Lighting The Way To Safety

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Job Sign-Up: Page 5, Post Number 102

-Abandoned Cabin, midnight-

"Wow, Lucia! There sure are a lot of those dead people out here!" Lumie said to Lucia, who was somewhat dressed for the cold night in her casual outfit while holding Lumie's candleholder in her left hand and Shining Light in her right hand. Lucia looked ahead of her on the moonlit open space ahead of her and saw the area's namesake, the Abandoned Cabin. She could also see the zombies shambling around the cabin and did a quick tally. The blonde estimated that she had twenty-one zombies to deal with before she could approach the cabin itself.

Lucia had been hired by the Gardner family in Magnolia Town to rescue their adventurous daughter, a novice mage named Alicia Gardner who had ambitions of exploring the world and had decided to start by exploring the area around the Abandoned Cabin. Unfortunately for Alicia she had gotten in over her head and had been chased into the cabin by zombies that were far more numerous than she had anticipated. Lucia knew this because she had been told so by the family and had listened to the panicked voice message from Alicia telling her parents how she had gotten into trouble. Now it was up to Lucia to save Alicia.

"You said it, Lumie. But we've got what it takes to handle them." Lucia assured her small candle companion that together the two of them would clear out the zombies and save the novice mage from the undead.

"We'll save that young woman and give those dead people peace!" Lumie declared and folded his little arms over his chest. Lucia could not help but to smile a little. Lumie seemed to be inexperienced about how the world worked, but his heart was in the right place. He really seemed to want to do good.

The blonde started to walk towards the cabin and paused in place when Lumie pointed out a zombie shuffling awkwardly approximately twenty meters to her left. The zombie was wearing woodland camo hunting attire with a bright orange safety vest and holding an empty bolt-action rifle with the bolt hanging open. A large chunk had been taken out of his throat and she could see the deep wound in the moonlight, causing her to shudder. Lucia took a deep breath and aimed Shining Light at his head.

Lucia squeezed the trigger and fired a single shot at the target. The undead hunter fell to the soil with a bullet hole through his head and Lucia faced forward again. The moment she had fired the pistol the zombies in the distance had been galvanized into action. They had been aimlessly shambling about without paying heed to their surroundings, but now they shambled towards her in a group with their arms outstretched like something out of... well, a zombie movie. Now they were thirty meters away and closing in on her one shuffling step at a time.

"There's a lot of them heading right for us! Be careful!" Lumie warned Lucia. The blonde nodded and stood her ground. She would pick off the closest zombies first and work her way through the group. Lucia raised Shining Light and aimed it at the head of the first zombie, a female wearing a leather cuirass and metal greaves whose face had had some of its flesh bitten off by zombies. She must have been an adventurer before her untimely end.

Lucia aimed for her forehead and fired a single shot. The zombie moaned and fell to the ground never to rise again. Lucia aimed at another zombified hunter dressed exactly like the first zombie she had laid to rest and fired, taking him down. Lucia noticed that at this point Shining Light was so easy to wield that it practically aimed itself at the zombie who was the closest threat to her. The blonde wondered if what Edgar from Hargeon Handguns had said about Shining Light being supernatural was true.

Lucia fired a single shot and brought down a third zombie, then aimed again and brought down a fourth, then a fifth. There were only sixteen more to go before she could go to the cabin and check on Alicia. The zombies were now about twenty-six meters from her and showed no signs of slowing down, but Lucia had plenty of time to bring them all down before she was seriously threatened by them. Zombies were not exactly the toughest opposition for someone armed with a magic handgun and the will to use it to help others.

[Post Word Count: 758]
[Total Word Count: 758/2,500]

-Twenty minutes later-

The last zombie of the group fell face-first to the ground about five meters away from Lucia with a hole in its head from Shining Light. She could have ended the fight sooner if she had not retreated ten meters to give herself room for error during the fight. At any rate, Lucia had dispatched all the zombies in the group that had come after her, leaving her free to go to the Abandoned Cabin and rescue Alicia before more zombies who had heard the commotion came along.

"Yeah! Way to go, Lucia!" Lumie cheered shortly after the last zombie had fallen. Lucia gave a small smile to her candle companion. She had just cleared the only obstacles between her and the cabin, so she began to walk towards it and look around for any zombies who may have arrived late to the action. Lucia walked all the way to the door without seeing any and paused just outside of it. She looked around the side of the building and did not spot any zombies, so she assumed the coast was clear.

