"This…may have been a mistake," Jovian said nervously.
The dad crawled to Jovian's feet and grabbed it with both hands.
"Please, just take the meat and leave! Take me if you must, but spare my son!" he pleaded, blood dripping from his nose..
The dad looked up and noticed the emblem on Jovian's jacket.
"Th-the Sleepwalker King! I'm so sorry, sir, take whatever you want," the dad said, fear wrapped around every word.
Jovian began to speak before being interrupted.
"My son and I just got back from the Fancies, we traded all of our money we had been saving for this premium meat, so I'm sure it's up to your standards. It's to celebrate my son becoming a Waker," the dad explained.
Jovian panicked and began backing up to the window.
"Uh, congrats, kid," Jovian said before making his way out the window and down the building.
He ran at top speed while feeling the overwhelming guilt an inch behind him. He slid to a stop in front of his group and quickly grabbed Terry by his shirt. He opened his mouth to yell but stopped and released Terry.
"Jovian, what happened?" Terry asked.
Jovian stared at him blankly while Terry read his mind. Terry's eyes widened slowly and Jovian simply nodded.
"But…I…well, damn Jovian, you sure beat those bandits. They sure were tough!" Terry yelled as he slapped Jovian on the shoulder.
"Y-yeah, they sure were," Jovian said nervously.
"Onward!" Terry ordered and started walking.
They pressed on through the city, and the further they went, the more destroyed everything became. Finally, they reached the lake, or what used to be a lake. Ninety percent of it had dried up, and there were large stretches of land that could be walked on.
Harry Jr. stepped forward and sent a flare up into the sky.
"I have arranged for a boat to transport us across," Harry Jr. stated. "It should be here momentarily."
A ship from the Fancies descended from the sky. It was a brilliant white and spotless. It landed silently in front of them and opened a hatch near the rear. The clones entered first, followed hesitantly by the others.
"Harry, what the fuck, this is beautiful!" Thee said as she inspected everything.
Jovian looked unimpressed and leaned on against a wall as the hatch closed.
"Side note, we are too filthy to touch this masterpiece, especially Syla," Terry said.
"The fuck did I do to you?" Syla growled before ignoring him entirely.
The ship started to rise up in the air and shot forward at tremendous speed.
"Whoa, you said boat, not plane thingy," Reis cried out.
"It's an airboat, darling," Harry Jr. replied.
Thee walked up to Jovian and Terry with a smile. Jovian still looked annoyed, but she didn't care.
"Guys, our flying cherry has officially been popped, cool, right?" Thee asked.
"Absolutely dope, but did you have to say it like that?" Terry asked.
"Okay, Jovian, what's wrong?" Thee asked before pulling him from the wall.
"This room is…too…empty. I'm always tracking what feels like dozens and dozens of details at once. It's like I have a hundred workers in my head tasked with taking note of something, but in this room I have nothing to take note of. So, all my workers are unemployed and are protesting in my head for more work," Jovian explained.
"I can confirm, Thee, his head is so filled with overlapping thoughts I can't even read it," Terry said.
The airboat abruptly halted and descended rapidly, causing Jovian to lurch forward. He was the first to exit as the hatch opened, and he was immediately greeted by the stench of burning rubber. He quickly scanned the area to see if anyone was there, and he saw only a few people sleeping by the edge of the lake. As he looked towards the city, he saw that it was in much worse shape than Sol. None of the former skyscrapers were more than twenty stories tall, and the taller ones had been stripped of their materials. The streets were littered with debris, and there were several abandoned cars in the distance. Jovian took a deep breath and continued exiting, his boots crunching on the broken glass.
"We should find a place to camp," William said, looking around. "The sun is setting, and I would rather not be in this wasteland at night without shelter."
The clones began walking towards the city without saying a word. The rest of the group followed quickly behind.
"Are we headed anywhere in particular, Harry?" William asked.
"This is Atto of the O.O.M's territory, we need to follow his rules quickly before he shows up," Harry Jr. replied.
"There is a member of the Orders of Magnitude in this city?" Jovian asked.
"Yes, every city, town and village remaining is headed by one of the Orders of Magnitude, and this one is…quite temperamental about what parts of the city are off limits, so let's quickly head to a more populated area," Harry said with a hint of fear in his voice.
"Atto? So he is one of the lower ranks?" William asked.
Harry explained, "Don't let his appearance fool you. He used to be one of the Four Royals, like Jovian's dad. He is one of the three former Awaked Gods, a Waker beyond all others. He simply gives up his title to anyone who challenges him. He goes by Mr. Johnson."