort.
He’d gone about twenty minutes when Helen appeared with the hover cart. Fuzzy helped lift the creature up onto the flat surface, and Helen took over. She pulled the thing the remainder of the way, being careful not to snag on any brush and tip it over.
Back at the Stronghold they found Andrea and half a dozen others settling in. When they saw the brood mother bound on the cart, eyes widened and curses were whispered.
“Holy crap. I thought you were joking when you said murder chickens. That thing is nightmare fuel.”
Allistor grinned. “Right? And I plan to blame the whole thing on Nancy!” The others chuckled. “We’ve got a bunch of eggs, too. Gonna put her someplace she can’t hurt anyone and see if we can domesticate these bad boys.”
He and Helen left some more of the kylling meat for the folks who were staying the night at Wilderness. One of them was already preparing a bbq sauce recipe that they swore was the best in the west. Allistor wished them luck, and they loaded up the vehicle with the hover pad in tow, drove it onto the teleport pad, and transferred to the Warren.
There was a big ruckus when they arrived with the brood mother. Allistor immediately pulled off the pad and drove toward the center of the compound. The moment he got out, he started calling, “Nancy! Where’s Nancy? You see? I told her what would happen if she kept fast-growing those chickens!” and, “Imagine what’ll happen with those bunnies!”
Eventually Nancy came stomping out of the greenhouse. “What is this nonsense about me making mutant chic-” Her voice trailed off as she saw the furious brood mother struggling on the cart. “What the hell is that?”
Allistor’s smile couldn’t have been bigger as he waved toward the helpless mob. “You tell me, miss. You said it wouldn’t hurt to grow the chickens faster.”
“Stop that! You know I didn’t do this. If you were younger, I’d put you over my knee, you little shit!” she scolded him, but she was smiling as she did it.
“You’re in trouble now!” Chloe, who had been hiding behind her mom’s leg and staring wide-eyed at the giant murder chicken, said. “I always get a spankin’ when she calls me a little shit!”
“Chloe!” Nancy looked down, and the child covered her mouth, giggling. “You’re gonna get one tonight if you don’t behave.”
“Why do I get a spankin’? Allistor’s the one that brought the monster you made!” The girl half-pouted, watching carefully to see if her ruse worked.
“I did not make that big chicken monster!” Nancy nearly growled. “Do you think I would let you take care of the chickens downstairs if they might hurt you, sweet one?”
Chloe beamed at her mom. The term of endearment almost certainly meant her spanking was forgotten. She looked up at Allistor, who winked at her. “She’s right, Chloe. We found these far, far away. It’s not one of your mom’s special chickens. But did you see how red she got when I said that? I’m probably gonna get a spanking, but it was worth it!”
Nancy smacked him on the shoulder the same time that Helen smacked him on the back of the head. Most of the folks gathered around were smiling and chuckling.
“So, I think this would be a good place to set up a corral for these things. We’ve got the big momma here, and Helen has a bag full of eggs. They’re carnivores, so maybe feed them some of the rabbits and whatever the hunters can bring in? Some elk? See if you can tame her and her offspring? We can herd them like the buffalo.”
Michael came walking up as he spoke. “Or we could totally train them as battle mounts!” he called out, his grin matching Allistor’s as the two bumped fists.
Somebody else shouted, “Murder chicken mobile infantry!” and Allistor looked around to see if he could identify them for a fist bump too.
Another voice that he thought came from near the motor pool shouted, “Gnomes Rule!”
Ignoring the childishness, Helen added, “I think I’ll stay here a while. My Animal Husbandry skill might come in handy, and maybe I can level it up.” She looked at Allistor with her hands on her hips and an expression that brooked no argument. “Come on Lord Allistor, make with the hand-wavyness and make me a pla
ce for these things.”
Allistor could get behind that. “You want it up here? Or down below?”
Nancy spoke first. “She looks like maybe she can fly? Wherever it is, we probably need to put a roof on it.”
