“It’s freezing Matt, can you head down and switch the heat patch on please?”

  Arlee’s pleading voice penetrated the haze of sleep. Matt blinked his eyes against the sharp intrusion of the early morning sun. There was a distinct chill in the air, not uncommon for this time of year but unwelcome, nonetheless.

  Grumbling sleepily, Matt dragged on a thick dressing gown and trudged out of the bedroom. Moving downstairs to the kitchen, he slapped a hand onto the patch in the centre of the table. Immediately he could feel waves of warmth start to radiate out. It would take a while for this to significantly increase the temperature just in the nearby rooms though.

  There were a number of patches being used for basic utilities around their houses, and most were his earlier efforts, exhibiting lesser effects. With the most recent attunement bolstering the power of his creations, he could give the houses a significant upgrade which would no doubt improve the quality of life for all the families.

  He stood there for a minute, basking in the warmth that soothed his aching muscles. Even without serious exertion the day before he wasn’t getting any younger. The cold settled into joints which were reconsidering the wisdom of how much sport he had played over the years.

  As he gradually warmed up, the door to the playroom opened and Matty emerged, wrapped in woollen blankets over his clothes. Without any time to prepare one of the nearby empty properties, the new addition to their group had willingly crashed out on an inflatable camping bed with Matt’s sleeping bag.

  “Sleep okay?” Matt asked, as Matty sat down at the table, staring in wonder at the gently glowing patch which was pulsing out waves of warmth.

  “Yeah man, all good cheers. How is… is this one of your magic gizmos?”

  “Absolutely, one of the first ones I made. It has a lot less power than some of my others, so takes longer to recharge and doesn’t put out as much heat. I need to work on some upgrades, but there’s always more important stuff to do.”

  “Upgrades?” Matty asked.

  ‘Feeling His Age’ Matt sat down at the table and took the younger man through an explanation of magical weaving. The accidental discovery of both his light patch and Carry’s healing bag on the first night. Followed by the evolution of the different types of patches he had created for the inhabited houses on the street.

  He spoke about finding the loci, and the effect that attuning to them had on his creative process. Both of them laughed at the testing incident when the attack of the massive red kite had been narrowly averted. He spoke almost exclusively about his own experiences, not as a boast but in a decision that the abilities and secrets of other people were theirs to divulge – or not.

  He showed Matty how to use the patches, about the rota they were in to make sure that their warmth and water creation were kept refreshed, their fridge kept cold. In a brief trip outside, Matt risked the wrath of the sleeping inhabitants of the house, letting Matty fire off one of the flame-tubes. The look of awe on his friend’s face made Matt chuckle, as it reflected his almost-childlike delight in each new magical discovery.

  Lastly, he spoke of their challenges. The horror of that first night, the desperate escape to Alan and Carry’s house. The discovery of the nest, encountering the electric spiders at the station, and the original rescue of Lara and the Neal family.

  Matty was attentive, asking only a few questions. As Matt wound up his explanation with Lara’s return, he poured them both a glass of water and sat down in silence, giving the younger man a chance to digest all that had been revealed.

  “It’s bloody incredible mate, sounds like one of those zombie apocalypse movies in the real. I never knew you were into sewing, and I promise I won’t tell the team about it, but if you hadn’t showed me what you could do with these things, I’d never believe it!”

  Matt grinned at the ‘sewing’ jibe. They chatted some more as the rest of the house gradually came to life. Matty almost jumped out of his skin as the two girls wandered into the room with Nala pacing alongside, not having been introduced to the giant cats yet.

  “There are f… three of them, bouncing between our house and over the road. They belonged to Carry before all this kicked off, but Nala here has adopted Kira. You’ll basically always find her wherever Kira is. Dragon and Oli will be around, and they are somehow able to move through shadows, so don’t be surprised if they turn up in an empty room behind locked doors.”

  Waiting until the girls had grabbed some breakfast and headed back to the living room, Matt continued quietly. “We lost the fourth cat – Lion – a few days ago. A big pack of rats attacked over the road, and we couldn’t beat them off in time. Some of them got inside, Alan and Lion were fighting them, and they managed to drag him down. Carry and Kira were really close to all the cats, so don’t bring it up to them please.”

