Felicity's Beas Chapter 32: The Three Horsemen of the apocalypse

Chapter 32: The Three Horsen of the apocalypse

The eting happened around a cracked concrete table that had once belonged to an office break room.

The table leaned slightly to one side where the floor had settled, one tal leg bent inward, but it still held the weight of weapons, maps, and tired bodies leaning against it. Soone had wiped the dust away earlier. The clean strip across the center made the whole thing look almost deliberate, as if the room had once been used for sothing important.

Maps covered the surface.

Old paper maps with curled corners. Newer ones drawn in thick marker across salvaged plastic sheets. A half-lted datapad flickered quietly near Voss’s elbow, its display stuttering every few seconds but still showing a faint grid of the old satellite routes.

Snow Team gathered around it without needing instruction. Weapons rested within reach of every hand.

Sarge leaned forward with both arms braced against the concrete edge, shoulders filling half the light in the room. Ash lounged against the wall behind him, posture loose but eyes moving constantly. Rose had one boot planted on a chair, vines sliding lazily across the floor near her heel like they had decided pretending to be plants was optional.

Tommy had sohow found a dented tal mug and was drinking sothing that slled aggressively like burnt coffee.

Felicity sat on the corner of the table. Victor had placed her there without asking.

It gave her the best view of the maps and quietly boxed her in between bodies that could flatten buildings.

No one comnted on it.

Victor stood close enough that his arm brushed her knee whenever he shifted. Voss occupied the opposite side of the table, fingers resting lightly near the map markers, posture relaxed but deliberate.

Felicity noticed both of them.

Her tail flicked once behind her.

Down the hall, Frost and Luna slept.

They had refused to leave her earlier. Victor had physically carried them to the blankets and promised they could see her again after the eting. Frost had clung stubbornly to her sleeve until the last possible second, his shield flickering whenever soone tried to separate them.

Luna had kissed Felicity’s cheek three tis in a row like she was sealing a contract.

Now the cubs slept under a loose nest of blankets while Rose’s vines curled protectively through the doorway.

Frost’s shield humd faintly even in sleep. Luna radiated warmth like a small furnace. It softened the air in the building.

They were not alone.

Three massive figures stood across the table.

Horse beastn. The three brothers had not actually co from Tidehaven.

Snow Team had t them on the road two days earlier while moving to intercept the warehouse where Felicity was being held.

Lightning had been visible for miles.

Victor had changed course imdiately.

They found the brothers fighting through a swarm of corrupted units on a collapsed overpass, three massive horse beastn surrounded by shattered tal and bodies that still smoked from repeated lightning strikes. They fought like a single storm front, hooves cracking asphalt and electricity tearing through the undead every ti their power discharged.

Victor had stepped in first.

Not to help.

To test them.

The fight had lasted less than a minute. Long enough for Victor to confirm what he needed to know.

They were strong.

Disciplined.

Not stupid enough to challenge him after the test. That had been enough.

They finished the road battle together and continued toward the warehouse without discussing it further.

After Felicity was recovered and the building collapsed, the brothers simply remained with Snow Team.

No one had formally invited them.

Victor had simply looked at them once and said, "Keep up."

They had.

Even standing still they looked like motion waiting to happen.

Tall in the way cliffs were tall. Shoulders wide. Muscle layered thick over bone built for speed and impact. Their armor was scavenged but reinforced with conductive plating, tal scarred from repeated lightning discharge.

Static snapped faintly around them.

Their hooves scraped the concrete floor in slow, restless rhythms.

Victor spoke first "We don’t linger." His voice didn’t rise.

It didn’t need to.

"Tidehaven’s gone," he continued. "Anyone connected to it will either hunt us or avoid us. Neither is safe."

The tallest of the three brothers snorted softly.

Lightning cracked across the curve of his horns before fading again.

"Good," he said. "We don’t like lingering either."

Tommy leaned slightly toward Felicity.

"Horse people are intense," he whispered.

One of the brothers looked directly at him.

"I heard that."

Tommy shrugged "Good."

Kai snorted quietly from the back wall.

Felicity bit back a laugh.

Victor’s hand settled briefly against the small of her back.

Not pushing.

Just there.

Voss tapped the map with two fingers.

"Trade routes point east."

He slid a marker across the grid "There’s a city here."

Everyone leaned in slightly.

"Military remnants," Voss continued. "Structured command. Not a cult."

Sarge lifted an eyebrow.

"That’s optimistic."

"Not insane," Voss corrected calmly. "Or at least not obviously. They rotate command authority. No single god complex."

Ash crossed his arms.

"That helps."