Helen nodded. “They built their nests under the cliff face, so they don’t mind something over their heads. But they also need room to run. So, let’s set up something outside the wall. Maybe some kind of add-on like you did at the Citadel. A covered area for nests, and a wide open area for them to run. I’ll clip her wings so she can’t fly.”
Allistor nodded and stepped out the gate. Several of the others followed, some with weapons to keep watch, others just curious. He opened his Stronghold interface and began to scroll through the options he had for different structures. Eventually, he found something called a Menagerie that looked like it would work. It had a series of cages along a lengthy U-shaped corridor, and one end opened with a wide set of doors large enough to bring an elephant through. The interior courtyard could be covered over easily enough to create a large area for the brood mother to roam, and they could enclose an even larger area with a wall.
He selected the structure, then added enough walls to enclose a ten-acre space. Nancy and Helen both assured him that would be enough for a small flock of the giant chickens. Hopefully by the time they got larger, they’d be trained enough to be herdable and could be let loose in the grasslands, or a section of forest to be set aside.
When it was done, Helen had a couple of the guys help her dig a wide hole about three feet deep, where she placed the eggs. Then they pushed the hover cart into the enclosure, and everyone but Allistor backed out.
He stood next to the brood mother, the two of them eyeing each other. He held a long knife in one hand, and began to speak to her in a soothing voice.
“Okay, there are two ways we can do this. You can behave yourself, and let me cut these ropes. Then I’ll leave quietly, and somebody will toss you a few tasty bunny rabbits to munch on. Or you can try to kill me, and I’ll step outside and hit you with fireballs until the ropes burn off. What’s it gonna be?”
She eyed him for a good long while, but didn’t struggle against the ropes. He noted that her gaze occasionally flicked to the nearby clutch of eggs. “Okay, good. You want to take care of the eggs? Let’s try this.”
He decided to start at the feet, expecting that if he freed her head first, she’d simply decapitate him with her beak. So he very carefully cut the rope where it bound her feet together. As she straightened out her stiff legs, probably trying to restore some circulation after being bound that long, he quickly untied the knot securing the other end of the rope. After that, a quick tug on one side of the slip knot, and the kylling was free.
Allistor didn’t waste time sitting around to see what she’d do. He took hold of the hover cart, used his improved strength to tilt it and dump the brood mother ungracefully on her face, then made a run for it while pulling the cart behind him. His people laughed and cheered as he hauled butt toward the gate, not caring how it made him look.
She gradually got to her feet, roaring at him and the others and starting toward them with murder in her eyes. But she quickly saw that she wouldn’t catch him, and changed her path. Trotting over to the eggs, she nosed at the hole a bit, then looked around the enclosure as if searching for something.
Helen immediately said, “Grab some hides. The messed-up ones, not good for much. Especially scraps, bones, whatever we might have. Maybe grab some left-behind clothes or rugs from what’s left of the houses over there.” She pointed toward the closest ruined homes. “Their nests were made up of that stuff. Probably helped keep the eggs warm. Toss her some carcasses too.” Several people ran to carry out her orders.
The rest of them watched as she settled atop of the makeshift nest, never taking her eyes off the people standing in the doorway. Allistor had Nigel set a new ring of sensors around the walls to let him know if anything managed to climb up. He put two sets of stairs on the outside of the wall for his people to use when feeding the murder chickens.
And with that, it was time to call it a day.
Chapter 19
Darwin Was Right
The next few months were spent securing their holdings. Foraging and hunting parties continued to find stray survivors and bring them in. A few were attacked by the humans they encountered, and forced to eliminate them. Seven more of Allistor’s people died in these senseless attacks. Nineteen ambushers died as well. All of them were people who could have contributed to the new world, become part of something bigger, but chose to murder and steal instead.
One of those rescued was a small boy whose family was attacked as they traveled toward Cheyenne. They’d heard of Allistor’s Citadel and were looking for a safe place. Waylaid along the road, the boy’s mother had been killed quickly, and the father was still fighting when one of Allistor’s hunting parties heard the commotion and showed up to help. Unfortunately, the father was also killed before the fight was over. The hunters had been from the Warren, and brought the boy back there with them.