  Matty nodded before asking. “So, what is the plan today?”

  “Prep time.” Matt replied. “Tomorrow we hit the rat nest with all that petrol and try to burn them out for good. We need them gone before we can seriously start getting things back to normal. Well, normalish.”

  The younger man nodded. “Yeah, you don’t want them breeding. We had a nest turn up in the back yard at home once – we tipped the shed over to get at it and it was like a rat bomb went off – they were everywhere. Taught us to leave it the pros I can tell you.”

  “I’m spending today weaving…” He emphasised the ‘not-sewing’ word. “…more patches that we’ll need to get into and out of the nest. The rest of the gang are going to be getting the petrol ready. If you can pitch in with them, that would be great thanks. Then once you’re all done, they can probably take you round the houses and see which one suits you best.”

  “We’re not going to kick you out, don’t worry!” Matt laughed at the suddenly nervous expression on Matty’s face. “There’s a lot to do before you’re all setup in a place, and you’re welcome to crash in the playroom until then.”

  “Thanks man, it feels properly surreal to just talk about taking over some other family’s place. What if they come back?”

  Matt’s face went sombre. “Chances are that none of them are coming back. If they were away on the first night, then it’s difficult to see how they would return without transport. If they weren’t away…” His voice trailed off, before turning cold.

  “Then they probably got taken by the rats. Not belittling what you went through, but it was horrific around here. Hearing them break into houses when people were asleep, totally unprepared. Hearing what they did to them…”

  Matt’s voice shook at the memories that would haunt him, maybe forever. Just the thought brought back the sounds of pain and terror, the coppery tang in the air. It was the sort of experience that would need professional counselling, but he was unlikely to be able to get a referral right now.

  There was an uncomfortable silence between the pair for a while, until Matt stood and stretched, rousing himself out of the sombre state.

  “Today, we get ready to make sure it doesn’t happen again – at least, not around here. God knows what is going on around the rest of the world – or even the next town.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird. A few days ago, the whole world was our back yard – planes, the Internet and everything. Now we’re kinda restricted to the neighbourhood, it’s like being a kid again.”

  Matt laughed. “Welcome to the 80’s kiddo! Board games, hide-and-seek and only going to places you can get to on your bike!”

  Breakfast was a plain affair - cheese, crackers and some apples plucked from a tree they had discovered in one of the neighbouring gardens. Kira and Lara were quite shy around Matty but warmed up to his friendly and chatty personality.

  After tidying up, Arlee took Matt aside as the girls and Oswald gave Matty a tour of the house.

  “We should probably remind the girls to keep quiet about Kira’s book around Matty. How long will he be staying?”

  Matt thought for a moment before responding. “I spoke to him yesterday about it. Once you’re all finished getting the petrol bombs ready, maybe you and Al can take him round the other houses and find a good place to fit him into?”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She nodded, looking relieved. “I don’t want to be ungracious, but it would get quite crowded in here with more than four of us. We don’t need to move him out immediately, but it would be good to at least get the ball rolling.”

  Matt nodded. “No problem, he was fine with it when we spoke. Today I’m going to be weaving the patches we’ll need for tomorrow, but after that I can start putting together more sets of the household ones. Maybe we can restart our efforts to recruit some more neighbours?”

  Arlee leaned forward to kiss him. “Yes indeed. The girls were asking when we were going to bring Lizzie and her family back. We’ve still got that list of potentials, but we just keep getting distracted by one thing or another.”

  They sat for a moment, holding each other and taking comfort from the simple proximity. Shortly, Arlee looked up.

  “That reminds me, something was bugging me from a few of the things Kira found in her book – something called an ‘Overlay’. I’m going to get her now and see if she can look that up before I get pulled away to something else, again.”

  Lara looked a little nervous as Kira hurried off upstairs, but Oswald was proving to be a very comfortable backrest. With his tail curled protectively around her, the jitters around the new person in the house eased up quickly.

  Matty had mostly won the girls over with a variety of bad impressions of Matt and silly stories about the things rugby teams got up to – usually involving beer, mud or both. He in turn was in awe of Oswald and couldn’t get enough of talking about and to him.

  “So, he… sorry Oswald, you started off as a cuddly toy? Do you remember anything from before you were… alive?”