One of the brothers leaned forward slightly, sparks dancing between his fingers and the tal table.

"What about beastn?"

"Integrated," Voss said. "Combat units. Logistics. Training corps."

He paused "They run a kindergarten."

The silence thickened.

Tommy blinked.

"A what?"

"Children," Voss clarified.

"Being trained?" Sarge asked.

"Basic survival," Voss said. "Movent. Teamwork. Age appropriate."

His gaze flicked briefly toward the hallway.

"No bloodsport."

Felicity exhaled slowly "That sounds... good."

Victor’s head turned toward her imdiately.

"It’s a possibility," he said carefully.

"Not a promise."

She bumped his shoulder lightly.

"I know."

Then she smiled faintly.

"If they have crayons Frost is going to unionize the place."

Kai huffed a laugh.

Tommy nearly inhaled his coffee.

Voss’s mouth twitched.

Victor’s hand slid briefly to her knee before returning to the table.

Voss continued.

"It’s a week and a half travel. Fog zones. Dense undead. Likely forced engagents."

One of the brothers grinned. "That’s where we do our best work."

Sarge cracked his neck.

"Good. We need levels."

Victor looked at the brothers. "You coming?"

The tallest one t his stare evenly. "We didn’t survive this long walking alone."

That settled it.

No one had formally invited them. No one had asked them to leave either.

They had fought through the sa chaos when Victor tore the building apart to get Felicity back. Lightning ripping through tal corridors while Snow Team carved a path through the security units. By the ti the dust settled they were simply... there.

Three horse beastn who had survived the sa battle and decided walking away alone sounded like a worse idea.

Snow Team hadn’t objected.

Useful people rarely got turned away in the apocalypse.

They moved at dawn.

Beast forms were faster.

Frost appeared in the doorway just as Victor’s wings unfolded.

Victor shifted first.

The air tightened before breaking open around him.

Silver feathers erupted through the room as his wings unfolded, wide enough that the tips brushed both walls. Frost threaded instinctively through the feathers, thin ice crystals forming where cold power t warm air.

Luna gasped loudly.

"Bird!"

Tommy squinted up.

"That is a very big bird."

Sarge smacked the back of his head.

"Eagle."

"Oh," Tommy said. "Right."

Victor lowered himself slightly.

Luna climbed onto his back imdiately, small hands gripping the thick feathers at the base of his neck like she had done it a thousand tis.

Frost stared with open fascination while his shield flickered faintly around him, reacting to the surge of power in the room.

Across the room Voss shifted next.

The change rolled through him like shadow thickening into muscle. Dark fur rippled across his body as the enormous wolf erged, shoulders low and powerful, eyes still sharp with the sa calculating focus he carried in human form.

The wolf circled once.

Automatically.

Then stopped beside Felicity. Without hesitation he leaned down and lifted her.

Felicity yelped slightly as the massive wolf nudged under her and hoisted her across his back "That looked suspiciously like an order," she said.

Kai snorted.

Voss ignored both of them and adjusted his stance until her weight settled comfortably between his shoulders.

Territory established.

Next to them Ash shifted.

Spotted fur rolled over his skin as the jaguar erged, stretching lazily once before flicking his tail.

"Much better," Ash muttered.

Kai laughed and followed.

His body tightened and dropped low as the dingo form replaced him. Leaner than the others, built for speed rather than brute force, sandy fur bristled along his spine as he shook out his legs.

"Try to keep up," Kai said.

Behind them the floor cracked.

Sarge shifted.

The transformation hit like a collapsing wall.

Muscle expanded violently beneath thick dark hide as the massive black rhinoceros appeared, his weight cracking the concrete beneath his hooves as he snorted once.

Tommy looked at him.

Then at himself.

Then shifted.

His white rhino form followed a mont later.

Still enormous.

Just smaller than Sarge.

And lacking the heavy horn Sarge carried.

Tommy blinked down at his reflection in a broken piece of glass "That feels unfair."

Sarge snorted.

"Grow."

Damien’s change was quieter.

Scales slid over his skin as the serpent form erged beneath him, long coils tightening briefly before settling again.

His eyes stayed locked on Felicity the entire ti.

Across the room Giddy shifted with a heavy thump.

His kangaroo form landed upright, tail braced against the ground as powerful hind legs flexed beneath him. He bounced once experintally.

"Ready."

The three brothers shifted last.

Their bodies expanded into massive warhorse forms built for distance and war. Lightning crawled across their hides in restless arcs, electricity snapping between their horns and hooves every ti they shifted weight.

Static crackled through the room.

Rose whistled softly.

"Well. That’s dramatic."

Behind them sothing massive moved.

