Time until next Challenge: 10 days, 13 hours, 33 minutes

  Our first hour on the road was quiet. People from Gordonsville and the surrounding cities had cleared the way for us, and it was easy for Ariel to lean a little on the probabilities for any respawns, making them appear early enough for others to slay, or late enough that they couldn’t catch up. Stabcrabs and hellbees were the biggest issues for our fleet. We’d encountered plenty the day before, monsters that had been wandering the highway for days or weeks before we arrived, but today we didn’t encounter any of either.

  Still, when an hour had passed without a single Titan attack, I felt uncomfortable. “Ariel, are local defenders taking down Titans before they reach us? Can Hamlet not spawn them right on the road for some reason? He didn’t have problems yesterday.”

  

  I passed this along to the group, adding, “I don’t like that. I doubt Hamlet or Sharp Contrasts gave up on killing us. They’re trying something.”

  “Some of the swifter Titans can outpace our fleet,” Pointy observed. “Could he be waiting to throw more at us at once?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” I said. “I don’t know what to do about that, though. Worse, it’s hilly enough that we’re kind of trapped on the route we planned out, whether the cars can off-road or not.”

  Pointy rolled her eyes. “That hardly matters. Being able to change direction is helpful for avoiding slow opponents, but it would only let swift foes reach us more quickly.”

  I clenched my fists. “True, I guess. I just don’t know what we can do.”

  Everyone in my car exchanged glances. Marie lifted a hand to her head, communicating with her military superiors, before she spoke. “Not much, unfortunately. This is exactly why we wanted you in Fort Defiance.”

  “I’m on my way,” I growled. “Can’t get there any faster.”

  Marie gave me a suspicious look, likely remembering our earlier argument, but let the matter rest, closing her eyes again. She sighed. “Well, we have one advantage at least: if Hamlet is planning on having a big group converge on you, we’ll get at least a little warning. Actually, as soon as Ariel senses the first Titan nearby, it should tell us exactly when to expect the attack. General Heggins expects that Hamlet will have them arrive either simultaneously or one right after another.”

  “Why would they not arrive all at… ah, so someone with a limited-time Specialty has a harder time taking down multiples. Yeah, that makes sense.” I frowned. “I’ll let you know as soon as Ariel spots anything.”

  “Please do,” Marie said. “Depending on how much warning we get, the Arsenal might be able to mobilize locals to provide additional support.”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  I don’t want to feed some poor farmers to the Titans as snacks! I thought. But… with my kids, friends, and husband present, I didn’t argue. Better some strangers than my loved ones, as sick as the thought made me.

  I suddenly suspected why the Arsenal had been so accommodating about a boneheaded plan like letting me keep my kids with me. I could just imagine Colonel Yoshiro and some others around some conference table with a hand-drawn posterboard emblazoned with “Operation: Encourage Meghan Not to be a Dumbass.”

  I shook my head, shoving these thoughts aside. I wasn’t perfect and I’d never pretended to be. I didn’t ask for, well, any of this. I didn’t have to be perfect; I just had to be good enough, and self-consciousness and doubts about unchangeable past decisions didn’t help anyone.

  What could help us?

  Ariel, how many of the Titans can catch up with us?

  <17 of the 32 varieties can match your typical speed of travel if not impaired. However, minimal acceleration will let you outpace all but variety #20, variety #25, and the twotwos.>

  Titan #20 were the yellow speedsters with the paralysis stingers in their tails. #25 was a fast flying monster. It wasn’t too dissimilar from the twotwos, but it was larger and stronger, and had traded in the twotwos’ stealth for the ability to shoot a sticky web material over a wide area.

  I passed on Ariel’s analysis to the group. “So it’ll most likely be a mob of one of those varieties. Maybe a mixed force?”

  Vince frowned. “None of those are easy to deal with in large numbers. The twotwos are just hard to spot coming, and each of the other two has the ability to slow someone down and set them up for an ally to kill.”

  I snorted. “What Titan is easy to deal with in large numbers?”

  Vince opened his mouth to argue, then paused. “Okay. Fair point. But these are extra tough.”

  I grimaced, but couldn’t argue. Instead, I turned to Marie. “Can you contact the Arsenal? We should let people know to expect these varieties and be ready to fight them. Even if all they can do is cut the wing of a #25, that might be enough to keep it from coordinating its arrival with other monsters.”

  She nodded tightly.

  We were operating on almost pure speculation right now, but no one objected. Our survival balanced on a knife’s edge and we had to keep making the right decisions time after time after time, or else die.

  We drove for perhaps another thirty minutes before Ariel interrupted.

  

  

  “Ariel’s seeing spawns,” I said. “All twotwos so far. ETA is 25 minutes.”

  “Damnit!” Vince cursed. “That’s the most difficult type of monster to spot. Even if people are watching, they’re going to miss most of them. How many Titans does Ariel say can reach us at the same time?”

  Ariel answered before I could even repeat the question. I froze.

  “Meghan?” Vince asked.

  I met his eyes. “Fifty-three.”

  Hey, have you visited your local library lately? With their funding under threat (at least in the US), now's a great time to show your support. Plus, you might be surprised at all the cool programs your local library offers! Mine will let patrons do one free 3D print each month, which is pretty nuts.

  (Up to Bk. 5, Ch. 24) * * * * * * *