  The dragon’s voice had deepened significantly with his recent growth and his eyes held a spark if you looked deeply enough. His head rose slowly on the end of a serpentine neck before responding.

  “Indeed, I was the protector of my mistress’s private chamber, placed on high to oversee her realm. On the day of my awakening, I woke as if from a long sleep but could recall certain memories. There was a mist over them though, obscured to my mind’s sight. I could make out enough to recall times of play and of happiness. I seem to also recall some early attempts at flight?”

  With this, he arched a scaled eyebrow and looked down at Lara, who laughed and looked totally uncontrite.

  “Well, you’re a dragon, and dragons can fly can’t they!” She looked stricken at a thought. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? When I would throw… when I would try to help you fly across my room?”

  “Fear not mistress, for my form at that time was well suited to the incivility of childish play. I bear no bruises from those escapades – other than to my pride!”

  He swept a wing out to full extension, covering both Lara and Matt in temporary shadow. “After my awakening, I was able to take flight for the first time…” He again arched an eyebrow down at Lara, who giggled. “…unassisted flight, anyway. It was sufficient for the limited purposes I have required since that time. But now, I believe it is time to see how my new form adapts to the skies!”

  Upstairs, Kira had been ushered into her parent’s bedroom and she had been reminded about the importance of keeping the book secret. Looking up the curious term that Arlee had remembered from previous fact-finding missions, she found the process of settling her mind into the required state of focus much easier. As her previous research and Matt’s experiences had shown, this was an effect of her first locus attunement.

  Opening the book, she ran a finger down the page – a ritual she had gotten into the habit of when researching. As the tip brushed lightly over the paper’s surface, the strange symbols transformed – flowing smoothly into recognisable words, which she read aloud.

  “The Overlay is the process by which selected worlds are prepared to release the accumulation of Arcanic energy. Subject worlds will exhibit a range of new characteristics in environment, fauna, flora and natural laws. Inhabitants of subject worlds will be connected to the flow of Arcanic energy and through diverse means may develop the capability to manipulate it, intentionally or otherwise. Each Overlay event is instigated and monitored by groups of Arcanists, to ensure a successful transition to a stable energy release point.”

  She looked up, her face reflecting the shocked expressions from her parents. Their world had apparently been chosen for this to happen, and somewhere there was a bunch of… wizards, maybe… making sure everything went to plan.

  How dare they! She thought to herself, diving back into the book.

  “Worlds subjected to the Overlay are selected by meeting criteria set by the Arcanic Council. These include – but are not limited to – resource depletion, degradation of natural biosphere, cultural stagnation, technological progression, evolutionary adaption, universal location…”

  The list went on, and she skipped to the end. Kira was vaguely aware of questions from her parents but was absorbed by the frightening information before her eyes.

  “Once an Overlay event has been instigated, it is irreversible. To somehow prevent the successful completion of the process causes Arcanic energy to accumulate and erupt with catastrophic consequences. See reference to Duran Mind for a recounting of the only known instance of an Overlay being blocked.”

  Hands trembling, Kira looked up and closed the book. Her parents were quiet once more, digesting the sobering information dump. Arlee reached out a hand to clasp hers, eyes worried and uncertain. It was a long moment before Matt broke the silence.

  “So there’s a bunch of wizards somewhere which threw our planet into the blender, and it can’t go back to normal. Wonderful.”

  Arlee drew them both into a hug. “There’s nothing we can do about that now. We have to focus on what we can do – not agonise over big picture things which we’ll never meet ourselves.”

  They contemplated quietly until – hearing movement downstairs – they went to rejoin the others. Arlee was right – there wasn’t anything they could do about the ‘fate of the world’ stuff – they had to focus on the challenges in the here and now.

  Lara scrambled to her feet as Oswald rose to his, Matty following suit. Moving through to the kitchen and out the back door, they were joined by Matt who scanned the skies. Nala paced across the garden to lie down underneath the fir trees along the back fence.

  “What are we outside for today then?” Matt asked curiously.

  Unusually, Oswald responded first. “On this day, Mr T, you all shall observe my first flight in this renewed form!”

