The next day, you and your female-companion continue moving towards the big river…

Every morning, you wake up the girl at dawn to continue the path to the goal of the joint journey most effectively.

"But I'm very tired... Can't we rest?" - the sullen look of the sweet girl's face creates a kind of funny, ridiculous impression, but you have long been accustomed to keeping your emotions under control.

"Sorry for the indiscreet question, Brittany... How old are you?" - you ask, looking intently into her charming light brown eyes and continuing to walk forward among the thickets of steppe grass.

"What's the point of this question?! I'm 19 years old... My birthday was about a month ago..." - she replies grumpily.

The girl's cheeks (on which cute dimples are noticeable) slightly blushed from embarrassment.

"So... She is somewhat infantile... A recent child, not yet mature enough for this cruel world..." - you think, stopping and scratching the back of your head.

"And how old are you, Anton?" - she asks in a ringing voice.

"I am forty-two years old..." - you answer, realizing that your biological age is due to the multifactorial effect of cryostasis procedures on your body. Cryostasis lasted for many centuries... Therefore, from a formal point of view, you may now be about five hundred or even more years old. It is not yet possible to calculate this accurately due to lack of information. However, it is obvious to you that all these thoughts should not be voiced to any of the local inhabitants...

You are distracted from your thoughts by a gentle touch of a girl's hand on your hair. "Gray hair at the temples... It is so unusual in combination with the blackness of most of the hair..." - the girl's voice trembles slightly due to some incomprehensible internal emotions.

"Yeah, I guess I'm almost an old..." - you say with a smile, thinking that the average human life expectancy in this brutal post-apocalyptic world is probably pretty low.

Brittany snorts derisively.

You both continue walking forward.

"We need to get away from possible pursuit... Those bandits... We were lucky that they were lying drunk and sleeping that night... However, what do you think they'll do when they discover you're running away? They'll definitely try to catch up with us!" - your logical reasoning makes the girl turn pale with fear.

"That's why we need to try to move as quickly as possible... There were three bandits in those ruins. But they mentioned that they were members of the Hellhounds gang... What do you think will happen if they bring in additional forces to find you?" - you say, glancing at the girl.

The habit of rationally analyzing any phenomenon or problem has long been a trait of your character. Perhaps this has its downsides (for example: lack of emotionality and empathy). But such a mindset helps to predict the development of events and prepare for unpleasant "surprises".

It seems that due to the "surging" painful memories, Brittany almost burst into tears ...

"Well... I agree. We must move forward faster..." - she muttered.

So, hour after hour, the two travelers continue to walk among the steppe vast expanses of the area, which was once a populous "stronghold" of an ancient lost civilization...

Meanwhile, you not only observe the area, but also think about new information about the inhabitants of this region. Sometimes your grey eyes turn to the girl (she blushes again, thinking that you are noticing the wretchedness of her so-called "clothes") - but in fact you are thinking about something completely different: "This girl told the bandits the following about her father - he is rich, he has a boat and he earns money by transporting people across the river. She told me something more boastful about her father - supposedly, her father is one of the richest people along three rivers, a person who owns a fortified port and several armed transport ships. It seems that the girl is exaggerating a little... She is clearly afraid that I might leave her alone. And so she is trying to entice me with the hope of a reward from her rich dad... "

Then you analyze the information about this area obtained from various sources: "So, there is one large river here... Probably, it has tributary rivers... Obviously, the issue of transportation across the large river is extremely important. If Brittany didn't lie about her father's capabilities, I have a chance to quickly cross the river. And on the other side of this river there is a large local settlement. City of Axeman... Considering this girl's story, I have a rough idea of ​​where we should go now..."

"Brittany... Can you tell me a little about the City of Axeman?" - you say, continuing to walk forward and observe the area.

"Ohhh... Axeman-City is a huge city! Thousands of people live there! The markets there have a variety of goods: food, drinks, luxurious clothes, jewelry! Everything that the imagination can imagine! Dad and brothers have been there many times... But I myself have only heard stories about this city... And so I decided..." - it seems that your question touched a sensitive "point", the flow of the girl's eloquence clearly made it clear that you asked about something extremely impressive to her consciousness.

"Continue... what have you decided?" - you already have a premonition that something unpleasant is hidden behind the "rainbow dream".

"I decided to run away from home and visit Axeman-City myself..." - Brittany says this phrase in a dejected voice.

"I see... This action of yours led to problems..." - you summarize.

"I didn't know that I would be deceived! Dad would never let me go! So I secretly had to leave Port Williams and... And I tried to find reliable guides..." - the girl says in a trembling voice.

"By the way, how big is the settlement that your father manages?" - you change the subject, seeing that the girl is close to bursting into tears from the realization of the terrible reality that her own action led to.

"So... Port Williams... A three or four of hundred people live there... Mostly distant relatives of our family. And mercenaries. Sometimes traveling traders come… By wastelands standards, Port Williams is quite a significant settlement… Dad and my brothers are engaged in a profitable business: they manage the construction of boats, organize fishing and trade… And also…” she chatters incessantly.

Ahem…

A sad situation…

A miserable village with a population of a several of hundred inhaibitants, by the standards of this post-apocalyptic world is considered a “significant settlement”.

And a town whose population does not even reach 10,000 people is generally considered a huge “center of civilization” in this world.

You barely restrain the desire to utter some sarcastic phrase.

While Brittany was chatting, you managed to hear some suspicious sound in the tall grass ahead.

It seems that luck has run out…

An extremely unpleasant premonition prompts you to act quickly.

“Follow me! Quickly!” - you grab the girl by the hand and drag her towards a lonely leafless tree that rises among the grass and bushes.

"But..." - the girl does not have time to finish the sentence because you **** her to climb onto the tree branches.

You yourself climb up as quickly as possible and sit down on one of the large branches of the tree.

This incomprehensible sound increases...

Something between a hiss and a chirp...

A series of associations arises in your head, connected with some insect...

And a minute later you are convinced of the correctness of your premonition...

Unfortunately...

Several... huge insects emerge from the thickets of tall grass.

Three individuals, whose sizes reach almost two meters in length.

The body elements of these insects, familiar to you from your student youth, look like something grotesquely exaggerated and terrifying.

Cephalothorax…

Opisthosoma…

Chelicerae…

Frightening and terrifying scorpion pincers and a poisonous sting…

"This species is somewhat similar to Centruroides gracilis… However, what kind of powerful impact was needed to cause such a mutation?! Radiation exposure alone would clearly not be enough to achieve such an effect… A nightmarish sight… How powerful are the neurotoxins of these monsters?!" - you think, squeezing a tree branch with your legs and arms.

"Radscorpions!" - Brittany screams, frantically grabbing a tree branch.

You squeeze the handle of your automatic pistol in the palm of your right hand.

Aggressive predatory insects knock their pincers on the thick tree trunk…

Luckily, you and the girl managed to climb the tree to a height of about three meters.

Radscorpions do not reach you.

But these insects also show no intention of leaving...

These three monsters move around the tree and continue to make disgusting chirping and hissing sounds.

They wait for the prey to fall on its own...

And then they will tear this meat into bloody pieces.

So, now you have to choose a behavior model.

Option one: wait and hope that the radscorpions will leave on their own.

Option two: you attack the monsters, hoping to either kill them all or scare them away. There is ammunition in your bag (although not much). But the sound of gunshots can attract unwanted attention. Having solved one problem, you can provoke another problem.

Of course, in addition to the two obvious options, you can come up with something else...

But will you have enough time?

A sharp scorpion pedipalps strikes and tears off a piece of bark from this large tree...