The Connected System

“What the hell is that,” someone said.

Piper wasn’t sure who it was. One of the new people that was with them. Not one of the Hunters. She couldn’t remember all of their names, but thought she’d recognize their voices. The new team of five, the last couple days was the first time she’d met them and hadn’t really interacted with them.

There were two women on the team. An Archer and Healer. They’d introduced themselves when they’d tried to talk to her. In a motherly kind of way. She felt bad that she’d already forgotten.

“Giant Chipmunk,” a voice answered, one that Piper recognized. Jenny Bannock. “Keep an eye out. If it’s just one it’ll avoid us but if it’s a pack….”

There was comfort in the sound of voices she knew.

There were just so many new people being introduced. It never seemed to stop.

She was starting to feel overwhelmed.

It was hard to tell if the two women were just being friendly or trying to ‘suck up to her’, as Harper had put it one night when they were in their room trying to fall asleep. Dad had been somewhere else. On the rare nights they were in their room at the school, she wasn’t even sure if her Dad slept. She fell asleep before he arrived and he was gone before she woke up.

He was incredibly busy, she knew that, but hoped he was getting the rest he needed.

The Clan needed him.

She needed him to be there for her.

Harper had said that because of who Dad was, and what that made them, people would try to take advantage of them. These people would try to get friendly with them. But it wasn’t real. They just wanted to get closer to her Dad.

Piper wasn’t naive. She was thirteen and knew a lot. She understood what Harper meant but when she was honest with herself, she couldn’t figure out when people were being genuinely nice or trying to use her.

It made it so hard to trust people.

After the battle with the gaunts, in one of the few spare moments when she could try to be a teenager, she’d been hanging out with her new friend Nicole. It was hard to just be teenage girls, they didn’t have makeup or extra clothes or any of the normal things they’d use when hanging out. But they were trying.

At least until Nicole’s father, Barry, had come by. She thought Barry Bosch was her Dad’s age but couldn’t be sure. He was shorter than Dad, not as strong looking. Barry wasn’t fat, but he wasn’t as fit as most of the other men. Piper thought it meant that Barry wasn’t a guard or any of the combat related jobs in the Clan. He didn’t look like one of the laborers either. His clothes were too clean. She had wondered what he did.

Barry had practically ignored his own daughter in favor of talking with Piper. He came across as too friendly. Even before the Connected, Piper had come across those adults. She hated them. Leaning in too close. Talking to her like she was a child. It was all fake.

He’d asked a lot of questions about her mother, the same as the two women had, but Barry’s hadn’t felt the same. The two women seemed more concerned. Barry just felt odd. He asked how she was doing, how her dad was. After the first couple polite questions, Barry had really started to ask about her Dad.

It had been a little creepy.

She’d wished that Cerie had been there. The fairy had been at the maximum range she could be separately from Piper, about ten feet or more now. The range had grown as Piper had Leveled up. Cerie would have been able to hear but had been involved in a deep discussion with one of the Council members. It had been a boring conversation about crop growth, seed planting and other things Piper couldn’t pay attention to.

Part of her knew she should. It was important information about growing food for the Clan. She was the daughter of the Clanchief. She had a responsibility to the Clan, just like her father. She knew she would never be a Clanchief, that would be Harper and nothing would ever happen to Harper so it was not something Piper had to worry about.

She didn’t know what her future would be.

Behind Barry, almost hiding, Piper could see Nicole. The other teen looked scared and worried. She had mouthed ‘sorry’, making a small sound that had drawn a sharp glance from Barry. After making sure Nicole wouldn’t talk, Barry had returned his attention to Piper. He hadn’t crouched down to her eye level, instead kind of hunching that kept his head a foot or so above hers.

A position of strength, she thought it had been called. Something her mother had told her once after meeting with a mechanic. They thought it made them more powerful to stand over someone else, to try and make the other person feel smaller.

It had been working on Piper. But Barry had also been an adult doing it to a kid.

Barry had kept asking questions, Piper only giving one word answers.

She could tell that Barry had been getting madder and madder. She could see it in his eyes. He had been starting to scare her.

Cerie had zipped over, which had prompted Barry to grab Nicole and leave.