"We're here. I hope that Alicia doesn't mistake me for a zombie and try to bash me in the head with anything." Lucia said to Lumie before putting Shining Light back into its holster and reaching for the doorknob. Lucia put her fingers on it and carefully opened the door, then drew Shining Light in order to be ready for whatever might be lurking on the other side of the door.

-Inside the Abandoned Cabin-

Lucia entered the cabin to find an interior space with a glowing lacrima lantern in the top left corner plus a young blonde in casual clothing standing in the top right corner armed with a shovel. Lucia looked towards the young woman, who raised the shovel to strike at the blonde should she get any closer. The blonde decided to keep her distance and introduce herself before approaching the younger blonde.

"Hello there. I'm Lucia Winchester. You must be Alicia Gardner. Your parents hired me to rescue you from this place before it was too late." Lucia gave her name and explained why she was here. The young woman looked at Lucia for a moment before setting the shovel down and rushed over to the mage, embracing her with both arms. Lucia patted her on the back and did her best to keep Lumie from burning the novice mage as they embraced. A few seconds later and Alicia released Lucia.

"Thank Ishgar you're here! I sent that voice message to my parents hours ago and I was afraid that those zombies would bust the door down before I'd be rescued!" Alicia said. She was a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair dressed in an orange t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans with white tennis shoes. On her head was an orange baseball cap. She was approximately four inches shorter than her rescuer. Lucia smiled.

"You're safe now... if we leave before more of them arrive. I think that there's more on the way. I killed all of them I could find outside the cabin, but there might be some from the surrounding area on their way to check out the source of the noise. Gunshots are pretty loud, after all." Lucia said to Alicia. The brunette gave a nervous smile.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get going before more of them show up!" Alicia said. Lucia faced the door and pointed Shining Light towards the open doorway.

"I'll go outside and look around to make sure that the coast is clear. Wait for my command." Lucia commanded. Alicia nodded and clutched the shovel. Lucia went outside to check for any newly arrived zombies before she gave Alicia the all-clear.

-Outside the Abandoned Cabin-

Lucia walked outside the cabin and looked around the immediate area for zombies. The front was clear, but she did not know about the sides, so Lucia began a lap around the building. Lucia went right and circled around while pointing Shining Light straight ahead of her. The pistol-packing mage glanced around the back and did not see any zombies, so she continued her lap and walked around to the right side of the building. There she spotted absolutely nothing, but she thought that she heard moaning in the distance. She looked around and spotted human figures shambling in the distance about sixty meters to her right... she believed that they were more zombies looking for a late-night snack.

Lucia briskly walked to the open door of the cabin and called inside.

"Alicia, it's safe to come out. There's no zombies out here... yet. They're about sixty meters away, though, so we don't have much time." Lucia called to Alicia. Lucia heard the sound of metal clanging against wood... she must have dropped the shovel where she had found it. Alicia came out of the building without the shovel.

"OK, Lucia. Let's get going before they arrive. I've been in that cabin long enough!" Alicia agreed to get moving and fell in behind Lucia.

"OK Lucia, let me make things a little brighter for us!" Lumie said. He inhaled air and puffed his cheeks, causing the area in a twenty-five meter radius to become brighter... and glow pale blue. Alicia jumped.

"Who said that?!" Alicia asked. Lucia smiled and turned around to show Lumie.

"This is my pet candle Lumie. He's going to light the way for us." Lucia said. Lumie waved at Alicia, who blinked in response. Then the shorter blonde smiled and waved back.

"I can't say that I've seen a living candle before. He's kinda cute." Alicia said with a smile. They heard moaning in the distance, prompting Lucia to turn around.

"OK Alicia, if you'd follow me, we'll get going back to Magnolia Town." Lucia urged Alicia.

"Sure thing. Lead the way, Lucia." Alicia said. Lucia began walking towards the exit while her charge followed close behind her. It would be a long walk out of here, but together Lucia and Alicia would make it to safety.

[Post Word Count: 1,014]
[Total Word Count: 1,772/2,500]

-On the outskirts of Magnolia Town, early morning-

The pair of blondes had made it through the Abandoned Cabin area without encountering any serious undead opposition. Other than the occasional zombie that was easily dispatched with a single shot to the head from Shining Light, Lucia had encountered no real opposition while guiding Alicia out of the Abandoned Cabin area. Now they were on the outskirts of Magnolia Town and more than a little tired from the constant walking: the adrenaline that had sustained them through the Abandoned Cabin area had finally worn off. Lucia holstered Shining Light because she would not need it here. Alicia took off her baseball cap and held it in her left hand to fan herself.

"Man, I'm glad we're out of that place!" Alicia said to Lucia. Lucia smiled and looked towards the shorter blonde.

