Ethan gripped the shovel, its blade crusted with wolf blood, as he stepped onto the cracked pavement leading to the western buildings. Mia walked beside him, axe tucked into her belt, the duffel slung over her shoulder. Riley and Vance led the merged groups—thirty strong now—machete and pipe in hand, their crews fanning out with spears, bats, and scavenged blades. The structures loomed ahead: a strip mall, its storefronts gutted, glass crunching underfoot, signs for a pharmacy and grocery store dangling from rusted frames. The red-streaked sky cast a dim glow, shadows twisting through the wreckage.
[Predator Sense] hummed, picking up faint skitters south, a low rumble north, but nothing close. The air smelled of mold and burnt plastic, the breach's chaos etched into the scene—shelves toppled, a car smashed through a wall, its hood crumpled. Riley raised her machete, signaling a halt. "Supplies here," she said, nodding to the grocery store's shattered entrance. "Food, meds—whatever's left."
Vance adjusted his pipe, gesturing to the pharmacy. "We take that. Split the haul, no fights."
"Deal," Riley said, waving her group forward. "Move quick."
Ethan led Mia, Cal, and Tara into the grocery store, the duffel thumping against his back. Pete and the burly man followed, spear and sledgehammer ready. The interior was a maze of overturned aisles, cans and boxes scattered across the tile, a freezer door hanging open, its contents melted into a sticky puddle. [Perception] caught the glint of a dented soup can under a shelf. Ethan grabbed it, tossing it into the duffel.
Cal pried open a crushed display with his crowbar, pulling out a bag of rice, its seam torn but holding. "Still good," he said, handing it to Mia.
Tara kicked a pile of debris, uncovering a jar of peanut butter, and tucked it under her arm. "Better than nothing," she said, bat resting on her shoulder.
The burly man smashed a locked cabinet with his sledgehammer, glass shattering, revealing a stack of granola bars. Pete speared a fallen box of bandages, lifting it to the duffel. "For the road," he said, shaking dust off his hands.
A sharp clatter echoed from the back—metal on tile, not human. Ethan raised the shovel, signaling silence. [Predator Sense] flared—scales, a slithering rasp, coming from the stockroom. Riley stepped in from the entrance, machete up, joining them. "What's that?" she whispered.
"Trouble," Ethan said, nodding to the rear door, its frame bent, darkness pooling beyond.
They crept forward, weapons raised, the duffel left with Pete. The stockroom door creaked as Ethan pushed it open, revealing a cavern of crates and spilled goods—flour bags burst, a pallet of water bottles tipped over. A creature coiled in the corner—a python, thick as a man's thigh, its scales shimmering green, eyes glinting in the dim light. It hissed, tongue flicking, and struck, jaws unhinging toward Cal.
Ethan swung the shovel, cracking its skull mid-lunge, the blow sharp with [Serpent Slayer]'s edge. The python recoiled, thrashing, and Mia's axe slashed its side, blood spraying. Riley's machete finished it, severing the head, the body twitching on the tile.
[Monster slain: Breach Python]
[Attributes Gained: +1 Agility]
[Rewards Gained: None]
Cal wiped sweat from his brow, crowbar steady. "Close one."
"Too close," Tara said, stepping over the corpse, bat tapping the floor.
Riley kicked the head aside, gesturing to the water bottles. "Grab what you can. We're not staying."
Ethan hauled a crate of bottles to the duffel, Mia and Cal stacking cans beside it. Tara scooped up a bag of dried fruit, tossing it in. Pete and the burly man dragged the load to the entrance, where Vance's crew waited, their own haul—bandages, pill bottles—piled near the pharmacy.
Vance nodded as Riley approached, pipe resting on the ground. "Even split?"
"Even," Riley said, dropping a sack of cans beside his gear. "Wolves'll be back—move west?"
"Tracks that way," Vance said, pointing to a road curving beyond the mall. "Let's go."
Ethan shouldered the duffel, shovel in hand, and fell in with Mia. The groups merged again, supplies clanking, heading for the road as the skitters south grew louder.