Piper hadn’t gotten a chance to hang out with the other teen since. She’d seen her around the school and knew that Nicole wanted to hang out but it looked like her father was keeping her away. Which really bothered Piper. Nicole had been her only friend.

She had thought about telling her Dad, but thought that would make it worse. Dad was always saying that they couldn’t use their power to gain extra benefits. People would give it to them, but they couldn’t ask or force it. Most times they could refuse, but sometimes it might be considered an insult.

Piper had no idea how to tell the difference. She wasn’t sure she even understood the idea.

She didn’t want people giving her stuff or trying to take advantage of her. She just wanted a friend. Cerie was her friend, but it was hard talking with the fairy sometimes.

Their point of views and life experiences were just so different. Cerie had been an adult when she had been killed and her being was locked into the Codex Band. The fairy had called it her soul. Piper knew what a soul was, and she knew there were lots of different interpretations about what happened to a soul upon death. She hated the idea of Cerie being trapped in the Codex Band, with no way of escaping and truly moving on from this life.

Not only were there the years of life between them, it was what had happened in those years. Cerie had been born and grown up in a world that had been Connected for centuries. She knew nothing but life under the Connected System. Not only that but she was a Fairy, with all the cultural differences that implied.

They were two different ages and came from two different worlds.

Not a lot in common.

Which was why Piper had been so excited to meet Nicole. Harper had some people that she’d gone to school with. None of her good friends but people she knew and had grown up with. And she had Davis. Piper had no one.

Until Nicole and now she was back to having no one.

Even her Dad. He was just too busy with everything else. She understood. He had a lot of responsibility now. Even Harper was taking on more. But no one wanted to offer any to Piper. She was just thirteen. Still a kid to most of them.

She wanted that responsibility. She wanted to prove to them all that she could handle it.

She was a Brady. Just like her dad and just like Harper.

The wind rushed through the trees, pushing at her hair and robes. Piper held the robes down, hating the things. Why couldn’t she get pants? She liked the colors of the robes but not that they were robes. She’d never been a big dress fan, preferring leggings, and now she had to wear things that were like a dress but heavier. They didn’t flow right.

She wore them because of the bonuses that she got from them. Piper didn’t fully understand how it all worked but her dad believed it and Cerie confirmed that the clothing worked. She loved the boots but had to keep the robes for the set bonuses. Piper hoped she could replace the set soon, even the boots if she had to. Couldn’t she wear pants?

Her hand brushed against the wand in its sheath hanging from her belt. Another thing where she felt inadequate compared to her dad and Harper. They had special armor and weapons. She had the armor but the only weapon she had was the wand. She didn’t even have any offensive Abilities with her Class.

Cerie kept insisting she’d get some, but when? She was Level Fourteen already. The third strongest person in the Clan. Or was she the fourth now? Wasn’t that Drew guy close to or equal to Harper’s Level? And Elora was higher than she was? Or were they equal?

Piper wasn’t sure.

All she knew was that she was one of the strongest in the Clan but they didn’t treat her that way. She just wanted to help. At least her dad let her come along with them. It was mostly for Cerie and the Spatial Bag, but Piper was there. She was being put into danger, even if most of the time they made her stay in the back.

She was okay with that part. She’d seen her dad and Harper fight in melee combat. That was an odd word. Melee and ranged. It was scary watching them. They got hurt, alot, but still healed up. It was nothing permanent. Harper had said it was painful, but the price they paid for what they did. Which had been a very adult thing for Harper to say.

Piper didn’t want to get hurt, but she would if it meant protecting the people of the Clan.

How her life had changed in such a short time. Most days, she could forget all the death and killing, and mom still missing. She didn’t cry herself to sleep anymore. That was one thing Piper was very proud of. She didn’t think her dad knew she had done that in the early days of the Connection. She had tried keeping it from him. He had enough to worry about.

But she’d been so scared and missing mom so much.

She was still scared, still missing mom, but could handle it better now.

Would be able to handle it much better if she just had a friend.

Piper sighed. Maybe when they got back, she could find Nicole and start over. Maybe Nicole’s father would have forgotten whatever it was he had wanted to use Piper for. Maybe there would even be more kids her age at the Clanhold when they got back.

