Finneas joins the hunting party. They want him to be a look out while the steal wheat from a field. When the hunting party has gathered all the wheat they set the field on fire and a young woman storms out of a nearby house with a cross bow on her back. The men call her a witch and tell Finneas to attack her but he senses something isn't right about the situation. The woman calls them all fools and they are suddenly attacked by more zombie-like animals who are attracted by the burning fire's light.
The men run and Finneas disintegrates the animals easily with his powers. In the dark silence the young woman starts crying looking at what is left of her wheat fields. She looks like this:
She introduces her as 20-year-old Evangeline. She's a baker and explains the men were stealing because she refused them service when they propositioned her. With her house and wheat fields burned she now has no way to survive and is angry with Finneas. He says he will help her.
Evangeline gives some backstory to this post-apo world. At some point a disease spread over Earth turning animals and humans into flesh hungry zombie-like creatures. Only one city (NYC) has been able to rebuild and become a haven. While some people journey to it, the journey is tough and most have found ways to survive in the post-apocolyptic zombie landscape. Evangeline's sister was recently turned into a zombie and Evangeline had to kill her and she's been on her own since. She has a very hard shell.
Finneas (who she calls Finn and is referred to as Finn for the rest of the story in my head) says if he can get to the city and contact "his princess" she might be able to help. He explains Caelus has no idea what had happened to Earth since they left. She agrees to take the dangerous journey to the city with Finn because he has powers.
Oh, and there is some rustling in Finn's suit and they freak out that it is a zombie but then Orion, Xael's cat, pops out! He was hiding in the suit. IDK, I think I imagined the cat would be useful. Or, IDK maybe the cat is the reason he landed on Earth ?
So, in the next chapter they are on their journey to the city, they are camping out and a humaniod zombie creature attacks them in the night. Evangeline can't bring herself to let him kill it because she remembers how hard killing her sister was. She throws one of Finn's boots at it in an attempt to make it go. Well...Finn's boot is filled with the ash from the monsters that Xael used to weigh him down . When the ash sprinkles on the zombie...it turns back into a boy.
The boy has a tragic backstory I was still trying to work out. He is younger than them like 12 -14 and just turned.
The story was basically going to be Finn, Evangeline , this boy and another girl with a dark backstory (she is the sole survivor in her town and spends her days doing burial rights for everyone) traveling along the dystopic landscape, getting into adventures and trying to get to the city so they can alert Caelus and bring the cure to earth.
I was also fidgeting with a character in a bunker who has never seen the outside.
Along their journey they hear about a girl who came to the city who is unlike anyone else and they get to the city and discover Xael is there waiting because...IDK, the cat called her or something...that's as far as I got.
Now...why does the ash from the monsters in Caelus cure the zombies ?
IDK
BUT!
Guess where I got the idea for the black ash that has special properties....
One of the jars on Essex’s shelf was empty but it felt oddly warm to the touch. Another jar appeared to be filled with black dust. Creepy - Monet Drive, Chapter 8
Someone asked Lile about the black dust and she said she didn't know and I was like...GIMME!
Does it make sense why I called this Formless Zombie Apocolypse Fantasy Space Opera Aliens Assassian Wizard of Oz in 2016 ?
I'm contemplating a UL TDOSH when I'm feeling itchy but that's all folks!
****