  With that Oswald crouched down and leapt into the air, wings snapping open and beating down powerfully. Each stroke catapulted him higher, until his wings spread wide to glide on the breeze. He soared back and forth, dipping and rising gleefully in the morning sun.

  At the apex of one soaring rise, Oswald’s head lurched forward and a tongue of flame rippled out from his gaping maw, preceding him as a fiery calling card. Similar to Matt’s flame-tubes, the burst of flame lasted for several seconds as the dragon dived downwards, before abruptly ending as his toothy maw snapped shut.

  His dive was arrested as both wings snapped open to their full extension, catching the air with a loud crack, before guiding him gently down to land in front of Lara. For the first time since being brought to join them, delight and joy shone from her face, unbridled laughter spilling out of her as she clasped arms around his long neck.

  “Oswald - you’re incredible! I wish I could fly with you like that!”

  Oswald laid his head tenderly on her shoulder. “Maybe one day mistress. Maybe one day.”

  After the wondrous spectacle of Oswald’s aerial acrobatics, the rest of the day felt quite mundane. Always though it was tinged with a nervous shadow about the danger awaiting them the following morning. After much discussion and in some cases argument, they had agreed that the group going on the expedition would be Matt, Alan, Matty and Arlee. The young man was a surprising volunteer, but when questioned just said, “Payback for Marshy.”

  To say that Kira was incredibly unhappy about both her parents being in the group was an understatement, and she stormed out of the room. Lara followed after, promising to calm her down. Matt would indeed have preferred that his wife not be going, but the simple truth was that without her bag, they wouldn’t be able to carry enough petrol to make a difference.

  Matt secluded himself, focusing intently on weaving the patches they would need for the best chance of success. Repeating the steps he had taken the day before, he drained the coiling energy reserve from within. By the early evening, it felt like a match in the wind, fluttering on the verge of winking out.

  In front of him lay an array of patches, crucial for their success. Poison for their spear-tips, air so they could breathe, armour to keep them safe and fire to forge their path forward. He was spent but satisfied with his day’s work.

  In the garden, the rest of the group were dispensing some of the petrol into smaller bottles but kept most of it in the jerry cans. The idea was to have a spear line at a choke point in the nest, while one person stayed behind and threw opened cans as far as possible to spread the petrol around. Once it was all distributed, the flame tubes would be used to ignite the fumes and hopefully set off a chain reaction throughout the nest as they fled the resulting inferno.

  It all sounded very straight-forward, but the group was keenly aware that life wasn’t just like the movies, where a flicked cigarette was enough to ignite trails of petrol and set off massive explosions. They would be relying on their spears to incapacitate the rats before they got swamped, and their newly upgraded armour to protect them from the ravenous vermin.

  The more they thought about it, the crazier it seemed. The speed with which the rats had moved in previous encounters meant that a single mistake might let the swarm engulf them. But what could they do? If the breeding patterns of rats held true, new litters of rats might be birthed any day. Once that happened, there would be no containing them and what was left of the village would be swiftly overrun.

  Coming together that evening, the children grouped to watch Oswald create shapes with his fiery breath. Kira was still withdrawn, stealing glances at her parents when she thought they were not looking. Carry was wrapped around Alan as if she would never release him. Frank and Belinda were quiet, uncertain how to feel. Frank had been part of the original group, but Matty had his spot, demonstrating surprising proficiency with a spear, which he blamed on the inspiration from martial arts movies.

  As the evening closed in, Matt raised a glass to the others.

  “Tomorrow will be tough, but we’ll stick together and get it done. We do this and the big threat to the village is gone – we can start to look forward again, to whatever the future brings.”

  They tapped glasses, drinking in silence. Arlee glanced over at Matt, unspoken words between them. They hadn’t told the rest of the group yet about the Overlay and what it meant, resolving to do this after the main problem had been dealt with.

  “In the morning then.” Alan said, rising to his feet. “Now if you don’t mind, me and the Mrs have some stuff to attend to.” Leaning down, he swept his blushing wife into a bridal carry and hurried back over the road to their waiting house.

  The Neals followed soon after, promising to see them off in the morning. With just themselves left in the house, Kira dissolved into pent-up tears, holding Arlee tight and sobbing wordlessly.

  She was all too aware that tomorrow, both she and Lara might be orphans.