Finch shifted like a glacier deciding it was tired of pretending to be human.

White fur exploded outward as the polar bear rose to his full height, shoulders expanding until he dwarfed nearly everyone in the room. His paws hit the ground with a heavy thud as he stretched, rolling power through his back like soone waking up from a very good nap.

Then he looked directly at Rose.

Rose was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, vines sliding lazily around her boots like they had decided to stay out of whatever nonsense the rest of the room was becoming.

She noticed his stare imdiately.

Her eyebrow lifted "Don’t."

Finch tilted his head.

"Don’t what?"

"Whatever idea just crossed your brain."

"I’m offended," Finch said.

"You should be."

Finch stepped closer.

He was enormous in bear form, each step heavy enough to make the floor complain quietly. When he stopped in front of her, his shadow swallowed half the doorway.

Rose didn’t move.

She simply looked up at him.

"You look smug," Finch said.

"I am smug."

"Why."

"Because you’re about to say sothing stupid."

Finch’s mouth curved.

"Wasn’t planning to."

"You were."

"Maybe."

Rose’s vines lifted slightly from the floor.

A warning.

Finch ignored them.

He leaned down a little, bringing his massive head closer.

"You’re not shifting," he said.

"Correct."

"You’re not walking."

"Correct."

"You’re not riding Victor."

Rose narrowed her eyes.

"Also correct."

Finch’s grin widened slowly.

"That seems like a problem."

Rose uncrossed her arms.

"Is it."

"For you."

"For ?"

"Yes."

Rose snorted.

"I have legs."

"You have dignity," Finch corrected.

"And?"

"And climbing onto a wolf’s back in that outfit would ruin it."

Kai choked sowhere behind them.

Felicity covered her mouth.

Rose stared at the bear.

Very slowly.

"You have exactly three seconds to rethink that sentence."

Finch lowered himself.

All the way down.

His massive body settling into a crouch in front of her.

"Solution," he said.

Rose blinked.

Once.

"Absolutely not."

Finch waited.

Rose stared at him.

The room went quiet enough that even Victor glanced over.

Rose pointed at the bear.

"You are not a taxi."

Finch shrugged.

"You’re not light."

Kai laughed out loud.

Rose’s vines shot forward instantly and smacked Finch across the snout.

The sound cracked through the room.

Finch blinked.

Then laughed.

"That’s flirting."

"That’s assault."

"Sa thing."

Rose shook her head slowly.

"You are insufferable."

"You’re still standing there."

Rose hesitated.

Just for a second. Then she stepped forward.

Finch went very still.

Rose planted one boot against his shoulder and swung up in a single smooth motion, settling onto his back like soone who had done this before and wasn’t going to admit it.

The vines curled loosely around his fur to steady her.

She crossed her arms again.

"There."

Finch’s ears flicked.

"That was easier than expected."

Rose leaned forward slightly so only he could hear "Say that out loud and I’ll grow vines sowhere uncomfortable."

Finch chuckled.

"Worth it."

Rose straightened again.

"Move, bear."

Finch rose to his full height.

Rose adjusted her balance automatically.

Across the room Kai whistled.

Tommy stared "Okay," he said slowly. "That one I didn’t expect."

Felicity grinned from Voss’s back.

Rose glanced over at her.

"What."

"Nothing," Felicity said sweetly.

Rose looked forward again.

Finch rumbled softly beneath her.

"Comfortable?"

Rose leaned back slightly against the thick fur at his shoulders "...Don’t make this weird."

"Too late."

Victor spread his wings.

Fog rolled across the broken road outside.

Snow Team began to move.

And Rose rode the polar bear like it had always been the plan.

Victor moved first.

His wings spread wide as he stepped out into the fog, feathers slicing through the damp air. Luna leaned forward against the thick feathers at the base of his neck like she had claid the best seat in the world.

"Tree," she whispered.

Victor rumbled low in his chest.

Behind him the rest of the team fell into motion.

Voss moved beside him, massive wolf shoulders rolling through the mist. Felicity sat balanced between his shoulders, fingers threaded into the thick fur behind his neck.

"If I fall," she warned.

Voss didn’t slow.

"You won’t."

"That’s not reassuring."

"You won’t," he repeated.

Felicity sighed and adjusted her grip.

"Fine."

Behind them Finch lumbered forward like a walking glacier, massive polar bear shoulders cutting through the fog.

Rose sat easily across his back.

Her boots braced against his fur while the vines at her wrists curled lightly into the thick white coat to steady herself.

"Try not to run into anything," she said.

Finch snorted.

"You’re the one steering."

"I’m not steering."

"You’re definitely steering."