“We’ll camp here,” her dad said, drawing Piper’s attention.

She hadn’t realized she’d zoned out as they walked. After the fight with the Bugbears, Elora had picked up the trail of the Wendigo again. The Bugbears had been ugly. She hadn’t understood why they were called Bugbears. They didn’t look like bears or bugs. Cerie hadn’t been any help. She didn’t know either. The creatures, she said, had been present on Tirna, but not native. Brought over by the Connected System, the same as now on Earth.

Just like the prior couple days, it was more walking through the thick woods. She’d walked the trails with her dad when younger, but hiking and walking through the woods had never been a favorite activity. She had fun, but wouldn’t have chosen to go on her own. Unlike her dad, and somewhat Harper, she hadn’t paid much attention to landmarks when out in the woods. She knew this wood was between Coe-Brown and her home, what used to be her home as she doubted she’d ever go back, but it wasn’t familiar.

And it was just so much bigger.

The walk was boring. Being stuck in the middle of the group, she wasn’t able to see much of the woods. There was always a body mostly in the way. Just bits and pieces of trees, bushes, branches, rocks and more of the same. Walking, she couldn’t even sketch in her book. And because there were dangers in the wild woods, she couldn’t even talk to Cerie or anyone else.

It was boring.

There was just so much more walking now. They walked everywhere. The world was larger. No matter how many times she was told that, Piper just couldn’t understand the reasoning. She just knew it was true. Even with the slower walking, because of needing to watch out for monsters and the rougher ground, the world had gotten huge.

The clearing was just like any of the others they’d camped in. Just a big open space between the trees. Not round, the ring of trees was uneven. It wasn’t that large, with all their tents it was going to be cramped. And just like always, she wouldn’t be asked to be on watch.

She hated that.

Why couldn’t she stay up later, or wake up earlier like her dad and Harper, and keep an eye out for threats?

Moving to the middle, a bunch of eyes on her making her nervous, Piper reached into the Spatial Bag, pulling out tents, sleeping bags and the other camping supplies. The bag was getting full with the supplies they’d come with and what they’d been finding along the way. The Bugbears armor and weapons were taking up most of the space. Sometimes she felt like she was nothing more than a wagon. The bag was the only reason she was allowed out of the Clanhold.

She didn’t blame her dad. Kim Hudson had explained that her dad was torn, and Piper could see it in the way he talked and acted. He wanted her around, to have her by his side so he could protect her, but at the same time he wanted her safely tucked away somewhere.

Kim was nice. One of the few that Piper didn’t think were trying to take her mom’s spot. She didn’t need someone pretending to be her mom. She’d have her mom back soon enough. Kim was like an Aunt or Cousin. Like a sitter.

Piper just wanted everyone to stop treating her like a kid.

Once all the camping gear was handed out, Piper moved out of the way. She found a large tree and sat down in front of it, pulling a notebook and pencil out of her satchel. Flipping through it, she found the middle of the book, which Kristin had said to use. There was no message waiting, so Piper started writing hers.

Camping for the night. Ran across monsters called Bugbears. Still no sign of the Wendigo.

She lifted the pencil off the page, sending a small amount of her Spirit from her core into the notebook. The words started to glow, the letters fading one by one from the beginning, the glow disappearing with the last period.

The pages fluttered as a gust of wind blew into the clearing. She closed her eyes against the force as small leaves and twigs were kicked up.

“Wind’s picking up,” her dad said, raising his voice to be heard. “We’ll need extra anchors.”

Piper closed the notebook and replaced it back in her Spatial Bag. She removed a different notebook, the cover green instead of blue. She opened it.

“Cerie, where were we last night?”

The fairy landed on Piper’s shoulder, letting her natural glow fade to its lowest. She still gave off light, the green tinting the white of the paper, but it wasn’t as bright. Soft and soothing. Piper felt Cerie’s small feet shifting as the fairy settled down, sitting cross legged.

“We were talking about Resource Dungeons.”

“Right. Okay…,” Piper said, holding the tip of the pencil on the magical notebook. “You had said that there were ranks of Resource Dungeons?”