“The same.  That’s interesting.  So we both damaged it, and we both got loot.  Good to know.” He wondered for the hundredth time about the mechanics of this new world as they got themselves together and continued across the bridge.

Following a walking trail through what had once been a state park, they remained vigilant.  For the dozenth time in the last several hours, Allistor wished for the guns that had been inside the family home when it was crushed.   Being near the outskirts of town and having almost no warning when the titan appeared, he and his parents hadn’t had time to retrieve their weapons.  They’d barely gotten out of the house with the clothes on their backs when it stomped on their kitchen, then kicked the rest of the house into smithereens.

Shaking off the grim memory, Allistor focused on the path ahead.  They were still moving in the general direction of the titan.  He could feel the slight trembles in the ground that accompanied its footsteps.  They didn’t seem to be gaining on it, though.  Which might be an indication that the survivors had managed to lead it away at a rapid pace.  He hoped they figured out how to lose it and double back.  Otherwise, the remaining townspeople might be scattered across a wide area, making it easier for the smaller and more numerous monsters to pick them off.

“At least being in the trees, we don’t have to worry about the flying monsters,” Nancy ventured.  Neither of them had spoken in several minutes.  Allistor looked up at the canopy above, the sunlight breaking through in a thousand small gaps between branches and leaves.  But none were large enough to admit the nasty flying lizard things that had plagued the town on the first day.

“Thank God for small favors,” he replied, returning his gaze to the surrounding terrain.  There was no shortage of new dangers here on the ground.  Though he’d not seen them himself, there were reports of mutant canine things with six legs.   Vicious reptiles with two small forelegs and the bodies of snakes a dozen feet long and longer.  Along with the octopoids, the vermin, the flying lizards, wolvites, the titan, and who knew what else the Collective was throwing at them, Earth had become a death trap.

A rustle in the brush to their left caught his attention.  They picked up their pace as he kept his focus locked on that location.   A moment later, a small brown fuzzy bunny leapt from the brush onto the path.

Chloe instantly stopped and reversed direction, making for the cute critter.  “Squee! Mommy, can we keep the bunny?  It’s soooo cute!”   Suddenly full of energy, the child trotted toward the woodland creature.

Nancy set off after her, hissing. “Chloe!  Get back here! No!” The little girl was maybe ten feet from the bunny when it turned to retreat into the brush.

It never got the chance.