Rose leaned down slightly.

"If you throw

off I will grow sothing unpleasant out of your spine."

Finch chuckled.

"Romantic."

To their left Sarge thundered forward.

The black rhinoceros moved like a tank across broken asphalt, each step cracking stone beneath his hooves.

Frost sat on his shoulders.

Not awkwardly.

Like it was obvious that was where he belonged.

The boy held onto the thick folds of Sarge’s hide while his shield flickered tightly around his own body.

The shield refused to expand beyond him.

But it stayed steady.

"I can see everything," Frost announced proudly.

"Good," Sarge rumbled.

"Don’t fall."

"I won’t."

Behind them Tommy’s white rhino form crashed through a pile of debris and snorted.

"That seems excessive."

Kai’s dingo form slipped past him like a streak of sand-colored lightning.

"You’re just slow."

Tommy huffed.

Ash’s jaguar padded silently across the flank, muscles rolling under spotted fur while his eyes scanned the fog.

Giddy bounded forward beside him, the kangaroo’s powerful legs launching him across broken pavent in huge, effortless leaps.

Victor cut through the mist ahead of them.

Victor slowed mid stride.

His wings tightened slightly.

Sothing in the fog ahead shifted.

Ash’s ears flattened.

"Movent," Kai muttered.

Then the first zombie burst out of the fog at a dead run.

Victor dove.

Feathers snapped through the air as he struck.

Bone shattered.

The corpse collapsed in pieces before it even hit the ground.

Then the fog broke open.

Dozens.

Maybe more.

Bodies poured from the mist in a rushing wall of gray flesh and broken teeth.

Felicity reacted before she thought.

Power surged through her chest like soone had kicked open a door.

Light exploded outward from her body.

The pulse slamd through the team.

Victor felt it instantly.

His wings snapped harder as he surged forward.

Kai accelerated.

Damien’s coils lashed out, snapping a corpse in half.

Ash moved faster than he should have been able to.

Sarge lowered his head and charged.

The black rhino hit the front line like a freight train.

Zombies exploded outward as his massive shoulders smashed through them.

Frost shouted from above him.

"I’m helping!"

His shield flared brighter around his own body.

Sarge didn’t slow.

Finch hit the right flank.

The polar bear slamd into the horde with terrifying montum, massive paws sweeping bodies aside like debris.

Rose leaned forward on his back.

"Left!"

Finch pivoted imdiately.

Lightning cracked behind them as the horse brothers thundered through the opposite side of the horde.

Tommy crashed into sothing that used to be a person and blinked "Did I hit that or did it just die politely?"

"You hit it," Kai shouted.

"Spine."

Tommy sounded pleased.

"Exactly what I said!"

Felicity felt the power still rushing through her.

Too much.

Too wide.

She tried to pull the power back.

It didn’t listen.

Victor struck harder.

Ash’s claws moved faster.

Even the horse brothers accelerated slightly.

Damien, watching from the rear line, noticed imdiately.

Felicity wasn’t waiting for protection. She was burning herself down in small bursts to make the rest of them faster.

Damien didn’t like the way that made his chest tighten.

Voss felt her grip tighten.

"You’re pushing too hard."

"I know."

"Stop."

"After this wave."

The horde collapsed quickly.

Too quickly.

Victor’s final strike tore through the last corpse and the road fell quiet again.

Bodies littered the asphalt.

Fog drifted slowly between the broken trees.

Finch slowed to a stop.

Frost seed satisfied with that.

A mont later Luna dropped down from Victor’s back and wandered toward the edge of the road where Felicity stood stretching her shoulders.

She leaned heavily into Felicity’s side, arms wrapping around her waist "You’re warm," Luna said.

"Im glad" Felicity replied.

Frost hesitated where he stood, then he walked over too. He didn’t climb up this ti. He just stood close, one hand gripping the back of Felicity’s coat while his shield flickered faintly again, like it was testing the air around her.

Everyone had relaxed a little.

The fog shifted lazily.

No movent.

No sound.

Frost looked up at Victor "You didn’t get hurt."

Victor blinked once.

"No."

"Good."

Frost nodded firmly like he had personally approved the outco.

Then he said it "Dad’s supposed to be in front."

The word slipped out casually. Like it had always belonged there.

The road went completely still.

Tommy froze halfway through taking a drink from his mug.

Tommy had sohow kept the mug.

Sarge slowly looked down at the ground like he had just discovered sothing fascinating about cracked asphalt.

Rose’s vines stopped moving.

Felicity blinked.

Victor didn’t move at all. One feather shifted slightly in the fog.

Frost noticed the silence.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"...what?"