Amazon Apocalypse Chapter 12 Part 1 (Patreon)

We couldn't go particularly fast in the two vehicles we rescued, but both had massive wheels and were built for this sort of off-road travel. On top of that, Sarah did an excellent job of setting a course that took us over flat and even ground with as few turns as possible.

It was amazing to see her pick the route with supernatural skill. A patch of ground I could have sworn was too rocky and narrow to pass through ended up being just barely wide enough to fit Sarah and both vehicles following her.

The young-woman-turned-wolf ran like a hound to its master's hand, tong lolling out and air rushing by her.

"How much further?" I asked Sarah. She couldn't answer in her wolf form, but she barked twice. I wasn't sure what that meant, but probably not far.

True to her word, Sarah came to a stop a few minutes later. She sat back on her haunches and shifted back to her human form,

Her saddle and harness shifted back to their original shape in her human form, trapping her wrists behind her back and stuffing that bit back in her mouth between her teeth.

I opened the van door and walked over to her, unlatching the muzzle so she could talk again.

"Thanks," Sarah said as she spat the bit out of her mouth. "I've circled us around the camp just out of sight. We're oriented back the way you originally came."

"I can find our way back to the road from here," I nodded appreciatively. "I have to admit, getting these cars even this far would have been tough without your help, Sarah."

"Don't mention it. As for the location of the goblin camp... if you head that way for an hour at about the same speed we were just running at. You'd run right into it. I wouldn't suggest going there, though."

"Closer than I thought..." I muttered uncomfortably. No, I certainly wasn't happy to hear about this goblin encampment. Right now, my bunker up in the mountains was out of sight. But how long would that be true for? As the goblins continued to accumulate mounts, they'd become ever more mobile.

Perhaps they'd be looking for a safer, more secure location. That hidden valley behind my bunker had grown from a tiny grotto to a real spot worth protecting. I had plans for that place, and I knew I wouldn't be the only person to see my little patch of wilderness as valuable.

"Let me give you some spare clothes," Regina said to Sarah. "I know from experience that if you want to make men listen to you, you need to look like a woman in control. That," Regina gestured to Sarah's harness, under which her skin was as bare as the day she was born, "does not exactly make you look like you should be the one issuing instructions."

Sarah nodded. "Thank you for your help. I can't exactly dress with my arms like this."

Regina pulled out some of the clothes she'd rescued, willingly sacrificing them for Sarah's sake. That was kind of her since Regina didn't exactly have a whole lot to her name at the moment. All the clothes back in the bunker were sized for me, and Regina's officewear was already looking like it had seen better days.

Dressing Sarah required cutting the arms off the shirt and slicing a long slit down the back to accommodate the position of her arms. Eventually, Regina figured something out and had Sarah looking halfway presentable again.

"Here, let me throw this sweatshirt over you..." Regina muttered. "If we stick the sleeves in your front pocket, you'll just look like you've got your hands in there instead of behind your back."

"Thank you, Regina." Sarah sighed. "I feel so helpless needing someone else even to get dressed. I suppose that was the goblin's plan all along with binding my arms like this. It has me already starting to prefer my wolf form over my natural human one."

"I'm certain you'll find a way to get those bindings off of you eventually," I suggested.

"Well then..." Sarah turned to us one last time before heading off in the direction of the ring of vehicles protecting her brother's camp. "I'm off to go see what manner of madness my brother's gotten my friends involved in while I was away. Wish me luck!"

Sarah turned her back on us and started walking. When she was a few steps away from me, Regina gave me a little nudge.

"She seems like a smart, capable woman," Regina suggested. "And despite how much trouble keeping her clothes on looks like it's going to be, I think she could be useful. Maybe not in our bunker, but definitely while we're out hunting. You saw how fast we made our way back here thanks to her pathfinding skill, right? And that saddle of hers is big enough for you or me to ride her, if we needed to...."

"Are you suggesting we ask her if she wants to come with us?" I raised an eyebrow at Regina.

Regina turned her eyes to the ground. "I'm delegating this decision to you. Will she be good for us or not?"

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Poll: (Click here for the link to the poll!) 

Try to recruit Sarah (This will require getting involved with the campground settlement).

She's not what we're looking for (Move on. The campground settlement will fall under Craig's management.)