Meg and Sam immediately adopted the boy, who didn’t speak for several days. When Meg finally coaxed him into saying his name, he mumbled, “Cody.”
“Well, now! Nice to meet you, Cody!” Meg hugged the boy, and Sam patted him on the shoulder. “You’re gonna stay with us now, if that’s okay? We’ll look after you. Make sure you eat good. Teach you what you need to know.” Meg hugged him again. “Can you tell me how old you are?”
“I’m… this many.” Cody held up a hand with all five fingers opened up.
“Five? You’re five years old?” Sam asked.
Cody nodded.
Meg ruffled his hair a little, the blond locks sticking up afterwards. “Do you know when your birthday is?” Cody nodded, but didn’t say a word. Rolling her eyes and grinning at Sam as she realized she was going to have to word things more clearly, she said, “Can you tell us when your birthday is?”
“Fireworks day.” Cody mumbled, his hands fidgeting.
Sam asked, “You mean the fourth of July?”
“Yep. That one.” Cody answered, his head bobbing.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Sam mumbled.
“Sam! Not around the boy.” Meg slapped his arm.
“It’s okay miss Meg. My daddy said that word all the time. And shit, too.” The boy looked up at Sam with a half-smile, as if by saying bad words together they shared some kind of secret.
Chuckling, Sam put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “Damn right, son.” He saw the look Meg was giving him, and added, “But let’s just save it for when it’s just us men, alright?”
Cody nodded again, giving Sam a full smile this time.
It wasn’t long before Chloe adopted Cody, though the boy was older and larger. She scooped him up on the way to go tend the chickens and bunnies, and from that point on the two were inseparable. They played tag with Max, the big dog bowling them over and licking them into giggling spasms before taking off for them to chase him. The three of them would wear themselves out, report to Meg for a snack, then the kids would use Max as a pillow while they all napped.
Helen leveled up her Animal Husbandry skill working with the kyllings. She began feeding the brood mother by hand, always with at least two others guarding her back. The eggs hatched after a few weeks, and the humans began feeding the little ones immediately. The brood mother didn’t like it at first, snapping at the humans who tried to get close. But eventually she learned that humans meant food for her and the little ones, and she relented.
Helen began whistling at the giant murder chicken as she fed her, getting her used to the sound. Eventually, through the use of reward feedings for correct behavior and a rope, she could get the brood mother to move at her direction with a whistle and a tug on the rope. At the end of two months of daily practice, she didn’t need the rope anymore. And Helen could approach her alone, with no guards. They weren’t bonded, but it was progress.
The adults would stop by and marvel at the sight as well, fist-bumping each other and whispering about murder-chicken cavalry. The cowboys even tried to convince Helen to let them start saddle-training the little ones. She told them to wait until they were a bit larger, but to go ahead and have the leatherworkers start designing and creating saddles. This announcement was cause for a big celebration at the Warren, where they served – what else? – bbq kylling meat.
Allistor spent a lot of time on the road over these months, joining the hunting parties and undertaking diplomatic missions to the other Strongholds in Denver. By the time July 4th came around, he had established solid alliances with all but one. The lone holdout was Matthew, the same man who’d all but kicked Allistor out of his Stronghold after Allistor had rescued his daughter from Paul at the depository and returned her. Despite assurances from many survivors who’d been there, the man continued to blame Allistor for his wife’s death.
And Matthew didn’t just refuse an alliance. He was openly hostile whenever Allistor approached. His hunting parties twice attacked others, one of Allistor’s and one belonging to an allied Stronghold. There were no fatalities, fortunately, but with live rounds flying it was only a matter of time until someone was seriously hurt or killed. Matthew also lobbied the other Stronghold leaders, whispering to them that Allistor was taking advantage of them. That the whole alliance was just about gathering power for himself, and that everyone would end up as little more than his slaves. He spread rumors of Allistor taking young women from other Strongholds and adding them to his harem. And he kept making a more insidious suggestion.
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