"Your parents told me that you were a mage who wanted to explore the world. That's a good goal, but I don't think you should start your adventuring career in such a dangerous place." Lucia gently chided Alicia now that they were out of danger. Alicia looked towards Lucia and blushed.

"Yeah, you're right." Alicia confessed to Lucia. The former then smiled.

"I turned eighteen about two months ago. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be a traveling mage like my older brothers Joseph, Ken, Larry, and Michael. My parents promised that when I turned eighteen they'd let me travel on my own. I wanted to go somewhere exciting for my first exploration, but I went overboard and picked the last place a newbie mage should go." Alicia made another confession to Lucia. The shorter blonde stopped fanning herself and held the hat at her left side.

"What I did was really, really dumb, but I've learned from this. Next time I go somewhere I'm going to be prepared. I'm going to take some time off and ask my parents or older brothers to teach me some more spells before I go somewhere else." Alicia told the taller blonde her plan of action for next time. Lucia smiled. She was not going to give the novice mage a lecture. Lucia was still something of a novice herself... being dead for four years really put one behind the curve when it came to learning to use magic.

"Just be more careful next time you pick somewhere to explore, OK?" Lucia asked Alicia. Alicia smiled.

"Don't worry, Lucia. I'll be a lot more careful next time." Alicia assured Lucia. Alicia put her baseball cap back on and looked towards Magnolia Town.

"Well, we'd better get to my house. I'm sure that my parents are worried sick!" Alicia said. Lucia nodded.

"OK, Alicia. Lead me to your house." Lucia said to Alicia. The orange-clad blonde nodded and took the lead, guiding them into Magnolia Town and towards the Gardner house.

-Outside the Gardner house, ten minutes later-

Alicia and Lucia stood outside a single-story brick house located a short distance away from the town outskirts. Alicia walked up to the white wooden door and rang the doorbell located to the right of the door. Seconds later the door was opened by a middle-aged blonde woman wearing an orange t-shirt and long white skirt with white sandals. She looked at the shorter blonde and cupped her hands over her mouth.

"Alicia! You made it home! I'm so glad to see you!" The woman exclaimed. She stepped out of the door and embraced Alicia who embraced her mother in return. Lucia and Lumie kept their distance while the spectacle of mother and daughter reuniting played out. Mother and daughter embraced for a few moments before separating.

"Yeah Mom, I made it home thanks to Lucia there. She killed the zombies who had chased me into the Abandoned Cabin and guided me out of the area. I wouldn't have made it without her!" Alicia gave credit to Lucia for the latter's part in getting her home. The older blonde turned towards Lucia and smiled.

"I can't thank you enough for rescuing my daughter. She's just like I used to be at her age... always looking for adventure and always on the go. Her father and older brothers are the same way. So were her paternal grandparents." The older woman thanked Lucia for rescuing Alicia before hinting that adventuring ran in the Gardner family. Lucia smiled.

"It's no trouble, Mrs. Gardner. I'm just glad that I arrived in time to rescue her." Lucia said. Lumie smiled too. The little candle was clearly proud of himself after his first successful rescue mission.

"Thanks again, Lucia. I'm kinda tired, so I'm going to go crash in my room for awhile. Maybe we'll meet again one day under less dangerous circumstances." Alicia said. Lucia smiled again.

"Maybe we will. I look forward to it." Lucia replied to Alicia. Alicia waved goodbye and went inside while her mother stayed outside.

"I can't thank you enough, Miss Winchester. My husband was hours away from getting his shotgun and gathering some of his old adventuring buddies to go on a rescue mission. My husband's a good man who will move mountains for our daughter, but he walks with a limp ever since an adventure in Desierto over ten years ago. I'm worried that if he got separated from his friends and got into trouble he couldn't run fast enough to get away from those zombies. Now he doesn't have to take that risk." The woman thanked Lucia for saving her husband in addition to her daughter. She pulled out a bag of Jewels and approached Lucia. She handed them to the blonde and Lucia thanked her for the payment.

"Getting my daughter back's worth every last Jewel. Thank you so much for what you've done for us!" The older Gardner expressed her appreciation once again. Lucia smiled.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Gardner." Lucia repeated. The older woman looked towards the house.

"Well, I'd better get back inside. Thank you so much for rescuing Alicia!" She said before walking towards the house, going inside, and shutting the door. With her work complete, Lucia turned around and headed for home. It was going to be a long walk, but she would manage the trip just fine.

[Post Word Count: 1,045]
[Total Word Count: 2,817/2,500]